Were You Raised By Wolves? At least you don't have to act that way

Remember the first time you were truly out on your own? The giddy taste of freedom when you finally had your own place - no Mom or Dad looking over your shoulder, no siblings getting into your stuff and stealing your favorite sweater, no grandparents or aunts or uncles there to watch over you? Remember how great that felt?

But then remember the first time you had to have people over for dinner that you wanted to impress. Or your first day at a job that was somewhere other than Chuck E. Cheese. Or even better, the first day you discover that yes, you have overdrawn your checking account. Remember how crappy that felt?

Being on your own for the first time is extremely heady yet scary as hell. Facing the unknown before you without your family safety net is a pretty daunting time. Didn't you wish that you had a manual like "Growing Up for Dummies" to use?

Enter "Were You Raised By Wolves: Clues to the Mysteries of Adulthood" by Christie Mellor. If Christie's name rings a bell, she's also the author of "The Three-Martini Playdate" and "Three-Martini Family Vacation." In this book, Mellor delivers practical advice in a tongue-in-cheek manner that is funny yet gets to the heart of the matter - just because you're on your own for the first time doesn't mean that you're excused from acting like a civilized adult.

For example, the first chapter which is called "Home Sweet Home" discusses making a bed, cleaning your house (including a step-by-step list of directions of what to clean if you're, oh, having a few people over and only have a short time to prepare), and the importance of having a clean bathroom. I can honestly think of a few old boyfriends who could've used THAT advice. She then goes on to tackle topics like working in an office ("Your Wacky Boss!"), preparing food at home ("Getting Acquainted With Your Kitchen"), social graces ("You. In the World. Not Being An Embarrassment"), and generally what the responsibilities of an adult are ("If Your Mom Still Chews Your Food For You").

Is this book appropriate for anyone? Well, it's a fun read. It's probably a little too young for someone who's already faced all this stuff in their lifetime, but I think it would make a fantastic graduation gift for a friend or family member who is going out on their own for the first time. It's witty without being snarky, charming without any simpering, and lets the reader know that Yes, You Can Do It! And Keep A Sense Of Humor Too.

Make sure you stop by Parent Bloggers Network to see what other bloggers have to say about this book as well as what other hot campaigns are going on right now!

"Were You Raised By Wolves: Clues to the Mysteries of Adulthood" can be found at Amazon.com just in time for the perfect graduation gift! Check it out!

Rule the roost with Mama Rock's Rules

When I found out that Rose Rock's new book, Mama Rock's Rules was being offered by Parent Bloggers Network for a review, I jumped at the chance. I am a huge fan of her son, comedian Chris Rock, and I thought that this book would be side-splittingly funny. I thought it was going to be a goofy, joke-filled diatribe about the trials and tribulations of being a mother.

Boy, was I wrong.

What I found, instead of the schtick that I expected, was an engrossing book filled with Rose Rock's advice for raising good, solid kids into responsible adults. Filled with anecdotes about her own experiences with a parent, the book is heartfelt and poignant without being sappy - you can tell with every page that Rock wrote this as a labor of love and as a testament to her family of birth children as well as 17 foster children.

Rock believes in raising children with a firm but loving hand. She advises against becoming "friend" instead of "parent", but also counters that with advice geared toward making children feel loved, admired, and proud of themselves as individuals.

Each chapter covers a different topic ranging from family traditions to sex - and at the end of each chapter, a summary of the topics is provided. Peppered throughout the book are quotes from her children and foster children about things they remembered from childhood and how their parents' love and discipline molded them into the people that they are today. Interestingly, although references to Chris Rock are sprinkled throughout the book, Rose Rock pays homage to all of her children and their individuality and you can sense her pride in their accomplishments.

Rock encourages parents to keep constant contact with their children. As busy parents, it's our duty to make sure we are there for our kids by having family dinners and attending special events in our children's lives even if we have to juggle things around to do it. In her opinion, children remember those things way more than a toy they bought or a TV show they watched once. Her description of their kitchen in their home, with all of the kids doing homework at the kitchen island while she cooked dinner, is just as clear as a photo in my mind.

One of the other sections that I enjoyed was discussing sex with your children. Her advice, "don't lie down with anything you don't want to live with forever" is advice that everyone can take! But she believes that keeping an open and honest dialogue with our children is essential in keeping them on the straight path not only with sex, but with all aspects of their lives.

