Safe Toys?!

Toys help a lot in the development of children even at a young age. Sometimes they can be the best buddy when Mummy and Daddy are busy. They can also encourage kids to be independent early on in life.

But how sure are we that the toys we bought are safe for our kids, given that we consider the size not to choke our loved ones, the surface not to cut their skin, the weight not to burden them too much, etc?

Just yesterday or so, the Australian 2007 Toy Of The Year, includes "magic beads" containing a chemical that when swallowed converts into fantasy - a date rape drug was banned in some states here. As of today, there were three casualties in children who swallowed them. Common symptom is the victim falling commatose.

A few months ago, Mattel had to recall a Fisher - Price Chinese-made toys because they may contain excessive amounts of lead paint or had small magnets that could easily be swallowed by children.

These incidents really scare me. However you may protect your children, they still are not safe with those stuff that you buy with good intentions.

We haven't bought much toys for Baby Ian yet.... and I am very adamant to do so in the future. You can't be certain what is safe or not. Oh well, Baby Ian will just suffice with Daddy and Mummy playing with him for now. It is more educational than playing with toys. :P

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France in Mind!

If you're looking for a holiday destination where you can do lots of activities, visits nice tourists' places, eat at fine restaurants or just plainly chill-out, I would have France in mind. Lost yourself in the exquisite architecture that the cities have to offer. There's Louvre Museum, Eiffel Tower, Palace of Versailles and lots more. Finding accomodations is not a problem as there are lots of hotels in france.

If you're into fashion or simply just wanna see what are the latest in the markets, you might time your visits on Paris Fashion week. I reckon, during this season you might want to book your accomodation way ahead as hotels in paris could be heavily booked for the season. Just do your homework over the net or in your friendly travel agency and I'm sure you can find nice hotels for your standard.

I'm not really into fashion but I would give in to see runway shows - the highlight of the fashion week of course. Or just fall inlove in Paris, not that I'm in not inlove yet... just fall in love with the place, I mean.

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Ranting

I just finished repacking Lucky's (our cat) food. I used not to do this but not these days. I have to repack a packet of mince meat in six packs to last six days lest, two servings would go off even if inside the fridge. Best way to preserve is to freeze it. Why? Pet foods (that is those that we buy) isn't getting cheaper and we compared the chicken necks to those in the deli, and the latter is cheaper, so we buy the deli chicken necks instead and have to repack them per serving. Grrrrr! Human food is cheaper than pet food. :(

But we love our Lucky! What can we do! Good thing is he only eats fresh food at night. :)

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Healthy Smiles For You!

Our oral health sometimes determine our age. lol... if a person has no teeth he's viewed as old, except babies though. But really, oral health is very vital in a person's overall wellbeing. The healthy your teeth, gum and all.. the better you can eat, the better you can talk, the sweeter and wider is your smile.


Okay, looking for a cosmetic dentist that provides state of the art smile design, teethwhitening and other dental care close to home? Well, I can only suggest to those who are living in Stortford, UK, the smileandwellbeing.com, the Dentist Bishops Stortford. You might like to check them out as they have cool offerings like, personal concierge service, onsite parking, 0% finance options, etc.

This reminds me to check the coverage of our family health insurance. Chris needs oral makeover and we just upgraded our coverage recently that we have to wait for a certain number of months (I think 2) before we can avail some benefits. Hummm, another job for Bob!

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Updates on Baby Ian

It's been a long while that I haven't written something about our Big Guy. It's not that nothing is happening, actually he showed new tricks and stunts everyday, only that I forgot about it. Been busy in pro-blogging, doing tags and memes, I guess. :)

Anyway, these milestones are common for every baby but Baby Ian is special. Hahaha!

***He is now teething.
Three weeks ago, he had been so fussy in the afternoon until his bedtime. Just wanted to eat, to be cuddled or move around. Good thing we bought a teething gel and baby paracetamol before, they were handy in these times. I rubbed some gel to his gums and gave him paracetamol.. only then he settled down and went to sleep. Then he has this new face, biting or chewing his lower lip.. like an old man - makes his Nanna laugh. Lately, he his pushing his tongue to his lower gum and at the same time dribbling. :) I know, this is just the start. There would really be big sleepless nights when the teeth come out.

***He can now roll-over and crawl.
The first rolling over from lying on his back to his tummy by himself happened three days ago. Then while on his tummy, he crawled just a few inches. Two days prior to that, MCJ had been teaching him how to crawl, and Baby Ian found it funny because he was laughing at his Dad. Also, before rolling over, he can shift himself while on his back by arching his chest and digging his head. He can well haul himself off his bouncinette even strapped. He can't be trusted if left alone.

***He grabs and eats anything in his hands and close to his mouth.
He can well grab some things now and put in his mouth. He is still using the cradle for his bed and it he can reach both sides with his two hands at the same time and he hangs onto the bars strongly. One day, I found him sucking the bar while lying on his side. :) The problem in this milestone is, we can't find a teething ring that doesnt have rough edges or any toy that is round and wont hurt him. Most toys that we saw also have fluffy animals attached to them. Hummmm.

***He talks alot.
He cooed a lot when he was two months but these days he is sooo engaging. He talks a lot, as in really conversing with you. When he's eating and wanted to be burped or just having a break, he would look at me and smile and then "talk". He is very appreciative too. He would giggle when you pick him up or just play with him.

Hayyyy, I can talk endlessly about him but he's now awake and playing "feet-up" with his Dad - also a bit whingy. His ears might be burning. :)

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Spacesaver

LCD and plasma televisions are prolifirating the market fast. At first, the price is not really pocket-friendly but as more and more brands are introduced, it eventually went down... it has now become very affordable that the middle-class or lower-class Jane and Joe can have one or two or three. Not us though. We still use the old and reliable tube that MCJ got more than 10 years ago. :)

How about you? What type of telly do you own? If you plasma or lcd, you may consider mounting it to the wall to create more space especially if you're living in a suburban flat or unit that more space is pleasant. There are available plasma wall brackets available now in the market or you can order online. Dekomount.com has a price drop for Christmas for several products and has a flat rate fast next day delivery within their range. But if you're living in London you can pick-up your product the same day you ordered it. And an 18 months warranty is provided.

Sounds good offer and the idea of mounting heavy objects on wall is surprising for me but I know that it is possible. Might consider this in the future when our old friend die of old age. :)

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Be Faithful or Else?!

I've been blogging for moolah and never find an opp as funny as this that I have to write about it. You see, there's an unfaithful husband who bought himself a really good car but put it in the name of his wife. What his reason could be? I'm not sure but to speculate, maybe to show to his wife how much he loves her, that everything he owns is hers? :) Anyway, he was caught cheating and now the wife is selling the car for 50% less than the original cost. Well, it's hers. But before doing that, she poured paint on it. She might really be very furious to him. Who's wife that won't be?



And she registered the car for sale in this site in UK that sells used cars and new cars, and only charge 4.95 pounds until the car is sold.

The car is running alright and has no damage except for the paint, which a Jaguar dealer said can be removed relatively cheaply but at the buyer's cost.

So men, beware of a woman scorned. MCJ would never imagine cheating as I can do worst than that even if the car is not in my name YET! Oh, he just loves me sooo much that's why! :)

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