Things You Should Think About in January

It's January. That means it's time to renew the dog licenses before the end of the month for us. Don't forget to do it for your dogs too. I missed the deadline date last year and ended up paying $72 instead of $36 for them. That was just stupid of me.

What else should you do this month to get the New Year off to a safe and healthy start?

• Check your smoke detector batteries; change them if it's been awhile.
• Check your carbon monoxide detector batteries; change them if needed.
• Do you have everything organized that you are going to need for your taxes?
• Any birthdays this month you should remember? Get cards for them now, sign them and get the envelopes addressed and stamped so all you have to do is remember to mail them in time!
• Take inventory of your family's health. Have your kids had their well-checks within the past year or do they need to be scheduled? What about you? I'm sure there are appointments you've been putting off for yourself (I know I'm guilty of this too). There are probably appointments your spouse has been putting off too, especially if your spouse is like my husband and putting off some of the more "embarrassing" first-time appointments he should be taking care of after 40. Schedule those dental and eye appointments while you're thinking about it.
• Clean out your medicine cabinet. Throw out anything that has expired and replace things that are low or out (band-aids, fever medicine, cold medicine, etc.). How are your prescription meds? Take care of refills or ask your doctor for a new prescription if you need them.
• How are your kids doing in school mid-way through the year? If they need extra homework help, look into the school's tutoring program. Parent-teacher conferences should be within a month. If your child is having problems in school, start thinking about questions and resolutions to helping your child when you talk to the teacher(s) at conferences. If they are having severe problems, don't wait a month to talk to them. Talk to them now!

That's about all I can think of at the moment.