5 Safety Tips for Kids This Halloween

5 Safety Tips for Kids This Halloween

With Halloween approaching quickly, there are a few things we need to prepare for! No, not just buying the candy and decorating the yard. But on the night of Hallow’s Eve, we need to make sure our kids are as safe as can be! We know how excited kids can get, and run off! Here are some tips you can use this Halloween

Cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. 

Look left, right and left again when crossing and keep looking as you cross. Never forget that even though it is Halloween, it is still a normal day! People still drive and act as if it were any other day, so make sure you are using traffic signals and crosswalks when getting to your destination!

Always walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to.

As recommended, you should always remain on the sidewalk to take the safest possible route. You never want to enter the street, as an adult or child. Once it gets dark outside, it becomes so hard for people to see others in the road. 

Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colors. 

This one is extremely important! You never think your child could wander astray until it happens! Getting some reflective tape and even using it as decor on their costume can make a world of difference! 

Have kids carry glow sticks or flashlights to help them see and be seen by drivers.

I think this is one of the best ideas to help keep kids safe! Even if kids just put a glow stick around their neck, it will help them be seen by so many! A flashlight is a must whether you use a glow stick or not though, just as a backup. 

Safety Tips For Parents : Popular trick-or-treating hours are 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Be especially alert for kids during those hours. 

This one is an important one to understand. As a parent, you begin to know what time certain events start at. For Halloween, typically, trick or treaters begin going out earlier, around 5:30pm, and come back around 9:30,10. During this time, simply be as cognitive as you can be, making sure you are extra careful!

Halloween is one of the most fun yearly tradition out there. Especially for the kids, being able to dress up as their favorite superhero or princess is a priceless moment. As a new mom myself, I am always on the lookout for tips and tricks to make my trips out the safest. I hope these tips will help you and your family stay safe this year! Stay tuned next week for the best Halloween blog yet : Spooky & Haunted Desserts! You won't want to miss it!

For a full list of these helpful tips, check out the Safe Kids blog for more!

The Best Props That You Need For This Halloween

Halloween is quickly approaching us. Literally, we are less than a month away from trick-or-treaters and candy galore. If there is one thing I love about Halloween, is buying the creepiest/craziest props I can to scare people when they come over! I have seen some intense props, from blood bags to package of meat, people do not mess around with Halloween! I thought this would be a fun time to show off some of the coolest props I could find, and maybe you might want to purchase! 

The Chop Shop

Party City, $6.99
This is one of the FREAKIEST props I have ever seen! It literally looks like a package of meat you would begin cooking with. I have seen things like this on sets of haunted houses where it is a kitchen scene, usually with a pig that is seeking revenge! Anyways, fun prop! Hah!!

Lounging Yard Skeleton

Spirit Store, $98.99

If you love decorating your front yard with all the best props, then you absolutely need this one! This lounging yard skeleton comes in two pieces and has the illusions that your skeleton “buddy” is just hanging out in the yard!

Pennywise Animatronic Decoration

Spirit Store, $269.99

If you are a TRUE fan of everything Halloween, you are going to love this! This is a 6.5 foot animatronic Pennywise, from the movie It. I am deathly afraid of clowns, but in that case, this is the perfect prop to have to scare people with! He comes with a remote control, and even talks too! This will for sure scare anyone who walks by!

For Those Who have Children

I know many people who have children may not want the scariest set up possible. But that doesn’t mean you can’t decorate any! Here are some great props you can get to decorate with children in mind

Light Up Lock Pumpkin

Spirit Store, $9.99

If any of you knew me, you would know how big of a Disney fan I truly am. So when I saw these online, I thought they were the CUTEST props ever! This one is Lock from The Nightmare Before Christmas, plus they have Sally, Shock, Barrel, and even Oogie Boogie! They are all light up pumpkin, that would be the perfect in home decor for all you Disney & Tim Burton fans like me.

Light Up Woody Pumpkin

Spirit Store, $9.99

Just like the Nightmare before Christmas themed pumpkins, they have other Disney characters as well! They have Woody, Ham, Buzz Lightyear, and so many more! Kids will absolutely love these! All you need are a couple batteries, and you’re good to go!

Halloween Friends Yard Decorating Kit

Party City, $21

I love this kit so much! I have a ten month old son, so he doesn’t really process the idea of being scared all that much! But this is perfect for those who have younger kids that still want to decorate. These come in this set of three : a jack-o-lantern, a ghost, and a cauldron. What more could you want!

As you can see, there are many Halloween props you can get this year that are sure to be frightfully fun! Stay tuned for more Halloween fun next week, when we discuss the best safety tips for your Kids this Halloween! 

The Ultimate Guide to your Dishwasher

Honestly, as a consumer myself, I never really think about the quality of a dishwasher. I mean sure, you want it to do the best job possible when cleaning dishes. However, there is so much more that goes into a dishwasher we do not even think about! This guide here will lead you to getting the perfect dishwasher for you and your family!

Task 1: The Style

Picking out the perfect dishwasher comes with many decisions. There are three main styles of dishwasher to choose from: countertop, built-in, or drawer. Let's dive a little deeper into what each of these three looks are like. 

• Countertop: This is one style of washer I do not think I have ever seen before but is in fact a real thing! These dishwashers sit on top of the counters and simply plug into the faucet lines. Pros to this would be how convenient they are if you are someone who moves around a lot. A con to this would be how much space it takes up on the counter itself.

