Gearhead Mom

Fun Winter Pop Up Book

The folks over at Simon and Schuster sent me some books to review. The first one I am tackling is Snow Bugs, A Wintery Pop-up Book by David A. Carter. Now this was my first introduction to Carter’s hugely popular Bugs. He has written about a cagillion books about these little critters, celebrating Hanukkah, Halloween, jingling, peeking, you name it. 

GHM Gift List: Elf on the Shelf

OK so a lot of my friends on Facebook are talking about Elf on the Shelf. Do you have it? Have you read it? I think I have to get it. From their site:

The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition

How does Santa REALLY know who’s been naughty or who’s been nice?

After much urging by the elves and Mrs. Claus, Santa has allowed his biggest secret to be revealed in the book, The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition®. Santa has partnered each book with a magical scout elf which children name. They can then visit the North Pole (elfontheshelf.com) to register their elf’s name in our Hall of Registry and print their official elf adoption certificate. All Santa approved, of course!

Gift set includes:
A North Pole scout elf, a hard-bound children`s book and a keepsake box.
Available in your choice of light or dark skin tones.

Apparently all of my friends have been using the Elf as a spy as well. Now Santa will really know who is putting salt in the sugar bowl!
Buy via Amazon here.

Edward Cullen

I stayed up far too late last night with Edward Cullen to write anything interesting about kid gear. I think I’m in love with a vampire.

Fairies, Fairies EVERYWHERE

Ed. Note: And here we have the fourth installment from sister-ville. Thanks again, G - you can write here anytime!

It started with Ruby the Red Fairy.  A simple little book, cute little fairy girl on the front cover, bright colors (I’m a sucker for bright book covers).  My daughter brought it home in kindergarten as an introductory chapter reader.  I was proud.  She was proud.  She read it aloud to me.  We both enjoyed the adventures of Rachel and Kirsty as they raced to help fairy Ruby find her way back to her magical fairy world.

Then the next book came home.  Ruby’s rainbow sister Amber the Orange Fairy had to be rescued. Then came Sunny the Yellow Fairy (this book was evidently published under two different titles…some libraries have it as Saffron the Yellow Fairy), then Fern the Green Fairy and on and on and on and on.

The Counter-Princess-Propaganda Product Program

In celebration of GHM being on the internet waves for just over a year now, we’re reposting some of our favorite reviews. Here’s one of my faves from Jenny. Enjoy (again)!

Editor’s Note: I’d like to introduce the first guest reviewer to the site, my best friend from fifth grade, Jenny. Jenny is an educator and a mom of two girls. Without further adieu, I give you Jenny’s Counter-Princess-Propaganda Product Program.

I am hard-pressed to find a three or four-year-old girl who hasn’t succumbed to Disney Princess madness and whose parents can’t be overheard mumbling “That’s it!  I am calling a moratorium on princess paraphernalia…” as his/her daughter opens the third birthday gift…“Oh, great!  It’s Barbie Swan Princess.”  These are the same parents who painted their daughter’s bedroom in gender-neutral hues and dressed her in overalls, to no avail:  she will only wear dresses (like my daughter—even skirts are suspiciously un-princess-like). 

The Disney Princess Phenomenon is more insidious than carbon monoxide, more silent, more deadly (well, silent in the early stages, anyway…beware the shrill tones, for example, of Disney Princess CD Player).

Nevertheless, folks, my message is two-fold: 
1) give in, to a certain extent, and allow your little girl to express herself, as some of this is natural, and
2) be just as insidious as Disney (and Mattell) and fight ingeniously against the hegemony of the princesses-rule-my-daughter’s-very-existence-syndrome. Try, at least. 

The Parent Trip. What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been

Jenna McCarthy is one funny mother. (No, not Jenny McCarthy, although I suppose she is funny, too.) Jenna McCarthy started her writing career in New York for the glamorous Seventeen magazine. Dude. Back in the day, I soooo wanted to work at that magazine. My inner teenager was a wee bit jealous as I read McCarthy’s bio. Anyway, McCarthy’s bicoastal career eventually led her to Santa Barbara where she became a radio talent, a mother of two, and a very, very funny writer of the book The Parent Trip: From High Heels and Parties to Highchairs and Potties.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a huge fan of parenting books; I have an entire bookshelf dedicated to them and they pretty much all make me feel inadequate. Not so with The Parent Trip. It’s more like reading the diary of one of your more humorous friends - a diary that spans pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and the first year of parenting. McCarthy touches on the highs and lows of pregnancy, labor, navigating the evils of a new mom’s group, breastfeeding, toys, the first vacation, you get my drift. All that crap we never thought we’d spend dozens of hours agonizing about as new mothers.

Time for Kindergarten, Baby

My two-year-old daughter has joined her elder sister at the local preschool this month.  It’s our soon-to-be-kindergartener’s last weeks of preschool and she’s been able to help her little sister with the transition into her old school before she moves on.  Today is their last day in school together.  Last day in the same class.  Probably forever.  Unless they take the same elective in high school. 

