As you can imagine, my home is pretty tech saturated. Bings, bops and beeps, tap-tap-tap. Some days, we truly ARE the big green room in Goodnight iPad. So, it’s easy  to overlook a little button battery in a story book, light-up wand, or desk clock.

After two kids, I’ve grown accustomed to tuning out a lot of sounds and blinking lights. I’ve had do this for the sake of my own sanity. I don’t even think twice about handing my children the garage door opener, camera, or flashlight to keep them amused, but after seeing this video I will.

The children featured in this video seem to skew towards infant/toddler age, but the truth is, battery-related injuries are a threat at any age. Regardless if a child is little or really should “know better”, the outcome of accidentally swallowing a battery can be deadly. When a lithium battery gets stuck in a child’s throat, the saliva triggers an electrical current. This causes a chemical reaction that can severely burn the esophagus in as little as TWO HOURS.

Once you think about it, these types of batteries can be in some of the most unexpected places. Anywhere, really!

Safe Kids Worldwide and Energizer recently announced a crucial partnership to share life-saving tips and advice with parents and caregivers about the potential dangers of swallowing  batteries. The formation of “The Battery Controlled” by Safe Kids and Energizer shines a light on this growing issue and provides simple steps to prevent injuries and deaths to children.

Last year, it was reported that more than 3,400 children ingested button batteries. These were only reported cases. It has been suggested that the actually number is much, much greater–considering all of the incidents where caregivers just let the battery “pass” or didn’t even realize that one has been swallowed in the first place. In any case, the number of cases of children swallowing batteries has more than quadrupled in the past five years

So what can you do to help prevent this growing threat:

• Keep button batteries and devices that use them out of reach of tiny hands. Lock them away.
• Only give your child toys in which the batteries are tightly and securely fastened in a tamper-resistant way.
• If you child swallows a battery, go the the emergency room right away. Do not induce vomiting. Do not let them eat or drink anything until an X-Ray can confirm if the battery is there.
• Learn more and take the pledge on The Battery Controlled Facebook page.
• Spread the word. Share this life-saving information with caregivers, friends, family members and sitters

For more information on this important issue and for tips on how to protect your family, visit www.thebatterycontrolled.com.

Disclosure: The Battery Controlled is a campaign supported by Energizer, in partnership with Safe Kids USA, to alert parents and other caregivers to the hidden danger of swallowing coin lithium button batteries. I was compensated for this post, but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I never endorse anything I do not personally support or have used. 

A redesigned, all new Honda 2012 CR-V  was debuted at the LA Auto Show before Thanksgiving. A few weeks prior, I was invited by Honda to gorgeous Park Hyatt Aviera in Carlsbad, California on a convert mission to test drive this fabulous new car for myself.

No Tweeting. No Facebook. No blog posts until it could be unveiled to the public! In other words, pure agony…  So it is with so much suppressed excitement that I share with you what an honor and a thrill it was to be a part of this event!

Read the rest of my review of the Honday 2012 CR-V on my friend and Wonder Tech Twin, Leticia Barr’s site, Tech Savvy Mama… Beep, Beep! 

Disclosure: I was a guest of Honda for their CR-V press event in Carlsbad, California. Honda provided travel arrangements and accommodations. Although I was not required to write about the event, I was more than happy to do so. All opinions are my own and no compensation was received. Images courtesy of Honda. 

Everywhere I went yesterday, people kept asking me if I was hosting Thanksgiving, what I planned to serve, and who I was having over…

“Host” is quite an ambitious word for what I do every single day, which is put a meal on the table that my kids will turn their noses to and my husband will clean up after. Ha!

Yes, it is just the four of us this Thanksgiving. After a week of the flu, coughing, and sneezing… and far too many hours logged into work,  we begged off an invitation to dinner at relatives in favor of staying close to home and together.

This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the little break and for this quite weekend with my littles and my hubby, and I hope you have a wonderful one too!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

I took my first and decidedly LAST foray into the Black Friday darkness last year…Within 15 minutes, I resumed my originally stance of  “Shopping? um… that’s what the Internet is for”.

So, the day after Thanksgiving, stuffed with turkey and pie, I plan to be on my sofa in my pajamas and curled up with my iPad.

Just in time for my browsing pleasure, Sam’s Club– known for its big box warehouse stores, bulk items, and super savings– has launched a new Sam’s Club For iPad app. Last year around this time, they produced a mobile shopping app for iPhone, Blackberry, and Android.

