My Brest Friend nursing pillows buckle around your waist for safe and secure feedings, holds your baby at the most comfortable and supportive position, allowing proper digestion and allows mommy to maintain good posture.

Read our review of the My Brest Friend nursing pillow here.

And the winner is….

Kristen!

Congrats!  Check your email for more info on claiming your prize!

Almost half of U.S. women today become pregnant already classified as overweight or obese which, according to studies, increases the unborn baby’s likelihood of being born too big or too small, both of which increase their risk of becoming obese in their lifetime.

Compound that with the common misunderstanding that pregnant women are “eating for two,” causing unnecessary, and risky, amounts of weight gain during their pregnancy, and it’s no wonder children as young as 2, 3, and 4 are already becoming morbidly obese.

While a mother’s weight is a risk factor for having an overweight youngster, it isn’t the most common reason children gain unhealthy amounts of weight, and it definitely isn’t the easiest one to tackle (hello, diet and exercise, where did you come from?) Even still, the finding excites many professionals.

“If we can identify a short period of time where an intervention can have a long-lasting effect, that could be very promising,” says Dr. Nicolas Stettler, an associate professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania.

You already plan on feeding your unborn baby a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and will ensure they get plenty of exercise, but what can you do right now to make sure they grow into healthy adults?  Take care of yourself.

The odds of a child being overweight at age 7 are 48% higher for children of women who gained more weight than recommended during pregnancy.  A woman of a healthy weight should gain about 25-35 pounds over the course of her pregnancy.  Women who are overweight should only gain 15-25 pounds.  Experts recommend doing this through consuming only 100-300 extra calories per day, from nutrient rich foods.  I like the saying, “if you wouldn’t feed it to your child once they are born, don’t feed it to them before.”

Exercise is also an important factor.  Click here to read Kidglue’s Guide to Pregnancy Fitness, and make sure you child, and his mother, live long and healthy lives.

JackCards.com

Membership to the site is free and cards start as low as $2.50, but this week, JackCards.com and Kidglue.com offered one lucky reader a $20 gift certificate to try it out!

That lucky winner is….

shannon Baas!

Congrats!  Check your email for further instructions!

Everyone else, check out the great giveaway that started this morning!

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED***

Breast feeding isn’t the most comfortable activity in the world, so if you had something that could ease the experience a little bit, it would be worth it, right?

How about a lotta bit?

My Brest Friend (yes, it’s purposely spelled wrong) is a nursing pillow that makes breastfeeding almost downright enjoyable.

My Brest Friend nursing pillows buckle around your waist for safe and secure feedings, holds your baby at the most comfortable and supportive position, allowing proper digestion and allows mommy to maintain good posture.

Read our review of the My Brest Friend nursing pillow here.

This week, we are giving away one My Brest Friend nursing pillow to a lucky reader.

Here are a few ways to enter:

• Leave a comment telling us your can’t-live-without baby product
• Follow Kidglue.com on Twitter
• Tweet this giveaway on your own Twitter
• Link back to this giveaway on your blog
• Become a fan of Kidglue.comon Facebook

The more you enter, the more chances you have to win!

Note: Please use a valid e-mail address.  Open to US and Canadian residents only.

The lucky winner will be chosen randomly. Giveaway ends Wednesday, April 21, 2010. The winner will be reached by email, and announced on the blog 4/21/10.

Good luck!

The super smart eighth grader recently developed his very first Apple-approved application, Cardshare, which allows people to trade virtual business cards and contact information through their iPhones.

Freeman’s application makes him one of the youngest app developers in the world.

Cardshare makes business card trading completely electronic, so you can share your business contact information, phone number, email address and Twitter or Facebook accounts with others without having to type out your new contact’s details.

“I did this whole thing primarily out of school,” the self-taught developer told Forbes.com. “I talked to some of my friends and teachers briefly about how they would use an app like this. But most of the sketching and everything was done at home, after school or on the weekends.”

Well played, Freeman, in case your teachers try to scold you for software developing during class.

Understandably, Freeman has problems finding peers who have the same interests he does, and had to rely on an older crowd to bounce his ideas off of.

“I have never met another 14, 15 or 16-year-old, even a 17 or 18-year-old who programs for the iPhone and for the Mac and then integrates this with web services,” he said. “I assume there are maybe a very select few out there, and I’m very proud to be one of them. But there’s definitely not some online forum or other discussion site where I could interact with kids. So I had most of my questions answered by the really nice people in the Mac independent software community. They guided me through the steps to create this, and I’m really appreciative for all their help.”

Freeman is the ultimate self starter. The tech savvy teen also runs an animal photography business and designs Web sites in his spare time.

Look for the name Peirce Freeman in the future, as I’m sure he will have many more technological contributions to offer the world, probably before high school graduation.

According to Esther Gokhale, pain expert and author of “8 Steps to a Pain Free Back“, the way you carry your child could affect their posture habits for life, which in turn can set them up for a lifetime of lower back pain, the number one complaint doctors see today.

