A Summer Affair

A Summer Affair
By Elin Hildebrand

(link for Amazon.com)

Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (July 1, 2008)

List Price: $24.99

Description from the publisher: "Sheila Crispin Cook, mother of four young children and nationally renowned glassblower, bites off more than she can chew when she agrees to co-chair the Nantucket's Children Summer Gala. Sheila is asked to chair the benefit, in part, because she is the former high school sweetheart of rock star Max West. Max agrees to play the gala and it looks like smooth sailing for Sheila-until she promises a "museum-quality" piece of glass for the auction, offers her best friend the catering job, goes nose-to-nose with her Manhattan socialite co-chair, and begins a "good-hearted" affair with the charity's Executive Director, Lockhart Dixon. Hearts break and emotions are pushed to the limit in this riveting story of one woman's attempt to deal with loves past and present, family, business, and high-powered social pressures. Elin Hilderbrand's unique understanding of the joys and longings that animate women's lives will make this her newest summer bestseller."

The Great Escape. That is the kind of book I'm looking for when I'm looking for a good, summer beach read. And A Summer Affair fits the bill perfectly. Short on plot or character development, reading this book requires little thought to get through. But it does not skimp on emotion! I'll be honest, when I read that the main character was going to have an affair, I was ready to absolutely hate her. I've been cheated on and I've seen other good marriages torn apart by a spouse's infidelity. I've seen their spouses, good people, doubt their own self worth after being cheated on. And that? Makes me absolutely, stone cold furious. So I was astonished to find that I did not hate Sheila like I expected to. Granted, I think she made the absolute WORST choice in trying to find some escape of her own from her own life (where she works hard and is unappreciated for her efforts) but I did find myself emphasizing with her plight. Which given my preconceptions, is nothing short of astonishing. Ms. Hilderbrand has crafted a fine novel for summer escapism. I give it 4 out of 5 binkies.

About the Author: Elin Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three young children. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and traveled extensively before settling on Nantucket, which has been the setting for her six previous novels. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa. Read an interview with the author by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Mother Talk

The Pregnancy Journal

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS MELISSA!

The Pregnancy Journal: A Day-to-Day Guide to a Healthy and Happy Pregnancy

by A. Christine Harris

List Price: $19.95

Spiral-bound: 206 pages
Publisher: Chronicle Books; Spi Rev edition (January 20, 2005)
Language: English

Product Description: "Since its publication in 1996, this definitive journal for expectant families has sold over a million copies. Author A. Christine Harris brings a revised and thoroughly updated edition to today s parents-to-be. Still featuring daily entries, a personalized timeline, and pregnancy glossary, the revised edition provides a clearer picture of the baby's in-utero development and the latest advice about giving a growing baby every advantage prior to birth."

When I was pregnant with my first child, I did a lot of research. I wanted to know exactly what was going on with my body and my baby. I remember finding a website that showed how the baby was developing week by week and I printed those pages out and put them in a 3-ring binder so I could read it as the pregnancy developed (I really did!). I read as many books as I could get my hands on and quizzed my doctor endlessly. I wish I this Pregnancy Journal had been around because truly, it looks to be the best book I've ever seen for the type of information I had been craving.

The journal is organized into chapters:

Chapter 1: Personalizing the Pregnancy Journal
Chapters 2 through 10: Lunar Month 1 - 9*
Chapter 11: Full Term Plus
Chapter 12: Labor and Delivery Details (including a few pages to fill in about your new baby and the world around him)
Glossary/Index

*"development is measured in lunar months, not calendar months, which consist of 28 days organized into four weeks of seven days each"

At the beginning of each Lunar Month chapter, there is a page that has "things to do this month" and each day of the journal has some detail about your baby and a separate fact about you and your pregnancy, and sections called "For Your Health", "Did You Know" and "Parenting Tips." At the bottom of each page is a quote from a literary or historical figure - two of my favorites are: "People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one" by Leo J. Burke and "The most important thing a father can do for his children is love their mother" by Theodore Hesburgh (which happens to be on a framed print in my son's room). And I love that the book is spiral bound - seems like that would make it a lot easier to write in. This journal is a must-have for anyone you know who is contemplating pregnancy or just got pregnant (you'll want to have this from the very beginning!)

About the author: A. Christine Harris, Ph.D. is a professor of Psychology at Cosumnes River College, chair of the college's Behavioral Sciences Department, coordinator of the Women's Studies Program, and author of the book Child Development.

Two companion books also sold by Chronicle Books, and written by A. Christine Harris are: Baby's First Year Journal : A Day-To-Day Guide to Your Baby's Development During the First Twelve Months (Spiral-bound) and The Toddler Journal : A Week-By-Week Guide to Your Toddler's Development from Ages 1 to 3 (Spiral-bound).

