By Lisa J. Huriash

BabyCenter, the well-known online website that tracks baby’s growth beginning in the womb, has come up with a new study being released today called “2011 Shopping Rituals of the American Mom.”

With a new baby in tow, I am now among that subgroup being studied, which I find amusing - their title reminds me of studies along the lines of “mating rituals of the apes.”

It really is a subject worthy of study and attention by retailers: BabyCenter’s survey found mom’s outspend the general population across multiple categories of products.

But according to BabyCenter, these numbers may be changing - the 2011 Shopping Rituals report shows that the majority of moms are altering their spending habits due to the recession and even more do not think they will return to their previous spending patterns. Coupon use has gone up and more moms report that they are going after the best deals.

According to the study:
• Before becoming a mom, shopping used to be relaxed, impulsive, and social. After becoming a mom, she finds shopping rushed, stressful, and overwhelming. Compared to the general population, 67 percent are more likely to consider shopping to be overwhelming, 88 percent are more likely to be stressed and 158 percent are more likely to be rushed.
• According to behavioral data, moms are more likely to shop online in most major categories compared to the general Internet population.
• The survey reports moms are more likely to make major purchases in the next year, that includes airfare or hotels, and even a car. And, they intend to spend more than the general population. For instance, moms anticipate spending $7,410 on financial services verses. $1,710 for general population over the upcoming year.

The study identified a handful of shopping “rituals” such as how moms are shopping around (big box stores, farmers markets, online, and regional grocery stores) and she’s shopping as a sport: Two-thirds of moms have a barcode scanner app on their mobile device to help them hunt for deals. And they use QR codes: 71 percent of moms would scan a barcode to save under $5, compared to only 49 percent of the general population.

While getting deals is a fad for some and downright necessity for others, Sandra Gordon, author of “Consumer Reports Best Baby Products,” and a Connecticut-based lifestyle and parenting expert, chatted with me for some tips about saving money:

*Buy store-brand formula which can save as much as $8 per can
*Skip the designer clothes. “Clothes are so cute parents can’t resist but really it’s a waste of money.”
*Don’t register for clothes since you’ll get them anyway from well-meaning gift givers as the “go-to gift,” she said. Instead, use your registry for the basics and necessities like diapers and ointment.
*If you buy second-hand clothes, make sure it’s free of buttons that could pop off and make sure it looks new. “Doesn’t mean it’s cheap doesn’t mean you can’t be picky,” she said.
*Don’t skimp when it comes to buying a good crib mattress. The range should be $100 to $220. Just because it’s firm for you doesn’t mean it’s too hard for the baby.
*Skip the crib bumpers. Not only are they expensive, they are unsafe and could be a suffocation hazard. Nothing should go in the crib besides the baby.
* Diapers can really add up. The store brand isn’t as absorbent as the brands, she said, but perfectly “adequate.” And they are several cents cheaper per diaper. To save money, buy the biggest box possible so the unit price is less – and buy with coupons and when the diapers are on sale.
* Skip the baby monitor if you have a small house and if you need one, the audio alone is sufficient

“You can buy the best on your baby without spending a bundle,” Gordon said. “You need to be a wise shopper. It comes down to having a list, like going to the grocery store, and being wise and smart about what you buy.”

By Lisa J. Huriash

As a new mom on a tight budget, I am always on the hunt to find the best deals. I have compared prices of diapers, wipes and formula and finally figured out that I can combine store coupons with manufacturer coupons with sales listed in the Sunday newspaper to try to get the lowest cost.

This is my list of some of the best places to score coupons or savings. If you know of any others, feel free to share!

www.publix.com/clubs/baby (Coupons mailed regularly for diapers and wipes and even coupons for free samples of items such as rice cereal and rubbing alcohol)

winndixie.com (Enroll in “Baby Club Program” to receive store coupons. You need a Reward Card to participate which can you apply for online)

www.enfamil.com (Join “Enfamil Family Beginnings” to get manufacturer formula coupons)

www.similac.com (Join “StrongMoms” to get mailed manufacturer formula coupons)

www.gerber.com (sign up for coupons for formula and baby food)

www.pampers.com (Join Pampers Village) to find out about when Pampers coupons will be in the Sunday newspaper. When you buy Pampers you can accumulate “Gifts To Grow” points to apply toward baby gifts

www.huggies.com/en-US (diaper coupons. Huggies also has a rewards program)

www.beechnut.com (Beech-Nut baby food coupons)

www.earthsbest.com (Earth Best diaper and food coupons although be warned not all the coupons on the company home page print because “this offer has expired.”)

