Be sure to check your hand sanitizer! Shane Erickson, Inc. is voluntarily recalling various lots of its wash-free hand sanitizer due to the potential presence of methanol. Exposure to methanol risks includes nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death.
Recalled products include the following: lot 2020/05/11 and MFG: 2020/05/10 L/N: 20200510-3 of imc Wash-Free Hand Sanitizer 50 ml, 100 ml, 300 ml and Wash Free Hand Sanitizer 300 ml lot 2020/05/11 and Thrifty White Pharmacy Wash-Free Hand Sanitizer 300 ml lot 2020/05/11. Check this link to see more information including UPC codes and product labels.
No adverse effects in regards to this recall have been reported yet. Consumers with questions can contact Shane Erickson, Inc. by phone at 952.252.1254 or email sales@imcsuccess.com Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Central Time Zone.
Jordyn Volk is a seasoned newborn photographer so when her friend Tiffany Langer booked her maternity session so early, she was pretty curious. Langer joked about how she was going to show up in costume and knowing her friend, Volk wouldn’t have been surprised.
Langer is known for flair and Volk shares that she once ran for city council dressed up in a dinosaur costume with a jean jacket over it and waved to people at stop lights. Still, the photographer was in for one fun shoot when her pregnant mama friend showed up as Dr. Suess’ most popular character––the Grinch!
Langer definitely had help bringing the Grinch to life. Audra Arampatzis from Audra Day Spa & Salon helped with the life-like makeup and Megan Olson sewed the creative costume for the mama-to-be.
The result? A Grinch ready for Whoville!
Langer tells Red Tricycle, “After losing my son, Kellan, in 2019 at 36 weeks pregnant, this pregnancy has been difficult and scary to navigate. I have been trying to challenge myself to embrace it, so I decided it would be fun to do a creative and unique maternity shoot. One of my best friends, Audra, is a makeup artist, and another great friend, Megan, can sew anything—so I asked for their help. After creating the perfect costume, I showed up and surprised my photographer, Jordyn, dressed as The Grinch!
I knew she would absolutely love it and embrace it with me—and I was right. She created the most magical pictures! I’ve spent the last year trying my best to spread love and kindness in Kellan’s name and the Kellan Kares Foundation. This was the perfect way for me to end the year, and truly make those around me smile. After the shoot, I dressed up again and spent and entire day dressed as The Grinch, running around town making people laugh.”
While the maternity session was definitely one for the books, Volk says that they will be doing an “official” session for Langer in the future.
You can follow Jordyn Photography on Facebook and Instagram. To learn more about Kellan Kares, an organization that “strives to spread education, awareness, and support about infant & pregnancy loss,” visit their Facebook page.
Renowned pediatrician Dr. Harvey Karp, author of The Happiest Baby on the Block and The Happiest Toddler on the Block, has a 2021 prediction for you, and it has nothing to do with the weather or your sun sign. He’s compiled his expertise to make some highly educated guesses about what will trend in the parenting sphere in 2021. Here are his top three:
1. Embracing flexibility.
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Even before COVID-19 parents today have been doing more than ever before with less help. Add in COVID-19 and that delicate work-life-school balance has been blown out the window. The result? Dr. Karp says it's rule-bending! Parents are learning to be more flexible. "Whether all this 'rule relaxing' means being okay with a bit more screen time or a cheese-and-cracker dinner, parents are trying to 'should' on themselves less and embrace flexibility! In 2021, I expect we'll continue to see parents give themselves some well-deserved grace…and I hope this is a trend that will outlast COVID!"
"Out of necessity, many doctor's appointments have gone virtual this year—and this is a trend we will likely see stick around next year…and beyond. While some doctor's visits require face-to-face, in-person interaction, many doctors are finding that are others that can be done effectively from behind a screen." Dr. Karp writes. And parents can't argue the benefit of not having to take the extra time to drive to an office for an appointment, for themselves or their kids.
3. Seeking virtual support for the fourth trimester.
Parents of a new baby, whether it's their first or their third, need as much support as they can get—from friends, family, co-worker, health-care providers and their community in general. But during social isolation, having your bestie come over and hold the baby while you shower isn't an option. Their new support groups? Virtual! Finding your people online, connecting with friends and family can help. In addition, technology will play a big role in parenting such as Dr. Karp's SNOO, a smart bassinet parents rave about.
