MarloElaine

The Motrin website is running a commercial or “Mom-Alogue”  that makes babywearing seem like a painful, unpleasant thing done only for vanity.  The first line of the commercial is, “Wearing your baby seems to be in fashion.”  Here is another quote, “It TOTALLY makes me look like an official mom.”

I just loved wearing both of my kids in the BabyBjörn  and Hip Hammock.  It had nothing to do with being trendy and everything to do with comfort and convenience for my baby and myself.  As long as I adjusted my babycarrier properly, I did not need any pain medication because of it.

The online babywearing community is outraged and vows never to buy Motrin brand ibuprofen again.  Barb, a babywearer and former Motrin user, posted a transcript of the commercial on her blog.  Jessica believes that Motrin is picking on fragile, new moms thus angering many moms.

I have not purchased any Motrin brand products recently, and I do not plan to in the future.  There are many other brands and generic options available for both adults and children that work just as well, and are often a lot less expensive.

Update 11/17/08: 
Motrin and it’s parent company McNeil Consumer Healthcare have heard the voices of the many outraged moms who have e-mailed, blogged, twittered, etc.
 
The Motrin.com site went down sometime on Sunday, November 16th.  As of Monday evening, the following message replaced the controversial Mom-Alogue:

“With regard to the recent Motrin advertisement, we have heard you.

On behalf of McNeil Consumer Healthcare and all of us who work on the Motrin Brand, please accept our sincere apology.

We have heard your concerns about the ad that was featured on our website. We are parents ourselves and we take feedback from moms very seriously.

We are in the process of removing this ad from all media. It will, unfortunately, take a bit of time to remove it from our magazine advertising, as it is on newstands and in distribution.

Thank you for your feedback. It’s very important to us.”

Sincerely,

Kathy Widmer
Vice President of Marketing,
McNeil Consumer Healthcare

I just baked a double batch of Pumpkin Muffins today. I experimented with chocolate chips after seeing a friend’s chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe. They turned out really good! Here’s the revised recipe:

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Recipe Summary:
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes for mini-muffins or 35 minutes for regular sized muffins
Yield: 6 dozen mini-muffins or 3 dozen muffins
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I took Sammy to the doctor last Friday for his 5 year old check up. Among other things, he was due for a flu shot. Since I had Sophie with me too, they offered to get her flu shot done at the same time as well. I agreed so that I wouldn’t have to come into the office again.

In our pediatrician’s office, they have a regular flu vaccine and an infant flu vaccine for children under age 3. I normally request the infant flu shot for both of my children because it is thimerosal-free. Sophie is not yet 3, so she would receive the infant one anyways, but I have been making special requests that Sammy receive the infant version as well.

According to the CDC, “Since 2001, with the exception of some influenza (flu) vaccines, thimerosal is not used as a preservative in routinely recommended childhood vaccines.” The FDA states: “A preservative-free version of the inactivated influenza vaccine (contains trace amounts of thimerosal) is available in limited supply at this time for use in infants, children and pregnant women. ” The older children generally get the regular or adult flu vaccine, which contains thimerosal. Thimerosal is a mercury based preservative that may or may not be linked to autism. There are numerous articles and studies both supporting and disproving the link between thimerosal and autism.
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We were very excited to learn that the America’s first indoor LEGOLAND was opening up right here in Illinois. LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Chicago opened on July 31, 2008 in the Streets of Woodfield in Schaumburg. The official website was very detailed and descriptive, so we knew exactly what to expect. We even knew to plan on about 2 - 2 1/2 hours to work through the whole place.

TICKETS

I found a link to buy tickets online for buy one adult admission, get one child admission free. I purchased 2 adult tickets for $39.90 and my 2 and 4 year old children were admitted for free. Once tickets are purchased online, they can be used any day within 6 months of purchase. Another benefit to purchasing tickets in advance is that we were able to bypass the long lines outside. The link that I used was an introductory promotion that was advertised only in the first week. I just learned that Baskin Robbins has coupons with the same paid adult, free child offer.
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Filipino Fruit Salad is a creamy, tasty dessert made with many different kinds of canned and preserved fruits. It is a staple at many Filipino gatherings. People love the way I prepare it and often ask me for the recipe.

Here’s how I make my fruit salad:

Ingredients:
1 - 10 oz jar maraschino cherries without stems
3 - 30 oz cans fruit cocktail (or 1 - #10 can)
1 - 20 oz can pineapple chunks
1 - 15 oz can mandarin orange segments
1/2 - 12 oz jar coconut sport (aka macapuno)*
1/2 - 12 oz jar sugar palm fruit (aka kaong)*
1/2 - 12 oz jar pineapple gel (aka nata de pina) and/or coconut gel (aka nata de coco)*
1 - 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 - 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 - 12 oz jar or can of jackfruit (aka langka) in syrup*
*can be found in most Filipino or Asian grocery stores
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