The Attack of the Frozen Woodchucks

Frozen Woodchucks is not the kind of subject I read many books about. In fact, I wasn’t at all certain that I knew what a woodchuck was, much less why one would be frozen. So it was with some relucatance that I agreed to do a Mother Talk book Review on Dan Elish’s new book “The Attack of the Frozen Woodchucks.” When it arrived, I handed it to Bug to read and the look on her face read, “Woodchucks? Frozen Woodchucks? You have got to be kidding me.”

But then she disappeared with the book and came back singing its praises. So I read it too, and was pleasantly suprised. Yes, there are woodchucks. Big frozen woodchucks. But if you can get beyond that, this is the kind of book that can draw a kid in. It features smart characters who are truly likeable. I especially liked little two year old Imogene who is an inventor. As absurd as the premise might sound, Elish does an excellent job of making this something that you can get it into, and not the eye rolling experience I thought it might be. (Serves me right to judge a book by its title!)

There are a few scary moments in this book, but nothing too bad. Bug reads above a fifth grade level and it seemed to fit her reading level quite well. I’d say the book would be enjoyed from about fifth to ninth grade (and even higher, as I found it pretty darn good.) Kids who enjoy science fiction or adventure stories will find it particuarly appealing.

As for Bug, she says, “I thought it would be dumb because I didn’t know what a woodchuck was and I don’t know why someone would write about it. But then it turned out to be really good! It was so funny! Really funny! I loved the two year old who could do everything and said all these words that I didn’t even know what they meant! She was cool. And the woodchucks weren’t stupid, it was a cool book. And really funny. I thought there were one or two boring pages, but most of it was really exciting and funny. You should read it. You’d like it because I did.”

So there you have it. You’ll like it because Bug did.

You can check out the author’s website here and see what other bloggers are saying at Mother-Talk.

Special K Bliss Cereal Bars

The folks at Kellogs and Mom Central sent us two boxes of Special K Bliss Cereal bars to try. I really enjoyed them. I like cereal bars that maintain their crisp, and Special K bars definitely do. They are crunchy AND chewy with little bits of fruit in them. There are two flavors, raspberry and orange.  Each has a chocolate bottom. I was afraid I wouldn’t like the orange with the chocolate, but it tasted really good. Both of my older girls thought they were really good and liked to grab them on their way out of the door to school as a quick breakfast.

The best part? Only 90 calories!

They passed our reviewing test..which is that we bought them after we tried to them out to review. They are now something I buy for the girls and also I keep a few in my diaper bag for when I need a little snack while I’m out.

Symantec Norton 360

I was sent the Norton 360 program from Symantec and Mom Central.

It is described as all in one security for your computer and it definitely seems to be just that. It goes way beyond Norton AntiVirus to help protect your computer and your personal information.

It protects you when you are connecting wirelessly, it removes viruses from your email and instant messages, blocks worms, stops spyware, guards against identy theft, helps you determine if a website (like your banking site) is fake, removes threats from downloads, backs up your files, restores damaged or deleted files, tunes up your PC and helps optimize its performance!

It is really simple to install and set up, although on dialup it took awhile to connect and get updates. The program did an amazing job of cleaning up my computer and finding threats that my other virus program didn’t find. The only problem I had with it was that it slowed down the performance of my computer while it was running. My computer is old and I’m running on dialup. Geo put the program on his computer at work, which is newer and has high speed and he had no problems at all. In fact, he was able to get the computer working again..it had been attacked by a virus and was basically non functioning. Once he ran the program, everything worked well again.

This is definitely the type of program that will keep your computer safe, especially if you are using a wireless connection or do a lot of downloading. It is always nice to have the additional protection to help guard against identity theft.

Simply Mobile Moms

Simply Mobile Moms is a very cool application that allows you to send information from your computer to your cell phone. At first, I didn’t see the point for me, since I use an iPhone and could just pull up information by itself, but sending it to my phone through Simply Mobile Moms makes a lot more sense. If you are reading a site and have to head out, there is no need to go to your phone, pull it up and bookmark it. Just right click and  have it sent to the phone. You can also send things from your hard drive.

This program makes a lot of sense if you are away from your computer a lot, but use your computer for shopping lists, schedules, etc. I would much rather type out my shopping list and send it to my phone than to try to use my iPhones little keyboard to type out a list into my notes.

I have a data plan, but if you don’t, you can check on the website to see if you will incur any costs from using the site. Using Simple Mobile Moms is free, but they do state that you might see ads as way to keep the service free.

In addition, you can also win an iPhone and 2 years of service by going to the website. The contest is open until May 19th.

LiceMD

In boot camp, I got lice. So did about 20 other girls. It was so gross. And then we got it a second time.

So gross times two.

