Tiger Mom FAIL, CBX PASS, Juno Company Review and GIVEAWAY

Last weekend my boys and I went to an all day Korean School art, writing, and games competition. It was very clear from the moment that we arrived that I was going to learn in so many ways that I failed to reach the Tiger Mom gold standard. First of all, most of the students who were participating in the art competition brought full art sets with them, including paints, watercolors and oils, not the lunchboxes of half broken crayons that H&R had brought. They also brought the short Korean tables so they would have flat surfaces on which to draw and paint. I brought my JJ Cole Essentials Blanket, the staple of any urban mommy's registry list, but apparently not good enough for a Tiger Mom's art competition. My shortcomings also included not signing them up for art lessons, which most of the other kids seemed to have had.

It should come to no surprise that the boys did not win any of the awards for the art competition. H was so upset about this that he tried to steal an award from another kid. Oh a mother's shame. See, Koreans don't do what American society seems to be doing for its children these days, saying "everyone is a winner" and not keeping score at kids' athletic events. There is a winner and there is definitely a loser at a Korean School competition. I should have realized when they took the kids and sequestered them inside a box marked off by "caution tape" (so parents couldn't help their kids), that this was going to end badly for H. I don't care how exhausted I am going to be this summer with a newborn, I'm going to drink enough caffeine to drive these boys to art lessons so next year they won't cry about not getting a $1 ladybug magnifying glass from Michaels!

So while I learned I was a complete failure as a Tiger Mom, I did get some good news Friday night that I had passed the California Bar Exam. The pass rate for February 2010's exam was 37.6% for all takers and 49.7% for first timers so I feel like I can pat myself on the back for passing this exam to compensate for my utter failure described above. I think I did get an edge since I applied for exam relief to bring a cup into the exam (the bar examiners don't allow any food or beverages inside the exam room) so I could spit into it because of excess salivation issues caused by my pregnancy. I know I could have used being pregnant to rationalize a negative result, but I am so relieved that I don't have to do it. Whatever the result, I had vowed not to take the exam again. I would have taken a fail to mean that God wanted me to move back to New York (where I am licensed to practice law, notwithstanding my SAHM status). So the immediate future looks to be California for job prospects once Random Baby #3 is well-settled in the outside world.

My boys suffered a lot (well, I think they suffered they probably had many field days) while I studied for the bar exam. A lot of their time was spent on electronics while I got in a few more multistate multiple choice questions. Their favorite activities included The Juno Company apps on iPad. And now in the last few weeks of my pregnancy, they are getting some more time to spend on apps since I am frequently so exhausted I can't get up. The latest fun app they've been enjoying is The Juno Company eBook App The Day The Music Stopped.

The full length musical eBook features all the great Juno characters, original orchestral music, mini games, unique touch screen interaction and a compelling story! H&R are really into playing games now and I could see that it was a huge bonus that there were games right in the middle of a book I was reading to them. The app has both a "read myself" and "read to me" version. I actually prefer to read it to them since the "read to me" version seems a little slow for H, but I could definitely see the advantages of that version for those times when I can't move and for long car rides (the app can occupy my boys for 30 minutes plus). Through the generosity of The Juno Company, THREE Random Mommy readers will be able to experience The Day The Music Stopped for themselves.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:  Contest period runs from Monday, May 16, 2011 at 12:01 AM (Pacific) until Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving a comment on your favorite musical instrument, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address. While you are waiting for the results of the giveaway, you can get a free download of Juno's Musical ABC's Audiobook.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar
4) Like The Juno Company on Facebook
5) Follow The Juno Company on Twitter

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winners. The winners will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winners do not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US and Canadian Residents only. Good luck and have a great week!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive product samples to facilitate my review.