Kobo - A dream for the clutter-phobic

I love to read. When I was a kid, I used to go to the library and take out 20 books at a time and read them all by their due date 3 weeks later. Yes, they were books like Sweet Valley High and did not take much to read through, but reading was my absolute favorite thing to do. This love of reading has continued through to my adult years, however, I don't exactly have the time that I used to have to read. As a result library trips are in the past. I would probably never be able to be sure that I would finish a book within the allotted borrow time. This being the case, I buy my books.

I am a huge customer of Indigo and buy my books in large lots so I get the free shipping option :). I have many, many unread books that I am dying to read but with my busy life I have to put off. As you can see, my bedside table currently has a pile of books waiting to be read and I have book shelves in the basement filled with must-reads.



For my birthday, my husband was thoughtful enough to purchase a Kobo reader. I had not even thought about getting one to be honest. I am very much a paper person (as you can probably tell by my products) and it had never occurred to me to start reading on a digital reader. I do like the feel of a book in my hands and being able to physically feel my progress. So when I got my new reader, I was a bit skeptical about whether or not I would use it. In fact, Brett started to read a book on it before I had even figured out how to use it.



This weekend, I signed up for a book club and went to purchase a copy of The Birth House by Ami McKay. I originally went to purchase the paper version when I remembered I had the Kobo and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try it out.



It was very easy to order and download. I then realized what a fantastic alternative the Kobo is for someone like me. It drives me crazy that I have books taking up space all over my house. It is a nice thought that all my books can now be stored on a tiny device to read at my leisure. No more worrying about where to put them. No more dealing with my children ripping pages out of books (yes, this does happen). This will eliminate a great deal of the book clutter in my house which is greatly needed! Now not all the books I want to read are in digital format yet, so I will still get my fix of the traditional reading experience. But in the new format, packing for vacations will be easy and I will have more room for other necessities and my luggage will be that much lighter.

I am very excited to start my first e-book! Did I mention there are accessories???

The Organized Family Calendar

I am excited to announce the latest product from Glow Baby: The Organized Family Calendar. This calendar is the perfect way to keep track of all family members schedules with its unique design. Including both a monthly view and weekly views, this calendar is a wall calendar and planner all in one. Please visit www.glowbaby.ca to pre-order. Take advantage of our 25% off pre-order special with shipping scheduled for September 2010.



Calendar details include:

• 12 month calendar runs from January 2011 through December 2011
• Unique and stylish design includes both a 12 month calendar and 52 removable weekly planner pages
• Perfect for tracking each family members' extra curricular activities, work and social schedules
• Weekly planner pages accommodates 6 individual schedules
• Opens to 14" x 21.5”



I can't wait until January so I can finally use this calendar! It will definitely help me keep my mom schedule, work schedule and the girls schedules organized and I desperately need that!

Check out http://www.glowbaby.ca for more information.

First Year Anniversary

Today is Glow Baby's First Anniversary. A year ago today, I got my first box of Baby's First Journal hot off the press! While a lot of work went on behind the scenes before this moment, I consider this our anniversary as this was the day our journals made it into their first store.

A lot has happened over the past year. Glow Baby products are now being sold in over 80 stores across North America. We have received rave reviews from moms and many press outlets. It's truly amazing to look back at the past year and see how far Glow Baby has come in such a short period of time.

Just in time for our first anniversary we are announcing our latest product the Organized Family Calendar (details below) to help all busy families organize the family schedule.

Thank you to everyone who has offered support and guidance over this first year. Here's to another fantastic year.

AVOIDING THE SUMMER READING SLUMP

AVOIDING THE SUMMER READING SLUMP by Wendy Toone

Guest contributor and MobiStories.com producer Wendy Toone, offers great tips on how your kids can avoid brain drain when they're out of school. Take a look...


It's Summertime! Catching fireflies, eating dinner on the deck, swimming, no school!!!


What have your kids been doing? Waking up late, lazing around in front of the TV? It's nice to decompress after the school year. For a few days. But now what?? Camps, classes, playdates can fill up the days and keep the kids active and occupied. But my fear is always that their brains will turn to mush by mid-July, leaving them (and in turn, me) frustrated and floundering come mid-September when they're back in school with flabby grey matter that hasn't been exercised in way too long.


According to Kent State Graduate School of Education's Dr. Timothy Rasinski, professor of literacy education, students can lose as much as 3 month's worth of reading level over the summer. Research shows that younger elementary school students rarely make up deficits in reading once they fall behind. Conversely, students who read during the summer could end up 3 months ahead, too.


So, why not be even just a little pro-active in keeping your kids reading. That doesn't mean they need to plow through "War and Peace" by August 24th. Here are just a few FUN ways reading can become part of your family's summer fun activities:


Don't fight TV: Kids insist on watching TV? Try letting them... with the sound off and the closed caption on (sneakyyyyy)


Act it out: Get the whole family in the act and tackle one of the classics as a play. How fun is "Charlotte's Web" when every family member plays a different character and reads aloud...don't forget to speak in accents and voices, use arm motions, whatever to have FUN.


