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Baby Everywhere Book and a Bag Review and Giveaway!

Having the right bag to carry baby's necessities are as important as the right carseat and binky! You need one with ample space, compartments and handle(s) that won't break.  

Baby Everywhere offers a perfect combination! The Book and a Bag, an elegant, affordable wide tote that helps a busy mom to find keys, cell phone, wallet and her baby's essentials without emptying the bag. Plus a Safe Baby Organizer, a loose-leaf book, with expert advice on how to prevent injuries and handle an emergency, if one occurs.

Available in Marine blue or Fire engine red, the information is in English or Spanish, and matches the Safe Baby Organizer.

Includes:

•   A beautifully made, wide tote (15"wide x 11"high x 6“ deep), in durable, wipe-able cloth, inside and outside.
•   The tote, in marine blue or fire engine red, comes with an extra large matching changing pad.
•   A Safe Baby Organizer – a 50-page loose-leaf book (4"x7") fits into an outside pocket, available in English or Spanish. Colored tabs divide sections.
•   Topics covered include CPR steps, what babysitters need to know, helping a choking baby.
•   A place for a new mom to organize her baby's medical information, pediatrician's Instructions and write in personal notes.
•   Recommended by the American Academy of Emergency Medicine.
•   iParentingMediaAward.com voted the Safe Baby Tote one of the most outstanding safety products of the year.
•   Created as a protest for the high cost of diaper bags, this one is now on sale for a limited time.

I loved how big this bag was! I could use it not only for baby's things but also my own! This eliminated the need for a purse! Perfect for everyday or weekend travel! Grandma's, daycare, or wherever you and baby go!

About Baby Everywhere:

The birth of a baby is the most exciting, joyful event in a person’s life. With it comes the biggest and most challenging responsibility – the care and protection of a fragile and precious baby.

Baby-Everywhere congratulates new parents. We began with an idea and important goal: To provide parents with help in preventing and handling an emergency.

Florence Weiner, the founder of Baby-Everywhere, asked new and expectant parents what they wanted to learn about handling an emergency.

The parents challenged us to provide this life-saving information in products that they could use instantly, and to also prepare babysitters.

We asked professionals – pediatricians, ER doctors, nurses, paramedics, firefighters and police officers – what they want parents to know and how they keep their own children safe.

The design team then created beautiful, affordably-priced products that can be used anywhere the baby is – at home, in a car, with the babysitter and at grandma’s home.

The information in all Baby-Everywhere products is translated into Spanish. They are the first of their kind to be offered by Target.com and Amazon.com.

Early Head Start and Healthy Start, and other state-supported parent groups use our products as part of their safety training program.

We are honored to be recommended by the Academy of Emergency Medicine. iParentingMediaAwards.com judges voted Baby-Everywhere among the most outstanding safety products of the year.

You can score your own Book and Bag! Here is how!:

MANDATORY ENTRY, THIS IS REQUIRED FOR EXTRA ENTRIES:

Go to Baby Everywhere and tell one thing from their Shop you would like to have besides the book and bag. Tell me which one you pick in a comment below.  Be sure I have your email so I can contact you if you win.


extra entries

Vote for me in the Springfree Trampoline contest! http://ow.ly/2d6Cy  Leave me a comment telling me your Facebook name to confirm! 2 EXTRA ENTRIES

 Like Baby Everywhere on Facebook!  Leave me  your name in the comment saying you liked their page,  to be sure I know how to find you!

Follow @FrugalFamilyFun on Twitter 1 extra entry, leave me your twitter name

Follow @Babyeverywhere on Twitter 1 extra entry, leave me your twitter name

Tweet about this giveaway. Include the link to this giveaway @BanTshirts and @FrugalFamilyFun

Can be up to 5 times daily, tweets must be at least 1 hour apart for entry. 1 extra entry for each tweet.
leave me the link to your tweet-

You can use this tweet if you want: "Win a Book and Bag from @frugalfamilyfun and @Babyeverywhere  http://ow.ly/206VD "

Subscribe to our email updates, via google reader, or via RSS feed , 1 extra entry for each

Put our button on your blog, leave me the link to the blog THIS WILL BE CHECKED. 3 extra entries

Sign up for Baby Everywhere's Blog subscription. Click here, and the box to enter your email is on the right hand side.  Leave me the email that  you used to subscribe in your comment and state that you subscribed.

Blog about this contest, including a link back to this giveaway worth 5 extra entries.
Leave me the link in your comments to the post

Contest begins now and ends July 21, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST. Winner will be selected via Random.org and will be notified by email. Winner must respond within 48 hours or forfeits prize. Good luck!

