An appropriate time to give appreciation and share some motherly thoughts with you. Mom’s are wonderful, they rock the cradle and have the awesome privilege of sharing lifes treasures with their children. Happy Mother’s Day!
Here are the lyrics to the most recent song I wrote. I really like it, it has a lot of heart and comes right from the depths of mine. It is about the the changes that go along with life, raising kids, loving and losing people in your lives whether they grow and move on or pass on. “Doing what they do”, it’s part of life. Hope you enjoy….Appreciate you stopping by. Dawn
Doing What They Do- D. Ginese 4/3/10
1. Birds are flying, flowers blooming, doing what they do
Skies are changing, winds rearranging, doing what they do
1st Break: Sometimes they’re grey, sometimes they’re blue
Whatever they will be, He’s there for me and you
2. Children come, children grow, doing what they do
Learn to walk, trip and fall, doing what they do
1st break: Surely we all know, some will come and go
It’s beautiful but sad; love this life we’ve had
3. Dreams are growing, kids are going, doing what they do
Want adventure, their own journey, doing what they do
2nd Break: Dreams, dreams, we’ve had ours too,
So glad this time, will never have a final ending
But while we, live in space and time
With these fragile hearts and minds
4. Sun is shining, moonlight dining, doing what we do
Precious memories, love filled thoughts, doing what they do
1st break: Surely we all know, some will come and go
It’s beautiful but sad; love this life we’ve had
For moms, dads and those who care for children.
Dedicated to the Memory of Anthony Ginese Sr. Dec. 13, 2010
I heard a crack, it broke the silence. I woke this morning to frozen trees, icicles and a frozen car door handle. Just a reminder from old man winter he’s here today. The lingering winter has it’s own beauty.
Dental Health Month is February and I want to get the word out about two catchy educational health songs that teach a dentist song and a song about brushing your teeth.
Kids learn by doing. They will get involved with their whole selves while they sing “I’m Gonna Brush my Teeth”, and “The Dentist is a Good Guy”.
Your kids will experience the joy of learning as they sing a long and move to the music. There are hand movements to the songs but I’m sure you can come up with your own as you listen to the lyrics.
Go to the Music Home tab and download your dental health month songs today and get those kids rocking and brushing. Have a great February….Ms. Dawn, The Singing Nurse
Just a quick post to remind you that this Sunday is 10/10/10.
What are you going to be doing on that day? As a child, my daughter always thought it was cool when the time or date was duplicated, she would say, “make a wish” or “say a prayer” and always shouted it out when it was happening.
I guess this is my “shout out”.
Make October 10th 2010 a special day, seems like we should be shooting off fire-works or celebrating in some way.
I’ll start it off with 10 ideas, let’s hear yours…
1. Call 10 friends
2. Write down 10 things you are thankful for
3. Take a picture holding 10/10/10
4. Write out 10 with apples, pumpkins or some veggies-take a picture
5. Spend 10 minutes or 10 hours of solitude with God
6. Go on a special date with your spouse
7. Celebrate with friends-take pictures
8. Pick up 10 soda bottles off the road
9. Climb 10 flights of stairs with your video camera running
10. Smile and say hello to 10 complete stranger
Let me know how it goes, send some pictures to: TheSingingNurse@gmail.com I’ll post the best ones.
For Healthy Kids and Families, Ms. Dawn, The Singing Nurse
I have gathered helpful info regarding streptococcus pyogenes the bacteria responsible for Strep Throat. I have organized these nuggets in simple form from the trustworthy websites of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), WebMD and KidsHealth. Strep Throat is another reason for frequent hand washing. Hand washing is the most important action we can take to prevent the spread of germs. Please share this information with your families, friends, parents and children.
Strep throat is most common in school-age children and where large groups gather together.
Strep likes to live in the throat and nose, that is why sneezing and coughing spreads strep.
Strep is also spread through droplets, so breathing, talking and singing can spread Strep. (I had to add this, so please don’t attend your next choral practice if you have strep throat)
Some people can carry Strep to you but not seem ill.
Objects and direct contact like handshakes can also carry the Strep bacteria.
All of the above are a good reasons not to touch your nose, eyes or mouth with your hands after gathering with a bunch of people.
It takes 2 to 5 days for Strep symptoms to appear after you are exposed.
Symptoms:
Sudden sore throat pain, difficulty swallowing, fever, stomachache, white, red or yellow patches on the throat, swollen neck glands, red large tonsils, headache, and rash.
Diagnosis and Treatment:
Doctors may perform a rapid strep test which will confirm strep in about 5 mins. If you have all the likely symptoms but the rapid test comes up negative, they will do a throat culture which take a few days to receive the results.
Strep is treated with antibiotics prescribed by your doctor, usually for 10 days.
Usually after 24 hours of antibiotics, you are no longer contagious.
Antibiotics help to shorten the amount of days that Strep is contagious to others besides curing the Strep.
If Strep is untreated you will be contagious for about 21 days.
Medically fragile people are the most susceptible to other health problems and untreated Strep may move to other parts of the body.
Complication of Strep:
Rarely: otitis media (ear infection), sinus infections,
Rarer: other throat and neck infections, abscesses, blood infections, even toxic shock syndrome.
