november braininsights winner

Congratulations to Cherie W--the winner of the kidandcaboodle/braininsights November giveaway contest. We loved her story about telling stories to her granddaughter so we're sending her a braininsights free gift set for newborn- to three-year-olds featuring fun activities she can do with her kids to promote brain development. Look for another great giveaway coming soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cherie's story:

"My granddaughter who is 4 now is one of the best story tellers. Ever since she has been a baby I have told her stories. We attend the YMCA and after swimming we always take a shower. During the shower, is when I tell the story. Her favorite has always been "The Three Little Pigs". She has down the voice inflections for the wolf and for the 3 pigs. Because of her interest, she was in a Children's Pageant "New Star Discovery". This year they had a talent show. We debated what we should have her do. We chose for her to tell "The Three Pigs" story and act it out with props. She competed against 0-10 yr old. Others had singing, dancing, karate,and piano playing as their talents. My granddaughter took Supreme Title #1 winner of this talent show. I have never been so proud of her in my whole life as I was at that point in time. You see, storytelling does pay off. I now have a 14 month old and another on the way. I will continue my storytelling with them also!"

clothes for kids: rollingrack.net

All of us with young kids can relate: Our child gets an outfit as a gift and it sits in his/her closet until one day we remember it's there and suddenly realize he/she's outgrown it. Or, we just buy too many adorable dresses in size 12-18 months! How many can one kid wear? Newsflash: There are plenty of kids who could use all of those unworn items and the Rolling Rock Fashion and Apparel Group has found a way to get them to them.

A collective of talent dedicated to the Fashion Industry and the people who make it happen, the organization's screened members include couture designers, high-level company executives, retail designers, buyers, merchandisers, public relations professionals, photographers, make-up artists and others. Rolling Rack members represent the fashion spectrum from Armani, Estee Lauder, Benneton, Lacoste, Guess, Puma, Nike, Calvin Klein, La Perla, Lloyd Klein Couture, Girbaud, Levi's and everyone in between.

Last year, Rolling Rack, along with Marc Ecko, Russell Corp and Kate Quinn Organics generously donated over $1200 of brand new clothing to the students of Port Monmouth Road Elementary School in Keansburg, NJ. The school staff raffled off beautiful clothing gift baskets. The winners of the baskets took home hundreds of dollars of new clothing and the school raised over $500 for their student activity fund and to purchase new children's books. "It broke my heart when a first grader came up to me and she was so proud of her new winter coat; I knew her parents had gotten it from the local charity," says Founder/President Gary Montgomery.

This year the urgent need continues. Montgomery was contacted by another elementary school in North Carolina where 90% of the children cannot afford a daily lunch and many of them are proud of their second hand clothing purchased from charity shops.

If you'd like to help these children, most of whom live under the poverty level, you can do so through Rolling Rack's/Meet The Fashion Press's combined effort, the Threads of Gold program. You can donate brand new children's clothing, or make a donation. Go to www.rollingrack.net or email gary@rollingrack.net with questions or to give now.

just one more week to enter the braininsights giveaway contest!!

You have the chance to win the easiest and real way to support your baby's brain development! Do you want to win a free gift set of the beautiful and unique braininsights packets for newborn to three-year-olds? All you do is, sign up to be a follower of kidandcaboodle and add a comment to the braininsights post about a fun, interactive activity you do with your child! (include your email address so I can contact you). Then post the link to your kidandcaboodle comment on another social networking site. You will get a chance to win the set and you will be contributing to creating greater awareness of real brain development! A winner will be chosen at random on November 24th...it may be you! By signing up for the kidandcaboodle site, you will get updates on the giveaway, lots of ongoing parenting information and you'll also get to see all the shared ideas from other parents! So sign up now....and enter as many times as you'd like. Just make sure you post the link on a social networking site each time! Also, watch for the three- to five-year-old gift set contest coming soon!

a better bedtime: pajama program

At our house, there's always a fight over which pajamas the kids want to wear. My son scams for Spiderman, my daughter prefers polka dots. But there are some kids out there who have never had a cozy pair of PJ's to wear to sleep at night. Thankfully, the Pajama Program delivers. The organization, started by Genevieve (Gen) Piturro in 2001, has provided almost 600,000 new pajamas and new books to children in need.

