Book Review - "Superbaby" by Dr. Jenn Berman

My husband and I welcomed our second child to the world in April.  He has been nothing but an easy, happy, loving baby and he just makes everyone smile.  I can't say the same for my daughter when she was his age.  She was colicky and demanded to be held 24 hours per day for the first several months of her life.  She didn't sleep through the night for the first two and half years!  Needless to say, I often took her behavior personally and wondered what I was doing wrong.  She is now almost seven years old and is such an amazing, intelligent, and happy child.  We obviously did something right, right? :) 

Even though my son has been pretty easy and my daughter is doing very well, I have still thought in the back of my mind, "Am I doing a good enough job with my son?"..."What does his future hold?"..."Will my children become happy, successful, and productive adults?"

The Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. was kind enough to forward a copy of Superbaby - 12 Ways To Give Your Child A Head Start In The First 3 Years for me to review.  Superbaby was written by Dr. Jenn Berman who also authored The A To Z Guide To Raising Happy, Confident Kids.  Superbaby provides parents with information that will help foster the development of secure, strong, and trusting relationships between parents and child. 

When the book first arrived, I was a little nervous that I wouldn't be able to finish reading the book in an appropriate timeframe, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Dr. Berman's writing is easy to follow and I read it quickly. 

Each chapter of Superbaby focuses on one of twelve areas that affect an infant's development, including "respectful communication, responding to cues, creating security and predicatability, the importance of touch, promoting language development, sign language, foreign language, the importance of play, reading, screen (tv) time, reducing exposure to toxic chemicals, and eating & nutrition.  You'll learn:

• Easy steps to reduce resistance and avoid tantrums
• The two "Qs" parents need to know about to promote language development
• The truth about learning toys and videos
• How to use play to develop key social, intellectual, and emotional skills
• When and how to start reading to your child
• The three ASL signs that will make your baby's life easier
• The seven most important ingredients to avoid in your child's food
• How to teach good sleep habits from the start
• Simple ways to reduce toxic chemical exposure at home"

Some of the concepts were quiet familiar for me, either from parenting books I have read in the past or from my graduate school courses years ago.  For example, I am well aware of the different types of attachment relationships that can develop, the importance of reading cues, and how touch can improve the overall health of a baby.  However, I loved that Superbaby discussed sign language, baby massage, and green living.  These are definitely areas that are weak for me.  I would like to start paying more attention to these areas because they would obviously benefit my son. 

I  would strongly suggest Superbaby whether you are a new mom or whether have more than one child.  I feel as though reading this book has reinforced my previous knowledge as well as given me suggestions for what I could do differently.  I know there is no such thing as a perfect parent, but I believe that if I follow these suggestions, I would be a pretty good mom  and I think we can all agree we want to be good parents :)

Superbaby is available for purchase through Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com!

Disclaimer: I was not provided with monetary compensation for this review. However, I was provided with a free product to keep. The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Thursday Blog Hops

I received my first award!

Thank you so much to Mom's Tree House for giving me the Versatile Blogger Award! I am so excited! Thank you!

I would like to forward the award on to the following awesome blogs!
A Moment With Mystee
Blissful Babble
bouffe e bambini
Busy Working Mama
Coffee Slut
Shining 2 Save
Super Mommy To The Rescue
The Tidy Nest
Two Southern Girls
You Wanna Know What I Think?
The Way I See Things
The Modest Mom
How Cindy Sees It
I’m A Lazy Mom
Inside My Head

Seven Things About Me:
1. If I could go back to school and do things all over again, I would become an optometrist.
2. I used to play the alto and soprano saxophone and was considered "first in the state" in MA.
3. This is so embarrassing, but I actually went to a Vanilla Ice concert when I was in high school (so ashamed...)
4. I don't mind that my son wakes up in the middle of the night and wants to sleep with me.
5. I get so frustrated at work when parents simply don't take care of their children and neglect them physically and emotionally.
6. I LOVE margaritas!
7. I can't cook well at all :(

The rules to winning the Versatile Blogger Award include:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 other bloggers who you recently discovered and think are fabulous.
4. Contact the bloggers you chose and let them know they won the award
So, Pass it On………..

Gym Digs Review

My daughter discovered gymnastics a few years and fell in love. She refers to it as her “talent” (after learning about talents from Tinker Bell!) I have watched her improve dramatically each year and I am so proud of her. I was thrilled to discover Gym Digs and my daughter and I were ecstatic to have the chance to review their products!

