Babies Gotta Have It

For a few weeks this winter, I considered doing a 14 week job in California.  I didn’t end up taking it for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I wasn’t actually offered the job.  But for a while I thought seriously what it would be like to spend almost three months away from the Little Bean.  It kinda kept me up at night. And it will no doubt sound cliche, but chief among my reasons for not wanting to go away was not being around to read bedtime stories for what seemed like an impossibly long time.

In so many ways I am very lucky.  I didn’t have to go.  So many Mamas and Daddies don’t have that choice.  Whether a parent is in the armed services, employed in another city or state, or even just required to put in extremely long hours that preclude bedtime, these days, tales of families spending lots of time apart are pretty common.

Honestly, as awesome as video chat is, my little one tires of it fairly quickly–more quickly than her grandparents do. My Mom read the Little Bean a story during an online chat the other day.  A beautiful old Golden Book about a kitten.  It was pretty neat in theory, but honestly, we couldn’t really see the pictures.  And my daughter certainly couldn’t follow along with the words as Granny pointed to them.   But the book kept her engaged for longer than just talking usually does  So what’s the solution to quality long-distance storytime?

Readeo.  Readeo is a really really good idea.  Readeo is video chat meets storytime.  Simply log onto Readeo.  Have Mama or Grandma log on, too.  Become “friends”.  And start a book chat.  Check out the video above to see what the interface looks like, but basically the top of your screen displays a vibrant, crystal-clear, page-turnable book, and the bottom of your screen displays the two standard chat windows–you and your loved one.  You child and the reader look at the pages at the same time.  Your child hears the book as Grammie or Daddy or Aunt Jossy reads it.  You all turn the pages and experience the story at the same time.  Even though you’re miles apart.  It’s a pretty great concept.

If you have a webcam and high speed internet, you’ve got all you need to make Readeo work.  Sign up for a free trial (and even if you don’t choose to upgrade to member status you can still read the book of the month for free every month) and give it a try.  As a side benefit, even if you aren’t book chatting, Readeo members can enjoy books from the Readeo library solo.  So if it’s too rainy to head out to the library, but you can’t stand the thought of reading “Brown Bear Brown Bear” for the thirty millionth time, log onto Readeo for a library of new books all just a click away.

Are you still waiting to send that perfect belated Mother’s Day gift to your Mom across the country? Or are you looking for a unique and special Father’s Day gift for a Daddy deployed overseas?  A subscription to Readeo, from your child, to a parent or loved one, is a really thoughtful gift.

And the great news…yeah you knew this was coming…Readeo is offering free one-year subscriptions to Readeo to five Babies Gotta Have It readers. You heard me.  Five!  Want to enter?  Read on.

To Enter the Readeo Giveaway

• MANDATORY ENTRY #1: Visit the Readeo Online Library.  Then come back here and leave a comment sharing which book you’d most like to hear your loved one read to your child.   Entering is that easy!

***Want extra chances to win? After you have made your first entry as described above, do anything listed below and leave me additional comments for each one letting me know what you did!  Maximum of eight entries per person.

• Follow me on Twitter and Readeo on Twitter, and tweet the following (just cut and paste): Enter to win a one year subscription to @Readeo @BabiesGottaHavT and share some long-distance storytime online. http://snurl.com/x3ich
• Fan (or “like”) Readeo on Facebook
• Blog this giveaway (send me the url so I can enjoy your post!)
• Subscribe to my blog using the button on the left sidebar
• Grab my button and put in on your blog or website! Button code is in the right sidebar. Leave the link in your entry.
• Become a Fan of Babies Gotta Have It on Facebook. Click HERE!
• Email your friends about the giveaway and link to the giveaway post! cc me in the message (babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com)–I promise I will not spam you or your friends. Cross my heart

Your email address will remain private and not be shared with anyone. Giveaway open to anyone anywhere in the world–that’s a lot of what’s awesome about Readeo. Must be 18 or older to win. Giveaway begins on Wednesday May 26th and ends on Wednesday June 9th at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. Very shortly thereafter,  Random.org will select the winner,  and I’ll email you immediately. After my daughter called Larry the Cable guy the last time she did a drawing, we have decided to take a little vacation from her choosing the winner. Random.org is in no way as cute and unpredictable as my daughter, but it is much more efficient and does not use any pieces of paper, even recycled ones. I am sure you will understand. Thanks for entering!

Disclosure: Readeo provided a one-month trial subscription to me so I could review the site and the free subscriptions to the winners of this giveaway.  I was not compensated monetarily, and all views and opinions with regard to the products or company itself are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by the company prior to posting.

Update!  We have winners!  All of you!  Thanks so much for entering!

As the holiday season approaches, I know I am going to be scouring the stores and the web for wonderful toys that will impact my little gal and the earth she inhabits equally well.  I am a huge fan of Sprig Toys! Their toys foster battery-free creativity in our children and the Story Builders Playsets are no exception.  These toys encourage storytelling and imaginative play, and the fact that they’re made of 100% recycled paperboard (printed with non-toxic water-based ink) and recycled sprig wood is just the pink stripe on the candy cane as far as I’m concerned.

These neat sets combine board books, puzzles, and sturdy 3-D paper dolls and buildings all in a compact, easy to take on the go package.  In addition to “Little Red Riding Hood” playset featured in the video also check out “The Three Little Pigs.”

