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It’s been a busy month here in our Sacramento area for my senior mom and me. How about you? I have heard for years that once you get older, you get less busy and have more time for other things. HA! I’m busier than I’ve ever been! Of course, a large part of that is blogging and real estate. But a whole other part is grandkids, kids, granddogs, senior parents, friends, family, and other sweet joys otherwise known as caregiving. I don’t know about you, but I’m NEVER bored and I LOVE that! 🙂
Caregiving Tip For Microwaves
I was reading a fellow caregiver’s comment online this week. She was concerned that her elderly mother had decided to stop using the dining room option at her assisted living facility and was going to make do with a microwave in her room instead. I shared some lessons learned with her while caregiving and thought I’d share with you as well. We all think of microwaves as very easy to use and almost impossible to have problems with. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. In particular, senior parents who may be dealing with memory issues can easily have microwave woes on a regular basis. How? Here are some examples I know of:
- Put a bag of bread into the microwave to defrost it and leave the twisty tie on – those ties may have metal and could spark or even start a fire.
- Press 60 on a microwave that doesn’t give you the option to do that directly and you are most likely going to incinerate the food after 6 minutes of cooking!
- Put a while egg into the microwave, shell and all – they can explode.
LifeHacker has a good list of do’s and don’ts for microwaves, in case you are wondering about others. The problem, though, is not that they do or don’t know what they can microwave. The problem comes when they start forgetting what they can or can’t microwave. As many caregivers know, that can vary from day to day – making the routine use of a microwave a bit concerning. It’s still worth using, but simpler can definitely be better. The microwave in the photos above has simple rotary dials instead of push buttons. That’s not a guarantee but it might help many. I’m going to get one for my next microwave. Also, if you can’t be there when an elderly parent needs to use the microwave it can be wise to use your alarm clock on your smart phone to ring at mealtimes. Then you can call and chat with them, and help talk them through using the microwave. A good way to visit and a safe plan for all.
Grandkid Tip for Pacifiers
When my kids were little I loved the Nuk pacifiers that were considered orthodontic-safe pacifiers. When my first group of grandkids came along, the Mams were our favorites. Now we have more adorable youngns and half our fave pacifiers have disappeared. While experimenting, I found Amazon was a big help in finding pacifiers that might be hard to find locally. Of course, if your grandchild is one of those who just does NOT like pacifiers, it’s back to long walks and cute cuddles. 🙂  And by the way, if you’re looking for baby gifts that provide cute smiles, I have found both of these pacifiers got great responses! 🙂
- You can find pacifiers with sports team logos for just about any football team out there. My football-happy recipient LOVED theirs.
2. Yup – this pacifier has a fake mustache and lips making him look wise beyond his years. His dad LOVED this one 🙂
Words of encouragement for Caregiving and More
While studying through the book of Isaiah with Pastor Joe of Calvary Chapel Philadelphia, I was reminded of this passage that I have long loved! With all that is going on in our world, isn’t it awesome to know that GOD IS GOD and HE IS STILL ON THE THRONE! 🙂 Great words to ponder upon and meditate over!
Have a great week!
Kaye
P.S. Did you notice anything different about SandwichINK? I changed to a new “theme.” That’s the software that makes it look like it looks. I actually tested several themes and finally settled on this. It lets me put a cute pix at the top of the blog and it has speeded up the loading time considerably. Personally, I don’t notice loading times unless they never load. But apparently GOOGLE HATES making people wait too long. Hopefully this will work great for you AND keep Google happier 😉
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