I See Me: My very own pirate tale review and giveaway

When I handed this book I see me: My very own pirate tale book to my preschool son and told him this book is especially for him, he was excited.  As I started to read the dedication, he became really excited and surprised because the book had his name.  

Drifter ballistic lugz shoes

My husband tested these good looking pair of Drifter ballistic lugz shoes for men. He felt that the shoes were lightweight and stylish so it can be worn to a variety of places. The cushioned insole, padded tongue and collar of the shoes make it comfortable to wear for long periods of time. This tough and durable boots have a unique nylon upper part that keeps the boots strong and breathable.

Check out the selection of Lugz shoes for men, as these trendy and stylish urban footwear are built for the street. The foxing tape looks decorative in the shoes. The shoes have a lug sole, which will not slip.

You can comfortably insert orthotics, if you wear one.

Giveaway:

If you would like to win a pair of these Drifter ballistic lugz shoes, in your size please leave a comment on this post. The giveaway is open to readers in US and ends on August 5th.

Follow Lugz on twitter and Facebook to keep up to date with deals and new trends.

Follow me on twitter and Facebook so I can contact you if you are the winner.
Update: The winner is sophieandmomma

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Reading with children

As parents we can help our children read without tears by making reading a part of their everyday life and fun.  It is important to talk and discuss with children about what they read by asking related questions, to see if they have comprehended what they read or listened to.
Reading something fun everyday with the children brings lots of satisfaction that will become good memories.  Choose a book like this 365 Animal stories and rhymes or another book from the 365 stories and enjoy with your little ones.  This book has a variety of reading media such as folk stories, exciting long and short stories and poetry that will keep children entertained.  My children enjoyed listening to many of the stories and want to listen to some of them over and over.
I liked reading it with my children and was happy to see some stories I remember listening to as a child from my grandmas and mom.  

Another note on reading: Every summer Toronto Public library has a reading program that encourages children to have fun and read.  They provide posters and stickers free of charge; so do join this fun learning program.


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Arizona way out west wacky

My children enjoy fascinating stories about interesting places and this book, Arizona way out west wacky or AZWOWW was really fun for them.  The book is full of geography, history, nature and cultural stories.  This book is appealing for children and adults.    
My children enjoyed colouring the book, reading about the fun facts and all the lovely activities in the book.  To keep children entertained the book has facts, recipes, activities etc.
This book is available on Amazon and at Five Star Publication.
If you are in the state of Arizona and you would like the author's to attend your school, conventions or bookstores then checkout the site.  They are also on Facebook.

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On My Honor Girl Scouts

Shannon Henry Kleiber, the author of the book On My Honor wrote this novel like biography, which I enjoyed reading and learned many things.  After reading the book, I do Honor the Girls Scouts and its concept more.  Many of us have heard of, seen or been part of Girl Scouts, but we know little of how girl scouts came to exist.  The author has written lots of stories, funny incidents and information about Juliette Gordon Low, the leader and founder of Girl Scouts.  


The author, Shannon is the Girl Scouts leader of her daughter's troop.  She wrote this book because of her curiosity to find out about Daisy; the person that started this "sisterhood" or "girl guides".  Shannon found out lots of interesting things about Daisy from many sources and wrote this book to bring light to this leader.  


Juliette Gordon Low, well known as Daisy started the Girl Scouts determined to teach young girls and women to self rely.  Daisy was inspired by the Boy Scouts that was formed and led by Robert Borden Powell.  Daisy has influenced many thousands of young girls and women for hundreds of years.  Her wisdom has helped many women to become leaders.  


Over the years Girl Scouts have gone through lots of controversies and changes.  The famous Girl Scout cookies changed their ingredients to make it more healthy, the packaging has become more environmentally friendly as they use paperboard.  
The principles of Girl Guides have been debated if it is religious or not religious.  Daisy wanted to make sure the principles and way of life was being taught by family, friends and community and not by the Girl Scout leaders because everyone from all walks of life is accepted to be part of Girl Scouts.
The famous Girls Scouts badges show accomplishment as the girls learn the skill such as cooking, ironing, swimming etc and earn the badges.