"I created SNOO to actually give tired new parents an extra pair of hands to hold and soothe the baby. And, it also is the only baby bed proven to add hours of sleep to the baby's sleep and keep the baby safely on the back…all naps/nights. This is a massive piece of the puzzle in curbing the scary upswing in postpartum depression and anxiety…and for forging a new trend of reliable and meaningful virtual support that may help keep those perinatal mood disorders at bay. Happy SNOO New Year!"
With the holidays over, why not plan for the next big day? If you’re a lover of Valentine’s Day and want to show the fur babies in your life some extra love, head to ALDI.
Starting the week of Jan. 13, you can find plenty of pawsome products as part of ALDI Finds. With everything under $8, you can stock up on toys, apparel and even a scratcher for your pets. Keep scrolling to see our faves!
Heart to Tale Valentine's Cat Scratching Playhouse
Forget about chocolate, candy and roses—your heart belongs to all things cheese! Luckily for you, ALDI has plenty of heart-shaped dairy delights hitting stores in January.
Now that Valentine’s Day is on the horizon, the retailer has brought back some favorites for the holiday. In 2021, cheese lovers can share the joy in January with the Emporium Selection Valentine’s Day Cheese Assortment ($3.99 each). The heart-shaped cheese assortment includes Gin and Rhubarb, Mature Cheddar and Raspberries and White Chocolate picks.
If you’re really looking to steal a cheese-lover’s heart, swap the standard box of chocolates for a box of cheese instead! This box contains eight snack-sized bites of Emporium Selection aged English cheddar and retails for $4.99.
If you like something under your cheese other than crackers, ALDI’s Valentine’s lineup also includes Mama Cozzi’s Take and Bake Pizza My Heart Cheese Pizza ($4.99). The heart-shaped crust is topped with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, herbs, Mozzarella, White Cheddar, Provolone, Parmesan and Romano.
These finds will be available in ALDI stores nationwide starting Jan. 27, 2021.
We will always remember the “unprecedented times” of 2020 as being full of challenges. Yet, there are some silver linings to living through a pandemic. From finding the time to explore a new hobby to starting a new business venture, these DC parents and entrepreneurs found joy and success amidst the chaos. Scroll down to read their inspiring stories.
New Ideas Led to New Ventures
When two Maryland Dads unexpectedly found themselves home with their children once their jobs took a hit from pandemic-related closures they knew it was time to get creative. Chris McCasland, a sports and concert industry broker and restaurateur, and Michael Opalski, a senior restaurant industry salesman, wasted little time learning new skills. They put their heads together and founded City Bonfires, a portable, reusable mini bonfire that you can take on all of your outdoor adventures or trips to your backyard. These small bonfires, created from a non-toxic soy wax, are perfect for making s’mores even if you don't own a firepit. Because they are made in Maryland each purchase helps support multiple local families.
Child’s Play Toys and Books is well known throughout the DC area for their well-trained and friendly staff. who provide highly specialized recommendations with children’s development in mind. Chief Play Officer and owner Steven Aarons never placed a large emphasis on the stores’ web presence since it is not as easy to provide the same type of personalized advice online, but the pandemic made providing alternative to providing in-person shopping a necessity. According to Aarons, “[w]e had our concierge calls up right away. And we had employees on their cell phones taking customers through using FaceTime, texting images, whatever it required, which we're still doing. This kept both long-time customers coming to Child’s Play and attracted some new customers as well,” ensuring that kids could keep learning and playing with “just right” toys when they needed it the most. This new model meant that Child’s Play not only kept all of their current staff but needed to hire new staff to make deliveries. To fill this need Aarons went to the restaurant next door to Child’s Play’s flagship store in DC and hired servers who had been laid off because of the pandemic exemplifying what it means to support your community when they need it the most.
Cara Johnson-Graves, who lives in Bowie, Maryland, and her sister Jenae Johnson-Carr founded Epic Everyday with a mission. They wanted to elevate the visibility of mocha-hued boys and girls. They started selling brightly colored backpacks, lunch bags and totes featuring brown and black boys and girls. Once schools closed and travel stopped there was not as much interest in their school and travel collections. The sisters quickly pivoted and created a line of home goods and apparel so they could continue their goal of giving black and brown children more confidence. This move fostered more creativity and resulted in several great new products from hooded towels to sheets. Epic Everyday also joined with other small Black-owned business to help one another thrive during the pandemic. According to Cara “At EPIC EVERYDAY we believe that collaboration over competition is a win-win and promotes meaningful relationships. We have recently fostered new partnerships…from authors to artists, to offer giveaways and manifest a supportive tribe of goal getters.” The last year has proven that representation matters more than ever and Cara and Jenae are inspired to bring their message to even more families and they will be able to do this thanks to recently signing their first retail agreement with a toy store.
