We really liked Seattle-based songwriter, performer, and music educator Brian Vogan's CD Little Songs. Filled with well-crafted songs for both children, it had a great indie-rock/folk vibe that appealed to parents as well.

We recently received a review copy of Brian's latest effort, Sing a Little Song, in which he performs with his band, his Good Buddies (who just happen to be a number of noteworthy Seattle-area musicians). A worthy successor to Little Songs, Sing a Little Song features a dozen cheerful tracks that share the previous album's nods to indie rock, world music, folk, jazz, and, well, just about any musical style you can think of. The CD's themes of course deal with subjects that children care about—including frogs, dinosaurs, vehicles, and space travel—but the catchy songs definitely appeal to music lovers of all ages.

This guest article is by Lisa Brent, ND, LAc. Lisa is a naturopathic doctor specializing in women’s health and integrative gynecology at the Owning Pink Center in Mill Valley, CA.

Are you in your early forties and doing everything right, yet gaining weight with every passing year? You aren’t alone. Ask any mom and chances are she will tell you that her metabolism has changed over time, and especially after pregnancy. While we are all guilty of snacking on goldfish scattered on the floors of our cars, most of us do try hard to eat well and get some kind of regular exercise. It is frustrating when these efforts do not produce the results they used to when we were younger.

What’s the root cause of this age 40+ weight gain?

There are two main reasons for this: stress and metabolic compromise. It is well known that metabolism changes over time. Around middle age, many women begin to slowly gain weight even though they have not changed their diet or exercise regimen.

Since we seem to be reading a lot of books lately, we thought we'd start reviewing a new favorite children's book every week. The books aren't necessarily new, but are those that are new to us! If you have a book that you'd like to have us review for the site, please contact us and let us know about it.

Our favorite children's book this week is the delightfully twisted Cowboy and Octopus, by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (40 pages, Viking Juvenile, 2007). Scieszka and Smith are the creative team behind the equally funny and offbeat The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, which my husband brought home one day and has remained a favorite in our house ever since.

Since this summer hasn't really been all that summer-y, maybe try to capture that summer feeling by dining on some of the season's iconic foods. Corn on the cob is one of those. Wonderful sweet ears of white corn from Brentwood and the Central Valley are available now, so grab some while you can. Of course you get bonus points if you're growing it right in your backyard and you can go grab some off the stalk moments before cooking it.

Our favorite method of cooking corn is to husk it and throw it on the BBQ grill. Get it nice and brown, which gives it a wonderful toasty corn flavor—we had kids fighting over who got the most charred ear of corn at the last family gathering. This method, however, is not always a practical one, especially if you're pressed for time. Normally most people just husk the ears and boil them in some salted water. I discovered an alternate way of cooking corn, one so good that I doubt I'll be boiling corn ever again: the microwave. Yes… the microwave.

If your family is at all like ours, you spend a lot of time shopping at one of the three Trader Joes stores in Marin. Their combination of good value, great service, offbeat atmosphere, and an eclectic selection of gourmet products keeps us going back. And, let's not forget the family-friendly aspects of the store—mini-shopper carts, free stickers, and rewards for finding Jojo the pony (in the Novato store) help keep children occupied and busy during those grocery shopping trips.

But what's the story behind Trader Joes? Did you know it's owned by a secretive German company? Where do all those private-label products they stock come from? How come many of their products—cheese, for example—are much less expensive than at other grocery stores?

Fortune Magazine recently took a look "Inside the Secret World of Trader Joes", and examines the history of the store, how it's run, and how it finagles those great deals.

Discover some of the finest Italian children's literature available at the third annual Festa del Libro, a children’s Italian book fair extravaganza that takes place Saturday and Sunday, August 29 and 30 at Book Passage in Corte Madera, and September 5 and 6 at Book Passage's second location in San Francisco's Ferry Building. Both events run from 10 am to 6 pm. Festa del Libro is also taking place this year in San Jose, during the Italian American Festa at Little Italy Kids School, noon to 6 pm, August 28 and 29. Story time, in Italian, takes place at the Corte Madera location at 11 am and 4 pm on both August 28 and 29.

Over 400 illustrated children’s books from distinguished publishers will be on hand direct from Italy. With vivid illustrations and trademark Italian creativity. the selection on hand is ideal for children 0–10 and beginning Italian language students of all ages. If your child or anyone else in your family is learning Italian or is interested in Italian culture this is an event not to be missed! This year's event features additional multimedia materials, as well as works from smaller specialty publishers that are difficult to find even in Italy.

Stacie and Simran are both Bay Area moms who recently started a kids' food adventure blog called “A Little Yumminess”. They cover easy recipes (often with an international twist), food-related adventures you can have with your children in the Bay Area, cooking with kids and basically how to have fun with food and your children (vs. think of it as a chore or a challenge).

Stacie is also a talented artist and often shares her food related “doodles” on the blog. You can often find Stacie eating, reading cookbooks, and thinking about her next meal. She also enjoys drawing, painting and growing vegetables in her foggy San Francisco garden. She enjoys the challenges and rewards of eating with a two and a half year old.

Simran is often tinkering around the kitchen and coming up with ethnic recipes that kids will enjoy. You’ll also find Simran and her daughter roaming the streets of San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area seeking out the ultimate food ‘venture. According to her father, Simran thinks about food 97.3% of the time— it makes you wonder what she fills the rest of her time with.

Do check out A Little Yumminess (alittleyum.wordpress.com) for some fun food related ideas! Here's Simran's recipe for Fake Bake Tandoori Chicken—a wonderful and tasty dish that appeals to adults and children alike. You can also read the recipe as one of Stacie's delightful "doodles".

Corte Madera's new family-friendly Brick & Bottle restaurant is offering Marin Mommies readers a free dessert for the table! Just mention that you heard about Brick & Bottle on Marin Mommies.

Read our review of Brick & Bottle here.

Reducing waste and promoting environmental resposibility in their children is a priority with many parents. One way to help with this is to use a product like Fabkins, cool reusable cloth napkins for kids that are perfect for a child's lunchbox and at-home use, too. Fabkins were created and designed by Marin mompreneurs Joyce Raffo and Paige Rodgers. (We interviewed Joyce and Paige in 2008 about their product and business; you can read that article here.)

Useful as both napkins and placemats, Fabkins encourage good table manners, and help reduce waste by eliminating the need to use paper napkins both with school lunches and meals at home. They are made of 100% certified organic cotton, and embroidered with fun designs in themes ranging from Prima Ballerina and African Safari to Xtreme Sports and Beach Bound. Fabkins retails for $10.95 for a starter set of two organic napkins, or $19.95 for a set of four, and can be purchased at numerous retail locations throughout the Bay Area or online at www.fabkins.com. Marin Mommies readers who order online can take 20% off their Fabkins purchase with the coupon code MM20 through August 31.

Our back-to-school Yubo lunchbox kit giveaway is over! Congratulations to Melissa D. of San Rafael, who chose the blue lunchbox with the cool shark faceplates (those are the ones that my son likes, too).

We’re giving away a free Yubo Deluxe Kit lunchbox of your choice (choose color and faceplates—not personalized) to a lucky Marin Mommies reader! Send an e-mail with "Yubo lunchbox" in the subject line to contests@marinmommies.com by midnight (Pacific time) this Sunday, August 15, 2010.

One winner will be selected at random, and we'll announce the winner on Monday, August 16. Good luck!

Read our review of the Yubo lunchbox here.