Rose Rock deals out her parenting advice with humor, love, and pride. Mama Rock's Rules is a great book for any parent to read and would make a great gift for Mother's Day! Check it out at Amazon.com, and make sure that you stop by Parent Bloggers Network to see what other reviewers have to say about this book!

Help your child be a superstar with Your Child's Strengths

At a young age, I became acutely aware that I was different.

I began reading at 2-1/2 with a bang, reading a billboard on the side of Route 46 and shocking my mother to the point where she almost drove off of the road.

By kindergarten, I was already reading books way beyond my years and was sent to the library during class time so I could read books and write little book reports while the rest of my classmates were learning the alphabet.

By sixth grade, I discovered quite by accident that I had scored extremely well on the IQ test given by the gifted and talented department, leaving the director scratching her head and wondering what to do with me.

I was really blessed with a wonderful group of teachers that encouraged me at every turn. Miss Coupian, my second grade teacher, planned a special curriculum for me focusing on one of my passions at the time - the exhibition of the relics from King Tut's tomb. I dove into it head first, devouring everything that I could get my hands on. My sixth grade English teacher, Mrs. Herman, also took a special interest in me and I blossomed in her hands. I was a top student, a mainstay on the honor roll, and active in all kinds of school activities.

And then, there was high school. I was weak in math, and although I was in the advanced math class I soon learned that because I wasn't one of the teacher's favorites (and honestly, if you weren't a boy on his soccer team you didn't make the cut) I was considered persona non grata. I wasn't the only one - we would raise our hands, ask questions, request meetings with Mr. Magliaro after school, and honestly it was like we were aliens from another planet to him. He just could not get us to understand trigonometry at all. I struggled that whole year, going through two tutors and barely passing the class. Until that point I had been more than adequate at math - but that year was enough to break my spirit. I pretty much lost all interest in anything but English class and skated through the last two years of school. I was done. I felt like a failure.

Reading the first few chapters of Your Child's Strengths by Jenifer Fox brought it all flooding back for me. I remembered all of the joy that I had in school when I had things to do that I was interested in - I seriously loved school and couldn't stand to miss a day. It was high school, when suddenly I was thrust into an unsupportive atmosphere, where I lost that passion for learning.

Jenifer Fox has been a teacher and administrator for over 25 years, and is currently head of the Purnell School in Pottersville, NJ. She embraces a theory called "The Strengths Movement," where an individual's strengths are embraced and developed instead of focusing on weaknesses. In the book, she discusses three main strengths - Activity Strengths, Relationship Strengths, and Learning Strengths. With the workbook activities within the book, the reader is given the tools to discover these strengths and learn how to use these strengths in daily life. By picking out these strengths, it helps us determine what path to help our children down to help them use the strengths to be successful individuals not only in school, but in their lives as well.

I strongly agreed with Fox's belief that the school systems of our country have moved so far into the "teach to test" grind thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act that we have put the blinders on and judge children by their success or failure on standardized tests. Children are so much more than bubbles on a test form, and not everyone is a good test-taker. Given the opportunity to explore their strengths, rather than keeping to the "straight and narrow" mandated by the American educational system, there is no telling what our children could learn and accomplish.

The information in Your Child's Strengths is extensive, almost to the point of being overwhelming - but I strongly encourage readers to stick it out, and break the book up into portions over a number of days versus trying to plow through it in one day. Jenifer Fox provides such great insights into the American educational system as well as ways to unleash your child's strengths that it's worth reading every word. And not only should parents read this book - but it should be required reading for all teachers as well. It's that good.

So what happened to to me, the brilliant child prodigy, you might ask? Well, after floundering through my first year of college, I took a little time off to work and then reenrolled in the local community college. It was there that I had two amazing professors - Mr. Rohrer, who made history come alive in a way that I didn't know that it could, and then an adjunct professor (whose name escapes me) who finally got that math portion of my brain to work again and I passed with an A. Me, an A! You don't know how badly I wanted to rub that in Mr. Magliaro's face. It was such an amazing feeling, and it inspired me to get my associates degree in Education and then continue on for a BA in English.

Yeah, I'm working in construction for a living...but you know the beauty of it all? About 80% of my job involves math. And it's all thanks to that teacher that finally cracked the case of the Math-Addled Brain.

Stop by Parent Bloggers Network and read the other reviews of Your Child's Strengths - and thanks to PBN for giving me the chance to review this book. Your Child's Strengths is available through Amazon, where you can also find a list of cities where Jenifer Fox will be stopping off on her book tour!

