Who knows if anything is safe? Recalls of cribs, strollers and some Melissa & Doug Toys

After hearing on the radio today about the recall of over 2 million Stork Craft/Fisher Price cribs in Canada and the U.S., I decided to look and see what else has been recalled lately.

Looking at the recalls always bothers me, because it seems that you can never guess what products will be safe (I guess the definition of "safety" is variable, too!). I love Melissa & Doug products, but it seems that some have unsafe levels of barium. And ALL Maclaren/Kushies single and double strollers have been recalled after 12 fingertip amputations. Isn't that crazy?!

Keep your eye on the Healthy Canadians website for food and product recalls, and the U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission for recalls and product safety news.

Christmas preparations

Today we hung our Christmas lights outside! Granted, we don't have many, but it's still a big deal for us to have any up before December. Having a little kid definitely makes you think about Christmas earlier!

Here are some fun crafty things on my "To Do" list:

Decorating

• an indoor "snowstorm"
• snowman garland
• an ornament wreath (done and hanging - it just needs a bow - pictures soon!)
  

Kiddy Crafts

• handprint Christmas tree
• coffee filter angel
• scrap paper stocking

P.S. Canadians, don't forget to write your letter to Santa! Mail it by the second week of December to make sure you get a reply before Christmas!

(You can also email - Santa's become a techie)

New spouts for our Klean Kanteen sippy cup

We upgraded to the sport spout a few months ago, and whenever we go out, people ask us where we got it. We got ours at Toys R Us; it's an Avent Brand spout, just like the green ones that come with the Klean Kanteen. Check them out on Amazon.

Children's activity envelopes

There are so many great printable activities online, but keeping paper organized is an ongoing challenge for me. While my own piles of paper are towering (I need a solid 24 hours to dig out our office!), I'm making headway with C's paper games. One way I keep things organized is by using activity envelopes.

Whenever I print or draw a game or activity, I laminate it, cut it out, and put it in an envelope. If it already has a picture or visual directions, I print that; otherwise I take a photo, print it and tape it to the front of the envelope. Then I put the envelopes in a magazine holder on my shelf. Voila, organization!

Two of my favourite sites for printable activities are File Folder Fun and Montessori For Everyone.

This post is part of Works-For-Me-Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

Making doll clothes

...not for Christmas, but for C's birthday in February. Her Cabbage Patch doll (my childhood doll) has a couple of dresses, but I think she'd have fun dressing her up in a bunch of different outfits. She's loved diapering the doll for about a year, but her old cloth diapers are too big for it. I found some great links, and thought I'd share them now, in case anyone is thinking of making doll clothes for Christmas.

I love the idea of a re-used and handmade Christmas. I'm sure we'll always have some new things, but we're working towards a "less is more" philosophy. This year I found some small kitchen accessories at a yard sale that are perfect for her play kitchen, and I'm going to make some more felt food for stocking stuffers. I also found her a second-hand Fisher Price Sesame Street play set (which I remember playing with in the 80s!). She fell in love with it while visiting a friend's house earlier this year. I've cleaned it up, and I'm going to touch up the paint on some of the faces and make bedding for Bert & Ernie's beds, because I removed the dented foam. Hubby plans to make C a balance beam.

Ok, on with the patterns! These can be adapted to fit any doll of a similar size.

Doll T-shirt Tutorial
Doll Pants Tutorial
Doll skirts (wrap and patchwork)
Baby Doll Cloth Diaper Tutorial
Dollar Doll Clothes - from underwear!

And some helpful tips about cleaning your Cabbage Patch doll!

Happy sewing!

Plans for Christmas PJs

It will be my first time using a "real" pattern - cross your fingers!

November, so far...

What we've been up to lately...

Making poppies (kind of!) for Remembrance Day:

Sorting with Mickey:
Learning patterns with Mickey (I love the Disney paint chips from Home Depot - they're cute and colourful, and no cutting or laminating are required!)

Spelling (with cards, on the fridge, and in songs). By herself, C can spell her name, her Dad's name and "mop" (thanks to the song "Rag Mop" on her new favourite CD, Jazz For Kids). She's doing really well with letter sounds too, so we should do some more games with that while she's interested!

Making our own stickers - and this is inevitably what happens whenever we play with stickers!

And baking! We started our pre-Christmas baking a couple of days ago. We've been listening to Christmas music, which has increased C's interest in Santa Claus, so we broke out the Christmas books too. This is unprecedented for me - usually I'm a not-before-December kind of gal! Speaking of baking, I went to a Pampered Chef show last night - they have such nice kitchen gear!

 
We have totally cut out C's naps due to unusual bedtime crankiness recently, and things are going much better (although Mummy is very tired by the time 2 or 3pm rolls around!).

That's all for now!

On Remembrance Day...

Thank you to everyone who has served, with the hope of peace.

My step-grandfather, Maxwell Bursey - Newfoundland, WWII

A good (but sad) Remembrance Day book for children:

A Bear In War - Stephanie Innes & Harry Endrulat

Based on a true story, this book tells the story of a teddy bear who traveled to the front lines of France in 1916 with a Lieutenant in the Canadian army.

Halloween costume

C's Little Red Riding Hood cape turned out rather well, if I do say so myself!
I hope you all had a great Halloween, and that your children's crash from the sugar high wasn't too bad!