Not Just a Working Mom Reviews

My Best Gift, with Bonus Tantrum

2010-12-16T08:05:00.000-08:00

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For every download of the app between now and Dec. 31, 2010, SWAGG will donate $1 to Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) , up to $125,000.

Clever Girls Collective and SWAGG are sending a pair of movie fans to the Sundance Film Festival! Download the SWAGG app and then visit the Ultimate SWAGG Getaway Sweepstakes site to enter to win a trip for two to the Sundance Film Festival. Entry deadline is January 3, 2011, 11:59pm, PST.

My mom was a pretty outstanding gift giver, whether it was an antique briefcase she found in the closet with my grandpa's initials, or the adorable stuffed animal/poster combos she picked out for my friends' birthday parties. I remember for Hanukkah we wrapped up the 8 days of lights with a big gift. One year I got a bike, my sister got a video player to go with her video camera, and my brother got a big stuffed raccoon. We seriously thought he got the short end of the stick. Of course we said nothing, because he absolutely loved it, had been coveting the guy to go with his smaller animals.

I like to think I inherited her gift giving skills, at least for the first 40 or so years of my life. I'm pretty much burned out now...I gave gift cards to my kids last year for pete's sake. I know that people just love gift cards, and my kids loved them of course, as they were for the Lego store, but I want to make be little more personal. I've really scored in the past, though, and was reminded the other day by my mom of the best gift I ever bought for someone. It was for my mom, and I had great fun reminding her of the story again.

I was a kid, maybe 8 or so, and the family was shopping for each others Hanukkah gifts. I took off with my dad, knowing exactly what I wanted to get for my mom with my saved up twenty bucks. We looked and looked, but I could not find one in the right price range. My dad is not an impatient guy, so we must have planned a meeting time as he started insisting we had to go, we'd come back later. The item I was looking for was an electric nail file, and manicure set. See my mom had, after umpteen years, had finally stopped biting her nails. They were growing out nicely and I thought it would be the perfect gift. I finally spotted it, and we were out of time. My dad wanted to come back another time, the nerve. I can't honestly remember why he wanted to leave, but I threw a tantrum right there in the store. We had to buy this for mommy, she deserved it. Crying and whining, I must have been quite a site. I got my way, though, and snatched up that snazzy kit for $19.99.

My mom used that thing for years. It was a different shape than most, and worked amazingly well. She seriously was never able to duplicate it when it finally died. The tantrum was totally worth it in my opinion, and my mom was not just being nice, she used it all the time and still has great nails.
Learn more about the coolest new app that revolutionizes the whole shopping, gifting, and gift card-organizing experience and Download the SWAGG app to your iPhone or Droid. I was selected for this sponsorship by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity.

Attack of the Holiday Photo

2010-10-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

I've been a Shutterfly fan for quite awhile, and have used them a couple times to order holiday cards. All those photo sites are pretty cool, but it's nice that this one is local with a huge selection of holiday cards, especially our favorite, the holiday photo cards, like that this simple, but still colorful one on the left. Very non-demoninational, goes with any photos you could possibly want, only drawback...my husband would probably not like that yellow, I love it.

My husband's just a bit fanatical about his Christmas photo cards. Long before I met him, he would send out oodles of Christmas cards to his friends across the earth, each with a photo of himself in some exotic place. I was very proud of myself one year when I sent 15 to friends, I felt like such an adult. Growing up we never sent out cards, and I remember a conversation with my dad a number of years ago when he told me "one day I just decided to stop sending cards, and I've never looked back." Some years when the stacks of cards waiting to be signed and address looms before us during a busy holiday season, I sure can understand that sentiment.

My first husband had no desire to send cards, it did not fit in with his Jewish traditions. That may be one of the reasons I was so excited to send my own cards. Post-divorce, I was living alone for the very first time in my life, in my own apartment, watching my TV shows. Excuse me, lost myself for a second in that fantasy.

Anyway, my current (does that sound odd?) husband had to give up his exotic locale photos once we added kids and dogs to the mix. He never liked my idea of using only the kids in the photo, and he loved the challenge of a) picking a creative idea (we've done soccer jerseys - big surprise, pacifiers, lying on the ground in a circle, funny glasses, etc.) b) getting kids and dogs in place (and not crying, in the case of babies and toddlers) c) setting the timer and leaping over to join us and finally d) waiting to get the film developed while you hoped one came out okay. You have not lived until you've counted down the seconds waiting for the camera to snap, hoping the dog would not wander off of the baby look away. The age of digital photos, photoshopping and now multiple photos per card has eliminated much of that excitement. The cards with multiple photos are also a lovely new addition, since you can pick the best picture of yourself and still please your family with silly photos of them.

Now the excitement revolves around picking through the hundreds for options. In the past I was a bit obsessed to find a funny, "holiday" (as opposed to Christmas), not religious card. I am always tempted by the Hanukkah cards, my way to make up for the years of years of Christmas overload during my Jewish upbringing. Maybe it's because I have boys, but I love this one...got the modern touch, with toys. Our photos would of course include colorful jerseys and butts. I can totally relate to the friends who've completely given up on ever getting cards out before Christmas, so go with New Year’s cards or on one case, Valentine's, which was great. My husband will have none of that, these cards will wish you a happy holiday, Merry Christmas or Seasons Greetings, whether sent out on Dec. 15th or Jan. 15th. Just to add to the struggle, yes, we've also started a letter, but it is pretty funny, promise.

We often just choose the simple one photo one, because, frankly, it's cheaper and we just have to find that one family photo. Plus how cute is that reindeer? It's also got just enough room to scribble our signature, the minimal in personal touches, important when you have 150 to fill out. So imagine this little number,

with this photo?

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Do you want 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly? Click here to go to Shutterfly for information on how you can get 50 free cards this holiday season, and make sure to select Clever 1000 as the referral source.

This post is part of a series sponsored by Shutterfly. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Mastermind

2010-10-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned there were a ton of sponsors and giveaways at BlogHer, and while I sent a box of stuff home, only a handful really prompted me to give them a shout-out on my review blog.

One of those was one of my favorite games as a child. It's Mastermind, and the original has hardly changed. The colors have changed slightly, the case is blue and I think it used to be black, but this simple, logic game is still the one I loved. The company just had a small table at the conference, and the great thing was they sent me the game rather than having me haul it home. I also got a new version for little kids, which is absolutely adorable. It's animals placed in a certain order, which makes it a bit easier than remembering colors and location.

There seem to be a whole slew of editions now, the aforementioned classic plus advanced and ultimate, which I'd love to play with my husband or dad. Of course there are Disney and Spongebob versions, but I like the animal the best.

The only drawback to this game is my kids keep making mistakes when they put the little pegs it, makes it hard for me to win.