Trick 'em with some treats - Deceptively Delicious

I wouldn't say that Monkey Man is the pickiest eater on the block - he eats more than just chicken nuggets and mac & cheese, but he's not exactly the most adventurous eater either. He has a few favorite veggies and unfortunately as we found out a few years ago, he's actually allergic to green beans (!) and navy beans - both of which were in the list of favorites. So sometimes it's a little struggle trying to get him to try new stuff. Every now and then I can make cheese sauce over steamed veggies, but isn't that kind of defeating the purpose of eating healthy veggies if you're going to drown them in cheese?

I love me a good cookbook, too. I have a pretty extensive collection of them and will sometimes spend an afternoon on the couch with a few of them looking for new things to try. Blame my mom for that, since she started me in the kitchen when I was old enough to stand up at the stove.

Parent Bloggers asked me if I'd be interested in checking out Jessica Seinfeld's new cookbook, Deceptively Delicious - and I thought it would not only feed my cookbook addiction, but also maybe give me some good ideas for other veggies to try with Monkey Man. I'm not exactly very adventurous in the veggie department myself, so I figured maybe this would be good for both of us.

The cookbook itself is adorable. Hard cover, spiral bound, and very pink. The pages are durable and probably wipable too (although thankfully I didn't have to test that part out). Jessica introduces her family, intersperses comments that are presumably from her kids as well as her husband Jerry (yes, that Jerry), and offers her own brand of advice when it comes to dealing with kids and their eating. There are great illustrations and photos throughout the cookbook and it's very visually appealing. I liked that part a lot.

The general idea of the book, if you haven't already heard all the buzz, is that she recommends using vegetable purees in recipes to boost the nutritional values of regular foods like macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, cheesesticks, and so on. Jessica collaborated not only with a chef, but also with a nutritionist to assemble the recipes. She goes step by step over what you need to prepare the vegetables, how to make the purees, what kind of equipment you need for the pureeing as well as any baking or cooking. It's really very thorough and I believe that anyone could successfully do it.

I decided that I'd put a few recipes to the test - nothing too complicated but something I could easily fix one night after work or on a weekend when we're running around like a bunch of maniacs. First, I tried the Pita Pizzas - I had some baby spinach that I had pureed the day before, so I was able to throw them together in just a few minutes. I liked that I could use things that I already had in my pantry - wheat pita bread, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese along with the spinach puree. And you know, they were good and perfect for something like an afternoon snack or lunch when you're in a hurry and the kids are starving. You could probably jazz them up a bit by adding other toppings too if you wanted to.

The second thing that I tried was the recipe for Mozzarella Sticks. Yeah, I know, not the most gourmet recipe but Monkey Man adores them in restaurants so I figured why not. This used cauliflower puree as well as flaxseed meal and you also have the option of adding sesame seeds (which I left off since I don't like them). Well, he didn't care for the flaxseed meal on them, so I am going to try them again another time using just whole wheat breadcrumbs. So it wasn't a total flop, just a temporary setback.

The last thing were the Aloha Chicken Kebabs. Jessica recommends using sweet potato puree and pineapple puree - well, I didn't have any sweet potatoes on hand so I used all pineapple puree instead. I also, after the Mozzarella Stick Incident, left the flaxseed out and just stuck with the breadcrumbs. These were pretty tasty too - Monkey Man didn't care for the coconut but she suggests leaving it off if it's too objectionable. Personally, I liked these and they were pretty easy to fix.

I'm anxious to try a few more of these, especially the desserts. The chocolate chip cookie recipe incorporating chickpeas looks especially intriguing and I've heard raves about them - and who doesn't love a good cookie? So that's next on the list.


Seinfeld devotes quite a bit of space to nutritional information and the benefits of eating fruit and vegetables. One thing that I'd change, however, is to add a little more emphasis about actually serving fruits and veggies with these dishes and not just depending on the purees to meet the nutritional needs of your family. She does mention it briefly but I think it could be easily lost with all of the other eye-catching features of the cookbook.

Is Seinfeld's idea new? Nah, mothers have probably been sneaking healthy stuff into our food since the prehistoric era. But what she has done is incorporate some great ideas into a format that is visually appealing and full of enthusiasm.

Check out Deceptively Delicious for the picky eaters in your house!

