"Multitasking"

I am extreamly cautious especially driving with the kids. I try not to do anything that might risk my life and most importanly my angels' sitting behind me. Most of the time on the road, I meet atleast one of them either check / read mail, eat lunch, put on makeup, and talk on the phone ... driving in front of me or behind me on the road. It scares me!!

Drivers everywhere everyday are multitasking while driving. Not only they are not risking their safety .. they are putting a risk to everybody driving around them.

1. Talking on the Phone / over the Blue tooth : I have seen many people doing this while driving. Most of my friends do it. As long the conversation is a short one, its OK. But prolonged talking on the phone while driving is almost as bad as driving under influence.

When the driver is totally involved in the conversation, the concentration is some place else. Bad judgement happens like breaking a signal , not stopping at a STOP sign or speeding. Holding a phone in one hand poses more dangers ... as maneuvering with single hand alone becomes more difficult. Especially while making turns.

There are two risks involved with driving and cellphone use, including text messaging. First, drivers must take their eyes off the road while dialing, trying to plug in their blue tooth stuff into the phone / ears. Second, people can become so absorbed in their conversations that their ability to concentrate on the act of driving is severely impaired, jeopardizing the safety of self, the vehicle, passengers / kids inside the vehicle and pedestrians .. which becomes worse at night or driving in snow/rain etc.

Also what if the conversation on the phone turns ugly. An angry / frustrated driver is the last one we want to see on the road.

And then a PDA can cause the same kinda damage or more. With PDA in one hand, the driver has to constantly look at it and drive at the same time.

2. Eating / Drinking : Thanks to drive throughs .. most of us do it. Now the affects of this is not as life threating as the things mentioned above, but who knows! But then getting messy is the last thing we have to worry about here.

The Challenge is - in a second or less , remove the wrapper off whaever you are about to eat, quicky grab a bite and put the burger / sandwich in a safe place but closer for the next time ur hand can reach and the real deal is ... got to do all this while still keeping your eyes on the road and driving :-)

Next comes Hot beverage / Chilled Milkshake. Both can have adverse effects when tried to drink in haste. I think it's more difficult to eat and drive than talk on the phone and drive. When people are eating, they're more likely to react to a spill or a drip first. Then there are cleanliness fanatics too who want to eat and still want to keep it clean .. and then drive.

3. Grooming : I still dont know how they do it ! Especially make-up. Is it that important to put on mascara, eyeliner, lipstick, and all the cosmetics while driving? Most of the time its in the mornings .. the rush hour .. when everybody wants to get going fast. Its very annoying especially when you ARE the person driving behind them or in front of them.

Most of them go soo slow, i feel why not wait to park the car and then do it. It becomes more frustrating at the traffic light. Besides its completely alrite to do it when its Red light, they should get moving when it turns Green, atleast!

This is more dangerous than talking on the phone or eating while driving. Because Make-up involves usuage of both the hands. If looking good is soo important .. then may be the person need to spend a little time getting up early or plan out their day well.

4. Music / Radio : Now this is one thing thats not totally Bad. A little rock n roll on the road is fine...I do it too sometimes :-) But then just dont turn up the volume too much.

I have felt it personally , with loud volume..we tend to talk aloud to people travelling with us including the kids. They in turn have to shout back to us. With the effort to speak up and trying to communicate, we tend to make a eye contact and look away ... there by ignoring whats going on in front of us sometimes. Thats the reason, when there is traffic or on a high way... i turn the volume low. I ask my kids to put on the headset if they want to watch the DVD in the car.

Multitasking is good. A great way of getting things dont simultaneoulsy without wasting time!! But just not when you are on the Road :-)

"Drive safely Y'all..! "

Everyone Needs Them - Nobody Has Them

How would you unlock that bathroom door when your toddler locks herself/himself in? The answer is the Emergency Door Key shown in the picture below. It works on both turn or push type releases.

The one we have at home looks similar. It was given by one thoughtful friend when he noticed .. how we put door stoppers beneath the doors in every room.

My son and daughter love playing with doors. Closing the doors behind them and opening them up. We usually don't allow those kinda things around the house because of the scary fact that the little fingers might get in between and get seriously hurt. But then.. we are talking about kids here and they always love to do the things we prevent them the most :-)

Now 3 years, my son knows the concept of locking and unlocking doors. Most of the time he can save himself and his little sister from getting locked behind, since they are always together. My daughter still does not get the idea of closing the door / locking it ... so there never has been any instances with her locked up.

But the other day, they got so carried away playing .. they went into a bathroom which had the light out and locked themselves out. Immediately both started crying. Outside, for a moment or two .. we tried to speak the way out with my son. But the dark room got him so annoyed , he couldn't unlock the door. That's when we thought about this key and could unlock the door in less than a second.

It was such a relief..!! You can get these in Home Depot or any place that sells door knobs/ hardwood stuff. It usually costs around 5 bucks. But trust me, they are very very handy. So next time your toddler is locked up .. you don't have to panic !!