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Cool Books

The World Record Paper Airplane Book By Ken Blackburn & Jeff Lammers

Authors Ken Blackburn and Jeff Lammers hold the Guinness World Record for fashioning an airplane with the longest air time: 27.60 seconds. Who better than this to write a book filled with paper airplane information? Forget the days of plain, white-paper airplanes with their haphazard designs. Included in this book are multicolored and multi-designed templates provided with dotted lines to indicate the correct flaps in which to fold. However, that’s not all: the book is filled with extra information like aerodynamics, competitions, and even ways in which to inspire its readers to create their own designs. The book even comes with a foldout airplane runway strip to practice accuracy precision as well as a “flight log” in which to record information about the performance of any airplane you create.

The Best Old Movies For Families By Ty Burr

Worried about the movies your kids watch? While they may be age-appropriate for you, are they filled with too much questionable material, like risqué dialogue or violence, for your children to watch? Ty Burr, the famous movie critic for The Boston Globe, has compiled a list of classic films that the whole family will love. Each chapter is separated into genres, and after humorously relating anecdotes about his own children, he breaks down his choices into brief plot synopses, age recommendations and reasons on why your children will love it. And his added dry humor will keep parents reading from cover to cover. “I wrote the book,” says Burr, “because I wanted to break my daughters out of the Disney/Nickelodeon/Cartoon Network box that almost all American kids are stuck in—and I wanted to share with them the movies that rang my bell when I was young.”

Momfulness: Mothering with Mindfulness, Compassion and Grace By Denise Roy

“Momfulness is the spiritual practice of cultivating a mindful, compassionate and mothering presence,” says author Denise Roy in the introduction to her book. And thus begins a book on what it is to be a mom, through the good and the bad, from the physically to the spiritually exhausting. Momfulness is all about keeping a cool head during the most frustrating of parenting times while keeping a foot firmly planted on your own spiritual ground. Her book teaches how to see what your child needs while never losing sight of what YOU need. Through anecdotes, real life experiences and spiritual advice, Roy weaves a guide-to-life for mothers who lose track of what they have in front of them, and despite the inevitable times of frustration,  to never lose site of the most important people in their lives.

Cool Stuff

Potty Monkey™

If you have ever wanted a monkey to scream at you every time you have to use the bathroom, now you’re in luck! Potty Monkey™ is a new invention designed for small children to help them learn the importance of a regular bathroom routine. Potty Monkey™ contains an adjustable timer that can be programmed to let loose a series of commands, such as “I really need to go! Let’s go potty!” to remind children when it is time to go.

FruitaBu

Both parents and children alike will be thrilled with FruitaBu’s line of healthy, organic and “smooshed” fruit snacks, available in five flavors. Each flat fruit snack contains 99 percent real fruit, only 34-35 calories and no sugar or artificial flavoring of any kind. They also contain, in each individual bar, one half of the whole fruit serving that the United States Department of Agriculture recommends. Now parents will have a delicious alternative to the sugary snacks that are so popular among young children. Instead, bring home a package of FruitBu flat snacks. Your children will never look back.

Oblue Bath Shower

Forget the days of your children becoming fussy when it is time for a shower. With the Oblue Bath Shower, taking a bath can become a relaxing, educational experience. The Oblue Bath Shower is a convenient and portable shower attachment that screws into either the faucet or the shower head, so you can control the flow of water, preventing the splash of water from an otherwise too-powerful spray. Toddlers who are afraid of the shower can also have a hands-on experience with holding the attachment and becoming adjusted to the idea of controlling the flow of water, helping to prepare them when it is time to take regular stand-up showers. This product also comes with an attachment that hooks onto sink faucets for newborns.

PAYjr

Help your children learn the value of responsibility and money management with an innovative Web site called PAYjr. This site is a database in which parents enter their children’s names (recommended for children ages 9-17) and then assign them any variety of chores they need completed. An allowance of the parent’s discretion is attached to each chore, so when the is chore is completed, money is entered into a particular child’s account. PAYjr also features the option to give your children a reloadable PAYjr Prepaid MasterCard, which can be used anywhere major credit cards are accepted. Monthly fees do apply, so visit please visit www.payjr.com  for more information.