www.johnsonsbaby.com (Johnson & Johnson products. Sign up for “Johnson’s by your side” for offers)

www.target.com (scroll the baby site to find deals. One posted now, for example, offers 15 percent savings when you buy two or more diapers, wipes, food, formula or toiletries through Sept. 10)

You can also sign up on Amazon Mom (free membership for savings of 15 percent off many items).

And, although it’s not a place for coupons, you can call for a free kite for your little one from the Children’s Hospital at St. Mary’s Medical Center at 561-841-KIDS.

Photo courtesy of paparutzi. Some rights reserved.

What’s better than free stuff? Free experiences that give you the chance to make memories with your family. And this year, there’s more reason than ever to cast your nominations and votes for South Florida Parenting’s annual Kids Crown Awards!

There are still six days left to go to southfloridaparenting.com to nominate your favorite family outings, activities, important matters, best-kept secrets and places to shop and eat in the tri-county area for a chance to win a Miami Seaquarium Dolphin Encounter for a family of four! You can nominate as many favorites as you like, but only one ballot per e-mail address will be accepted.

The Kids Crown Awards, which are printed annually each July, are great for discovering new things to do and places to go in your neighborhood, especially during mid-summer when you may have already exhausted your regular hangouts. If you’re new to the area, the awards also feature a Hall of Fame, which lists the tried-and-true local family destinations.

If swimming with the dolphins isn’t your thing, then perhaps a cruise to the Bahamas?

Online voting will take place from April 1 to 15, and anyone who casts a vote will be entered to win an all-inclusive three-day, two-night Discovery cruise to the Bahamas for a family of four.

Good luck!

When I was pregnant the first time, registering for baby items was a nightmare. I specifically remember encountering the vast assortment of bottles and the subsequent feelings of anxiety and cluelessness.

Some of that has gone away when it comes to preparing for the second child, but I find myself facing a new challenge: double strollers. Do I really need one? Why are they so darn expensive? Which is better: side by side or one seat in front of the other? Does brand matter?

I wonder if I’m going to use it often enough to get a nice one. My son will have been 3 for two months after my daughter is born, and after getting used to carrying all 35 pounds of him around, I think carrying a baby will be a cinch, so maybe I can just wear her in a carrier or trade on and off with the stroller. (Side note: I remember thinking my son was heavy to carry around when he was a baby, but I had no idea what I was in for!)

I had sticker shock when I went testing out different doubles. The cheapest one at one store was $400. That store had higher-end brands, but still. My friends are split on whether a better quality brand really matters. I’m leaning toward a cheaper one, but what if it’s so uncomfortable that the baby hates it and refuses to sit peacefully?

Any opinions on whether it’s worth it to go all out on a really nice double?

We have friends who, despite all their planning and painstaking efforts to hide Christmas gifts - one of their kids found at least one. And it wasn't just any old stocking stuffer: it was the big daddy of the season - a video game system.

At first, the discoverer was feeling very victorious. But needless to say, everyone was upset - including the sibling who told on him. The parents were frustrated and a bit deflated. Still, they're giving him the present on Christmas day.

So, what gift-hiding tricks do you practice? Where is the best place to hide a gift? If your child discovered where the stash of presents were hidden - would you still give those gifts? Would you punish him or her?

If my kid discovered something meant as a gift for him - depending on the age - obviously I'd explain the concept of a surprise. As he gets older, I expect more common sense and sensitivity on his part.

I have to admit, sometimes I've hidden things in plain sight. And right now, I'm just hoping he doesn't decide he has to clean under his bed between now and Christmas!

I won’t be strolling through the aisles this year looking for composition notebooks. I have no plans to track down the perfect set of safety scissors and plastic folders.

My daughter’s PTA is handling it for me.

The PTA announced a few months ago that it would handle the feat of buying school supplies for elementary students, for an extra few bucks, as a fundraiser. Needless to say I signed up immediately.

All they basically needed to know was my child’s name, age and grade.