From the Blogher 10 Sponsor page

Pressman Toy Corp.

MASTERMIND, the classic game of strategy from Pressman Toy Corporation, has had players making and breaking codes for generations. It’s the codemaker vs. the codebreaker! Solve your opponent's code in fewer turns than it takes your opponent to solve your code. With 2,401 combinations possible, it’s a mind-bending challenge every time the game is played. New versions for kids include Animal MASTERMIND Towers and SpongeBob MASTERMIND Towers. Learn more at http://www.mastermindboardgame.com/.

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Disclosure: I was sent a complimentary Mastermind Classic game and Animal MASTERMIND® Towers with no other compensation. I was under no obligation to post a review and all above opinions are my own.

Brazil or Bust

2010-10-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sponsored By

Cheerios® is giving you the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, your ultimate family vacation. As part of a paid promotion for their “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, Cheerios® is sponsoring my post today about what my ultimate family vacation would be. Read mine, Enter the Sweepstakes for a chance to actually win your own fantasy family trip or one of a bunch of other great prizes.

There is absolutely no question what my family's ultimate vacation would be, we're even collecting bottles and cans to be turned into cold hard coin to fund the trip. We're not super confident we'll raise enough in this way, but wouldn't that been a cool story? If you've read many of my posts, you'll see we are a pretty soccer obsessed family. I'm even on a team now, although still not as big of a fan of watching professional games, especially when my husband heckles the opposing team's coach. You may have been swept up in a world-wide sporting event which combines the Superbowl, World Series and a bit of the Olympics thrown in for good measure...the Copa Mundial de Fútbol is what much of the world calls it.

Our dream would be to fly to Brazil in 2014, world cup soccer tickets in hand. The soccer games would be awesome, of course, but we are also in love with the country and people. One son has included becoming a Brazilian citizen and playing for their national team in his life plan. My husband's been twice for coaching clinics, and I joined him once and found the laid back lifestyle, the warmth in the people and the diversity just wonderful. We spent one evening at a coaches house, where he was throwing a party for his girls team. An incredible display of food was laid out, and when I mentioned I had not yet tried the national drink, the host walked across the street for a lime, muddled it up with some sugar and voila. The kids plan to learn Brazilian Portuguese over the next few years, but given that many people there speak Spanish they will be our tour guides.

We don't want to just see games and indulge in buffet style eating, there are the beautiful beaches, where my kids could join the locals in a rousing game of futbol, the world-famous Brazilian celebrations and the sites such as the incredibly gorgeous Iguazu Falls. This means of course many plane tickets, as Brazil is a huge country. This is a dream vacation, though, so let's throw those in as well. And who wants to wait four years, so nothing wrong with a trip before then.

Don't forget to enter the “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, for a chance to win your own ultimate family vacation. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as do I.

Assets

2010-10-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be posting some reviews of products I got from Blogher10 over the next few days. I figure any item I still use now must be pretty good, and the first is ASSETS by Sara Blakely, founder of Spanks. This new shapewear from Spanx is cheaper than the original, but it really works. I got a free pair of these at BlogHer and they were one of the first things I pulled out of my swag to try out. They felt much lighter than a pair of Spanx that I already owned, so I was not expecting the same kind of "firming" if you know what I mean. They worked really well though. You can see below (from the write-up I got from the Blogher10 sponsor page) that they are sold at lower cost stores, but I can attest that at least the bicycle short style does a pretty good job.

ASSETS by Sara Blakely

In 2006 Spanx founder Sara Blakely brought her shapewear know-how to more women with the national launch of ASSETS, a collection of expertly designed shapewear and legwear available at an unbelievable value. Delivering best in class shapewear, legwear, and foundations at approachable prices, ASSETS is sold in the following stylish retailers women love to shop: Target, LOFT, David’s Bridal, and Motherhood Maternity.

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Disclosure: I got a pair of mid-thigh shapers at Blogher but was under no obligation to post a review. All opinions are my own.

Hexbug City

2010-10-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

"Daddy, what's your favorite toy? Mine are the hex bugs"
                                                                    Keegan, Age 7

"I like those other toys, but these are clearly much more fun for everyone"
                                                                   Nieve, Age 8

"They look like cockroaches, mommy does not want one."
                                                              Most of the moms

Want a toy you might have to chase around the house, looks like a cross between a bug and an electronic circuit and your kids will absolutely love? Let me introduce, the HEXBUG Nano. Actually, they come in all shapes (the Nano is the newest) and my first introduction to them was as a giveaway from my company. We're even selling them on our company website so you know they're going to appeal to the nerd in all of us.

Watch them in action and tell me you're not impressed - my apologies for the sideways video

Last week I threw a hexbug party for a bunch of families from our school. I stayed up late the night before putting the maze of interconnected pieces together, the buggy habitat, to prevent a repeat of the ZhuZhu pet habitrail nightmare. I put a couple sets together on the coffee table, and the next day my sons managed to cover the floor with an elaborate maze in like 5 minutes. It snaps together easily and is easy to take apart.

These bugs are amazing, they'll flip over, zoom around and push each other off the bridge in the Hexbug Nano Bridge batte, which is really cool. There were girls and boys at this party, kids from 4-8 and lots of parents. Everyone thought they were pretty cool, even if a few moms found them creepy. My son really did claim it was his favorite toy, although he may have been swept up in the moment.

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Disclosure: I was given 30 Hexbug Nanos and an extensive habitat and other kits to throw a party for kids. I received no other compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Wha Oooga!

2010-09-17T00:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I have put on my most comfortable pair of shoes ever. I had to explain to my son why I could not wear these to work, besides the fact that it's still practically summer. I figured out they are just not "professional" what with the slew of teens wearing them everywhere during my last camping trip. I just wish I had them then. Yes, I have my first pair of "UGG" boots, but these are Whooga, an Australian company who offered me a pair of boots in the hopes I'd write about them. We never jumped on the croc or Ugg bandwagon, but I have occasionally coveted a pair so jumped at the chance. Rest assured these are in no way knock-offs, but a quality alternative maker of the ugg boots so popular among the models of San Diego, or so my husband observed (he still can't figure out why leggy blonds would don these "ugly" boots with their short shorts and halter tops).

One of the other reasons I agreed to try their boots is this company is a bit obsessed with disclosure. They wanted to make sure I mentioned these boots are made from authentic 100% merino wool, designed in Australia, but manufactured in China. It was a bit odd getting a beautifully wrapped package of soft fur Australian boots from China, and I at first worried a hotel had returned the leftover notebooks I purposely left on my last business trip there. Having worked for a global company for a while, and often being in charge of giveaways, I am well aware of how many items are made in China, and pretty much all of these types of boots are, including the popular UGG Austraila boots.