This amazing journal is available for purchase on the Publisher's Website or at Amazon.com and you can find other reviews of The Pregnancy Journal in Storknet and The New York Times.

**WIN IT!! I'm giving away my brand new copy of this journal because I will not be having any more babies and have no need for it. If you want to win it, leave a comment here telling me who the book will be for if you win it. YOU MUST LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT OR YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. Giveaway is open until midnight, EST, Thursday July 3, 2008. Good luck!**

Mother Talk

The Maternal is Political

The Maternal Is Political: Women Writers at the Intersection of Motherhood and Social Change

Edited by Shari MacDonald Strong

with foreword by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

List Price: $15.95

Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: Seal Press (June 1, 2008)
Language: English

Product Description : "Exploring the vital connection between motherhood and social change, The Maternal Is Political features more than 40 powerful, hard-hitting literary essays by women who are striving to make the world a better place for children and families — both their own and other women’s — in this country and globally. From the mom deconstructing playground "power games" with her first-grade child, to the mother who speaks out against misogyny during an awkward road trip with her college-age daughter and friends, to the mother of sons worrying about the threat of a future military draft, The Maternal Is Political brings together the voices of women who are transforming the political and social: one child, one babysitter, one peace march at a time."

43 essays. 44 writers. 43 different subjects grouped in three categories (Believe, Teach and Act). Beginning with the quote "The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world" (William Ross Wallace) and ending with essayist Valerie Weaver-Zercher's "And when we do rejoin the (social) movement, it is possible that we will agitate and march and advocate from a deeper place...we will act from that cavity our children have hollowed out of us, that place where breath begins," this book will grab you and not let you go.

Essays ranged from Cindy Sheehan’s “Good Riddance, Attention Whore,” written when she "quit" the peace movement, short essays by two well known politicians (Nancy Pelosi and the late Benazir Bhutto); and stories from well known authors Anna Quindlen (I may be her biggest fan - if you've not read Black and Blue, get yourself to the library stat), Tracy Thompson (author of The Ghost in the House - a book I've had on my amazon wish list for a while) and Anne Lamott (Traveling Mercies); work by the cofounders of my favorite magazine Brain, Child (Jennifer Niesslein and Stephanie Wilkinson - must remember to mail in my renewal already!); and other equally talented writers.

I wanted to read this book ever since I heard about it, in its infancy on editor Sharon Macdonald Strong's blog; heck, I wanted to contribute but never did get the courage up to submit anything. Much like many of the writers in this book, I was never particularly "political" until I had children. Then I came into my own as a woman and as a mother. Now the world around me - security, health care (and lack there of), guns, education - became more important to me. Why? To make a better world for my children. For your children. So I started with one important tool in my arsenal - my writing. On The Soccer Mom Vote, I am not silent (though I have been inactive lately - reading this book has underscored for me how important it is for me to get back to writing over there). There I can raise my voice to join with mothers around the world. Mothers like in this book.

On a personal note, I have to say that the essay that resonated the most with me was "The Mean Moms" by Helaine Olen. When she said, "For years I thought it was just me. I'd never done well in cliques before, and motherhood, it appeared, was one vast network of former teenage girls," I literally yelled out loud, "RIGHT ON SISTER." Obviously that struck a chord as I've been dealing with some vicious moms myself lately. Helaine, thank you for giving voice to my angst. Thank you for recognizing how terrible other moms can be to each other and letting me know I am not alone.

So, The Maternal is Political. What's it about? Social change. Making the world safer. Ensuring a brighter future. As author Tracy Thompson wrote in her essay entitled "Rebel Mom:" "Sisterhood is powerful, but baby, motherhood is nuclear." Join in the motherhood and raise your voices high.

About the editor:
Shari MacDonald Strong is a freelance writer who lives in Portland, Oregon. Her essay “On Wanting a Girl” appeared in the Seal Press anthology It's a Girl: Women Writers on Raising Daughters (edited by Andrea J. Buchanan). She writes the “Zen and the Art of Child Maintenance” column about motherhood and spirituality for Literary Mama (http://www.literarymama.com/) and soon will be writing a political column there (also titled “The Maternal Is Political”). She serves as editor of the creative nonfiction department at Literary Mama, writes an ongoing column for Mamazine (http://www.mamazine.com/), and is the organizer for Mother Talk™ events (http://www.mothertalk.org/) in Portland, Oregon. Shari worked as an editor and copywriter in the publishing industry for fifteen years (most recently as a freelance contractor for a division of Random House), and her writing has appeared in a number of publications including Geez magazine (http://www.geezmagazine.org/). She has appeared as a guest blogger at Leslie Morgan Steiner's "On Balance" blog at http://www.washingtonpost.com/, and has blogged at Austin Mama. Shari MacDonald Strong's Website

Mother Talk : this review is excerpted here.

