In 1926 historian, Carter G. Woodson and some other influentials created, “Negro History Week”, however the beginnings of what is now, “Black History Month,” began years before. His goal was to educate people about African-American history, their cultural backgrounds and reputable achievements. In 1976, February was proclaimed “Black History Month” and continues to be observed each calendar year.

As you know DaddyB and I have two beautiful girls, who are almost 2 and 5. He is African American and a smidge Native American and I am Caucasian (Anglo-Saxon) and that makes our girls AMAZING!! Oh yeah, and they’re multi-racial. We are very blessed to be living in the world today, as opposed to several years ago, and while we’ve seen our share of racism displayed in many ways, we are thankful to those who paved the path for where we now stand.

This time of year last year I got to visit an amazing exhibit called, “RACE: Are We So Different,” and it was amazing, I learned so much and really enjoyed it, definitely wish I could have bottled all of that information to show the girls as they grow since some of the material was way over their heads. Miss A did get to play with some puppets from different races and check out some other aspects and Baby C was thrilled to sit in her stroller and people watch.

We may be naïve, but we see each person as they are and love our family just how we are too. Because I do not know as much as I would like about Black Culture both in the states and around the world, I have spend some hours online educating myself and trying to figure out how to best celebrate this month, Black History Month with my family. Since my girls are still quite young we want to make sure we engage in activities and practices that are age appropriate and family appropriate.

I have always said, and will always say that as a parent or caregiver, you have to do what you think is best for your own family, so while we may not choose to celebrate how another family celebrates that’s what makes us unique and our very own family of four. We don’t want race to be the only determining factor in their life, however we do want them to embrace and celebrate their background. I know many African-American people who do not celebrate and also some who are very diligent about it, would love help figuring out the best fits for our family to introduce our daughters to this side of their heritage.

We want our girls to have a balanced life and most of all to love and honor God, each other and others.

If you have any tips, blog posts or ideas on how you and your family celebrate, I would love to hear them. Thanks in advance for the support.

Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons: User dbking

Leaving the “yellow shirt” slot open, Sam Moran stepped in. Sam had been a part of The Wiggles show since 1998 and was a great addition when he stepped up to take the lead singer position for The Wiggles. Now that Greg is rejoining The Wiggles, Sam will be taking time to continue working on his own personal music ventures, (he released The Colour of Love in 2010) and also to spend time with his family.

Thankfully, there was a great person who was able to step in for a time and also step back from this position. Sam has been praised for continuing the success of The Wiggles during Greg’s leave. Yet when the day comes for Greg to rejoin the group and appear in his yellow shirt this year, there may be some confused or upset children.

With any television show there is a chance that characters will need to be replaced. I featured this story on The Fresh Beat Band replacing their, “Marina” character: What Happened to the Fresh Beat’s Marina? And with all of the traffic and comments it has had you can tell the change certainly struck a nerve in viewing homes. Recently other children’s television shows that have replaced characters or voices have been Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, and one who did it well, Blues Clues.

Not all shows give such great transition to a new character as Blues Clues with their switch from Steve to Joe, so as parents we need to learn the best ways to deal with these changes, because like it or not, they will happen. You may adapt these tips for your own child depending on their age and maturity.

1. Watch TV with your child – this gives your child an opportunity to discuss with you and you and opportunity to ask them questions, gauge their comfort with the changes and opens lines of communication.
2. Do your homework - if your child has a favorite show, why not set it up for a Google Alert or receive newsletters from that show so you can be abreast of changes before they even appear on the tube.
3. Explain TV vs Reality - of course this depends on the show and your child’s age, but in an age appropriate manner discuss what they think differences between television and real-life are and have fun with it.
4. Keep a positive attitude - so many of us parents are upset when characters change even when often, our children move on easily. When we aren’t disturbed by things, occasionally it will help our kids deal as well.
5. Choose different programming - if your child is very upset and no amount of discussion will ease their minds choose to watch something else on TV, but keep in mind characters in some shows may change. You can always opt to watch recorded versions of that show as well to keep with the consistency however boredom is a factor there.
6. Turn off the TV - when all else fails, or if TV seems to be more of an issue in your household, perhaps it’s time for a break from shows and the television in general. Get your kids interested in puzzles, coloring books, imaginative play, and if it’s nice weather head outside for some fresh air.

