The $5.00 Magazines Sale

From December 6-12, all the magazines you see below are on sale for $5.00 each! Give a gift, renew an existing subscription, or start a new one--all for just $5.00. Snap them all up at this price--they make great gifts for everyone on your list.

Here are the magazines:
Cosmo
Good Housekeeping
House Beautiful
Popular Mechanics
Smart Money
Country Living
Veranda
Marie Clair
Redbook
Seventeen
Bazaar
Esquire
Town & Country... Take advantage Click Here

ST. LOUIS – A consumer group contends one of the holiday season's must-have toys is unsafe.
But the maker of the robotic Zhu Zhu Pets hamsters defended its product Saturday against a study by San Francisco-based GoodGuide that said higher-than-allowed levels of the chemical antimony were found in the toy. Read full story on Yahoo News

We had the opportunity to do a product review for IsaBooties Soft Soled Shoes. We received the shoes a few weeks ago but wanted to give them a real test and had my 18 month old wear them. So she has been wearing them around the house and on playdates. We have learned that the booties are washable because we had a potty training mishap. Just as the company advertises the booties are wash/dryable which is such a convenience.



The booties are well made and are a great substitution for socks. They are not to be used on pavement but can used everywhere else. Perfect for play spots that require socks. I keep them in my bag so I always have them on hand. I like to use them when she is dressed with tights because too many slips. The bottoms are designed for traction. Aside from being completely adorable, my favorite feature is that my little one can't take them off as easily as she can everything else.



Overall I think these booties are super cute and dependable for Moms today. After a few wears and some machine washing the booties look like they did when they first arrived. Great for homes with hardwood floors and you don't have to worry about what they are made of because IsaBooties took care of that. These shoes are formaldehyde-free, 100% machine washable/machine dryable just like socks offering a clean, healthy choice in footwear. The packaging is recycled/recyclable and printed with soy ink. These shoes are made in the USA and have tons of very cute styles to choose from. Looking for a great gift for that little one in your family? Start shopping at http://www.isabooties.com/ and use promo code babysmartz to get 20% off. Ends 12/31/09.

Fisher-Price Amazing Animals Spinning Around Musical Zoo

My daughter received this toy last Christmas and she still plays with it everyday. So does my almost 4 y/o. So if you looking for something that won't be tossed aside in a week this could be a great choice.

Estimated cost: $39 but if your a Toys R Us Facebook fan you can get it for 20% off 12/4 and 12/5.

Some fun and educational Christmas gifts from LearningRX

Check out this MSN article on baby planners.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34243979/ns/health-pregnancy/

Now that my son is fully aware of who Santa is this video has sealed the deal. If you haven't done this yet definitely worth the huge smile it probably will create. Sign up for the Disney Family website and you can create a personalized video of your child. You get to put them on Santa's nice list. Here is the complete video of my son on Santa's nice list http://family.go.com/santas-list/video/94158-owenkayleighwindram/ so you can get a preview. The video takes a second to load then go ahead and create your own.

Leapfrog Learn and Groove Musical Table

The Leapfrog Learn and Groove Table helped my kids learn how to pull themselves up to a standing position. They would stand for long periods of time playing with the different activities. The toys has been passed down to friends and family members great durability.

It's a learning fiesta for your little one! This interactive, bilingual activity table engages and entertains your baby for hours. There are songs, melodies, twinkling lights and real instrument sounds, plus lots of things to spin, roll, slide, open and close. The table plays over 40 songs and melodies so your baby stays entertained while exploring. When babies turn the center page, the activity table switches modes and transforms musical discoveries into learning activities where each instrument plays a learning song.

Estimated Cost: $40.00

The holiday season is a time where you need to become more aware of the dangers that toys can create. I come from a large family and have lots of young ones that I will be buying for and I wanted to make sure nothing on my list has been recalled or listed as dangerous. W.A.T.C.H (World Against Toys that Cause Harm) had published the 10 worst of 2009. Here is the list:

DISNEY-PIXAR WALL-E FOAM ROCKET LAUNCHER
MOON BOARD POGO BOARD
CURIOUS BABY CURIOUS GEORGE COUNTING – MY FIRST BOOK OF NUMBERS
THE DARK KNIGHT BATMAN FIGURE
X-MEN ORIGINS SLASHIN' ACTION WOLVERINE
LOTS TO LOVE BABIES – “mini nursery”
JUST KIDZ JUNIOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
CAT “rugged mini”
PUCCI PUPS MALTESE
SPY GEAR VIPER-BLASTER

http://toysafety.org/worstToyList_index.shtml

You can view the images and click on each one for more details.