The Working Woman’s Pregnancy Book

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! CONGRATULATIONS CATWOMAN!

The Working Woman's Pregnancy Book

by Marjorie Greenfield
Paperback: 584 pages
Publisher: Yale University Press; 1 edition (May 8, 2008)
List Price: $18.00

When I was pregnant with my first child back in 2002, I was working for a small non-profit company. We did not have enough employees to be covered by FMLA leave law but I was not concerned. Another woman had just had a baby and she saved up her sick and annual leave days and cobbled them together with STD to take 12 weeks off without a problem.

Then, half way through my pregnancy, my wonderful boss left the company, and her replacement (who happened to be a 40-something woman with no children and no plans for children, ever) told me to forget my plans. If I didn't come back to work 6 weeks post-partum, I was fired. It didn't matter I offered to work at home for those last 6 weeks of my 12 weeks off. I had to be physically in the office after 6 weeks. So I had no choice but to resign. And none of the pregnancy books available to me had helped me prepare for this reality. I would have loved to have had The Working Woman's Pregnancy Book at my side.

I'm not saying this book would have magically solved this crisis. But at least I would have been better prepared to face pregnancy, birth and the working mom/mother balancing act. It would have helped me again when I had my second child and ended up working at home the day after I gave birth and struggled to get work done while dealing with a baby with colic! Again, it wouldn't have solved that problem but I would have had some practical advice from a book that actually acknowledges that some women do (and must!) work outside the home.

The Working Woman's Pregnancy Book takes you all the way from pre-conception to post-birth in parts that read like a corporate strategic change manual:

Part 1: Strategic Planning (Before Conception)
Part 2: Mergers and Acquisitions (Getting Pregnant)
Part 3: Adapting to Change (Through Week 13)
Part 4: Going Public (Weeks 14-26)
Part 5: Double-Digit Growth (Week 27 until Birth)
Part 6: Exit Strategy (The Day of Birth)
Part 7: A Sea Change (Parenthood)

From the back cover: This up-to-date guide addresses all the subjects you would expect to find in an authoritative book on pregnancy plus issues of special concern to the 60 to 80 percent of women who hold jobs during their pregnancies:

· Is my workplace safe for my developing baby?
· When should I tell my employer that I am expecting?
· How can I handle the discomforts of pregnancy when I need to work?
· What laws will protect me when I take medical leave?

The answers to these questions—and myriad others—can be found in the pages of this practical and reassuring book. Dr. Marjorie Greenfield draws from her experiences as an obstetrician and working mom, and from more than a hundred interviews with mothers ranging from factory workers to high-powered attorneys, to create a unique resource for working women. Dr. Greenfield includes checklists for multitasking working moms-to-be, helpful illustrations, stories and advice from experienced mothers, and information on everything from planning a pregnancy to balancing life after the baby is born. The Working Woman’s Pregnancy Book is an invaluable expert resource that will inform, reassure, and empower any working woman throughout the miraculous journey of her pregnancy.

Other opinions:

"The Working Woman''s Pregnancy Book reads like both a visit to the doctor and lunch with a sympathetic friend all at the same time. For any working woman who''s thinking about starting a family or already pregnant, this book is the all-inclusive pregnancy guide you''ve been looking for."-Stacy Debroff, founder of MomCentral

"This accurate, easy to read book includes answers to every question I have been asked during 25 years as an obstetrician, as well as answers to questions I had while working and pregnant! "-Katharine Wenstrom, MD, President, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine

I highly recommend this book to any woman who is pregnant or planning on having a family and plans on keeping her job outside the home. The Working Woman's Pregnancy Book really is just like having a wonderful OBGYN on call 24/7, a knowledgeable big sister, and best friend, all rolled into one. 5 out of 5 binkies.

About the Author
Marjorie Greenfield, M.D., is a practicing, board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and associate professor of reproductive biology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Greenfield has written hundreds of articles for the Web and currently blogs about pregnancy for Yahoo.com. She lives in Cleveland, OH. Visit her website for more information. Also by Marjorie Greenfield: Dr. Spock’s Pregnancy Guide.