Do you have any tips to add?

Have any children’s television character switches effected your home?

In order to complete my goal of being the first college graduate I couldn’t do it on my own. I had to ask several people for help.

• I asked my mother to cosign on a student loan with me
• I inquired with my employer about working extra hours to make a few more dollars
• I applied for a few scholarships through my school
• I asked teachers for their recommendations to show what kind of a student I was

H&R Block is encouraging people to, “Never Settle for Less.” Customers who complete their taxes using H&R Block at Home can instantly win one of the hourly drawn cash prizesand be entered to win a $100,000 grand prize refund. To enter, complete a tax return online via computer or tablet device using H&R Block At Home tax preparation. Check out more information here: H&R Block Contest

When it comes to your tax return, you never have to settle for less with H&R Block. Filing your taxes with H&R Block just became an event worth sharing. Get started now for your chance at instant cash prizes and the $100,000 refund! There are winners every hour. So file your taxes then let your friends know how rewarding it can be.

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF MONEY NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. H&R Block® –100,000 Refund Giveaway starts 1/17/12 at 12:00 P.M. (midnight) ET and ends 4/17/12 at 11:59:59 PM ET. For Official Rules, to learn how to obtain a free means of entry without purchase, to learn how to play the instant win game and enter the sweepstakes, drawings, prize details, odds of winning, restrictions, etc. click here [www.hrbathomegiveaway.com]. Open to eligible legal residents of 50 US/DC, 18 years or older at time of entry. Void in P.R. and where prohibited. Sponsor: HRB Digital LLC, One H&R Block Way, Kansas City, MO 64105.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by H&R Block® via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of H&R Block®”

Seems like we’ve been throwing a lot of parties lately, how much fun!! We have a few fun activities coming up for our family this week, but I wanted to go back and recap a great Oral-B Stages party we were able to host at the B house.

Oral-B Stages are great for the little ones, and I have always felt that oral health is super important especially with my kiddos. OralB has brushes available for children who are 4 months young and kid themed brushes up to age 7 years old.

Our party was a Disney movie theme, we got to watch, Winnie the Pooh, the movie, eat popcorn, and play fun Oral-B games. What better pair than popcorn and tooth care since all those kernels get stuck in your teeth?!?

Check out some fun pictures from our party:

Tigger even made an appearance

What parties are you hosting the rest of this year?

Do you and your family use Oral-B? What do you think of the brand?

We personally choose Oral-B products because I love the brand as a whole, and they have great character themes. We’ve used these products well before this event and will continue to use them. I received all products and goodies for our guests from Oral-B and MomSelect, this in no way effects my opinion of Oral-B. 

Baby C {now almost 20 months},{when should I stop calling her Baby C, if I call her Baby C forever will she stay little, no? Okay }, is doing great using her forks, in fact some days I think she is going to break the plate when she gouges into her food, and she’s actually doing pretty well using her spoons too, however the kid spoons that I have found are often too flat so it was great to try out the Beaba 360 Spoon with her.

Here is a video of Baby C using the Beaba 360 Spoon. Please ignore the bed head, she just woke up and is eating breakfast, and Miss A is narrating *LOL*

Bright colors - they really stand out from the other utensils, making them easy to grab when Baby C is hungry.

Easy to hold – more so for children who are just learning to use utensils, Baby C does better with smaller utensils but she has amazing fine motor skills, look how she holds her crayons with no training if you don’t believe me {I swear she was born that way.}

 Good Depth – the actual scoop part of the spoon is great for picking up small things like Cheerios, and peas and helps give little ones confidence by preventing frustration that comes from dropping food with traditional utensils.

Kickstand - the spoon comes with the back end that is used more for a lock, however I was able to use it as a sort of “kickstand”, if you will to hold the spoon up to keep from tipping over small cups and bowls like yogurt.

Lastly, I love that the product is BPA and phthalate free, a must in today’s purchases. Yes there are spoons that will be cheaper and I have those in my utensil drawer too, however I would recommend at least purchasing one of the Beaba 360 Spoons as a “training spoon” for your toddler. They are $10.00 on the Scandinavian Child website and come in three different colors depending on who you are buying them for. Head over here: http://www.scichild.com/Shop/Feeding/360-Spoon to check them out.

