As we go into the weekend and moms do many of their errands at this time, perhaps picking up a few new books for the kids might be nice to keep inspiring them to learn and blossom as creative, fun little beings they truly are.

Let’s start with manners, every kid needs to learn them and learn to read so let’s clonk those two heads together and combine them with Excuse Me! A Little Book of Manners for a cute way to teach them their “please” and “thank you’s”.

Classic stories and tales are always nice to have on hand so if you have a Kindle or the free Kindle app on your smartphone, download this book for free!  This is a great one when the little ones forget their books, need more to read, or are getting a little unsettled waiting for a plane or the doctor to call their name.  It’s a free book anywhere, anytime, how great is that?!  You can also download books free in a PDF file at allbooksfree.com.

Target is having a weekend sale on children’s books and for the babies on titles like:

The Giving Tree follows a boy to his older self as he learns the real values of giving and being kind from a tree who taught him everything along the way.

Lola at the Library is an adorable story about a little girl who looks forward to her trip to the library each week and falling into the wonderful world of books and reading.

Remember reading The Boxcar Children franchise?  How about getting one for a quarter?  Yep. This book is on sale for 25¢.  Discountbooksale.com is a spectacular resource of discount books from long ago and more recently to find cheaper than retail and introduce your children to the stories you loved growing up.  Check out their deals on Nancy Drew books and boxed sets.

Do you have a teen, pre-teen, or young adult into the Twilight series?  Walmart has the whole boxed set for only $54 right now, buy it here or get an old favorite if vampires aren’t your thing or too old, try The Little Engine That Could for only $4.

Save 75% off Walmart and Target prices on Ebay for books like Love You Forever for less than $6, including shipping.  The Jolly Postman is a nice treat as well for the little ones but we don’t want to leave out books for Mom.

Unbroken is a New York Times’ Bestseller, from the author of Seabiscuit, that takes place in the second world war and follows a remarkable journey.

Barnes and Noble highlights the best new writers each month and they put together a list of the best selling titles and recommendations for mom to curl up with after the kids finally go to sleep, so look at this page and the great new books out from creative writers with creative stories to tell.

Travel through time and Across the Universe, uncover lies and deception and murder in The Inner Circle of Washington D.C.

James Patterson fans, don’t you dare feel left out, because Tick Tock is now available at Border’s or right here whether you buy it in print or on an ereader to read on the go.

Young and old, reading is a wonderful thing for anyone in the family or those even still in the womb and items like the Nook and the Amazon Kindle have brought the written word back to life.  Your smartphone has free apps for the Kindle and other ereaders to buy and download books or download old classics like Gulliver’s Travels for free. Why not turn off the television, watch a movie later, and sit down to read a great book?  Family game night can be followed by family book night.

Potty training is a breeze in some households and misery in others. Some children pick it up in days while others take almost two years to master the concepts of it all. There are no surefire methods or one size fits all plans because every family, child, and home is different but along with some cheap books to inspire the children, this method of potty training may really help your child make tremendous progress or full success in about a week.

About.com provides information on just about every subject, and this articlesuggests some additional toys and books to help children want to learn how to use the big kid potty in addition to the advice above.

What appears to be the facts of potty training is a team effort.  Parents, relatives, and daycare workers need to all work together as a team with a joint plan to help children have the most success and little confusion or fear.

Along with the steps in the aforementioned article for a potty training head start, or jump start, this book is recommended over and over by moms.  Everybody Poops is a wonderful, blunt book for children about taking the new steps to use the potty for number twos and shows them clearly that every animal does it in all shapes and sizes!  Diapers Are Not Forever is another good one for toddlers to learn about using the potty and provide some tips for moms starting the process with their child.

If you need a whole triggered method to get the potty training done quickly, say 3 days, then you can pay someone to show you how to do so in an ebook, The Official 3-Day Potty Training Method.  For moms that literally only have one weekend free every now and then, this plan guarantees you can mark on the calendar three days from the start and your child will be free of diapers and actually asking to use the potty or going straight on their own.  Start on Friday, be done on Sunday.  The program also provides free help online or by phone to help coach through the three days and you can download the ebook straight to your phone to read on a smartphone no matter where you are.

Some moms might not feel confident with the above system or want some additional help so as technology continues to develop, toddler potties are becoming smart as well.  Safety First made the Smart Rewards potty that has sensors to indicate when a child is sitting on the toilet and plays music as it encourages, as well as rewards for each success in the toilet.  The kit comes with stickers and a chart to log the progress as well as the sounds and cheers the toilet makes for a job well done.  The toilet gets good reviews and costs $25-$30 in most stores such as Target and here on Amazon.

