For those moms who are pregnant and are chomping at the bit to know whether you’re having a boy or a girl, here’s a fun ancient Chinese Birth Calendar that determines the sex of the baby based on maternal age and the month of conception.

Supposedly, this chart can be used to predict the sex of your unborn child. It has been said to be 99% accurate. As the story goes, the chart was buried in a tomb near Beijing for 700 years and now can be viewed at the Institute of Science in Beijing. There’s a whole lot of Indiana Jones mojo in that story, regardless it is a fun predictor - just don’t expect to rush out and paint the nursery pink or blue based on the results!

(Via WebWomb.Com)

   

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

   

My Beautiful Mommy is a new self-published kids book about plastic surgery. It was written by Michael Salzhauer, a plastic surgeon in Bal Harbour, Florida. Mr. Salzhauer says he cooked the idea up to help parents explain cosmetic procedures to their children.

“My Beautiful Mommy” is aimed at kids ages four to seven and features a plastic surgeon named Dr. Michael (a musclebound superhero type) and a girl whose mother gets a tummy tuck, a nose job and breast implants. Before her surgery the mom explains that she is getting a smaller tummy: “You see, as I got older, my body stretched and I couldn’t fit into my clothes anymore. Dr. Michael is going to help fix that and make me feel better.” Mom comes home looking like a slightly bruised Barbie doll with demure bandages on her nose and around her waist. ~Newsweek Article

   

We all know that parents who give their kids fast food are going to hell in a hand-basket, right? Sometimes you just don’t feel like making them lunch - again. Maybe, you’re craving one of those $6 burgers, yourself. There are many reasons we use to convince ourselves that it’s okay to splurge every once and awhile and get your kids one of those little kid’s meals.

Fast food restaurants do a good job straddling the line when it comes to proper disclosure of nutritional information for their menu items, some don’t disclose the amount of trans-fats in their menu items, others don’t break-out the nutritional value of their beverages or condiments. Yes, condiments - check out the nutritional value of the condiments at Carl’s Jr. - mind-boggling numbers [House Dressing 320 calories, 34g fat, 4.5g saturated fat, 25g cholesterol, 480g sodium, 2g sugar].

Here’s a snapshot of what your kid is consuming when he or she gets a kid’s meal compared to the recommended daily allowance as dictated by the USDA. I will base this on a four year old boy (will call him “Timmy”), weighing thirty nine pounds and is forty two inches high and is expected to have an average of sixty minutes of exercise activity a day (follow the link below for a daily nutrition calculator based on age). Based on this profile, this kid should eat 1,400 calories a day - basically a bit more than half of what I eat (average adult male; between 2400-2700 calories/day). That means Timmy should have the following per day;

• 1,150mg sodium (about half a teaspoon)
• 150mg cholesterol (Keep total fat intake between 30 to 35 percent of calories for children 2 to 3 years of age and between 25 to 35 percent of calories for children and adolescents 4 to 18 years of age, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.)
• Kids this age should be eating 1.5 cups of fruits and vegetables a day. This will account for proper amounts of natural fiber, carbohydrates and sugar (as well as important vitamins and minerals)

I could go on here with a daily nutritional breakdown but, this sets the stage for the whole kid’s meal breakdown. Here are the nutritional numbers for some of the more popular kid’s meals out there (numbers based on information attained from company websites);

• McDonald’s Happy Meal [Chicken McNuggets (4pc). Small French Fries, 1% Low Fat Chocolate Milk Jug (8 fl oz)] - 520 calories, 25g fat, 6g saturated fat, 4.5g trans-fat, 35g cholesterol, 720g sodium, 12g sugar
• McDonald’s Happy Meal [Cheeseburger, Small French Fries, 1% Low Fat White Milk Jug (8 fl oz)] - 710 calories, 28g fat, 10g saturated fat, 4g trans-fat, 50g cholesterol, 1050g sodium, 26g sugar
• Carl’s Jr. [3-piece Chicken Breast Strip, Kid's French Fries, (** does not list info for any beverages, approximation based on found standards)] - 780 calories, 37g fat, 6g saturated fat, 50g cholesterol, (no listing of trans-fat), 1360g sodium, 31g sugar
• Carl’s Jr. [Kid's Hamburger, Kid's French Fries, Small Coke (** does not list info for any beverages, approximation based on found standards)] - 820 calories, 29g. fat, 8.5 saurated fat, 60g. cholesterol, (no listing for trans-fat), 1210g. sodium, 43g sugar
• Burger King [Chicken Tenders (4pc), Small Fry, Small Coke) - 530 calories, 24g fat, 6g saturated fat, 4.5g trans-fat, 820g. sodium, 31g sugar
• El Pollo Loco [Popcorn Chicken, Small Fries, Small Coke (** does not list info for any beverages, approximation based on found standards)] - 551 calories, 23g fat, 4g saturated fat, 0g trans-fat, 1039g. sodium, 30g sugar