**WIN IT - I'm giving away my gently used copy of The Working Woman’s Pregnancy Book since I am DONE having children! To win, just leave a comment here telling me why you need this book (are you pregnant? planning on having a baby soon? Do you work outside the home?). That's it! LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS with your comment so I can contact you if you win. The give-a-way is open until midnight, EST, Tuesday, May 27, 2008. Good Luck!**

(my review excerpted here)

Mother Talk

That Baby CD/DVD

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

CONGRATULATIONS CINDI (non-blogger)!

It starts with pregnancy. Slowly but surely, you start to lose your mind. Sleep deprivation, potty training, and endless rounds of Chutes and Ladders all contribute to the gradual erosion. And the "usual" children's music doesn't help matters much. Which is why I absolutely love That Baby CD and That Baby DVD. I promise you, this music is nothing like "Fruit Salad."

CD: 42 minutes running time, age range 0 - 115, suggested retail $14.95

DVD: 35 minutes running time, age range 0 - 5, suggested retail $24.95

Overview description from the founders: "That Baby DVD and That Baby CD are unique baby gifts unlike anything you’ve ever seen or heard. We’ve taken great songs—songs that you may have sung at camp or put on a mix tape when you were a kid—and reworked them with fantastic new acoustic and vocal arrangements. Enjoy kid-friendly covers of songs written by artists like Fleetwood Mac, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Natalie Merchant, The Beatles, The Pretenders, and more. We’re a parent-run company that knows the value of great children’s products and your need to buy with confidence. Our products are manufactured in the US using recycled materials. We offer a “no questions asked” money-back guarantee and free replacement of scratched or damaged discs. (We have kids too. We know how it is.)"

Can you believe it? Free replacement of scratched or damaged disks - including those "smeared with peanut butter." Made in the USA. Recycled materials. What else could you ask for?

Well, great music for one. And That Baby delivers. This engaging CD contains such old favorites as "I Will" (Lennon/McCartney), "Sunday Sun" (Neil Diamond), and my favorite, "Pony Boy" (Springsteen). My kids generally listen to CDs while in the tub and in the car and this has been at the top of the playlist for a while now. I have to also confess that this is one CD I have added to my iPod playlist and you can find me listening to it while all by myself!

Incidentally, the DVD has the same music as the CD (minus three extra tracks on the CD), all set to a mix of animated drawings, live action of toddlers and babies and even puppets. Even I wanted to get up and dance to it, let alone my children!

Where can you buy That Baby? Check out all the locations (online and off) here. If you order directly from That Baby, enter the coupon code "MotherTalk" when purchasing and save 20% on your entire order! AND - from now until May 18th, all orders using the coupon code "MotherTalk" will be entered in a drawing to win a new iPod nano.

About the founders: That Baby DVD and That Baby CD are products of OyBaby, LLC, a company founded and run by Rob and Lisi Wolf of Mercer Island, Washington. The company creates DVDs and CDs designed to delight kids and the grownups who love them. More here...

** WIN IT! I have a brand new extra copy of the CD to giveaway to one lucky winner (I loved the CD so much, I already had purchased the CD before getting my sample from That Baby). To win, tell me the name of singer/songwriter Stephanie Schneiderman's band (hint: she's the one who sings most of the tracks on the CD and produced and arranged the songs). EMAIL me your answer (do NOT leave a comment) to cpamomva at hotmail dot com by midnight, EST, Monday, May 12, 2008. Good Luck!**

Mother Talk

The Sky Isn't Visible From Here

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS ANGELA!

The Sky Isn't Visible From Here

Scenes from a Life

by Felicia Sullivan

Hardcover: 255 pages
Publisher: Algonquin Books (February 5, 2008)

List Price: $23.95

Felicia C. Sullivan, is the founder and editor of the literary journal Small Spiral Notebook and is a New York based writer with an MFA from Columbia University. A two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, her work has been published in Swink, Post Road Magazine, Mississippi Review, Publisher's Weekly, the anthology, Homewrecker: An Atlas of Illicit Loves (Soft Skull Press, 2005), among other publications. Work is forthcoming in the anthology, Money Changes Everything (Doubleday, 2006), and Pindeldyboz (Issue #6). She is the co-founder of the Non-Fiction series at KGB Bar in NYC.



She is also a recovering drug addict (alcohol and cocaine).



In an interview, Ms. Sullivan describes this book, her memoir, in this way: "(It) is about growing up with an emotionally crippled, narcissistic mother who suffered from multiple substance abuse addictions and inhabited our life with abusive men. The memoir primarily focuses on the years 1985-1988, the darkest years when her addiction flourished and our lives were in constant upheaval and her mysterious disappearance in 1997, a few months before my college graduation. I guess that’s the fluffed up way of saying that things were not good; in fact those years were downright horrifying. There are so many trying things about writing this book – having to revisit those years which I tried so desperately to repress and hide – for years, I lied to my closest friends about my mother, saying she passed away, that my upbringing was normal (whatever that means) – words that served as a wall between myself and other people rather than bringing them closer with the truth. The shame and anger was that great. Having to admit that I don’t love my mother and that I’m the better for it – that I never regretted choosing me over her, however, a part of me will always long for that mother I knew when I was five, the one who was my best friend. The mother who held me close to her."

