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Some of you know that I’m a HUGE car seat and helmet advocate. I’m sure I drive my mother crazy with my stringent car seat “rules”.  I made her move car seats around so my kids would be car seated for a 200 yard trip down a dirt road up on the Mesa not too long ago. I brought helmets for both my kids and my sisters kids knowing that they would all be tooling around on the four wheeler while we were there. My kids rode rear facing until after two years old and at six, Haley *just* moved from a five point harness to a high back booster seat (HUGE kudos to Genius Jones. After I had searched every single Recaro retailer in the country for a pink Recaro Vivo, they found one in the backroom and remembered that I was looking for one and called me weeks after I had contacted them and asked if they could ship it to me.)  That same mom that rolled her eyes at me two weeks ago forwarded this press release to me and I felt it was definitely worth re-posting.  Thank you Mom!! I had no idea that the car seat laws were changing. A good change. We can’t do enough to protect our little ones.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

July 30, 2010

Contacts

Corp. Eric Wynn, Colorado State Patrol,

303-239-4537

Heather Halpape, CDOT, 303-757-9484

Colorado’s Youngest Passengers get a ‘Boost’ as New Law Takes Effect Aug. 1^st

~ Booster Blitz Events planned across the state to help educate parents & kids ~

Denver – Colorado expands its child passenger safety law beginning Sunday, Aug. 1^st requiring all children under age 8 to be properly protected in a child safety seat when traveling in a motor vehicle.  The change means thousands of 6- and 7-year-olds across the state will have to begin riding in booster seats if they are not already doing so.  Previously, the law required only 4 and 5-year-olds to be in boosters.

“The state has taken a big step forward in protecting kids from serious crash injuries that result from wearing seat belts that were simply not designed to protect small bodies,” said Col. James Wolfinbarger, chief of the Colorado State Patrol.  “Many parents mistakenly believe that a seat belt is enough to protect their older child in a crash, but we know booster seats are a safer option because they lift the child up and position the seat belt safely across them.”

Children ages 4 to 7 who use booster seats are 45% less likely to be injured in a crash compared children who are restrained only by seat belts. In Colorado from 2004 through 2008, 28 children ages 4 to 7 were killed in traffic crashes. Twenty of them were improperly restrained, totally unrestrained or using only the vehicle seat belt.

“It is important that we give children an opportunity for a brighter future by giving them the best odds of surviving a crash and avoiding serious injuries,” said Dr. Todd Porter of Safe Kids Denver Metro .  “For children who have outgrown a car seat, a booster seat is the next best thing to truly protect them.  It literally lifts the child up so that the lap belt rests across hip bones to protect internal organs, and it positions the shoulder strap so it rests across the collar bone instead of on the neck or falling off the shoulder.”

In addition to expanding the use of booster seats, the revised law gives parents more flexibility in choosing the best safety seat for their child or baby, as long as they adhere to the upper weight and height limits set by the seat’s manufacturer and follow installation instructions.  However, the law does set the following minimum requirements:

• Babies under 1 year old and less than 20 pounds must ride in a rear-facing car seat and only in the back seat of the vehicle.
• Once babies turn 1 year old and weigh at least 20 pounds, the law gives them the option of using a front-facing car seat. Rear-facing car seats are still allowed by law and safety experts recommend that parents continue using them to the upper weight limit allowed by the car seat manufacturer because it provides the most protection.
• Children ages 4, 5, 6 and 7 must continue to be protected in a child safety restraint. For most kids in this age group that means a booster seat, but experts recommend that children remain in a forward-facing car seat longer if the upper weight limit of the seat allows it (usually 40-50 pounds).
• When a child turns 8, the law allows them to use a vehicle seat belt. But for the best protection, safety experts recommend that kids continue to use a booster seat until they are at least 4’9” tall, which half of children will not reach until they are 11 years old.
• The minimum fine is $82 per violation. All child passenger safety violations are primary enforcement. There is a one-year education period for booster seat violations only.

To assist parents in determining the best child safety seat for their child and to make sure it is installed properly, there is a network of more than 140 “fitting stations” across the state as part of CPS Team Colorado.  Most of the fit stations offer free assistance for parents, including car seat checks to make sure seats are installed properly.  For parents facing financial hardship, some fit stations provide car seats at a reduced price or for a small donation. Parents can find a fit station closest to them by visiting www.carseatscolorado.com or calling toll free 1-877-LUV-TOTS or 303-239-4625 in Metro Denver.

Over the next several weeks, CPS Team Colorado, Safe Kids Colorado and safety advocates across the state will host special events to provide more information about booster seats and the expanded law.  Some of the events will include an opportunity for kids to “bling” their booster by decorating and customizing it.

“Your child’s safety should not be negotiable, but it doesn’t have to be a battle either,” said Selena Silva of The Children’s Hospital.   “We suggest parents include booster-age kids in the process by allowing them to help pick out their booster and even decorate it.  Let them know the booster is for their safety and point out benefits like a better view out the window!”