Kids are Americans Too

I'm not what they would call a political zealot. I tend to lean a little more to the conservative side on economic issues, and more on the liberal side on social issues. I don't watch any of the political talk shows unless they just happen to be on when I'm channel surfing, and even then it's a very quick five-minute process.

I'm not a Bill O'Reilly fan, nor do I think he's the Devil incarnate either. I've watched him a few times, was mildly entertained, and moved on. So when Parent Bloggers Network asked me if I'd be interested in reviewing O'Reilly's latest book "Kids are Americans Too", I really wasn't sure what to expect.


I liked the general premise of the book, which is to teach kids about their rights. As O'Reilly puts it, if you look at modern-day society it's hard to believe how much things have changed since the Founding Fathers came up with the Declaration of Independence. As much as things have changed, though, our fundamental rights are still the same as they were over 200 years ago. And once you think about that, it's pretty cool. O'Reilly also discusses how sometimes an individual has to think about the "common good" versus what the individual's own interests are, and sometimes the common good has to outweigh that. He also discusses some court cases regarding kids' rights with varying degrees of success.


O'Reilly doesn't go into any serious depth about the Constitution, the government, or the Supreme Court with his aim to give kids a very broad overview of how our rights work without going into minute detail. I think that in his attempt to give an overview, however, he almost gives too little information.


But maybe that isn't such a bad thing in this case. Although O'Reilly comes out of the gate very strongly in the first few chapters and had me completely hooked into the premise of the book, by mid-way in the book I was pretty turned off. I really wanted to believe that O'Reilly would give fair and balanced coverage to the topics, however I was really disappointed when slowly but surely he started sneaking his own viewpoints into the book. By the end, I really got the impression that O'Reilly would be almost giddy if every kid that reads this book subscribed to his beliefs. Not to mention that he slipped in references to his talk show and other books that he has written, which I think really isn't appropriate to do in this type of book. Save the sales pitch for another audience, please.


My biggest beef with the book, however, was that I think it was dumbed down a lot. The writing style is very disjointed - now, I have never read any of O'Reilly's other works so I'm not sure if this was written to appeal to teens with "MTV brain" as I call it, or if this is his normal style. I think kids today are way smarter than he gives them credit for in the book and the style of writing. In addition, there were multiple parts in the book where I felt like O'Reilly was very patronizing toward the reader as if they weren't quite cool enough or smart enough to play in his sandbox. It's one thing to play Devil's Advocate in order to arouse interest in a topic that you're passionate about, but it's another thing to make the reader feel like a moron if they don't align with your viewpoints.


Overall, I think the idea of the book was great - I mean hey, don't we all want to know more about our rights and want our kids to know more too? However, I think O'Reilly's personal beliefs bleed into the book too much for it to be an impartial report on this topic. I'd really like to see this subject tackled for teens by someone who is a little more politically neutral rather than someone trying to covertly push their own personal agenda.

Printakid - magic you can definitely try at home

Have you ever ordered one of those personalized books as a gift for a child? I have. And I was sorely disappointed. Poor print quality, lackluster stories, and weakly-constructed books that wouldn't hold up to an adult's use, let alone a kid's use. Disappointing, to say the very least.

Enter Printakid. These personalized books for children not only met my expectations, but reached moon and stars beyond them. It was like magic!

Ordering one was as easy as pie. First, I went to the website and selected the story that I wanted. Themes ranged from "first day of school" to a Christmas story - I decided to go with the outer-space themed "The Robots of Sedna" since one of Monkey Man's favorite things is astronomy. Oh, and Star Wars. I figured it would be a win-win choice, even though all of the other book selections looked equally good.

Then came the personalizations. First, I got to dedicate the book and choose my own wording. Very cool. Then came turning Monkey Man into the hero of the story. I was able to choose his hair color, hair style, eye color, skin tone, if he wore glasses and what the shape of his glasses were (if he wore any). Then I put our names in there and was then able to choose the names of three of his friends that were then worked into the story.

So that was it. It took me a whopping ten minutes to put the order together. Now, all I had to do was wait for the book to come.

The day the book came, I sat down with Monkey Man and started reading the book to him. His eyes grew bigger and bigger...

"Hey, that's ME!" he shouted. And as we went through the story, he got more and more excited to see that not only was he the hero of the story, but his friends and Joey and I were in there too. He liked the book so much that every time we had people come over that week, he pulled it out and showed them the book, including my dad who got suckered into reading it at least four times the afternoon he was visiting.

