LilSugar

Texts and Tunes: Beatles Hits For Kids

babysugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 05:00:10 -0700

Somehow the '60s British boy band, The Beatles, has managed to stand the test of time. Having lived through the "American Invasion," baby boomers, many now grandparents, used to scream and even cry at the site of the bowl cut lads. Now, their spawn can enjoy the legacy of the pop band, too.

The Bingo Kids Sing Beatles Hits for Kids ($15) on a CD featuring the 15 sing-along-songs such as "She Loves You," "Ob-La-Di, Ob La-Da," and "Yellow Submarine." Different from the original recordings of Ringo, Paul, John and George, youngsters sing back up encouraging your tot to get in on the action. For Beatles lovers like myself, I'd be oh so delighted if my wee one belted out "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in the backseat while we bopped about town running errands. Bonus - no chipmunks were involved in the recording process.

Text and Tunes: Lisa Loeb's Catch the Moon Album

LilSugar — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:05:00 -0700

Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell's children's album Catch the Moon ($14) is a subtle and sweet addition to a genre that normally produces the type of tunes that wear on adult nerves. Loeb's lullaby voice is the perfect vessel for folky favorites like "Big Rock Candy Mountain," "Catch The Moon" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." The songs are infectious, but not repetitive or flighty - the ideal soundtrack to a lazy Sunday afternoon or a wind down to naptime.

To see Loeb perform "Catch the Moon" with Elizabeth Mitchell, read more.

Photo courtesy of the CW

Texts and Tunes: Name Your Tune

babysugar — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 11:00:48 -0800

If you want to give an original gift to a brand new baby, hop on the personalization train and order a Name Your Tune CD ($20).

Each CD has 14 classic children's tunes that incorporate the new tot's name in the lyrics more than 80 times. It's truly a welcome to the world and the music encourages learning and language development.

To see a list of songs on the CD, read more.

Hello, How Are You?
If You're Happy And You Know It
Old MacDonald
Oh How I Want to Go
Wheels on the Bus
Boom Boom, Ain't It Great To Be YOU!
Down By The Park
The More We Get Together
Head and Shoulders
There are Seven Days
Rainbow Song
ABC Medley
I Don't Want To Live On The Moon
Instrumental Lullaby

And, you can further personalize the gift by adding a note to be printed on the CD cover. That way the lucky babe will always know who gave him or her their big break!

Texts and Tunes: Just Me Personalized CDs

LilSugar — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 05:00:49 -0800

Tots of all ages love to sing and dance along with their favorite tunes, but hearing their own name sung by their beloved characters may make them get up even faster. Just Me Personalized CDs ($30) feature today's most popular TV characters serenading your lil ones in each track on their discs. Choose from Elmo, The Wiggles, Barney, Disney Princesses, Mickey Mouse or the Veggie Tales to receive an album with at least 17 familiar songs recorded by the original artists. With more than 1,000 names available, you are sure to make your child feel like a star every time she taps her feet to the tunes.

Making Room For an Adopted Family Member

LilSugar — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:00:25 -0700

Newborn adoptees can be anywhere from hours to weeks old when placed with the families that will raise them so the process is similar to bringing home a baby from the hospital. Moms and dads who opted for an international adoption process or are adopting older children may be faced with some challenges as all parties mesh into a family. Here are some tips for easing that transition.

Make the child's room a safe place for them by surrounding them with familiar sights, be it photos of their hometown, a favorite stuffed animal or blanket they brought with them, or CDs filled with music they may have listened to prior to entering your life.
Give the child time to understand who the new family is before allowing others to spend excessive amounts of time in your home. Avoid overnight guests for the first month or so until the tot is comfortable with the people he sees on a daily basis.
Many internationally adopted tots were not properly nourished in their birth countries and can take to sneaking and hiding food out of fear. Allow them to keep some snacks in their room to help establish trust and show them how easily accessible the kitchen is at all times.
Give the child choices in terms of the food that she eats and the clothes that she wears. Initially she may feel that she was forced into this new relationship. By giving her choices, she will feel that she has some control of her situation.

Families of adoptees will experience the same joys and frustrations of other parents throughout their lives, but they will also face some unique challenges, particularly if their children are from different backgrounds. For tips on how to handle these situations, read more.

