Kingston urDrive: The USB Drive Is Fun Again

Thank you to Kingston for sponsoring this review. Please click here to learn more about Kingston. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own.

Some people call them thumb drives. Or flash drives. Or USB drives. Whatever you call them, they've become a routine way to carry and transfer data in our digital age. Some are designed as cute characters, some come on keychains, and some are built to withstand a beating, but generally all of them have the same purpose: store data to use between devices.

But storing data is generally the limit for most USB drives. They're passive devices, holding the information we need so we can move it to another device, where it can be used by that computer's software. They're really interchangeable to me. I've received so many USB drives from various blog conferences and promotions that I don't even care if I lose one, as long as it didn't have any sensitive data on it. They've become throwaway devices at this point.

However, I recently had the chance to try out the new Kingston 8GB DataTraveler 109 with urDrive software, and I can honestly say the lowly USB drive suddenly has a lot more potential.

The urDrive software makes it possible to carry much of your digital life with you on your USB drive, but also to use that data no matter where you go. Stored on board is an mp3 player, a video player, and a photo viewer for all of your media files. (No need to worry if the computer you're using has the right software or not!)

It also has its own web browser that can save all of your favorite sites and preferences to the cloud, available to you from any computer with your urDrive USB drive. This is incredibly useful for working at public computers where you don't want to leave any of your personal information behind, or for when using a work computer (during lunch, of course) where you can't save any of your favorite sites or preferences.

For kids, the urDrive software also includes Fooz Kids, a kid-safe web browsing application with a parental dashboard to set limits and monitor your child's use of the internet. And for both kids and parents alike, you can access the latest flash games from EA Games and PopCap Games on your USB drive.

Finally, if you're worried about the safety of the computer you're using with your USB drive, you can run a quick scan using the included Norton PC Checkup software.

Additional apps can be downloaded from the urDrive store, allowing you to customize your USB drive to fit your needs.

I often work between several computers, and the Kingston urDrive is a resourceful tool to keep around. I like storing my music on it and having a ready-made playlist wherever I happen to be working. The easy access to PopCap Games is great when I need a short break. And keeping my favorite websites bookmarked on the Maxthon 3 web browser is much easier than trying to save my bookmarks on each computer.

Also? It's smaller than any other USB drive I've ever owned. I mean itty-bitty small - about the length between two knuckles and about as thin as two or three dimes.

Here's a quick video that explains a little more about the Kingston urDrive:




Giveaway!

Want to try the urDrive out for yourself? I'm giving away a 5-pack of Kingston USB drives for one lucky winner - enough for you and your family or friends to try out!

To enter: leave me a comment below telling me how many USB drives you currently own. If you're like me and aren't sure, give your best guess. (I've got an entire jar filled with promotional USB drives, plus one in my purse, two in my laptop bag, and probably one or two hiding in a suitcase.)

One entry per person, US residents only. Be sure to provide a valid email address so I can contact you if you're selected as the winner.

Entries will be accepted until Friday, November 18 at 11:59pm ET. After that date, one will be selected by random drawing and contacted via email. Winner has two days to respond to the email or an alternate winner will be selected.

Good luck!

LeapFrog: Making Learning Fun With Tag & The New LeapPad!

I recently had the chance to try out some new products from LeapFrog in anticipation of the holiday season. I hosted a gathering of friends so we could all try out the LeapFrog Tag reading system and the brand new, ultra-cool LeapPad. As you can imagine, these were big hits with all of the kids.

My family is no stranger to LeapFrog. Each of my daughters has a Leapster with several games, and we already had a Tag reader. I love the educational games they get to play, and it's a great feeling to see my kids learning while having fun at the same time. For the party, I received a Tag reading pen for the guests to use, but I brought out the pen we already owned as well to give everyone more of a chance to use them.

The Tag reading system is designed for pre-readers through beginning readers. The pen works with special Tag books to either read each page to the child, or help the child with individual words or sounding out a word. You only need to touch the pen to the word and it immediately speaks the word for you. (After using a USB cable to connect the pen to your computer and download the book's information to the pen.)

But there's actually so much more the Tag pen can do beyond reading the words. Touch the pictures and the characters talk or sound effects are given. And most books contain games near the end that work with the pen to reinforce reading skills.

Mira can read just like her big sister now - and she's starting to recognize words thanks to Tag!

The Tag pen can also be used to learn geography. The LeapFrog Interactive World Map teaches about the different countries of the world as well as directions and distance through exploration with the pen and games available to play with the map.

My seven year old wasn't very interested in this product because she's already an advanced reader, but my four year old is obsessed with Tag. She loves to read the books "all by herself" with the help of the Tag pen, and it's helping her learn to recognize sight words. One of her friends also loved the Tag system so much that we sent his parents home with our extra pen and a couple of the books to get them started.

The big hit of the party had to be the LeapPad learning tablet, however. Several of us commented on how often our kids want to play with our smartphones or iPads, but we worry about them being broken or cluttering up our screen with nothing but apps for the kids. (Personally, I have barely been able to use my iPad because my kids love it.) The LeapPad, however, is the solution to win back our smartphones and tablets!

Mira even relaxes with her LeapPad like I do when using my iPad

The LeapPad is a tablet computer designed for kids 4-9 years old. It's smaller than an iPad but larger than a smartphone. The touch screen responds to both a finger touch and the included stylus. Like the grown up versions, you can download different apps for the LeapPad, including games, ebooks, and videos. (Apps are downloaded by connecting it to your computer with the included USB cable. And also like the grown up version, apps aren't free.)

It features a camera on the backside that can take still photos or video, and an editing program to create silly faces or add digital scenery to your photos. It has a cartridge slot at the top to allow you to use Leapster Explorer cartridge games as well.

I like the versatility of the LeapPad. It's simple enough for a non-reader like my four year old to navigate and use with little to no help from me, yet there are plenty of challenging games and activities for my seven year old. My younger daughter already considers herself a photographer now thanks to the camera app, and is now starting to dabble in shooting video.

All of the kids at our house had no trouble working the LeapPad. The youngest of the group - three years old - quickly found the drawing app and in no time was creating a masterpiece using the different drawing tools provided on the screen. The older kids played games and loved the interactive Cars ebook.

Reading ability is optional with the LeapPad - every kid loved it!

As for the parents, we all agreed the thick plastic case looked sturdy enough to handle rough play from our kids - far better than a iPad would fare! And the $99 retail price is a fair price for an electronic device that can do so much.

The one downside we noticed is that the LeapPad is battery powered. With heavy use, it needed new batteries by the end of the day, which can really add up. A rechargable battery pack would have been a better choice - we can only hope that it might be an option in the future. But since the party, my daughters have only been using the LeapPad for an hour or less each day, resulting in a longer timespan between battery changes. (Note: an AC adapter is available, which is great but limits the portability of the device when plugged in.)

Overall, I'm really impressed with the new LeapPad learning tablet and I predict it'll be one of the hottest toys for the holidays. I also like how many books and interactive products are available for the Tag reader now - my younger daughter has already pointed out several new Tag books she'd like Santa to bring her.

Take my advice - shop early for these educational toys! My daughters can't get enough of their LeapPad and Tag books, and I like that they're learning new reading and math concepts while they play. 

