Maven Says: Jump Start Learning with Jump Start World

My girls love the computer. I am hesitant to let them play online when I can't be right there beside them--I think the sites are safe but who knows what is lurking out there in the great Internet world. So when Parent Bloggers gave me the opportunity to review a computer game that didn't require the kids to be online I jumped at the opportunity to take a look at Jump Start World 1st Grade for PDQ.

I found the initial installation to be a bit slow and frustrating but I don't often install software so I have no idea how it compares to other programs. Of course having a little person asking if it is done yet every thirty seconds probably made it seem a LOT longer than it really was! Once it was loaded up we were ready to go.

I started by visiting the parents center and entering the girls' birth dates and the holidays we celebrate for personalization in the game. You can also enter messages for your child(ren) through the parents center that then show up as banners in the game. I love the fact that the game can be personalized for my children. I think that having their name and information right there engages them right off the bat.

Next I sat with PDQ to pick out her character--girly, girl for her. Soon I was being shooed away and it was obvious that she would do much better at figuring out the intricacies of the game without my help. Boobah is only a preschooler but she is itching to get her hand on the game as well--oh the fights that will ensue. I will definitely take a look at the Kindergarten version to help her get a Jump Start on the skills she'll need for Kindergarten (a place we hope she'll be next year despite her missing the cutoff by 2 days).

There are opportunities to buy additional adventure packs for the game online through the Jump Start World website. It allows you to keep your child engaged in the game over time. I would recommend the game as a holiday present, assuming the other versions are as engaging at the 1st grade one I would recommend it for kids pre-K through 2nd grade. I will definitely be looking into it for one of the kids in the family gift exchange.

Check out what others have to say about it in the mid-campaign round-up at Parent Bloggers. Other bloggers have added it to the holiday must have list. At $19.95 the hours of engagement for your child and the fun learning are well worth the investment.

Maven Dares You

Any book where the back cover says "For every girl with an independent spirit and a nose for trouble..." is a must read at my house. If there are two words that sum up my girls they would be independent and trouble. The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz was inspired by The Dangerous Book for boys by Conn & Hal
Iggulden (which you can check out reviews for here). I wasn't sure quite what to expect but enjoyed the combination of trip down memory lane, reference source for information on interesting women and provider of new ideas to try with my own girls.

I found the book broke down into four kinds of information--things I did as a kid, things I wish I did as a kid, interesting facts on stuff (gotta love a good list) and stuff that needs to wait until my girls are a bit older (they are 4 & 6).

Things I did as a kid and want to remember to do with my girls:

• The sit-upon is a fond Brownie memory. Mine was red Naugahyde bound together with twine and a string long enough to wear it around my waist. I have a vague memory of using it on a Brownie camping trip where we slept in platforms tents and "foraged" for breakfast by getting our little boxes of cereals off trees where they had been suspended by string.


• The God's eye was a Vacation Bible School and summer church camp staple with its brightly colored yarn and variations from popsicle sticks to tree branches depending on the venue.


• Campfire songs, although I can't carry a tune in the bucket I have been blessed with a memory for all of the words and a voice that carries.

I found that many activities in the book like this reminded me of good stories to tell my girls--like the Brownie camping saga for my little cookie seller. Sometimes it is hard to pull those memories from the recesses of the aging mind but the book was a good memory jogger.

Things I wish I did as a kid...

• Read a lot of "classic" books. I fancy myself a relatively well read person but when I looked at the list of Books that Will Change Your Life I hadn't read many of them. I did finish the entire Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden series though and wondered if that started my love of serial fiction.


• Building a tree house or fort. In my house the closest we got to this was draping blankets over chairs.

Seeing those things that I might have "missed out" on is a good reminder of more things that I want to experience with my girls or encourage them to experience for themselves.

Interesting Stuff...

• A table with the states, their capitals, flower and tree


• Women spies from WWII


• Greek & Latin roots of words


• Fourteen games of tag


• Instructions for Sun Salutation


• French terms of endearment


• Spanish phrases
  

Its nice that a book that I would have considered things to do also covers a wide range of things to talk about. Although I am sure I could find most of this stuff on the internet, finding it in print on my shelf holds a different weight for me. I like seeing the words on the page rather than the screen.