I felt a real disconnect from this book at the start because of Ms. Sullivan's style of jumping back and forth across the decades of her life. But then I started thinking - perhaps that is the very effect she is trying to achieve - that this is how she is trying to convey to the reader, the very sense of disassociation that she must have employed to survive the most loathsome parts of her life. The result, a series of vignettes of almost unspeakable horror mixed with the more mundane, will grab you and keep you, long after you've finished the book.

Devastatingly honest, this book is a no holds barred look at the havoc imposed on a life by an all consuming drug addiction - on the destruction it mets out to both the user and her family alike. Unfortunately, the innocent victim becomes an abuser herself in an oft too repeated cycle of abuse. But Ms. Sullivan manages to escape in the end and you will be cheering her on as she does so.

**WIN IT - I'm giving away my copy of this book (gently used, spine unbroken). To win, head over to Mother-Talk and tell me the name of your favorite of all the books that have been reviewed over there. Email me at cpamomva [at] hotmail [dot] com by midnight, EST, Friday, February 22, 2008 and I'll let random.org choose a winner and e-mail you. You must be willing to provide your name and mailing address. Good luck!**

Excerpted at Mother-Talk

Mother Talk

The Middle Place - A Mother-Talk Tour

The Middle Place
A Memoir by Kelly Corrigan

Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Hyperion (January 8, 2008)

"The Middle Place is about calling home. Instinctively. Even when all the paperwork - a marriage license, a notarized deed, two birth certificates, and seven years of tax returns - clearly indicates you're an adult, but all the same, there you are, clutching the phone and thanking God that you're still somebody's daughter."

Wow. From this description on the cover, to the very end of the book, Ms. Corrigan had me hooked. She is a powerful writer who took me by the hand and led me through her (and her father's) cancer journeys.

I do not normally read non-fiction. But this topic appealed to me as I struggle to grieve and come to grips with a reality I never wanted to face - a reality I HAD to face when my best friend lost her own battle with cancer and died in February. I needed to read someone else's first hand account of the emotions, the struggle and yes, I needed to read about a victory over this dreaded disease.

Ms. Corrigan is a mother of two daughters. She was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer in August 2004, just days before her oldest daughter turned three. My own daughter just turned three. My son is five. This could be me. This could be you.

What can I tell you about this memoir? You must read it, for one. I don't care if you have never been affected by cancer, this book is about more than cancer. It's a compelling read about family ties, those that bind us and those that trip us up. It's about the labyrinth of stories and memories and connections that lie between a mother and daughter, father and daughter, wife and husband, sisters and brothers. It's about that scary leap we all have to face, leaving the "middle place" and landing on our own two feet, when the safety net of our parents is gone. Everyone of you owes it to yourself to read this book.

The journey doesn't stop here. Ms. Corrigan developed a website called Circus of Cancer ("a how-to site to help you Step Right Up when your friend has breast cancer"). I pray to God I won't have to use this site as too many of my friends already completed a battle with breast cancer. But odds are, you and I both will know of a friend who will be diagnosed in the years to come. And it comforts me to know this site is here so I can do and say the "right thing" for once.

Want to see more? The backstory to how the book was written is here. Also, today, January 9, 2008, on The Today Show, Kelly Corrigan will be interviewed during the 8:30am half-hour about The Middle Place. And you can read Ms. Corrigan's columns on her website.

Mother Talk

The Daring Book for Girls: A Mother-Talk Tour

The Daring Book for Girls
Available on Amazon.com for $14.97
written by Mother Talk founders, Andi Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Collins (October 30, 2007)

The Book Description on Amazon.com doesn't even begin to cover this book: "The Daring Book for Girls is the manual for everything that girls need to know—and that doesn't mean sewing buttonholes! Whether it's female heroes in history, secret note-passing skills, science projects, friendship bracelets, double dutch, cats cradle, the perfect cartwheel or the eternal mystery of what boys are thinking, this book has it all. But it's not just a guide to giggling at sleepovers—although that's included, of course! Whether readers consider themselves tomboys, girly-girls, or a little bit of both, this book is every girl's invitation to adventure."