Full disclosure: I was provided with the above LeapFrog educational electronics and accessories to facilitate this review and demonstrate to guests at a play party. My party guests were also provided with coupons for discounts on LeapFrog products. All opinions stated here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of LeapFrog. 

With Moby, No One Is Lost

Divide and conquer isn't just a battle maneuver - in my family, it's the only way we can get everything accomplished that we need to do. Whether it's being on opposite sides of town, with me grocery shopping while Aaron picks the kids up from camp, or just on opposite sides of the zoo with each of us entertaining one child we often find ourselves apart from each other.

So how do we keep in touch? Our phones, of course. And there's nothing more frustrating than trying to get an update on where your spouse is only to get a voicemail message because he can't hear the phone or can't answer it at the moment. Those are the moments when I think, "Just SHOW me where you are!"

Well, now that's possible with the Moby app for iPhone.

Moby is a private location sharing service that lets you stay in touch with friends and family without having to call or send a text. You can share your location with a select group, check in at a particular location, or even send out a request for help. Even if another person doesn't have the Moby app, you can still send them updates on your location.

While some location sharing services allow anyone to see where you are, Moby is completely private, allowing you to control exactly who can see your location.

Hey look, there's my husband.

There are so many uses for this app. Parents of teenagers can have their teens check in when out late to make sure everything is OK without that embarrassing call to mom. When meeting friends, you now no longer have to search when your friends say they're at a restaurant you've never heard of - you can simply see their location and know exactly how to get to them. (Assuming you can read a map, of course.)

For us, it's most useful when we're at the same place. Our two daughters are night and day, which often leaves us taking one kid each to a different location. This app is perfect for checking in so we know where the other pair is and can find them quickly if needed.

Moby works best if all family members have the app downloaded to their iPhone, but anyone can benefit from it as long as one family member has the app on their device and others have access to email. The family member who has the Moby app can share their location with any other family member (whether or not they have the app) and the other person can receive messages from you via email.

Downside: At the moment, Moby is only available for iPhone and iPad users. But fear not - an Android version should be launching in the next month or two! Android users can get on the waitlist to be notified when it's available.

Final thoughts: I do like the Moby app. It is a little hard on battery life, but a new version should be released soon to deal with that flaw. I'm hoping I can convince friends at BlogHer to download it so we can keep track of each other at the conference next week!

Full disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Moby and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Babycakes Makes Baking Easy

I'm a lousy cook. There's no denying it. But I'm a slightly better baker. Given time, lots of counter space, and a lot of mess, I can turn out semi-decent muffins or quick breads. My daughters beg to have lots of baked goods in the house, and knowing I can make muffins has them convinced I can whip up any baked good in a flash.

Ha.

No, I'm usually a disappointment to my kids, coming up with excuse after excuse as to why I won't bake anything for them. It generally is a big mess, uses a lot of bowls and muffin tins, heats up my kitchen, and the results are rarely spectacular.

In our case, though, running to the grocery for a quick cupcake pickup can't happen either. My older daughter is sensitive to many ingredients, so I have to carefully screen the ingredients. And most store cupcakes come with brightly colored frosting that she can't have.

I was recently offered the chance to review a little machine that promised to be the answer to my prayers. The Babycakes cupcake maker heats up in five minutes, requires very little cleaning, and can bake treats in eight minutes or less.

This is the Foreman Grill of the baking world. Actually, it looks a lot like our (much used) Foreman grill, only in a pretty shade of pink.

With this device, you can use the recipes they suggest or use a boxed mix. (Go with a moist cake mix if using a prepackaged mix.) Me being lazy, I used a box mix for my first try, but have my eye on some of the delicious recipes in the included booklet.

The girls had fun mixing up the batter while I got the cupcake maker ready.

Then we added two tablespoons of batter to each cup, plugged it in, and let it do its magic!

The instruction booklet suggested it would take 5-7 minutes for the cupcakes to cook, even when starting with a cool appliance. They weren't kidding: after 5 minutes, I checked them and the cupcakes were fully cooked!

Getting them out of the cupcake maker was the most difficult part. It says to use a plastic utensil to pop the cupcakes out, but I didn't have anything that was plastic that was both thin enough and wouldn't melt from the heat. So I performed a big no-no and (gently!) used a butter knife to get the cupcakes out. Despite the nonstick surface, I still had trouble getting some of them out, leaving a few cupcakes looking mangled.

Proof that no gadget can make me perfect.

Overall, half a box of cake mix produced 20 cupcakes, all in under 20 minutes! (It normally takes me at least 20 minutes to find my muffin pan.) After they were cooled, we added frosting and let the kids have their first bites.

Success!



I like the ease of use of the Babycakes cupcake maker and I can see myself using it often in the future, especially around the holidays. It makes cupcakes lightning-quick, and clean up is easy - just wipe it off after it cools. My only complaint is that it can be tough to get the cupcakes out of the wells without damaging them; I might need to hunt for the right plastic utensil to help me out.

But most of all, I like it because I'm now a hero to my kids, able to make them cupcakes anytime they want with little chance of (fatal) error!

Full disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Babycakes and received a product sample and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Are You Ready For The Next Big Storm? (Giveaway!)

Last month's series of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes across the midwest and south was a scary reminder of the power of nature. Seeing entire cities flattened by a tornado was a wake-up call for me to review my family's plan for what to do in case of weather emergencies.

Here in Ohio, our primary concern is thunderstorms and tornadoes. An earthquake is rare, and seeing how we're nowhere near any large body of water in Columbus, any threat of sudden flooding is minimal. Storms, though - they can get pretty ugly around here.

In our house, we have no basement. You'd think that a girl who was home alone in a tornado when she was 12 would have planned better when buying a home, yet I neglected to think of needing a basement. (Note to self: our next house will have a basement.) So if there is a tornado warning, we have to go to our tiny living room coat closet, which first requires throwing everything out of the closet so we can fit in it.

Radio Shack recently released a list of 5 items every family should have in their severe weather preparedness kit, and I was ashamed to realize I didn't even have a kit ready in case of an emergency! Sure, we have flashlights, but I'd have to take a few minutes to find them.

Of course, Radio Shack took pity on my poor preparedness and sent me a kit to make sure my family is ready for the next storm with some great items that every family should have in their home.

Items to put in your kit include:

A weather radio: This one is a must. FEMA estimates that having a weather radio gives you up to eight minutes to move your family into a safe location in the event of a weather emergency. I received the RadioShack® Desktop Weather Radio with Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) alerts, which provides local weather and warnings several minutes before other radio and TV broadcast alerts. It functions as a basic alarm clock/radio, but will sound an alarm when a severe weather watch or warning has been issued for your area.

Flashlights: Should the power go out, you can't guarantee it'll be back on immediately. One or two flashlights with long battery lives (like the LED ICON Flashlight Rogue 2, which can keep you out of the dark for up to 75 hours) should be waiting in your safe area. You might consider an emergency flashlight/nightlight as well, like the Etón Red Cross BLACKOUT buddy emergency LED flashlight/nightlight. On any normal night, it serves as a nightlight in the hallway for the kids. But should the power go out, it provides a strong LED beam of light that can be removed from the wall and used as a flashlight.

