Modern Mrs. Darcy is hosting “The Book That Changed My Life” blog carnival and I couldn’t not participate. I’m a huge reader, almost exclusively of non-fiction. One of the reasons I enjoy reading non-fiction so much is because of what I learn. Here are a few of the books that changed my life, organized by topic.

Birth

From the time I became pregnant with my first child, I never considered not having a natural birth. There were probably two reasons for this: one is because I had heard my mom tell the story of my birth so many times. She had a quick, easy delivery and the first words out of her mouth once she pushed me into the world (to my Dad) were: “Oh honey, when can we do it again!?” The second was because I experienced my sister giving birth to 4 sons naturally. It was just normal to me.

Late in my pregnancy with the oldest, I took Bradley childbirth classes, read Husband Coached Childbirth and lots of other books about birth. Caleb came after a 30 hour labor that included 4 hours of pushing, in a hospital. I had no IV, no monitoring, I ate and drank and moved around when I wanted. I had no pitocin, and no drugs of any kind.

When he was a newborn, I began devouring every book I could get on the topics of breastfeeding, birth, vaccinations, and parenting. One of those was Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin.

Reading it was a life changing event. I decided right there that any more children I brought into the world would be born at home. I’m glad I overcome my initial hesitation about picking this book up – it was the title that threw me off a bit. What exactly was “spiritual” midwifery? I was expecting something like the 5th definition down on this page. But the book was more about the first definition: “of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit.”

In other words, the book acknowledges that a woman’s birth affects her spirit, and that the spirit or attitude of her birth attendants also deeply impact her, which is absolutely the truth.

Parenting

I’ve read many parenting books in the last 14 years, most of which have at least some value. The Continuum Concept  was another paradigm changer for me, however. It described a parenting style that my newborn so obviously needed from me, and gave me permission to embrace it.

How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor is another child care manual that is an absolute Bible for me. I will never be without this book! Dr. Robert Mendelsohn is a rebel rock star as far as I’m concerned because of his no nonsense style and approach to childhood illnesses and issues. (I also love his other book, MalEpractice – about how women’s health care has been such a sham for decades.) This book encourages you to trust your instincts, don’t panic and that most things are better in a day or two. Dr. Mendelsohn is for home birth, opposes vaccines, and is a breath of fresh air among allopathic physicians who want to overmedicalize and overmedicate everything – to the detriment of the patient. I consult this book every time one of my kids gets sick.

Homeschooling

Life Learning: Lessons from the Educational Frontier is a book I can’t seem to part with. At this moment it’s literally the only book about homeschooling I own. The stories of young people who had been mostly unschooled their whole lives, and the fascinating choices they were making as young adults, was like catnip for me. Life Learning is a series of essays compiled by Wendy Priesnitz of Natural Life magazine. You can listen to an interview I did with her here.

Nutrition

Whole Foods for the Whole Family was a cookbook I had for years, until it literally fell apart (and a mouse infestation a couple of years ago took care of what was left). It’s more than a cookbook really, it’s a wonderful introduction to real, whole foods nutrition. It doesn’t espouse any one eating philosophy, and most of the recipes are quite easy to change depending on your preference or tolerance. It’s also a frugal cooking guide since everything is made from scratch. There are lots of instructions on how to do back to basics cooking to replace store bought, inferior products.

I just recommended this old favorite to a friend the other day!

Productivity and Goal Setting

168 Hours is the most recent book I’ve read on this topic, but it’s probably the one that has helped me make real changes to my thinking and routine. Again, this is a genre I’ve read many books in, and most of the ideas I abandoned quickly (GTD anyone?). The principles in 168 Hours are sticking. I plan on writing a review for this book on my new, soon to be announced blog.

Relationships and Personal Development

Boundaries is a book that seems to frequently disappear from my shelf because I keep lending it to friends who need it! Learning good boundaries is probably the single most important thing any person can do to grow up and have a healthy emotional and spiritual life. I use principles I learned from this book every single day.

What about you? What books have changed your life?

I’m on vacation this week, hanging out with my extended family in a cabin in South Carolina.

If you haven’t seen this awesome show yet, be sure to check out the Mama Natural Show! It’s a fun, newsy vlog that keeps you updated on the latest in the natural mothering community without taking up a lot of your time (her shows are minutes long, and unlike most video I’ve seen online, actually enjoyable to watch!)

Her 21st episode mentioned yours truly.

Fun stuff, and Genevieve is a great gal. I’ve found a new favorite site!

Have I mentioned PaperBackSwap lately?

Oh how I do love PaperBackSwap.

Why? Well, two ways mostly.

Reduce clutter

Don’t get me wrong, I love books. I have 4 bookcases in my living room alone. But unless a book is one that I know for sure I’ll be revisiting monthly, or is a classic kid’s book that will be re-read again and again by multiple children, I don’t keep it. I list it on PaperBackSwap and bless someone else. This keeps my book stock relatively uncluttered.

Save money

Obvious but worth pointing out. I only pay postage when I send someone a book. When I receive one, it’s free. This is important in a homeschooling household, especially if you have a few bibliophiles (they come by it honest!). So far this school year, my 13 year old 8th grader has devoured 8 novels. That’s in 3 weeks!

PaperBackSwap keeps him and the rest of us in fresh reading material.

If you want to become a member (free) and post books, click on the graphic above and begin. The name “Paperback swap” is a bit of a misnomer because you can post (and request) all sorts of books: hardcover, paperback, even audio books.

And once you put 10 books on your bookshelf, I get some more points.

Enjoy!

These are some of my favorite reads this week:

• A wonderful opportunity for a work at home Mom: Kelly McCausey of MomsTalkNetwork is hiring an Assistant Blog Editor.
• If you’re doing a cash envelope system for budgeting, these free printable cash envelopes are awesome!
• Another cool freebie: John Stossel is giving away a free DVD to teachers (includes homeschoolers). I’ve always enjoyed his segments on ABC and read one of his books. I ordered mine!
• Sitting is bad for your health. I’m seeing this message more and more lately. EVEN IF you exercise, if you sit a lot, you’ll be less healthy than someone who putters around a bit more. I’ve been making a conscious effort to avoid sitting when possible. I often squat on the floor instead. You?
• I can already feel the difference in the light quality outside and so have become more vigilant about getting outside. This article on LifeHacker has more tips on preparing early to avoid Seasonal Affective Disorder.
• This might be a little obscure, but this is a fascinating article on why it’s so difficult for the poor to escape poverty explains that exerting self control is incredibly fatiguing.  And why shopping  at ALDI makes it so much easier for me to stick to my budget.
• Seriously!? I just spent $8 on Oxi-Clean and now you tell me there’s a way to make it homemade?!
• Another cool “make it yourself” recipe: Homemade MSG free onion soup mix

Yesterday when I heard that Tsh of SimpleMom.net had released an ebook, I snatched it up immediately. 

Having been a fan of her blog for years and enjoying her print book: Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living, I knew it would be excellent.

And at $5?! It’s a no-brainer.

I printed out the entire thing.

I’m about one third of the way through the ebook and enjoying it very much. As an action-oriented person, I appreciate the way the projects, all designed to help you live more simply, are arranged in bite sized format. Trying to simplify can seem complicated at first, because chaos tends to come before (and during!) organization. Having someone break down the essential action steps is very helpful.

There are several things that are suggested that I’m already doing (such as establishing an evening routine, meal planning, simplifying banking, having weekly couples meetings).

There are also several projects I need to work on. Such as getting up before the kids and boosting my reserves, making a “just in case” essential papers file, creating a family purpose statement, and others.

I found myself taking notes on almost every project and adding a few tasks to my to-do list, some of which I implemented immediately.

The 52 Bites projects are organized into several categories:

• Living Green
• Organizing Your Space
• Relationships
• Taking Care of Yourself
• Time Stewardship
• Living Well
• Money Management
• Organizing Your Mind

We all know that having things together in these areas is essential to a happy, simple life.

I only have one teensy complaint about the ebook, which is: I don’t like how much space was dedicated to the “notes” at the end of each section (an entire page). It seems like it would have been a better use of space and paper to encourage the reader to take notes in margins or on another notebook. But, that’s a small thing, and again – for the price, it’s a steal.

Go check out 52 Bites and start simplifying along with me. I’ll be posting regularly on my progress with the projects. Join me?

Some lovely people sent me two books by author Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph.D.

I was pretty happy about that because a) I had previously spotted these at Barnes and Noble and coveted them and b) books on happiness align perfectly with my Happiness Project.

Being Happy: You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Lead a Richer, Happier Life

The book’s main message?

Perfectionism is one of the key destroyers of happiness.

I immediately resonated with this theme. I am definitely a recovered perfectionist! And I have seen how the tendency towards perfectionism has played out in my life and in the lives of people close to me, leading to unhappiness.

In our society we tend to think of perfectionism as if it were a positive trait. Perfectionists are harder working, take their responsibilities seriously, and are reliable…. right?

