Archive for the ‘reviews’ Category

We were in Nashville over the weekend. And by we, I mean my mom, the girls and me. Brent stayed behind to study his little heart out for his tests this week and next. We were in Nashville because I attended the Blissdom Conference (I mentioned that last week) where I was inspired by amazing speakers and other bloggers.

After the conference ended on Saturday, I grabbed a sleeping Sammi, a hungry Elli and my poor bleary-eyed mom and headed over to the Rainforest Cafe. I was probably the most excited to eat there of the group. You see, we watch Curious George. He’s my favorite of all the cartoons. At the end of the show it shows the ads from the sponsors. Rainforest Cafe is one of Curious George’s sponsors here in Tennessee. I’ve seen those commercials for months now and had no idea where there was a Rainforest Cafe and so hadn’t really pursued it. But when I booked our hotel room at the lovely Gaylord Opryland Hotel, the gal told me about the Rainforest Cafe and how close it was to the hotel. The anticipation set in.

We called ahead and made a reservation (our time was 7:43 precisely, though they were forgiving when we were a few minutes late.) When we arrived, we were blown away by how well decorated the restaurant/store front was. We were transported into the rain forest. While we waited for my mom, who parked the car for us, Sammi saw a large snake wrapped around a huge tree branch and asked, with a note of worry in her voice, if that snake was going to get out of the tree. I explained that it was a toy snake that could move like how her train moved.

That conversation ended up being a theme throughout the restaurant. There were mechanical animals everywhere! Our table was fairly close to the elephants and on the other end of the restaurant there were gorillas. Elli was a bit frightened the first time we saw the elephants move, but I explained they were just toys and not real animals and that seemed to calm her down. Evey time they moved, I’d just say “toys” and it would help her remember. By the end of dinner, they were really comfortable with everything and wanted to explore. We walked around and touched the elephants and gorillas and climbed up on every chair we could to look at the fish tanks. Sami loves seeing “Dory” from Finding Nemo.

The food was delicious, but a bit pricey. It seemed like a lot of people there were celebrating birthdays. I’d probably only be able to justify the cost again if it were a birthday. They do have the killer volcano dessert that I’ll save room for next time. It’s ice cream inside walls of chocolate with a sparkler on top. Fun! Our server was fantastic and even brought the girls balloons. Those balloons even made it home to show off to Daddy.

But my favorite part was when we left the restaurant. At the bar, the bar stools are the bottom half of animals, complete with tails. We had to jump up on a few and take pictures. I adore giraffes and Sammi has always like tigers. We’re still discovering Elli’s favorite animal.

What’s your little ones’ favorite animals?

Okay, we’re a month in to 2010. How are you doing with your resolutions, goals, or plans for the new year? Frankly, I planned and planned and then I’ve just been trying to survive day to day. I’m not sure I had even thought again about the goals I set until yesterday. Since I really want to make progress with the goals I set for parenting, healthy living and blogging, I’ve been looking for resources to help me awaken the potential I know I have to achieve my goals. And, shortly after deciding I needed help, I discovered Blast Off! by Allison Maslan. I love how quickly answers come when I invite them into my life.

Blast Off! is a life coaching book designed to offer step-by-step guidance along the path to discovering your goals and working to attain them. Not only does Allison talk about the pro-active steps to move toward your goals, but she also helps you to identify and eliminate roadblocks that may be keeping you from moving forward. I have a lot of ambition, but I seem to sell myself short a lot of the time on what I’m capable of doing. I definitely need help in overcoming a few roadblocks!

Allison suggests you start your day with a free-writing activity. Pick a theme word, the first idea that comes to mind and then write every thought you have about that theme word. This is the time to get out all the negative energy about the theme or to snowball the energy and passion you have for the theme that came to mind. It fits what you need to do to get ready for the day. I like the example she gives using this activity. The theme word is “overwhelmed.” It’s like she read my mind every morning that Sammi wakes me up way before I want to get out of bed and asks for ‘breafkast.’ Then, using the thoughts and ideas that come from this activity, you create a mantra for the day to help you either deal with the theme or encourage the theme, depending on the theme’s vibe

Since I usually sit down at the computer first thing and sort of wake up while I check my email (pathetic, I know!) I figured this would be a great activity for me to start my day. Especially since there’s not usually much happening in my inbox. Though, to really take advantage of all Blast Off! has to offer, I’m going to need to get my hands on the book. I’m  glad it’s available on Amazon because we have Amazon Prime and I am totally addicted to two-day shipping now.