There is a terrific review of the mobile app on my good friend and Wonder Tech Twin, Leticia’s blog, Tech Savvy Mama. According to Leticia, the phone app was intended to help “consumers streamline shopping during the holidays and throughout the year… by allowing for shoppers to confirm in-stock availability of hot holiday items at their favorite Sam’s Club location” without having to drive to the store.

This year, Sam’s Club has taken that same convenience and accessibility, blown it into a full shopping experience, and taken it to a larger screen with the iPad app.

Here are some of the highlights in using this app:

Full access to tens of thousands of items (as opposed to just thousands…) 

In any given Sam’s Club location, there are only about 3,000 to 4,000 items in stock and available for purchase. I say “only” like that’s nothing at all… Pppf!  However, when compared to the 40,000 products available within the app and online, it IS rather puny.

Different Way to Explore the Store 

If you are already a member of Sam’s Club, then you are familiar with the deals within deals. For instance, it’s not enough that you can buy a flat-screen TV, toilet tissue, 400 #2 pencils, steaks, and underwear in the same place for a great wholesale price. You can save even more with Instant Savings and eValues.

• Instant Savings can be found on 40 to 50 electronics sold at Sam’s Clubs. It’s an instant rebate or sale price given for a limited time and only online!
• The eValues Program is one of the many benefits available with the Sam’s Club Plus membership that offers “Plus members” the opportunity to enjoy even more savings and convenience. It comes in the form of extra discounts loaded onto your Plus Membership card and helps you find even MORE terrific savings at Sam’s Club.

Avoid the Lines. Click’n'Pull.

One of my biggest deterrents from shopping big bulk stores is the amount of tiiiiime you have to spend in line. Because it’s not enough to voyage across the vast expanse of the store, forage for the items you need, fight the crowds around the store samples…  you also have to spend the exact same amount of time staking your spot at the check-out.  I know. Bleak, huh?

With Sam’s Club’s brilliant Click’n'Pull Program you simply shop and submit your order online before 5 p.m. Your items will then be ready to pick up at your local Club the next day. Shopping has never been easier!

Manage Your Shopping List on the Cloud 

With the Sam’s Club mobile apps for smartphones and iPad, you can manage your shopping list across all platforms and access it anywhere you have Internet access. You never have to worry about forgetting your list again! Or have an excuse of “forgetting” something like extra batteries for your kids’ favorite, but noisiest toy… Ahem.

…And Much More 

The Sam’s Club for iPad app also offers:

• Helpful holiday recipes and decorating ideas
• Tips and Tastes, a schedule of what products are being sampled in each location during a particular week
• Hours, directions, events, and featured items at the nearest locations
• New items and discounts being offered

Download the new Sam’s Club iPad app for FREE in the App Store.

Within its first week since launching, a million people already have. Experience “Saving Made Simple” along with them!  BEAT THE HOLIDAY RUSH… or, you know, shop at your own leisure. After all, that’s what the Internet is for!

Like the store, you must have a Sam’s Club Membership in order to enter and fully access the app. You can find membership information online.

Whether you’re hosting, guesting, or just hanging out this holiday season, here are 10 apps to make your holly a bit more jolly, put more figgy in your pudding, and make you shine like a Food Network STAR!

Cooking

1. How to Cook Everything App

If you are a fan of  New York Times columnist Mark Bittman’s popular How to Cook Everything (and really… who isn’t?!), then you will love this app of the same name. Offering a comprehensive database of 2,000 recipes and 400 how-to illustrations– searchable by ingredients, cooking techniques and flavors. It will literally teach you how to cook…  Everything.

Cost: This app is designed for both iPhone and iPad, and is available in the App Store for $9.99.

While you’re there, checkout the companion app, Vegetarian How to Cook Everything . Also available for $9.99, this is hailed as “the ultimate one-stop vegetarian cookbook”.

2. All Recipes- Your Kitchen Inspirations 

While Allrecipes.com, creator of the “Your Kitchen Inspirations” app, doesn’t exactly have a reputation of a glossy magazine filled with tablescapes and gourmet delights styled just so, it does pretty well for itself. Exceedingly well, in fact.

Last week, this app surpassed over 10 million downloads, making it the #1 most downloaded food app and the appeal is clear.

Every recipe found on this site (and in the app) has been crowd-sourced, tested, and reviewed. With thousands of recipes shared by foodies, professionals, and kitchen hacks alike, you are guaranteed to discover a lot of favorites that suit your tastes, budget, and schedule. Case in point: recipes range from gourmet to kid-friendly and  budget to “use leftovers”

Cost: The free version of this app allows you to access thousands of member-tested recipes on your iPad. For $4.99, the Pro version upgrade allows you to browse by ethnicity/specialty, save your favorites to an online “recipe box” that syncs with your AllRecipes.com account, store and print your shopping list, and make edits to recipes to make them your own.

