Posted by cassie on Wednesday, 22 August, 2007 @ 8:19 pm

I was in one of the *many* local Wal-marts today to pick up dog food and stopped into the kid’s department like I always do. Well, this time I scored some tanktops (12 mo - 24 mo) for a whopping $1 a piece. Now that is what I’m talking about! As usual, they had way more girls clothing on sale than boys so be sure to check it out for both sexes and stock up for next summer if you can. They also some pajamas on sale but they were all in the 2T+ range so are too big for my peanut. Good luck and happy shopping.

Posted by cassie on Wednesday, 22 August, 2007 @ 8:15 pm

Surface paints on the wooden handles of the tops and pails contain excessive levels of lead, which violates the federal lead paint standard. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects. The recalled tops and pails are primarily metal and have wooden handles. The tops are painted with Thomas and Friends, Curious George, or a circus scene. The pails are painted with Thomas and Friends, Curious George, or in a solid red or yellow color. Tops with plastic handles are not included in this recall. Sold at: Specialty toy stores and gift shops nationwide from July 2001 through July 2002. The tops were sold for about $13. The pails were sold for about $6.

Consumers should immediately take the recalled toys away from children and contact Schylling to receive a refund or free replacement toy. Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Schylling at (800) 767-8697 between 9 am and 5 pm ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.schylling.com

Posted by cassie on Tuesday, 21 August, 2007 @ 7:54 pm

Here are some photos of my little guy from the past little while. When I uploaded them they got out of order but they include his birthday party, first time eating ice cream with Mommy and Daddy, pool fun, etc. Enjoy! (Click the picture to see more or click for more photos)

Posted by cassie on Monday, 20 August, 2007 @ 6:35 pm

Saturday was the big party day and Anthony did great! He took one nap the whole day but was in a fantastic mood. He received wonderful presents but best of all he was surrounded by family and friends. I gave him the banana cake w/ homemade apple sauce instead of eggs (recipe below) topped with low sugar cream cheese frosting. He wasn’t too sure of it at first but after a little prodding had a blast w/ it.

Thanks everyone for making his party such a big success!

Banana Cake

2/3 c. banana, mashed
1/2 c. butter, softened
3 lg. eggs OR 3/4 c. applesauce & 1/2 t. baking powder
3/4 c. water
2 c. unbleached flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
Optional - 1 c. chopped walnuts

Grease and flour a 9 x 13″ pan.

Beat together mashed banana and soft butter until creamy. Beat in
water. If using eggs - in a separate bowl beat eggs until very foamy;
beat into mixture. Blend in flour, baking powder, baking soda and
cinnamon. Beat until smooth. Stir in nuts (optional). Spread batter
evenly in pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min or until a knife inserted comes out
clean. Cool. Serves 8 - 10.

info about egg substitute: 1/4 cup per egg of applesauce, canned
pumpkin or squash, or pureed prunes. If you use these foods, know
that, depending on the recipe, they may add a hint of flavor. If you
want to give the food a lighter texture, add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of
baking powder, because using fruit purees to replace eggs can make the
finished product somewhat denser than the original recipe.

Posted by cassie on Friday, 17 August, 2007 @ 8:38 pm

What is our world coming to when an mp3 player is created for children as young as a year. What happened to the good ol’ fashioned way of things called singing to your child or even just a gosh darn regular radio.

Peapod Toys introduces the world’s first mp3 player designed for infants and toddlers

The Peapod is a fully featured MP3 digital music player designed for infants and toddlers. It allows children as young as a year old to safely listen to music over the built-in speaker. The ultra simple controls and robust enclosure combine to deliver a satisfying audio experience for children and parents alike.

Features

safe speaker design does not require headphones stores 2 hours of music or stories simple interface even infants can control parental volume control robust rubber overmolded design small, easy to carry over 40 hours on a single AA battery AC power adapter for playing in a nursery software for managing the music on the player from a PC software makes it simple to buy music online and download to the player

Posted by cassie on Friday, 17 August, 2007 @ 7:19 pm

Recalled: Britax car seats

FRIDAY, Aug. 17 (BabyCenter News) — Britax has announced a recall of certain Decathlon car seats. The harness adjuster housing on the seats can pop out of position, which makes it difficult to fit the harness snugly around the child. If the harness isn’t snug, the child could suffer injuries in a crash.

The recalled Britax Decathlon car seats, model number E9L47, were manufactured from February 12, 2005, through July 31, 2007. The model number and date of manufacture can be found on the white label located near the top of the restraint under the cover, on the child’s left hand side.