What helps you reach your goals?

I love words. When I read, I am driven by the words on the page. As fast as I can absorb the words determines how quickly I turn the pages. This is fine for reading grown up books with few or no illustrations, but I tend to carry this over into my reading with the girls. I’ve really had to work at slowing down and looking at the pictures with them and answering the random questions that arise, entirely unrelated to the storyline, because of the illustrations. Even when I am trying consciously to allow time for studying the pictures, I still get caught up in the words. For this reason I now LOVE Chicken and Cat Clean Up.

Chicken and Cat Clean Up came to us from Scholastic for review. When Sammi first pulled it from the pile and wanted me to read it, I expected your typical picture book. But I was surprised when I opened the book and there were no words to read. I turned to the next page to see if there were words. None. I turned the page again. Hmmm. I was at a lost. So I went back to the beginning to figure out how to “read” this book to Sammi. But, Sammi’s observations and imagination came through to make this book a big hit.

We poured over the pictures on each page and looked for all the details that would help us understand the story. There is a little bit of print throughout the book, but almost all of it can be figured out through the illustrations. After we went through the book a couple of times, Sammi went off to her baby dolls to tell them the story over and over again. Then it occurred to me that this book was perfect for developing the early literacy narrative skill.

Storytelling is a part of developing literacy. When little ones understand the structure of stories, that they have a beginning, a middle and an end, they are better able to process the meaning of the words in the story. Retelling stories, or even making up their own, is great practice in developing literacy skills. I love to watch Sammi, and now Elli too, sit with a book and turn the pages as they retell the story to each other and their dolls. Sammi even has mastered holding the book facing away from her and “reading” it from the side. Elli is great at holding up the book and showing off the page to the whole room before turning the page and looking at the book herself again.

So, back to Chicken and Cat Clean Up. The illustrations are engaging, simple, but full of detail. The story is a bit of a page turner because you just wonder if it really could get any worse for poor Cat and then the ending is charming. I like this book not only for its strength in helping kids develop narrative skills necessary for literacy, but also because it created the opportunity for me to forget the words and lose myself in the illustrations. It really helped me experience literature from my little ones’ perspective; to remember what books are like when you can’t read; and how much joy there can be in that experience.

Use the code SSVDAY at Scholastic to receive 20% and free shipping if your order is $25 or more. This code is valid until Feb 1 (that’s Tuesday already!) This post is part of the Winter Wonderland Carnival. If you haven’t already, you can enter to win one of our great prizes from our fabulous sponsors. Please visit Join the Winter Wonderland and leave a comment. For an additional entry, you can also leave a comment on this post. We’ve also added this post to Adventu1re Mom Janna’s Feed Me Books Friday. Please visit to find other books to share with little ones!

What is your favorite story that you’ve heard your little one tell? What is your favorite story to tell you little one?

One of our favorite winter activities has been curling up on the couch with a blanket and a stack of books to read. Sammi has definitely moved into longer picture books. I’ve been surprised at how long Elli also sits still on my lap and listens as I read these long books.

We received a few more books from Scholastic in the fall to review. Sammi’s instant favorite was from the series Adventures with Riley and is called the Polar Bear Puzzle. The first time we looked at it I thought it was going to be a flop. It’s a fictional story with nonfiction facts dotting the pages and running through the storyline. I didn’t think Sammi would like the length of the story. Boy was I wrong on all counts!

She loved learning about polar bears. She loved the storyline and the mixed media illustrations. After we read the book, she poured over each page remembering what information went with each picture. If she couldn’t exactly remember, she’d have me read it again, but then she went back to exploring the book on her own. She has carried that book around the house, to the store and even to bed on occasion for the last few months. I really am surprised that she picked such a sophisticated book to love.

That’s a credit to the book, I think. It took a difficult concept—global warming and its effects on the polar bear population—and made it come to life for Sammi. It’s been great to reinforce the winter season by talking about animals that depend on the cold weather as part of their life cycle.

