Jewels and Pinstripes Celebrity 2-5 Birthday Gift Bag
Posted on October 21, 2010 by FoBaM-Meredith
Why should the children of Hollywood celebs have all the fun? Your little prince or princess deserves the royal treatment with one of these fabulous gift bags from Jewels & Pinstripes filled with exclusive apparel, awesome accessories, and gift certificates. The Celebrity Children 2-5 Birthday Boy and Girl Bags are chock full of goodies including: two custom party-pack gift certificates from Couture Parties, personalized Labels from Mabel’s Labels, stride rite Toddler Tech shoes, a Paper Culture stationery set, Stephen Joseph backpack and lunch box, Glammic ShirtCape, Zooni knitted mittens, and an Angel Dear pillow with matching blanket. Leave a comment here on the blog (let us know if you prefer a boy or girl bag). We’ll choose two random winners (sorry – U.S. residents only) and make their kids feel like stars.Want some bear-ish bedtime help? (Giveaway!)
Posted on September 28, 2010 by FoBaM-Meredith
Bedtime. It can be the best part of the day, it can be the worst part of the day. It’s full of magic and superstition. It’s up to mom to create the perfect storm to lull the little ones to sleep. The ingredients of our potions change as the children grow, but each phase has its must-have routines and accoutrements.
There are so many things that can muck up bedtime: starting too early, starting too late, too much noise, too much light, not enough light, the wrong pillow, a missing lovey, and so on. One of my least favorite things to hear as I tuck my daughter in is, “I’m scared,” because that means I’ll be spending an extra twenty minutes allaying fears by looking into closets and under beds.
Candlewick Press has some fun with the tradition of the just-so bedtime routine in the new book by Bonny Becker with illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton, A Bedtime for Bear. If you’ve ever had trouble navigating the mine field that lies between your child and the Land of Nod, this book will make you chuckle. The third in the series (the other two are A Visitor for Bear and A Birthday for Bear), A Bedtime for Bear features the somewhat cantankerous Bear and his ever “small and gray and bright-eyed” friend, Mouse. With wonderful-to-read-aloud text and hysterical illustrations, Becker and Denton tell a bedtime story that will have you and your child giggling all the way to peaceful slumber. From persnickety rules to nighttime fears, this funny and sweet story has it all.
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Plum Organics: nurturing Generation Organic with healthy foods for little ones
Posted on May 12, 2010 by FoBaM-Jamie
Who doesn’t struggle with the routine of mealtime, snacktime, and lunchbox packing every day? As moms, we want the best for our kids, but encouraging good eating habits – both at home and on the go – can be a challenge. Plum Organics has made it easy to foster a lifetime of healthy eating with their line of delicious baby food purees and toddler snacks – all made with pure ingredients in super-convenient, eco-friendly packaging.
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Seriously Fun Read: A Visitor for Bear
Posted on by FoBaM-Jamie
The best picture books are the ones that beg to be read aloud . If you’re the kind of mom who loves to do a little entertaining at bedtime, A Visitor for Bear (Candlewick, 2008) is a must have.
Bear is the curmudgeon’s curmudgeon. He lives alone, and he likes it that way. He even has a sign on his front door: “No Visitors Allowed.” So, you can imagine the hilarity that ensues when an intrepid mouse (“Small and gray and bright-eyed”) invites himself for tea and refuses – ever so politely – to take no for an answer.
After closing his front door on the would-be guest, Bear repeatedly encounters the endearingly rodent in all manner of places – the cupboard, the bread drawer, the fridge, and so forth. Try as he might to lock every door, bar every window, and stop up every gap and crevice, Bear is unable to stop the entry of this companionable critter.
Martha Speaks and so does Susan …
Posted on February 11, 2010 by FoBaM-Jamie
Here at FoBaM, we’re big fans of reading with our kids AND OF Martha Speaks on PBS KIDS; so we’re extra excited to bring you this exclusive interview with Susan Meddaugh – the author/illustrator creator of the marvelously articulate and big-hearted dog, Martha. Susan shares her thoughts on encouraging creativity, fostering a love of reading, combining motherhood with other passions, thinking like a kid, and more. We hope you enjoy the interview as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you. To learn more about Martha, SUSAN and the Martha Speaks series, visit the PBS KIDS Web site.
1. What are the benefits of encouraging your child’s creativity and sharing the experience of reading with them?
I thought reading to my child was for my benefit! It was my loss when that lovely activity stopped. When I was reading to him, we were both enjoying the story, laughing together, or just eager to turn the page. I believe that made it even more fun, and I hoped that it would encourage him to become a reader. He could see that I was having a good time, and I was. Of course it was an education for me as a children’s book author to see what he liked, and also where our reactions to a book were quite different. He was and is a very creative character.
