Scrutiny by the Masses

Mama Rocks

I am often asked for child rearing advice.  Being that I have a larger than normal number of children, and they usually behave in public - saving alllll the bad for home - people ask my secret.

I have no secret.  I am just strict.

There, I've said it.  My "secret" is out.

When I read Mama Rocks Rules, I felt as if I'd read a book written by a kindred spirit.  Mama Rock, mother of comedian Chris Rock, has raised 17 children, including foster and birth children.  SEVENTEEN.  She's on par with Michelle Duggar, but with Mama Rock, I feel no disdain, no superiority - just a good, honest account of raising kids in a God fearing respectful way.

And Respect is the key in this book.  Mama Rock was respected by her children, and equally important, she respected them back. The title of Chapter 1 - "I am your Mama, not your friend" - I say that all the time. Many, many parents need to know that. 

One thing that we have in common is a desire to be a good reading role model.  I, too, read the paper on a daily basis and subscribe to multitudes of magazines.  Mama Rock (I get such a kick out of calling her that!) is spot on.  Kids MUST see you reading - reading everything you can get your hands on. 

From You are who you are with, to Shame is a dirty word too, reading this book was a breath of fresh air in an other wise stagnant pond of mothering platitudes.  I'm so TIRED of reading books that make me feel inadequate - thankfully, this isn't one of them.

Everyone should read this book.  Everyone.  Especially for the biscuit recipe.

Many, many thanks to the lovely ladies at The Parent Bloggers Network for allowing me to review this book.

Raised By Wolves

What a riot this book was.

Written by Christie Mellor, author of The Three Martini Playdate, the subtitle of this book gives a more clear meaning to it's purpose.  Clues to the Mysteries of Modern Living. 

Yes, indeedy, this is a good book. 

I loved this book, and won't be giving away my copy, as per my usual MO on this site.  Instead, I plan to keep it and force all of my children to read it before they move out.  I may even test them on the contents. 

With information on varied topics ranging from how to make hospital corners to the many uses of baking soda, dealing with office politics, being humble and proud, how to use mayonnaise to remove water marks, directions on how to wash dishes and manage a buffet line gracefully - this book is an exhaustive how to for the modern young adult. Many of these topics are things I struggled with and only recently mastered - and some not at all. 

Most interesting would be the section on topics for conversation, the explanation of the Bill of Rights, and things I wish I'd known.  I really agreed with a lot of them, at the ripe old age of 38. 

I'd recommend that each and every person reading this buy a copy of this book for anyone in your life in the age range of 12-25.  Seriously - it could be the best thing you've ever bought them.

Many, may thanks to the lovely ladies over at The Parent Bloggers for hooking me up with this book. 

Skill building Buddies

This is part two of The Parent Bloggers Autism Spectrum DVDs.

My daughter thoroughly enjoyed this dvd, and I think I have pinned the reason why.

She loses her cool most, most often. 

She tantrums, she cries, she screams and throws her shoes.  Interestingly enough, she only does it with me - not my husband, my mother or her teachers.  It makes me feel, well, special - but I'm certain, by her reactions, that it makes her feel worse.

This dvd, Skill Building Buddies is a DVD by Mazzarella Media aimed at kids ages 5-12 with language or autistic spectrum disorders.  There are two action segments, where different scenarios are acted out, interspersed with song. The strategy of "Look, Listen and Stay Calm" is repeated numerous times, and I found myself telling my daughter those same words during one memorable, shoe throwing drive home.

My daughter loved watching the children who reenacted a difficult time - for example, when a child wanted a specific type of fruit and had to settle for another.  I really didn't find this to be realistic - a child not on the Spectrum wouldn't handle this type of disappointment nearly as well as the kids on the show did.  I did like how the concept of "Look at the person, Stay calm, and try to work it out" was repeated over and over.

I really recommend this dvd if you have a child on the spectrum. It wasn't too long, the songs were pleasant and memorable, and my daughter still enjoys singing them, and I think that they made a lasting impression on her. 

You can win a copy of the DVDs by commenting over at PBN.

Kibbles Rockin' Clubhouse

My youngest daughter has a form of Autism known as Sensory Integration Disorder, or Sensory Processing Disorder.  If you've read me for ANY length of time, you'll know all about it - it's a frequent discussion topic for me.  She's graduated out of therapy, but we still work on therapeutic activities on a daily basis. 