Gym Digs specializes in leotards for gymnastics, tumbling, and dance. In addition to the huge variety of leotards to choose from on their website, you can special order leotards based upon style and color (i.e., Angle, Swirl, Curve Top, and Split). They also have scrunchies to any of their leotards! Gym Digs can accommodate large orders for gymnastics and dance teams as well and offers discounts on orders that are more than $300.

Gym Digs sent my daughter a generous review package! Included in the package was a purple and silver leotard, matching shorts, and scrunchie (purple is my daughter’s favorite color and her gymnastics team color), a two-piece pink leotard, and a “splatter paint” leotard with matching scrunchie. My daughter was thrilled and has loved wearing each piece!

 

My daughter’s previous couple leotards have ridden up on her during her classes. I watch her yank them down and pray others’ haven’t deemed her a “wedgie picker”. I was thrilled to see that leotards from Gym Digs have not been riding up on her! Yay! She tumbles and flips and looks beautiful! I was not able to take a picture of my daughter with the scrunchies in her hair because her hair is so unbelievably fine.  Scrunchies don't stay in her hair unless her hair is plastered to her head with spray gel and bobby pins. 

In the past, my daughter has also had leotards that wear and split.  However, Gym Gigs' leotards are made with quality fabric that is sure to last!

Thank you so much to Gym Digs for allowing us the opportunity to review your beautiful leotards! We will be spreading the word at her gym!

Follow Gym Digs on Facebook and Twitter!

Disclaimer: I was not provided with monetary compensation for this review. However, I was provided with  free products to keep. The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Saturday 9

1. Who in your life do you think behaves and thinks the most like you do?
My daughter acts like both my husband and I, but there are moments when I glimpse myself and sometimes it's scary!

2. As a kid, were you ever wrongly accused (and punished, if it went that far) for something you didn't do? If so, what was it? What happened?
No, I was never wrongly accused. I behaved pretty well and if I did do something wrong, I was nailed for it! :)

3. What about as an adult, were you ever wrongly accused for something you didn't do?? Do you think it's worse to be accused as a child or an adult? Why/why not?
I'm not thinking of anything right now that I've ever been wrongly accused of...nothing is coming to me.

4. What’s the scariest weather situation you’ve experienced?
Driving in the middle of a blizzard with my daughter with the ice and snaow freezing to my windshield. I was trying to get us home from our days at work and daycare. My school refuses to have early releases, so the conditions were horrible. My windshield wipers couldn't get the snow and ice off and I kept having to pull over to clear it. Also, cars in front of me couldn't make it up the hills and they were sliding backwards. I was so afraid they were going to slide back into us!

5. If you could wake up tomorrow morning in another country, where would you want to be and why?
I would want to wake up in Germany. I used to live there when I was seven years old and I loved it. I SOOO want to take my family back there. I want to revisit the sites and experience them as an adult.


6. Instead of going to work Monday, if you could spend the entire day doing something else--any one or two things that you absolutely love doing--what would you do?
I would love to take my kids to the zoo or the park, then out to lunch, and then come home and everyone takes a nap.

7. What sites (other than meme sites) do you use most to help you post on your blog?
I like Bloggy Moms!

8.Check out a post on your blog from six months ago (March 2010) and tell us what is different now about your blog and/or life?
I've only been blogging for a few months now. I have become more open in my writing I think :)

9. What was the last photograph you took?
I took this photo last night of my son passed out on the floor with the dog :) He's so adorable!

Friday Blog Hops

Wednesday Blog Hops

UPrinting 250 Die Cut Business Card Giveaway!

I am one of those women that has a ton of business cards in my purse. I have a stash of my own for my jewelry business and I have those that I pick up from routine appointments (doctor, dentists, etc.) and school personnel. I love business cards – particularly their ease of use and various designs. I send out business cards with every jewelry shipment and people are always asking for a few to forward to their friends. It’s wonderful advertising!

UPrinting has affordable prices and amazing designs!  You are sure to be able to create a card that will truly make you stand out, especially to potential customers or employers.  I am so impressed by the sheer amount of choices that UPrinting offers - from designer cards, to blogger cards, to personal cards and so much more! Business cards have developed from the plain boring to a more modern style including rounded corners, square cards, and slim cards.