According to Gokhale, modern societies have lost the knowledge of natural posture and movement to prevent pain and enhance one’s health. This natural posture becomes lost over time, as repetitive misalignment and imbalance in movement becomes a habit at a very early age. Today’s parents and grandparents have lost the generational wisdom for carrying children the right way, thus pass these habits onto their children. Carrying your child in an improper way will ingrain painful posture habits into their little brains and bodies that may set them up for a lifetime of hurt.

To hold your child properly and give them good posture habits for life, Gokhale recommends:

1. Lengthen your child’s back during his growing years. For younger children, carry them in ways where their lower bodies suspend downwards while they are being gripped around the ribcage. For older children, provide them with monkey bars, swing them around and around or suspended between parents.

2. When carrying your child in a seated position, make sure his “tail” is behind him, not tucked under him.

It is important to be aware of your parenting style, because according to TODAYMoms.com, Leadership expert Jamie Woolf, each parenting style has tendencies that may bring about unintended difficulties.

Woolf has developed a “Parenting Mode” framework that helps parents make the most of their own parenting style while preventing that style’s tendencies from having a negative impact on the child during tough times.

Woolf would have you believe all parents fit into three nice and neat categories, but we all know that’s not true. In some situations you may be one style, and in others you may be something different, but here are Woolf’s three main parenting styles, and what you can learn from each.

The Achiever:  These parents set the bar for their child high and expect them to rise to the occasion. While this style instills a strong work ethic, perseverance and self confidence in the child, it can be easy to get too caught up in the child’s accomplishments.  Children may begin to feel their successes are a gauge of their self worth, and that you feel that way, too, which can cause stress, anxiety and lowered self esteem.  Woolf explains the challenge of an Achiever parent is to listen without judgment and to make sure your child knows you love them no matter what.

The Liberator:  Liberator parents foster individuality and strive to foster independent thinking. Letting your child know they are free to be who they want to be is important to letting them feel loved and cherished for who they are, but these parents can sometimes fail to show empathy for a kid’s need to belong. The challenge is to be supportive even as you let their children explore their uniqueness.  Remember that they will carry your lessons of being true to themselves when it really matters, even if they just want to fit in with their peers right now.

 The Connector:  These parents find a sense of parenting satisfaction from their emotional connection with their child.  While knowing that they always have a safe place to fall gives the child a sense of unconditional love and security, rushing to protect your child or getting overly involved in your child’s emotional life can either force them to rely on you by hindering their coping skills or push them away. Too much prying will cause a shut down in, bringing about the exact thing the Connector parent most fears. Connectors need to let children develop their own lives and be responsible for their own emotions.

So what kind of parent are you?  Are you even represented?  How would you describe your own parenting style?

2 year old Caylee Anthony disappeared in June 2008.  Her mother did not report her missing for a month, claiming she thought the babysitter took her. Caylee’s body was found 6 months later in a vacant lot near the home of Casey Anthony’s parents.

Recently, statements from some of Casey’s fellow inmates have been released claiming she made startling statements to them about the facts surrounding her daughter’s murder. A woman who befriended Anthony in jail told investigators that Anthony confided she would “knock out” 2 year old Caylee so she could go out while the child slept, according to a police report.

The inmate, identified as Maya Derkovic, told police in a jailhouse interview that Anthony told her she regretted having a child so early in life, during one of their many conversations through the jail’s ventilation system. She also claims that Anthony gave her three different versions of the events surrounding her daughter’s disappearance.

Another inmate, Robyn Adams, told investigators that Anthony said she used chloroform on Caylee to help her sleep, the police report said. This is significant because investigators found traces of chloroform, along with evidence of human decomposition, in the trunk of Casey Anthony’s car after Caylee’s disappearance. Adams also told investigators that Anthony revealed to her that she had been told her “daughter’s body had been found and the authorities discovered the bones in a black garbage bag with a baby blanket.”

At the time of the statement, the baby blanket found with little Caylee’s body wasn’t public knowledge. Prosecutors kept that information from the public, and hope to use Anthony’s mention of it to prove that she knew about the blanket because she was the one that placed it with her daughter’s body after she brutally killed her.

Casey Anthony’s trial date is set for May 2, 2011.

I’m sure some of your children (or you) are still stumbling out of their sugar comas, and what better way to get some fresh air and exercise, while still enjoying the holiday, than to bust out your new pack of Hide ‘Em and Find ‘Em eggs!

Hide ‘Em & Find ‘Em eggs are brightly colored electronic eggs that give hints on their hiding spots.  When turned on, the eggs giggle, laugh, and shout “I’m over here!” and “I’m hiding!”  When you kids find them, they can open them up for a great surprise- adorable little animals.

This week’s giveaway was for two lucky winners to win a  4-pack of these fun eggs you’ll kids will p-lay with all year round!

And those winners are…

MMW

and

marge mckoen

Winners, congrats!  Check your email for further instructions!

Everyone else, check out the Free Stuff page for another great giveaway that started this morning!

