Recall - Lead: Children's Jewelry

CPSC.GOV -- *sigh* More Disney-themed jewelry made in China covered in lead-based paint sold at Wal*Mart. More...

Recall - Choking: Payless Clogs

CPSC.GOV -- $15 and $20 clogs sold at Payless Shoes and payless.com. Adds 270,000 to initial recall of 690,000 recalled earlier. See the website for more details. More...

Recall - Burn/Amputation: Easy-Bake Oven

CPSC.GOV -- One million $25 Easy-Bake Ovens sold at all the major toy stores. Burns, one of which resulted in a five-year-old having to have part of her finger amputated. More...

Recall - Choking: Playskool Toddler "NoSpill" Sippy Cups

CPSC.GOV -- 84,000 sippy cups imported from China by CVS/pharmacy, sold between Sept. 2006 and April 2007 for $5. More...

Love & Cold Noses

Rachel and I were hugging and she was giving me kisses (I was trying to give her kisses, too, but she was saying "No, Mommy, just let me kiss."). Then she said:

"I love my Mommy very-much-why-is-your-nose-so-cold?" speeding up as she went along, as if it were all one thought that belonged together. I love how her brain works :)

The Lesson We're Unable To Learn

For all of Rachel's life, there have been times when she has woken up, just crying miserably. Completely unconsolable. Crying hysterically. She won't tell us what's wrong, and when younger, couldn't. Won't wake up fully. You try to hold her and she just squirms and wiggles. She acts like she wants to be comfortable, but can't.

Diaper? Tummy? Bad Dream?

Every time, it finally dawns on us. Maybe she's just hungry. Get her a little food and bam! She comes back to life, immediately calms down, wakes up and is her normal self. It's such a weird reaction and I can't figure out why after three years we don't pick up on it right away.

I guess it's because it seems like it can happen at just about any time, even just a few hours after having had a good sized dinner.

(On the other hand, maybe writing about it here will cement it more firmly in my brain and we'll have better luck diagnosing it quickly in the future.)

Recall - Lead: Children's Jewelry

CSPC.GOV -- More low-priced Chinese manufactured jewelry sold at discount stores has been found to have high lead content. (What's new? Is China trying to eliminate lead from the country or something?) Many more photos on the website. Folks, stop buying discount jewerly for your children. More...

Recall - Serious Injury: Mag Stix

CPSC.GOV -- Kipp Brothers recalls Chinese-manufactured "Mag Stix" magnetic toy after an 8-year-old was seriously injured after swallowing magnets that had come loose from the toy. More...

There's a cow in the road!

This morning Rachel brought me the book "There's a Cow in the Road!" and asked me to read it. I hadn't seen it before, so I opened it up. The premise is pretty straightforward, there's a cow in the road. It's a really good read. It's in poem form, but the cadence is easy to pick up.

Do Not Disturb

Rachel's latest trick is waking up before us in the morning. With the gate removed, she can roam freely. So she'll come to our room, open the door just a crack, look in and see what we're asleep, close the door and wander off to play by herself. It's probably not safe so we pour ourselves out of bed, but it sure is considerate.

Can you s-p-e-l-l?

Last night while out walking, I asked Lori if we should "go to the p-a-r-k?"

Rachel immediately looks up at Lori and asks, "Mom, can we go to the p-a-r-k?"

Not sure she knew exactly what we were talking about, but apparently we may need to have Kevin teach us some Russian or something.

Recall - Choking: Infantino Toy Castle

CPSC.GOV -- Infantino of San Diego, Calif. is recalling this children's toy manufactured in China due to the potential for the rod to come loose and pose a choking hazard. The design has been changed so not all of these cute little castles are subject to the recall. Please see the CPSC website for more information. More...