Looking for a good read this summer? Jane Porter, the award-winning author of Flirting With Forty and Odd Mom Out, shared 10 of her favorite titles for moms on View From the Bay. Listed below are a few of the books. To get the complete list, go to their website.

OK, I know this sounds crazy, but I am still nursing my 2-year-old daughter. I’ve been trying to wean her for the last couple of months with little luck. I have been successful at cutting back, but she does seem a pretty attached to the whole thing still. I’ve tried replacements, like a pacifier or food, which in both cases haven’t worked. When looking into suggestions about weaning, I found some good info online from Dr. Sears and the La Leche Group. Both websites had similar suggestions. I have listed some of the basic ones below:

Now that most schools begin some time in August, it’s time to start buying those back to school items. My son will be starting kindergarten this fall, so we are started shopping for a new backpack and lunchbox. When we were shopping for a lunchbox, we came across Laptop Lunches. These cool waste-free lunch boxes are American-style bento boxes that were developed by two moms in Santa Cruz. They’re designed to help families pack nutritious, environment-friendly lunches that do not contain lead, phthalates, or bisphenol A (BPA). Laptop Lunches also come with a book of healthy lunch ideas and lunch-making recipes. They are reusable, recyclable, and dishwasher safe. The basic Laptop Lunches starts at $20.99 (shown on right) online. You can buy them online at www.laptoplunches.com.

Experience the magic of tall ships and our maritime heritage during the 2008 San Francisco Festival of Sail, which begins Wednesday, July 23 and runs through Sunday, July 27. Starting with the Grand Parade of Sail Wednesday at noon, the nautical fun takes place in three "villages" located along the San Francisco waterfront where you can visit a variety of sailing vessels. Events include the parade, ship boardings, excursions, mock naval battles, educational programs, and the Velocity Circus' Pirate Academy.

Starting tomorrow, July 22, 2008, the City of Novato will begin enforcing a strict secondhand smoke ordinance. Some will see it as a draconian assault on their rights; most will probably consider it a breath of fresh air. Either way, it prohibits smoking within 20 feet of operable doors or windows of buildings, bus stops, ATMs, and ticket lines, as well as at any park, public event, restaurant, bar, and even within apartment buildings. Exceptions are inside private residences and tobacco shops. (Is there a tobacconist in Novato? Telford's Pipe and Cigar in Mill Valley is the only one I can think of in the county, although as a non-smoker, I admittedly don't know really have a need to know much about them.)

Fines range from $100 to $500, depending on the number of violations.

Forbes has named Marin County number 15 on its list of the top 20 places in the country to raise a family. Rankings are largely based on school quality, followed by other factors like cost of living, air quality, crime rate, and commute time. One thing they ding us for is the astronomical media home price, but of course we know that this factors in things like $25 million-dollar estates in Belvedere as well as less costly homes in perfectly fine communities like Novato and San Rafael.

Read the article here on Forbes.com.

Forbes also declared last year that Marin had the best schools in the nation.

Get FREE admission to the Appel & Frank "Babes & Babies" Shopping Event in San Francisco this Sunday, July 20, from 10 am–2 pm at JCC of San Francicsco, located at 3200 California Street at Presidio. Babes & Babies brings together over 50 talented emerging designers who create unique items specifically for modern moms and their trendy tots! Moms can outfit their little ones in high style at designers liven up traditional offerings of clothes, accessories and more, all at discounted prices. The first 300 guests will receive a fabulous goodie bag!

Ever since she started learning to talk, my little girl has always had her own distinctive vocabulary. Of course, most babies and toddlers have their own words for things they can't quite pronounce. Now there is a great way to show off your child’s unique words and phrases and preserve them on a shirt. Translation Tees is a local mom-owned business that offers one-of-a-kind shirts for the little ones who have their own unique takes on common words. Translation Tees combine your child’s own cute mispronounced words with fresh, colorful, and bold graphics. Over 100 designs are available, printed on high-quality 100% cotton interlock shirts that will last for years.

Apparently more and more parents in Marin are sending their children to pricey private summer day camps like Camp Galileo and Steve and Kate's Camp. Of course these camps often offer innovative features and activities made possible by the higher prices. Read what local towns are doing to compete in the Marin IJ:

Towns' summer camps try to compete with private programs - Worried about competition from an increasing number of private day camps, San Anselmo Recreation Coordinator Dana Gibson decided to make the town's programs more