DIRECT DEPOSIT
Based on the last two digit of your Social Security Number, Payments will be transmitted no later than:
00 through 20 - May 2nd, 2008
21 through 75 - May 9th, 2008
76 through 99 - May 16th, 2008

Paper checks will also go out based on Social Security number. For Social Security numbers ending in 00 through 09, the paper checks will be mailed starting May 9 and will continue through May 16. A similar process will be repeated in the following weeks.

PAPER CHECK
Based on the last two digit of your Social Security Number,  Payments will be mailed no later than:
00 through 09 - May 16th, 2008
10 through 18 - May 23rd, 2008
19 through 25 - May 30th, 2008
26 through 38 - June 6th, 2008
39 through 51 - June 13th, 2008
52 through 63 - June 20th, 2008
64 through 75 - June 27th, 2008
76 through 87 - July 4th, 2008
88 through 99 - July 11th, 2008

Please follow the link below for more information regarding the conditions and terms of the Federally approved Stimulus Package. Call their toll free number (1-800-829-1040) for questions not answered on their website.

Sited Links;
IRS | Stimulus Payment Schedule for Tax Returns Processed by 04/15

   

The more I talk to dads in my area the more I find a common trend - dad drives the old clunker to work (sans kids) and mom has the new (kid) car, whether it be the wagon, the SUV or the minivan. I bought mine as a pre-certified used car from a dealership with a warranty on it and even though the warranty has lapsed with little to no use from it I still feel I did a good thing by having it.

The issue now is should I go out and get some type of extended auto warranty or not? This is a question I would love to get feedback on. As a dad, I am all about having warranties and insurance policies, but do most people cover their clunkers or do they bite the bullet and just deal with the consequences?

Depending on what you are paying per year for maintenance and repairs, an extended warranty may be the way to go, especially if there is no room for an upgrading dad’s car in the near future. So as long the policy comes from an A+ rated insurance company and aren’t backed by a Risk Retention Group and it doesn’t eclipse your current maintenance cost (figuring in the offset of the policy itself), it may ease the burden of hanging onto to that dear old clunker of yours another year or so.

   

I have absolutely no idea how factual these numbers are but it still makes you think…

   

News Flash - toys that are made cheaply may fall apart and pose choking hazard, or may contain lead (get this) because they are made - cheaply. That’s right folks. If you are buying toys at a discount store or dollar store (maybe a cute little impulse buy for the kid, niece, cousin, etc.) you may want to pause for a moment and think why the toy is so cheap.

Perhaps you should ask yourself, “how are they able to make a remote control formula one racing car and sell it for a dollar and still turn a profit?” And the answer is - because the manufacture it the cheapest way possible and perhaps by turning a blind eye to how much lead is in the paint and how well the small pieces are secured.

The four recent recalls listed below represent millions of units of these cheap $1 dollar toys. If I were to venture a guess about why products like this continue to show up on the shelves of stores around the country, it’s because people still buy them. So the lesson of the day for us, the Consumer is, don’t buy these cheap little toys for the young ones.

Follow the links below and check your kid’s toy bin for any questionable toys.

Related Links;
Toy Airplanes, Cars, and Motorcycles Recalled…
Toy Racing Cars Recalled by OKK Trading Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard
Plush Insect Toys Recalled by Dollar Tree Stores Due to Choking Hazard
Magnetic Dart Boards Recalled By Henry Gordy Int’l…

   

I know the title sounds like dialog ripped from a Woody Allen film but really I’m waiting for the day my kid’s become privy to my blogging efforts. But after re-reading David Hochman’s ever-pertinent (2005) Article, “Mommy (and Me),“ from the New York Times, it has me thinking about why I still do this and more importantly why I started in the first place.

I started blogging as a way to learn more about the things that concern me about my kids’ health; not really a personal journal because (to me) that would be boring. Rather, it would be a heavily referenced and indexed pile of notes that I (and of course everyone else) could take advantage of. I chose to take the somewhat academic route not because of some strange lust for expository writing but because I have a hard time believing the sources I come across. What I have discovered along the way is the most important thing to me about my own writing is to share with you my references and be sure the sites and articles I references are fully transparent to you. There is a lot of dubious information out there that is conjecture and misguided or incomplete at best.