Okay, so he liked it. But what did I think? Honestly, this is hands-down the best personalized book for children that I've ever seen. The illustrations are crisp, clear and colorful. The story is well-written and does a good job of making the "hero" feel very special. And the book's construction is sturdy - maybe not if you have a page-ripper lurking in your house, but it will definitely hold up to a lot of reading if treated in a normal wear-and-tear manner.

Printakid has done an awesome job in presenting a product that is not only easy to order, but a real kid-pleaser too. It's like magic, only the type that you can definitely try at home. Check out Printakid and see what kind of magic you can conjure up for the special kids in your life!

Doin' it in style

I love clothes. I love handbags. Shoes, not so much, but mostly because they don't like me very much. When I lost almost 50 pounds two years ago, I totally revamped my way of dressing. Gone were the schlumpy mom jeans, anything with an elastic waist that wasn't workout gear or pajamas, and the boxy oversized jackets. I felt good about myself and wanted to project myself in a way that reflected it to the world. Even still, I felt gripped with insecurities - does this look right, do I look stylish without appearing ridiculous?

So when Parent Bloggers Network asked me if I'd be interested in reviewing the new book, The Little Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia, I practically fainted at my desk. If you've been living under a rock, Nina is one of the judges on the popular Bravo show Project Runway, in addition to being the fashion director for Elle Magazine. Obviously, she knows what she's talking about. When my package arrived, I eagerly ripped open the envelope and dove straight in, eager to find out all of the deep, dark secrets about being a Person of Style.

What I found wasn't what I expected. What I expected was a diva-like list of Things You Cannot Live Without but Will Have to Sell Some Vital Organs to Afford. You know, like you must be kidding yourself if you think you can live one more minute without a Hermes Birkin bag.

What I got was a common-sense guide to style, with the most important tip being that being stylish is having confidence and presenting yourself to the world in a confident manner. It isn't about spending gobs of money on designer labels or expensive jewelry. It's taking basic pieces like a white shirt or a trench coat and turning them into a personal statement. Mixing things like some inexpensive earrings or a chunky necklace with a basic white shirt turns it into a Shirt as a Statement. A tailored tote bag is just as classic as an expensive designer handbag.

Garcia lists tips of what to wear for certain occasions (like it's not a great idea to wear fishnets and stilettos when meeting your boyfriend's parents) as well as her ten basic rules of style including a list of basic items that everyone should have in their closet. One of the most interesting parts of the book is how Garcia reviews the influence of film, music, and art on fashion. She also sprinkles the book with interesting quotes not just from fashionistas but also people as diverse as Einstein and Da Vinci - and it all ties together beautifully and makes it a really fun read.

If you are a fashionista or just someone who wants to ditch the mom jeans, you should definitely pick up a copy of The Little Black Book of Style. I think anyone could pick up at least a few good tips and inspirations from this book - and it's a good, fun read.

When Parents Hurt

I looked at the email from ParentBloggers asking if I was interested in reviewing this book and thought, "Well, I'll sign up for this and maybe it'll be kind of interesting."

Interesting indeed.

As I've written on my main blog off and on for the last year, my family has a pretty strained relationship with my oldest brother Paul. There wasn't a culminating, tragic event - but a series of small incidents that all added up into an odd kind of estrangement with him. Finally, things came to a head recently after a family gathering which was ironically right around the time that I received the book in the mail. I dug right in.

When Parents Hurt by Dr. Joshua Coleman is based on personal experience. After experiencing a painful estrangement from his own daughter, he felt compelled to write a book to help parents cope with these situations. As he notes, there are no manuals to deal with the complex relationships between parents and their adult children, and he offers advice to parents to help them "get back on their feet" again after estrangements occur.

Dr. Coleman pointed out a few things that really hit the nail on the head with our family's situation. First of all, he discusses how siblings within a family can have a completely unique perspective of their parents and childhood. In our family, my dad is the warm and fuzzy type to three of us - always the great, loving father ready with a hug and a kind word. To my brother Paul, however, my father is nothing short than his own personal version of the father in The Great Santini. And see, I totally don't get that at all and neither do my other siblings. It doesn't mean, however, that my brother's viewpoint is invalid - it's his viewpoint and is unique based on his perception of their relationship.

Coleman also brings home the point that sometimes parents can be as loving, giving, and nurturing as possible to their children and the relationship still doesn't work. He encourages parents to not only have compassion toward their children and their pain, but also compassion for themselves - a wonderful concept in an age where society has turned so many people into self-flogging parents who second-guess every move they make in raising their children. He does a great job exploring the societal changes in childrearing over the years and how it affects our relationships with our grown children in this day and age.