Portable power supply: Cell phones are useful when the power lines are down, but with heavy use the battery drains quickly. A backup power supply for portable electronic devices, like the Enercell® 2400Ah Portable Power Bank (or the one for your iPhone), is very handy to keep in your emergency kit.

Walkie talkies: So you've got your cell phones and backup power supply, but what happens if the cell signals are down? In that case, long-range walkie talkies can come in handy to keep you in touch with family and friends. I received the Midland® GTX10000VP4 50-Channel GMRS/FRS Radio (2-Pack) for my preparedness kit, which have up to a 36-mile range and 28 extra channels for optimized communication.  They also include an SOS siren that allows you to send out distress/locator signals in an emergency situation. I haven't tried the full 36-mile range yet, but they do very well even across town!

Comfort items: Experts recommend letting each child choose 1-2 items to put in the weather preparedness toolkit, such as a toy, game or personal item to help keep your child/children occupied and calm in the case you have to take shelter for a long period of time. My daughters each chose a stuffed animal and a book to place in our kit in the closet.

We've already had the chance to try out our weather radio. Two nights ago, a siren suddenly sounded from the radio, followed by a voice explaining there was a severe thunderstorm warning for our area. And yesterday the "Watch" light remained lit up all day while we were under a severe thunderstorm watch. The radio is already providing peace of mind - now I don't need to feel like the TV must be on in case a weather situation arises!

Win your own weather preparedness kit!

The nice folks at Radio Shack understand how important it is to be ready for the summer storms, and that's why they not only provided me with a weather preparedness kit, they're also giving a kit to one lucky reader as well! (Kit includes all of the items mentioned above. Except the comfort items - you'll have to get your own for those.)

To enter: leave a comment below telling me where your "safe spot" is in your house. (Where you'd go if there was a weather emergency.) One entry per person. Please be sure to include your email address in the comment or in your profile so I can contact you if you're the winner.

Entries will be accepted until Friday, July 1 at 11:59pm ET. One winner will be selected by random drawing. Winner has 3 days to respond or another winner will be selected in his/her place. US mailing addresses only.

Good luck!

Full disclosure: I received a weather preparedness kit from Radio Shack to facilitate my review. No further compensation was received, and no guarantee of a positive review was promised or expected. All opinions expressed here are my own. Thanks again to Radio Shack for easing my storm anxiety with a little more preparedness.

Cube Dog: Your New Virtual Best Friend

Thank you to Cube Dog for sponsoring this review. For more information about Cube Dog please visit the Facebook page or download it on iTunes.

My daughters have been asking for a dog, and my answer is always no. We already have three cats, which is plenty of pets for me. Add in taking care of the cats as well as the kids, and I've got all of the responsibility I can handle.

However, there is one kind of dog I'm happy to let my girls have: a virtual one. With all of the iPhone apps out today, it only makes sense that someone would think up a virtual dog app, and now it's here. Cube Dog is an adorable app that lets you build your 3D animated dog from lots of different pieces and parts, choose its color, name it, and then interact with it. The building process is very simple, letting you try out different eyes and ears and face shapes before settling on the choices you like best.

Once your dog is built, it's time to play with it! The 3D animations are really, really cute. You can drag your finger to see your cube dog from all angles, and touching your virtual canine will result in a variety of responses. I got such a kick out of petting it on the head and watching hearts replace its eyes as it responded to my touch. My coworkers loved to poke it in the belly and watch it laugh from being tickled.

A cool feature that comes with the app is the ability to take photos of your cube dog in your actual surroundings. Want a photo of your child and the dog? No problem - just select the camera option, zoom in or out to get the proportions just right, and snap the photo. Cube dog can be perched on a park bench, on a table, or on your head if you want.

Downside: At the moment, this app is only available for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPod Touch (3rd gen) running iOS 4.0 or later. My iPhone 3G wasn't able to use it, so I had to borrow an iPhone 4 to download and play with it. (Note to self: time to upgrade my phone!)

Best feature of all? This app is free! You can make in app purchases to buy more features and options for your cube dog, but even the basic, free version has plenty of options to keep you and your children occupied for hours. And hey - no need to take this dog out for walks!

Here's a short video explaining a little more about Cube Dog:



The app and any app add-on purchases can be downloaded through iTunes. Cube Dog is also running a fun contest on their Facebook page through June 13.

So the next time your kids ask for a dog, just download this app and let them have their fill of playing with their new virtual best friend!

Full disclosure: While Cube Dog provided me with the app to review, the opinions I've expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Cube Dog, Clever Girls Collective and I promote Blog With Integrity.

Bosch Tassimo Home Brewing System: Coffeehouse Quality In Your Kitchen! (Giveaway)

In my family, both my husband and I like tea and coffee, although our tastes seem to be opposites. When I want coffee, he wants tea. When I want tea, he's into coffee. And our kids both like hot chocolate. It seems like we can never agree on what we want, but brewing up a pot for each of us seems like a real waste.

We bought a single-cup brewing machine about a year ago, and while I like it, there are some limitations. Mainly, I can't get it to make my favorite drink: a chai latte. And it can take a really, really long time to warm up. So when I was offered the chance to try out a new single-cup brewing machine that promised it would be faster and would even give me the perfect chai latte, I couldn't pass up the chance.

The Bosch Tassimo T20 Brewbot (such a cool name, no? Can't you imagine a little robot brewing your coffee for you?) is the smartest little beverage maker you can find. It can brew 40+ single-cup drinks for you in about a minute, including coffee, tea, lattes and even hot chocolate. Not only does it brew each drink, but it's smart enough to know which type of drink it's brewing and how to make it so it'll be just right.

OK, so the T20 doesn't get all of the credit. Part of the credit goes to the bar codes on each T-disc you put in the machine. The T20 has a bar code reader that scans the bar code to determine how much water to add, what temperature to brew the water, and how big the drink will be. Want a latte? Just grab a milk T-disc and use it with a coffee or chai tea T-disc to create the perfect frothy drink. Also, if you want a little more coffee than the T20 automatically prepares, you can hit the button near the end of the brew cycle to add a little more to your cup.

I've had the chance to use mine for two weeks now, and I love it. I've made coffee, tea, hot chocolate and lattes with the Tassimo, and all of them were excellent. Christmas was a breeze, because whenever anyone wanted a drink, I offered up the T-disc selection and let them make a cup of whichever drink they wanted. Everyone was impressed with how easy it was.

As for my chai latte? Perfect. It tastes just like the pricey one I buy at the coffeehouse. And is ready in my kitchen in about a minute. 

What I like about the T20

- Easy to use: Insert a disc, close the compartment, and push the button - that's it! No temperatures to set, no brew times to configure, and certainly no messy grounds to dispose of. When you're done, simply take the disc out (the grounds are still container in the disc) and throw it away. Even my kids can make a cup of hot chocolate without my help.

- So much variety: If I want tea and my husband wants coffee, we can each have what we want without brewing enough for several people. He can use the T20 to make a cup of coffee, and then I can use it for tea, with nothing to clean in-between. And with the ability to use milk discs to create lattes and cappuccinos, there are endless drink combinations you can create!

