High Maintenance Mom

This spring highmaintenancemom.com and Good Manners Kids' Stuff Press is teaming up again and giving away It's Time for Good Manners! by Leslie Susskind. I am a huge advocate for good manners for people of all ages. But I specifically love to see them in children. My two year old son is a very typical boy, active, strong willed and smart. He has learned to use his utensils, sit at the dinner or restaurant table and make conversation with his sister and Mom and Dad and he clears his plate and cup after asking to be excused. My daughter learned these manners at a similar age too....more

Barefoot Books are favorites among parents all over the world and for good reason. They draw kids in with their amazing illustrations, captivating stories and universal themes of love, respect for the Earth and diversity. I liked that they are not the very typical princess stories that have flooded the children's book market. I like that most of them are gender neutral so both of my kids can relate to whatever I buy. Recently a friend suggested two books in particular, My Daddy is a Pretzel by Baron Baptiste and We All Go Traveling By by Sheena Roberts. Both available through www.thebarefootbeach.com....(more)

This winter highmaintenancemom.com and Good Manners Kids' Stuff Press is giving away The Kids' (and parents', too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship: An easy-to-read guide for families , by Leslie A. Susskind. Now that my kids are getting out of parallel play and the oldest even into organized sports, it is time to talk about being a good sport. I first realized it needed to be addresses when my oldest was playing a board game with another friend and got very sad when the friend won. I was giving the friend high fives and big smiles but not my daughter. We talked about it (how does it feel when you win, how must it feel when your friends win, you love your friends, etc) and it sunk in well. I told my husband and he jumped on the good sportsmanship bandwagon too....(more)

I watched the season 40 show highlights at http://www.pbs.org/parents/sesame/about_ss_season40video.html and laughed the entire time. It's really worth a look. Celebrities continue to make special guests appearance with relevant topics that kids of all ages can relate to. Sesame Street and I were both babies when I started my love affair with Aloysius Snuffleupagus or snuffy as most of us call him. Now I have 2 small children of my own and they love Elmo and Abby! I also came across Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street in my online readings and thought it looked like a great book for Sesame Street fans. Mostly, I just like that I can trust the show to be educational and funny. It (along with PBS as a whole) is a sure thing and nowadays...that's a big deal.

I love positive books especially for my kids. I was very happy to find this one, I Can Do Anything! (Can Do Kid) by The Luster Family and illustrated by Tina Sedonne. My daughter, 4, took to it right away and even my 2 year old son reached for it at bed time. The message is simple, I can have fun, I can love my pet and I can be a good friend, I can!...

With two kids of different ages and skill sets, I was having trouble finding games/activities I could play with both kids at the same time. I went online and found The Siblings Busy Book-200 fun activities for kids of different ages by sisters Lisa Hanson & Heather Kempskie. I read the book and tried many of the activities with my own kids. I love the section Rainy Day fun and found all of the suggestions helpful. I contacted Meadowbrook Press (www.meadowbrookpress.com) and they helped me set up an interview with the authors...

HMM's Book of the Month for July (yes, this is a new feature) is Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys . I completely agree with The Washington Post who on the cover of the paperback version writes, ..."required reading for anyone raising a boy....".

There are so many pregnancy books on the market that a Mother to be can easily become overwhelmed with her choices. I was handed the obligatory What to Expect When You Are Expecting and was soon after told to dump it in the trash. I was warned that it was outdated and overly dramatic.

A friend turned me and my daughter on to the books Ladybug Girl and Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy by Jacky David and David Soman. The illustrations alone with keep you coming back if your child doesn't already. The stories are very simple yet strike a cord with kids from toddlerhood through preschool age. Ladybug Girl is an independent little girl who likes to dress up as a lady bug helping fellow bugs, playing with her friends, discovering her back yard and reminding everyone that Ladybug girl can take on the world. I recommend both books, specifically for girls ages 2-5 years old.

April 22nd is Earth Day 2009! As each year passes I get more and more into celebrating Mother Earth and now that I have children, that makes it even more fun. That being said, I would like to make respecting the earth party of our daily activities. I have been recycling since I was in grade school so that is second nature to us and many of you too, I suspect. We have gone all non toxic in the home and garden and watch labels very carefully for food and bathroom products. My plan is to get my kids eco friendly very young so it is part of their life. I found many resources online that can help you all do the same. www.earthday.net and www.earthday.gov are great places to start. I also found some books that embrace the eco friendly lifestyle; Green Start: In the Garden is a very cute little book for young children. I also liked 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World. It has easy to remember tips kids can relate to and do with their family. And of course, The Lorax (Classic Seuss) . He understood the importance of saving the environment before it became trendy. And finally, a big hit around our house, Dora Celebrates Earth Day!: Little Green Nickelodeon (Dora the Explorer). Think about what you and your family can do, however small, to help preserve Mother Earth. You can make it fun and not a chore easily and you and your kids will feel better knowing you helped make the earth better for future generations. Happy Earth Day!