It's only the end of May, but plenty of cities across the country are already experiencing summer-like temperatures, especially in the northeast -- where it's 90 degrees this afternoon! It feels like an oven out there, and on days like today, I'm especially thankful that our house has central air conditioning. I really don't know how people live without it -- or at the very least, without air conditioning units in most rooms of the house.

Suffering through sweltering temperatures isn't just uncomfortable -- it can also take its toll on your health by upping the risk of heat-related illnesses. But if you are using air conditioning units to cool down your pad instead of central air, you want to make sure you have them installed properly, and taking the proper safety precautions is a must. The last thing you need on a super hot and humid day is for your unit to overheat and cause a fire!

One time, my neighbor found a young pit bull tied to our building's fence. She took him in and I volunteered to walk him during the day while she was at work. He had different color eyes -- one brown, one blue -- that made him look kind of crazy. But he was the sweetest gosh darned dog ever. However, a new court ruling could mean that sweet pitties like him would remain tied to the fence post forever.

Is your home a toxic trap? I'm not just talking about whether or not you've got dishes piled high or you've got in-laws in the guest bedroom outstaying their welcome. So many of us just stick to the home products and appliances we're accustomed to -- that our parents used or that we're convinced (likely thanks to advertising) are "state-of-the-art." But filling our cabinets with certain cleaners and our kitchens with rooms with various materials may be making us sick! That's the topic Suzanne Somers explored in her latest episode of the CafeMom Studios YouTube channel show Suzanne Somers Breaking Through.

Suzanne sat down with mom and green home expert who writes RaisingNaturalKids.com, Dawn Lorenz, who says that when she got pregnant for the first time, really started to take notice of hazardous items in her home.

Were you relieved when your kids finally got old enough where you didn't have to do the whole baby-proofing thing anymore? Yeah, me too. It was just so refreshing to finally be able to do simple things like lift the lid of the toilet seat without unlatching that stupid little clip or leave a handful of change on the counter without worrying that my son would eat it like candy.

I am done having kids, barring any unforeseen "slips," so my baby-proofing days are hopefully gone for good. That is, unless we decide to break down and get a dog. Those of you who have furry friends apparently need to worry about "pet-proofing" your homes even if your babies are all grown up. Looks like the whole "a puppy is worse than a baby" thing has more truth to it than we thought.

Any time a company says there is something wrong with a product, it's scary. But the massive Ford recall of nearly half a million minivans and SUVS is absolutely terrifying for parents today. These are the kinds of cars that they drive every day! This is the way they drive their kids to daycare or maneuver the carpool to school!

The cars being called off the road and into service shops run the risk of fire or a loss of power. But before you panic, here's what you have to know:

'Tis the season for mice to turn up in your house, like those unwanted holiday guests who outstay their welcome. Apparently in some parts of the country (hello, East Coast), it's been so rainy that the critters are being driven out of their soggy little holes in the ground and coming into our nice, dry homes in greater numbers than usual this year.

A few of my poor friends at work have had to deal with this phenomenon firsthand, with one colleague having an army of mice move in until she could get an outside exterminator to plug up all the holes in the walls in her apartment in New York.

It reminds me of the time I suddenly found myself face to face with my own mouse intruder in my own Manhattan apartment. I'd like to think I came up with a pretty creative -- and obvious -- way to scare the little guy off.

Look at this black Forest Canopy Bed from Anthropologie. Gorgeous, isn’t it? I mean, it’s like a fantasy -- so ornate, so fabulous, such a great way to ensure dreams of sleeping in an enchanted forest.Or so I would have thought two years ago. Now, I look at this thing and think, "Forget it. One of the kids will lose an eye on that branch at the foot of the bed. If they don’t get impaled first." It’s not about finding it impractical. It’s that my very tastes have changed since having kids. I can’t see the beauty in things, because all I see is the danger, or the stains, or the frivolity of dropping five grand on something when that money should be going into a 529 plan. Is it just me, or does having kids completely reboot your aesthetic -- and rob you of the ability to simply enjoy?

There are a lot of stereotypically feminine gifts I will toss back if I fish ‘em up. Box of chocolates? My tush is big enough, thanks. Bath products? At this point, I only take baths when one of the kids says “I don’t want to! Will you come with me?” (Which is lovely, but not conducive to relaxation.) A spa day? I would seriously sooner have a root canal. And scented candles? The bane of my existence. A fire hazard that stinks like a flower threw up? No, thanks. And now I've been given the best argument against scented candles ever: They’re as bad as cigarettes. So if you’re the type to flap your hand across your face when you exit a building past a crowd of smokers, well, get flapping in the Yankee Candle store, too. And prepare yourself, scented-candle-burners: I'm bringing a jumbo-sized hand-fan to your sickly-sweet-smelling home.So what’s so bad about scented candles?