RECALL: Target Children's gardening tools and chairs

Lead paint is again forcing the recall of children's items. Approximately 350,000 Happy Giddy Gardening Tools and Children’s Sunny Patch Chairs sold at Target stores across the nation from August 2006 to August 2007 are being recalled due to excessive levels of lead in the surface paint of the toys. Yes, these were manufactured in China. The recalled items should immediately be removed from use and returned to your local Target store for a full refund.


Included in the recall are:

Gardening tools: caterpillar trowel with an orange and multi-colored handle; kitty cat broom with pink flowers and green handle; pink and green cultivator with a solid green tool portion and pink flowers on the handle; orange and green wood handle hoe and rake with orange flowers; pink and green shovel and trowel with pink flowers; green, orange and light blue snail push broom; multi-colored trowel, hoe, rake with orange on the tool body; multi-colored shovel with solid red on the shovel and eyes on the top of the handle; red and blue owl shaped broom with bristles painted blue, with yellow and black large eyes on the face.

Children’s Chairs: multi-colored children’s Sunny Patch chairs with a giraffe, monkey, and elephant on the back. The cloth seat and back are striped in orange, yellow, green and blue. The chameleon, butterfly and lady bug chair are not included in the recall.

CLICK HERE to see more images of recalled items and to read the entire release.

Recall: One Million Cribs

From the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website:

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is announcing today a voluntary recall with Simplicity Inc., of Reading, Pa., of about 1 million cribs. The drop-side can detach from the crib, which can create a dangerous gap and lead to the entrapment and suffocation of infants. CPSC is aware of two deaths in Simplicity manufactured cribs with older style hardware, including a 9-month-old child and a 6-month-old child, where the drop-side was installed upside down. CPSC is also aware of seven infant entrapments and 55 incidents in these cribs.

CPSC is also investigating the death of a 1-year-old child in a Simplicity crib with newer style hardware, in which the drop-side was installed upside down. CPSC is warning parents and caregivers to check all Simplicity cribs to make sure the drop-side is installed right side up.

The drop-side failures result from both the hardware and crib design, which allow consumers to unintentionally install the drop-side upside down. This, in turn, can weaken the hardware and cause the drop-side to detach from the crib. When the drop-side detaches, it creates a gap in which infants can become entrapped.

CPSC is also aware of two incidents that occurred when the drop-side was correctly installed with older style hardware, though the upside down installation greatly increases the risk of failure.

The recalled Simplicity crib models include: Aspen 3 in 1, Aspen 4 in 1, Nursery-in-a-Box, Crib N Changer Combo, Chelsea and Pooh 4 in 1. The recall also involves the following Simplicity cribs that used the Graco logo: Aspen 3 in 1, Ultra 3 in 1, Ultra 4 in1, Ultra 5 in 1, Whitney and the Trio.

The recalled cribs have one of the following model numbers, which can be found on the envelope attached to the mattress support and on the label attached to the headboard: 4600, 4605, 4705, 5000, 8000, 8324, 8800, 8740, 8910, 8994, 8050, 8750, 8760, and 8996.

The cribs, which were made in China, were sold in department stores, children’s stores and mass merchandisers nationwide from January 1998 through May 2007 for between $100 and $300.

The Little Black Book of Style

I have never been very stylish. The few times someone has commented on my tastes in clothing, it usually includes statements like

"Do you own anything other then tank tops?"

"Wow you look so nice dressed up, who picked your outfit?"

"You do know that plaids and florals only match on a couch, right?"

I can recount tales of my old man golf pants phase, neon, spandex... not pretty and never classic. I need help so when The Parent Blogger Network sent me a copy of The Little Black Book of Style I got down on my knees and thanked Jesus for the opportunity to hone my non existent fashion skills without having to peel open the perfumed pages of 700 fashion mags.

I found The Little Black Book of Style to be chocked full of classic sound wardrobe advice. The basic anatomy of a good fashionable enduring closet is laid out. In it are some things I will probably never own, like a button down shirt. Ive yet to find one (high or low end) that buttons over my breasts and don't make me look like I'm wearing a tent. Another discordant note I struck with the book is the price of the recommended fashions. I hyperventilate with fear any time I spend more then $20 on an item to clad my body. However, the book does have me rethinking that strategy a bit. It does make sense to invest in pieces that last rather then my current method of purchasing 6 shirts for $50 and having them ragged out a few months later due to poor construction and cheap fabric.

Over all, the is a lovely book. The pictures are beautiful and the advice is sound (once I get past my internal cheapskate). It's something my girls will be glad is on our bookshelf as they get older, especially considering how fashion stunted their mother is. I may even take it shopping with me, I'll need the moral support.

