The 24-Hour Pharmacist

I've been flying solo here at Casa Bump.

SB is away and I'm experiencing Bumper in HD here. Wow, I'd give up a lot of chocolate for a nanny / sitter / local teenager connection right now.

This solo bid for survival is why I've been kinda silent all around for the past week. I'm exhausted and in shock. I'll update you later. SB gets back tonight and I've got a half dozen half-baked posts in the draft-oven right now. How can I get anything done when chasing this toddler around? (see right - seriously, when did she get so big?)

For now I'll tell you about my decision to start a separate review blog called motherbumper's laboratory [insert maniacal laugh here - bwah-ha-ha!]. I've always liked research and testing things out. And I like sharing my opinion on products I try so I thought I'd set something different from my personal posts up. Here at motherbumper, I just get all opinionated about everything, not just the tangible.

I've moved my completed reviews over and there will be some interesting products being reviewed in the next week so check it out sometime (pretty please and thank you). And since I'm already talking about reviews - my latest review, The 24-Hour Pharmacist is right here:

When I was invited by the Parent Bloggers Network to review The 24-Hour Pharmacist by pharmacist and columnist Suzy Cohen, I initially thought this was going to be one of those boring, gimmicky life-style books that set impossible standards for a lazy gal like me.

Seriously, the tag line is "look younger, feel healthier, and save time and money - no doctr required!". Sounds good to me, so what's the catch?

[click here to continue reading]

Get a Hobby!

Before I had a family, I was a hobby-aholic (hobbiaholic?). I had a (not-so) secret Martha Stewart addiction to things like paper-mache, pottery, decoupage, and homemade Christmas ornament. For gifts, I would create fabric-covered boxes or personalized gift-wrap with matching gift cards, and I really thought my customized picture frames were the cat’s meow (if you received one and didn’t like it, don’t tell me, I’ll be crushed). I took classes in subjects like life drawing (OMG naked old men models with wrinkles everywhere and I mean everywhere), belly dancing, and Ukrainian egg decorating.

In recent years, time has not been on my side. I haven’t abandoned all my creative skills – I've made some fun toys and personalized books for Bumper – yet my creative output is nowhere near what it used to be.

This is about to change because I’ve got a new inspiration.

The Parent Blogger Network asked me to review the book “Get a Hobby!”. The book is a collection of “101 All-Consuming Diversions for Any Lifestyle” aka hobbies. Practicing a hobby is a great method for relaxation, which promotes good health. This fact is supported in studies outlined in the book forward written by the neurologist, Dr. Miguel Figueroa. Heck, I had no idea my hobby addiction is good for my health (so why did I bother to quit smoking?).

The book is set-up reference style. Each hobby chapter includes what you will need to get started, resources (eg. books and websites), overview, history, how to get started, and where applicable - a starter project.

When I cracked the book open I reviewed the list of hobbies and plucked out a few that I already experienced (decoupage and journaling & blogging), a few that I was interested in trying (deejaying and scrap booking), and a few that I like to try when I am retired or if I win the lottery (storm chasing and urban animal husbandry).

I found the chapters about hobbies I had already tried included good information but were not overly detailed. The minimal detail is actually a good thing because otherwise the book would be huge! Each chapter contains a good amount of information to get started or create interest. For instance, I like the decoupage project of jazzing up an old coffee table and the blogging chapter has a good list of resources for getting started.

I was happy to learn some interesting tips for hobbies I wanted to try. I always wondered what are the basic tricks for deejaying. The chapter clearly outlined the steps in the “getting started” portion. Unfortunately I couldn’t try it out because of the limitations of my sound equipment but first chance, I have a playlist planned and I hope to be the queen of the DJ booth at the next rave I attend.

Moving on to the chapter on scrap booking, I was pleased to find this hobby is easy for me to do. I am now creating a place for all those ticket stubs, keepsakes and doodads I have collected from events, concerts, weddings and personal milestones. No more crappy looking shoe boxes filled with “stuff”. I will soon be able to pull out scrapbooks and torture all my guests with a multitude of acid-free trips, I mean pages, down memory lane. Consider this a warning if you are ever a guest in my home.