The truth is that perfectionists often have a harder time meeting their goals and being successful because they 1) don’t reach for them in the first place, afraid of failing, or 2) give up when the journey to the goal doesn’t fit their idealized view (meaning, when it gets hard!)

The author encourages you to work towards being an Optimalist, not a Perfectionist.

An Optimalist:

• enjoys the journey, and understands that the journey won’t be a straight line, but will have challenges and setbacks.
• views failure as feedback, and is more likely to try new things in the first place because they don’t fear looking stupid.
• is a nuanced thinker – avoids black/white, all or nothing thinking and false dichotomies.
• rejects rigidity and is adaptable, flexible, forgiving

A recurring theme in the book is the idea of the Fixed mindset versus a Growth mindset. The fixed mindset encourages the adopting of false dichotomies. It is limiting. A fixed mindset says “I’m just not ___, and I won’t ever be.”

I’m guilty of this.

I tell myself that “I’m just not artistic/creative“.

The truth is, I don’t really know how creative or artistic I am. I’ve never tried my hand at painting, never taken an art class, never tried throwing clay on a pottery wheel (something I’ve always wanted to do but was afraid of looking stupid), etc.

A lot of people would say that blogging for 9 years is an example of creativity.

On the other hand, a growth mindset means that while I acknowledge that I have natural talents, that these are merely a jumping-off place, a starting point. That I can grow and develop other areas. It’s not limiting.

There is a great example of a study done with children that underscores the importance of this growth mindset.

A bunch of kids were split into two groups and asked to do a test, and all did well. One group was told that they were “smart” to have done well on the test. The other group was praised properly: they were told “you must have worked really hard on this” (in other words, they were praised for their *effort*, a variable they can control, versus their *intellect*, something we think of as fixed).

Then the instructors asked the kids to do a second test. How do you think they responded?

The group who were given the “fixed” mindset didn’t want to do the test at all! They were afraid they would fail. They tended to not do as well.

The group who were given the “growth” mindset embraced the second test eagerly and enjoyed the process of completing it.They also outranked the other group.

One lesson from this is that it’s very important HOW we praise children. There is a right way and a wrong way to do so. But for the purpose of the book, the lesson is that we need to keep a “growth” mindset about ourselves so we don’t limit our potential for success, happy relationships and overall well being.

Read any good books lately about happiness? Want to share your thoughts below?

p.s. I have declared war on false dichotomies. I’ve always hated it when I heard people say them, but didn’t know there was a specific term for this until I read this book.

Here is a definition

I love that I now have a word for a phenomenon that I dislike so much! When I hear someone saying that they can’t do XXX and also do XXX, I’ll be able to lovingly show them how they have set up a lie … in their own mind, and not in reality.

What a great unhappiness buster!

I took a similar product after the birth of my last two babies. The afterbirth pains were so wicked, and they get worse each time! They left me in tears. I didn’t want to still be in pain after the baby was OUT.

A reader named Theresa submitted this review.

Contract Ease Natural Support After Birth Sedative for Pain

I have given birth seven times and the last few times the after pains of birth have been pretty painful.

The normal products such as Ibuprofen or Tylenol the doctor or midwife recommended were providing no relief.

A hot water bottle or heating pad provided temporary relief, but it was hard to dread breastfeeding my new baby when I knew the after pains would accompany our nursing sessions.

Finally in my last pregnancy I found Mother’s Choice Contract Ease.

Contract Ease is an all natural herbal supplement that includes these ingredients: Crampbark, Wild Yam, Black Haw, Scullcap, Valerian Root, Hops, Chamomile Flowers, Fennel and Catnip. It was so wonderful to find a product that worked without having to put harmful chemicals into my body.

Contract Ease comes in two sizes – 2 oz and 8 oz bottles. The 2 oz lasted me until my womb had retracted back to its normal size. I have kept my bottle on my shelf so I would remember the name in case I ever become pregnant again.

Contract Ease was formulated by Shonda Parker and produced by TriLight, Inc. It was a God send. My after pains truly disappeared and made my postpartum nursing experience so much more relaxed since I didn’t have to cringe every time Noah wanted to nurse. I would recommend this product for a shower gift prior to a new mama’s labor and delivery.

I also took liquid calcium and magnesium several times a day after my last baby was born. I would say it helped about 20%.

What did you do to help with wicked afterbirth pains?

** I have another cool giveaway to offer you so be sure to read all the way through! **

If you’re like me, you’re concerned about conflicting reports as to the safety of conventional sunscreens.

None of us wants to go back to the days of pool fun or beach=sunburn (the way it was for most of us as kids and also for previous generations). But studies that link cancer with sunscreen use are also a source of worry.

While the scientists figure it all out, my plan for the last few years has been to use only natural sunscreen products. These are mineral based (zinc and titanium), and work by a physical, not chemical reaction to “scatter” the sun’s rays and prevent sunburn.

A trio of products from Episencial crossed my desk and I am happy to give them a glowing review. I thought I would have to wait until my trip to the beach this summer, but as it turned out I had a chance to test these recently.

When the kids and I spent an entire late morning/early afternoon tilling up soil in preparation for our garden, I slathered the “Sunny SPF 35 Sunscreen” on the baby.

It contains lovely organic ingredients like shea butter (probably why it smells heavenly!), beeswax and avocado oil to nourish tender baby skin.

It’s also water resistant, which I know must be true because it took a good scrubbing with a washcloth in the bath to get it out of her hair.

Not only did she smell amazing, but her skin was just fine with no burn, even though she was in bright sun for several hours.

Due to my sloppy application, it got in her eyes just a little but didn’t seem to bother her a bit.

A couple things:  You can follow Episencial on Twitter if that kind of thing floats your boat. To find a local store where you can purchase the products here: Store locator. And, they are offering a special Skin Cancer Awareness Month promo with Dermstore.com: Get 15% off all Episencial products with the purchase of Episencial Sunny Sunscreen. The promo code is: DSSUNNY. And the offer is valid: May 16-23 only.

** Now for the giveaway! **

The winner gets a full-sized Sunny Sunscreen SPF 35 (4oz) and Protective Face Balm SPF 6 (.75 oz), as well as a travel sized Soothing Cream (.75 oz.)

Just leave a comment below, Tweet about the giveaway, and/or link to this blog post to get up to 3 entries.

The giveaway ends on Wednesday, May 25th at Noon Eastern time.

I love birth.

I love reading about birth.

I love reading birth stories.

I even publish birth stories here on this site.

So I am happy to host a giveaway of Belly Button Bliss: A Small Collection of Happy Birth Stories.

Who wants to win a copy?

I really enjoyed this book.

What I love about it are the joyous attitudes of the women who contributed.

No matter what their birth experience, they were forever changed – and happy about that!

I have long encouraged women to IGNORE people who regale them with birth horror stories. Reading about beautiful, magical, spiritual, joyful births – whether they took place in hospital or at home, whether the births were natural or not… is important for a pregnant woman. Especially one who wants to prepare for a natural childbirth.

Reading Belly Button Bliss inspired me to work up the courage to ask a pregnant friend if I can support her at her birth. I just have to experience birth again… from the other side of the action!

If you have a friend who is expecting who you think would love the book, or if that’s YOU, then please leave a comment below. That’s one entry. To get another entry, Tweet about the giveaway. To get still another, blog and link to this page. And let me know what you did below.

If you don’t win, you can always pick up a copy from Amazon too.

The winner will be chosen on Tuesday, May 23 at Noon Eastern time.

Mazel tov!

At the end of the day, we as parents want to feel like we’ve connected with our children.

We want them to feel loved. We want them to feel “heard”. We want to make sure we’ve looked them in the eyes.We want the love and concern we feel for our kids to not escape our children’s notice.

And even when our kid’s behavior disappoints us from time to time, we still want to connect, to validate their feelings, to let them know we understand their struggle, and that we’re still on their side.

That can be challenging, especially as our families grow, as kids get older and more involved in their own activities, and as life becomes more busy and stressful.

Leaving little love notes can be an effective way to get these important messages across.

One company, Messages4U, makes it easy with their Messages For Kids cards.

It’s been fun for me to leave these little notes around for my kids to find.

The other week, a special event happened in the life of my stepdaughter. I wasn’t sure how to handle it. I wanted to acknowledge the day, without overstepping. So I bought her a small gift, and left a card with the message: “I’m so glad our paths crossed!” with it.

When she saw it, she busted out of her room, ran up to me and gave me a hug.

For the first time.

One of my children struggles from time to time with feelings of loneliness.

I gave him a card with the message: “Good for a free hug. Redeem anytime.”

He comes to me, card in hand, at least once a day to redeem his free hug.

One of my daughters, who was going through an especially challenging patch, got a card on her pillow. It read: “You’re one in a million.”

(Honestly, it was the nicest thing I could think to say about her that week!)

She was skeptical, but I could tell it softened her just a bit.

I’ve noticed that kids love surprises, and it doesn’t take a whole lot to make their day. A little unexpected attention, something shared just between you and them, can mean so much. Especially in a family where kids share parental affection with several siblings.