Study the cultural holidays of your child's native country and incorporate them into your own life – be it Chinese New Year, Korea's Children's Day, or the country's independence day.
Expand your culinary horizons and learn to make some popular dishes from the tot's birth country.
Consider learning the language of the adoptee's birth country, or better yet, learn it with your child.
Be prepared for a lifetime of insensitive questions from outsiders who want to know why your child looks different than you and even how you came by your child.
Consider taking a trip to your child's birth country and help them trace their roots. Inevitably, your child will want to know more about where they came from and such a trip can be educational and inspiring for everyone involved.

Johnny Cash and Other Country Lullabies For Kids

LilSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:00:33 -0700

I went to see Walk the Line with my friend when she was eight months pregnant. Every time Joaquin Phoenix sang one of Johnny Cash's songs, her baby kicked up a storm and got us giggling. Had I known about Hushabye Baby Music, I would have known what to get her once the child was born. Hushabye Baby has lightened up the tunes of some of country music's biggest stars, transforming their biggest hits into soft lullabies that are sure to help lil ones doze off to sleep. Each CD comes with adorable images of the animals on Hushabye Farm, as well as a baby food recipe. The collection includes CDs of songs by Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, George Straight, Carrie Underwood, Dolly Parton and more.

Interview with Imagination Movers: Disney's Amazing Dad Band

LilSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:00:27 -0800

Disney's hottest dad act, the Imagination Movers encourage friendship, creativity, and thinking while they get kids up off the couch. You may assume this is just another example of the Mouse's Midas touch, but it's more. The four friends (three of which are fathers to a combined nine children) have a back story beginning in New Orleans that will have parents pushing their tots in front of the television as the band's message is genuine. Rich Collins (Mover Rich) explained, "We weren't four guys that went and auditioned and got put on a show. There's history that makes us what we are." I had the opportunity to sit down with the foursome (Collins, Scott Durbin, Dave Poche, and Scott "Smitty" Smith) recently in San Francisco. To see how Hurricane Katrina altered their lives and led them to become male role models on the Disney channel, read more.

lilsugar: How did you guys go from being an architect, a firefighter, a teacher and a journalist to having a kid's band?
Dave: We wanted to make quality music for kids because we had children who were steeped in the whole world of entertainment and a lot of what we saw was cartoons and puppets. We brought it back to what we had grown up with - Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo. Mr. Rogers had just passed away and we thought there was a void and decided to take a shot at doing something about it. So we got together - four goofy dads who had an idea and here we are years later and it's turned into something that is of value.
Scott: Actually, the initial idea was local in New Orleans and then low and behold what we created resonated with people and we were tenacious about its development and were fortunate that Disney came and saw us at Jazz Fest. We played our set and started talking about doing a show together and had this concept and that's how it was born.

lilsugar: Did you guys quit your day jobs as touring and doing a show must take up the majority of your time?
Dave: When we started it was a hobby. We'd put the kids to bed and meet. At first, it was in my built out attic room and we'd be there from like nine at night until 12 or one in the morning a few days a week and brainstorm and work. Then, the music took on a life of its own. We made three independent CDs and a DVD and started playing shows. The business needed attention so Rich was the first one to quit and make the full time leap. Then, three years ago Katrina came. Once that happened we lost three of our four homes and Smitty was a firefighter.
Smitty: I still am a New Orleans firefighter, I'm just on leave of absence.

lilsugar: When you lost your homes, did you go stay with family and then reconnect later?
Rich: So the flood came and the three of us lived in one neighborhood (Smitty lived in a drier part of town) so our houses got completely flooded and were under eight feet of water for weeks and our office, Mover stuff and instruments - it was all gone. So we were all in our cars with the kids and the cat and the computer and a few pieces of clothing and a couple of pictures you saved and we were literally refugees, but it's funny. It's not funny really, but there was a day or two after when we were all holed up in different cities and hotels and things and we started communicating via text because we had a show booked that next Saturday in Dallas. And, so I was like - can you get there? Can we do this show?
Dave: I was sitting on the steps of a hotel in Houston, my kids were in bed and I'm exhausted outside with my wife and we're texting because that's the only way you can communicate. I looked at my phone and it was Tuesday or Wednesday and he's like so are we still playing Dallas Saturday? Saturday, I was in Dallas. We realized what else are we gonna do? We will have a hotel room there. I don't know if I have a job, I don't know where anybody is, and there's a small fee out there and I've got an obligation. Not knowing where anything was or where money was gonna come from, we went. People loaned us instruments.
Rich: Scott bought some replacement suits - I was wearing my old glasses. We were like refugee performers - so a bad thing happened and that's kind of a symbol for what happened in the bigger picture. We were totally thrown off of our routines, but quickly realized that there was this huge community of Movers fans in New Orleans and around the south who reached out to us to ask if we were okay. And to let us know, "your music was in the car and kept our kids feeling safe and please keep doing what you're doing". It was this outpouring of support. Doing the Movers gave us this safe harbor and in a bigger sense, it is what allowed us to pull ourselves up out of the storm. This is maybe getting a little too grand, but we managed to get the deal with Disney and bring the production of the show to the city. It was the lifeline for us and for our families to get the show going, but we're now employing more than one hundred people for seven months at a time when we do the show. It's a huge boost for the local film community.

