I'm a full-time mummy

It has been a while since I last reviewed a music album, so when I received a press release on this new album  a month before it is due for release on August 23rd, of course I said 'Yes, count me in!'  (who wouldn't want to review a new music album?!!!) and immediately downloaded the album and listened to it!

More info from the press release I received:

"If their last record was a light-in-the-darkest-places announcement that “the end is really just the beginning,” then Downhere’s latest Centricity Music release arrives as an artfully textured but heartfelt declaration that, “True progress might mean we have to go backwards.” As students of history, Jeremy, Jason, Marc and Glenn have come to recognize and appreciate the fact that their faith is not simply their own—but that it’s part of a much larger communion of believers that stretches across cultures and thousands of years. And while we might have the privilege of bearing that torch during the short span of our own lives, they would say it’s important to recognize it’s not a torch we lit. It’s one that was passed to us by generations of faithful saints, and it’s one that we’ll soon enough be passing on to those who follow us.

At first blush that might sound like a heady concept for a pop album, but what Downhere has somehow managed to do is to translate those great truths into the most pop-friendly record they’ve engineered to date, carving out lush and hook-laden aural landscapes, complimented by a lyrical approach that feels personal and intimate. Or, to put it another way, On the Altar of Love is thoroughly passionate, but never preachy.

On the Altar of Love is really a proclamation of faith,” explains Jason. “It’s an encouragement to continue on regardless of circumstance, to continue this journey with joy and celebration, because we have a promise. We know where the journey ends. And we know that we’re not alone as we make our way. We have the companionship of Christ, and we have this vast family of brothers and sisters, and we have this great cloud of witnesses that have gone before us, who are cheering us on. So we want to cast aside the distractions, return to what is essential, and spend ourselves completely in response to the love we’ve been given."

More info on Downhere's website at http://downhere.com/home

 The few songs in this album that captured my attention are:

#2 "Rest" - Very nice and catchy tune! Love it!
#5 "Living the Dream" - This is a light hearted and cheerful song, love the upbeat tune!
#10 "Turn This Around" - Love the inspiring message in the lyrics!

You can get their new album at: http://discrevolt.com/artists/centricity/#downhere

I would like to give a note of thanks to Meredith from Centricity Music for this wonderful opportunity to review this album prior to its release! FYI, I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the link to  download and listen to the album to assist with my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

(** Article first published as Book Review: Mom Rules: Notes on Motherhood, the World's Best Job by Jill Milligan and Michael Milligan on Blogcritics. )

I'm always scouting for good books on parenting, Christianity, children and so on and when I saw this parenting book from Skyhorse Publishing, I immediately asked to review it. Here is my review of this book from Jill Milligan & Michael Milligan entitled: "Mom Rules: Notes on Motherhood, the World's Best Job".

Title: Mom Rules: Notes on Motherhood, the World's Best Job
Author: Jill Milligan, Michael Milligan (Contributor)
 Publisher:  Skyhorse Publishing (May 1, 2010)
ISBN-13/-10: 978-1602399877 / 1602399875
Hardcover: 160 pages
Dimension: 7.7 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches

Description from the product page:
"Following on the heels of their successful books on grandparenting (Grandma Rules and Grandpa Rules), wife-husband author team Jill and Michael Milligan set their sights on the joys and stresses of motherhood. A response to all those sappy mommy books with flowers and puppies on the cover, Mom Rules is a book for the hip mom who can use a laugh (if not a drink) at the end of another trying day with her kids. A perfect gift for the moms in your life, this book is laugh-out-loud funny and offers useful insights and tips on how to embrace the world’s greatest job.

It includes:
* Tips on what to really expect when you’re expecting
* How to survive on two hours of sleep a night
* How to properly accessorize a macaroni necklace
* How to be the hippest “juice mommy” on the soccer field
* And much more!"

About the authors:

"Jill Milligan is a former stand-up comedian, grandmother of four, and an entrepreneur living in Los Angeles, California. Michael Milligan has been a comedy writer for over thirty years, with credits including Good Times, Maude, All in the Family, The Jeffersons, and Dear John. He lives in Los Angeles, California."