I chose these short purple ones, as they recommend if your concerned about your calf widths (yes, I inherited by dad's calves) to opt for the shorter ones, but they have three versions, and you can roll them down for a cute look. I have wide feet and was a little worried about the fit, since they don't come in different widths, but I promise they fit absolutely perfect. They have sizing instructions on their website and it worked. The website is really chock full of information, including how to choose your color. Black is the "safest" but since I have three pairs of black booths, and was not planning to dress up my business attire I wanted something more fun. I really love the color.

I would not say these are cheap, but they are less expensive than others out there and feel simply amazing.

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Disclosure: I was given a pair of boots to review but offered no other compensation. I was asked to write a review but the boots came with no obligation.

Pretty Pretty Jewelry From Wonderful Places

2010-08-02T00:17:00.000-07:00

We mommy bloggers get a bunch of press releases we're encouraged to post, offers to borrow a new phone for a few weeks or some odd new snack for our child. I'm in marketing so I certainly do not begrudge anyone trying to get publicity for their product, but that also doesn't mean I don't appreciate a worthy business with a beautiful product, not to mention a generous offer.

You may have heard of Kiva, a microloan program helping to alleviate poverty around the world. NOVICA, in association with National Geographic, combines that concept with an Etsy type platform, connecting buyers with artists and artisans around the world. They have a loan program and the most beautiful handmade jewelry, paintings and home decor. You can find artisans who's family have been in this business for years or generations, young woman who love to make beautiful pieces, from exotic locations like Thailand, Mexico and Brazil, for which I have a special place in my heart living in a house of soccer. Each piece also seems to have a unique and interesting name.

I was given a generous gift certificate and encouraged to find something in the necklace section, although it wasn't mandatory. Fine with me, boy was there a lot of absolutely gorgeous stuff to choose from. What a fun task ahead of me, although at some point it was all too much, there is so much to choose from.

Check out these bright-colored necklaces from Brazil, these are small rolled up magazines.

From Thailand you can find some of the most vivid colors.

You can shop by material, by region, new items or most popular. The website it beautiful and really easy to navigate. One of the best parts is each artist tells their story, and each piece comes wrapped in unique packaging with a handwritten note. You can also personalize your own site, add something to your wish list or email to a friend with a single click. There's a gift finder and featured artists, everything you need for a pleasant experience. And if an artist really touches your heart, you can make a small (or large) loan. The whole site touched me so much I made a member page.

I finally chose three pieces. I don't have a lot of jewelry but have been wearing more lately and I tried to find something fun and something more classic. This is from a lovely woman in Peru, with geometric silver shapes and an unusual chain. Appropriately, this is named "Pride" - simple and bold.

Look at the adorable packaging.

I absolutely love this, and admit it reminded me of those superstar necklaces so popular last year. It's a perfect length and makes be feel all cheery, and it's no wonder as it's called "Carnival" and is from Brazil. More great packaging.

I also chose these sweet little earrings. Oddly, they came in a lovely box, but it was so packed with stuffing they barely fit.

"Glistening Sophistication"

I loved everything I got, it was all high quality and unique, and could tell by the notes it was made with love and skill. It may take me longer than to pick out the artisan I'd like to support with a loan, but that is my next step.

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The disclosure part: I was provided with a $200 gift certificate to NOVICA but was under no obligation to post this review. They suggested necklaces but gave me the option to purchase whatever I wanted.

Do You Believe in Fairies?

2010-07-26T14:05:00.000-07:00

Why did I get this tweet the other day? We were fortunate to get free tickets to the threesixty° Peter Pan show, where I also got to see a bunch of blogging friends, including the ultra-marathoner Kari (okay, not quite there yet, but close), who wrote a much more thorough review of t he show here if you're interested. While her kids were talking about fairies, mine were choosing characters for some imaginary game. Given my options of Tink or Wendy (since I was a girl and they could not remember Tiger Lily), I chose Captain Hook. To annoy his brother, who got to be Peter Pan, Keegan chose Captain Jack Sparrow. I hope my kids "grow up" to be as brave and adventurous as Peter Pan, provided they always come back to their mommy.

My mom told me about this show months ago, well before it came to town, and ironically I was hoping she might take us, or at least the kids, as I suspected it was out of my budget (no, I never want to grow up, either). So what a great opportunity to get tickets, which "forced" me to take a half day off work and bring the kids to a rare trip to San Francisco.

The theater was really magical, with the flying stunts and the 360 degree projection screen that really brought life to the story, allowing the characters to fly underwater and then back up through the forest. I had asked my kids what they know about Peter Pan, which wasn't much, but they still enjoyed the show, at least they said they did the day after. Poor Keegan had a tummy ache for the first half and squirmed and groaned in my lap. Donovan loves watching movies and plays, but started in on the questions and moving around just about 2 seconds after the "please ask your children to stay in their seats and speak in a whisper" announcement.

It really was kid-friendly, though, with the flying and fighting scenes, which were more like dancing. I loved the creativity of the sets, with the animals having a puppeteer right on stage, the giant crocodile, the bath tub boat and of course the giant screen. I did find the story a bit scattered and strange, although it's likely I just don't remember Peter Pan very well. The theme of him wanting a mommy and the girls wanting a boyfriend was completely lost on my kids and didn't seem too fit well into the play.

We loved the humor, Captain Hook tough as nails except when he becomes so frightened of the mean old crocodile. The lost boys were endearing and fun, and my son is still yelling out (spoiler alert) "Slightly Spoiled" (no pun intended) - the name of one of the Lost Boys. Trouble-maker Tink, with her army boots and ripped abs to go with her pink tutu was just awesome.

It was great getting to meet the Darling family members after the show. The kids got their autographs and I got some pictures. They were so friendly and sweet and impressed with my son's Manchester United soccer jersey.

You can get tickets here. The place is small enough that every seat is a good one, and make sure you stop by the incredible water structure across the street.

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Disclaimer: SHNSF provided my family with four tickets to see the show. They also allowed us access to some of the cast members and yummy refreshments after the show. I was under no obligation to write this review, but really appreciated the opportunity and had a great time.

Photo Shoot!

2010-06-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

All I can say is wow, just wow, when I look at the photos I received in my email box a few days ago. Thanks to Silicon Valley Moms blog and Images by Anna (Anna's a blogger there too) I got the opportunity to not only have some professional shots done, but by a photographer I knew my family (read, my picky photographer husband) would love. Nothing stiff or posed about the shots on her site, she aims to capture the spirit, the wildness and the silliness of the kids, and the love the families have for each other. Even when I read through the guide and knew my kids would never fit into her suggested "styles" (classic, modern, etc.) I felt no worries about showing up in soccer gear, cuz that's who they are.

