Mattel Recall

There is a massive recall of some Mattel toys. The recall includes popular Dora, Diego, Elmo, and Big Bird toys. The toys were made in China and they have found that they contain excessive amounts of lead. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has advised to take away these toys from your children immediately, as it can cause adverse health effects if the lead is ingested.

You can visit the Mattel website to see the products included in the recall. The list has pictures of the particular toys here: http://service.mattel.com/us/recall/. You may have trouble accessing the website as there is a ton of traffic that the server can't handle. If you have a problem, you can also visit the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's recall list here: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07257.html. This list includes the product numbers, however, there are no pictures.

My suggestion is to keep trying Mattel's list. It was a lot easier to compare toys after seeing the pictures.

After checking the picture list I was relieved that I didn't own any of these. I was very surprised as we have a ton of Dora and Diego items.

Please feel free to pass along this post to your readers!

Teddy Bear Picnic

Finally T. and R. decided to get along today. They've been having a problem playing nice as of late. Because of their sudden dislike of each other's company, they follow me around all day wanting me to entertain them. I had some work to do this morning, so really, their only choices for entertainment were to play solo, watch tv, or play TOGETHER.

You can only imagine my amazement when I heard conversation and laughter coming from, of all places, the playroom. I was beginning to think of that room as a shrine to childhood. I was all ready to throw a yard sale, damn it!

I peeked out from my office and saw them collecting Care Bears. We have quite a lot of stuffed animals in this house. And though I can't stand the fact that they are EVERYWHERE, I must admit my children do love them and play with them frequently. Along with the bears, they were placing play food and tea cups in a basket. They informed me that they were going to bring these objects upstairs. You see the playroom had gotten too messy and they didn't have enough room for their picnic.

Sure, why not? They are getting along, I couldn't and wouldn't stand in the way of their truce. You never know how long it might last.

I told them to call me when their picnic was all set up. I wanted to see what was cookin'.

When they were done I was asked to come see what they had done.

It was an adorable sight. The gang was all there, Surprise Bear, Share Bear, Love-A-Lot Bear, TenderHeart Bear, and even Grumpy Bear! Each guest had a tea cup with iced tea in it, because it's, "Too hot out for hot tea", I was told. The hosts even had the notion to serve food to their hungry guests. The menu was quite eclectic.

Surprise Bear had chosen an Oreo cookie.



Love-A-Lot gnawed on a chicken leg and the ever healthy Share Bear went with a juicy, red apple. Now Grumpy Bear, though you can't see it from the picture, well, he selected peas. No wonder he's so grumpy!



When I focused to take a photo of TenderHeart, I must say I was quite shocked. I know that Love-A-Lot is cute, pink and all, and I know she was sitting only inches away from you - BUT, I believe the next time there is a gathering, TenderHeart's invitation might just get lost in the mail!

Is that a hot dog in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?!

Pop Quiz

Okay folks, this is a multiple choice question.

What happened in this picture?



A. The weather man was wrong and instead of clear skies in the 60's today, a tornado blew through town and hit my playroom.

B. A burglar lock bumped my front door, bypassed the alarm system, and ransacked the playroom looking for this treasure.

C. A bomb exploded in my house.

D. Ninja girl freaked after I told her mommy wasn't buying Tanner.

E. I babysat today and in a matter of 5 seconds a 2, 3, 4, and 5 year old played with everything the Schmitty children own. (Please note the emphasis on the word played, as I did intend it as sarcasm)


Answer: E. - Believe it or not it wasn't Mother Nature, A Thug, A Bomb, nor was it a Ninja Warrior. Okay, so it was a Ninja Warrior but she was incongnito as a preschooler and she had accomplices.

What will they think of next?

Has anyone seen the latest Barbie? She has a new pet and its name is Tanner. I say its because I'm not sure of the gender. Though, with as far as Mattel seems to be going these days I'm sure we'll be seeing "things" dangling from future versions of Tanner. Anyway, this dog eats its food and then poops out pellets. Barbie comes equipped with her own pooper-scooper and trash container. EWWW. The only thing I find appealing about this toy is that my kids want a REAL dog and have been bugging Mr. Schmitty and I about getting one. This might be a tad easier to take care of. And really, if the kids lose interest, who cares? I heard W. telling his little sister that she should ask me to buy her Tanner. Then he turns to T. and says, "We can feed the dog, watch it poop, and then feed it the poop!"