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED***

I hate to admit it, but I got all my Easter cards in the mail late this year. Enter embarrassing phone calls to let all the adults know that the kid’s cards will be there a few days after the holiday and to keep an eye out. But with a check in each one, it’s like something extra for them to look forward to after all the excitement dies down, right? Extending the holiday?

Yeah, it didn’t work on them either.
This is why JackCards.com is such a awesome service.  JackCards.com makes it nearly impossible to miss another important occasion.  JackCards.com allows you to pick from thousands of cards, enter the date you need them, and then JackCards.com mails you the card a few days before, pre-addressed and stamped, so you just add your John Hancock, a special little message, and your card is on its way, with enough mailing time to reach that special someone just in time!   It’s perfect for birthdays, anniversaries (*ahem* fellas), graduations, holidays and more!

Membership to the site is free and cards start as low as $2.50, but this week, JackCards.com is offering one lucky reader a $20 gift certificate to try it out!

Here are a few ways to enter:

• Leave a comment telling us which occasion you always forget
• Follow Kidglue.com on Twitter
• Tweet this giveaway on your own Twitter
• Link back to this giveaway on your blog
• Become a fan of Kidglue.comon Facebook

The more you enter, the more chances you have to win!

Note: Please use a valid e-mail address.  Open to US and Canadian residents only.

The lucky winners will be chosen randomly. Giveaway ends Wednesday, April 14, 2010. The winner will be reached by email, and announced on the blog 4/14/10.

Good luck!

According to statistics released by Allstate Insurance Company, texting and driving results in car crashes that kill an average of 11 teens each day, 330,000 distracted driving injuries every year and makes drivers 23 times more likely to have an accident.  Those are some serious numbers.

Now, the phone that your kids may be using to send those dangerous texts, may actually be the way to prevent them from doing it.

In March, AT&T launched a public service campaign called It Can Wait to educate teens on the dangers of texting while driving.  Now, several software companies are developing phone applications to deter or prevent people from using their phone while behind the wheel.

According to the Associated Press, Drive Safely Corp. wants to use built-in GPS chips that would detect when a mobile device is moving faster than 15 miles per hour, which would really only happen in a car, with a few exceptions. The phone would then flash a series of numbers and letters that the user has to match on the keypad in order to unlock the phone. The manufacturers are assuming that drivers won’t be able to match the sequence and drive at the same time.

Companies like ZoomSafer, TxtBlocker, CellSafety and Textecution are either developing or already provide GPS/speed-based services, which either hold incoming texts until the end of the car ride or completely block users from writing and sending outgoing messages.

Some developers are talking about installing text blocking devices in vehicles rather than through cell phones.

These apps will only work on certain phones and are, of course, up to the consumer to utilize.

The obvious problem here is that people will still attempt to text, but the increased amount of focus needed to do so will result in more distracted drivers.  Hopefully, these apps will be a big enough deterrent that the ‘LOL’ your child so desperately wants to respond with can wait until the car ride is over.

Here are Care4Hire.com President Candi Wingate’s top tips for picking the perfect babysitter.

• Make a list of your requirements. Before you start the interview process, it’s a good idea to figure out what you’re looking for, being sure to include the hours you require, the amount of experience you’re looking for, the type of childcare philosophy and values, and whether any household duties will be involved.

• Ask the right questions. These could include things like the number of years the applicant has had as a childcare provider, what type of training (CPR, First Aid, child psychology), what ages they are used to, and what their ideas are on child rearing.

• Include your child. Whether your child is an infant or of school age, it’s a good idea to have your child present during the interview. That way, you can get an idea of how a potential babysitter will be interacting with your child.

• Communicate your discipline style. The babysitter must be able to relate with your family and administer discipline to your children in a manner that is appropriate and consistent with your family’s boundaries. You and your babysitter should discuss, prior to hiring, the discipline style that your family would like the babysitter to use.

• Decide on what’s too much. The babysitter should be capable of handling small “crises” on his/her own. You and your babysitter should come to an agreement about what issues may warrant a call to you and what issues the babysitter is authorized to handle on his/her own. Your babysitter should be able to act comfortably within the boundaries you have provided.

You have a few responsibilities, too.  Babysitter and parents are a partnership, so keep the lines of communications open.  If you are going to be late, let your babysitter know.  Make sure you pay them on time, and recognize anything extra they do for you or your child.  Chances are, they aren’t doing it for recognition, but a little ‘Thank You’ can go a long way.

It got me thinking:  what is the only place where food is served directly to consumers, where they have no control over where it comes from, what ingredients are in it, how it is prepared, and even what the actual meal is?

Schools.

Well, I suppose prison, too, but I’m not worried about them.

There has been a lot of talk recently of school lunch revamps to save our children. First Lady Michelle Obama has made it her mission to overhaul the children of our nation’s diet, and thus, their health, and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has pledged to get more funding for the U.S. school lunch program to provide healthier options, just as he has done in the UK.

