More Party Pics

I know I could have done a slide show, but I just wanted to get these up. The first blond boy is my friend Michelles youngest Jordan, and the other little boy is Alex, my friend Dianas grandson - he looks so much like her!

It's been a week. Work is very stressful. In sales it is never 'Thanks for doing a good job', it's 'what are you going to do for me now.' Anyway I can handle it ... I just need to keep on doing what I can do. I am so glad it is Friday and my life is my own for the next 2 days. We may go to the library tomorrow, and mom is coming over to cook for us on Sunday. I just need to buy the ingredients. Wow, I don't get many meals cooked for me!

Happy weekend everyone!

Jamie's Party was wonderful!

She had such a good time! I am so glad we went ahead and did it at Chuck E Cheese as she requested. It really was nice...The hostess was really sweet and all the kids had a great time. I did decorate the cake but not like I was hoping. I need much more practice before I can write with Frosting tips like a cake decorator!

I had a couple of good friends that ended up coming at the last minute that I really didn't think would come - one drove across the state with her grandson!

Jamie got loads of Princess dress up stuff. She now has a new Tinker Bell outfit and a Tinker bell toy, a new Snow white outfit and a new Belle outfit- which also came with a "Princess Learn to dance pad" She also got the sweetest store - its like a little tent with vibrant colors of the shelves along with a produce stand that she just adores.

I will post more pictures of the gifts later, meanwhile here are a couple party pics.

Here is the picture I meant to post!

Here is Jamie the first day in her Princess bed. She loves that bed, but having her out of the crib is one of the reasons we can't get her to say in bed anymore!

We are trying the advice you gave us Grace, if she gets up once we will be putting up the gate. Thanks for the tip! We will let you know how it works.

Mommy my pullup is wet!

Every night for the past week or so Jamie has to get up after going to bed to go potty. Even when she goes right before bed. She is able to open her door now, but when she does she comes out and closes it. And can't get it open from the outside. Every night she pees in her diaper, comes out and says, mommy my diaper is wet. So tonight we put her in a pullup and put a potty in her room and told her not to come out of her room. Nope, you guessed it, Mommy my pullup is wet. She opened the door twice and Mike handled it both times, I think it was an improvement - many nights she is up four or five times after bedtime.

We are perplexed. Jamie has always been so good about going to bed.

How do you handle a child that won't stay in bed?

(I tried to post a pic of her in bed, but my computer isn't showing me the thumbnails of my photos, so I had to pick one at random)

Birthday cake for dummies? & Toys for a 3 yr old girl

I need that site. I have booked Chuck e Cheese for next weekend for Jamies birthday and it isn't cheap let me tell ya. It will be $100 just for the kids to have 2 pcs of pizza and some tokens. (they do get double the tokens for coming so early in the day though!) I will be bringing the cake, ice cream and party favors. I don't know if we will be feeding the adults. The party is at 10am, so I am thinking cake and ice cream should suffice for the bigger folks.

Anyway back to the cakes...I got some books on cake decorating and made a batch of icing. I am going to try to make some flowers and decorate Jamies cake. I was looking at the Little Mermaid pan which wasn't a lot of money, but after getting the pan you would also need the special dyes to get her hair, skin color and mermaid gear, then the special cake topper and Ariel candle, and you are talking at least $35 and that isn't counting the labor for the cake! Kind of defeats the purpose of making it myself, although I know she would be wowed.

I found some info on the wilton site, Gosh you can spend alot of time and money on this hobby! I spent at least an hour the last time I went to Michaels looking at all the stuff. Then I came home, read the library books on decorating and went back to get the egg white powder for the icing and the flower nail to make the flowers with as well as a few tips. I also could spend tons more on special dyes and tips and dyes, but I am trying to keep it simple. Ha! Easier said then done. Michaels sucks you in - "Its so easy and fun to do!" and upon further investigation it is anything but. Making the icing really wasn't as complicated as I was let to believe, even without a mixer with a 'paddle holder' or whatever.

