Creature Bug

Black Friday and A Photo Book Giveaway

What a lovely Thanksgiving we had, and there are some even more lovely pictures to share. But before I get to that, I must tell you what my husband did this morning.

He participated in his first Black Friday experience.

He got up at 4:30 (AM!), drove himself to Best Buy in Portland (no sales tax!), and stood in line in the dark (scary!). With 1000 other people (while it rained!).

One thousand.

That's a lot of people.

He got to the store 5 minutes before the doors opened, waited as they allowed 100 people at a time into the store, finally got in, and spotted what he wanted. He didn't see any to purchase amongst the boxes of stuff, but he did see someone who had one in her cart.

He was brave and asked her where she got it. Fortunately she didn't kick him in shins and run away with her prize. No, she was polite and told him he had to ask a sales rep to get it for him.

He asked the sales rep, who furrowed his brow and told Jason he didn't think there were any more left. "They went fast."

Oh no!

He waited as the sales rep went to the back room and checked the inventory. Finally he came back with four boxes. "Four left," he said. Jason grabbed one. A guy next to him grabbed another. No doubt the other two were picked up before Jason had even left the parking lot.

Jason calmly walked his purchase up to the front of the store, and no one elbowed him or knocked him to the ground. He bought his present, loaded it into the car, and would have been home before 6 am except that he thought he'd see what was going on next door at Target. The masses of mothers with jammied toddlers in tow eventually frightened him off, and he quickly made his way back home.

I, of course, was sleeping through all this. I, of course, did not even wake up when he left, nor did I wake up when he got home and unpacked our newest purchase. I finally woke up when I smelled breakfast (crepes, because Jason is amazing like that) and heard the girls chattering.

And what was so important that compelled my sweet husband to give up sleep?

A 42" plasma tv.

We're redecorating the office, and I suggested that we buy each other our Christmas presents early as part of the redecorating process.

I could get an electric fireplace (because an electric fireplace is better than no fireplace at all).

And Jason could get a tv.

I'm pretty sure I wasn't thinking 42", but I was not in charge of the tv buying process except to agree on our budget. Mr. TV came in under budget, so everyone is happy. We'll still have to buy the mounting hardware so the tv can go on the wall, but we didn't want to bother with that today.

(I try not to pay too much attention to tv information because I get confused easily about media technology and any information at all falsely gives me hope that I could participate in some sort of TV-centered conversation.

That being said, I can tell you that Jason got a plasma instead of an LCD because plasma is better for sports and the office tv will be the sports tv. Plasmas also perform well in dark rooms, which is good for us since most of the rooms in our house receive very little sunshine, the office included.)

We also still have to paint the office, but at least now we can watch tv while we're painting. Happy Black Friday to us.

And speaking of sweet deals, I have one for you!

No, it's not a tv. It's even better!

It's a book!

But not just any book. It's a photo book. Did you already figure that out? Because it's in the title of this post? Smarty pants.

As you may know, I'm a big fan of photo books. It's how I keep my photos organized. Recently I made a photo book through Lulu, and today it arrived in the mail.

Look at Addie. She's totally impressed. "Wow. That's one big book."

The pros:

• The hardcover with the photo on the front? So cool. And totally gorgeous.
• The pictures print really well. I have looked at a lot of photo books and I'm very particular about grain and color. The colors--especially skin coloring, which can be quite tricky to get right--are right on.
• The quality of the book--the spine, the pages, the cover, the binding--are excellent. I don't expect that it will fall apart any time soon.
• The actual creation process was so easy. Naturally, you can download the pictures from your hard drive, but you can also log in to your Flickr or Facebook account and get the pictures from there. I loved this feature. Even though all my photos in Flickr are also on an external hard-drive, it was so easy to use the Flickr feature.
• You can create a photobook and then market/sell it through Lulu. I think this would be a fun feature if you created a photobook that you wanted a lot of people to have easy access in purchasing their own. Or, if you were someone like my brother, you could create a book of artwork (or recipes or photos) and sell it to clients/fans.
• Lulu's pricing is very competitive with other publishing companies.
• The turn-around time for printing and delivery is quick, so whoever wins the book will most certainly be able to print one out in time for Christmas. Hooray!

The cons:

• If you want a lot of control over design and photo size, then Lulu's templates will feel quite restrictive. As far as I could tell, you can't switch between themes or change the size of photos on the templates. You have to pick a theme, and then use one of the many page templates that the studio offers you. I personally like to be able to manage the page's design right down to the smallest detail. On the other hand, having a lot of options isn't always helpful because too many choices can be overwhelming. So in that regard, Lulu's themes are great.

"If you take my book away from me, I'll cry."

Even though I'm sure you'd all love a copy of Life on the Family Farm, you'd probably much rather create your own photobook with, you know, pictures that took yourself. That will make both you and Addie happy. So! Here's the Black Friday deal--

Prize: An 8.5" x 8.5" 20-page hardcover photo book from Lulu.
To enter: Comment on this post. 
Just for fun comment: In a poetic turn of mashing together both Jason's Black Friday experience with this one, tell me, What's your favorite book-made-into-a-movie?
Contest ends: Contest ends Wednesday at 8 pm PST. One entry per person.
Contest sponsor: Lulu.com

Have a great post-Thanksgiving weekend!

Merry Christmas from Shutterfly

My love of photocards is well documented, although--if you can believe it--I've never sent out photos for Christmas. I haven't even sent out cards sans photos for many years. Even though my mother lightly scolds me for my non-traditional ways, I'm more of a Valentine's Day card person myself.

This year, however, I'm seriously thinking about sending out Christmas cards (in addition to Valentine's Day cards because that's a tradition I refuse to give up). Maybe because I'm already weeks ahead in thinking about Christmas (thanks to Sydney's Nutcracker rehearsals, her school's Christmas program, and family holiday scheduling), or maybe--and more likely--it's because there's a sweet baby in the house and I'd love to send out her photo.

Thanks to my friend Kim--whose sweet daughter Alivia is a mere two days older than Addie--I heard that Shutterfly is giving out 50 free cards to bloggers who spread the Shutterfly Christmas Cheer. I had already considered using Shutterfly for their desk calendars, so using them for their Christmas cards sounds like a good idea too.

I'm traditionally a last-minute Christmas shopper, but I've already figured out that if I'm going to do a calendar as a gift, then I need to plan early. This calendar would be way cuter on my desk than the desk calendar a mortgage company sends us every year (and we don't even have a mortgage).

 
Of course, when it comes to Christmas cards Shutterfly has some great holiday designs too.

I like this one for its simplicity.

 
I also like this one because it has multiple photos (although when it comes to Christmas cards I'm more of a "Merry Christmas" kind of gal, rather than "Happy Holidays").

 
 
Why send one photo when you can send six? That's what I always say. Starting today, anyway.

Shutterfly has lots of other great designs too, which I was unaware of. Now I can bookmark them for design inspiration when I need an idea for that birthday invitation I need to put together for Jules's December 21st birthday.

One nice thing is that I can still design my own (if I want) and use Shutterfly for printing because they have a plain photo card, and all I have to do is upload my photo with whatever design I come up with.

I don't know if that's what I'll do, but I could if I wanted to.

We'll see if inspiration knocks me over the head, or if I'll just go the quiet peaceful route.

Peaceful, indeed.

My Three Newest Cookbooks

I love cookbooks. I love reading cookbooks. Reading recipes in cookbooks and magazines is one of my most favorite things to do. It's inspiring, relaxing, and informative all at once. Most of the time I look at a recipe and can quickly determine that my girls won't eat it, but sometimes I make it anyway. They'll happily munch on raw fruits and veggies while Jason and I eat Thai Curry chicken. I'm okay with that.

Over the holidays, I regularly used three cookbooks that made my life happier and more delicious. Just for kicks, I thought I'd review them.

-{uno}-

  The Complete Guide to Bread Machine Baking. Technically, I got this book years and years ago at a Books are Fun kiosk, but only have been using it loyally for a few months. I LOVE it. Added bonus: the girls love it because they love bread. If you bake bread or if you want to start baking bread, this is a great recipe resource. If you click through on the link above, Amazon has a "look inside" feature that will give you a good idea of what's in this baking book. I've made many of the recipes in here, and they always turn out yummy. The one I make most often is a classic apple bread that has applesauce in it. For Julianne's birthday I made Chili Cheese Bread (savory with a bit of spice), Parmesan Corn Bread (perfect with soup), and Apple Eggnog Bread.

The Apple Eggnog Bread is amazing. Even if you don't like eggnog, you'll like this bread. I promise.

In fact, here's the recipe for a 2-pound loaf:

• 3/4 cup eggnog (quick! before it's out of the grocery stores!)
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup chopped peeled apple
• 1 egg
• 3 T butter
• 1/2 t rum extract
• 4 cups bread flour (DON'T use regular flour, and if you don't have a sifter then spoon the flour into the measuring cup, leveling it off with a straight edge)
• 3 T sugar
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 t active dry yeast

Add all the ingredients to the machine in this order, and bake on the basic white bread cycle. You can drizzle with an eggnog glaze--1 cup powdered sugar and 1-2 T eggnog--but I never do because the girls don't need to know that's an option. And frankly, neither do I.

-{dos}-

 The Pioneer Woman Cooks. The word on the Amazon street is that there aren't any new recipes in here that PW hasn't already featured on her cooking blog. I wouldn't know because I don't read her cooking blog. I read her Confessions blog, her Photography blog, and her Home & Garden blog, and that keeps me busy enough. Plus--and here's my little confession that I've never told anyone--I hate looking at recipes on the Internet.

As a general rule, I won't make a recipe that's on the Internet, no matter how good it is. I have a long and complicated reason for this, but it boils down to this: I want recipes on paper and printing from my laptop is annoying. I do use the Internet as a search engine in order to help me find a printed version in my cookbooks, and that's about it.

Back to the cookbook though...I pre-ordered it last fall since so many people were raving about PW's recipes, and I was not disappointed. I think it's charming and fun, and a lovely addition to my cookbook collection. The tomato soup is AMAZING. I made it three times in one week, and consequently gained 3 pounds. I sat in Sarah's kitchen as she made the pico de gallo and guacamole and ate it up as fast as she could make it. The creme brulee? OH. MY. SWEET. GOODNESS. The book alone was worth the money just for that recipe. And tonight I made the chocolate sheet cake, which smells very delicious but I have a tummy ache from eating too much of the icing, and will have to wait to try it tomorrow. I'm not usually a fan of chocolate cake, so we'll see.

My only complaint is that Ree isn't always very specific on her directions. I like things very laid out for me: melt over low heat? medium heat? what size baking sheet should I use? a pound of powdered sugar measures how much (4 1/2 cups, thank you Internet). So, she's a bit vague, but I can usually figure it out with some help.

-{tres}-

 Make It Fast, Cook It Slow. On my Christmas list was a crockpot cookbook. I've discovered that I really enjoy using my crockpot, but didn't have too many recipes to pull from. I had looked at lots of books, but was never really very happy with any of them. My dad, the fabulous shopper that he is (no sarcasm), found this one and gave it to me for Christmas. Even though it doesn't have any pretty pictures (which is usually a requirement for me), this is a great crockpot cook book. GREAT! I have made several of the recipes, and they have all been quite wonderful. If you click through on the link, Amazon will let you look inside the book at the table of contents, which will attest to the fact that crockpots can be quite handy for dessert and drinks too. Added bonus: the author follows a gluten-free diet, so all the recipes can be tailored that way (or not). Added bonus for someone, just not me: Evidently, the cookbook is a printed version of O'Dea's blog.

A few days ago, I made the Thai Curry chicken and it was quite scrumptious, albeit not quite the flavor I was hoping for (but I have in mind a flavor from a Thai restaurant in Salem). Next time I'll add basil. And maybe some pineapple. The azorean spiced beef stew was delicious, though. And the clean-out-the-pantry minestrone soup.

So, there you have it. Three of my new favorite cookbooks that I've grown quite fond of and will be regularly used throughout this next year. Since my parents also got me a zester, a flour sifter, and an awesome cast iron cookbook holder, my year of cooking and baking is off to a great start.

How about you? Any cookbook recommendations you can pass along? I can always make room on the shelf for more! ♥

Another Favorite Children's Book

A mysterious occurrence has happened at Creature Bug. I noticed it yesterday morning, and tracked it periodically throughout the day.

People were searching for kiddie lit authors...and they were finding my blog by the hundreds. I don't know what's going on in the world that is causing hundreds of people to type "kiddie lit author" into their Google search bar and click on this Creature Bug post (listed #3), and I even searched Twitter to see if I could figure it out. I can't figure it out.

Maybe something was going on with Black Friday? Maybe something in the news (evidently there's a big stir about the sequel to this partisan children's book which I've never read...and, um, probably never will)? Maybe the spirit of Christmas has come upon people who want to buy books for the small children in their life instead of Barbies? I don't know. It's a mystery.

I will simply acknowledge it as a not-so-random but random-enough-I-can't-figure-it-out happening, and go with the flow. Odds are I will never in my life have as much traffic to my little blog as I had yesterday.

However, I can't let an opportunity pass without mentioning a new favorite children's book that we are all smitten with. SMITTEN!

Sarah recommended it to me when we were at the library the other day, and we love it so much we're buying it.

Sleep Tight, Little Bear by Martin Waddell is just so, SO sweet. There's a whole series of Big Bear and Little Bear stories, and in this one Little Bear finds his own bear cave and wants to sleep all by himself. In the end, however, he decides that he's too lonesome all by himself and goes back to Big Bear. Why has no one recommended Waddell's books to me before? Evidently he is a prolific writer.

You know what else he is?

IRISH.

When we checked the book out at the library, it came with a DVD that has Mr. Waddell reading the story in his beautiful Irish accent, so lovely and charming that we've been using it as a wrap-up to bedtime reading, and the girls just calm right down when they watch it. The DVD also has three other little segments about the author, the illustrator, and Ireland. Of course I love it.

(In fact, I even had my Irish lit students watch the story in class the other day. It was a nice break from all the politics and drama of what we're studying. And it does fit in the category of contemporary Irish literature...so I was still keeping them generally on topic.)

If you're looking for a book that will enchant the toddler and pre-school set, then this is the one for you. I also think the DVD is a must. It's SO sweet.

I said that already, didn't I?

Well, it's true.

My Friends Tigger & Pooh

As I've mentioned before, we are quite careful about what Sydney sees on tv. For one thing, she's rather sensitive to what she sees, and she memorizes half the lines in one viewing. For another, there's a ton of worthless programming on tv. So, she has her selection of DVDs that she's allowed, and that's it. I'm not against regular tv (I watch plenty of it myself at night); it just doesn't work for Syd.

For the longest time she didn't watch the Disney princess movies (some are pretty scary, huh?), but now she's seen most of them. Even so, the princess movies don't make it into her rotation very often. I don't know what Sydney's movie rotation system is, but I think it somehow involves the stages of the moon, the humidity outside, and which way her cereal floats around in her breakfast bowl. It's a mysterious science.

Mostly, we've been fortunate on movie choices. The one glaring exception is Return to Neverland, the sequel to Peter Pan. The main character has some serious attitude, and Sydney picked that right up. The arm crossing, the nose in the air, the well-timed sniff of disdain: all learned from that movie. It's taken months to undo bad habits she learned from watching Return to Neverland, and if the movie had belonged to us I would have promptly destroyed it. Quite undramatically, I simply returned it.

One of our favorite movie selections for Sydney is Winnie the Pooh. I'm a big fan of the classic Winnie the Pooh. It's gentle, it's not too scary, it's quirky and silly. Love.

A couple years ago, a friend loaned us a new Winnie the Pooh movie. And by new, I mean newly made, and newly titled (the series goes by My Friends Tigger & Pooh). Evidently, the new Pooh airs on the Disney channel, but we don't have cable so it was a new experience for me.

This was not my childhood Winnie the Pooh. I admit, the first time I saw the new Tigger & Pooh movies, I wasn't a fan. The animation is all computer graphics. Christopher Robin is out; sweet little red-haired girl Darby is in. And while the voices are similar, they're not exactly as I remembered them.

But now, owning three Tigger & Pooh movies later, I like the new 3D Pooh. Nothing replaces classic Pooh bear, but the new movies aren't replacements. They're just new. I like Darby for her enthusiasm and positive outlook. I like the inclusion of more music than the classic movies had. I like that the message remains largely the same: friends are important, sharing is important, kindness is important.

This week a new Tigger & Pooh movie came out. We were able to get a free copy to review thanks to some connections, and My Friends Tigger, Pooh and a Musical Too has found it's way into the movie rotation. Lots of music, some cool special features, and no sulking little girls that Sydney will try to emulate. The moral is all about not being too bossy (a perfect message for all three of the firstborn children in our house), and learning to get along with others. I'm liking that because, really, you can't go wrong with that.

 

Someday Sydney will grow out of Winnie the Pooh, but hopefully she'll decide to grow back into him, just like I did. Yes, he's changed a little over the years, but he's still Winnie the Pooh. And there's just something wonderful about that fluffy little guy, isn't there?

Night Light, Night Bright, Help My Children Sleep Through the Night

If only a night light could actually cure the sleeping problems we are having right now (and "problem" is an understatement..."physiological disaster" is probably closer). There's a reason why I'm not posting as frequently. It's called exhaustion.

Night lights don't hurt the sleeping issue, at any rate. Especially nightlights as cute as these:

 

It's a ladybug! On a leaf!

More specifically, that ladybug is a detachable flashlight, and that leaf is a softly glowing nightlight. Thanks to Parent Bloggers Network we've had ours hanging around our house for a couple months now, and it has provided hours of entertainment. First of all, we seem to have packed all our flashlights away and so the girls use this one to play with. Secondly, it finally gives Sydney the extra comfort she needs to walk down the hallway, day or night.

Extra bonus: the flashlight is rechargeable so I don't have to grumble about all those batteries being wasted when the flashlight is left on...all day long...while we're outside playing at the park. I just stick the ladybug back on its leaf, it charges up, and all is glowy happy again.

We've always used a regular little plug-in nightlight for the girls' rooms, but this nightlight from PalPODzzz is quite clever (they have a rocketship version, as well as the super cute ladybug ). Even though Jules hasn't figured out that maybe the dark is something to be afraid of, Sydney has always been afraid of the dark (just like I was up until a couple years ago). Sometimes she won't even go into the bathroom during the day because she's afraid of the dark. No matter that it isn't really that dark, she needs me to help her out. Now, I can just remind her to use her ladybug flashlight and that seems to have helped alleviate some of the nervousness.

I can hardly imagine a kid's room without a nightlight, and even though there are some cool nightlights out there, I think this one takes the cake for its clever design and dual functions. If only it emitted soothing sleeping powers along with its lovely glow...that would really be amazing.

Ah well, we can't have it all now, can we? I'll settle for a nightlight that helps Sydney down the hall, and keeps me from buying batteries all the time. 

(This review was sponsored by PBN; other reviews are here; details for your chance to win a PalPODzzz Portable Nightlight here.)

It's snowing again, so how about a gift card?

We are going on DAY THREE of canceled school. It's snowy. It's icy. It's FOUR PEOPLE LIVING AT HOME. It's complete and utter chaos.

Actually, no, it isn't.

It's the opposite of chaos. It's relaxing, it's man-to-man defense for parenting, it's sleep in late, it's early Christmas vacation. It's nice. Jason even made it to Sydney's informal dance recital this morning. How's that for a treat?

And since we have our trusty truck that can get us around town with relative ease, we're getting our Christmas shopping done, although I did order several gifts on Amazon yesterday because it's hard to beat their prices for book gifts. And CDs. And maybe an exercise DVD that I got for someone. (Don't worry, she requested it. I would NEVER give someone an exercise DVD unless she wanted it because...ack. Awkward. And mildly insulting.)

Speaking of gifts and shopping and ordering online...

Kohls kicked off the shopping season earlier this month with their 25 Deals of Christmas.

In their own words:

• It's a new program designed to further help customers get more for their money during a difficult economy. New this year, the ‘25 Deals of Christmas’ program will offer incredible values on very desirable gifts like toys, appliances, electronics and jewelry during the 25 consecutive days leading up to Christmas. The savings on the day’s featured item will be offered for that day only, while supplies last, in store and online at Kohls.com.

They've created a handy-dandy downloadable widget that tells you what each day's deal is. Like today's deal is a Kitchen Aid mixer for $189.99. I do love my Kitchen Aid. If only it were here in the apartment, I would be making cookies. It's not here though, which is quite sad although my waistline will surely thank me later.

And on Sunday, they have select fragrances on sale, like J. Lo's Glow, which I am not ashamed to admit to wearing. I used to be, because it seemed so silly to wear a designer perfume, but it makes me smell nice, and there's no shame in smelling nice. Am I right?

Anyway, in order to help you do some of your own shopping, and because the economy is not so good, and because I'm just happy about all that snow coming down outside, I'm giving away a $50 Kohls gift card (courtesy of Kohls...isn't that nice of them?).

Leave a comment telling me what you want for Christmas, and on Sunday--which is Julianne's birthday--I'll draw a winner.

Because I procrastinated on having this little contest, it's quite possible you won't get the gift card before Christmas. That just means you might just have to spend that money on yourself. Or someone else, if you're feeling generous. Of if you're like me who has a terrible problem spending money on girls' dresses instead of buying myself a pair of much needed shoes, you'll spend it on your kids. Whatever makes you happy.

Ready, set, go!

Amazing, Baby

In just over a month a certain lovable, mischievous, high-spirited baby is going to turn two years old.

Two.

Once you turn two, I think a little bit of that baby sheen wears off. Fortunately, Jules still has lots to go around, evidenced by how often I smooch those cheeks of hers, or nuzzle my nose into the back of her neck, or nibble on her ears, even though most of those actions elicit a semi-serious "No Mama!" from said Baby.

To some degree, I've taken all of Jules's milestones in stride, without quite as much marveling over the little things she does like we did with Sydney. Jules has been getting her two-year molars, but somehow I haven't felt the urge to write about it. Go figure.

Sure, we're quite smitten and entertained by Jules, but the first word and the first tooth seemed just a little bit less miraculous the second time around. Also, there has been virtually no consulting of parenting books with Jules. I just don't care that much what books have to say. And the pregnancy books that I poured over while I was pregnant with Sydney? Untouched the last time I was pregnant. Partly because I don't find pregnancy fascinating, and partly because I don't like someone trying to give me a complex about the tuna sandwich I'm eating for lunch. It's tuna, for goodness sakes. Not a martini.