Babies Bottom Line: Watch the video.  The Bean had a great time playing with the Little Red Riding Hood Story Builder board book and play set.  And Mama loves that it’s eco-friendly, non-toxic, and great for travel.

Disclosure: Sprig Toys sent me this product to review.  I was not compensated in any way for this post. All views and opinions with regard to the product or company itself are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by the company prior to posting.

There are so many great ways for your kids to keep in touch with their grandparents these days…they can email, they can skype, they can write a good old fashioned letter…or your toddler can call them on your cell phone when you’re well into your third hour at Lowe’s because the bathroom is suddenly falling down around you and your child has tired of turning on and off every single faucet in the fixtures aisle and will not be duped into pretending to wash her hands yet again and to really make her point she’s threatening to pitch a full fledged tantrum right there in front of the vanities if you do not immediately produce a bottle of milk and you’d really rather not haul her writhing body the one mile between your shopping dolly and your car while she’s red faced and howling.

But another wonderful way to keep Granny and Pops and Grammie and Grandpa fresh in our thoughts is through reading children’s books about grandparents.  The “My Grandma Could Do Anything” series from Rein Designs is a really fun and funny series designed to do just that.  I especially like the basic theme that Grandmothers are like superheroes, capable of doing anything and everything…if they simply choose to do so.  65 is so the new 40.  Your Grandma may not bungee jump…but then again, maybe she does.  And she definitely could!

Update from the author! I’ve just had an email from the author letting me know that two new titles are coming out this Friday: “My Grandma Could do Anything at the Zoo” and “My Grandma Could do Anything in the Rocky Mountains”! We’ll be sure to check them out!

My baby is obsessed with electronics.  She is not yet two.  This seems a bit early. I am ready for my tween to demand a cell phone. But my toddler? I often would like to ignore my cell phone when it rings.  This is impossible when my daughter is around.  “Phone? Phone? Phone?”

The thing is, I am obsessed with technology.  Here it is, a lovely Tuesday evening, and my husband and I are both sitting in our living room, watching TV and working on our computers.  I kinda want my baby to play entirely with crayons and sustainably made wooden toys and musical instruments.  But I’m not strumming my dulcimer on the fire escape right now.  I’m voting for an American Idol contestant, catching the first few minutes of this ridiculous Osborne’s variety show, and blogging.   What behavior am I modeling?

Look, I do think it is possible for technology to coexist with the non-battery-powered facets of life.  I don’t think we need to pick a camp.  I don’t think that iPods are going anywhere, and frankly, I’m not all that upset about it.  I value my iPod.  I have all my favorite music on it as well as (and here i’m showing some latte-sipping, prius-driving stripes even though I drive a Ford Taurus stationwagon) NPR podcasts.  And thanks to clever companies like AudibleKids.com, I think we have reason to believe that it’s not necessarily a bad thing for our kids either.

I learned about AudibleKids.com from one of the coolest people in the world… Gordon from Sesame Street.  I have been informed by my mother that he was one of my favorites when I was a child.  He is still one of my favorites now.  Gordon a.k.a. Roscoe Ormon is an actor, author, illustrator, and also the new Chief Storyteller for AudibleKids.com.  I was lucky enough to have lunch with this Sesame Street Dad last week at Serendipity, and I learned a little bit about what the folks at AudibleKids are thinking.  Kids love iPods. Kids aren’t going to give up iPods.  So why not create content for iPods that parents can really get behind: audio books!

Mr. Ormon pointed out that audio books can serve as a pathway to reading books in hard copy.  You may have a hard time selling your kids on an author or series that you are sure they’ll love, but try popping it in the car stereo on a long road trip and see if the next time you go to the library, they reach for that author on the shelf! And didn’t story telling come before story writing?  I actually think there’s something special and even kind of ancient about listening to stories being told by master storytellers.  And it makes the experience of the story something that is shared.  What better way to engage with your kids than to listen to a book together and then talk about it?

So what’s available on AudibleKids.com?  Right now there are about six thousand books available ranging from picture books to young adult novels.  I did some browsing on AudibleKids.com and found everything from “Anne of Green Gables” to “Blubber, C.S. Lewis to R.L. Stine.  And even better, there are downloads available for FREE!

Story time.  Yeah, that’s something baby’s just gotta have.

• Board books are a definite baby must have. Trust me, your teeny tiny babies may lay and gurgle while you read “Blueberries for Sal” to them before bed tonight, but once they start to grab and drool you’re gonna want some board books.  Consider the Amazing Baby Board Books when you’re building your baby’s library.  They offer interactive, touchable, colorful board books that grow with your baby.  Your baby will chew on, spit up on, and throw them across the room with glee for years.  And if you’re lucky, you may learn the difference between a pig and a cow like I did.  Pair  Peekaboo,Puppy! and  Clap and Sing! for a lovely baby shower gift!

• Touch and Feel Books for Babies by Priddy Books and DK Books. Also look for Pat the Bunny , Tails by Matthew Van Fleet, and That’s Not My Teddy. Don’t you just love how Pat the Bunny still smells like baby powder?

• Haven’t slept in twelve weeks? Think you might recognize the person in the mirror if you could only sleep for four hours in a row? Just once, do you want to see your little baby sleep? Check out  The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp M.D. Get it used or new in bookstores or on the web.