I was a little worried about my children. They are are sweet and kind and fun, but can take a while to warm up and we had exactly 20 minutes for this session and I did not want to waste it. We have tons of photos of the kids, but not a lot of the whole family and no professional ones since we got free baby ones a million (okay, 5) years ago which came with too many strings attached. I begged, pleaded, bribed with the promise of Hobees and let them wear their favorite (clean) jerseys and roll down the hill before we started. We met Anna in a park and from the minute she applauded the dirt my son managed to find within 5 minutes in the huge expanse of grass, I knew we'd found the right person.

She forced us to relax, show our love and giggle, she got my kids to play around and not hide behind their mommy or jump into daddy's arms, their usual reaction when any new adult talks to them.

I cannot wait to hang some of these up in my house, to create a space just to relax while I admire the family, as she suggests on her site.

My kids are all about the goofy, silly and crazy looks. Not only did Anna capture these, but the kids look incredibly happy underneath it all. My husband loved them, although he now thinks he needs a little botox to get his eyes to open more...I'm signing us both up next year. This guy certainly needs no such thing.

We just cannot thank you enough for this wonderful opportunity.
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Disclaimer: I received a free photo session and five web resolution photos from Images by Anna as well as a discount on orders from her site of those photos. I was under no obligation to write a favorable review, this is all my own experience.

Pretty Please Books Review and Giveaway

2009-12-04T00:11:00.000-08:00

I was given the opportunity to review some books geared towards the ages of my kids. I like the idea behind these books, basically teaching values and character building with more advanced books than you normally see. When my son was younger, we really needed the "No Hitting" and "No Biting" cute little board books, and they even kind of worked. I'm also struggling with getting my older guy to like reading, so am always open to suggestions. This was also perfect timing with the 2nd grade lessons, which include not just summarizing the books but explaining the author's message.

There are currently four books available from Pretty Please press. You can get 20% off the list price for books purchased through the website as well as a “buy 3 books, get 1 free” offer, but this great offer expires December 31, 2009.

We read three of the four books. As much as my kids love dogs, I just could not get them to crack open anything with ballet dancing puppies. My favorite was the The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters which I read with Donovan, who's a lot more open to new books. The was silly and hilarious, about fighting siblings who go on tour. We read Kick Block Punch several times, my boys are eager to start karate as soon as they get the okay from dad. I was really hoping they would like Pynx more, the illustrations were wonderful and imaginative. The books were long enough to allow for some discussion, but the messages simple enough for my 5 and 7 year olds to get right away. I can't say my kids loved the books, but I don't have big readers here and they sat through the whole book which is not a guarentee around here. I would love to see a silly book with brothers, or planes or big trucks. Sadly my son will judge a book by it's cover.

You can take advantage of the discount, or you can try to win these books for yourself. I'm giving away all four books. The minimal requirement is to leave a comment here, but if you want to help out you can also do one or more of the following:

check out the Pretty Please website
include one of your or your child's favorite book in the comment
retreat this on twitter (@nicole_pelton) or post on your blog for an extra entry. Use this or post your own: (@nicole_pelton is giving away books from Pretty Please press http://tinyurl.com/yk7zchy)

The contest will end on midnight Monday, December 14th and I'll have my little readers pick a number out of a hat.

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Full disclosure: I was given these books for free to review and asked to post the review and do a giveaway on my blog. I was not influenced by the publishers nor given any monetary compensation for the post.

Thank You Party Sponsors

2009-11-20T16:46:00.000-08:00

I had the absolute pleasure of going to a Silicon Valley Moms blog holiday party, not the least of why it may be my only chance to really dress up this season (that awkward sentence was my gift to you this holiday blogging season). Hooray I'm back working at my old company, but they got rid of evening parties eons ago, so no chance there. This party was sponsored by Chevy, who gifted us with lovely Tiffany GM key chains.

Photo by Carla Duharte-Razua of babyjidesigns

Coffee mate gave us travel mugs and creamer, but more importantly gave me the kick in the butt I needed to donate some suits I never wear. They collected 95 pounds of clothes to send to Dress For Success, whose "mission is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life." You should go send a Cup of Confidence and COFFEE-MATE® will donate fifty cents to Dress for Success for every cup (or note) sent.

Photo by Carla Duharte-Razua of babyjidesigns

I actually won two fabulous items. One was a Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit Plus. Awesome awesome prize, yes and I got it by getting the highest points flapping like a chicken (Bird's-Eye Bulls-Eye to be exact). Tee hee. I got a Wii fit a while ago, and when I heard about the Wii Fit Plus I ran out to add it to our minimal Wii game collection. It was only $20 and it's got loads more games for 2 people. My kids can't seem to fathom games that are not competitive, so they only want to to the 2-person run, which is technically not a race but don't bother telling that to my kids. This Chicken flapping game is so silly my 5 and 7 year old boys refuse to do it, so I of course had to try for myself, and let them laugh at me. All that practice paid off and I got the high score. I've been encouraging my parents to get a Wii Fit, since my mom really needs to improve her balance and I thought this would be perfect. They have helped us out so much this year and I was glad to give them this gift, I just need my kids to get grandma to actually try it.

I also got three of Olive Smart Sack reusable bags, and won six more and I have to say these are so much better than all the other reusable grocery bags I have. They are compact, designed to fit in your cup holder so you don't forget to bring them in. I've been keeping them in my purse and they are so soft and so strong I love using them for everything. I swear I'm not just saying that because one of the owners of the company got me a glass of wine while his wife told me about the bags. I have a weirdness about certain materials, and these are really nice to the touch and come in pretty colors.

I left with goodies for the kids too. So often all the fun kids things are for babies or little girls plus my boys mostly wear soccer gear or jeans and t-shirts. They loved these soft blue grass hats from Zooni though, and sure looked adorable with the glasses from Teeny Tiny Optics. The baby blanket from Lucky Jade was soft and so different than most, can't decide if we should keep it or give it to an actual baby.

He likes the hat, just not having his picture taken.

There were so many great companies there. I got tickets to Wicked, which I've been wanting to see. I read the book a while ago, and keep hearing great things about this show. Tiny Prints! gave us a beautiful assortment of thank you and holiday cards and if we can get our act together and take a family photo we may order our Christmas cards, or more likely New Years, cards through them.

There were so many other sponsors, and you can see them here as well as get coupon codes for your holiday shopping. I will post more about all the great electronics and lotions and creams as I try them out.

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Disclosure: I was not compensated monetarily for this post, nor was I obligated to post in any way. I did receive the products mentioned above for free.

Cute and Snuggly Hamsters, Whee!