I just finished doing this with my kids. In three simple steps we were able to send a Thanks! to our troops. My kids enjoyed picking a picture to send and creating a short message. Show your support today. http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1280.html

12 Ways to Keep Your Toy Box Safe and Eco-friendly | Healthy Child Healthy World

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A California environmental health advocacy group commissioned testing on some 250 toys and found high lead levels in seven of them, including Barbie and Disney-branded products. While the percentage that failed was low, the findings released by the Center for Environmental Health were disturbing nonetheless for just how high the levels were -- in some toys they were dozens of times above the legal limit.The Barbie and Disney toys that flunked had the highest lead levels of those tested Read more

An article was published today on NJ.com stating N.J. hospitals are urged to halt kid visits to stem spread of swine flu. If your children are planning to visit someone in the hospital call ahead of time to see if the visiting policy has changed. According to the article hospital should consider suspending visiting privileges for children 18 years old and younger. Has anyone been turned away with their children at area hospitals? Share your story here. Full article http://tinyurl.com/yd9qpxa

All Maclaren strollers sold since 1999 are included in the recall, according to a source briefed on the recall. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/11/09/2009-11-09_kid_stroller_can_cut_off_fingertips.html#ixzz0WMaRkqNi

Look for CPSP official announcement this week.

Proud owner of Maclaren so I am surprised by this announcement and have had no issues with my stroller but safety first so make sure you pick up protective covers for the dangerous hinges.

Consumer Affairs complaints
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/toys/maclaren.html

YES........is the answer!

BabySmartz would like to ask the question "Why do the product inserts for these vaccines state such lack of testing?"...no wonder all parents are in full panic mode!

Sanofi Pasteur brand: "Safety and effectiveness in pediatric subjects below the age of 6 months have not been established. The immune response and safety of Fluzone vaccine was evaluated in 31 children between the ages of 6-26 months." Who are these child guinea pigs you ask? We will never know.....

www.fda.gov/downloads/.../approvedproducts/ucm182404.pdf

Novartis/Diagnostics Limited Brand: "Safety and effectiveness in pediatric subjects below the age of 4 years have not been established." notice the word NOT...

MedImmune brand: "Safety and effectiveness of FluMist has been demonstrated for children 2 years of age and older with reduction in culture-confirmed influenza rates compared to active control (injectable influenza vaccine made by Sanofi Pasteur Inc.) and placebo [see Clinical Studies (14.1)]. Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine Live, Intranasal is not approved for use in children http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/ucm181971.htm%22%
For some of us, the responses from Dr. Sears on the H1N1 vaccine testing may ease minds:
Vaccine Book:

What safety and efficacy testing has been done on these vaccines?

Here is where we are flying by the seat of our pants, so to speak. The product inserts make it VERY clear that the “swine” flu versions of these vaccines have NOT undergone any testing to demonstrate whether or not they are safe and whether or not they even work. They are relying on the fact that they are so similar to the regular flu shots that they should work just as well.

Although I don’t like that approach, I must admit that they may be right. I don’t see any reason to doubt that our immune systems won’t respond to this vaccine the same way they respond to regular flu shots. And I don’t expect that the side effects would be any different either. In The Vaccine Book, I give a lot of detail about flu vaccine ingredients and side effects that you should be aware of before getting this shot.

How are these vaccines manufactured?

Here is the interesting part. Everyone has been worrying and theorizing about how these BRAND NEW vaccines are going to be made and what new and dangerous ingredients they might contain. Well, what has ended up happening is that these four companies have made their “swine” flu vaccines using the exact same process and ingredients that they’ve used for their regular flu vaccines. All they’ve changed is the strain of the flu germs that go into the vaccine. Not to say that these vaccines are completely chemical free and 100% safe. But we aren’t dealing with brand new flu vaccines here. We are dealing with the same thing we face with flu shots every year: same chemical ingredients, new flu vaccine strains. You can find out more details on how regular flu shots are made in the flu chapter of the vaccine book, and apply that same process to the “swine” flu vaccines. See more from Dr. Sears http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/

So all you parents out there who are scared and undecided on whether to get the H1N1 vaccine your not alone!

Bug Spray Blamed For Infant's Death - KYPost.com

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Interesting article on the debate of kids using social networking. How will social networking impact the younger generation? Will our kids ability to have a verbal conversation be damaged or will it impact brain development? Many kids use social networking for positive things. Read the following article for more on this on going debate. http://tinyurl.com/ydau527

A recent survey says only about a third of pregnant women plan to get the H1N1 flu vaccine, but health officials say pregnant women are among the most susceptible to the virus. Watch the video and see what the experts are saying.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging parents and caregivers to immediately stop providing “My Baby Soother” pacifiers to their children. The pacifiers were distributed by T & L Trading Corp., of Brooklyn, N.Y. The pacifiers failed to meet federal safety standards because the nipples can separate from the base easily, posing a choking hazard to infants and toddlers.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10021.html

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Product: Fiesta Masquerade and Home Olympic Flatware
Units: About 13,000
Distributor: Cambridge Silversmiths Ltd. Inc., of Fairfield, N.J.
Hazard: The plastic decorative inserts on the flatware’s handles can detach during dishwashing, posing a choking hazard to children.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10018.html#