Another book we received from Scholastic that has been a lot of fun for the girls is Marsupials by Nic Bishop. The photographs in this book are such a treat. There’s a lot of information on each marsupial. Honestly we haven’t read every word of every page, but one main sentence is larger and contrasted from the rest of the page. It serves to give us the main feel for the animal and then we also read the caption for the picture. I love that Sammi and Elli, too, both love looking at this nonfiction book. It’s a great introduction to using books to find facts because it makes the information accessible in a brief sentence without losing the depth of what older readers would want to find as well.

This post is part of Winter Wonderland. If you haven’t already, please enter to win one of the great prizes from our sponsors. Just leave a comment on Join the Winter Wonderland. For an additional entry, you can leave a comment on this post, too.

What books has your little one loved that surprised you?

We received the Gummi Label DIY in Shocking Pink from Sippy Stuff for review. I thought shocking pink was the most appropriate color since I am often shocked by how much Sammi and now Elli love pink! When the Gummi Labels arrived in the mail, we immediately opened them and put them on the girls’ sippy cups. Then I wrote each of their names on their cup and handed them out.

Sammi thought the whole thing was pretty cool. She loved having it on her cup and loved that it had her name on it. After lunch I filled their cups with water, as usual, and left them on the table for them to have whenever they wanted a drink. At dinner time, I ran around looking for their cups. I went into the play room and saw a few sippy cups but was able to identify the clean ones because of the Gummi Label. I liked that. It was an unexpected benefit of having the labels on the cups.

It has been a struggle for me to keep clean sippy cups on hand because they seem to go through so many in a day. But now that we’ve been using the Gummi Label, I always know which cup is from today and that helps us use fewer cups in one day. It’s also helped me be better at gathering up the day’s cups and get them in the dishwasher. I don’t know exactly how it triggered that cleaning button in me, but I’m happy it did!

The girls like having them on their cups so they ask for them. If I forget they run into the kitchen and show me where they are so I remember. They are easy to clean and to use.

As part of the Winter Wonderland, Sippy Stuff is offering a set of Personalized Gummi Labels to one winner! This giveaway is open until January 31 at 11:59 pm EST. To enter, make sure you leave a comment on Join the Winter Wonderland.  Then for additional entries you can do any of the following:

·         Tweet about the labels or the giveaway @sippystuff

·         Follow Sippy Stuff on Twitter at  http://twitter.com/sippystuff

·         Choose a favorite color and leave a comment on that color’s page.

·         Become a fan of Sippy Stuff on Facebook & leave a comment.

How do you organize and manage your little ones’ sippy cups?

I love journals. It’s the writer/storyteller in me that just goes wild when I get a new journal. As much as I enjoy opening a blank book and writing away, I love journals with prompts even more. I think I have a suppressed love of filling out forms. I don’t know where it came from, but it surfaces about tax time each year So I was really excited when Carrie Lundell agreed to feature her This Is Me journal as part of the Winter Wonderland carnival.

Aside from the prompts in the journal, I was drawn to Carrie’s slogan: Scrap the Scrapbook and Preserve the Personality! I have never been a very good scrapbooker and as the girls have gotten older and busier, I’ve fallen farther and farther behind in getting pictures in albums. Carrie’s slogan broke through my fog created by feelings of guilt and being overwhelmed and shone like the bright sun on a new day. I was pumped to share this journal with Sammi.

And Sammi did not disappoint! She was so excited that we got a book just for her and that she got to draw and write in it all by herself. Carrie had suggested reading the parent’s guide on the last page before beginning. So with an antsy preschooler at my side, I flipped to the back and scanned. The layout made it easy to ready quickly and absorb the tips so that in just a few moments I was ready to share the journal with Sammi.

I had her start by drawing her self portrait on the first page. In hindsight, I think I should have warmed her up to drawing herself before drawing on the actual first page. She grabbed her favorite color, pink, and scribbled away. After that, I gave her a piece of paper and talked about drawing herself and got a very adorable, 3-year-old’s perspective on what Sammi looks like to herself. I’m tucking that portrait in the pocket at the back of the book to keep to show her she did really draw herself, not just crazy pink lines.

We worked through the first few pages. I turned the prompts into questions I asked Sammi and then wrote down her answers. Some of my favorite are that her favorite thing about being 3 is going to preschool. But she doesn’t actually go to preschool! I haven’t found a program that has space so we’ve visited a few, but I’ve mostly decided to do preschool activities at home. Another favorite is that if she could have any pet, it would be an elephant. And then she drew this adorable picture of the elephant. It’s hard to see, but her elephant has seven legs and a tail. She was very pleased with the long trunk she drew (top left).

