Make Every Serving Count!

Have you thought that one can of V8® can be a good alternative to the typical orange juice for breakfast, for your children's lunch box or as an afternoon snack supplement, especially because kids are not vegetable lovers by nature?

By having your child get more vegetables through a can of V8, you will be also contributing to the Make Every Serving Count charity program.  The makers of V8® have teamed up with Feeding America to donate 30 million servings of nourishing fresh vegetables to local food banks across the country over the next six months.

  Each purchase of a V8 product during the promotion period will support the brand’s pledge to donate $1 million to Feeding America.

For more information on the V8 Make Every Serving Count program, visit www.v8counts.com.

And, remember, V8 is a great alternative to get that veggie supplement!

- The Moms Buzz

Halloween Safety Tips for Homeowners

This is our third and final post on Halloween safety tips. The first post was about Halloween safety tips for trick-oo-treaters and the second one for the parents.  This time it is directed to the homeowners whose guests are the trick-or-treaters.

Halloween Safety Tips for Homeowners:

• Make sure your yard is clear of such things as ladders, hoses, dog leashes and flower pots that can trip the young ones.
• Pets get frightened on Halloween. Put them up to protect them from cars or inadvertently bitting a trick-or-treater.
• Battery powered jack o'lantern candles are preferable to a real flame.
• If you do use candles, place the pumpkin well away from where trick-or-treaters will be walking or standing.
• Make sure paper or cloth yard decorations won't be blown into a flaming candle.
• Healthy food alternatives for trick-or-treaters include packages of low-fat crackers with cheese or peanut butter filling, single-serve boxes of cereal, packaged fruit rolls, mini boxes of raisins and single-serve packets of low-fat popcorn that can be microwaved later.
• Non-food treats: plastic rings, pencils, stickers, erasers, coins.

Have a safe Halloween today!

- The Moms Buzz

Healthy Alternatives to Candy This Halloween

Here are some alternatives to candy this Halloween to the trick-or-treaters who come to your door. Here are some treats to think about giving out:

• Non-food treats, like stickers, toys, temporary tattoos, false teeth, little bottles of bubbles and small games, like tiny decks of cards (party-supply stores can be great sources for these)
• Snacks such as small bags of pretzels, sugar-free gum, trail mix, small boxes of raisins, and popcorn
• Sugar-free candy
• Small boxes of cereal

And remember that Halloween, like other holidays, is a single day on the calendar. If your family eats sensibly during the rest of the year, one day of a little overindulgence will not kill anyone. Just remember to brush their teeth over and over!

Have a healthy Halloween!

- The Moms Buzz

source: www.kidshealth.org

Halloween Safety Tips for Parents

 

Continuing with our series of 3 posts on Halloween safety tips, this post is dedicated to the parents of the trick-or-treaters. 

• Make your child eat dinner before setting out.
• Children should carry quarters so they can call home.
• Ideally, young children of any age should be accompanied by an adult.
• If your children go on their own, be sure they wear a watch, preferably one that can be read in the dark.
• If you buy a costume, look for one made of flame-retardant material.
• Older children should know where to reach you and when to be home.
• You should know where they're going.
• Although tampering is rare, tell children to bring the candy home to be inspected before consuming anything.
• Look at the wrapping carefully and toss out anything that looks suspect.

Tomorrow, stay tuned for Halloween safety tips for homeowners!

Have a safe Halloween!

- The Moms Buzz

source: http://www.sosnet.com/

Baby's Health - When to See the Doctor

With children and more so with babies, it is sometimes hard to know when to see the pediatrician because a sniff or sneeze can be worrisome, especially for first time moms. Here are some symptoms that will warrant a visit to the doctor's:

• fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher
• A rash, especially a blistery one
• a cough, congestion or difficulty breathing
• diarrhea
• vomiting
• inactivity or difficult to wake up from sleep
• crank or fussy
• poor feeding

- The Moms Buzz

source: Nurture Newsletter by Enfamil

Halloween Safety Tips for Trick or Treaters

This week will give busy moms a series of 3 posts on safety tips for this coming Halloween.  Safety is and should always come first, especially during Halloween and the holidays.  This series of 3 posts include safety tips for the trick-or-treaters, for parents and homeowners.

We start with Halloween safety tips for the trick or treaters:

Halloween Fun Facts

Here are some fun facts about Halloween provided by the National Confectioners Association (NCA).

Moms Night Off! Eat, Drink, Shop for a Cure

Dear moms of the DC Metro Area,

How many time do we long for a night off?  Many, right?  Being October the month of breast cancer awareness, and knowing our secret desire to have a night off,  you may want to go to this wonderuful charity event to eat, drink, and shop guilt-free for the Cure.  Tell you local girlfriends to join you because the #1 reason to go is to bond with them and contribute to the Cure!

