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Kidoodle TV Free Trial and Giveaway

Posted by html404 on December 22, 2013
in Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Giveaways, Technology/Electronics, Travel, Uncategorized

I participated in a Blogger Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Kidoodle.TV. I received a promotional item and a free trial as a thank you for participating.

Somehow over the past few years we’ve allowed ourselves to watch more and more TV compared to say the first 15 years of our marriage and being a parent. We still filter much of what our children are allowed to watch. The shows have to be pre-approved. Kidoodle TV offers our kids just that. We found a character I grew up watching, Inspector Gadget, and others include Madeline, Transformers, Paddington Bear, National Geographic and Strawberry Shortcake. Then there were others I did not really recognize. There is a different selection of shows compared to Netflix. Kidoodle is made just for kids and is easy to navigate. No worries about them coming across questionable movies or ads, since it is ad-free.

It is really easy to sign up for Kidoodle. Simply create your login, create your kids’ profiles and then select your shows. You can create up to five kids’ profiles, which is the number of children I have that are interested in Kidoodle. The children love the personalized accounts. I think it makes them feel special and grown up or something. Children cannot log out unless their parents enter their four digit passcode, which is nice, but another number/letter combination to add to my ever-growing list. I really like the timer, which is helpful in monitoring usage. I have not really used the Parental Controls since signing up, but it offers age category filtering and title selection and de-selection, which allows you to tailor available content to each child’s needs.

If you are traveling over the Christmas break, Kidoodle has a mobile application, but we have not tried it yet. It’s on iTunes so check it out.

The Kidoodle.TV Holiday Giveaway Details

Right now Kidoodle is offering a free trial:

Try Kidoodle.TV for FREE and enter by December 31, 2013 to win 1 of 10 tablets or 1 of 10 Kidoodle.TV year-long subscriptions! To enter the giveaway, go to Kidoodle.TV to sign up for a free trial. Follow the on-screen directions and submit!

Feel free to follow Kidoodle.TV on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidoodleTV and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KidoodleTV

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Kidoodle.tv – Dad Central

Posted by Brande on December 16, 2013
in Apps, Contests, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Guest Post, Holidays, Movies, Parenting, Reviews, Shopping, Techie Stuff, Technology/Electronics, Travel, TV Shows, Uncategorized

I participated in a Blog Blast Program on behalf of Dad Central Consulting for Kidoodle.TV. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

By Guest Dad Blogger Scott –

This is best thing next to sliced bread! I love it! My daughter loves it! BONUS! She loves watching Mario Brothers (I didn’t even know there was such a thing.)

Kidoodle.TV is age appropriate television viewing for your children, that you control. When first setting it up you choose the age of your child/children. The next screen will ask if you want to remove or add any addition programs. Easy Right?

Ok your child is ready to watch Kidoodle.TV. You the parent will log on by entering your email address and password. Then move onto the next screen, choose the child. It asks how long you’d like to child to watch. Once that time is up,Kidoodle.TV stops and says…

Kidoodle.TV is on Facebook and Twitter click here to follow them!

Even better there’s a free trial going on for December! Try it today! Did I mention if you sign up for a free trial by December 31, you have a chance to win 1 in 10 tablets or 1 in 10 Kidoodle.TV for a year!

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Chicago at Night from Willis Tower – Wordless Wednesday

Posted by html404 on December 4, 2013
in Business, Things to Do in Chicago, Travel, Uncategorized, Wordless Wednesday

In October I went into the city of Chicago for a business meeting with Moms.com and after the meeting we walked to Willis Tower. The photos below are of Chicago at night from Willis Tower. It was really cool.

Willis Tower, or the formerly known Sears Tower, the tallest building in the United States. Sears was actually the company that built it to house all its employees in one place.

The Sears Tower became Willis Tower when a London company rented out a large space in the building and had the option to rename the building in its contract. And that’s exactly what they did.

When you visit Willis Tower you get to watch a little movie on the history of the building before you are escorted up to the Skydeck. On the Skydeck you can walk around, shop for gifts, look through the telescopes and walk out onto the “ledge”. The Ledge is a glass box basically and when you step out into it you can look down at the city of Chicago through glass. I was not brave enough to walk out onto the ledge, minding heights as I do.

I definitely recommend you visit Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) the next time you travel Chicago.

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Chicago Field Museum: 1893 World’s Fair Exhibit

Posted by html404 on November 21, 2013
in Education, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Homeschooling, School, Things to Do in Chicago, Travel, Uncategorized

My husband is a history buff and he has passed on his love of history to our children. We love visiting museums. Last weekend we went to the Chicago Field Museum to visit the 1893 World’s Fair Exhibit, which will be here in Chicago until early next fall. We took advantage of one their free admissions day knowing we’d have to purchase a Discovery Pass for the Fair exhibit.

Those of you who live in the Chicago area you may be interested in knowing upcoming free admissions days at The Field Museum:

December 2
December 5
December 9
December 10
December 11

For all the storms Illinois experienced last weekend, it did not deter people from venturing out in the cold and rain to visit The Field Museum.