While we could get any book and so some of the same things, I would choose this keepsake journal for a few reasons. First, I love the design. It’s professional but appealing to kids. Second, the prompts are already there and, after flipping through the book, there are ideas I never would have thought to include. One last reason, because it’s already formatted and bound in a book, I’m more likely to finish it with Sammi over the course of the year and then keep it for her to look through in the future.

As part of the Winter Wonderland, Carrie is offering one This Is Me journal to a BBGU reader. Make sure you comment on the Join the Winter Wonderland post to enter the giveaway. You can also comment on this post for an extra in the giveaway. This giveaway is open until January 31 at 11:59 pm EST.

What memories have you preserved that are special to you know? Would they have been forgotten if you hadn’t done something to preserve them?

What a way to start off the new year! Here’s a catchy, clever album all about the brain. Roger Day had the great idea of creating an entire album around the brain: Why Does Gray Matter? …and other brainy songs for kids! Overall, the album reminds me of all the things I love about They Might Be Giants: smart lyrics and upbeat tunes.

Roger Day appeals to my parenting side by incorporating words like ‘lycopene’ and ‘deep basal ganglia’ into his songs as he extols the virtues of healthy food for the brain and the finer details of how the brain works. Then he also brings to life the kid in me who loves corny wordplay and geeky facts.

But, don’t take my word for it! I wasn’t the only one who loved this album. We were headed out through winding roads on Saturday. So naturally I drove to avoid motion sickness. Brent typed notes for me on my phone as we talked about the songs. When I checked out what he wrote down, I found this: “Husband really enjoys this album.” And that’s coming from my very music savvy sweetheart. Sammi had something to say about it, too. A few songs into the album she commented that “these are songs to help us stay awake!” Which is a compliment since we usually try to sing them to sleep with lullabies on long road trips.

Random Things I Like

• Roger Day is from Tennessee which significantly increases our chances for seeing him live!
• On the back side of the lyrics sheet is a nifty poster for the album that I’m actually considering hanging in my office.
• He started performing his children’s music at community service shows for local Head Start programs where he was scheduled for his regular college coffeehouse shows. (One location he played was right here at Lincoln Memorial University! though I don’t know if he did a children’s performance here.)

Win Your Own Copy

We’ve got a copy of Roger Day’s new album Why Does Gray Matter? …and other brainy songs for kids! to give away to one Because Babies Grow Up reader. To enter, please leave a comment telling me something smart about you or your little one. For additional entries you can blog, tweet, facebook or delicious this post. Just leave another comment telling me what you’ve done and I’ll tally all the extra entries in when I randomly select the winner.

This giveaway is open until Monday, January 11 at midnight, EST. Please help spread the word and good luck!

Well, I survived 15 hours of travel with two sick girls. We actually had a pretty good time. The girls slept the last 1 1/2 hours on the plane and then were happy when they saw Grandma, Grandpa and two aunts and an uncle. Then they slept the 45 min drive to my mom’s house and were so excited to see another Grandma and Grandpa that they could hardly go right back to sleep! But that’s okay because I didn’t have it in me to break up the party.

This trip reminded me of the last time I was on an airplane. Brent and I flew with Elli when she was almost 8 months old. We went house hunting in Tennessee before our big move here. We had a long day of flying and driving and I was worried about what to take with us to entertain Elli for so long.

About the same time, my dear friend Melitsa of Play Activities was getting ready to release her book about Treasure Basket Play and asked if we’d like to review it. I had no idea how it would transform my travel with a little one! Her book is full of ideas of natural items children love to discover and explore. Following some of her suggestions, we were able to pack a pocket in my backpack full of items that kept Elli entertained for the entire trip.

A Great Christmas Gift

Putting together a treasure basket would make a perfect Christmas gift for your little one! The budget’s tight at our house for Christmas this year, as I’m sure it is in plenty of other homes, and we’ve looked for ways to make the dollar stretch and to still provide the girls with toys they’ll love. Imagine your little one’s face lit with joy in digging through a basket of objects of different textures, shapes and colors, object typically high on a counter or otherwise out of reach now available for exploration.

