Maven Says: Check out Noah and His Pals

The Lord said to Noah, there's gonna be a floody, floody
The Lord said to Noan, there's gonna be a floody, floody
Get those children, out of the muddy, muddy...

I teach Sunday School on occasion and that song and the story of Noah's Ark are one of the few things that I can go to at a moments notice so when I was asked by Parent Bloggers Network if I'd be interested in taking a look at Noah's Pals I jumped at the chance to add another dimension to my Noah story. Shortly after they arrived I had the perfect opportunity to put them to use--I was responsible for our summer one room schoolhouse and the director hadn't gotten me the books to teach from. A few minutes finding a easy to tell story online and a coloring page or two and I was set.

I grabbed Noah's Pals along with the ark, animals and people from our Little People ark (they all played quite nicely together). The kids ranging in age from 2-6 loved the animals. A parent remarked how detailed they were and wanted to know more about them. One little girl in particular loved the cards that came with the animals and wanted to know where she could get some (the answer, only with your Noah's Pals animal sets at Amazon.com). The cards include detailed information about the animals as well as geographic information and codes that allow you to keep track of your collection on the Noah's Pals website. I did hold back the doves that came with Noah, they were on the tiny side and I was concerned about them ending up in someone's mouth or lost. Each pair of animals comes with a designation of common, vulnerable or endangered. Only 10,000 of the endangered and 20,000 of the vulnerable animals will be made. If you collect the entire set you'll be awarded with a Caboodle secret prize pack. Since bringing them home from the classroom they've joined our herd of other play animals so they would be just as suitable for non-religious folks.

If you are interested in hearing more about Noah's Animals, check out Parent Bloggers Network for other reviews (the mid-campaign round up was July 18). Noah's Pals are available only through Amazon.com where you can get the entire set for $269, that's $30 off the normal $299 price.

Maven Says: Listen to the "24-Hour Pharmacist"

Suzy Cohen, America's Most Trusted Pharmacist, with 20 years of experience and many national television and radio appearances and a syndicated column, "Dear Pharmacist" that appears around the world offers up a book, The 24-Hour Pharmacist. The book, published by Collins offers her advice, opinions and cures for looking younger, feeling healthier while saving time and money all in a easy to read format and easy reading style.

As someone who has been fighting insomnia with every treatment from over the counter sleep aids to acupuncture I was interested to see the opinion of a pharmacist since it seems that I have conferred with folks from every other traditional and alternative medicine specialty. Given that, I cheated and started the book with chapter 8: A Nation of Insomniacs: Do You Really Need a Pill to Get a Good Night's Sleep? In this chapter she covers the media onslaught of commercials for prescription sleep aids and gives them credit where its due but suggests there are lots of other things to check out before going that route. She gives names to the various types of insomniac in the down to earth style used throughout the book, I am a long-time "Antenna Head" whose mind goes into re-wind (or sometimes fast forward) when I go to bed and by the time I get to sleep hours later I am mad. I've also had some experience as a "Creepy Crawler" and a "Bed Bugger." Cohen reviews medications, diseases, and hormones that might be keeping you awake and then suggests possible herbal remedies, melatonin, Reishi mushrooms, as well as OTC sleep aids and prescriptions. I was glad to see some of the remedies I have tried, like my nightly lavender scented baths among her suggestions.

Of course having suffered from insomnia for a long time fatigue is also something I've wrestled with so I went back and started at the beginning of the book with Chapter 1: Overcoming Fatigue: From Stupor Woman to Super Woman. Yeah, that sounded right up my alley. In this chapter I had a hard time deciding which of the faces of fatigue was most descriptive of myself--am I a Juggling Janet or Morning Mary, hmmm maybe I'm really Stupor woman. As I read more I was fascinated by the connection with fatigue medications and hormones. I've been using Ashwagandha for the last month or so and it has helped with my insomnia, in this chapter I also learned that it might help with my thyroid function and control blood sugar and cholesterol--nice bonus! I found the easy to understand description of your adrenal glands and what they do really interesting, certainly not something I've heard from my physician or read about anywhere--until now.

The book is divided into five parts:

• Above the Waist



• Above the Neck



• Below the Waist



• And Everything in Between



• Think Outside the Pill

The chapters in these parts cover everything from "toenail crud" to aromatherapy in the same down-to-earth style that makes the book an easy read even if you aren't nearly ready to think about "surge protection for your hot flashes." The book does start with a disclaimer that reminds you that the book is not intended to take the place of appropriate medical care but instead to allow you to explore "all potential options for health and wellness." The end of the book has many resources and references so that you read more and find the products discussed in the book. You can also check out the authors website Dear Pharmacist for more information.

If you are interested in winning your own copy of the book, stop by the Parent Bloggers Network site and leave a comment on the launch of the campaign for The 24-Hour Pharmacist or the mid-campaign round-up this Friday, July 13. You'll be entered to win a copy of the book and a $50 CVS giftcard (who couldn't use that?!).