LilSugar

Politikids: Did You Take Them Along For the Historical Ride?

babysugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:00:24 PST

Yesterday marked a historic day in American history. No matter how the election pans out, it will be momentous. This was the first time an African American male was a contender on the Democratic ticket, and the first time a female was part of the Republican ticket. To be a part of history in the making makes me proud and patriotic. I was thrilled to have my daughter along to experience it all.

Seventy-four percent of you said you would take your child to vote. Did you?
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Will You Take Your Child to Vote With You?

babysugar — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:00:28 PDT

The presidential election is less than two weeks away so we are being inundated with commercials, mailers, news articles and conversations about the next commander-in-chief. Yesterday we gave you some ideas for including your lil ones in the electoral process. Today, we want to know if you plan to bring your children to your polling station on November 4th.

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Politikids: Why Parents Should Take Their Kids to the Polls

LilSugar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:00:44 PDT

You may need to be 18 to cast a vote, but you're never too young to have an opinion. This is why I have brought my kids to the voting booths since they were born. I grew up listening to my mother say, "You can't complain if you don't vote" so I registered as soon as I earned the right. Moms and dads worried about the line at their polling place need not. The upcoming election may be the most important one we vote in and as parents our children will be affected by who we support. To make the experience fun for future voters of America, check out our tips!

Put a "Countdown to Vote" calendar on your refrigerator and have your lil ones tear the days away
Teach them a lil election etiquette - we all have the right to make our own choices, but need to be respectful other others, too
Help them make a button that says, "I'll be voting in 2020!" (or whatever year they are of age) to wear to the polls.
Bring along a makeshift ballot for them to fill out while you cast your vote.
Allow them to pull the lever in the booth
Have your child hand in your ballot
Give them your voting sticker and treat it like a badge of honor

To check out our ideas for older children,

Politikids Think This Election Is Important

LilSugar — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 06:00:58 PDT

The presidential election has most parents on the edge of their seats - tuning into the debates, making sure their registration is updated, even campaigning for their candidate - but, even preschoolers are going political. Our children hear more than just mom and dad's opinion, they read the billboards and digest the commercials on television and memorize the slogans. In one Iowa home, mealtime turns into a debate between a couple of opinionated siblings.

Does your child favor a candidate?

Baby Bait For Presidential Candidates

LilSugar — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 08:00:46 PST

One of the Presidential candidates will be the future leader of our country, but would you trust them to hold your babe? One dad did.

Darren Garnick, father of two, recants his experience hitting the campaign trail for pictures of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, Dennis Kucinich, Bill Richardson and Mitt Romney with his 5-month-old daughter, Dahlia in a recent Slate article. He wrote:

"As a resident of the "Live Free or Die" state, I'll concede that the New Hampshire presidential primary gives us ridiculously disproportionate influence. But I love the fact that my state's electoral power comes with a great fringe benefit: It's easy to enshrine the next president in your family scrapbook. A sucker for political kitsch, I set out to photograph my 5-month-old daughter, Dahlia, in the arms of every candidate with a prayer of making it to the White House."

To finish the post,

read more. The quest for photographs took Garnick from a parade to a private party and a sporting goods shop to a bookstore. But, he is no novice when it comes to getting political figures to say cheese with his lil ones. He admitted:

"During the 2004 presidential race, I took a few photos of my then 2-year-old boy, Ari, with Democrats Howard Dean, Joe Lieberman, and Wesley Clark. As a first-time parent, I was overly protective and had most of the candidates pose next to his stroller."

How to Adjust Your Tax Withholding

Kiplinger — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:14:10 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart Kiplinger story here on Savvy!

Political theater over whether or not to extend the 2% payroll tax holiday has overshadowed the fact that most workers can do more to reduce the amount of tax withheld from their paychecks than anything cooked up in Washington.

The power-to-the-people ploy? Using a W-4 form to put an end to overwithholding from your paychecks. First, let's set the stage. Even as anti-Washington sentiment rises to a fever pitch, most middle-class Americans continue to allow the government to claim more than its share every single payday. The proof: In 2011, 109 million of the 145 million individual tax returns filed called for refunds. That's 75%. The average refund last year: $2,913. That's significantly more than even the highest-paid worker gets from a 2% payroll tax holiday.

Yes, we love our tax refunds. But we ask this simple question of those of you who get refunds year after year: Doesn't it make more sense to get your money when you earn it?

If you agree with us that the answer is a resounding "yes," we have good news. Unlike stubbornly high unemployment, it's easy to fix overwithholding. All you have to do is file a revised Form W-4 with your employer. The information on that little form determines how much federal income tax is withheld from your checks. The more "allowances" you claim on the W-4, the less income tax will be withheld.

Read on for more.

What to Rent: New DVDs This Week

Shannon Vestal — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:30:00 PST

Breaking Dawn Part 1

Twilight's star-crossed lovers Edward and Bella (Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart) tie the knot in this installment, but their idyllic honeymoon is interrupted when they discover that vampires can, in fact, impregnate humans. Bella is willing to do anything to protect the life of her baby, Edward will do anything to save Bella, and Jacob tries to keep his wolfpack at bay. The movie goes quickly from cheesily romantic to surprisingly graphic, but the film is very loyal to the book. DVD extras include a six-part making-of documentary, a wedding video, a Jacob featurette, and a commentary track with the director.