I think it’s a great idea. While it takes some coordinating more PTAs should try it. They charged between $35 and $40 depending on the grade. But the cost included everything on your child’s list and a school shirt.

I know there’s going to be some extra supplies needed when we get her teacher’s list but I’m OK with that. We still have uniforms, bookbag and the new lunch box to get. And I will report back on if things were as smooth as planned.

For now, the way I see it, it’s a win-win. I don’t walk out of Target with a whole bunch of stuff we don’t need but always seem to pickup when we go back-to school shopping and my daughter’s school will have a few extra bucks.

Went on a quick shopping trip yesterday to grab up some school supplies for my son. The first day of public school in Broward County is Aug. 23.

But there are a lot of South Florida parents on top if it already - because the composition notebooks I intended to purchase were already sold out. So I ended up getting some essentials - but not many.

I've noticed - as he gets older and more connected to technology that he uses fewer pens and pencils. He goes through less notebook paper.

But we get him a new portable USB drive each year. And he uses more paper for the printer.

Still, he uses colored pencils for at least one or two assignments and still needs notebooks for each subject. There is always a glue stick around the house, and tape and a stapler.

When my son takes lunch to school - he brown bags it - so I don't have an excuse to get a cool lunch box.

Have you already filled your kids back back with tools for school? Or are you waiting for the last minute? Are you noticing that there are things you aren't buying? or not buying as much of as in past years?

Follow Cindy Kent on Twitter.com @mindingyourbiz Join her on Facebook at Cindy Kent Sun Sentinel

Now that you have joined the ranks of momminess – you are the mother of a lot of ideas – aren’t you?

Well, Huggies thinks you are. The Kimberly-Clark brand is launching a grant program - Huggies MomInspired - to provide inventive moms with the seed capital they need to help transform viable ideas into successful new businesses.

After all, Huggies says moms are “often creative problem-solvers that typically embody natural entrepreneur characteristics on a daily basis.”

To be considered for a grant moms, 21 years or older, residing in the United States, must submit an application online, outlining a unique baby or child care product idea that addresses an unmet parenting need.

Winners will be awarded with up to $15,000 per grant to help fund their product ideas.
Hurry up, the deadline is June 9.

Follow Cindy Kent on Twitter.com @mindingyourbiz

Let me get this out of the way first: it can't be time for prom. She's only four!

Actually, no, Rafael. She's 17. You just met her four years ago. That was her first year of high school. Add four years, and she's finishing her last year of high school. So yes, it's prom time.

Good heavens, that was fast.

Recently they've been talking about dress shopping. Something I have never experienced. For guys, the search for a prom outfit is only slightly more complicated than picking a particular shade of black for your rented tuxedo.

For girls? OK, I'll admit it, I'm clueless here. Sequins or no? How much shoulder do you show? How much leg? How much... else? How many chaperones will there be at a dance that is all but certain to include a song about riding a disco stick?

Sigh.

She's anxious about the dress shopping. We went two weeks ago and couldn't find anything. Prom dresses weren't in stock yet, we were told. Naturally, she's convinced that the entire prom dress inventory will be stocked and sold before we get out there again. Insane, I know, but that's what she really believes.

I can't be the only one who needs advice about this. What are you doing about the great prom dress search of 2010? Where are the best deals? What are the best styles?

And for the dads out there, what are the best ways to sabotage the backseat of a limousine?

So my son came home with these rubber-band bracelets that are shaped like animals or other figures when you take them off.

The brand we have are called Silly Bandz, and apparently they're hot in schools everywhere. The original is from vendor Toysmith, out of Washington state and there are at least four other Silly Bandz competitors, too.

We've been trying Learning Express on Sunrise Boulevard near Flamingo Road, but because we get there late in the day, sometimes the selection we want has been snagged by kids rushing there right after school.

Learning Express' Heather Morgenstern says the bands are coming in from six different vendors, maybe even more, on a weekly basis.

"It's unbelievable to literally get in 500 of one style and be sold out of them by evening the same day," she says. She suggests to prevent unnecessary frustration, call and get a courtesy hold. (They have stores in Coral Springs, Coconut Creek, Sunrise and in Sawgrass Mills Mall.)

The Sunrise store, at 12536 W. Sunrise Blvd., is having a trading party at 1 p.m. Saturday.

"We've had a lot of trends come and go, but nothing like this," she said. "It's been nonstop for a couple of months."

