The Six Pack: Karen Voight's New Workout Series

Way back in the mid '90's, when I worked out like a fiend, weighed 2 ounces and thought I looked fat, I worked out to Karen Voight videos. I always loved her: excellent cues, with plenty of tips to help you do all the moves correctly and efficiently.

Turns out, unlike me, she's still incredibly active, writing for the Los Angeles Times, being voted “Fitness Instructor of the Year” by I.D.E.A. (International Dance Exercise Association), and making tons of workout DVDs, including her latest release: The Six Pack.

This past fall I started getting into exercise videos again, after the loss of morning light and the realization that my town is crawling with coyotes ended my morning walks. Unfortunately, within a week of receiving this set for review, my left leg was put in a cast for an as-yet-undiagnosed ankle ailment. So I haven't been able to give these videos a shot.

However, I did research them as I would have before purchasing them. I found that:

• Most if not all of the DVDs are repackaged versions of previously released workouts. Which is good for us, because they're are plenty of reviews online.

• All six are highly rated at Collage Video, which I've found to be an impartial, invaluable and reliable resource. More than half of The Six Pack have been named "staff favorites."

• Three of them -- Slim Toning on a Ball, Yoga Power and Quick and Slim, are just 30 minutes long. I love that in a workout, and many mornings, it's a requirement.

I know I could have watched them myself to give you a better review. But did I mention that I'm pretty pissed that I can't work out right now and haven't been able to since November? Watching a fitness video would kick off a pitty party of epic proportions. We don't want that.

Here are some links to make it easy for you, in case you interested in kicking your own butt around the living room.

The Six Pack
1. Strength: Slim Toning on a Ball -- Amazon page, Collage Video reviews
2. Sweat: Quick & Slim - Amazon page, Collage Video reviews
3. Streamline: Yoga Power - Amazon page, Collage Video reviews
4. Strength: Lean Legs & Butt - Amazon page, Collage Video reviews
5. Strength: Firm Arms & Abs - Amazon page, Collage Video reviews
6. Streamline: Pure & Simple Stretch -- Amazon page, Collage Video reviews

If you're into exercise videos, or are getting sick of your routine and want to try something new, you cannot go wrong with these. Promise.

Giveaway: A Suburban Mom, Notes From the Asylum

UPDATE: Well, the competition was pretty stiff here, but we do have a winner: Karen of A Deaf Mom Shares Her World. I just stopped over there and -- wow -- she's got a lot going on. Head on over, I suggest that you start with this post. Go get 'em, Karen!

Monday afternoons at my house are known as Hell. Because that's when the boys take their swimming lessons. They hate it because, well, they're whiney brats I guess. I hate it because I have to chase Ava all over the place and the lessons are not at the same time so I get stuck there forever and.... Well, I guess I'm a whiney brat, too.

One thing I look forward to, though, is the new issue of Parents and Kids, the parent's paper of our regional newspaper, which is always in a pile by the flight of stairs Ava tries to fling herself down. As I hold Ava by the back of her shirt, I flip right to the back page to read Meredith O'Brien's latest column. It always makes me laugh out loud. And it always makes me feel like I'm "not the only one who..."

When Meredith came out with her book, which is a collection of 76 columns, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. And it didn't disappoint. Half the time that I'm reading Meredith's columns, I have tears of laughter streaming down my face. It's just that I know many of her situations all too well. And if you're reading here, you probably do, too.

If you'd like to read one of Meredith's Parents and Kids columns, click here. If you'd like to win my copy of Suburban Mom, Notes From the Asylum, please leave a comment on this post between now and Sunday, January 27, at midnight, EST. My copy isn't brand new, it's been loved a bit, but it's still guaranteed to induce much laughing and nodding.

Jumpstart World 1st Grade

When my kids ask to play video games (every other minute), I do my best to make sure that they play something with educational value, at least half of the time. Like many things in parenting (OK, most), this hasn't been as easy as I thought. My boys can sniff out an educational game like a dog can sniff out bacon, and much of the time, they're not biting.