Potty training must go on the road with you to the store, the park, or wherever so a travel potty is a helpful tool so kids can literally go anywhere they are in private and do their business.  The Potette Plus can insert in toilets in public or be used to right on the spot and the liners can be tossed for easy clean up and fold up the potty to get right back to what you’re doing.  Hassle is the last thing a mom needs and the child.

The Prince Lionheart Potty is a unique potty to feel more like a big kid toilet while also being one of few models ever to be resistant to bacteria growth!  Now that is some smart thinking and innovation.

A couple weeks back we told you about an amazing website for all things gifts regardless of the price range, person, and occassion you were looking to buy for. We told you about gifts.com and as Valentine’s Day comes in two weeks from now, we’d like to remind you how awesome it truly is for every single person you will ever need to buy for. The gifts are affordable and so unique. Moms can search for their families and also treat herself to something nice or “accidentally” leave it on the computer screen for Dad to stumble upon as a big hint.

Most moms love candles in the bedroom or around the house even if they are rarely lit because they had style and color to the home; so why not go a step further and opt for something a little more elegant in a similar idea?  These candles are incredible.  Lumen Candle Shadow Projector candles from Uncommon Goods, $48, are of course candles, but more than that, they leave a beautiful scene on the walls.  There are a few different scents to choose from and they are made right here in America.

Speaking of candles, these Belgian chocolate truffle candles smell and look like the real thing but won’t ruin any resolutions.  Each candle burns up to four hours to fill the home with the lovely scents of gourmet chocolate.  Mmmm…..

You’re not hungry are you?

Not everyone enjoys candles so for Mom, Dad, sister, or the kids, elegant spa robes are always nice because they feel sooo good.  This organic cotton robe is a nice choice for anyone on it’s own or to go with anything else, like roses and perfume.

For the wonderful man and father in Mom’s life, these are a sexy gift for him: personalized black silk shorts.

Men are not always easy to buy for unless you buy them a bigger flat screen and some tools, but millions of men are already maxed out on those anyways.  The boxers simply to remind him no TV this evening because tonight is going to be some fun; and every man loves to look forward to “getting close”.  Happy Valentine’s Day dear.

Use this guide to get you started when you have a gift for teenage kids or you know a teenager who needs some help picking out a special gift for their boyfriend or girlfriend.  Maybe your teenage son is at a little loss of what to get his girlfriend or maybe they haven’t been going out long enough to get anything with too many hearts and kisses; either way gifts.com can help.  Maybe a teenage girl would love this jeweled cupcake scented set from Perpetual Kid?  Maybe you know a teenage girl whose boyfriend would like this Ed Hardy set from Sephora?

For the sultry women who have a guilty pleasure of romance and erotic novels, these personalized novels are the gifts to buy to entice him while he takes notice of your new book or to give as his gift to get him in the mood like they do in the pages.  Leave this page on the computer or a print out lying around with the item number and link or this paragraph so he knows just what you want this Valentine’s Day.  It is a day of romance and love after all and these unique gifts will elevate the mood even more for you after the kids go to sleep and the baby takes it’s nightly poop.  Hey real life does intrude sometimes as we all know.

Many orders have available next day shipping options and guaranteed delivery for Valentine’s Day but order soon; and if you’re looking to drop some hints for your husband, make sure you start doing so this week so he can place his order and get it to you in time.

Babies need a lot of beds for such tiny creatures. Many begin in a bassinet, then a crib, then a toddler bed, then a twin bed or bunk bed, before resting in a queen size bed around middle school or high school once they become the height of an NBA player. To save money, mothers have learned to do away with the bassinet completely by starting the baby in a crib or in the bassinet portion of their pack n play and some moms even decide to bypass the toddler bed phase; but even without those two other beds, the most expensive still stand to be bought. So how much do beds cost these days?

Well, they aren’t cheap, let’s just get familiar with that fact real quick. Mattresses and bed frames are pricey.  Bassinets can easily cost $200, however they are pretty easy to come buy in excellent shape from other mothers as infants rapidly grow out of them, so one can find them for free or at least much cheaper than a baby store or Target.  This bassinet, for instance, is on sale for $139 and free 1-2 day shipping from diapers.com and it is adorable but take a look at their current inventory to see the broad range of prices their bassinets currently sell for.

These are some of the bassinets Target n0w has for sale and their prices are a little more affordable but still over $100 for a decent bassinet.  Bassinets tend to last no more than six months no matter where you purchase one and what type you buy so getting one used, handed down, or not buying one at all may be a wise decision when price is an issue because they are not even close to necessary for the baby.