But there's a new book in town, and it's not preachy, it's not stress-inducing, and it's even got me--a non-baby person by all accounts--pouring over the pages.

 Amazing Baby is, first of all, a gorgeous book. Seriously. The book has pages and pages of beautiful pictures of babies, and it almost makes me want to have a baby just so I could take some pictures of her. I'm not talking Anne Geddes-style pictures (which I enjoy and have nothing against). I'm talking close-ups, action shots, pensive shots, amazing baby shots. At this particular moment, what I love the most about the book is the photography and the fabulous anatomy page-overlays that are quite informative. I can hardly remember what else I want to say about the book, so distracted am I by these adorable babies.

There's other good stuff too, though. Like the whole premise of the book, which is that it delivers all sorts of amazing facts about the first two years of life. It mostly skips past the gestating stage (not completely, but enough so that I wouldn't call it a pregnancy book) and delivers on what is so amazing about these little babies we have.

For instance:

• Newborns can swim
• There are seven reasons why a baby cries
• Babies are born with several automatic reflex actions
• A baby's brain makes up 10% of her weight; it's only 2% for adults
• Babies best fall asleep hearing the heart beat at 72 times per minute, the rate a relaxed pregnant mother's heart beats 
• A two-year toddler is an amazing word-learning machine

That last one? I knew that. Favorite word around here? Gum. It's the only leverage I have in getting Jules to eat breakfast, take a bath, and get dressed.

More than your standard (or even a-typical) parenting book, author Desmond Morris has written a book that celebrates the achievements of babies and just how remarkable their young lives are. The tone of the book is encouraging, engaging, and educational, filled with helpful suggestions to make a child's early life even more remarkable. My only complaint is that Dr. Morris credits evolution as the reason why babies are so irresistible and amazing. I heartily disagree on that point.

Nevertheless, this beautiful baby development book is one that could just as easily go on the coffee table as it could in a gift bag for a new mom. First-time moms may want to consult those tried-and-true pregnancy books, but this would make a great compliment. Second and third and fourth time moms will appreciate this book for its unique perspective of seeing life from the child's point of view.

I feel like I probably ought to give the book away, since I'm not pregnant (although I do have a child who fits in the category of under two-years-old), but I can't part with it. Plus, someday there may be another baby in my life who reminds me not to take the amazing development of life for granted.

 

But don't worry, Jules. That won't be for a long time. Plus, no baby can replace you because you, my sweet, are amazing. And I know I haven't told you how amazing you are for being able to feed yourself, or put on your own pants, or choose your own shirts, or open the fridge and get your sippy cup and an apple, but you are. Amazing.

*

For more reviews of Amazing Baby check out Parent Bloggers Network.

Continuing the Debate on Vaccines

Up until the past couple years, I rarely read non-fiction. It wasn't that I didn't like it, it was just not on my reading radar. But in the last year, my reading list has had a lot of medical non-fiction that I highly recommend: 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa, The American Plague, Better, and as of this past weekend, Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure by Dr. Paul A. Offit. I admit, I'm hooked on medical science books even though I have no desire whatsoever to be directly involved in the medical field.

Last year, I read (and reviewed) Dr. Offit's book on vaccines, and so I was quite interested in reading his follow-up book. I've already given my opinion about vaccines, so I won't rehash that here. However, the book isn't so much a parade for vaccines as it a defense of them. It largely grapples with the question: do vaccines cause autism?

It's a big question, an important question, one which parents all over the world are struggling with. The media is quick to publish studies that demonstrate the dangers of vaccines; politicians like John Kerry, Dave Weldon, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Joe Lieberman have condemned vaccines; even Oprah has jumped on the vaccines-cause-autism bandwagon. Who are parents to believe?

Offit traces of the history of the vaccine debate, beginning with the first study that linked MMR vaccines with autism.

• When it was proved without a doubt that MMR vaccines did notcause autism, mercury (thimerosal) was blamed for autism.
• When thimerosal was removed from vaccines, the rates of autism actually increased, rather than decreased. Evidently, thimerosal was not be blamed.
• After decades of research, no link has been found that ties vaccines with autism.

While Offit is clearly on the side of "vaccines do not cause autism," his book looks at the research that was given to the contrary. He spends pages highlighting the opposing research, even devoting whole chapters ("Lighting the Fuse," "Mercury Rising" ) to the story that vaccines cause autism. Each time, however, Offit provides damning evidence to the contrary. No respected medical establishment believes that vaccines cause autism.

Among many circles, that answer is not a popular opinion. Some go so far as to accuse these establishments of a mass-conspiracy, and that the government is simply unwilling to pull vaccines from the market because of the pharmaceutical company's lobbying. Offit admits that vaccines aren't perfect, but the FDA and CDC have been quick to act when an immunization poses a threat.

For example: "In 1998, the FDA licensed a rotavirus vaccines, and the CDC recommend it for all infants.... Studies showed rotavirus vaccines caused intussusception in about one of every 10,000 babies who got it....Within months of the vaccine's release, the CDC had discovered the problem and withdrew its recommendation--a testament to CDC diligence and post-licensure surveillance." If there was any link at all between vaccines and autism, the CDC would have caught it by now and would have acted accordingly.

More than just providing research, Offit provides the drama that surrounds vaccines. The court cases, the conspiracy theories, the death threats, the high profile individuals, the risky treatments for autistic children--all are part of the controversy. And unfortunately, an entire cottage industry of litigation lawyers, advocacy groups, and unethical doctors have taken advantage of parents who are looking for a cause for autism.

Even more unfortunate is that this industry sees autistic children as poisoned and damaged. From Kathleen Seidel, founder of Neurodiversity.com (an autism resource web site): "I get really angry at those who work parents up into a nasty emotional state. I just think it's destructive to be led down this path of endless recriminations that goes with being encouraged to think that kids are autistic because they're damaged."

In an age when we are all trying to do the best for our children, when we aren't entirely sure who to believe, I found the book and all the statistical evidence that it provides as a great reassurance that vaccines do not cause autism. Furthermore, rather than spending money and resources fighting against vaccines, we should be focusing on what does cause autism and how we can support those who are affected by it.

And as a perfect stroke of good timing, yesterday one of my students showed this heartwarming video about Jason McElwain, an autistic student.

Paul Offit will donate all royalties from sales of this book to autism research.  Parent Bloggers Network provided me with my copy of this book.

Reviewing 'Maybe Baby'

One of the joys of the blog community is getting to experience (in a way) the amazing moments in someone's life. Last week I was daily checking my Google Reader to see how my favorite ex-patriot living in London was doing. Talk about amazing moments; for me, there is nothing more amazing than the moments of trying to become a parent.

If you ever click on those Tiny Reads I have linked on the left sidebar, you may have noticed me sharing posts written by London Southern Belle. (I just moved up her two latest posts in my feed-sharer so you can easily see what she's been writing about.) I won't share her whole story, but the highlight of last week is that she had two little embryos tucked inside her and, oh how I'm hoping those little babies are thriving and growing.

I've been reading Amanda's blog for years, and wanting to understand her story and other's like hers is one of the reasons why I agreed to review a book (for Parent Bloggers Network) about infertility. I don't have any personal experience with infertility; however, I have friends who have experienced great difficulty getting on a path that led to a baby in the arms. Sometimes the path is fertility drugs; sometimes it's IVF; sometimes it's adoption. Whatever path it is, I know it was walked with great sacrifice.

  I didn't know what to expect when I picked up Maybe Baby: An Infertile Love Story, by Matthew M. F. Miller. Before reading the book, I hadn't read or even heard of his blog, although I follow it now. The book was a unique reading experience for me not only because I haven't read a book about infertility, but I haven't read a parenting/love story book written from the guy's perspective. In fact, it was precisely because there is a lack of men writing about this topic that inspired Matt to start his blog.

As for the story, it is told with wit and grace and frustration and heartache. But realIy, it's filled with honesty and humor. And not just a little bit of honesty and humor. A LOT of honesty and humor. There were times when even I squirmed a little bit over his frankness, but I reminded myself that it's good for me to understand that the process of getting pregnant is not always a simple one. As for humor, who would have thought that talking about infertility could be humorous? But Matt easily finds the tone and uses it with great care and effect. After all, those awkward moments in the doctor's office...let's just say it made me thankful to be a woman.

The story begins with Matt and his wife Constance thinking about when to start their family. They are waiting, saving up money, getting everything in order. Then they make the decision to start trying for a baby. They try and they try, and while they are certainly having fun trying, they aren't getting the positive sign on the pregnancy tests. So they turn to doctors, drugs, and diet. This process was the most eye-opening for me, and though the book could certainly serve as a guide for "how to increase your chances of getting pregnant," Matt doesn't let the narrative get too technical. The story is infused with his own fears and questions, and provides a point of view that (I think) isn't often explored.

I walked away from reading the book with a greater sensitivity and awareness to the fertility struggles that 6.1 million Americans face. Honestly, it had never crossed my mind that asking a married couple "Do you have kids?" would be an inappropriate question, and I'm still not sure that it's inappropriate to ask in every context, but I'll certainly be more thoughtful in the future. Though I try to be careful about what questions I ask others, there is room for improvement. Most definitely. More than providing lessons in etiquette and instruction, however, Maybe Baby is a testament of what true love can withstand, enduring all the bumps in the road while the one bump in particular eludes them. That should be an encouragement to anyone.

And how does the book end? The book doesn't exactly end on a triumphant note, which is why I promptly looked up Matt's blog to see how he and Constance are doing. I will say there has been some IVF triumph, but there has also been some heartache (which Matt managed to still find some humor in). While their story isn't as near to my heart as Amanda's, I'm still cheering them on that after the next several months they'll have a baby.

Not a maybe.

The Language of Parenting

One thing I have learned in my relatively short tenure as a parent is that not all words are equally effective. There is saying "no," and there is redirection: "Let's do this instead." There is saying "no," and there is instruction: "It's dangerous to stand on top of the table." There is saying "no," and there is offering choices: "Instead of coloring on the walls, precious child, how about coloring on this paper or this coloring book." (Confession: I haven't quite matured to the level of offering choices when the walls are being colored on.)

It's hard work, this constant monitoring of how we understand, mold, discipline, converse with, and encourage our children. Sometimes I succeed--I'm good at offering praise and encouragement. Sometimes I don't--I'm inconsistent in my discipline and have a shallow well of patience when the girls are distracting me from something I'm involved in. Most of the time, the only one who offers me feedback on my parenting is Jason. Which is fine, since to be quite honest I tend to not be great at receiving admonishment from someone else.

I will say that in general I'm very careful about the words (though not always my tone) I use to and around my girls. That's not because I'm a super fabulous parent; it's because all those classes in child psychology and the power of words have trained me to be conscientious in what I say around students and children (if only I were so consistently thoughtful when I'm talking to adults...*sigh*). I have always assumed my children's spirits are as sensitive as my own, so I try to make sure that I don't say something I'll regret. Don't mistake my admission as bragging because let me tell you there are plenty of things I'm not great at, but that's a different (and longer) post altogether.

  My constant vigilance of what I say helped me connect with two books we've been reading for the past few weeks. Parent Bloggers Network hooked me up with Ready for the Day! and Ready for Bed!, two books published by Free Spirit Publishing (who have some other fabulous things too, like these Story Starters in a Jar). On the surface it seems like the books might be geared towards helping kids learn how to transition through routines like breakfast or bedtime without sass or stress. Certainly the books do help promote positive behavior. However, the books are also meant to help parents learn the language of positive parenting.

As the story unfolds for each book, different parenting phrases are highlighted to show examples of the parent validating feelings, offering choices, and giving encouragement. In Ready for the Day!, the child whines about wanting to stay home with her dad instead of going to school. Her dad follows up on the whining with, "I know just how you feel. I wish we could spend the day together too." He doesn't say what might be the first reaction for many of us, "Stop whining."

It might seem hokey or too touchy-feely, but honestly it doesn't come across that way in the book. I'm all for books that help parents and children navigate the routines of the day in emotionally healthy ways. In my own personal experience, the book helped me remember the importance of validating feelings when Sydney cried at discovering we weren't going to be living in our house anymore. My knee-jerk reaction would have been to distract her from the topic and say something along the lines of "Don't cry. It'll be okay." Instead I said, "It is sad that we aren't in our old house anymore. I'm sad too. But we're going to build a new house that you'll love even more." I cried when we moved; I should certainly allow the same kind of emotion from my child.

Obviously, these books aren't meant to replace our other silly, artsy, dance-themed, farm-animal, Bible-story books, but they are a good addition to our library that remind all of us how to work together.

Now if only I could train myself to respond more appropriately to Julianne dumping juice all over the floor. Right now, I'm pretty much stuck in the rut of "exasperated sigh followed by smacking my hand to my head." I'll tell you right now, that technique isn't working.

It's Like "Wearing A Princess Dress All Day" Good

(In case you missed it, yesterday's post was my return to blogging after being out all week. It provides some of the highlights of our move...)

*

This review and giveaway contest sponsored by Parent Bloggers Network.

Last night, I managed to sneak away to Portland for a few hours to attend my friend's son's Pashni--a Nepali celebration of the day a child is first given rice. I spent the evening admiring all the beautiful saris the women were wearing, eating the delicious Thai food catered by Typhoon, gazing at beautiful baby George, and visiting with my friends as well as some new acquaintances of the evening. It was a lovely way to officially end my summer vacation.

During the course of the evening, I talked quite a bit with the woman sitting next to me (who might be stopping by my blog, so if you are, then hello!). She has a daughter just a little bit younger than Syd, so we immediately had that connection. We talked about books, and Portland, and food. While we were on the topic of food, she talked about her daughter's severe food allergies. It has, obviously, meant huge dietary changes for her family. No sugar, no food dyes, no dairy, a gluton-free diet, among other food restrictions. It sounds impossibly difficult, but as a parent you just do what you have to do.

As I listened to her story, I couldn't help but think of the review I was going to be writing for this morning. Though I complain sometimes about Sydney being a picky eater, I really have it easy compared to the difficulties some parents have. Truly, we are blessed that she isn't allergic to anything. I know I take it for granted that I can give my girls a cup of milk, a bowl of ice cream, or a piece of cheese. Giving my girls dairy products is about the easiest thing I can possibly feed them, because there isn't any fuss over it.

Like yogurt, for instance.

You

First of all, yesterday WE SIGNED OFFICIAL CLOSING PAPERS selling our house. It's sold. We did it. I didn't even cry. I'm sure I will eventually, but not right now. Plus, today we will receive a very large check with a good number of zeros on it, and that makes me oh so very happy. I know money isn't everything, but when it comes to building a house, money is one of those things banks get picky about.

Second of all--and you may not think this is huge deal, but it's a big deal at our house--*drumroll please*... Sydney wrote out her first word! All by herself. Without any prompting. Oh my goodness gracious.

Obviously, we had to make cupcakes to celebrate her achievement. We are nothing if not predictable in celebrating accomplishments like learning that 2 + 2 is 4, and memorizing all 50 states, and saying "three" instead of "free." Ah, the perils of growing up in a household with two teachers for parents.

Syd has had the basic idea of writing her name for a few months now. The "s" is tricky (very wiggly) and the "d" sometimes is upside down, or backwards, or upside and backwards, but she's working on it. However, on Monday, I came home from errands and there was Sydney at the table, a huge grin on her face, ready to explode with excitement. "MOM! Look what I can do!"

A quick glance at her paper revealed what she was going to accomplish, but I didn't let on that I had it figured out. I watched as she very slowly wrote out three letters: y-o-u.

There was much cheering in my household over that one little word. Over and over, Sydney wrote it out on her piece of oversized construction paper. You, in pink. You, in green, You, in varying shades of red. It was a veritable parade of you-ness.

As soon as I saw Sydney write out the word, I knew exactly how she had learned it. We've been working on sight words, both with flashcards and with a new DVD that I got from Parent Bloggers Network. Since Sydney isn't going to be attending pre-school in the fall (and probably won't attend a traditional kindergarten the following year either), then I've been making an effort to do some small-scale teaching of sight words. It's all very low-key since I'm a pretty firm believer that young kids should do most of their learning through play time, not sitting at the table memorizing root words.

Even though we've reviewed a language development system before, this new DVD is more brief, more geared towards preschoolers, and altogether a more focused presentation on one particular skill. Meet the Sightwords is produced by the Preschool Prep Company, and they have a whole line-up of educational DVDs.

What I like about this particular DVD is that it's not too loud or boisterous, it uses a lot of repetition, and the goal is simple: familiarize kids with sight words. Sight words are the ones that kids usually learn to "read" first because they are the words that you don't sound out. You just know them. Of, you, he, to, a, play, said, and, the--these are all words that kids need to just recognized as words rather than labor over sounding them out (which can be exasperating, especially with a word like "the"). In fact, the better you get at reading, the greater number of words that become sight words. For instance, as you're reading this post you probably don't have to sound out too many of the words. You just know what they are.

Meet the Sight Words helps kids start to learn those beginning sight words, and overall I think it does a pretty good job at it. The sight words come on the screen, become little characters who do simple tasks, and the narrator probably repeat the specific word about a dozen times. Because there's no storyline, then it's not a movie that Sydney will watch every day. However, after seeing it a few times she has learned to recognize some of the words in books.

The thing I most appreciate about the DVD--something I haven't seen other educational DVDs do--is that it shows the words in a variety of colors, sizes, and positions on the screen. It's not just a slide show of a static word moving across the tv; it's trying to help kids recognize a pattern of letters in a dynamic environment. Afterall, not every book a child reads is going to be in the same font. Not every presentation of the letter "a" is going to look the same (there's this a, and there's this a).

For me, it's just nice to have another tool to use with Sydney as she continues to explore writing and reading. And someday, if she ever asks about the first word she ever wrote out by herself, I can tell her,

"It all began with you."

Preschool Prep Company sells a whole slew of educational DVDs, and Meet the Sight Words retails for $14.95. Or you can get it at Amazon for $9.99.

A Handy Veggie Little Einstein Give-away

I kept meaning to write about my little DVD giveaway extravaganza, but every time I sat down to write it, I would start watching the Olympics. Okay, I'd think, tonight I'm writing about Little Einsteins. Then women's gymnastics would be on, and I couldn't concentrate because I was cheering so hard for our girls (and rolling my eyes at the overly dramatic commentators). Okay, after this routine I'll write.

And then Michael Phelps would show up, and all hope was lost that I'd ever write about Little Einsteins. I mean, really. I like Leo and June as much as anybody, but they don't stand a chance when the greatest Olympian ever is on TV. Plus, I cry every time I see Phelps' mom. And every time I see Dara Torres. Mothers and Olympics...some may complain about how sappy the Olympics are, but I love it. The more sap, the better. I'm a weeping mess.

Though I'm exhausted from all these late, emotional nights of Olympic coverage, I've composed myself enough to write about a few new videos we've been watching around here, and I even have copies to give away to you, dear reader. It's no gold medal, I know. But it'll have to do.

First up, your favorite smarty pants: The Little Einsteins. We're huge fans of Rocket's Firebird Rescue, so it would be hard to live up to that Little Einstein masterpiece. However, the Flight of the Instrument Fairies has some good moments. The first episode (out of four) is definitely the best, and it warms my music-loving heart to no end that Sydney can identify all the instruments by name. "What's that?" I quiz her. "A violin!" she exclaims. Excellent.

I do have to take issue with part of the episode The Glass Slipper Ball. The whole episode takes time and turns it upside down and inside out. There's a huge snowball barreling down the hill, and after showing their initial alarm, they have a discussion about what to do. HELLO! THERE'S A GIANT SNOWBALL COMING AT YOU! RUN AWAY! Then later on, there's supposedly only a minute left until it's too late to go to the glass slipper ball, but two Olympic events later the little Einsteins still have a minute left. Come on, kiddos. I don't care if it was Michael Phelps swimming those Olympic events in world-record breaking time. Don't drag your feet.

Nevertheless, it's good to see Quincy, Annie, Leo and June back in action. They're smart; they promote music awareness; they don't rely in the least on bawdy humor. Syd enjoys retelling the entire last episode about big Jet stealing Grandma Rocket's soup, and the dancing is naturally a big hit with us too.

Second, we have Handy Manny's Pet Roundup. Our household isn't all that familiar with Handy Manny, and I confess to letting Sydney fall into traditional stereotypical roles by allowing her to not be a big fan of videos whose heroes are tools and toolboxes. My professor of feminist literature would be so disappointed. I will say Syd definitely loves real power tools, but her video preferences lean more toward the dancing themes.

We did have a nice chuckle over the tools trying to catch the gopher. The video, of course, has a mostly gentle response to trying to catch gophers. IE: the traps aren't the kind of traps Sydney is used to seeing up at the farm. Let's just say, Sydney learned the word "kill" from all her forays into the fields to check the mole traps.

You'll have to blame her grandpa over that one.

And finally, we have those zany vegetables Bob and Larry appearing in their new video Tomato Sawyer and Huckleberry Larry's Big River Rescue. We meet Tomato Sawyer and Huckleberry Larry homesteading along the banks of the mighty Mississippi River. They're looking forward to starting their own business, but give all that up to help someone find his mama. 

When it comes to videos with a strong positive message, VeggieTales is a good one. A lot of the humor goes over Sydney's head, and I think it might still be a little too old for her (sometimes she learns the opposite of what the movie is trying to teach), but there's always a good message to be learned. In this case, we learn that sometimes not helping someone can be just as bad as actually hurting them. So true.

My favorite part of the video is actually in the special features. There's a whole deal on how to draw Bob and Larry, as well as an interview with the duo who write the silly songs. Fascinating stuff.

I totally wish I had a Boz the Bear video to give away because he is really our absolute favorite of cartoons. Seems to me that Boz videos are tailored more towards the younger kids--like Syd--whereas VeggieTales is more for kids who have a more developed sense of humor.

Now that we've finished that triathlon of movie reviews, I have movies to give away. I have a copy of each of these (in fact, I have two copies of Handy Manny to give away), and all you need to do is leave a comment. If you're only interested in one or two of the videos, just say so in your comment and that'll be fine and dandy. Contest closes Sunday the 24th in honor of the day we are moving out of our house, and the day the Olumpics ends.  Yip yip yirree.