I received the Web-based game JumpStart World First Grade for review, a perfect fit for my boys who are in kindergarten and 2nd grade. One afternoon over vacation, after they'd spent many mind-numbing hours playing at candystand.com and lego.com, I told them the only video game they could play was JumpStart World.

They'd played it once the previous week, and I expected some push back. But they were both pleased. Here is what they had to say after an afternoon of play:

John (6): "It is the best game, because you get the super stone, and I already earned the whole thing!"

Ben (7): "It's awesome. I like it cause it's different than any other game. You get to walk around and do different things."

JumpStart World begins by allowing the child to choose a character. Then he can follow the map to walk around the place and complete various activities. This set-up gives the game a sense of adventure, and by completing the tasks and earning pieces of a gemstone, the child feels he's accomplishing something.

The game keeps the child engaged, and suprisingly it keeps me engaged as well. After my boys play, JumpStart World emails me a progress report on each child, describing in detail what activities they have completed and what they will do next. I also receive "parent activity tips" tailored to each child. I like the ones I've received so far because they don't take much time to do and seem to have real educational value. For example, a tip I received for John suggested that, after reading John a story, I have him retell it to his grandparents in an email (with me typing). My desk is covered with child activity books that I never seem to use with my kids. I like the idea of getting these ideas in email to make sure that I will see them and be reminded to take a learning moment my kids.

The game we received came with two of the 12 first-grade adventures. If I want my kids to do the rest, I'll have to purchase one at a time for $8 or buy all 10 for $65. My boys completed the first adventure in about a week. I like the idea that they can progress at their own rate, and I am considering signing on for more adventures.

If you'd like more information, check out the JumpStart World Web site, and here's a link to JumpStart World First Grade on Amazon.

The "What to Expect Guide to a Healthy Home"

I need to tell you the grossest thing I ever witnessed since becoming a mom, but first I have to tell you a few other things.

Especially during my first pregnancy, I read countless pregnancy books. Cover to cover. I still remember that Amazon box arriving with no less than 12 thick books inside. And that was just the first shipment.

But it was my dusty old booksale copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting, by Heidi Murkoff, that I read first and that seemed the most comprehensive when I was up at night, worried about one thing or another.

Murkoff is still actively advising new mothers, most recently with her "What to Expect: Guide to a Healthy Home," available for free here through a partnership with The Clorox Company. She also has launched a Web site, What to Expect, that's worth a look for any new parent.

Now, the gross-out story:

I was at an amusement park, standing in line for a ride. A young couple was in front of me, with a toddler perched on the mom's hip. The child was sucking on a pacifier, and it popped out of his mouth and landed on the ground. The mom barely stopped talking with her mate as she swooped down, picked up the pacifier, stuck it in her mouth to "clean" it, and popped it back in the child's mouth.

As if this wasn't gross enough, the scenario played out again no less that EIGHT TIMES before it was their turn to get on the ride. I have never, ever been so grossed out at another parent's actions.

Thanks for letting me share that, I feel so much better. Also, if that was you at the amusement park, or if you don't see the gross factor here, DOWNLOAD THIS PAMPHLET NOW!

OK, back to the "What to Expect: Guide to a Healthy Home." My main criteria when looking it over was whether it 1) taught me something new and 2) validated my neurotic germ-phobic behaviors. Happily, it passed on both counts, and I'm the proud owner of some brand new neurotic behaviors to boot.

To her credit, Murkoff keeps it low key, assuring readers that we live in a extremely clean conditions here the 21st century U.S. of A. The perfectionist in you can appreciate the desire to make it even cleaner, and as I always say, knowledge is power.

Did you know that if you flush the toilet with the cover open you create a "mini bacteria volcano"? Holy new neurotic habit, Batman!

Murkoff advises washing your hands BEFORE changing a diaper, something that never occured to me to do, and which I'm probably too lazy to ever do unless I was deboning a chicken when the smell of poop permeated the air.