Card decks are available that are appropriate to give friends, your spouse and other adults. You can see more info at Messages4U.com

An interesting product hit my mailbox the other day.

Do you have a stepstool in front of your toilet so that little ones who are potty training can reach?

I know I have had one for years. It also helps for the toddler have a spot to rest his feet so he doesn’t fall in or have to “hold on” to the side of the toilet.

(Ew!)

The Little Looster is a potty learning step stool that slides up to your toilet and wraps around.

If you dread using a child’s potty chair because you hate cleaning it and want to train your child directly to the big potty, you might want to look into this.

Because of the cutout design, adults are able to use it without moving it out of the way.

We used this in the main (kid’s) bathroom for a few weeks, and my 5 year old liked using it. She said it felt really comfortable to be able to rest her feet on it. She certainly looked more stable!

Unfortunately, the boys didn’t, and they kept moving it away from the toilet which kind of defeated the purpose.

I don’t know if they were too short to “reach” the commode with the Little Looster in place, or what. Also, this bathroom happens to be really tiny, and I think it would work best in a bathroom with a little more floor space.

Anyway, I plan on keeping it because in a year when the youngest is potty training, I’m sure she’ll love the more secure feeling it provides.

To be honest, *I* liked using the Looster as a foot rest when I’m on the toilet. Having your feet up a little approximates a healthy squatting position, takes pressure off your veins and makes “going” easier.

You can learn more about this product at their website: Little Looster or at Amazon.com: Little Looster, Booster for the Loo

At our house, we recently started a new weekly tradition.

Monday night is our Family Meeting

Do you have something similar at your house?

Family Meetings are a chance for us to gather and:

• Discuss future plans (weekend fun, vacations, etc)
• Talk about goals we have as a family
• Get input from each other
• Swap up chores
• Thank each other
• Resolve conflict
• Brainstorm together
• Ask for help
• Remind/reinforce family rules

photo credit: mt 23

For instance, tonight we talked about conflict resolution.

I printed up a simple 4 step conflict resolution model and we did some role playing to demonstrate the right and wrong way to resolve conflict.

We also reminded the kids about a previous problem (everyone using way too many drinking glasses all day long!) and a solution.

I take minutes on the meeting which are reviewed at the start of the next week’s meeting.

Anyone is free to bring up any topic they want to discuss with the group.

For example, one week one of the children told everyone that he was feeling a little lonely and wanted people to pay him more attention. Another time, one kid asked if everyone would please remember to flush! The kids make suggestions (this week, one child asked if on Monday we could rotate having movie and game night) and we vote on the outcome.

So far it’s been a good thing for our family. The only problem is that sometimes the kids don’t take it as seriously as I would like. Their attention wanders, even after only a few minutes. While I don’t want the process to be entirely democratic, I do want them to enjoy the meeting.

I don’t want the thing to play out like a Dilbert cartoon, in other words.

Do you have any suggestions on how we can keep Family Meeting fun as well as engaging?

I’m nearing the end of the first whole month of my Happiness Project. Every day I check off things that I’ve resolved to do. Things like: exercise daily, blog daily, declutter 15 minutes daily.

photo credit: Nina Matthews Photography

As the month has wound to a close, I’ve realized that I’m going to drop some of these resolutions for next month. Perhaps they aren’t as important to me as I thought, or perhaps they don’t require attention daily. Or, they’re habits that are now … well, habit. (Hence, I don’t need the reminder.)

One of the resolutions for April that I want to add, however, is:

Perform One Daily Not- So-Random Act of Kindness.

“Random” makes it sound unplanned. The truth is that doing kindnesses take a little planning sometimes. If we leave things up to “random”, they may not happen.

To get a jump on the next month, I decided that I would do one Act today.

Yesterday I received my baby’s Social Security card in the mail. Not so amazing. It’s just that I was expecting a big hassle. The last two homebirths I had were in another county, and it was a big rigamarole to get the Vital Records office to communicate with Social Security. It took months to get the whole deal taken care of. I procrastinated this time because I was dreading the whole process.

Except.

This time I was helped by a wonderful woman in the Vital Records office, and was basically in and out of there in under 10 minutes. (GREAT when you go everywhere with a passel of kids!). Not only was she professional, she was downright helpful. About another, unrelated “government” issue I need to take care of. She even gave me her phone number and told me to call her in 3 weeks to check on the status of everything.

3 weeks later, I get the SS card in the mail! Totally unexpected. I was so relieved that I decided to immediately pick up the phone and call Ms. Millie Lopez to THANK her for making the whole shebang so easy.

I could tell by the sound of her voice that she was thrilled to be hearing from me. I could hear the smile in her words. I wonder how many government employees are thanked for their service? (To be fair, many of them are not worthy of thanking!)

After I got off the phone with her I had a real rush of happiness. It completely took my mind of a current problem that is causing me much vexation.

A few minutes later, I got a return call from Ms. Lopez. She wanted to know if I could send a quick email to her supervisor?

So I sat down and did just that. The good feelings continued to flow.

“Hello,

My name is Carrie Lauth Willard, and I met Ms. Lopez in the Cobb Vital Records Office. I had a homebirth in Cobb County and needed to register my daughter’s birth, obtain a birth certificate and file with Social Security Administration.

Previously I had two homebirths in Paulding County, and getting the birth certificates and SS cards were a huge hassle that took months and more than one visit to the office, etc. I was prepared for the same in Cobb, but Ms. Lopez was so lovely to deal with! Professional but more than that, truly helpful. She truly went above and beyond.

I received Ruby’s Social Security card in the mail and was shocked at how quickly it arrived. Now my husband and I can file our taxes in a timely manner. I called Ms. Lopez today to thank her for her stellar “customer” service. Please let her know that you received this email from me. Thanks so much.”

Carrie Lauth Willard

I’m really looking forward to seeing how this habit adds to my happiness and the happiness of people I encounter.

Have you ever undertaken something similar? What were your experiences?

Pins on a Map: A Family’s Yearlong Journey Around the World

Speaking of people who do incredible things most people only dream about… I’ve been meaning to write a review of Pins on a Map for weeks. It’s also one of those books that I had to devour during baby’s long afternoon nap.

Who doesn’t dream of packing up the fam and heading around the world for a year?!

Pins on a Map is the true story of David Boesch, who, along with his wife and 3 kids, traveled to 17 countries on 6 continents in 345 days. Each chapter shares the lessons his family learned about other cultures and people and themselves, as well as practical tips for other would-be world travelers.

I loved every page.

Even the opening chapters about how the family prepared financially and logistically for the undertaking were exciting. And the final chapter, in which David talks about his bittersweet feelings at the trip’s end, how he missed his family and his resignation at the tedium of “normal” life, left me feeling a bit blue.

Inbetween are comical and sometimes brutally honest stories about the family’s experiences. You get to find out which places they loved (Japan) and why, and which places they didn’t care for so much. You find out how the family and kids adapted to constant changes and travel (surprisingly well). You also get to learn about some of the frightening events that took place, such as losing your loved ones in a chaotic Bangkok flea market, or your daughter breaking her leg while on the other side of the world.

As a homeschooler,I enjoyed reading the reaction of the school system upon learning of the Boesch children’s travel plans. An employee at the school district where the two younger children attended told them not to worry about the school they would miss during their year off. He advised them to just bring along a math book and a pencil, and that… “The travel will take care of the rest.”

I bet you would enjoy living vicariously through the Boesch family’s adventure of a lifetime too.

Product:

EIO Glass Kids Cup

The Basics:

The EIO Glass Kids Cup is an alternative to plastic sippy cups for kids 2 years and up. It was thought of and designed by a mom who was fed up with plastic sippy cups with chewed spouts, mismatched lids and missing valves. It consists of a lid and a silicone sleeve that fit on most 8 oz jelly sized canning jars.  It may be purchased with a glass jar or without.  (Cost is slightly less for the latter.) Lids are made of #5 plastic and are BPA-free.  Sleeves are made in China; lids and glasses are made in the USA.  They come with minimal packaging (no plastic).  There are no spouts to be chewed and no valves to be lost.

Things to note:

This is not a shatter proof/leak proof system.  Because there are no valves, the liquid comes out like that of a “normal” cup (i.e. no sucking mechanism).  This is recommended by experts for children over one year of age for proper dental formation.

Personal Opinion:

I was very excited to hear of this product.  I used jelly jars for awhile but got tired of all of the spills.  So brilliant idea!  I prefer my kids drinking out of glass over plastic.
Even though there are BPA-free materials available, how are we to know that there is not another BPA-like ingredient yet to be discovered.  I prefer not to take the gamble and used glass or stainless when possible.  I also try to reduce my plastic consumption in general.

The packaging, overall design and colors are cute and appealing.  I ordered (from Amazon) one for my five year old and one for my 2 year old as x-mas stocking stuffers.  I ordered them without jars and picked up 4 jelly jars for 20 cents each at the thrift store.  The kids were both excited for them.  I give them an A+ for kid appeal.