I received a Beaba 360 Spoon from SCI Child in order to write this review, however the opinions and words expressed in the post above are my own. Yours may vary.

But let’s face it — sometimes it’s nice to feel like, even for one brief, shining moment, that it is all about us. And kids love it when they have something personalized just for them. It gives them a feeling of ownership, and it captures their attention.

Knowing this, I was really excited to try out a new line of kids’ books from JibJab. You know JibJab, right? That’s the hilarious company that makes those electronic greeting cards, the ones where you can add your face to the dancing characters and send it to all your friends so they can laugh at you. Don’t act like you’ve never Elfed Yourself — you know you have.

Well now JibJab has created JibJab Jr. This is a fantastic ebook concept for the iPad. Instead of plugging your boss’ face into a turkey, you plug your child’s face into the main character of a book. And suddenly, your kid becomes the star of his very own personalized story!

This app is super easy to use. It comes with one free book — a cute story about a kid who makes a ginormous pizza. Once you select this story, you’re prompted to create either a boy or girl character.

Then comes the fun part — adding your photo. You can choose a photo from your library, or you can connect to your Facebook account and choose a photo from one of your albums.

Once you’ve picked a shot, you simply rotate and resize to make your child’s face fit into the character’s face. You type in your kid’s name, and choose a skin tone for your character. Then just hit “Go!,” and your animated story begins!

Of course, you can switch out characters as often as you like, so multiple children can be the star of each story. I also love how the app saves your characters. This means you don’t have to go in and choose a new picture every time you start a new book. You simply swipe to choose the photo you want.

The stories we’ve tried have been on a nice reading level for Jack, who is in 2nd grade, but slightly behind in his reading skills. There are enough big words to challenge him (he learned “expertise” from one of the books, and it’s his new favorite word), but the reading level isn’t so difficult that it frustrates him. Jack has to read for at least 20 minutes a day as part of his homework, and at this point in the school year, this has been getting a little tiresome for him. These JibJab Jr. books have been great for reinvigorating his love of reading. He’s now excited to sit down and read to his brother, and he’s even great at choosing and resizing his own pictures. (FYI to my Facebook friends — he chooses his pictures from my albums, so you may or may not have starred in a book. And I may or may not have laughed my butt off at you scuba diving with a shark.)

But what’s surprised me is how Finn is also starting to read along on his own. I think this is because the animation helps his comprehension skills. With a regular book, the pictures do help tell the story to a degree. But seeing the characters and other aspects of the story actually move — literally seeing the action progress — adds a new layer of understanding and excitement for emerging readers.

The only improvement I’d like to see would be multiple characters in a story. I’d love to have a book where my boys could interact with each other in the story, or where families or groups of friends could have their own adventures. Hmm, perhaps they should consider a Freaky Perfect Family series! Jack and Finn both mentioned that they’d like the app to have some sound. They’ve read other ebooks that had either background music or ambient sounds that matched the stories, and I think they missed that a bit.

From a technical standpoint, the app has always worked well for me. It even worked well through the iOS5 update, but it seems there might have been problems for some. However, JibJab Jr. quickly pushed out an update that fixed any quirks. I dig an app company that provides a bug-free product and regular service and updates.

The JibJab Jr. app itself is free, and as I mentioned, it comes with one free book. Subsequent titles are $7.99 each. But they also offer a subscription plan. For $3.99 a month, you get one new book each month, and any more titles you chose to buy are only $3.99 each, instead of full price. I think this is a great deal.

I wholeheartedly recommend the JibJab Jr. ebook app. It’s a great educational tool for kids. But beyond that, it creates lots of laughs and smiles. JibJab not only makes reading fun, it also makes your child the center of the universe for a moment. And that’s a really awesome thing.

While I did not receive compensation for this post, JibJab Jr. did give me an iTunes credit to purchase an additional title. All opinions are my own.

We asked all the moms to dress their kids in green in honor of LeapFrog colors, and made some tasty treats to share with our friends.

Not only did we get to play cool games like, “Frog, Frog, Toad” (like, “Duck, Duck, Goose”,((which the kids loved!!)), but we played, “Tad Says” (kids always enjoy any version of “Simon Says”, plus it tires them out and helps them to get ready to listen too!), and most importantly, kids and moms got to use the new LeapFrog LeapPad™  learning tablet, LeapFrog Tag™  Reading System, and the LeapFrog Tag™ World Map.