Parenting by Allegory Part 2: Papa Bear, Preach

My almost five year old daughter recently went through a period of morbid fascination with the notion of strangers and kidnapping (presently she’s afraid of smokers—we’re handling that delicately). Our conversations and her nagging fears concerned me enough that I mentioned them to a coworker with a daughter the same age.  “Oh yeah, ” he nodded, “our daughter just went through that, too—it’s a fine balance between helping them be safe and not making them paranoid.”  Indeed. 

Parenting by Allegory Part 1:  How Do Dinosaurs Raise Their Children?

I recall first complaining to my brother about Bedtime Woes with our first daughter (now almost five years old), oh, probably three years ago. He wasted no time offering their copy of How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? as a part of a many-pronged assault on our toddler’s sleep issues. Three years later, that book has proven useful every couple of months or so, when Bedtime Woes revisit. And anyone who has parented more than, say, three years, knows that when you think you’ve conquered one hurdle, it’s bound to come back in another form. One bedtime problem (child won’t stay in bed) is easily supplanted by another (night terrors). 

Big Sibling Gift - Books!

Welcome to Big Sibling Week.

I’m mighty curious as to how Sy is going to react to having a new baby in the house. Jenny and I were discussing tactics to help the eldest cope. Nothing says coping like a new present, right? We both think it’s nice to give the big sibling a gift, not the wee one, since really, the baby doesn’t need a whole heck of a lot, do they? I think books are always superb gifts; they don’t make noise, they are easy to pack and you usually learn something. Not only that, but you can breastfeed your newborn while reading to your older child. Two birds with one stone, my friends.

When I told my pal AJ I was going to have another baby, she immediately sent us, “I’m a Big Sister,” by Joanna Cole and Maxi Chambliss, published by Harper Collins. They also have a boy version, I’m a Big Brother with similar verbiage, just a different gender.

The First Adventures of Incredible Sy

Do you remember just loving ANYthing that was personalized when you were little? I’d comb those little racks at tourist shops for iron-on patches or bicycle-sized license plates with my name. Missy just wasn’t that popular in the 70s, so I usually came up empty handed. So I was pretty stoked when I ordered Sy’s first Just For Her book, The First Adventures of Incredible You, written by Sarah Riley Hendrick and Sarah Foreman Rivers. Illustrated by Jill Dryer Bartolucci. Sarah and Sarah were mom-friends first and now business partners. Go Moms. Go!

The First Adventures of Incredible You is a completely personalized storybook surrounding childhood memories. There’s also a cool dedication page to remind your child how much they are loved. In addition to the child’s name and birth date, some meaningful things you can include in these custom children’s books are the child’s favorite sports team, neighborhood street, nearby park, favorite food (banana bread, of course), vacation spot, local Zoo, siblings/friends, grandparents, and pet. We don’t have a pet, so I put Sy’s lovie’s name instead. She loves that page the most. I love the pages with her grandmas included. I know they’ll feel extra cool when they read it to her. The pictures are brightly colored and inviting. Sy enjoys looking at her zoo page a LOT.

GHM Mother’s Day Giveaway of the Day: Brain, Child Magazine

Congratulations to winner Aine!

Thank you so much for being a part of our first Giveaway Week. It’s been a lot of fun. I’d like to thank all of the wonderful companies who have contributed prizes. It’s a kick in the pants to get to spoil our readers with some of our most appreciated gear.

Our final Giveaway is one of our favorites! A year’s subscription to Brain, Child magazine. This Giveaway is now closed. Thanks for entering!

GHM Mother’s Day Giveaway of the Day: Raising Baby Green

Welcome to Day 4 of the GHM Mother’s Day Giveaways featuring a copy of Raising Baby Green compliments of Wiley Press.

This contest is now closed. Thanks for entering! Congrats to winner Sally!
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Today’s Giveaway helps you get your green on! I’ve also posted about this book before.

Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Care (Jossey-Bass/Wiley; 2007; $16.95) is the most comprehensive, up-to-date guide for parents on how to raise happy babies “green,” that is, in a manner that is healthy for them and also for the earth.

The Rookie Mom’s Handbook

The Rookie Mom’s Handbook has arrived on the shelves.

I’ll start this review by saying that I’ve been given (and purchased) plenty of “new mom” type books. I flipped through them, smirked, and then put them in the “to sell” pile. Not so with the latest offering from the Rookie Moms. I wish I’d known about their site when Sy was born. It would have given me a LOT of new ideas and ways to keep the crazies at bay. So with another kid on the way, I am determined to actually implement some of their great ideas.

Information Please - Baby 411 Answers The Call

Ed. Note: Thanks to my pal Ashli, mother to her fabulous one year old, for writing her first GHM review today!
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I received “Baby 411” as a gift from a friend of my mothers. “It’s written by a local doctor,” she told me, and visions of would-be-Dr. Spocks danced in my head. I took one look at the cover (the version I have is a bit tacky) and thought, I don’t need another baby book. But eventually I cracked it open and like a frog turning into a prince, this has become my favorite book for that first year. 

Written by Dr. Ari Brown and Denise Fields, the book offers a mixture of good practical daily baby rearing advice and medical knowledge. It tackles all those questions that no one else really seems to know the answers to (it was the only book I found that broke down - by ounce - how much formula or breast milk a baby takes in each month).