Maven Says: Don't burn with KINeSYS

My grandfather died of melanoma, my YOUNGER sister has already had one basal cell carncinoma removed and a number of pre-cancers. Given that I should be wearing sunscreen all the time but generally I hate it. The oily feeling, the goopiness, my hands getting sticky. Okay, I'll stop whining!

Enter Parent Bloggers Network and the chance to review KINeSYS performance sunscreen. I think I am in love. There is both an adult and a kids non-aerosol imicrospray that goes on so light you d0n't even feel it. It goes on so evenly you don't have to touch it with your hands--huge bonus for me. Although I prefer they don't take it into their own hands as they pick really bad places to spray like on the tile floors that get slippery from the over-spray they CAN use it all on their own. What a great incentive for teaching good habits. The sunscreen has been formulated for athletes, sweat doesn't cause it to run into your eyes and your skin can breathe. The alcohol, PABA and oil have been used and the active ingredients are parasol or titanium dioxide. The Early Show tagged it as the most effective sunscreen of over 700 that they tried.

In addition to the great sprays there are also creams and one of my favorites, a stick for the face. The kids love being written on with the stick to protect the cheeks, ears and nose--I like not having to use the spray on my hands to rub on them. I am bad about remembering the ears so it is a great thing for me too!

Head on over to Parent Bloggers to hear what others have to say about the KINeSYS family of products.

Maven & PDQ Say: Personalized books are cool!

PDQ is really happy that Parent Bloggers Network gave her Mommy the chance to review a Printakid personalized book for kids. Printakid offers 6 different titles at two different levels--preschool and elementary school. Although we didn't receive one to review Printakid also offers personalized CDs to go along with the books.

I ordered the Laughing All the Way to School book for Abby at the elementary level. The preschool level books are aimed at kids 3-6 and the elementary books for kids 7-10. PDQ is 6 and entering the first grade and I wanted her to grow into reading the book so I went for the elementary level. She is able to read all but a few words in the book.

PDQ loves the fact that the girl in the book looks like her--there is an opportunity to pick eye, hair and skin color when ordering the book. It also asks for the names of Mom & Dad and three friends. There is room for a personalized message on the opening page of the book, on the page facing the first page of the book has the child's name, birth date and the date the book was printed. At this point PDQ believes the world revolves around her so having a book that includes her and all of her friends is perfect for her. When we received it she immediately opened it up and began trying to read. Any book that encourages her to read is good with me. The story is a little silly but it engaged PDQ and although Boobah was quite disappointed she isn't included in the book she enjoyed listening to it as well.

I think the book or book and CD set is the perfect gift for a birthday or other holiday. Kids like things that are about them. As a gift giver or parent the opportunity to offer a personalized message to an important child is nice. The book is high quality from cover to page, not easily destroyed by frequent reading. Compared to other personalized books I've seen, this one is heads and shoulders above the rest. I know that I'll need at least one more book from Printakid--Boobah is quite jealous and wants a book about her!

Maven and Gman Say: A Good Read on Parenting

As part of Parent Bloggers Network I read Fathering Your School Age Child: A Dad's Guide to the Wonder Years 3 to 9 by Armin Brott because I was curious about what they tell dads that they don't tell moms. I also asked Gman to take a read--he doesn't read much of anything but he is the parent of 4, boys 18 & 13 and our girls 6 & 4.

Here are Gman's thoughts:
Not having read any kind of parenting book before I really have nothing to base it against, but I found "Fathering Your School-Age Child ... A Dad's Guide to the Wonder Years: 3 to 9" interesting. Having 4 kids boys and girls I felt like I should be able to speak with some authority on the subject. Overall I liked and agreed with what he had to say. He uses modern and personal stories to illustrate points, and gives out specific details, from which toys meet his criteria, to website links that have more or supporting information. The overall theme of the book is for each age there are physical and developmental things going on with your child, what to expect and suggestions on how to deal with them, and promotes the notion of being an involved father by citing examples of how to, or general behaviors that will lead to more involvement. One thing that I took exception to was it seemed that he would throw in random scenarios, like talking about step parenting during age 6 but not age 4.

Another thing I found interesting was the sociological point of view he takes throughout, citing how sometimes being an involved father is an uphill battle against the forces of society. I would certainly recommend this book to new fathers and existing fathers alike. Even after 4 kids I read a couple of things that were enlightening.

I'll post more on my thoughts later...being overtaken by life!

Okay, sorry for the interruption, now back to my previous topic...

I enjoyed the whole tone of the book which didn't, like many Mommy-focused books, use fear or guilt. In fact, in the chapter on 9 year olds he provides an e-mail about how we were raised (with lead paint and no car seats) and the fact we are still here. It echoes the message in Anne Dunnwold's Even June Cleaver would Forget the Juice Box--you don't have to be perfect, just good enough. The book and the information on what children are going through at an age and how to father them through it was fact based and relied on research--which appeals to my process oriented, project manager side. I particularly enjoyed the wit of Brott's writing style. An example is (are?) his chapter titles that do a great job of summing up what that year is about like 4-Let's Talk about Meee! and 9-Just Like a Real Person, Only Shorter.