Here are some pictures of the party, snacks, activities, cute kids and all:

A handful of the attendees already owned a LeapFrog Tag™, but for those who weren’t familiar with it found it to be a great choice for children learning to read, I always suggest this product for children who are a little more cautious with their belongings, since the pages in the book are made from paper and can be torn if not careful, {or if you’re like our family and have little ones who like to grab everything aka Destructo.}  One lucky mom left with a brand new LeapFrog Tag™ for her daughter just for attending this awesome event.

At the LeapFrog Tag™ World Map table, some of the children were able to explore the world with their moms. This interactive map not only helps learn geography, but it also teaches your child about the people who live across the world, different languages, explains about each culture and has lots of fun learning games. It is one of my new favorite LeapFrog products because we want our girls to know that there is a whole world full of amazingly different people out there and what better tool to do it?!?

The majority of the kids were drawn towards the LeapFrog LeapPad™, of course, it’s like mom’s tablet or a cool video system with a large screen that interacts through touch and movement. The kids loved the video and picture function of the LeapPad™ as they built their own stories. They also got to check out some well-known character based learning games and I kid you not, it was very hard to get the children to share this one {which is a good thing}, but I was able to pry it away occasionally to let those who hadn’t tested it out have a chance.

Here are my thoughts on LeapFrog products:

All-in-all the party was a great opportunity for moms got to watch their children interact with these toys in a non-store setting, at their own pace and many of them left the party saying these LeapFrog products were on the top of their holiday shopping list. And the B family fell in love with LeapFrog a little more that day.

I’ll leave you with this cute picture of the kids giving me their best, “surprised” faces. Aren’t they cute!!!

I received free LeapFrog products in order to host a Learn, Create, and Share Party. LeapFrog did not influence my opinions expressed in the above post.

Life lessons from a six-month-old:

Don’t wish infanthood [childhood] away.

*E’s mom has mentioned it several times. I vaguely remember it myself. All the late-night feedings, unpredictability, and most of all, the sheer amount of packing that is required to transport an infant anywhere is overwhelming. When you’re exhausted you think, “Goodness, I can’t wait until s/he can ____.”

I have literally watched E go from doing things he couldn’t do the day before to doing them like a champ. Like sit up unassisted. He is now starting to crawl. It is amazing to watch. I barely remember my own children reaching these milestones.

Now that my own children are becoming increasingly more self-sufficient, I don’t want to miss anything. I won’t say that I haven’t wished time would speed up when one of the tweens is having an attitude, but I am doing my best to enjoy the last few years of childhood we have left.

Keep a journal.

Take pictures and videos. Write in a spiral notebook. Develop a website. Whatever you can get your hands on, write down/document the things the baby has done that day. I had good intentions with each of my children, with most of the documentation starting with my oldest. I thought I would remember everything.

I didn’t.

I started writing a blog when my boys were preschool-aged. While I now have those precious memories, a lot of things that happened prior to that are gone. I have probably taken more pictures of E in the last two months than of own children in the last year.

None of my children want to be written about online anymore, so it’s all private now, but I still do it, and grab a snapshot when I can. Clearly, relying on my memory is not an option.

Enjoy each day. Even the crappy ones.

Like most Type-A personalities, I give myself a to-do list every day. It is typically more than I can ever accomplish, but I wake up optimistic. However, E has taught me that while some things can’t be ignored – we need clean clothes, hot food, and clean dishes — other things can wait. The dusting, the ironing, or painting the laundry room can wait. Why not take an hour to giggle over the dogs? Or play with a ball?

Or make silly faces with each other?

I always thought it was important to get the work done and then play. And while my OCD tendencies keep me itching at times, I am getting better at ignoring it for the greater good. For example, this past Saturday, I had planned a full day of writing and editing. But my twelve-year-old read in the local paper that there was a Civil War battle reenactment nearby. As much as I needed to get some work done, I took them to the reenactment.

The work was waiting on me when we returned home. No one was hurt or inconvenienced. (That I am currently aware.)

“Nap when the baby naps.”

