In 2006, the United States Senate established the third Friday of May Endangered Species Day, in an effort to spread awareness of our endangered plants and animals. May 21, 2010 will mark the 5^th Annual Endangered Species Day. Over 1,000 species in the U.S. and around the world are at risk of extinction and the goal of this day is to educate and create public awareness of this staggering number.

Sylvan Dell Publishing is offering their endangered species eBooks for free in participation of this important day. Introduce children to Felina the Florida panther, Carolina the loggerhead turtle, LiLing and Tengfei the two giant pandas and a host of other threatened and endangered species with the Sylvan Dell endangered species titles. To access the eBooks, visit the Sylvan Dell Web site or see directions below. Use these books to help educate children about the importance of our endangered species!

eBook access instructions are located on the Sylvan Dell website at: http://SylvanDellPublishing.com/EndangeredSpeciesDay.htm

What a great fix for any family with little fingers!  Replace that unsightly socket plug with coverPlug just by pressing it in place. This product is a wonderful solution for childproofing your house!  Paint coverPlug the same color as your walls and the outlet visually “disappears.”  When you redecorate you can simply repaint it with the new color.  All my kids are grown and gone, but coverPlugs are perfect for the safety of my visiting grandchildren.  The truth is, with or without children, I want to cover all my unused electrical sockets with coverPlugs simply because they give the room such an elegant look.

Back in the day when I was in college we used to play The Dictionary Game whenever we had a large group of people gathered together. “It” would pick a word from the dictionary that he/she thought no one would know and we would each write down a made-up a definitions. “It” would read off all the definitions, including the correct one and everyone would try to guess which one was real. One time the word was “gaposis.” We all laughed at the definition “the gap between buttoned buttons” wondering who had made that one up, but in actuality it was the real definition.   Thirty years later Peek-A-Boob has come up with an answer to eradicate the word “gaposis” from the dictionary. These clever, clear, double-stick Peek-A-Boob strips are not only a quick fix for the gaps between buttoned buttons but for all things apparel related. You can use these strips to secure hems, bra straps, revealing necklines and more. These strips really work and they come in the cutest container ever! Just think, if only she had known about Peek-A-Boob strips Janet Jackson probably could have avoided that little “wardrobe malfunction” during her performance in the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show. ;)

What could be cooler than a T-shirt you can personalize for the day or even by the minute? The Chalkboard Tee comes in a variety of silk-screened images. To date there are seven designs which comes in lots of colors and sizes to fit kids and adults. On the bottom right you will find a tiny pocket that holds a piece of chalk. You can write any message or create any piece of chalk art on your Tee that you want and it won't rub off until you wipe it off with a damp cloth. I have an adorable pink Tee emblazoned with a heart that I can't wait to give my granddaughter Kaitlin next month for her 4th birthday. What a great gift idea!

A baby blanket made out of bamboo? This I had to see. Actually, I was so intrigued that I did a little research even before my Shi Shu blanket arrived. Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant on earth, up to 12 inches a day. Bamboo fabric is notable for its soft feel, similar to silk or cashmere, and is very durable, anti-bacterial and breathable. A cross section of bamboo has micro gaps and holes which make the cloth able to absorb moisture and wick it away from the body. What could be better for a baby than that?

I was so pleased when my Shi Shu Baby Blanket arrived. It really is as soft as silk and absolutely beautiful! I love the soft pink color and the gorgeous, timeless pattern. I was pleased to give this blanket as a gift to my brand new granddaughter, Eleanor, who seems to be growing almost as fast as bamboo. At a generous 40 x 30 inches, Eleanor should be able to use this blanket well into her toddler years and then pass it on. Thank you, Shi Shu, for a high quality baby blanket that looks and feels like a luxury keepsake item that I hope will be handed down for many generations to come.

There are 2 versions: A Potty Book for Girls and A Potty Book for Boys. There may be unisex bathrooms, but potty books must be gender-specific. They just have to be. Viva la Difference! The story line is the same in both books, but the wallpaper, underwear and animal friends are different. Each child role-plays by setting their stuffed Teddy Bear on the chair. Is it the same Teddy Bear in each book or boy and girl Twin Teddys? I guess we’ll never know! The boy book has the stuffed bear sitting with one leg modestly slung across the top of the splash guard, rendering his nether parts unknown. And that’s not the only situation that is covered. The first time each child sits on the potty produces no results, but as soon as the diaper is back on “something” happens. The “oops” pictures of both kids are adorable! These books do a great job of guilt-free encouragement to toddlers: potty training is not about perfection but a process. The female book has a feline friend and the male tale is about a boy and his dog. In both books the animal friends cheer their prodigy on, applauding their success and reminding them to flush. Good hygiene and big-boy-and-girl independence is demonstrated with each child standing on a stool to wash their hands. In the back of the book you’ll find potty training tips, fun stickers and a pull-out sticker chart. It’s all here in one inexpensive book. Just add one potty chair and you’ll soon be leaving Diaperland behind!

Who wouldn’t love a book all about me? Select 4 favorite photos of baby: sleeping, snacking, playing with toys and bathing. Save the 5th Best of Show picture for the front cover, slip the photos in the notched board-book pages and you instantly have a personalized scrapbook of your favorite baby! The captions are already filled in for you and animal friends perform the same activities (sleeping, snacking, playing and bathing) on the opposite pages. There is a baby-sized handle on top and a mirror on the inside of the back cover to show baby what he/she looks like as they are reading their book. This is a very cute idea! I’m going to stock up as this is the perfect gift for a baby shower allowing Mom to easily change the pictures as baby grows. This is a scrapbooking mother’s delight and is destined to become baby’s favorite book!

I'm a 50-something, empty nester who is back in the workforce after being a SAHM for many years. Three of my five grown children are married and busy popping out grandchildren left and right.