Britax has determined that the harness adjuster housing will not pop out of position by itself during transit. It may pop out when a child is being buckled in, if the harness is pulled from an extreme side angle.

To address this issue, Britax will provide car seat owners with two push rivet fasteners to secure the harness adjuster housing. This simple, five-minute modification will keep the housing in place.

In the meantime, Britax says the car seats are safe to use as long as the harness adjuster housing is securely positioned and hasn’t popped out of place. To prevent this from happening, the company recommends that caregivers pull the harness adjuster strap straight out from the car seat and parallel to the ground when strapping in a child.

What you can do:

* If you registered your car seat with Britax, the company will send you the parts and instructions needed to repair your seat.

* If you didn’t register your seat, you can do so online. You can also call Britax toll-free at (800) 683-2045 or order a repair kit online.

* Get answers to more questions on the Britax recall page.

* See a copy of the repair instructions (PDF) online, or watch a video that demonstrates the repair process.

Posted by cassie on Thursday, 16 August, 2007 @ 8:27 pm

Bibs sold at Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us stores may contain unsafe levels of lead. After three studies and much discussion, there have been no recalls of the vinyl bibs. The offending bibs are decorated with baseball bats, soccer balls, and Winnie the Pooh characters and cost under $5 each from store brand labels including Especially for Baby and Koala Baby. The lead tests done for the Center for Environmental Health found levels as high as 1,800 parts per million in the Toys “R” Us bibs — three times the amount allowed in lead paint.

However, based on two other tests which found lower amounts of lead in the bibs, it is believed that unless the bib was ripped, it would not be unhealthy. Officials from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which regulates children’s products, concluded that even if infants had the bibs in their mouths all day, not enough lead would leach into their blood system to cause harm.

But Patrick MacRoy, director of the Chicago lead poisoning prevention program, and other health officials and children’s advocates argue that the C.P.S.C. uses an antiquated standard for what level of lead in a child’s blood stream represents a hazard. When combined with lead from other sources, including perhaps lead-based paint in an old house or lead-contaminated jewelry, the bibs could still result in poisoning or neurological damage in a child. As a result many environmental and health groups have urged parents to stop buying bibs that have even modest levels of lead.

Posted by cassie on Thursday, 16 August, 2007 @ 8:16 pm

We went down to Nick’s sister’s house in North Port Wednesday night so Anthony (and us too of course) could say goodbye to his cousins. The girls are both heading back to college in North Carolina and New York. Have fun and good luck!! See you when you guys come home for Christmas. Unfortunately they’ll miss Anthony turning 1 but hey! they have a life too

While we were down there Kat showed me this great house right around the corner from them that would be perfect for us to move into. Ok well it looked like it from the outside. It’s FSBO so I’m going to give them a call and see if we can go down there and check it out. Wish NP was closer when it comes to looking though.

Posted by cassie on Wednesday, 15 August, 2007 @ 8:22 pm

As I’m sure all of you have heard there are a ton more Mattel recalls occurring at the moment. I wish companies would get their act together and start producing more items in America again. I mean hey! help our economy out would ya.

Additional Reports of Magnets Detaching from Polly Pocket Play Sets Prompts Expanded Recall by Mattel

 

Various Polly Pocket dolls and accessories with magnets have been recalled because small magnets inside the dolls and accessories can come loose. The magnets can be found by young children and swallowed or aspirated. If more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract each other and cause intestinal perforation or blockage, which can be fatal.

The recalled Polly Pocket play sets contain plastic dolls and accessories that have small magnets. The magnets measure 1/8 inch in diameter and are embedded in the hands and feet of some dolls, and in the plastic clothing, hairpieces and other accessories to help the pieces attach to the doll or to the doll’s house. The model number is printed on the bottom of the largest pieces on some of the play sets. Products manufactured after November 1, 2006 and are currently on store shelves are not included in this recall. Contact Mattel if you cannot find a model number on your product to determine if it is part of the recall. Sold at: Toy stores and various other retailers from May 2003 through November 2006 for between $15 and $30. Consumers should immediately take these recalled toys away from children and contact Mattel to receive a voucher for a replacement toy of the customer’s choice, up to the value of the returned product. See full list of recalled toys here.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, call Mattel toll-free at (888) 597-6597 anytime, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.service.mattel.com

Mattel Recalls Doggie Day Care™ Magnetic Toys Due to Magnets Coming Loose

 

About 1 million Doggie Day Care™ play sets have been recalled because Small magnets inside the toys can fall out. Magnets found by young children can be swallowed or aspirated. If more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract each other and cause intestinal perforation or blockage, which can be fatal.