When the lovely ladies over at The Parent Bloggers Network put out a call for bloggers who fit the parameters for this dvd, I quickly emailed my interest.  And then I forgot about it.  When it arrived, I was, ahh, somewhat skeptical as to if it was even effective.  The opening song made me crazy - but my daughter loved it.  A scene involving different ways to say "hello!" - it felt juvenile and contrived, and yet, she loved it.  The main character , Handy Sam, was kind and friendly, with enough enthusiasm to be real and not so much that I wanted to drop kick him.

Ahem.  Not that I'd ever do that.

We've had trouble with eye contact.  It's probably the hardest thing that my daughter struggles with, and I really appreciated that the appropriate method of using eye contact and addressing people was stressed. I've noticed a big difference in the odds of her actually doing these things, and I can lay that directly to this dvd and to the refrain of one of the songs, "When you see someone for the first time, smile at them and say, "Hi!"  She sang along with the movie, she sang it in the van, she sang it in the bathtub and on the playground.  When she struggles with this, I repeat the refrain, and it triggers her to respond correctly.  In my book, I had to go no further to call this dvd successful and effective. 

I liked the fact that they use an activity schedule - a kind of chart on the wall.  My daughter loves to know what's going on and thrives on a schedule, and it was gratifying to see that others find that important.

The section on reading body cues and faces was a bit over her head.  She really didn't understand what an angry face was - although she could correctly show me one, she had difficulty picking one out.  She's four, so this might be a section more suited to an older child. 

Probably the most useful part for us was the section on controlling your temper and not acting out.  Although the children in the movie were too calm - "I can't have the chocolate cookie? Ok, I don't mind having a fruit cup!" - that would never go over in my house.  But it's a goal worth striving for. We repeated the song for that section as well - "I can use my mouth" - over and over.

The interview with the speech pathologist gave me a good background as to the reason that the video was created in a certain way.  Using visuals, such as an activity schedule, typical peer modeling, and repetition were all used to create a movie that is both pleasing, stimulating and calming to a child with an ASD.  I really liked the reassurances that a typical ASD kid can't always reason and sometimes can have an adverse reaction; for example, fit throwing.  I know those things in my head, but in my heart, sometimes it's difficult to remember.

Kibbles Rockin' Clubhouse is available on Amazon.  The DVD is from Noteabilities (http://www.noteabilities.com/) which has more information about the company and the other videos it produces.  The Parent Bloggers Network is also giving away a set of the two ASD dvds - the second review will be up here on Wed - to one lucky reader! Entrants may leave a comment on either the launch post or the round-up post (on 4/28.)

Highly, highly recommended.

Zula Patrol: Weather can be FUN!

When the lovely ladies over at The Parent Bloggers asked me if we'd be interested in reviewing The Zula Patrol: Explore Weather!  I jumped at the chance.  My kids are constantly asking me about weather - CONSTANTLY.  Selfishly, I hoped that the dvd would answer some of their incessant questions, and keep the illusion that I was really more intelligent about weather than I appear.  You know, all of the "I dunno" answers get old after a while.

Aimed at children from preschool to second grade, Explore Weather was a huge hit with my four youngest children, who all eagerly sat through repeated viewings.  Unanimously, their favorite section was the one that explains seasons.  My second grader's favorite fact - the one that was repeated to me again and again?  The tilt of the planet determines the seasons. This show even refreshed my knowledge of weather.

One thing I really enjoy about The Zula Patrol is that it is shown on PBS, which happens to be one of my favorite channels because everything shown on it represents good clean values.  There isn't any name calling, no fighting and all of the shows finish with a strong lesson.  This dvd was no different.

This dvd became a van dvd - which is high praise indeed in our house - only the truly fun dvds make their way out to the van, to be watched again and again as we make our way from school to soccer, from scouts to the grocery store. 

I highly recommend this dvd.  Pick up a copy for your young ones, and get ready to be blown away by the bright colors, crisp lines, fun filled facts and engaging dialogue of The Zula Patrol: Explore Weather!  You can pick up your copy at Borders. 