2009-11-03T17:45:00.000-08:00

Have you heard about Zhu Zhu pets (aagh, my ears - turn the sounds off before clicking)? My boys, their friends, and I got a chance to throw a party with these furry bundles of cuteness. Yes, I store them in a KFC bucket, wanna make something of it? These things are absolutely adorable, making cute sounds and racing around the house. There is no off button, but you can pet them to put them to sleep, start them back up and hold them and pet them and call them George.

We got a whole slew of hamsters.

Mr. Squiggles / Num Nums / Chunk / Pipsqueak (looks like there's a new one called Patches, and yes, they have bios).
Donovan picked Chunk - ha, remember that name, you'll get to hear my son say it over and over again. My kids only took two or three hours to choose which one they wanted, and after all my worries that nobody would want the girls, Keegan went with Num Nums. Could you die of the cuteness?

So here they are putting together the elaborate maze that we also got, although in hindsight I should have put it together before hand. I wanted to see how easy it was for kids to put together, and the answer is, not so much. While the hamsters are really nice quality - furry and soft and zoom around impressively, even backing up when they hit something, the plastic "habitrails" leave a lot of room for improvement. It really brings out the personalities, though. Some kids just gave up and went off to find obstacles to challenge their new little "pets" while those of us with a touch of OCD (raising hand) stuck it out and managed to put the thing together after I sent the boys off for snacks.

Check out the spread I created for these guys - thank you Zhu Zhu pets for the snack ideas. Yes, in answer to your question, boys can make weapon-like objects even at a hamster party, but we love us some fruit kabobs.

For some real hamster action, I present to you the completely non-professional, non-edited zhu zhu pets home movies. Pay not attention to the boy-generated sound effects in the background or the mom completely ignoring one of her sons. Just enjoy.

I think the pets make great gifts, although they are a little pricey. Think of them as furry robots and they are quite a bargain. The accessories all come separately, and the little car is my favorite, although every time I tried to use the ball some kid would grab it and take it apart so it was not fully tested.

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I did get all of this free, including the set for us and the hamsters to give away. I was asked to post but was under no obligation and there was no monetary compensation for this.

Catching Up...Eek! And a winner

2009-10-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

I am so behind on my reviews. I've got books, skateboards and hamsters with adorable and funny video to share if I can just get my computer to run a bit faster.

Without further ado, though, I am finally giving away the Cake Wrecks book. So so sorry for the delay.

I used random.org since my number picking children are away at grandma and grandpas tonight, and the winner is Mar Vista mom Sarah Auerswald. Congrats!

Book Review: This is Where I Leave You

2009-10-12T22:59:00.000-07:00

I just, literally (hah!) finished This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Trooper, this months Silicon Valley Moms blog pick for our virtual book club. I managed to finish this book in just about four days, which is not that unusual for me, but I would definately call this a dense book, in a good way, an excellent way. The story was so packed with description and dialogue, from the hilarious oversharing of the mom, the aging obese or pasty-legged visitors, to the angry thoughts constantly running through Judd's mind. Judd is the main character, who stumbles upon his wife with is boss, somehow manages to light the guy's testicles on fire with a birthday cheesecake and soon after leaves to sit shiva with his highly disfunctional family after his father dies. I loved his family. Perhaps I loved them because they made me laugh out loud, or made my family seem mroe normal, but it's more likely I envy their directness, their emotions that seem to leak though even when they try to hide them. One of the very last lines is:

"We can all drive stick. We can all change a flat. We can all repress our feelings until they poison us."

Sure their life was not perfect, okay there is no question it was screwy, but repressed emotions? Not in that house. Sure sarcasm about your mom's skirt length, insults hurled at matchmakers and the constant punching is probably not a healthy release of emotions, but it sure makes for fun reading. Like an engaging TV show, I wanted to jump in and snap those characters into action. "Alice, you can adopt. Get that husband of yours tested. I know the feeling, really, I pondered doing that same thing with my husband's nephew." "Judd, you are clearly using this affair as an excuse to get angry that your life is not a fairy tale with a happy ending. Nice Jewish boy does not get the hot babe unless he works hard on the marriage, especially after a loss like that. Who doesn't want to fall in love again? Get over yourself." Okay, got that off my chest.

In case it wasn't clear, I highly recommend this book.

And full disclosure, I got a free copy of this book

Cake Wrecks Book and UnderNeat that "A Giveaway"

2009-10-03T22:34:00.000-07:00

Read here about the book signing I attended for the fantabulous and hilarous new Cake Wrecks book based on one of my all-time favorite blogs. This book is really funny, as you can imagine, and it's got tons of stuff not on the blog. It is of course in the same spirit of the blog, funny without being mean spirited, family friendly and utterly silly.

If you've read the blog, you'll know how awesome Jen is with her commentary. She's added stories and oodles of new photos. There's a whole chapter on CCCs (cupcake cakes, ptooey), an ode to baby bottoms and "gut-wrenchingly awful, with a snide of snickering schadenfreude" wedding cake wrecks. To be honest I'd never even heard of groom's cakes before this blog, or it might have been the cake shows I obsess over. In this book we've got the question of which you'd rather eat, "a slimy whole fish or a fuzzy, month-old pickle?" Yum.

I'm not going to post any of her cakewrecks here, but here are some of my own highs and lows.

Pigs by me and Soccer cake by Brian, not to shabby. These were two of Donovan's cakes.

Two very busy Star Wars cakes for Keegan's 3rd birthday. Yes, I made one cake for preschool and one for a party at home.

It's Dialga, can't you tell?

And my masterpiece!

Get it, it's a fun book. Support your local bookseller, get it on sale at Amazon, or to win your very own autographed copy of Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong leave a comment below, describing in detail a wrecked you've had made. No, I'm kidding, just leave any old comment by midnight next Saturday, 10/10 and I'll randomly pick a "winner."

Close Encounters of the Third Grade Kind, It'll make you laugh and cry

2009-08-21T23:54:00.000-07:00

This month the entertaining Phillip Done is coming out with his second book, Close Encounters of the Third Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood. I reviewed his first book here. He wants to add the word teacherhood to the lexicon, after all motherhood, fatherhood and parenthood are all words. In 11 chapters, one for each school month (just like pregnancy, the school year is longer than we think) he made me chuckle, tear up, appreciate teachers even more, and thoroughly enjoy reading about little kids from a teacher's perspective.

I've heard that he's taking a break from teaching to promote his books, which is sad because you can tell from his writing he'd make a great teacher. Just like his first book (with the even better title of 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny), this new one is full of little anecdotes from 30 years of teaching third graders, such as a heartwarming tale of a troubled little girl reading to a dog, which made me cry both times I read it, or a student's dad bidding $210 at a school auction so his son could go trick or treating with his teacher. It was a battle between two boys who really knew their trick-or-treating, leaving Mr. Done with a list of TRICK-OR-TREATING LESSONS for his October chapter.