Firstly, I like the compact size of the book, it is not too big and it is also easy to carry around plus the fonts are really easy on the eyes.

When I first saw the book title, I thought, "Hey, I must read this and see what others write about motherhood being the world's best job!". This book includes tips on what to really expect when you are pregnant, how to make full use with the hours available for sleeping, and many more!

The pictures in this book are cute and humorous to look at (it's located at the beginning of each chapter) and I love the statement on page 2 where it says "although motherhood ranks at the top of the importance scale, it seems to be the only critical profession in which no first-hand understanding or experience is necessary - or possible - until after you become a mother". How true is that?! I mean, being a mother does not mean it comes packed with a manual  instructions teaching you on how to become one, you just learned on the job and try to do your best.

Under the "Second Born Children" chapter, I find it hilarious to read the rules on first-born/second-born and I also appreciate the advice given on enriching our life with the second child.

In my opinion, this book is a delight to read if you want to know what's so awesome being a mother!

I would say this book would make a good gift for new mums as well! 

You can get this book from Skyhorse Publishing, Amazon and many more.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book by Skyhorse Publishing in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"

(** Article first published as Book Review: Not Fair, Won't Share by Sue Graves on Blogcritics.)

Title: Not Fair, Won’t Share (Our Emotions and Behavior)
Author: Sue Graves
Illustrated by: Desideria Guicciardini
Publisher:  Free Spirit Publishing
ISBN-13/-10: 978-1575423753 / 1575423758
Board book, full-color: 32 pages
Dimension: 7¾" x 9½" 

Description from the product page:
" Playing fairly doesn’t always come naturally to kids—and sharing isn’t always easy. Plus, the hurt feelings that happen when others won’t share can make matters even worse. Nora, Henry, and Dan find this out when Miss Clover builds a special space station in their classroom. Everyone wants to play at once! Can they figure out how to share?

This engaging title in the new series of Our Emotions and Behavior books from Free Spirit shows that when kids get frustrated and mad, there are ways for them to calm down. Soon they see that playing fairly with other kids, and sharing with them, can make the day more fun for everyone.

Near the end of this humorous child behavior book, a series of pictures invites kids to tell a story in their own words. A special section for adults presents positive coping skills for children and ideas for talking with kids about feeling reluctant to share—or feeling mad when someone else won’t share—and how to deal with those emotions. Ideal for home and K–3 classroom settings."

I love the cute illustrations and I'm so glad to be able to review this book!

This book is about a teacher who made a 'space station' for her class activities where her students get their chance to play with the buttons, levers, and the space gadgets. To be fair to all the children, she put their names into a hat and draws out 3 of the childrens' names who get to play first.

Nora, Dan and Henry were chosen to be the first 3 children to play in the 'space station' but they were told to take their turns and share. However, Nora decided to hog all the gadgets and played with the buttons and levers without giving chance to the other 2 children to play. Dan and Henry were not happy with what Nora did and they all got into a fight and ended up being punished by their teacher.

From this story, I get to teach my boy to share, take turns and play together and not to act selfishly like Nora. Few days back, I managed to put this into practise when a friend of my hubby came over with his 4 year old son. Ben was feeling generous with his toys and was showing his toys to the older boy but once his toys were taken away by the older boy, Ben cried and wanted his toys back.

I talked to him calmly, telling him to take turns and to pick one toy to pass to the older boy to play for just a while. This works, though it only lasted less than 10 seconds, but at least, there is some improvements there!

In the next few pages of the book, we see the 3 children realising their mistakes and they apologised to their teacher and to each other too! The story ended with all 3 children taking turns and playing happily.

From this story, I get to teach my boy that sharing means everybody gets their share and being happy with the people they are with as a result.

I appreciate the additional 2 pages of picture story about the 2 space aliens that do not want to share a toy they found and ended up being unhappy. But once they decided to share and play together, they enjoyed the toy and game together.

In my opinion, "Our Emotions and Behavior" series are a good choice for parents to use with their children because of the positive message they bring!

You can get this book from Free Spirit Publishing, Amazon and many more.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a softcopy of the book by Free Spirit Publishing in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"