Let the comment games begin.

The Summer of Movies*

We held off for four years, but this summer Sydney finally got to go see a movie in the theatre for the very first time. She is so sensitive to loud sounds and any plot element that may be even the teeniest bit scary, so it never made sense for us to take her to movies. Gosh, it doesn't even make sense to have her watch anything more intense than Winnie the Pooh's Great Honey Pot Robbery. This year, though, we thought she might be old enough to enjoy seeing a movie on the big screen, so we took advantage of Regal's Free Family Film Festival.

Almost every Wednesday for the last month, Jason and Sydney have been heading downtown to watch a movie. The first week it was Charlotte's Web, which was a great one to choose as Syd's first movie experience. She loves farm animals, no scary elements, and I'm pretty sure she didn't catch on that Charlotte dies at the end of the movie. Her favorite? The geese. More favorite than the movie? Spending the morning with her dad, getting dressed up in a spinny dress (her idea, not mine), and stopping at the grocery store first to get red vines and milk duds. Can't beat that with a stick.

They also went to see Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (which Sydney proclaimed as so silly), Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (which Sydney didn't quite get, but seemed to enjoy), and Arctic Tale (though it was produced by those fine folks at National Geographic it was not enjoyable for Syd; she cried when the baby polar bear died...the perils of not previewing the movie ahead of time. However, she thought the showcase of animal "toots and burps" was hilarious).

Yay for free movies!

Not to be totally outdone, I also got to take Sydney to a pre-showing of Fly Me the The Moon, which just opened in theatres this past weekend. I wasn't sure how Syd would manage this one since the movie is in 3-D, but aside from being startled at the beginning, she thought it was pretty cool. She just put the special glasses over her glasses, and didn't have any trouble at all. We both had fun reaching out and trying to grab the objects that flew our way, and Syd made sure to dodge away from one of the bugs that zoomed in front of her. I think the last 3-D movie I saw was probably at Disneyland, about 20 years ago, and it starred Michael Jackson. I think it's fair to say that Fly Me to the Moon was produced better than Captain EO (and yes, I had to Google that to remember what the name of the movie was). Some great visual effects show up in the film.

My review? I hadn't seen or heard anything about this new 3D cartoon, but it's basically a kid-friendly version of the Apollo moon landing. Three little houseflies decide to hop aboard the Apollo 11 spacecraft and go for a ride to the moon. The movie has a solid message, not too many toot and burp jokes, and should get kids dreaming again about trips to the moon. As for star-power voiceovers, Kelly Rippa is the voice of the mom; Christopher Lloyd is the voice of the grandpa. Even Nicollette Sheridan and Ed Begley, Jr., have voice appearances.

The movie wasn't quite as clever or funny as some of my favorite cartoons--although I did chuckle over the mom's line, "Oh my Lord of the flies." Heh. However, Sydney really liked seeing the moon, and she got a nice space lesson while watching the movie. Pretty harmless fare; good intro to the space missions. And hey! It's in 3D. Very cool.

Movies for us this summer?

• The Dark Knight. I loved it, but I've loved Christian Bale ever since he was Laurie in Little Women (always rewriting the ending in my mind so that Jo, not Amy, accepts his proposal). Heath Ledger was fabulous; I didn't think the plot was developed as much as I would have liked. I also was expecting a lot more violence, so ole' desensitized me didn't really get bothered by any of the thematic elements. I was, however, horrified at the number of very young children in the theatre; one young boy in front of us hid his face in his mother's shoulder for more than half the movie. As I watched the poor kid's reaction to the movie, I mentally wrote up a whole editorial about exposing children to violent movies. Seriously. Just because your kid likes Batman, doesn't mean it's okay for him to watch the movie. That's for another day though. When I'm not busy packing life into boxes.
• X-Files. If you're an X-Files fan, it's an entertaining enough movie. It's just like watching one of the old episodes, except much less scary than most of the regular season shows. My favorite part? The first time Mulder appears. Classic.
• Mamma Mia! I went last week with Inklingwhen we were both desperate to get out of the house and escape the heat. Fun movie, very silly, great music. Meryl Streep is fabulous; Pierce Brosnan's voice surprising. And when I told Jason that Colin Firth was in the movie, he said, "Who's he?" Ridiculous.
• Iron Man. I went with a friend of mine after school got out, and Jason and I planned to go see it together later, but that didn't happen (we have trouble spending money on movies when we also have to spend money on a babysitter). Liked the movie though. Yay for Robert Downey, Jr., for cleaning his life up.

And, yep, that about does it. Clearly most of our movie experiences were more in the G-rated area. This school year, though, Jason and I will have Thursday nights without the kiddos (they'll be staying at the farm while I come back to town to teach), so maybe more movies are in our future.

Or maybe we'll just enjoy whatever is on TV that night. It's Thursday, afterall. Lots to see.

* Alternate title: The Summer of George. I hope someone recognizes that allusion, or I'll be so sad.

The Clothes that Don't get Handed Down

As we begin the process of packing up the boxes in the attic, one category gets more than its fair share of the space: baby clothes.

It was a no-brainer for me to save all of Sydney's clothes. I didn't know if we'd have another girl, or even if we would have another baby, but I just figured we better hold on to those clothes. Every three months, after each season, I stored her clothes in big plastic containers. Every three months I'd go through the big bin of clothes that contained oversized clothes--both new and handed down from cousins--and see what fit her.

When Jules came along, I had a ready-made wardrobe, albeit one that didn't always work with the appropriate season. Having May-December babies means that sometimes the clothes in the bins aren't a perfect match, but it's definitely better than having to buy all new clothes every season. Even now, though I can't imagine having any more babies (but figure it'll happen eventually), I pack Jules' clothes away in the bins, ready to be useful if baby #3 ever arrives on the scene.

The bins are full of dresses, shorts, coats, and jeans. Tiny swimsuits, little swaddling blankets, onesies, and jammies make the bins complete. What I don't pack in the bins are socks and underwear. The socks are always threadbare and ready to be thrown out, not to mention that few of them have their matches anyway. As for underwear? Well, it just seems like a person ought to have their own brand new underwear in life. There are so few things a kid can really call her own; underwear should be one of them.

It was no surprise then that Sydney was tickled pink to receive some new underwear to review for Parent Bloggers Network. She's had the same ones since she was first potty trained, over a year ago, so they had certainly lost their comfort. The new ones, from Hanes, have all the qualities that Syd looks for in a pair of underwear. And believe you me, she's more than just a little bit picky about what clothes she wears (shall I remind you of the twirly dress love?).

I asked Syd what she liked about her new underwear, and she was more than happy to tell me why.

• They have frogs on them. [cute colors and designs]
• They are soft. [100% cotton]
• They stay on my buns. [elastic band that stays put, plus Hanes' Comfort Fit Promise which guarantees the underwear won't wedge]
• They aren't itchy. [tagless design]
• They are new. [thanks PBN and Hanes!]
• They say (giggle giggle) "Funny Frog" on them. [hoo haw, hee hee, frogs are hilarious]

We also got to try out Hanes ankle socks, which looked so comfortable that I ended up buying some for Jules as well. The only downside is that they don't have the grippers on the bottom, which has resulted in a bit of a war between the girls and our hardwood floors. Ah, well, a socked life can't be perfect. Beyond slipping and sliding around the house, the socks are a big hit. Especially for me, because I think these socks are going to last through the seasons and I won't have to go out and buy more due to the elastic failing.

So we love the new socks, and we love the new underwear. Not enough to pack them up into the bins for Jules to wear whenever she gets potty trained, but only because I firmly believe she'll need her very own uns to have and to hold and to prance about the house in.

If only these new underwear would inspire Jules to stop wearing diapers and potty train herself. Now those would be some pretty amazing underwear.

I'm curious, though. Anybody else have baby clothes taking up attic space, waiting to be handed down to the next baby? How did you feel when you stopped saving clothes? I keep thinking I'll be so relieved when I don't have them anymore, but then again, maybe I'll just weep my little eyes out.

This review brought to you by Parent Bloggers Network.

Week 212: The Magazine Bug

Last Tuesday was the start of one of our favorite summer activities: the library's Summer Reading Fun program.

Oh boy, oh boy. We read like the crazy cats that we are, and add up those minutes which can be redeemed for prizes and awards and gift certificates. I'm so jealous that Sydney and Jules get to participate in it, wishing that my reading time counted too so I could enter my minutes in the drawing for a spa day. Because really, is a person ever too old to be rewarded for reading? I think not.

To fully participate in the program, the kids are expected to read from (or, in our case with Sydney, read to) different genres. They read mysteries, science fiction, books about nature, books about different cultures. Last year, we had no trouble checking off the different genres, except one. Magazines.

While Sydney may occasionally flip through a People magazine, I don't think that exactly qualifies. Sure, it's riveting reading, but you know. It has its limits as far as "literature" goes. But I couldn't think of what kind of magazines she should be reading. I had grown up reading Highlights (oh that Goofus and Gallant, they were a kick, weren't they?), and even though the knock-knock jokes were funny enough I didn't think Sydney would like them much.

So, I wandered through the children's section at our library and randomly picked up a magazine that I thought looked nifty enough. It had some lovely illustrations. It had interesting stories. It even had a "find the object" page, which was (and still is) one of Sydney's favorite activities. The magazine I happened to pick up was called Ladybug.

As it so happens when the stars twinkle brightly and the wind blows softly, many moons later I was asked by Parent Bloggers Network if I wanted to review Ladybug magazine. Did I? A magazine that encourages child literacy? A magazine that Jason's mom--a preschool teacher for two decades--loves to a hundred little buggy pieces? Indeed, I would.

And just as I had been smitten with the magazine last summer, I was in love all over again when we started receiving copies a couple months ago. It has wonderful pictures on high-quality paper, and plenty of classical literature sprinkled throughout. There's always a song to learn, and reoccurring characters from issue to issue. It has craft suggestions for the kids, and nearly always includes a pull-out craft that we can make into a book or mobile.

February's issue even had a beautifully illustrated poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. "Picture Books in Winter" has now become one of my favorite Stevenson poems. Lovely.

We also receive High Five, which is the pre-school version of Highlights, and would probably be Ladybug's nearest competition. There are some similarities between the two magazines: stories, music, craft activities. While both include plenty of diversity in the characters, High Five seems to have more emphasis on bringing in different languages. Ladybug, however, is printed on better paper, and does overall have a greater artistic rendering. It's more expensive than High Five, but I suspect that's due to the magazine itself being of higher quality. When my mother-in-law saw a copy of Ladybug on our table, she was tickled pink that Sydney was able to enjoy that magazine too, even though she was the one who got Syd the subscription to High Five. As she says, "High Five isn't as expensive, but Ladybug is really my favorite."

Overall, we have become big fans of Ladybug magazine, and I think now that Jules is finally past her "ripping up magazines" stage, we might be getting her the baby version of Ladybug, called Babybug.

They already love reading, and magazines are a cool way to add some extra variety to our reading schedule. We are already one step ahead of the genres to check off for the Summer Reading program. Magazines? Check.

This review was brought to you by Parent Bloggers Network.

(C) Creature Bug 2008. All rights reserved.

A Hairy Story with A Happy Ending

There is something very peculiar about wanting to write about one thing (Pasadena! sunburns! good food!), but then being scheduled to write about something else entirely. Or maybe that's not peculiar. Maybe that's just the way it works out. Anyway, I hope you'll forgive the juxtaposition of my being in Pasadena with a review (OH! I saw the musical Wicked! It's amazing, and, and...I'll have to tell you all about it later...).

Here we go.

PS: I'm writing this review while I'm listening to the soundtrack from Wicked. So, if my sentences start meandering about no one mourning for the wicked, you know why.

***

Once upon a time, there was a little princess who had the most beautiful hair. Everywhere she went, the townspeople commented on her blond, curly hair. "What beautiful hair you have, little girl," they would say. The princess, while sometimes a shy one, learned to say "Thank You" because that was the kind of good behavior that was expected of princesses. Surliness is definitely not princess behavior.

The princess's mother was fortunate to have been gifted with a certain kind of knowledge that it takes to manage such curly hair. No shampoo, only conditioner. No brushes, only wide-toothed combs. No hair dryers, only air drying. Scrunch with fingers; hair products on special occasions. Once dry, hands should be kept out of the hair or the wicked frizzies would terrify the sweet princess.

As it happens so often with hair, the princess could not always control it. Try as she might, hairbands would fall out. Headbands hurt her head. Hair clips would slide away until they too fell out. Rubberbands were wonderful, but only if she was in the mood for "piggies" or "ponies." What to do to keep the hair out of her eyes?

The little princess and her mother fretted about, trying to find ways to keep the curly hair in place. Then one day, there was a knock at the door. "Who could it be?" wondered the princess's mother.

"Maybe," said the princess, "it's ice cream!"

In fact, it wasn't ice cream.

It was, however, a gift from another maiden of the village. Maiden America had sent the little princess beautiful barrettes that wouldn't slip, and wouldn't slide. They would stay put, no matter how fine her hair was, and how fuzzy curly it might be.

The princess was overjoyed to see such beautiful barrettes. Green ones! Pink ones! White ones with swarovski crystals! Each barrette made perfectly so that it would stay in the princess's hair. The princess insisted on two non-matching barrettes in her hair, which was evidently the fashion among the toddler set. She could put them in herself, although she did have to have some help from her mother to get them out.

The mother was relieved to find a solution to the hair-in-eyes dilemma, and spread the good news in the village that there was a perfect barrette for every little princess, whether she had straight or curly hair, long or short. (Although the hair couldn't be too short, as happened to be the case with the princess's tiny sister who still didn't have enough hair for barrettes to adorn her head.)

The delivery was swift, the production of barrettes American-made. The cost was small enough to be affordable, though big enough to make the princess and her mother sad when the apple-green barrette was lost. As the sun set in the distance, the princess rejoiced that Maiden America had created such lovely gifts and shared them with the people.

And as every good story should end...

...they all lived happily ever after.

This review brought to you by Parent Bloggers Network.

*****

I'm flying back from Pasadena today, so pictures of my SoCal adventures will be forthcoming.

(c) Creature Bug 2008. All rights reserved.

Stamps, Tiny Reads, TVs, and Energetic Cranberries

A few random items...

: stamps :

Postage stamps are going up in price on Monday, so you should do as I did and stock up on those terribly un-pretty Forever Stamps (seriously. would it kill them to put a flower on the Forever Stamps? the Liberty Bell is so not great). If you get them now, they're *only* 41 cents a piece. Starting Monday, they'll cost you 42 cents. Consider this your friendly PSA reminder.

: tiny reads :

I've added a new link feature to my left sidebar. Under the Tiny Reads heading, I've "shared" different blog posts from my Google Reader that have caught my attention, for one reason or another. I'll be updating it daily.

: tv :

We are now the proud owners of two TV converter boxes. In case you haven't heard, if you are one of the few dozen people who doesn't have cable and instead uses an antenna/rabbit ears to get your tv signal, then you'll have to get a converter box so that you can still get free tv after the signal changes to digital next February. We received converter coupons in the mail a few weeks ago--thanks to a reminder from Sophie (who, sadly, is no longer posting)--and each coupon is worth $40 off a converter box. Walmart sells the boxes for $49.95, but the south Commercial store was out when I checked last week. Fred Meyer sells the boxes for $49.98, and so I got ours there. Twenty dollars for the privilege of free tv. Yippee.

As it turns out, we may not even need the converter boxes if we sell our house before next February. Our new house will probably have to have cable, although I am totally willing to have an antenna on our house if it means we'll get free tv.

: cranberries :

And finally, here's a review for a drink I've been trying out this week...

Last week I got a sample of Ocean Spray's Cranergy juice in the mail, courtesy of Mom Central. Being someone who loves cranberry juice, I quickly drank the whole thing. It tastes a lot like...hmm...cranberry juice! With a healthy, green tea kick. Then I went to Winco and got some more. Then I went to Fred Meyer, saw they were having a sale on jugs instead of the more expensive personal-sized, and got even more. This could be trouble.

Even though I am perpetually tired all the time, I stay away from those energy drinks because I'm deathly afraid of them. I am certain I would drink one and drop dead from a heart attack within minutes. As someone who has no caffeine addiction at all, consuming that much caffeine in one sitting would totally screw me up. However, I am acutely aware that some amount of caffeine--preferrably something natural from a tea source--might actually help me feel better. Or at least, feel capable of folding laundry. So, after reading the label for the Cranergy juice, it evidently gets its caffeine naturally from green tea. And it has a whole host of B vitamins, which I think are supposed to give you energy.

Since it's juice-ish (23% juice isn't exactly Juicy Juice), since it has vitamins, and since green tea extract is a natural source of caffeine, then I've been drinking it every day with breakfast. It does have Splenda, although the juice doesn't taste crazy-sweet like some things do that have been sweetened with Splenda. Even Jason, who hates cranberry juice, has said it's not too bad (especially the cranberry-raspberry version), although if he starts drinking it then that means less for me, so...I don't know how I feel about that.

The thing is, I actually feel more energized after drinking it, but maybe it's just a pyschological trick I'm playing on myself. I feel like it should energized me, so then it does. But trick or not, I'm all for it. Probably someone who depends on energy drinks and/or multiple cups of coffee wouldn't notice a difference. Nevertheless, for me it's definitely better than drinking soda, it has cranberries in it, and even though I wouldn't let my girls drink it (no caffeine for them,natural or not, thank you. they have plenty of energy), I'm all for something that helps me stay just a little more focused on something other than dreaming of a nap.

Jason thinks I should exercise more often, but for as much as I do like to exercise, so often I'm too tired to even think about doing it. Anybody have any other suggestions for fighting fatigue? B vitamins? Multi-vitamins? Iron supplements? Less sugar? More sugar?

Please say "eat five dozen marshmallows" because I could totally do that.

(c) Creature Bug 2008. All rights reserved.

To See the Game

I still have the rest of the story to tell about the girls and their nighttime miseries (or rather, maybe it's my nighttime miseries? and they're not that miserable? either way...), but when I sat down to write about it I got all grumpy and fussy and decided I didn't want to write about it right then.

So.

It'll wait.

Until then--and maybe the girls will miraculously fix their sleeping issues while I avoid writing about it--I'm writing about something else.

Did I mention that Sydney got bifocals? The ones that I had been thinking maybe she didn't need? The ones that cost $200 because we already got her a new pair last summer and so our vision insurance (which I am thankful we have in the first place) didn't cover a new pair?

Ah, well, she did. In fact, you've already seen her with them.

If you look closely, you can see the bifocal line on the lens. And actually, these are the first pair she got. The pair that were supposed to be purple, but whoever decided to label these glasses "purple" clearly wasn't familiar with a toddler's perception of purple. These weren't purple; they were indigo. And indigo to a 3 year-old looks like black. So she hated them and refused to wear them, and is only wearing them in this picture because I bribed her with candy.

Then we took them back and got red ones. Which Syd still isn't fond of, but only because they're bifocals and make the world all funky looking.

"There are steps all over! I walk to the step, but it moves!" and she stumbles around for a few minutes until she gets her bearings and then forgets she has them on until she sees her other non-bifocal pair and demands to wear those instead.

We've set up a deal with Syd about wearing her bifocals: she has to wear them when she's reading, and she has to wear them when we're playing games. I wish she'd wear them when we're eating (because that's a close-range activity so her left eye crosses inward), but no deal.

The upside is that she's at least wearing them sometimes; the downside is that I have no excuse to not play games with her.

We play Memory with her Dora cards, and I regularly lose because I have about five million things I have to remember, let alone remember where the card is with Dora wearing a backpack.

We play some other nifty games that she received as gifts.

And lately, we've been playing Rapelli, from the Discovery Store.

All the parts are constructed with bamboo, so it's eco-friendly. (Bamboo is cool! Jason and I were even thinking of getting bamboo flooring in the new house except I don't think it comes in wide planks, which we want.) It's constructed well enough that if Jules happens to grab a piece we don't have to worry about her breaking it (although, the parts are small enough that little babies shouldn't be playing with it). When Parent Bloggers Network was looking for reviewers, I immediately thought of Sydney and working with her close-vision skills. This seemed like a great game to have her practice getting small parts into small holes, and it seemed engaging enough that she would consider it worth playing even if she had to wear her bifocals.

Well, folks. We have a winner.

Sydney plays this game almost every day, and she'll even play around with it even when we're not playing the game with her. The object of the game is to pull the little bamboo caterpillars out of the "tree." You go about doing that by rolling the dice and seeing how many links you can pull the caterpillar out (or, conversely, have to push the caterpillar back in, an aspect of the game we don't follow). The official rules are a bit vague on some of the details of playing the game, but that didn't bother us since we just make up our own rules to fit what we're doing and Sydney's age. For instance, I think maybe you're supposed to collect a certain color to win? And perhaps can use strategy to keep others from getting their caterpillars out? Obviously, though, we're not working on strategy. We're just trying to get as many of those little caterpillars out as we can.

Playing it the way we do, there is no strategy at all involved. It's all just random luck based on the dice. But that's okay because then when Sydney wins we don't have to feel badly that we were just crushed in a caterpillar game by a 3-year-old.

It's also a great game to help Sydney work on vision exercises. She has to look at small parts, manipulate smallish pieces, and coordinate all those things together. She never feels like it's a chore to play the game (and since the game only take about 15-minutes to play, it doesn't feel like a chore to us either), and right now that's key to getting her transitioned into wearing her bifocals more often.

And really, even though I rarely enjoy playing dice games (is it me, or do dice games take forever to play?!), I think this one is a great fit for Sydney and what we're working on, and that makes it worth it for me.

The game is available at the Discovery Store for $29.95, and considering the excellent construction of the game, the environmental friendliness of the parts, and the overall engaging aspects for kids, I'd say that's a reasonable price. More reviews of this game can be found here.

(c) Creature Bug 2008. All rights reserved.

A Clean Toilet Goes a Long Ways

A book review brought to you by Parent Bloggers Network...

Shortly before Sydney was born, some of my former students threw a baby shower for me. They were all poor college students, and the party was where a few of them were living in a not-quite-fabulous apartment in Corvallis. Despite being college students and despite not having lots of money, I distinctly remember the yummy food, the good conversation, and A CLEAN BATHROOM. Honestly, if I had gone into labor I think I could have delivered in that bathroom, although I will say that the lighting wasn't great and the color of the tile wasn't exactly flattering. But hey, there was a pre-nursing student in the midst, so I would have been okay.

