You have the chance to ask professional sleep consultant Jennifer Waldburger, co-author of The Sleepeasy Solution, questions about getting your kids to sleep on a free webcast and Q&A on November 12, hosted by the preschool television channel Sprout.

[Personally, this Daylight Saving Time transition is putting a cramp in my sleep schedule! BK (before kids) I was always excited about that "extra" hour of sleep - I'm not a morning person! Now, how do I reset my kids' sleep clocks?!]

In any event, here are the details of the call:

“When: Wednesday, November 12 at 2pm ET

Why: Because nobody’s children sleep like proverbial babies!“

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In an Associated Press article called “400 reports of baby rashes prompt clothing warning“, parents are warned about Carter’s Inc. baby garments (the Fall 2007 line) with tag-less labels. The Consumer Product Safety Commission encourages parents to stop dressing their children in these garments if they develop a rash, but a recall of the product line has not been issued. On Carter’s site it says:

“If your child develops such an allergic reaction, you should stop using the garment that caused the reaction. If the condition persists, please contact your pediatrician for advice. You may return any item that you are not satisfied with for a full refund. Our Consumer Affairs staff can help with that return.”

For more information, consumers can call 888-282-4674 or visit http://www.carters.com/corporate/tagless-message.aspx or http://www.cpsc.gov.

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FYI:

“With Halloween right around the corner, child pedestrian safety expert Moira Donahue with Safe Kids USA, is encouraging parents to remind their little ghosts and super heroes to be safe when out trick-or-treating.

Halloween is supposed to be about scares that are fun, not frightening. But statistics show it’s one of the most dangerous days of the year for kids when it comes to walking safely.

To keep Halloween spooky rather than scary, Moira Donahue with Safe Kids USA and FedEx have teamed up to develop safety tips for parents and drivers:

How to keep kids safe:

* Cross streets at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks
* Make eye contact with drivers and watch for cars that are turning or backing up
* Wear face paint and makeup; a mask can restrict a child’s vision
* Wear well-fitting, sturdy shoes that prevent trips and falls
* Only trick-or-treat in well lit and familiar areas
* Carry a flashlight or glow stick to increase visibility to drivers

Driving safely on Halloween:

* Be sure to drive with your full headlights on so you can spot children from greater distances
* Take extra time to actively look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs
* Remember that popular trick-or-treating hours are during the typical rush hour period, between 5:30-9:30 PM.

For additional tips, fun safety message e-cards and a Halloween safety checklist go to: www.usa.safekids.org/wtw/halloween2008.html”

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This year, I’m getting the flu shot along with the kids. Last year, I took them to get their shots but neglected to get one myself. For the first time (that I can remember), I caught the flu! Suffice it to say that it’s no fun being that sick while still having to maintain “mommy duties”. My doctor said that the shots should be available mid-October, so I’m making the appointments next week.

Recently I learned that The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expanded the flu vaccination recommendations this year to include all children from 6 months through 18 years old. To drive awareness of the new recommendations and the importance of flu vaccinations, I was happy to hear that Families Fighting Flu (FFF), the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA), and The Clorox Company have teamed up to drive awareness of the new recommendations and the importance of flu vaccinations through their Say “Boo!” to the Flu program. To learn more about the program, please visit www.sayboototheflu.com. Meanwhile, here a few tips to “scare away” the flu:

• Wash Hands Frequently: Wash hands with warm water and soap at least 20 seconds.
• Disinfect Germ Hot Spots: Kids can touch up to 300 surfaces in 30 minutes, so disinfect the surfaces kids touch most frequently - like doorknobs, light switches, faucets or plastic toys.
• Do the Elbow Cough: Cough and sneeze into your elbow instead of your hands to help prevent the spread of germs from touch.
• Follow Good Health Guidelines: Eat right, exercise, and get plenty of sleep to help boost your body’s ability to fight the effects of colds and the flu.

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The 100% faithful elephant Horton from Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! - has a trunk-full of tricks-and-treats. You can find some fun activity sheets here.