- Saves counter space: The Tassimo T20 is amazingly compact for all it can do. It fits easily on my counter without taking up too much space. It's also easy to transport - I took it to work and made drinks for myself all night from my desk, while still having plenty of desk space for work. (I could see the T20 being perfect for apartment or dorm dwellers as well!)

- Brands I like: Some of the T-disc varieties include Starbucks, Gevalia and Twinings tea, all favorite and trusted brands. The Starbucks coffee tastes just like what you'd get from the store, only at a fraction of the cost. (And without leaving the house in your pajamas.)

This is an amazing little beverage machine, and perfect for a busy family with different tastes. With the T20, everyone gets the drink they want, it's cheaper than buying it from a coffeehouse, there's no messy cleanup, and with one machine to brew so many different drinks, you conserve precious kitchen counter space.

Win a Tassimo T20!

Of course I couldn't tell you all about this brewing beauty without giving you the chance to try it as well, right? That's why I'm excited to tell you that I'm giving away a Bosch Tassimo T20 to one lucky reader!

For a chance to win, visit the Tassimo site and then leave a comment below telling me which brewed beverage you'd most like to try. In your comment, include a link to the specific product from the Tassimo site, as well as your e-mail address so I can contact you if you're selected as the winner.

Entries will be accepted until January 9, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. One entry per person, US residents only. Winner will be selected by random drawing after January 9 and will be contacted by e-mail. Winner will have 3 days to respond to the e-mail or another winner will be selected.

Good luck and happy brewing!

Full disclosure: I was given a Tassimo T20 machine and a couple of T-disc packs to facilitate this review, with no further compensation received. I've already purchased several more T-discs, and my old single-cup brewer is now collecting dust, so I think we can agree that I genuinely like it. All opinions expressed in this review are my honest thoughts. As always, your mileage may vary.

Eye-Fi Makes Backing Up Photos Even Easier

I've listened to several people at blog conferences rave about their Eye-Fi cards, and for the longest time I never knew what they were. Wi-fi for your camera? How does that work?

I recently had the chance to try out an Eye-Fi card, and now I think I understand a little better. The Eye-Fi card is an SDHC memory card with built-in 802.11n wireless ability. That means that when you're in your home wireless network, you can easily upload your photos from your camera to your computer with no cables, and no need to remove the memory card.

Setup for the Eye-Fi card is a breeze. Put the card in the included USB card reader, plug it into your computer, answer a few questions, and you're ready to go. It took about 10 minutes to completely set everything up and take a test photo to make sure it was working properly.

I put the 4GB Eye-Fi Connect card to work at Halloween, as I took many, many photos of my girls in their superhero costumes, snapping away safe in the knowledge that the 4GB card could hold hundreds of images. The Eye-Fi software gives you the option to upload all photos directly to a website like Flickr or Picasa, but I prefer to edit and pick and choose which photos I want share so I didn't enable that option.

However, each photo was quickly transferred to my computer only seconds after being taken. At the end of the night, I turned off the camera and went to my photos folder on my computer, where all of my photos were waiting for me. Perfect!

Eye-Fi cards can transfer video as well as photo, too. All Eye-Fi cards also feature the Endless Memory setting, freeing up memory on the card as soon as photos are securely transferred to your computer. Upgraded features include Geotagging and the ability to upload photos to your computer from any Wi-Fi hotspots in the US.

Overall, I like the Eye-Fi card. Being able to transfer photos without taking out the memory card is a nice feature, and the Endless Memory setting is nice, too. But unless you have the upgraded Hotspot Access feature, the card will only transfer photos when in your home wireless network.

Also, one disadvantage to me is your computer and camera have to both be on and awake in order to transfer photos. I have a laptop, so I have to keep it open while photos transfer, and my Canon Rebel has a tendency to go to sleep mode if not used for 30 seconds. When I wanted to transfer several photos at once (taken outside of my home wireless network) I had to keep hitting buttons to keep my camera awake so the photos would continue transferring.

Do I recommend the Eye-Fi card? While I don't know how useful it would be if you only take a single photo here and there, I think it would be very useful for someone with a taste for photography, whether hobby or professional. If you take a lot of photos away from home, I'd recommend the 8GB Eye-Fi Explore or Eye-Fi Pro, both of which include Hotspot Access.

Eye-Fi cards are available in 4GB and 8GB memory, and can be found in many retail locations, including Amazon. They'd make great gifts for the photography fans in your family!

Full disclosure: I was provided with a 4GB Eye-Fi connect card on loan to facilitate this review. No compensation was received and the Eye-Fi card was returned after writing the review. The links above include an Amazon Associates code, meaning that if you click them and purchase anything at Amazon, I get a tiny percentage of the sale. (And thank you if you do!)

Entertainment & Learning On-the-Go with My Living Stories

As an iPhone toting mom, its always fun to learn about the latest apps available both for work and for home. While I used to only have apps for myself on my iPhone, I've quickly learned how valuable it can be for my kids and now they have their own page of apps, too. When it comes to tools for quick entertainment and distraction from the imminent grocery store meltdown, or being stuck in the car when everyone is hungry, I’m sure most of us would agree that they have become a true lifesaver! That's why I was excited to find a fun set of apps called My Living Stories; these animated storybooks bring both new stories and the classics to life on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The My Living Stories apps combine beautiful artwork, narration and interactive features in an easy to use platform that is perfect for preschoolers to read along all on their own, without any help. My Living Stories are a great solution for entertaining on-the-go or as an aid for teaching children to read at home. The apps allow for your child to read along with English narration or read the stories themselves. Interactive sounds and animation bring stories to life. Another great feature is the ability to record your own voice to go along with the story (this feature requires an iPhone or iPod Touch with microphone capabilities). My Living Story classic stories include Princess & the Pea, King Midas, The Tortoise & the Hare, Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

My daughters are just beginning to be interested in technology, and the iPhone is one of their interests. Whenever we're out somewhere that requires waiting, I know I'll probably have to pull out my iPhone and find something interesting for them to watch or play. They often like to watch clips of TV shows on the YouTube app, and while it works in a pinch, I'd prefer they had something a little more interactive and with a little more educational value to it.

I like the My Living Stories collection because they're not just entertaining, they're educational. My older daughter is learning to read, and likes reading along with the story. My younger daughter can't read yet, but she loves getting to "turn the page" for each story as she listens to a classic fairy tale. I also like that there is a little bit of animation on each "page" but overall these are pretty low-key stories that won't over-stimulate your child. (Which means they're great for quiet time, too!) We received three stories for review, and the Princess & the Pea is by far the favorite in our family.

Win an iTunes gift card!

My Living Stories has provided me with a $25 iTunes gift card to give to one lucky reader! To enter, simply leave a comment below telling me which of the My Living Stories you (or your kids) would like the most. Be sure to leave an e-mail address so I can contact you if you win.

This giveaway runs until Friday, August 6, 2010 at 11:59pm Eastern time and is open to residents of the US and Canada. One entry per person - duplicates will not be counted. You may enter the contest on multiple blogs but are only eligible to win one iTunes gift card as part of the My Living Stories contest.