The following is a list of statewide events over the next few weeks where parents can get help and advice from trained child passenger safety technicians:

Saturday, July 31

Denver, CO

Booster Seat Saturday – Safe Kids Denver Metro

St. Anthony Central Hospital – Kuhlman building parking lot

4001 W. 16^th (corner of 16^th & Perry)

10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 3

Edwards, CO

Booster Seat Blitz at National Night Out

Freedom Park

450 Miller Ranch Road

4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Yuma, CO

National Night Out – Car Seat Check Event

Yuma Community Center

421 East 2^nd Avenue

5 to 8 p.m.

Friday, August 6^th

Denver, CO

Child Seat Check Event

Eastside Family Health Center

501 28^th Street in Five Points

10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Saturday, August 7^th

Colorado Springs, CO

Booster Seat Blitz at KKTV 11 Kid’s Day Event

Mr. Bigg’s

5825 Mark Dabling Blvd.

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Lakewood, CO

Whole Foods Back to School Safety Event

with West Metro Fire & St Anthony Hospitals

Whole Foods Belmar Store

444 S. Wadsworth Blvd

11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Friday, August 13^th

Fort Collins, CO

Booster Seat Blitz with Safe Kids Larimer County

Salud Family Health Clinic – 1635 Blue Spruce Drive

1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Grand Junction, CO

Booster Seat Blitz and Car Seat Check

Mesa County Health Department

530 29 ½ Road

8:30 a.m. to Noon

Saturday, August 14 – Booster Blitz Saturday!

Akron, CO

Car Seat Check Event

Washington County Connections

77 Main Street

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Bayfield, CO

Booster Seat Blitz – Bling Your Booster!

Eagle Park

160 Business Route

10 a.m. to Noon

Black Forest, CO

Booster Seat Blitz

Black Forest Festival

Shoup Rd. & Black Forest Rd.

9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Broomfield, CO

Booster Seat Blitz

Presented by North Suburban Medical Center

K-Mart

5005 W. 120^th Avenue

1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Commerce City, CO

Booster Seat Blitz (Spanish-speaking technicians available)

Rancho Liborio

6040 East 64^th Avenue

1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Cortez, CO

Booster Seat Blitz

Location TBD

10 a.m. to Noon

For info call SUCAP, Diane Downing  970-563-9907

Delta, CO

Booster Seat Blitz – Western Regional Occupant Safety Coalition

Hellman Chevrolet

900 Main Street

10 a.m. to Noon

Eagle, CO

Booster Seat Blitz –Bling Your Booster!

Eagle Swimming Pool

1700 Bull Pasture Road

Noon to 3 p.m.

Greeley, CO

Booster Seat Blitz

Greeley Mall, exact location TBD

11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Ignacio, CO

Booster Seat Blitz

SUCAP

295 Lakin Street

10 a.m. to Noon

Lamar, CO

Booster Seat Blitz

Lamar State Patrol Office

111 W. Parmenter Street

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Pueblo, CO

Booster Seat Blitz

Wal-Mart

78 North McCulloch Blvd.

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Silverton, CO

Booster Seat Blitz

Location TBD

10 a.m. to Noon

For info call SUCAP, Diane Downing at 970-563-9907

Sunday, August 15^th

Denver, CO

Booster Seat Blitz – Bling Your Booster!

Real Baby

3600 W. 32^nd Avenue

11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept 1^st

Wray, CO

Car Seat Check Event

Wray Community Hospital parking lot

520 Adams Street

1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

See those buttons right there? The facebook and twitter buttons? If you are in Colorado, please repost this. Spread the word and keep our kids safe.

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Today starts my promotional week at Kairos. I’m SO excited. First, starting today, pop in on Carla at 533 Main Street, Grand Junction and sign up for my mailing list to be entered to win a free photography session and a 16×20 wall portrait. Entries will be take all week, and I’ll draw the winner at closing time on Saturday and announce the winner shortly after.  The fine print:  Only one entry allowed per family. The winner will be notified by e-mail (and posted here on the blog and the Facebook fan page) on July 26th. An email address must be listed to win. By entering this contest, you agree to allow Cristine to feature your images on her website, blog, print materials, or any other medium that promotes Cristine Strickland Photography. A model release must be signed. The session must be used by December 31, 2010 and take place within 30 miles of Grand Junction. Prints and other items are available  for purchase at normal prices. No purchase is necessary.

Next, mini sessions. All day on Thursday the 22nd AND Saturday the 24th. Both days are booked solid. I’m overwhelmed with the response. You all are amazing. You filled Thursday in a matter of days and when I opened up Saturday it was filled within hours. I still need to contact a few of you by phone for Saturday but be assured that if you received an email while I was out of the office that I have you on the list and you will receive a time slot.

I’ve got some new prints on the walls. I *think* Carla is putting them up today. Ladder permitting. Stop in and see the new faces. If you’ve had a session with me, one of those new faces could be your child!! hint hint Stephanie, Megan, Amy, Dena and Jen.