 3. Kitchen Calculator PRO

I cooked my first Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners while living in the UK, so all of the recipes I used are still in the original metric measurements. The conversions were simple enough to figure out when I had to do them everyday (translating my American cookbooks into British measurements) while abroad. I’ve since become out of practice, which is where Kitchen Calculator PRO is truly a time saver!

You enter your source measurement, and the app converts it into whatever equivalent you need, including units of temperature, distance, and cooking times.  It even allows you to store conversions that you use most often so you don’t have to keep entering the same things over and over.

Another great feature of this app is its ability to scale recipes up (or down) to change the number of servings, should your quiet party of four suddenly turn into a buffet for twelve.

Cost: This app is designed for both iPhone and iPad, and is available in the App Store for $3.99.

Shopping

4. ZipList

Meal planning, recipe keeper, couponing, and grocery list app in one, ZipList is “shopping made simple”.

This app makes it possible to “clip” recipes from around the web and transfer the needed ingredients to your shopping list. It also provides you coupons for the items you plan to purchase.

A handy barcode scanner lets you add items from your pantry and refrigerator to your shopping list as your run out. Not only is this convenient and easy, it also helps ensure that you remember to get the low-sodium tomato soup instead of regular tomato soup, for example.

This app works across platform, which means you can add items to the list anywhere you are, online or through the mobile app. Then, you can give your spouse or other family members access to the list on their smartphone so there’s no excuse for “forgetting to pick up milk” on the way home.

 Cost: Available in both App Store and Android Market versions for FREE.

5. Grocery IQ

If you’re looking for an app that’s all about the coupons, then look no further than Grocery IQ.  Developed by Coupons.com, this app keeps printable and store deals at your fingertips, which you can “clip” then email and print for later use.

You can create lists by adding items one by one or scanning the barcodes, then sort items by store and even by aisle. There are preset categories and specific brands already programmed into this app, but you can make changes as you see fit.

This app also works cross-platform, so you can share lists on the Web, on a tablet, or between different smartphones. Never be caught without your list at your fingertips again!

 Cost: Available in both App Store and Android Market  for FREE.

Fresh, Local Food

6. Locavore 

Locavore is a location-based app that pinpoints farms and farmers’ markets nearest you, so you can find the freshest, in-season, local food– direct from the growers.

Celebrated by the slow food movement, this app provides details about the farms and farmers’ markets and where to read more about them. It even serves up basic information on each fruit or vegetable along with simple recipes and serving suggestions and lets your “share” what you ate through Facebook.

 Cost: Available in both App Store and Android Market for FREE.

7. Monterrey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch 

Seafood Watch is a program at the Monterey Bay Aquarium that is working to restore our ocean’s diverse ecosystem from decades of overfishing and overpollution. Part of this program is the “Sustainable Seafood Guide”, designed to help people make informed choices when selling and consuming fish.

This helpful app offers best choices, “healthy alternatives”, and local, up-to-date guides of restaurants and stores where you’ve and others have found ocean-friendly seafood.

Cost: Available in both App Store and Android Market  for FREE.

8. True Food

The True Food Shopping App was created by the  Center for Food Safety to help shoppers to quickly and easily identify foods made with ingredients from genetically modified organisms (GMO).

While the US government does not require GMO foods be labeled as such, there have been warnings from scientists that these foods may not be safe for diets or the environment. This app is a handy tool that educates consumers on this important issue and helps you choose safe brands as you shop.

Cost: Available in the App Store and Android Market for FREE.

Entertaining 

 9. Pair It 

For anyone else who is completely clueless about wine pairings beyond “I like wine. Let’s drink wine.”, this is the app for you!  Very simply, the Pair It app allows you to browse by either wine or food, then presents you with a suitable matches.

This is particularly handy when presented with a restaurant wine list or deciding want to serve to your dinner guests.

Cost: Available in the App Store and Android for $4.99

10. the Bar 

For the hostess with the mostess, theBar App serves up hundreds of cocktail recipes with detailed instructions and pictures.

In certain states, you can search nearby stores for everything you need to be the bartender. Locate the newest bars, pubs, or clubs in town. Try out the app’s Mobile Sommelier to learn about great wines and delicious food pairings.

Cost: Available in the App Store for FREE.