Is Your Car Equipped With Child Safety Feature?

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

It is amazing how a car helps me in my getting around town especially in running errands.  It is also very convenient in driving my darling daughter to and from school and after school activities. Living here in the USA, I say, owning a car is a very important necessity. But, is your car equipped with child safety feature?

The most important thing to keep in mind and to check when buying a car is it's car safety features. Besides mileage capacity and engine conditions, a car buyer should check of a car has a Latch System installed. The federal government required the cars manufactured after September 1, 2002 to have a Latch System. These are small metal bars located between the back and bottom seat cushions on the back passenger seats.  You can also find these small metal bars behind the over head seat pads. If you haven't seen those yet, go check in your cars now.  These metal bars are used to hook on the child safety car seats.  Installing these safety car seats needs the help of the fire department officer or a police officer to ensure proper installation.

Over-head latch for child car seats.

Metal bars between the back and bottom cushions of the back passenger seats

Many people do not consider this safety feature but to me, it is a serious concern. For this purpose, I think a Latch System should not be taken for granted in any way. The safety of our children is at stake.  In addition, we are confident that with this special feature our kids are safer on the road.

Gratitude Challenge - Day 3 of 5

Day 3/5 - Gratitude Challenge 

Today, I am thankful:

1.  for a smooth day.  

2.  that I did not hit the coyote.  When my daughter and I were on the road on our way home from my work last night at about 8 o'clock, a coyote (I am pretty sure it was a coyote!) crossed the road.  He was quite a few feet away on front of me.  But he ran fast that he was on the other pretty quick.  

3.  a nice dinner prepared by dear husband.  :)

Wordless Wednesday: Flaglets

Foggy Monday

It is a foggy Monday morning.  The temperature is low and it is cold inside and out.    I put on layered clothing plus a sweater.  That feels comfortable.  Everybody is driving slowly for sure.  In this type of weather, we have to be very careful driving.  We can barely see and the roads are wet.  

When my honey got home from work today, he told me it took him 30 minutes before he passed the town this morning on his way to work because Hwy 78 was backed up starting at the park nearby.

Today's Humor: The Bridge

A truck driver was driving along on the freeway. He passed a sign that said "low bridge ahead."

Before he knew it, the bridge was right ahead of him and he could not avoid getting stuck under the bridge. You could say that he got a "Truck Wedgie."

Cars were backed up for miles.

Finally, a police car pulled up. The cop got out of his car and walked around to the truck driver, put his hands on his hips and said, "Got stuck, huh?"

The gutsy truck driver said, "No officer, I was delivering this bridge and ran out of gas!"

Thanks to Arcamax.com

Driving With Caution

We went out-of-town for the weekend. 'Drove to Tyler (back and forth) for my MIL's birthday and visit with the family. I was in-charge with the driving because my honey is not feeling well. I thought it would be difficult for me to drive (three months after the delivery) 94.9 miles non-stop from the house to Tyler. It was very busy in the freeway because of the First Monday Trade in Canton.

I am confident and comfortable with my driving. Sometimes I make mistakes but I learned from those. Just really need to be watchful.

Car Trade

One of the things that I am thankful for is that I learned how to drive a car. This was a big achievement for me. Never in my entire life I got the chance to learn driving a car until my honey sent me to a driving school in 2009. He bought me a Toyota Scion that year too.

Scion has a high rating reviews online that is why my honey decided to buy it. Plus, the size of the car just suits me right.

When I found out about the new 2011 scion iq recently, I was thrilled of its features. What if I try trading my 2009 Scion? I don't know. There are things to be considered. But I might get tempted, you know. The scion iq launch this year 2011 will definitely catch people's attention. It caught mine.

Back To Driving

After the CS delivery and postpartum period, I feel much better now. Though I still feel mild pain once in a while, it is bearable. It is just my body getting back to shape. Also, I am back to driving now. My first drive after delivery and during postpartum was on Christmas eve. I bought our last minute Christmas presents for the party.

I can drive to my appointments now that my incision is healed and everything inside my body is back to normal.

Unique Home Address Signs

I went to visit a friend two weeks ago. It was my very first time to be in the town where she lives. I drove in the back roads because that's the route my gadget guided me. The drive was pretty smooth except in the areas where road works are on going.

