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Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
It's getting harder and harder to find quality television for our son. He loves the completely age-INappropriate shows and is drawn towards the aliens/superhero type shows. There is one, however, that promotes good values and has stood the test of time in our house, Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
On February 3rd, they released a DVD with six great episodes from the show that airs on both Nick Jr. and Noggin, A Little Help From My Friends. When I received the package in the mail to review from MomCentral, I informed our son that this was HIS review to do. So we sat down, popped in the DVD, and watched. And watched. And watched. I let him watch all the episodes, including the bonus ones. They were all episodes we had watched before, but he took them in as if it were the first time. The great part about Wubbzy and all of his Wuzzleburg friends is that they all work together to discover true values, confidence, cooperation, teamwork and above all, the meaning of friendship.
Parents can get involved to a http://wubbzy.com/by signing up for a newsletter, reading the Wubbzy blog (how cute is that?!), listen to Wubbzy podcasts, and print out cool coloring pages. You can buy the DVD here at the BBM Review Store.
For its positive values, great lessons, and engaging stories, TKDDaughter (and her son) give Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! A Little Help From My Friends, a :
School of Essential Ingredients
Very rarely does a book come along that renews my faith in the written word. I am a fast reader, one who skims hungrily to find out what happens instead of reading each and every word. This is unusual since I teach literature. I teach students to read every single word, sentence, and paragraph. But I find that so much of contemporary literature isn't worth reading so closely. And then, I was asked to read The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister.
Here is what I discovered…I had to slow down to read this book. Not because it was structured grammatically difficult, not because the message was far too intricately woven into the plot, and not because the language required a dictionary and an advanced degree in linguistics. No. This book commanded that I slow down. At times, I felt compelled to make myself a cup of tea, a ritual I use to calm my spirits and help me savor experiences. I wanted to explore each word and sentence. My heart rate calmed and I felt light. All this from a book? Yep!
The book explores a group of students who have all committed to taking a weekly cooking class. Their teacher, Lillian, restaurant owner, developed an appreciation for cooking and a respect for food at an early age, discovering the power of a well-made meal. She imparts this love of food with each class and each class is a small lesson in life and love. As these students navigate the kitchen, they are uncover truths about themselves and face difficult memories.
Each class, Lillian presents ways of making food, not recipes. I have learned a multitude of cooking lessons myself as I read this. And I will read it again and again. It is most definitely a book to which I will turn when I am stressed and overwhelmed to remember the importance of slowing down and savoring what is in front of you.
Thank you, MotherTalk, for introducing me to this book. Hands down, TKDDaughter gives this book a
Cozi
My husband is an habitual forgetter. He forgets his wallet. He forgets to call someone. He forgets an appointment. No planner, PDA, or personal assistant can control this. And while I am realistic about this habitual forgetting, I'm hoping this new find of mine at least curbs some of the forgetting-at least the things that directly affect me.
Cozi. It's your life, online. Here you can keep track of every family member's appointment and can access it anywhere you can access the Internet-your house, your office, your phone. You can create customizable lists (my favorite is the shopping list!!!) and again, can access it from anywhere. While I haven't done it yet, I imagine this scenario in my head: Running late from work. Call the husband and ask him to go to the grocery store. "I don't know what we need." "Oh, honey, we have Cozi now. It's all right there." Sounds great, doesn't it!
But Coziis even more than that…you can upload pictures and create a family journal. You can even search for recipes right from Cozi to help create your shopping list.
Another cool aspect…if you sign up to try Cozi between now and February 4th, you will be entered into a drawing to have a professional organizer spend two days with you organizing either your kitchen or your home office-a retail value of $5,000!! So head on over to Cozi to start organizing your life simply.
I give this a
MedNotes
Exactly 13 days ago, after a delicious family Christmas dinner, my father sat down on his chair and suffered a massive stroke. Seven days after that, at home already, he suffered another stroke. On the counter of my parents' kitchen, sits a very large plate now that contains all of the medications that my father is on…there were nine at the last count. NINE. All that have to be taken at different times of the day, some with a meal, some before the meal, some at bedtime. My mother is managing all of this and discovering doctor errors in the process. It's been tough.
The good ladies at MomCentral have introduced me to two websites that will prove to be a lifesaver for my mom and the rest of our family. Drugs.com is a great resources of pharmaceuticals. On this site you can research all different drugs by both names and by condition. I plugged in "stroke" and found a bunch of the medications that my dad is currently on. They provide you with all the information you could possibly need on this drug. A really great feature for those with elderly parents or teens is the Pill Identifier. Here you place the description of the drug into the search engine and it provides you with the name of the drug. This is great when you find a stray pill on the counter of your parents' house or, God forbid, you find something in your teen's laundry. Drugs.com has the latest in FDA news and alerts, the newest drugs, and clinical trial information.
They have also just launched a new site called MedNotes. MedNotes allows you to log every drug each person in your family using. By doing this, MedNotes will show you any potential interactions, pregnancy/lactation warnings, etc. It's like having your very own pharmacist! What a great tool to keep you in charge of your own health.
As soon as I sign off, I will be calling my mom to tell her about MedNotes. This will certainly help her to organize and double-check the many drugs my father is taking to heal from these strokes. I give this a
Read Kiddo Read
For as long as I can remember, books have held a place of great importance in my life. From the nightly bedtime books read to me by my parents, to the Nancy Drew books I read as an independent reader, to the first time of many times reading Jane Eyre and being told by my 8th grade English teacher that my writing was "very Victorian," to discovering Jane Austen, to uncovering obscure 18th Century novels-the books I have read chronicle my growth not only as a student of literature, but as a child growing up.
It was never a problem for me to find another captivating book to read, but today, in such a fast-moving world, it's hard for kids to settle down enough to find something that draws them in. Author James Patterson has taken this problem and provided a solution. ReadKiddoRead provides parents, teachers, and librarians a place to go to find truly great books, books that will have kids asking for me, instilling in them a love of reading that goes beyond iPods and texting. Separated by age category, you can easily navigate the website to quickly find some book titles when you're on your way out the door to the library.
My son does not want for books…while I may stop the "gimmies" when it comes to toys, if he finds a book he wants to buy, he gets it. To me, books are an investment. If he grows up to read anything for pleasure, my job will be done!
Please check out ReadKiddoRead for the little and not so little ones in your life. We have such an important job. Instead of buying those flashcards to make your own kiddos more advanced, just pick up a book and snuggle on the couch reading together.
James Patteron gets a resounding Black Belt for ReadKiddoRead!
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