Suburban Reviews

Everyone with children has heard of the Dangerous Book for Boys. Not surprisingly when the book came out, many parents were left asking “What about the girls? Why is it just for boys?” Picking this up and running with it, Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz wrote the companion book, The Daring Book for Girls. Thanks to the Parent Bloggers Network, I got to check it out and see what all the fuss is about!

The first thing I noticed about the book is how random it is. This book is made to be flipped open and browsed through quickly, making it perfect for a certain 9 year old girl with a very short attention span. (Not that I know any of those. Ahem.) Each section is only a couple of pages, and covers an amazing range of topics. Do you know the rules of basketball? 14 different ways to play tag? How to care for a softball glove? Did you know there were female pirates? Need plans to build a scooter? Want to learn some really big words, or be able to name some modern-day princesses around the world? It’s all in there. A lot of the information is really useful; I was thrilled to see parts talking about math tricks, the periodic table, and a lot of interesting history bits. Others, maybe not so much. (Stocks and bonds? Robert’s Rules?) Overall it’s a great mix of things to do and things to know.

I think my only reservation about this book is the politics behind it. I wrote recently about how it seems things just for boys are being demonized, yet things just for girls go without comment, and this seems to be another case of that. Don’t get me wrong, I applaud the authors for recognizing and filling a gap with a well-written, interesting book. There is however a little voice in the back of my head asking why was there so much uproar when the Dangerous Book for Boys was introduced, yet when a similar book for girls comes out, no one has anything to say about it, other than great job?

All in all, the Daring Book for Girls is a great book that will take you back to your own childhood, and maybe open your eyes to all the things girls can do, if only we as an over-protective society will allow them.

If you’d like to hear more about this book, be sure to check out Motherhood Uncensored on Blogtalk Radio Wednesday night at 9pm as she interviews Andrea and Miriam about the book!

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If you haven’t been living under a rock, I’m sure you’ve heard about Jessica Seinfeld’s book, Deceptively Delicious by now. Oprah raved about it, and thanks to the Parent Bloggers Network, I got a chance to check it out as well! 

Not too often do celebrity wives venture into the cookbook arena, particularly about cooking for kids. What makes this book stand out however, is her feeling that it doesn’t matter how you get your kids to eat right, so long as you get the veggies into them. The concept of the cookbook is taking vegetables, pureeing them, and slipping them into foods you wouldn’t normally expect.

The book itself is very pretty and well put-together. There is a very retro feel to it, with the colors, patterns, and illustrations all done in a way that reminds you of a 1960’s home economics textbook. The book takes you step by step through the process of preparing your kitchen, including what pans and cooking tools you’ll need. Next you’ll find a section on making your veggie purees. This section is very thorough, and broken down into very easy to follow steps. Finally, there is a section on the nutrition of various fruits and vegetables used before you get to the actual recipes.

The recipes cover everything from breakfast to dessert.  To her credit, most of the foods are made to be very kid-friendly. You’ll find plenty of recipes for things like chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, french toast, and even homemade ketchup, all containing hidden veggies like broccoli, carrots, and cauliflour.

I have to say, something about this book bugs me. Deceptively Delicious seems…well, rather deceptive. Kids can take up to 15 times of trying a food before they will like it enough to eat it, so I have a hard time working out how they will learn to like a food they can’t tell is even there? And as far as sneaking in nutrition, I am not sure a half cup of sweet potato added to a dish large enough for 3-5 people is going to add very much. I realize every bit counts, but is that tablespoon of potato per serving really worth all the trouble?

After giving this a lot of thought, I think the energy would have been better focused on finding different ways of preparing the vegetables to make them more appealing to kids on their own merit, not because they are hidden and undetectable. Just because a child eats broccoli hidden in brownies or chicken nuggets does not mean they will be any less likely to turn up their nose at it when served in a form they recognize.

I think Deceptively Delicious is worth checking out as a healthy cookbook for kids, but I wouldn’t expect to use the idea as a way of getting a full 3-5 servings of veggies a day into them.  As a way to get in a little extra, it’s worth checking out.

