Monthly Archives: January 2011
Today is our Jeep Fit Mom Twitter Party
Today is the day we have been looking forward to – our Jeep Fit Mom Twitter Party!
During the party we will be sharing all sorts of ideas on fitness, healthy recipes, working out with baby and you will have the chance to win several Jeep baby products to help get you out the door and exercising!
The party starts at 11 am CST TODAY. Use hashtag #jeepmom. You must be following @kolcraft and@mommaJWoww19 as well as RSVP for the party here.
Seat Belt Safety During Pregnancy
As your baby bump grows it may be increasingly uncomfortable to wear a seat belt, but your seat belt is key to you and your baby’s safety.
A few tips on how to protect your baby:
- Move Your Seat Back – Maintain at least a 10 inch distance between the center of your chest and the steering wheel. If you are petite, you can talk to your car dealer about installing a pedal extender.
- Wear Your Seat Belt Correctly - The shoulder belt should be between your breasts and away from your neck. Secure the lap belt below your belly, across your hips and pelvic bone.
- Keep Your Airbag On – Your airbag is more likely to protect, rather than hurt, both you and your baby in an accident.
Martin Luther King Day, Elmo and Parenthood
Today we interrupt our normal Mom Monday to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. – a man who gave his life to promote that all people are created equal and deserve respect no matter race, religion, creed, etc. This holiday isn’t just a day off school or work, but a great opportunity for us as parents to teach our children the beauty of differences and the importance of accepting people and loving them even if they are different than us.
Here at Kolcraft we love Elmo and the many different things he teaches our children from potty training to how to say their ABC’s. Today Elmo joins us in celebrating Martin Luther King Day as he and Whoopi Goldberg talk about the beauty of their differences.
Today is a great day to watch this Elmo clip with your child and just very simply talk about the lessons Elmo learns about the beauty of being different.
Indoor Winter Games for Kids
Do your children have cabin fever? We have a great game to help them burn off some of that energy – Snowball Relay race! This game is very easy to play and needs minimal supplies.
What you need:
- 2 Styrofoam balls (these will be your snowballs)
- Spoon
How to play:
- If you have enough children to divide into teams then do so. (You can even invite over their friends to expand the teams
)* - First child on each team will be given a “snowball” and a spoon.
- When you say “On your mark” they are to bend over, place the snowball on the floor and push the snowball with the spoon across the room, around an obstacle like a chair or a box, and back to next child on team.
- First team to finish wins.
- Finish with a cup of snowman soup!
*If you don’t have enough children to divide into teams, you can time the relay instead of having competing teams.
Wally Wonderbug’s Adventures
Hi everyone, this is Wally Wonderbug. I wanted to thank you for all the love you have shown me. I am really enjoying meeting so many moms, dads, grandparents and especially babies! I am so happy that you love my Wonderbug Activity Center and the hours of fun that I bring your baby.
I’m really excited about my new website that will be ready really soon. On it you will be able to learn more about me, play games, win contests and so much more. You will learn how much I LOVE to travel and go on adventures. I have been on a few adventures with my friends at Kolcraft & had to share them with you.
There are a lot of hockey fans at Kolcraft and they are serious about their Blackhawks. I got there in time for warm-ups and got to watch from right on the glass. The other fans thought I was cute. *blush*
I earned my feathers at my 1st Blackhawk game!
It was a fun night complete with a Blackhawk shutout!
Marisa from fashion took me horseback riding with her. The horse was very nice and he asked me to come back!
Marisa was a great horseback riding teacher!
I love my new friend!
Ted from New Product Development taught me how to skype. I had fun getting to know his new granddaughter. Isn’t she cute? She loves her Wonderbug Activity Center!
Having fun skyping with Louise
I found out that I really love to ski. Andy from Marketing & Sales was nice enough to let me join his family on their ski trip in Colorado.
Spending time with Danielle. She was so fun!
Andy is fast on the downhill, but I held on tight!
Stay tuned for more Wally adventures. I can’t wait to learn more about you too!
The Mommy Diet
As Moms we try to juggle hectic schedules, baby care, household errands, laundry, jobs…and somewhere in there fit in taking care of ourselves. Not always easy. Alison Sweeney, host of The Biggest Loser, just came out with a book called The Mommy Diet. We headed over to Borders to find out what all the hype was about and bought a copy.