Things that can wait until later....

• How to change a tire


• Robert's Rules of Order (although I am not sure we're ever old enough for this!)


• The basics of finance


• How to negotiate a salary

I found The Daring Book for Girls to be a surprisingly wide ranging reference for all kinds of things to do with girls and to talk to them about. It spurred my own memories as well as giving me good ideas of things to do with my girls now and as they grow. I am sure I'll tuck it away on the shelf and refer to it on those rainy days when I am short on patience and good ideas.

You can check out what others have to say at the mid-campaign wrap up over at Parent Bloggers.

Maven Says: Its Deceptively Delicious

I am blessed with children who will eat nearly anything. The catch is, they won't necessarily eat the same thing twice in a row. Boobah will clean her plate of broccoli one night and a week later, she's claims she doesn't like it. I try to be calm and not get too hung up on her food intake on any single day, try to offer her a wide variety of foods, and occasionally sneak a little something in on her. My own efforts have been veggies in chili and things like zucchini bread. Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious offers recipes with a little extra nutrition in everything from chocolate cupcakes to beef stew.

Seinfeld (yes the wife of THAT Seinfeld) includes wisdom from parenting experts Jean Mandelbaum and Pat Shimm, a foreward by Mehmet Oz and Roxana Mehran, and a nutrition primer by Joy Bauer to round out her own experiences from feeding a family. Together they offer a well rounded view of feeding your kids healthy food and avoiding food battles. Although most of the books recipes sneak extra veggies into to places you wouldn't expect them, the point is made multiple times that you still need to offer your kids vegetables that they recognize. Eventually most kids will eat them, even if it requires dipping them in something.

Seinfeld's program for adding extra vegetables to food is broken into four sections:

1. Equipping your kitchen
2. Stocking up on staples
3. Making purees
4. Recipes

Her suggestion is to make purees a few at a time, keep the ones you'll use immediately in the fridge and freeze the rest in 1/4 or 1/2 cup portions, labelled in your freezer. This syncs up nicely with my efforts this summer to try and eat fresh local products, it would have been a great idea to make purees in addition to freezing whole veggies. I still have time to catch up with winter squash for recipes like tacos, sloppy joes and grilled cheese! Jessica Seinfeld shared a few of her recipes with Oprah and thus with you too!

I like the physical book itself (I'd love to show you a picture but blogger is being a bit difficult), the hard covered book with an interior spiral binding is set-up is perfectly for use in the kitchen to cook. Its also easy to wipe clean (yeah, I am a really messy cook!). The pictures of the food are beautiful yet approachable. The food isn't so styled that you can't imagine ever making it at home but it still looks incredibly appetizing--even with the extra added veggies. Serving french toast with a small glass of milk and a plastic fork is certainly do-able at my house! The use of bright colors and lots of plaid gives the book a fun retro feel.

If figuring out how to keep your kids well fed without having constant battles at the dinner table is your goal, this may be the book for you. I did have a little struggle with whether or not I should be "hiding" things in my kids foods. I reasoned that I don't tell them what else is in it, so why would I tell them about the cauliflower or butternut squash purees? I probably won't be whipping any cauliflower puree into our morning eggs--we are lucky to be eating cereal or yogurt in the van in the morning--but the other recipes are definitely an easy add to my repertoire.

You can read the thoughts of more bloggers on Deceptively Delicious over at Parent Bloggers.