Everyone has heard this adage. Just do it. A power nap never hurt anyone. Whether there are babies in the house or not.

There are many more little life lessons that E has shown me every day that I have him. He will forever hold a special place in my heart, not only because he is absolutely adorable, but because he showed me how precious life is.

*Name withheld for personal reasons.

Heather spends her days (and many late nights) trying to meet the demands of life as a wife, mother, and writer. She blogs about nothing in particular at Cool and Hip, I am Not and is occasionally spotted on Twitter @coolandhip.

This new Moon Dough however, I have to tell you, is a huge step in the right direction. It holds together so much better which makes molding it to the shapes you want, with or without the included mold much easier. Not to mention that Miss A noticed the weird smell of the old Moon Dough, whereas this new formula, completely odor-free.

We were able to try the really cute Push N’ Pop Breakfast Moon Dough kit. It comes with 2 different colored packs of Moon Dough, 3 really cool push molds, {super easy even for Baby C, who’s 18 months – although not recommended for children under 3}, a fun breakfast plate inspired play mat, and 1 traditional twist mold and it retails for $9.99 so it’s an awesome deal if you ask me, perfect for gift giving and small enough to travel with.

We even took this with us when we went to Nana’s house in New York over Labor Day weekend, and weren’t worried about it getting into the carpet or making a huge mess all over the table.

I loved playing with Miss A and making lots of pancakes with syrup and butter, french toast and waffles for breakfast, yum. At first I wished the colors were closer to the colors of the food, but then I realized that Baby C and other kids may be enticed to eat them even more, so I’m just fine with red pancakes, really.

Here are a few more pictures of us using the set, we get it out often and sometimes even more than our Play-doh because there’s a lot less clean up. And to be brutally honest, this may take over our Play-Doh collection once every canister of it drys up. Yet another cool fact about Moon Dough, it NEVER dries out, never. They just may be onto something.

Aside from our Moon Dough Push N’ Pop Breakfast kit, Moon Dough also has Push N’ Pop Ocean Pals, and Moon Dough Snack Shop and can be found at Toys ‘R Us, Target, Walmart, Kmart, Amazon.com, A.C. Moore, Michaels, and eToys. If you want to find out about their other products, {because with this new formula you’ll want to stock up on different molds and play sets} go to http://www.moondough.com

I received the Moon Dough Push N’ Pop Breakfast kit through my affiliation with Team Mom and Child’s Play Communications in order to give an honest review of this product. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, not influenced by any outside sources except by the input of my assistant tester Miss A, my 4 year-old daughter. 

Above ALL else, my girls favorite activity for play time is playing dress up. No matter if it’s trying on fancy dresses and shiny, plastic jewelry, or wearing their favorite character costumes, they could play dress up all day long. They have danced, ran errands with me, and even eaten in their dress up clothes, and if I would allow it I’m sure they would have slept in them, tiara and all, {ouch!}.

Lucky for us, my girls ultimate dream is coming true. The biggest dress up night of their lives {yes all 4 years for Miss A and 1.5 for Baby C,} is coming on October 21st, and you can come too!

Can Can, Discovery Place KIDS’ awesome mascot, invites you to her Masquerade Ball at Discovery Place KIDS-Huntersville. Put your fancy pants on, shine your dancing shoes, and get ready to celebrate the Museum’s one-year anniversary!

Heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served for the young and young at heart. Masks and costumes are welcome but not required, but of course you know my little ones will be dressed up for sure, and maybe mommy and daddy too!

Friday, October 21, 2011
6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
105 Gilead Road
Huntersville, NC 28078

Purchase tickets online : http://www.discoveryplacekids.org/events/event/18/Can-Cans-Masquerade-Ball or call 704.348.1994 to purchase over the phone and for additional information.

Cost per ticket is: $25 per child (ages 1-13 years) & $50 per adult (ages 14 and up).
*Children younger than one are free

All proceeds from this event will benefit the educational programming at Discovery Place KIDS-Huntersville.

So won’t you join me and my “dresser-uppers”, Can Can, and The Charlotte Moms {who are giving away 2 tickets through 9/25} for this fun night to celebrate Discovery Place KIDS’ first birthday?! We would love to see you come out and support the community and have fun with the kiddos too.

What are your child(ren)’s favorite characters to dress up as?