25%

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas

Harold and Kumar (John Cho and Kal Penn) reunite for this holiday-themed sequel, the third part in their drug-fueled comedy series. This time, the guys have grown apart (Harold is now a husband in the suburbs while Kumar is a slacker in the city), but Christmas Eve hijinks force them to work together and grow close again. The boys - and Neil Patrick Harris - are as raunchy as ever, but this installment is as funny as the original, and festive to boot. DVD extras include deleted scenes.

69%

See one more new release after the jump.

Kiss Rick Perry Goodbye: See Smooches During GOP Presidential Race

Tara Sharp — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:55:00 PST

Another one bites the dust. Today Rick Perry announced that he's dropping out of the Republican presidential race, three days after Jon Huntsman withdrew. These latest campaign casualties join colorful candidate Michele Bachmann, who dropped out of the race earlier this month. So the remaining Republican presidential hopefuls include Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich. And while the candidates have been fighting their way to the White House, they've been doing a whole lotta kissing as well. What is it about politics and locking lips? From babies to dogs to old women, all the candidates except hand shakers Ron and Newt have been smooching along the campaign trail (even good ol' Marcus Bachmann got in on the action). So kiss Rick and Jon goodbye with the best - and the worst - kisses from the Republican presidential candidates.

The Biggest Baby Naming Trends of the Year

BabyCenter — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:33:23 PST

We're excited to share this post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we will be bringing you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post from Lindsay Weiss about the most popular baby names of 2011.

Drum roll please…Babycenter just released the results of its highly anticipated annual Top 100 Baby Names of 2011.

(Note: am I the only one whose heart starts pounding when I read this list? Don’t get me wrong, I love the names but my palms are sweating because I do not want to see my kids names on this list! Sadly, they are. Darn Kate Middleton…it’s all her fault.)

As Carolyn noted, there’s no surprise on the most popular names - Aiden tops the boys’ list for the seventh consecutive year while Sophia holds tight to the lead for girls for the second year in a row. But never fear, 2011 definitely yielded some interesting trends in naming:

The Anderson Cooper Effect
He’s got a new talk show and, apparently, a lot of ‘mini-Coopers’ too. While Cooper rose 3 percent to number 58 on the list, the name Anderson made a meteoric ascent, up more than 100 spots!

Fist Pump…Jersey Style
In addition, this year’s list reflects America’s obsession with the Garden State, as names like Nicole (Jersey Shore) make their way up four spots while Briella (Jerseylicious), Jacqueline and Caroline (The Real Housewives of New Jersey), and Kimberly (Jersey Couture) all experienced hair-raising leaps. And if that’s not enough, the name Jersey itself is up 16 percent!

Keeping Up With…Mason?
Another reality baby name star to take note of is Mason, Kourtney Kardashian’s son, who toddled up eight spots to claim the number three spot for boys. Not to be outdone, the first names of power couple Victoria and David Beckham are both on the rise as well as that of their newborn daughter, Harper, whose name is up an impressive 34 spots.

The Royal and the Political
Keeping the reality show stars in check is the royal duo William and Kate, whose names are both on the rise along with Harry and Pippa, whose name is up a whopping 45 percent. Moms also looked to politics, as evidenced by the rise of inspirational congresswoman Gabby Giffords’ name, as well as the names of the Palin, Obama, and Clinton daughters.

Superheroes…Real and Fictional
Additional inspiration for this year’s crop of top baby names came from superheroes, with names like May (Spider-Girl) swooping up 98 spots and Peter (Spiderman) climbing 22 spots. NASCAR and nature also left their mark on this year’s list, with names like Matt (Kenseth) and Kyle (Busch) on the rise along with Summer and Storm.

Do any of these trends resonate with you?

P.S. full disclosure: I may need to get pregnant (with a girl, please) in 2012 so I can name her Pippa. Who wouldn’t love to squeeze the cheeks on a little Pippa?

More great stories from BabyCenter.com:
6 ways to stretch your holiday dollars
Homeless by choice family: cool or lame?
Don't tell me about your sleeping baby
9 Hanukkah craft ideas for kids
5 reasons my baby won't start solids - ever

The Hunger Games Trailer to Be Released Monday!

Katie Henry — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:03:00 PST

Hunger Games full trailer to be released Nov. 14 - Hollywood Reporter
Piers Morgan is leaving America's Got Talent - Us Weekly
Jimmy Kimmel's organizing second annual "National Unfriend Day" - SI Hot Clicks
Jessica Simpson is already planning for more kids - People
Gwyneth Paltrow loves hanging out at The Arts Club in Mayfair - Lainey Gossip
Adam Sandler made a deal with Tom Cruise to work with Katie Holmes - Huffington Post
Prince William saves the day for English soccer players - The Daily Beast
Listen to a preview of Rihanna's new album, Talk the Talk - TooFab
Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock may also get a reboot - Rotten Tomatoes
Is Kate Winslet's wax figure the best you've ever seen? - Wonderwall
Actress Nia Long welcomes a baby boy! - Lifeline Live
Kelsey Grammer reveals his political aspirations - Zap2It
Joel McHale enjoys a shirtless cup of joe - Celebitchy