IKEA recalling 20,000 cribs sold it in its stores

IKEA is recalling about 20,000 SNIGLAR cribs sold in the U.S. because the four bolts provided with some of the cribs to secure the mattress support are not long enough and can cause the mattress support to detach and collapse, creating a risk of entrapment and suffocation to a child in the crib.
No injuries have been reported.
The cribs were full-sized, non-drop-side cribs with the model number 60091931. SNIGLAR, IKEA and the model number are printed on a label attached to the mattress support. The crib frame and mattress support are made of natural/light-colored wood.
They were sold at IKEA stores nationwide from October 2005 through June 2010 for about $80.
Consumers should stop using the crib immediately and check the crib. If the mattress support bolts...

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A baby? Seriously?

I read with interest a recent Associated Press story about the birth rate dropping. The recession is getting at least some of the blame.

Apparently, that doesn’t apply to our family. That’s right: In November, our cozy little family of three (five if you include the dog and the cat) will grow by the addition of one little girl.

To say her impending arrival was a surprise is an understatement. Sure, I know how babies are made. But with seven years between this little girl and our daughter, I kind of thought we’d skipped by the family growth cycle. Neither Lewis nor I are young — I’m labeled AMA, which stands for advanced maternal age, or too darn old, if you care for my interpretation — but someone with a higher power than us decided...

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A morning calm? Say it ain’t so!

If you’ve ever read any of my posts, you know I’ve lamented loud and often about trying to get clothing on my daughter in the morning.

It’s always been a challenge, and we’ve had some pretty good arguments to start our days trying to beat the clock and make it out of the door on time.

I’m almost afraid to say it for fear of jinxing it, but …. lately, there’s been some calm in our home.

That might have to do with the fact that my daughter now wears pants whereas before it was dresses only. The only hitch? The pants must be black, and they must be stretchy. No jeans. No colors. Nothing must be different.

So yes, she goes to school each day looking like she’s wearing what she wore the day before. But she’s...

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Elyria Schools’ cuts: No winners here

I read the proposal put forth by the Elyria Schools last week with much dismay.

Among other things, it calls for wiping out the art, music and gym teachers for those in kindergarten through third grade. The programs themselves won’t be eliminated, but rather they’ll become the responsibility of the homeroom teacher and not taught by a specialist.

Now trust me, I get the financial perils of school districts. I know that despite the many promises, the lottery didn’t save the schools. (Well, it might have had the Ohio Legislature not pulled money out of the school pot when it dropped the lottery money in, but …)  And I know that the Ohio Legislature isn’t rushing out to fix school funding despite the declarations of unconstitutionality more than...

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I survived Sleepover 2010

My 6-year-old daughter came home from school one day and told me she wanted to have a sleepover.

Sure, I said, you can have one or two of her friends over for a night.

Well, the Monday after that discussion brought about a rude awakening: I went in to read with her classmates, which I do every Monday, and the whole class was asking me about the sleepover. The whole class — all 22 of them.

Yikes.

So that night, Mallory and I had a long talk about how we were going to pull this off.

I suppose I could have just said this wasn’t going to happen, but I’m usually game for a good adventure and this certainly sounded like one. I once babysat for 14 kids when I was younger, although I’ll admit in that case I ended up calling some friends...

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Rest in peace, Montecito

Last week, we had to have our very old, very feeble Boxer, Montecito, put to sleep.

He hasn’t been able to walk for more than six months — we’ve carried him pretty much everywhere — and his weight has dropped dramatically, to the point where the once robust body of a Boxer with championship bloodlines was emaciated. …

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Alert reader says: Watch out

One of our regular readers saw this story, which originated from the United Kingdom, and thought we ought to give a shout out in our area.

Don’t think we have an Tescos around here, but Bob the Builder? Hey, those toys are popular.

Thanks, Phil, for the heads up!

Here’s the story:

Mum needled by Tesco toy shock

Thursday, December 03, 2009, 09:20

A MOTHER has blasted supermarket giant Tesco after finding a needle inside a Bob The Builder play set she had bought her two-year-old son for Christmas.

Jennie Barker-Green discovered the needle, which was about two-and-a-half inches long,...

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She’s wise beyond her years

My little girl never has been predictable when it comes to what she asks Santa for each year.

One year, shampoo dominated the list. Another, she  asked for a pair of diamond earrings — the bigger the better.

Last year, I thought she topped all when she asked him for bells from his sleigh after about 100 readings of The Polar Express.

So I’m never quite sure what is going to come out of her mouth (and I’m pretty used to astonished and puzzled looks from Santa’s helpers), but she still managed to catch me off guard this year.

While shopping at Great Northern two weeks ago, I noticed there wasn’t a line for Santa. Now as anyone knows, there always is a line to see to Santa at Great Northern, even though the legendary Santa who used...

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You want to make what?

My aversion to cooking is well known to anyone who has the slightest bit of knowledge about me.

Oh, I keep thinking I’ll get better at it. I collect recipes and cookbooks like they are going out of style, and every Christmas my significant other fulfills my wishes and buys me the latest in kitchen gadgets.

The problem? I end up being forced to dust them all for lack of use.

I’m just not a natural at it, and I never will be. My failures in the kitchen were amplified when I worked at the Akron Beacon Journal because I sat alongside this wonderful reporter named Lisa Abraham, who covered county government at the time but was an unabashed foodie. (In a fitting sidebar, Lisa has since moved to the food writer’s job there, and just won honors from the...

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A whole lot of flu going on

We’ve had a rough couple weeks in our household.

Week 1: The common flu fells the 6-year-old and Daddy. And as anyone can tell you, Daddies do worse at being sick  than the little ones. Three days off  of school, a trip to the emergency room (for Daddy, not for the little one) and work for me all week and we were all worn out.

Week 2: Yeah, you know that swine flu everyone is talking about? Well, it sucks. That’s as diplomatic as I can say it. My daughter who managed to fight off the common flu without becoming too miserable was running a 104 degree fever, listless, and totally not herself.  Another three days off of school (and work — no sick Daddy this week to stay home with her) and one trip to a doc in Parma (we’ll get into insurance...

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