Clearly, these were students not raised by wolves.

Their ability to clean a bathroom and host a party notwithstanding, as young adults they would certainly enjoy reading Were You Raised By Wolves? Clues to the Mysteries of Adulthood, by Christie Mellor. I personally enjoyed reading it, and I am moderately clued in to adulthood. Kinda. At least, I'm responsible for small people, so that has to count for something. AND, AND! I save money, which was an entire chapter in the book.

Humorously written in a tone more like a funny older sister than a distantly polite Emily Post, Were You Raised by Wolves captures many of the elements we sometimes assume young people should know, but don't. Even I learned quite a few nifty tricks. As a sidenote that's not completely random, but is still a little bit, I have to tell you that today I received a Thank You card from one of my students who took my class this semester. Not only is it refreshing to see a young adult writing a thank you card for a class she took (for a grade!), but I was tickled pink because I love getting cards. Makes my day.

The book covers important topics--like being polite--as well as helpful cooking tips and amazing uses for baking soda (which inspired me to scrub my kitchen sink until it sparkled), good manners and good fashion, being a good-houseguest and being a polite individual, and creating your own holiday traditions as well as creating a sound budget. And for those who can't be bothered with important things like reading, Mellor fills her book with clever illustrations:

• how to shake hands: firm, look her in the eyes
• how to make a bed properly: ooh! I knew this one! pattern-side down on the top sheet so you can fold it over and make it look just like a Pottery Barn bed
• how to make Christmas ornaments: Q-TIPS! Cereal Boxes!
• how to sew on a button (while we're talking about using metal instruments, how about this nifty tip: "Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your hem and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress." Cool.)

Since the book was just hanging out in our living room, Rebekah the World's Best Nanny took a look-see through it and promptly declared it hilarious and clever. She is actually one of those college students who will make a remarkably responsible adult (since she's already a remarkably responsible adult), yet she still learned things from the book. We're hoping that her other place of employment (twig downtown) will carry the book for sale.

In the interest of full disclosure (and knowing the world views of many of my readers), I'll mention the fact there is one element of language in the book which is written in the context of "don't say this." I'm not mentioning it because I happen to be someone who belongs to--as the book puts it--a "certain fundamentalist religious sect," but because I'd want you to be comfortable with that fact before buying the book for your soon-to-graduate niece. That's all I have to say about that.

That so many of my former high school students are now finishing up college, plus I teach college students, and my brother is graduating from BSU in a few weeks with a graduate degree in kinesiology means that I should be giving this book to more than half the people I know. That's a lot of books. But since I'm following Ms. Mellor's advice on the importance of saving money so that we can build a house, I'll just buy copies for my brother and my favorite students, and give the rest of those fabulous new adults thoughtful cards and a high-five.

The book concludes with the perfect word of encouragement:

"Be a kind and thoughtful person. Don't forget to drink water and wear a hat in the sun, but don't always come inside when it's raining. Splash in a few puddles and enjoy the showers, so you'll appreciate the sunshine that much more." --Christie Mellor

I may have to borrow that quote for those cards I'll be sending out.

*****

(c) Creature Bug 2008. All rights reserved.

Learning to Read

My parents love to tell the story of how I learned to read. They even have a home movie of me reading the flash cards, which is pretty cute if I do say so myself. After many months of my parents reading books and flash cards to me, one day I picked up a book and started reading on my own.

I was 3 years old.

I used to think it was because I was a bright kid with a propensity for language and words. No doubt, I was a certain kind of learner who was willing to sit and be read to, but it turns out that a lot of kids can learn to read young if they're constantly exposed to words. Even though Jason and I weren't early-childhood or elementary education majors, we still took classes that discussed the concept of reading and how kids learn (or have troubles learning), and definitely our background in education has played a role in our interactions with the girls.

From us reading to her, to pointing out words, to phonetic exercises sprinkled throughout the day, Sydney certainly gets a lot of exposure to the early processes of reading. For a few months now she has started identifying the letter that words begin with. "Look at that red truck! Tih...tih...ter-ruck. 'Truck' starts with T!" But I have to be careful if I try this little game too often: "Hey Syd! There's a horse. What letter does 'horse' start with?"

"No," she says, "not today."

Fair enough.

Right after Sydney was born, I saw a program that taught babies to read. I added it to my Amazon wish list--mostly for my own future reference--and thought it would be pretty cool if I ever had the opportunity to try it out on her. I remember thinking, Wouldn't that be something if I could teach Sydney to read?

Well, since Sydney won't be going to pre-school next year (because of the cost, not because I have anything against pre-school) and she's already really close to reading, I think Jason and I will probably end up being the ones who teach her to read. Pretty cool. And that program that teaches babies to read? Amazingly enough, I've been able to try it out with the girls. Parent Bloggers Network had a handful of review copies, and I asked ever so nicely (okay, begged a little bit) to try it out. I was dying to see if it worked. After months of trying it out, the verdict is...kind of.

This early language development system is called Your Baby Can Read, and it was developed by Dr. Robert Titzer. We tried out the 5-DVD Box Set, which includes sliding word cards. The program asks that you begin with the Starter DVD, and have your child watch it twice a day, for a month. Already this seemed like a difficult task because carving out time to watch a video twice a day, while easy to do with Sydney, was not easy to do with Jules. But I wanted to give the program a fair shot, and so we tried.

The very first time we watched it, Jules (at the time just over 12-months old) kinda-sorta-maybe paid attention and did, in fact, learn something. The phrase "arms up" was shown and repeated several times, along with pictures of babies putting their arms up. Jules heard the phrase, saw the picture, and started doing it. "Arms up!' the voice would read. And Jules' arms went up. Since we don't use the phrase "arms up" around here (having long ago adopted the phrase our nanny taught us: "Praise the Lord!" said in our best southern charismatic voice), I know Jules learned it from the video.

After that first day, however, Julianne had no interest in watching the video, so mostly I was watching it with Sydney and evaluating the program myself. I definitely think the program would work in the right circumstances, with a child who was interested.

We know that children first learn to read using "whole word recognition." Which is to say, most of the time kids first learn to read by recognizing whole words, not through phonics (however, beware of schools that don't teach phonics because it can be detrimental to a child's future reading abilities). Dr. Titzer's program focuses on teaching reading through whole word recognition, although he does incorporate some elements of sounding the word out, which is good. There is a lot of repetition, which is exactly what children need in order to recognize words. (It's through repetition that Sydney has learned to "read" books.)

Both Sydney and I found the pacing of the word presentation a little too fast in some places. She would try to read the word, but either the answer was given too quickly, or the screen would move to a new word too fast, and it would frustrate her. Sometimes I would help her out by pausing the video so she could see the word--I suspect her vision issues were a factor in not seeing the word right away--and this helped. The word screens that accompanied songs moved way too fast, and so when the song "Old MacDonald" was playing, Sydney would read along in her own book rather than on the screen.

So, the videos? We'll probably continue to use them here and there, but I think the real gems of the system are the flash cards.

Sydney loves these flash cards. They're heavy duty, and you can write on them with a dry-erase marker. Sydney traces the words, "writes" her own words (not with recognizable letters, but she's writing from left to right, so that's a step), and overall enjoys playing with the cards. The word cards are clever in that there is a word on the front and back of the card, and a representational picture of the word pulls out from the card. I'm definitely getting more of these word cards for Sydney to use because they seem to work for her.

Overall, I think the Your Baby Can Read program is very educational, and certainly is a great addition to any early language development. I would recommend it to parents interested in introducing reading skills to their kids, particularly if they don't even know where to begin in helping teach their child to read. My 16-month old didn't learn to read, but my almost 4-year old is getting there. They'll both figure it out eventually--in their own timing--and I'm just happy to help them out, presenting reading in a fun and interesting way.

*****

(c) Creature Bug 2008. All rights reserved.

Saving the Littlest Bums

Alrighty now, I still want to give away these two jars of Diaper Goop.

So...let's try this again, shall we?

Leave a comment indicating you're interested in trying out Diaper Goop, and I'll choose two random winners on Wednesday, April 9th. In the contest already are the previous comments from Margaret, Amy, Rachel, and Jen so you four are already entered.

The following post (linked below) is from Thursday, which I had removed because of all the negative energy it was bringing to my blog and also my computer. I have clarified some particular elements of the previous posting because clearly the way I wrote it before was giving people--people who don't actually know me or my blog, but people nonetheless--the wrong impression of life in the Creature Bug household. I will chalk up the whole experience of...whatever that was...as a small bump on the road of an otherwise wonderful blogging journey.

*****

When Strangers Judge You

I had an unfortunate incident happen to me today. One of those things that I suppose happens to people every day, although rarely to me. One of those things that at first seems like a practical joke, but then you realize that it isn't. One of those things that makes you laugh, makes you mad, makes you confused, and above all else, makes you wonder what on earth is going on.

I had a post up today that tried to come up with a clever way to talk about the miracle properties of Diaper Goop (that I received from the ever fabulous Parent Bloggers Network). In this post (which no doubt is still in your Google Reader if you haven't read it yet), I talked about how Jules cries in her crib, even with a messy diaper. While this is true, I haven't ever knowingly allowed her to cry in her crib with a messy diaper. My story was meant to illustrate how Diaper Goop keeps Jules rash-free even when I sleep through her cries. (BTW: It's a great product, and the whole family has loved using it.) Also, the story was meant to be humorously self-deprecating--me, the lazy mom. Ha ha. Of course, as anyone who knows me will tell you, it couldn't be farther from the truth. I do everything in my power to keep my kids healthy, safe, and happy. My friends know that. People who regularly read this blog know that. And yet, one story, taken out of context gave someone the right to call me a bad mom.

Today a stranger judged me. Not just one stranger, although the first one I suspect encouraged the rest of the group to follow along, leaving a string of mean comments in their wake. Today people who don't know me judged me on the basis of one half-factual story. These are people who have never met me, never been to my blog before, never read my posts before, never seen my pictures of my girls or been witness to my love for my children. These are people who tried to shame me into thinking I was a bad mom, although there are no words that will make me feel that way.

If it made them feel better to get their scolding words off their chest and say it to me, well, all right then. If they felt like they were making the world a better place--teaching one more bad mommy a lesson and hoping she changes her meth smoking, whip cracking, martini-before-noon drinking ways--okay. There is a place for outrage, this I know. Unfortunately, it was completely misguided being directed at me. Who, I guess it needs to be noted, does not smoke meth, crack whips, or drink martinis.

Clearly they don't know me otherwise they would have known that I am the mom you want on your side, in your corner, fighting for justice and safety. I am the mom you want teaching your children in the classroom. I am the mom who is raising children to be compassionate and loving, not, as you too quickly surmised, someone else. If there's anything you can learn from this mistake it's this: it's very difficult for a stranger to adequately judge someone else. Especially if you're judging through the printed word. Especially if your directive to judge came at the prodding of an annoyed friend. There is no happy ending to that story.

I have my failings as much as anyone, but when it comes down to it I know I'm a great mom. I don't need to list everything I do for and with my children because who the heck cares about that? My kids, that's who, and they aren't reading yet. But when they get old enough to read this post, they'll be the first to rise up and call me blessed. Of that I am convinced.

My story does have a happy ending, however. And it is this:

xoxo

*****

(c) Creature Bug 2008. All rights reserved.

Listening to Stories

Thank you for all your comments and emails regarding the "should we or shouldn't we?" question of kids. It felt good to finally express my thoughts on it, and I appreciated the insight you gave me!

*****

For more than a year now, we have been going to the library to listen to stories. Whether we hear Miss Connie, Miss Karen, or Miss Shannon, we always love it. We're as dedicated to Family Bedtime Storytime as we are to eating breakfast and brushing our teeth--which is to say, we rarely miss it.

Even though Sydney has a great attention span for us reading her stories, she doesn't always follow along with the stories she hears at the library. Lots of distractions, lots of tending to the younger sister who definitely doesn't pay attention to the stories. But she's certainly picking up more from the stories than she did before. Last night in particular, there was a lot of running back and forth to tell us when something in the story reminds of her something from her real life. "Grandma and Grandpa are in Egypt!" she told us when the alphabet story reached E. "I know an Olivia!" when the O characters were named. "I have a grandpa named Steve!" She's figuring it out.

Knowing that this stage would eventually be coming, a couple months ago I started looking for a certain version of "Peter and the Wolf" that I loved listening to as a kid. I can clearly remember putting the record on and hearing the oboe, the cello (maybe?), and other instruments as Peter and his animal friends searched for the Wolf. I don't quite recall all the details of the story--something about the cat maybe dying, but then not really, hooray! something about a bird?--but I can hear the music clearly. I loved listening to that story.

I did a brief search for the version I grew up with, but either lost patience or got tired of listening to versions that weren't the right one. I had great hopes for a version recommended in a parenting magazine, but it was seriously awful. Horrid. I need to just call my mom and ask her all the pertinent information, but she's in Egypt. Or probably at this moment, in Israel. My dad, sister and grandma are there too. (Check out my sister's post from Egypt that has all sorts of cool pics.)

Anyway, as luck would have it, around the time I first started searching I received copies of Amy Friedman's Tell Me a Story: Timeless Folktales From Around the World and Tell Me a Story 2: Animal Magic. Both these CDs have received great reviews from Cool Mom Picks and rightly so. Listening to the stories makes me remember the magic of sitting in the basement of our house as a kid, eyes closed, envisioning the stories taking place. I think I was lucky as a kid because all I have are fond memories of listening to stories on records. Probably not all the stories were fabulous, but even the record of "Benji" and "Benji the Hunted" were among my faves. Especially since the record had a picture of Benji printed right on it. So cool.

Well, Amy Friedman's stories are cool too. They're multi-cultural enough that Jason is considering having his World Cultures class listen to some of the stories. The wonderful music is by Laura Hall (she of Whose Line is it Anyway? fame), and the narration includes all the kinds of voices that people should be using when they're reading stories (although I have to admit that no one can beat Jim Dale--who narrates the Harry Potter books--for amazing vocal delivery).

Sydney isn't quite ready to be listening to stories in the car. She tries, but she's still a books-with-pages kind of girl. That's okay. There's still plenty of years ahead of her for listening to stories. Just enough time for me to find that version of Peter and the Wolf that I love. In the meantime, I've been listening to the stories myself (my favorite story is called "A Sense of Theft" from the first collection...so clever). I never get tired of listening to stories.

*****

If you or your kids are into listening to stories, I have Ms. Friedman's newest Tell me a Story album to give away. Tell me a Story 2: Animal Magic features seven tales that pull from Nigerian, Chinese, Australian, East Indian, French Canadian, Native American, and Guatemalan storytelling traditions. No road trip is complete without some great stories to go along. Leave a comment, and I'll choose a winner Saturday morning at 10 am PST.

*****

Just for my own future reference, any audiostories you'd recommend to kids? I can't imagine our CD collection of stories will ever outpace our book collection, but since Sydney does know how to run the iPod then we might as well put some stories on it!

*****

(c) Creature Bug 2008. All rights reserved.

Loving the Bespectacled Kid

(Ah, yes, another review. In fact, there will be even ANOTHER review tomorrow. It's crazy. But it's crazy good because tomorrow I'm giving away something. Yay for free stuff!)

Even before Sydney was born there was a certain brand name that had made its way into our house. The name adorned DVDs, books, the crib mobile, a couple bath puppets, and a baby play gym. Over the course of the years we have collected yet another crib mobile, more books, another DVD, some toys and I suspect somewhere there's a sippy cup all adorned with the infamous sketch of that spiky haired kid wearing glasses.

Guessed it, yet? If you have kids you probably have something that's related to Baby Einstein. It's as familiar to parents as Fisher-Price and Baby Bjorn. I have watched Baby Neptune and Baby Shakespeare more times than I can count, and once upon a time I knew the alphabet in Hebrew thanks to Baby Einstein. Over the course of the years, it kind of got a bad reputation because it promoted the whole "babies watching television" thing, which the American Academy of Pediatrics tends to frown on.

I like the answer that Baby Einstein developed in response to this discussion:

...The Baby Einstein Company is aware of the ongoing discussions regarding children and television viewing, particularly as it pertains to infants under the age of two years old. And, while we respect the American Academy of Pediatrics, we do not believe that their recommendation of no television for children under the age of two reflects the reality of today’s parents, families and households – for example, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study found that 68% of all babies under two years old watch screen media on any given day. The Baby Einstein Company believes that when used properly, developmentally-appropriate video content can be a useful tool for parents and little ones to enjoy together.

I will say that Sydney didn't watch tv until she was almost two, but not for the lack me trying. I'm sure it was somewhat influenced by her vision--probably she couldn't actually see the television. No less than a month after she got glasses she was suddenly interested in watching those Baby Einstein movies that we had sitting around. It was a significant turning point in our household because at this point I could actually take a shower, clean the kitchen, and have approximately 45 minutes a day to do whatever I darn well pleased. It was blissful.

And if you had wandered into our house this morning you would have seen me trying to encourage Jules for the love of mice and beans! sit and watch Blue's Clues with Sydney. Instead she went through the kitchen and emptied the dog dish, ripped up some cookbooks, and just for fun pulled Sydney's hair and glasses. I can't wait for the day she decides that tv is entertaining so I can reclaim those 45 minutes. Sorry, American Academy of Pediatrics. Your suggestions, while appropriate and important, deprive me of my sanity and toilet-scrubbing time.

Good old Baby Einstein has tried to reconnect their product with parents and get the word out about the positive ways media can be integrated into the lives of your children. Their Ask the Expert page has some great ideas, and you can even share how you and your kid use Baby Einstein in the home. We just got the Baby's First Moves DVD, which features lots of footage of babies moving. Jules, naturally, doesn't care a smidge for it. Sydney, on the other hand, crawls along, rolls over, claps, and reaches for the sky along with those tiny babies. She's all about moving. After watching the movie, she tries to tutor Jules in all the movements she ought to be doing. Added bonus for moms: there's a feature at the end of the movie that gives parents tips on how to exercise with baby. They even tell you the proper way to put baby in the crib so you don't strain your back. Knowledge I wish I knew four years ago!

The new follow up DVD--Baby's First Words--is coming out March 11. Plus, they won some awards last year, and pretty much I'm just saying they'll always have a place in our home as long as we have kids around. Really, who can pass up a product that has a kid wearing glasses? Not us. We're smitten with spectacles.

Now time to confess: who let their kids watch tv before they turned two? Come on. I can't possibly be the only one...

*****

(c) Creature Bug 2008. All rights reserved.

Clean Green

A few months ago I read an article in some parenting magazine (take your pick of the half dozen I collect at random locations) about the dangers of cleaning solvents on countertops. Or rather, the danger it poses for kids...not actually for countertops. While of course I'm not washing the girls' hands off with bleach or anything, I hadn't ever really thought about cleaners getting on their hands just from touching the countertops. I do try to be careful. Since I started showering with Jules, I stopped spraying the shower with cleaner after we're done because I don't want her to breathe the fumes (even though it's really put a wrinkle in my cleaning routine). Sometimes I can't even get my mind around all the cautionary tales given to parents about poisons, and pesticides, and cleanicides, and electricides and whoknowswhatcides. What's worse? The cleaner or the germs?

So, I stopped using those handy dandy Clorox wipes to clean the kitchen and started using regular soap and water. I doubt it's as effective, but it can't be all bad. Sure, there are "Green" cleaning products out there that are safe for kids but bad for germs. The thing is, I'm pretty skeptical about cleaners that call themselves "Green." To me, if you can eat it (baking soda, vinegar) it's green. If you can't eat it, then I don't know.

Nevertheless, I found myself at the store one day looking at the shelves of All Natural cleaning products. Sydney and I had a good discussion about the merits of All Natural products.

Me: Should I get this new cleaning product?
Syd: I want the pink bottle.
Me: The pink bottle has poison in it. It'll melt the polar ice caps...or hurt the salmon...or something.
Syd: ...
Me: What do you think?
Syd: I like the pink one.

Yep. We're deep thinkers around here. In the end, I didn't get anything.

The one I had thought about getting--Clorox GreenWorks--seemed like it might be okay. It wasn't more expensive than the other cleaners, and it listed all the ingredients in the product, which a lot of other cleaners don't since it's not required. Somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind, I recalled hearing that GreenWorks was safer around children than other cleaners. And according to the GreenWorks website, it's better for the environment too.

For reasons that might have involved a screaming baby in the grocery cart, I didn't end up purchasing GreenWorks that day I saw it at the store, but then I managed to score myself a free bottle of the Natural All-Purpose Cleaner (and the Natural Glass and Surface Cleaner) through Mom Central so I could try it out and see how it works.

As far as how it works? Well, it works just fine. It cleans up nicely, has a sweet little lemony fragrance, and the glass cleaner doesn't leave any streaks. It didn't leave any residue on the countertops, a common problem I have with some cleaning products. I've been using it in the kitchen and bathroom all week and don't have any complaints.

As far as it being natural and eco-friendly? It got an endorsement from Sierra Club, and is recognized by the EPA for its safer chemistry. That's cool. However, as this San Francisco Chronicle article (that I found thanks to The Not Quite Crunchy Parent) makes an interesting point:

...some other activist groups raised questions about Clorox's overall environmental commitment - given that its Green Works products remain outnumbered by its conventional cleaners.

"We'd like to see them incorporate these practices into all their products," said Erin Thompson, campaign organizer for Women's Voices for the Earth, a Montana-based group that advocates for fewer chemicals in cleaning products. "Why sell one set of products that have hazardous ingredients and others that don't?"

Nevertheless, a step in the right direction is still a good step. Maybe I'm not cynical enough to be skeptical about Big Businesses...selling Green products...at Walmart. I'm just happy that there's a natural (or at least, more natural than the other stuff) cleaning product that I can buy at the store.

Tips for cleaning Green:

• National Geographic's Green Guide indicating top cleaning products to avoid (hint: get plant-based cleaners)
• Women's Voices for the Earth has a report of household hazards.
• Bay Area Pollution Prevention Guide has a brochure indicating Safe Cleaning Practices.
• check out my friend Erin's post about natural cleaning products.

At any rate, I think it's important to think about the stuff we clean with. So, there's my speech about that.

ON A TOTALLY UNRELATED NOTE, it's March and you know what that means? NCAA tournament time! I'll be hosting my traditional bracket, so be ready.