Baby Everywhere provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product

Baby Dipper Review and Giveaway!

With 3 kids, a husband and a dog, there is always plenty of mess to be cleaned up! So when it comes to meal time I am always looking for ways to keep it as clean as possible! That goes double for my “baby”! She is almost 18 months old and totally independent. If she wants to do it herself then nobody is going to convince her of anything different. So I have to give in and let her feed herself! That is why I was so happy to try out the FABULOUS Baby Dipper feeding set!!!!!! Seriously, let me tell you the types of food my little one has been eating WITHOUT SPILLING A DROP: cereal w/ milk, Progresso chicken noodle soup, chili, casserole, applesauce, and even ice cream!! I couldn't believe my eyes the first time I used it. Seriously?? Where did the food go? It wasn't all over the tray, or on her clothes. I mean there was a little on her mouth but SERIOUSLY?!?! She really didn't spill anything!! Well, I was pretty darn excited about that! So I have been using it for everything and anything!! She loves it and totally knows its “her” bowl and fork and spoon!

The bowl has a non slip base, so for self feeders it stays in place as they use the specially shaped silverware to scoop or stab food from the bowl. It gives parents feeding younger babies a free hand during meal time. The inside has a specially contoured design to help push the food onto the silverware and keeps it from spilling over the sides! The bowl is BPA free, so you can be sure it won't harm your child! And its top rack dishwasher safe, so its easy to clean for daily use! The bowl is also the perfect size to throw in a diaper bag for meals to go, at restaurants or at other people's homes! This is the ideal tool for children learning to self feed!! I just wish I would have had this with my other 2 daughters!! It would have saved me a lot of clothes and time spent cleaning up!!


The Story of the Baby Dipper® bowl


Hello! I’m Barbara Schantz, mom of twin girls, Greta and Cora, born in 2004, and also the mother of twin boys, Franklin and Carlton, born in 2008. As a stay-at-home mom of twin babies, I faced the daunting task of feeding them. Frustrated with the bowls I had already purchased, I investigated and bought other bowls, but still remained disappointed. The vision for the Baby Dipper® bowl came to me when Cora and Greta were about 6 months old, not long after they started eating baby cereal and other pureed foods. I needed a bowl that required only one hand to successfully feed a baby, but why wasn't there one on the market that satisfied this need?
I was thinking that to accomplish one-handed feeding, the bowl should not slide around on the table and it should aid in the collection of the baby food. A non-slip bottom surface would keep it from sliding. A sloped interior surface and a spoon-shaped collection point would help gather the food down to the last bite. Also, adding to those features, vertical sides would help push food onto the spoon and transparent sides would allow the food to be seen easily by both the parent and the child. The bowl I designed has proven to make feeding much easier for parents and even for toddlers trying to spoon-feed themselves. The patented Baby Dipper bowl is truly unique in the marketplace and hopefully will help parents everywhere.


Have you liked Baby Dipper On Facebook yet?  Be sure to, and get the latest updates and more from Baby Dipper!!
Baby Dipper would like to offer one of you a set!! Here is how to score one!!

Go to babydipper.com and tell me something you would like to try! Leave me a comment below telling me what it is! Be sure I have your email in case you win!!

 IF YOU HAVE ALREADY WON A CONTEST SPONSORED BY BABY DIPPER, LLC YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THIS CONTEST

How about some extra entries? Leave separate comments for all that you do!

Follow @babydipperon Twitter. Leave me your twitter name.

Follow @frugalfamilyfun on Twitter. Leave me your twitter name.

Blog about this for 5 extra entries. Leave me the link to the post

Put our button on your blog for 1 extra entry. Leave me the link to your blog.

Sign up for Baby Dipper's Newsletter.

Subscribe to the Baby Dipper Blog
Tweet daily about this giveaway-up to 5 entries per day!! (1 entry per tweet, must be at least 1 hour apart)

Tweets must state that this is a contest and must include @frugalfamilyfun @babydipper and the link to this giveaway! Leave me the link to your tweet in the comment.

Contest begins now and ends June 4,2010. Winner will be chosen via random.org and will be notified via email. Winner has 48 hours to claim their prize or forfeits the prize. In this case we will redraw for a new winner.

I was not monetarily compensated for this review. I was given the products mentioned from Baby Dipper for review. These opinions are not affected by the products received. They are my honest opinions. The winner will also be receiving the Baby Dipper. Photos from Baby Dipper.

What to do when your child is lost.