We’ve all heard the news reports- kids who are taught a second language at a very early age pick it up faster and more thoroughly than those who wait until middle school, and those who learn a second language in general are more creative and better at problem solving. However, the majority of adults are not bilingual, so giving our kids those benefits seems more like an ideal than a real possibility. Aside from the occasional ‘taco’ and fajita’, the most exposure to a foreign language my kids get is via Dora the Explorer. (I have my doubts about Dora’s morals, she goes on wayyyy too much about ‘playing with the magic stick’ if ya know what I mean!)

What’s a single-language parent to do? This parent got a copy of the Kids Love Spanish dvd set from the Parent Bloggers Network and gave it a try.

I have to say, I was unimpressed with this company before I ever got the dvd’s. Mainly because I never got them. Twice we were told they were sent out, and I have yet to see a package from the company. I double-checked the address PBN has on file, so I know the problem is not on this end. As far as I know I was the only reviewer on this campaign to have this problem, so I’m writing this off as a fluke, but I would be remiss if I didn’t give my full experience. Luckily a fellow reviewer came to my rescue and loaned me her copy(which arrived quickly and without issue!), so here we are.

The dvds are at first glance rather cheesy looking. I could barely keep a straight face as the creators of the video, sisters Julie and Krisse Brock, started singing and dancing against an amateurishly done background. When they started introducing to the words, I was this-close to turning the movie off. The words are repeated over, and over, and over, and over. My 4 year old gave a disgusted look and turned back to his video game. Then I looked at my 2 1/2 year old and listened as he repeated the words. Toddlers thrive on order and repetition, and in that, the Brock sisters have nailed it. What they lack in production knowledge, they make up for in their understanding of small children. My youngest son sat there laughing at the videos, oohing and ahhhing over the pictures, and practicing the words along with the children on the video. Even as his interest in sitting still during the movies waned, I could hear him behind the couch playing with his cars and saying the words along with the video.

For all the repetition, they still manage to pack a surprising amount of material into each 30 minute dvd. I didn’t count, but I would estimate each episode covered between 20-30 words. I like how each disc covers a particular category of words, and the topics range from colors to numbers to animals to alphabets to family words, moving on to simple phrases in disc 7.  Such a broad base of words will  give your kids an excellent  base vocabulary to build on as they continue to learn.

Despite the rocky start, I would very highly recommend these videos to those looking to teach their 4 and under kids a second language. (Over 4 and I’m not sure the cheesiness will be quite as appealing.) The movies are packed with words and the repetition along with the incredibly cute videos will captivate your little one’s attention, and unlike Dora, there are no naked monkeys or magic sticks to be found.

I have found a great new product designed to make giving medicine to your baby easier.  It’s called ReliaDose and it’s a bottle/syringe/medicine dropper combination.  It’s meant to be used as a medicine delivery system for babies who fight taking medicine or for medicines that don’t taste good. 

Even when I first looked at the design, I knew it was a terrific idea.  ReliaDose is a bottle with a syringe in the middle.  To give your child a liquid medicine, you simply fill the syringe and place it in an opening in the middle of the bottle.  When the baby sucks, you slowly press the syringe, administering the medicine.

I attempted to use ReliaDose to give my daughter her Prevacid solutabs.  Unfortunately, Prevacid solutabs do not completely disintegrate and it’s granules became stuck in the nipple of the bottle.  However, when I used a liquid medicine in the syringe, it worked like a charm. 

I was really impressed with the design of this product.  It was extremely easy to use, is dishwasher safe, and was invented by a Mom.  ReliaDose retails between $8.99 and $11.99.  This medicine delivery system can be purchased online at cvs.com.  For retailers, visit the ReliaDose website at reliadose.com.

I was asked to pitch Vocalpoint through the Parent Bloggers Network, and I have no qualms about telling you that.

Why?

Because I am already a Vocalpoint member, and have been for roughly a year. I can honestly say I LOVE this service.