I’ll be at Kairos this week for Farmers’ Market. Stop in to say hi and check out some of the beautiful custom products I offer. I’ll have a table set up with sample albums and custom cards and lots of photographic pretties. I’ll have my calender, and if you book a full session for anytime this year on either Thursday or Saturday while I’m at Kairos, you’ll also receive a complementary 8×10.

I think that’s it. I had an amazing time with my family this last week. It’s SO much cooler up on the mountain. Oh, the food. I think I gained seven pounds. We ate and played cards and rolled dice and watched the kids run on the slip and slide. We had s’mores as we sat around the fire pit. My sister made chili and cornbread and we ate outside in my mothers beautiful gardens. We ate all the raspberries we could eat.  Did I mention that we ate?? We hung out on the lake at my moms favorite fishing spot. The kids played in the water, fished, and rode the four wheeler. The scenery was GLORIOUS. And when I asked if I could take pictures of the kids….this is what I got.

Yeah. I had envisioned beautiful family portraits for my sister and her family. I had even brought portrait dresses for our daughters.  I anxiously watched the light, and, as that golden hour approached, I could feel my excitement. I tried to gather the girls. No. They wanted to fish. I showed them the pretty flowers. “FISH mom. We’re fishing.”  But the light… *insert pout here*  “FISH, MOM. FISH.”  Walker didn’t have his own pole. He allowed me to play for about three minutes. Long enough to find my perfect spot and adjust my settings. He wouldn’t even let me change his shirt. Then I got this. Only this. Poor child has probably had more than his fair share of a camera in his face, but dang it THE LIGHT!! The flowers. The pretty grass. *more mommy pouting* please? pretty please? for Mommy? I even bribed him with another four wheeler ride. About that time he took off up the hill to find his uncle to collect on said ride. He gave me a couple of frames right? He fulfilled his agreement, and he was outta there.

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Some of you may remember that we recently lost my grandmother. With that, my mother spent some time in California to begin dissolving her estate. When she came home she brought my sisters daughter with her and we were able to share a few days with her. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute she was with us here in Grand Junction and then she went to my moms in Hotchkiss for the rest of her stay where I’m sure she enjoyed every minute of her time with Gramie. I hear she even earned her Horse Rider badge for Girl Scouts. But now it’s time for her to head back to her family and finish her summer with soccer camp and swimming and all the other things nine year old girls do when school’s out. My sister and her husband drove up last night so they could be there when my niece woke this morning. And I’m leaving shortly to spend the rest of the week with them. I’ll continue to check my email and my facebook mail but I won’t be available by phone until Monday. I’ve talked to several of you today as my inbox has been jam packed and my phone has been ringing often. I *think* I have wrapped up all my loose ends but if I missed you please email me at cristine@cristinestrickland.com and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

In other news, mini sessions for Thursday, July 22nd are completely booked. I have however opened Saturday, July 24th for a limited number of mini’s. If you missed a booking for Thursday and are interested in a session on Saturday, send me an email and I’ll get you a time slot. Again, minis are 20-30 minute sessions which result in at least eight characteristic images.  They are a great way to grab a few milestone images between full sessions.

See you all on Monday!

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I don’t know about you, but when I throw a party, I tend to go overboard. Hand made invitations, three tiered cakes, real china for a six year old and 20 of her best friends…. Yeah. I’m that mom. The one your kid is going to come home from a birthday party at our house and isn’t going to stop talking about it until next year. You are going to wonder how in the heck you are going to have time to pull something like that together for your child. I’ve got your back. Overdramatic Party Girl.

A couple of weeks ago I stopped in on Lori Troxel and Vanessa Young of Overdramatic Party Girl. I had heard about them and I wanted to see their product first hand. I thought  it was going to be just some hand made cards and maybe a cool party favor gift bag. Miss Tea Party for Twenty was just a bit skeptical. These girls didn’t know how big league little girl party I was. But I had NO idea just how cool their product is. See, they have a tendency to overdo things a bit too. I felt right in my party throwing element. These girls literally dropped my jaw. They have put together a party-to-go kind of set up. But this isn’t just little cheezy gifty bags. No, these girls are worthy of a Strickland party. They’ve set up several party themes and with each theme you’ll get handmade invitations, party banners, games, gift bags, cake toppers, thank you cards. All of it, every thing you need to throw an unforgettable party.  Not only do they do birthday parties, but baby showers and greeting cards too. And I can’t say enough that this is good stuff. Quality, hand made cards. Thick, textured paper stock, gorgeous colors and hand applied embellishments. This is stuff that if you scrapbooked and had all the tools and papers and the creative flow, you’d sit up several nights, weeks even, working on. And WHO has the time?? You just want to party right? These girls will work with you to give you a completely custom experience. They want your party to be just a bit over the top.

You can find Vanessa and Lori on Facebook, on their blog or pop them and email at overdramaticpartygirl@gmail.com. They will be officially launching their business at Kairos Children’s Boutique at Farmers’ Market this Thursday. Kairos is now located at 533 Main Street, Grand Junction. Stop in and say hi, take a peek at all their pretties and talk to them about your next party or get together.  I hear Ava Sweet Cakes is dropping off cupcakes too. But Mande deserves her own post. Maybe next week.

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