The Island News

On occasion I receive emails from various companies and organizations asking me to forward their messages on to you. So, here they are in their own words . . .

Every year, Kohl’s awards over $350,000 in scholarships and prizes to more than 2,000 children whose volunteer efforts have made a positive impact on their communities. Now’s your chance to nominate an outstanding child for the Kohl’s Kids Who Care Scholarship Program.

Sensei for Weight Loss is a mobile weight loss and health coach that generates a personalized meal plan for you – according to if you usually eat fast food, whip together a quick meal, or leisurely cook dinner. To use Sensei for Weight Loss, just go to Sensei.com and sign up for the “Sensei Anywhere” program. This is the program that will send you reminders and meal plans directly to your mobile phone, and you can check it out online as well. At the beginning of each week, Sensei sends you a full grocery list that is optimized to reduce food bills so that you are prepared for the recipes throughout the week.  There is even a coupon section where you can find all of the deals at your local grocery stores.

Feb. 1-7  is Burn Awareness Week, and during this week, Shriners Hospitals for Children will kick-off a year-long campaign focused on preventing gasoline burn injuries. A special Web site has been developed for the campaign, www.burnawarenessweek.org. “Preventing burn injuries and burn awareness education should be an ongoing effort, not just a week-long campaign,” said Peter Armstrong, M.D., chief medical officer at Shriners Hospitals for Children. “We are declaring 2009 the year of ‘Preventing Gasoline Burn Injuries.’”

“Mama Mirabelle’s Home Movies,” National Geographic’s animated preschool series for PBS KIDS!, will be airing daily on Sprout, beginning this Monday, Jan 26 at 3:15 PM ET as part of “The Sprout Sharing Show.” In case you haven’t yet been introduced to Mama and her pals, “Mama Mirabelle’s Home Movies” is a warm-hearted, high-spirited show about a sassy, soulful elephant host (voiced by Vanessa Williams) and the young animal characters she cares for on the African savanna. Using live-action footage from the National Geographic and BBC archives, the show illuminates the real world for preschoolers, helps them find their place in it and provides insight into animal customs and behaviors. We hope you’ll come visit us at our new home & help spread the word! See you in the movies (and now on Sprout)!

“Getting to sleep and staying that way is no easy task for new moms. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve innocently rolled over in the middle of the night only to have my eyes pop open, my heart skip a beat and a bevy of fears and concerns attack my peaceful rest:.” Caron Guillo warns first-time expecting moms. In her latest column, Caron discusses the many concerns and worries that can keep mothers from getting the rest they need and deserve, and then offers a few helpful and humorous solutions, from her personal experience, in “Bad Mom – Tales from the Darkside”, on the light-hearted New Christian Voices (www.newchristianvoices.com).

Sometimes the most important issues are the hardest to talk about. Angela Williams, founder of the not-for-profit organization VOICE Today, Inc., suffered through 14 silent years of incest at the hands of her stepfather. She understands all too well how hard it can be to break the silence and that’s why she created the VOICE Today organization. The organization plans to get the word out through a weekly radio show titled Break the Silence and via speaking engagements about the organization. Their website, www.voicetoday.org, has links to Christian counseling services, support groups and an anonymous blog where survivors can confidentially share their stories.

The Playroom is a Yelp-style forum that allows site visitors to post reviews of their favorite local resources, from boutiques to pediatricians to playgroups.  You can also comment and rate each listing, making the Playroom a great place to share information on pregnancy and parenting.  Users can also post “sneak peeks” at their lives – photos and videos of their families, or that they’ve found online, that they’d like to share with The Cradle community.  It’s another step towards making the online world a friendlier and more inclusive place.

Birthday Planning Woes

Girlie Girl has a birthday coming up and we’re planning on having it at Lisa Rose Tea & Doll House. It’s a place I’ve been dreaming of having her birthday ever since the day she was born. It’s all pink and pretty and girly. They girls will get manicures, pedicures, new hair styles, dress up in princess costumes, and even put on a fashion show. When I showed Girlie Girl the website, she was so excited! She immediately started making her guest list.

The only problem is that the party package is for only 8 girls including the birthday girl.  You may pay extra for every additional child which we will probably have to do. However, who do we invite?

• Option 1: Invite all her female classmates.
• Option 2: Invite only her closest friends.

Option 2 probably sounds like the most logical choice but some of her friends are in her class and I’m worried that the other girls will feel left out. You know how girls talk.

What would you do?

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you for your participation.
The winner is comment #
Congratulations!

Baby Bug is a big fan of Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! and I have to admit that it is one of the better kids shows around. Now the gang from Wuzzleburg returns with 2 brand new DVDs for the whole family to enjoy.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Wubbzy is a fun, lovable, cruious little guy who just likes to play, play, play with his friends in the wild and wacky town of Wuzzleburg. He’s charmed both children and parents, become an internet phenomenon, inspired an array of licensed products and joined with brands like Taco Bell and Joy Cone Ice Cream Cones in new cross-promotional deals. Now, kids can watch Wubbzy and his pals in the Emmy Award winning series tht provides essential, wholesome life lessons while keeping the kids laughing.