I love getting free samples. Nothing pisses me off more than buying a new product, only to get it home and find out it sucks. Getting to try before you buy is the way to go. I joined Vocalpoint because they give you the opportunity to do just that. Each time they launch a new product campaign, you get either a product sample, or a coupon for a free full-size product. In addition, they usually include quite a few dollar-off coupons to give to your friends if you decide you like it. They then put up surveys on their website where you can let them know exactly what you liked, or didn’t like, about what you received. Companies benefit from the word-of-mouth marketing, and we benefit from getting to try the latest and greatest home products, and knowing our voices are being heard. Total win-win!

Want to try it out? Join Vocalpoint now!

What’s better than free? Educational and free! And so begins the beginning of a new addiction in our house- Word World, a new educational program aimed at preschoolers on PBS.

We love PBS here. I grew up on Sesame Street and have introduced it to my own children, and the hubby and I enjoyed watching the Frontier House and Pioneer House series.  They are such a great resource for educational tv, and in a time where Barney and Spongebob rules for the under-5 set, a channel I don’t feel guilty about letting the kids watch.

Word World is a new show focusing on teaching children letters and how they are put together to make words. Every character and many of their surroundings are made up of letters. Yes, everything is spelled with letters, but visually, they really are made up of letters. Confused? Check this out-

I swear they are not nearly as creepy as they look. Far from it, they are very warm and inviting thanks to some of the best voice acting to come along in a PBS show in quite some time. The storylines are simple but engaging, and the episodes are just short enough to keep the kids from getting bored. The letters are repeated subtly to help encourage recognition, and words are spelled out to help emphasize the relationship between the letters and using them to build words.

Best of all? This enchanting series is available to everyone, free of charge on your local PBS station. The show was developed as part of the Ready to Learn initiative and funded by the Department of Education to help lower income children with reading readiness. That’s right, quality educational programs with no dvd’s to buy!

Check your guide and set your Tivo’s, this is one show you don’t have to feel guilty about letting your kids watch! Thanks so much to Parent Bloggers Network for introducing us to this new favorite, and  Word World for giving us something the kids will turn off Spongebob for. Really, my sanity thanks you.

We love our Wii. It’s probably the first system we’ve owned that I’ve spent any kind of real time playing. When Parent Bloggers Network offered me the chance to check out the new Boogie game for the system, I wasted no time accepting. This had to be good!

The game comes packaged with a microphone, the game, and 2 pairs of 3-D glasses. There is a 3-d effect in the music editing section, so I can say from experience if you plan to try that, keep them away from my your 2 year old or they may get torn up like tissue paper misplaced. *ahem*. The mic is corded, something that takes a few minutes to get used to, but not something you will even notice once you are acclimated.

Once you start, there are several options for activities. You create a character from a pretty limited selection of heads and clothes, and then chose from either karaoke, dancing, or story mode. Story mode tells the story of each character as you go through 3 sets of dancing and 2 sets of singing, to songs the Wii game picks.

The dancing I think is both the easiest and the hardest part of the game. Your natural inclination is to dance, but as I sat and played with it, I realized it is scoring you by your hand movements staying on the beat of the song. You literally can stand still and move just your hands up and down, and if you do it right, score really well. Maybe that’s a good thing for those of us who are, let’s say less than coordinated.

As far as the karaoke, I have very mixed feelings on it. I loved a few of the more recent songs, but I really, truly have a problem with the fact that they are heavily edited versions. So edited that it causes problems for those of us who know the songs by heart, and are left stumbling when huge chunks of lyrics are just missing. If the songs are so objectionable, why include them? There are plenty of current, somewhat child-friendly songs out there that wouldn’t involve butchering the music. Maybe this is where parental controls could come in? Don’t get me wrong, I am all about kid friendly games, particularly with having three children and owning every game system on the market. But I think when you are trying to make games that appeal to the whole family, you can’t just cater to the lower end, there has to be a good draw for adults to play too. Nintendo seemed to try to compensate for this by including older songs like YMCA, ABC, Brick House, and a few other 70’s and 80’s songs that were just before my time. Overall I just was not thrilled with the music selection, and sincerely hope they will be offering music packs in their download store in the near future.