*****

(c) Creature Bug 2008. All rights reserved.

Meet Pingu

Jason was sorting through our collection of DVDs the other day and remarked, "We have a lot of children's DVDs." I wasn't exactly paying attention to him when he said that, so he reiterated his remark for emphasis. "We have a lot of children's DVDs."

"I know," I said. "It comes with the territory."

The "territory" is being part of the fabulous Parent Bloggers Network, which comes with the fun job of getting to review DVDs (as well as other nifty things). With all this reviewing you might assume that we do nothing but watch movies all day, but that's not so much the case. Truthfully, we have an inordinate amount of junior DVDs considering Sydney isn't really allowed to watch that much tv.

This explains why we had never heard of Pingu. Have you? Pingu? Featuring amazing claymation action just like the kind we know and love from the classic Christmas movies? Pingu has his very own show on the PBS Sprout Network, but we just met him. And I have to say, he makes me laugh. Pingu is a lovable little penguin, and his new hour-long movie Pingu On Thin Ice features several short episodes of him getting into all sorts of mischief. Here's Pingu trying to hide his fishy food that he doesn't like (a picker eater! maybe he should come live at my house and he and Syd can bond over their mutual distaste for anything that isn't PB&J). Here's Pingu getting lost in a cave. Oh, and here's Pingu with the hiccups. That Pingu. What a kick.

But the real kicker is that Pingu (and friends) speak in Pinguinese (not to be mistaken for Portuguese, or as my mom initially suspected, French). There aren't any worries about your kids picking up undesirable phrases because no real words make their way into the dialogue. My first thought upon hearing Pinguinese, "Well, this isn't a show for verbal acquisition," and was a bit perplexed. After watching it though I realized what is does promote: understanding storylines and emotions just through observing body language and universal sounds. With some coaching, I got Sydney to figure out what was going on in the story.

"Why is he holding his nose?" I asked Syd.
"Because the fish is stinky!" she said.
"So why won't he eat the fish?"
"Because he doesn't like to eat stinky fish." Clever girl.

True, it's definitely silly stuff. Sydney and I giggled throughout the whole thing, and it's sort of a kids' version of Laurel and Hardy. There are a few occasions of potty humor (the telltale signs of bubbles in the tub, along with universal toot sounds) but mostly it's harmless fare. The one thing that bugged me was that at the end of every episode the theme song and credits play, prompting Sydney to ask EVERY TIME, "Is it over?" No, not yet. "Is it over now?" No. "Is it over?" For the love of all things Pingu, it's not over. Somebody wasn't thinking when they made the end of each episode seem like the end of the movie.

Kids will enjoy the slapstick humor of the program without parental guidance, but the teacher in me had to come tromping out and turn Pingu into a learning opportunity about gestures and vocalizations we use to communicate emotions. Yes, I'm a nerd. No, you don't want me watching cartoons in your house. Really, I had to come up with a reason why my brother should allow Pingu in his house even though the Pinguinese sounds drive him crazy. Bossy older sister complex in full gear.

If you're interested in hearing a bit of Pinguinese, check out the website. And if you're even more interested in welcoming Pingu and his pals into your home for a bit of mischievous fun, Amazon has the movie.

Pingu was all new to us, but now we not only have the movie we also have (thanks to my mom and her amazing research skills) dozens of Pingu episodes that aired on tv. Oh, yeah. We're addicts. And next week I'm teaching a drama class, and what do you think I'll be showing to my students as an illustration of storyline without dialogue? Pingu.

Pass the popcorn.

*****

(c) 2008 Creature Bug. All rights reserved.

Turning to the Purple Side

A couple weeks ago I was talking to my students about blogging and the sometimes reviewing that I do with Parent Bloggers Network, and yada yada yada speech communication model. (I don't remember how I tied it in to the course content, but let's assume it was.) At one point a student asked "So do you watch Barney?"

Funny you should ask, I said. Very funny.

I admit that I didn't exactly have fond feelings of Barney growing up. I think it's because he first surfaced 20 years ago, which would have put me at the age when I was spurning most children's shows (except DuckTales and Gummi Bears, naturally) and child actors (except those cool kids on The All New Mickey Mouse Club). Big purple dinosaurs and singing children seemed...odd. Kids hugging and sharing and being too cheerful was certainly not what I was interested in.

Then I pretty much forgot all about Barney until I got a DVD from Parent Bloggers Network in the mail a few weeks ago. Ah, I said to myself. I have to watch Barney.

I kind of put it off for a few days, not because I thought Sydney wouldn't like it but because I thought it was going to be really annoying. I remembered my general disdain for child actors, and wasn't sure if I could manage introducing a new crew of kids into our household. Eventually, I decided to watch it by myself. Without Sydney. If it was too terrible, Sydney would never be the wiser to all things Barney.

Having rarely seen Barney on tv, I don't know how this compares to the tv shows, but it turns out that this particular DVD--Barney: Celebrating Around the World--is darn entertaining. As soon as I saw it, I knew Sydney would like it. Turns out she liked it so much she took it with her up to my parents' house, and watched it with my mom, who made a point of telling me this past weekend that even she enjoyed it. The songs, the dancing, the cultural education--it's really actually pretty nifty.

The premise is that Barney and his friends get on a magical train and travel throughout the world--Rio de Janeiro, Ireland, India, Kenya, Japan--meeting children from other countries and learning how other cultures celebrate and dance. When we watch the Irish dancers, Sydney gets up and tries to imitate them (okay, I admit it--as soon as I saw the Irish dancers then I knew I had to show Sydney the movie. IRISH DANCERS! IRELAND! I've had a long love of all things Irish, remember?). When we see the girls from India dancing, Sydney says, "They're from India. India is a long ways away from here. Mariah [our friend] is from India." And then I showed her where India was on a globe. Because Barney inspired her.

I'm sure that one of the reasons why Sydney loves the movie so much is because of the dancing and the singing, and I love that she also gets to learn a little bit about other cultures in the process of that. Sure, the other little dinosaur pals are sort of strange (I find myself wondering who the people are inside the costumes...), and there is one song that I'm not real keen on (about getting nervous), but kids love to watch other kids perform, and that's what endears Barney to children.

If your pre-school kids like Barney then obviously they'll love this movie. If your kids don't know who Barney is (like Sydney didn't) then this is great introduction because it's not going to get on your nerves. If you're not keen on Barney yourself, I would say give this one a chance. National dancing...cultural education...IRISH DANCERS. Very cool. Plus, Barney's been around for 20 years, so I have to admit that he must be doing something right in educating preschoolers.

The movie has a run-time of 54 minutes, and goes on sale today over at Amazon. And hey, if you're a local dance fan, Sydney's dance studio is doing an Irish Dancing night next month that I think might be fun to go see. I'll drop you details if you're interested in going.

A Cleaner Alternative

If you are a parent of young children, you probably received that email that circulated several months ago about Purell hand sanitizer. Turns out, while the alcohol in hand sanitizers kill germs, it also poses a serious threat to young children who can get alcohol poisoning if they put their hands in their mouth after using Purell or another like-formulated hand sanitizer.

After the Purell warning, I put the Purell out of reach of my kids (even though at the time Sydney was old enough to know not to put her hands in her mouth, and Jules was too young to reach the Purell), and eventually got rid of the Purell altogether. I had seen an alcohol-free hand sanitizer reviewed on PBN, but it wasn't available in stores and I wasn't up to buying it online. Every time I went to the doctor's office, I searched the pharmacy for an alcohol-free, all-natural hand sanitizer, but to no avail. I couldn't find it anywhere.

With germ season upon us (as I hear both girls coughing in their rooms), I was determined to find a better all-natural product that I could use to clean the girls' hands. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to search very hard because I got lucky enough to review CleanWell, the product that Parent Bloggers Network bloggers reviewed earlier for hand-sanitizer, only now there's a new product: foaming antibacterial hand soap.

While there has been some concern over the chemicals used in antibacterial hand soap--namely, whether they are really safe, and whether or not they promote resistant strains of bacteria--CleanWell's foaming hand wash is the first all-natural Triclosan-free hand soap to kill nearly all those pesky germs. Of course, because it is "foaming" hand wash, then it includes sodium lauryl sulfate which is an irritant for sensitive skin, especially skin prone to eczema (information I learned thanks to nanny Rebekah who was a fountain of information concerning harmful products!).

But the reason for sodium lauryl sulfate is that it helps deliver suds to the skin, helping to clean it faster, which is good since most people (especially kids) don't wash their hands for the recommended round of singing your ABCs. To combat skin from drying out from the sodium lauryl sulfate, CleanWell includes skin conditioners like aloe and white tea. My skin still felt pretty dry after using the soap, but that's probably because between changing diapers and feeding kids I'm washing my hands all the time. Most importantly, however, CleanWell's product is triclosan-free, a chemical commonly found in deodorants and other soaps and appears to be a very unfriendly chemical.

I got to try out all three of CleanWell's foaming hand soaps: orange vanilla, ginger bergamot, lavender absolute. While fragrances are often a no-no when it comes to being all-natural (especially since the FDA doesn't require companies to list what chemicals they use in fragrances), CleanWell goes above and beyond by not only listing their fragrance oils, but using natural ones.

The bottles come with removable labels, which I was initially skeptical about thinking that once you removed the labels then you wouldn't be able to consult the drug facts list. But clever CleanWell: I pulled the labels off and there was still a small box that included the soap's ingredients. Quite handy.

My favorite scent was the orange vanilla, which happens to be the only scent that our local Target currently carries. I was over at the Center Street Target yesterday, and was curious to see what the soap is priced at. I found it (aisle A35), and the foaming hand soap is $4.49, and the hand-sanitizer (which I'm thrilled to be using now as a safer alternative to Purell) was $6.99 for a 6 oz. bottle.

It's hard to know what's safe to use these day, and what isn't. Fortunately, CleanWell seems to be making good strides toward creating a product that is healthier for me and my kids. I think the fewer chemicals that are in our daily products, the better. It follows along with one of my words of the year--gentleness. Looks like I've found a soap that's gentle for us, and gentle for the environment.

PS: If you're interested in researching more of what ingredients your soaps and makeup contain, consider checking out Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. According to Skin Deep, CleanWell has signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. Cool.

Week 186: Lottofafluza

Before getting into the story of how firefighters ended up in my bedroom at 5:30am Saturday morning, I must be upfront that today is a product-review post. I say that so that you don't think I'm using my husband's illness in order to shill a product. While I occasionally agree to receiving free products and then further reviewing them on my blog, and while I may even encourage you to buy books through my Amazon links so that I can become rich and buy myself a pair of designer jeans (right!), when it comes down to it I'm just writing about my family, not trying to sell things. I just wanted to make that clear so you don't feel like I tricked you into reading this post.

But the story must be told, and the product must be reviewed, so they shall share the post space harmoniously together, like peanut butter and jelly. Except not exactly like peanut butter and jelly because Jason is allergic to peanuts and that would only further lead me to calling 9-1-1 again.

So, the firefighters. Me calling 9-1-1. The story unfolds thusly.

Friday afternoon was just a regular afternoon. Jason had gone for a nine-mile run, then had taken Jules out grocery shopping so that I could get some grading done (Sydney was staying the night with her grandparents). Later that night, Jason started complaining of not feeling well. He had major stomach pains, and was showing symptoms of having the flu (food poisoning is also a possible suspect). Although I had great pity for him in my heart, I have a hard time summoning my maternal instincts for anyone other than my girls (and other small children). I can fetch things, but I prefer to keep my distance because bodily fluids seriously gross me out. I did what I could, which was to provide fluids and medicine.

During the night, Jason continued to not feel well. I would periodically wake up, mumble, "Is there something I can get you?" and then promptly fall back asleep (kind of reminds me of the time I told Jason I was pregnant with Sydney, and he said, "Really?" and then fell back asleep, which he says is what happens when you wake someone up at 2am to share pregnancy news).

Sometime around 5am, I hear a loud crash in the bathroom, and rush in there to find Jason unconscious, the crashing sound having resulted from his head hitting the wall. Since he's only allowing me to share this story because it was so traumatic for me, I am leaving out most of the horrible and frightening details. However, I will say that when I first saw him I was terrified at the condition I found him in. After checking his pulse and realizing that he was still breathing, I grabbed the phone and dialed 9-1-1.

I know some people say that in moments of crisis they can't recall exactly what transpired, but I remember every little detail. I remember the sound of the woman's voice on the phone, the questions she asked, the first thing Jason said when he regained consciousness. I remember it all, and I was scared. After Jason realized that I had called for an ambulance, he was not exactly thrilled. He was now perfectly lucid, and even though he wasn't feeling great, he was not suffering any significant effects of what had just occurred.

Within a few minutes of my phone call, the firetruck arrived at our house. I was relieved they didn't have their sirens on because that might have woke Jules up. I was also relieved that there was now no imminent threat to Jason's health.

It was this sense of relief that can only explain why at this point I completely lost my senses. I saw those firefighters come marching down our driveway and could only think of one thing: they were wearing some heavy duty boots. Which were going to be walking on my clean carpets. As the men were about to enter the house, I squeaked out in my most embarrassed voice, "Oh dear. You're going to walk your boots all over my carpets aren't you?"

I realized that it sounded horribly insensitive, and what did I honestly expect? That they would take off their shoes before coming in the house? Fortunately, the nice firefighter did not laugh at me and said, "I'm pretty sure they aren't muddy." And then later--after they had checked Jason out and we had declined a trip to the hospital--he managed to tease me about what I had said. I'm sure I turned eight million shades of red before he said, "It's okay. My wife would have said the same thing." So, I'm not totally crazy. Just a little bit crazy.

Jason spent most of Saturday recovering, and by that evening he was able to keep some soup and jello down. By Sunday he was mostly recovered, and barring a relapse, he'll have no trouble teaching today and tomorrow before beginning his Christmas vacation. I'm thankful he's okay. I'm thankful for the firefighters who were here and did such a wonderful job. I'm thankful that Sydney wasn't here that night. And, I have to say it again, I'm thankful Jason is okay. I hope I never have to experience that again.

*****

Up until this weekend we had been pretty lucky to escape any significant sicknesses this year. Sure, there's been the occasional cold, and a few days Jason and I had a sore throat. Naturally, I have my migraines every once in awhile which I treat with Peppermint oil and Excedrin. The colds we pretty much suffered through, but the sore throats we were able to ward off with a dose of Simply Gargle, a salt-water gargle that tastes absolutely awful but makes your throat feel a million times better. I confess I'm not really a big fan of medicinal gargles, but Parent Bloggers Network hooked me up with Simply Gargle, and I had every sore-throated person I know try it. My parents loved it. Our nanny's sister loved it (although she said, "It tastes SO gross, but my throat feels better"). And Jason and I, while we despise the taste of it, now use it because its handy one-use capsules are easy to store, and it makes my throat feel like butter (in a good way). I even used it one day when my throat was just tired after a day of lecturing since Simply Gargle is not a medicine that I would have to ingest. I'm not against taking medicine, but if I can find one that will solve my aches without having to swallow it? Now, that's a good idea. Another good idea? Visit their website and sign up to receive a free sample of Simply Gargle. If you don't want your free sample just give it to me. I do enough talking to require a salt-water gargle weekly.

I know during this season of germs and sicknesses, I need to make sure my medicine cabinet is well stocked. I have to get something for the flu (fingers crossed we don't get it again), and I have to go get another box of Simply Gargle because we're out. I'm really hoping the next illness we get in our house is as mild as a sore throat because I don't think my nerves could take another dose of the flu.

Or the carpets either, for that matter.

Week 185: Imaginative Play

I saw an article in the newspaper last week about kids and imaginative play. Some researchers were alarmed that kids weren't learning how to play on their own, watching too much tv and listening to their iPods too much, and consequently....well, I don't know. I didn't finish reading the article, but I suspected the findings would include something like 'let kids play more on their own, powering toys with their imagination instead of remote controls and high-powered batteries.'

I didn't finish reading it because, truthfully, I don't worry about Sydney and imaginative play. Once upon a time I did. I worried that she'd never play on her own and that I'd have to entertain her for the rest. of. my. life. Which isn't to say that I don't love playing with Sydney, I do. But I also wanted her to be able to play on her own and entertain herself. After we had her vision checked and got her glasses, she became much more willing to play away from us (maybe because she could finally see!). She even had her own posse of imaginary friends that she would pull from the mirror and "line up" on the floor. Her "friend" Dawby first visited us a year ago, and comes and goes at random times. And as for Jules, she is more than willing to wander away from us and play on her own. I'm sure it helps that she has a sister around.

Even though I don't think kids need fancy toys to encourage imaginative play, a certain selection of well-made toys can go a long way. I love blocks (even though they end up all over the place) and I love the little play kitchen that both girls are so enamored with (even though the plastic foods find their way to every place but back to the little kitchen). Several weeks ago we added another well-made toy to our collection, courtesy Parent Bloggers Network: Discovery Channel's Ready Set Learn! Lift-Off Rocket.

The timing for getting the rocket couldn't have been better. Sydney had been introduced to Little Einstein's Rocketship, and our library had just converted the Discovery Room into a science fiction exploration center. We were totally spaced out...in a good way.

As soon as we got the Lift-Off Rocket, Sydney was clamoring for me to get it out the box. She recognized right away what it was, and was "flying" it around the house in no time. The four little space critters were shuttled through the living room, zooming through the hallway, and having adventures in Sydney's room. In Sydney's imagination, the little animal astronauts would have breakfast in one of the rocket's compartments and take a nap on the fold-down bed in the other. Maybe while Commander Bunny Astronaut was talking to Houston, Commander Lamby-kins was rolling along on the space buggy exploring the little moon crater (all included with the Rocket).

It's a toy that does take a couple batteries in order to power its blast-off sounds, but it is mostly powered by imagination. My favorite kind of toy.

Turns out, the library has the exact same Rocketship in the Discovery Room, except instead of animal astronauts, they have people astronauts. Sydney was delighted to see that she could play with the Lift-Off Rocket at the library as well as at home. Because I adore our library and our children's librarians (Hooray for Ms. Karen and Ms. Connie!!), I see their endorsement of the Rocket as a good sign. True, spending nearly $40 on a toy is kind of out of our price range; however, I will say it is well-built and one of those toys whose pieces are not so small that I worry about Julianne playing with it. Jules is big on sucking on the little astronauts (I can hear them now: "Slobber monster straight ahead, Captain!"), and they have held up quite well. Also, I must mention that the product is made in China, but that Discovery Channel hasn't had any product recalls so I'm believing that it's safe. I haven't yet moved to the point of refusing to buy any toys from China, although I'm close.

I can't leave you with just a recommendation of a toy without giving you my favorite resource that will assist your kiddos in developing that imagination of theirs: BOOKS!

Some of our favorite space books:

• Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me, by Eric Carle. Monica's father fulfills her request for the moon by taking it down after it is small enough to carry, but it still changes. Very sweet.
• Beegu, by Alexis Deacon. A small, yellow creature from space finds no welcome on earth until visiting a children's playground. Good for teaching about acceptance.
• Mooncakes, by Frank Asch. We love Asch's Moonbear books--they're wonderful stories about a little bear and his love of the moon. The illustrations are simple, yet creative enough to capture a child's imagination.

Imagination, prepare for lift-off...5...4...3...2...1...Blast off!

One thing I'm good at

Not to brag, but I think I'd say there are a few things that I am capable of doing better than the average person. Which isn't to say that I do them exceptionally well, but probably better than 50% of the population. Or at least, 50% of the people I know. Okay, let's just say I can these things better than Sydney and call it good:

• sing
• clean
• apply mascara
• organize

Although I'm not talented enough to do all of these things at the same time, each thing individually I can manage without too much trouble. The one thing, however, that takes a bit more thought and determination is the area of organization.

I think growing up with a mom who was a professional secretary taught me the importance of organization. My parents gave me filing cabinet when I was still in middle school, and I used it faithfully to organize and file away everything that I thought was worth keeping. School art papers. Old book reports. Articles from magazines that I had found especially interesting (or worth looking at again, like that Seventeen article on Kirk Cameron that I held on to for...much longer than I should have). Saving papers ended up serving me quite well because when I became a teacher I used some of my old high school and college papers and hand-outs as examples.

Even now, we have two massive filing cabinets in our garage that hold all my old teaching materials. I can't exactly imagine myself using them again, but I keep all the lesson plans anyway. In the house, however, I keep all the information that I deem important and necessary. Bills, paper work, employment stuff, etc.

So, when Parent Bloggers Network wanted me to try out an organization system from Dayrunner, I was curious to see what new organizational tricks I could learn. My fingers were crossed that I would get a big, erasable wall calendar that I could post in our kitchen. I had seen one someplace and wanted one with all my organized heart.

I got one.

And I do love it.

Even though there are computerized versions of calendars/organizational systems that people use--ones that I've even reviewed--I find that I am a paper and pen kind of girl when it comes to calendars. I love the one that Dayrunner sent me because (1) at 17" x 24" it's big, (2) I can include notes to myself in the sidebars, and (3) I can look at it and always see 35 days out. For me, this means that it doesn't look like a traditional calendar with day 1 at the top because I'm weekly erasing the old week and inserting the new week that is still four weeks away (sound confusing? just check out the photo here to help clarify). I still use a hanging month-by-month calendar for long term events and appointments, but for more immediate things I have fully switched over to using this one. I still use the other product for my screen saver and email reminders, but Dayrunner is much more my style as far as calendars go.

Even if you don't want to give up your computerized day planner, Dayrunner also helps with the mountains of paperwork that perhaps infiltrate your household like they do mine. SO MUCH PAPER. I'm good about recycling junk mail before it even gets in the house, but still. It's crazy how much paper we collect, and we don't even have kids in school! I try to weekly file away important papers, but there are some papers that need to be out for easy reference.

Enter Dayrunner's color-coded folders and storage boxes. As soon as I got them, Sydney and I assembled a few and put them on top of the filing cabinet. Sydney adopted purple as her personal storage box, and said I could have yellow and Jason could have blue. We don't actually need that many storage boxes because we don't have that many important papers per person, but Sydney does try to put all her art papers in her purple storage box. I mostly make use of the color-coded folders: green for bills, purple for professional, blue for family. Within days of incorporating the color-coded folder system I was able to easily answer Jason's question of: "Where is that professional development paperwork from school?"