Did you know that people who wash their hands seven times a day on average have about four times fewer colds than the average person? It's worth the dry, cracked skin after all!

I'm forever grateful to Murkoff for validating my staunch refusal to let my kids drink from public water fountains, or bubblers, as we like to call them here in Boston. She didn't go into the details as to why not, and I'm forever grateful for that, too.

She also gently told me that I have to stop picking my nose to set a good example for the children. Oh, I kid. I do it in the bathroom. Did you know you should wash your hands before you pick your nose? I am dead serious. Although Murkoff didn't say that, just to be clear. I extrapolated that fact for myself.

Clearly I am getting way too silly for what is a serious topic: the health of our families. This book taught me a few things and validated me on a few others, and I recommend that you check it out, too. It's here, in case you forgot.

MotherTalk Blog Tour: The Daring Book for Girls

This post is part of a MotherTalk Blog Tour. For 99 other opinions on The Daring Book for Girls (!), as well as links to the authors' appearance on The Today Show and the book's Web pages, click here. You'll also find the book's zippy video trailer.

As a girl during the '70s, I did many of the activities listed in The Daring Book for Girls, the latest book by MotherTalk founders Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz.

I told ghost stories and played "light as a board, stiff as a feather" with the neighborhood kids. (And yes, we levitated. No, really.) We played Marco Polo in Lesley's pool and made cootie catchers decorated with boys' names. The bones in my legs must have doubled in thickness thanks to the countless hours I spent jumping rope, both the American and the Chinese versions. (The sequence in, out, in, on, side, side, double, double is forever etched in my brain.)

We bowled candlepins at Sunnyside (and it didn't cost $20+ for two strings). I developed a penchant for scary movies. I roller skated and played intramural basketball and turned roughly 1,543 cartwheels by the time I turned 12.

I like to think I was daring.

Most of the things I did as a kid -- to kill an afternoon, to save myself from another hour of Mighty Mouse, Tom and Jerry or The Brady Bunch -- I did without much guidance. Sure, there was that Yoga for Kids book from the library, which taught me the child's pose and the downward dog and which I never returned. But there were no skating lessons, no basketball clinics. Not for me, anyway. I just strapped on the skates, grabbed the ball and plunged in.

I was, in today's terms, a hack. A happy hack, but a hack nonetheless.

How much more formidable would I have been if I'd had a copy of The Daring Book for Girls? Would I have finally mastered the back walk-over? Would I have fended off the neighborhood bully with my Karate moves? Would I have impressed my teachers with my knowledge of the Bill of Rights and of important women in history? Would I have saved myself untold hours of math anxiety with a few easy tricks?

Maybe yes, maybe no. One thing's for sure, my daughter will have this compendium of information to help her make that boring hopscotch grid about 10 times more interesting. She'll have handy access to all those handclap games I could never memorize. She'll have a killer booklist for when she starts reading, saving her from the random fate of the Scholastic book club selection. She'll know the basics of public speaking without the baptism-by-fire ritual most elementary school teachers seem to favor. And when her school has its first election for class officers, she'll know what the heck it's all about and what office, if any, she might be interested in.

She'll know all this because I'll read her this book. I'll remind her of it when she's bored or when some of her first challenges come up, for instance, when she negotiates her first babysitting salary.

Before any of that happens, though, I'll finish reading it myself. As crazy as it sounds, I still haven't given up on mastering the back walk-over.

Care.com: Saving You From the Inept Babysitter

UPDATE: We have a winner! Dawn, you are the proud owner of a three-month membership to Care.com. Contact me with your email address so I can send you the link. And don't forget to come back and share your results!

It's no secret to my longtime readers that I haven't had the best luck with babysitters. Heck, even my favorite babysitter turned around and left me after a while. Then there's the times I'm so burnt out I feel like I need to save my kids from myself.

It's just a fact of life: When you have kids, you will always be vulnerable in the area of childcare.