One winner will be selected at random and will have three days to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Good luck!

Full Disclosure: I am participating in the My Living Stories program by Mom Central on behalf of Decode Entertainment. I received 3 free apps and a gift card as a thank you for my participation.

A Night Light That Keeps Kids In Bed - No, Really!

Cordy has always been an early riser. There have been good times when she would sleep until 6:30 am, and not-so-good times when she would be up for the day at 4:30 am. We don't like her to be out of her room when we're not awake (safety issues, obviously), and we really don't want her waking us up at times when no sane human should be awake.

Winter is especially hard, because we can't use the old "when the sun comes up you can come out of your room" explanation. We recently tried buying her a digital clock, and teaching her to stay in bed until the clock says "6" is a great idea until she comes into your room at 4:36 am with a chipper smile on her face as she exclaims, "Mommy, there's a six on my clock!" Beyond that, teaching a five year old - or at least our five year old with autism - the intricacies of 6:00 versus 6:30 is also difficult.

But we've found a solution that works now. I was invited to try out the Good Nite Lite, a night light that also functions to teach children when it's nighttime and morning. It has a small clock in it that you can program to set a bedtime and set a time when it's OK to get out of bed.

Here's how it works: plug the Good Nite Lite into the wall, and when the internal clock reaches the time you set for bedtime, the nightlight turns on to reveal a glowing blue moon:


While bright at first, the moon dims after the first hour. The moon stays on all night, lending a soft blue glow to the room that isn't too bright to disturb. When it's time to get up in the morning - according to the time you set - the moon changes to a yellow-orange glowing sun:


The sun stays on for only two hours before it shuts off for the day to conserve energy. The beauty of this system is that you can change the times whenever you need, so if you are trying to retrain an early riser to stay in bed longer, you can reset the time in slow increments over days or weeks.

Does it work? I'm amazed and thrilled to say that it does! Cordy understands the sun and moon concept far better than telling time on a digital clock. She loves to see the moon on at night, and really does stay in her room until it switches to a sun.

A quick example: Aaron set it to switch to the sun at 6:15 am each day. He accidentally reset it to 6:45 am one night, and the next morning Cordy didn't come out of her room until 6:45. Her sister was awake and out of her room before Cordy, encouraging Cordy to join her in the hallway, and Cordy refused to come out of her room until she saw the sun on her night light. We are stunned at how easy this has been - never before has she stayed in her room so easily.

Are there any negatives? Well, programming the clock is a little complicated, but the instruction guide does provide fairly clear directions. Just remember to be quick, because if you wait 10 seconds, the time returns to the previously set time.

At this point I'm declaring the Good Nite Lite a brilliant product that I wish I knew about two years ago. I'd gladly sign a petition to make this a required item for new parents. (I'm already considering a second one for Mira - she's starting to be an early riser now, too.)

I don't think Cordy will be giving up her Good Nite Lite for a long time. And I think Aaron and I will be getting more sleep now thanks to this wonderful night light.

Full Disclosure: I was given one Good Nite Lite for review. No positive review was guaranteed or expected. All opinions are my own, and no further compensation was provided.

Rockin' With Guitar Hero on the Nintendo DS

I know that Guitar Hero has been one of the hottest selling games for some time now. Yet despite our love for video games, we still don't have a large game guitar sitting in our house. One reason is that the guitar takes up a lot of space. The other reason is it's expensive when you add in game, guitar, extra guitar for a friend, etc.

So when Mom Central asked me if I'd like to try out the new Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS, I said sure, why not? It seemed to solve both of my objections to the game: the guitar accessory comes with the game, it is only a small addition to the DS instead of a large guitar, and it costs less. Perfect!

Because we are a family of gamers and have two Nintendo DS systems, we received both Guitar Hero: Decades and Guitar Hero: Modern Hits. (We also have a Nintendo DSi, which is currently not compatible with the Guitar Hero games.)

When I opened the box, my husband - who has been lobbying for Guitar Hero for some time - immediately grabbed one of the games and began learning how to play. Included in the box was the adjustable grip, some stickers and a guitar pic stylus - far cooler than using your regular stylus, right? There were also different "skins" available for the grip, too.

The basics of Guitar Hero on the DS are quite simple. As notes scroll across your screen, you hold down the proper color-coded fret button on the nifty little Guitar Hero grip (which plugs in to the GBA slot of your DS - if you have an older model DS, you'll need to use the provided adapter), and then "strum" on the touch screen with the pick-stylus.

That part sounds simple, and it is. But it quickly becomes more complicated and challenging. Some notes are "hold" notes, where you need to keep the fret button held down after strumming. Sometimes, you need to hit a chord - where more than one fret is held down at the same time. And the transition from one note to another can come at you fast and furious and require a lot of hand-eye coordination to swap frets fast enough.

Then we get into the advanced part of the game. You can earn "star power" for hitting all of the notes in some sequences, and when you have enough star power, you can use that power for multipliers on your score. You also get multipliers for hitting enough notes in a row without missing one. Once you have the basics of the game down, you can go "On Tour", where you work through the playlist of your game, earning money that can be used to upgrade your avatar's appearance and instrument.

There are also options for multi-player play, either cooperative - where one person plays lead guitar and the other plays bass or rhythm - or competitive: from the straight up "Who is playing better?" mode, to "Guitar Duel" where there are complications that get in your way, including outside distractions, and power-ups you can earn to either enhance your own gameplay, or to attack your opponent.

If you and a friend have different Guitar Hero games (like we have Modern Hits and Decades), you can share your song catalog while playing together, giving you twice as many songs to choose from. The host DS is the one who has most of the control, but both DS systems have access to the expanded catalog.

The game is listed for ages 10 and up, and based on my own play, I know my preschooler would not be able to play. However, that doesn't keep her from being a perfect backseat-guitar-player, watching everything we do and shouting Get the red one, mommy! Now push the blue one! She may be playing sooner than I thought.

I'll be honest: I kinda suck at the game. I never claimed to have rhythm. But I'm not giving up, either. Not everyone can be an expert on the first try, so I'm continuing to practice. My husband's only complaint is that it doesn't feel like a real guitar. But that's the reason I like it - it doesn't take up a lot of space, and the guitar pick stylus stores in the grip so it doesn't get lost.

What I really like is that this game is easy to pick up and put down, which is a must for busy parents who sometimes only have 15 minutes to relax with a game before moving on to the next demand from a small person. And I love many of the songs and artists: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fall Out Boy, Coldplay, Weezer, etc.

I don't know if I'll ever be an expert Guitar Hero player, but I'm having a lot of fun with Guitar Hero: Decades and Guitar Hero: Modern Hits. And if I get better, there might be a chance I'll give in and let my family get the Wii version of the game, complete with full-size guitar. But only if I get to jump around while I play it.

Disclosure: I was provided free review copies of Guitar Hero: Decades and Guitar Hero: Modern Hits by Mom Central and Nintendo. No compensation was recieved and no positive reviews were required. Thank you, Mom Central and Nintendo!