Campfire stories: The art of storytelling is the original 'reading' before the printed page.... Everything sounds good around a fire - family memories, ghost stories, or fairy tales can captivate kids. Try a "make-it-up" story where everyone adds just one line at a time."


Discover the classics : Treasuries of classic literature is available for even younger readers that may not be ready for the "real" version. Advanced readers can expand their world with the likes of Jules Verne and Mark Twain in addition to Stephenie Meyer and JK Rowling!


Log reading hours in a Read-A-Thon : Several non-profit groups such as Reading Is Fundamental and PBS Kids have read-a-thons that can be found on the web. Great goal-setting activity for the summer as well!


Use Your Local Library!! So many summer programs are available for all ages/reading levels. Story/song time for toddlers, book clubs for tweens and teens...And they're FREE!


Organize a Book Swap: Get together with friends and neighbors to exchange previously read books. This allows the kids to read the latest titles (not always available at the library) while you save $$.


Get your kids excited about reading this summer by getting them excited about stories in new ways to keep them from suffering the "Summer Reading Slump."

Wendy Toone is a child expert, having owned and operated a leading children's fitness center and now produces MobiStories, Digital Books for KidsTM. She is a cableAce-award winning television producer and has worked on hundreds of television commercials as a Production Manager after spending a decade onstage as a professional dancer. Wendy's two children have been inspirational in the creation of MobiStories.


To download a free digital book for your PC visit MobiStories.com, click on Summer (in the Ages 2 - 4 category) add it to the cart and Michelle Obama then enter the code SUM0710 in the Coupon Code Box. Here's a How To video for reference as well.

To purchase more stories, visit Mobistories on iTunes.

Friends

I was listing to CBC the other day and they were doing a program on friends. They were talking about how there is no protocal when dumping a friend like there is when dumping a partner. It got me thinking about how true this is and then I started to wonder why this is. Some friends are in your life longer than any relationship but when it ends, there is no ceremony or ritual ending.

I have had a few friendships end over the years, some by my own decision, some that just slipped away and one or two that I have no idea what happened. After listening to this program, I started thinking about the ex-friend who just disappeared out of my life. I can pin-point when it happened as it was totally abrupt. We were friends (as far as I knew) one day and then I had Ainsley. I sent emails with my announcement to this friends, called her, left messages but nothing. Not one word of congratulations, no visit, nothing. I was quite hurt at the time especially since I had thought we were good friends and had been for 15 years but something about me becoming a mom obviously changed our relationship significantly. I still don't know how this changed things and I will probably never know.

So, what I am wondering is how many people had friendships that changed when you had a baby? Were you able to make new friends with other new moms?

While I lost one or two friends, I have made new friends once becoming a mom. Some great friends who I have gone to when things are really tough and they understand completely and are usually going through the same things. I guess only time will tell who your true friends are.

My Little Dancing Queen

As Juliet gets older her personality emerges more and more. Even as a baby she has always liked music. When she was really small, I could almost always be able to settle her cries by singing to her. She is almost 18 months now and over the past few months she has begun to dance and has been adding to her dances moves daily.

She is hilarious! Anytime she hears music (it doesn't matter what kind) she gets up and dances. When we walk in the mall, she will stop at the entrance of each store that is playing music and dance. When we drop Ainsley off at school in the morning and Oh Canada! comes over the PA she dances. We have regular dance parties in our house while listing to a fabulous Putomayo CD. She will also dance to my singing and her favourite song is from Sleeping Beauty. The one that goes "I know you, I've danced with you once upon a dream". Juliet will even sing I know over and over again herself.

It doesn't matter how short the music clip is or where its coming from, when she hears a note of music she must dance! I absolutely encourage her love of music and dancing and I hope that she never looses her enthusiasm.

Neighbourhood Hunt

My husband and I are currently exploring neighbourhoods in the Toronto and its surrounding suburbs as we are thinking of moving from our downtown Toronto house. Our neighbourhood is aging and there are not many kids living near us for the girls to play with. Add into the mix the closure of our local elementary school, very few childcare options and a busy neighbourhood we have decided to look elsewhere.

We have our wish list and are really hoping to find a neighbourhood that will meet all our needs. Not only do we have a neighbourhood wish list, but we also have a house wish list. We bought our current house before we had kids so we had no idea what would work and what would drive us nuts once the kids came and now we have many things that drive us nuts! Add into the mix, Glow Baby which has turned our dining room into an office and we are bursting at the seams.

Our neighbourhood wish list top 5:

1. LOTS OF KIDS!!
2. Good schools
3. Family infrastructure
4. Parks nearby (not a 30 min walk :>)
5. Quiet street


Our Home wish list top 5:

1. Family room on main floor that I can see from the Kitchen (those with young children know why this is number 1)
2. Backyard that can be seen from the kitchen
3. fourth bedroom or office (I want my dining room back!!!)
4. Two bathrooms upstairs (I refuse to share a bathroom with two teenage girls)
5. finished basement

I don't think our wish lists are too much. I think that what we want is out there. Now to go and find it...

If anyone loves their neighbourhood, I would love to hear about it!!