• Built-In: This is the most common style of dishwasher we know. This would be your standard washer that slides into a spot within your cabinetry, and the drop-down door style to it. However, these do need to be attached to your main plumbing water line. However, that is a super easy set-up!

• Drawer: This one is very similar to the standard style of built-in dishwashers. They sit within your cabinetry; however, the door style pulls out like drawers. Almost like a garbage compactor. Love the idea of this!
  
  

Task 2: The Control Panel

This is also something you never think about until actually shopping for a dishwasher. However, it is something I have noticed is important! The control panel is here all of your buttons will be located. Personally, I have a dishwasher with all the buttons on the top and I love that!

• Fully Integrated: This is the type of I have! All the buttons are located at the top of the dishwasher, hidden for a much sleeker appearance!

• Semi-integrated: This dishwasher has some of the buttons hidden, and some of them showing. This includes the handle to the dishwasher as well.

•  Full-Console: This dishwasher has all of its buttons located on the face of the dishwasher. This is the most common layout of dishwashers there are!

Task 3: Special Features

For me, anytime I purchase something I always am looking at what kind of special features it may have. When doing some research, I found out that so many dishwashers have some cool things they can do! This includes things such as

• Adjustable racks

• And added 3rd Rack

• Specialty Cycles (Half Wash, Delicate, etc.)

• Plate Warmer

And so much more!

The overall message here, is that there is so much research and investigating that goes into purchasing a dishwasher! This guide here has a lot of information but is not limited to the many more features you should look into! And if in case your dishwasher doesn’t seem to be working right, call Appliance Rescue Service in your area today to get a service call set up! We are never too busy to take your calls!

The Magic of Ice Cream

Greetings my appliance-minded friends. I hope the summer has treated you well. Here in Ohio we are approaching what some call Fall. In Ohio, however, we call it Second Summer. We’ll have a few weeks of actual Fall here in October and then around November, we’ll slip into Practice Winter before actual Winter comes in and sets up camp until about April.

Speaking of Second Summers, one thing that hits the spot is a Frosty. If you don’t happen to have a Wendy’s Restaurant near you, you might not know what a Frosty is.

It’s not quite soft serve ice cream, and it’s not quite a milkshake. It’s something in between. And it’s delicious. Simply delicious. 

For me, it’s something else. It’s a connection to my grandfather. My Gramps is an amazing man. In his 90’s, he’s still going strong. Gramps has an apartment at the same independent living center that I worked at in high school (how’s that for synchronicity?). 

You see, Gramps loves Frostys. Once a week, I’ll hit Wendy’s and pick up a couple of Jr. Frostys and go visit Gramps. I leave my cell phone in the car, there’s no need for it. 

When I walk in, Gramps always has the TV on, but always with the sub-titles. On a good day, he still has his hearing aids in. When he doesn’t, I just have to be more deliberate with my words. 

The best visits, though, are the ones where I barely talk at all. These are the visits that Gramps tells me stories. I learn about his visits all over the world. I learn about relatives I’ll never meet. I learn about things that become more real in that little apartment than they ever could anywhere else. I could probably watch a video on YouTube about riding an elephant to the top of a mountain in Nepal. About how, from the top of the mountain, their tour bus looked no bigger than an ant. 

It’s a reminder that sometimes you don’t need to hit the interwebs for those wonderful and amazing stories. Sometimes all you need to do is find one of your relatives-a parent, a grand-parent, aunt or uncle, and talk to them. Or better yet, grab a treat, go visit them and just listen. 

-Todd Skaggs

3 Delicious & Easy Pasta Recipes

I am always on the lookout for the tastiest and easiest recipes I can find during the Fall! This is the perfect time spent with loved ones, cozied-up around the fireplace, eating delicious food. One of my favorite meals is pasta, as the Italian in me has to love. I absolutely love anything and everything that has pasta in it. Honestly, I think I like it so much because you can keep pasta so simple, or make it super intricate. It is all up to you! Here are some amazingly, delicious and easy recipes I found from Delish that will be winners for you this Fall season! **ALL RECIPES COURTESY OF DELISH**

Judy Kim / Delish

Sloppy Joe Mac And Cheese

kosher salt

1 lb. Macaroni

1 lb. ground beef

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 c. crushed tomatoes

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 c. freshly chopped parsley, plus more for garnish

2 c. grated mozzarella, divided

For the full recipe, click on the link here

Judy Kim / Delish

Cauliflower & Broccoli Carbonara

kosher salt

1 lb. Macaroni

2 c. small broccoli florets

2 c. small cauliflower florets

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 egg yolks, at room temperature

1/4 c. heavy cream, at room temperature

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish

For the recipe, click on the link here

Judy Kim / Delish

Cajun Angel Hair

kosher salt

12 oz. angel hair

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb. chicken sausage

2 tbsp. butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 c. sliced green onions, plus more for garnish

1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning

2 tsp. paprika

1/4 c. dry white wine

1/2 c. heavy cream

1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish

1/3 c. shredded Cheddar

For the full recipe, click on the link here

Judy Kim/Delish

If you are in the market for some easy, yet delicious recipes to use this fall, I highly recommend checking out Delish!

If any of your appliances ever seem to just not be working quite right, please give us a call today! We will set up a service call to come check it out and fix it for you in no time! Appliance Rescue Service is here to help!