lilsugar: No matter what happens, you're staying in New Orleans?
Smitty: New Orleans is a small town, we grew this thing from nothing. People would tell us that this was their sense of normalcy and for us this became the thing we rallied around to lift ourselves up.
Scott: The one guy who didn't lose his home, Smitty, penned the lyrics to the song, We Got Each Other which was probably the first recorded song in New Orleans after Katrina and was on our Eight Feet album.
Dave: You might lose your tangible things, but you've still got your family and friends and support.
Smitty: I didn't lose my house and none of my family died or anything, but as a fireman, for two weeks straight we banded together and relied on one another for our lives. That was part of that song too. It was pretty tough, but I think out of all that, here comes this good thing.
Scott: Our lives turn on a dime. We were professionals working jobs and then we were standing in line for welfare or to get food stamps. It was just a real experience.

Courtesy of Disney

Lil Find: CD Birth Announcements

babysugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:19:49 -0700

Looking for a unique way to announce the birth of your lil one? Take up a tune with Ringo Baby, the custom announcement company.

In addition to the traditional announcements that stay-at-home mom Karen Ringo designs, custom CD cards can be created to announce your baby's birth with your favorite music.

To get the details, read more.

Any of the designs can be adapted into the CD card. They include the baby's birth statistics, photos and your chosen wording on the outside, or cover, of the announcement, while the inside includes liner notes (your chosen playlist) and a circular hub to secure the CD.

Orders include coordinating stickers to be placed on the CDs. So while Ringo Baby is printing your cards and labels, you are busy burning the CDs with your playlist, be it John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" or John Mayer's "Daughters."

In terms of mailing the announcements, don't fear. The CDs are 5x5 and weigh just under an ounce, so they mail in square envelopes that only require standard postage.

Junior Jetset: Eight Tips For Putting Kids to Sleep in the Car

LilSugar — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:00:00 -0800

There's nothing like a long car ride home from holiday festivities to tire out your mini me. Tuck your child into his car seat for a restful journey back to your abode. Here are some tips on putting tots and babes to bed while you drive.

Have warmed bottles or cold sippy cups full of milk in a hot or chilled bag. For older children a supply of bottled water or canteens on hand.
Keep a stash of ziplocked snacks to fill rumbling tummies - string cheese, granola bars, sliced apples, cracker packs and yogurt tubes.
Change your lil guy's diaper just prior to hitting the road.
Dress your tot in warm, comfortable pajamas (footed jammies keep their toes wrapped as well).

To read the rest of these helpful traveling tips, read more.

Buckle babe in his car seat before spreading a blankie over him.
Invest in a neck pillow so his head doesn't bounce with road bumps.
Bring his favorite bedtime books to read aloud and keep with the normal routine.
Toss a couple of classical CDs in the disc player to lull your wee one to sleep.

Just a Minute: Momento Press

LilSugar — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 08:00:39 -0800

My daughter will be four next month and I'm embarrassed to say that she still doesn't have a baby book, though she does have a younger brother. Which means I'm now two books behind!

Aside from juggling work, kids and everything else - I don't have the patience at this point to sit down and scrapbook even though crafty friends and relatives started stunning books for both my children. I'd like to put the same care and effort into finishing the books once my kids are in college.

But in the meantime, I need to tackle this task and the stacks of darling photographs and CDs that are spilling out of the closet. Momento Press creates stunning flip and coffee table books for upwards of $30. Located in San Francisco, the business serves the entire United States.

All a busy mom has to do is scan her pictures or download the CDs and type the captions. Momento Press takes care of the rest and ships the finished work to your door. Since the company buys me time and rids me of guilt, I think it's well worth the average $100 price for a large decorative display piece.