Maven Says: Lovin' Ryka Kicks

The nice people over at Ryka, along with the lovely ladies at Parent Bloggers Network gave me a pair of MC2 Walking Shoes to take for a spin and let you know what I thought. I received my new shoes and was thrilled to give them a spin. Unfortunately they were too small. They run true to my running/exercise shoe size rather than my regular shoe size. They moved me up into the next size right away. Ahhhhhhh, room for my toes! Just like clothes, forget about what size they are and find the one that fits you!
I have been a reasonably regular walker for the last 6 years. After PDQ was born I lost nearly 100 pounds and most of my exercise was walking. We lived near a lake with a walking path and PDQ and I did it religiously. One of the only problems was my feet and ankles would get sore. Fast forward 6 years, I have maintained about a 30 pound loss after having another baby and I am still walking and fighting to find a shoe that is comfy for my foot. I generally hate the look of walking shoes and have worn every running shoe on the face of the earth (that I could find in a size 11!) including several pairs of Rykas. The result was generally sore shins.

So I went out to try my new walking specific shoes. After 2 miles, no sore shins, comfy feet and no pain in my knees or ankles. Oh, I like these shoes! For the next several weeks I put around 10 miles a week on the shoes and continued to be pretty comfortable walking--both on the walking paths and in the gym on the treadmill. My knees, ankles and feet all held up pretty well. With my wider forefoot and narrow heel it is sometimes hard to find shoes that fit well. These shoes, and the other Ryka shoes I've tried, fit the bill. I love the idea that Ryka only develops shoes for women. We deserve to have good exercise shoes that fit our feet and aren't just whittled down versions of men's shoes.

What I liked:
Good support & cushioning
Comfortable in the gym and on the street
Good fit in the heel and forefoot
Lacing options around the ankle for good adjustment
What I'd do different:
Shoes are all leather and a bit hot when walking during hot weather
I still can't quite get over the look of walking shoes, I prefer the sportier look of running shoes (but these are the sportiest of the walking shoes I've seen/had)
Just another personal plug for the folks at Ryka. A friend started training for a triathlon last year and it just happened to be the Ryka Irongirl Triathlon in Columbia, MD. I went to the event and it was seriously first class. The race was well run and the go grrrrrrrrrl feeling was electric in the air. In fact, I was so inspired by what I saw there that I am now training to do it as well. Soon I'll be trading in my walking shoes for running shoes so that I can swim, bike, run to the finish line next year. Registration starts next week and I'm signing up, then I'll be totally committed (some days I already feel like I should be)!
Free shoes? Yep, you can enter to win your own pair of free shoes over at the Ryka website and enter their Good for Your Sole promotion to win one of 50 pairs of shoes or performance tees EVERY DAY through October 25! I told you these people rock. So get thee on over there and sign thee self up!

Maven Says: Books are Moovelous

My girls love videos, especially on long car rides. Along came Wilbur from my friends at Parent Bloggers just in time for our vacation drive. It was Boobah's turn to pick the first movie, she chose Wilbur. PDQ complained before it started that it was a baby video. Thankfully, once Wilbur and his friends Ray, Dasha and Libby started things quieted down. I even caught my thirteen year old stepson watching along with the girls. Although he didn't watch for long, anything that doesn't involve live action that can get his attention for a moment wins in my book. The girls stayed engaged with the show until the end and Boobah was crushed when it was over and PDQs turn to pick. Boobah picked Wilbur again later in the trip and insisted on sharing it with her toddler cousin once we arrived at our lake house. He enjoyed it while running around the room, as he generally enjoys everything!

Wilbur and his puppet animal friends were created by a group of Moms who noticed the limited TV programming for preschoolers. They do a great job of promoting early literacy skills, the calf Wilbur reminding us frequently that "books are moovelous!" I love that Wilbur reinforces my goal of having my children develop an early love of books and reading. I grew up with books everywhere and parents who always had a book laying around the house--sometimes more than one. My husband didn't have that same experience and rarely reads (for his own pleasure) today so I am very concious of reinforcing the value of reading with the kids. Its important to me that their other entertainment options send the same message so its not just something Mom wants me to do.

Two moos for Wilbur and his friends and their positive, entertaining reinforcement of the importance of reading! You can catch them on TLC or Ready, Set, Learn on the Discovery Kids Channel.

