The things you go through, trying to not have termite pellets (READ: termite poop) falling from the ceiling into your kid’s bedroom…

Called Terminix multiple times, got transferred to wrong office multiple times, left six messages for local office, got scheduled, waited for guy to come when they never told guy he was supposed to come, scheduled another guy. FINALLY got spot treatment done…

And now they’re telling us it’s time to tent the whole house. Oh, yeah, it’s just a party around here!

P.S. In fairness, Terminix is usually pretty good, and we have an annual service contract with them. But this past week it has felt like my day job is waiting online for a Terminix operator. Trouble is, I don’t get paid to do that.

I just got back on Sunday from a terrific long weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I helped give a presentation on social media at the Parenting Publications of America’s annual convention.

I’ve been a parenting writer for 14+ years and have worked with some of the editors in the PPA for about that long — but hadn’t met many of them in person until this weekend. Talk about fun!

Most of these editors are parents like you and me. They know about potty training and temper tantrums, driver’s ed and PTA meetings. And they care. About their kids, their communities, their readers.

Pick up your local parenting magazine (or go to that magazine’s website) and you’ll find a lot more than just the calendar of events (although that’s valuable, too). You’ll find articles full of great info on everything from sexting to saving for college to choosing a summer camp, advertisers who want to meet your needs on everything from moon-bounce rentals to pregnancy portraits, letters to the editor that show what parents like you are thinking…

In short, you’ll find the heartbeat of your local parenting community. Pick up a parenting magazine today!

P.S. That’s Lucy Banta from New Jersey Family, Staci Perkins from Columbus Parent, me (the one who apparently didn’t get the memo about wearing black) and Myra Wright from Piedmont Parent. A fun group!

Ready to snuff out those butts for good? You know you need to do it for your health. You know your kids need to grow up in a smoke-free home.

But it’s just plain HARD to give up an addiction to cigarettes.

So don’t go it alone. Nov. 19 is the Great American Smokeout. Check out my health column over on MommaSaid.net.

Then let the American Cancer Society help. They’re there to hold your hand — and kick your butt — while you kick those butts to the curb.

You can do this!

Got questions about H1N1? Concerned about how to protect your kids? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has put together lots of helpful info.

BE CAREFUL about where you get your info when it comes to Googling “H1N1.” There are a lot of sources of inaccurate information out there on the Web.

The CDC has produced a series of short videos on H1N1 prevention and treatment. This one talks about how you can reduce your family’s risk:

Got little ones? GoodyBlog is giving away every single toy from their holiday gift guide for the next month (starting with baby toys, then moving on to toddler, preschool, little kid, and big kid.)

Talk about getting a jump start on your holiday shopping! Check it out.

P.S. GoodyBlog is associated with Parents Magazine. Check out the three-years-for-the-price-of-one subscription deal they have going right now. Only 12 bucks!

I’m so excited to discover Genny over at My Cup 2 Yours, a wonderful blog that celebrates parenting and friendship between moms. I can get happy lost for an hour, wandering through Genny’s posts.

She has created a fun blog carnival, “Talkin’ About Thursdays,” where bloggers concentrate on a particular topic and we all chime in. This week, the topic is “laundry,” and that prompted me to share one of my favorite posts from the past, “Cell Phone in the Washing Machine!”

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Talk about timing…

So I’m sitting here working on a magazine article on kids and cell phones, and I decide to take a break from the home office and switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer. (OK, and maybe grab some Triscuits and cheese… If there are downsides to working from a home office, like the constant reminder of dirty laundry, there ought to be upsides. Like snacks. Right?)

Perfect time to discover that my 12-year-old son left his cell phone in his pants pocket and it went through the wash cycle. &*^())#$#^!

I knew I wasn’t alone with this problem when I Googled “cell phone in washing machine” and up popped 332,000 results. That seemed a bit overwhelming, so I decided to go straight to our cell-phone service provider, who suggested removing the battery and letting the phone dry out for a few days. Sometimes that does the trick, they said — but often it doesn’t.

Unfortunately phones that are damaged by liquid aren’t covered by most manufacturers’ warranties. So this may be an expensive lesson for one young man regarding always emptying his pockets at night. (But his dad’s wallet went through the laundry — again — two weeks ago, so this may be a genetic problem we’re dealing with here!)

Hey, anything for a good article-sidebar idea, right?

Have you seen the amazing Halloween fireworks at Disneyland? Our family got to see then when we were invited there for a parenting-bloggers tour, and I have to say, we were blown away by the display, the music, and the special added touches that made our orange-and-black-striped socks go up and down. Check out the video.

And stay tuned, because I’m going to be sharing a special announcement from Mrs. Claus and Disneyland (now there’s a good combo!) in the next week. Here’s a little tease from Mrs. Claus from when we visited recently…

But wait! That’s not all the fun we had. The wonderful young man who plays Ragtime on Main Street, Alan Thompson Jr., invited Matt to play “Maple Leaf Rag” on the way-cool Ragtime piano, right there on Main Street! Lucky for me, I had my Flip camera ready to roll.

And what trip to Disneyland is complete without a ride on the trolly? What a great way to see Main Street all decked out for Halloween.

Here’s a video that Disneyland put together to show just some of the fun we parenting bloggers had that day. It sure got us in the Halloween spirit!

A little something from the Sena family to get you in the Halloween spirit…

Let's hear it for 15-year-old Ethan, a high school freshman who has found a unique approach to running for class president. I think any kid this clever deserves a shot at high office. I predict he'll go places!

As a bright, young cheerleader trying out for the high-school varsity squad in Livonia, Mich., 14-year-old Laura Jackson had everything going for her. But when a back flip went wrong during a try-out without a trained spotter on hand, Laura landed on her head, fracturing her neck and damaging her spinal cord. She is now paralyzed and breathes with the help of a ventilator.

Cheerleading has become the leading cause of catastrophic injury in young female athletes, says Amy Miller Bohn, M.D., a physician at the University of Michigan Health System’s department of family medicine.

Data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission shows that rates of injuries from cheerleading accidents have gone from nearly 5,000 in 1980 to somewhere between 26,000 and 28,000 in the past few years, Miller Bohn says. These injuries account for 65 to 66 percent of all female catastrophic injuries in either high school or college.

Cheerleading injuries appear to be on the rise partly because of an increase in participants, but the sport has also changed significantly in the past 25 years. Cheerleading no longer consists of athletes standing on the sidelines, rooting for a team.

“Cheerleading has become an actual competitive sport,” Miller Bohn says. If participants want to be on one of the better teams, compete at high levels and be invited to competitions, athletes must include a higher degree of difficulty and risk in routines. This means fewer traditional pyramids and more tossing people in the air, jumping off pyramids and trying risky stunts.

Miller Bohn believes there aren’t enough safety measures in place in schools. Many athletes will practice in places such as a back yard, a hard gym floor or a parking lot. There are often no supportive surfaces, such as mats and a spring-loaded floor, to help protect them during falls. Participants also lack adequate supervision.

If a trained coach is not present to ensure participants are using proper techniques and to make sure spotters are placed where they should be, injuries may occur.
The experience of the coaching staff is also important. It’s recommended that a coach have first-aid and CPR training. It’s also preferred that they have training in how to coach athletes regarding development, strength, conditioning and flexibility.