What is the 1893 World’s Fair Exhibit about?

The Field Museum was born out of the 1893 World’s Fair and belongs to the people and the history of Chicago. The World’s Fair exhibit are all original collections that were all displayed at the Fair and is the single largest collection of items displayed at the Fair. The truth is, The Field Museum is the legacy of the Fair; scientists conduct ground-breaking research on the ever-growing collections.

The Field Museum Tours App

The Field Museum Tours App is available to help visitors with their tour. We had downloaded the app before we got to the museum so all we had to do was connect to “FieldMuseumWiFi” upon arriving. You can download the Field Museum Tours App too. The Wonders of the 1893 World’s Fair takes visitors back to that time in history, to the World’s Columbian Exposition – one of the greatest events in the history of Chicago. The exhibit shows visitors what visitors back then saw at the Fair 120 years ago.

The app is informative as you can see from the following screen shots.

What did we see?

We saw more than 200 artifacts and specimens from the the Fair’s ground.

We find it interesting to learn about different aspects and cultures in history. It’s amazing what you can learn! Below is a photo of a small stuffed female lion, but there was also a stuffed male lion as well. One of our sons loves lions so he was interested in this display. He was also interested in the tigers and seeing inside the mummy. There were over 20 mummies! All the children thought the pyramid was really cool to go inside!

The children thought the computer from the World Fair looked like the computer from the show S.H.I.E.L.D Agents. They thought that was really cool too.

Another cool thing they liked was the DNA lab.

Below you can see in the display cases a trench drum/log drum and behind them on hanging from the ceiling was an octopus! (Pictured in a photo below in the photo with our children)

There was an Inuit display from a group of Inuits who came to the Fair from Labrador (Canada).

There was an Inca Active Instruments display that had a simulator allowing us to play the instruments. We found that pretty interesting.

Our daughter B was quite interested in the oils and herbs displayed in their original bottles. All from different countries around the world. Her words, “It was amazing! To see Frankincense and Myrrh from all around the world.” None of any of these items have been displayed since the 1893 World’s Fair.

Here is a stuffed Indian elephant with a giant octopus hanging over our children.

This last photo is a from a slideshow or video footage.

The 1893 World’s Fair Exhibit was an incredible learning experience and we hope we can go back again before September 7, 2014.

I was selected for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, however all content and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Jif Sandwich Contest

Posted by html404 on November 3, 2013
in Contests, Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Recipes, Travel, Uncategorized

Magnificent Mole Chicken Torta

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Jif. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

Do you know what one of our favorite go-to meals is at our house? One that we reach for on busy nights or busy weekends? A peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Do you know how many sandwiches our family can eat in one sitting? There are ten of us and on average most of us eat two sandwiches, a few will eat three. That’s 20-30 sandwiches!! Yowsa! Talk about needing to buy stock in peanut butter and jelly. We also like deli ham and turkey. Just today we had grilled cheese for lunch. Sandwiches are such an quick and easy meal. We love them. Sandwiches usually mean very few dishes too, which is a definite bonus!

Now through November 8th, Jif Peanut Butter is running their Most Creative Sandwich Contest – challenging families across the country to create an original sandwich recipe that includes two tablespoons of your favorite Jif products! Parents and children with 6-12 can submit their original sandwich for a chance to win a $25,000 college fund and a trip to New York City! The photo featured above is one of the winning sandwiches from last year’s contest – Magnificent Mole Chicken Torta.

You can enter the Jif sandwich contest too by going to www.Jif.com/Promotions/Most-Creative-Peanut-Butter/

Have fun!

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LeapReader “Ready, Set, Read & Write!”

Posted by 278Wife on October 1, 2013
in Books, Downloads, Education, Family Stuff, Kids Stuff, Parenting, Reviews, School, Techie Stuff, Technology/Electronics, Travel, Uncategorized

I received free LeapFrog products in order to host the LeapFrog sponsored MommyParty. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I am thrilled that I was able to be a host for the LeapReader “Ready, Set, Read & Write” Party, sponsored by Leapfrog! LeapReader is the complete learn-to-read-and-write solution. It combines reading, writing, and listening into one easy and fun system. LeapReader uses books, flash cards, workbooks, audio book apps, music apps, and even trivia apps to enhance the learning experience. If you’ve never tried a LeapReader, you must. It is lifechanging! My son and I call it a magic pencil, since it knows everything.

The activity book that came with the LeapReader was great. It really taught us how versatile the LeapReader was. For example, we turned to the page featuring “Cars” and the LeapReader read it to us. It also had a game to play, and it would sound out the words for you if you touched the words with the LeapReader.

When we turned the page to the “Leap and the Lost Dinosaur,” my son loved pointing the LeapReader on the different pictures and learning fun facts about them. He was engaged the entire time, and was learning. It is the best of both worlds! Another page he loved was a game you played with the “Muscular System” page. The LeapReader would give you a clue and you had to point to the answer. For example, touch the muscle you smile with. We played that for a good ten minutes.