After being handed a piece of candy, always look back in the bowl to see
what you did not get.

Old people are very generous or give you one peanut, there is no in
between.

Men don't care what their handing out. Women give
raisins.

Cute costumes = more candy.

His book is full of these "teaching truths" which of course are not always 100% true. I give out organic chocolate or toys, thank you very much. We can forgive him these generalizations, despite being a teacher, because they are clearly written out of love of teaching and many, many years of experience. Besides the funny and poignant parts, he covers the areas children love, like learning cursive, laughing at the teachers foibles and conducting messy science experiments. I see my son obsessed with learning cursive, but I affect the whole experiment when I'm in the class, so I don't often see first hand his spontaneous joy of learning.

My only critique is I think this book could have been shorter. Each chapter covers different aspects of his hilarious and trying life as a teacher, but in some ways it's a lot of the same. I think both his books would make great gifts for teachers and parents of young kids.

I've got two boys who started 2nd grade and kindergarten this year. I have absolutely loved all their male teachers and am glad there are teachers like Phillip and like the wonders in our school who have the patience and humor to teacher our little ones. This book comforted me in the knowledge that 3rd graders are still such little girls and boys, making mistakes, acting silly and being allowed to act like kids.

Pixorial Online Video Service Review

2009-07-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I was offered a chance to try out a new online video service thanks again to Silicon Valley Moms blog. In the interest of full disclosure, Pixorial gave me a $50 credit so I would be able to upload content to play with, and a Pro membership (value $24.50). One of the most unique features of this new site is the ability to digitize any form of video. While so far I've only uploaded videos from my Canon digital camera and Flip, I know we've got our wedding video on cassette, and I can bet my dad's even got some old movies on reel to reel. We also have a continual problem with various tapes and DVDs that come with a couple different video cameras we own. The idea is to ensure all the movies are safe and can be seen, in the founder's words:

"Pixorial was created to make it easy for you view, safeguard, and share your most cherished memories with the ones you love.

The site was fairly straightforward to use. As I said I haven't sent in any video, but you can find a review of someone who has here. I chose the upload feature and have uploaded about 8 videos of various lengths. It take a while, and because of the unique digital conversion, you can only upload one at a time, but I'm hoping eventually you can do more than one. I did create a really long movie using the Flip video software and piecing together a bunch of videos, and I could not upload that, so I'll be asking them about whether it's the format or the length. They are very responsive to questions, wonderful customer service, I just haven't gotten around to asking.

Once you have your videos in your media section, you can edit your footage. This way you can pick certain "scenes" or sections of your video. In my case I grabbed just a few seconds of some Guitar Hero playing, split up two different songs from Donovan's graduation, and grabbed about 30 seconds worth of Keegan's entire first grade concert. It's very simple editing, easy to fast forward to the parts you want - doing it directly, or using these cool (virtual of course) magnets to pull the ends of your scenes. I know they are working on an upgrade to the user interface, as right now it's a bit confusing. View to create the scenes, and Edit to produce a show from those scenes. Or go directly to the Produce tab. Here are some screen shots to illustrate, hoewver there are very easy to follow tutorials on the site itself.

After you've created your scenes you can then Produce a Show using the scenes or adding the master, which would be the whole video. There are then options for transitions and titles. I think there could be a lot more too this, and I'm sure they are working on this aspect. On another online video service I've been able to add more color, text right on the video, fun effects (which are in process) and other features. It was quite fast, though, once I got the hang of it.

The third step is share, which might be a DVD or a whole set of them for a volume discount. You can create covers for your DVD as well. I'll be creating one of these for my mother-in-law, since her computer is usually a little too slow for video links. Those all cost something, but you can share on facebook, email a link or embed as I've done below for free, or download a Hi Res version for $1.99. The emailed links takes you to the video, with an option to copy the link or the code for embedding. You can even create a mosaic of a picture of your choosing with thumbprints of the videos, which sounds like a fun idea.

I also posted this on facebook, which took about 10 minutes to appear in my email and was really easy to throw right on my wall. The link worked really well.

There is a free membership offer right now, so you can head on over to sign up. I'll report back once I've located and sent in my "analog" videos. You can even send in a memory card and they will upload all the videos on there, so I may do that as well.

Super Why Camp Activities

2009-07-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

As part of our SuperWhy event a few weeks ago we took home a package of activities, just a subset of what PBS brings to their great looking summer camps. There were a few worksheets for each day, corresponding to the superhero Super Why characters. I have to admit, the stars must be aligned, the bribes offered and the energy exhausted to get my boys to actually sit down with crayons. They love the idea of coloring and cutting and gluing, just would rather be outside playing soccer. So it took me a while to get this going, and we ended up doing the first activity in one day, the rest another (instead of one per day).

On the first day you ask a series of questions on day 1 then again on day 5, to see what they learned. Great idea, no tricks, just imparting a love of learning with familiar stories, super powers and solvable problems. For the activities the kids transform themselves into the characters, so they get the powers and do the work. I loved the idea, kids not so thrilled.

As you can see, here is Keegan who has transformed into Alpha Pig. Keegan was enthusiastic, bordering on whiny, wanting to do the worksheets, but they were way to easy for him. Donovan didn't want to be anyone but Super Why, so Keegan got this mask, with the payback of having to pose for a photo. I got a video of Donovan doing the activities for this day, but they were a bit easy, identifying letters and reading simple words. He also already knew the story of the three little pigs.

My kids have lost any remnants of their feminine sides, so Wonder Red and Princess Presto were a no-go on the masks, but Donovan had fun with the work sheets. It really brought a smile to his face when he could fill in the letters and identify the right words. Notice most letters are still backwards. He's not even in kindergarten so I'm happy I don't have to correct these yet.

Finally, the Super Why mask. Too bad mom was incompetent and unprepared when it came to actually figuring out how to get it to stay. In the second photo the mask is taped onto his nose.

Backwards as his letters might be, Donovan is very confident when he writes. In the last activity, they finished the sentences/story lines and drew a picture of the word they chose. Drawing he struggles a bit more, but gee, if someone told me to draw a wolf I would have panicked. His only question was whether it had to look like the picture. Of course not, so I present you with stick-figure big bad wolf.

And pink pigs, of course. Pink pigs are his favorite animal, although he's got emotional troubles with the color pink, what with bro and dad expressing their hate of that color at every opportunity. Phooey, pink is pretty.

