Monday, 5 September 2011

Stringing Beads - A Young Mother's Musings (Kindle Edition)

Stringing Beads - A Young Mother's Musings
Stringing Beads - A Young Mother's Musings (Kindle Edition)
By Debra K. Maher

Review & Description

There is a timeless endurance in a mother's love, one that forever lets us remember the feel of a newborn.

This small collection of inspirational essays will help recapture the feelings of early motherhood. It includes pieces about the joy of nursing, cutting back on spending, the pleasure found in quiet moments with a child, personality differences, parenting challenges, and the awesome mystique of a five-year-old.

The author, a former LaLeche League Leader, is the mother of three sons.
There is a timeless endurance in a mother's love, one that forever lets us remember the feel of a newborn.

This small collection of inspirational essays will help recapture the feelings of early motherhood. It includes pieces about the joy of nursing, cutting back on spending, the pleasure found in quiet moments with a child, personality differences, parenting challenges, and the awesome mystique of a five-year-old.

The author, a former LaLeche League Leader, is the mother of three sons.
Read more


Find out More for the best price at Amazon

To the Shore of a Child's Ocean, Part 2: Homeschooling from Ages Nine to Fifteen (Volume 2) (Paperback)

To the Shore of a Child's Ocean, Part 2: Homeschooling from Ages Nine to Fifteen (Volume 2)
To the Shore of a Child's Ocean, Part 2: Homeschooling from Ages Nine to Fifteen (Volume 2) (Paperback)
By Chris Manning

Review & Description

In order to promote quality in both parenting and education, the exchange of ideas is fundamental. This is the second book of the three-part series, To the Shore of a Child's Ocean, offering parents practical advice on creating a blueprint for custom-made home education within the arms of a close family unit. This installment provides sound counsel and down-to-earth answers to many questions evident when homeschooling children between the ages of nine and fifteen. Thorough details are provided on the following: * Central issues important in homeschooling. * How to establish a custom-made learning plan with your child. * The evolving nature of this age group. * The many philosophies inherent to homeschooling. * Useful, year-by-year learning plan options with specific profiles provided for: o Literature. o Creative Writing. o Mathematics. o Science. o Social Studies. o Art. o Physical Education. o Music. o Foreign Languages. Read more


Find out More for the best price at Amazon

Kalencom Quick Changer Kit (Baby Product)

Kalencom Quick Changer Kit
Kalencom Quick Changer Kit (Baby Product)
By Kalencom

Review & Description

Store everything needed to change baby in one convenient kit Read more


Find out More for the best price at Amazon

Sunday, 4 September 2011

The Pull of Gravity (Hardcover)

The Pull of Gravity
The Pull of Gravity (Hardcover)
By Gae Polisner

Review & Description

While Nick Gardner’s family is falling apart, his best friend, Scooter, is dying from a freak disease. The Scoot’s final wish is that Nick and their quirky classmate, Jaycee Amato, deliver a prized first-edition copy of Of Mice and Men to the Scoot’s father. There’s just one problem: the Scoot’s father walked out years ago and hasn’t been heard from since. So, guided by Steinbeck’s life lessons, and with only the vaguest of plans, Nick and Jaycee set off to find him.

Characters you’ll want to become friends with and a narrative voice that sparkles with wit make this a truly original coming-of-age story.

Read more


Find out More for the best price at Amazon

Ramona and her Mother (Ramona Quimby) (Paperback)

Ramona and her Mother (Ramona Quimby)
Ramona and her Mother (Ramona Quimby) (Paperback)
By Beverly Cleary

Review & Description

Beverly Cleary has given books to each member of the Quimby household except Mrs. Quimby. Now she gets her turn at last in a story that hits the high and low points of a working mother's life as seen from Ramona's seven-and-a-half-year-old viewpoint.

Inevitably domestic tensions, not without their amusing side, occasionally arise. Mr. and Mrs. Quimby sometimes forget who is to do what, as when the Crock-Pot is not plugged in and dinner remains uncooked. Beezus acquires a ludicrous teased hairdo at the student body shop while Ramona gets a becoming pixie haircut. Ramona, who feels unloved, takes to twitching her nose like a rabbit in a cozy picture book until her teacher becomes concerned that something is making her nervous.

Yet Ramona is wrong. She is loved, and readers will rejoice with her when she discovers the wonderful truth. Few writers today are as skilled as Mrs. Cleary at showing families in the round, and here she is at the peak of her powers.

At 7 and a half, with working parents and a sister at "a difficult age," Ramona Quimby tries hard to do her part to keep family peace. Usually, however, she ends up behind every uproarious incident in the house. Whether she's dying herself blue, watching while her young neighbor flings Kleenex around the house, or wearing her soft new pajamas to school one day (under her clothes, of course), Ramona's life is never dull. Through it all, she is struggling for a place in her mother's heart, worried that she might be unlovable. Not a chance. Ramona Quimby is nothing if not lovable.

