Do you want a designer baby where you can choose the sex of your next child? You might want to look into booking a trip to Thailand. Once there you can relax in the sun, partake in the local culture, and get a round of IVF. It's like a pre-baby moon.
Baby holidays, a type of medical tourism, is on the rise in Thailand. For about $9000 plus the cost of food, travel, and lodging you can get the little girl or boy that you always wanted. This type of medical tourism is very popular with ethnic Chinese where the culture tends to favor boys.
This video clip will show you how to make chopsticks kid friendly. My Dad does it the exact same way so I can tell you for a fact that it's an awesome technique. It won't do anything to improve your kids chopstick using skills, but it will cut down on their frustration.
I love visiting the Chinese supermarket. You just never know what you are going to find there. This last Sunday I came across some pretty fancy training chopsticks for kids. These Edison Chopsticks, made by Korean company, teach your child how to properly hold chopsticks. They have finger holes for correct finger placement. They even come in left hand and right hand versions. The best part is the little penguin guy on top. I think he is super cute.
When I was a kid my Dad just made us kid friendly chopsticks with a rubber band and the paper wrapper. My Dad's chopsticks were awesome, but did nothing to teach me how to use chopsticks. I, therefore, have endured several years of torment by my husband because of my lack of sufficient chopstick technique. Apparently, I let my chopsticks cross which is a big no-no.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you my favorite part about these chopsticks. The back of the box warns that they are a choking hazard. Priceless.
Have you ever wondered what the heck is up with little boys and cowboy boots?
Of course I love cowboy boots. I grew up in the wild west and I have roots that stretch far into the South. Heck, my favorite singer growing up was Dolly Parton. Go ahead and snicker. I still think Dolly is awesome.
Why does my son love cowboy boots? Genetics? Maybe. I think a better answer is that he realized they give him height.
It's not just my son who is obsessed with his boots. I know of several other little boys who refuse to wear anything but boots. Don't even think of going to Disneyland without those boots. Why? Those cowboy boots can get them on rides that tennis shoes can't. These boots are made for walking? Nah, these boots are made for getting on rides and finally feeling as tall as your big sister.
Cowboy boots are like elevator shoes for youngsters. How is it that they know this and yet can never seem to figure out that their shoes are on the wrong feet? I'm baffled.
Howard Wong, of Malaysia, has captured the hearts of many adoring fans worldwide for his version of Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself For Loving You." I am guessing many of you have already seen the clip. But, have you seen him in his early days?
R.J. Lees, a 16-year old from New Mexico is lucky to be alive. He was messing around with his friends when he decided to get into a little over a foot of storm water runoff. The strong current knocked him over and swept him away. He traveled about 7-miles before firefighters were finally able to rescue him.
A few days ago I posted about our fondant roly poly adventure. For those of you interested this is how the completed cake turned out. I thought the bakery did a great job making our little roly poly garden.
The cake was a big hit. Turns out several of my daughter's friends are also roly poly crazy. I heard some pretty serious roly poly war stories at the party. Frankly, I am a little surprised our little crustacean friends aren't on the brink of extinction.
And yes, I did cheat on my diet. I had a piece of cake and it was great! I would have another, but those diet nurses actually kind of scare me.
School is right around the corner which means that kids coming home with lice is also right around the corner. Typically if a child is found to have lice they are sent home for treatment. The American Academy of Pediatrics is trying to change that rule. They say there is typically no need for the child to miss class if they have lice.
Head lice are not a health hazard or a sign of poor hygiene and, in contrast to body lice, are not responsible for the spread of any disease. No healthy child should be excluded from or miss school because of head lice, and no-nit policies for return to school should be abandoned.
A 2-year old in Texas glued his mouth shut after sticking a tube of glue in his mouth. The Mom called 911. Police and paramedics responded to the scene. The Mom, however managed to get the little boy's lips unglued with warm water.
This is further proof that toddlers get into everything and anything. I'm pretty sure he isn't the first kid to glue his mouth shut. I'm glad he is OK.
A 4-year old girl from Pennsylvania walked away unharmed after totaling her Dad's SUV. Bob Orosz had been working on his car when he went inside his house for just a moment. His daughter Alexandra got into the car. The next thing Alexandra new the car was moving.
"She said she got in and sat down where mommy sits on the passenger side. She said she just heard a noise and then it went over the hill and flipped over. She said she climbed out the back and started crying because she broke my truck," said Orosz.
Jaime Hick's 12-year old daughter called 911 and informed police that her Mother was drunk and driving erratically. The girl and her 10-year old brother were both passengers in the car at the time.
Hicks, a resident of Islip, was arrested and charged under Leandra's Law, which makes it a felony to drive drunk with a passenger 15-years-old and under.
State troopers praised the girl for her quick thinking. This story could easily have ended in a tragedy much worse than an arrest.
Jean Barnard, a 67-year old American woman, claims that a 3-year old boy screamed in her ear on Qantas flight and made her partially deaf. Barnard sued Qantas and the case was recently settled out of court. Her stance was that the crew did not take the necessary precautions to prevent her injury.
"I guess we are simply fortunate that my eardrum was exploding and I was swallowing blood. Had it not been for that, I would have dragged that kid out of his mother's arms and stomped him to death. Then we would have an 'international incident'," Ms Barnard allegedly wrote.
Does this mean more lawsuits are on the way for unruly or crying children on flights? The problem I see is that children are unpredictable at best. Even the most perfect child has their off day.
I once read a suggestion that people should be given the option of flying on child friendly flights or adult only flights. I assume they would charge more for adult only flights. This seems like a good idea to me.
Peter Mitchell has more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/screaming-child-lands-qantas-in-court-after-sending-woman-deaf/story-e6frfq80-1225894589406
Baby Matters is recalling their Nap Nanny. The recall is due to entrapment, suffocation and fall hazards.
CPSC and the firm have received 22 reports of infants, primarily younger than 5-months-old, hanging or falling out over the side of the Nap Nanny® despite most of the infants being placed in the harness. One infant received a bruise as a result of hanging over the side of the product.
Infants can partially fall or hang over the side of the Nap Nanny® even while the harness is in use. This situation can be worse if the Velcro™ straps, located inside the Nap Nanny® cover are not properly attached to the "D"-rings located on the foam, or if consumers are using the first generation model Nap Nanny® that was sold without "D"-rings.
Jessiah Jackson, a 17-month old toddler from North Carolina, is lucky to be alive. The boy fell off a chair and was impaled in the head with the metal rod of a pressure washer. Amazingly he appears to have suffered no long term brain damage and is recovering very quickly.
