Searching for safe toys

With the holidays approaching, folks are looking for toys for their kids. With recall after recall coming from the US mass producers of toys and the cheap dollar store toys, folks are pretty scared and skeptical of toys manufactured in China.

I managed to find a site that has a fantastic assortment of European toys. Yes, not all are made in Europe, but those made overseas have more oversight than the US mega-corporations have given. After all, European safety standards on most things are higher than what we have in the use.

So, if you are looking for a site with European toys at a great price, check out Oompa Toys. I don't think you will be disappointed. My 6 month old just loves the one I got her. And they are much more durable than the cheap plastic stuff so they could be handed down. Not to mention there are no batteries to worry about, which is always a plus. I can't wait until she gets big enough for some of the block sets. :D

The woe of rashes

For the last week, the little one, K, has been developing a hive-y rash every morning at about 8 o'clock sharp. The odd part about this is that she's still being breast fed as I'm not starting food until after an upcoming trip even though she's 6 months. There has been no new detergent and I even rewashed all her clothes in Cheer-Free in case she has suddenly developed a sensitivity to Dreft and then double rinsed them.

The odder part, I would bathe her around 9am once the rash had spread to totally cover her arms and legs, feed her and then put her to bed for her nap. When she would wake up, it would be gone. And it generally would not come back. The odd part is that she wear footie PJs and she would have to be in them about 13 hours before the rash showed up. She wasn't overheating at night, so that wasn't it.

After a week of this, I decided that she should go see the doc. Especially since for whatever reason it came in the evening last night, which hadn't happened.

Well, the doc was flummoxed. She brought in another doc. They basically came to the consensus it was a benign rash, especially since there's no fever and it doesn't bother her at all. She doesn't scratch or cry over being uncomfortable and was perfectly happy at the doc's office after I fed her.

So there is a consult request in for the derm clinic if this persists. Essentially the doc said that her Nordic/Germanic heritage is working against her with being so fair. I guess fair skinned babies get undiagnosable rashes quite frequently. Poor little girl. It just looks so bad. :(

Hopefully this is a phase that will quickly pass and that she will be alright on the upcoming trip. At least I can put her in long pants and sleeves and she won't look bad on the plane and get me kicked off.

What is this?

I'm a stay at home mom looking to share the adventures of raising a child, keeping house and harkening back to the days of June Cleaver. LOL

I love to cook and will gladly share recipe recommendations. I'm not quite a gourmet, but am not afraid to tackle anything in the way of recipes doing everything from the simple grilled cheese to the more difficult things like souffle, short ribs, crepes, and other ethnic foods.

I'd love to also share parenting experiences as the young one grows from infancy to toddlerhood and beyond.