Here are the latest recalls in children’s products:

1. The Land of Nod Recalls Children’s Canopies Due to Entrapment and Strangulation Hazards  

2. Lip Gloss Keychains Recalled By Markwins Beauty Products Due to Risk of Lead Exposure

3. High School Musical Manicure Kits Recalled by Fantas-Eyes Due to Risk of Lead Exposure

1. The Land of Nod Recalls Children’s Canopies Due to Entrapment and Strangulation Hazards (

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09108.html)

(aka: beating my son at the picky-eating-game)

I have a nine year old who lives on meat, yogurt, and rolls.  Oh, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  That’s pretty much it.  You can add macaroni and cheese from time to time, count on green beans about once a week, and you might be able to bribe him to try some carrot sticks as well.  Of course, he LOVES anything with sugar or loaded with carbs.

He’s nine, though, and he knows that I am not exactly thrilled with his eating habits.  He needs more vegetables.  He needs fruits.  He does NOT need any more bread!  Here are a few ideas that we’re trying to get him to be a better eater:

• We try to put something “new” or “like new” on his plate at every meal.  He doesn’t have to like it, but he does have to try it.  And, not some microscopic bite either.  After his bite, we let him rate the food with a thumbs-up, thumbs-down sign.  He gets to vote, and we get him to try something different.
• At nine, we can explain the importance of healthy foods to our son and the need to go easy on sugary snacks while choosing healthier foods more often.  It is harder with younger children.  One thing that worked with my class of pre-k kids was to give them grocery ads and magazines.  They cut out foods that they found and we placed them on a chart of healthy and not healthy choices.  Posting something like this in the dining room or kitchen is a great reminder of what our bodies need.  Then, discuss where the foods that you are eating belong on the chart.
• Sometimes, my son is more apt to eat something if he helps prepare it.  He’s a whiz at fruit smoothies in the blender and “ants on a log” (celery with peanut butter and raisins arranged on top).
• My son knows that trying a food just once isn’t good enough.  When he was little, we told him that he had to “grow” those taste buds in order to enjoy a food.  So, our rule at our house is “ten”.  New foods must be tried ten times before a decision is made.  Surprisingly, trying broccoli (with lots and lots of cheese) went from “yuck!” to “not so bad” over those ten tries!

What are some of your ideas for getting kids to try new foods?  Share them in the comments!

(aka How I Became The COOL Team Mom)

My son’s basketball season is starting.  We had our first practice last week, and our first game will be this week.  While I don’t actively set out to be the over-the-top mom that everyone rolls their eyes at, I do like to find ways to reward our team for an effort well done.  And this week, I found a perfect and easy treat to make for the boys that was a definite slam dunk!  I made basketball goal cupcakes!

Make or purchase mini-cupcakes.  I prefer to make my own, simply because the ones at the store always come with a slew of frosting on them.  For this snack, I make sure that all the cupcakes are frosted flush with the wrapper with white frosting.  Then, using orange gel icing, I trim the outside edge of the cupcake.  Set these to the side.  Next, take a sugar cookie (again, either homemade or pre-made - a cookie that is about 2.5 to 3 inches in diameter works bets) and frost half of it (like a half circle).  Pipe the orange gel along the frosted edge, and pipe an orange square box in the middle for the “backboard” of the goal.    Then, dab a bit of frosting on the unfrosted part of the cookie (in the center) and press the cupcake into it (the cupcake is the “net”).  Use a mini basketball chocolate (you can usually find these around Valentine’s Day in the candy aisle for those sports enthusiasts) and use frosting to secure it to the backboard and net.  Let the whole thing set for about 30 minutes before standing up.

These were so easy to create and were a hit with the boys!

Winter weather means it is time for one of my most favorite science activities - ALL THINGS STATIC ELECTRICITY!  What causes static electricity to be so prevalent in the winter months?  It is primarily based on two facts:  wintertime is typically drier than summer, when the air is more humid.  Electricity needs the dry air in order to hold the charge.  And, we tend to wear things (such as wool hats and scarves, jackets and socks) that increase the presence of static electricity.

Without bogging down on how static electricity is formed, it simply needs two “insulators” to rub together.  Insulators are things made of plastic, cloth, or glass.  These can hold charged atoms, called ions.  When they come into contact with a “conductor”, such as metal, the energy is transferred (and we get a shock!).  Here are some great things to try on a cold, dry day to experiment with static electricity.

