Law(yer Mama) Review

Leapfrog TAG: A Must Have

Did anyone else have kids who went through that period when they wouldn't sit still for reading a book?  I hope I'm not the only one!

When Hollis was between 1 and 2 1/2 it was really hard to get him to sit down and read with us.  We mostly ended up reading him books while he jumped around on the floor or played with other toys, only occasionally popping up to look at a picture.  Interaction?  Sure, for about 10 seconds.

Then we discovered Leapfrog.  Hollis got a Leapfrog book for Christmas when he was 14 months old and loved it.  For once, he would sit and engage for 5 minutes at a time instead of 5 seconds.  The only problem was carting our huge leap pad around.  It was great for at home or in the car, but I couldn't put it in my purse for a wait in the doctor's office.

Now, Hollis loves books and, thankfully, so does his little brother.  We never have to fight to get them to read, they look forward to it and ask for us to read their favorites.  15 times in a row if they can sucker us into it!  But still, we're always looking for great educational books that will engage our kids and teach them something.

When PBN offered me the chance to review Leapfrog's new TAG product, I "leaped" at the chance.

The new TAG is a nifty "pen" that fits nicely in a child's hand.  It employs some nifty technology I don't understand that allows the pen to "read" the book.  It works in much the same way as the bulky LeapFrog book pads did, but nothing other than the book and pen are needed.  Pretty cool, huh?

LeapFrog sent us the TAG reader and 3 books: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (always a favorite), Kung Fu Panda, and Ozzie and Mack.  Ozzie and Mack comes with the reader.  You'll need to connect the TAG reader to your computer to upload the other books, but it takes no time at all.  The kids were reading along with the books in no time.  Not only does the TAG reader tell the story, but it can also play games and give sound effects to every character and object in the book.  I cannot tell you how much that thrilled my kids.

Aside from the reading and game playing, the TAG reader is designed to help you, the parent, follow your child's developmental path.  You see, the reader remembers your child's responses to game and quiz questions.  You can then connect the TAG reader to your computer and see where your child is on the Learning Path.

Along with the LeapFrog TAG, I had the chance to review something a little different: the Savvy Source Quiz website.  Do you see that Savvy Source Quiz, sponsored by LeapFrog, over on the Sidebar?  Go ahead and take the quiz.  In much the same way as the TAG reader, the Savvy Source Quiz page can tell you where your child is on the developmental learning path and suggest activities to help improve or reinforce skills in the areas of visual arts, language, math, science, social skills, movement, and music. 

I took the language Savvy Quiz for Hollis.  Here are his results:

   

Savvy Source then provides you with a Learning Guide, suggesting activities, books and toys geared to your child's learning level.  Savvy Source gave me 35 free activities to try with Hollis.  Some of them were downloads, some were suggestions for fun things to just help Hollis improve his letter recognition and language skills. 

I tried the "What's your middle name" activity with Hollis.  We take Gary N----- (Hollis's kitten) and give him a different middle initial each time.  Gary A. N-----.  Then we name everything we can think of that starts with the letter A.  We move on to other letters and keep the game going day by day.  It's a great game for the car and Holden gets in on the action too.

I love the Savvy Source website.  They have similar quizzes and activities in every area of learning and I'm sure I'll be consulting their site before we take any long trips or need some fun and educational activities for the weekend.  Of course, we'll be packing the LeapFrog TAG too!

Were You Raised by Wolves?

Shortly after having Hollis I discovered The Three Martini Playdate by Christie Mellor. It was a breath of snarky fresh air after the What to Expect books and Dr. Sears. I was in baby advice overload and overwhelmed by a major shift in personal identity. Reading Ms. Mellor's book, tongue in cheek though it was, sort of made me remember that I am an individual with wants and needs that I can't neglect.

Even T loved the book and would annoyingly read parts to me out loud in bed. You know, the book that I had already read and laughed my way through? Yeah, a bit annoying.

But when PBN gave me the opportunity to review Ms. Mellor's latest book, Were You Raised by Wolves, I jumped at the chance to get my hands on some snarky hilarity.

After reading the book, I can tell you that my answer to the question "Were you raised by wolves" is, "Why yes, it seems that I was."

Ms. Mellor did not disappoint me. This book is advice for the new grown up. Or, the grown up who never really grew up but is still making mom and dad pay off the credit card and bringing home laundry every weekend. (C'mon, we all know at least one of those!)

Need to know how to stock a bar? Well, if you ever want me to visit you do! Ms. Mellor has it covered. How to have a real conversation that doesn't just consist of you blathering on about yourself until your listener passes out from boredom or begins to bleed from the ears? Got it covered. Boil an egg? Yup. Do laundry? Uh huh. Become fiscally responsible? It's there.