"It's in the purple folder on top of the filing cabinet, my sweet." And he found it all by himself. Of course, he's a very capable and intelligent person and might have been able to find it on his own anyway, but the point is now he knows the new system and doesn't have to wonder where I might have filed away some paper of his. He can also file papers into the color-coded folders on his own without worrying that he might mess up my filing system. It only took us 10 years to figure out how to work together on this, but hey, we still have another 60 years ahead of us so better to start now than never.

Finally, the Dayrunner product that deserves points for cuteness and cleverness:

Hanging reminders!

Their designed use is to hang on doors, but I'm not putting a marker at any level Jules can reach. Plus, we always have things hanging on our doors that aren't important so I knew I'd overlook it even if I could magically train the girls not to play with it. Kitchen cabinets at eye level are so much more effective for me: right next to the phone and the keys to the car so I can write both phone messages as well as reminders of things not to forget before heading out the door. The trick is to write the reminders on this little guy otherwise he won't help you out. Like, Tuesday I was supposed to take a few things to the party, but forgot all but one because I hadn't written myself a note.

There are all kinds of uses for organizational systems, but because our family doesn't really have that much going on then I am not at the point where I can fully maximize everything Dayrunner has to offer (like the set up pictured here). However, I can say that what I tried out has helped me keep events, papers, and partial memory-loss in order.

Music for Me...and my kids too

(Before you skip past this post as just another review, I have to tell you that of all the products I've reviewed with Parent Bloggers Network, this is by far one of our favorites. You should at least check out their web page.

PS: Don't forget to Comment for a Cause if you haven't already! Even if you don't regularly visit here, I'd love to have you involved.)

One of the things that I love about teaching is the drive to school. There are very few times I'm in the car without one of the girls, but my drive to school has become my very own. I didn't realize how much I appreciated driving by myself until last January when I started driving to school and was taking Jules along with me. With a baby in the car I would set certain limitations for the kind of music I would listen to. Nothing too crazy. And definitely nothing too loud. In short, the drive to school was nothing spectacular. The highlight of the drive was when I would drop Jules off with a student in the dorms, and then I had approximately 45 seconds to drive from Aagard Hall, up the gym hill, and into the faculty parking lot. In those 45 seconds I would crank the volume on the CD player and play my music. Not children's music. Not talk radio. Not comfortable silence. And then when I was done teaching, I'd pick up Jules and turn down the volume again.

For this fall semester I'm making that drive two times a week, and even though I'm totally digging the teaching time, I also love the 8 minutes I'm in the car, because I get to pick the music. I suppose I could pick the music even when Sydney's in the car, but I usually let her pick. Between listening to the soundtrack for "King Bidgood's in the Bathtub" and selections from "101 Children's Songs to Drive Parents Crazy," I definitely get more than my fair share of children's music. I am not necessarily opposed to it--and it beats listening to whining any day--but I wouldn't exactly pick those songs to listen to if the choice was mine.

So, when Parent Bloggers Network asked me if I wanted to review a children's music CD, I didn't volunteer right away. The thought of having to listen to another rendition of Old MacDonald just didn't sound fun. Heck, even if it was fabulous classical music that would boost Sydney's IQ by 50 points, I still wasn't interested. She's smart enough. Not as smart as me, but you know, she's working on it. But then PBN sent out a second email, and I noticed that the makers of the CD were from Mercer Island, Washington, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I had faith that my fellow Pac Northwesters would come through and bring me something other than Bach.

Well, they definitely brought me something other than Bach. Thanks to That Baby CD and That Baby DVD we have Joni Mitchell, we have Natalie Merchant, and we have Neil Diamond. You don't realize how much it warms my heart to hear Sydney sing Bruce Springsteen. My daughter singing The Boss? Singing in her precious little voice, "Pony Boy, Pony Boy, won't you be my Pony Boy? Giddy-up giddy-up giddy-up, whoa, my Pony Boy." Now, that's priceless.

That Baby CD features acoustic cover versions of mainstream artists--this isn't just a children's CD--sung by Portland artist Stephanie Schneiderman (she sang at Lilith Fair!). Even though the name of the product is kind of tricky to work with (I'm always encouraging Sydney to call things by their proper names, and so it's a bit confusing when we have a CD with a vague article reference), the product itself is certainly not vague or forgettable. I can't tell you how surprised I was about the quality of the music. The producers Rob and Lisi Wolf picked over a dozen songs to remake, and did such an extraordinary job with the music that I literally could listen to the CD all day long. I can't even listen to U2 all day long (shhh...don't tell Jason), but classic rock music, sung by a lovely alto voice? We're all totally addicted to it.

That Baby DVD, which features almost all of the songs from the CD, is beautiful and creative and fun. In short, it's a breath of fresh air when compared to some other music DVDs. The illustrations are well done, and the interaction between the kids and the music has Sydney up and dancing all the time. The website even has a video clip that gives you a taste of what to expect

I asked Sydney what her favorite part is from the DVD, and she said, "The purple tree," (from the video of "Happiness Runs") and "the girl with curls!" There's a little curly-headed blond girl who lip-syncs some of the songs and shakes her curls like it's nobody's business. We're big fans of curly-headed blond girls, naturally. That being said, I think the video does a nice job of making sure that not all the kids who appear in the music videos are blond-haired, blue-eyed kids. I didn't notice any kids with glasses (who we also happen to favor), but that's okay.

I'm already making plans to get the CD/DVD collection for a friend whose wife is expecting a baby because I know he'll love it. And thanks to the PBN campaign, everyone can get 20% off with this code: PBN. Even if you don't have kids, I think the CD is worth having. In fact, my true confession: that drive to school twice a week? I listen to That Baby CD. I've adopted the first song "Happiness Runs" as my personal anthem. Even Jason listens to it just because he likes it. How about that.

What's the deal with chickpeas? Where's the chick?

So, I've been trying out a new cookbook that I got from Parent Bloggers Network. I should say that I love cookbooks more than I love cooking (and I do love cooking) and have dedicated the cupboard above the fridge to cookbooks. And the little cupboard next the fridge. And a space on the countertop. And a space on the bookshelf in the living room (that's where I keep my collection of literary cookbooks). While I don't actually use all the cookbooks, I love to look through them, especially if they have great pictures of food. In fact, I will rarely buy a cookbook unless it has great pictures of food.

But, back to this new cookbook...

My newest cookbook is Deceptively Delicious, by Jessica Seinfeld. Perhaps you've heard of it? Because if you haven't, you really should get out just a little bit more. It's a NYTimes bestseller. It's been on Oprah. It's been reviewed all over the Internet. Even our local newspaper had a review (albeit, somewhat unfavorable). Combine all that media attention with the advertisements for Jerry Seinfeld's new Bee Movie, and chances are you've heard of at least one Seinfeld family member this week. They're taking over the world with pureed food and sassy honey-loving bees (make that pureed honey, please).

The Concept

This is both a how-to and concept book; specifically, how to get your kids to eat more veggies and fruit. The solution? Add pureed veggies and fruits to foods your kids are already eating. The book has a great section on how to puree foods (which I needed since I haven't exactly pureed foods before), as well as essential kitchen and pantry items. I should note--because you'll definitely find out if you read the message boards at Oprah or Amazon--the concept of adding purees to foods is not new. In fact, not all the recipes are even original with Jessica. Having not seen the other book that is generally compared with Deceptively Delicious, I can't say which one is better. But I can tell you what I do like about this one.

What I Like

• The design of the book is super cute. Lots of pink (we love pink!), and nifty cartoon illustrations of foods and kids. Also, it's spiral bound, a definite requirement for cookbooks.
• The full-page, glossy, full-color, please-eat-me, pictures of food. When I made the recipes I was able to get my food to look just like the ones in the picture, which is a testament to both the honesty of the photography and the simplicity of the recipes.
• The table-tips on getting kids to eat better. Jessica offers her own parenting advice on dealing with picky eaters, and shares stores from other moms.
• I had initially been skeptical to take nutritional advice from a celebrity. What qualified her to create healthy recipes? Fortunately, I saw that Jessica had help from a nutritional expert (Joy Bauer). Good to know.
• The index. One day I wanted to know what I could make with some cauliflower puree that I had, and rather than looking through the book for a recipe, I just turned to the index and saw that all the purees have been cross-referenced to their specific recipes. So handy.

Getting Started

• I admit that pureeing foods was not as exciting as I thought it would be. I didn't mind the steaming of the veggies, but I don't have a good blender to get the work down efficiently. Even my Magic Bullet wasn't very accommodating. I think if I had a food processor the job would have been lots easier.
• I found myself thinking, "Wouldn't it be great if the foods were already pureed? If someone already did the work for me, and I could just buy it in jars to add to the recipes?" Oh yeah, we call that baby food! True confession: I used jarred baby food for some of the recipes instead of pureeing the food. Definitely not cost-effective. Definitely easier than pureeing the food myself.

The Recipe Low-Down

• Our favorites were the recipes that called for pumpkin, not only because we're big fans of pumpkin but also because I can buy it already pureed in a can for cheap. We tried the pumpkin french toast (it was okay, but I had to add milk), the pumpkin oatmeal (we love it! Sydney asks for it specifically!), and the pumpkin yellow cake (it was good).
• I also tried several main dish recipes like the meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and they were both good. I added my own seasonings because the recipe doesn't call for any.
• The dessert section is no good for me.
  • We made the chickpea chocolate chip cookies that seem to get rave reviews all over the Internet, but Sydney and I did not like them. Jason and Rebekah the nanny did like them. So, it's a toss-up. I'm the one who makes cookies though, and I won't make them again.
  • The chocolate pudding with avocado. Hmm. It was good--Rebekah liked it the most of all of us--but since it doesn't have gelatin or milk then you don't get pudding skins. I make pudding just for the pudding skins, so I don't know if I'll make it again. It was pretty good though, even the next day reheated, but I had to eat every bite with a good dose of whipped cream because I'm so used to the milk quality of pudding.
• I tried a couple recipes without using the purees, and the consistency isn't exactly what it should be. Like the turkey chili was good, but because I didn't add the purees, then I needed to add extra cornmeal in order to get the chili thick enough.

The Kid

• Sydney is a picky eater. Very picky. It's all well and good to add carrot puree to the meatloaf to make it healthier, but Sydney won't eat meatloaf. Or mashed potatoes. Or turkey chili. Or eggs. Or chocolate chip cookies with chickpeas. In fact, when we ate the meatloaf, I just gave her a plate of carrots and she ate that instead.
• The trick was finding foods that she would eat and then adding the purees to those, but of the foods she'd eat (spaghetti, quesadillas, muffins) she is just as likely to eat the added puree as a raw food. She eats carrots. She eats butternut squash and sweet potatoes. Going to the trouble of pureeing those foods just to add to other foods seemed like a lot of extra work for me. I'm sure the point is, however, when you add the purees then you make those foods more nutritious.

The Question Marks

• Some people have issue with the idea of tricking your kids to eat healthy foods. Sydney has no idea what goes in food anyway, so there's really no issue there.
• Jessica uses trans-fat-free soft tub margarine, which I don't (and won't). I love butter too much to get rid of it. I haven't tried enough of the baking recipes to determine if this is going to be a problem.
• Several recipes call for peanut butter (as the added health benefit), but that's no good for us because Jason is allergic to it. No sense in making food that only Syd and I can eat.
• I understand the idea of making desserts healthier--if a kid is going to eat a chocolate muffin anyway, how about a chocolate muffin with spinach? But truthfully, I won't eat a chocolate muffin with spinach, and so I won't end up making this recipe. I want my desserts to be desserts. I don't want to think that they might have health benefits because then you set yourself up for other bad eating habits, like eating dessert thinking that you're getting some nutritional wonderment out of it.

The Verdict

I think you have to really view the recipes more as a way to eat healthier. Putting carrot puree into foods is no substitute for getting your child to like to eat carrots. Kids should learn to eat healthy foods, and I think this book is more about complimenting that idea instead of replacing healthy eating habits. I'm going to keep it on the kitchen countertop because it's a great cookbook to have around. It has fabulous tips on mealtime habits and practices, and I'm sure I will refer back to it again and again as Sydney learns to eat other foods, like eggs and meatloaf.

However, our cookies will be real cookies.

Baby Steps

Eight steps. From one end of the kitchen to the other, that's how far Julianne walked last night.

Walked.

For the record, she doesn't turn nine months old until the 21st, so theoretically we could say she started walking at eight months old. Good grief. She's still this tiny baby, and yet she is so determined to keep up with her sister. She has adopted the motto of "Anything you can do, I can do sooner." First tooth. Crawling. Walking. Sleeping through the night. I'm not quick on the bragging rights because for one, walking early doesn't mean anything. And two, this competitive streak, this force of nature that compels her to move all the time is going to keep me on my toes for a very long time. Sydney is my cautious, hesitant one. Jules, not so much.

I mentioned to a friend of mine last night that Jules had taken her first steps, and she said, "Everyone in your family is so athletic. Even your girls."

Not sure if walking early is an indication of athleticism, but it's definitely an indication that we're not ones to sit around. Sydney has learned to keep up with us, and now Jules is learning too. Even though Jason is far more athletic than I am--he plays basketball twice a week, runs, coaches soccer, ran in Hood-to-Coast, is already planning on running the Eugene Marathon next spring--I'm not exactly un-athletic. Sure, I may joke about being uncoordinated, but the truth is I have running in my genes. I didn't enjoy running that much until about five years ago, then I became addicted to it. Runners' high? Loved it.

Both my parents have run marathons, and my brother was the Division III Track and Field Athlete of the Year for his outstanding performance in long distance running. After Sydney was born, my brother's gift to me was a new pair of running shoes. Nothing says Congratulations like "Here's a pair of shoes to run off that baby fat." Kidding aside, I honestly wanted running shoes more than a pack of onesies so his gift was certainly appreciated.

So, I ran in those shoes. Put lots of miles on them, and was ready to get another pair because running shoes need to be replaced after 350-550 miles. But before I replaced them, I got pregnant, and I stopped running. Then Julianne was born last December, but I was so not up for getting back in shape by running in the rain. I'm not that dedicated.

Summer arrived, and with it my new determination to exercise more often. Not only did I have the goal of getting back into my wedding dress for our 10-year anniversary, I knew I would just feel better if I was in shape. It helps me clear my head and get rid of mental stress. I vowed that I would get back to running. To help me out with my new goal I got a new pair of running shoes from PBN. They outfitted me with running shoes from Ryka; specifically, this pair of MC2 Run.

The shoes feel great on my feet. They aren't too heavy, and the soles are nicely cushioned. Even the laces are sturdy, which is good since Julianne loves to chew on them. As soon as I got them I immediately put insoles in them because I have ridiculously flat feet and so need special arch support. I'm sure my feet problems contributed to me getting tendonitis in both my knees when I started exercising after Sydney was born three years ago. This time around, I was smarter. Good shoes are the best place to start when beginning any exercise program, but it's super important to have the proper insoles if you have feet with issues. In fact, after these MC2s reach their mileage, I'm going to get a different pair of Ryka shoes specifically designed for flat feet (which I discovered using their ShoeFinder guide). Additionally, if you have tendon/joint problems, it's a good idea to wear knee straps like I do to help alleviate that pain in the patella. (I should once again mention my brother since he's the one who gave me the knee straps. It's nice to have a super athlete/physical therapist in the family!).

Okay, so after having the shoes for over a couple months, I admit I'm not in running shape yet. More like, walking while pushing 50 pounds of stroller around the neighborhood kind of shape. Even though the shoes are attractive and comfortable and fun to wear, they don't have that magical ability to instantly transform my legs into power-horses. I'm still in serious need of some muscle, except in my arms that are fabulously toned from picking up kiddos are the livelong day. Yeah, I could totally almost beat my sister in an arm-wrestling contest, I just know it.

However, I have done enough walking/wandering/hopping along to make a difference: I am proud to say that as of one week ago I am now back to my pre-pregnancy weight and can fit into almost everything in my wardrobe. Sure, it took me eight months (and more than a few nights of going to bed hungry), but I did it. (And if you say, as a certain parent of mine did, "Great! Now it's time to get pregnant again!" I will run screaming from the room.)

I feel confident that my feet are in good shape wearing good shoes, and now that there is a new walker in the house, I'd say these shoes came just in time.

*****

Good news for you if you want some new shoes! Ryka is giving away 50 pairs of new shoes EVERY SINGLE DAY until October. You definitely should sign up for that.

Plus, Parent Bloggers Network is also hosting a contest today to give away more Ryka shoes. Check out the details here.

A Contest!

Check out my latest contest here.

PS: There are tutus, as well as DVDs, to be won. Eek!

Summer Faves

Even though technically there's still a month left of summer, I have inservice today at the college so it is beginning to feel like the end is near. We still have the State Fair to look forward to, and the weather hasn't completely turned dismal (although it's been so pathetic this summer, with record rain fall), but I thought I'd round up some of my favorite things from the Summer of 2007.

: Favorite Summer Event :

• Earlier this summer I came across the Trash the Dress website, and I was instantly smitten. My mom thinks it's crazy, but I wanted to do. The plan was to do it a few weeks ago when we were staying up at the family farm because my fabulous SIL Sarah would be right next door, making it convenient for the photo session. But then we went to IKEA. And, um, instead of taking pictures we ate meatballs. What can I say? Those Swedish meatballs are delish. It's been a bit tricky to get back up to Washington, but sooner or later we'll get our schedules synced up. SO, all this to say that I am still planning on trashing the dress, and when I do I promise to show pictures. If you're thinking this is the craziest and most bizarre thing you've ever heard of, here's one explanation. The rest I'll share post-TTD.
• The Harry Potter book frenzy. If only every summer there was a book to look forward to. Even a couple weeks after finishing the book, I still have a warm feeling about HP.
• The opening of IKEA. I know it sounds lame and so commercialized that a store opening is a favorite event, but I've visited twice and it's just so much fun.

: Favorite Summer Post (of mine) :

• This one still cracks me up. Especially the picture at the bottom.
• I had it in mind to write something profound for our ten-year anniversary but it's tied to the TTD event. So perhaps you can get your warm, lovely feelings from the anniversary post I wrote two years ago.

: Favorite Summer Products :

• The girls and I made it through the entire summer without any sunburns. This is a major achievement for us fair-skinned Scandinavian girls. (Jason got burned, but I am not responsible for making sure he wears sunscreen.) My nose--that never once started peeling--would like to thank Mary Kay Timewise Moisturizer with SPF 15. I wear it daily and tell myself I don't look a day over 30 (feel free to agree with me). The girls were able to avoid sunburns thanks to Parent Bloggers Network hooking us up with KINeSYS SPF 30 Spray-On Sunscreen for Kids. It's oil-free, alcohol-free, scent-free, and PABA-free. The spray worked fabulously when Sydney was outside in her swimsuit, and all I would have to do was spritz her up and down and she was good to go. The Kids SPF 30 Cream worked wonders too (no itchy rashes), and Sydney was delighted to be able to apply the Sun Protection Stick on her nose. "Like lipstick for my nose!" Exactly.
• Now this is a somewhat embarrassing admission, but *ahem* I sweat. A lot. I'm a sweater. My mom told me back when I was a teenager that I would outgrow my sweat issues, but turns out she was wrong. My sister and I (yes, I'm outing her sweat problems too) can sweat through probably three or four layers of clothing. It's gross. And embarrassing. And depressing sometimes too. I've tried everything. The crystal. The extra strength. Sticks, roll ons, sprays. It all fails. But! There is hope! My grandma bought Certain Dri for my sister, yet I managed to snag it before she got home from China (that's what happens when you live overseas). Even though the directions and warnings are a mile long, let me tell you that Certain Dri has brought me out of the, um, pit of despair. I didn't even know a person could get prescription strength deodorant, but now that I do know I don't think I'll have to go get one because Certain Dri has worked like a charm. I can wear tanktops! I can wear white shirts! Rayon! Sheers! Don't tell me about the potential health hazards of Certain Dri. I don't want to know. I just want to be able to wear my clothes and be blissfully stink-free.

: Favorite Gear :

• I know people swear by their Baby Bjorns and wrappy wraps, but I'm telling you, the Ergo baby carrier is the way to go. We've had ours since Sydney was seven-months old, and now I use it all the time with Jules. I actually could still use it with Syd if I wanted to because she still fits in it, but she's not too keen on it now that it has Jules' slobber all over it. Wear the kid in front; wear them in back. Fabulous padded shoulder straps and lumbar support that makes my body happy.
• Crocs for kids. No shoelaces and they float in the water. Need I say more?

: Favorite Food :

• Our Magic Bullet has become a constant fixture in our kitchen because we have been drinking smoothies like there's no tomorrow. Plus, since Jason spent a week working at his dad's coffee shop he has now become very fond of mocha freezes. I think I could actually move to a totally liquid diet, except that I'm too in love with steak and potatoes. Liquid steak? Not even the Magic Bullet could make that tasty.
• When we were in Kauai this summer we fell in love with an ice cream pie that the Hilton served. We discovered it on the second day we were there, and then had it every. single. night. It was a vanilla and chocolate ice cream concoction on a macadamian nut pie crust. Such goodness.
• However, since making ice cream pie sounds too time consuming for me, we have had to settle for our second favorite dessert: key lime pie. I have an easy and delicious recipe (albeit mostly inauthentic if you're looking for something with that's similar to cheesecake) that I have memorized since I've made it so often. I'm making it tonight, and will post the recipe with a picture.

: Favorite Vacation We Didn't Pay For :

• Absolutely.

A book featuring Sydney in a tiger suit

You, too, could be this lucky.

Buzzing around

Okay, so I have a little project that I've been working on for the past week or so. It's nothing too fancy, but hopefully it'll keep things around here a little tidier and more organized. It's my blog version of adding another filing cabinet to the place.

Come on over to check it out...

Even though I'm 100% sure I'm not pregnant...

...I've been reading a book about pregnancy.

I will say upfront that this has to be the most altruistic thing I've done lately. Read a book about pregnancy, that is. I read for all you hopeful and future pregnateering women out there. Because as we all know, I enjoy pregnancy as much as I enjoy...I can't even think of an equal comparison. I'd rather do my taxes, go swimsuit shopping, have my wisdom teeth pulled out and read Beloved again--all at the same time--than be pregnant. Me and pregnancy just aren't friends, except at the end when I get a beautiful baby out of the whole ordeal. Otherwise, it makes me muy loco.