Senseo - Truly, A Gift from Above

I love me some coffee.  Love it, love it, love it - want to marry it and have it's little espresso bean babies.

Oh, sorry, getting a little carried away.

I was sent the Senseo to try out.  I took it to work to have my boss give me her opinion, and we both loved it.  A truly fresh, frothy cup of steaming goodness in under a minute - really, what's not to love?  The set up was the hardest part, and that really wasn't too bad.  My only trouble was that the directions didn't tell us to make sure it was clamped down and I ended up flooding her desk.  But, hey, it's all good in the name of coffee, right?  Doubling the pods makes two cups - a genius idea, so that you can avoid waiting while your boss drinks and sighs ecstatically.  The clean up is a breeze; simply dump the pod out and you are free to go again, with no loose grains to clean up.

I brought the machine home and we tried several different pods - the thought that my coffee comes from a pod cracks me up each time - including the tea and the espresso and the milder coffees and the Barista blends - the list goes on and on.  With that kind of variety, I can use the Senseo every day. 

And I do.  And so does my mom.  We are one happy Senseo coffee drinking family here!

I've got five $20 off coupons to give away, so leave me a comment if you are interested, and check out this link for your chance to win your own system!

Autolite: Spotglo Seatbelt light

We have a family of readers.  All of my kids love to read.  Normally, this is a great thing.  Not so awesome if it's dark outside and/or you are on a long trip.  Or if you have a great book to read, you are really in an exciting part, and your dumb old Mom makes you climb into the van for a family outing.

Autolite to the rescue!  Their newest product, Spotglo, arrived at my house one dark night, just as we were ready to go to yet another soccer practice.  My son was thrilled to try it out. 

We had some difficulty getting the battery area opened,but once we figured it out and installed the batteries, it was simple to use and provided a nice, bright LED light.  Why would you want an LED light?  Simple. It creates no glare off of the other windows and does not distract the driver, both absolute necessities in my van.  It clips easily onto the seatbelt and remains there, without sliding around and therefore it didn't get lost.  The brighter setting was perfect for reading - we didn't use the less powerful setting at all.

Because it's so lightweight, the light didn't seem to be heavy enough to last longer than a few days, but I've been pleasantly surprised that we've have it for close to two months now and it is still going strong.  My other kids want lights now, so I think this light is a winner for us.  At only $9.99, I think it's well worth the price.   We will certainly be ordering five more.

Many thanks to The Parent Bloggers for allowing us to try this light!

The Day Runner organzation system

I do consider myself to be organized.  The more kids I added to the family, the more organized I became.  I have a calendar upstairs and downstairs, a day planner in my purse that goes with me everywhere, and I use a calendar on my computer as well.  But when I was asked to look at The Day Runner System for Families, I jumped at the chance.  I wanted to see if I was missing any areas, places that could be a bit more organized. 

See.  It's not ME that's disorganized, it's my kids.  Could it be the fact that my daughter went to school one day with no shoes on?  Or the fact that I receive a call a week, asking me to bring a lunch/coat/hat/eyeglasses to school that someone has forgotten?  The Day Runner System is perfect for just about any family.  I was sent the Family Matters product line, which came with a large, undated, erasable wall calendar, a wirebound monthly planner book, erasable door hangers/reminders, activity folders and storage cases.  The set was huge and well constructed.  All dated items were for 2008, but I can certainly see how I'll use them when the time comes.

I did have a bit of a problem with the erasable calendar.  No sooner would I get something written than it would need to be changed, and in my zest to erase the old info, I'd also erase part of something else.  also, there was the time that one of my kids erased the entire calendar and filled it in with such delights as "Buy me candy" and "Eat at McDonald's". I think we do better with a pen and paper calendar, especially since I sometimes fill in appointments two and three months in advance.  The spaces were a bit small for us, but we have a larger than normal family with larger than normal commitments.

The door hangers are wonderous.  My usual method is to tape a giant note to the door, but these hangers are a more pleasant and attractive alternative.  Even when I write something along the lines of "The trash cans need to be brought up before dark", they still manage to look classy.  The area to add a wipe off marker is an awesome bonus.

