Scrutiny by the Masses

Wilbur - a new show about reading by Discovery Kids

Wilbur is a cow who loves reading.  A cute, loveable, cuddly reader.  This show, which is aimed at the preschool set, uses puppets as well as live action with kids to show that reading is fun.  It teaches the very basics - words on a page, turn the page - and does so in a refreshingly low key manner.  No screaming and shouting here, no "Buy me!" feeling and philosophies - just a lesson on how wonderful it can be to curl up with a good book.  The main character, Wilbur the calf, uses books to solve problems and find out information.  I really liked this - I don't want my kids to think that books are something that need to be struggled through and that they need to watch television to be entertained.

I love reading.  I want my kids to love reading, and this television show does it's level best to make sure that kids see how enjoyable and flat out fun books can be.  My younger ones really enjoyed this show and ask to watch it again and again.  With catchy songs and good lessons, I'll happily oblige.

Wilbur can be seen on the DISCOVERY KIDS CHANNEL at  8:00 am (Pacific) / 11:00 am (Eastern), as well as on  THE LEARNING CHANNEL (TLC) at 6:30 am (Central & Mountain) 7:30 am (Pacific & Eastern). Check it out!

Many, many thanks to the lovely ladies at The Parent Bloggers for cluing me in to this show!

Kids Love Spanish - a DVD set

When this DVD set was offered to me by the lovely ladies over at The Parent Bloggers, I was excited.  My older kids take Spanish in their schools, starting in preschool.  In fact, come to think of it, my three year old is the only one this year who doesn't receive instruction in Spanish.  So, right away, my kids know way more Spanish than I know.  But, I really thought that they'd like the DVDs, maybe as a bit of reinforcement.

We received a set of seven discs - Basic words, Basic Phrases, Animals, Colors and Shapes, Food, Family and Alphabet and Numbers.  Directed and produced by two moms who just happen to be sisters AND best friends, Kids Love Spanish falls a bit short of it's lofty goals.  To begin with, it looks as if my fifteen year old son did the video work.  The little song and dance routine - set to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star - was grating and annoying, and the dancing that went along with it embarrassed me.  It didn't seem to bother my younger kids, but my older ones laughed their heads off.  I ended up fast forwarding through the beginning and end of each subsequent showing.  One other thing that struck us all as odd was that all of the songs were in English.  My seven year old asked "Why not sing in Spanish?"  Why not, indeed - I can't believe the songs that my preschooler comes home with, all in Spanish. It's definitely an easy way to learn for most of us.

My older kids were not big fans of this set.  No matter which episode I tried, they were  ready to turn it off by half way through.  I finally clued in that what they didn't like was the repetition.  I know that repetition is the best way to learn a language, but for my kids, it was boring. Maybe it was because they've learned most of the subjects covered in this set.  One plus for this set was the multitude of different voices, repeating the words - it is neat to hear how different people pronounce the same word.   My youngest child - she loved the videos and asked to watch them again and again. She doesn't speak much, so I don't know how much she's learned, but I'll bet it is more than I think.

If your child watches all seven DVDS in this set, and takes no Spanish in school, he will have a good foundation to continue later in life.  The basic vocabulary covered is very similar to first year Spanish and the basic punctuation concepts are shown in the sentences, which gave my younger kids an opportunity to ask why the question mark or exclamation mark was inverted - something my older kids were delighted to explain to their uninformed mother. Hmmm, maybe I should be watching these DVDS?

For basic language acclimation and knowledge for children not exposed to daily Spanish lessons, I think that these DVDS would be exactly what you are looking for in a language teaching set.  The concepts are clear and the pronunciation varied, which helps adjust the ear to nuances in daily speaking.  The subjects are varied and the kids shown in the video appear to be enjoying themselves and make Spainsh seem like fun.  Really, what more could you want? 

The Little Black Book of Style

Style.  Hmm.  What does the dictionary say about style?  a mode of fashion, as in dress, esp. good or approved fashion; elegance; smartness.

When the lovely ladies over at The Parent Bloggers asked if I was interested in reviewing The Little Black Book of Style, I was skeptical but agreed to give it a whirl.  Since having lost 75 pounds, I've gotten rid of the fat mom pants, the oversized tees, and the muumuu dresses.  I've tried to develop a chic, more trendy and yet family friendly persona, but I think my image could use a bit of sharpening.

