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From Lobster Press comes Come on, Mom! It features 75 activities mothers and daughters can do together like making perfume or bread-dough clay to playing radio reporter or playing goofy golf. Each activity includes easy-to-follow instructions and a materials list if supplies are needed. This girls-only guide will create memories that will last. For girls ages 3 to 9 and their moms.

Not to fear, there’s a father/son version, too - Come on, Dad!: 75 Things for Fathers and Sons to Do Together. For boys ages 3 to 9 and their dads, sample activities include Personal Pizzas, Paper Air Force, Time Capsule, Family Story Collection, Math Olympics, Obstacle Race, Recycled City, Personal Place Mats, and Backyard Camp Out.

Not only are these books great for parents, they’ll be helpful for new stepparents, volunteers in big brother/big sister type programs, and babysitters.

I like how these books have their share of pretend play, physical activity, mental activities, and cooking. Speaking of cooking, another great activities to do with your kids on your next camping trip is to make Campfire Pies. Grilling dessert over the campfire? Sounds like wholesome family fun.

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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

Compared to most of the families on our block, we do a good job with our recycling. While most of our neighbor’s garbage cans are overflowing, ours is not. Instead, we have two to four bins of recyclables at the curb most weeks. (No we don’t drink a lot of beer. It’s mostly the weekly remains of two newspapers, a dozen magazine subscriptions, too much junk mail, boxes we get in the mail, milk jugs, and food and soda cans.)

The kids are very good about putting their trash in the recycling bin. If anything, they think everything goes into it and I have to explain only paper, cardboard, glass, cans and #1/#2 plastics.

I get frustrated when we can’t recycle a plastic because it’s not the right type. I literally feel a tinge of guilt when I throw an empty #5 yogurt container in the trash. Unfortunately, there’s no local recycling place that I can take those containers to - the nearest one is in the next county. Since it’s a 1 hour round trip, the gas we’d be using wouldn’t make it worth it.

Recycline Preserve toothbrushes for clean teeth and a green earth

That’s why I was excited to receive two Recycline Preserve toothbrushes to review. Available in seven vivid colors, the handle is made from recycled plastic like Stonyfield Farm® yogurt cups. They come in a reusable travel case and are available at Target stores nationwide for only $2.04. (There’s kid sized toothbrushes, Preserve Jr., too.)

When it is time to replace your toothbrush, you send the toothbrush and case back to Preserve using their postage-paid label to be re-processed into plastic lumber for picnic tables, boardwalks and decks.

Recycline also makes razors, toothpicks, tongue cleaners (!), tableware, and kitchenware. Preserve products are available at Target, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods Market. Preserve Kitchen is carried exclusively at Whole Foods Market.

Click here to save $1 on the purchase of 2 Preserve or Preserve Jr. Toothbrushes.

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Since the price of gas has almost doubled since last year, I’m seriously considering using EZSchoolSupplies.com to shop online for my children’s school supplies. Last year, I must have driven to the various office supply and discount stores at least a half dozen times. With each trip being over 30 miles round trip and taking over 40 minutes, I can’t do go through that again without major damage to my patience and wallet. In fact, now that Nathan and Lucie have discovered the shredders at Staples, it’s practically self-inflicted torture!

Shop Online with EZSchoolSupplies.com

Denver-based EZSchoolSupplies.com has been doing business with moms online for five years. Their mission is to make life easy for moms when they are shopping for school supplies.

They provide this service to thousands of schools and parents across the country. Mothers love them because they can order online the exact school supplies requested by the school or the teachers for each specific grade level and have them delivered right to their home.

Worried that they won’t have exactly what your child’s teacher or school wants? Don’t worry! EZSchoolSupplies.com offers over 26,000 brand name items on their website.

Raise Money for Your School with EZSchoolSupplies.com

Not only can you shop for school supplies online with EZSchoolSupplies.com, you can help your school earn cash or supplies. Every organization that enrolls with EZSchoolSupplies.com will receive a 10% donation of the total net sales. See their FAQs page for more information on how this program works

Can EZSchoolSupplies.com Really Save Me Money?

EZSchoolSupplies.com’s prices are competitive with stores like Target and Wal-mart. Still, certain individual items might be slightly higher. However, with gas prices being so high and considering that moms have limited time to shop and help out their children’s schools, I can’t think of a smarter service. Visit EZSchoolSupplies.com’s website today!

In a Blue Room by Jim Averbeck is one of my  favorite books of the summer. (Thanks Jim for emailing me and offering a review copy!)

For children ages four to eight, In a Blue Room is the story of a little girl named Alice. She is wide awake and insists on having a blue room before she can fall asleep. Her mama brings her flowers, tea, a quilt, and lullaby bells to help her sleep. While none of these things are blue, they help Alice get ready for bed. Then her mama turns out the light. Magically her darkened room becomes blue as moonlight fills her bedroom with blue light.

There are so many things I love about In a Blue Room. First, the illustrations by Tricia Tusa are gorgeous. I wish my room looked as beautiful as Alice’s bedroom. Then I love Jim’s use of color and the five senses - smell (lilacs and lilywhites), taste (orange tea), touch (a silky-soft and warm quilt), sounds (lullaby bells) and sight (colors and light). Not only is it a beautiful bedtime story that teaches the colors and senses, but it also reminds parents that we have to “set the stage” for good sleep both for our children and ourselves.

Foods that Make You Sleepy

I’ve written at my blog, This Mama Cooks! about foods that can make your children sleepy. In fact, a new study has come out showing that carbs may help you fall asleep faster because they raise tryptophan and serotonin levels.

But now that it’s summer, your child may be having a tough time getting to sleep because they’re too warm. If you don’t have air conditioning, try a cooling shower or bath before bedtime. A drink of ice water or cool milk (tryptophan!) will help, too.

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