This past weekend, my husband and I had the scariest experience of our lives. We were at a local festival, where they had the park set up with dozens of booths for kids day. There must have been over 500 people in a park no bigger than 2 ½ acres. Well, we were getting ready to leave and my husband spotted a friend. I was going to the picture booth and had our youngest with me. My husband had our middle child and my oldest daughter was going to go with me but decided to go with daddy. After getting the picture that we had taken earlier, I went back to the spot I had left my husband. He was there with our middle daughter, but our oldest was no where to be found.



We both began to hunt the aisles of the fair for her, trying frantically to spot the little blonde girl in the swarms of people. As minute after minute ticked by, I began to get more and more scared, trying to figure out what went wrong and where she could be. Finally I spotter her across the way with a woman carrying her to the entertainment stage. I literally shoved my stroller through the crowd as I ran to get her. As I made my way I could hear the woman on the microphone, saying my daughter's name, that she really wants to find her parents Lisa and Brian and she's 4 years old. That was the happiest reunion ever!!! She was crying, I was crying....it was emotional!! I was so proud that she knew to find a nice woman to help her, and was able to tell her name, age and parent's names, even in a scary situation!! Here are my tips to helping your child be prepared if this should happen to you!!:

1. As soon as your child begins to speak, teach them her or his name. First and last. We even taught mine her middle name!! For us this began just after she turned 1, and by 18 months she had quite the vocabulary!
2. Teach your child the names of you and your spouse. Again first and last. Especially if somebody has a different last name than the child. The more info the child can supply in an emergency the better!


3. Teach your child to find a nice looking woman. Sorry to offend all you men out there, but it is more likely a man will snatch a child than a woman, NOT THAT WOMEN ARE NOT CAPABLE OF DOING SO. But generally it is recommended to seek an adult woman or police officer to help you. Or tell your child to find a woman with kids of her own.

4. When they are older, teach address and phone number. Of course teach them discretion as to when and with who they should share this, but its important to know in the case that they are kidnapped and will help reuniting happen faster.
5. Tell your child to try to stay in one spot if they should get separated from you. This makes it easier to find them and quicker too.


What do you do if your child goes missing?


If you are in public, search the immediate area you are in and last saw your child. Ask if anyone has seen your child. Always be sure you know what your child is wearing. If there are security guards or police, notify them of the missing child. If not, seek the customer service desk or an employee for help.


If your child is not found within a few minutes, contact authorities to help you find him/her. Time is precious and if your child has been abducted you want to be sure to get someone on the case a.s.a.p.


If your teen is missing, contact friends and family and see if anyone knows anything. Cases can be runaways or abductions, and you can never be too cautious. Your child's safety is the number one priority.



For more tips, visit these websites:

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Parents.com
life.familyeducation.com

Making Baby Food at Home

I would like to thank my good friend at Imallshoppe.com for showing me this article from Webmd.com

Homemade Baby Food: Is It Right for You?

A step-by-step guide to making and storing food for your baby.
By Gina Shaw

When you begin feeding your baby solid foods, it’s time to think about what foods you’re going to be feeding him. There are many healthy premade options, including organic baby food. But homemade baby food is a popular option for parents who want to know exactly what goes into their baby’s mouth -- and making it may be easier than you think.

Homemade Baby Food: Advantages of Making It Yourself

Parents who prefer homemade baby food have many reasons for their choice.

• They know exactly what they’re feeding their baby.
• It’s more economical than buying pre-packaged foods (although some parents note that this is not always the case).
• They can choose their own fruits, vegetables, and other foods for purees, instead of relying on the flavors chosen by manufacturers. You’re not going to find melons or avocados in the baby food section of the supermarket.
• It gets the baby used to eating the same food as the rest of the family -- just in puree form.

Myra Bartalos, the mother of a 20-month-old daughter in Brooklyn, N.Y, found that making her own baby food was easy and appealed to her concern for her daughter’s nutrition.

“What sealed the deal for me was finding out that jarred food is cooked at extremely high temperatures to kill bacteria for longer storage, at the same time taking out many of the food's vitamins and nutrients and taste,” says Bartalos. “I would roast, steam, or boil veggies or fruit on the weekends and puree in a mini food processor. I'd make three or four different fruits and veggies at a time, so I had a month's worth of food with each cooking weekend.”

“Making your own baby food does help you think more about what you're feeding your child,” says Erika Radtke, the mother of a 4-year-old boy and newborn daughter in Carlsbad, Calif. “And it seems to pave the way for making healthier meals, even as he or she gets older.”

Making Baby Food: Disadvantages of the Homemade Approach

Some parents who’ve tried and given up on homemade baby food point out these disadvantages to making it:

• Time. It takes time to make and prepare lots of little servings of homemade baby food. It’s much faster to pick up prepackaged servings.
• Convenience. Prepackaged baby foods come in measured amounts and ready to serve.
• Storage. Homemade baby foods may spoil more quickly and require refrigeration, which may take up room in your fridge or freezer if you make a lot of servings ahead of time. Prepackaged baby foods don’t need refrigerator storage until they’re opened.