One thing that didn't work for our family was the use of colors to designate different family members.  We have more members than colors!  I solved this by doubling up, but I wish that there had been a way to add additional members/colors.  The storage cases, I'll admit, aren't being used in their preferred methods - I try to put everything where it goes when it comes in the house, since with eight people, you can get overwhelmed in one day by the sheer enormity of paperwork.  Since there were only five of them, it didn't really work to use them for the kids papers, so I put magazines that I wanted to save in them.

The spiral bound planner lays flat and has both a month at a glance feature and each week, which is a nice touch.  The squares on the pages are large and the colors coordinate to the other products, so if you were able to designate one child as blue, it'd be a snap to see who had an appointment that day.

All in all, I think that Day Runner has a great product, and this system is great for small to medium size families.  Parts of it work for large families, you just need to be creative.

Discovery Channel Toys Talking Telescope

Discovery Channel Toys has hit the ball out of the park with this toy, according to my kids.  Billed as suitable for ages 5 and up, my three year old couldn't stop playing with it long enough to give everyone else a turn.  Seriously, this toy was HOT in my house. 

The Sparks Talking Telescope comes with slides that are full of facts, courtesy of the genuises at NASA.  The slides show cool things like planets, stars, nebula and comets.  When taken from their nifty storage tray and pushed into the telescope, and you enter the three letter code shown, the telescope begins to "speak" facts about what you are looking at.  The facts can be repeated, if your child misses one - something I thought was great until my kids hit the facts again, and again , and again.  But, hearing space facts beats out Dora the Explorer, right?  It's not too much information, it's not watered down baby food quality - it's just right.  In fact, some of the information was new to me! The  telescope is adjustable, so my kids with more attention to detail could really zero in on the fine details. 

This toy was well constructed and worth the $34.95 price tag.  If you are looking for a toy this holiday season for a child over 5, this would be a certain hit. 

(My only regret is that is was Made In China.)

I wrote this review for the fine ladies at The Parent Bloggers Network. For more reviews on this product, click HERE.

The Daring Book for Girls

When The Parent Bloggers asked me to review this book, I jumped on it. I am all in favor of activities for kids to do that don't involve computers, television, and handheld electronic devices.  I remember spending vast quantities of time when I was younger, doing "things" and "inventing" and "creating".  Many of the activities that I found so enjoyable are represented in this book. 

I loved the very basics of The Daring Book for Girls.  From the turquoise color - thank goodness it's not pink! - to the amazing back cover - "For every girl with an independent spirit and a nose for trouble, here is the no-boys-allowed guide to adventure."  A quote like that is right up my girls alley, what with the two wild boys in my house.  The page entitled "Essential gear" was exactly spot on, listing such necessities as a hair band, safety pins, a pad of paper and a pen,  and a good book - things I've told all of my kids to never be without - and adding patience and a flashlight and a roll of duct tape. 

Every time that I opened this book, I found so many cool things to read that I spent hours and hours reading it, swiping it from my daughters whenever they weren't looking.  The section on First Aid had all of the basics covered - the three P's, the three B's, and the ABC's, as well as what a first aid kit should contain.  An added bonus to this section is the addition of the biographies of famous women in the First Aid field. 

There are "typical" girl subjects covered, such as how to make fudge and lemonade, putting your hair up with a pencil, and jump rope rhymes, and then there are "atypical" topics, such as reading tide charts, The Periodic Table of the Elements, Five Karate Moves (although, this shouldn't surprise me, as there are women in the karate studio I attend), How to change a tire and how to make a quill pen.  There was always a topic to read, and when I'd try to put the book down, I'd find something else interesting to read. 

My ten year old picked the following as her favorites:

Lemon Powered Clock, Five Karate Moves, Friendship Bracelets, Cootie Catchers, Peach Pit Rings

My almost thirteen year old picked as her favorites:

Lemon Powered Clock and Math Tricks, Words to Impress, Yoga Sun Salutation, A Short Story of Women Olympic Firsts, as well as Make Your Own Paper. Seriously.  MAKE your OWN PAPER!  With flowers and everything. How cool!

This is a book that I'd highly recommend for any girl on your shopping list this holiday season.  See what other bloggers are saying about this book here.   

Many, many thanks to the lovely ladies at The Parent Bloggers for allowing us to preview this very special book!