Win Baby Stuff

Beans and Sprouts is holding a fantastic contest for September. The winner may choose 1 item from the Beans and Sprouts Etsy store. I'm super excited to enter this one. I just recently received a custom order from Beans and Sprouts and it was the talk of the baby shower. Click HERE to find out how you can enter and good luck!

Recall: Dole bagged salad

A bag of Dole's Hearts Delight tested positive for E. coli, triggering a recall in at least nine states. The tainted bag was sold in Canada but the recall encompasses both Canada and the US. The suspect batches have a "best if used by" date of September 19, 2007, and a production code of A24924A or A24924B.

The latest recall affects packages sold in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces in Canada and in Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee starting around Sept. 8, said Marty Ordman, a Dole spokesman.

Vocal Point

Procter and Gamble is looking for moms to influence the next generation of products. Vocal Point is a new sounding board where we moms can do just that. Signing up at Vocal Point gets you free samples and the ability to be heard. Joining is free and easy, so is opting out if you decide it's not for you. Click Here to get started.

Zutano clad babies

Zutano and Mums The Wurd are giving away

$150 worth of the cutest clothes on the planet

It's true. My little man has several Zutano pieces and I would LOVE to be able to add a few more to his drawer. You'll love their stuff too. Check em out and enter the contest!

Mum on Lead

Here at Little Bird Reviews we do our best to keep readers current with recalls, particularly of children's items. It seems nearly every day that something else is deemed unsafe. Recently, the biggest issue has been lead paint contaminated toys.

Like you, I found myself combing through my kids' beloved toys, completely worried that I had been inadvertently poisoning them for months. At one point, I removed any toy that wasn't wooden or organic. I felt such relief knowing that we had those toys in our home, that my children could play and I need not worry. I need less worry and with my middle child's birthday quickly approaching, I will be turning to places like Natural Pod.

Our government needs to step up now and say NO MORE! Our children's health is not worth saving a few pennies on the dollar. Tough standards need to be enacted and most importantly ENFORCED.

Thanks to Mums the Wurd for directing me to Natural Pod. Visit Mum for a chance to win a gift cert to Natural Pod.

Rescue Me Ryka

About a month ago, The Parent Bloggers Network contacted me about trying out some new Ryka shoes. Yes, SHOES! After I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't suffering from a sleep deprivation induced hallucination, I quickly agreed to give them a go.

I do not have a typical foot. As much as I passionately adore shoes, most do not fit me with any measure of comfort. Athletic shoes are a particularly sticky situation. I have a wide toe box, narrow heel and falling arches. My falling arches contribute to my bad knees and if a shoe does not provide me proper support, I end up swollen and in pain. The fact that I adore walking as my main form of exercise does not help the situation. Doctor after doctor has begged me to take up the recumbent bike,particularly since my knee surgery 6 years ago. It's lovely and all but I just don't see the same results as I do with walking, so I walk.

The Ryka's came right to my door which had me a little nervous. I've never sucessfully purchased shoes through the mail. My feet are at a 10.5. Most athletic shoes I order an 11 but Ryka shoes are true to fit sizing so I ordered 10s to avoid swimming in my shoes. It was a good choice. While a little snug, I was easily able to stretch them for comfort. Initially they were also tight on my toe box but with some lacing adjustments and a few shorter walks for stretching purposes, they settled into fitting just fine.

Fine, however, is not the word I would use to describe the shoe stabilization. Heavenly, perfect, supportive are more apropo when speaking of their foot stabilizing abilities. My 1st long spin around the block was actually about 2 miles down the trail. Even in my old shoes which were adequate but certainly not perfect, the mile mark is where my foot/ arch fatigue begins and by the end of 2 miles my left knee is screaming, if not also slightly swollen.

I'm very pleased to report that it took the full 2 miles before I felt any foot fatigue what so ever (and that probably had more to do with my recent inactivity then the shoes) and my knees? Nary a complaint from them after walking in the Ryka shoes!

In the visual appeal department, these Ryka's are very low key. I like that. I can step out to the store in them and not feel like I am radiating a 'poser gym rat' vibe. They go with all my workout and casual clothing and I don't have to obsessively worry about color coordinating my sports bra to the hot pink stripes like did with my last pair of workout shoes.

If my ringing endorsement is not enough to make you trash your old pair and grab a pair of Ryka's maybe their contest will help nudge you into converting. Through October, Ryka is giving away 50 pairs of shoes and 50 shirts a day. Click on over HERE and try your luck.