Both liked them and had no troubles using them.  I still thought they were great.

I did notice that one seemed to be leaking out through the grooves and out the bottom of the cap.  I tried all of the jars I had and it leaked consistently.  The other was fine.

I contacted the company and was contacted back by the owner in less than a day.  She was kind, considerate, and helpful.  I would by again in a second just to support that- as it is such a rarity today.  She is going to send a replacement and a shipping label to send back the leaky lid so it can be checked out. SO, overall great concept, great green product and safe product, and great company.
I say they are definitely worth a try!

The folks at Random Line asked me if I would like to try some of their drawing games, and I said yes.

My kids love to draw.

I also thought some of the smaller “Squiggle pads” would be great for keeping them busy in the car (hopefully minimizing some of the cooped up car fighting!).

The basic premise of these games is that they stimulate your kid’s natural artistic ability and creativity without limiting them too much (the complaint some have with coloring books, for instance).

They are given a “random line” (hence the name!), basically some abstract line on the paper, and are encouraged to draw something using that.

I was really stunned when I saw some of the creations my 9 year old son and 10 year old daughter came up with (they are both very artistically inclined).

You can see the kids playing the “Squiggle Connect” board game above. The day this game arrived, the kids played it together for over an hour.

I think they like it!

My 7 year old daughter also loved the “Squiggle Style” fashion game. It has a set of dry erase markers and a small dry erase board with a woman’s figure on it. She draws different outfits on the outline. The little fashionista in the family, she enjoyed this one a lot until a few of the markers got lost.

The best thing about these games is that they are quiet (no noise and no batteries required) and get the kids drawing and being creative.

You can find more games from Random Line on Amazon.

Disclaimer: I received no compensation (other than samples of the products themselves to facilitate this review) from this company.

Several months ago I got a personalized story book for my then 7 year old son.

He loved it, so I was tickled when the folks at Frecklebox offered me a personalized coloring book for my 6 year old daughter.

Ilana loves coloring books and devours them regularly, so I knew she would be stoked to have one that has her name on every page!

She’s in First grade and is learning to read more and more each day, and seeing her name in print is fun for her.  It seems that every kid’s favorite word to write, spell and read is their name.  The coloring book immediately captured her attention and she hasn’t lost interest in reading it again and again.

I’ve also noticed that kids love to put their names on things they own. If you have kids with uncommon names and/or unusual spellings like I do, you can rarely find them little trinkets with their names on them.

Frecklebox also offers personalized lunch boxes, stickers, journals, puzzles, and a lot more stuff.

Neat huh?

Shay tagged me with this blog meme. I’m supposed to list 6 “unimportant” things that make me happy.

There are so many small things that make me happy.

You could ask me this question every week and probably get different answers each time. For now, I’ll choose a theme.

How about summer?

6 Summer Things That Make Me Happy

1- Edy’s Lime Popsicles

photo credit: Gibsonclaire

Oh my goodness these are good. They’re sweetened with sugar instead of HFCS. And just between you and me, you can throw one into the blender with tequila and triple sec and make a super fast margarita.

2 – My Blue Fingernail Polish from Piggy Paints

If you’re not familiar, Piggy Paints is a non toxic nail polish.  As soon as my toes came out of hiding, they got the blue treatment.

3 – Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil

I’m working on a review of this product now. I’ve long used coconut oil for cooking, but this stuff I’m taking as a supplement – anywhere from a teaspoon to a tablespoon a day, straight up.

I also use it externally – I rub it on my skin after a shower while I’m damp. It soaks in quicker than any other oil! I use a few drops on my hair as a conditioner before shampooing and after, as a styling aid – my hair has never looked so shiny!

It’s great for keeping your feet soft, so I use a little on my feet just before bed. I slather it on my face at night. Love the stuff.

(It just occurred to me that perhaps #3 doesn’t fit the description of uninportant. Nutrition and health are certainly important. Moving on…)

4 – Facebook

I’ll admit it. Facebook is my guilty pleasure. I recently made the decision to remove all business contacts from Facebook so it can be all about friends and family and the odd ex boyfriend.

The way I figure, I don’t have a television, I don’t read trashy magazines, so why not? It’s too much fun to connect and re-connect with people you care about.

5 – The City Pool

We bought a pass. For $30 all 5 of us can swim our little hearts out. I can’t think of cheaper summer entertainment than that!

The 3 older kids are taking swim lessons for an hour a day, 5 days a week for two weeks. That’s been fun for them and they’re a lot more confident in the water. Sadie didn’t meet the height requirement but she has worked her charms on the hot lifeguards instructors and so every day they’ve grabbed her and let her participate.

6 -  Avocados

I love avocados. I just one ate one, straight up, with a spoon.

Now it’s your turn:

Lisa @ MsFitUniverse

Nichole @ FullEarthsEtc

Amanda @ oohAmanda

Nell @ CasualFridayEveryday

Stefanie @ MommyMusings

Jo-Lynn @ MusingsOfAHousewife

(The rules are: link to this post, list your 6 things, link to 6 other bloggers and comment on their blog too.)

International House of Pancakes wants you to know that there is still a couple of days left to enter their essay competition. Write something touching about your mom and you could win one of several $100 gift certificates to IHOP.

Enter Here

This week I’m giving away The Tale of Despereaux DVD to someone.

Did you read my review of the movie here?

We loved the book and I wasn’t surprised that the movie was great too.

Just leave a comment below if you would like to win. I’ll choose a winner on Friday, April 18th at NOON Eastern time.

In the meantime, here’s a video clip you can watch.

While I don’t actually need to wear a nursing bra anymore, I was totally stoked when the people at Amon Maternity asked me to review their nursing bra and bodyshaper.

First I’ll wax poetic about the bra. Two days after I got it, tried it on, and quickly fell in love, I emailed the company:

“I have not taken this bra off since I got it, even to sleep!

I don’t normally wear a nursing bra to bed but since it feels like wearing nothing and I wanted to mention how it felt to sleep in it on my review, I didn’t take it off.”

The Amon maternity/nursing bra is quite honestly the most comfortable bra I’ve ever worn, of ANY kind.

Now some moms might not like the fact that it has light support.

Some moms who are accustomed to more support (or more lining to hide the … um… headlight issue) may not like this bra.

But I love it. It feels like I’m wearing nothing at all. The Amon nursing bra is available in sizes Small – Extra Large.

The bodyshaper I’ve only worn a couple of times because I generally don’t wear these, and I also got the Medium which ended up being too big which kind of misses the point of a bodyshaper.

But it’s really nice. It doesn’t cut into my flesh anywhere and feels pretty comfortable. It helps smooth everything out so you can look nice in those slim jeans.

Amon is letting me give away a $50 gift certificate to one winner.

Here’s how it works.

Leave a comment below. That’s one entry.
You can get additional entries by doing any of the following:

1. Link to the blog from yours. It doesn’t have to be *this* page, any page will do. (If you don’t have a blog you can just email some friends)
2. Twitter about the site. Again – doesn’t have to be this page you link to.
3. Subscribe to my RSS feed.
4. Subscribe to the newsletter (sign up box on the top right).
5. Tell me in the comments field what you did to earn entries.

That’s it!

A winner will be picked on Friday, April 10th at 5 P.M. Eastern time.

Have fun!

Contest is closed but you can get the Amon Maternity Beloved Nursing Bra and bodyshaper on Amazon.com

Are you familiar with Melissa and Doug toys? They are an awesome line of high quality wooden toys. You can read reviews of some of these toys here:

Melissa and Doug cookie set

Band in a Box

Responsibility Chart

At the moment, Amazon has their selection of some of the bestselling Melissa and Doug Toys on Sale

Weren’t we just talking about avoiding junky cheap plastic toys? Some great comments in that thread!

Who doesn’t love these soft sole leather baby shoes? My babies lived in these. I wish I could still buy them but alas my kids are in regular shoes now.

Cute Baby Shoes has very reasonably priced soft sole leather shoes, and their site has a special offer until February 28.

Enter the code HappyShip at checkout and get FREE standard shipping.

These guys have the most adorable designs. Start shopping here!

You know, I’m not very crafty.

My mom has an entire ROOM in her home set up with kids crafts and every conceivable artsy medium, which I think is awesome, but me?

Meh.

Not really my gig.

Although I do love looking at the cool stuff the kids make.

I’m also happy to share someone else’s crafty kid fun ideas with you when they come to my inbox.

Beth Engelman is an author and businesswoman who was looking to find ways to have fun with her 3-year-old without spending a fortune.Her website, www.engelmanriggs.com has ideas and she’s also given me permission to post these recipes for homemade play dough and homemade goop. (I remember that stuff from grade school!)

Homemade Play Dough with Action Figures:

You Need:

1 cup flour

½ cup salt

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

2 Tablespoons oil

1cup warm water

Several drops of food coloring

Airtight container with lid such as Tupperware or Ziploc storage container

Plastic action figures such as animals, insects or pirates available at any party supply store

Instructions

Mix ingredients on top of the stove then remove from heat.  Knead into dough making sure there are no bumps.  Once cooled, place in airtight container, adding action figures for a play dough adventure gift that is sure to delight.