H1532 Doggie Day Care Coco

H1533 Doggie Day Care Sparley

G4461 Doggie Day Care Lula and Baby

G4462 Doggie Day Care Crockett and Baby

G4464 Doggie Day Care Taffy and Baby

G4459 Doggie Day Care Snack Time with Cookie

G4460 Doggie Day Care Diaper Change with Ginger

H1530 Doggie Day Care Ice Cream with Ranger

G9703 Doggie Day Care Puppy Park with Dixie

G4457 Doggie Day Care Dream House Nursery with Honey

G4458 Doggie Day Care Bath Time with Beau

Consumers should immediately take the recalled toys away from children and contact Mattel to receive a free replacement toy. Consumer Contact: For additional information, call Mattel toll-free at (888) 597-6597 anytime or visit the firm’s Web site at www.service.mattel.com

Mattel Recalls Barbie and Tanner™ Magnetic Toys Due to Magnets Coming Loose

 

Barbie and Tanner™ play sets have been recalled because mall magnet inside the “scooper” accessory can come loose. Magnets found by young children can be swallowed or aspirated. If more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract each other and cause intestinal perforation or blockage, which can be fatal. The recall involves Barbie and Tanner™ play sets — model numbers J9472 and J9560. The toys include a “scooper” accessory with a magnetic end. Recalled scoopers have a visible, silver-colored, disc-shaped magnet on the end of the scooper. Scoopers with a white material covering the magnet and products manufactured after January 31, 2007 are not recalled. Sold at: Toy stores and various other retailers nationwide May 2006 to August 2007 for about $16.

Consumers should immediately take the recalled toys away from children and contact Mattel to receive a free replacement toy. Consumer Contact: For additional information, call Mattel toll-free at (888) 597-6597 anytime or visit the firm’s Web site at www.service.mattel.com

Mattel Recalls Batman™ and One Piece™ Magnetic Action Figure Sets Due To Magnets Coming Loose

 

Batman™ and One Piece™ magnetic action figure sets have been recalled because small, powerful magnets inside the accessories of the toy figures can fall out and be swallowed or aspirated by young children. If more than one magnet is swallowed, they can attract inside the body and cause intestinal perforation, infection or blockage which can be fatal.

The recalled Batman™ toys include:

* The Batman™ Magna Battle Armor™ Batman™ figure with model number J1944

* The Batman™ Magna Fight Wing™ Batman™ figure with model number J1946

* The Batman™ Secret ID™ figure with model number J5114

* The Batman™ Flying Fox™ figure with model number J5115

The seven inch tall action figures include the Batman logo on the front and include magnetic accessories. The model number is located on the lower right corner of the tag which is sewn to the figure. The recalled One Piece™ toy is: * One Piece™ Triple Slash Zolo Roronoa™ figure with model number J4142. The 5 ½ inch tall action figure has green hair, black pants, and has magnets in his hands which connect to magnets on various swords that the figure can hold. The model number is printed on the back of the action figure’s left leg.

Sold at: Discount department stores and toy stores nationwide from June 2006 through June 2007 for about $11. Consumers should immediately stop using the toy and contact Mattel for instructions on how to return it to receive a free replacement toy. Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Mattel toll-free (888) 597-6597 anytime or visit the firm’s Web site at www.service.mattel.com

Posted by cassie on Monday, 13 August, 2007 @ 8:59 pm

Not that my darling is off to school anytime soon but whenever I can pass on the info on a steal deal I will! In fact I’m heading there this week to stock up on some of those things for when my niece and nephew are over. Check out the below from a poster on a forum I frequent:

I went to target today and bought all Market Pantry brand items….awesome deal!
I used the coupons on the website www.afullcup.com (click on target coupon generator on the left)

I got 10 sparkling waters…… .53 cents ea.
I printed out 10/ .50 coupons
I paid .30 for 10 bottles of water!

I got 5 of the juice boxes, 10 in a box…….1.64
I printed out 5/ .50 coupons
I paid 1.14 ea. total 5.74 for 5 boxes

I got 10 boxes of the granola bar…..1.75(on sale tis week)
I printed out 10/ 1.00 coupons
I paid .75 a box total 7.50 for 10 boxes

My total OOP was….about 14 buck!
I am going back…..this is great for school lunches!