The book offers a very good chapter titled "Where Did this Kid Come From?" which explores what Coleman calls "mismatches" between parent and child. For example, he gives advice on relationships between an authoritative parent and a sensitive child, or a depressed parent raising a very active child. I hadn't given much thought to the idea of being mismatched, but the explanations and tips he gives for these situations are well thought out and listed as "Strive to avoid" and "Strive to".

I could go on and on about this book, because I believe it's not only a must-read for people in strained relationships with either their own parents or with their grown children, but also for people raising children who would like to avoid the pitfalls that come later on when the kids are grown. I even found myself quoting from the book this week when discussing a friend's marriage troubles with her, because I believe that a lot of the principles that he discusses are good for all adult relationships - not just parent/child ones. Dr. Coleman does an excellent job delving into this topic with a candor and sensitivity that is a rare find in this genre of book.

When Parents Hurt is available on Amazon. And be sure to check out the podcast with Motherhood Uncensored's own Kristin as she discusses the book with Dr. Coleman...as usual, Kristin does a great job!

Finally, some alternatives - The 24-Hour Pharmacist

Two years ago when I shed almost 50 pounds, I started a new lifestyle of trying to take better care of myself. Yes, I became the dreaded "hi-may" type of person obsessed with exercise and looking and feeling better about myself. I've done the dreaded cleansing diets, I've popped vitamins, I've rubbed lotions and potions all over. And despite all of that, I'm always looking for the next best thing.

Enter The 24-Hour Pharmacist by Suzy Cohen, R.Ph. Ms. Cohen is the author of the syndicated column "Dear Pharmacist" and has compiled this incredible reference book focusing on personal health and well-being. Divided into sections - Above the Waist, Above the Neck, Below the Waist, And Everything In Between, it focuses on health issues like fatigue, insomnia, depression, libido, arthritis, and a multitude of other topics.

I immediately dove in and found a multitude of topics that I've dealt with over the years like cervical dysplasia, antibiotic overusage, weight loss, and skin revitalization. What I liked most about the book is not only does she discuss prescription drugs, but also non-prescription remedies that range from vitamins to "Suzy's Secrets from Behind the Counter" which are basically home remedies - for example, drinking rosemary tea to combat dandruff or seborrhea. She also includes warnings for drug interactions as well as consulting your physician when necessary. It's very, very thorough.

The book also contains a feature called "Finding Your Dream Doctor" which lists professional organizations that can refer you to a good doctor that meets your needs. Also, an extensive list of "drug muggers" which are medicines that rob you of essential nutrients from your body or cause other side effects like muscle pain or interfere with your sex drive. The book is capped off with a jam-packed Resources section that includes a recommended reading list, recommended CD's and DVD's, cosmetic and skin care resources, food resources, labs and testings, organizations, and a myriad of other useful resources.

Of course, you should consult your physician before taking any supplements, herbs, vitamins, or treatments - but The 24-Hour Pharmacist provides a healthy dose of alternative treatments that are worth discussing with your physician. There were so many little tidbits in the book that I had no idea about (like the symptoms of having low acid are amazingly similar to the symptoms of excess stomach acid that many times it is misdiagnosed) that it really opened my eyes to not always taking things at face value and exploring alternative treatments.

The 24-Hour Pharmacist is a great resource to keep on hand to tackle a myriad of problems. This book is available on either Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Want to win a $50 gift card to CVS? Stop on by Parent Bloggers and leave a comment on the kickoff post or the mid-campaign post in order to be entered for a chance to win! Then you can buy some of the cool stuff in the book!

Hey June, it's okay to cut yourself some slack

When Monkey Man was about 18 months old, I remember spending one night obsessing over making the perfect heart-shaped brownies for his preschool class, complete with lightly tinted pink frosting and a chocolate heart placed on top. Each one had to be perfect, you know...so perfect that I think most of the kids licked the frosting off and turned the rest of the brownie into microscopic crumbs that they're still probably trying to get out of the carpet in that classroom. Oops.

Then there was his Halloween party in the 3-year-old class, where I spent two hours making cupcakes that looked like spider webs complete with little piped-on spiders. Again, icing was a big hit and more crumbs. I hope they had a good vacuum cleaner handy.