Homemade Goop:

It’s gooey, slimy and mess-free!

You Need

2 cup salt

2/3 cup water

1 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup water

Airtight container with lid such as Tupperware or Ziploc storage container

Instructions

Mix 2/3 cup water and salt in a pot and heat for 4-5 minutes.  Remove from heat and add cornstarch and ½ water to the mixture and stir until smooth.  Return to heat and stir until thick.  Store in airtight container.

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

When I was little, my parents had a book made for me that featured my name and my best friend and pet’s names.

I thought it was the coolest thing ever, and practically wore the thing threadbare. In fact, I still have it somewhere. It was very special to me.

Frecklebox asked me if I would tell you about their personalized story books, posters and coloring books and I jumped at the chance to get one.

I asked them to send a personalized book to my 7 year old son Julien, who struggles a bit with reading. When he opened the package, his face totally lit up. It took him a minute to “get it”, but once he did he was positively thrilled.

He feels like a celebrity.

This is him reading his very own personalized book.

I’ve never seen him learn a new book so quickly as he is learning this one.

This book has a nature theme and features the child’s name written with autumn leaves, clouds, ladybugs, flowers, shells, rocks, birds, and stars.

They say every person’s favorite sound is the sound of their own name.

I think it’s true.

p.s. That’s spy gear around his chest

Visit Frecklebox to see their entire line up of personalized books for kids.

5 Minutes for Books has a monthly meme called “What’s On Your Nightstand” and I decided to play along this time.

These are the books I’ve read this month, either in their entirety or at least partially. There’s always a stack of books on my nightstand and sofa.

* Pasture Perfect: The Far-Reaching Benefits of Choosing Meat, Eggs, and Dairy Products from Grass-Fed Animals by Jo Robinson – If you want to know why grass fed meat is a health food, get this book! Includes recipes too. Grass fed is not only best for your health and your taste buds, it’s also better for the planet.

* Never Be Sick Again: Health is a Choice, Learn How to Choose It by Raymond Francis – Health comes down to only one thing: the health of the individual cells. The funny thing is, when I read this book I thought, “Wow, I haven’t been sick in ages, I must be doing something right.” Then I came down with a sore throat and cold. LOL! Guess I need to implement some of these tips.

* Feeding the Whole Family: Cooking with Whole Foods by Cynthia Lair – How to get a whole foods dinner on the table that is fit for Dad and the baby and everyone inbetween.

* Empowered To Birth Naturally by Patrice London – the story of a mom and her journey to homebirth.

My latest issue of Ready Made and Vegetarian Times (love it even though I’m not veg) which I can’t seem to finish.

* All of these authors are upcoming guests on the show so stay tuned.

The other day I mentioned that most moms have as a goal to get more organized. We’re always looking for that one magic idea or magic tool to help us to that end. The folks at Mommy Track’d came up with something that might make it all a little easier.

It’s called Mom Essentials: A One-Stop Organizer for Moms on the Move

They gave me a copy of this all in one organizer and I thought about giving it away, but sorry ladies. I’ve fallen for it!

For years I’ve used a “day-timer” type of organizer with refillable pages. I liked them well enough, but found that half of the inserts that come within are useless to me as a mom, and some of the stuff I wanted was not available.

As an example, I don’t need multiple pages for budgets (why do I need to carry that around with me all the time?), business expenditures (I record all that on the computer), mileage records, etc. I also don’t need the phone number and address fillers because I don’t want to update those each year when I get a new planner. I like to have ONE address book here at home. Anyone I call is programmed into my phone so I really only need to know someone’s address anyway, and it’s never urgent and can wait until I get home to look in my address book.

Plus, the planners are expensive. Most of the planners I bought cost around $20-$30. And by March, they’d been sharpie-d, colored, markered, and scratched by four kids named “I didn’t do it“.

This organizer is perfect for most moms. It’s also fun. When you have to look at something every day, several times a day, it should be cute and fun.

Don’t you think?

I’ll tell you about some of the neat things in this organizer that make it different and cool for moms.

The Week at a Glance calendar page at the front is the mainstay. It’s the to-do list, everything for the week at a glance. Once the stuff is done and checked off, you simply tear of the page and dispose of it.

It then has a small section for V.I.P.’s (important phone numbers and addresses). I likely won’t use this section too much, for the reasons I outlined earlier. But it’s good it’s there. If I meet someone new and want to record their digits, I can put it here, then transfer it to my main address book at home later.

Also has a couple of pages called “Love at First Site” – a handy spot for website addresses you want to remember (probably a lot more effective than putting them in your bookmarks, which nobody checks very often and get cluttered too quickly), along with usernames and passwords. (Of course you wouldn’t want to record sensitive data in here like your bank account or paypal stuff.)

The next section has checklists perforated with two on each page.

We are not Superwoman, so a half page is plenty enough! Once you’ve done the stuff, you can easily tear the page out and dispose of it, avoiding clutter in your organizer. (Which is some kind of organizational oxymoron that could throw off the cosmic order of things.)

And instead of being boring old plain white, they have a kitschy cute green wallpaperesque background. Remember what I said? If you gotta look at it all the time, make it stylish.

I like the Juggling Act section because this is where you can list stuff that doesn’t have to happen right away, or that can be outsourced or delegated. Thus reminding you to delegate stuff.

The Food For Thought area allows you to plan menus (very handy for moms!) and grocery lists. I probably won’t use the section for Takeout Orders because I don’t do takeout, but I’m sure it would come in handy for some people.

At the end there are plenty of pages of blank notes for those random thoughts and ideas that hit you. Now you have one place to record them all. At the end of the notes section is a pocket for receipts and other stuff you have to stash until they’re filed. Like bills you need to take to the mailbox, deposit slips and the like.

Finally at the back of the book are 6 sections of sticky notes, each featuring a cute saying like “balance schmalance”, “too bad all this juggling isn’t toning my arms”, etc. So you can write a note and immediately stick it somewhere. Cute and so handy!

(Not shown actual size here.)

The only thing I don’t like about the Mom Essentials organizer is that it lacks a yearly calendar, so you would probably need to put dates on the weekly planning pages. It would also be a bit challenging to schedule events for the upcoming months. If you’re like me and never know what day it is unless you check a calendar, this might be an issue. It seems a teensy bit incomplete without a “Month at a Glance” section.

I suppose you could paste a small year at a glance type of thing in the back somewhere.

The whole thing is neatly wrapped up in a cute purse sized organizer that you won’t be embarrassed to pull out of your bag. This planner, combined with my recently adopted ToDooDlist system (which is similar to GTD/Getting Things Done but far easier to understand and implement!), will help me make 2009 ROCK.

Check it out here:
Mom Essentials: A One-Stop Organizer for Moms on the Move

Since moving to an urban community a couple of months ago, the kids have been spending more time skateboarding, walking to the park, and generally running about on the sidewalks.

So I was pretty excited when the UPS man brought us this Skuut bike.

I’ve never visited Scandinavia, but from books the kids and I have read together, biking is a way of life there, and kids start out with these wooden “balance bikes” before learning how to ride a “big bike”. No training wheels, the child learns how to balance using their feet so there’s no scary transition.

I thought my 3 and 5 year old girls would love the Skuut, but so far it’s been my 7 year old, who already rides a regular bike, who loves it.

When it’s too cold to ride outside, he Skuuts around on the hardwood floors of the apartment, as you can see in the picture above. LOL!

I think the Skuut has an awesome, clean looking and attractive design. It took us about 5 minutes to put the bike together (it arrives in a flat pack box), but since most of the furniture in my house came from IKEA, we’re all talented like that. Give us an allen wrench and we could probably build a house.

The design is simple but like all things Scandinavian, quite functional. The seat is adjustable as far as height, making it comfortable for a child from ages 2-5 (or a small 7 year old like mine – maximum weight is 70 pounds). It also easily angles back and forth for comfort.

And it’s darn cute! The thing looks good just hanging around and happens to match my color scheme (note large red throw pillows complementing red leather seat and handlebars!) so all the better. Leave it to the Scandinavians to design something for kids that isn’t garish and ugly and plastic.

Another thing I noticed, and I’m not sure exactly what the wheels are made of (the website says they’re pneumatic rubber?), but they don’t stink like other rubber wheels. A plus since we store it in the apartment.

I recorded a quick audio testimonial of my son sharing what he likes about his Skuut. Click play to listen!

“You pedal with it with your feet, it goes like 3 miles an hour and it lasts going for ten seconds or longer.”

Not to be outdone, 5 year old Ilana recorded her own review of the Skuut bike here:

“It always doesn’t have wheels but it’s so easier. Sometimes I can balance on it but not really good of course. But I like the bike very, very much.”

Skuut Balance Bike
P.S. Environmentalists would be impressed that Skuut, has partnered with Trees for the Future, and ensures that a tree is planted for every bike sold.