Complications because of the immune system: rheumatic fever (which affects the heart), inflammation of the kidneys or complication of children with neurological disorders.
Prevention and Summary
Wash your hands
Use tissues instead of handkerchiefs
Don’t drink or eat from the same utensils of others.
Make sure you get enough rest, don’t get run down.
Moisten the air you breathe, dry nostrils are better targets for bacteria.
Change your toothbrush when you are ill and after you are ill.
Stay away for sick people, and if you are ill, stay away from healthy people and people with fragile health.
Take the whole prescription your doctor has ordered. If you only take part, it will cause the infection to come back stronger, one of the reasons we have antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Please: If you have any questions as to the safety and well being of anyone you care for, please call your doctor or call 911. It is always better to ask.
Have a great school year, stay healthy and active, be kind to your neighbor and don’t go to school, work or large gatherings when you are ill. And remember, when in doubt check it out, and… wash your hands.
Meeting of the minds with a two year old can be challenging. They can be so very loving at one moment and in a total melt down the next. One thing for sure, they are so very alive and totally free to express all that comes with the package.
Below are amusing comments from Toddler’s Rules on Ownership that I like, and below it are some quotes from the great Biblical expositor, G. Campbell Morgan, from his booklet “The Music of Life”, worth finding and reading. My husband and I cried when we read it together, Morgan shares about the stages of life in musical terms, a beautiful parallel.
1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
5. If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I’m doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it is mine.
8. If I saw it first, it’s mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If it’s broken, it’s yours.
11. If it’s broken, but you are having fun playing with the pieces, it’s mine again. 12. If there is ANY doubt, it’s mine.
Dolce-softly and sweetly
“…I am dealing with ideal humanity; and I affirm in every child born–properly or improperly it matters nothing–between that little baby and Jesus there is perfect harmony…that tremendous phrase of His–”Of such is the Kingdom of God.” “
…from the pen of Ian Maclaren…on King Baby;..in a magazine in England…If you are in a omnibus or a trolley car, and baby comes in in a woman’s arms, his in king.
“The baby is always making music. What are the notes? Four–Mystery, Innocence, Dependence and Promise…in the presence of the baby you know, you are in the presence of mystery…you know the lines.
“where did you come from, baby dear?
Out of the everywhere into the here.”
“Mystery! You stand in the presence of mystery; and that is the first and fundamental note in the music of infant life.”
“Then at once, Innocence. No sin–I am talking of volitional wrong-doing–no sin, no sorrow, no shame.”
Mystery, and then the charm of its innocence.
What then? Dependence. What a music that makes, that this little life is absolutely dependent upon you. Neglect it, and it fades, passes out; it dies. Oh, the tragedy that there are children who fade because neglected, because not wanted, all over our lands. That this little life is dependent, is making music in the heart of mother all the time.
What else? The last note is that of promise. Again, to quote Mark Twain. When General Grant was Commander-in-Chief of the army of the Tennessee, a dinner was given in his honour at which Mark Twain was present and spoke in his own inimitable way. He said things sparkling with humour and profound in philosophy. He said among other things this, “In the land to-day there are perhaps twenty-thousand cradles rocking; and among them such, did we but know which they are, we would preserve and hold sacred for all the coming years.” He said, “In one of those cradles the future astronomer is blinking at the Milky Way, wondering what has become of that other milky way! In yet another of those cradles a future historian is lying, which he will probably continue to do to the end of his life. In yet another the future commader-in-chief of the army of the Tennessee is engaged in no greater piece of strategy than that of attempting to get his great toe into his mouth; and if the boy be father to the man, when General Grant attempted, he was pre-eminently successful! And then, said he, “The babies in the cradles will soon be on board the ship of state. Let them be carefully trained, for the future depends upon them.”
Can you see a little child without dreaming dreams and seeing visions? Many a man has been rescued by looking into the face of his newborn child. …It is arresting to me in that remarkable fifth chapter of Genesis, I read that it was after Enoch begat Methuselah, after the first baby came, that “he walked with God.” …So the babies come into the world, and the notes merge of mystery, of innocence, of dependence, and promise; and there is music everywhere, where the babies are.
Hope you enjoyed the quotes, we have such an awesome priveledge to mold and model to our kids, instead of calling our little dependent ones terrible, someone has reclaimed the truth by calling them terrific…
I have gleaned some interesting tidbits about the rhinovirus from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), WebMD, KidsHealth and the nanobugs website. The common cold also known as the Rhinovirus is probably the number one reason for frequent hand washing. I hope you will be encouraged, educated and awed as I was by the more recent discoveries of the Rhinovirus (rhino means “nose”). Please share this information with your families, friends and classroom.
Interesting observances
The average child will catch a cold 8-10 times by the age of 2 and more so if they hang around with other kids. Chances just increase by association for children and adults who care for them. Most of us catch 3 to 4 colds a year.
The number one reason for visits to the pediatrician and missing school is the common cold.
Experts say autumn and spring are common times of year to catch colds, while others say winter is the prime time because we are inside and the viruses stay inside as well.