Since I can't go to schools everywhere, I'm fishing here for parents. I did a quick q-and-a with the inventor, Robert Croak in Toledo, Ohio, and have a short article in Sunday's paper.

I also found an animal bracelets blog (of course).

Anybody know about these things?

What ages?

Where'd you get yours?

Thanks!

I have a thing for shopping for baby clothes. There's something about those tiny dresses that make me want to buy the whole rack. Time seems to fly when I'm running around in a store looking for stuff to bring to a baby shower.

A friend of mine, who is expecting, recently posted her registry, and I couldn't help but notice that she wanted mostly organic baby clothes. I know organic cotton is the thing these days, but her organic picks were quite costly compared to non organic clothing. An organic bib for $16, some organic onesies for $25 each, and some baby yoga sets for 50 bucks.

While I'm all for giving a baby a healthy start, I can't help but wonder if these organic baby clothes are just another way to pump more money out of new-age moms.

I can see spending a lot of money on organic baby food, but does Baby Sam really need to have an organic bib to spit up on?

And once you start your baby out on organic clothing do you run the risk of having to keep them in organic gear throughout their childhood? I gave in and got my friend one of her organic picks, a yellow onesie with some matching socks.

It was hard to resist, organic or non-organic, baby clothes are just so cute.

I was willing to let my 11-year-old and three friends go to the mall without an adult last weekend. The other mothers wanted a grown-up nearby, so they ended up going to the mall with the kids.

The girls were trying on bracelets in one of the stores, and two of the bracelets broke. The store clerk, who was watching them, accused them of trying to take the tags off the bracelets, and an incident ensued. The mom who was with them but in another store at the time came in and rectified the situation.

Although I couldn't have imagined this scenario, I still think a mall is a relatively safe place to be. You are never alone. At the same time, situations may come up that the kids are too young to handle.

Do you let your kids go to the mall with friends?

My six-year old has had her eyes on a Nintendo DSi for a couple of months now. I’ve put off buying her one in part because of the cost, but also because I’m worried that she’ll lose it.

It’s one thing to come home and forget your lunchbox or your folder, which is still something we’re working on in my house. But I don’t know if I’m ready to hear that the $169 Nintendo DSi has vanished.

Some people say let your child use it only when you’re around. I have to be honest, with the million things I have to track day to day, I really don’t want to add tracking the Nintendo DSi to my list.

My best friend, who happens to be my daughter’s godmother, said I should give in and buy it. It will be a good test of how responsible she’s become, she says. I sure hope that’s the case.

I’m still tempted to take out some DSi insurance!!!!

If your baby, toddler or child of any age is crying - you want to know why, right?

For instance, if your car were acting up, you might look under the hood before taking the vehicle to the mechanic. If your computer suddenly froze up - you're likely to push a few buttons or scoot the mouse around the pad.

So if your infant or baby is all red-faced, teary-eyed, fit-to-be-tied-bawling-his-or-her-eyes-out -- get over it - by checking it out the old-fashioned way: touch, hold, cuddle, sooth, coo, hug and in general assess the situation of said tiny being.

But wait, forget all that - don't trouble yourself - here's an App for that. I'm sorry to be the one to break the news to you.

The Cry Translator, according to promotional verbiage is, "an easy to use iPhone app that quickly identifies the five distinct cries made by infants: hungry, sleepy,annoyed, stressed or bored. These five cries are universal to all babies regardless of culture or language."

Wow. I'm speechless. Don't get me wrong - there are a few apps I am a huge fan of - Paper Toss is my fav.

But just imagine, you hear the child cry and you approach gingerly. Finally, thinks baby, I'll get some food or be held [insert other need/want here]. Instead, Baby sees tiny microphone held to face area. The outstretched arm is merely a tease. Baby increases wailing.

How will the app translate that?

Well, once is does, there are some suggestions on how to care for the child - which means while the Baby continues to cry, you begin reading a paragraph or two on what to do next.

Frankly, you really need to just put down your gadgets and pick up the child. It's called communication. What ever happened to consulting with the co-parent; Neighbors, people at work, on play dates in the park, grandparents, etc?

A 16-second Saturday Night Live skit says it all. Gosh.

Please, if you have this app - don't tell me. It'll make me want to cry.