The Great Zucchini, also known as Eric Knaus, has been making DC area children laugh at birthday parties and live performances for a couple of decades. Birthdays and the need for children to laugh did not end when the pandemic started. Children kept getting older and deserved to celebrate so Eric, who is generally low-tech, got a crash-course on Zoom and started offering virtual parties and shows almost right away. Virtual parties meant that more out-of-town friends, cousins, and grandparents could join the laughter. Without the pressures of having to travel, Eric could offer lower-cost online shows so that he could help bring laughter to all kids at a time they need it the most. Eric has also been using his Zoom shows to help kids in the DC area in need. He recently donated all proceeds from a performance to raise funds for an organization that provides books to low-income children and proceeds from another to help a family with two children who both need bone marrow transplants. Eric is currently planning a show for a little fan of his who was recently diagnosed with leukemia to help make getting through treatment a little easier.
DC Mom Cassandra Hetherington had dabbled in photography for a couple of years but found the courage to turn her hobby into a business during the pandemic. This year Cassandra had a lot of extra time on her hands to take photographs and think about what is important. Shortly after the pandemic started Cassandra started 51stStatePhotography, a greeting card company featuring photographs from around the DMV. According to Cassandra, “There is something liberating about a pandemic. Suddenly life is upended and you don’t feel scared to try because what’s the worst that can happen? Someone doesn’t like your greeting cards? That felt so scary a year ago but now it feels insignificant.” Cassandra now sells her cards at local markets and Shop Made in DC with no plans to stop once the pandemic ends.
Alexandria Mom Mai Trinh is a Wellness Speaker and Chronic Disease Expert who founded Mai Health Now years ago to help others live a longer and healthier lives. As a widowed working Mom of three, Mai had to shift overnight from being constantly on the go to staying close to home all day, every day. This meant more time with her kids, more time engage in self-care and more time to spend in the kitchen. Although Mai had always made fresh homecooked meals a priority, before the pandemic she had never had the time to perfect longer recipes that require more time and patience like making her own sourdough. Baking bread has now become a hobby that she plans on continuing well after the pandemic ends because “[i]n an uncertain world, baking bread is soothing, soft, warm and predictable if you do it right.” Mai also did not want to give up traveling during the pandemic so she traded in her passport for her car keys and found local cabins and farms where she could bring her children for socially distant weekends away to refresh and relax. Mai says she is grateful for the pandemic for helping her “slow down and find so many remote cabins [she] never would have found otherwise.” She has also discovered more ways to help her clients stay healthy and happy as well.
Lauren Cooper Allen has run two small businesses out of her Washington, DC home for years while caring for her three children. Although she initially worried at the beginning of the pandemic if her businesses would survive both her cake company, Aspen Street Cakes, and her food styling company, Lauren K. Cooper Food Styling and Photography, have thrived. During the pandemic, many parents looked for ways to give their children an extra-special birthday since they could not have the party they wanted. Milestones like anniversaries and Christenings also took on more significance during a year when nothing was guaranteed and everyone needing something to celebrate. Lauren was able to help make DC area families celebrate and smile all year long with her gorgeous custom cakes. Lauren also started receiving more inquires than ever for her food styling and photography business once restaurants closed indoor dining and shifted to take-out delivery. Lauren was able to help local restaurants quickly upgrade their websites and menus. Lauren strongly believes in supporting her local community and offered to style and photograph food in exchange for costs and meals for her family for a couple of restaurants that were on the verge of closing permanently.
Some parents will remember the pandemic for bringing them a new baby. Michelle Cohen is a Washington DC birth and post-partum doula and yoga instructor who is the founder of Savor It Studios. Michelle has helped dozens of new and expectant parents find a silver lining to welcoming a newborn under less-than-ideal circumstances. Not being able to support new parents in-person has been a challenge for both Michelle and her clients, but because of the forced shift to online support more new and expectant Moms have been able to attend Michelle’s prenatal and post-partum yoga classes. Michelle knows the struggles of new and expectant parents well and has seen first-hand the benefits of virtual yoga for stressed parents when there is “no commute time, no traffic, no struggle to get a baby out the door, no difficulty separating from the family.” Michelle also believes that having a baby during the pandemic will provide parents with experience and skills that will help them as their baby grows. According to Michelle, “[u]ncertainty, fear and worry is always a part of birth, and the pandemic has brought that out into the open so fully, but birthing people now have greater adaptability and can see and feel the strength and resilience that they possess, which are skills they need for parenting.”