That aside, the actual singing part was fun! Provided you aren’t shy. And you have a decent voice. And being slightly inebriated would help too. Lacking all that, I simply waited until my husband went out of town, and after the kids went down I tortured the dogs with my howling, complete with a cold and sore throat. Just from knowing the songs I picked I was able to score pretty high, and despite how bad I sounded, I had fun. So much fun I actually played it for about an hour straight, a rare thing for me.

Aside from the music choices the biggest downside for me was that I am NOT someone comfortable with performing in front of people. Obviously not Nintendo’s fault, but if you are not up for being goofy and looking foolish in the name of good fun, you might not enjoy the game that much. I would highly recommend getting it for the kids, all three of mine tried it and had a good time with it. The more outgoing members of our family had a blast with it also, and this really would make an amazing party game if you are into karaoke.

Head over to the Boogie site to check it out, and be sure to stop by the Parent Bloggers Network and see what others are saying about this game!

In this day and age of Baby Einstein videos and educational toys, one thing is clear- we all want our children to reach their fullest potential. We start our children listening to classical music before they enter the world, we make sure our crib mobiles are black and white so our 3 day old infants can see them properly, and we start reading to them within weeks, all in the name of “smarter babies”. It’s not surprising then that there are actually videos on the market claiming to be able to teach these babies to read. Yes, you heard me, to read. The Infant learning Company, Inc is making such a claim with it’s Your Baby Can Read dvd series, and as part of the Parent Bloggers Network, I got to put them to the test.

Each Your Baby Can Read dvd comes with the dvd and a set of pull-out flash cards. The disk itself consists of sections for both parents and children. The parents portion explains how to use the video with the cards. I admit I was a little taken back when I viewed this section, as it’s creator suggests that to get the full effect, the video should be played 1-2x per day, and no other tv should be watched. At this point I started to laugh; the guy is obviously a first-time father.

(We all had those no-tv-and-only-educational-when-it-is ambitions with our firsts. By the third child, Dora rules the roost.)

I put the dvd in the first time not expecting a lot. After viewing the parent’s portion is seemed like it would be just a lot of words on the screen. Boy was I wrong! Instead I was shown videos that dare I say it, put the Baby Einstein series to shame. The words are there, shown first before the delightfully engaging clip of the animal, object, or action. We especially loved the animal ones; ‘pig’ is a very easy word to pick up, and the shot of the baby pigs nursing made my boys giggle uncontrollably. In between the narrators ask questions such as “Do you know what color the baby ducks are?” to keep the children interested. For my 4 and 2 year olds, I have to say this was the most truly interactive video, ever. It kept them watching and participating through the entire 30 minutes, no easy feat for a 4 and 2 year old!

The flash cards were also enjoyed, but admittedly not as much as the video. They liked the pictures, and didn’t mind sitting still for short sessions of reading the word and then viewing the picture. The way they are put together is a problem though. They are very durable, but one of them stuck for us, and I still do not know what the horse looks like, as we’ve not been able to open at that card at all. Other cards had minor sticking that we were able to open without breaking, and overall I thought they were well-made.

My 4 year old is I *think* starting to pick up a few words, but is very hit or miss. Sometimes he seems to recognize them, sometimes not. My 2 year old is not picking up any at all yet, but we’ve not been able to manage the twice a day viewing either, so it may just take longer when you are doing it a few times a week.

That’s not to say we got nothing out of it. In fact we had a very surprising outcome, in that they have turned out to be a wonderful speech therapy tool! My 4 year old has verbal apraxia, and has been in speech therapy for nearly two years. It has become second nature for us to incorporate sounding out words and having him repeat things in our day to day life, and this has become a wonderful supplement to that. When the narrator reads a word on the screen, my son will immediately repeat it back, and with him, repetition is key. In addition, my 2 year old would repeat everything his brother would say, so it ended up being great vocabulary practice for both of them.

