As a parent determining what CDs are appropriate for your children, you don’t want to encourage repetitive jingles that stick in your head and drive you insane. But nor do you want obscene or too-sophisticated lyrics for the young-uns. Adult music can be appreciated by kids, but especially if it is introduced in a kid-friendly and “safe” way.

I am pleased to have had the opportunity to review That Baby CD and That Baby DVD, two products from Rob and Lisi Wolf of OyBaby LLC. The company’s first venture into the world of children’s music was to create the first and only DVDs and CDs made for Jewish babies and kids, OyBaby.

Through the Parent Bloggers Network, I received That Baby CD and That Baby DVD, two non-religious, sway-inducing, smile-producing products. Should I admit that I’ve probably listened to the music more than my kids?

We spend a lot of time in the car. Whether it is going to Grandma's or to hockey games, it is likely that we end up on the road while it is dark. Usually, we pop a DVD into the player, but then I am left rather bored and the books that the kids inevitably bring along end up unread as the sun goes down. There have been many times when I've wished for a book light for me or for the kids. I avoid using the overhead lights because I don't like people looking into our car and I don't want my or my husband's vision or attention compromised while we are driving.

Fortunately, through the Parent Bloggers Network I received an Autolite Spotglo Seatbelt Lite.

The Spotglo Seatbelt Lite is about four inches long and three inches wide. It clips on to the shoulder belt. The light itself is adjustable, plus the apparatus can slide up and down the belt. There are two settings of light strength, although I didn't realize this until I read more information about the product after I had tried it out.

Gayle Weiswasser is hosting an online book club discussion of The Middle Place, by Kelly Corrigan. I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of the book so that I could join in. If any of you wish to ask the author your questions, please visit Gayle's place to submit them.

I have read "cancer books" (and blogs) before, but I have been lucky enough not to understand what it feels like to go through what Corrigan has. Sure, I have had a friend with cancer to whom I brought meals, and I've had abnormal moles removed in the name of preventing cancer. But my frame of reference is very different than people who have lived it.

But this isn't really a "cancer book." It is a memoir. It is a spirit-lifting, page-turning, comfort-inducing memoir. Did I just say "comfort" and "cancer" in the same paragraph?

The Parent Bloggers Network is at it again, bringing me fun and educational toys that end up being life-savers!

This latest find is the Talking Telescope from Discovery Kids. The Cat adores astronomy, so this is perfect for him.

I still have a little "planets" song in my head from the Cat's Kindergarten class last year. They bopped up and down as they sang. And in preschool, the Cat made a beautiful large green planet. One of his favorite DVDs for quite awhile was "Baby Galileo." He has a glow-in-the-dark T-shirt of constellations and printed out a star chart for extra credit to bring to school. One of the books in his "store" at home (for reward for accumulating enough chore/behavior points) is a very, very heavy book on space.

Convinced that he'd love a telescope?

When I was a child, I loved having pen-pals. Most were around my own age, and from all different parts of the country (and even a couple from different parts of the world.) During social storms in school, I took comfort in the treasures I would find in the mailbox when I got home. I've mentioned before how I loved to dance, and how I wrote to Karen Strickler Dean, who had written young adult fiction books about dance. When Ms. Strickler Dean wrote me back, I was thrilled. Authors are heroes to me. Ms. Strickler Dean and I had a pen-pal relationship for quite awhile.

In today's age, pals with pens have been replaced by various online communities. But the thrill of paper books still gets to me, and I hope to emphasize the love of books to my kids. Authors are still heroes to me, especially children's authors.

I am lucky to have received Piper Reed: Navy Brat from the Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. And I am even luckier to be hosting an interview with the author, Kimberly Willis Holt. Her stop at my blog is next Tuesday, December 18th. Of course I am thrilled, and told the Cat how we could ask her questions. I pointed to the book and told him that she wrote it, and that we could talk to her!

Keep reading to find out how you can receive your own autographed copy of Piper Reed: Navy Brat!

I am not one of those scrapbookers who gets out stickers, fancy scissors, and cutesy borders and spends hours lining up the perfect layout. In fact, the word "scrapbooker" holds interesting stereotypes for me.

And yet, when Husband and I first got together, I started keeping a scrapbook: old tickets to movies, receipts of special events or dinners, and of course the photographs. When the Cat was born, I did the same. This ended up being rather laborious, though, especially since I used to cut out fun patterns and colors from magazines, I produced ransom-note style captioning, and so forth.

When Husband convinced me to go digital on my camera, I started taking my scrapbooking digital as well: I made collages of my photographs, usually adding captions and clip-art. I would then print out a single full-size page to add to a photo album.

HP Photo Books work on the same principal of designing digitally; thus, I was exceptionally excited to receive an HP Photosmart A626 and two HP Photo Books via the Parent Bloggers Network.

As promised, here is my interview with Kimberly Willis Holt, author of Piper Reed: Navy Brat

I am pleased to be part of her Piper Reed Blog Tour, and am happy that she was able to provide our lucky winner Robin with an autographed copy of Piper Reed: Navy Brat!

Please read my brief review of the book if you haven't already. And please visit Kimberly Willis Holt at her website: www.kimberlywillisholt.com for more information about her and her books.

Without further ado, the interview...

My 6.5 year old son and I both enjoyed “Piper Reed Navy Brat,” so we are happy to ask you some questions. This is our first interview, so we are very excited: