They Are All About Eve

Positive Spin Press has released three delightful books about a fairy named Eve. Winter's Eve, All Hallows Eve, and Christmas Eve all follow Eve the fairy through learning about traditions and helping other people. The books combine fantastic illustrations with rhymes worthy of Dr. Seuss to provide a great reading experience--especially aloud.

In Winter's Eve there is the celebration of everything from Diwali to Chinese New Year and Eve learns that each tradition is filled with love. If you have questions about any of the holidays discussed you can visit the dedicated web site to find out more. In the multi-cultural world we live in this book does a great job of introducing differences in a way that leaves you wanting to know more.

In All Hallows Eve there is a celebration of not only Halloween but Eve's birthday. While Eve is a masterful toy maker, she can't make candy. To cheer her up her friends give her the candy she craves and Halloween is born.

In Christmas Eve there are appearances from both Santa and Jesus. As in the other books the focus is on love, caring and giving. A beautiful story combining the religious and the secular parts of Christmas, this one is my favorite. (The kids, they couldn't choose just one).

Thanks to Parent Bloggers Network for the opportunity to review these great books from Positive Spin Press. The husband and wife team of Lisa Sferlazza Johnson and Tucker Johnson have done a fabulous job of serving up lessons about the world in a series of fun books with pictures that will have the kids opening the books to be read over and over (and maybe just look at the pictures).

Maven Says: Required Reading

For seven long years I was a college residence hall director. I had an apartment in a residence hall, better known as a dorm but those of us in the profession would never utter that four letter word. One year was in co-ed suites, one year in a hall full of snooty women, and the other five years were filled with the joys of sharing space with hundreds of adolescent boys. If only Christie Mellor had written Raised by Wolves: Clues to the Mysteries of Adulthood a decade earlier, I might have bought hundreds of copies to bestow on my charges. We had fires in the oven from ill-attempted cooking, were always totally grossed out when we went through rooms during breaks at the funk growing there, and cringed at the pathetic mating rituals of drunk young people. Mellor pretty much hits the high points on cooking, cleaning and behaving in the presence of alcohol. I think that a pocket sized version of the main points in each chapter would be a fabulous addition to the goody boxes handed out to everyone who moves into a residence hall at the beginning of the year (or used to, now everything is probably done by e-mail). I might also have used it as a text when I taught an orientation course at a state university.

Now life is a little more tricky, unfortunately the people I know who could really use the book would never, in a million years, think that they were the target audience. How exactly do you let them know it would be a good read--put it down on the porch, ring the bell and hide in the bushes? I think the only time I could offer it as a gift would be to a recent college graduate heading off into the "real" world. Although I fear that having put four (or five, or six) years of heavy reading behind then and thinking of nothing but independence and making money they probably wouldn't read it. The simple and straightforward advice on things like buying a house, budgeting and taxes are things I wish I'd had when I was moving out of my extended stay in the residence halls into my own apartment for the first time when I had to buy furniture, food and pay the rent--it wasn't pretty! Another hot target audience might be parents who have adult children returned to the nest--leave a copy in the bathroom for light reading after reading it yourself and noting the good parts to drop in conversation with your kids.

With only about 330 days left of my thirties I skimmed through the chapters on cooking and entertaining. I've spent enough time in the kitchen and hosting gatherings from potlucks to sit down dinners to birthday parties for 20 5-years olds and hosting Thanksgiving dinner for in-laws to feel pretty confident in those areas. I cringed reading about cleaning up for company, my husband and I are still guilty of hiding things more than cleaning when we have company coming and time is tight. Once he even stuffed a closet full of things and used a baby gate to keep it all from tumbling out when the door was opened--I definitely love him for his ingenuity. Thankfully I am old, smart and financially secure enough to have someone else clean the things that I never get around to, although it was a long, long time getting here!

Mellor's style will win over readers who pick up her book. The quirky, entertaining prose are fun to read even when hitting a little too close to home.

Thanks to the Parent Bloggers Network for the chance to check out Mellor's (author of the Three-Martini Playdate) new book Raised by Wolves. You can head over to PBN to check out what others have said about the book and lots of other cool stuff!

Crowning Achievements

Raising children is a constant challenge. For me one of the biggest challenges is not to project my own childhood fears, hurts and expectations on my kids. I was the chubby smart kid with glasses growing up in a rather sheltered small town in Southern Ohio. The place we live today is light years from that place but it doesn't stop me from worrying about how they will fare. In author Jenifer Fox's new book Your Child's Strengths she offers tools to discover your child's activity, learning and relationship strengths. Check out her book and the Parent Blogger Network's Blog Blast-Get Out the Brag Book. Read on to hear more about my amazing kids and their strengths.

My oldest daughter is striking. Everywhere we go people remark on her looks and tell us we are in trouble when she hits her teenage years. I have little doubt they are right, she and her high drama is already giving us a taste of what might be in our future. On the flip side of the high drama is a really sweet kid. While at home she may be Ms. Moody, at school she is apparently that kid that teachers just can't resist. She isn't the highest achiever in her grade. She does well but she isn't reading three grades ahead or doing high school math which is what I might have thought of as school success in our achievement obsessed world. Instead when I have been to conferences with her teachers I hear that she is kind, compassionate, good natured and enthusiastic. This year it was almost embarrassing when her math teacher told us that she just might be her favorite kid in the 13 years that she has taught. Watching her on the soccer field congratulating other players for a great play or helping them when they are down has made me really appreciate the kind side of her. These conversations have reminded me that raising good people is really what parenting is all about. Having a kid who is comfortable at home to let it all out and go into the world and have other people want to be around her is great. I sometimes worry about her getting hurt when other people aren't as nice as she is. Thus far she seems to have a natural ability to shrug her shoulders and move on. So far, PDQ is the queen of the relationship.

My younger daughter is much less outgoing than her sister. She tends to hang back and survey a situation where PDQ jumps right in. Sometimes I am amazed at the things that she picks up through hanging back and assessing everything before acting. I don't always appreciate her careful study when I am in a hurry but I envy her ability to consider the options before taking the leap--not one of my finer traits. Through her thorough check of every situation she can plan and execute a plan to do whatever it is that she, or her sidekick Tippy Tornado, have cooked up. When they went to daycare together and he wasn't speaking much she'd get what he was trying to tell her and she'd plot to retrieve his binky from the back of the kitchen counter and succeed. I believe that Boobah will be the queen of learning, both in the classroom and out.

Damn Harry Potter

I have resisted the whole Harry Potter thing. I love to read young wizards are usually not in my genre. Gman asked Es to babysit (score husband points there) early in the week so we could go see The Order of the Phoenix last night. Win-win for everyone, except perhaps Es. We get a date, the girls get some of their favorite adult company, and Es did get to be the object of their adoring attention (oh and we brought her cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory).

I think I watched one of the other HP movies on a cross country flight. I enjoyed it but wasn't sucked into the whole thing. Last night was kind of the same, except for the few times where there was a giggle going through the crowd that indicated there was more to the story than the uninitiated weren't in on. I think I've finally been bitten. I feel the need to start reading the books. Maybe not the run-out-and-buy-it-now fever that seems to be running rampant but enough curiosity to give it a go.

The Wacky Working World

Wacky working world, really a www that I could live without. I sometimes think that I became a parent just to make me better tolerate the people I work with more easily. Don't get me wrong, I work with very bright people but some days common sense and communication skills seem to be lacking. This week a relatively benign request to share a limited resource got communicated up to the top of the organization as an "us against them" turf war. I was embarrassed that such a thing got raised to such levels, really they get paid a lot of money to deal with real problems. Thankfully though, my neck hasn't hurt too much, I've slept reasonably well, and I haven't lost it with anyone--yet.

This afternoon I had a meeting scheduled for a room at 1PM. At 1PM the previous meeting wasn't over, we gave them a few minutes. I checked to make sure I had it booked. Then I went in and started up my conference line. The people from the previous meeting continued to hang around and talk--really there is a hallway, other empty rooms, find one I was thinking to myself. Finally I said to the people on the phone, sorry we are late getting started, we are still waiting for the room to free up--or something like that. There were giggles around the table and one of my co-workers laughed and complimented me on my subtlety. Well, if that's what it takes for people to have a little decency and common sense I guess that's what I'll resort to.