The section of the book that told me I'm a slovenly juvenile destined to die in a pile of filth, newspapers and empty pizza boxes, surrounded by cats, was the section titled "Make your bed!" Ms. Mellor is a big advocate of making your bed every. single. morning. See, I never do unless company is coming over. I don't see the point when I'm just going to get in it & toss off all the throw pillows all over again at night. My husband? Couldn't be bothered either.

Here's what Ms. Mellor says:

[T]here is an idea used in law enforcement called the "broken window" theory that holds that if there is a broken window on a building, and if it is not immediately fixed, then it sends a signal to the neighborhood that nobody really cares. Vermin move into the building, graffiti springs up overnight, and garbage is dumped on the doorstep. More windows are broken. So, along those lines, I am suggesting that if you leave your bed constantly unmade, it sends a signal (to you) that it's also okay to leave your stinky socks on the floor, your dirty sweatpants slung over the chair, and a moldy crust of pizza sitting on top of a stack of magazines. You may think you're the sort that would never dream of leaving food lying around, but these things creep up on you, just like that broken window. You leave the bed unmade for too long, and pretty soon you find yourself sitting in a pool of your own waste, eating out of a takeout container in front of reality show reruns.

Um, ouch. I never watch reality show reruns.

This book is the perfect graduation gift. In fact, having received 2 graduation announcements already, I know I'll be buying a few copies of this book. Maybe I'll even make my bed.

But I won't like it. (She says with an adolescent pout on her face.)

The Gay Uncle's Guide to Parenting

Before Hollis was born, I think I bought every pregnancy and baby book published in the free world. I could have started my own resource library. Most of them, frankly, sucked. Everyone has conflicting advice: Dr. Sears says you shouldn't let your child cry and wear them whenever possible; Dr. Ferber says you should let them cry it out (as did my mom!). This conflicting advice continued in the hospital with the nurses and lactation consultants. Once we were out of the hospital and discovered Hollis had some health problems, we got conflicting advice from doctors.

Only when Hollis was about 16 months old (and Holden was about 2 weeks) did I really learn to trust my gut. In the hospital, everyone let me do what I wanted because it was my second child. The assumption was that I knew what I was doing. I still needed some advice, but I tossed all of those parenting books because their preachy manner and unreasonable advice just pissed me off. (Seriously, who has time to feed a baby with a dropper, pump for 30 minutes, store the milk, and sleep before starting all over again? A bottle with breast milk in it for a day or so is not the end of the world!)

Even now, I could still use some advice on how to handle Hollis's nightmare 3 year old tantrums and how to get Holden to stop head butting everyone he meets. (Damn Finding Nemo! He thinks knocking heads and saying "noggin" is a sign of affection.) I refuse to go back to useless parenting guides, so I basically rely on the advice of my friends and family.

Enter the Gay Uncle's Guide to Parenting. The author, Brett Berk, was a pre-school teacher and director and is now a research consultant for "producers of kids' media, toys and consumer products." I'll forgive him for his transgressions in marketing crap to my kids because his book is so funny. Seriously, go read this guy's blog. The book is just as funny.

More than entertaining, the G.U.G. is chock full of actual concrete, real life examples regarding toilet training, discipline, food issues, sibling rivalry, etc.... And Brett (can I call you Brett, G.U.?) actually tackles the hard cases rather than simply making general statements about what we "should" do. This is practical advice for handling the preschool set and it's wonderful.

The book will be a bestseller, right up there with the Girlfriend's Guides. Or at least it should be in my opinion. And we all know that my opinion is the only one that counts, right? Right?

Anyway, I'm giving this book out as gifts to my friends with toddlers.

In a Lawyer Mama Review FIRST, I like this book so much I'm going to give away the extra copy the publisher sent me on my blog. I usually pass on my extra copies (if I get any) to a local friend for a second opinion, because I'm too lazy to mail out stuff. But I like this book so much, I'm going to give one away.

In the comments, tell me what burning toddler question you wish advice books actually answered and I'll draw a person at random to get the book. I'll leave the drawing open until next Friday, March 14th.

This review is brought to you by Mother Talk.

The Liar's Diary

As a blogger, I regularly put it all out there on the internet. Maybe I don't say quite as much as I would in a diary or journal, but I think that my readers know almost as much of me as any journal reader would.

So when Mother Talk offered me the chance to review a new book by Patry Francis, called The Liar's Diary, I couldn't wait. The book definitely kept me reading.

The main character, a high school secretary, mother to a 16-year old with problems, and wife to a cold and withholding surgeon, wasn't someone I could relate to. She seemed to let life happen to her rather than directing it herself. But what I could related to was Jean's sense of isolation and feeling of numbness, classic signs of depression, that lead her to befriend Ali, her polar opposite.

Ali is a woman who embraces life and lives it on the move. She's a musician and new teacher at Jean's school, who flaunts her affairs and her emotional life. The relationship between Ali and Jean has something to offer both of them, and leads each of them to a deeper understanding of themselves and their relationships.

