This week, a SouthernMamas reader will win a $25 gift certificate to  The Polkadot Patch Boutique, which specializes in unique baby clothes and unique baby gifts such as this doggy back pack and pirate pictured here.

Polkadot Patch believes children’s clothing should be fun, unique, and let children express their individuality and their personality.

The Polkadot Patch hand selects every item and each product must match their philosophy.

Check out the Polkadot Patch Big Ole Sale currently under way here and new arrivals of spring/summer items here.

Here are the rules on how to win.

Looking for something romantic and unique to do for Valentine’s Day?

The Melting Pot in Savannah , a sponsor of SouthernMamas.com, has the perfect package to make celebrating this Valentine’s Day with that special someone the most memorable ever.

Their RED package includes a rose package with vase, one Big Night Out Fondue Fusion featured four-course dinner for 2 featuring your choice of special event cheese fondue and two glasses of champagne or sparkling cider for $140/couple.

Their WHITE package includes a digital photo of the two of you in a metal Melting Pot keepsake frame, a rose package with vase, one Lobster Indulgence or Surf ‘n Turf four course dinner for two, featuring your choice of special event cheeses, two glasses of champagne or sparkling cider and your choice of one bottle from a select list of wines for $200/couple.

This Valentine’s Day, come stir things up at The Melting Pot on Broughton Street. For complete details on what is included in each package, click here and call 912-349-5676 for reservations.

The Melting Pot is also that perfect place to go out any night with other couples, friends, and of course a night out with the girls.

Sign up here for Club Fondue. Club Fondue members receive free chocolate fondue for two just for signing up, on your birthday and on your wedding anniversary. You will also receive monthly emails about ladies night out, wine tastings and other fun events.

Spend the night in a real fort.

Old Fort Jackson is hosting Family Campover 6 PM Fri. March 5 – 8:30 AM Sat. March 6, 2010

Cost: $45/child, $35/adult. Coastal Heritage Society members receive $5 off per person. Price includes cannon firings, exploration of the Fort by candlelight, activities, crafts, a haversack filled with soldier supplies, and storytelling and s’mores around the campfire.

Dinner and hot breakfast included.

Tickets MUST be purchased in advance. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call 912.651.6823 x203 or email childrensevents@chsgeorgia.org.

We read about teens involved in crime or about the obesity problem among local youths and think: “Something needs to be done to save our kids.”

Former competitive weightlifter Kerri Goodrich isn’t just thinking about it. She’s doing something. Her program, Performance Initiatives, uses weightlifting, tutoring, nutritional coaching to give students confidence and discipline. Read more here in my column in today’s newspaper.

You can help by taking part in PI’s “Buy A Block, Build A Champion” fund raiser. Purchase a block at the Performance Initiatives gym and have your company logo or family name hand-painted on the gym walls or on a banner. Proceeds fund various needs including new gear and uniforms for weightlifting competitions, after-school program materials and expenses for out-of-area competitions.

To buy a block, e-mail performanceinitiatives_kg@comcast.net or call 912-507-7106.

Ann Huszty wins the amazing package from Glow Medical Spa & Beauty Boutique in Savannah: a free skin consultation with a licensed medical esthetician, a customized facial, a make-up makeover and $100 worth of products! Congrats Ann and enjoy!

Thanks to everyone who entered. Your comments under the giveaway announcement post are beautiful.

Glow – located in Governours Square at 415 Eisenhower Drive between Waters Avenue and Hodgson Memorial Drive – is all about helping you be healthy and happy so you glow from within. Visit Glow’s MedSpa Services page to see the services offered and read all about the cutting-edge cosmetic medical procedures that have made Glow the leading Medical Spa in Savannah- famous for offering the newest and latest beauty services.

Artist Carrie Christian

You want to enroll your child in a private or group creative art class, but you can’t find one that fits into your busy day.

Artist Carrie Christian offers classes for children of all ages that can be taught around your schedule!

Lessons are designed to help create a foundation on which your child’s artistic education will grow and blossom.

New and familiar artists will be used as examples for students to consider while creating drawings, paintings, sculptures, and mixed media projects.

Basic concepts such as color, composition, perspective, and proportion will be explained in a clear, easy to understand manner.

Students will work with a variety of materials, including colored pencils, oil pastels, acrylic, watercolor, and collage.

And your kids will be learning from a pro. Carrie Christian received her MFA in Painting and her BFA in Illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Her works have been exhibited nationally and internationally, and are included among the collections of both the Mobile Museum of Art and the Ogden Museum.

She’s also experienced in Savannah Arts Academy portfolio preparation.