Thousands of children served by Pajama Program live in orphanages, group homes and shelters. In the U.S. foster care system, alone, there are more than 500,000 children. Every two seconds another child enters the system. Many have been abandoned or abused, and have never enjoyed the simple comfort of putting on a cozy pair of pajamas and having a mother or father tuck them in at bedtime and read to them. Teens in the system have often spent most of their childhood without warm sleepwear or the chance to read themselves to sleep. For its 2009-2010 awareness and fundraising campaign, the Pajama Program launches "A Better Bedtime." Says Piturro , "So many of us take this nighttime ritual for granted, yet hundreds of thousands of America’s kids have never experienced these basic comfort. Every child should have the chance to experience A BETTER BEDTIME.”

At the Official Pajama Program A Better Bedtime Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/abetterbedtime — visitors are encouraged to share their favorite bedtime stories (from published or original works) on the group’s Wall and Discussion Boards in the Fan Box, to offer memories of their own childhood bedtime routines, to upload photos of their favorite pair of pajamas, and to share ideas, stories and photos from their own local events that support Pajama Program.

To learn about local chapters of Pajama Program and to participate in events, visit http://www.pajamaprogram.org/chapters.html.

save your skin

You've got kids and they wear you out. But they wear out your skin too. Suddenly, you have dry skin from running around outside, dry knees from constantly kneeling down to their level and dry hands from washing dishes and giving baths. Thankfully, Jergens has an answer to these skin care problems. New Jergens Sensitive Skin Relief Daily Moisturizer ($5.99) is fragrance-free, hypo-allergenic, and dermatologist tested, plus it's designed to instantly soothe and protect dry, sensitive skin for 36 hours. It's fast-absorbing and super-hydrating so you can apply it and get on with your day (they know we've got lots of other things to do!). Since it's made for sensitive skin, it's even gentle enough to use on the kids--so it's definitely a staple to have in the house. Learn more about this moisturizer or some of the other great Jergens products at www.jergens.com. Or try it yourself at a food, drug or mass retailer in your neighborhood.

travel essentials for the home

Here's why I like this product. Sure, it makes your airline seat more comfortable. But I'm a stay-at-home mom and probably not flying anywhere anytime soon. Instead, I plan on using it at home. For example, my daughter wakes up at 5AM. After I take her out of her crib and cuddle her, she usually falls asleep on the couch next to me and I end up sleeping sitting up for another 45 minutes before she wakes up for the day. Soft Hugwear's Travel Essentials Set ($20) can help. I'd put the mask over my eyes to block out the rising sun outside the living room window, lean back on the comfy neck pillow and throw the mini blanket over my lap. The neck pillow would also come in handy when I'm reading a book to her before bed and she falls asleep before I finish but I still have to sit still for a few minutes until she's really zonked out. The ear plugs will likely be a lifesaver when my son decides to play all three of his bongo drums at the same time (trust me, it happens). The Soft Hugwear collection is priced between $3 and $29 and is available exclusively at Walmart locations nationwide and online at http://www.walmart.com/. Stock up now!

a modern classic: little red hoodie

We all know and love the classic tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Writer Adrianna Kruse and illustrator Patricia Kruse give the famous tale a 21st century twist. Little Red Hoodie is a tech-savvy young girl and the Big Bad Wolf is a not-so-ordinary granny who rides motorcycles and takes karate. You can imagine where the story goes from there. My kids are 3.5 and 2 and a bit young for the message but their interactive internet days are fast approaching--and it totally makes me nervous.

"I, like many other people, have been continually horrified by stories of tragedies caused by social networking sites," says Adrianna Kruse. "One day while watching a talk show that focused on a young girl who was kidnapped by a person who she met online, I thought of the parallel between online predators and the Big Bad Wolf in the Little Red Riding Hood story. I have always been a collector and lover of children's literature, and it felt like a natural fit to turn my idea into a book. The biggest challenge in writing Little Red Hoodie was getting the serious message of the story across while maintaining a light-hearted and humorous feeling that would appeal to kids."

While it makes a great read, Little Red Hoodie is also a catalyst for parents to discuss safe internet practices with their kids. "I hope that this book can initiate a conversation about Internet safety among families, and that it will inspire kids to think twice about how much they really know about the person on the other end of the computer."

Kruse even adds some important safety rules at the end of the story, including the priceless, "When in doubt, log out!" Listed at $13.99, Little Red Hoodie is now available on www.amazon.com for $10.07, which means there's no excuse not to buy it.