Also notable is the fact that the Skuut bike won Dr. Toy’s 10 Best Active Products.

Wow.

Talk about bang for the buck, Kelly over at Moms Talk Ebooks just announced that all 7 of her ebooks are available for the price of one.

If you want to know more about make ahead/freezer cooking, organizing, budgeting or kids health, go check them out here.

The folks at Mostly Organized Moms sent me these Lil’ Dressers Drawer Labels for kids. In a nutshell these are reusable, stick on/pull off labels that help your child identify the clothing in their dresser drawers.

It helps them remember where there clothes are and also make laundry easier because even a young child who cannot read can see the pictures and put laundry in their dresser without your help.

There are packages for boys and girls. Each contains 18 labels: for shirts (long sleeved and short), pants, PJs (summer and winter), long undies, underwear, undershirts, swimsuits, sweaters, sweatshirt, socks, tights, etc depending on the gender.

I let my girls color these with markers to their heart’s content then helped them stick them on their drawers. Even my 3 year old understands what goes where now, so when I give her a pile of clean folded laundry she no longer has to query me over and over, “Where does dis go? Where does dis go?” LOL!

Included in the package are blank labels for your own unique needs. They stick on and easily pull off without any damage to furniture. Anything that can help us moms stay a little more organized and make things go more smoothly is good in my book!

These will be available December 1 at the Mostly Organized Moms website.

NaBloPoMo #26

Caleb sat down to write an article about some of his favorite books and gave me permission to post this here. I didn’t help him, other than a quick bit of spelling assistance. Caleb is 10 and a big reader. Here are a few of his favorites.

Nine Book Recommendations for Kids 7 to 11

Are you looking for a book for your child? Here are some books for your seven to eleven year old:

photo credit: Risen1

1.  I think the Great Illustrated Classics are some really good books for your 11  year old. I like them because they are FULL of excitement and fun. (Note to parents: Caleb’s favorites are The Three Musketeers and Treasure Island.)

2. Some more good books are the Magic Tree House books. Or, Magic tree house Merlin missions.  (With these you will even save money on schoolbooks because they’re good for school.) I like Jack because he’s brainy like me and Annie is cool because she believes in stuff Jack doesn’t and is kinda weird but funny.

3. The Tale of Despereaux is a very good chapter book for all ages. I liked that such a small mouse was so brave that he could go on a dangerous journey.

4. Geronimo Stilton books are a short chapter book series for all ages. They’re just plain hilarious!

5. The Klutz books are wonderful learning and playing books for kids. (These are some of my favorite books.) The Klutz Book of Magic teaches me all kinds of simple sleight of hand tricks. I’ve learned a bunch of these and once you know how to do them you can amaze your friends and family.

6. If you love mystery books you’ll love The Hardy Boys. I like that the Hardy boys are so genius that they can figure stuff out really fast. These are full of mystery and excitement.

7. The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey are hilarious books! They are boyish if you ask me. That’s what I like about them. If you have a silly kid this is the perfect gift for him/her. The characters are always doing pranks.

8. If you have a kid who loves dogs you need to get Dog to the Rescue 1or 2! It has 17 true stories about dog heroism. These stories are almost unbelievable. Your kid will read this book again and again!

9. The Little House on the Prairie series are great because they’re old fashioned, and it’s interesting to hear what they do. I like reading about Pa Ingalls. He’s funny. It makes me laugh just to think about them. A lot of the things they did is similar to stuff we do nowadays, like in The Long Winter, they used a coffee mill. And they used machines to bale hay and other machines to do stuff like harvest wheat. Pa Ingalls liked technology and progress.

NaBloPoMo #16

I am NOT the crafty type.

But, even I could probably handle one of these no sew fleece blankets projects. My 3 year old got one of these at her baby shower. I didn’t even know it was homemade. I thought my friend bought it like that.

You can see that my 5 year old, pictured above, complete with bedhead, quickly absconded it.

I don’t think 3 year old even knows it was intended for her.

It’s super soft and cuddly. All it takes is two fleece blankets and a sharp pair of scissors. And the instructions posted at the link above.

Might make a great present for another happy toothless grinner.

NaBloPoMo #11

I got a copy of Steve Pavlina’s new book, Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth in the mail several weeks ago. If you could see my personal copy, you would be able to tell right away how valuable I think the information is, because there are about two dozen of those little Post It flags sticking out of the ends of the pages, marking spots that I want to reread and absorb again later.

If you’re not familiar with Steve, he is one of the most well known bloggers on the internet, and probably THE most known blogger in the genre of personal growth. I’ve read his blog for a couple of years now, and his posts are always fascinating. They always make me think. I like that.

Personal growth is one of my favorite topics to read about, although I rarely write about it, and usually not here but on my other blog in a business context.

I’ll start by saying that I don’t agree with some of the things Steve says, especially on his blog, and where I disagree, I disagree passionately. As an example, Steve’s thoughts on religion seem to come from a place of his disgruntled feelings with regards to the Catholic church, which hardly seems an enlightened place to form a philosophy on religion as a whole. Steve is also a raw food vegan. (Y’all know how I feel about that.)

But, his blog is one of the most thought provoking, intellectually stimulating places to hang out on the web. So I was happy to read his book.

One of the things that sets Steve apart is the fact that, unlike so many other authors and experts in the field of personal growth, he focuses on the value of hard work and (gasp!) discipline, two things that are practically dirty words these days. That resonates with me. All the wishing, hoping and visualizing in the world doesn’t do much good if you’re not willing to get off your butt and create some value in the world. That’s a refreshing stance, and one of the reasons I keep reading Steve’s blog. Some of the language around “The Secret” just makes me ill, and Steve’s voice is a refreshing change in the sea of nonsense surrounding the “Law of Attraction”.

Now I’m going to dig into the book and mention some of the highlights for me personally.

The book is split into two sections. Part One outlines what Steve calls “Fundamental Principles” of personal development. They are Truth, Love, Power, Oneness, Authority, Courage and Intelligence. When I first started reading the book, I couldn’t figure out how these principles were supposed to work together, but after introducing each one and defining it, it started to come together and make sense.

The second half of the book deals with the Practical Application of the principles. This is my favorite part, the juicy stuff. While learning principles is important, getting into the nitty gritty of specific things you can do to improve yourself and your life really gets my blood flowing.

Here’s an example of how the principles lead to the actions you need to take. A section from the book on Truth:

“One of the most important skills to develop in the area of personal growth is the ability to admit the whole truth to yourself, even if you don’t like what you see and even if you feel powerless to change it. When you face unpleasant truths, you’ll often encounter strong internal resistance. This resistance pushes you to avoid facing the truth, running through endless cycles of distraction, escapism, denial and procrastination. Only by staring directly into these truths can you summon the strength to deal with them consciously. A simple rule of thumb is this: whatever you fear, you must eventually face.”

Wow… I can see how true this has been in my own life.

photo credit: someToast

I really enjoyed the section on goal setting. For me, goal setting has been mostly an exercise in frustration. It wasn’t until reading this book that I figured out why. Here’s a quote:

“The purpose of goal setting is not to control the future. That would be senseless because the future only exists in your imagination. The point of goal setting is to improve the quality of your present-moment reality. Setting goals can give you greater clarity and focus right now. Whenever you set your sights on achieving something, always ask yourself, “How does setting this goal improve my present reality?” If it doesn’t improve your present reality, then the goal is pointless, and you may as well dump it. But if it brings greater clarity, focus and motivation to your life when you think about it, it’s a keeper.”

Love that!

I also love the sections on motivation, desire and effort. The discussion of “Triage” can help you decide what’s truly important to spend your time on, whether it’s business or personal life. And my favorite part of the book is Chapter 8, which talks about Habits. This section has dozens of suggestions on how to increase the number of good habits you have in your life, and get rid of the bad ones.

One of the things you’ll notice about Steve’s blog is how he shares his personal journey with self improvement. Instead of having a “top down” approach where he claims to be the expert teaching others how to do it, the blog is more about him sharing his experiences with different things he’s tried in his own life, from polyphasic sleep to giving up coffee to becoming an early riser. Chapter 8 is where he shares some of the things that have worked for him. Ideas like Stairstepping, 30 Day Trials, and a list of 66 other ideas.

The chapters on Career and Money have been truly refreshing and have changed how I feel about money to a certain extent.

I still haven’t finished reading the book and am looking forward to finishing up the last couple of chapters. I really appreciate Steve for writing it and for letting me have a review copy. If you would like to check it out, you can get a copy on Amazon.com. It’s available for your kindle too if you’re into that.

Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth

I heart Ready Made magazine

Have you read this magazine?

It’s a Do It Yourselfer/Crafter/Recycler/Reuser’s dream.

It’s Martha Stewart, but urban, hip and cool. And without the full time staff.

I’m actually not a handy or crafty person at all. But this magazine really inspires me.

Do you love Ready Made too?