If you'd like to hear more of my opinion, head over to Maven Says and check out my review of The 24-Hour Pharmacist. Good perspective on all the non-traditional ways to look at health and wellness alongside the more traditional path. The book is authored by Suzy Cohen known as America's Most Trusted Pharmacist. If you check it out and go leave a comment over on Parent Bloggers Network, they'll enter you in a drawing for a $50 CVS giftcard and a copy of the book. I know you love winning stuff so head on over. The mid-campaign review is this Friday, July 13.

Blueberry Pickin'

Friday night the girls and I ventured out to a nearby farm to pick blueberries. I warned everyone that they needed to go to the bathroom before we left. Did they? Of course not. We weren't there for 10 minutes before the "I have to PEE" whining started. I told them if they concentrated on finding the biggest, bluest berries it would help take their mind off their ordeal. PDQ said I was right it helped. Finally about 4 pounds of berries later I couldn't take it any more. As we drove the circuitous route back through the farm fields I spotted a port-a-potty. (Of course it was on the other side of the blueberry bushes if only I'd known we could have walked down the row and been there). We stopped, PDQ went first, was in the outhouse 5 seconds before she declared she didn't have to go any more. I reminded her of the previous half hour and she relented, I told her to hold her nose if she had to but she. was. going. They both managed to go, although there were lots of questions about the blue water and the smell and the urinal cakes.

After we got home I whipped up my favorite blueberry recipe, a lemon, blueberry pound cake that I got from Cooking Light. It is light and wonderful. It calls for a bundt pan but I generally make it in two loaf pans, one to eat, one to share or freeze. I also like to add a little lemon zest to the cake and the glaze (you have to squeeze the lemons anyway, might as well use them all!).

Blueberry Pound Cake (from Cooking Light)

2 c granulated sugar
½ c light butter
½ block light cream cheese softened (4 oz cc)
3 large eggs
1 large egg white
3 c all purpose flour divided
2 c fresh or frozen blueberries
1 t baking powder
½ t baking soda
½ t salt
1 8oz carton low-fat lemon yogurt
2 t vanilla extract
cooking spray
1 c powdered sugar
4 t lemon juice (about the juice of 1 lemon)

Preheat oven to 350F
Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes).
Add eggs and egg white, 1 at a time beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.
Combine 2 T flour with blueberries in a small bowl and mix well.
Combine remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mix alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
Fold in blueberry mixture and vanilla; pour cake batter into a 10-inch tube pan coated with cooking spray (I use two loaf pans instead and it turns out well and there is one to freeze!)
Bake at 350F for 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. (For the loaf pans I usually set the timer for 50 minutes and start checking, for the convection oven I go with 325F)
Cool cake in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in small bowl, drizzle over warm cake.

Yesterday I tackled blueberry freezer jam for the first time. I was glad to see that it was setting up well last night and can't wait to taste. I think it will be a nice change from strawberry during the long winter. I am reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Its really opened my eyes to the impact of eating more locally grown food so I am trying to do my part. We'll be out at the farm picking more fruits and veggies as well as hitting the local farmers markets. Not only does it reduce the fossil fuels needed to get our food to us, it just tastes better! The book is just generally a good read and I'd recommend it for anyone who even dreams of having their own little plot of land--the family commits to getting all their food from local sources for a year.

For the love of books

One of the best things about vacation was having a chance to read uninterrupted. I read in the car, in bed, on the balcony looking at the beach and it was heaven. I happened to pick up In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner from Liz's bookshelves (thanks Liz!) and started reading it, it was great so I bought a copy at the next bookstore we came across. I can't say I remember seeing the movie come out but I have it in my Netflix queue now, I hope its not a disappointment. As soon as we got back I was hungry for more. I got Little Earthquakes at the library (actually 2 copies, leaving something else I wanted on the shelf) and I finished it last night. What a great story, great characters, it brought back the new mom memories in such vivid detail it had in me tears more than once. Definitely summer reading chick lit.

Lean Mean Thirteen the next numbered Stephanie Plum book is out and I am on the waiting list at the library. I have a couple more Jennifer Weiner books to read and I am waiting for Animal, Vegetable, Mineral that Tree turned me onto as well. Of course I have to find the time to read them but I always have at least one book going, I like to relax in the bath tub at night with my book and a little lavender oil as part of my night time, beat insomnia routine. I am always fighting the desire to read rather than sleep--I know that is bad and have been trying REALLY hard not to do it.