Lots of fat, lots of sodium and lots of sugar. I think in this post Fast-Food Nation age of enlightenment, this information comes as no surprise. But as a parent when you let these numbers soak in a bit, it’s kind of staggering. Much like their grown up counter-parts, these kid’s meals give our precious ones a full day’s supply of fat, cholesterol, sugar and sodium all in one sitting. And if your a family on the go or the kind of family that does drive-through on a regular basis, you can start to see the impact these meals are making on your kids.

Play around with some of the nutritional calculators and see what it will take to reverse the calorie count on some of these kids meals. I found that with the calculator listed (below), Timmy would have to exercise a full two hours a day to reverse a mere 400 calories, but it doesn’t reverse the long-term impact of taking in all those trans-fats, sodium and so forth.

Something to think about the next time you’re waiting in line at the drive-thru.

Sited Links;
McDonalds | Nutritional Info for Happy Meals
Carl’s Jr. | Nutrition
Burger King | Nutritional Brochure
El Pollo Loco | Nutritional Guide

Related Links;
USDA | Dietary Guidelines For Americans
Baylor College of Medicine | Healthy Eating Calculator

   

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…

   

They were made in China, Shanghai to be exact. There have been twelve reports to the CSPC about small parts coming lose and posing a potential choking hazard. In short, they were either poorly designed (thus the fault of the Designer) or poorly manufactured (thus the fault of the Maker).

As a Consumer and concerned parent, accountability is paramount with these companies but it seems to be falling on deaf ears. I am starting to feel that ultimately the financial ramifications to the company shareholders’ (in this case, Toys ‘R’ Us) will determine swifter justice. By the looks of the their Safety FAQ’s, it seems they’re becoming keenly aware of the true impact of all the recalls that have hit the toy industry in the past year.

These two recalls affect 16,400 units of two Imaginarium-branded wooden activity centers due to potential choking hazards, the company recommends bringing the TRU’s Imaginarium Multi-Sided Activity Centers (manufactured by Taizhou Orient Toys Company Ltd.) and Jungle Activity Centers (Shanghai Cosmos Gift Industry Company Ltd.) back to a local Toys ‘R’ Us store for a full refund or credit.

Related Links:
CPSC | Imaginarium Activity Centers Recalled
Toys ‘R’ Us Safety FAQs

   

There has been an ongoing (read; growing) recall on Honduran cantaloupe because of links between it and a recent outbreak of Salmonellosis. The recalls are growing because the infected fruit is from a specific Honduran grower and packer, Agropecuaria Montelibano, that many different brands use. There have been cases of the Salmonella Litchfield outbreak throughout North America.

To date, the FDA has received reports of 50 illnesses in 16 states and nine illnesses in Canada linked to the consumption of cantaloupes. No deaths have been reported; however, 14 people have been hospitalized. The states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.” ~ USFDA, March 22nd, 2008, Cantaloupe Recall Info

Sure, you’re throwing away a couple bucks but the chances of that fruit sitting in an un-refrigerated area for a notable length of time is pretty high. As stated by the FDA, ” leftover cut cantaloupe should be discarded if left at room temperature for more than two hours.” That accounts for fruit left out (at room temperature) but what about when it was sitting out on the docks for hours?

I am not saying this happens to all perishables but after working in the restaurant and hotel industry (reputable places, too) for over ten years I will say this - it is not unheard of for perishables to sit in places that are less than “optimal” for “undetermined” amounts of time. So in the case of that cantaloupe sitting in the frig, so as they say in the food industry, “when in doubt, throw it out.”

The symptoms for Salmonella are diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and abdominal cramps 6 to 72 hours after infection. Salmonella and its various strains are a food-born illness meaning you can only get it from consuming the food in question. But it should be pointed out that the very young and old are susceptible to the most severe symptoms due to their impaired immune systems. In extreme cases it can infect a person’s bloodstream and lead to life-threatening infections.

Related Links:
FDA Warns of Salmonella Risk with Cantaloupes from Agropecuaria Montelibano
T.M. Kovacevich International, Inc. Recalls Cantaloupe Because of Health Concerns
Fresh Express Foods Recalls Cubed Cantaloupe
Wikipedia | Salmonellosis

   

Who’s Your Daddy?

No really, I want to know, who is your father, kid?

DNA Paternity Test.

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(Via IdentiGene)