The holidays are right around the corner. Of course, that's not breaking news to moms and dads. The kids also are quite aware.

But continuing economic challenges might cause families to re-evaluate the idea of giving and receiving gifts.

Of course every day is a good day to spend money wisely, if you have to spend it on something. And every day is is a good day to remember priorities - what's important in the big picture of life and love and family and friends.

As an aside, my son makes homemade cards for family on special occasions - it's a tradition we've all come to expect - and anticipate! It costs him more in time than anything else. But it comes from a place you can't buy - the heart. So it's also invaluable.

Don't get me wrong, we give and get stuff too.

But families are struggling, many, just to keep a roof over their heads. The idea of spending money on decorations or gifts pale compared to the need to pay a medical bill, the electricity or buy food.

Watching budgets will undoubtedly be a part of everyone's holiday spending plan.

What things will you do to celebrate the holidays, but because of the economy, a lost job and other challenges, your plan is different from past years?

I wanted to take this time to impart my wisdom on being fashion savvy when it comes to high school students. But I realized I have no fashion sense – none. Nada.

This is the cleverest thing we came up with at home: We’re not shopping for back-to-school clothes yet – The Kid is spouting like Jack’s beanstock!

Even though school is around the corner, we’re waiting until a week or two after school has started to refresh his wardrobe. Of course, if there is some emergency must-have fashion, we’ll take that under consideration.

But even he thinks waiting is good because he’d get a better idea of what to wear, in high school. Being that it will be his first year, that’s not a bad idea.

I could sew him some new clothes – no, really I couldn’t. Hand-me downs are out – for one, he’s taller than me now!

So, between now and then, I’m pretty much open to suggestions. Only, I’m looking for humor, because it’s the most affordable [free].

Share you’re ideas here, along with your donation for our Buy The Kid Some Clothes Fund. Kidding about the fund.

But looking forward to your funny experiences, advice and tips; on the lighter side of getting your kid wardrobe-ready for their first big day as a kindergartner; or middle schooler or high school student.

Personally, I’ll appreciate it, even if my son doesn’t.

It’s not just movies and furniture anymore.

At wowclothingclub.com parents who want to keep their child in designer dresses every month can rent them for a fee. Right now, it’s just girl’s clothing and the cost range from about $39 for up to three outfits to $67 a month for up to six.

How does it work?

According to the site, once you join the club and make your selections, the clothes are shipped to you. After 30 days you return them in a postage paid box.

You don’t have to wash the clothes before you send them back, since the company handles having the clothes laundered in fragrance-free detergent.

While this borrowing method may work for some, I can see possible hiccups in my house already. What if you lose a belt or jacket with the outfit, for instance?

And how do you handle the sentimental child who wants to wear that yellow dress way beyond the borrowing period?

Share your thoughts.

Baby needed a new pair of shoes, so I headed to Stride Rite at Broward Mall.

And before I could enter the store, I had a WTF moment. There was three shelves of shoes by Jessica Simpson, for girls.

GIRLS.

And, yes, I'm talking about that tart Jessica Simpson who has taken being blond, busty and a bumbling idiot to the bank.

What kind of message is this sending to our girls. Have you gotten these shoes as a gift from the clueless aunt? Or did you, gasp, buy them yourself for your little darling in a moment of weakness??

Let's talk!

Leave it to the federal government to create problems for the little guy while it tries to fix another.

In a laudable move to protect children, the Consumer Product Safety Commission wants all products aimed at children 12 and under tested for lead. That's the good part.

Now the bad part: Small businesses that sell handmade toys or thift stores could be forced to stop selling childrens products or in some case to close. See, big retailers can pay for the equipment, but the little guys can't afford it. The LA Times wrote about it.

We bought a bunch of toys and some children's furniture at local thrift stores. In fact, my wife helped extend our Christmas budget by buying Ana Isabel, 3, and Lucas Emilio, 8 months, toys at Baby Posh Garage in Aventura and Kids Palace Inc. in Plantation.

Isn't it the government's job to stop dangerous products from getting onto store shelves? I don't have a problem with asking businesses that can afford it to do their part. But it seems unfair that the small fry, like my children, could lose out.

Remember those “quick trips” to the store?

They’re gone, along with Friday nights at the movies. Now every trip within 100 feet of Publix means you will soon be walking the aisles with a full cart and a soon-to-be empty wallet. No matter how much we shop, there’s never enough baby formula.