Now I know I’ve said this somewhere in my archives (probably in a meme) that I would be a storm chaser if I could be any profession in the world. So I was tickled pink when I read that this is a considered a hobby (as opposed to pure insanity). The resources and history are interesting but I’m not sure if this would actually qualify as a relaxing hobby.

As for urban animal husbandry – I totally missed the word animal in the description and was confused for the first few paragraphs. I mean, I understand why you’d need a cage for husbands but the special food?

All kidding aside, the book is a good starting point if you are looking for a new hobby. There is a short (and humorous) quiz to get you started and each of the chapters has keywords in the header describing the “hobby personality”. In applicable chapters there are “if you like this hobby, you might enjoy:” cross-references.

Tina Barseghian created this book to inspire readers to rediscover the “unconstrained, pleasure-seeking state of mind” from childhood, before work and other responsibilities got in the way. It’s meant to be fun and “ inspire you to make the most of the rarest of all luxuries – your free time”. And seriously, if having a hobby is good for your health – bring it on!

Go here or here and leave a comment to be entered to win a copy of the book and a $100 gift card from Michael's Arts and Crafts. It's a great way to start a hobby addiction ;)

wanna date [square]? mais oui!

Three things pop into mind when someone mentions school cafeterias: poutine, date squares, and chocolate milk.

Poutine was an absolutely forbidden food in my childhood home. One of the only time I got to eat them was in the only place where I picked the food - in the cafeteria.

I still to this day love poutine but it's hard to justify those perfectly golden, deep fried, smoothered in gravy french fries with just the right amount of cheese curd (what can I say, I'm Canadian and I attended French Immersion where poutine is mandatory on the menu ).

My mother would faint if she knew how many times I indulged in the forbidden food. I'm actually drooling thinking about it right now, and I'm risking electrocution via the drool puddle forming on my keyboard.

Because one cannot live on poutine alone (why I'm not sure but I'm sure it has been medically proven) I needed something else to balance my other wise scurvy-inducing diet. The answer came in the form of date squares. Delicious and I do believe nutritious, these kept me from rickets and other evil vitamin-deficient ailments.

Oats, brown sugar, and dates - how can it be bad? My Dad and I share this love and it has been passed on to Bumper. When she was sick back in the Spring, the only thing she ate for a few days was luscious date squares. So they can't be all bad, right?

Both of these tasty treats would be washed down with a huge carton of chocolate milk and that is how I made it through the afternoon classes at immersion school.

In my childhood home french fries came directly from the devil, chocolate milk was ladened with sin (or was that calories?), and date squares were guilty of dessert by association.

But in the school cafeteria, I could eat that combo (and I did) every day. How I never developed scurvy is beyond me.

This Motherbumper childhood memory is part of The Parent Bloggers Network Blog Blast "Tales From the School Cafeteria".

Check out School Menu and its parental counterpart Family Everyday, two sites that work together with School Food Services Directors to provide and promote healthy eating and physical fitness for kids and their parents.

Now I must go find some poutine. Don't tell my mom, 'k?

Even June Cleaver Would Forget The Juicebox

When I was pregnant, I read only one book aimed specifically at parenting. The main purpose of that book, Becoming the Parent You Want To Be, was to start a dialogue between SB and myself about our parenting style in relation to discipline, religion, how to talk to Bumper about the serious stuff, and other important childhood issues. I thought that this book would cover all the subjects that I needed to know to be a mom. Easy-peasy, right?

I did read multiple baby books so I could deal with the everyday “what-the-heck-is-happening with my precious child” sort of things but I slowly came to realize that there always seemed to be a subtle or not-so-subtle parent guilt message in the text. I think the one that kicked me hardest in the guilty-mom-o-meter was a famous sleep-advice book that told me that children who had sleep schedules that solely accommodated the parent’s lifestyle end up stupid and working at dead-end jobs for a lifetime. I took this one right to heart.

While I do agree that keeping little Johnny up all day so Mom can go socialize, shop, or eat bon-bons while watching soaps is bad form, I really took this advice to the extreme. I freaked out every single time I kept Bumper up five minutes late or OMG I missed the naptime window of opportunity because I wanted to eat, go pee or do something else equally as selfish. I was a total freak about the elusive sleep and I was thoroughly convinced it was all my doing that Bumper couldn’t get a good night’s sleep.