Maven Says: Style me up

My latest offering from Parent Bloggers Network is the new book The Little Black Book of Style by Elle Magazine Fashion Director and Project Runway Judge Nina Garcia. As a serious Project Runway fan I could hear Nina's voice with its Colombian accent as I read the book written as if I were having a conversation with her.

The most important (and probably hardest to carry out) piece of advice in the book was to edit your wardrobe. She challenges you to find the truly remarkable pieces in your wardrobe and pitch everything else. I know I've stared at a full closet only to feel like I had nothing to wear. Garcia urges to get rid of them advising "its much easier to be inspired when you see five remarkable pieces than when you see twenty-five pieces and twenty of them are unremarkable." Ouch, that is a story I know all too well! I've got some serious editing of my own to do! There were moments as I read that I felt a little like one of the fashion victims on What Not to Wear whining to Stacey and Clinton--thinking in my head, I can't get rid of that, its comfortable or has sentimental value. I am obviously in a suburban Mommy clothing rut.

Garcia waxes poetic about heels and the few times you shouldn't wear them. My general feeling about heels are they are lovely on other people and I'll wear them for special occasions. I did agree with her however on the philosophy of shoes, lots of shoes. My closet doesn't have a single pair of Manolo's or Jimmy Choo's but it does have lots and lots of other pairs. I am sure that Nina wouldn't approve of most of my low heeled, practical, comfortable shoes but I do appreciate the sentiment that shoes make the outfit and having LOTS of them is good, very good. Right along with shoes was her advice on accessories making the outfit. As someone who has been a "big girl" most of my life I can honestly say I am an accessory and shoe hound because no matter what size I've been I can always find shoes and accessories that fit!

The Little Black Book of Style is not a how to guide for dressing. There is no magic formula for putting piece A with piece B to come out with stunning outfit C. There are tips about how to take advantage of classics and suggestions for how to dress for various occasions. For the true fashionista there is a question and answer section in the back of the book with top fashion designers. Most importantly, the book makes you think about and how to develop one of your own. I'm off to try and edit my closet and think about what pieces are truly remarkable and which ones belong in the trash.

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: 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?!).

Maven Says: eHarmony Marriage an interesting alternative

Gman and I met online playing backgammon on a local DC area BBS years before sites like eHarmony, Match.com or Plenty of Fish existed so it seemed fitting that we give Online Marriage Counseling Alternative by eHarmony a try. Gman and I have been married for seven years together for almost 10. Its his second marriage, my first. We have kids of the his and ours variety. We both brought our own baggage into the relationship and as many people know, having kids changes everything. I'd say having step-children and ex-spouses really changes things between partners eventhough it seems EVERYONE wants to tell you that you knew what you were getting into. Gman talked with someone during his divorce and we've visited him during different times of our marriage as well, just to check in and work through some rough spots before they turned into real problems. My first reaction when I got the Parent Bloggers e-mail about eHarmony was to laugh, then I realized it was for married couples and I was intrigued.

The first step in the online alternative to marriage counseling by eHarmony is to take the Marriage profile. The profile takes about 45-60 minutes to complete. Once each partner has filled out the profile separately eHarmony puts together you eHarmony Marriage Profile which they claim is "the most detailed and insightful feedback you'll every received about your marriage." The profile includes your own Individual Personality Profile, Marriage Index, and details on the 10 components of marital satisfaction.

I was surprised at how comprehensive the profile is, ours is 61 pages long. Each section has an introduction, an overview, an iconic (smiley, frowny face) representation of how satisfied each partner is in an area, and a graph to show the potential for improvement. Depending on how different the answers are between the two partners it gives feedback for each person separately as well as joint feedback. Just filling out the profile and getting back the results was a good conversation starter for us. We don't have any big problems, usually just ruts and lack of communication that put us both on edge. I thought one of the most helpful parts was thinking about our future together, after the kids are gone and the realization that we have a whole lot of other stuff to look forward to.