I enjoyed learning many things and started to think of strategies that are important to me as a parent. 

Sharron shares her research of lots of funny jokes, stories and incidents that happen in Daisy's life.  Sharron also shares her experience as a mother and talks about challenges such as technology and how it has impacted the decisions we make.  Some points I learned from the book that I like to share are below.

• We need to help out our children to become independent, even if it means they will be messy.
• Guiding the children will help, not lecturing them.
• Connecting with the community and begin part of it; seeing beyond people, being eco friendly.
• Looking at how things are done in the past, adapting to the present and learning the skills from previous generations.
• Knowing we aren't perfect, and that we all have different strengths.
• Recognizing people are different and accepting that it is good to be different.
• Teaching children to be themselves and explaining that if we are all alike it is not a good thing.
• Becoming self reliant, learning gardening, cooking, needlework that will keep us calm, appreciate nature and become pioneers.
• Financial security by saving money to take care of ourselves.  
• Being physically strong by taking care of our health, eating a balance diet and water, getting involved in sports and being active.  
• Becoming strong emotionally by helping ourselves.  
• Helping those who are poor, less fortunate, sick, the animals and loving all living things.
• Recognitions by saying Thank you is more appreciated than financial compensation.  Contributing our time, thoughts, talent is helpful and valuable.

On January 1917 Borden Powell mentioned in his letter to Daisy agreeing, that the girls are mothers of the future who will influence our future generations.  

Shannon mentions the Whip it 2009 movie, which is about Girl Scouts and I am planning to watch it.

Everyone should know the Girl Scout's law; this is from Shannon's book:

I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and storing, and responsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.

The book is available at Indigo chapters, amazon and bookstores.

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Gardening book and gloves

With the gardening season starting, it would be a good time to get ready with the right tools.  Having a guidebook is a good start before starting to garden and plan. 

The Canadian Gardener's Guide is a useful book for beginners and experts.  It has all the detailed information that we need to know about gardening. It covers topics such as maintenance, diseases, weeds, pests, pruning and caring during off-season. The 435 page handbook edited by Lorraine Johnson has all the details with colourful pictures. It is easy to follow and understand.   

Some of the topics that the book covers:

• Gardening basics for beginners i.e. tools, jargon.
• Shows how to select and garden plants, trees, vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers in appropriate zones.
• Expert guidance to plant care.
• Large areas and small areas i.e. information on styles, layouts, designs.  
• Step-by-step instructions on how to build fence, pathway, patio and other landscaping ideas.
• Detailed information about specific flowers such as roses, dahlias, clematis, sunflowers, tropical, perennials, fruit and trees.  
• About specific herbs, fruit trees and plants.

This book has been very useful for us.  It has kept us excited about planning the garden and getting things ready.  I have learned lot of tips from this book about gardening and DIY projects for the backyard. 

An important tool that we all need to have during gardening is a pair of good quality gloves.  This gauntlet style Dig it high five is an extended version of the original Dig it handwear glove.  It protects the fingers, palm and hand almost up to the elbow.  The cuffs that is extended by 5" is useful for robust work like landscaping, pruning, tending roses, berry picking etc.

I have used this pair of Dig it high five to prepare the garden and clean out the garage.  It felt very comfortable and flexible so I had it on for long periods of time.  The lightweight, breathable, pliable fabric was helpful with all the tasks that I needed to do, so there was no need to remove it each time.  It is easy to wash by hand and air-dry the gloves.  

The protective cushions inside the glove cared for my fingernails and tips.  The cuffs protected my hand from scrapes and bruises.  

Dig it high five is made from environmentally friendly recycled material.  Dig it high five comes in four different sizes S, M, L and XL.  This fabulous Dig it handwear and high five gloves are sold online and in stores in UK, USA and Canada i.e. home depot. 

Gardening has lots of benefits, so we should all try to learn about doing gardening correctly and benefit from these types of books.  After doing all the hard work I also want to feel good.  In the past years, as much as I love doing gardening I didn't like looking at the fingertips getting damaged even after wearing gloves.  I had to take extra care with all types of creams and lotions.  Ever since I have used the Dig it gloves I felt good and didn't have to worry about the fingernails.

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