In addition to my failure to have Bumper sleep properly and the fact that I was screwing up her chances of being a productive member of society, I also felt the need to have every possible baby educational product available (thankfully my wallet did not agree with these urges). I constantly checked and rechecked the baby-milestone charts and tried to figure out what I was doing to prevent her from reaching every single one of the checkpoints. Sure, I tried to act all cool on the outside but inside I was a mess.

I didn’t try to compare myself to other moms and I tried not to have negative thoughts about my parenting skills but I heard the voices in my head and they weren’t very nice. I really thought I was going to be the perfect mom and I tried everything in my power to attain my goal. I really thought I was going to love every single minute of being a parent. But it was not to be. And this made me feel terrible.

If it hadn’t have been my discovery of parenting blogs I would probably be in worse shape but thankfully, I found some like-minded moms who felt the same way which made it easier for me to cope with my guilt. But despite this, one thing that I really needed was how to change and banish this mom-guilt way of thinking.

Dr. Anne Dunnewold’s Even June Cleaver Would Forget The Juice Box addresses just that: a new paradigm and solution for this age of extreme parenting. Extreme parenting, according to Dr. Dunnewold, is basically “parents pushing to control their children's lives to perfect ends”.

Of course a parent wants to protect and never have their child experience failure, rejection, and pain but children need to know how to deal with these realities. I cannot get over some of the examples in the book of parents who take this level of protection to the extreme. I could quote many of the examples but those stories alone are worth the read.

Many parts of this book made me smack my forehead and say “OMG – I understand what she is saying and how it applies to me.” What I love most about this book is how Dr. Dunnewold not only identifies the problem but outlines strategies for a solution and how to share it.

The chapters contain mantras to help moms remember the new way of thinking. There are exercises that challenge you to reveal to yourself how you think. Dr. Dunnewold lists stumbling blocks that moms may encounter when trying to change thinking or behavior and how to deal with these hurdles.

Parts that really spoke to me were Illogical Thinking (I am the queen of illogical thinking but that is changing), Types of Moms (gone is Ms. Extreme and hello Perfectly Good Mom!), and Safety in Numbers – No More Mommy Wars (we’re in this together and I’m here to help).

Dr. Dunnewold based this book on research and writings from many different sources all outlined in the extensive appendices and index. Appendix Two is a fantastic collection of the “Perfectly Good Mother Mantras” which she suggests can be in your wallet, daytimer, on your dashboard, or refrigerator. These can help you stay focused on your new and, more importantly, attainable goal of being a perfectly good mom.

The mantras that I’m now applying to my life are: “Look what I accomplished today” and “It’s no big deal”. Sound easy? Well not as easy as you think.

After reading this book I can honestly say that I do feel like a perfectly good mother and the quest to be a perfect mother is not one that I want for my friends or myself. We all need to work together and stop this need for perfection.

And how can I not like a book that quotes Stephen Colbert? You know truthiness doesn’t just apply to politicians; it applies to all extreme parents on that doomed quest to be perfect.

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This review is part of the Parent Blogger Network coverage on Dr. Dunnewold's book Even June Cleaver Would Forget The Juicebox, you can read more review here.

The Dangerous Book for Boys

Up until my early twenties I spent a week each summer at my Grandmother's home, about an eight hour drive away from the city where I grew up. I loved her house so much. Sometimes it makes me sad to think that Bumper won't get to hang out in that beautiful home, in that beautiful town, surrounded by my Dad's boyhood possessions.

Yet I'm pretty sure that due to a dominate family gene that dictates we are all pack-rats, Bumper will probably be able to feel the same way about going to her Grandparent's home and catching glimpses of my childhood.

Each year on the drive up to Nanny's, I'd plan my days and what I was going to accomplish. The house was filled with wonderful treasures that included old photos, clothing and tin toys and regardless of my age I always had something to look forward to doing. Almost every night we were there, I would settle down with one of my Dad's books that were kept under the stairs in a glass front bookcase, never tiring of the boy's-life theme from the 1930's and 40's. Adventure stories, survival tips and practical reference guides for Boy Scouts and young mechanics were the common themes.