Carrie Christian's studio

For more information, parent references, and pricing, please contact: Carrie Christian, T:912.323.0123
Email: carrieachristian@hotmail.com

Marsha Woelber, Savannah financial advisor

Below is a guest post by Marsha Woelber, a Partner at Independent Investment Services, LLC/Securities Offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC.

Marsha does occasional posts on SouthernMamas about  becoming financially savvy.  To read her previous posts, click here.

The following is Part 2 of a two-part post. Read the first part here.

Southern Mamas 2010 Resolution: Understand your Finances
Step Two: Organizing important documents

Most of us get so much mail from our bank, brokerage, insurance companies and other providers that it’s difficult to navigate through it all. Below, I’ve listed some guidelines around how long you should keep vital paperwork. This list should help you streamline your files; generally speaking, e-copies of your documents are sufficient. Feel free to scan them and save on your computer, just make sure to back it up and protect it! Note, this list is for personal finances; it may be different if you are a business owner.

First on the list: Things to Keep Forever
Birth and death certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, adoption papers, military records, living wills, IRA contribution records.

Automobile records: Keep the paperwork as long as you own your vehicle. This includes registrations, service records, and warranties. If you sell your car, hang on to the title transfer for a few years. If you lease the car, keep all documentation until you turn the car in.

Bank Accounts: Keep bank statements for seven years. Dispose of ATM receipts/deposit slips after you check that deposits/withdrawals appear on your monthly statement.

Bills: Keep bills that relate to the purchase of a valuable asset, which can be helpful in the vent of loss or theft. You can shred most other bills after a few months.

Credit Card Statements: Read the rest of this post by clicking here.

Please email/call with questions: Marsha Woelber; marsha@iissav.com, 912-650-2852.

Marsha Woelber is a Partner at Independent Investment Services, LLC/Securities Offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. She can be reached @ marsha@iissav.com or 912-650-2852.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

Bad news for those of you eager to take advantage of the the FREE Georgia pre-k program , a full-day program available at some public and private schools.

The application process was initially supposed to start in February, but has been delayed until April due to ongoing changes in the Savannah-Chatham Public Schools’ attendance zones. Children will be selected through a lottery process, which now won’t happen until May. 

The lottery was initially scheduled for March, allowing for parents to enroll their children in a private program if they didn’t get their first choice in the lottery.

Now the application process will be Monday, April 12, 2010 through Friday, May 7, 2010, making it difficult for those of you who want to make back-up plans in case you don’t get your first choice school. We’re guessing most private free pre-k and other pre-k programs will be full by May.

Applications are expected to be available April 12 at the Savannah-Chatham public schools that offer the free, full-day program and at 208 Bull St.

Children 4-years-old prior to or on Sept. 1, 2010 are eligible for funded (i.e. FREE) pre-K in Georgia.  You can only apply to TWO different schools and your first choice must be the school in your public school attendance zone.

To get a list of the designated attendance zone, click on this school locator and put in your address. But these zones are changing. If you have any questions, call the Savannah-Chatham School’s pre-K program director LaWanda Ransom @ 912. 395.1154 or 912. 395.5635 or email her @ lawanda.ransom@sccpss.com.

Private schools also offer the free pre-K program including Maggies’ Morning School, Savannah Youth University, Candler’s  The Children’s House, and  YMCA Childcare Plus: but many have a different application process. If you’re interested in a private child care that has it, call the school to find out when their applications are due.  Many are on a first-come, first-serve basis.

With the application and lottery delays, perhaps the private schools offering free pre-k will also move back their application processes to correlate with the public school system’s.  What’s your take on these changes? Will you opt not to take advantage of the free program through the public school system because the lottery will be so late?

Savannah Christian Church’s Growing in the Son Preschool will open enrollment for the 2010-2011 school year on Mon. Feb. 1.

Growing in the Son Preschool is a weekday morning preschool program, offering classes for children ages 18 months to Pre-K.

The goal is to build strong foundations of faith for young children while promoting spiritual, academic, social, physical and emotional development; enabling them to make a life changing connection with Jesus Christ. Growing in the Son utilizes a diverse theme-based curriculum including Handwriting Without Tears and Scholastic’s Building Language for Literacy, while providing a Christ-centered nurturing environment.

For more information, click here. For additional information and registration forms or call 912.629.7494.

Kids, work and winter are wrecking havoc on your poor skin.

It’s been so long since you’ve seen the inside of a spa, you hear “pampering” and think diaper change.

Get ready to start glowing again.

Glow Medical Spa & Beauty Boutique in Savannah is giving away a blissful package to a SouthernMamas reader this week: a free skin consultation with a licensed medical esthetician, a customized facial, a make-up makeover and $100 worth of products!

Seriously.