After reviewing the profile you can put together a marriage action plan to deal with the areas of opportunity in your marriage. The site lays out each of the areas, provides articles to read and exercises to complete together. I really don't like opening up to strangers, reading something to fix a problem has long been my way of dealing with things so this felt way more comfortable to me than sitting in a counselor's office. It also lets us take it at our speed which is a pro and a con. We started out gung ho but life with two small children has gotten in the way. While its good to be able to work on things whenever we want, that also means we have to make time for it. We will continue to review the profile and work through the exercises, it feels like preventative maintenance at this point in our marriage. Its good to make sure everything is in working order and made tune things up here and there to prevent a big breakdown later.

To see what others think about the Online Alternative to Marriage Counseling by eHarmony check out the Parent Bloggers Network they'll give you something to think about.

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. Interested? Want to hear what someone else has to say? Check out Parent Bloggers Network for 24 other reviews!

Maven Says: Cozi is Cool

When I heard about Cozi Central my first thought was that's nice but not for me, I use Outlook. I decided to go ahead and give it a try to see what advantages it could bring to organizing our lives outside of work mode. Gman and I run our lives by the Outlook calendar, we are both hooked in at work, he has Outlook set-up at home, and I am a card carrying Crackberry addict. When I found out that Cozi had the ability to sync up with Outlook I thought all of my organizational prayers had been answered! I had dreams of everything I needed to know right there on my Blackberry at my side all the time. And serious bonus, FREE. Unfortunately despite some of its great features I didn't reach the organizational nirvana I had imagined.

The Cozi Central web site is visually appealing and easy to use. To personalize it you can add your own pictures and make picture collages. The homepage displays three days on the calendar, the current time in big readable numbers, the shopping list du jour, and any messages you receive at the bottom of the screen. A great overview of what you need, where you are spending your time and what the rest of the family wants you to know right there at your fingertips. You can assign each person in the house a color and the calendar is then color coded so at a glance you know who has to be where and when. A definite improvement over my black and white calendar that requires actual reading.

Okay, back to my Outlook/Blackberry love affair. I downloaded the Cozi toolbar for Outlook and all seemed well. The instructions were easy and the toolbar showed up as expected. Unfortunately I could never make the two sync that I could tell. I did have some appointments show up with a Cozi ID listed when I printed them out. Unfortunately every time I tried to sync Outlook hung up and I ended up having to shut everything down and re-boot my machine. Not totally unexpected for a beta version of a tool for Microsoft or for me, the Tech Support nightmare. Given the issues I've had with my Outlook account in the past and the critical nature of my work calendar being pristine I had to abandon ship on the Outlook/Cozi synchronization. Hopefully when the release is out of beta testing I can take advantage of the great features.

I do love the list feature, go in any time and type in your grocery and warehouse store lists. Then you can e-mail them, print them or access them via phone. My collection of post-it notes don't allow for accessible storage or remote retrieval!

Cozi Central is a great concept for busy households. If it weren't for my work dependence on Outlook I'd use it to run my household in a heartbeat. Given my current technological challenges there are features that I'll take advantage of the opportunity to look at the sweet faces of my kids, keep a running grocery list and retrieve it remotely. Again, its a great FREE service so go check it out and see how it can help you better manage your household activities. I'd love to hear from someone who has been successful in integrating it with and Outlook Exchange account to learn the tricks of the trade.

You can see what other bloggers had to say about Cozi Central by checking in with the Parent Blogger Network campaign.

Maven Says: Let's Get Ready for First Grade!

I’ll admit it, sometimes I struggle not to be Competimommy when it comes to school, not that I brag to others, its just that I want PDQ to do well at school and sometimes am overly focused on how well. Living in a very educationally focused area I have had moments of did I do the right thing only doing part-time preschool and should we have done more to get her ready for school? I worry at times about her being in one of the few remaining schools in the area with only half-day Kindergarten (they will all be full day next year). It is definitely a struggle around here some days to focus on the important stuff and not get caught up in the production of the perfect kid. When she told me a few weeks ago that she hates reading my heart almost stopped. I love to read, I don’t know what I’d do without books to lose myself in or find out more about whatever it is that suddenly I need to know more about. All year I’ve struggled with letting it come to her in her own time and not pushing her, trying to find fun ways to help her progress. So with that backdrop, I set out to take a look at Let's Get Ready for First Grade!