Thanks again PBS. I am really impressed with their shows, activities, outreach programs and desire to get parents more involved. I would much rather sit down and read of color and write with the kids. I'm not against TV and computers, but I'd rather have them do that on their own. You can find these activities here and tons of activities on this page

Super Why from PBS

2009-06-29T00:15:00.000-07:00

I got to attend another fun and enlightening event with the Silicon Valley Moms. PBS hosted a discussion about kids and learning and their Super Why program at the Stanford Park Hotel, with delicious food and wine (in fact I was inspired to make their sliders for a dinner party).

If you want to see the thoughts on PBS, educational TV, all things PBS, check out the tweets under #pbsparents. Here's one of mine:

Words don't have power until we read them. We can change the story by changing the words. #pbsparents6:59 PM Jun 16th from twhirl

They talked about the development of Super Why and all the research and work that goes into each episode. It is a really cute concept, solving a problem, super heroes, fairy tales and reading. My kids used to watch it, now they'd prefer the online games. The PBS website is actually a bit nicer than others for kids, since the online games are customized for each show. The characters are Alpha Pig, Wonder Red, Princess Presto, Super Why. Even though my son is obsessed with stuffed piggies and pig books, his favorite is Super Why/Whyatt.

What they really wanted to know was how to get parents more involved, how much information they want. Personally I rarely watch TV with the kids, although they don't watch much anymore, it's been replace by the Wii and computer time. Every bit of research shows that reading, and talking to your kids, and reading to your kids, is absolutely critical in doing well in school, in life, to put it in a very simplistic way. I do love how PBS and Super Why focuses on that. My son who's been reading for a while is clearly to old, although he'll watch if it's on. But my 5YO, who is learning to read, very excited when he learns new words, gets completely engaged and likes the web games as well.

A huge shout-out to PBS for giving us wonderful programs for us as children as well as our children. They spoke about a Super WHY reading camps outreach program, which looks wonderful. They also gave us activities to take home, as well as a backpack, book which we read tonight (Jack and the Beanstalk), the Three Little Pigs DVD and one other musical DVD. I've started the activities with Donovan so will be blogging all about that at the end of the week.

Thanks Acitveion and Tech Museum

2009-06-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

Silicon Valley Moms blog came though again last week, arranging a fun day for me and the kids. Last week Donovan and I got to attend a very cool and science-filled event at one of our favorite places, the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. Bill Nye, the science guy, gave us some great experiment ideas and we are now big fans, we just need to snag some of his videos. It was all sponsored by Activeion, which I admit I kept reading as 'activevision" and imagined some futuristic screen.

When I found out it was Activeion, a non-toxic cleaning technology, my enthusiasm waned just a smidgen. I confess, I don't clean all that much, and usually stick to water and elbow grease for the occasional burst of cleaning, resorting to bleach if the sink is really yucky, along with my Roomba for the dog hair. I find myself a bit lost in the cleaning section of the store, so have purchased a variety of various cleaners and have only recently given thought to the chemicals and environment.

When we saw the thing in action, though, my kids and I were sold. It looks like a gun, to begin with, glows green, and you can spray it right in your mouth, does it get any cooler? Those of us with little boys figured we'd need three, and wondered if this would turn our kids into mad little cleaners. The real test, though, was would it work? The idea is it ionizes regular tap water, does something with the bubbles so it changes the way the water affects the dirt, similar to how soap attaches to dirt. Okay, I had to step out for that part of the talk, and unfortunately my more scientifically oriented son was at a soccer game during the demonstration.

I wasn't sure how I could test it. I don't clean much, and like I said I usually use water, anyway. I tried it on windows, not bad, but not streak free. Just the fact that it got me to clean a few windows is a feat in itself, I must admit. I then sprayed the thing all over a grease spattered sink, courtesy of a lamb curry dinner. Wow, have you ever tried to clean grease with plain cold water? It doesn't work. A few squirts of this stuff and the grease was easily wiped away. I love the fact that my kids can play around with it and not risk ingesting anything icky or leaving residue around. And I can madly clean the kitchen without worrying about getting chemicals on food or dishes, meaning I might have a clean kitchen more than once a week. I's not only harmless to the environment, but after the initial cost (which is quite steep, and for full disclosure we got them free) you just use regular tap water.

Don't just take my word for it...read more next week at Silicon Valley Moms blog and check out Bill Nye on the Active Ion website. Thanks again to the Tech Museum and Active Ion for a great day, including an awesome IMAX show about space. Stay tuned for a possible giveaway of one of these babies.

Cool Frame and Phone from T-Mobile

2009-01-07T21:58:00.000-08:00

So several weeks, okay maybe more, ago, I got an offer to review a couple techie gadgets. Seems T-Mobile took a survey at Blogher about kids and cell phones, and were asking some moms to review them. I at first was not interested in the cell phone, since it was T-Mobile and I'm pretty set with AT&T, what with the contract and my company paying and all, but the 2nd thing, that sounded really, really awesome. Essentially you can send pictures to a digital frame, from a cell phone, any cell phone. So let me get into a few more details.

First, the phone, camera phone call the MOTOZINE (Motorola ZINE) which has a 5 megapixel camera. I have to admit, the camera took better pictures than my own digital camera, not that that's (my cheap one) anything to write home about. So I have to say, I did love the phone, particularly the camera part. I am not one to read directions (I know I'm not alone here) so it took a few days for me to figure some of it out, and I did have to crack open the manual on more than one occasion, but it wasn't so bad, and my 6YO son even managed to add grandpa to my faves list with no help at all.

I'm going to focus (ha, get it?) on the camera part, just for the record. The first photo of my lovely Christmas tree is from my camera, and the two below are from the MOTOZINE. Yes, we went for the pipe-cleaner candy-cane/painted porcelain pig tree this year, it's all the rage, don't ya know? And I couldn't resist throwing in a family photo, taken in the practically pitch dark, btw.

Another great feature was the photo upload ability. I loved my first camera phone, but went the phone broke (okay, I dropped it for the umpteenth time) my pictures were pretty much stuck, since I had no desire to put the time and money in getting software and hardware to get the photos from the camera to the computer. Sure, it's easier with the iPhone, but you can actually upload all your photos to a kodakgallery album with just a few easy steps. You can still email as well, but not very many at a time, and I didn't try the connection to the computer as the upload was so cool. The phone also takes some pretty good video, and I have to say if I had this phone I would not bother with a digital camera unless I could afford an SLR one.

Next up is the Cameo, which definitely lived up to its description. That link takes you to a brief review, by the way. It looks like a regular digital frame with one really cool feature. Imagine giving perhaps technically challenged grandma a digital frame for Christmas loaded (on a flash memory card) with some adorable photos of her grandsons building a snowman and her great-granddaughter on her first snowboard run. Then the holiday vacation ends, and suddenly pictures of post-Christmas unpacking arrives on said frame from the distant relatives, along with camping photos and a birthday party. For a mere $100 and $10 a month, the whole family can send grandma photos. The frame has it's own phone number, and you can send photos with messages right to the frame, from any cell phone, not just T-mobile (even the iPhone using this little trick). Once you give the frame permission, which just happens the first time, the photos are automatically uploaded.