By law, school meals are required to meet the federal dietary guidelines, but decisions about what specific foods to serve and how they are prepared are made by local school food authorities. The federal guidelines recommend that no more than 30 percent of an individual’s calories come from fat, and less than 10 percent from saturated fat per meal. Regulations also establish a standard for school meals to provide one-third of the Recommended Daily Allowances of protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories.

This sounds all well and good until you see what is actually going on.

Students eat about a third of their meals at school, and should therefore get about a third of their daily allowance of fat. Instead, research shows that school cafeteria lunches supply half of the recommended levels of fat (about 31 grams of fat, compared to 21 grams of fat in the average bagged lunch from home.)

The mandated school lunches often feature french fries as vegetables and fruit cocktail soaked in sugar and preservatives as a fruit.  A typical lunch is a hamburger, frozen and shipped from a plant, on a refined bun that offers no nutritional value, a side of french fries and a milk, or as few breaded chicken nuggets, an ice cream scoop of green beans that usually get tossed, and some mashed potatoes.

The quality of these meals in terms of safety is also a concern.  According to a 2009 USA TODAY investigation, “The government has provided the nation’s schools with millions of pounds of beef and chicken that wouldn’t meet the quality or safety standards of many fast-food restaurants.”  The government has said the meat is not suitable to serve at McDonald’s or KFC, but we can ship it to schools and feed it to our children.

The big, over riding  issue here, as always, is money.  Most schools don’t have enough funding to provide children with books, so providing them with fresh, quality and healthy ingredients sounds nearly impossible.  In addition, if they can actually make money off of students and offer food choices they are more likely to purchase with their own money, like cookies and pizza, in student run stores, they can actually fund extracurriculars with the profit.

These are the offerings children actually buy and eat.  I did it when I was in school.  Pizza brought in from the local joint and sold at $1.50 was sold out with in minutes.  That money went to fund prom.  Cookies, sold 3 to a bag for $2.00, funded the wrestling team’s bus to go to state.  It’s a business- because schools don’t get enough money on their own, they have to find a way to make it: by giving the students what they want.

However, healthy school lunches aren’t as pie-in-the-sky as school officials would have you believe.  Kids eat when they are hungry and they will eat what is available.  The first thing that needs to be done is eliminate unhealthy vending machine snacks, like candy, cookies, chips and soda, and fill them with more nutritious choices.

The vending machines are starting to be yanked from schools and soda companies are starting to offer ‘healthier’ sodas, but it’s not enough.  The trouble is finding fresh, healthy ingredients that kids will eat, but stay in budget, and the truth is, the budget needs to be expanded.

Jamie Oliver, TV personality and chef, is trying to bring his food revolution to the U.S. After airing a four-hour television series in his native UK aimed at improving school lunches, he got the British government to allocate one billion dollars to make over the British school lunch system to include more fresh and local foods, better food standards, and cut out the junk.  Guess what?  It worked. Test scores soared and attendance improved by 15%. The U.S. Department of Agriculture invests only $2.68 on average per day for each student’s school lunch.  Oliver, through his new program The Lunch Box, is asking Congress to invest just $1 more per child toward school lunches to boost their nutrition which will in turn boost their health, their attention, their test scores and their mood.

Until schools truly get an overhaul on their lunches, your best bet as a parent is to send your kid to school with a well-balanced, nutritious lunch to fuel them through their day, rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean proteins.  You can also write to your local officials and ask them to pass legislation to better fund our school lunch programs.

Coromega

This week, we are giving away one box of (30 ct.) to a lucky winner.

And the winner is…

Kayla!

Congrats! Check your email for further instructions on claiming your prize!

Everyone else check out the great giveaway that started this morning just in time for Easter!

EDITOR’S NOTE: This was supposed to go up Wednesday. Our apologies.

“I had fallen before,” Shannon says. “I didn’t think it was going to be anything big.”

Turns out, Reilly had broken her neck in two places and couldn’t move her arms or legs. Doctors told her there was a 99 percent chance that she would be paralyzed, and was lucky she didn’t die from her injuries.

Reilly, in a great showing of determination, was up and walking just a few days after under going surgery to have six screws and two rods placed into her back. After only one week, she was home, totally skipping any physical therapy.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, however you look at it, Reilly won’t ever be able to compete in sports again, but the Texas teen isn’t letting it get her down- she knows how lucky she is.

You may be asking yourself how someone so young could break their back and ‘think nothing of it’ but if you are the parent of a competitive gymnast, or ever were one yourself, you know exactly how.

Gymnastics is a children’s sport- many age out of it by the age of 16 because their bodies just can’t handle the stress, yet children’s bodies are the only one’s who can perform the high risk skills that gymnastics is comprised of. The hours and hours of pounding from tumbling, landings, and vaults does irreparable damage to young girls, having permanent effects like broken growth plates, stress fractures, and arthritis.