Beverly Cleary's gift for understanding the tangle of thoughts and emotions in a child's mind and heart is remarkable. Luckily, in addition to being empathic, witty, and astute, Cleary is also prolific. She has created over two dozen children's books, and been presented with many awards, including the Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw, as well as the Newbery Honor for Ramona and Her Father and for Ramona Quimby, Age 8. (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie Coulter Read more


Find out More for the best price at Amazon

Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Light, Mom Review

We invited our friend Lindsay to try out the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Light. This is her review that will hopefully help our other Moms and Dads when they are considering what playpen + travel crib to get.

We're a family that travels a lot. Not to exotic far away locations, but the Grandparents weekly for our family dinner, going to the cottage, little road trips, going to friends houses for dinner. As Oscar became mobile we started to realize we needed a playpen/crib that would fit our lifestyle. Instead of buying multiple huge pieces of furniture like cribs and playpens for the multiple locations we go to (Grandparents + Cottage) I fell in love with the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Light after seeing their very simple video of the ease of set up. (You should really watch this video)



I was pretty excited when Dear-Born Baby and Baby Bjorn invited me to try the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Light for our family on the move. With our family vacation to the cottage on the horizon I knew that this was going to be a real lifesaver for the convenience, but for the fact that it wasn't going to take up a ton of room in my car!

To see pictures of it in use at our cottage and house and why I LOVE this product, read more after the jump.


So, why do I love the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Light? In no particular order...

1. Tote Bag:
It comes in a handy tote that makes it easy to store, and put in the car.

2. Set up + take Down Time:
It sets up in seconds. No joke. (See the video above...that is an accurate protrayl of how EASY it is)

3. Light:

Somewhat similar to point #2, but this is a very light playpen/crib which was great for toting around but also for picking it up and moving it from one spot to the next. Also, the fact it is light makes it easy for Grandparents to move or function.

4. Looks Good:
I'm not a fan of pieces of baby gear that are going to stand out in my house. So I really appreciated the clean lines and nice detailing of the playpen. Although it is obviously a crib/playpen, it fits right into our decor.

5. Mattress Pad -
It is soft and cushy - perfect for little babies. But not overly so, because anything too soft isn't good for little ones. Babies would find this super comfy to sleep on.

How we Used It:
So the majority of parents are likely going to be considering this as a crib. Which, I will tell you is a GREAT investment. In our family Oscar is co-sleeping so getting him to sleep in the Baby Bjorn Travel Light Crib didn't work - but that is only because our child is used to sleeping beside me. However, seeing it in action it totally could be for a family where the child is sleeping on their own. The mattress pad is beautiful and slightly plush - but not too much so (as that isn't good for babies). Oscar would lie down and play quietly, perfectly comfy. It was roomy for him, but doesn't take up a lot of floor space. So what we used it primarily for, was a play area that we knew he'd be safe in. By next Summer he likely will be sleeping on his own, and we will be using this as his travel crib.

Photos from it in our Cottage + House
I placed it at our cottage in my bedroom in a corner so while I was folding laundry, or doing something I could place him in it so he was safe, and not wandering around. It was also a nice little quiet spot for him to play that I know is safe.

As you can see below, the daily location of it is in our basement, so if I need to shower or answer the phone I can pop him into this. [he's missing from the photo as he was napping as I wrote this review] And he is content playing. And, if I want to make the basement look tidy for when guests come over I simply take out the mattress pad that is in the bottom, pull up the legs and it pops into the bag SUPER easy.


At $299.99 it may seem expensive but I'm a fan of multi purpose products, that equate savings. This is it. Instead of buying multiple things to have at different locations (a crib at your grandparents, a travel playpen, a crib at the cottage) save your money and invest in one good one, like this - that can travel, easily, with you.

As you can see above it fits neatly back into the carrying case/tote bag. It is SO light and so thin that it makes carrying it, and fitting it somewhere for travel, easy.

Thank you to Dear-Born Baby and Baby Bjorn for letting us test out the Travel Crib Light. It made travelling this Summer a little easier on us and is now one of my favourite "Must Have" products on our list when we recommend things to new families.

- Lindsay
About Our Reviewer: Lindsay Stephenson is the Owner of The Penny Paper Co. and Mom to Oscar who is 15 months. See the other products that Lindsay has enjoyed from Dear-Born Baby here.


Infant Care (Publication No. 8) (Paperback)

Infant Care (Publication No. 8)
Infant Care (Publication No. 8) (Paperback)
By Chief, Children's Bureau Grace Abbott

Review & Description

128 book published by the US Department of Labor, Children's Bureau Read more


Find out More for the best price at Amazon

 
Design by Free WordPress Themes | Bloggerized by Lasantha - Premium Blogger Themes | Best Buy Coupons