Living From my Pantry & Freezer

So when we moved I was told if we ever had a natural disaster my whole block would be at my house eating from my pantry. This is an inherited trait. Spending a lot of time at my grandmother's who had 6 children she always had 10 loves of bread on hand (no I don't have that many, but we do always have two!), and just a packed kitchen. So over the years I have accumulated food.

We have a stand up deep freezer and our regular fridge freezer packed.

So I am taking on a challenge to myself. To see how long I can live from my freezer and pantry. Now I obviously am going to have to purchase milk, dairy and baby food but I am going to try my hardest to not go to the grocery store. I think this would be an easier task if it was summer and my veggies were already growing BUT I do have tons of frozen veggies.

So while I do this I will be adding up my grocery bill and compare it with the last 30 days of grocery bills. I think I can last 4 weeks. The real question is can my husband last that long. He does not like anything I cook so this will be nothing new for him I guess!! This will include our eating out totals too!

Wish me luck and feel free to join in and save some "dough"!

Bracelets with High Levels of Cadmium RECALLED

CPSC Issues Warning on Children’s Winter and Holiday-Themed Charm Bracelets with High Levels of Cadmium
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning consumers about the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using the products immediately.
Name of Product: Children’s Metal Charm Bracelets
Units: Unknown
Importer: Buy-Rite Designs, of Freehold, N.J. (The firm is no longer in business.)
Hazard: The bracelets contain high levels of cadmium. Laboratory analysis determined that following a 24-hour incubation in simulated stomach acid, over 20,000 micrograms of cadmium were released from the snowman alone. Cadmium can be toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported.
Description: This warning involves Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer brand children’s Christmas and winter-themed bracelets. The two styles involved in this notice are the Bumble Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The bracelets were sold with winter and Christmas-themed charms including a snowman, Christmas tree, candy cane and snowflake.
Sold at: Discount and dollar-type stores nationwide between 2006 and March 2009 for about $1.
Manufactured in: China
Remedy: Consumers should immediately take these charm bracelets away from children and dispose of the jewelry.

St. Patty's Day Fun

Here are some GREAT printables from 24/7 MOMS for St. Patty's Day Fun!

Clover Cash, HIDE for you children or spouse and let them redeem them for prizes you get to choose! Could be fun "spark" for your relationship!

Ideas on where to hide them:

Lunch Box

Shoes

Pockets

Under toothbrush

Briefcase

In the car, tape to the inside of window

Tape to back of TV remote

In drawers

Under their pillow

In socks

St. Patrick's Day Goodie Basket, make this basket and fill with gold chocolate coins or green M&M's!

Or you can download a blank basket and decorate as you wish!

St. Patty's Day Word Scramble
Get the Word Scramble here:

And the answers here:

Outback Steakhouse - Thanks for Giving!

For 20 years, Outback has been supporting our troops Outback employee volunteers have traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Kuwait and aboard naval vessels to serve a taste of home, including steaks and Bloomin' Onions, to over 150,000 deployed men and women during Operation Feeding Freedom. This year, they're increasing their efforts in support of the troops and their families. And now they invite you to join them. Order off our limited time Red, White and Bloomin' menu in the month of March and help us donate $1 Million to Operation Homefront.

Order off their limited time Red,White and Bloomin' menu in the month of March and help us donate $1,000,000 to Operation Homefront. Select from their two new steak and shrimp combinations: the Outback Special® or the Victoria's Filet® & your choice of shrimp (Grilled Shrimp on the Barbie, Gold Coast Coconut Shrimp, or Shrimp Scampi) as well as many of our signature items.
Click here for our Red, White & Bloomin' menu

Operation Homefront


Operation Homefront provides assistance for our troops, their families, and wounded warriors when they return home.






For more information please visit: http://www.outback.com/companyinfo/thanksforgiving.aspx
Thank you Outback for Supporting Our Troops!