This book was so pretty.  A smaller, purse size black book, it's easy to tuck it into your pocketbook for guidance on your next shopping expo.  The sketches inside are gorgeous. With insider tips and tricks from such noteables as Vera Wang, Iman, Donatella Versace, and decade by decade "cliff notes", this book was really inspiring and educational.  My original plan was to  page through, and skip around.  That plan had to be changed, as I found myself stopping at each and every page, learning such interesting facts as "How to dress when meeting your boyfriend's parents."  Probably my favorite, though, was the section on Movies that Inspired Fashion.  I found myself remembering the characters from Love Story and  Pulp Fiction with fresh eyes.  I never really stopped to think about movies influencing fashion.

With such great advice as "Find a good Tailor" and "Never skimp on good underwear", this book is a treasure trove of information.  I'm glad that I had the opportunity to review it, and I've certainly learned some great tips for my next shopping trip.  I plan to take Nina Garcia's advice and Buy With Drama - will you?

Ryka, Ryka, we all love Ryka

I am a jock. 

Not because I grew up that way, but because I've grown to be that way in the past two years.  The first time that anyone referred to me as a "Jock", I literally looked around, to see who she could possibly be referring to.  Before the injury, I ran most every day.  I (still) work out with weights three days a week, I (currently don't) take capoeira classes, I walk everywhere I can, even up to the grocery store if I have time. 

So when the lovely ladies at The Parent Bloggers asked if I'd be interested in trying new runners from Ryka, I was all over it.  New shoes?  Sign me up!  Ryka is an athletic company founded by and for women.  From the website:  All RYKÄ shoes are made on a woman's last (the mold or shape of a woman's foot), and are designed and developed taking into account a women's unique fit needs - narrower in the heel and wider in the forefoot (it's not just you, our toes need more room and our heels slip too). Outstanding fit and exceptional comfort consistently place RYKÄ shoes among the highest rated in the industry. After all, if your shoes don't work out, neither will you.

I have an extremely hard foot to fit.  I have a very wide box, bunions, flat feet, and I pronate like crazy. If you have as many issues as I, you'd better check out the Ryka website, where they have you answer questions to determine which shoes will work best for your feet.

The shoes arrived, and I couldn't wait to put them on and go running. They were lightweight and breathable, two big factors in my choice of a running shoe.   They were stiff, more so than my regular runners, though they did soften up a bit.  I ended up putting about 300 miles on these shoes, wearing them every day.  They were attractive shoes, not outlandish or goofy looking, nor clunky and stolid.  My main difficulty with these shoes was the flat, double sided laces.  (Because my heel is narrow, I tie my shoes in a special manner - I use Lock Lacing - loop the laces back through the top hole, thread the laces through the loop and cross.  (Kind of complicated description here.)  There are some different thoughts on Lock Lacing, but it really works for me, since I have bunions.)  The flat laces were sticky on the underside, which made it really hard to loosen the laces in order to get the shoes on.  Also, the laces didn't loosen up as I ran.  I usually tie them too tight in the beginning of a run, in order to allow for them to loosen as my feet swell.  That way I don't have to stop.  The sticky lace that the shoes come with is a really great feature for someone who doesn't have as many issues as I have.  I'm a complicated, out of the ordinary shoe fit.  I do think that the sticky laces would be awesome for other people - in fact, a girlfriend switched laces with me, just so she could have them, and she loves them.

Running in these shoes was nice.  They were cushy, with air cushioning bubbles in the heels.  As much as I've run in these shoes, they still look brand new.  There is absolutely no wear on the bottom, which makes me think that these shoes are more rugged than your typical sneaker. I've never seen a shoe that looks brand new, after more than two months of daily wear.  That impressed me tremendously. 

Ryka is a solidly wonderful company, with a great sneaker that is well constructed and nice to use. I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to try these shoes!

Want to get in on the Ryka action? RYKÄ is giving away 50 (FIFTY!) pairs of shoes a day through October 25th, as well as 50 tees, as well as donating matching numbers of shoes to the Women's Sports Foundation. Click on the link and try your luck at a good pair of sneakers, and then get out there and get busy!

School Zone Kindergarten products

I have a five year old who is not in kindergarten.  She has a July birthday and for various reasons, we decided to retain her in preschool a year.  So these kindergarten products were right up our alley.

