Write a Review Wednesday: OK GO June 30, 2009

Aspiring writer of children fiction and blogger Tara Lazar started a meme entitled ‘Write a Review Wednesday‘ as a way to show support to authors of kids literature. Last week I wrote a review on Elephant and Pig: I’m Invited to a Party, a new family favourite, specifically for my youngest daughter. This week I’m excited because we finally received Carin Berger’s book (from Tara Lazar’s Going Green art contest).

@@@@@@@@@@

My kids have a great fascination, determination to take care of and protect the Earth. Not because they’re thinking about their future, but just because it’s the right thing to do. Then we came across Carin Berger’s latest picture book OK GO, published by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers (age 2-5 ).

In a world of GO! GO! GO! It’s time to STOP and find a new way.

The text may be simple but the story it tells is a powerful tale of making greener choices. Carin’s whimsical collages are made from recycled paper, illustrating further the stories message.

The repetitive text makes it easy for even the youngest readers to enjoy. And the story in OK GO doesn’t just stop at telling us we need to make a change. It goes a step further offering suggestions in clever rhyme like ‘Waste less, Jess’ or ‘Take a hike, Spike’. It demonstrates that change isn’t just for adults, but everyone can play their part. I know the message sticks because my kids recite the lines while walking to school. My kids know OK GO and it’s message by heart and you will too because it’s a delight to read.

Collage artwork constructed out of recycled paper

Want to add this to your own home library? You can buy it from Amazon.ca

And let me know what book your children like to read or you enjoy reading to them?

From Training Wheels to Two Wheeling June 30, 2009

Look mom, no trainers

My kids have always had access to bikes, though I was never that good at getting the kids out on them to practice. My oldest daughter was riding a bike with training wheels last summer. She never really seemed all the comfortable riding. I attributed it to her lack of practice and comfort on the bike.

My hope is to get the kids out on their bikes more this year. There are certain things all kids should learn when growing up: how to swim, how to skate and how to ride a bike. When I was a kid, my bike was more than a way of getting around, it was a sense of freedom. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to get my daughter use to her bike so I can send her outside to ride around the neighbourhood on her own. I mean she’s only seven.

The new school enables us to walk and in the Spring my oldest actually scootered there. By the end of term I noticed her balance on the scooter had really improved.

That’s when the crazy idea hit me — time to take the training wheels off my daughter’s bike.

So one weekend the training wheels came off and my husband took my girl over to the school playground to practice. They were gone for over two hours. I tried to continue my work in the backyard but all I kept thinking about was how the riding was going. I arbitrarily made the decision to take the training wheels off, but I wasn’t the one who had to ride the bike. Was my daughter sitting in the school yard, kicking her bike and cursing my name? Or worse, sitting in the emergency room waiting for stitches (though I’m sure my husband would call if that was the case). Was I trying to push her into something she wasn’t ready for?

As I prepare my acceptance speech for The Worst Mother of the Year award,  my husband and daughter walked through the back gate. No stitches or casts or tears, just all smiles. Her first attempt on her two wheeler, success. And now there’s no stopping her.

The hardest decision, so far June 29, 2009

So my birthday is coming up this fall and over the last mmhmph years I’ve had to make a lot of decisions: getting married to the man I was living with, buying a car instead of using the public transit, leaving the job I knew for the job I didn’t, leaving the large inexpensive apartment for a larger more expensive house. But the hardest decision I’ve had to make so far, we’ve had to make so far, was the decision to have a baby, our first baby.

Every time we talked about having kids, it just never seemed to be the right time.

After getting married having a baby was the furthermost thing from our mind. I mean we just got married and wanted to spend some time together, just us. First anniversary, we bought a car and were enjoying the freedom to travel. Two years later we adopted second cat who ended up being pregnant and having six kittens. Taking care of those kittens confirmed we weren’t ready to take care of kids (the mother cat was sick and we had to feed them manually every 6hrs). Fifth anniversary and we were getting ready to move into our first house. We were enjoying renovating and hanging out with our friends.

Then there was work. We were just out of school when we got married and wanted to establish ourselves in our jobs. Then in our jobs, we wanted to get the next pay raise. There was always something. Then one day, eight years being married, we realized that there would always be something. If we wanted to have kids we just had to do it. And next thing we knew we were expecting our first child.

It's.... a baby

I knew I’d encounter difficult decisions in life, but somehow I never thought the decision to have kids would have been it. Was it a hard decision for you?