The pandemic has hit everyone hard, but trying to supplement schooling is definitely one of the biggest challenges parents have faced. Cara Zelas knows this challenge and she knows it well. A mother of tow, an educator and an entrepreneur, Cara saw a specific gap in the social-emotional learning critical to the preschool age and decided to do something about it. Enter, the Kindness Learning Company and The Big World of Little Dude’s school-in-a-box. Read on to find out how it can help your child and children in need thrive.
As Cara says, “When I arrived in the U.S. nearly a decade ago, I spent a lot of time teaching and assisting teachers in the classroom, and it was there that I had a stark reminder about the importance of themes such as kindness, empathy, courage and manners. When learning about the core curriculum and other standardized teaching platforms, I noticed a gap and these social and emotional themes largely missing. It was out of this realization that I formed the Kindness Learning Company and from there, developed our first book series, The Big World of Little Dude.”
The books aim at teaching the core principles of topics like kindness, empathy, respect, manners and feelings. But with COVID-19 closures, Cara knew she needed to do something more. So she partnered with ACS (children’s services), New Yorkers for Children (501c3), to create school-in-the-box curriculum that not only entertains kids, but offers them stimulation, learning and support. Plus, for every school-in-the-box purchased, she donates a box and curriculum to children in the care of ACS & NYFC.
Every school-in-the-box offers:
50 individual items that correspond to Little Dude’s “At-Home Lessons” curriculum.
Neatly organized and compartmentalized materials to make teaching out-of-the-box easy and enjoyable.
Ideas and tips to ‘up-cycle’ the box for additional activities with your child.
Check out The Big World of Little Dude for an array of at-home lessons geared toward preschoolers, including the complete school-in-the-box series, all of Cara’s wonderful books, and a way to donate even more. Lesson range from $49 to $150 for the complete box. Remember, not only will you help your preschooler thrive, you also help another little one out there get the learning tools they need.
Heading into the new year, people could use a little extra encouragement, extra energy and extra excitement. Dunkin’ is taking charge, brewing the extra boost everyone needs to tackle 2021 and get things done. Dunkin’ today announced the addition of Extra Charged Coffee to its menu, packing 20% more caffeine than Dunkin’s classic Hot and Iced Coffee, while delivering the same great taste.
Dunkin’ Midnight: New Dunkin’ Midnight is the brand’s darkest roast ever, featuring a rich, smooth, full-bodied flavor, rounded out with notes of decadent cocoa and an intensely dark finish. Dunkin’ Midnight joins the beloved Original Blend and Dunkin’ Decaf as a permanent addition to the brand’s coffee lineup.
Explorer Batch: The first coffee blend to be introduced as part of Dunkin’s new Limited Batch Series, Explorer Batch is a medium roast featuring dark berry notes, rounded out with a smoky finish. To craft its unique Explorer Batch, Dunkin’ sourced beans from four highly regarded coffee regions, including Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Sumatra. Explorer Batch will be available for a limited time, with new Limited Batch Series coffees to be introduced throughout the year.
Available at participating Dunkin’ restaurants nationwide beginning Dec. 30, Extra Charged Coffee, served hot or iced, features green coffee extract that gives coffee drinkers an extra boost with 20% more caffeine. For an extra incentive to try the brand’s buzziest new beverage, Dunkin’ will be offering Medium Extra Charged Coffee for $2 through Jan. 26.
“Since opening our doors more than 70 years ago, Dunkin’ has served a superior cup of coffee. Now, for the first time in our history, we’re offering the boldest and most diverse assortment of blends and customization options to fuel a new era of coffee at Dunkin’,” said Jill Nelson, Vice President, Marketing & Culinary at Dunkin’. “From the darkest roast in our portfolio to the most caffeinated hot and iced coffee varieties, we are more committed than ever to keeping Americans running on Dunkin’ in 2021.”
In a new year filled with new brews, coffee lovers can find the perfect Dunkin’ drink to match their mood, and perhaps, a little something extra. From Dec. 30 through Jan. 31, the My Dunkin’ Mood Quiz will ask questions that help gauge guests’ vibes, and then recommend one of the brand’s coffee beverages that can best fuel them through the day. Everyone who participates can enter to win one of five amazing prizes, including Dunkin’ coffee for a year, $5,000 in cash, and more.
Dunkin’ will continue to surprise fans with a little something extra throughout the month of January, so they should stay tuned for updates on the Dunkin’ App and the brand’s social channels.