Learning By Example With Social Skill Builders

As many of you know, Cordy was evaluated for developmental delays when she was three and I was informed that she was likely on the spectrum for autism disorders. Most likely PDD-NOS is what we were told by the school psychologist. She's had a year and a half of special needs preschool now, and thankfully she's made tremendous progress. Her sensory sensitivities are no longer debilitating and she is a little more aware of the social world around her. Instead of looking right through people, she recognizes them and even interacts with them.

But when it comes to knowing the right way to behave in particular situations, she often has trouble understanding the rules of social behavior. Her social skills are still better than they were, but she has a long way to go before the risk of causing a disruption in a new environment is minimized.

Parent Bloggers invited me to try out a social skills software called My Community, made by Social Skill Builders. The software is aimed at children 5-15 years old, and although Cordy isn't five yet, she's only five months away from it. The goal of this software is to teach children about appropriate social behavior, interactions, expectations and safety precautions in several common areas of social interaction, like the doctor's office, the car, and a restaurant.

There are five levels in this software. The very basic level allows children to select an area of town and view videos modeling appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, with an explanation of what was correct and incorrect given at the end of each video. Level 2 asks the player to answer basic multiple choice questions about what they see. Level 3 asks them to look for visual cues to social behaviors. Level 4 involves matching thoughts or feelings to those they see in the photos or video. And Level 5 asks the player to anticpate and predict the correct responses to situations.

I showed the game to Cordy and we went through Level 1 and Level 2 together. She had trouble focusing on Level 1 because she wasn't asked to do anything, but on Level 2 she was willing to make an effort at answering questions. She loved that each correct answer gave her a little lit-up icon below the video player - she especially enjoyed "earning" ice cream cones in the restaurant section! After you answer a certain number of questions, you get to play a mini-game - in our case, Cordy insisted that I play the mini-game while she cheered me on.

Cordy has a very short attention span at this point, but she did focus on the videos for short periods. For her, it's easier to come back to it a few times a day for a few minutes each, which isn't a problem because each user creates their own profile and their progress is saved to that profile.

I played the other levels, and I like how all aspects of social skills are covered, from reading body langauge, understanding feelings, and predicting responses. I'll admit that even I didn't get every question correct.

I see a lot of future use for us with this software. As she gets older, she'll be able to tackle the higher levels and pick up on the finer points of social skills. And I don't think your child needs to have autism to use this video. Many of the scenes showed typical thoughtless kid behavior (taking things from others, bugging mom in the car, refusing to share, etc.) and then modeled proper behavior in each situation. I'd guess many children would learn something from this software. There's a free demo to view on the website if you're curious about if this would be a good product for your child.

Overall I really like My Community by Social Skill Builders. The videos provide excellent social behavior demonstrations without looking over-the-top, and the interactive features of the software keep a child engaged in learning proper social skills.

Stay tuned as I'll be reviewing Preschool Playtime Vol. 2, another product by Social Skill Builders, in a few weeks!

A Little More Light, A Little More Sleep (Hopefully!)

Cordy has always been an early riser. No matter how much we try to adjust her schedule, she's always up before the sun. Sometimes as early as 5am. It wasn't a problem when she was younger and wouldn't leave her room, but now she wakes up, opens her door, and wanders into our room. This is how the conversation goes most mornings:

"Mommy, Daddy, it's a beautiful day. Will you take me downstairs?"

"Cordy, it's still nighttime. Go back to bed."

"But my eyes are open."

"You're big enough to go down on your own."

"I can't...it's too dark."

"Go turn on the living room light."

"But the stairs are too dark."

And at that point Aaron usually gets up and goes downstairs with her. She's right - the stairs are too dark for her, and we don't want her falling down them in the dark. We've been dreaming of inventing a device that, when she opens her door, would trigger a series of lights along the stairs to light up so she could go downstairs on her own and buy us at least another 15 minutes of sleep.

While we don't have a device like that, we have found one that works nearly as well. The Sylvania PalPODzzz portable nightlights are both nightlight and wandering flashlight all in one. There are two cute designs: a ladybug and a rocketship. As you can probably guess, Cordy wanted the rocketship.

The PalPODzzz is made up of two pieces. The base is a nightlight and also recharges the flashlight when it's connected. The flashlight is small and perfect for tiny hands to hold. The unit has a light sensor so that the nightlight is brighter as the room is darker. It also conserves energy by keeping the nightlight off during the day. The nightlight could best be described as a gentle glow - it's not quite enough light, so Cordy still has her other nightlight in her room, too.

The flashlight is not the same as an adult's flashlight. While it provides enough light to brighten dark areas, it's not so bright that it will burn your retinas if shined in your eyes. It automatically activates when taken off the base, but it also has a button on the side to turn it on and off. (And on and off and on and off and on...)

The flashlight has a four hour battery life before it needs to be recharged. The only downside is sometimes Cordy will grab the rocketship off the base early in the night, and then fall asleep with it on, so that in her (our) time of greatest need, it won't work and we endure the bedside wake-up again.

I love this little flashlight. Cordy can now use it to go down the stairs in the morning and find the light switch. Flashlights are favorite toys of hers anyway, as evidenced by our house full of dead flashlights, and the rocketship design makes her want to use this one over all others. I appreciate that the PalPODzzz is rechargable, saving me from buying batteries for yet another device my daughter will leave on all day.

I'm thankful that PBN asked me to review the Sylvania PalPODzzz, because it has solved a big problem in our house! Now if we could only find a device to make her breakfast and turn on the TV...

Check out PBN for more reviews on this product.

VTech's Perfect Family Phone (Win One!)

I don't know who the brilliant person was who designed our house, but one thing they failed at was the placement of phone jacks. We have a grand total of two: one upstairs, one downstairs. While this is generally OK on an everyday basis, it does make it difficult to run to the phone if you happen to be on the other side of the downstairs. And should we stay in this house, can you imagine the battle for the phone with two daughters in a few years?

I was recently sent the VTech CS6129-3 cordless phone set for review. Unlike my current cordless phone, this one has a base unit with a digital answering machine, and two remote units. These two remote units don't require a phone jack - they only need an outlet for electricity. Now instead of two phones, we have three phones, giving us one additional location. I put the third phone in our kitchen, making it easier to answer the phone when making lunch or dinner without having to drop whatever I'm doing.

This phone system also has callerID, call waiting and speakerphone available. The phones can be used simultaneously, used to transfer a call from one handset to another, or be used as an intercom between the three handset locations. The transfer calls option is extremely useful - imagine answering the phone and it's someone calling for your husband, who is upstairs. Instead of yelling for him to come down, or taking the phone up to him, just transfer the call to the other handset.

I'm impressed with the clarity of calls. My old cordless sounded nearly as bad as a cell phone in a spotty area at times, but the VTech phone produces clear audio with no interference. The volume adjustment is easy to use, too. In fact, all of the different features are easy to use, with intuitive buttons and menus.

Best of all for this family, these phones are WiFi friendly - they don't interfere with the WiFi signal in your house, and they can't be heard across the baby monitor. Should someone try to listen in to your call, the phone scrambles the signal for security.

I'm thrilled with this phone, and I think it's the perfect phone for a family who needs to stay connected.

Win One!