I am not one to push educational toys and reading to your child the minute they are expelled from the womb, but as far as these things go, the Your Baby Can Read dvd sets actually have some value. Some kids will start recognizing words right away, some like mine may benefit more from the verbal vocabulary building parts, and still others may enjoy this as just a truly entertaining and worthwhile educational video. As long as you can take the instructions with a grain of salt, I would recommend these to anyone with small children. They really were a delightful find, and I thank Parent Bloggers Network for allowing us to be a part of this one, because I will be purchasing more of the dvd sets in the future.

Interested parents can find Your Baby Can read dvds and books on the Infant Learning Company website. Each dvd can be purchased for $14.95, or special muti-disk set prices are also listed. Either way they are well worth it!

Let me just spill the details quickly and get it over with.

I have a severe sweating problem.  In my pit region.   And I’m not referring to any perspiring or glistening problem.  I’m talking about SWEAT. 

There, I said it.

While pregnant, my problem got worse, much worse.  Like change-my-shirt-three-times-a-day-because-of-icky-pit-stains worse. No need to fear, however, I have the problem under control.   Although this is something I probably should have discussed with a medical doctor, I was too embarrassed.  (Funny how I’m sharing my sweathogedness with the entire internet.)

Anyway, I saw those commercials for Secret Clinical Deodorant and decided to give it a try.  It is marketed as “prescription strength” deodorant.  The directions stated that it should be applied at night, before bed.  It even said that it wasn’t necessary to reapply in the morning, even after showering.  I was incredibly skeptical, but I was surprised by the results.  Instead of sweating buckets, my pits stayed dry for the whole day.  On particularly hot days, or should I say, days that I actually left the house and endured the heat, I did sweat.  However, it wasn’t in copious amounts that caused the need for frequent shirt changes.

The only problem I had with this deodorant was that I had trouble remembering to put the stuff on every night.  After years and years of applying deodorant in the morning after my shower, it was an adjustment to remember it before bed.

Secret Clinical Deodorant is easy to find at most drugstores, grocery, and discount stores.  In my very unscientific review of prices, I found it priced between $7 and $8.50.

I highly recommend this product to all other sweathogs, like me.  Can I get a “hell ya” from all my sweaty peeps!?

I’ve felt a very strong need to simplify my life lately. Maybe it’s because school and all it’s franticness will be starting again soon, I’m not sure. I just know I’ve been tossing a lot of junk, handing off responsibilities, and trying to make things as calm and easy as possible. I had no idea when I was asked to review the Noah’s Pals collection for Parent Bloggers Network how much these little toys would tie in with my recent change of attitude.

Noah’s Pals are collectible animal toys that are sold in pairs, along with a Noah figure with set of doves, and an Ark to hold them all. While it might initially seem these would be marketed directly towards the Christian audience, I soon discovered there are much, MUCH more to them.

These are not your typical plastic animals. They are a heavy, durable plastic, hand-painted with beautifully realistic detail. Each set of animals comes with a card telling what continent they live on, what type of habitat, whether or not they are endangered, and gives their family name and species. As if that isn’t cool enough, it gives an individual profile for each of the pair, showing the different height, length and weight for the male and the female. To a 9 year old animal lover, the cards alone were a treasure trove of information. They also lead to quite a bit of “Mommy, do you know how the (fill in animal) (does some random thing)..?” Needless to say we have spent considerably more time on Google looking up animal facts since these toys arrived.

In addition, each set of animals comes with a code you can enter on the Noah’s Pal’s website. Should you collect all 40 sets, they will send you a special prize. In addition, each code entered put you in drawings for merchandise from the Caboodle shop!

In an age of video games and on-demand cartoons, Noah’s Pals are truly a way to get back to basics. They are both educational and entertaining, and kept my 9 and 3 year olds entertained far longer than I would have thought possible.

Noah’s Pals are sold on the website and at Amazon and range from a surprisingly affordable $2.50 up to $20 per pair, depending on the animals, so there is something for everyone.

These toys are rated for ages 3 and up, and would make fantastic stocking stuffers for the young animal lover in any home.