The event is Sunday, November 9 in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Reston, VA from 4pm-8pm. The charity event is given by www.iammodern.com.

Buy the tickets here or click the image below!

Eat, Drink, Shop for a Cure!

- The Moms Buzz

Tips on Traveling with Children

Halloween is just around the corner, and once it is over, the holidays will be knocking at our doors fervently very soon.  Traditionally, many of us travel for the holidays, and good planning will make those trips much easier and less stressful.  Here are some good tips on traveling with children suggested by Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

TIPS Before you reach the airport

• Please allow yourself and your family extra time to get through security - especially when traveling with younger children.
• Call your airline or travel agent for their recommended check-in times for your departure airport.
• Talk to your children before you come to the airport and let them know that it's against the law to make threats such as, "I have a bomb in my bag."  Threats made jokingly (even by a child) can delay the entire family and could result in fines.

TIPS at the airport

• Speak to your children again about the screening process so that they will not be frightened or surprised. Remind them not to joke about threats such as bombs or explosives.
• Tell your children that their bags (backpack, dolls, etc.) will be put in the X-ray machine and will come out at the other end and be returned to them.
• Let your children know that a Security Officer may ask to see their shoes, but that they will get these back as well.
• You may want to consider asking for a private screening if you are traveling with more than one child.

Happy planning!

- The Moms Buzz

source: www.tsa.gov

The Ultimate Reader Prize Pack Giveaway

This time Moms Buzz brings the ultimate reader prize pack for book lovers and students. This giveaway is promoting Take Me Back, the new reference book on Universal History from the stone age to the digital age, especially designed for kids. This is a must-have reference book to have at home! Win up to $250 worth of books, including a $50 gift certificate in Amazon.com and 4 runner-up prizes!!

To participate click here or the image below.

History may repeat itself, but there is no need to make the same old history book over and over. From the creators of the award-winning, New York Times Bestsellers Pick Me Up and Do Not Open comes Take Me Back--a journey throughout history like never before!  Rock out at a gory Aztec festival, read the blog of Louis XVI’s closest confidant, take a pinball tour of Celtic Europe, and check out Alexander the Great’s fan site.  With content that's comprehensive, irreverent and witty, Take Me Back is bound to become a classic.

Best of luck!

- The Moms Buzz   

10 Mini Mascaras for $35!

When your Eye cannot decide, you may want to take advantage of this promotion by Sephora.  Often times, we want to change our mascaras or try new ones, and we just can't buy them all for this purpose. For $35 you get to try 10 good mascaras in mini sizes and decide at ease which works for you before buying the real one.  You may decide that more than one works for your eyelashes! Click here for the mascara and beauty promotion.

- The Moms Buzz

Homework Do’s and Don’ts – Part II

This is the continuation of Part I on Homework Do's and Don'ts posted back on September 30, 2008.  In Homework Do’s and Don’ts – Part II, Dr. Thomas Phelan gives us some parenting tips and tells us about the PNP Method, time to call it off for the day, and a charting system to helps us incentivate our children when doing and checking homework. 

The PNP Method
Suppose your daughter has just completed her midweek spelling pretest. There are ten words on the list and she spelled nine correctly and misspelled one. When she brings you her paper, your job, naturally is to first point out to her the word she spelled wrong. Right?

Wrong! PNP stands for “Positive-Negative-Positive.” Whenever any kid brings any piece of schoolwork to you, the first thing out of your mouth must be something good. Then, after saying something nice about the child’s effort, you may throw in something negative, if it’s absolutely necessary. Finally, you conclude your insightful remarks with something positive again.

Using the spelling pretest as an example, you would first say something like, “Gee, you spelled ‘consideration’ correctly. That’s a pretty hard word. And you also got ‘appearance’ right. In fact, there’s only one word on here that I can see you didn’t get. Not bad.”

Continue reading...

- The Moms Buzz

________________________________________

Source:
ParentMagic Newsletter by Dr. Thomas Phelan © 2008
Simple, straightforward parenting advice and helpful tips from Dr. Thomas Phelan's award-winning, best-selling 1-2-3 Magic Parenting Program.

Keeping Your Walls Clean - Tips

Has your kid stuck decals all over his bedroom walls or your toddler left his nice litle handprints on your kitchen walls?  Here are some tips on keeping your walls clean to keep them like new again!

Keeping Your Walls Clean

Remove the evidence. “Light switches, door frames, and stairways are all magnets” for fingerprints and hand smudges. “Your favorite all-purpose cleaner” should be fine to remove them. But to assure that washed areas blend with the unwashed, “go over the once-dirty spot again with a water-dampened sponge.”

Tackle trouble spots. A soft cloth and “citrus-based cleaner like Goo Gone” are what you need if your child has been inspired by Harold and the Purple Crayon and left a trail along your walls. Once the “waxy artwork” has dissolved, rinse the spot with soap and water.