I'm giving away a VTech CS6129-3 cordless phone set ($79.95 value) to one lucky reader! (US entrants only, sorry!) To enter, leave a comment below telling me about your current phone and what you like or don't like about it.

You can also earn additional entries in one of the following ways.

Extra entries:
1. Tweet about this contest on Twitter.
2. Subscribe to my blog (this one or A Mommy Story) or let me know you're already subscribed - only one entry here, even if you're subscribed to both.
3. Write a post on your blog linking to this contest.

For each of these additional entries, please leave a separate comment. For #1 and #3, also give me the link to your tweet or blog post.

Also be sure I have a valid e-mail address to contact you if you should win. Entries will be accepted until Tuesday, February 3 at 11:59 pm EST. One winner will be chosen at random after that date and contacted via e-mail.

Good luck, and be sure to watch for my other giveaways being held this week on this blog and my other blog in participation with the Bloggy Giveaways carnival!

This contest is now closed - thanks to all who participated!

Meet Your Fitness Goals With Game Stop

Probably half of us made some New Year's resolution to get fit earlier this month. I was one of them, and to assist me in my goals, I have gathered an arsenal of tools. I have water bottles, weights, workout DVDs, my Wii Fit and the Nintendo DS game My Weight Loss Coach.

A few years ago I never would have considered video games to help me get fit. But advances in game development have changed that, and I have to admit I'm glad they did it.

If you're considering using a video game or two to help you get fit, either mentally or physically, you should check out Game Stop's new Sharpen the Mind, Shape The Body promotion. Playing popular videogames like Wii Fit, My Fitness Coach or Dance, and Dance Revolution make exercise fun, while games like Brain Age or Crosswords DS give your brain a workout. GameStop stores offer these titles and more and have associates on hand to help you and your family find the titles that are right for you.

As a special incentive, all shoppers who spend $35 or more on designated products will receive a free 12-month trial subscription to their choice of Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Redbook, Good Housekeeping or Esquire.

I recently purchased My Weight Loss Coach from Game Stop and so far I've been impressed with the game. It lets me record my daily food and exercise, and offers challenges and encouragement.

So if you're looking for a new fitness game, for body or mind, stop by a local Game Stop and demo a game soon! (PS - They also buy back used games! Grab all of those unused games from your kids - or husband - and trade them in for something you want!)

Wii Love Animal Crossing: City Folk!

I have been in love with my Wii ever since we bought it earlier in the year. While most of the games have been active, with Wii Sports or Wii Music or Wii Fit, I've been wanting something a little less swing and sway and a little more relax and putter about.

Years ago that would have meant pulling out my Final Fantasy X game for Playstation and beating some beasties into the ground with my RPG party. But you really can't play that around a 4 year old without having to answer some troubling questions. So I needed a game that I could play around my kids, and something that I could drop in and out of as needed without having to remember my skills.

Nintendo's answer to my problem - Animal Crossing: City Folk.

I can best describe this as a RPG for women. Don't get me wrong - guys can have just as much fun, but this is a relaxing, social game that nearly anyone can play. And for those (mostly female) friends of mine who don't play a lot of games because they don't have the time to finish the game, or don't understand the 284 combination button moves needed to control many characters, let me explain why this game is for you. It's very intuitive to play - only one button is ever needed. And it's not your traditional game, because there is no single objective, no final challenge, no "The End" on the screen with credits. Come and go as you like, play for a short time or all day long.

In Animal Crossing: City Folk, you are just starting out on your own, moving to a small town near the city to begin a new life. You pick out the empty property you want and soon find yourself with a mortgage and the need to earn some money. The local shopkeeper hires you to run errands for your first day, which also helps you learn the basics of the game. You can also earn money by collecting and selling fruit, fish, or turnips.

The real fun lies in the details. You can quickly form friendships with the other townsfolk, decorate your house to your own tastes, and plant flowers and trees around the town to decorate as you see fit. On Saturday night you can watch a band play at the museum's coffee shop. A short bus ride will take you to the big city, where you can shop at the fancy stores, have your hair done, and take in a show. The game is also sensitive to date and time. When it's dark at your house, it's dark in the game. Now that it's December, it's snowing in my town.

But perhaps the coolest feature is that your friends can come visit your town, and you can visit theirs. Using your internet connection, you can play together with friends, with your characters interacting together in the game. Typing out conversation to each other could take forever, though, so Nintendo rolled out the Wii Speak, a wireless set-top hands-free microphone. Once you have the Wii Speak, you can have real-time voice chat with friends who are playing with you. (Assuming they have the Wii Speak also, of course.) This feature makes this game a truly social event - you can visit your friends across the country without leaving your couch.

I've been playing Animal Crossing: City Folk for over a month now, and I think I can safely say I love this game. Occasionally I'll find myself wandering around the town aimlessly, but this game is a great stress-reliever when I want to unwind after a long day and escape to a simpler world. Cordy's still not terribly interested in playing video games yet, but once she is I'm sure this will be on the approved list. The non-violent nature of this game makes it perfect for young children.

The only thing that would make Animal Crossing: City Folk more enjoyable is knowing more people who also have it so we could play together. Hear that, people? I want to visit other towns and go shopping with you! So if you buy this game, let me know, OK?

(And trust me - buy the Wii Speak also!)

A Smart Plush Playmate (& Contest!)

Contest is now closed - congrats to Ali!

Cordy's new favorite plush toy is her smart-e-dog. I received this toy for review after she looked over my shoulder while reading an e-mail about it and shouted, "Mommy, look at the doggy! Can I have it?" At that point I was committed to reviewing this toy.

Smart-e-dog, along with its friends smart-e-bear and smart-e-cat, is an interactive plush toy that can entertain your child through songs, stories and games. I think this gives the best description of what it does:

Designed primarily for non-reading 2 to 6 year olds, smart-e-dog encourages children to discover and explore through a library of literally thousands of award-winning songs, interactive stories, educational games and other content that parents can selectively purchase through the Internet and download to the toy with a super-easy USB connection. Measuring 13” tall, this plush pal utilizes electronics about the size of a deck of cards. The squeezable, adorable animals will enchant little ones with their “smarts” from hearing a song to reading a story to playing a game. There’s always something for kids to discover as the software changes and grows with the child’s interests from the nursery to kindergarten.

Basically, what arrives is a plush animal, instructions on how to connect to the online site, and a USB cable. It wasn't hard at all to connect, and I was amazed at how many songs and stories this dog can perform. To change what the toy can do, simply select the songs/games/stories you want it to have, then download the preferences into the toy using the USB cable. Most additional songs and stories are $.99 each, although there are some freebies available, too.

The smart-e-dog also has two settings, depending on how old your child is. It can either ask your child before playing any song or story, to give your child the chance to choose something different, or you can set it to automatically play without asking. The second choice is great for younger kids who may not understand how to choose between songs and games.

The software interface is a little confusing at first, but it doesn't take long to figure out how to create new playlists, download new songs and stories, etc. You can have the toy call your child by name, as long as your child is named something more common than Cordelia. (Cordy's name is never available for anything, and I'm used to that. Miranda was in the list of names, for the record.)