This isn’t just in some cases. I was a competitive gymnast myself and I never had a single teammate who wasn’t nursing some kind of injury. We would take hours before practice to ice and wrap our ankles and knees. Some had torn muscles. One girl had blood poisoning from getting chalk in a rip in her hand (rips are calluses that get ripped off, usually during bars, that leaves an open hole in your hand). I’ve had stress fractures in my hands, and also broke my back during a ‘routine’ landing. A girl with a shattered knee cap was still required to do practice bars and do conditioning. We popped Advil like Skittles and many got Cortisone shots to numb injuries for competitions.

When puberty hits, your body changes and you start to soften and round, which makes tricks that were so easy before, almost impossible. Many resorted to starving and purging to keep their weight down.

We were 13-15 years old.

Gymnastics taught me valuable lessons about hard work, dedication, sacrifice and money (I never heard the end of how expensive my training was) but in the end it left me with some gnarly scars, constant back pain and a lot of missed birthday parties. Some girls survive long enough to make it to the Olympics and fulfill their dreams, but for the rest, they end up hobbling out the back door into their parent’s cars with nothing but a few ice packs and a lot of broken dreams.

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED***

Easter is Sunday, April 4th and if you have little ones running around an Easter egg hunt is a must.

Despite everyone’s best efforts, many of the typical little plastic eggs are over looked by the little ones.  Techno Source has solved the problem, and added a whole lot of fun with Hide ‘Em & Find ‘Em eggs.

Hide ‘Em & Find ‘Em eggs are brightly colored electronic eggs that give hints on their hiding spots.  When turned on, the eggs giggle, laugh, and shout “I’m over here!” and “I’m hiding!”  When you kids find them, they can open them up for a great surprise- adorable little animals.  Your child will be thrilled to find baby chickens, rabbits and ducks.

Your kids will love these little eggs and have a blast hiding and finding them over and over.

This week we are giving away two 4-packs of Hide ‘Em & Find ‘Em eggs just in time for Easter!

Here are a few ways to enter:

• Leave a comment telling us your kid’s favorite food
  
• Follow Kidglue.com on Twitter
• Tweet this giveaway on your own Twitter
• Link back to this giveaway on your blog
• Become a fan of Kidglue.com on Facebook

The more you enter, the more chances you have to win!

Note: Please use a valid e-mail address.  Open to US and Canadian residents only.

The lucky winners will be chosen randomly. Giveaway ends Wednesday, April 7, 2010. The winner will be reached by email, and announced on the blog 4/07/10.

Good luck!

Robinson beat out eight other kids between the age of 6 and 16 at the 35th Annual National Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest on March 23, 2010.

The contest, sponsored by Odor-Eaters, judges sneakers based on the conditions of the sole, tongue, heel, toe, laces or velcro, eyelets/grommets, overall condition and, of course, odor, by a panel that includes NASA “Master Sniffer” George Aldrich, Chemical Specialist for NASA space missions and Rachel Herz, Ph.D., author of “The Scent of Desire” and professor at Brown University.  Those noses know stink when they smell it.

As a reward for her stinky shoes, Robinson received $2,500 cash, an all-expenses-paid trip to New York and a large amount of Odor-Eaters products to help her with her apparent odor problem.

Champion Robinson attributes her award winning shoe stink to participating in the no–child left inside program which is part of the Department of Environmental protection and that she played hard in Girl Scout Camp as well as doing many local community walks for charity.

Bravo, Robinson, for stinking up your shoes for good causes.  You deserve your trip, and I think everyone around you deserves your promise you’ll give your new Odor-Eater products a shot.

Being the younger of two siblings raised by a single mother putting herself through school, I’ve been forced to wear quite a few hand-me-downs over the years.

Being in the unfortunate position of having someone born before you can cramp your style, especially if your family is on a budget. With a little work, however, hand-me-downs can be the most fashionable pieces in your daughter’s wardrobe.

I know- you are probably having visions of that geeky girl that everyone made fun of in school whose well intentioned mom sewed designer patches on generic label clothes because they couldn’t afford the real thing.  Luckily, most of the hottest fashions right now are easy to duplicate at home and no one will know the difference.

Over the years, I picked up a few tricks of the trade that I actually still use to this day which can turn your daughter’s newly acquired hand-me-downs into one of a kind pieces her friends will hate her for.  (That’s a good thing in girl world.)

Fitted t-shirts:

Logos are big, so turn those old, baggy, ill-fitting t-shirts into vintage and pricey looking tops.  My sister was always quite a bit bigger than I was, so instead of swimming in her old t-shirts, I would just remove a few inches from the sides and sew them up.  Everyone thought they were designer and fit me like a dream.  Measure around the bust and waist, and divide by two.  Turn the t-shirt inside out, and mark the bust and sides with the divided circumference.  Cut up to the arm pit seam on either side, and close up with a simple hand stitch, or sewing machine if you have it.  That baggy old sports t-shirt is now a perfectly tailored fitted top.

