bluebirdbaby
As the days get shorter and kids start spending more time inside, it’s possible that they’ll gravitate to the computer, TV, cell phone or handheld as a remedy to “being bored”. Of course I tell my kids that if they ever claim “I’m bored” then they can go clean the bathroom but I get busy (lazy) and am trying to incorporate some built in screen solutions to avoid future arguments and debates.
GetNoodles is free educational software which interrupts children’s web surfing, texting or gaming with pop-up educational, multiple choice questions. Parents choose the frequency of the pop-ups and the contents of the questions based on each child’s grade level and subjects selected. There’s a broad range of subjects for every age including some ACT prep for older children.
Instead of TV is a wonderful site offering a plethora of options for unplugged family activities and I also picked up the book, Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun. I let my kids pull out 10 ideas each that we have as a go 
to when they feel that there is “nothing to do” besides sitting in front of a screen. But my absolute new favorite pick up from my beloved indie bookstore, Pudd’nHead Books, is It’s A Book Read the rest of this entry
If you’ve ever muttered the phrase, “I wish I had time to do that” or find yourself at the end of a weekend wondering where your time went, join author Laura Vanderkam, me and many others as we take the 168 Hours Challenge. Based on the book, 
got a great new book out called 
from these creepy crawly creatures that is simply stunning. ”I want to kind of juxtapose order and cleanliness and composition with the radical diversity of insects and their colors and their shapes and their patterns,” Marley says.
gives an economic incentive 
author explains that he decided to write the book when he found himself considering the purchase of a book called 
various platforms, but for my intent today, it has to do with giving. Wendy Smith wrote an incredible book called 
International 
I’ll admit that I was equally intrigued and annoyed by the title. The last thing I need is someone else telling me how to better organize my time or my life. However, after getting past the Intro (skim it or skip it, ugh!), I decided that anyone & everyone could benefit from this book. Male, female, grad, Dad, corporate executive, stay-at-home mom…it’s an easy read that provides simple steps to assess how you spend your time.
* Labor Day by Joyce Maynard *The Miracle by Irving Wallace *The Middle of the Night: Stories by Daniel Stolar (set largely in St. Louis) *The Stand by Stephen King *The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon *Master of the Game by Sidney Sheldon *The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green by Joshua Braff *Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson (kid’s book but a great read) *The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