JumpStart on the Wii (coming soon) June 28, 2009

Not long ago I wrote a review on the new JumpStart virtual learning world. We’ve been a big fan of the software in the past so the virtual world was a natural step.

But have you heard the latest? JumpStart is joining the Wii world with the launch of a new game Pet Rescue.  Imagine the educational fun of JumpStart meshed together with the interactivity of the Wii gaming system! Awesome. (You can see the release announcement on the JumpStart blog).

JumpStart into Wii

The Pet Rescue game will be similar to that of the Storyland world offered in JumpStart’s Online Virtual World, aimed at kids 4 to 6. Kids will get to customize their own player and pet, though not as much customization at the online environment would allow. Playing educational games and teaching their pet tricks using their WiiMote will be just some of the activities planned in the game, all which will earn the kids virtual rewards and allow them to progress through the story.

Knowledge Adventure, plans to release the Wii Pet Rescue game September 2009, just in time for the new school season. Make sure to keep tuned to my blog and the JumpStart blog for more details as the  game release date gets closer.

Foto Friday: No more school June 26, 2009

Happy Foto Friday

It’s Friday and I’m participating in Candid Carrie’s Friday Foto Finish Fiesta (you can see other snap happy people on her blog). Two of my three kids go to school (grade 1 and junior kindergarten) and yesterday was their last day of school. So this Friday has some extra special significance.

Taking it easy

No more school: School is over and summer vacation has begun. But before the summer camps and family vacations, the trips to the library for the summer reading club and the playdates with friends, there’s time for just plain nothing. (to note, my youngest who doesn’t go to school seems to be enjoying the taking it easy part of summer)

Happy Summer Vacation!

Just five more minutes June 25, 2009

Oh, I don't have this one!

Yes, it’s true, I’m a selfless mom who puts her needs and desires behind that of her loving and caring family. What? You don’t believe me? It’s true, well when it comes to shopping that is. You can stop rolling your eyes now. The truth is, I hate buying for myself. I’m not sure why. It will probably come out in one of my therapy sessions later in life, some tragic prepubescent training bra shopping experience. I’m really bad with the whole shopping for me thing. If it wasn’t for my loving husband, I probably wouldn’t even have new underwear (thanks honey).

Okay, maybe my issue isn’t shopping but what I’m shopping for. I don’t seem to have this problem when it comes to bookstores, just  make sure I don’t have cash, debit or credit cards on me. Even without money I can spend an entire day there. And it doesn’t matter what the material is: books for kids, travel guides, new releases, cooking books, parenting guides, even magazines. I start in one end of the store and work my way around. Then throw one of those shiny SALE stickers on and all of a sudden I absolutely  need that copy of ‘Learn to Sing Your Multiplication Tables in Spanish’.

So it really comes as no surprise that I ended up buying gift cards for the bookstore as gifts for the kids teachers this year. I know, gift cards are so impersonal, but they gave me the justifiable excuse to buy $100 of other reading material just for me (shh). Makes me wonder what came first: my interest in writing instilled my love of books or the other way around.

Write a Review Wednesday: Elephant and Pig: I’m Invited to a Party June 24, 2009

Aspiring writer of children fiction and blogger Tara Lazar started a meme entitled ‘Write a Review Wednesday‘ as a way to show support to authors of kids literature. Last week I wrote a review on Mrs. Crumps Cat, on of my oldest daughter’s favourites. This week I’m leaning toward my youngest daughter and her love of talking animals.

@@@@@@@@@@

Time to party!

If you have kids you’re probably familiar with Mo Willems, the author and illustrator of the Pigeon books and Leonardo the Terrible Monster to name a few. We have these and a number of his other books in our home library, but my youngest daughter’s latest book obsession has been with Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie adventures.  Out of the four Elephant and Piggie books we own, my youngest daughter, who is two, really enjoys I’ve Been Invited to a Party (age 4-8), published by Hyperion Books for Children.

The book features two lovable friends: an excitable, optimistic Pig and a cautious, grounded Elephant. In this story, Piggie gets invited to her first party and looks to her friend Elephant for advice. And Elephant ‘knows parties’.

The books line drawn illustrations resemble the work found in Mo Willems’ Pigeon books. Surrounded by lots of white space, images pop out of the page and make reading the text easier for beginner readers.

The simple, repetetive language offers a fun story for early readers, even my two year old knows the words at various stages in the story. She loves Elephant’s solution to Pig’gies party dilemma. And even with simple language, Mo Willems writes with a wit that even adults can enjoy, which is good since you’ll probably be reading this story over and over again.