Each Saturday I’ll post a free salad recipe from my new salad cookbook. It has over 365 recipes, so you can either buy it now or just hang around here for the next 6 years. LOL!

Cherry Tomato Salad

1 pint cherry tomatoes
6 bacon slices
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh basil — chopped
6 leaves romaine lettuce
2 tablespoons chives — chopped

Wash and stem tomatoes. Dry completely. Cook bacon until very crisp; drain thoroughly on paper towels.

Mix mayonnaise, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and basil. Pour over tomatoes, crumble bacon over all, and stir to coat tomatoes with dressing. Serve on lettuce leaves, sprinkled with chives.

Serve at once or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Last week I had a chance to use two products designed to encourage communication and closeness with your kids.

The first was Mat Chats.

One of the nicest things about eating together as a family is the time it gives you to focus on each other.

You can talk about your day, discuss what’s happening in the world, tell jokes… whatever your family enjoys.

Lisa Brown, the mom behind Mat Chats, decided to go a step further and invent a product to help her impart values to her kids, over dinner.

As a widow and a psychiatric nurse, she knew the importance of active parenting.

I can see how Mat Chats could even help take the focus off mealtime behavior issues and put it back where it needs to be: on connecting with our favorite people, in a way cultures all over the world love to do it: while eating a good meal.

Mat Chats are large paper place mats based on several themes that give you thoughts and discussion provoking topics to discuss.

The one we had was on Vision. It had a quote on the topic of vision, a definition, and 4 questions to ask and discuss.

For example, “Name someone successful and discuss how s/he became successful.” “How do you define success?” etc. It was interesting to hear my children’s answer to these questions, and after using them for their designed purpose, they are quickly scarfed up for coloring on!

You can learn more about Mat Chats on their website.

The second tool were these really cute Kids Lunch Box Cards.

These are for parents to slip into their kid’s lunch box – an easy and fun way for kids to feel connected to their parents while they’re away at school.

I thought these were super cute, but my kids aren’t away from me at school. So I slapped a postcard stamp on the spot provided on the back and mailed them to each of my kids. You know how kids are always wanting to get their own stuff in the mail.

They’re still trying to figure out who their Secret Friend is.

The cards come in 5 themes: Wacky World, Fairies, Riddles, Gross-Outs and Looney Laws.

My daughter of course got one of the Fairy cards, pictured above. It’s pink, after all.

My 7 year old loved the card with a fun fact about Astronauts: apparently, they’re not allowed to eat beans post takeoff because farts can damage their suits. He’s fascinated with space travel. And farts.

My oldest got a card with a gross fact: Cockroaches can survive for 9 days once beheaded.

He, like most 10 year old males, is into gross facts.

It was a real treat for them getting the cards in the mail, and I look forward to being able to send them meaningful little messages throughout the year, unexpectedly.

You can find more info about these at their site: http://www.kidsfuncards.com

Each Saturday I’ll post a free salad recipe from my new salad cookbook. It has over 365 recipes, so you can either buy it now or just hang around here for the next 6 years. LOL!

Caesar for Two

1 each Clove garlic — minced
1 each Head romaine lettuce
1 each Tin Anchovies (Millionares)
Croutons
4 each Bacon chopped
2 tablespoons Olive oil
2 tablespoons White vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
Dash Tabasco
Lemon
2 each Egg yolks
Cappers
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Crush garlic in oil with fork in bowl. Add 1/2 can anchovies, capers & chop mince with oil.
Separate egg yolks in small bowl and add to mixing bowl Add Worcestershire sauce, lemon, Tabasco, vinegar and bacon bits mix well. Let stand for 5 minutes. Toss salad and add croutons and cheese.

Each Saturday I’ll post a free salad recipe from my new salad cookbook. It has over 365 recipes, so you can either buy it now or just hang around here for the next 6 years. LOL!

Carrot Raisin Salad

2 Tbsp Raisins
1 Tbsp Cider Vinegar
1 C Carrots — coarsely shredded
1/2 C Pineapple Chunks in Juice — drained
2 Tbsp Pineapple Juice — unsweetened
dash Ground Cinnamon
dash Ground Nutmeg

Combine raisins and vinegar in a med. bowl; let stand 15 min. Add carrot and pineapple tidbits; stir well. Combine pineapple juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg; pour over carrot mixture, and toss well. Cover and chill.

Have you read these natural product reviews yet?

J.R. Liggetts Shampoo Bar - lather up with minimal packaging

Vegetarian Times magazine - this review was written by a meat eater

gDiapers - the flushable/compostable cloth/disposable hybrid diaper

Summer Smoothies Book - no, not the one I wrote, a different one

Video Games and Your Kids Book - look for these authors on the show soon

Naturally Playful Sand and Water Activity Center - I want one!!!

365 TV Free Activities To Do With Your Kids Book - This is on my shelf but another mom wrote this review. Great book!

I was saddened last week to hear that Tasha Tudor, famed children’s illustrator and author (and all around cool crunchy mama), had passed away.

Tasha felt like an old friend around here. My Mom is a huge fan of Tasha’s, and we had watched her movie, Take Joy – The Magical World of Tasha Tudor together. We felt like we knew her a little. People traveled from all over the world to view her home and gardens and to have tea with her. Tasha went barefoot most of the time so she could feel the earth under her feet.

Tasha was one of those women who lived life on her own terms. Instead of being afraid of what other people thought, she was a true individual. She lived and dressed as if she was in the 1830′s and felt like she had been born in the wrong time.

Tasha was one of the most prolific children’s book illustrators of all time. When you see her art work, you’ll probably recognize it even if you haven’t read any of her books. Tasha must have been a lot of fun to be around. She was always creating things for her 4 children to entertain them – drawing, creating little stories and books, even planning and orchestrating an elaborate doll wedding. She in fact was a single Mom who raised her 4 kids alone after a divorce.

Her books make for really nice read aloud time with your kids. Here are some we’ve enjoyed:

Corgiville Fair Tasha loved to write about her favorite dogs, Corgis. In this book the Corgis hold an annual fair.

And this book, while not written by Tasha, is just not the same without her. To me, The Secret Garden isn’t the Secret Garden unless it’s illustrated by Tasha Tudor. Ditto for the Little Princess.

1 Is One is a counting book for preschoolers.

Pumpkin Moonshine is another classic.

Say goodbye to Tasha and read one of her books this week.

BEYOND THE BARN YARD, PAJAMAS INTRODUCE CHILDREN TO FASCINATING ANIMALS AT BEDTIME

~ New Jammies Announces the Release of Organic Pajamas that Inspire Children to Explore the Outdoors and Respect the Natural World ~

NEW YORK- June 16, 2008- Today, as more companies are creating increasingly advanced technology to captivate children as young as infants, one children’s wear designer is introducing a timeless pajama collection that opens little imaginations to the natural wonders that existed before DVDS, video games, and electronic toys.  New Jammies has just released certified organic cotton, animal patterned pajamas that promote and inspire healthy living by introducing children to outdoor creatures like geckos, butterflies and owls.

The fun, colorful, and large, bold, cartoon-like patterns of orange, gold, and blue gecko’s, baby and hot pink butterflies, and pale and deep blue owls, moons, and stars encourage kids to have a new curiosity about different animals and get outside, discover, and appreciate the wonders of nature.

“Developing an appreciation for nature at a young age helps children achieve a healthy, balanced lifestyle. It also teaches them to grow up to have respect for the natural resources in our environment and acknowledge the need to protect them as they grow older,” said New Jammies Founder Nicole Weinberger.

Weinberger, made her company debut last year by introducing the first collection of certified organic clothing in the country that also promoted healthy eating.  The infant and children’s pajamas, playtime rompers, and “onesie’s” were decorated in one of six colorful and fresh patterns: tangerines, apples, peas, carrots, blueberries, and bananas. Each garment came with a keepsake book, authored and illustrated by Weinberger.  At bedtime, the books reinforced the pajamas’ healthy images through beautiful pictures and stories.

The response from retailers and customers was so successful that Weinberger was inspired to create her latest pajama designs promoting curiosity and awareness of animals.

“Parents all over the country have commented about their children’s positive response to the colorful fruit and veggie jammies.  Young children just learning to speak could point at shapes on their jammies and recognize it as one of the foods they loved eating (especially the bananas and blueberries!)  As I heard these stories from parents, I thought if children could identify these images as good, fun foods, then why not create a pajama that teaches children to learn about nature’s critters?  I chose  gecko’s, butterflies, and owls  because they are creatures of many facets that stimulate a child’s curiosity about wildlife and the outdoors beyond the traditional barn yard patterns that have already been done,” said Weinberger.

All the new nature patterns come in short-sets for older children that are perfect for warm, summer nights. There are also “footsie” designs for newborns to one-year-olds.

New Jammies also recently released infant wear in bold colored solids to for year-round play.

Additionally, the company is releasing a special, fun holiday pattern with timeless images from the game of jacks. The jacks prints come in snug-fit, long sleeve shirt and pant sets.

