Basically, it seems that all of the reported injuries were a result of improper use--basically, if you put your child in an unlocked umbrella stroller and they stick their fingers in the hinge, they are likely to get hurt.  Sooooo, to avoid injury 1)Be vigilant about locking your stroller in the open position before you put your child in AND 2)Contact Maclaren about your free hinge cover kit so that your child's fingers are safe in the off- chance that you space out and forget to lock your stroller in the open position. You can read Sheri's full interview with Bahman Kia, the Director of Maclaren USA on her blog www.spillingthebeans.net

Here is a link to the official Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recall.

My mom's recipes tend heavily towards meat, though there are many dairy, vegetarian and vegetable options.  This is my version of on of the recipes that are are up on her website right now for your sampling pleasure!

According to Maclaren, they will be providing hinge cover kits, free of charge, which will rectify this scary problem.

**Point of fact: Vigilance is the best protection.  If your child has been relaxing comfortably in their Maclaren stroller for quite some time, the hinges will not suddenly jump up and bite off his or her fingers. If you watch where they put their hands, there is, in my humble opinion, no reason to hide your Maclaren under the bed until you get your hinge cover kit...take a deep breath, use your old faithful stroller carefully (or, if you're a NYC nut like me, use your 'alternate' stroller), and get your hinge cover kit when it becomes available so that you can breath easier. Do not run out and buy a new stroller. Breath and go pick up your kid from school :)**

Not surprisingly, the Maclaren website is having some intermittent trouble loading this morning.  In case you can't load the Maclaren recall info page (which I could not), try contacting them directly (assuming you can get through.)  Whether you're really concerned or not, get your free hinge cover kit anyway--consider it an upgrade ;)

info@maclarenbaby.com 1-877-442-4622

 

Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Expo Hall          

Saturday, November 14, 2009 11AM and 3PM 

*Sunday, November 15, 2009 11AM and 3PM

 New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre          

Saturday, November 21, 2009 11AM – 2PM – *5 PM

Chicago, IL @ Rosemont Theatre          

Saturday, December 5, 2009 11AM and 3PM

Frisco, TX@ Dr. Pepper Arena

Saturday, November 28, 2009 11AM and 3PM

Check out Yo Gabba Gabba's website to see where you can still get tickets and where you're out of luck!

Sweet & Tangy Collard Greens 

1/2 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped fine

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped 

2 bunches collard greens, tough stems removed, washed and cut into 1/2 inch strips

1 cup golden raisins

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat a saucepan large enough to contain the uncooked collards over high heat. 

When the pan is hot, add the oil, onions and garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes, until onions just begin to turn golden.  

Add the collard greens, raisins and about 1/4 cup of water.

Saute for 5-8 minutes, until collard greens are very soft and raisins begin to soften in the liquid.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

So much for an extra hour! My munchkins will be up when their bodies tell them to, as usual, remorselessly demanding breakfast and playtime.

Hopefully, about a week of sticking to their usual routines will get us all on track.

In the U.S., Don't forget to turn your clocks back before you go to bed so that when you wake up your clocks all say the correct time!

For a list of Daylight Savings dates in other countries and to feel jealous of those who live in places that don't play games with their clocks, you can check out timeanddate.com.

That said, with the cold weather coming, I am always looking for ways to let him get some exercise at home without turning my couch into a jungle gym.  To that end, the Ride & Learn Giraffe Bike (Winner of the iParenting 2000 Outstanding Product Award) will be a very useful addition to our toy collection.  He has been home sick this week, so this sample came at just the right time!

My son is a sucker for anything animal inspired so this stationary bicycle is designed to look like a cartoon-y giraffe has him at hello.  Though it took him a while get over the initial conceptual confusion of a bicycle that stays in one place, he has been enjoying practicing his peddling and singing along with the songs about letter and numbers and discovering the rules for the games in all 5 modes on the LCD screen. His absolute favorite part is seeing how fast he can pedal and listening to the music get faster and slower as he changes his pace.  My favorite part is that I am happy that he can practice pedaling (and keeping his feet on the pedals) all winter long.  Though I could do without the perky electronic voices, this toy is a nice addition to my son's bedroom (because of the high noise level, it will not be invited into the living room toy collection any time soon!)

Though the toy recommendations are for 18-36 months, my son is almost 3 1/2 and is enjoying it quite a bit.  Our biggest problem will be when he reaches the weight limit of 42 lbs.

Check out the VTech Website to see the great promotions that they are running there--they've put together Playground Packs of their Jungle Gym equipment for 10%, 20% and 30% off. 

I was lucky enough to win a Ride & Learn Giraffe Bike through a twitter contest in exchange for my honest review.

Now, I am a die hard Muppet fan, so it is hard for me to be swayed by any other group furry, singing creature aimed at the 2-5 year old population.  I must admit that I was somewhat taken aback by the hip hop stylings and technicolors of the characters in my screener.  The cast of characters in this award-winning series include DJ Lance Rock (Lance Robertson--a human in a fuzzy orange hat) and a cast of colorful costumed characters: Brobee, the little green one, Foofa, the pink flower bubble, Muno, the red Cyclops, Toodee, the blue cat-dragon and Plex, the yellow robot.