So there’s a little debate going on in the household about whether to join Costco and start buying in bulk. I hate paying for a membership, but it’s jarring that the folks at Publix and Whole Foods are getting to know us by name. Not that they aren’t lovely people, of course.

So here’s my question: what’s your grocery shopping strategy? Do you go during the week or save it for Sunday? Do you buy in bulk once a month? Does that really save you money?

My 11-year-old is invited to a birthday party. Times three.

She is a close friend of one of the triplets, an acquaintance of one of the others, and not friendly with the third.

Although my impulse is to be generous and get them all a present, I am watching my pennies in this depressing economy. So anything I buy times three is money that could have been spent elsewhere.

I'm sure this comes up pretty frequently now that multiple births are so common. Do we need to buy three gifts for their birthday party? And if the answer is yes, does it have to be the same gift for all three?

I'm not sure I agree with Randi Gorenberg's family suing Town Center Mall in Boca Raton, but I'm glad her murder is staying in the news.

Her husband's lawyers held a news conference today to announce the lawsuit. She was killed in March 2007 after she left the mall. Her body was dumped in a park west of Delray Beach.

A few months later, a mother and daughter were murdered and their bodies found at the mall after they had left it a few hours earlier. It seems like no one talks about these incidents anymore.

Does everyone realize there is a murderer or murderers on the loose? The only change is there seem to be more security and police cars roaming the mall parking lot. But I'm afraid something bad is going to happen again before the criminals are caught.

Have you changed your mall shopping behavior since these incidents happened?

Our 16-year-old daughter, a vegetarian, has recently read the book The Omnivores Dilemma, by Michael Pollan.

This New York Times bestseller opened her eyes to food additives, including high fructose corn syrup, MSG, hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners. Pollan, a science and food writer who has conducted tremendous research into where our food comes from, suggests a mantra we should all live by: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

By food, he means food that would be recognizable to your great-great grandparents in the 19th century. Food that comes from real plants and animals that are fed what nature intended for them to eat.

Abby vowed on Easter Sunday that she would no longer eat any bad food additives. Her chocolate bunny remains unopened. She printed a list for my reference from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a group of liberal, activist scientists concerned about our food supply .

Meanwhile, daughter No. 2, who will eat meat and has no compunctions regarding high-fructose, multicolored “food,” gets insanely painful migraines of unknown source. The neurologist’s recommendation: No food additives. No peanuts. No chocolate. No caffeine. No hard cheeses.

And my husband has slightly elevated blood pressure, so low-sodium for him.

I challenge you to walk in my shoes for just one trip to the grocery store. Try reading the labels on everything you buy. High fructose corn syrup is everywhere: In crackers. In jelly. In waffles and cereal. In strawberry cream cheese. Artificial sweeteners are in almost anything labeled “low” or “no” sugar. MSG is in packaged soups, taco seasoning, salad dressings and lots of mixed spices. You’ll see long lists of things that turn out to be benign vitamins in bread, but then there’s BHA or BHT. There are sulfites in bacon, sausage and frozen turkey and chicken products.

Sodium is loaded into soups, canned vegetables and almost every prepared food. Cold cuts have all kinds of complicated-sounding preservatives. Tuna has traces of toxic metals such as mercury which might trigger migraines.

Do you know how hard it is in the 21st century to sustain yourself on a 19th-century diet?

We’re managing so far. But even with the no-additives diet, our younger daughter has been sidelined with a migraine for the past two days.

I guess I really am going to have to take that no-peanuts edict seriously. But what do you put in a lunchbox for a kid who cannot eat cheese, peanut butter, cold cuts or tuna?

OMG, Cabbage Patch Kids are back!

Not the new-fangled corn-silk-haired dolls or those freaky premies, but the old-school cabbies with yarn for hair.

When the dolls were released in 1983, my dad was among the mass of parents, at a Toys R Us off Biscayne Blvd and 125th St., in the queue to "adopt" a Cabbage Patch Kid.

Rachel is still with me. After years of living on a closet shelf, she now has a loving home in my daughter's toy chest.

Baby loves to pluck Rachel from the chest and drag her (by the hair) around the room, stopping to kiss the doll's cheek or sit on her stomach.