Tie-Dye:

Yes, it’s back, and thankfully, it’s cheap.  When I was younger, I wasn’t allowed to get white clothing because I would ruin it in 3 wears, tops.  To this day, it still holds true, but I’ve found a way to not let white drain my wallet.  When those white pieces start to get dingy, it’s time to change the color.  Grab some RIT dye, rubber bands and rubber gloves and bring back the eighties.  White and light colored cotton fabrics work best, but just last weekend I tie-dyed some light grey jeans with black dye and they tuned out great.  Follow the directions on the dye, and remember to always wash them separately or you can ruin a whole load of clothes.

Destroy Those Jeans.

Jeans are always changing, and right now, destroyed is in.  While most parents cringe at the holes in the hottest brands, and wonder why they are paying for already ruined clothes, you can breathe a sigh of relief that they didn’t cost you a penny.  Instead of using scissors, give your daughter a square of sandpaper and tell her to go to town.  Wearing through the fabric will give the jeans a more designer, intentional feel that just shredding them.  Go for the knees and below, but leave the thighs and pockets in tact.  You don’t want any calls home from the principal.

Add some glitz.

Any t-shirt design can be livened up by adding a few rhinestones.  Just a little dab of fabric glue and some strategically placed sparkle can do wonders for updating an old piece.  This works great on jeans, too.

Shorten it up.

Billowy mini skirts with busy patterns are the it-thing for spring.  Long, floor-length skirts with elastic bands (which my friends and I refer to as ‘elementary school teacher skirts’) can easily be cut and hemmed into cute minis.  Depending on the age between your children, you may not have any of these skirts, but I often go to thrift stores and find long skirts with patterns I like to shorten up for just pennies.  For older girls, you can also wear these skirts as dresses, pulling the waist up to the arm pits and cinching it around the waist with a cute belt.

Saving money doesn’t have to look cheap.  Personalized pieces are always more fun, and your daughter won’t ever have to worry about showing up to school in the same outfit as a friend.

Perhaps this is for parents who did the same and that’s how little junior came to be.

Understandably, the internet is ablaze with outrage (but when isn’t it, though, really?) that the baby retailer would offer an outfit for a baby that makes light of underage drinking.

Babies ‘R Us seems to not be able to handle the heat and have since taken the outfit off of its Web site, but Wry Baby, the maker of the outfit, still has it available.

Wry Baby is infamous for their funny little messages on baby outfits, like “Someday I’ll have a hairy chest”, and shirts made especially for twins that say “Stop Copying Me!”

But some of their slogans, many believe, cross the line.  Shirts with “Future Cougar” and one with a picture entitled “Calming Baby” featuring a mother loving her swaddled infant with a GOOD, and a baby hugging a bottle of liquor with a BAD.  Wry Baby apparently likes their babies and alcohol combo.

Yeah, yeah, it’s just a shirt.  Don’t like it, don’t by it.  I actually think the Web site is pretty cute, but the drinking one is a little over the line for me.

Kids drink, especially at prom, and in no way, shape or form do I think that a baby wearing a gag shirt about teenage drinking is somehow going to send underage drinking stats through the roof, but I just don’t get it.  It’s not funny.  It’s just a stupid shirt, period.  Why prom?  Prom is more harmless than, say, “Someday I’ll get trashed and kill an entire family because I think I’m above the law”  which is why some may giggle instead of gasp, but if you think your baby’s future substance abuse is funny, why not go whole hog and put them in a “Someday I’ll get trashed and sleep my best friend’s future wife the night before their wedding” or “Someday I’ll get trashed and end up impregnated by a rock star who will tape cab fare to my forehead”?

Wry Baby is a small niche company where you know what you are getting.  Babies ‘R Us is a huge, mainstream corporation that chooses what outfits to stock and should know better.  I’d be more impressed if they stood by the product and told everyone to lighten up instead of yanking the product after hearing public criticism.  It just shows they didn’t think this one through.

Way to have high hopes for our children, Babies ‘R Us.

“Someday I’ll win a Nobel Peace prize.”

“Someday I’ll find a way to save someone’s life.”

“Someday I will learn that t-shirts with phrases that demean my character and compromise my integrity are a waste of money.”

I’m slapping those shirts on my future baby.  I always thought “Pooparazzi” was cute, too.

Peaceful Sleep is a liquid nutritional formula that contains ingredients such as lavender, chamomile, and passion flower – all of which have been shown to assist in a healthy night’s sleep by relaxing the mind and body, without the fear of side effects.

And the soon to be well rested winners are….

Erika

and

Cindi

Congrats!  Check your email, winners, for more info on claiming your prize.

Everyone else, check out the new giveaway that started this morning!

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED***

Omega- ’s are an important part of anyone’s diet.  Generally, people think of Omega-3s as adults, but people of all ages need Omega-3s to ensure protection from inflammation, help lower cholesterol, triglycerides, LDLs and blood pressure, help prevent stroke and heart disease, and improve brain function.

Sources of Omega-3’s generally tend to not be kid-friendly foods.  Salmon, walnuts, leafy greens and soybeans usually aren’t at the top of kid’s favorite food lists, so ensuring they receive adequate amounts can be difficult.