Although Radtke made some of her son’s baby food, she admits, “It was a pain. I used to take a whole weekend to cook the foods, portion it out into ice cube trays, freeze them and store them. I didn't have a problem using Gerber's or Earth's Best when I ran out, though.”

Making Baby Food: Disadvantages of the Homemade Approach continued...

If you’re daunted by the idea of making your own baby food, don’t feel that you’re neglecting your baby. “Foods intended for babies are so pure to begin with,” says Jennifer Shu, MD, a pediatrician in Atlanta and co-author of Heading Home with Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality and Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed with Insight, Humor, and a Bottle of Ketchup.

“If you’re really concerned about what your baby’s eating and don’t have the time to make your own baby food, focus your attention on what they’re eating once they begin table foods,” Shu tells WebMD. “It’s really a very short window of time when they are eating purees.”

Making Baby Food: What You’ll Need

If you decide to make your own baby food, says Shu, it’s not that difficult: “All you need is a food grinder and a way to steam the food.” (If you’re taking the time to make your own baby food, steaming is the best way to cook ingredients because it preserves the most nutrients.)

There are plenty of baby food makers on the market, from a French product that combines steaming, blending, warming, and defrosting, to simple baby food processors, mills, and grinders. But you don’t need to buy any of these products; your own food processor will work just as well for making baby food.

Many popular books offer hundreds of recipes for baby food purees, including Blender Baby Food, Top 100 Baby Purees, and the Petit Appetit Cookbook. These books can help you come up with new ideas to try with your baby and remind you of important nutrients to include, but as with baby food makers, they’re not a requirement for making your own baby food.

Healthy Homemade: How to Make Baby Food in 6 Easy Steps

• Wash and rinse your hands and equipment.
• Scrub and peel fruits and vegetables.
• Bake, steam, roast, or microwave until tender (steaming and microwaving preserve the most nutrients).
• Puree in a food processor with a little liquid (water, breast milk, or formula), or mash if your baby can handle more texture.
• Store in the refrigerator or freezer, in airtight containers. (Packaged baby foods can be stored in the cupboard until they’re opened; because they’re fresh, homemade baby foods can’t.)
• Rewarm when it’s time to eat and allow to cool.

There are a number of storage containers sold specifically for refrigerating and freezing small serving-sized amounts of baby food; you can also just use an ice cube tray.

In addition to fruits and vegetables, you can puree foods such as cooked meats (fully cooked, with no pink, and remove fat, skin, and connective tissue), beans, and cooked eggs.

Homemade Made Easy: 1-Step Baby Food

When you’re preparing some foods, you can actually cut the steps down to one. “Cutting up a very ripe pear, mashing a banana, mashing an avocado—that’s making your own baby food,” Shu tells WebMD. “Or, for example, when you make mashed potatoes for the family, set aside some that don’t have whole milk added. You can add a little butter or salt -- the baby can have mild spices. As long as you’re eating healthy, you can give your baby a modified version of what you’re eating.”

What's For Dinner This Week?

This is the start of something great! I've put together a collection of recipes for a yummy dish for each day of the week to help you plan your meals!! Add a couple sides (some of the dishes are really a meal in themselves!) and maybe some kind of bread! Enjoy!!!

Monday: Pollo (Chicken) Fricassee from Puerto Rico from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

* 1 pound chicken drumsticks
* 1 tablespoon adobo seasoning
* 1/2 (.18 ounce) packet sazon seasoning
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 5 large red potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
* 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
* 1 large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 5 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1/2 cup dry red wine
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 2 fresh or dried bay leaves

Directions

1. Wash the chicken and pat dry; place into a large bowl. Season with adobo seasoning, sazon seasoning, and salt. Place the legs into a slow cooker, and cover with the potato slices.
2. Puree the red pepper, green pepper, onion, garlic, cilantro, olive oil, wine, cumin, and oregano in a blender. Pour over the chicken and add the bay leaves.
3. Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours, until the chicken is easily removed from the bone.