The book I was asked to review by the Parent Bloggers Network reminded me of many of those books from my Dad's childhood all rolled up into one great package. The Dangerous Book for Boys is a fantastic reference of things for not only boys, but for anyone who likes how-to instructions, projects, survival tips, facts, and trivia -- to name just a few of the topics covered.

The book is organized along the lines of a reference book but is also mixed with short stories which are all meant to teach the reader various valuable lessons. Just think how useful it is to know how to tie the five most essential knots, basic first aid, and the rules of poker (this being completely useful for me because before reading this chapter I had to write down what card beat what and keep it on my lap which makes bluffing even more difficult than it already is for a spaz like me).

The writing is done for a young male audience but the book is useful to all. But because it is the "Book for Boys" it also includes a chapter simply titled "Girls". That was one of the first chapters I read and it started out well. I was impressed with how the first point of advice started: "It is important to listen." But then it confused me with the fourth point which instructs boys not to put their name on Valentine's Day cards in order to create mystery, and then it made me laugh out loud in point number seven which instructs on how to offer a girl help.

The book also includes "stories of courage"* like Scott of the Antarctic, a story that makes history read like a classic adventure tale. The author included these kinds of stories because they are"examples of extraordinary acts by ordinary people" that can be seen as inspirational or just appreciated for the exciting adventure.

The projects are classic, like how to marble paper or build a workbench but the steps are modern (suggesting computer grade paper) and sensible (you should start a first time carpentry project using pine since mistakes are cheaper) .

There are chapters dedicated to good, solid, basic facts like grammar rules and interesting and obscure facts like the Navajo Code Talker's dictionary. Imagine all the trivia games to be dominated and bar bets to be won after reading chapters like "Famous Battles", "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World", and "The Patron Saints of Britain".

When I read the forward, I immediately liked the authors' intention for creating this book. It starts:

"In this age of video games and cell phones, there must still be a place for knots, tree houses, sad stories of incredible courage. The one thing that we always say about childhood is that we seemed to have more time back then. This book will help you recapture those Sunday afternoons and long summers - because they're still long if you know how to look at them."*

I remember those summers, and I would love to recapture some of those hot and humid days spent in the shade with a good book. I wasn't disappointed and found the book fun to read. It also is a useful book to have around just for some of the tips and projects.

It makes me feel more confident knowing that I have facts on hand like how urine can be used to make invisible ink -- we all know that could be useful one day! Or maybe I just watch too much TV?

If you want to read more reviews about this book go check out what they are saying over at PBN and enter their contest to win a great prize. Readers who leave a comment on the PBN launch or mid-campaign post will be entered to win a two-man tent from The North Face. A super cool prize for boys and girls of all ages.

Baby IQ DVD: The World Around Us

The Parent Blogger Network asked me to review a DVD for the baby toddler set. Honestly, I’m skeptical of television programs aimed at babies but I do know that there are a few good ones out there.

I’m glad to say this is one of those good ones.

Baby IQ’s “The World Around Us” is a keeper for a few good reasons:

• It has high quality, delightful images mixed with fantastic puppetry
• Beautiful classic music pieces preformed by the London Symphony Orchestra
• Educational themes that aren’t overbearing for each segment - colors, animals, counting, seasons, shapes, patterns, and movement

The World Around Us was produced in association with the UK’s National Literacy Trust campaign “Talk To Your Baby”. This campaign encourages parents to talk and share experiences with their children during the critical foundation years from birth to three. Conversation between adult and baby “helps them become good communicators, which is essential if they are to do well at school and lead happy, fulfilled and successful lives.” Makes sense to me.

Even though she is a toddler, I still need some inspiration and encouragement on those long rainy or sick days with Bumper. I can only describe what I’m doing so many times before I want to run away from myself.

When I first became a parent I was shocked how difficult I found the one-sided “conversations” between us, yet I understood the importance of talking to her. It is difficult to talk to someone who is non-responsive and I could have used something inspirational like this.

Baby IQ’s “The World Around Us” made Bumper point, laugh, and babble right off the bat. The blasts of colour in the first sequence always get her talking. It is very relaxing to watch and I found it easy to talk about with B.