Hochman’s article is interesting because even though it was written over three years ago it still rings true with regards to the landscape of parent blogging - for better or worse. I don’t have the money to quote the article directly but the gist of it is summed up quite succinctly by a LA psychiatrist sited in the article who basically says it is (our) drive to rise above the invisibility and the banality of parenting and be seen and heard by the rest of world.

Parts of the article tend to feel a bit acrid but upon closer examination he is merely raising a mirror to some and if his words make us cringe a little (or perhaps laugh nervously), then that’s your dish to deal with. David is a neighbor and I happen to know he is a dad, himself. He seems like a nice guy and a good dad. Upon writing this simple observation about the guy adds another dimension to the said article, there is probably a self-reflexive aspect to his article and that is in my mind what makes the article most poignant.

Sited Links:
New York Times | Mommy (and Me)

Related Links:
Details Magazine | Are You Raising A Douchebag?

   

As mentioned recently, we have a third baby on the way and quite honestly, I am just trying to figure out where to put them all. Yes, that’s right - I’m gonna have to start stacking them soon. We live in a recently updated three bedroom + two bath and we are quite happy with it, until family comes to visit.

So I have rekindled my desire to turn our two-car detached garage into a sort of Guest House for visiting family. My plans are to turn it into a multi-functional space with either a half bath or three quarter bath. This should be pretty easy since we had rough plumbing done when we re-did the concrete flooring in the garage. The half-bath is the obvious answer (we can comfortably achieve this even doing a permitted renovation to the garage) or throw one of those nice shower cubicles in the corner of the bathroom and achieve a three quarter bath (by definition a 3/4 bath has a shower stall, a half bath has only a toilet and a full bath has a tub). The one illustrated above comes to us from TrueShopping.Com, they have a beautiful selection of nice doors and shower stalls.

They say it takes a village to raise a child - well we creating our village right now, it seems. This seems altogether worth it since my in-laws help us so much with the babies. And when the conversion is complete they will have their very own backyard retreat.

   

Whether you have teens or if you (as a adult) have ever had a question about where acne comes from or what may or may not cause it the folks at Acne.Com seem to have it covered. Needless to say, as a medical condition, acne seems pretty benign but as psychological factor (as I found in high school) it is devastating especially for teens. Whether your kids has it or you or your wife have questions about it - check out the myths and basics listed on their site to see if they answer your questions and then book that appointment with the dermatologist (which is a good thing to do on an annual basis, anyway).

At the onset of puberty, the body begins to produce hormones called androgens. These “male” hormones are a natural part of development for both boys and girls, but boys tend to produce more of them — and therefore tend to have more severe breakouts. Why? Our faces and bodies are covered with tiny hairs, each one fitting snugly into a hair follicle, sometimes called a pore. Deep within each follicle, oil glands are hard at work producing sebum, which travels up the hair and out onto the surface of your skin. Sebum’s job is to form a protective layer between your skin and the world, keeping it soft and smooth.

But when androgens enter the picture, your oil glands go into overdrive. They produce extra oil, which can clump together with the dead skin cells on the top layer of your skin. When this sticky mixture finds its way into your pores, it acts just like a cork in a bottle — trapping oil and bacteria inside. Unfortunately, your oil glands just don’t know when to stop; they keep producing oil, and the follicle becomes swollen. Your body’s natural defense system, white blood cells, rush to the area to clean up the mess. The result? Red, painful bumps. Yucky black spots. Zits. Blackheads. Pimples. Acne. It has nothing to do with what you eat, or how often you wash your face.” ~ Acne.Com

As for adult acne, it is something that affects more than half of us (25% of adult men have it). There are a number of reasons why - whether it’s genetics (yes, it can run in the family), hormones or bacteria - there is a lot to know about acne and acne treatment. There are also a number of perceived acne imposters to be aware, so find out the facts.

   

Poetic Babies out of Chicago, will create a online video message for your family and friends: the story of the birth of your child as told by you. Their deluxe package includes video services as well as traditional printed announcements and photography. Check out the sample video - it is quite nice!