Little ones love to explore a new object and then when the newness is gone, they move on to the next object. Treasure baskets accommodate this short attention span perfectly because they are easy to reconfigure when your little one is tired of its contents. Melitsa’s book contains tons of ideas on different combinations of objects that you can safely include in a treasure basket for your little one.

Win Your Own Copy of Treasure Basket Play!

Melitsa has generously offered a copy of Treasure Basket Play, along with the bonus resources of case studies supporting treasure basket play and an exclusive audio interview with Mary Horn of Heritage Treasure Baskets, to one Because Babies Grow Up reader! This is an amazing resource that will help you through the transition from baby to toddler.

To Enter:

• Please visit Melitsa’s site: Treasure Basket Play and find the 8 Benefits of Treasure Basket play.
• Come back here and leave a comment telling me the benefit that’s the most appealing to you.
• Additional entries: anything that helps spread the word about the giveaway! Tweet this post, share the link on Facebook, email friends about it, bookmark it on Delicious or like it on Stumbleupon. Come back and tell me what things you’ve done and I’ll add in the extra entries for you.

If you’re looking for an alternative to plastic toys that make noises you can’t control, or if you’re looking to further your little one’s imagination and creativity, then Treasure Basket Play is a great choice for you and your little one.

This was a CD of firsts for our family!

The first time I changed my laptime program on the way to the library just to include songs from this CD. We listened to it for the first time on the way to the library last Friday.

The first time my children did all the actions to the songs on very first time they heard the songs! This one really blew me away. I looked back in the rear view mirror and they were touching their toes and nose, raising their hands high and even attempting to turn around while remaining buckled in their seats. Such creativity!

The first time we have religiously carried a CD from house to car and back into the house every time we’ve gone somewhere.

We were excited to work with Waldmania! again to review a CD of music for kids that adults like too. We had enjoyed Milkshake and were hoping for something of equal caliber. We were not disappointed! We enjoyed the upbeat, energetic style of Bari Koral’s Family Rock Band in their new album Rock and Roll Garden.

Bari Koral has been compared to Jewel and Norah Jones, but for me, Bari is my soul sister, the sister to the part of my soul that aspires to change children’s lives and help parents connect with their children through music. The first time listening to her new album, I knew we had found a family classic.

This album doesn’t go on sale until January 12, unfortunately, so I can’t put it on my Christmas gift guide. BUT, I wanted to. Although it is available for pre-order though Amazon and Bari Koral’s website.

Now for the good news!

Bari Koral has offered one reader the chance to own Rock and Roll Garden before you can buy it. So, to enter for your chance to win a copy of Rock and Roll Garden by Bari Koral The Family Band, just leave a comment below. I’d love to hear how you connect with your little ones through music. Inspire me! Of course the winner will be chosen at random using a random number generator. The giveaway is open until Tuesday, Nov 24 and the winner will be announce in Wednesday’s post, Nov 25.

Welcome to Tell Me Thursday. I’m excited to share more about our partial family photo with good friend Carol Rice at the International Storytelling Center (ISC) in Jonesborough, TN. Here’s the picture from yesterday’s Wordless Wednesday post:

Here we are with Carol Rice

We loved attending the Storytelling Festival last weekend. I probably loved it more than the girls. They were a bit restless and didn’t want to be confined to seats. But we had a fun time exploring a new location and meeting up with a friend from Utah. I’ve already gone on at length about the value of storytelling, so I’ll get right to the picture.

We are in the ISC in front of the Wall of Storytelling. Our friend from Utah is Carol Rice of Cherish Bound. She is dedicated to the art of storytelling and helping people capture their own personal stories in beautifully bound books. In case you can’t think of any stories, her company also has lots of great tools to help you find the stories that you want to preserve and share.

I Heard a Story...

The ISC has recently teamed up with Cherish Bound to help Festival goers to capture their experiences at the Festival. They’ve put together this terrific little book, I Heard a Story and Thought of You, that is easy to personalize but has professional photos from the festival already included. That is right up my alley because I usually buy postcards because the pictures are better than anything I can take! They also have a Family Tree storybook to preserve your family history.

The International Storytelling Center is also joining the world of Social Media and can be found on Twitter. They’ve recently updated their website with tons of information about ISC, where to find storytelling events and how to stay in the know on future events.

I was lucky enough to be able to share my thoughts on how to make the Festival more friendly towards parents and little ones. I’m excited they cared what I thought and look forward to enjoying the festival again next year.