Win $1000 by designing your best 3-pack of socks!

about the contest
Project Sock is back and better than ever! With even more prizes at stake, Project Sock: Season 2 is destined to be bigger, bolder and highlight the best talent from all around!
The nationwide design contest presents a one-of-a-kind opportunity for fans to reveal their "socktastic" artistic abilities by designing a 3-pack of non-matching socks to become part of a 2010 LittleMissMatched collection. All ages and levels of experience are encouraged to enter - the only requirement is creativity!
This year, Project Sock will award six (6) designers with the chance of a lifetime. Not only will the winning socks be sold to the public as part of the 2010 LittleMissMatched collection but cash prizes, socks, and of course, fame, will be up for grabs.
Think you've got what it takes to be the next Project Sock winner? If so, come on and show the world how you'd rock your socks!
prizes
One (1) Fan Favorite Prize winning design chosen by fans just like YOU will go into production to become part of the 2010 LittleMissMatched holiday collection for sale to public. PLUS, the winner gets a $1,000 cash prize and TEN packs of their winning socks!
Five (5) Favorite Prize winning designs chosen by a panel of judges will also go into production to become part of the 2010 LittleMissMatched holiday collection for sale to public. These five winners will each also receive a cash price of $250 and TEN packs of their winning socks!

how to enter
1. Design your original 3-pack of non-matching socks using the PROJECT SOCK template. You can either print this form and design your socks on paper or import the template into your favorite design program and rock out there (as long as you don't change the template sizing). Whatever you choose, be sure your design is on 8 1/2 x 11 white paper.
2. Fill out your ENTRY FORM and if you’re under 18, be sure to have your parent/guardian sign your entry form too!

3. Mail your design and entry form to:

Project Sock

c/o LittleMissMatched

307 7th Avenue, Suite 501

New York, NY 10001

All mailed submissions must be received by 6pm EST on April 15, 2010. In-store submissions must be received by 5pm EST on April 13, 2010. To learn how to submit in-stores, see Official Rules.
Need Inspiration? Click here to see samples of the latest packs of 3 single socks!

Early Potty Training

When is it the "right" time. every child is different. For my son it was around 3. When he could tell me, "I'm going potty." We actually held off until 3 1/2 for our convenience with a trip to Disneyland, potty training in an amusement park did not sound like fun! So when is the "right" time? I found a great article at Connect With Kids.

from www.connectwithkids.com, Emily Halevy CWK Producer

I would suggest meeting with someone who had done it successfully, visiting websites that might offer information, and having a very open mind. Realizing that it may not be the perfect answer in every family, but in some families this may be something worth trying.”
– Karen Dewling, M.D., pediatrician

It's one of the great questions of the ages: when should you begin to potty train your toddler? Researchers at Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital have narrowed the window down to between 24 and 32 months of age. But this hasn't stopped some parents from attempting to train their babies even younger ... much younger.

It seems that for the Young family it's working. "Psss. You need to go bud? Do you need to go?" Diana asks her seven-month-old son, Dorian, while he's sitting on his infant potty seat.
When he has to go, Diana taught him to make a sign. "See," she points, "now he's doing the potty sign. Do you see his right hand there like that?"

But is he really potty trained?

"Children, when they're toilet trained as young infants are not truly toilet trained," explains pediatrician Dr. Karen Dewling, "Their parents become trained, their caregivers become trained to recognize the infants cues that they need to void or defecate."

She explains that the biggest problem is young babies can't do very much. "Toilet training is a very complex skill that requires the child to recognize the need to go, to control the need to go, to be able to get to the bathroom, remove their clothing, do what they need to do, flush, wash their hands, very complicated language and motor skills are required for the true process."

So, should you try to potty train a child before the age or two or three? She says it may not work, but there's no harm in trying. "I think that a caregiver who's able to recognize a baby's cues is very in tune with that baby, and that's probably a very good thing."

"My friend's say, 'I have never seen a happier baby,' and I think it's because he knows that I'll meet his needs," says Diana, "He doesn't need to cry to get my attention, cause he has my attention all the time."

All that attention may seem like a lot of work, but Diana says it's worth it. "The biggest benefit has been the connection between us. I just feel like I'm a good mother. I feel like I'm doing something for him that he appreciates, and that he needs, and it's the right thing."