Gifts for the little girl should be princess heavy..she is so into Ariel, Cinderella, Auroura and Belle its not funny. She also could use a Skipper doll as we have the clothes but not a doll. (Skipper is the smaller Barbie doll). She has a Snap and style doll she really likes named Giselle she could use more clothes for her. I was going to put some things on a wish list on Amazon and just never got around to it...

She has an easel, but colored inside chalk would be nice for her to use on it (not the thick sidewalk stuff) and also some way to clip paper to the easel. It has a chalkboard on one side and white board on the other.

I love the idea of that Smart Cycle but that is too expensive, maybe next year. I also like that VTech motion Active learning system, but that may wait until next year too. I need to hear more about both of them to see if they pass the mommy test.

The honeybee hop looks like a riot, its a toy that spins around and the kids hop over it...to some sort of music...supposed to be fun for kids age 3-10 and there are rave reviews on the web about it.

And she loves Anders Fridge phonics whenever we go over there but I was hoping to get that on Craigs list.

I think she would love that Baby Alive, and the Fisher Price Puppy who grows and knows your name...and I hear the Pet whatchamacallits are all the rage.

So that is an idea of what to get Jamie for her birthday for the one that asked, all others, what was your 3 yr olds favorite toy?

'No Buy' January

This is alot harder than it sounds. I am attempting not to buy anything that isn't necessary for the month of January as I alluded to in the previous post. One reason is our credit card bill for the month of December was over $4000! This in part was because of our Disney trip- for which we bought 7 Day Magic your way passes. We only used 2 days and the remaining 5 never expire. So this was really an investment in our family's vacations for the next several years. Then we splurged and bought a HD TV for our family Christmas Gift, which we absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE! (Did you know that if you have a reflection issue from windows that face the TV with HD you will no longer have a problem!?)

I have tripped up a couple of times with this 'No Buy' January. Sunday we went to Walmart and though we did 'need' everything we got I could have done without the small mirror I bought for my desk at work and maybe one of the sewing notions I bought. Then today I was all ready to refuse to go to lunch with the gang at work and they talked me into it! Darn it I was really hoping to keep from eating 'out' during this month. I will try to curtail it the rest of the month...I don't count eating in our cafeteria at work eating out by the way.

But the biggest challenge has been resisting the pull of going to the thrift stores. This year I have been very successful in getting very nice clothes for work for $2-5 per item, and I mean nice. Designer labels pants, blazers and blouses that fit me right and look professional as well as stylish. It's amazing what people give to the thrift stores. Out of the blue it will occur to me that I really could use another pair of Black pants or a Navy jacket...I have to just make do with the clothes that are in this house for this month!

Lastly if I am not bringing anything in this month, it is a perfect time to purge. Boy do I have a hard time purging! What the heck! Why do I feel I have to hold on to clothes that I haven't worn in years!! Here in Florida we don't have basements so there just isn't the storage space to hold on to things that aren't being used.

What do you do to get rid of stuff?

Good News for Thrifters! New consumer law requires lead testing has been amended today!

I am an avid thrift store shopper which I am sure you know if you are a regular readeer...(Do I have any regular readers?!) I am pretty much addicted to the thrill of finding beautiful brand name clothing items for Jamie for a dollar or two. So addicted that I thought I better join my fellow friend and thrifter, Cinda, in a 'No Buy' January. When you are a thrifter you tend to bring more into the house than you take out. So we are both going to take the month to not bring anything in, and try to purge while we are at it.

Anyway on Saturday Cinda found this article about the new Lead testing that would lead to thrift and consignment shops not being able to sell any childrens items unless expensive testing was done of each item and the date for the change was Feb 10 2009! It also said all the clothing would have to be destroyed and or sent to landfills by this date. Well we both became incensed at this idea and started checking it out. She went so far as to call the local news channel about it. They didn't even know and came to her house and interviewed her on Tuesday. (maybe I will post the interview if I can figure out how to post videos and Cinda ok's it)

Well I found this news today, they ammended the law! The barage of emails they have gotten this week caused them to issue a clarification.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Second-hand stores to be exempt from new lead testing law on children's products
Federal regulators say such shops won't be required to test used merchandise for lead by Feb. 10. But they can't sell items that exceed lead limits and should 'avoid' products that may contain lead.
By Alana Semuels
3:26 PM PST, January 8, 2009

and from the government:

News from CPSC U.S. Consumer Product Safety CommissionOffice of Information and Public Affairs Washington, D.C. 20207For Immediate Release CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772January 8, 2009 CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908Release #09-086CPSC Clarifies Requirements of New Children’s Product Safety Laws Taking Effect in FebruaryGuidance Intended for Resellers of Children’s Products, Thrift and Consignment StoresWashington, D.C. – In February 2009, new requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) take effect. Manufacturers, importers and retailers are expected to comply with the new Congressionally-mandated laws. Beginning February 10, 2009, children’s products cannot be sold if they contain more than 600 parts per million (ppm) total lead. Certain children’s products manufactured on or after February 10, 2009 cannot be sold if they contain more that 0.1% of certain specific phthalates or if they fail to meet new mandatory standards for toys. Under the new law, children’s products with more than 600 ppm total lead cannot lawfully be sold in the United States on or after February 10, 2009, even if they were manufactured before that date. The total lead limit drops to 300 ppm on August 14, 2009. The new law requires that domestic manufacturers and importers certify that children’s products made after February 10 meet all the new safety standards and the lead ban. Sellers of used children’s products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new toy standards. The new safety law does not require resellers to test children’s products in inventory for compliance with the lead limit before they are sold. However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate the products being sold have less than the new limit. Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties. When the CPSIA was signed into law on August 14, 2008, it became unlawful to sell recalled products. All resellers should check the CPSC Web site (www.cpsc.gov) for information on recalled products before taking into inventory or selling a product. The selling of recalled products also could carry civil and/or criminal penalties. The agency intends to focus its enforcement efforts on products of greatest risk and largest exposure. While CPSC expects every company to comply fully with the new laws resellers should pay special attention to certain product categories. Among these are recalled children’s products, particularly cribs and play yards; children’s products that may contain lead, such as children’s jewelry and painted wooden or metal toys; flimsily made toys that are easily breakable into small parts; toys that lack the required age warnings; and dolls and stuffed toys that have buttons, eyes, noses or other small parts that are not securely fastened and could present a choking hazard for young children. The agency has underway a number of rulemaking proposals intended to provide guidance on the new lead limit requirements. Please visit the CPSC website at www.cpsc.gov for more information.


This still is going to affect alot of hand made sellers of childrens items so if you want to protest write your congressmen or sign the petition at change.org

Fellow thrifters and homemade makers of products for kids unite!

Not intended to be taken apart after assembly

See that playdough press below? It's the Magic Swirl Ice Cream shoppe by Playdoh. It's an ok toy, she seems to like it anyway although its a mess to clean up after. Anyway after playing with it the first time, I tried to take it apart to put it back in the box...and I couldnt figure it out. So I emailed Playdoh...and that is the answer they gave me. WTH?! I don't have an unlimited amount of storage! I am tempted to take it back. Only then will they design these toys to be convenient for moms - when they get the hint.Guess I should go review it somewhere and point that out.

While I am on the subject I bought one of those 'Color Wonder' coloring books set and it was supposed to come with 3 pens and a stencil. Well there was a slit in the package and the stencil was missing...Crayola doesn't seem to have any way to contact them onthe internet, just a toll free number, which is only working 9-5. WTH?

Bouncing off each other

We have had plenty of togetherness in our more than 2 weeks from school and work, maybe too much togetherness! We were snapping at each other all day yesterday despite a trip to the park to work out some wiggles. I taught Jamie to ride her trike this week in the driveway and we took it to a park with a huge parking lot for some more practice. We saw a huge eagle type bird swooping over us and Mike and I were staring at it while Jamie went down the very high slide there. She ended up face first in the dirt! Poor baby...

Then this morning trying to get the sweeper to work I broke the electrical charger part to it. Then while putting something away in the closet an electric frying pan I had never used fell on the ceramic tile and broke. I ended up dragging most of the stuff out of the closet and putting quite a bit of it in the Goodwill. I need to clear the piles of stuff out of the house.

Maybe going back to school and work won't be so bad.