I didn't get to keep these, just for the record, whatever record that is.

We Have a Winner

2008-12-08T23:09:00.001-08:00

Congrats to Ilina from Dirt and Noise, winner of the Didj and games. I used random.org, btw and so sorry for those that didn't win. Please come back.

Unsolicited and Embarrassing Product Review

2008-12-04T22:53:00.000-08:00

I did it, I bought this stuff. As much as it weirded me out, yet titillated me to see pancake batter in a can, I finally looked at the ingredients. I mean, sure, organic doesn't always mean good (just look at organic oreos), but the ingredients are not half bad, there is even cane sugar instead of corn syrup if you can believe that.

I'll admit to being a total pancake snob. Growing up on hearty buckwheat buttermilk pancakes and a french toast recipe which included whole wheat bread and wheat germ, I could never stand plain white flour pancakes. And while you can now find great mixes, I don't even buy those anymore, after my son started calling the ones I make from scratch the "fluffy" ones, and they aren't much harder than a mix. But on weekdays we're all over the frozen waffles and pancakes (gluten-free Trader Joes version are not half bad, and those mini ones are surprisingly sweet and yummy.)

This stuff if fun to squirt out and made pretty good pancakes. They do need to be cooked at pretty low heat, or maybe that's just my sucky stove. On the other hand, if you want to make fresh pancakes and not use this, and don't have time to whip up a batch, I found a Washington Times article that has a mix that can sit overnight and up to three days.

All-weekend buttermilk pancakes
1 teaspoon (about ½ package) active dry yeast
2 tablespoons lukewarm water
2 cups flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons tablespoon honey
Butter, as needed

Dissolve the yeast in the water. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, oil and honey. Add the yeast and buttermilk mixtures into the flour mixture and whisk to combine (the batter will not be completely smooth). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Another Giveaway

2008-12-03T23:44:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all, I wanted to let you know about a cool giveaway where you get to choose one of four prizes at the 3Rs. Also noticed Mamaspeaks has a gift guide and you can get to it by that there link over there on the left.

I think we're all hoping to reduce the number of gifts we have to buy this season by winning some of the many giveaways around the net.

Win Stuff

2008-11-29T08:24:00.000-08:00

Kim's got a light up nerf football to give away over at her new review blog.

I'm so hoping for this Wii and Wii Fit, but g'head and enter yourself if you want.

SoCal Mom is giving away a great basket of gifts plus some for SoCal residents.

And don't forget I'm giving away a didj here. Leave your comment by Dec. 6th.

You can also win one over at Who's the Boss?

Book Review: 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny

2008-11-26T23:01:00.000-08:00

If you want a funny, light and entertaining read, you much check out 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny: Life Lessons from Teaching. If you want what sounds like an amazing third grade teacher, you'll have to move to Mountain View. I got this book and a sweet email from Phillip Done, the author, and I plowed right through it, enjoying every minute. I even gave it to my husband, which is pretty rare for me as his is highly selective about his reading, sticking mostly to classics like Hemingway and Faulkner (aack!) and soccer books. He is also loving it so far.

Phillip has a way of conveying how much he absolutely loves teaching while keeping it real, and really funny. I love how he is totally straightforward about his pain in the neck kids. Seems you can tell the trouble makers by how close they sit to the teacher. There is a story about a pet snake I can barely believe and will never forget. He conveys his frustration with the testing, which I am seeing even in 1st grade with this severe reduction in field trips. And yet, it never ventures into serious complaints, just frustrations mixed with anecdotes and the emotions of a teacher who loves his students and students who love their teacher.

My kids are still several years away from 3rd grade, but so far my favorite teachers and the ones you you could easily see in a mommy or daddy role, seeing their job was to go beyond educating. As he says in chapter 1 (I promise I read the whole thing):

"I put on Band-Aids and winter coats and school plays"
"I unpeel oranges that are too tight too"
"I leave 'shugar' and 'vilets' misspelled on their valentines"
and the one that made me tear up "I know when a child does not
understand. I know when a child is not telling the truth. I know
when a child was up to late last night. I know when a child needs help
finding a friend."

If you are like me and life is getting a bit too serious, or you are
starting to wonder if there is still hope for our education system, take a few
hours to read this book. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wonder what
school he's teaching at and whether the lack of pets at your kids' school is
doing irreversible harm.

Win a Didj

2008-11-21T17:24:00.000-08:00

A little while back I and many of my fellow mommy bloggers wrote about an awesome event with Leapfrog. They give each of my kids a game system of their own (didj for the older one, Leapster2 for the preschooler), and the kids have been loving it. As Keegan said to his doctor yesterday "they had to switch to times, since I did all the adding and subtracting problems." The kid loves math and may just die over a new Star Wars math game. I'm not worried about my little guys reading, but from what I can see this can only help. Right now he covets the hero's game on the didj and has pretty much had enough of his Leapster2, but really, ya can't blame a company for starting with a tame game and wanting you to buy some more exciting ones. Although they really should include the $10 SD card needed to download the free computer games.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What I like is how you can see the learning paths of your child. Cool, ain't it?

Do you want on of these too? Well, I've got a brand new didj to give away right here. Plus, Leapfrog is throwing in three games: Hannah Montana, Indiana Jones and Nicktoons.

I'm going to keep this contest open for two weeks so you have until December 6th at midnight to:

Leave a comment below and make sure there is a way to reach you by email.
Post this on your blog for an extra entry, or if you don't have a blog let three friends know about the contest (include a comment, I'll trust you)
Tell me one way you get your child, or would if you had one, to love reading.

I'll choose the winner on Sunday by random number generator or a name in a hat, and you should have this by the holidays.

Welcome One and All

2008-11-21T17:17:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my new review blog. Here I'll be reviewing the stuff that makes my life worth living. Eh, who am I kidding, I'll review any freebies people want to send my way. Seriously, I won't review just anything (who's got time for that), but it'll probably be a mix of stuff I have and love and stuff I'm compelled to try because the offer sounds so awesome. And there will be some books because if there is one thing I'm addicted to, it's reading.

I love to shell out advice as well, but shy away from giving unsolicited advice since I'm a total wuss at heart, but if you want to know my favorite books (provided I read them in the last week and have not yet forgotten the names), make-up and hair products I swear by (this week) for curly hair and acne-prone skin, or methods of keeping my wild boys in line (scratch that, send me yours) ask away.