Since most parents absolutely love having a pack and play to put their children in to play safely, take a look at this Graco Pack and Play with bassinet at Amazon.  You’ll notice the top is closed off and that is because the bassinet is inserted inside but very easily can be removed for playtime and as the baby grows out of the bassinet.  The baby will remain safe and secure in the bassinet portion but your money is still put to good use in the play yard as that will last at least another six months longer, if not more, for children to one year and older until they can climb out of it.  Many moms have gone to these instead because they make more sense financially and logically.

Next in line for expense are baby cribs and some babies, depending on size, can use until the age of two but to save money and be more efficient rather than buying a new bed every year or so, try a convertible crib.  Convertible cribs go in three or four stages, from baby crib, to toddler bed, to twin bed or a full sized bed, or both.  These cost a little more than some basic cribs but definitely less than buying each bed you will need separately.

Baby stores as well as Target stores sell nice cribs and cribs that convert to bigger beds to save parents a lot of money consistently buying new bed frames.  Baby Crib Station sells basic and convertible cribs on their website and they’ll even ship them to your house for no extra charge.  These convertible cribs at Target start from a crib and work up to a full size bed and day bed.

Walmart and Target have online only deals on their websites for toddler beds that go up to $300 or some for only $70 that also use a crib mattress to fit within the new frame and they will last until the child becomes too big in a year or so.  Look around on Craig’s List or ask fellow moms if they have one to use.  Twin beds and bunk beds are always on sale on Craig’s List or in the paper and stores often sell them during their sales.  Remember that mattresses are an extra cost as well so when you see a deal offering a free mattress with the purchase of a bed frame, take a look at the sale so you don’t miss out.

For twin beds and bunk beds, try these sites:

Target and target.com

Walmart and walmart.com

craigslist.org

overstock.com

amazon.com

ebay.com

Infants and toddlers usually find a way to express themselves but for some children, communication is harder than it is for others. Children develop at such different rates from one another so some kids have trouble putting phrases together and babies may have a difficult time relaying their message of hunger, a dirty diaper, or an ear ache. For parents experiencing this or those who just want to help their child greatly improve in communication skills and be more sociable, the baby sign language craze is for them.

It’s really not a craze, but a tool to give children a head start on learning words to provide better clarity in communication and comprehension for today and their future. Any parent paying attention can tell you children do better as they age through school when they have better verbal skills and learn a second language because the brain becomes well trained to hold and process more information. American Sign Language is a recognized language at top universities across the nation and children really learn more than just gestures.  Signing for children is not a gimmick, it is a real tool children not only benefit from but enjoy learning when they’re young and continue to use as long as they want into elementary school before learning more ASL signs from advanced classes in school or in college courses.

Baby and toddler signing inspires children to love education and they aspire to learn more in their school years to come. Sign language can be started at anytime but the sooner the better when young children absorb a wealth of knowledge in their young years.

To learn more about the significant benefits of signing and to try it for your family, moms can try these books that come highly rated from other moms and grandparents alike.  The Baby Signing Book is a collection of almost 400 ASL signs for infants and toddlers divided by age group and also teaches children to sign along to their favorite songs like “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”.  Two people rated this book a 4 out of 5 on amazon.com but the rest gave it the full five stars.  Communicate with children even younger than a year with this book, Baby Talk, to help moms speak with their little ones and even limit tantrums of frustration from miscommunication between mother and child.  This book had an average customer rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars from satisfied parents.

For older children already walking and talking some, these books are better geared for them and for children who know the basics of baby sign language.  Learn to Sign the Fun Way teaches children the fun of signing through games and activitiesto help them remember the signs and use them more.  Amazon customers rated this book 4 out of 5 stars.  Sign Language for Kids introduces toddlers and elementary school children the basics of American Sign Language.  This book had fantastic reviews and high ratings, Talking With Your Hands, Listening With Your Eyes.

For moms and dads that prefer to use flash cards, this set received a full 5 0f 5 stars with far more ratings than other products with rave customer reviews.  This is just a portion of the excellent reviews: “I got these for my son when he was 18-months and he LOVES these! He has already memorized both the First Words and almost all of the Shapes & Colors cards. I went out and bought ALL FOUR packs. They are all great!”

For toddlers and older, this set is a real deal with 500 signs of flash cards illustrated with a real person showing your family how to do each one.

Amazon’s website and book stores are packed full of resources for parents to learn sign language with their young ones to communicate better with them and form a closer bond together, teach your baby even to sign “I love you” before she can walk or say it!