Coromega has tackled the issue head on, a developed a delicious squeezable liquid Omega-3 just for kids that contains two essential fatty acids, DHA and EPA, and a clinically proven 300% better absorption than regular Omega-3 softgel pills.

The best part is these little tubes are actually good, so your kids will be excited to revisit the treat eat day. They come in two flavors, Orange and Lemon Lime, that remind me a lot of the goo inside Gushers fruit snacks (if you don’t know, ask your kids- they’re good.)

I was sent some to try, and personally loved adding them into my fruit smoothies.

This week, we are giving away 1 box (30 ct.) of Coromega Kids Omega-3 Squeezes in both Orange and Lemon Lime.

Here are a few ways to enter:

• Leave a comment telling us your kid’s favorite food
  
• Follow Kidglue.com on Twitter
• Tweet this giveaway on your own Twitter
• Link back to this giveaway on your blog
• Become a fan of Kidglue.comon Facebook

The more you enter, the more chances you have to win!

Note: Please use a valid e-mail address.  Open to US and Canadian residents only.

The lucky winners will be chosen randomly. Giveaway ends Wednesday, March 31, 2010. The winner will be reached by email, and announced on the blog 3/31/10.

Good luck!

The girls are both 12 going on 30.  With their frilly little skirts, purse slung over shoulder, and lip gloss in place, we set off to the mall.  They were so primped and fashionable, I second guessed my outfit in the mirror, hoping they wouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen with me.  (My fears were assuaged after I told them I bought my t-shirt at Urban Outfitters.  They immediately approved.  Phew- still cool.)

I have to point out, I’m not often around girls of this age.  I have a young niece that’s 7 years old, but other than that, my only interaction with tweens is writing pieces about abstract girls that are being horribly influenced by an overly sexualized culture that is forcing them to grow up too fast.

Seeing it in person is a whole different ball of wax.

My friend and I walked a few steps behind, eavesdropping on the little divas as they sipped their Starbucks and “honey” and “daaaaarling”-ed each other through out the stores, discussing cute boys, accessories and outfits.

We were enjoying ourselves, jokingly holding up shirts and asking the girls what they thought, trying to make them feel important, like we would have killed for when we were their age.  However, after about an hour of scathing critiques on our styles being “too Kim Kardashian” or looking like “cheap knock offs” we began to feel like we were on “What Not to Wear.” It wasn’t fun anymore.

My friend informed me this is what it feels like to be en OLD older sister as the girls discussed who would be a better kisser, Edward or Jacob.  I didn’t realize 23 was suddenly so uncool.

Their maturity was still hilarious and innocent to us old folk until we looked at shoes.  This was the point I became convinced I will never have children.

We plunked down while the girl’s perused a popular shoe store.  Little Sister brought back something I never thought I would see in real life: high heels.  Made for adults?  Nope.  These shoes came only in girls’ sizes.

My friend’s little sister slipped them on and proclaimed, “I’m so getting them.”  The old folks exchanged looks of”‘I’m not exactly sure what to do, but I don’t think this is a good idea.”

It just wasn’t right.  It didn’t look right.  It made us both uncomfortable.  Maybe it was the way she strutted around the store in them, or the way she turned around to check herself out from behind, but it made us uneasy.  The conjunction of adorable little girl, dressed and presenting herself as a grown woman was disturbing.

“Hon, I don’t know if mom would let you get those,” my friend said, carefully.

“She wouldn’t care,” she retorted.

My friend took out her cell phone and texted The Authority.

NO WAY IN HELL was the response.

“Mom said no,” she said, cleaning it up for the young-ins.

With an eye roll, and only that, because she is a very well behaved and mature young lady,  she put them back and we were on our way.

As they chattered ahead of us, about how unfair the world is and how the shoes totally aren’t a big deal, we sighed with relief that there was a mom to be our scape goat.

What happens when you are the mom, and it’s up to you to say “No” to something your child wants for reasons you just can’t quite explain?  What new fashion trend are we going to have to combat with when I have children?  With the way our society is going, it’s going to be ass-less chaps.

Later, I saw another 12ish girl actually wearing these heels.  Everything in my being told me we had made the right decision, because she looked like a baby prostitute.

Suri Cruise?  Rock ‘em.  At that age, they are dress up shoes.  You can buy them at Walgreens along with a feather boa and tiara.  There comes an age where they are not appropriate or cute, and while it usually comes down to an initial gut reaction, a good gauge is if retailers are selling them as actual shoes.

Heels were made for a specific reason: the elongate the legs and force you to swivel your hips when you walk.  They are sexy. That’s the point.  Kids shouldn’t be sexy.  I feel disturbed even typing “sexy” and “kids” in the same sentence.

I’m going to steal my niece and keep her in a cave.  She’ll be a social outcast, and will probably end up collecting cats as an adult, but at least she won’t give me a heart attack by insisting on wearing thong underwear.