My anxiety was eased a bit when she came to me in the shower the other day wanting to know how to do a sheet in a workbook of course only I could answer it, wet and naked, because she didn’t want to bother Daddy. She has also been carrying around Let’s Get Ready for First Grade! by Linda Desimowich and Stacey Kannenberg from Cedar Valley Publishing. Along with it she’s armed with her trusty dry erase marker. The book reviews all of the concepts that are needed for first grade. As I went through the book by myself I was a little surprised with how much kids need to know for first grade but confident in knowing that when I have been in the classroom or seen papers that come home almost all of the concepts in the book have been covered. The three exceptions may be the solar system, branches of government and some of the internal organs—between Gman and I we’ve got a pretty good grip on those things.

The book has a friendly looking teacher character, Mrs. Best, who along with Yodie the coyote and six of her students guide you through the book. The reminder at the beginning of the book that each child is unique and progresses at his or her own pace was a good one for me as well. PDQ loves the write on, wipe off part of the book. She really does like to experience a book not just with reading but with writing and making it hers. Click here to take a look inside. Spending time with my daughter and the Let’s Get Ready for First Grade! book has made me calm down a bit about her readiness—obviously she soaks up a lot of information during the day and can tell me all about it, especially when presented in a fun format that doesn’t feel like “work.”

Let’s Get Ready for First Grade! won the Teacher’s Choice Award from Learning Magazine in 2007 and I have to agree that it’s a great addition to our book collection. I liked it so much I will definitely find the Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten book as my younger daughter gets ready to make that step. The material is presented in a fun way, there is interaction and it’s a good way for parents to check in with what their kids already know and where they might need some help. I can also see it being a great resource for talking your child’s teacher.

So, if you think one of the Let’s Get Ready books might be what you are looking for, head over to The Parent Bloggers Network site and leave a comment, you will be entered into a drawing to win the set of books. Best of luck to you!

Maven Says (with help from Abby): BrainQuest Gets a Big Thumbs Up!

As soon as the Brain Quest DVD game arrived at our house my daughter was begging to play. In the box were the DVD and a small deck of quiz cards. We popped the DVD in the player and it started right up with questions. I was a bit surprised expecting a bit of an introduction or some instructions, Abby on the other hand LOVED the fact that there were no previews or other "useless stuff."

Abby turned 6 at the beginning of the month and is in Kindergarten so we were on the entry level for this game targeted at 6-8 year olds in first to third grade. Being on the young end of the age range I expected her to find the majority of the questions difficult. I was pleased that although she didn't know the answer to many of the questions right off the bat, she could figure out the answers to many of them. The biggest barrier to her playing the game independently was her reading level. Although the questions and answers are read aloud, she often needed a second go through to get the answer. For me, this was a bonus as it introduced her to new words and gave her fun opportunities to sound out new words.

I think the Brain Quest game will be great for breaking up the monotony on long car rides--you can only watch so many DVDs. Abby loved selecting the right answers with the remote control so I'm sure the car remote will be a hot new commodity! With 500 randomly selected questions we will be able to play the game for a long time to come.

I enjoyed playing the game along with her, I must admit that there were a few questions about grammar that had me digging deep into the recesses of my memory. As I said before, the DVD starts right up with questions, the control freak in me would have liked a little more instruction before starting up but it didn't bother Abby at all. The other concern was the huge amount of packing material for the contents, having grown up in a house where recycling was king this seemed like a bit of a waste.

We will definitely continue to play the game and it will go on my list of potential party gifts. It is great for boys or girls, has a relatively wide age range, isn't season specific and you don't have to worry about which character is "in" this week exactly the kind of thing I am looking for when a party invitation arrives for a child I don't know well.

Check out the Brighter Minds Media website for more information on the Brain Quest DVD game for 6-8 year olds as well as an edition for older kids, 8-10. I was happy to see something that we could grow into.