Archive for April, 2011
Apr
29
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The government is pressuring food companies to cut back on marketing unhealthy foods to children, releasing guidelines Thursday that could phase out advertisements on television, in stores and on the Internet if companies agree to go along with them.
Under the voluntary guidelines, companies would be urged to only market foods to children ages 2 through 17 if they are low in fats, sugars and sodium and contain specified healthy ingredients. The proposal sets parameters that are stricter than many companies have set for themselves.
If companies agree, children could see much less of the colorful cartoon characters used to advertise cereals or other gimmicks designed to draw their attention. If the food...
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Apr
29
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
DETROIT — Kia Motors Corp. is recalling more than 58,000 Spectra compact cars registered in cold-weather states because the gas tanks could drop to the ground and cause a fire.
The recall affects Spectra LD models from the 2004 to 2007 model years in 20 states and Washington, D.C., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its website Friday.
The cars, built from Nov. 7, 2003, through March 6, 2007, have straps that hold the gas tank to the frame. When exposed to road salt, the straps can rust and the tank can fall to the ground, causing a fuel leak and possibly a fire.
Documents filed with NHTSA did not state whether the problem had caused any fires or injuries. A message seeking comment was left for a Kia spokesman.
Dealers will replace...
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Apr
26
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press
The back seat battles had become unbearable.
My 3-year-old loathed her car seat. She screamed from the moment we strapped her in.
“It’s too tight,” she’d screech. But for a car seat to work properly, the straps have to be pulled tightly. Inches between the straps and the child only add to the risk in a crash.
It was becoming difficult to drive just the mile or two to school or the grocery store with all the wailing coming from the second row.
So recently, I bought her a high-back booster seat, and instantly had a happier child. She barely meets the height and weight requirements that make this seat a safe option. It uses the car’s built-in seat belt, which gives her a...
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Apr
26
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Lorain County Moms
MELISSA KOSSLER DUTTON, For The Associated Press
After Sheila Adkins sends her mother flowers, she always asks for details about the arrangement.
It’s not only a matter of curiosity for Adkins, a spokeswoman for the Council of Better Business Bureaus. She wants to make sure she got her money’s worth.
“You don’t want the person receiving low-quality flowers that are brown or dead,” she said from her office in Arlington, Va.
Checking up on florists is a good idea, particularly on Mother’s Day, when demand for flowers is great, said consumer expert Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List. Mother’s Day accounts for one-fourth of holiday flower purchases, according to the Society of American Florists in...
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Apr
25
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
ARIAN SMEDLEY, For The Associated Press
ATHENS, Ohio — With her baby fast asleep in the stroller, Valerie Githinji made her way up to the nurses’ station in O’Bleness Memorial Hospital’s maternity ward.
She came bearing gifts. Stored in the bottom of the stroller, in a white plastic bag, were several containers totaling 200 ounces — more than a gallon and a half — of frozen breast milk.
Githinji, an administrator with Hocking College, has been donating her extra breast milk for about four months.
“Every time I feed (my daughter), I tell her, ‘We’re feeding you and the world,’” she said, with a laugh.
This drop-off brought her total donation to nearly 8 gallons, but this trip was made...
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Apr
25
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
ALISON LADMAN, For The Associated Press
Instead of giving your mother a bouquet of flowers for Mother’s Day, consider a flowered cake.
This beautiful and easy-to-make cake features the flavors of lemon and honey and is swathed with a cloud-like blanket of honey meringue. It then it crowned with masses of sugared edible flowers.
Be sure to buy flowers that are safe to eat, as many flowers are sprayed with pesticides. Most grocers sell edible flowers with the herbs in the produce section.
Lemon honey triple-layer cake
Start to finish: 1 hour 20 minutes (40 minutes active), plus cooling
Servings: 12
For the cake:
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup honey
- 6 eggs
- Zest of 1...
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Apr
24
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Lorain County Moms
By Niesha Lofing, McClatchy Newspapers
Connie Sanders Emerson has a pile of summer camp printouts stacked 2 inches high next to the laptop on her kitchen island.
Her two children, Sophie, 11, and Mack, 9, will attend a total of 12 different day camps this summer, from the Sacramento Zoo’s camp to a sailing program at Sacramento State Aquatic Center.
Emerson starts planning for summer early, when 50-degree spring days are still the norm.
But the copious planning, sorting and charting is worthwhile. Camps do more than just fill idle summer hours they help Sophie and Mack improve their sports technique, care for animals, learn new hobbies.
Summer camps also teach the siblings some invaluable skills, like how to quickly make...
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Apr
23
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
nameberry.com
Until recently, Italian names — particularly for boys — have rarely ventured outside their own neighborhoods, but lately we’ve seen several popping up in the celebrisphere — though usually, if not always, used by celebs with Italian roots. There have been at least four Mateo/Matteos, two Roccos, two Romeos, Annabeth Gish’s Enzo, Ricky Martin’s Valentino, and Jill Hennessey’s Marco Gianni.
These are names that have all been pretty firmly assimilated, but there are loads more undiscovered rhythmic and romantic nomi belli that could be considered — a few of which have already gained entrance via their female forms. Here are the Nameberry picks of 15 of the best underused Italian boys’ names.
Apr
22
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Carrie Stack, Hybrid Mom
Ever hear this (or maybe you’ve already said this),
“Everything was great, UNTIL…”
“She hit 6th grade.”
“He entered junior high.”
“I went from being the best mother/father ever, to being the biggest embarrassment on the planet!”
What happened?
For countless families coast to coast, it usually unfolds like this:
Babies are adorable.
Toddlers are feisty and fun.
Preschoolers are adventurous and excited about life.
Grade school kids are filled with love and adoration for their amazing, brilliant, incredible parents.
So, what happens when middle school hits?
How do parents going from being absolutely...
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Apr
22
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Nicole Blasenak Shapiro, Disney FamilyFun magazine
To kick up the fun factor on your next picnic or trip to the beach, bring along this play mat and your crew’s favorite cars, dolls, and other little toys. Kids can collect leaves, rocks, and other nature finds to add another imaginative dimension to the landscape (pack some play clay for easy-to-make bases for twig trees).
You will need:
- Masking tape
- 2 sharpened pencils
- 4- by 5-inch piece of cardboard
- Black Con-Tact paper
- Vinyl flannel-backed tablecloth
- Yellow electrical tape
- Create a guide for drawing the roads by taping the pencils to the cardboard so that their points are 4 inches apart.
- Working on the back side of...
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