And yet, here I sit, reading Body, Soul, and Baby by Dr. Tracy Gaudet (who gets help from freelance writer Paula Spencer). I was not quick to email the lovely ladies at Parent Bloggers Network regarding this review, I admit. Refer to previous paragraph for reasons why. However, in the end I decided that since it's possible I'll experience pregnancy again, reading Body, Soul, and Baby might be helpful. Afterall, the other 3 books I read during pregnancy (only with Sydney, I refused to read anything educational whilst Jules was rumbling in my tummy) didn't inspire me to read them again. Except one that told me what exercises to do after my ab muscles ripped in half.

What makes Body, Soul, and Baby different from other pregnancy books is its soulful approach to pregnancy. It initially comes across as rather touchy feeling, but after several pages I started warming up to Gaudet. She gives lots of real-life stories that she has encountered from her practice, so the stories and advice she gives ring true. I especially appreciated her run down of all the different emotions that expectant moms can feel. So often we want pregnancy to be this romantic, blissful, super-happy time, and while that is true for some moms, it was not true for me. Even though both my pregnancies were planned, I didn't ever really revel in the beauty of it. It was just something I had to go through, which made me feel guilty (because there are plenty of women who can't experience pregnancy) and then I had a hard time getting out of that funky depression/guilt thing. Gaudet hopes to change this cycle and validate all feelings with her words of encouragement. She writes,

Remember--no feelings are bad ones. By acknowledging frankly how you feel, you're actually less likely to simmer in guilt. If you are having severe nausea and vomiting, then on a purely physical level, you are miserable. Owning up to that feeling does not negate the happiness and excitement you may also be feeling about the pregnancy. (page 121)

Gaudet hopes to create a different framework for thinking about pregnancy, providing exercises that expectant moms can do in order to check in with themselves, their bodies, and their baby. Tools like dialoguing with your physical and nonphysical self and using dreamagery (a type of focused imagery exercise) might read a little too New Agey for some moms, but I think the concepts behind them are good. Namely, that we slow down, calm down, and create moments of stillness as we experience pregnancy. I can't say for certain that I would have used these tools when I was pregnant (because I was so stubborn about not wanting to let it affect me), but if I had, I know it would have forced me to give up so much of the negative energy I was harboring.

In addition to working through the stages of pregnancy, this book gives the best and most comprehensive chapter on labor and delivery I've ever read. There's even an illustration and explanation of an epidural, which I had been totally clueless about until I asked Jason how it worked when he saw me get one when Jules was born. Since he was mildly grossed out by the procedure, my information from him was a bit sketchy, and BSB filled in the blanks.

Gaudet does a stand up job addressing postpartum issues, and my favorite quote of the book pops up on page 441 when she attempts to answer the question of How Long is "Postpartum":

...I most like the model followed in some Asian cultures in which it is traditionally believed that the postpartum period is one full year long. Obviously a woman in this day and age in our culture can rarely take a full year to "recover" from childbirth, nor does she need to. But this perspective recognizes that while physical recovery from childbirth requires only a matter of weeks, the whole person requires a more generous span of time. (boldfacing mine)

I love this. It just seems to resonate with me, the whole idea that I'm still working on getting used to my body, my child, my life a year after delivery. I think in Canada they get a year off for maternity leave (yes?), which supports this idea that twelve weeks is not enough to "get over" being pregnant. Maybe it's just me, but Gaudet's words gave me permission to keep reflecting on this postpartum stage that I'm in. And that's a healthy thing.

Whether or not expectant moms would use just this book for the pregnancy journey is a matter of opinion. There were lots of great illustrations and stories, although it didn't have as many charts as I've seen in other books. That's all just a matter of visual organization and learning styles. Either way, I think Gaudet brings a much needed perspective to pregnancy, one that's mindful, thoughtful, and soulful. How's that for wonderful?

Have you had your riboflavin today?

There is something a bit ironic about waking up earlier than usual to write a review on a book that addresses overcoming fatigue. My husband is sleeping, my kids are sleeping, and here I am, typing away because I should have done this last night and, obviously, didn't. So, allow me to get to the point, and then back to bed to continue my project of overcoming fatigue.

Even though sleep helps a lot in the this particular area, I also have a slew of other ideas that I'm trying thanks to a new medical reference book I received from Parent Bloggers Network. The 24-Hour Pharmacist, written by Suzy Cohen, is medical advice that doesn't require a doctor and also doesn't require prescription medications. While I would never in a million years hand over my Excedrin for Migraine medication because it would render me incapable of functioning, I am interested in trying out some of the alternative recommendations that might help alleviate these problems. As soon as I got the book, I looked in the handy end-of-the-book index (because don't even think about handing me a medical reference book that doesn't have an index) and scanned for migraines. 'Suzy's Secrets From Behind the Counter' on page 75:

If you're prone to menacing migraines, try about 400 daily mg of riboflavin. If you're taking birth-control pills and get these or any other type of debilitating headache around your period, it's possible that the pill is wiping out this vital nutrient.

While I'm sure that what I'm taking isn't wiping out my riboflavin, it's quite possible that I simply don't have enough. After looking at this tip, I glanced down to the page to read about the effects of having depleted folic acid: low appetite, forgetfulness, depression, insomnia, crankiness, fatigue, and anxiety.

Well, that's very interesting. And inspires me to be more consistent about taking my two daily Flintstones (the red ones are my favorite!) so that I can at least make some attempts to get folic acid. Quite possibly I'm forgetful, depressed, cranky and fatigued just because I'm not sleeping well since a certain little someone interrupts my dreams around 4 am. Or maybe I'm not getting enough exercise. Or maybe I'm not eating healthy enough. I don't know. Either way it's not going to hurt me to take my vitamins since I know I'm not getting all my required nutrients from my eating habits. Plus, Flintstones are cheaper than Zoloft after all.

But back to the whole overcoming fatigue thing: the first chapter of the book has all kinds of tips regarding this issue. Suzy Cohen had my attention from the first page: "don't let your doctor prescribe antidepressants until you've ruled out other causes of fatigue, particularly low thyroid hormone, adrenal burnout, imbalanced hormones or side effects from medication." I remembered this when I went to my doctor a couple weeks ago and said, "I'm exhausted." I listened closely to what she said next, testing her to see if her recommendation matched Ms. Cohen's advice. Her response: "Let's run some bloodwork and get your thyroid tested." Ah, my smart doctor passed Ms. Cohen's test. (Turns out my thyroid is fine. Yay.)

I'm not against medications (see above regarding my dependence on Excedrin), but this book has lots of great tips on things we can do other than pop pills. Chapters on coping with anxiety. Chapters on heart health. It also has a whole chapter ("Drug Muggers") on what your medications might be depleting from your body. For instance, I did not even consider the fact that taking Excedrin on an almost daily basis, while curing me of my headaches, might be causing my anxiety because it's mugging essential nutrients from my body. Sure, that makes sense to you, but I'm just trying to get through the day without my head exploding. How on earth am I suppose to connect the dots on that?

I have a bundle of reference books that talk about my kids' ailments, but this is a good one for me. For adults. For people who don't feel 100% healthy all the time. This five part book covers the gamut of health issues: (1) above the waist, (2) above the neck, (3) below the waist, (4) everything in between, and (5) thinking outside the pill. It just made me a little more aware about what I'm taking, and how those medications are affecting my body. If you're one of those people who doesn't like taking medications then The 24-Hour Pharmacist would be a good reference book. If you're like me, and will take any medication that a doctor hands to you, this is a good reference book to let you know what those meds are doing to you and what other choices you have.

Okay. I'm going back to sleep now.

Want a chance for your own free copy? Leave a comment at this post at PBN and be entered to win a copy of the book and a $50 gift certificate to CVS.

Maurice Hilleman might have saved your life

A few  years ago I saw my mom reading a book about the 1918 flu epidemic. I borrowed it from her, and got around to reading through it last summer. The book bogged down a bit in a few parts, but it was still interesting. (Did you know more soldiers died from the flu than were killed in action? Did you know that another flu epidemic is likely to strike in the next 20 years?) Even though I am not by any stretch of the imagination a "science person," I do enjoy a good book about diseases because I find the story of epidemics and plagues fascinating. Germs don't really scare me much, for whatever reason. Deep water, yes. Spiders, ohmygosh yes. Germs? Eh, not so much.

Because of my basic interest and knowledge of flu epidemics and such, I have kept up with news stories about the bird flu and other flu-ish outbreaks. I also have followed the media circus surrounding vaccinations. Just in the last several years, vaccinations have come under fire as a possible cause for autism. First it was the MMR vaccination that caused autism, but it turned out there wasn't sufficient evidence to support this claim. Then it was mercury in vaccinations that caused autism, but that wasn't fact either. Then it was the chickenpox vaccination, but no clear link there either.

If I needed further proof of the positives of vaccinations, I got it in the form of a new book that just came out last week. Parent Bloggers Network sent me a proof copy of Dr. Paul Offit's new book called Vaccinated: One Man's Quest to Defeat the World's Deadliest Diseases, which I just finished only moments ago (I started it several weeks ago and then homework fell from the heavens, so I couldn't get back to reading it until this weekend).

The story is about Maurice Hilleman, a scientist from Montana. Never heard of him? Have you heard of measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, hep A, hep B, pneumococcus, meningoccus, and Hib? Hilleman is the guy who created vaccines to all these diseases. Yeah. Impressive.

Before Hilleman's death in April 2005, he told his story to Dr. Offit, resulting in this book that encompasses not only his life and professional career, but also the history of the field in which he was working. The narrative, while occasionally jumping awkwardly between direct quotes and explanatory prose, holds together as an informative and compelling story. It's no quick read, that's for sure, but it is well researched. And while the plot centers around Hilleman, there are lots of side-plots that bring in a considerable amount of the history of vaccinations--stories about Pasteur (rabies vaccine), Salk and Sabin (polio). If you're not really interested like I am in all the backstory and political shadows of vaccines, then the first three-fourths of the book might not catch your attention. But the final few chapters should be mandatory reading for anyone who questions whether or not vaccinations are necessary.

I know that there is a growing population of parents out there who don't want to vaccinate their kids, whether for personal or religious reasons. Even in my own Christian community, not many parents support the idea of giving teenage girls the papillomavirus vaccine, which prevents cervical cancer. And up until I read this book I thought, "Well, whatever. It's their kid." I effectively had no opinion on vaccinations.

This book changed my mind on that.

As I was reading about life in sub-Saharan Africa where most children aren't able to get vaccinated, the thought occurred to me that one of the reasons why I feel safe to take my young children out into society, allowing them to play with other children, is because I assume that those children have been vaccinated against some of the deadlier diseases. Certainly, I know that my kids aren't immune to all contagious diseases out there, but I don't imagine that they will catch measles. I don't worry about polio or diphtheria or mumps or smallpox. I don't worry about these diseases because with immunizations these are preventable diseases. But what about the kids who parents don't believe in immunizations? What about the parents who are willing to put my child's life in jeopardy for their personal beliefs? What about the parents who are essentially counting on every one else to immunize their children so that their own non-immunized kid won't get sick? When personal beliefs end up with very public results, yeah, well, I have opinions about that.

Sure, some kids have compromised immune systems and can't get vaccines. I get that. And I certainly understand the hesitancy to use new vaccines, especially if their pediatricians aren't recommending them. When I took Jules in for her Well Baby check a few weeks ago, I passed on one of the new vaccines (for a disease I hadn't heard of and don't remember) because our doctor said that it had just been rereleased after a decade-long FDA ban because the original version had nasty side-effects. My decision was also helped along because our doctor said he wasn't giving it to his daughter. Maybe this makes me a hypocrite, what with all my "vaccinate your kids" passion, but I guess the immunizations I feel most strongly about using are the ones that have been around for years.

At the end of the day, I'll definitely remember one of the final quotes from the book:

"Despite all of society's negative pressures, vaccination has proven itself beyond the shadow of a doubt to be the most logical way to control infectious diseases in a community.... The success story is undeniable. There is no measles, a little bit of mumps, no rubella, a little bit of hepatitis B in many communities. And the reason is vaccination....  But it's not free. It comes with a price, an imperative. And that is that you have to keep using it."

So, thumbs up on the book. And yay for Maurice Hilleman.

Week 158: Continuing to work at it

Ten years ago I was addressing envelopes for our wedding. My mind was filled with decisions about flowers and reception music. I was paying the first month's rent for the apartment we would be moving into that August when we returned from our honeymoon in Maine. Both of us were neck deep in pre-marriage counseling, but hardly paying a bit of attention to any of it.

Fast forward ten years.

I have a stack of envelopes on the counter, but they aren't mailed because I have to get new 41 cent stamps. My mind is filled with decisions about bill paying and which toys to keep out for Sydney to play with. I have cupboards filled with babyfood and rice cereal since we started Jules on solids yesterday. The countertop has papers highlighting our last Well Baby check where we learned that we have a nicely proportionate baby who is in the 75th percentile for everything (16 1/2 pounds of pure love).

My life is night and day different from where it was ten years ago. But some things are the same. I'm still in love with Jason. And marriage counseling?

Actually, yes.

Not because of any problems. (Relax, Mom and Dad.) Just because we're still committed to making our marriage the best it can possibly be, realizing that everything requires constant work, especially a marriage that now involves two kids.

I confess I wouldn't have tried an online marriage counseling program were it not for the offer from Parent Bloggers Network. When they sent me an email asking if I was interested, my initial thought was, "We don't need marriage counseling. We don't have issues that warrant that kind of service." I grew up in a culture that believed marriage counseling was only for marriages that were struggling, not marriages that were healthy. Why work on fixing something if you knew you were in it for the long haul? Then I thought about this a little more and decided that this kind of thinking made absolutely no sense. In fact, it was probably all based on the fear of gossip that tends to run rampant in church circles: "Psst...did you hear? Jason and Stephanie are in counseling," followed by sad shaking of heads.

Good grief. Let's break this notion of only struggling marriages need counseling right now. Even strong marriages can always get stronger. The question was: Would this online service be helpful to people who already had a strong, solid relationship, or was it just for couples on the brink of ruin?

Well, as Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott say: "eHarmony marriage is not about work. It's about about discovering the simple skills that build a better marriage, and a better life."

Maybe you're thinking, eHarmony? Isn't that that online dating program? Yes it is. But they also have an online marriage program that believe or it not isn't totally crazy. In fact, I kind of like it. A lot. The set-up is that you and your spouse separately take this questionnaire that asks about every facet of your life. You answer questions about your perceptions, your ideas, your religious, family, work, mental, spiritual, political opinions. It's very thorough.

After Jason and I did it we discovered two things on our own right off the bat. First, we have a lot of good things going for us. When Jason was finished with the questions, he gave me a big hug and said, "I'm so happy with our marriage." Because when you're answering questions like, "I trust my spouse," "I feel my spouse is committed to our relationship," and "I don't think my spouse is manipulative," you are reminded that you have a good thing going on. The second thing we learned is that I am more precise in answering questions. I made sure that when I strongly agreed/disagreed with a statement my little answer arrow was all on one side or another. Jason played it a little more fast and loose, with his answer arrow in the general ballpark. Not a big deal except later on when we were reading the marriage wellness articles together, there were suggestions about Jason being more accepting of me not bringing in the money for the family. If there's one thing I am sure of it's that he doesn't wish I was bringing in more money. Well, maybe he does wish that my existing job paid better, but not that I was working harder at it.

What eHarmony Marriage provides is a Marriage Wellness plan that is tailored to your needs based on the questionnaire. It gives you videos and exercises to do together, and it gives articles that you can read separately. Truthfully, I probably spent more time reading the articles than Jason did, but that was largely because I have more issues than he does (that is, personal issues, not issues with him). However, we did watch the videos together and went through the discussion exercises.

Even though I never would have thought online counseling would have been helpful for us, what the program did for us was get us talking about the issues we already knew we had. We have a very uncomplicated relationship, one without any cracks in the foundation or questions of our future. Nevertheless, there are areas that we can work on. For instance, having a baby can sometimes put a damper on your love life. At least it did for us. Something about being exhausted and having a baby chomping at the lady bits makes me feel very unattractive. After going through the eHarmony videos regarding this area, we are now talking about how to strengthen this area and what sort of steps we can take to improve this part of our marriage. I think the videos are my favorite part because they are so well done, and the segments with Dr. Neil Clark Warren are really great. He has such an engaging, unpretentious style of speaking. His marriage advice was helpful and lined up with our beliefs.

Probably one of the best things about the program was that we were actually able to do it. Had it been something that required us to get out of the house without the kids, we wouldn't have done it. The cost of actual counseling combined with the cost of babysitting would have made it financially impossible for us. Heck, if we had extra money and time floating around we'd be doing date nights instead of spending our evenings folding laundry, which is what we did last night. Even though eHarmony Marriage isn't a free program, it's reasonably priced. I couldn't find the actual price figures, but I did see them once (after I did the questionnaire) and it was in the double digits. Probably cheaper than an evening of dinner, movie, dessert and babysitting. And for some people, going through the counseling program might just insure a future of dinners, movies, desserts and babysitting. (UPDATE: It's $49.95 for a month's access to all the videos and personalized advice. They suggest doing the program over the course of three months, which is discounted to $39.95/month if you sign up for three months. Either way, a month's subscription is cheaper than an evening out.)

So, my overall estimation of the program? I think it's a good thing. I don't think I would have spent money on it without a recommendation from someone I knew personally because I would have been skeptical about the actual content of the counseling. However, now that I've done it I'm really glad I did. We still have a few articles and videos left to watch, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else I can discover that will make our marriage even better. In short, I think the counsel is wise and the effort is worth it. I would definitely recommend it to my friends and family.

Ten years ago we were in pre-marriage counseling, listening but not really listening because...well, because we were in love and no one was going to keep us from getting married.

Today, we're getting marriage counseling, and we're listening, really listening because...well, because we're in love and nothing is going to keep us from staying that way.

Por Favor, Gracias, De Nada

Even though I took two years of Spanish in high school, I would classify my Spanish knowledge as "un poquito." I have good memories of Spanish class in ninth grade from Senor Perazo. He taught me everything I know about verb conjugation, plus we played Spanish BINGO on the last Friday of the month, and got Smarties candies after we took quizzes. Muy bueno. My language skills were rusty at best, but ten years later I was able to put some of my knowledge to use when I was waitressing. I spent a few minutes every day practicing my Spanish with my bilingual co-workers, and I actually improved a small amount. Nevertheless, I'm still far from conversational. If my job was just to count things in Spanish I could do that. But not more than 100 things.

While I realize the importance of getting kids to learn another language, I'm not fully jumping on the bandwagon. Not because I don't think it's a good idea (it is! your children will be so much smarter for knowing more than one language! they'll learn to read faster!), but because it's not high on my priority list of things Sydney needs to do. Plus, it seems like there's a lot of work involved. Not as much work as folding laundry, but still. More work than wiping the crumbs off the countertops.

So when Parent Bloggers Network asked if I wanted to try out a Spanish language program for kids, I agreed and then promised myself I would feel no guilt if Sydney didn't learn a lick of Spanish from it. Guilt, be gone. I have no need for thee. Not to mention the fact that Sydney isn't exactly proficient at English. She can communicate plenty, but I know there are times when she's speaking gibberish just to be funny. Heck, maybe she's already speaking Spanish and I don't even know it. (Maybe she's speaking French! I could have Margaret come translate.)

We received Boca Beth in the mail several weeks ago, and it came with so many treats. First, a CD: My First Songs in Spanish. Second, a DVD: I Like Animals. And then a duck puppet (yay for puppets! it became instant friends with the pig and bear puppet the girls received from Raehan), a coloring book, and a mini-maraca (a shaker! we love things that make noise!). From the second I opened the package, Sydney was smitten with the shaker. She loves it. She takes it to bed with her. She sings songs to Jules with it. She wants dozens and dozens of them to have as tiny noise-making children. Of course, it doesn't teach her a bit of Spanish, but it's fun. We have had quite the time listening to the CD and using the shaker for the necessary percussion. Lots of jumping. Lots of shaking. Donde esta mi maraca? Necesito.

As for the learning Spanish part, well, we have had some small successes. Syd enjoys listening to the CD a great deal, and since I did have those awesome two years of Spanish I can pretty much sing along and help out with the words. For instance, I have fully memorized the second song that is sung to the tune of Frere Jacques: "Hola Amigo. Hello Friend. Coma Estas? How are you? Muy bien y gracias. Very well and thank you. Y tu? And you?" It plays in my head, often. More often than perhaps I'd prefer, but it's meant to be catchy. I hear Sydney singing this tune throughout the day, trying to get the Spanish words as well as the English. I have to say she's not so good at the Spanish pronunciation, but she is making an effort at any rate. The fact that she even recognizes that Spanish is a different language seems like a major accomplishment to me.

I enjoy playing the CD because I would rather have Sydney listening to music than watching TV. I also enjoy the CD because the DVD wears on me a bit. I should be clear, however, that Sydney would watch the DVD more often than I allow. "I can watch my Spanish movie now? With the duck? And the kids?" It is educational and entertaining and very engaging for little kids. These are all very important things. Part of my hesitancy to pop it in at any given moment is that the DVD runs almost an hour, which is longer than any other program she watches. The other part is the production element. The scene transitions aren't as smooth and the sound quality not as good as some of the other children's programs we have watched. I've become accustomed to DVDs that are a little more, shall we say, glossy. True, Disney is behind Baby Einstein. And Exclaim Entertainment is behind Boz the Bear. That's serious money and resources. Boca Beth does pretty well considering they don't have a Disney-sized production budget. And, good golly miss molly, a person has to start somewhere. I have nothing but admiration for Beth Butler, the creator of Boca Beth, for coming up with this concept and creating a language-based program that is very affordable. Go mamapreneurs.

In short, I think it's good that Sydney is getting exposed to a second language. Maybe some of it will stick, if only the counting and colors part. I learned to count to 10 in Spanish from watching Sesame Street, and if Boca Beth can teach Sydney that much -- and she can create positive feelings about learning a second language -- well, that's good news. It's a positive step in laying the groundwork for when she does eventually try to learn a foreign language. Gracias, Ms. Butler.

If you'd like a chance to win your own Boca Beth educational set, leave a comment at Parent Bloggers' Boca Beth post. Go on, you know you want that mini-maraca.

