Don't touch that!

One of the biggest challenges of having small children is keeping the house safe for them. Everything must be out of reach and you never know what they will get into. Case in point: the entertainment center. We put all of our components in a large armoire and when the doors are closed, the kids can't touch anything. But when the doors are open, the TV as well as the DVD player and VCR are within reach and the kids are attracted to those buttons like a moth to a flame.

Another option is to use a tv mount which actually hangs the TV from the ceiling or a wall. Then shelves could be mounted nearby to place the other components. In addition to keeping everything out of the kids' reach, lots of floor space would be cleared this way.

Protect yourself

Given the fact that Christmas has become so commercialized, it is no surprise that this is also a time of year with high crime rates. I recommend arming yourself with self defense products. There is a line of pepper spray that looks just like lipstick that women can feel confident carrying in their purse and catch a possible assailant off guard if necessary.

We never want to think about it, but these things happen everyday. We all probably know someone who has been effected by robbery, identity theft, assault, or worse. This is an unfortunate part of life today and rather than ignore it, we must prepare ourselves and be realistic.