The "Kindergarten magnetic tin" was a huge hit with kids in my family even older than kindergarten. Younger too, for that matter.  The tin contains puffy, two sided animal figures, along with smaller letters and numbers. Right now, my five year old isn't interested in the letters, but I will bet that as the year progresses and she learns more about phonics, they will be used again and again. There are laminated cards inside this tin, and the back of the tin has a blank setting to facilitate creative play. My seven year old used the letters on the back of the tin to spell out his spelling words and was able to retain an especially difficult word.  I think it was due to the hands on advantage. I can see that this tin will be going many places with us, places that require quiet focused activities.  Like the multitudes of soccer games. (Quiet for the spectators under seven, not for the parents and the players, of course.)

The "Start to Read Level 1" is a large, spiral bound book full of multiple activities. With beginner reader books, cds of the stories with lively music, songbooks, stickers, wipe off pages of work - this book was a treasure trove of fun for Emma. Honestly, this book  was a bottomless pit of goodies.   She can't read yet, but with help, was able to complete a few of the pages of questions and circle the corresponding answers with the enclosed dry erase. She asked to do it again and again and again.  That is a hallmark of a great toy.

I really love educational toys for my kids, and these were very high quality and well loved.  I plan to use School Zone to buy a few Christmas gifts.  I'd recommend just about anything from School Zone Publishing Company. They really know how to make learning fun! Thanks so much to the lovely ladies over at   The Parent Bloggers Network for this opportunity.

The Zula Patrol - Science with a purpose

We received a copy of Zula Patrol from the lovely ladies at The Parent Bloggers, and my younger kids were wild to watch it.  I was all in favor - it guaranteed me at least 30 minutes of peace in which to read blogs clean the kitchen, and so we popped it straight into the dvd player.  The theme song started, and they were mesmerized.  A combination of rock and pop, the theme song was at least loud and energetic.  "Colorful" and "exciting" were two words that my kids used. 

The dvd had two episodes.  The first was Rock and Patrol, discussing igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, and to the delight of my fourth grader, it was thorough and exactly right on the topic.  The Multo Moment, where the show goes into greater detail with less excitement, was a big hit. At the end of the episode, the four kids who were watching could tell me the three types of rocks, and in my book, that's a bonus.  My only problem was the quality of the speaking voices.  A few of them grated, but it didn't seem to affect the kids at all.  After the nineteenth watching, I was tired of the voices. T-I-R-E-D. 

The only other thing I didn't like about this episode was the band called The Bowlin' Stones, bugged me from the beginning.  I don't like it when kids shows riff adult fun, and I think it was amplified by the fact that I don't like The Rolling Stones.   If you are a fan, you'd love it.   

The second episode, entitled Support Your Neighborhood Volcano, wasn't as well liked as the first.  The thought that a volcano wouldn't erupt because he didn't want to bug his neighbors was laughable to my older kids. 

Well researched and put together by a team of scientists, astronauts and educational specialists, Zula Patrol definitely grabbed and held my kids attention.  It's been in heavy rotation for the past two weeks and I see no sign of it slowing down. 

For more Zula Patrol reviews visit the Parent Bloggers Network Zula Campaign

Toolbox for Dads DVD

A companion to the Fathering Your School Age Child book, reviewed below, by the same author.

My husband is father to nine children.  He has a tremendous amount of knowledge when it comes to children, and yet, when it comes to babies, he's a bit unsure.  A bit uncomfortable.  Armin Brott has devoted an entire website, as well as live podcasts, a parenting newspaper column, and he teaches classes and has appeared on national television shows.

Broken down into four sections, entitled "Introduction", "What Do Babies Do?", "What Do You Do with a Baby?" and "Life with a Baby", this 118 minute dvd is a recording of a Father's parenting class.  At the very beginning, the speaker, author Armin Brott, mentions that there are two parents in the relationship, and no matter how frustrated and uncomfortable you are, there is another person feeling exactly the same - and he refers to this person as the wife.  Interspersed with black and white clips from the fifties, the overwhelming feeling that I got from watching this video is one of CALM.  Brott takes each struggle, be it crying or difficulty breastfeeding or how to change a diaper, and breaks them down in a no nonsense, you can do it, style.

"What do Babies Do?"  The short answer he gives - nothing.  That's true, and yet not true, and he explains the reality of passive alert - the staring straight ahead stillness that babies do, which can really overwhelm a brand new uncertain parent.  He backs this up with facts and a really interesting scientific study.  Brott, whose style is engaging and reassurring, spends some time discussing crying.  Knowing that there are different types of cry, and letting the fathers know some calming techniques that help, to me is one of the greatest clips on this dvd.  Just that two minutes alone will help a new father feels much more confident and comfortable.