The images are perfectly set to the music, which is preformed flawlessly by LSO. I was impressed that instead of having the movement in the images dictate the rhythm, the images move to the music like a well-choreographed dance. The puppets are cute and incredibly expressive (for puppets) and Bumper always yells “OHHH” each time the orangutan or owl appears on the screen.

In my opinion, Baby IQ’s The World Around Us DVD fulfills what it sets out to do; it is engaging, visually appealing and inspires conversation between adult and child. I like this quote from Baby IQ:

"We can't promise to make babies brighter, but we will make them smile."

And it’s true.

Running time: approximately 35 minutes

Boca Beth... bringing Spanish to life!

Several weeks ago, The Parent Blogger Network asked me if my family and I would like to review a children's language learning program. I've always felt that Bumper should learn at least one more language; it would benefit her education and employment opportunities and it would help her order drinks in all the fun countries. So when the opportunity to learn some Spanish presented itself, I jumped at the chance.

For the past few weeks, we have watched and listened to a children's series called the BOCA BETH Program. BOCA BETH is designed to help give babies and young children a head start in learning Spanish through fun activities and music.

I couldn't have better timed another children's DVD/CD review myself. The past month has brought the Bump family many, many sick days, which means we have watched many, many children's programs and videos.

The package we received from BOCA BETH included the musical CD My First Songs In Spanish, the DVD I Like Animals, a Boca Beth Coloring and Activity Book, a Boca puppet and a maraca. Bumper immediately took a shine to the maraca and the puppet made her laugh.

I like the content in the activity book. Simple drawings with the identifying word(s) in Spanish and English make up most of the book and there is a handy pronunciation guide in the back. In addition to the coloring book portion, it also includes a few games and puzzles for older children. Bumper, at 18 months, is too young to use this type of material but it will probably come in handy down the road. Letting her loose with crayons is very scary in a home-decorating kind of way.

We watched the DVD "I Like Animals" together. The DVD incorporates the usual method for bilingual vocabulary learning: hearing and seeing the words coupled with corresponding images to reinforce the new language. The vocabulary portions are coupled with children enthusiastically singing and dancing to songs.

Bumper responded with claps and laughs to certain parts of the DVD. She really loves the songs with children singing and dancing. She hasn't been overly interested in the voice-over parts where the Boca puppet talks about the animals in Spanish and English or the classroom session but each time a song starts up, her attention is focused on the TV.

I'm happy that the menu offers a song feature so we don't have to watch the entire show each time. It would have been nice to have a menu feature that allowed for all the songs to be played back-to-back instead of having to return to the menu at the end of each song.

After watching just the DVD for a few days, we started to listen to the CD. I prefer the CD to the DVD because Bumper is more active when listening to the CD songs. We dance, sing, and yell out loud to the songs (this really helped me learn the Spanish words). All the songs are set to familiar tunes and the lyrics are available on the product site. I can't say that I love listening to all the songs but they were all easy to learn which is important. The other important aspect is that Bumper likes the songs.

From using the CD and DVD for a few weeks, I've learned more than a few Spanish words. Most are basic words like counting to ten, colors, the days of the week, familiar greetings and manners. Knowing these words will make it easy to reinforce them with Bumper during our daily routine. In addition to the new vocabulary, I also have some songs stuck in my head that I'd like to forget but it's the price I've paid to know the difference between aquí and allí.

Bumper loves the songs and is interested in watching the children on the DVD. The all important "parroting" of words happened during songs. Her favorite words to repeat have been aquí (here), allí (there), and si (do I really need to translate that one?).

I'll say that parts of the program are an acquired taste but it's a taste that Bumper has definitely acquired and that is what is important to me.

All of these products can be found on the BOCA BETH official website and the CD and DVD can also be found on Amazon.com.

Your Baby Can Read!

Reading is something both my husband and I love to do in our down time. Each of us is a ravenous bookworm and some of the first items we purchased when we found out we were expecting included a pile of children’s books. I often dream about the day when Bumper and I can cuddle up together with that pile of books and take turns reading stories to each other.

I firmly believe that early reading skills instill confidence, inspire the imagination, and provide the building blocks for a child's success. Who wouldn't want their child to read before hitting the school grade years? So when the Parent Blogger Network put out a call to review the DVD series "Your Baby Can Read!" we volunteered to try it out. We received the first two DVDs in the series, the Starter video and Volume one, in addition to the five Learn to Read Word Cards plus one Wipe-Clean card with erasable pen.