When the folks at Mom Central asked if I'd blog about Care.com, an online service for connecting child (and pet, and elderly) care providers with those in need, I said yes. But I figured it would be one of those elite, high-priced services that I could never afford. Then I figured there wouldn't be any babysitters listed in my area. Then I figured they'd all have inflexible hours or want full time.

Such a positive thinker, aren't I?

When I halted my predictions of doom long enough to visit the site, my inner pessimist couldn't have been more surprised. Let's start with the price: A premium membership costs $25 for 1-month, $45 for 3-months, or $120 for 12-months, plus a one-time $15 registration fee. This lets you post jobs and contact any listed provider, and request their background checks and references. All of this is unlimited with no additional charges. They also have a directory of preschools.

During my babysitter debacles, I spent about $100 for three different ads in the newspaper, which netted me lots of people whom I knew nothing about and easily could have been wanted by the FBI. Given that experience, I consider Care.com's rates cheap money.

There were several pages of available babysitters listed in my town and in neighboring towns. Their price range was $5 to $20, which reflects the going rates in my area. ($5 an hour? Can you start, um, in five minutes?)

The profile pages include a photo, their age and a brief bio. The background check lets you know if their address, social security and criminal record have been verified by Care.com. There's also a spot for references, although not all candidates have references immediately available online. Some, however, have recorded interviews with their references available at your request. Awesome!

The word that best describes this site, to me, is "empowering." Really. I'm pretty excited about this service, because it's the best tool I've seen for finding babysitters. Brian and I do not have a babysitter right now for those times when my mom's not around. For those times, I've had to rely on the kindness of my neighbor or my niece, and they are generally available for the one-hour teacher meeting, not the four-hour dinner out that Brian and I suddenly need for our mental stability.

There are enough candidates listed in my area that I believe I'll find someone reliable and in my budget to care for my kiddos once in a while. Maybe I'll even set up some regular daytime freelance hours for myself. Huzzah!

Does this service sound interesting to you? OK, here's the deal: I've got at least one complimentary 3-month membership available for giveaway. You might want to go to Care.com and see if there are listings in your area before entering. I've still got to work out the details with Mom Central, but if you're interested in winning this, please leave a comment on this post between now and Saturday at midnight, EST. Sharing a babysitter nightmare story is optional but strongly encouraged. C'mon, tell me I'm not the only one who's hired more than her share of duds.

Have you heard of ESRB.org?

As you may know, I've participated in blog tours with MotherTalk for about a year now. Today, I've joined a tour with a MotherTalk partner that you also may have heard of: Mom Central, so I can tell you about ESRB.org. I also earned a $20 stipend for this post.

I took the chance to tell you about the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), because it's a comprehensive resource for parents who want to check out the violence level and age appropriateness of video games before buying them or letting their kids play them.

ESRB ratings are found on virtually every video game package, and provide helpful information about the age-appropriateness and content of video games. In addition, many video game consoles allow parents to set controls based on specific games' ESRB ratings. If you follow that link, you will find step-by-step instructions on setting controls for the Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows Vista, Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation 3.

At the heart of ESRB's site is an online tool that parents can use to search for game ratings. I used it to check out my boys' Imaginext Castle game, which has a nice, tame E rating. The only other non-educational game they've played so far is LEGO Star Wars, which also received an E rating despite some violence. However, Brian bought LEGO Star Wars II for them for Christmas and -- lo and behold! -- it's got an E10+ rating for cartoon violence and crude humor. Wonder if we can return it?

Another very helpful part of the site is the Resources for Parents page. It's got tons of links for finding family friendly video games, reviews, more info on setting parental controls, and online safety. Regarding the latter, we parents know that we need to remain vigilent about policing our kids' online activities. You may not know, however, that kids can download unauthorized or illegal modifications to software and hardware that remove protective controls. So keep an eye out for that, too.

This parenting job gets harder by the year, doesn't it? Thankfully sites like ESRB.org are making it a bit easier.