As I watched the DVD screener, I became more and more intrigued by the way the original songs are used to teach all kinds of preschool age lessons like trying new things, playing nicely and being brave.  Yo Gabba Gabba! has also just released their first CD collection of 21 songs from the show called Music is Awesome  (deluxe edition available on itunes.)  On the first go-round my 3 year old and I danced around the apartment listening to the CD and one the second, once we already knew some of the words, the music made perfect background for bathtime.  He and I are now walking around the apartment all the time singing our own butchered version of the words to "It's Ok, Try Again" and "Try it, You'll like it"

If you want to catch the characters of Yo Gabba Gabba! live show 'It's a Party in My City' in LA, NY, Dallas & Chicago, you can buy tickets to some of the recently added shows for November and December at YoGabbaGabbaLive.com.

*****Giveaway: The folks at Wildbrain were generous enough to give me a CD and a Yo Gabba Gabba Christmas book to give away!  For your mandatory first entry , let me know whether you would prefer the CD or the book. Also, visit yogabbagabba.com and let me know which character intrigues you most. Giveaway closes November 11th.*****

Gain additional entries (leave a comment per entry):

1.Follow this blog

2.Follow me on twitter @peekababy (leave an additional comment with your twitter name) and Retweet on twitter @peekababy.

3. Digg this post, Stumble this post, Fave on Technorati etc and leave a comment per action

4. 2 entries. Blog about the contest mentioning the peek a blog and leave an extra comment with a link to your blog posting. 

5. Become a public Google friend of my blog.

6. Add me to your networked blogs.

Winner will be chosen using random.org.

*I received a copy of the CD in exchange for my honest review and a mention of Yo Gabba Gabba's tour info.*

Creamy Spinach

2 large bunches of fresh spinach

1 cup whole milk

2 Tbsp salted butter

nutmeg and/or freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large pot with a steamer basket, lightly steam spinach until it is just wilted.

Run spinach immediately under cold water to stop the cooking process.

Squeeze as much of the water as you can from the spinach and chop roughly.

Pour the milk and butter in a saucepan over medium heat.

Add the spinach and bring to a boil.

Bring heat back to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until the spinach has absorbed a lot of the milk and is pretty thick.  Because this is milk and not cream, there will still be some liquid left in the pot.

Sprinkle with nutmeg and pepper.

Note: If you want to make vegan/pareve creamed spinach,it will take a little bit more work.  You can use 1 1/2 c of rice or soy milk and vegetable (not olive) oil instead of butter.  Heat the oil until it is very hot, add 1-3 Tbsp flour and cook until just golden.  Slowly add milk alternative, stirring constantly.  When flour and milk are completely combined and velvety looking, add spinach to pot and bring to a boil.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the spinach has absorbed most of the liquid.  Season to taste with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

CAVEAT--I have not yet tested this recipe.  I am merely sharing it because it is seasonably appropriate and sounds pretty simple (if labor intensive) and yummy.  My friend Sheri tried it and vouches for it--though she replaced the Light Corn Syrup with Lyle's Golden Syrup.  I hope to test it out soon...and I'll comment back!

Thanks to  Jessie Oleson/Cakespy from whom this recipe was lifted in its entirety.

Homemade Candy Corn

- makes about one pound of candy corn -

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup salted butter
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/3 cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
red and yellow food coloring

Procedure

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine the sifted confectioners' sugar and powdered milk. Set to the side.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup and butter. Bring to a boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Once it reaches the boiling point, reduce heat to medium and continue stirring for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the vanilla extract and remove from heat.

3. Add the confectioners' sugar and powdered milk mixture to the wet ingredients; stir well until the mixture is thoroughly incorporated and smooth.

4. Let the dough cool until it is firm enough to handle, about 30 minutes to an hour (I just let it cool in the saucepan).

5. Divide the dough into three equal parts and set each third into a separate bowl. Add 2 to 3 drops of yellow food coloring to one dish, one drop of red and two drops of yellow to another dish, and leave the remaining dish uncolored. Knead the dough to which you have added food coloring until the color is even (you may want to use gloves to ensure that you don't stain yourself). If the dough is feeling very soft or sticky, you may want to chill the dough for about 20 minutes in the refrigerator before proceeding with the next steps.

6. On top of a sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper, use your hands to roll each color of dough into a long, slender rope. You can roll it out to your desired thickness: for larger candies, make each rope thicker; for smaller candies, make each rope thinner.

7. Line the three ropes of dough together: white, orange, and yellow. To ensure that they will stick together, lay a piece of waxed paper on top and give them a very gentle rolling with a rolling pin. You just want to adhere them, not to flatten them.

8. Using a very sharp knife, cut the dough into triangles. Keep a damp cloth nearby so that you can wipe off the knife if it begins to get a candy residue. This method will result in half a batch of traditionally colored candy corn and half a batch with yellow tips (it's OK—they taste the same). Let the finished kernels sit for an hour or two (do not stack them on top of one another as they will stick together!) to become firm.