The time it takes to become ill from the time you were exposed (incubation period) to a rhinovirus, is about 2 to 3 days.
The researchers used to believe we had about 100 different rhinoviruses to contend with, but more recently cold expert Owen Hendley, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville says “It’s beginning to look as if there may be as many as 200”. This is another reason colds are common.
Research has also shown that along with coughs and sneezes that send the virus droplets into the air, we are more likely to get the virus from things and surfaces. Think: phone, doorknob, remote control, shopping cart, desk and toys. The virus can live up to 24 hours or more on a surface.
Droplets from coughs and sneezes can spread to a distance of 12 feet.
The entry points for the virus are the nose, eyes and mouth, less so by mouth as once thought, for Dr. Hendley says, “Substances in saliva quickly destroy the virus.”
Washing our hands is still the best practice; alcohol rinses are good for flu viruses but not as effective against the rhinovirus. Good old H20, soap and friction is best for preventing the spread of the cold virus.
Carnegie Mellon University researchers discovered those who were more rested (8 or more hrs of sleep) had less chances of catching a cold, while those with less than 7 hrs sleep were 3 times more likely to become ill from exposure to the rhinovirus.
The same research team discovered people who were happy, lively and calm fought off cold and flu viruses better than those who were anxious, hostile and depressed. I guess the proverb is still true, “a merry heart does good like a medicine”.
Being in a dry environment, being a smoker or being around a smoker increases our chances of catching colds and also resulting in more complications like bronchitis and pneumonia.
Signs and Symptoms in multiple combinations:
Runny nose, cough, sneezing, headache, sore throat, mild fever, fatigue, muscle aches or loss of appetite are the most common signs of a cold.
Things to Remember
Cover your cough or sneeze, do it into your elbow, shoulder or tissue.
If you cough or sneeze into your hands, or blow your nose, wash your hands.
Don’t share items with others: towels, toothbrushes, drinks, fork, spoon etc.
When in doubt as to which medicines or products can be used on children, always consult your pediatrician. Try and get your pediatricians advice about caring for a child with a cold before they get one.
Drink plenty of fluids, do not drink caffeinated drinks as they cause frequent urination and may cause dehydration especially in children.
If you observe any severe symptoms of: coughing, breathing difficulty, turning blue, high fevers, severe pain of any kind, the safest practice is to; “when in doubt, check it out,” with your health care professional of course or call 911.
Be an example by washing hands as mentioned, covering your cough and sneezes to be kind to your neighbor. And remember, to not put your hands in your nose, eyes or mouth without washing them first.
Have a ongoing matter of fact conversation with your children throughout your day like; “oops, I coughed in my hands, I’m going to go and wash these germs down the drain” or ” wow, so glad I sneezed in my should (right after you have done it) because I don’t want you to get my germs.” Or “I’m going to wash my hands because we just went shopping and we are touching things that lots of people touched, they could be sick and this will help keep us healthy.”
Make hand washing fun, kids love to play in water, make it a teachable moment, make up a song about washing those germs down the drain or sing a song you know about hand washing.
Five Dollar Friday with The Singing Nurse health songs for healthy living.
Hi,
Thanks for your curiosity about The Singing Nurse music. I’m trying to get the word out about my fun upbeat songs for kids, young children, preschoolers, teachers, health care workers and parents.
Twitter has follow fridays so I thought I would have a Five Dollar Friday to make my whole downloadable album available @ that price of course.
Most of my songs on this CD are health related but there are a couple inspirational songs.
Parents, children and professionals who work with children enjoy my songs and I hope you will take advantage of one of my occassion Five Dollar Friday. If you like what you hear, please get the word out to your friends and contacts.
Most people don’t know this, but you can also embed my bandbox player on your website so all your visitors can check out and purchase TSN songs.
Appreciate You, Have a Great Week-End and Stay Healthy.
♥ If I could say it, I would say I love you Mom. You know how to handle me and care for me the very best of anyone. You are ever learning about kids like me and teach my nurses how to help me.
♥ You always try different things to care for me because I can’t talk and tell you what I want or need. I don’t talk but I vocalize with my sighs, and you listen. You read the expression of my eyes, I like when you look in my eyes.
♥ Mom you always get me what I need. I need a wheelchair, so I can go for walks and enjoy the sunshine outside during the warmer months. I’m too big now for my stroller, you are making sure the right people are working on it. When we needed a big tub you rallied all the workers and got things moving. You always speak for me.
♥ Even though you work hard all day, thanks for sleeping close by on the couch when I’m having a rough night so you can be ready if the nurses and I need you. When I’m upset or something is hurting in my body, you give the best massages and comfort. I love your kisses too.
♥ Thanks for hoping and keeping that sparkle in your eye. Mom you brighten my day. Thanks for loving me the way you do.
1) Hand Washing
2) Dental Hygiene
3) Dentist Visit
4) Flu Prevention
5) Lyme Disease Prevention
6) Audiologist Visit
7) You are Special
8) Body Parts/Kindness
9) TSN Resource
Each lesson will be accompanied with a song performed and sung by The Singing Nurse! Your kids will love the catchy tunes and sing themselves to a healthier life.