Tuesday:Homemade Pizza Supreme from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• SAUCE:
• 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated onion
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• TOPPINGS:
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 4 ounces Canadian bacon, diced (optional)
• 1 (3.25 ounce) package sliced pepperoni
• 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 medium green pepper, sliced
• 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced ripe olives, drained
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup minced fresh basil

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rest in a warm place for 10 minutes.
2. Combine sauce ingredients; set aside. Divide dough in half. On a floured surface, roll each portion into a 13-in. circle. Transfer to two greased 12-in. pizza pans; build up edges slightly. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Spread with sauce; sprinkle with toppings. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Wednesday: Golden Pork Chops at Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 6 pork chops
• 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed golden mushroom soup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with seasoned salt and pepper. Place them in a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a separate small bowl, combine the onion, mushrooms and soup. Mix together well and spoon over the chops.
3. Cover, and bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Uncover, and bake for 15 more minutes. (Note: Time could be less or more depending on the thickness of the chops.) Pork chops are done when their internal temperature has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Thursday: Grilled Hawaiian Chicken and Pineapple Sandwiches at Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
• 1 cup Hawaiian style marinade
• 6 pineapple rings
• 6 slices provolone cheese
• 6 onion rolls, split
• 6 tablespoons thousand island salad dressing
• 6 leaves romaine lettuce
• 6 slices tomato

Directions

1. Place the chicken pieces into a large resealable bag and pour in the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
2. Preheat a grill for medium-high heat. When hot, lightly oil the grate. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade.
3. Grill the chicken pieces until cooked through, about 10 minutes, turning once. 5 minutes before they are done, place the pineapple rings on the grill and cook for a couple of minutes per side. Place the pineapple slices on top of the pieces of chicken and top with a slice of cheese. Close the lid to the grill and allow the cheese to melt for a minute. Toast the buns, if desired.
4. To assemble the sandwiches, place the chicken, pineapple and cheese onto the bottom buns. Top with lettuce and tomato. Spread the thousand island dressing onto the top buns and place onto the sandwiches.

Friday: Cheesy Stuffed Lobster at Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 4 (6 ounce) raw lobster tails, shelled
• 2 cups crushed buttery round crackers
• 1/2 cup chopped cooked shrimp
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of shrimp soup
• 1 cup milk
• 8 ounces processed cheese food, cubed

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, combine the crackers and shrimp. Stir in the melted butter to form a stuffing. Spread on top of the lobster tails and roll from one end of the tail to the other. If the tails are too thick, slice them in half horizontally to make them thinner. Secure the rolls with toothpicks and place in a greased 8 inch square baking dish.
3. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream of shrimp soup, milk and cheese. Cook and stir until cheese has melted. Pour over the stuffed lobster tails. Top with any stuffing mixture that you may have left over.
4. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until sauce is hot and lobster meat is opaque.

Saturday: Steak fajitas at Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean steak, cut into strips
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, cut into thin strips
• 1 julienned green bell pepper
• 2 lemons, quartered
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 (12 inch) flour tortillas

Directions

1. Combine the lime juice, ground pepper and cilantro in a shallow dish. Place steak strips into the marinade and refrigerate for two to four hours.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak strips, and fry until cooked to your liking. Remove meat and set aside.
3. Add remaining oil and onions to the skillet. Cook over medium low heat, until translucent, stir in green peppers and steak. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the top and stir. When the green bell peppers are just tender remove the pan from the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the steak fajitas with tortillas and lemon wedges on the side.

Sunday: Slow Cooker ham at Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 (8 pound) cured, bone-in picnic ham

Directions

1. Spread about 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar on the bottom of the slow cooker crock. Place the ham flat side down into the slow cooker - you might have to trim it a little to make it fit. Use your hands to rub the remaining brown sugar onto the ham. Cover, and cook on Low for 8 hours.

The dangers of Candy

Ok so if you are a mom you are probably always looking out for choking hazards. And that includes the mounds of Halloween candy your kids got from trick or treating. Well I have a story that will make you even more cautious!!

While things like hard candies and lollipops seem like obvious things to be cautious with, have you thought about things like smarties, m&m's, skittles or other SMALL candies? Likely not. I know I didn't!

Friday I was visiting with our family advocate from my daughter's preschool. I told the girls if they behaved they could have candy when we were done. I let them each pick one out. My 4 year old picked out a Reese's PB cup and my 2 1/2 year old chose smarties. (see where this is going yet?)

Well I went to do laundry and came back to my 2 1/2 yr old SCREAMING and saying "My nose My nose!!!" Guess what? She stuck a smartie up there. Yup! OMG I couldn't believe it, especially because only a few days before I was saying how great it was nobody has put anything up there nose yet. After about 15 minutes of having her blow her nose while we waited for daddy to come home to take us to the Dr., the piece of candy came out. I have hardly ever been so scared in my life!

So please let my experience be a warning to all parents: even though it is small enough not to choke on, it could make its way to other parts of the body!! It only took about 2-3 minutes to happen!