Flexible Parenting Reviews

This is a part of Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting. It contains a write-up of products and services that I review, mostly but not entirely related to parenting, families, and children.

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Monday, April 28, 2008

Raised By Wolves

I'm going to just start right out and say that I loved this book. It was really good. I learned a lot, and it made me laugh a lot. In fact the synopsis of the book made me laugh so much that I eagerly looked forward to receiving the book from The Parent Bloggers Network to review. What more could I possibly want in a book?

Were You Raised by Wolves? by Christie Mellor offers, as the cover reads, "clues to the mysteries of adulthood." I told my friends that it explained all those little things you somehow missed growing up. Whether it's how to make a bed (something I need to bookmark for my husband,) how make a martini, how to behave at a new job, how to clean your house when you're expecting company and it looks like a tornado blew through it, or even what to do when a friend has a break up. Really it's an eclectic mix of all those little lessons.

The book is hilarious. I had a picture of the author's voice in my mind. She was a cross between a mother, a grandmother and a best friend. She was kind and compassionate, but also didn't take any nonsense and is very aware of modern life. I mean my great aunt can give me advice, but she doesn't own a computer so she can't really give me advice on email etiquette or thong underwear. At least not that I know! Yes, there is advice on thongs in the book.

The part of the book that I really thought was best for young people was the section on first jobs. I was amazed with how accurate it was. Sure some of tips like getting there early and making sure to do a dry run of your commute before your first day are standard pieces of advice that I remember receiving. What was different was the section on how your co-workers perceive you. Again, it was very good. It talked about not wanting to appear like you're best friends with your co-workers for example. Another excellent part of this section was decoding your boss's behavior. I think for people delving into first real jobs, this section is great. Let me also say that she really decodes as in what it means when your boss talks to you when you're both peeing.

If I knew someone who was graduating from college, I would provide this as a graduation gift. I don't think this would be the best gift for someone younger than college age just because it really is meant for the young adult. The only thing I didn't like about the book was that I wished in the laundry section she had actually tried out all of her suggestions because frankly anyone who's reading that section probably isn't going to take the time to try out a method that may or may not work.

Overall though, it's an excellent book and very quick read. It reminded me of an Erma Bombeck book.

posted by Alex Elliot @ 8:30 PM 0 comments

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Thomas and Friends Engines and Escapades

I have to admit that my older son has never really been into Thomas. Yes, he enjoys playing with trains but in terms of identifying characters or watching the DVDs, they aren't that big of a deal for him. With my younger son though, it's a different story. He really enjoys Thomas trains. While he doesn't identify most of them by name since he's still pretty little, he does identify them by color. I give you this background so that you'll know where we were at when we reviewed this video.

I wanted to review Thomas and Friends Engines and Escapades for the Parent Bloggers Network because based on YS's enjoyment of the Thomas characters I thought he would like it. I was right. I have to admit though that some of the big excitement that other reviewers gained from reviewing this DVD was lost on us. Why would that be? Because a new character was introduced! Madge is the new character in this DVD. She is a strong female character which is always nice to see!

This DVD is contains 6 episodes. The DVD, like other Thomas DVDs we've seen, focuses on working together. There also were a couple of songs with the lyrics on the screen. Although this DVD did not feature Thomas as much as some of the other DVDs, the other trains had an opportunity to learn the importance of finishing their own responsibilities, listening to the advice of others, and generally respecting each other.

This DVD is very cute. If you have a Thomas fan in your family, I would recommend it. It's available at amazon.com for $9.99.

posted by Alex Elliot @ 9:27 PM 0 comments

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Name:	Alex Elliot
Home:	MA, United States
About Me:	Professional Mom of two cats, a dog, an ant farm, and oh yeah...two boys: a 4 year old and a 1 year old. Also found in my house is my husband who is known on this blog as The Big Giraffe.
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