I’m not a big fan of lice, and luckily none of my foster kids have had lice, but it is extremely common when you have little kids in school or daycare.

MomCentral teamed up with LiceMD and I got a free sample of the product. Luckily, we haven’t had to use it yet, but if we ever do, I’d be happy I had it. For one, it is pesticide free, which is great. Of course you want to kill the lice, but the less bad chemicals you have to put on your child to do so is great. LiceMD still kills the lice within 10 minutes, like other products, but it is odorless, and it even conditions your child’s hair.

It has been tested by pediatricians and clinically proven to get rid of lice. It is hypoallergic and sensitive to skin. One bottle of LiceMD can be used on up to three people, depending on how long their hair is. Generally, you can treat two of your kids with one bottle if they have medium length hair.  It also works on adults, so if you get stuck with little creepy crawlers, then you can get them out as quick as possible!

Hopefully you won’t have to deal with lice, but if you do, this seems like the way to go. You can get a coupon for $1 off on their website.

Baby Einstein

I’ve heard Baby Einstein referred to as “Baby Crack” in the past because you could put a little one in front of the TV and they would become engulfed in the programming. While this is certainly good for a Mom who needs to do a load of dishes or fold some laundry, it doesn’t do much in terms of Mom and Baby spending time together.

With that in mind, Baby Einstein has launched a new campaign where they encourage parents to watch the movies with their child and interact together. We were sent “Baby’s First Moves” which is for children ages 3 months and up. Snowbaby LOVED it. She loves seeing other babies and she is very interested in physical movement now. She loves to see babies jumping and dancing and clapping and walking. Within minutes, she was dancing around the living room and trying to copy the movements on the screen.

Look, I know that you can do all those things with your baby without this DVD. But there are many days where my mind just feels blank or I feel overwhelmed with responsibility and things like dancing and clapping get pushed to the side. But if you pop in this DVD, which only is a little over 30 minutes and get on the floor and do these things with your baby or toddler, you’ll feel better. Too many times Moms are too rushed to do these little things that help not only your relationship with your little one, but your own sanity as well.

And after you are done interacting, you can pop the movie back on so you can go fold your 900th load of laundry.

Also as a bonus, the DVD plays in Spanish, French and English for those of you who are bilingual or want to encourage your child to be.

I think these Baby Einstein DVD’s, used with interaction from the parents, can be a good tool for little ones.

Trendy Tadpole

The folks at Trendy Tadpole were kind enough to send Snowbaby one of their super cute toddler t-shirts to try out.

Almost all the shirts are printed on American Apparel t-shirts, which are one of my favorite brands. They are soft and have a vintage looking fit. Snowbaby got the ABCD tshirt, which is perfect for her, and has been a hit with all of her teachers. We get compliments on this shirt all the time.

I totally am in love with the “Hug It Out” shirt as well, because I say that all the time to the kids.

These are great shirts for a shower gift or just to make your little one as cool as Snowbaby. 

And!! Today (Feb 29th) they have a 30% off sale! Just enter the code 30off when you checkout.

Mother-Talk blog tour: The Daring Book for Girls

I tried to flip through The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz when it arrived, but Bug quickly grabbed it and then I saw Izzy flipping through it, and then it disappeared.

After I was able to wrestle it out of Bug’s hands this morning, I realized why she had been so excited about it.

This book is COOL. First, it’s a big thick hardback book and let’s face it..kids are usually used to reading paperbacks. This is the kind of book that you’d like to get as a gift, even before you read the first word. It’s a pretty blue color with sparkly letters and its simple style is very appealing.

What’s in it?

Whether it’s female heroes in history, secret note-passing skills, science projects, friendship bracelets, double dutch, cats cradle, the perfect cartwheel or the eternal mystery of what boys are thinking, this book has it all. Whether readers consider themselves tomboys, girly-girls, or a little bit of both, this book is every girl’s invitation to adventure.

This book is great for young girls and even my teens enjoyed reading it.

But here is a little secret.

There is a type of girl that I’d like to be. The kind that can walk in heels, but can pop their ponytail out the back of their baseball cap and look just as cute. The kind that knows what a balk is and knows how to pull their hair up using a chopstick and it looks like it took hours. The kind that can change her own tire, discuss politics, play a mean game of darts, and can look feminine and sexy while doing all of it.

If you are anything like me, this is the book to have. It explains the rules to all the major sports. It shows how to do the “hair pulled back with a pencil” trick. Explains what stocks and bonds are. Even shows you how to read palms.

If you are one of those girls who always stood in envy of the girls who somehow just KNEW how to do things, pick up a copy of this book. You can pretend it is for your daughter or niece or the girl down the street. Bring it home, climb in the bathtub, pull your hair back with a pencil, and read. You will be glad you did.

See what other bloggers are saying about The Daring Book for Girls at Mother-Talk.