To bring a little sweetness to help ring in the New Year, Dunkin’ has a fun new donut to pair with its new coffee options. The new Dunkfetti Donut features a cake donut ring with special celebration confetti sprinkles baked within, and topped with a sweet glaze. For more information about this new limited time donut and other snacks being served at Dunkin’ in January, including a Gluten-Free Fudge Brownie and Croissant Stuffers, please see here.
“I don’t know what to say other than today we found out that Whitman is unique. He’ll get a scholarship to help him do great things. Nothing changes and when it does we’ll figure it out.” I sat on our couch staring at this text. I read it. Re-read it. Cried. It had been a long 24 hours. One minute I was in the preschool pick-up line living my best life and the next I was on the phone being told that there was an opening to get Whitman evaluated for autism.
I said yes because it would be another 2-3 months to wait to have the evaluation if I didn’t say yes. So we prepped. I was going to do this appointment with my mom because Jeremy was going to be in meetings all day. It fell in his tech review time. We got up and headed to the appointment.
I first picked up some Chick-Fil-A (aka: Jesus breakfast) we needed a lot of Jesus to get through this long day I could feel it. Whitman did every evaluation. I answered what seemed like 1,000 pages of questions and then the diagnosis came. “After the review of Whit’s scores, we are putting him on the Autism spectrum.”
I remember the words hanging in the air. It was heavy. “We aren’t changing any therapy he is already having, we’re just adding it to the previous diagnosis of Apraxia.” The developmental pediatrician was super dry so this just sounded like her going through the motions. Which to me felt heartless. How could she not grieve with us?! How could she not want to hug us and promise us she’d help us?! She ended with: “Megan will be in in a few moments with your folder of services that Whitman will qualify for, the genetic testing that needs to be done, and you’ll schedule your follow up appointment for 6 months.”
Megan walked in and handed us a light blue folder as if it’s a “Congratulations your life has changed forever.” What you thought your future might look like isn’t remotely close to how it will be. Your souvenir is a folder of tiny things that we can help you with. Which turned out to be tiny things of nothing. Before we left, the secretary hugged us, and off we went back into the world.
I felt like the world should have been in mourning with us. Not because of Whitman’s diagnosis but because of the realization of how much harder Whitman’s life had gotten in a matter of minutes. The uphill battles of what’s to come. The questions we would hear. The natural blame that people place on you like all of this was Jeremy and my fault. It was a lot to take in. I did what I normally do when something doesn’t go as planned. I’m sad for about 20 minutes and then I move on to get things done especially for sweet Whitman. He had such a hard start and now we were adding more so owed it to him to get the best.
When I got home and unloaded the children, my husband called so I could fill him in on everything. I sobbed. He listened. I tried to make a plan. He just kept saying to slow down and we’d figured it out. Which made me so annoyed. We had to get Whitman into every therapy. We had to get him ahead of the game. I was that naive mom who believed the research that says if your child turns six and is nonverbal your child will be nonverbal forever. Whitman was 4 at the time and I felt like I was on borrowed time. I found a sitter for Vivi so I could be at every therapy appointment. I could take all the notes. We could work on everything at home. In my naive mind, we were going to beat this.
I took a break from research to tend to the children post quiet time and that’s when my husband, the man who has nothing to say until it’s the perfect thing to say, texted. He simply said: “I don’t know what to say other than today we found out that Whitman is unique. He’ll get a scholarship to help him do great things. Nothing changes and when it does we’ll figure it out.” He added that he would vow not to be another statistic when it came to the divorce rate among special needs parents. And that he knew that this wasn’t caused by something that I did. He assured me that life would be different and interesting but we’d get through it together. We are three years in and we are still figuring it out. Days are hard. We lack sleep and patience some days. Our house is always a never-ending disaster. We are trying to keep the promises and vows we made to each other on that diagnosis day. It’s a work in progress that we are still figuring it out.
Lindsey is a mom, wife, and blogger at The Althaus Life. She lives in Ohio with her husband and 2 children. Lindsey is grateful all things and to be able to chronicle her beautifully broken laugh til you cry cry until you laugh life.
With the amount of time many of us spent in loungewear this year social distancing from friends and family, it’s not surprising that we also spent much of our free time glued to the television. From streaming movies to kiosk rentals, Redbox just released their top rentals of 2020. While there are a few no-brainers that made the list, you may be surprised that there are actually a handful of family-friendly flicks. Read on for the full list and then hop on over to our story all about the best 100 movies kids need to see before they grow up.