Peel away the memories. Has your kid stuck decals all over his bedroom walls? Soften the adhesives with “heat from a blow-dryer (for 10 seconds or so), then peel.” Gently loosen any remaining gunk with a cotton swab and laundry-stain remover. Then “carefully scrape it off with a credit card or spatula.”

_ The Moms Buzz

Sources: The Week and Good Housekeeping

Tips on When to Go to the Emergency Room (ER)

Kids of all ages get hurt and/or get sick leaving us sometimes panicking with the decision of whether we need to go the ER, wait, or call the doctor.  Below are some tips by Kidshealth.org that will help you determine when you should head straight to the Emergency Room.

It's best to go to the Emergency Room, if your child:

• has some difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• has had a change in mental status, such as suddenly becoming unusually sleepy or difficult to arouse, disoriented, confused, not making sense
• has a cut or break in the skin that is bleeding and won't stop
• has a stiff neck along with a fever
• has a rapid heartbeat that doesn't slow down
• accidentally ingests a poisonous substance or too much medication
• has severe bleeding or head trauma

Other situations may seem alarming, but don't require a trip to the ER. Call your doctor if your child has any of these symptoms:

• high fever (above 104° Fahrenheit, 40° Celsius)
• ear pain
• pain in the abdomen
• headache
• rash
• mild wheezing
• persistent cough

Remember, when in doubt, call your doctor. Even if the doctor isn't available, the office nurse should be able to talk with you and determine whether you should take your child to the ER. Even on weekends and evenings, doctors have answering services that will beep them to get back in touch with your when you leave them a message to call.

- The Moms Buzz

source: www.kidshealth.org

B.O.W. The Best of the Web Weekly Round-Up

Today, Moms Buzz is happy to bring you B.O.W. - the Best Of the Web in a weekly roundup of posts from fine blogs and sites featuring fashion, beauty, lifestyle, parenting and much more.

Style, Fashion, Beauty, Lifestyle and Health

Couture in the City - Be Red Carpet Ready And Get The Angelina Jolie Look - For Less! The “Changeling” star lights up the film’s New York premiere in a custom black Versace strapless dress and Mikimoto pearls. You can get this look too! And for less!
   
Fashion Pulse. You still have until 11:59pm, Tuesday, October 14th to enter to win one of ten cute, eco-friendly totes from Payless at Fashion Pulse!
   
Glam Spirit: Yoga Lessons. Learn the art of stability in tumultuous times. Let the lessons of yoga be your guide. 
   
Moms Buzz: Morning Health Check. Moms have a sixth sense as they say, but this Fall/Winter season, we need to use our other 4 senses too, look, listen, feel and smell, to do a morning health check on our children. These are the signs to observe...

Señora Cartera: Design Guru Bags. Designing your own handbag is just a few clicks of the mouse away at Design Guru Bags.

Parenting, Family, Kids, Moms & Little Couture

Boston Mamas: Handling Biting Behavior. Got a biter in the house? Check out these tips on handling biting behavior.
   
Car & Caboodle: Top 10 Things to Do While Pumping. Mom-friendly Medela Freestyle Pump inspires ideas on what to do with all that freedom.
   
Clever Parents: Dr. Greene Top Parenting Dos and Donts. Each day I see parents trying their best to do what’s right for their families, but no one has the perfect guidebook that tells parents what to do. Here are the top eight solvable problems that I advise parents to remedy today.
   
Coochicoos: Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas. Inspirations & instructions to making your own Halloween costumes.
   
MomFinds: Win a Halloween Costume from Aeromax Toys. Searching for a cute Halloween costume for your child? One lucky reader will win a Get Real Gear Halloween Costume from Aeromax Toys.
   
The Bump: New Tickers on TheBump.com! Countdown the days to baby's birthday, arrival or even conception with this new custom tool
   
One Chic Mama: Give Your Style A Boost - And Win! Two lucky winners will get a one-hour personal image consultation to help boost their image and their confidence with One Chic Mama founder and image consultant, Michele Little. $125 value each!
   
We Covet: We Covet Wow Wow Wubbzy! Win a Wow Wow Wubbzy happy pack, including a DVD of the show, a board book, and Wubbzy character doll!  

Shop & Give Pink All Year Round

This week our Pink site is KN Karen Neuburger.com.   At KN Karen Neuburger.com, they believe that understanding breast cancer is a battle that cannot be contained to a certain month.  So, the KN Pink Ribbon Signature Collection is available always so that you can shop for the Cause all year round.

KN is donating a minimun of $75,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation this year.  The Pink Ribbon Pillow Talk has wonderful gift ideas for every budget from $72.00 beautiful "Boyfriend" Pijamas to $7.99-$9.99 quilting fabrics.  Moms Buzz's favorite are the pink chenille lounge socks with grippers!  These are just the perfect gift to any girlfriend, and they won't break your wallet, especially during this difficult economics times, because they are just $15.  Besides, you can't ever have enough socks in your drawer, can you?

