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In my grandparents' spare bedroom there's a gray wig sitting on top of a stand. It's my grandmother's wig. She bought it over 25 years ago when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I can't remember the first time I learned what the word cancer meant. I can't remember much about the time when my grandmother went through her cancer treatments. But I remember the wig. I remember thinking that it didn't look very much like my grandmother's own thick and wavy gray hair. Her real hair grew thin but came back overtime. My grandmother is a breast cancer survivor.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To me that pink color stands for strength, faith and hope. When I walk through the stores and see the pink ribbons, the pink merchandise, the pink labels, I am reminded of my grandmother and of all those who have dealt with or are currently dealing with this disease. I am reminded that I should take the time for those monthly self-exams. I am reminded that I need to take care of my body, eat right and exercise. Breast Cancer Awareness Month is coming to an end but the reality is even as the pink fades, the fight with this disease continues on.

There are many different campaigns, companies, individuals and organizations that help spread awareness, donate money to help find a cure and provide hope to all those dealing with breast cancer. It is important that we all work together to raise awareness and bring attention to this disease. Early detection and screening through self-examination and yearly mammograms are crucial because breast cancer is most treatable in the when it is found early. And, through the ongoing development of life-saving treatments and the search for the causes, those dealing with cancer can find support and remain hopeful for a cure.

Here are some breast cancer related websites that I've become aware of recently -

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You Are the Best Medicine - Children's Picture Book about a parent with cancer

"When I tell you I have cancer, I will be sad. I will be sad because I am sick, but I will be happy because it is not a sickness you can catch from me, and so you can still kiss me and hug me and love me."

You Are the Best Medicine by Julie Aigner Clark, illustrated by Jana Christy; Balzar + Bray (September 2010); ISBN 9780061956447; 32 pages
Book Source: Review copy from publisher

Imagine trying to explain cancer to a child. Imagine if that child was your child. Julie Aigner Clark, founder of the Baby Einstein Company, is a mother to two daughters. She is also a breast cancer survivor. Her picture book, You Are My Best Medicine, takes a mother's thoughts on cancer and turns them into a story for younger children. In a lulling, contemplative and gentle way, she talks about the bad days, the sad days in a way young children can understand, all the while keeping a positive, optimistic tone throughout the book. The book, with its pastel pages and warm images, offer

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According to a recent White House Press release, President Obama announced a new goal of recruiting 10,000 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) teachers over the next two years. Students in the U.S. lag behind in math and science when compared to their peers in other countries and the government wants to see improvements in STEM education. Even at my daughter's school I've noticed they've started to put more of an emphasis on math and science. Each week in kindergarten, my daughter observes and participates in a new science experiments and every week she brings home a math at home worksheet to complete.

This fall I've been trying to focus more on science and math with my kids in our daily lives. While the school will teach the basics, I believe it is important for us, as parents, to encourage the curious minds of children through simple home activities. Starting this past month, we've been trying to participate in Science Sunday every week.

Just recently through Mom Central, I learned of a new science publication for kids ages 6 to 9. KNOW: The Science Magazine for Curious Kids by Mad Science contains short articles and plenty of engaging pictures, experiments, games and activities to help children think scientifically. Right now a free online copy of the Sept/Oct 2010 KNOW Magazine is available for download. A bi-monthly publication, the yearly subscription rate for the U.S. is $28 (Canadian dollars). That price doesn't seem too bad, especially considering the magazine contains very few ads.

My kids and I really enjoyed browsing the magazine online. The articles are laid out in an artful, eye-pleasing way, with the right balance of text and pictures on each page. This newest issue contains all sorts of interesting pieces on shapes, patterns, origami and more. The see-through frog on page 3 amazed my children and they wanted to know more about it. We used the page on Fibonacci Fun in this issue as the basis for one of our Science Sunday posts a few weeks ago. And, there's even a page featuring book reviews by kids! Hooray! This magazine looks like an excellent supplement for home science studies. I also think that the publication might be a good one for public and school libraries to offer for check-out to their patrons. Magazines like KNOW provide the perfect stimulus for kids and parents to talk about and learn about science together.

"I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Mad Science and received the products necessary to facilitate my review. In addition, I received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate."

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Many of my reviews concentrate on early reading skills and books. I spend a lot of time with my children working on language and reading skills. But other basic concepts such as mathematics and science are equally important to teach children at a young age. It's easy to turn every day activities into learning moments.

Just this last week, I took both my children to the bank with me. We had collected two large bags worth of change. They watched in awe as the special, automated coin machine at the bank counted and sorted all the coins we brought. This fun activity helped increase my daughter's interest in money. She wanted to know more about all the coins and their worth and was surprised at the final total amount of the change we brought to the bank to deposit.

After we visited the bank we went home and watched a Munchkin Math DVD called Counting Money. The DVD helps preschool and early elementary age kids identify the names of the U.S. coins, talks about the different values and teaches basic math concepts by showing kids how to count their money.

The format of the DVD reminds me of the lesson type programs we have watch on our public television station. The video production is more educational based than entertainment based and features Wendy Miller (the creator of Munchkin Math) along with two children talking about coins and teaching corresponding rhymes, chants and hand movements. My preschool aged daughter did not lose interest while watching the DVD and even participated along with several segments. The 22 minute DVD is divided into four segments:

♦ Lesson 1: Coins; The New Coin Game
♦ Lesson 2: Dollars; Dollar Chant
♦ Lesson 3: The Dollar & Cent Signs
♦ Lesson 4: Trading and Sorts; Making a Money Worm; Money Worm Song

After watching the video, I quizzed my preschool daughter on how much she retained. She was able to identify the penny, but still had difficulty with the other coins. With practice and repetition and the use of some of the rhymes, I'm sure she'll easily pick up the names and values. However, I think she is still a little too young to understand how to count money, besides adding up her pennies. She did enjoy assembling her own money worm on the mat I downloaded from the website. Within the next few years, those skills will develop and she will be able to understand the counting concepts a little better. The DVD does not include information about the half dollar or golden dollar.

