I’ve been concentrating on financial and estate planning lately — something that’s been long overdue. I think that women tend to put this kind of planning in the background or let our husbands take care of it. It’s hard to deal with, but must be done.

Lately, I’ve heard of some women who have had serious set backs, to say the least — relatively young spouses who’ve died and some single moms who have had medical issues that require them to be out of work. Who’se got you back in these situations? Do you have family you can rely on? Good friends who could be there for you in a pinch? Are you prepared legally for these type of situations?

Evey woman needs to have legal papers that state who her children would go to in the event she dies as well as who would care for her should she become incapacitated. Remember the now-famous case of Terry Schiavo? She was married, but had no living will and became a case for the courts — her husband and her parents battling out for what was “best for her.” Don’t leave these decisions up to your family members or your friends — make them now, while you are able.

Related:

• Balancing Motherhood’s financial posts.
• How to prepare a living will.

Tonight is bath night. A big, luxurious Elmo Bubble Bath night. Soaking in a nice, warm tub full to the brim with bubbles. It will be the first bath (or shower) for my son in over a month. Yeah, I’m a bad mom.

NOT. (Well, maybe sometimes.)

No, today my son got his cast off so we going to celebrate with the world’s biggest bubble bath.

I wrote about the adventure that lead to my two-year-old’s broken leg, but little did I know that was the easy part. The tears from the break, the tears from having an x-ray to actually having the cast set. The lifting a 36 lb. boy everywhere for a month to all the sponge baths and trying to wash a toddler’s hair without getting in a bath or shower. That was the easy stuff. For a month, I’ve looked forward to getting the cast off. Having never broken a bone before, I had no idea.

Now I know.

And I don’t want to repeat this process again. EVER.

Let’s just say that having a loud saw come at your leg can’t be comforting, no matter how much your Mommy is whispering in your ear, “It’s OK. It doesn’t hurt. It’s OK. Just a few more minutes. It’s OK. It doesn’t hurt.”

Thank God it’s over. The leg is healed. This adventure is over and it’s time for a relaxing bubble bath. I think I need one now too.

Each weekday morning in my house is always a rush to get out the door, which leaves little time for breakfast, let alone something healthy. Lately, I’ve been in a quest to get something at least somewhat healthy into my body Monday through Friday.

• Keep a stash of natural granola bars in my desk drawer for those days I end up closing the door without getting a morsel of food into my body.
• Bought low-fat yogurt and natural granola, nuts and dried fruit (Mona’s granola) for a quick take-with-me breakfast.
• Make muffins ahead of time and freeze them. You can have a fresh muffin in 10 seconds in the microwave.
• Make some yummy looking, mostly healthy breakfast bars. “Parents” magazine calls them energy bars, but they look delicious too.
• Whole wheat english muffins with sugar-free jelly and/or natural peanut butter.

I finally got certified in Infant and Child CPR and First Aid this past weekend. It’s two years overdue, but better late than never. Why I waited I’ll never know, but thanks to my friend Andrea, I finally went. She and I have children the same age and kept on each other to finally get certified. If we hadn’t talked about it, I’m not sure I would have ever made it to the class. Having a friend to go with makes it easier too.

We learned complete CPR, including the differences between adult, child and infant cases. We also learned about burns, poisonings, fractures and other ailments so that we are prepared for calamities that we surely will be faced with as our children age. I feel better knowing how to deal with serious issues now.

As I’m sitting in class I’m wondering why more people don’t get certified. with all of the disasters we have in this country, we need people to be trained properly to assist in emergency situations. Not just rely on the Red Cross to fix things. How many more people could we save if more civilians like you and me were certified?

Find a location near you.

I stumbled upon an inspiring mom blog the other day: “my toddler’s lunchbox,” where a working mom chronicles what’s inside her son’s (he’s two) lunchbox. This is no ordinary lunchbox — I doubt most adult lunches are this healthy.

Every week day there is a close-up photo along with a detailed description of each food item (usually four items) as well as a rundown of what is eaten and what is left behind.

Here’s a sampling of food items:

• smoked salmon
• boiled and mashed broccoli with olive oil and raw pressed garlic
• sliced cucumbers
• sundried apricots
• fresh papaya swirls
• whole wheat pasta with spinach sauce

Most of the food that “mamajon” puts in her son’s lunchbox are things regular moms don’t even attempt to feed our kids at home, let alone prepare an exquisite meal the night before.

Here’s how “mamajon” explains her site:

This blog is about refusing to settle a junkfood lunchbox. it is about taking the time to create something healthy and interesting. it is a daily challenge, but our priority is to have a healthy and energetic toddler and we try our best to stay away from the following:

• sugar
• pre-packaged foods or canned goods
• foods containing colourings, E-numbers or additives”

Quite ambitious, and it looks like, so far, this mom is finding a way to make healthy eating a priority in her family. We should all be inspired.