When The Dangerous Book for Boys came out in May, my first question was: What about the girls? Fortunately, Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz felt the same way. This book teaches girls many of the essentials in life they need to know. Whether it be the chapters on "How to Whistle With Two Fingers, "Rules of the Game: Basketball (and Netball, Softball, Bowling, and Darts), "How To Be a Spy," or "How to Change a Tire," this book is a treasure trove of information for your daughter (and you!) to plunder (i.e. see the chapter on women Pirates! argh!) And it's not all "how-to" either - there are many informational chapters such as the five sections detailing "Queens of the Ancient World," "Words to Impress," and "Finance: Interest, Stocks and Bonds."

Recently, I read a book (the exceptional Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter), about a single mom who was not your typical suburban mom. This character, Marta, was a kick-ass free spirit who I can just imagine reading The Daring Book for Girls as a child. In the book, her tween-age daughter Eva was reading a book "How to be the most popular girl in your school," in a desperate attempt to fit in. I wanted to shake her by the shoulders and thrust this book in her hand instead. To show her that life is not about being popular or fitting in. Life is about living and loving and being the very best you can be. And The Daring Book for Girls? Just may be the only life manual you or your daughter may ever need.

p.s. This trailer for the book made me laugh outloud and give a loud cheer for girl power!

More information available on the Publisher's web site for book, Andi's author bio page, and Miriam's bio page. Andi and Miriam also made an appearance on the Today's Show.

Mother Talk

Deceptively Delicious: A Mother-Talk Tour

Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld

(yes, she is married to THAT Seinfeld)

I have two young children. My daughter, who is 3 years old, eats just about anything. From apples to peas to carrots, to cookies and ice cream, her taste runs the gamut. My 5 year old son, however, is the pickiest eater on the planet. I swear he lives on ketchup, margarine and air. To add to my worries, a new study from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London was just released, that confirms that most children, due to an "evolutionary response" (our genes), "eat a wide variety of foods until they are about 2, when they suddenly stop. The phase can last until the child is 4 or 5."

Great. Just Great.

Now I have to fight genetics to get my son to eat a vegetable or two. What's a mom to do? Jessica Seinfeld thinks she has the answer.

The premise behind the "deception" is this. Purchase fresh (or frozen) fruits and vegetables. Roast or steam them, puree them, freeze them in 1/2 cup portions, and "sneak" them into everyday foods your kids will eat. Pure genius. I couldn't wait to try it. The only drawback? When starting from scratch, it takes a long time to prepare those vegetables. I took one Saturday afternoon and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., I roasted or steamed, then pureed: spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, avocado, beets, butternut squash, acorn squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and summer squash:

What do I recommend from my experience? Buy a full sized food processor. Because it took twice as long since I only had a mini food-processor. And make your pedicure or foot massage appointment ahead of time. You'll need it.

But once you've got those vegetables ready, you are ready to dive into the meat of this cookbook: The Recipes.

The first thing I made was the Italian Meatloaf (with Carrot) :

and the accompanying Mashed Potatoes (with Cauliflower):




I followed up the next night with Macaroni and Cheese 1 (with Butternut Squash)

I served the mac 'n cheese with hot dogs and green beans - in the cookbook, she suggests still serving at least one "visible veggie" on the table with lunch and dinner to get your kids used to seeing, and hopefully trying, them.

Over the past week, I also made the Quesadillas (with Butternut Squash) and the Spaghetti Pie (with Broccoli and Carrot). Over the next week, I will be trying a breakfast (Pink Pancakes with Beet) and some desserts (Brownies with Carrot and Spinach), Chocolate Pudding (with Avocado) and Chocolate Cake (with Beets).

The verdict: My husband, and I (who also need to eat more vegetables) love these recipes. The vegetables are cleverly hidden and indistinguishable from the rest of the ingredients. My daughter has sampled some of them, and my son? None. The idea is great but unfortunately for us, none of the "kid-friendly" recipes are ones he will even look at (they are not chicken nuggets!). But this book is definitely a keeper, and we'll keep on trying as he gets older. I highly recommend you pick this up, if only for yourself and/or your spouse. Anyone who eats can benefit from this cookbook.

Want to win your own copy of this wonderful cookbook? The publisher is giving some copies away! Go there for all the details.

Mother Talk

See me on Mother-Talk here.

On Borrowed Wings: A Mother-Talk Tour

UPDATED!!

I have been given the opportunity to give away TWO (2) autographed copies of this wonderful book. If you want to win, leave a comment telling me you want the book, with your email address (so I can get your mailing address). I'll randomly select two from all entries. Enter by midnight EST tonight, Tuesday, 02 OCT 07. Open to bloggers and non-bloggers alike.

