Duchess Kate is shacking up with her parents following the birth of the royal heir. According to an article in USA Today, the move is a big deal, if only because the newborn is in line for the throne.
"Future monarch to start life in commoner's home in Berkshire instead of royal residence." That was the stuffy Daily Mail headline.
But can you really blame Kate? It's her first child, she will be even more swarmed by paparazzi than usual, and the situation is only temporary, after all.
"Kate says she 'just feels safest and most secure' with her family and believes that no one could be better placed to teach her about bringing up a baby than her mother, who has three children of her own," said royal correspondent (and aptly named) Rebecca English.
But the tabloids need not fret. It's hardly like Kate and the heir will be slumming it with 'commoners.' The Middleton's Berkshire estate is just that—an estimated $7 million "sprawling Georgian manor."
And besides, it's not like the baby's nursery is ready. Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge (formerly known as Kate Middleton) are currently homeless. Oh, they have a home—several of them, in fact, one of which is a apparently a 57-room apartment in Kensington Palace currently under renovation.
Personally it was hard enough moving back with my parents for a couple months after graduating from university. While it would be nice to have the spare sets of hands and willing cuddlers, I'm not sure I could withstand all the unsolicited advice that flow freely as breast milk. Tongues would be bitten. And like that Daniel Day Lewis movie, there would be blood. Pints of the sanguine stuff...
Is it important for new parents to live in their own digs after a baby is born? Or is there merit to living under the grandparental roof, as this YMC blogger recently discovered?
Would you, could you do it?
Health Canada has recalled Old Navy footed (sizes 6-12 months) and non-footed (sizes 12–18 months and 18–24 months) one-piece 100% cotton sleepers (style number 476746), as they did not meet with Canada's flammability laws.
Loose-fitting children's sleepwear can ignite more readily than that which is tight-fitting.
While neither Health Canada nor Old Navy has received reports of incidents related to the use of the sleepers, customers are advised to return them to the place of purchase.
For further information, contact Old Navy toll-free at 1-866-580-9930 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. EST Monday through Friday, or Saturday between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. EST, or by email.
From June 2012 to February 2013, approximately 15,550 of the sleepers were sold in Canada.
Can greed ever be perceived as a good thing? The answer is, strangely, yes, thanks to a clever new deal site. (Think Groupon but for charity.) With all the talk of austerity measures and economic meltdowns, GreedyGiver.com is a panacea.
According to a press release, the online donation deal site is Canada’s first and only, featuring "a cornucopia of commodities and a stockpile of services at significant discounts." So here's how it works: vendors offer up a bargain and by donating a stipend to a given charity you then score a coupon for your coveted bargain.
Vendors win over new clientele, and that clientele in turn gets philanthropic warm fuzzies that come with giving more than a select number of occasions per year. What's more—charities don't need to outlay precious funding on administration and canvassing.
“We’re essentially rewarding people for their generosity with amazing savings and deals from caring merchants,“ said Sabrina Nicosia, Director of Marketing for GreedyGiver.com. “It also encourages them to give more often—not just during the holidays or tax season.”
And why not? If the deal is for something you want to buy anyway, your own consumerism is helping the economy and charities in need of support. It's what Nicosia calls a “win-win-win” situation.
Already GreedyGiver.com is stocked full of "deliciously discounted deals for Toronto and the GTA" and will continue spreading its greedy model across the country.
Feeling greedy? Go give it a try...
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