So other than an obsession with baked goods, I consider these just a few small examples of my effort to be SuperMommy. Minus the cape, because capes make my butt look big. I never wanted to be a stay-at-home mom - it's not me, not my style. By the end of my maternity leave, I was climbing the walls and ready to tie some bedsheets together so I could get back in the trenches again. And I felt awful. Guilty. Ashamed. What mother drops her child off at daycare on her first day back to work and happily walks out the door on her way to work? Um, me.

So when I was asked by ParentBloggers if I would be interested in reviewing a book about parenting, I hesitated. I'm not a "self-help" book type of person. Heck, I barely touched the "What to Expect" book when I was pregnant. Then I read about this book and was instantly taken with the subject and practically fell over my desk trying to get to my email and request a copy.

Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box, by Ann Dunnewold, tackles the battles that many mothers face - we overschedule, overprotect, and overparent our kids to the point that we're doing ourselves a great disservice. Dunnewold explores the idea of being a "perfectly good parent"; you don't have to be perfect at everything, it's okay to cut yourself some slack and live by the mantra that what you are doing is "perfectly good." Yeah, you might not have spent two days making a life-sized donkey pinata for your child's class party, but spending that time on coloring with your kid or going to their T-ball game will mean a lot more to your kids in the long run.

Dunnewold also encourages parents to show emotion around their kids versus trying to mask everything and make life hunky-dory all the time. It's vital that our kids learn that you can be mad and still love someone. It's okay to be sad sometimes, because life has disappointments. And it's okay to celebrate the little victories in life, too. Learning how to cope with these emotions are life skills that our kids need to know in order to be happy, well-functioning people.

Another part of "June Cleaver" that I found helpful was the discussion about competitiveness among parents. Heck, I remember after Monkey Man's entrance exam for kindergarten I must have gotten ten phone calls from other parents in the class wanting to know what his score was. And that irritated me. Yes, he did extremely well, but I don't measure his success by a number - nor do I want him compared to other kids as being better or worse than they are. Dunnewold explores overparenting and how we drag our kids to a zillion clubs, sports practices, and other things with the hopes that this will make them successful people. In reality, her belief is that we should let kids make their choices about what they want to do and not force them into things in order to fulfill our own needs of making our dreams come true.

I found that a lot of my own parenting philosophies were already outlined in the book - and I appreciated having a little confirmation that some of the things I'm doing aren't going to make me a bad parent nor will they have Monkey Man destined for prison or whatever. So when I decided to buy pre-cut canteloupe from the grocery store salad bar last week for his "fruit tasting" at school, I didn't feel guilty about it at all. Not to mention that we got to read two really good books in the time it would've taken me to disembowel enough canteloupe for his class. And that, in my opinion, is how I would rather spend my time as a parent - and Monkey Man will remember storytime long after he forgets that Mommy didn't spend all night cutting up fruit.

I also want to echo what some of the other reviewers have said in that Dunnewold has a really great reading list in the appendix, and I plan on checking some of those books out too.

So if you are feeling overwhelmed by the whole parenting gig (and really, who isn't from time to time?), check out Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box. I promise, you'll feel a heck of a lot better if you do.

Boca Beth es magnifico!

When your five-year-old, who normally eschews all things requiring brain power at the end of his day in favor of Power Rangers, insists on watching an educational video while he's eating his dessert and develops a little bit of attitude when it's time for his bath instead of finishing the video, you know you're onto something.

This something is Boca Beth. Developed by educator Beth Butler, Boca Beth focuses on teaching children a second language in a way that's lighthearted and fun. I received a DVD called "I Like Animals/Me Gustan Animales", a CD filled with songs, a coloring book, a Boca puppet (that was immediately commandeered by Monkey Man), and a little mini-maraca (also stolen by him). It was like Christmas!

The DVD, which features Beth Butler as the narrator, isn't as slick as some kids' videos that are out there. But what it lacks in video wizardry, it makes up for in Beth's sheer enthusiasm for Spanish that shines through the entire DVD. And not only is she enthusiastic, but her voice is very pleasant and soothing. She talks about the animals in English and Spanish, along with subtitles at the bottom of the screen. I found this part of the video to be the easiest to follow along with. Interspersed throughout are songs, which are typical kid songs like "Five Little Monkeys" that are sung in English and Spanish, with some songs given new lyrics to teach new words. It's very cleverly done without being cheesy.