Tragedy strikes, as it often does in books and real life, and Ms. Patry has us wondering were dysfunction ends and psychosis begins.

My usual test of a really good book is whether or not I would read it again. I rarely reread books. Those that I do, I reread constantly. Ms. Patry's book is not Jane Austen, but as a psychological profile of family and relationships, I found it intriguing and probably will read this one again. Maybe I can find some clues I missed along the way.

You can read interviews with Ms. Francis here and here. But what I really found interesting was Ms. Patry's blog, Simply Wait. You see, Ms. Patry is living with cancer. Of course, that isn't the defining piece of her. She's an amazing writer and blogger. Her observations about people and life amaze me. I've read her entire blog.

Check out this post, The Woman Who Said No. It will tell you an awful lot about who Ms. Patry is, who she wants to be, and how her illness has changed her. Then go buy her book. You won't be sorry.

The Ultimate Tea Diet

I'm a tea drinker. I always have been. I cheat on my tea with Starbucks lattes on a regular basis, but give me a choice between plain old coffee and tea and I'll choose tea every time. So, when PBN gave me the chance to review The Ultimate Tea Diet by Mark "Dr. Tea" Ukra, I said, "What the heck. Why not?"

I have to admit that I came into this review skeptical. The only thing that has ever worked for me is Weight Watchers and some life style changes. Fad diets may help me lose a few pounds, but they always come right back. So, having no idea what to expect from the Tea Diet, I assumed I would be panning an unhealthy diet.

Boy was I surprised. The Ultimate Tea Diet (let's call it TUTD for short) is not a fad diet. It's part of a lifestyle change, much to my relief. And here's the thing, it actually works.

The book is split into several parts. The first explains the tea and weight loss connection or how it is exactly that drinking tea can help you lose weight. Dr. Tea goes on to explain how the chemical properties of tea, along with the caffeine, help suppress your appetite and rev up your metabolism. And no, coffee doesn't do the same thing. You need a true tea - caffeine and all - to get the benefits. Dr. Tea also goes through some of tea's other various health benefits.

In the second part, Dr. Tea goes into to the details of TUTD. It's not complicated. Really. There are no hard and fast rules other than drink tea every day. This section of the book is really about lifestyle changes and positive thinking, not just the switch to tea. There's even a section in the chapter called "The Tao of Tea: You Can If You Think You Can" that gives you space to write down all the areas in your life and health that you want to work on. Then, this section goes into finding the tea you love, the meal plan, exercise, and kicking the coffee habit. (Tip: If you must drink a cup of coffee in the morning, have some tea right after it.)

Part three of the book is about tea. Dr. Tea lists some yummy sounding recipes that all incorporate tea. They range from simple, like boiling corn on the cob or shrimp in tea instead of plain water, to more complex. I'm dying to try the Artichoke Tea Chicken. Finally, the book wraps up with a history of tea. Frankly, this was my favorite part of the book. Yes, I'm a nerd. Want to know where the phrase "tea for two" comes from? How about who it was that had the brilliant idea to put those leaves in boiling water? Then you'll love this section too.

Overall, I was impressed with TUTD. It's not just a fad diet. It's not a proposal that you ingest nothing but tea for 30 days or that you grind it up and insert it into strange orifices. It's a great book advocating lifestyle changes that incorporate the psychological and physical benefits of tea drinking. We all know that a big part of losing weight is psychological - believing that you can be a better, healthier you and then doing it. Dr. Tea clearly understands this and that's where his book really shines.

Now you want to know what TUTD did for me, right? Well, I've mentioned on some of my previous blog posts that I lost about 30 pounds earlier this year. Since the great big gorilla has taken up residence in my living room, I've gained about half of that back. In the 2 weeks I've been incorporating tea into my diet, I've lost 4 pounds. Of course, that could be related to the violent stomach flu I had last week, but I'm going to keep at it. When I start Weight Watchers again, I'll definitely keep the tea and incorporate some of Dr. Tea's yummy recipes.

I'll keep all of you updated on how the psychic benefits of tea are working on me. Drinking tea is a great excuse to have some "me" time, whether getting out for a walk, or curling up with a book that doesn't involve primary colors. If the tea helps the Effexor, I'm all for it.

A Wacky Christmas Journey

As the youngest in the family, Holden frequently gets hosed. Hollis's every move was diligently documented in a baby book and in scrap books. Holden's baby book is nonexistent. Hollis has enough stuffed animals to open his own Toys R Us. Holden has 5 or 6 that belong only to him. Hollis gets to help Mommy and Daddy in the kitchen and in the yard. Holden is pretty much limited to emptying the kitchen cabinets and pushing a wagon filled with sticks around the yard. Or pulling my flowers out of the pots. You know, whatever strikes his fancy.