“On Borrowed Wings” by Chandra Prasad

On Borrowed Wings, Chandra Prasad's debut novel, exceeded all my expectations and then some. Quite simply, I was captivated by this book from beginning to end. Each time I picked it up, I did not want to put it down.

Adele Pietra is the main character. She is the daughter and sister of Connecticut granite cutters, a class of poor quarrymen at the bottom of the social ladder, in the 1930's. Her mother used to be part of the upper echelon in the town, until she made the unforgivable error of falling in love and marrying "beneath" her. Her parents cut her off and her resulting bitterness and shame shapes the way she raises Adele and her brother Charles. She fixes all her hopes and dreams on Charles and tells Adele she is expected to follow the same path she did and marry a quarryman; indeed, she makes matchmaking efforts in her quest to marry off Adele.

Then tragedy strikes. A quarry accident kills Adele's beloved father and her brother, Charles, who had just been accepted to Yale. In order to escape her mother's stifling existence, Adele comes up with the scheme to impersonate Charles and attends Yale in his place. Thus, Adele decides to become the first female undergraduate at Yale, even though no one will know of her groundbreaking efforts. She cuts her hair off and bounds her breasts and practices for weeks living as a man. Her resulting adventures, triumphs and sorrows will bring you to tears even as you cheer her on to succeed.

This book will make you think about class lines and gender lines. Adele's story will stay with you for a long time as you ponder these issues in your own life. Her story is timeless. I recommend this book to just about anyone. It's not "chick lit" by far. It is a thinking woman's book. A book you will get lost in. A book that will truly feed your soul.

Mother Talk

See me on Mother-Talk here

Interred With Their Bones: A Mother-Talk Tour

Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell

"The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones."

I am a huge mystery fan. My favorite authors run the gamut of suspense writers from Diane Mott Davidson, to Faye Kellerman, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, Perri O'Shaughnessy, Lisa Scottoline, J.D. Robb, J.A. Jance and the masterful Jodi Picoult, just to name a few. Instead of a living room, I have an actual library. So to say I have found a new author to obsess over enjoy reading is not something I say lightly. Jennifer Lee Carrell has written a superb debut novel.

"Who Dun It?" I've never been more challenged to figure that out. Ms. Carrell holds a Ph.D. in English and American literature from Harvard. She is a Shakespearean scholar and it shows. The erudite language of her characters takes a bit getting used to however, and can distract from the plot if you are unused to such prose. But keep at it; it is worth it. I like mysteries that I cannot figure out. In this book, each time I thought "I figured it out," I found I was mistaken as the plot followed so many twists and turns. Ms. Carrell is a master weaver of a web of suspense that will catch you and hold you for the duration of the book. Another one I just could.not.put.down. Her characters and settings are masterfully drawn. Rich details transport you to another time and place. One caveat? You will have to suspend your disbelief as the main characters jet off time and again from London to Harvard to Arizona and back again, seemingly with no regard for actual funding issues or without the usual airline woes plaguing all travelers these days...

You can read about the genesis of Ms. Carrell's superb mystery here.

Mother Talk

see my review on Mother-Talk here

"BOB" Books: A Mother-Talk Tour

Forget "Dick and Jane." Your beginning reader needs BOB Books to succeed. What are BOB Books? Quite simply, step by step, they are phonetic based books that will provide a sure path to reading for your child. Over a series of 5 sets (8-12 books in each), your child will learn letter sounds, word families, compound words and long vowels. Each book builds on the last, as does each set.

I was sent the Bob Books Set 1: Beginning Readers to review: "Teach a child letter sounds with Bob Books Set 1! With four letters in the first story, children can read a whole book...Short vowels and three-letter words in simple sentences make Bob Books Set 1 a fun confidence builder."

Book one starts by introducing "Mat" and is only 8 pages long. By the time you reach book 12, the author has shown you not only all letters of the alphabet (except Q), she has introduced the numerals 1 - 10 and the concepts of plurals and the question mark. The sentences get longer and more complex through the series as well. I like that the front of each book shows a "picture dictionary" to help your reader sound out the letters he/she will be learning. Characters are consistent through the series and the pictures are engaging. And I love that the sets come in a box of their own that is easy to toss in our diaper bag. My own children are not old enough or developmentally ready yet to start reading with BOB Books but they do love looking through them - the books are handy for church and restaurant times when your children need distraction.

Bonus? Learning continues beyond the books themselves; be sure to check out the website for fun, downloadable activities, that tie into the books.