At the end of the video, there is an instructional session that Beth Butler does with a group of preschoolers and toddlers and their parents. While the group is genuinely enthusiastic (and the kids are absolutely a riot to watch as they are totally hooked at this point), the audio quality in this part of the video is pretty disappointing. The songs that she sings while using puppets and props have great promise, but it's hard to understand at points and perhaps either better sound engineering or some subtitles at the bottom would help a lot. Despite this, though, Beth's passion comes bursting through in her interaction with the kids and it's hard not to get caught up in the little class. Even Monkey Man was bopping along with the songs.

We listened to the CD in the car a few times - honestly, Monkey Man is way more visual so he liked the DVD a lot better. He has never been a big fan of children's CD's, much like his mom - if it's not Def Leppard, he's pretty much not into it very much. I thought the songs were very catchy and decided to try them out the other weekend when we had friends over that had younger children. They were dancing out in our driveway like a bunch of fiends, so I would say that despite Monkey Man's music issues, the CD is popular with most kids who don't get into headbanging. Ahem.

Monkey Man was totally enamored with Boca, the puppet that goes along with the set. He has carried Boca around quite a bit since he came into our life! And to go along with that, the coloring book features Boca and is just as good as a textbook in my opinion - each page has a word in Spanish and English, and we've gone through the coloring book a lot to not only color but to go over the words.

Boca Beth might not be as slickly produced as Baby Einstein videos are, but in my own opinion the educational value of the program is far superior. Beth Butler has done an excellent job presenting Spanish in a way that is not only appealing to a wide age range, but it's done in a way that's downright infectious. Not to mention that after watching the video myself, I probably learned more Spanish than I did in two years of college-level Spanish classes!

Check out Boca Beth - they have several other videos available as well as other products. You can purchase them at the Boca Beth website, or at Amazon.

Want to win some cool Boca Beth stuff? Stop by Parent Bloggers and leave a comment about Boca Beth, and you'll be eligible for a chance to win!

Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten!

On April 26th, I will not only be the bawling basketcase standing in line at Kindergarten registration, I will be the nervous competimommy pacing back and forth while Monkey Man is tested for readiness.

So when Parent Bloggers contacted me about my interest in reviewing Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten! I was intrigued. Hey, we've been paying out the wazoo to send him to The World's Most Expensive Preschool for five years now - what better way to see if we've gotten our money's worth?


Let's face it - when kindergarten time rolls around you are afraid. How is my kid going to stack up with the other kids? My kid can't remember to cover his mouth when he coughs, how is he ever going to remember his shapes or numbers?

Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten is an amazing book. First of all, the entire book is laminated, allowing you to use a dry-erase marker wherever you want. And it wipes completely off with no traces of marker left (unlike some other alleged "wipe-off" books we've tried before). I liked the size, too - I was able to tuck it into my bag easily and tote it along on a few outings where I knew we'd have some time to kill and it was perfect. Each page has a separate activity, so you can touch on things fairly quickly and move onto the next thing.




After being bombarded with knowledge all day long at The World's Most Expensive Preschool, I knew that Monkey Man would probably show some resistance to the book. Heck, half the time it's a death match to get him to do his homework. Well, not with Let's Get Ready. He immediately started going through page by page, asking questions and we worked our way through the entire book in about twenty minutes. He was intrigued with the sample telephone key pad where you can practice dialing your telephone number - a very handy skill to have, and I'm hoping he only uses it for good versus learning to dial any 900 numbers. Ahem.

Not only does each page have a different activity, but at the bottom you have "Mrs. Good", the teacher, who suggests other things you can do on the page - like "Can you name another pair of opposites?" I liked that feature a lot - not only did they have some creative ideas, but sometimes just a word of encouragement like "Magnificent!"

So when all was said and done, Monkey Man did very well. He has a few weak areas like skip counting, but we have enough time to work on that so hopefully by the time school starts he'll have no problem at all. And the cool part is that every few days since we got the book, he's brought it out of his backpack and asked to work on it with me or my husband. And considering how overloaded he is after a day at preschool, I'd say that's a ringing endorsement.


Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten! has a sister book, Let's Get Ready for First Grade! Both are available for purchase from the publisher, Cedar Valley Publishing, and if you want to get a jumpstart on making sure your child is ready, I highly recommend this book. I already have plans to use it all summer as a refresher, both for Monkey Man and myself.

Want a chance to win these cool books? Stop on by at Parent Bloggers and post a comment on any of the posts about the Let's Get Ready series, and a winner will be selected at random to receive a free set of these books. How cool is that?