will it work? the snack trapper -- product review with fox 45 news

Last Monday, the Bug and I went to have a 'snack' with Bridget Stickline and her 4-year-old daughter at Wee Chic (Bridget owns this fabulous gem of a kids' clothing store). Little did both girls know that we were setting them up for a test.

The snack trapper test.

It's not a new product. Chances are you have a snack trapper in your kid dishware drawer. The basic design premise? It's an anti-spill snack cup that allows your mini-mes to feed themselves while minimizing the cheerio-scatter effect.

Well, you know I love good design and smart products. We decided to put the snack trapper through the ultimate toddler test.

Check out our video review -- it's posted live on the Fox 45 news website!

healthiest cities for families? baltimore ranks 85th according to parents.com

Parents.com recently evaluated 150 different cities in the United States to determine which cities were healthiest for families. Examining 40 criteria to see which ones are making family well-being a top priority (i.e. schools that have frequent gym classes, kid doctors and specialists galore, businesses that don’t pollute, parks in every neighborhood, etc.).

Topping the list were: San Francisco for its gutsy moves to bring healthier foods to schools; Boston due to its more than 400 kids’ docs, a state-of-the-art children’s hospital, and one of the largest pediatric research facilities in the U.S; and Honolulu because it has the least ozone pollution of any U.S. city.

Where did Baltimore rank? 85th. Sandwiched between Wichita and Little Rock. New York and Philadelphia scored in the top 20. Washington, DC ranked 112th.

ok, irene, you win. tips for taking on a hurricane with a toddler

I'll admit it. My first reaction toward hearing about Hurricane Irene earlier this week was purely selfish.

My OBX vacation would definitely NOT be starting this Saturday as planned. {Insert adult language.}

It never really occurred to me that even though I wasn't headed to the Outer Banks I would still be effected by this storm. Clearly, Irene has other plans.

This has the potential to be the greatest hurricane to hit the Northeast in decades. Now, I'm not a fear monger. I don't run to the grocery store at the first sight of snow and I certainly don't jump on the latest media-frenzied parenting scare. But I am Type A and like to do my research.

The facts: The Baltimore Sun is reporting that Irene could dump more than a foot of rain on the Maryland area. The Weather Channel trend forecasts over 100 mph winds in our region late Saturday/early Sunday morning. Governor O'Malley has officially declared a state of emergency. BGE is prepping for widespread power outages.

The verdict: Time to start giving Irene the respect she is so clearly demanding.

These are not professional tips -- they are my own. Take 'em with a grain of salt. Here's how our family is preparing in no particular order of importance:

• Nab and charge an extra cell battery. If power goes out, cell phones should still {hopefully -- provided we won't have take two of Tuesday's earthquake-related cell meltdown in the mid-atlantic region).
  
• Power up the iPad. We'll be making sure to have a few movies to entertain the Bug (preferably NOT Pocahontas. I can't watch it one more time...). TV trance might not be so bad of a thing in the event of crazy high winds.
  
• Make sure "follows" are up to date. I don't know about you, but Twitter was my most reliable source of info during Tuesday's earthquake. I'll be following BGE, State of Maryland, Baltimore City Agencies, and the local news stations. Be curious to see which one is the fastest with info!
  
• Put emergency numbers all in one place. Just in case the iPhone doesn't work, I'll want the comfort of knowing how I can reach my pediatrician (not just rely on the directory. Yeah, I can't remember phone numbers anymore). Power outage?BGE wants reports to be submitted via phone: 1.877.778.2222.
  
• Stock up on essentials: Batteries, flashlights, snacks, water, anything medical, toys, and restock the craft bin -- note to self: buy Motts Fruit Snacks for Tots and buckets. Guess we'll definitely figure out where that leak is now... Need more ideas about essentials? Visit Ready.gov.
  
• Become familiar with these flash light games. Never know when this will come in handy...
• Note potential flying objects and remove them. Our patio furniture will be finding a comfy spot in the garage. And the tree that's leaning in the backyard due to ground saturation will be dealt with -THIS EVENING.
  
• Fill 'er up: Not that we're going anywhere, but we will have a full tank of gas.
  

What would you add?

senseless violence and families: is charm city safe?

Many of us who blog about life in Charm City were stunned into silence Monday evening, as news spread about senseless acts of violence taking place at the Inner Harbor during the fourth of July fireworks celebrations: one young man fatally stabbed with a broken bottle. In a seemingly unrelated incident, a 4-year-old boy shot in the leg.

In two short moments, all that is good about life in Baltimore was gone. Momentarily erased from the memory banks as we were flooded with 30 second soundbites from every major news outlet. Facebook and Twitter lit up: "Is it safe to raise my family here?" "Baltimore is overrun with criminals." "I'm never going downtown again." "Should we pack up and move?"

Violence never makes sense. But when it hits a little to close to your own life -- at a city sponsored, family event -- your 'safe zone' boundaries crumble.

You retreat. Into your house, your car, the suburbs.

My family could have been standing in the crowd right next to any one of these random victims. Why weren't we? Our plane from Chicago was delayed because of a mechanical issue. We were grounded at Midway airport and arrived home 90 minutes later than scheduled. So we went directly home.

My first reaction? A string of swear words I didn't know could fit together so poetically. Followed by an overwhelming sense of relief... that we weren't in the thick of it.

Baltimore Magazine Senior Editor Evan Serpick made this comment on his parenting blog, Learning to Crawl:

"I sometimes get so caught up in the exciting—and seemingly accelerating—developments I chronicle and in debunking peoples' The Wire-influenced stereotypes about Baltimore that I can sometimes forget that Baltimore still has fairly high crime rate. I still contend that Baltimore is as safe as any other major city—safer than many—and that it's a wonderful place for families to explore, but this is a reminder that we can't take safety for granted."

I can't explain or provide any sort of logic for what took place on Monday night. Reason never seems to accompany violence. And when children are involved in violent acts, well -- there aren't any words.

In the last three years I've lived here, I've never felt unsafe But I'll admit it... Monday evening's events rocked me.

Despite that I know that if we simply retreat and refuse to take advantage of all of the wonderful things the city has to offer, we lose.

Families are the foundation of vibrant communities. We need to continue to find ways to safely weave families into the fabric that makes up our city. We need to continue to support the organizations and neighborhoods that have made so much progress and created such rich pockets of community. And we need to extend those organizations, principles and ideas into areas of the city that have not cohered as well.

Because it is OUR city. And our collective responsibility. Through our actions, our dollars and through the public servants that we, as a city, elect.

Unless you leave.

Image Credit

kids fined for selling lemonade -- wanna weigh in?

Children selling lemonade near the U.S. Open in Montgomery County were fined $500 by the county Health Department for operating without a vendor's license. They were told to shut down.

The children were donating 50% of their proceeds to a charity helping other kids suffering from pediatric cancer.

From the WUSA9 report:

Jennifer Hughes, the director of permitting for the county, says it's technically illegal to run even the smallest lemonade stand in the county, but inspectors usually don't go looking for them. She said this one was unusually large. Hughes also says they've warned all kinds of other vendors they couldn't operate near the US Open because of concerns about traffic and safety.

But that did little to console Carrie Marriott. "Does every kid who sells lemonade now have to register with the county?" she asked the inspector.

"Cute little kids making five or ten dollars is a little bit different than making hundreds. You've got coolers and coolers here," the inspector responded.

Do your kids operating their lemonade stands with a license? Thoughts?

Image Credit: Gawker.tv