BOB Books: "With little books, come big success. (TM)"

Mother Talk

(see me on Mother-Talk here)

Maximum Ride 3: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

So who among you are Harry Potter fans? Who among you, adult and teenager alike, is mourning the end of the series? Looking for another series that will get you and your children just as excited about reading? Me too. I'm sorry to say this series, Maximum Ride, is not going to replace Harry Potter. But? It IS the next best thing. It will still get your kids excited about reading. Now if we could only convince the schools to put these books on those dreaded summer reading lists...

Maximum Ride 3, by James Patterson (405 pp)

Amazon's description: In the third installment of James Patterson's Maximum Ride series, the time has arrived for Max and her winged "Flock" to face their ultimate enemy and discover their original purpose: to defeat the takeover of "Re-evolution", a sinister experiment to re-engineer a select population into a scientifically superior master race...and to terminate the rest. Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel have always worked together to defeat the forces working against them--but can they save the world when they are torn apart, living in hiding and captivity, halfway across the globe from one another?

When I was asked to review this book, I immediately went to Amazon and ordered book 1 (Maximum Ride : The Angel Experiment) and book 2 (Maximum Ride Book #2: School's Out - Forever). If there is one thing I hate, it's trying to pick up a series in the middle. I'm glad I did because not only did I love these books, I don't think Patterson does a very good job of helping people pick up on what happened in the first two books. In fact, in the 2nd chapter of this book 3, the main character says, "Those of you who picked up this book cold, even though it's clearly part three of a series, well, get with the program, people! I can't take two days to get you all caught up on everything!"

I quickly devoured all three books, one on the plane to BlogHer, one on the plane ride back, and the other in the last few days. The chapters are short, two to three pages. Patterson writes in the first person, from the perspective of his 14 year old female protagonist, Max, and he really nails that voice. I really found myself caught up in their adventures (Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel) and wondering just what was going to happen next. I for one, would love to see this series continue. And just do you don't go through withdrawal, while waiting, there is a blog that Fang writes in during the series and you can actually go to - it makes the series and the characters all the more real for the younger readers. I'm going to hang on to these three books to give to my children when they are a little older and you know, actually reading (they are only 2 and 4). Right after they read Harry Potter, of course.

Want more information? Visit the Maximum Ride web site which includes a cool CGI TV commercial, plus nearly 2 million message board posts from kids who love Max and the flock. Also, the publisher had two separate “clicking” contests here. The first was to garner 1 million clicks to keep the series going (into a fourth book), and they garnered the first million clicks in just one week. The second was to garner 5 million clicks to tell Hollywood there should be a Max movie. That 5 million was garnered within the next two weeks.

**See my review mentioned at Mother-Talk - scroll down to August 15th**


Mother Talk

Fearless Friday

The delightful Miriam, Stacy and Andi over at MotherTalk have initiated the very first MotherTalk Blog Bonanza today, Friday, April 27, 2007. Everyone who participates will be writing about the topic Fearless Friday, in honor of Arianna Huffington's book, Becoming Fearless (Thank You Pundit Mom for alerting me to the bonanza because now I have a chance to win an autographed copy of the book - you can too, just go on over to MotherTalk and find out how).

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The challenge for Fearless Friday is to write about a fearless moment in my life or a moment when I started becoming fearless. Well, what does it mean, exactly, to be "fearless" anyway? The dictionary says it is an adjective that means "without fear; bold or brave; intrepid." In my early years and well into my 20's, I would not have described me as "bold" or "brave" in any way, shape or form. I spent my life as an individual who was decidedly lacking courage; I was as timorous as a mouse, always following the crowd rather than forging my own path. I worked hard at school, did my chores, went to college, married my high school sweetheart, all because I felt it was expected of me. So at what point did I "feel the fear and do it anyway?"

Was it at the point that I kicked out my husband for cheating and drinking and abuse? Was it the point at which I hired an attorney to divorce his ass? Maybe it was when I packed up all my things and moved half way across the country to start anew. Or when I moved into an apartment in a city where I knew not a soul and started to make a life.

When you look at the rest of my life, I think I've done a good job at becoming more "fearless." I went on a blind date with my second husband, move to another state with him, married him, buried him. I grieved, I started life anew, once again. I answered an on-line personals ad, let my date pick me up at my house, married him after only 4 months. I turned my back on a lifetime of "childless by choice" and had two children with him. I quit a stable job when I had my son, without any job waiting in the wings, with only the assurance that my degrees made meemployable and I would find something else. I started a new job and left it for an entirely different one when I felt my morals (and my license) were in danger if I stayed working where I was. I plunged head first back into public accounting. Every day I navigate the stormy waters of "parenting while working full time outside the home" while attempting not to lose my very self in the process. I am Fearless. I'm trying to teach my daughter to be the same.

What makes you Fearless?