If you would like to add this book to your home library, you can buy it on Amazon.ca

Anticipating what Elephant and Pig will do next.

Beyond Harry Potter June 23, 2009

As the new Harry Potter movie is due in theatres this summer, we’ve been watching all the previous films as a refresher. I’ll admit, I’ve never read the books but I’m a big fan of the movies.

As we were watching the first movie seeing Alan Rickman in the role of Professor Severus Snape, one of my favourite characters I might add, I was reminded of another movie of his I really enjoy. Then I started to think about other characters in the Harry Potter film and the other movies they have done:

Alan Rickman (plays Professor Severus Snape) – Truely, Madly, Deeply (1990): A woman looses her husband and tries to deal with the grief, but her husband’s ghost (Alan Rickman) can’t bring himself to leave her. A great movie.

Maggie Smith (plays Professor Minerva McGonagall) – Gosford Park (2001): A murder mystery surrounded by the  examination of the English class structure of master vs. servant. Maggie Smith plays a member of the upper class society, which she does quite well.

Robbie Coltraine (Rubeus Hagrid) – Cracker (1993-95): Not a movie, but a great murder mystery TV series. Robbie Coltraine plays a psychologist called on by the police to solve local murders.

John Hurt (Mr. Olivander) – A Man for all Seasons (1966): During the time of Henry the Eighth and his battle with the catholic church around divorce, one man holds on to his morals and stands against him. John Hurt doesn’t play a big role, but this is still one of the movies I think of him in.

Julie Walters (Molly Weasley) – Calendar Girls (2003): The Woman’s Institute (of which Julie Walters plays one of the more adventurous women with Helen Mirrim) decides to take a new spin on the annual WI calendar by posing nude.

So it looks like after I get through the Harry Potter movies, I’ll be pretty busy watching these. And maybe you’ll check out one or two of these yourself.

They Like Me, They Really Like Me June 22, 2009

I’m so excited, I received my first blog award this week from Venessa (@parrish09) at A Military Wife’s Mayhem. Okay, maybe it’s not a blog award but I still feel all mushy inside.

My first award

So as recipient of this great honesty award, I now need to tell you 10 truths about me:

1. I own 2 ukulele’s and a piano and don’t play either (though I’m trying to learn)
2. I learned the military alphabet code and how to play the bosun pipe in the Navy League (I think I still have my pipe buried in a box somewhere)
3. I’ve never broken a bone in my body (knock on wood)
4. I can eat one cookie or sliver of cake and be content, but hand me a bag of chips and it will be gone before you sit down beside me
5. I’ve been to an x-files convention
6. Growing up I never wanted to get married or have kids (I actually tried to avoid it) and now look at me
7. I love to write and try to everyday, though sometimes it’s just a grocery list
8. I don’t think I’ve lived in one house for more then 5 years my whole life
9. I hate water chestnuts and tomatoes (I can’t even fain interest for my kids sake)
10. I have a file with all the rejection letters I’ve received from book publishers and magazine editors and I’m working toward adding an acceptance letter someday

And now I forward this award on to the following bloggers (for them to reveal their little truths to us too):

• Caroline (@parentclub) from The Parent Club
• April (@artdreamlife) from Diary of a WAHM
• Jennifer (@realposhmom) from Magnanimity of Motherhood
• Shannon (@acraftymom) from A Crafty Mom
• Carissa (@carissarogers)from Good N Crazy

Now I’m off to toast myself and find a mantel for my new award.

Foto Friday: Underwater Obsession June 19, 2009

Happy Foto Friday

It’s the last Friday of June. The last Friday of school. The last Friday before my daughter starts swim camp. which brings me to today’s picture for Candid Carrie’s Friday Foto Finish Fiesta (you can see other clickers on her blog).

Ready for some deep sea diving

Underwater Obsession: My 7yo has been taking swimming lessons since she was six months old. Like most babies she loved the water. When it came time to float around on her back in a life jacket, most times she would fall asleep, that’s how relaxed she felt in the water. Then she went through a stage of not wanting anything to do with the water, especially if it involved her head. That has passed. Now she is obsessed. She loved being UNDER water now. My two youngest hate when they have their hair washed versus my oldest who would prefer to wash her hair everyday,  just so she can lay submerged in the tub. And in one week my oldest starts swim camp for the first time. Nine days of swimming and being in the pool. She’s very excited. Maybe we have a deep sea diver developing in our midst.