My kids first spotted “Johnny and the Sprites” as mini featurettes on The Disney Channel. Finally Disney wised up and realized what a gem the concept was and gave it a full show slot.

Their first time on DVD, “Johnny and the Sprites: Meet the Sprites” takes you to Grotto’s Grove for six episodes. Each one includes the colorful puppets Basil, Lily, Roots, and Ginger as well as Johnny, played by John Tartaglia. Tartaglia has worked with puppets for many years, including on Sesame Street. Some parents find he was more saccharine than a packet of Sweet and Low, but I personally enjoy his energy. Read the rest »

Five years ago, two moms, Amy and Michelle, were chatting over dinner and laughing about balancing family, friends and work while keeping their sanity intact. Michelle’s designer diaper bag had milk stains all over it and receipts and diapers were falling out all over the restaurant floor.

Wanting something that looked good and matched her personality, Michelle had purchased the bag only weeks before when her attempts to find a stylish bag that also functioned well came to a halt. “I was not willing to give up my identity and style just because I had a baby,” says Michelle. Read the rest »

Summer is just around the corner, and as the sun warms things up, don’t get heated over your summer party planning.

Every Day with Rachael Ray offers easy entertaining tips to make your summer time soirée the hottest one on the block.

Visit www.rachaelraymag.com/rachael-ray-newsletter.do and sign up for the
NEW Easy Entertaining Newsletter.

Get a weekly dose of warm weather recipes, cooling cocktails, and Every Day tips that will keep you and your friends having fun in the sun all summer long.
Whether you’re hosting an alfresco fiesta, a poolside picnic, or a cocktail party with friends, Every Day with Rachael Ray’s Easy Entertaining Newsletter will give you the ingredients to take a bite out of summer!

Every Day with Rachael Ray is proud to present our BIGGEST ISSUE EVER!
Check out the new June/July issue packed with tasty recipes and great summertime faves, on newsstands Tuesday May 20th.

I’ll admit it. I am not totally sold on the digital era. I have fought tooth and nail to keep my paper ways of doing things. It was a struggle going from my notebook style planner to my PDA and took months until I stopped using both paper and digital! With this same reluctant spirit I opened the box of “Neat Receipts”: a product that was supposed to revolutionize the way I handle paperwork. Read the rest »

Recently in San Francisco (where I live) a six-year-old boy was caught with a gun in his backpack at school. The boy brought the gun to his first grade class thinking that it was a toy and that it was safe. When teachers learned about the gun, the authorities were called in to handle the situation. And in an even more shocking twist of fate, this wasn’t the first incident this week of a child bringing a gun to school in San Francisco. As you can imagine, a massive media frenzy has surrounded these stories and an even more massive amount of fear has hit the parenting community.

Kids bringing weapons to school is not an uncommon occurrence, but it is an extremely alarming one. Thoughts of Columbine and other tragedies spring to mind when the words gun and school are mentioned in the same sentence. To call it horrifying would be an understatement.

What are parents to do when they send their kids to school thinking their child is safe only to learn that a classmate has brought a gun to the school grounds? How can parents keep their children safe in these types of scenarios? The most important thing is for parents to talk to their kids about guns and to explain that they are not toys and not to touch them, ever.

Gun Safety Tips

• It is not recommended that guns be stored in a home where children live.
• If guns are in the home, they should be disassembled, locked and stored in a locked compartment that is out of reach of children. Ammunition should be stored separately from guns, in a locked place, also out of reach of children.
• If guns are present in the home, parents should explain to all children in that residence that guns are not toys, that they can seriously hurt people and that they are off limits to children.
• Parents should explain to children that if they see a child playing with a gun (whether they think it is real or fake) to tell an adult immediately.
• Kids need to understand that guns are dangerous for children and guns should never be touched or played with. Parents and teachers should address this topic with children by the age of 4.
• Parents should talk about guns and other weapons with kids and explain that if a child sees a weapon in a school setting, he or she should tell a teacher, counselor or other safe adult about the gun immediately. Weapons do not belong on school grounds, period.
• Adults should communicate with the parents of their child’s friends about guns being in the home. When your child goes over to a friend’s house to play, ask a parent if there is a gun in the home and if so, where and how it is stored. If you do not feel comfortable with your child playing in a home where there is a gun, have the children play at your home.

Unfortunately guns, drugs and other dangers will never go away, so it is important for parents to follow the best safety practices and to never assume that everyone else is. To decrease the likelihood of guns being a threat to our children, parents can share helpful information, resources and safety practices with each other.

Schools can be safe places if parents, teachers and the community work together to stay informed about the dangers and safety precautions involved with guns. It is up to gun owners to be responsible for their weapons and to take the necessary steps to ensure that these objects stay out of children’s hands, but it is also up to parents to teach their children that guns are dangerous. In a world of unlimited possibilities, parents will feel much more at ease knowing their child is safe if they regularly communicate with the parents of their child’s friends, take preventative measures to increase their child’s safety and take the time to talk about the dangers of guns with their own children.

Gun Safety Resources

For more information about gun safety visit :
www.kidsandguns.org
www.paxusa.org
www.fbi.gov/kids/k5th/safety6.htm

Operation Shower gathered last Saturday in Fort Bragg, North Carolina for a Mother’s Day celebration to complete the mission of showering 100 new moms and moms-to-be whose husbands are soldiers. Twenty moms and their soon-to-be redeployed husbands from the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion gathered for an afternoon of food, gifts, raffle prizes and fun. Read the rest »

Protein. Dietary protein supplies essential amino acids and is needed for the manufacture of antibodies, enzymes, hormones, tissues, and proper pH balance. Protein provides energy for cats and is essential for growth and development. Complete proteins contain ample amounts of essential amino acids and are found in foods such as meat, fish, eggs, and poultry. Incomplete proteins do not provide all essential amino acids and are found in many foods including legumes, grains, and vegetables. Plant proteins don’t supply the essential amino acids that a cat needs, such as taurine which come from animal protein. Cats need protein from animal sources as the amino acids from vegetable sources are not well utilized. Overall, cats have a very high requirement for protein. Read the rest »