I've read that by the end of kindergarten, kids should be able to identify all the basic coins and the

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With Thanksgiving less than a week away, I've already begun my preparations. This year I'm hosting not one but TWO Thanksgiving dinners in my home. That's a lot of turkey! I'm hoping my meals will turn out as delicious as the feasts my mom has always prepared. Both my grandmother and mother are talented cooks and bakers, so I have some big shoes to fill. Thanksgiving is truly a special holiday for us filled with wonderful traditions. Usually we watch the Macy's Thanksgiving parade and a little football. We gather together and give thanks for all of our blessings. And of course there is the food: the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, cranberry sauce and numerous pies and treats.

This year Walmart wants to help families serve up delicious holiday meals without the worry of overspending their budget. They've rolled back their food prices and have announced that consumers can prepare a Thanksgiving dinner for as low as $20. According to their website, the scrumptious $20 feast includes the following (see http://connect.walmart.com/holidaymeals/ for complete details):

* One 12-pound Grade A turkey
* Three 11 to 15.5-ounce cans Green Giant vegetables
* Two 14-ounce cans Ocean Spray cranberry sauce
* Three 6-ounce boxes of Stove Top stuffing
* One 5-pound bag of red potatoes
* One 12-count package of Sara Lee dinner rolls
* One 22-ounce pumpkin roll cake

I've seen some great food deals advertised this week, so I'm sure that I'll be able to save quite a bit of money on my grocery bill with some frugal shopping. I'm a regular user of Walmart's Ad Match policy where they match local competitor's prices. I've also spotted quite a few coupon deals on the following websites:

Campbell's Soups and French’s® French Fried Onions
Libby's Vegetables
Pillsbury/Green Giant/Progresso

By the way, after browsing Walmart's website, I noticed they have a Food & Recipe center. Who knew? After a quick search I discovered several Turkey recipes including, Apricot-Onion Roasted Turkey, Brined Hickory Turkey, and Lemon-Herb Turkey Roast. This holiday season the site will also post some great recipes from the Food Network’s Melissa d’Arabians.

And don't forget those photos with Santa. Last year our local Walmart had a couple special days when Santa visited and they gave out free photos with Santa

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I'm a big fan of Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats. We keep our pantry stocked with the regular, bited size, fiber packed cereal. (I like to buy in bulk!) My son absolutely loves to eat the cereal soaked in a bowl full of milk each morning for breakfast.

School is back in session and Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats wants to assist moms in helping their children succeed in school. They recently teamed up with MSN.com and created Mom's Homeroom, an online resource and community packed full of Scholastic and Encarta articles, printables and several other tools specifically geared toward moms. The website also features four expert moms in unscripted video segments. Topics covered include:

● Writing ● Back to School ● Reading ● Giving Back ● Attentiveness ● Learning ● Memory

I checked out the reading and writing resources and found a number of helpful tips and interesting articles. For instance, the article "Could My Kid Write a Bestseller?" talks about famous kids in publishing like Mary Shelley and Christopher Paolini and discusses how the publishing world works. "The Library Card -- a Parent's Best Friend" is an especially appropriate article for the month of September. (September is Library Card Sign-up Month). One article titled "The Rhyming Game" gives instructions on how to create a neat homemade book of rhymes. I'm always looking for new ideas on how to help my children succeed academically. Though I doubt I'll participate in the community portion myself, Mom's Homeroom is a great way to reach out to all those moms looking for additional information and the articles provided on the site are helpful and diverse. The website is updated twice a month and influenced by users' interests.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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Growing up in America's Dairyland, I developed a love of milk early on. Both my parents were raised on dairy farms and drank milk right out of the bulk tank. My grandfather drove a milk truck after he retired from his dairy farming operation. Many of my friends had to get up early to do chores. Dairy farming is still an important part of the economy in our rural area of Wisconsin.

So, the cows pictured to the left are wondering: where's your milk mustache? Danica Patrick, Dara Torres, Trisha Yearwood, Brooke Shields and many other famous faces have sported the look. The website http://www.whymilk.com, geared toward women, explains the importance of including milk in your diet. (Also, follow on twitter: milkmustache) Milk is filled with all sorts of essential nutrients including including calcium, protein, potassium, and vitamin D.

We try to get our 3+ servings each day by drinking milk with our meals and using milk-filled recipes. I'm especially careful to make sure my kids get enough milk daily. Visit Why Milk? for some recipe ideas. I love to make milkshakes and smoothies during the summer and rice pudding or my grandma's warm vanilla pudding during the winter. Here's her simple recipe:

Stovetop Vanilla Pudding
2 cups of milk
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat milk, cornstarch and egg and sugar together with whisk in a medium saucepan. Cook on medium heat stirring constantly until pudding thickens and begins to simmer. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Can eat warm or chill in refrigerator. We like to add a few chocolate chips to our warm pudding to make chocolate swirls.

"Milk is naturally nutrient rich like no other beverage – it's nature’s wellness drink!" Get on the path to wellness and visit whymilk.com to learn more.


(This post is part of the MomCentral whymilk.com Milk Council blog tour promotion. Disclosure: I will receive a new blender for my participation.)

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