Smiling Mom

“Hush Little Baby don’t say a word, Momma’s going to buy you a Mocking Bird. And if that Mocking Bird won’t sing, Momma’s going to buy you some new Bling Bling.”

Some new bling bling? Seriously!? I wasn’t expecting this when I signed up with Team Mom to review new kid’s products out on the market. After hearing this song, I was dying to hear how Beyonce’s sister and dad had modified other popular nursery rhymes. My personal favorite on the CD is, “The Wheels on the Bus”. Ya, it’s pretty funny.

So this new upbeat hip-hop inspired CD collection is not for everyone, but if you are a family who loves the hip-hop style of music, you might want to check it out. BTW, do we even call it hip-hop anymore?? Gosh, I’m so old!

Included with the CD, I was given this Baby Jamz Key Chain. The 7 1/2 month old boy I watch twice a week loves chewing on all the keys and pushing its buttons. It’s a hit!

The last thing I got in my box of goodies was a Baby Jamz Music Crew.

Can I be honest here?

I thought it was the dumbest thing I’d ever seen. Unless it were to be included in a McDonald’s Happy Meal, I would never, under any circumstances, buy this. The little people are easily lost, difficult to place into the foot holds, and frankly boring to my kids. And the little boom box only played 30 seconds of a Baby Jamz nursery rhyme. Don’t waste your time.

So two out of three ain’t bad, huh? I liked the Baby Jamz Nursery Rhymes Volume One CD. My friend’s 7 1/2 month old son loves the Baby Jamz Key Chain, but I hated the Music Crew.

There you have it, my review.

Team Mom Out!!

A few weeks ago I received the novel, Forgive Me by Amanda Eyre Ward, in the mail from the publisher for review. I was quite excited to begin reading! While picking stories to read, I’m pretty easy to please. I have only a few requirements for my light nighttime reading.

-First, the chapters have to be short. When I lay down in the middle of the night at the end of the day, I often read for about fifteen minutes. I like being able to start and complete a chapter within that time.

-Second, the books needs to be an easy read. Let’s face it. My brain is tired and I don’t want to think too hard about what I’m reading. I just want to be entertained.

-Third, I like feel good’ stories, and sometimes mysteries. But I only like mysteries if thy don’t keep me up with nightmares. A girl’s gotta get her beauty sleep!
So, like I said, I’m easy.

Forgive Me is a story about Nadine Morgan, a journalist, who has been on the road reporting in different countries for the past ten years. The majority of the story takes place when Nadine goes back to South Africa to cover a murder trial. During this time Nadine is faced with her past and has to make a decision about who she is and who she wants to become.

So Forgive Me met my first criteria. The chapters were manageable and I didn’t really ever find myself searching for the end of the chapter. This is always a pleasant surprise!

Forgive Me was also a pretty easy read for me. But, unfortunately, I found that I just never connected with the main character, Nadine. I sometimes found it to be a chore to pick up the novel and read. Nadine was not too likable or hate-able enough for me to love. She was just somewhere in the middle. I had a hard time relating to her through most of the story.

I felt that Amanda Eyre Ward’s writing lacked something. Maybe it was my inability to connect with the main character, or that the story didn’t flow and nicely as I wished, but it was missing the ‘it factor’ that makes fall in love with a novel.

Although I struggled to connect with Nadine, I found that I went back to the story night after night. There was something that drew me back to Forgive Me. Maybe it was my desire to learn more about a world that I knew nothing about. Maybe it was Amanda Eyre Ward’s story. Either way, it kept me coming back.

If I were to grade Forgive Me, I’d have to give it somewhere around a C+. The chapters were short, her writing easy to read, but it wasn’t really a feel good story or a mystery. It was more of a journey. A journey of a woman whom in the end I struggled to connect with and love.