Since the Cabbage Patch phenomenon, there has been mania over Barney, Tickle Me Elmo and Dora the Explorer.

What doll did your kid HAVE to have?

I have given up on buying birthday cards for the seemingly endless parties my kids attend.

I've found an alternative: calling cards.

The pre-printed cards give my kids' name, address, phone number and e-mail address. They are the size of business cards and can be tossed into a gift with little effort on my part.

Birthday cards are too expensive. I could tell my kids to make a card, but making sure they get it done becomes another thing on my never-ending to-do list.

I looked on-line and many of the cards ended up costing $1 a piece with the printing and mailing fees, which would not amount to a significant savings over store-bought cards. I bought the least expensive ones I could find that were decent-looking from DreamPress. They cost $12.99 for 50 cards plus mailing charges.

As you know, I have been stressed about going back to Town Center Mall after the murders last month. I've been brainstorming ways to make me and my family safer. The e-mail below came at a timely moment and offers some useful safety tips. I especially liked the one about crashing your car! Let me know what you think.

Crucial

Because of recent abductions

in daylight hours, refresh yourself

of these things to do

in an emergency situation...

This is for you,

and for you to share

with your wife,

your children,

everyone you know.

After reading these 9 crucial tips,

forward them to someone you care about.

It never hurts to be careful

in this crazy world we live in.

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do :

The elbow is the strongest point

on your body.

If you are close enough to use it, do!

2. Learned this from a tourist guide

in New Orleans

If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse,

DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM.

Toss it away from you....

chances are that he is more interested

in your wallet and/or purse than you,

and he will go for the wallet/purse.

RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car,

kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole

and start waving like crazy.

The driver won't see you, but everybody else will.

This has saved lives.

4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars

after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit

(doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc.

DON'T DO THIS!)

The predator will be watching you, and this

is the perfect opportunity for him to get in

on the passenger side, put a gun to your head,

and tell you where to go.

AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR ,

LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.

If someone

is in the car

with a gun

to your head

DO NOT DRIVE OFF,

repeat:

DO NOT DRIVE OFF!

Instead gun the engine

and speed into anything, wrecking the car.

Your Air Bag will save you.

If the person is in the back seat

they will get the worst of it .

As soon as the car crashes

bail out and run.

It is better than having them find your body

in a remote location.

Continue reading "How to be a little safer at the mall" »

Lily is a corporate advertising director's dream girl. She's only 5, but every single thing she sees on a television commercial, she wants.

That includes a $350 stuffed horse that you can 'ride.' I try to provide some guidance by saying "that's a stupid toy. You would never play with it.'

So now when a commercial comes on, she asks me, "Is that toy stupid?''

Well, she saw the toy that she truly must have, the other day. It's one that goes straight to the top of her list to Santa.

It's a baby boy doll, one of the Baby Alive versions that drinks and pees. We already have a peeing and pooping Baby Alive doll, but this one is a baby boy. And she realllllly wants it.

Trouble is, at the end of the commercial, in white letters that are not very noticeable, the following words flashed on the screen:

ANATOMICALLY CORRECT.

Really? I don't know if Lily is ready for an anatomy lesson yet. I mean, in this day and age, the thing could be computerized or something. I mean, how "correct" is it?

I tooled around online to try to find out, but Hasbro does not reveal what the baby boy looks like naked. In fact, on the Hasbro website, they only mention that little Wets N Wiggles does need diaper changing, and then there's this cryptic line:
"But when you change the doll’s diaper, watch out – babies can be full of surprises!''

Yes, I'll bet they can!

The website also mentions that this doll runs on 4 AA batteries. Um, for what????

What do you think, Santa?

The lack of places to buy kids' shoes in South Florida is driving me crazy.

I've tried Target and Payless, but you have to be lucky that they will have something semi-fashionable and in your kid's size. My 11-year-old, Rachel, inevitably finds a style she likes that is in every size but hers.

I've been wondering why most department stores don't sell kids' shoes. Or why there aren't more kids' shoe chains. Don't you think it would be extremely profitable?

The only place I've found that's pretty consistent is Nordstrom. They have every size, but the prices are so much higher.

I heard www.zappos.com is good for kids' shoes, but I never know what size my kids are, so I'm not sure that would work.

Can you make a recommendation for a great kids' shoe store?