Brott speaks to the reality of being so angry at your child, due to excessive crying, that you'd toss your baby under the steamroller just to get them to STOP.  He validates the feelings, and gives many techniques to calm yourself and your baby down.  He talks about how to support breastfeeding, how to tell if your child is getting enough milk, and does a great section on why cloth diapers are better than paper.  Being a lover of the cloth diaper, this was a not often seen bonus.  I would have liked my husband to see this section so that he could have heard the benefits from someone other than his nagging wife.

The information in this dvd is up to date and valid - back to sleep, no bumper pads on the crib, how to co sleep safely.  Brott discusses the financial side of having a baby, a scary prospect that doesn't come up all that often even among friends. He talks about making do with a bit less in order to spend more time with your baby.   Probably the section that does the greatest service to new dads, though, is the Intimacy discussion, or discussion of the lack thereof.  He deals with it in a heartfelt, easy to relate to style that I think most dads will really appreciate.  Knowing that you aren't the only one "not getting any", and learning it from another guy, could help alleviate arguments in the future.

This is a great dvd, and I highly recommend it to any expectant fathers in the crowd.  You can purchase it at Brott's website,  mrdad.com. I'm also giving my copy away  - leave a comment if you are interested!

Many, many thanks to the lovely ladies over at The Parent Bloggers for giving me the opportunity to review this dvd!

The Baby Boutique and Supermom's Health

When my friend Erica asked if I wanted to preview some products from her new online stores, The Baby Boutique at Womb's Window and SuperMom's Health and Wellness, I was all over it.  I'm really not looking to have more babies, but I do love them.  They are so cute and cuddly and, ok, enough already.

Seen here are the products that she sent me - Ruby Toots Baby Sling, The Belly Hugger, Liquid Stevia, The Supermom No Lice spray, and she sent also a "Living the Dream" t-shirt.  I loved them all. The first two are from the Baby store, and the latter are the Health and Wellness store. 

I used a baby sling with all of my children.  I still use one with Riley when she's having a really difficult time.  The Ruby Toots is well constructed, the colors are true and don't fade, and for a non adjustable sling, it was really comfortable. I usually shy away from non adjustables, feeling as if a one size fits most label isn't going to work.  This one was really comfy.  Riley has taken it over as her own, and can be seen dragging it around the house, bringing it to me again and again. 

Not being pregnant, I can't speak to how well the Belly Hugger would work, but if I was to fall pregnant, I  think this would be a product I'd use in an instant.  It is designed to be worn under a shirt, and looks as if you were wearing a layered shirt, but without all of the bulk of layers.  It keeps your tummy covered during breastfeeding, and holds up your pants if you need to wear them unbuttoned during the beginning of a pregnancy, before you fit into maternity pants.  Or, ahem, if you eat a big meal.

My girls LOVED the Stevia.  A non caloric herbal sweetener, it is intensely sweet and thus can be used to sweeten a variety of items.  Studies have proven it safe for daily use, and I have diabetic friends, as well as those trying to control their weight, who swear by it.  I've never used it, not wanting to drink sweet drinks, but Erica has a recipe for Stevia Lemonade and my kids loved it.  The liquid is handy to avoid waiting for crystals to dissolve.  I actually had to hide this product after a few days, they loved it so much!

KNOCK ON WOOD, we've not dealt with Lice YET.  Please GOD, PLEASE, I'd love to avoid it.  From her site: This herbal blend uses the best nature has to offer to repel head lice when used regularly.  Whereas most lice products wait for you to have a lice outbreak, this one gives you a tool to keep lice away with a simple spray every day.  Commonly found head lice products use toxic pesticides on the people that are most vulnerable to adverse side effects:  children.  It has a pleasant minty smell and the SECOND I hear of lice in our school, I will be squirting my children's head every day.  I think it'd be wise for everyone with kids in school to keep this on hand.

The tshirt has a great picture of a woman carrying an overflowing basket of laundry, entitled "Living the Dream".  It's a good quality, heavy duty cotton, size small.

I highly recommend Erica's shops, and spent a very enjoyable hour browsing through her offerings.  I can see some items I'll be purchasing in the future for gifts.  Erica is knowledgeable and friendly and I'm always amazed by her knowledge and ability - I've known her for years and she's forthcoming with hints and tips,.

I'm giving away the t shirt and the Belly Hugger, so if you are interested, leave a comment here.