A few words about UPrinting:

“UPrinting.com is a leading online printing company that provides high quality printing at the most affordable prices. For over 25 years, UPrinting has been a trusted leader in online printing, featuring its signature easy-to-use website and the famous Free File Review, a complimentary proofing service which requires no upfront payment. UPrinting offers convenient marketing support services such as design, lists, and direct mailing to help grow small and medium-size businesses nationwide.”

I am very excited that I am going to be having new business cards sent to me by UPrinting for hosting a giveaway! I am still debating between business cards for my new business or blogger cards…a tough decision!

So, now to the giveaway details! UPrinting has also offered to give one of my readers 250 Die Cut Business Cards!

One winner will win:

250 Die Cut Business Cards for One (1) Winner
2 x 3.5”, 2 x 2” (square card) or 1.75 x 3.5” (slim card)
Die cutting options available: Rounded Corners, Leaf, Rounded One-Corner, Half-Circle Side, Circle
Paper Type: 14pt Cardstock Gloss, Matte, or High Gloss; 13pt Cardstock Uncoated
Color: 4Color Front, Blank Back; 4Color Front, Black Back; 4Color Both Sides
Limited to US residents only 18 years old and above

This giveaway is open to US residents aged 18 and up and will end on September 30, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. Once the winner is notified through email, they will have 48 hours to respond.

Disclaimer: UPrinting is giving me 250 Die Cut Business Cards for hosting this giveaway. The opinions expressed here are completely my own.

ENTER HERE TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!!

Tuesday Blog Hops

Monday Blog Hops

Sunday Blog Hops

Friday Hops

Crystal Body Deoderant - Respect The Body

I know many of you are really interested in learning about and using natural products as well as saving money (really, who isn't interested in saving money? :)) That's why when I read about the Crystal Body Deoderant, I immediately thought I should share it with you. Everyone needs to wear deoderant! I sweat, you sweat, everyone sweats...The deoderant I currently use works for the most part, but there are times when I notice that it's failing me. Also, how many of you have tried to put it on only to find that you have put white marks on your clothes? This happens to me all the time!

Crystal Body Deoderant is the original mineral salt deoderant (established in 1984) that will help prevent unwanted and embarrassing odor ALL DAY LONG using only simple and natural ingredients! The mineral salts create "a buffer between your skin and odor causing bacteria". If you would like to read more about Crystal products, please visit: http://bit.ly/O2Ocrystal. 

Other really cool tidbits about the deoderants include the following:

• It goes on lightly, won't leave white marks, and it won't stain your clothes!
• One stick lasts ALL YEAR LONG! (YAY! It saves money!)
• One application is enough to last a whole day. It doesn't need to be reapplied!
• It's endorsed by Cancer Treatment Centers.
• It's rated safest in the Skin Deep Database/Environmental Working (www.ewg.org)
• Compact Signer of the Campaign for Safer Cosmetics
• It has never been tested on animals! Crystal is a member of Leaping Bunny.

The Crystal Body Deoderant is unscented and is available in 4.5 ounce Stick, 2.25 ounce Roll-On, and 4 ounze Body Spray. Crystal essence (the lightly scented in Pomegranate, Lavender, White Tea, or Chamomile & Green Tea) is available in a 2.25 ounce Roll-On and 4 ounce Body Spray.

Where can you find these deoderants? They can found in 28,000 stores nationwide, including Walgreens, Rite-Aid, and CVS.

CVS is having a discount for a limited time only that began on Sept 1st.
• $1 off the Crystal Body Deoderant Stick (http://bit.ly.crystalstickCVS)
• $0.50 off the Crystal Body Deoderant Roll-On (2009 Winner - All-Time Top 10 Classic Best of Beauty Award by Better Nutrition) (http://bit.ly/crystalrollCVS)
• $0.50 off the Crystal essence Pomegranate Roll-On (2010 Winner - Best Natural Deoderant) (http://bit.ly/crystalpomCVS)

Here are a few links to the products located at CVS:

Crystal Stick at CVS: http://bit.ly/crystalstickCVS

Crystal Roll-On at CVS: http://bit.ly/crystalrollCVS

Crystal Pomegranate Roll-On at CVS: http://bit.ly/crystalpomCVS


*The One2One Network has provided me with this information and I have been entered to win a giveaway for a gift card for posting this information.