• Take a piece of dry cereal, such as an “O” shaped cereal, and tie it to a thread about a foot long.  Tape the thread on the side of a table so that the cereal hangs loosely without touching anything.  Next take a clean, dry comb and rub it on a sweater or comb through dry hair.  Now, hold the comb close to the cereal.  What does the cereal do?  When the cereal is hanging loose again, recharge the comb and place it near the cereal again.  Are the results the same or different?  Why?
• Rub a dry, clean comb on a sweater or through dry hair and hold it near a running faucet (run the faucet in a slow, steady stream, not full-blast).  Watch what happens to the stream of water.
• This is my favorite, but it definitely requires an adult to do it.  Take a fluorescent light bulb into a dark room.  Rub a dry, clean comb on a sweater or through dry hair (do this a lot to build up a good charge).  Touch the comb to the light bulb and see what happens.  Try touching the light bulb in different places and see if the results change.

These experiments can be done with balloons that are blown up and tied as well.  Try it both ways and see which way works best!

While organizing my recipes, I came across this yummy concoction that is sure to please any sweet tooth.  It is one of our “winter” favorites as my boys always say the coating is “snow”!  Mix some up for your crew this week as a special winter treat!  This recipe is so simple that even little hands can help out!

Winter Trail Mix

3 c pretzels (I prefer sticks)
1.5 c corn Chex or Crispix
1 c nuts (pecans, walnuts or peanuts or a combination)
.5 c dried cranberries or raisins
12 oz white chocolate

Mix all ingredients except for the white chocolate together in a large bowl.  Melt the chocolate (see package for directions) and pour over the mix while gently stirring.  Scoop out and place on wax paper until cool, then bread into bite-size pieces.  Makes about 10 cups of delicious snacking!

1. Top Goods Trading Recalls Flashing Pacifiers Due to Choking and Strangulation Hazard

2. TDI International Recalls Toy Cars Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard 

3.  Stork Craft Recalls More Than 500,000 Cribs; Mattress Support Bracket Failures Create Risk of Entrapment and Suffocation.

4. Toy Xylophones Recalled by The Land of Nod Due to Choking Hazard

5. Children’s Sunglasses Recalled by Axiom Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard

6. Fisher-Price Recalls Simplicity’s Rainforest(tm) Portable Play Yards Due to Fall and Entrapment Hazards

7. Infantino Expands Recall of Infant Rattles Due to Choking Hazard

In one short month, Valentine’s Day will be here.  Giving someone a Valentine is a wonderful way to show how much you care, and when these Valentine’s are handmade, the message is that much more special.  Here are a couple of easy homemade Valentines for your kids to make - for neighbors, friends, relatives and classmates!

1. Cut hearts from red or pink construction paper, about the size of a 3×5 index card.  Cut two slits in the heart, large enough to slide a stick of gum (such as Big Red) through, much like Cupid’s arrow through a heart.  On the Valentine, write “I ‘chews’ you to be my Valentine” and sign it!  These are always a huge hit with friends and classmates!
2. As in suggestion #1, cut hearts from red, purple or pink construction paper.  Cut two finger-sized holes in the lower portion of the heart (you can start a hole with a hole punch then use scissors to increase the size).  Decorate the heart with a face, wiggly eyes and cute smile, then pen a message on the back, such as, “You make my heart dance!”  Viola!  A Valentine finger puppet!

When my older son was little, we lived within 20 minutes of all of our relatives - both sides of the family.  He spent the first four years of his life being immersed in extended family.  But, due to a job change for my husband, we ended up moving about four hours away, creating a huge gap in our families’ lives and our son’s.  We found a way, though, to keep family close while still miles away.

In our new home, we created a “family tree” wall.  We framed pictures of all of our relatives, each person with his or her own individual frame.  And, along the hallway leading to my son’s room, we hung these photos.  Each night, as my son finished his bathroom duties and headed off to bed, we said, “goodnight” to all of our family.  It was (and still is) a wonderful way to keep him in touch with those that were such an intricate part of his first few years.

As an alternative, take a group photo the next time a large number of family are together and frame this.  Keeping it in your child’s room will be a nice way to keep those family members close to your child.  It is a great way to keep loving faces familiar (and names, too).