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ain't misbehavin

Alyson Schafer’s newest book Ain’t Misbehavin’ couldn’t have come at a better time. I know my children behave when they are not with me, everything we try to drill into them about manners and good behavior seem to be instilled in them, they just save it up for everyone else and don’t use it on me.

So what do we do when it doesn’t come out at home? What can we do to help the children not to fight, put away their clothes or stop picking their nose??  Alyson has some wonderful suggestions, quite a few I have tried already with great success.

Let’s take the nose picking incidents. It is a common thing for children to do, it is breaking the cycle that is hard.We have tried all the  different methods suggested in the book to try to get it to stop, but to no avail. After reading Ain’t Misbehavin’ we decided to try asking if J could excuse himself to the bathroom to take care of it since we don’t want to watch. So far so good, we are on a roll.

Apple, sweet little Apple. I love her to bits, but the truth is…she whines. And one thing that is sure to drive me up the wall or over the edge is whining. We have been trying to get the whining to stop, but to no avail. We’ve asked for it to stop, we have ignored it, but it hasn’t been working out for us.  This past week however, we have tried to be a bit more proactive.  Having Apple at home with a Work-at-home parent means that sometimes I have to work while she plays.  When I know I have to get some work done I try to make sure that I give a little more to her before I get working. I know her triggers and try to head them off. I know she whines more when I have work to do when she is awake (which is always now that she gave up naps) so I make sure to take her out to her favorite coffee shop or to the park and spend a little extra time just for her before I have to get to work.  So far so good, we have had a week with much less whining than usual.

I have really enjoyed having Ain’t Misbehavin’ handy, it is not a book to be ready cover to cover, but more of a reference to look things up as you need to.  I may have done a little extra looking up because I wanted to see what suggestions would be offered. Not only to I love them, but was pleasantly surprised to find out that a lot of the suggestions were things we were doing already.  Sometimes as parents we need reassurance that we are doing the right things with our children. Not that I am saying there is always a right and wrong, but perhaps a better or different way to try things out.

If you find yourself wondering how to help your children break a bad habit or pick up their clothes pick up a copy of Ain’t Misbehavin’ and keep it handy.  I know I will be keeping it close at hand for a while.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Ain’t Misbehavin’ program by Mom Central on behalf of Wiley Publishing.  I received a copy of the book to review and gift card as a thank you for my participation.  The opinions on this blog are my own.

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Categories: Book Reviews, Books, Mom Central

I was recently asked to review A Zombie Ate My Cupcake by Lily Vanilli. I have to admit that at first I thought it was a children’s book with recipes intertwined, however, it is not. It is simply a fabulous recipe book, full of all sorts of ghoulish cupcakes to serve for Halloween or any other scary party one might want to have. And it is for children of all ages, even those who go to work every day.

A Zombie Ate My Cupcake

I had to at least try a recipe before telling you that I loved it. I mean I love the idea of all these fabulous cupcakes and the recipes look wonderful, but I still had to try it out.

A Zombie Ate My Cupcake

I decided to try the red velvet because I have never made red velvet before. Together with the buttercream icing, they were a huge hit in our house. The recipe was simple to follow and the instructions for decorating seem quite doable. I am also looking forward to trying the pecan, nutmeg and cinnamon cupcakes, they sound like a nice Fall treat.

Take a sneak peek at some of these funky and fun recipes:
A Zombie Ate My Cupcake A Zombie Ate My Cupcake
A Zombie Ate My Cupcake

And the best part is that I get to give one away to one of my readers! Yay! Thomas Allen and Son Publishing has offered a book to me and one to giveaway. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me your favorite cupcake flavour. A winner will be randomly selected and announced on Thursday, October 14th at noon.

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Categories: Book Reviews, Giveaway

Back in the Fall I had hoped to go to a book signing with Kathy Buckworth.  She was at Collected Works signing her newest book, The Blackberry Diaries.  Nothing was going right for me that day and I was unable to attend.  Much to my dismay as I heard it was really a wonderful night.  A meeting of the minds if you will.

When the opportunity came up to receive a review copy of Kathy’s newest book, due out in March, Shut Up and Eat! I jumped on the chance to get a copy and start reading.

Shut Up and Eat! Tales of Chicken, Children and Chardonnay had me laughing from the get go.  Kathy brings the reader right to her table, no holds barred with a splash of humor on the side.  I love the fact that she tells it like it is, not every child is going to like what you prepare for supper and making favourite meals is a great way to get the kids to behave.  Kathy is also not opposed to using desserts as bribery and uses this tool often, something I too enjoy doing.

Shut Up and Eat! offers the reader an insight to each meal and get this… offers solutions too!  At the end of each chapter you will find an assortment of tried and tested recipes from Kathy’s Kitchen.  While she doesn’t promise any miracles she definitely offers some solutions if you are finding your family difficult to feed or just plain bored of your own cooking.

In between all the humor and laughing, two things stood out for me in this book.  Things that I grew up doing with my parents and continue to do with my family now.  Unfortunately, we are in a minority on this one and I hope that Shut Up and Eat! can help spread the word about how important it really is to eat dinner as a family as often as possible.  First of all Kathy and her Husband eat dinner together with the family at the table, “I do – in fact-  manage to get a family dinner on the table at least 4 out of 5 weeknights.”  and secondly they continue to eat Sunday Dinners as a family, Kathy writes,

One tradition we have managed to stick to (mostly) is the Sunday Family Dinner. Both my Husband and I grew up in households where the big Sunday meal more often than not featured Roast Beef, Yorkshire puddings, potatoes, and gravy. This is a tradition we had been passing on to our kids.

I loved Shut up and Eat!  It was a fun, easy read that made me realize I am not the only one with wild kids at the table, she just has one more than I do to feed each night.  You can pre-order a copy so that it will arrive shortly after it’s release in March, you won’t be disappointed, grab a cup of your favorite hot drink, a cozy blanket and enjoy.

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Categories: Book Reviews