Glow – located in Governours Square at 415 Eisenhower Drive between Waters Avenue and Hodgson Memorial Drive – is all about helping you be healthy and happy so you glow from within. Visit Glow’s MedSpa Services page to see the services offered and read all about the cutting-edge cosmetic medical procedures that have made Glow the leading Medical Spa in Savannah- famous for offering the newest and latest beauty services.

Here are the rules on how to win free this unbelievably generous giveaway from Glow, which offers a variety of services including eye lash extensions, microdermabrasion, massage, chemical peels, Botox, Juvederm, laser leg vein treatments, laser facial treatments and more.

Ready. Set. Glow!

On your next trip to Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia, S.C. make sure you stop by Koala Knockabout to catch a glimpse of Oliver, the Zoo’s newest resident, a joey (or baby koala). More info here.

The park is open daily 9am-5pm. Admission: $9.75 for adults, $7.25 for children ages 3 – 12 and free for children 2 and under. For more information, call Riverbanks at 803.779.8717.

 The Food and Drug Administration has raised its level of concern over the safety of bisphenol-A, or BPA, an industrial chemical found in baby bottles, infant formula cans and the linings of canned goods and other consumer products. Read the article here.

Newly renovated fort next to the toddler playground includes a canopied stage and spray fountain

Newly reopened toddler playground at Forsyth Park includes a rocking toucan

Forsyth Park’s toddler/preschooler playground is reopened after being closed for a few years during the $4.7 million refurbishment to the fort adjoining the playground. 

The playground is one of two playgrounds at Forsyth. The other one, for older children, remained open during the renovations.

When the fort’s visitors’ center and Mansion-run cafe open on Feb. 5, there will finally be access to clean public bathrooms at Forsyth Park!  No more porta-potties.

The Mansion-run cafe at the center serves Starbucks coffee, breakfast, lunch, desserts, juices, ice cream, even wine and beer as well as organic dog treats! It’s open 7 AM-7 PM.

The spanking new fort now has a canopied stage and spray fountain, where kids can play in the water during the warm months similar to the spray fountains at Hull Park in Ardsley Park.

The Forsyth Park playground, which now has a rocking toucan and duck replacing the old alligator, is ideal for younger children. My 3-year-old especially loves the low overhead bars because he can reach them on his own. Other features include baby and standard swings, low-climbing area with slides, tunnel etc.; benches; water fountains for people and dogs.

“How did they do that?”

That was a common comment heard during Thursday’s opening night of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus @ Savannah Civic Center.  The performance was as much magic show as it was animal acts. Sure, there were the parading Asian elephants, strutting lions and (my and my 1-year-old daughter’s favorite) prancing ponies ridden by animated dolls. But the magic tricks are what continue to boggle your mind on the ride home after the Greatest Show on Earth.

Gather up the kids and go if you want to be perplexed by some pretty sly sleights of hand. Just don’t wrack your brains trying to figure it out. Sit back and let yourself be astonished.

It’s the not knowing that’s the best part.

Every family has one: a kid who loves anything and everything pirate. My son is one such pirate-ophile. Which is why we want to check out the Pirate Haus in St. Augustine.

Word is the rooms are cheap (and include an all-you-can-eat pirate pancake breakfast) and are located near Castillo de San Marcos National Monument and the Black Raven, an authentic pirate ship located in St. Augustine.

The inn’s front desk is manned by Captain Conrad, a pirate in full costume, who hand-delivers age-appropriate pirate bedtime stories to rooms each night. Rooms also come with free wi-fi and offer access to a communal kitchen. Rooms starting at $50.

Catherine Jandrlich won this week’s SouthernMamas giveaway: four tickets to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus is coming to Savannah Civic Center Jan. 21-24

Enjoy the show, Catherine! Thank you everyone who entered.

Click here to read the article (Thanks to reader Amanda Ware for the info!):

Island Child – a sponsor of SouthernMamas – will have a trunk show of First Communion dresses and accessories on Fri. Feb. 5 and Sat. Feb. 6. 

The show featuring lovely Joan Calabrese for Mon Cheri dresses will be just in time to place orders for the desired delivery for dresses that need to be ordered for Spring.

Check out the collection of dresses at the Island Child Web site here. You can order online or at the Island Child store in the Village at Wexford on Hilton Head Is. 1.888.705.5437 or 843.686.5437.

Island Child – owned by children’s clothing gurus Steve and Senny Powell, who have seven adopted children and have fostered seven children – has been dressing Lowcountry tykes for 25 years.

Joan Calabrese joined Mon Cheri Bridals to create a new collection for children, Joan Calabrese for Mon Cheri. A designer for the past 32 years, Joan Calabrese is known for her use of exquisite fabric and detail along with pristine lines.

Best of all, her premiere collection for Mon Cheri offers moderate prices while still providing the signature style and fine fabrication her design is known for. The Island Child collection of Joan Calabrese for Mon Cheri includes special occasion, flower girl and First Holy Communion designs. See some of the dresses by clicking here.