Looking for her house did not took me so long. Their address sign is very clear to see from hundreds of feet away. While I was looking around to find a parking spot, I noticed that her neighbors' home have the same wall address plaque as hers. Uniformed. Which, I think, is cool.

I saw her husband walking towards me and teased, "I see, looks like you have a big basketball in there," pointing at my big belly. "She's waiting for you," and he led me to their house. We were laughing because I told my friend that her husband teased me about my baby bump. I also complimented about how unique their home address plaques are.

It was a nice visit. My friend gave me a bag full of infant clothing. She has a little girl too. I think that's sweet.

Monday And The Unavailable Menu

Well, Monday...first doctor's appointment at the Collin County Health Care Center. It is 45 minutes drive from the house depending on traffic in Highway 380. The gadget I got from my girl friend is very handy and dependable. She was so considerate to offer that to me.

I arrived 30 minutes early of my appointment time so I looked for a place where I can get something for lunch. I saw a small grocery store just beside the health center. I walked in there and looked for food (because the sign outside said "Groceria, Panaderia, Carinderia, Fruteria). As I enter the store, I noticed Mexican employees. Browsing inside, I saw the eatery and customers bought food to go. I scanned the menu hanging at the ceiling while waiting for my turn to be served. I chose menudo and rice. The server talked to me in Spanish and as what I understood, she was asking me for an order receipt. She told me to order and pay first at the register. So I went to the cashier and placed my order. Then when I came back and gave her the receipt, she said that they don't have menudo today. What?! I told her it was in the menu up there that's why I chose it because I would like to eat menudo for lunch. She said they only make it on Saturdays and Sundays. That's frustrating.

Rather than wasting my time arguing with her, I just picked another dish with the rice. I asked for a bottled water and told her that I will pay for it when I finish my meal. At the register, the cashier did not let me pay for the bottled water. She said it's free because they do not have the menudo. I refused but she insisted. "Okay. Thank you...", I said to end the discussion.

Then I walked to the health center and logged for my appointment just on time.

Wordless Wednesday: Foggy Morning On The Road

Approved For License

This is the second day of driving alone going to and from work. Oh hey! By the way, I passed the driver's license test Monday morning at 8:00. I feel so grateful because the examiner approved me for license. I love her :)

I did the parallel parking real good though my car was kind of close to the front pole, the space is still safe. The road test took about 10-15 minutes. Focused on following her instructions, left turns were mostly done. My rating for observation, control, and position on signals, signs, and maneuvers are Good. I did my best. But on speed limit, I need to work on that.

Anyway, the challenge was successfully finished. I have my temporary license and I can drive by myself legally now. Another accomplishment has been achieved.

To Ms. Meadows (driving instructor) and my honey, thank you so much for your patience.

And to my family and friends (bloggers and non-bloggers), I appreciate your encouragement and advice.

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Behind-The-Wheel Practice Next Week

In my previous post I shared the result of the Learner's Permit test. My Learner's Permit is now on hand. That means I can take driving practice only with a supervision of a Licensed Operator in Front Seat (LOFS). I appreciate all the assistance given to me by the staff at the driving school from the start of class until the day of the examination. I learned about traffic signs, rules and laws. Right now I am excited for the behind-the-wheel practice next week.

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'Will Be Getting My Learner's Permit Soon

Good news friends. I passed the test for Learner's Permit! I studied hard with the traffic rules and signs (our driving class instructor is good in giving situational examples). They are the contents of the test (20 items each seat). On the rules and laws test, some questions are tricky and situational. I am glad I did it with confidence. I almost had wrong answers for two questions. Instinctively, I browsed my paper and saw that I wrote the wrong number for the corresponding answer. Whew! Anyway, I got a 100/100 score.

New Adventure Starts Today

I am going to a driving class at 5 o'clock in the afternoon today. It is pretty exciting yet I am feeling nervous. I never been to driving before and now my excitement and hesitation are bumping against each other. My husband and some of my blogger friends are giving me encouragement with this. I am so happy for all the advice and warm encouragement that I am getting. I will control myself and stay focused. It is the most important thing to do.