So when PBN offered me the opportunity to review some new personalized books for children, I jumped at the chance to get a personalized book for Holden. When he's spent thousands of dollars in therapy sessions to get over the emotional havoc "second child syndrome" has wreaked, I can point to the book and say, "See, I did do some things just for you!" Because nothing says, "I love you just as much as your brother," like a free book. Right? Right?

Anyway, I went to the Printakid website, chose my book, and entered some personalized information about Holden. There are several books to choose from, including A Fantastic Birthday, In the Kingdom of Nevernight, Laughing All the Way to School, The Robots of Sedna, and In Giddyland. I chose A Wacky Christmas Journey. Then I entered Holden's name, hair color and style, skin tone, and eye color. The site also asked for my name, my husband's name, and the names of some of Holden's friends. I entered his cousins' names.

The book came quickly, it only took about 2 weeks, and is really quite cute. You can write a message to your child on the first page and mine, "To our little Hurricane Holden," got me all teary before I even read the book. Darn hormones. The story itself is a bit corny. It focuses on Sniffy the Wet Nosed Reindeer, Rudolph's brother. Sniffy sneezes on part of Santa's list of nice kids, losing Holden's name and the rest of the family.

Wanting to fix the mistake, Sniffy makes Holden tiny and drags him into a Christmas ornament and to the North Pole to fix the mistake. Along the way, they encounter a pink sea elephant and go on a bender in Santa's sleigh. Reading the book, I immediately thought of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. (I just hope the Printakid authors haven't been out licking mushrooms.) But kids seem to love wacky stories and this one doesn't disappoint. Holden loved this book and his opinion is the most important one for this review.

The little boy in the book really does look like a cartoon version of Holden, with wavy blond hair and big brown eyes. Holden loved hearing his name over and over again on all the pages. Now, he loves to bring the book to us with a, "Want to read Holden!" The story nicely incorporates Mommy and Daddy, Hollis, Holden's cousins, and it teaches a lesson. It's a fun book, but ultimately the book is about the spirit of giving more than you receive.

The only disappointment was the CD. Each book can be ordered with an Audio CD to follow along. Unfortunately, we haven't received Holden's. Apparently we incorporated some names into the story that, unfortunately, Printakid doesn't have in their recorded database. So we'll probably receive the CD shortly after Christmas. I'm willing to bet 10 bucks the name that stumped them was Hollis. So once again, Holden gets hosed! If you're ordering a book for a child with an unusual name, be sure to give yourself a little extra time.

Despite the delay with the CD, I'm really happy with the Printakid gave us for Holden and I'm sure I'll be purchasing one or more of the books as gifts in the future.

Isn't Breastfeeding Gross?

Put down the torches and pitchforks and read the post before you string me up, OK?

PBN is having a fantabulous Blog Blast, cataloguing all the stupid questions we've been asked as pregnant women or new moms. It was hard to choose because I've been asked a few doozies.

Question: "Are you sure you aren't having twins?"
Answer: "No, I'm just a cow."

Question (Noting my obvious pregnancy and my child under the age of one): "Do you know what causes that? Because I can help you out if you don't."
Answer: "Why yes, I do know what causes that. I'm just trying to live up to my white trash roots, thanks."

Question: "What are you having?"
Answer: "Um, a puppy. What do you think?"

Question (upon hearing that I'm having another boy): "I guess you'll have to have another one then, won't you? So you can buy all the girly stuff?"
Answer: "No, actually, we've decided to raise our second boy as a girl so my life can have the meaning that only lace frilled, pink onesies can provide."

But my absolute favorite was "Isn't breastfeeding gross? You aren't going to do that are you?"

What I actually said: "Um, yeah, I think I'm going to give it a try."

What I wish I'd said: "So that explains why your kids are so stupid."

I don't actually think that people who don't breastfeed or aren't able to breastfeed are intellectually harming their children. C'mon! You know me! Or at least some of you do. I've talked about my breastfeeding woes before. With Hollis it was a struggle. Even though he was born at 37 weeks, the IUGR (that's intrauterine growth retardation) rendered him unable to suck. And I have flat nipples.

Hold it, was that too much information? Great. Now every perv in the blogosphere is going to find my site doing inappropriate Google searches.

But anyway, I nursed Holden quite successfully in private. In public, I constantly felt like I had to justify myself to every Tom, Dick & Harry who came by to gawk at my boobs. And boy do the gawkers come out when you are showing absolutely none of your breast, but there's a baby there who is obviously nursing. Even when draped in a blanket. C'mon, people! You can see more boob in People magazine!

So what are the worst questions you've been asked as a new mom or when pregnant? Don't you wish you could have just handed them this? Or at least had the book handy to smack them in the head?

If you'd like to play, go check out the rules at PBN. PBN will pick two random winners of an iPod Shuffle and an autographed book. I'm all about the free stuff.