Shop and give pink all year round, not just this month!

Have a wonderful pink day!

- The Moms Buzz

Pediatricians Recommend Doubling Vitamin D

This is something parents need to be aware of and consult with your children's pediatrician on what you should do.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says it will double its recommended minimum intake of vitamin D for infants, children and teens, from 200 international units (IU) to 400 IU per day. To meet the new recommendation of 400 units daily, millions of children will need to take daily vitamin D supplements.

AAP is increasingly concerned with breast-fed infants because the parent does not get herself enough vitamin D to pass on to the baby. Baby formula contains vitamin D, so infants on formula only generally don't need supplements.

The new recommendation on doubling vitamin D is based on mounting research about potential benefits from vitamin D besides keeping bones strong, including suggestions that it might reduce risks for cancer, diabetes and heart disease. But the evidence isn't conclusive and there's no consensus on how much of the vitamin would be needed for disease prevention.

By the way, you can also find vitamin D in oily fish including tuna, mackerel, salmon and sardines. Since it is hard to get enough of it through diet; the best source is sunlight because the body makes vitamin D when sunshine hits the skin.

While it is believed that 10 to 15 minutes in the sun without sunscreen a few times weekly is sufficient for many, and because sunlight's link with skin cancer, "vitamin D supplements during infancy, childhood and adolescence are necessary," the academy's report says.

The purpose of this post is communicate the latest news on vitamin D, and before you decide to double up vitamin D in your child's, please first consult with your child's pediatrician.

- The Moms Buzz

source: LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer, Pocket Express www.PocketExpress.com.

Be the First to Oscillate Those Eyelashes!

Lancôme Paris is launching its new high tech mascara called Ôscillation!  Ôscillation is the first vibrating powermascara with 7000 oscillations per minute! Wow!

It is easy to use.  When you press the button, you will experience a breakthrough sensation in the application. In one easy new gesture, the vibrating brush combined with an exquisitely smooth formula wrap every lash up to 360°!

You will Instantly see a fascinating gaze: lashes appear ultimately extended,exceptionally separated,and spectacularly multiplied in number - just what we need to keep our hot mama look!

The powermascara will enter the market on October 22, but it will be gone before you know it. Every time Lancôme launches a new product, it sells out in a heart beat. So this time you may want to be alerted when Ôscillation hits the market.  For that, you must click here to be the first one to oscillate those powerful eyelashes!

- The Moms Buzz

How to Win A New Minivan This Weekend

What about shooting a little video for a chance to win a new minivan - the one you always wanted? Like this one valued at more than $42,000 fully loaded? 

A friend of Moms Buzz, who works with Volkswagen sent us an email alerting us about this great opportunity. There is VW Contest at Univision that will end this coming Monday, October 13, 2008. The exciting part for Moms Buzz readers is that they have received just a few videos, and with less than 5 days ahead, the chances to win are really good!

Here is the entry page. Although it is in Spanish because it is directed to the Hispanic Market, it is easy to follow. Unfortunately, they are not doing this for the general market. But, that doesn't mattter anyway when we are talking about winning the top of the line Routan 2009.

Here is how to win a new minivan this weekend:

1. Submit a short video (less than 2 minutes) about how would you and your family benefit from having this new VW Routan minivan.

2. You can submit your video via mail.

3. Or, you can submit your video online.

4. They will select the best videos and then there will be a public voting. The videos will be judged by creativity and, of course, relevancy to this new minivan.

Here are some pointers and tips to get you started on your video creativity:

• 2 independent DVD screens with connection to gameboys and other gaming systems – No more “I don’t want to see that!!! Mommy!!!”
• Extra storage space under the floor.
• Lots of space in the console and… 13 cup holders
• Navigation, Bluetooth hands free connection to the phone and all those high tech features.
• Integrated sunshades in all 4 back windows.
• Tailgate mode backseats (this one is great) - with the push of a button you can turn backwards the last seats and have an instant changing station!

If you win, you may get to appear on TV at the Sábado Gigante Show, a TV show with one of the highest ratings in Univision!

Good luck!

- The Moms Buzz

Walk Now for Autism by Autism Speaks

Today, a shocking 1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism. As is, autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disorder in the U.S., and it only receives 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases.

Because of these facts, Autism Speaks, a foundation, dedicated to increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders, to funding research into the causes, preventation, treatments and cure for autism, has created the Walk Now for Autism annual event at different cities in the country to raise awareness and funds.

If you want to participant, take it step by step, by first finding out when and if there is a Walk Now for Autism in your city or country, and then register, form a team and raise funds, or just register to walk. 

For details, please click here.

- The Moms Buzz

image and source: www.autismspeaks.org