Sheets include the following:

• Hort-o’-Lantern - A special Horton-themed pumpkin-carving pattern will help light the way for Whos everywhere. Use the stencil to carve the pumpkin, or as a safe alternative paint the pattern with washable poster paints or markers.

• Super Sweet Treat! - Horton shares a recipe for his favorite sweet holiday treat: tasty candied yams starring you-know-WHO! So delicious, it will have ghosts, mummies, witches and goblins racing to get their hands on it!

• Horton For Halloween! - Kids can ‘get big’ for Halloween this year by creating a fun and easy Horton costume with how-to instructions.

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Here are a couple of items that are important to note:

-Parents are cautioned (by drug companies) not to give cold medicine to kids under the age of 4 in this Chicago Tribune article.

- Doctors caution parents not to purchase exotic pets for kids under the age of 5 in this AOL article. Such pets (i.e. hamsters, baby chicks, hamsters, lizards, and turtles) pose a disease risk because of their germs. Also, they are more likely to bite, scratch or claw.

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What an encouraging month October has been thus far!

I learned that our Mom in the City site has been included as one (of eight) Mommy blog suggestions in a Grand Rapids Press article called “Moms use Web to connect with parents worldwide” today. (I need to visit Michigan!)

The little blurb says:

mominthecity.com — Geared toward urban parenting, the African-American founder includes a diverse group of mom blog contributors.

What an honor to be included with the following great blogs:

• coolmompicks.com

• momlogic.com

• mommytrackd.com

• pregnancy-pitstop.com/blog

• fromdatestodiapers.com

• 5minutesformom.com

And

• bookieboo.com

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When I get (especially) good or bad customer service from a company, I like to share it. Since it’s Halloween costume-shopping time, I’m sharing a recent interaction that I had with Celebrate Express. (That’s where we bought the boys’ costumes this year.)

On 9/19 (to beat the rush and because they were offering free shipping) we ordered two Star Wars costumes (Obi-Wan Kenobi™ & Baby Yoda™) and two lightsabers online from Celebrate Express.

Fortunately, my husband had the foresight to try out the lightsabers before Halloween. One worked, one didn’t. So, I sent the following email to customer service on the evening of 9/28:

“Hello,

Here was the response that I received the very next morning (9/29):

“Dear Kimberly,

I received the replacement Obi-Wan Lightsaber within a week (3 Day Express UPS) at no additional cost AND without having to return the detective lightsaber. (I really don’t like returning items – especially when the fault is on the side of the company.)

In any event, I’ll definitely choose Celebrate Express again in the future!

Just because I was so happy with their customer service, I want to share how you can get free shipping on your order also:

How to get Free Shipping:
1. Enter keycode PWK-343 in your online shopping cart.
2. Free Standard Ground shipping on orders of $50 or more will be reflected at checkout.
3. Offer expires 10/16/08. Shop here now!

*Offer expires 10/16/08 and applies to Standard Ground shipping on Celebrate Express merchandise orders of $50 or more within the contiguous U.S. only. One offer per purchase. Not applicable to previously placed orders. This offer cannot be combined with other offers.

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I love recipes with five ingredients or less, so I was really interested when I saw a peanut butter cookie recipe in the October issue of Parents magazine. I had to try it!

I made the cookies and they (the ones that didn’t stick to the pan!) were actually really tasty. Both of my kids loved them. (I don’t blame the recipe for the cookies sticking…I just need to get a better cookie sheet!)

I don’t see the recipe on the Parents website. So, I’ll just say let you know that the three ingredients are peanut butter, sugar and an egg. You can pick up the October Parents magazine to get the full recipe. (It’s on page 208.)

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The United States presidential election of 2008 is scheduled for Tuesday, November 4th. If you haven’t already done so, it’s important to register to vote as soon as possible. (It can take registering up to 31 days before the date of the election in order for your vote to count.) Click here to find state by state voter laws and registration deadlines.

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