Pirate Treasure: Set sail for adventure as Wubbzy and his friends discover a whole new world of fun in this collection of wild escapades and silly songs from the Nick Jr/Noggin animated sensation. Tag along with Wubbzy, Widget and Walden as they search to find buried pirate treasure. Find out what happens when Wubbzy gets lost in the woods and why Walden is afraid of the beach. Take a trip with the gang to the nearby town of Plaidsville! Get ready for hours of singing, dancing, laughing and in this Emmy award winning series that puts the Wow! Wow! back into preschool entertainment.

A Little Help From My Friends: Join Wubbzy, Widget and Walden in Wuzzleburg in this fun, fun, fun collection of 8 episodes! Friendship takes center stage as Wubbzy and his pals search for a lost Wiggle Wrench, escape a runaway Doodleberry Cake, build a Super Robot, teach Walden to boogie and work hard for Wuzzleburg trophies. Together they discover the importance of positive values like confidence, cooperation, team work and above all , the meaning of friendship. There’s hours of singing, dancing, laughing and learning in this Emmy award winning series that will have preschool kids and parents alike saying WOW!

MY REVIEW

We had the opportunity to watch both DVDs and found them to be classic Wubbzy cartoons. We noticed that the hilarious adventures that these three friends go on and the mishaps that occur along the way all serve a purpose, to teach children valualbe life lessons. We found that each episode shared a different message like being a good friend, helping others, sacrifice, being who you are, and appreciating the simple things in life.

However, for me the best part were the orignial songs that followed each episode. These catchy tunes reinforced the positive messages being taught and also made learning them fun for everyone. My girls loved singing and dancing to them around the living room.

WIN IT!

I have a copy of the screener version of Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! A Little Help From My Friends DVD to give away to one lucky winner. To enter:

• Just mention in comments before midnight, Feb 1st who your favorite Wuzzleburg friend is. That’s it!
• A random winner will be selected and notified via email on Feb 2nd.
• The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

• Subscribe to my feed.
• Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.
• Place my button in your sidebar.

This giveaway is open to everyone world-wide. Good luck!

How Safe Are Hand-Me-Down Baby Gear?

Mothers-to-be are often flooded with hand-me-down baby gear coming from mothers, in-laws, neighbors and friends. These items can save you tons of money, but are they safe?

This month, ShopSmart, from the publisher of Consumer Reports, is placing pre-used cribs, toys, clothing and more under the microscope so you know when you can gratefully say yes and when you should gracefully say no thanks.

Tips to spot unsafe hand-me-downs:

Bath Products:

• Safe: Used baby bathtubs are fine as long as the lining isn’t full of mold or mildew.
• Not Safe: If the tub has an odor of either of these, say no thanks because they can be hard to remove. Also, skip secondhand bath seats, bath rings, and inflatable tubs since they have been responsible for many deaths among babies.

Car Seats:

• Safe: A car seat that has all its original parts and labels, has never been in a crash, and fits your car and child is OK.
• Not Safe: Products more than six years old are outdated, and most likely too run down to be considered safe.

Cribs:

• Safe: Any crib that was manufactured after the year 2000 should be fine, as long as it is not broken or missing any pieces.
• Not Safe: Prior to 2000, cribs were held to different safety standards, and will not be acceptable for your baby, even if you slept soundly in them. Any crib with cutouts in the headboard, and corner posts over sixteen inches pose serious risks for a child’s safety.

High Chairs:

• Safe: Say yes to a hand-me-down high chair if it has a five-point harness to prevent your child from climbing out and a fixed crotch post that prevents him/her from sliding out the bottom.
• Unsafe: Old fashioned wooden high chairs with removable trays or arms are considered dangerous and uncomfortable for the baby, in addition to not being up to newer product safety standards.

Strollers:

• Safe: Strollers made after 2007 when new safety standard were published are safe.
• Unsafe: Any stroller made prior to that date, or has missing, loose, or broken pieces is not.

Toys:

• Safe: Stuffed animals and most children’s books make fine hand-me-downs. In the case of lead contamination in used toys, there are many home lead inspection kits which can be purchased for under twenty dollars which will tell you whether the toys are safe.
• Unsafe: Avoid any toys that are chipped, as well as any small parts that can fit through a tube of toilet paper, since they present serious choking hazards for small children.

Used Clothing:

• Safe: As long as buttons and snaps are on tight and none of the thread is unraveling from the fabric, the used clothing is fine.
• Unsafe: Pass on any article of clothing with drawstrings because they pose a strangulation hazard.

Courtesy of the March 2009 issue of ShopSmart

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