*Insert your entire family’s groans here.*

Clever Container co-founder and organization guru Karen Eschebach is here to make the whole spring cleaning process as fun and pain free as possible.

Whether you completely overhaul your house every year, or just want to add a little something unique to your home, here are some clever and time saving ideas to organize and make the most of your home.

1. Turn your closet into your own boutique. The clothes in your closet should be the clothes you actually wear and that fit you.  Box up all your clothes that are too big or small, and revisit them next year. If they till don’t fit,  donate them and take the tax write off.  Take the clothes that do fit and try putting together outfits you’d like to wear and take digital pictures of them.  Don’t forget accessories such as jewelry, shoes, purses, belts and scarves.  Print off the digital photos; hole-punch each one and slide an “o-ring” through them.  Hang the “o-ring” from a hook or hanger and you’ll never be short on stylish outfit ideas for those days you are low on creativity or time.  Do the same for your children’s closets, so they can get creative and pick out their own outfits.
2. Go Vertical! Many people forget to use wall, closet, and door space.  We’re so used to binning everything that sometimes it makes sense to just hang it up.  For instance, hang pegs and hooks up to hang coats, backpacks, totes, leashes, and purses.  If used in a family room, these same hooks could hang your lightweight blankets your family cozies up to or your everyday towels in the bathroom.
3. Do some clever clustering in the kitchen. Cluster all the tools necessary to make lunches each day or cluster all the accessories required to do baking such as bowls, mixers, measuring cups and baking soda.  This will save you time by not having to search high and low.
4. Work clockwise. A whole room can be overwhelming so break the room down into twelve sections representing one o’clock through 12 o’clock.  Begin by organizing and cleaning just the 12 o’clock to 1 o’clock space and work around the clock.  If you can’t finish that day, next time you know exactly where what time to begin again.
5. Don’t forget your finances. Spring is also tax time, and keeping your documents organized can cut clutter and make everything a lot easier.  Decide which bills you want to keep on hand for historical purposes and box them up by year.  Most credit card companies, as well as your bank, will send you an end of year statement which means you can shred each of the individual statements you have on hand.  Purge as much as possible but be careful to shred anything with personal information on it.
6. If you’ve read it, toss it. Books, magazines and catalogs tend to gather heavily during the holidays.  For those of you who do not go through and purge them regularly, now is the time.  For books that you’ve read, but you’re not going to re-read, donate them to a school library, if appropriate, or make some money by selling them to a second hand store.  Magazines should be purged monthly or as a new issue comes in.  Same goes for catalogs.  Many catalogs are outdated within two weeks so, if you don’t order something immediately, let it go.  The Internet is usually a better way to shop: Web sites are updated frequently and often offer special deals not available anywhere else.

Get the whole family involved!  Make a list, and delegate tasks.  Spring cleaning can be fun, and great way to update your space.  Turn on the tunes, and get busy!

Los Angeles is teaming with RecycleBank to start a new pilot program that will compensate households for recycling. The goal is to increase Los Angeles’ recycling rate from 65% to over 70% and eventually, if Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has his way, push the city toward zero waste.

The program will weigh and record the recyclable contents of tagged bins each week.  Depending on the weight of the bins, residents can earn points that they can redeem at local businesses like CVS, Bed Bath and Beyond and even restaurants like El Pollo Loco.

RecycleBank already has contracts with more than 50 cities around the U.S., including Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, and Atlanta.

15,000 L.A. area homes will be eligible for the program, including Northridge, Topanga, Sherman Oaks, Hollywood, Lincoln Heights and Cypress Park.  The program kicks off April 5, and each household can earn recycling points up to the equivalent of $400 a year per blue bin.  Residents along various routes will receive mailers in March that explain what they can recyclables are eligible and how to register for the program. The existing blue recycle bins will be given a bar code and ID stickers embedded with microchips with the resident’s account number to track their recycling rewards.

The rewards are based on weight of recyclable material and will be evenly divided among households along an entire route, not by individual participation.

If you live in the LA area, this is the perfect opportunity to teach your children not only about the importance of recycling, but working to earn money for the things they want. Kids can collect bottles and cans from the household and learn what is a recyclable material, and what isn’t.  Set goals for your family to exceed the previous weight’s total and use the points you earn for family activities, like meals out, or make a special trip to participating stores so everyone can pick out toys, books or games with your family’s hard earned points.

Or think bigger: organize a recycling pick up day where families on the same route can band together and pick up recyclable materials around the neighborhood.  The payoff?  A greener, more connected neighborhood and a fun way to earn extra cash.

This week’s giveaway was a 12 oz carton of each BRAT drink flavor.  B.R.A.T. is a milky drink with added electrolytes to aid in re-hydration, calcium and vitamins to help build strength and promote health. The Organic B.R.A.T. Feel Better Drink is lactose, gluten, soy, corn, and casein free, so it is safe for kids will all kinds of diet restrictions.

And the winner is…

Marilyn!

Congrats!  Check your email for further instructions!

Everyone else, check out this week’s new giveaway that started this morning!