An attractive man with a sexy English accent tells me where to turn on my way to the location of my choice; a romantic restaurant for dinner, drinks and dessert. I’m in love. *sigh*

My new love interest isn’t a man, however: It’s the TomTom GPS device.

My sister-in-law let me try out her TomTom while she was in town visiting us. I’m amazed at how easy it is to get around with one of these devices in your car. I can see how handy it might be in a part of town that you’re not familiar with, or going somewhere for the first time.

It will be especially helpful on a long car trip — vacations and business trips. You can find the nearest gas station, restaurant, shops, etc. Just type in what you are looking for and the device will find it for you and tell you how to get there.

A friend of mine has the Garmin version and she loves it too. She recently told me of a time when she was in an unfavorable part of town at night, with her young daughter. There was construction going on in town with several closed streets. But, with her GPS device, she didn’t have to worry about finding her way. She keyed in her information and the device showed her a way home — to safety.

I think that every woman should have one of these in her arsenal of tools. I plan to get one as soon as the sweet-talking Englishman tells me which way to the electronics store.

Related:

• Garmin GPS system
• TomTom GPS system
• CNET Review: 5 Best GPS Navigation Systems
• Compare GPS prices

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.

I’m not sure how much I can write about the episode that ends with my two-year-old son breaking his tiny, precious little two-year-old leg. If I tell the truth, it’ll show that I’m somewhat mad at my husband for judgment oversight. If I ignore the details, I can tell a tale of how parents can avoid this happening to your child.

HMMM.

Truth hurts.

We are having a quite lovely day at the local theme park, grandparents in tow. My son is having a blast, although a bit tired from skipping his daily nap. It’s afternoon, and we’ve successfully navigated most of the park. The only place left to visit is the playground. We walk by and don’t stop. My motherly instincts says it looks a bit too much for a toddler. Then, I rethink it and decide it’s OK because I see several small slides and things to climb on for kids his age.

We go in and have a blast on slide number one. Mommy takes him, then PopPop takes a turn, then Daddy takes him on the slide. Then, Daddy says, “let’s try something else.”

I think to myself, “I’m going to sit this one out and read up on where we can go for dinner.” I sit on a rock, take my book out and proceed to “take five.”

When I get up I see my husband and son climbing up a steep rope netting to a tall, tall slide. I call up to my husband, but he doesn’t hear me. It’s too late for my opinion. They go down the slide together. When they come up, my son is crying. This is when we leave.

My son falls asleep on the ride home and we decide to take him to the night-time pediatric clinic (if you don’t know about these places, learn about them! They are amazing and let you avoid the ER). After an hour and a few X-rays, we learn that something is wrong and the doctor orders his leg splinted. It’s not until Monday morning that we learn it’s an official “crack” that requires a full-leg cast for four weeks.

My husband feels terrible about the situation and I’ve gotten over being mad. Thank goodness our son is in great spirits about all of it. It’s just one of the many things we, as parents, have to deal with through a lifetime.

It’s been almost three weeks since “the incident,” and I’m fine with it now. We’ve all gotten over feeling like rotten parents and realize that little legs twist, bones break and there’s nothing we can really do about it.

Lesson for parents: When in doubt, sit it out. When I originally wrote this post my recommendation was to be more cautious, but the reality of the situation is that we never know what’s going to happen and it’s what we do after “it” happens that counts.

“The Orlando Sentinel” published a great article in Sunday’s edition about things women can do to stay safe. Here are some of the ideas reporter Amy L. Edwards shares that I think are unique:

Shopping:

If your child is with you, load your groceries first so if someone wants your car, your child is not in it.

In the elevator:
When the doors open, see who is inside before you step in. If you see someone who makes your (sic) uncomfortable, wait for the next elevator.

In parking lots:
Rethink using auto-locking remote devices that unlock all four doors at once.In the car:Wen you arrive at your destination, look at th earea before you get out of the car — even if it’s your house.”

Read her full article here.

Related:

• Read why it’s important to report personal theft.
• Learn about a free car unlocking service. Find one in your city.
• Read all safety posts from Balancing Motherhood.

Normally we hear the sad stories about a child drowning when we are reminded of the need for all parents to learn CPR. Typically it’s a tragic story, one that you can’t bear to watch so you change the channel on the TV or turn the page in the newspaper. We ignore things that are hard to watch.

My mom told me about a positive story and it just warms my heart. A two-year-old boy was SAVED by his sister and his mother, who performed CPR. Without the CPR her child wouldn’t have been revived.

The full story can be read here.

Related:

• Find where to get certified in your area — it doesn’t take long and isn’t expensive.
• Read my account of taking CPR.
• Read my post about infant swim lessons.