This is good information to have written down for a babysitter:

• Where you will be or a list of the places you will be
• Phone numbers where you can be reached at all times
• Names and numbers of neighbors to contact in case of an emergency
• Allergies that a child has and what do to if necessary
• Where the food is located that will be used while you are gone (make it easy to fix)
• Schedule for the child/children
• Discipline policy / Time out *
• Bedtime rules

Vat 19 has “curiously awesome” products that you don’t find just anywhere. They sent me some samples of a few of their products. One product called Insta Snow Powder, my favorite, is pretty cool. All you have to do is add water and this white powder expands and really looks like snow. Kids of any age would love it! I also received an Ambient Fire Video Fireplace DVD . It makes your TV screen look like a fire burning in a fireplace. That’s neat for those who don’t have fireplaces. The third thing I received was a scented pencil which smells like cotton candy.

If you would like a “space efficient electronics charging valet” that is an electronics charger station which neatly hides cords for charging adapters, then check out Vat 19. It will hold three adapters and charge them while concealing all the cords in a neat little station. It also has a surge protector and a little drawer to hold small items.

The Amby is the original and safest hammock bed for babies in the market today. This world wide patented natural motion bed has been used worldwide by maternity hospitals and homes for the past 18 years. The Amby Baby Motion Bed has been recognized in the United States by the JPMA, a highly regarded certification authority, for its safety and effectiveness. If you have a baby with colic or reflux, a premature baby, or a baby who is a restless sleeper or short napper, then you especially might want to check out amby baby which mimics the natural movements within the mother’s womb.

Eve has some great gift ideas for families. One thing that she mentions is the Wii. We got one when they first came out, and it is a great game system for the whole family. Young children, kids of all ages, teenagers, parents, and even grandparents can all enjoy this system. There is a wide assortment of games to meet everyone’s interest. In case you don’t know about the Wii, you can hook it up to your TV and everyone can see what’s going on at all times. And the really neat thing is that it brings everybody together in a fun way.

If you’re looking for a great Christmas gift for the “scientist” at your house, check out Elizabeth’s Discovery Exclusive Tornado Lab. And for the non-scientific students, it would be so much fun that they wouldn’t know they were learning. When I used to teach first grade, we would do a science experiment with a two liter bottle and make our own twisters. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t work very well. This would have been so cool to have!

Old Navy has recalled over 17,000 boys’ fleece-lined, hooded jackets. The drawstring at the waist creates a potential entrapment hazard. The jackets come in blue or black, have the number 507907 on a white label in the seam of the jacket, and sold for around $30 from August-November 2007.

Customers can return the jacket to the store for a full refund plus a $5 appreciation card if they return the jacket before March 2008, or they can remove the drawstring if they choose to keep the jacket. Go to Old Navy’s website for instructions on how to remove the drawstring. Also, if you need more information, you can go to the website or contact Old Navy at (866) 580-9930 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, Saturday between 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET, and Sunday between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m.

A play yard is great to put around your raised Christmas tree to keep little hands from taking off the ornaments or unwrapping the presents, or to keep little people from knocking over the tree, or maybe even keep them from climbing it. When our son was a toddler, our play yard was a perfect solution to keep him from playing with all the ornaments on the tree and the gifts under the tree. It’s been so long that I don’t remember him trying to climb the tree, but he was a climber and given the opportunity, he probably would have tried to climb the Christmas tree. We did have to put the tree up a little higher to get the tree completely out of his reach, though, so we put an end table inside the play yard and then put the Christmas tree up on top of the end table. Hard as he might try, he just couldn’t reach the tree!

Personalized Gifts for Children make wonderful gifts for Christmas, birthdays, and anytime during the year. A personalized gift is something extra-special, something unique, and something that will be kept and treasured for many years. Identity Direct has a huge selection of gift items with over 500 personalized gifts. Their most popular gift is “My Special Christmas Adventure,” a personalized storybook where the child named goes on a magical journey with Santa Claus. They also have Disney, Winnie the Pooh, and Sesame Street selections as well.

It’s fun to work together as a family on a project. When our son was in kindergarten, he had a homework assignment: the whole family had to decorate this white cardboard, cut-out turkey shape that was about ten inches tall. So all of us, even teenage sister and dad helped to decorate the turkey, coloring it with markers, gluing on ribbon, odds and ends of stuff out of my sewing box, colored cereal, and small pieces of old jewelry. We had so much fun! Years and years later, we still have that turkey and he’s always a part of our Thanksgiving decorations. And the funny thing is that the cereal is still on there. LOL

My friend, Wanda, over at apples-zeros.com used to be an art teacher, and you can tell because she is so creative. Here’s a neat idea she has for making a homemade centerpiece that everyone in the family can help make. This would be something that you could save and use from year to year by storing it in a box in the attic. Just click here .

When I used to teach first grade, we would make a great big turkey mural out in the hallway every year. It made the bland wall come alive. I would have the kids trace around their hands on different colors of construction paper (red, orange, purple, yellow, brown, and some green). I had a turkey head that I used every year and would just make a new body for it every year with all of the hand cut-outs. This idea could make a neat door decoration at home, too.

Nike has recalled around 235,000 football helmet chin straps with any one of these four style numbers printed on the inside of the strap: FA0016 046, FA0016 130, FA0021 046, or FA0021 130. The chin strap’s plastic cup has broken in several instances as a result of contact during play which exposes the player to facial and head injuries. So far, Nike has received 18 reports of the chin strap breaking: two reports of concussions, two reports of facial injuries requiring stitches, and a report of a broken nose. These helmets were sold April 2006 - October 2007 for about $20, came in black/gray and white/gray color combinations, and were made in China. You can contact Nike directly at their toll-free number (888) 583-6453 between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. PT during the week, or you can go to their website at

http://www.nikebiz.com.

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