Week 153: Perfectly Good Mother

In honor of Mother's Day, this week's posts are going to center around the theme of Motherhood and my crazy emotional thoughts about that. It all stems from a book I just finished reading (compliments Parent Bloggers Network), and I think I need the week to totally process it.

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Before I became a mom, I had one huge advantage over most of the other moms I knew:

I had very low expectations.

I was not of the "I just want to be a mom,"--
"Ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to be a mom,"--
"Motherhood is what I've dreamed of,"--
"Having children will be amazing,"--
crowd.

No sirree. Motherhood didn't seem like fun. at. all. It seemed like a whole lot of work with very little reward. My mom never glossed over the hard times of motherhood, and so for first few years of marriage when people asked when I was going to have children my stock answer was, "Never." It didn't matter that I knew somewhere deep, very deep, in the darkest unswept corner of my heart that I would probably become a mother, someday, eventually. Having kids was one of those things I didn't look forward to.

I hardly expected any benefits to having kids, so when they did come in the form of drooling smiles, big bear hugs, and utterances of "I love you Mommy," it rocked my world. I can see now how I am fiercely in love with my daughters and that becoming a mom has profoundly changed me in a positive way. But I have to admit that all those pre-parenting thoughts saved me from the disappointment and guilt of realizing that at 2 in the morning, I have uttered the words, "I hate this." Heck, I have uttered that phrase at 2 in the afternoon. Sometimes I do, in fact, hate the chores of parenting. I don't feel terrible about not loving motherhood all the time. It's the hardest job I'll ever do. There is no upside to not getting enough sleep and the ensuing insanity that results from that. The best I can do is to have a sense of humor about it, which I am successful at maybe half of the time.

I also thought that those pre-parenting thoughts would put me squarely in the camp of Realistic Expectations. I wouldn't expect perfection. I wouldn't dream of utopia. I wouldn't try to control the uncontrollable. I would, in essence, change the very DNA of my character. Easy.

And, I thought, I wouldn't have a real need to read a book called Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box, by Dr. Ann Dunnewold. Extreme parenting? Child-centered parenting? Cat fights with other moms? No thank you. That is not me. The book's tagline "Cut Yourself Some Slack (and still raise great kids) in the Age of Extreme Parenting" just didn't seem to fit me. Except that OF COURSE it did fit me. Cut myself some slack? Hello! Maybe just every-once-in-awhile-or-every-minute-of-the-day. I am not good in the cutting slack department.

Anyway, as I started reading through the book I realized that while I may have a mailbox in the camp of Realistic Expectations, I don't live there full time. I'm not sure if I ever even stay the night there. Really, I'm just there during the day with my kids. It's easy for me to say, "We don't have the money," and feel perfectly okay that Sydney sleeps in her bedroom of hand-me-down furniture, and won't attend pre-school, or be in dance class, or wear designer jeans. I don't expect perfection of my kids, and don't expect Sydney to be the next child prodigy. She'll be a very regular kid, and I'm okay with that.

Yet...That dreadful yet...at night, when I starting thinking through everything, I leave Realistic Expectations, and go to the land of Perfect Mommies. I read through other blogs and my magazines and think, "That's what I should to do." I should work on the backyard, the organized phone consul, the beautiful photos. I should make soup from scratch, send off those homemade birthday party invitations, make cookies for the next church event. I should sew aprons, and dolls, and make flower bouquets. I should be content, be happy, be outgoing, send encouragement cards to all my friends.

The "shoulds" go on forever. Some of them probably legitimate ones at that. But the "shoulds" kill me. For as much as I think I don't compete with other moms, I am sad to confess that I do sometimes. Especially in the Martha Mom department. Even just this weekend, for a church event for families of young children, I made blueberry/cranberry cobbler from scratch. Part of it was because I had a real craving for shiny-top blueberry cobbler; part of it was because I wanted to appear impressive, if just for one sugary second. I'm kidding myself if I think I don't expect perfection at least some of the time.

For as much as I didn't think Dunnewold's book would apply to my life, it does.

The perfectly good mother is not a model of perfectly perfect. Perfect is impossible. Perfect implies A++, 110 percent of the time. "Perfectly good" as an adjective keeps the standards high, but achievable. It means clearly good, without qualification. Perfectly good is a solid A- or B+. Compare that to "good enough," or even "slacker." Sounds like barely passing to me. Perfectly good is admirable, but you don't have to "kill" yourself, and it by no means creeps into the realm of failure. (page 20)

The main theme of the book is about getting moms to accept the idea of being a perfectly good mom and stop competing with each other. I appreciated the amount of research Dunnewold put into the book, with excerpts from dozens of parenting essays and books. She includes perfectly good sayings that help keep moms focused on real thinking. She isn't just writing to young families either. It's for all parents who have kids under the age of 25. She also includes a helpful chapter on perfectly good dads.

When I finished the book last night, I cried. Not just because I'm hyper stressed out (although I am) but because even after all that reading I know it'll be so difficult for me to give up my parenting insecurities. Some areas are easy. Overscheduling? No problem. Some areas are harder. Overprotecting? Overperfecting (myself, not my child)? Most definitely. We need to look hard at the overprotecting, overperfecting, overproducing, overscheduling lifestyle and see what really works for us and our families.  It's about examining what is really necessary. It's about saying, "Enough for now."

I'm not saying the book has the answer to all the plagues of motherhood, but it convicted me in areas I didn't even think I had issues with. Serious conviction. Considering the fact that I didn't think the book would apply to me at all, I'd say that's a big leap. I think I'll try to capture some of my other reactions this week, and hopefully by the time Mother's Day rolls around I'll be saying Happy Perfectly Good Mother's Day.

Thanks to Parent Bloggers Network for providing me with my copy of the book.

Catchy songs and a pair of pandas**

(Logistics forced my post about Jason's marathon down a notch, so make sure you keep scrolling to see pictures of my amazing guy running his socks off.)

----

It takes a special kind of someone who can write a catchy tune about wearing diapers and using the toilet. I can't say for certain that I love these people, since they are responsible for getting such tunes stuck in my head. For me to absentmindedly sing. In public. In front of students.

A recent defining moment in my professional career: "Are you singing about diapers, Professor?"

What? Uh. Maybe.

And who is responsible for this fabulous soundtrack in my head? The songs are from a DVD called Go Potty Go! We got it last month from Parent Bloggers Network--just as we were finding some success in potty training--and it was an instant hit. Before we watched it, I couldn't quite imagine how on earth someone could make a clever potty training video.

Songs about underwear? Hmmm.

Songs about poop and pee? Ack.

But give it up for Paige and Parker Panda who won me over. They are just too cute for words, and in no time had Sydney and me marching in the livingroom to the Underwear Parade song (we were, however, fully clothed). The 15-minute video is cleverly animated and has a positive, motivational approach to potty training. Silly songs, friendly looking animals, and well-phrased questions make it a highly interactive video that didn't wear and tear on my nerves like some other kids videos I've encountered.

When we received the video, Sydney was already mostly potty trained. What I was most interested in discovering was if it would help her remember the whole "wash your hands bit." Boy, did it ever. She's crazy about washing her hands now. I'm sure our water bill next month will certainly reflect this trend. The video also inadvertently provided us with a tune for the whole underwear in the daytime, diapers at nighttime bit. The original song: "Diapers are for babies, and that's okay. But I'd rather be a big kid, and do it the big kid way." Because I wasn't loving the "for babies" tagline (even if it's true), we kept the tune and now we sing, "Diapers are for nighttime, and that's okay. But underwear is for daytime, and we do it the big kid way." It's perfect. In fact, we use lots of the tunes from the DVD for other various activities we encounter throughout the day. That's how addicting they are.

Sydney loves singing the songs from Go Potty Go, so much so that my parents put the video on their iPod so she can watch it when she visits them. Oh yeah. We're high tech in our potty training.

One thing about the video that caused a slight hiccup in our routine: it mostly stresses the use of a potty chair rather than a toilet. It does give a fleeting mention to using a toilet, but all the pictures are of a potty chair. In fact, the pictures are of the exact model we own. Sydney never got into using the potty chair, and just went straight for using the toilet. This was fine with me because the thought of cleaning out the potty chair seriously grossed me out. After seeing the video, Sydney wanted to start using the chair. We had to have a chat about that, and after some smooth moving on my part she decided she was okay with our original program.

Another thing that I thought about getting worked up about, but just can't bring myself to doing it, is that judging from the style of underwear, most of the animals are boys. In fact, I think Paige Panda might be the only girl, although maybe the fish too (red polka dot underwear...probably female?). So, the video is not exactly gender equal, but whatever. They're cute anyway.

And the last small "I would do this differently" thing: have a continuous play feature. The video is short, so I didn't mind Sydney watching it twice. Not a big deal to have to press play again, just would be nice.

Well, I've reviewed diapers. And now I've reviewed movies. Hopefully, this wraps up my discussion on potty training for the next couple years. The second time around I will go into it wiser, more prepared, and my head full of potty-wonderful tunes.

**I originally called this post "Tinkle Tunes" but had to change it. It just weirded me out too much. That title was a nod to my dad who has--for better or worse--taught his granddaughters to say "tinkle." My brother and I aren't sure if we like this development, but grandpa gives them candy so I don't think we'll win this one.

A Cozi Life

When I was in college I had a day-planner with everything color coded. Assignments were highlighted in yellow; quizzes in green; papers in red; tests in blue (a soothing color to combat test anxiety...no, not really). Went on to become a teacher and my lesson plan book became my daily calendar since I actually didn't do anything other than teach (social misfit that I was).

Became a mom, and threw out the day planner since weeks would go by without anything happening. Decided to just invest in a pretty monthly calendar to record anything important, and called it good. I like using a wall calendar. I find it very succinct. Everything going on in my life fits on one little page. Depressing? Not really.

So when Parent Bloggers Network asked me to review Cozi Central, a calendar/list maker/family organizer program, I hesitated for a moment. Could I give up my wall calendar? Would putting everything on the computer really make my life simpler? Hmmm.

First off, I have to tell you that Cozi Central is free. Free! That's very clever. But if something doesn't work it doesn't matter how much it costs. They could pay you to use it, and it still might not be worth it. However, Cozi Central is a nifty program, and worth every free penny it costs. You can use it both at your PC and on the web. The menus are uncomplicated and visually attractive. It can send emails and text messages, as well as deliver vocal messages to your cell phone.

For all the amazing things that it does, my most favorite feature about it is the photo collage screen saver. It's so super duper fabulous. I'd download the program just for that. You just tell it where you store all your photos and then when your computer pops to the screen saver, you see all these wonderful photos that you forgot you had. Pictures of Sydney's first birthday. Pictures of our vacation to Hawaii. An afternoon at the park. Mother's Day two years ago.

As an added bonus, you can email the collages to your friends and family. In fact, you can even enter them in the collage contest over at Cozi Central's blog. I'm proud to admit that one of my collages was chosen as a finalist for this week's contest (of pictures that Sarah took). If you'd like to help me win a tshirt (which I need since I still can't fit into all my old tshirts on account of my baby-ready bust), go vote on their sidebar. Or vote for someone else. *cough* traitor *cough*

One final word about the photo collage thing: remember that it does cycle through all your photos in your photo folder. I say this to spare the potential embarrassment of, say, having guests over and halfway through a conversation looking over at your computer and realizing that the photo collage of the moment is you, with your legs propped up, pushing a baby out your yahoo. It's a long 10 seconds, my friend. Very long.

Anyway (gosh, I'm not going to be allowed to review anymore products if I can't sum this up), aside from the photo collage thing, here's the deal with the program. It's a free downloadable program where you can enter in things on the calendar (each person in the family can get a different color), create multiple grocery lists, and email or text message your family. I tried out the email feature by sending a little note to Jason while he was at school. He got it, but the downside is that as of right now the receiver can't email you back.

The calendar is very intuitive. I would enter in "Stephanie: CO102 every Tuesday and Thursday 1:30-2:15" and presto! it would show up on the calendar. I entered in "Sydney: Overnight every Thursday through Friday" and there it would be. It's a smart calendar. Looking at the calendar does take a little getting used to, however. It's just not the same as looking at a wall calendar.

The grocery list is also intuitive, completing words as you type them up. I had some trouble accidentally deleting lists, as well as deleting every item off a list, which I found frustrating. It was mostly my own fault, but it would be nice if he had a "are you sure?" question which I normally find irritating but would have been helpful. Extra amazing about the grocery list: Cozi Central has a toll-free number you can call from your cell phone and have it read off or text message you your grocery list. I tried it, and was amazed.

I know there are lots of features I'm not taking full advantage of, like the text messaging aspect. But we don't use text messaging, so while I find it to be a neat aspect of the program, it's not one I can use. Also, we really do have a rather uncomplicated schedule, one not prone to things like "who's picking up whom?" and "oh I forgot to tell you we have this going on" problems. I'm mostly home; Jason mostly is at school; our girls don't have extra-curricular activities. For that matter, Jason and I don't have too many extra-curricular activities either. We're kind of boring that way.

Plus, I'm really trying to find ways to step away from the computer, and so using a computer program for calendar things is a bit counter-intuitive in that regard. But I can see how, as the girls get older and we become unable to fit everything on a wall-calendar, Cozi Central would be really useful.

In the end, I'll use it for the grocery list feature because it's so easy to just add things to the list as I'm at the computer instead of walking 12 feet to write it on the fridge list (like right now, I just added eggs). I'll also keep it for the photo collage screen saver.

I just need to remember to move those labor and delivery pictures to another folder.

Week 149: The last word on diapers (almost)

Before I was a parent I heard all kinds of stories about diapers. Buy them in bulk! Buy the best! Buy the cheapest! Pampers are for boys; Huggies are for girls. Forget diapers and just go for infant potty training (a real fad, by the way, which would have been no doubt the fastest way to forcing me into a complete and utter mental breakdown).

One thing I promised myself: I'm not spending a lot of money on diapers. I mean, seriously, what's wrong with Lucky Ducky Diapers? One diaper is the same as another, right?

The other thing I promised: I will learn how to diaper my child so that all their yucky fluids stay where they are supposed to stay, thereby avoiding what is known in parent lingo as "the blowout." It couldn't possibly be that difficult. Not more difficult than teaching kids to write an MLA formatted research paper. Not more difficult than following the convoluted X-Files storyline. And for pete's sake, I read through Ulysses. I think I could figure out how to diaper a baby.

Yeah, about those promises...

It's easy to be a parenting expert before you actually become a parent. Once I became a parent who would actually walk around the house with yellow poop smeared on my shirt I realized the real truth: I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS DOING. Especially when it came to diapers.

I quickly discovered that Lucky Ducky Diapers weren't working in my favor. Those slightly higher-priced name brand diapers? That is the price of sanity. I have been a big fan of the Pampers Swaddler diapers for the tiniest of tushies, although they aren't great for the long haul through the night. As soon as we could get Sydney into step 2 diapers, we were buying them at Costco because I was smart enough to realize that buying in bulk -- over the course of almost 3 years -- was going to save us some money. Fortunately, Costco carries Huggies Supreme diapers, which fit her nicely, and were relatively leak-free.

Now that the blessed Syderini is practically potty-trained, we have cut back on our diaper consumption (ew, gross mental image there) considerably. However, she's still wearing diapers for night time because waking up in the middle of the night to change the sheets on her bed is a surefire recipe to wake me up and keep me up for the rest of the night. It's a real waste of adrenaline, let me tell you.

For the last month or so we've been using Huggies Overnites, and they've been working like a charm. The first couple weeks she used them, she didn't have any accidents. And while I don't think the diapers themselves had anything to do with her staying dry, they certainly weren't convincing her to empty her bladder either (you know, by making her think of waterfalls and puddles and raindrops).

Last week she woke us up in the middle of the night to let us know that she was "all wet." Indeed, she was soaked and so was her bed. I was about to toss scorn upon the overnight diapers when I heard Jason remark loudly, "Good grief!" as he was changing Syd's diaper. Turns out Sydney had been squirrelly before bedtime, thereby throwing Jason off his game, so he had accidentally put one of Julianne's diapers on Syd. Yep. Those Step 2 infant diapers are worthless in keeping a toddler dry during the night. So the wet clothes/wet bed could not be blamed on the Overnite diapers.

I will admit I'm not sure exactly what makes the Overnite diapers different from the regular diapers, but they have managed to do their job. (POST EDIT: I just read the box description, and evidently they are extra absorbant. That's why they don't leak! Hooray!) I'm guessing that Sydney feels a difference when she doesn't quite make it through the night, because every time that's happened she wakes us up and wants a new diaper. Fortunately, she doesn't need new jammies or new sheets too.

I can give my hearty stamp of approval on the Huggies Overnite diapers (aside from the misspelling of "overnight"), and if you'd like to have a chance at winning your own box for that little potty-trainer in progress all you have to do is leave a comment over at Parent Bloggers Network. They like to give away stuff, and I'm guessing you like to get free stuff. It's a win win really.

If it weren't for one other potty-training product to review, I think I'd probably be out of stuff to say about potty training. We did it. It's done. Yippee. While we aren't a dry household (thanks to Jules, and also thanks to that Willamette Valley Riesling I have in the fridge), we are a household where more than half of us wear underwear.

You know you're a parent of a toddler when that kind of trivia is worth talking about.

Now if only we could figure out how to stop the "I get a treat for going potty" tradition without causing any real heartbreak...

Llama llama red pajama, why is sleep so hard for Mama?

It's so satisfying to read a book that makes your life better, isn't it?

During the first two years of Sydney's life I had very few good nights of sleep. More days than not I was exhausted, low on energy, and fighting an uphill battle to not get depressed. But we got through it, and now she sleeps like a champ.

Just in time, of course, for another little person to start stealing my sleep. Oh...yay.

We all know what a bad night's sleep looks like. But if you're a parent, you really know what disordered sleep can do for you. It kills you. Night by miserable night. After that first year of parenthood, you have lost more than 200 hours of sleep. Good thing those little kiddos are worth it, although I confess to sobbing more than once during the night-time misadventures: no. more. kids.

I will say that Julianne is a better sleeper than Sydney was (praise God for that), but I'm still not getting the sleep that I wish I was getting. I've read half a dozen books on getting my kids to sleep better, but never read one on getting me to sleep better. So, given the opportunity to read such a book you bet I was all over that like...like some clever metaphor that I can't think of because I've learned that my brain is functioning at a less than optimum performance due to sleep loss.

The answer to the problems of my life? The Bible. The answer to the other problems of my life? Good Night: The Sleep Doctor's 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health. I knew before starting the book that I needed more sleep. Duh. If the author's prescription was going to be "get more sleep and your life will be better" I was going to be annoyed that this Dr. Breus fellow was living in the world of perfect situations (no kids, no stress job, no tossing and turning husband).

Oh, Dr. Breus, you didn't let me down. He writes on page 25:

"Given my experience I'm inclined to admit that women, as a gender, appear to bear numerous stresses due to the multi-faceted nature of their roles in today's society. Mom. Wife. Employee. Chauffeur. Cook. Cleaner. Business Owner. Family manager. Caretaker, etc. When I sit and talk with my female patients...we discuss everything from pregnancy to menopause, to career, to marriage, and that word "balance," and I know I've got it much easier than many of them."

Okay. He gets it. I mean all this stuff is a no-brainer, but still. He gets it. Sometimes sleep becomes the last thing on the to do list, and we give it up to get other stuff done, like laundry and bill paying and blogging. The real kicker though is that Dr. Breus says (my paraphrase), I get that. And here's why you need better sleep if you're going to be able to accomplish all that.

Dr. Breus, a medically certified sleep specialist, writes about all the stuff that can take our sleep away, and then basically says, You owe it to yourself, your family, your health, and your overall well-being to sleep better. It's one of the most important things you can do. I know I didn't need permission to request more sleep, but it was good to read about how critical it is to my life. Maybe, just maybe, I need to go to bed earlier. Maybe...*sigh*... I shouldn't give up sleep hours to blog.

Essentially, Dr. Breus develops the answer to the question, "What does a good night's sleep look like and how can I get it?" Even though he has several pages devoted to the science of sleeping, the book is most helpful in actual tips for helping create an environment and lifestyle that are suited for better sleeping. It is possible to wake up in the morning and not feel like your eyes are full of sand.

The book is extremely practical all the way from providing quizzes that assess what your sleep problems might be, to how to make the most of naps, to how sleep helps you lose weight, to how to get your bedroom to be a place where you can sleep better. (I was one step ahead of him on this one because I had already implemented some of his suggestions: paint the room calm colors, get the stressful paper stuff out of the room, put up pictures that calm you, use room-darkening drapes. Today on my to-do list: get night lights, and buy a new pillow for Jason.)

I came away from the book realizing that because my 'during the night sleep' isn't going to be perfect, then I need to make going to bed earlier a priority. If that means taping my tv shows, if that means that I leave a blog unposted and an email unanswered and a paper ungraded, then that's the way it goes. My mental and physical health is dependent upon more--and better--sleep.

HERE'S THE PART WHERE YOU NEED TO STOP SKIM READING: I truly believe this book has something important to say about the necessity of sleep. Even if you think you're a good sleeper, I bet there's something in this book that can make your sleeping even better. It includes a four-week plan on how to get better sleep, and I'll let you know how things are going when I've finished the other three weeks.

In a nutshell: this book is good. It's super helpful. It's completely changed the way I view sleep. Sleep isn't a luxury item. I need it to stay positive. I need it to lose weight. I need it to be a good parent. I need it to be a good wife. I need it to be an effective person in society who can make a difference.

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So that's my review of the book. I was lucky enough to get my copy free from Parent Bloggers Network, but it's definitely worth the almost $16 you can get it for on Amazon. Even if you just go to the library or bookstore and spend an hour glancing through it you'll discover things you didn't know about sleeping. Or you could also go to his blog, or his articles on Web MD, or his web site which has a lot of the information that's found in the book. (Sidenote: the only thing that seemed a bit overdone was how often he referred to his web site, although I suppose this would be helpful to those who are just glancing at small sections of the book. I did get a nice chuckle, however, when I saw on page 195 that he misspelled the url his web site.)

And just, fyi, I'm not giving this book a good review because I got it free and because I'm affiliated with PBN. I am completely allowed to give it a bad review, which you know I would because there are too many good books out there for you to waste your time on dumb ones. I firmly believe this. That said, this is a really helpful book. Five twinkling stars from me.