So far we love the book. Alison takes a holistic look at healthy living for moms. Imagine that – a book by a mom for moms. Alison understands all too well Mommy guilt so she approaches the book in a very non-judgmental way and provides moms a safe place to start their fitness journey. True to Biggest Loser style, Alison doesn’t see healthy living only as working out. She divides her chapters into sections which include:
- Fitness & Food
- Fashion
- Self-care
- Romance
We loved this approach because it shows that as moms we have many needs which sometimes get cast aside for other “more urgent” matters. Alison gives easy, inexpensive ways of how to care for yourself. She includes tips on DIY facials, fashion tips on a dime and how to rekindle romance when you are not sure how to feel about your pregnant or post-pregnant body.
She divides her book into pregnancy chapters which look at each trimester, post-baby according to month and how to kick start a healthy routine if you have been a mommy for awhile & just never had the chance to start living a healthy life. We will be looking at the book in more depth in the upcoming weeks, but since we were talking about the importance of Folic Acid yesterday, we had to share with you a great recipe she has for a Folic Acid friendly salad.
Folate-Filled Salad by Alison Sweeney
- 2 cups raw spinach leaves (100 mcg folate)
- 2 tablespoons orange juice (10 mcg folate)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 cup whole strawberries, hulled & chopped (36 micrograms folate)
Toss the spinach leaves with the juice, oil, salt and pepper so the leaves are all lightly coated. Add the strawberries, toss gently and serve!
We will continue to share with you what we learn from The Mommy Diet and encourage you to get a copy. And if you need a little help jump starting your road to fitness, join us for our Fit Mama Twitter party next Wednesday where we will be talking about healthy living and give you the opportunity to win Jeep baby gear to help get outside with your children and moving around!
The Importance of Folic Acid in Pregnancy
We just celebrated Folic Acid Awareness week, but the importance of Folic Acid goes beyond one week of awareness.
Folic Acid is needed during pregnancy to make the extra blood your body needs. It is critical in preventing neural tube defects and in helping with the development of your baby’s brain. Doctors recommend that women of child bearing age take 400 micrograms of Folic Acid daily. You can get this in a multivitamin. or in the following foods are also rich in Folic Acid:
- Leafy green vegetables, such as a large spinach salad
- Citrus fruits, such as orange juice
- Beans
- Breads*
- Cereals
- Rice
- Pastas*
*Whole wheat breads and pastas also carry with it other health benefits such as heart health, increased fiber, etc.
Test your Folic Acid IQ with this fun test.
Waiting for Baby With Great Expectation and Love
Carol & Mike are all smiles as they wait for baby
We love how January brings new beginnings and new opportunities so for the month of January our Mom Monday is highlighting a variety of new moms. Today we were able to connect with a mom whose parenting is just beginning as she is expecting her first child! Carol’s story has a special twist as she journeys through adoption. We loved chatting with Carol. She truly is an inspiration to us!
Tell us a little about your “mommy journey.” When did you decide to look into adoption and how did you know it was the right thing for you?
We had been trying for 6 years to have a child on our own, but were unsuccessful. We knew that children were to be part of our lives and adoption was the answer we were looking for. We made that decision in July of last year and haven’t looked back.
How did people react to your decision to adopt?
The reaction has been great. We have had nothing but positive support from family and friends. You never know how people will react in any given situation, but it has been overwhelming. We are working with an adoption attorney and agency in an agency-assisted adoption to find a birth mother. What that means is that we need to advertise and get the word out there in that search, and the offers to help us have been amazing.
How did you make the decision to adopt within the USA versus other countries?
Both Mike & I feel that there are so many children in our own backyard that we wanted to focus our adoption search domestically. This is a very personal decision that each individual or couple needs to make based on what’s right for them.
What is your biggest hope as you wait for baby? What is the most difficult challenge?
Our biggest hope is to be blessed with a healthy, beautiful baby that we can welcome into our home with loving arms and begin our dreams of parenthood.
Our biggest challenge is not knowing when our adoption will take place. Even though the process has just begun, the desire to become parents has been here for some time.
What has been your biggest surprise on your adoption journey?
How much support we have received and how willing everyone is to help us throughout this journey of a lifetime.