Cordy loves her smart-e-dog. She was confused by the interactive mode, so I switched it to shuffle instead, and now she loves letting the dog choose what to do next. When she gets the hang of it I'll probably switch it back. She takes her smart-e-dog to bed with her, brings him downstairs with her in the morning, and he has claimed top dog status among her other canine stuffed animals.

I like him too because he sings songs that aren't the usual boring "Twinkle, Twinkle" and - a feature all parents will appreciate - he has volume control and an off button.

To see all of the features, visit the smart-e-bear website and click on Learn More for the full tour.

Win one for Christmas!

I'm giving away one smart-e-plush, in your choice of dog, cat, or bear! Hopefully it will arrive just before Christmas to add one more present for your child.

How do I enter?
To enter, leave a comment by Friday, December 12 at 11:59pm EST, and make sure I have a way to contact you if your e-mail isn't in your Blogger profile. (Seriously everyone - I can't count the number of people who leave no contact info and I have to choose a different winner.)

Want a second entry?
Blog about this contest or link to this contest via Twitter and you'll have a second entry. Please leave a separate comment with the link to your blog entry or specific tweet.

One winner will be chosen after 12/12 by random drawing (Random.org). Winner must respond within 48 hours of being e-mailed to claim prize or another winner will be chosen. I want you to have the best chance of getting this by Christmas, although due to the congestion of the USPS at this time of year, I can't guarantee delivery by then.

Dad's Corner: LEGO Batman Review

Since I've got a lot of gifts to review at the moment, Aaron has happily play tested another video game for the family.
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So, I'm back to review another video game for dads, moms and their kids. This time out, I got to put my hands on a copy of LEGO Batman for the PS2, which I was greatly looking forward to. Why? Well, because I love superheroes. I love LEGOs. I love video games. And I loved the first LEGO video game put out by Traveler's Tales - LEGO Star Wars (both volumes, actually). On the other hand, I was not so much a fan of LEGO Indiana Jones, so the question going in was "Will LEGO Batman deliver?"

Well, deliver it did, and I frankly cannot get enough of this game. LEGO Batman is fun, quirky, engaging, has tons of replay value and manages that wonderful line of being both easy enough to let inexperienced gamers play, but having challenge enough for experienced gamers to enjoy the game.

The game is outright goofy. You're playing as LEGO versions of Batman, Robin, their allies and their enemies, for crying out loud. The cut-scenes, establishing the story are done all in mime, and have numerous silly elements (Robin is a particular source of comedy here). And the game itself isn't too terribly complicated. There are four buttons used: One to fight, one to jump, one to activate your character's special power or interact with the environment, and one to switch from Character A to Character B. That's it.

You also can't die. I mean, you can be defeated, exploding into a little pile of LEGO bits. But you don't die. You just lose a little bit of your money - found in the form of round LEGO studs. That's it. So, no matter how bad you are at playing video games, you can get through the game eventually.

Another wonderful thing about the game is that you always have a partner. (Batman and Robin, go figure.) And the partner does lots of wonderful things to help you. But you don't have to rely on the AI - oh no, a second player can hop in to the game. Even better - that second player can drop in and drop out as needed. So, if dad is playing the game and your kid gets home from school, he can join in. But when it's time for dad to go help with dinner, dad can drop out and the kid can keep playing. It's a lovely feature that was introduced in LEGO Star Wars, and I'm glad to see that it remains.

All of this establishes why the game is fun and easy, but what about the replay value? Well, I'm glad you asked. The game is broken into three storylines, one focusing on Batman and Robin chasing down the Riddler and his allies, another chasing down the Penguin and his allies, and the third going after the Joker and his men. In the main storylines, you play as Batman and Robin, and get to use various gadgets and special tech suits to chase down the baddies. Once you finish any of the three storylines, however, you get to flip the story. In each scenario, Batman and Robin arrive as the villains are already in the middle of the crime - but how did the villains get there? Well, once you've completed a storyline, you get to play as the villains and find out the other half of the story. Tremendous fun, and since you're dealing with LEGO figures, the amount of guilt you might feel for doing heinous acts to the helpless citizens of Gotham City is fairly minimal.

But as much fun as the villain arcs are, the real beauty of the game comes from "Free Play Mode." As you play through the story, you'll notice that there are areas you can't get in to, or items you can't reach, all because you have the wrong abilities at the time. In Free Play Mode, you get to come back through the game with any characters you have already unlocked - hero and villain alike. Rather than being restricted to Batman and Robin and whatever Tech Suits you find in that level, you get to bring in a team that includes Batman, Robin, all their tech suits and a whole host of villains. I enjoy playing through the game's stories, but Free Play Mode - and trying to unlock every hidden thing in the game, is where I really find my fun.

Overall, I love this game. I felt like LEGO Indiana Jones didn't work, but I'm enjoying LEGO Batman even more than I liked LEGO Star Wars. And while thirty-something dads can love the game, it'd be a great game for most kids as well - especially kids who are fans of Batman.

So, to sum up:

The Good: LEGO Batman is fun, easy to learn, and extremely forgiving to new players. The Free Play mode and villain storylines add a lot of replay to the game. Two-player cooperative play is extremely easy to use, making it a great game for families.

The Bad: Some players might find the game too easy. Also, going back through the levels to find hidden items might not provide a different enough experience to make replaying the entire game rewarding for all players. Also, while the violence and destruction are against LEGO characters, buildings and landscapes, the game is largely about beating up your opponents and destroying the landscape.

The Ugly: Even in Free Play mode, figuring out how to locate some items might drive some players insane. Also, the goofiness of the game might not fit for people expecting the feel of Batman from this summer's The Dark Knight.

Does Your Computer Need A Tune-Up?

My poor laptop is a workhorse. If it were a person, it would be getting hours and hours of overtime each week and taking Ritalin to deal with all of the multi-tasking I put it through. At the moment, I have six windows of Firefox open, with a total of 17 tabs displaying 17 different websites. It's no surprise, then, that the laptop is starting to show signs of wear: crashing occasionally, random errors, and a slooooow processing speed at times.

Mom Central offered me the chance to try out Norton's PC Tune-Up service, where an expert works with you remotely to make sure your computer is running as well as it should be. It's really an easy process. I called the toll-free number, and then the Norton expert walked me through the steps to set up a secure connection between his computer and mine.

I'll admit I wasn't sure how much they could do remotely, but he did find a few places where my computer was running inefficiently - mostly too many background processes running by programs that didn't need to be eating up RAM. The technician suggested several things that I already knew how to do (as a blogger, I know my way around a computer a little bit), but he did have several ideas I haven't considered before. And he was far friendlier than I expected - no "my knowledge is superior" attitude.

Since our chat, my laptop is running better and I haven't had a crash. While it's not as spry as a shiny new laptop, I'm hoping I bought myself another year or two of time before I need to consider a replacement.

If you're not computer savvy, or just aren't sure where to begin with a slow or uncooperative computer, the Norton PC Tune-Up service can assist in getting your system working with you instead of against you.

Try it out! I've got three Norton PC Tune-Up codes to give away to three separate winners. The code will give you one free tune-up for your computer. To enter, leave a comment on this post between now and December 5, 2008 at 11:59PM EST. Winners will be picked via random drawing after Dec. 6.