On average, children begin potty training around age 2, and girls generally potty train faster than boys. Experts at Southern Cloth Baby recommend looking for the following signs that may mean your child is ready to begin potty training:

• Able to stay dry for an hour or two
• Awareness of bodily functions
• Interest in being clean and dry
• Able to understand and follow simple instructions
• Interest in wearing training pants instead of diapers
• Simple self-dressing
• Interest or curiosity about bathroom habits

However, the experts recommend not to start potty training if the child will be experiencing big changes in the near future such as:

• A new baby in the family
• Moving to a new house or school
• A parent starting work
• The holiday season

Tips for Parents
Potty training can be one of the most daunting tasks faced by you and your child during the early years. Dr. Claire Albright, psychologist and parenting coach, offers the following tips that may make the transition easier:

• Dress your child in underwear at about 28 months of age when the child is at home. Today's disposable diapers provide almost no feedback to the child about when they are wet. Your child will feel uncomfortable in their "big kid" pants when they are wet and may therefore feel motivated to try using the toilet.
• Allow your child to run around naked when you are at home. Having to deal with the urge to eliminate will be much more noticeable to your child when there is nothing to catch it in but the potty-seat.
• Look for signs of potty training readiness in your child. These signs of readiness may include telling you when they are using the bathroom in their diaper, requesting that you change a messy diaper, keeping their diaper dry for hours at a time, showing enthusiasm after going to the bathroom, etc.
• Begin potty training at an appropriate age. Potty training becomes less difficult as your child gets older. Potty training prematurely can make a child feel misunderstood, alone and rebellious. It is often best to wait until the child is three years old to focus on potty training.
• Make potty training fun by giving your child little rewards for sitting on the toilet with no diaper

You could use stickers, crackers, small, inexpensive toys, etc. Using candy could produce sugar cravings and tooth decay, however.

• Purchase a couple of potty training videos designed for toddler viewing. The research shows that the best way to teach any behavior is to have role models demonstrating the behavior. (Live models are more effective than video modeling.)
• Pour cheerios or crackers into the toilet for little boys to take 'aim' at. This challenge taps into a little boy's natural interest in hitting targets.
• Purchase several toddler-level books about children being potty trained. Potty training feels more natural and less stressful to a child who has been exposed to the process at "storybook time."
• Consider allowing other trusted adults to help you to potty train your child. Many preschoolers respond more quickly to input from grandparents, aunts and trusted babysitters than they do to input from their parents in the area of potty training. Some parents report that a grandparent was able to potty train their child during one weekend away.
• Make potty training a top priority on a consistent basis when you have the emotional and physical energy to do it.

References
Southern Cloth Baby
Shemrock International
About Potty Training Your Toddler

Hooded Sweatshirt Recall - Sold at Burlington Coat Factory

Boys’ Hooded Jackets with Drawstrings Recalled by Ten West Apparel Due to Strangulation Hazard; Sold at Burlington Coat Factory

Name of Product: Boys’ Hooded Jackets
Units: About 75
Importer: Ten West Apparel, of New York, N.Y.
Hazard: The children’s jackets have drawstrings through the hood which can pose a strangulation hazard to children. In February 1996, CPSC issued guidelines (pdf) (which were incorporated into an industry voluntary standard in 1997) to help prevent children from strangling or getting entangled on the neck and waist drawstrings in upper garments, such as jackets or sweatshirts.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported.
Description: This recall involves Ten 1 West boys’ jackets with a drawstring through the hood. They were sold in size 10/12 and are black cotton with a white fleece lining. “TEN 1 WEST” is printed on a hang tag on the center of the back neck.
Sold exclusively at: Burlington Coat Factory stores nationwide from November 2006 through September 2009 for about $12.
Manufactured in: China
Remedy: Consumers should immediately remove the drawstring from the jacket to eliminate the hazard or return the garment to Burlington Coat Factory or to Ten West Apparel for a full refund. Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Ten West Apparel collect at (212) 564-1007 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit Burlington Coat Factory’s Web site www.burlingtoncoatfactory.com