Each chapter starts out with a description of what your child is experiencing physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially. That is followed up by what is going on with you. Then it goes on to talk about the relationship between you and your child adding in topical information for that age. Of particular interest to me was the chart on page 175 that listed common texting abbreviations--here I thought I was so up-to-date on the technical, I guess not really so much. Who knew, IPN--I'm posting naked? Gee, I'll have to keep Gman from using that one, talk about TMI!

Overall I enjoyed the book and looking at parenting from a different angle. I think that it will be a good catalyst for discussion between Gman and I as we continue through our parenting journey.

Maven Says: Watch Word World!

Parent Bloggers gave me the opportunity to review Word World, a new PBS show for 3-5 year olds debuting September 3rd (coincidentally my daughter's fourth birthday!). I opened up the new DVD on our vacation trip hoping that the new-ness would keep everyone occupied. Much to my delight--it did! Boobah, my soon to be 4 year old, is not much of a TV watcher, she likes to have the TV on but not much catches and holds her attention. She watched the two, eleven minute, Word World segments without a peep.

I pulled the DVD out again today to watch with my girls. My six (going on sixteen) year old declared "I really like Word World, even if it is a baby show." High praise from the child who is into shows that I think are much too old for her. The characters (shown down the left hand side) are cute and their bodies are made up of the letters that spell their name. A very cool concept, my only concern was that the word is sometimes backwards when the animal is facing left--I know, not something your preschooler will notice but I did. In addition to the animals, many of the structures spell their names as well--see the house with dog? I thought the gate and dock in the Runaway O episode were really well done so its not distracting that the object spells a word.

When the characters build a word they pull out the letters, put them in order and sound out the word. This is preceeded by a catchy little tune and funky "build a word" dance. I'll tell you a little secret--I generally don't like kids TV shows and find it torturous to watch them with my girls. This show was entertaining, educational and it didn't make me want to run screening from the room. I may have to put it on the DVR list for rainy days--I'd much rather have my kids watch this than a lot of what is on today. The fact that they BOTH like it is a definite bonus!

Keep your eye out for Word World on PBS starting September 3. Check out Parent Bloggers for the full list of Word World reviews to see what others think.

Maven Says: Eat at Roy's!

It is Baltimore Restaurant week, we had a babysitter and a friend so what did we plan? An adult meal--no cutting food for others, a single if any trip to the bathroom, and no ordering off the kids menu. Having no idea that restaurant week meant that every restaurant in town would be booked solid we waited to make our decision until Thursday morning. I knew I was in trouble when I called the first place and got a recording telling me they had no reservations for the remainder of the week--bad sign. Thanks to Open Table I was able to see what restaurants did have availability and when. I will definitely use them again--I really HATE talking on the phone so making a reservation without human interaction is perfect for me. Its the second time I've used the service, two different restaurants and it was perfect both times.

Roy's is the creation of chef Roy Yamaguchi and is a chain with restaurants mostly on the West Coast and in Florida. If I hadn't read it I wouldn't have guessed it was a chain--the restaurant has an interesting twist with some items available at every Roy's and some items that are created specifically for that restaurant by the local chef. We got to the restaurant early, went in and bellied up to the bar. We perused the semi-tropical cocktail menu-I chose the Pomegranate Patron Mojito and Scott got an Asian Lemon Drop. The mojito was seriously yummy. I like tequila and I like pomegranate so I figured I couldn't go wrong. Scott said the lemon drop had a touch of ginger which was just to his liking. The bill was a bit of a surprise, more than $20 for two cocktails--I guess we've been in the suburbs too long. Finally we got a seat and our waiter was a Bart Simpson look alike, thankfully without the matching attitude! He was pleasant, gave us an overview of the menu without being overbearing and didn't try to pressure into anything else when we told him we would be having the prix fix dinner special ($30.07 for 3 courses!). The starter of edamame instead of bread was a nice touch. We all ordered the appetizer sampler (the only choice), I had a honey Dijon beef short rib, Wendy had the Hamachi with lobster cream sauce and Scott the Shrimp Pad Thai. We were very quiet during dinner as we all enjoyed the food immensely. The beef was flavorful and tender, the mashed potatoes a bit ordinary but tasty, and it was accompanied by some lightly sauteed veggies. Finally, the much awaited molten chocolate cake. Yes, I've had it other places but this was the best I've ever had. The center was steaming hot and had great chocolate flavor. The accompanying ice cream and raspberry puree were great touches.

Overall our night was near perfect. Good company, good service, good food. My only word of warning would be the need to be aggressive to get served a drink at the bar. Scott managed it but a woman on the other side of me eventually gave up and went drink-less. The place was exceptionally busy and unlike some of the other restaurants I read about during Restaurant Week, Roy's was able to handle the crowd in style.