While skeptical of a DVD’s ability to teach Bumper to read, curiosity overrode our hesitation. As parents, we severely limit Bumper's TV exposure, reserving it for times of illness or absolute desperation. Since she has shown little interest in watching any program for longer than 10 minutes, I wasn't sure how we would make it through the Starter DVD (22 minutes). At first Bumper would humour us with about nine minutes of viewing but by the third sitting, she was watching the entire video. And dancing along with the music. And OMG! She is pointing to her nose, eyes, ears, and head. Well I'll be damned.

But was she reading the words or imitating the actors? It definitely was imitation but it was a great start. We've been trying to teach her body parts for a while and apparently watching others reinforced our attempts.

Dr. Titzer, creator of the Your Baby Can Read program, believes that babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers can achieve a strong reading skill foundation by practicing "multi-sensory" reading as demonstrated in this DVD series. Multi-sensory reading means the child sees, hears, and performs the physical action (when applicable) of the word. For example, the child is shown the word "clap", hears it pronounced multiple times, and then sees the action the word symbolizes - all while being encouraged to do the action for his or herself.

As instructed, I watched the video with Bumper and danced along to the familiar "Head and shoulders" and "If you're happy" songs. I also spent time repeating the words as shown on the screen and encouraged Bumper to repeat what she heard. It was fun and I noticed how much Bumper loved seeing the other children and babies on the screen. The voice-overs switched between adult and children and the variety of voices captured B's attention. More than once I heard her perfectly pronounce words like "hippopotamus" and "bucket".

I initially wondered about the word selections - the Starter Volume includes 22 and Volume One includes over 50 - but I quickly realized when I opened many of Bumper's books that many of the same words were featured prominently. The vocabulary includes animals, body parts, and common actions (for example: hi, wave, and kick). For older children, interesting facts are stated with some of the words, like how many species of monkeys exist and how to tell the difference between Asian and African elephants.

I was able to reinforce much of the vocabulary with little effort. The introduction recommends visiting the local library and getting a variety of books (something we already do) and pointing to the words while reading (an excellent idea - it reinforces the association between the written word and reading).

In addition to the DVDs, the program includes pullout word cards that display the words to help with reinforcement. Each card displays a word, and then you pull a tab to reveal a corresponding photo. At first Bumper just liked to grab at the cards but eventually she wanted to see what picture Mommy would reveal.


We found the program fun and it quickly became a part of our morning routine. For active play in the afternoon, the songs and poems provide great entertainment and active participation for Bumper.

What I liked best about the program:

• Segments had babies and children only - no adults or commercial characters. I love that Dr. Titzer discourages other TV watching and there is no cross marketing of characters.
• Gentle voice-overs and a variety of images to reinforce the words were pleasant and kept B’s interest.
• Good mixture and timing of songs, poems and word display.
• Simple and clean production values. The volumes are not too flashy and had a refreshing homemade family quality.
• The word cards included a write-on/wipe-off card and pen for personalized words.
• The Kids Club option on the Main Menu of each DVD allows you to jump right to the poems and songs. This was great when B had already watched the video but wanted some more songs and dancing.
• The Parents options on the Main Menu includes very interesting information about Dr. Titzer's research and helpful hints for parents using the system

Things that could be improved:

• Word games at the end of Volume One moved too quickly. Perhaps recommending the parent to pause on the word display to give a child a chance to select the right answer would be helpful.
• It recommends that you make your child look at the words on the screen, not just the actions and this was a request that I found nearly impossible to do. Bumper tended to maintain eye-contact with the screen when there was activity and demonstration but stand-alone word display with the reading arrow did not engage her and I found it impossible to encourage. Perhaps that will come with time.

Since we started watching weeks ago, Bumper now "asks" for it each morning and sometimes "demands" it during the day. I've created a Your Baby Can Read monster.

So did my 17 month old learn to read in the time we had for the review? No. Do I think she could learn from watching these DVDs? Yes. I am going to keep watching them with her because it's fun. And learning should be fun.