New Jammies products are available in select U.S. boutiques and online, in sizes 12 months to age 6 and are designed in compliance with all consumer safety products regulations.

More information can be found at www.newjammies.com

About New Jammies & Founder Nicole Weinberger
Where else in the world would fruit and vegetable print pajamas come from but the Garden State? Born and Raised in New Jersey, New Jammies Founder Nicole Weinberger has long hoped that her creative and entrepreneurial spirit would bring to fruition a company reflecting her family values and desire to bring positive change in this world.    Weinberger’s ongoing interest in nature and science led her to a BS in Chemistry from Washington and Lee University.   After working for several years as an organic chemist, Weinberger felt that despite the fantastic role that chemistry plays in our everyday lives, there were areas where chemicals and our exposure to them should be reduced.   More and more research has concluded that young children in their developmental stages may be even more at risk to chemicals in their environment.  Completing her MBA at Rutgers University, she developed organic clothing for children to help reduce these risks.   New Jammies is the result of her passion for art, education, and developing a healthy lifestyle for our most precious resource – children.  Nicole recently moved from the Garden State to New York City.

# # #

Have you read these natural product reviews?

Here is a book review all about To Buy or Not to Buy Organic.

If you need a little help organizing your homeschool day, read this Homeschool Planner review.

Just in time for beach trips, Badger Balm SPF 30 sunblock review.

This mom loves her Breastfeeding Support Kit by Earth Mama Angel Baby.

Charlie’s Soap all purpose cleaner review

Read, leave comments, submit your own product reviews (well written reviews get $5 Paypal cash!).  

Each Saturday I’ll post a free salad recipe from my new salad cookbook. It has over 365 recipes, so you can either buy it now or just hang around here for the next 6 years. LOL!

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

1 bunch broccoli (separated into florets)
1 head cauliflower (separated into florets)
8 strips nitrite free natural bacon (fried and crumbled)
1/3 cup of chopped purple onion
1 cup chopped seeded tomatoes
1 cup natural mayonnaise
1/3 cup Sucanat or Rapadura
2 tablespoons vinegar

1. In a large salad bowl, combine the broccoli, cauliflower, bacon, onion and tomatoes. Set aside.

2. In another bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar – mixing until smooth. Combine.

3. Just before serving, pour dressing over the salad and toss.

Each Saturday I’ll post a free salad recipe from my new salad cookbook. It has over 365 recipes, so you can either buy it now or just hang around here for the next 6 years. LOL!

Blue Cheese Potato Salad 

—–Mix together—–
2 bunches green onions — washed and chopped
5 stalks celery — chopped
1/2 cup fresh dill — chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

—Add—–
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese — to 3/4, and mix well

Also needed: One bag Red New Potatoes

Let mixture sit overnight (very important), as the blue cheese needs to blend with the dressing. Then, toss dressing with about 5 pounds of cooked, cut potatoes, more salt, and a little vinegar.

For the potato salad, use small red potatoes, and then cut them into quarters or sixths if they are large. Chop them first and then cook them, then rinse them in cold water to stop cooking. Toss them with a little vinegar and salt, and then add the rest of the ingredients.

Each Saturday I’ll post a free salad recipe from my new salad cookbook. It has over 365 recipes, so you can either buy it now or just hang around here for the next 6 years. LOL!

BLACKENED CHICKEN WITH CAESAR SALAD

—–FOR CHICKEN—–
1 Bottle Italian Dressing (8oz)
1/2 cup Dry white wine
4 Chicken breasts halves
Skinned and de-boned
1 tablespoon Dried marjoram leaves
1 tablespoon Dried oregano leaves
1 tablespoon Dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Black pepper — freshly ground
1/2 teaspoon Ground red cayenne pepper
1/2 cup Butter, melted

—–FOR SALAD—–
1 can 2 oz Anchovies
3 tablespoons Fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Fresh parsley — chopped
1 teaspoon Dijon style mustard
1/2 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
1 Garlic clove — crushed
1/4 cup Olive oil
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese — grated fresh
10 cups Salad greens — mixed

Stir dressing and wine in shallow dish to blend; add chicken; marinate 1 hour, turning several times. Grind marjoram, oregano, thyme, salt, black pepper and ground red pepper to fine powder in coffee or spice grinder or mini chop food processor. Spread mixture on plate. Heat 12 inch cast iron skillet over high heat until smoking, 5 to 10 minutes.

Drain chicken; dip into seasoning mixture to coat both sides, shaking off excess. Place in hot skillet; pour 2 T butter over each piece. Reduce heat to medium; cook chicken 3 to 5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Serve chicken, sliced, on top of Caesar salad.

CAESAR SALAD: Use a fork to mash the anchovies into a paste in a small bowl; stir in the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, chopped fresh parsley, Dijon style mustard, freshly ground black pepper and the crushed garlic. Whisk in the cup olive oil, slowly; stir in the freshly grated parmesan cheese. Pour the dressing over mixed salad greens in a large bowl; toss thoroughly to coat.

Each Saturday I’ll post a free salad recipe from my new salad cookbook. It has over 365 recipes, so you can either buy it now or just hang around here for the next 6 years. LOL!

BLACK BEAN AND CORN SALAD

2 cups Dried black beans — – (picked over and rinsed) or
30 ounces -Canned black beans — – (rinsed and drained)
1/3 cup Freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup Olive oil
1 Garlic clove — minced
1 teaspoon Fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
2 cups corn canned or (thawed) frozen corn
1 Avocado — – peeled, stone removed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small Red bell pepper – seeded and cut into 1/2″ pieces
2 medium Tomatoes — – cut into 1/2-inch
6 Green onions — with tops finely chopped
1 Fresh hot Chile pepper — – seeded and minced
1/2 cup Coarsely chopped cilantro — – (optional)

If using dried beans, place the beans in a large bowl and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Place the bowl in a cool place and let the beans soak for 6 to 12 hours. Drain and rinse the beans.

Put the beans into a large pot and add enough fresh water to cover the beans by 1 inch. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the beans are barely tender. 1-1/2 to 2 hours (depending on the age of the beans). Thoroughly drain the beans and let them cool.

Put the lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and cayenne in a small jar. Cover with the lid and shake until the ingredients are well mixed.

In a salad bowl, combine the cooked or canned beans, corn, avocado, bell pepper, tomatoes, green onions, Chile pepper, and cilantro. Shake the Lime Dressing and pour it over the salad. Stir until well coated. (The salad can be prepared a few hours ahead, but don’t add the avocado until serving time. Refrigerate, and adjust the seasonings before serving.)

Makes 4 to 5 main-course servings or 8 to 10 side-dish servings.

Each Saturday I’ll post a free salad recipe from my new salad cookbook. It has over 365 recipes, so you can either buy it now or just hang around here for the next 6 years. LOL!

BLACK BEAN & RICE SALAD

2 cups Cooked rice — cooled to room temp
1 cup Cooked black beans
1 cup Chopped fresh tomato
2 ounces Cheddar cheese (optional) — – shredded
1 tablespoon Snipped fresh parsley
1/4 cup Light Italian dressing
1 tablespoon Fresh lime juice
Lettuce leaves

Combine rice, beans, tomato, cheese (if desired), and parsley in large bowl. Pour dressing and lime juice over rice mixture; toss. Serve on lettuce leaves.

Each Saturday I’ll post a free salad recipe from my new salad cookbook. It has over 365 recipes, so you can either buy it now or just hang around here for the next 6 years. LOL!

BLACK & WHITE BEAN SALAD 

2 cups Red onions — finely chopped
2 tablespoons Olive or Vegetable Oil
1/3 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 cup Chopped Red Pepper
2 tablespoons Minced Parsley
2 tsp. Garlic — Minced
2 tablespoons Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1 cup 15 oz. Great Northern Beans — Rinsed and Drained
1 cup 15 oz, Black Beans — Rinsed and Drained

Sauté onions in oil until crisp-tender in a medium skillet; Remove from heat and cool until warm. Stir in vinegar, red pepper, parsley, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper.

In a serving bowl put the beans, (both types) and pour the onion mixture over them. Mix well and serve.

Makes 8 servings

I had to show a picture of 5 things to enter the Mommy Fest contest for free chocolate. 5 toes are things, right? (I’m just terrible with pictures.) This is my right foot two weeks after surgery. Note the attractive bruises and orange stain from Betadine.

By the way, Marie interviewed me and we talked about breastfeeding. She also has a lineup of other interesting topics and guests – all kinds of fun stuff of interest to us Moms. Go over there and see what she’s up to!

Each Saturday I’ll post a free salad recipe from my new salad cookbook. It has over 365 recipes, so you can either buy it now or just hang around here for the next 6 years. LOL!

Berried Avocado Grapefruit Salad

Bibb lettuce
Watercress
2 avocados — seed, peel, slice
2 cups grapefruit sections
1 cup fresh raspberries
Prepared sweet vinegar and oil dressing

Line serving platter or individual salad plates with lettuce and watercress. Arrange avocado, grapefruit and raspberries over and sprinkle with dressing.