Anyone else feel like something is missing without a book in progress and one waiting in the wings? I'd say it is the biggest difference between Gman and I, reading for pleasure is pretty much a foreign concept for him. He likes listening to books on tape/CD but actually sitting down with a book just isn't his thing. It's also one of the things that I hope the kids pick up from me, I want desperately for them to be able to enjoy and lose themselves in a good book. What is on your summer reading list? Anything that you just can't wait to dig into? Happy reading!

Maven Says: Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box

Whenever I have an issue, my first thought is to go read all about it--the bookstore, library or the Internet. With one exception, my dirty little secret I typically avoid parenting books. Pretty early on in the parenting gig I figured out that a lot of the books I read made me feel bad about what ever I was doing even when my gut was telling me that it was right. Battling through PDQ the sleepless and trying all those other ideas, I finally decided that the combination of my gut and Gman's many years of experience we'd be okay. That theory has worked pretty well but in my avoidance of reading of the parenting genre I have totally missed Mommy reading. If there were nothing else of value in Ann Dunnewold's book Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box: Cut Yourself Some Slack (and Still Raise Great Kids) in the Age of Extreme Parenting) the reading list I accumulated as I read would be so worth it. The reading list is just the tip of the iceberg though, the real life, common sense tone of this book alternately made me see the silliness of some of my SuperMommy thinking and made me feel better about the majority of my parenting choices, a very fine line when you think about it. Kind of like telling me to go to hades and me wanting to go there!

Right after I agreed to review the book I had the taking time for yourself discussion with a couple of friends and wrote about it here. When the book arrived I immediately carried it up to my room to begin reading. I saw myself in the first pages of the first chapter doing things like staying up all night making the perfect cookies for a preschool party to assuage my Mommy Guilt for working. There have been many occasions where I have not been able to be present at an event and to make myself feel better I have WAY overdone it on the cookies/goodie bag or whatever other thing I've taken on. I always knew it my gut that it was silly but reading it in print made me cringe just a bit and maintain the ability to laugh at myself. The concept of the "perfectly good mom" was introduced and I was hooked. Perfection is impossible, being "clearly good" or "as good as is necessary" are doable and who doesn't want to feel successful as a parent? Life overcame my reading time and I wasn't able to pick the book up for over a week but in that time I must have had half a dozen discussions with other women (and a guy or two) about the concept of not trying to be perfect but perfectly good. It provoked many insightful conversations, particularly with the older, wiser, been-there-done-that women that I am lucky to have in my life. As I finished the book I found that I had worked ahead, the last chapter was about building a strong support network and spreading the word and actively speaking out and standing up for yourself in the insane competition for Mommy of the Century.

Dunnewold explores the messages we are inundated with that encourage us to be perfect. She lays out the traps of overperfecting, over protecting, and overproducing. As I read about these I could certainly see a little of myself and nearly every other Mom I know. Some of us more than others and each with our unique quirky take on the madness. The mantras like, "there are no perfect mothers" and "parenting is not a contest" seem like common sense but for me, and I am sure many others they are easy to forget everyday in the trenches. I appreciated that Dunnewold left room for each of our own idiosyncrasies, we can each have one or two things that we obsess over and if we can just chill out about everything else, that is fine. Its that tone that makes this book a real winner for me, no judgement just showing the reader that what they think is right probably is and its good to follow your mind and heart. In that vein she encourages you to look at your values, know them and follow them.

I would recommend Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box to anyone who feels the pressure of the Mommy Olympics. There is no us vs. them in this book, I could see the SAHM struggles more clearly and I felt that it represented the issues of the working mom as well. Instead of pitting us against each other Dunnewold calls for us to work together for our health and to raise healthy kids in today's world. I'll offer up just a bit of my own insanity in my posts about staying up until midnight to get into Summer Camp or spending months picking out the "right" preschool and the huge allergic reaction that I wasn't there for. This book reaffirmed for me that I need to chill out, know what I believe in and follow my gut. If you want to hear other takes on the book, head on over to Parent Bloggers Network for 24 more reviews of the book.