Any advice for families looking towards adoption?
There are so many resources out there, so do your homework and be patient. Talk to family and friends, because you will be surprised at how many people know of some one who has or is going through the adoption process.
Carol & Mike relaxing at the beach
Now for a quick glance into Carol’s life.
What is something that is always in your fridge? Ice cream
What is an instant de-stressor for you? Going for a nice long walk on a beach and then a good glass of wine!
If you had a free day to yourself, how would you spend it? At a luxurious spa, getting the works!
If someone was going to write a book on your life, what would they title it? Behind Her Walls
Carol and Mike are currently looking for a birth mom. If you know of or have any connections to someone looking for a loving adoptive family, please call: 1-888-567-2011
Easy Snowman Craft and Recipe for Children
After all the excitement of the holidays, you may be hearing from your children “I’m bored!” This snowman craft will surely keep them entertained and snowman soup will keep them warm while crafting!
What you need:
- Cotton balls (about 40 per snowman)
- Blue construction paper (1 sheet per child)
- Black construction paper or googly eyes
- Orange construction paper or pom poms
- Non-toxic glue
- Scissors for adult use only
Instructions:
- Squeeze some glue onto a paper plate and let the children scoop bits of glue with a popsicle stick because squeezing glue right onto the paper can get messy. Glue sticks are a great “not-so-messy” alternative.
- Have the children glue cotton balls in two or three stacked circles to make a snowman shape
- Cut out construction paper shapes if you are not using googly eyes or colored pom poms (adults can do this prior to craft time for young children)
BLACK: 5 large circles per snowman (2 eyes and 3 buttons)
BLACK: 5 small circles per snowman (for the mouth)
BLACK: hat shape (rectangle with a square on top)
ORANGE: Cut out one triangle per snowman (nose)
ORANGE (or brown): Long rectangle shapes (arms)
*We used colored pom pom balls instead of construction paper
5. Have the children glue their snowman faces, buttons, hat and arms to their cotton ball snowman.
Snowman Soup
Ingredients:
- Packet of hot chocolate
- Chocolate kiss
- Marshmallows
- Candy cane
- Sandwich bag
- Note paper
What to Do:
Put the ingredients in a sandwich bag with a note to your child that this is snowman soup eaten by many famous snowmen families such as Frosty the Snowman’s family. To make their snowman soup just add contents (except for the candy cane) in a mug, add boiling water and have them stir it with the candy cane.
What winter recipes and crafts do you like to do with your children?
Holiday Round Up with Kolcraft
Now that we are a week into 2011 and back from celebrating the Holidays with our families, we wanted to share with you what some Kolcraft employees were doing over the Holidays.
Holidays are a time for giving! Jessica, Accounts Receivable Supervisor, coordinated a gift drive at Kolcraft for the boys and girls at Mercy Home giving countless children holiday gifts and smiles.
Kids at Mercy Home Open Gifts from Kolcraft
Wally goes to Colorado! Wally Wonderbug joined Andy, VP of Sales & Marketing, on a family ski trip. He said that Andy was a great snowboarding instructor and looks forward to his next trip.
Wally learns to Snowboard!
Catching Santa in the Act. Don, Director of Quality Assurance, snapped a photo of Santa delivering presents at his house! Note that Santa magically left his autograph on the photo!
Santa Caught in the Act!
Fun in the Sun! Emilie, Social Media Coordinator, spent time with her family soaking in sunshine and love in Belize.
Sunny times in Belize
Pets celebrate the Holidays too! Kathryn, Research and Design Coordinator, made sure Mac was able to whisper to Santa his Christmas wish list.
Mac meets Santa!
Grandson time! Russ, Senior Manager of Compliance, was able to spend some much needed grandpa time with his new grandson.
Grandson smiles!
Oh Christmas tree! Sharon, VP of Finance, in long-standing tradition decorated her house with 19 Christmas trees! WOW!
One of the many beautiful Christmas trees at Sharon's home
An Igloo fit for a King! Laura, Accounts Payable & Licensing Supervisor, helped her sons build a 10 foot igloo in their front yard! It was so impressive, it was on the nightly news!
Laura's sons' Igloo
We hope your Holidays were cheery & bright. We would love to hear how you spent the holidays!