 Let the madness begin.

The confusing and nerve-wrecking  application process for the FREE Georgia pre-k program is not expected to start until April. It was intially supposed to start in February. But now the Savannah-Chatham Board of Education BOE Web site reads the application process will be Monday, April 12, 2010 through Friday, May 7, 2010.

Applications are expected to be available April 12 at the Savannah-Chatham public schools that offer the free, full-day program and at 208 Bull St.

Children 4-years-old prior to or on Sept. 1, 2010 are eligible for funded (i.e. FREE) pre-K in Georgia. (Did we mention it’s free?) You can only apply to TWO different schools and your first choice must be the school in your public school attendance zone.

Children will be selected through a lottery process, which will be held May.

To get a list of the designated attendance zone, click on this school locator and put in your address. If you have any questions, call the Savannah-Chatham School’s pre-K program director LaWanda Ransom @ 912. 395.1154 or 912. 395.5635 or email her @ lawanda.ransom@sccpss.com.

Private schools also offer the free pre-K program including Maggies’ Morning School, Savannah Youth University, Candler’s  The Children’s House, and  YMCA Childcare Plus: but many have a different application process. If you’re interested in a private child care that has it, call the school to find out when their applications are due.  Many are on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Just for Baby and More, the locally-owned and operated store at 7701 Waters Ave. that sells nursery and youth furniture, apparel, gifts and accessories, will host FREE cloth diaper and baby massage classes this upcoming weekend.

The free cloth diaper class is 10 AM-noon Sat. Jan. 23.

The free baby massage class is on Sat. Jan. 23 for non-sitters (up to 6 months) from 1-2 PM and for sitters and movers (6 months and older) from 2-3 PM

Classes are free and open to the public. Register by calling 912.355.4455 or email welshcasey@gmail.com. First 20 registrants will receive a $15 gift card.

Tiffany Lane wins a free session of Savannah Celtic’s  Early Goals soccer program, which caters to players ages 2, 3 & 4.

Congrats, Tiffany. The toddler soccer session starts the week of Jan. 18 and runs through the week of  Feb. 22 .   

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest giveaway.

To register your toddler for Early Goals, contact Michell Laing michell@savannahceltic.com, call 912.495.9996
or click here. The $50 registration fee includes a 6 week program, practice t-shirt, end of the season finale with a medal and certificate.

All sessions will be held at the Salvation Army fields on the corner of Washington and Bee Rd. (3000 Bee Rd). All practices are approx. 30-45 minutes.

Lowcountry photographer Cecillia Berger will be doing  a round of Valentines Day Mini sessions.  

These incredibly affordable portrait sessions are available at the location of your choice – outside if you’re brave enough to face the cold or luck out on a warm day OR in your home with Cecillia’s portable studio.

*Studio sessions limited to 3 children. This session is not available for newborns.

Session 1 – Be Mine
•Session fee $100
•1/2 hr of session time for up to 2 subjects. $15 for each additional person.
•1 sheet of wallets
•2 5×7’s or 1 8×10
•50 personalized photo stickers

Session 2 – Sweethearts
•Session fee $100
•1/2 hr of session time for up to 2 people. $15 for each additional person.
•5-10 proofs in a password protected gallery for you to choose from
•4 5×7’s or 2 8×10’s
•1 4×6 spiral bound, hard cover photo book of all final images

The mini-sessions will be available Feb 6-21.

Primarily a natural light photographer, Cecillia specializes in custom lifestyle portraiture. She loves capturing , energy, emotion, family connections and children’s true natures in her photographs.

To see more examples of her work beyond those posted here, visit the Cecillia B Photography Web site and her blog.

Cecillia B Photography, 843.263.5971 or email CecilliaBPhotography@gmail.com

A New York Times Science article from Monday, “To Treat Bedwetting, Healthy Doses of Patience,”  is a hot topic on mommy Web sites.

According to the article, an estimated 15 percent of five-year-olds still wet the bed at night.

Parents who worry that the bedwetting is connected with a parenting mistake can relax, writes Doctor Perri Klass in the Times:

“In other words, it is not about emotional problems, or mistakes a parent made during potty training, or laziness, which some still attribute to the bed-wetter himself. (The problem is about three times as common in boys as in girls.) Indeed, one of the worst things about bed-wetting is the stigma. Sufferers and their families have been accused of everything from poor parenting to latent criminality.”

Dr. Klass says bed-wetting is caused by the interaction of a variety of factors such as genetics, physiology, development stage, and the child’s environment. Bottom line: parents dealing with this problem are not alone.

Would love to read what SouthernMamas readers have to say on this topic.