New here? Then you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Lobster Press is holding a snack contest to promote their book, YUM: Your Ultimate Manual for Good Nutrition. This would be a great summer project to do indoors when it’s too hot outside to play. To enter just click here to email them your ultimate healthy “YUM SUMMER SNACK” idea for the chance to win a free copy of YUM and four other Lobster Press books of your choice!

You’ll need to include your name, age, and mailing address along with the description of your healthy snack. Include any special ingredients and preparation instructions, too. Also, you’ll need to tell the folks at Lobster Press why your snack rules!

The winning “YUM SUMMER SNACK” idea will be posted on the Lobster Press website and on the Lobster Press Blog.

Also, children will need their parents’ permission before submitting their entry! Contest is open to Canadian and U.S. residents up to age 18. No purchase required. One grand prize winner will be drawn at random from all entries received and contacted by email to chose the books in their prize pack. Limit one entry per person.

Please email Lobster Press if you have any questions.

More from Lobster Press

• Click here for some sample recipes from the book. (It’s a PDF file, so you’ll need Adobe Reader to view.)
• Read a review of YUM: Your Ultimate Manual for Good Nutrition on the Lobster Press blog - Feature: Delicious Summers with Healthy Meals.
• Summer Reading Suggestions from Lobster Press

Did you know that kids’ TV viewing spikes by 150% in the summer? Goodness knows my children’s has even though they are also busy with summer camps, karate, baseball, camping trips, sleep overs, and summer reading programs.

To combat the spike in TV viewing, the Smart Television Alliance has just announced the OutSmart the Summer Spike! campaign to raise awareness about the need for busy parents and caregivers to make smart viewing choices and to use technology to control what their children watch.

The Smart Television Alliance believes that if you’re in control of what’s on the screen, you can actually bring educational time to a long summer outside of the classroom. How do you go about doing this? First, start is by signing a petition to TV producers demanding more educational and age-appropriate programming for kids.

Also, look for Smart Television Alliance’s Summer TV Tips blog posts to find out how you can use your kids’ favorite shows as inspiration for learning, while the show is on, and after it’s over. (And while you’re over there, check out the post I wrote for them - Remote Control: It’s O.K., Mom Said We Can Watch TV.)

If you don’t feel like going to the Smart Television Alliance’s blog ever day, you can sign up for Smart News to get tips and other great information sent right to you.

The reason I started this blog was to promote family activities through books and cooking. But in reality it was about finding ways to bond with your children and to create family memories that they would cherish as they got older. Doing it with books and food was just one way I like to do that with my family.

However, there are other activities, like taking trips together. So as I prepare for another weekend of camping hell, I repeat what my husband said to me the other day, “Camping is not about you having a good time. It’s about creating memories for the children.”

And it’s true. Some of the fondest memories I have with my parents and sister are our vacations to the Florida Keys, and the road trips my mom took us on to Virginia and Montreal.

Memories and bonding – could your family use some? Well, maybe it’s time to think about taking a family vacation. Now I know money is tight. However, Beaches Resorts is holding a WonderFALL Celebration during the off-peak season months of September and October. Not only do you get to enjoy everything Beaches offers year-round, but you can SAVE up to 45% off published rates and get two Nights Free on stays of seven nights or more. 

Yes, I know the kids will be back in school. But you can take school work with you. After all, the first month or two of school is a refresher course on all the things the kids forgot over the summer. (This is what my son’s teachers told me. And another reason to get your kids to read, read, read this summer.) You have nothing to lose – only memories to gain.

Continue Reading »