The LeapReader flash cards were a hit, too. You are able to mix and match letters to build words. It has rhyming, spelling, and singing games as well. My son’s favorite were the singing games. If you touch one of the pictures with the LeapReader it sings a song, spelling and sounding out the picture. It actually made him start to remember how to spell the words, it was very catchy! My favorite feature was the included sight words list. Just touch the word with the LeapReader and it would say it.

We attempted the Writing books, but my son was more interested in hearing the stories than writing. Some of my friends’ kids came over and tried them, and they had a ball! The LeapReader really tells you step by step how to write Upper and Lowercase letters, while saying letter sounds. I found it amazing that the writing magically appears on the special paper.

Each of the writing activity sets includes a workbook filled with fun activities as well as extra writing paper so you can practice. The activity books are so interactive that the kids are constantly engaged.

The Get Ready for Kindergarten book is a must for all preschool aged children. It teaches letters, vowels, beginning sounds, blends, patterns, numbers, skip counting, math, months, seasons, community places, and more. This was my son’s favorite book. He plays with it almost daily. There is so much to do on each page, that he rarely does the same thing twice.

My son really enjoyed reading the Monsters University LeapReader Interactive Book, too. You can either touch on the book picture and it will read it for you, or you can touch word by word to read and follow along. For now my son likes to listen to it, but I’m sure in no time he will be wanting to touch word by word. This will then teach him how to read.

I am absolutely in love with the LeapReader “Ready, Set, Read & Write” system. In additon to all of the workbooks, flash cards, and books you can buy for your LeapReader, you can also download apps to put on the LeapReader. Mine was conveniently loaded with two audio books, learning music, and a trivia app. Let me just tell you how amazing this is for travel. My son brings this in the car, plugs in his headphones, and enjoys listening to the stories and music. With a touch of a button you can switch between apps. The LeapReader is lightweight so I carry it in my purse or diaper bag when we are out and about so he is always entertained and more importantly, learning. The best part is that no batteries are required. Simply charge it with the included USB cord and you are good to go!

I can honestly say that this LeapReader is life changing. I will be telling all of my mom friends about how great of a learning tool this is. It is great for reading, writing, and listening skills. My son has yet to become bored with it, and continues to ask me to buy more books or apps for him. I love that he asks me to buy him books rather than toys. The LeapReader is definitely going to create lifelong learners for all children who use it!

www.LeapFrog.com

I received free LeapFrog products in order to host the LeapFrog sponsored MommyParty. The opinions expressed here are my own.

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Tips For Keeping Kids Entertained

Posted by html404 on June 13, 2013
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Parenting, Travel

This is a partnered post by a guest writer.

Avoiding in-car boredom on your summer break

It’s the time of year when we’re all taking to the road with the kids in tow, and it’s time to get your thinking cap on to find ways to keep the kids entertained. We all find long car journeys boring, but for excitable kids with heaps of energy, they can be an even bigger challenge.

PassSmart have written a few tips to keeping in-car boredom at bay, which, hopefully, will keep the dreaded “are we nearly there yet!?” away.

Design their own game

Getting the kids to create their own game is bound to keep them occupied. If you’re going on holiday or a day trip, they could design a game to do with your destination. So, for example, if you were on your way to Disneyland, a) you’ll have some VERY excited kids, and b) they could draw or write a letter to each Disney character they want to meet.

By keeping their mind on the destination you’ll be able to keep them thinking about what they’re going to do rather than the boring journey which comes first.

Plan you breaks

Plan your breaks strategically to make sure the kids get a chance to get out of the car and stretch their legs. The more energy they use up during your stop off, the less restless they will be in the car. Try and stop off somewhere where they can get out of the car and have a little run around. This isn’t always possible, but you could consider taking a scenic detour to find somewhere away from the main roads.

Beware the sugary snacks

The best part of going on a road trip is often the in-car snacks, but try not to let them over do it with the sugary treats. Staying still in the car is tough at the best of times, let alone on a sugar high! Instead pack snacks with a natural energy boost like fruit, nuts and raisins. For something a little more appealing, you could make your own ice poles with fruit juice and pack them in a cooler bag, ready for lunch.

You don’t, however, have to cut out the sweets completely! Instead, try to impose an evening curfew for sweet snacks and, ideally, let the kids have them before you stop off for a break so that they can burn the energy off.

Old-fashioned fun

You don’t have to have an iPad, a portable DVD player and a Nintendo DS to keep the kids happy in the car. Great old-fashioned games like I-Spy or lorry spotting are fantastic ways to keep the kids occupied, and, you never know, you might even have fun too!

Take it in turns to choose a game you want to play and the kids won’t be able to complain about your choice of entertainment. You can even put an educational twist on some in-car games, like, for example, the alphabet game. Get the kids to read license plates and think of an animal/food/country/color relating to each letter. You might be surprised at how long in-car games keep the kids occupied for, and, best of all, they won’t cost you a cent!

Avoid music battles

Trying to decide what music to listen to in the car can be a headache in itself, but there is a way to keep everyone happy. Unless you all have different devices to listen to, you’ll know that someone has to compromise. Get the kids to choose 5 songs each and then take it in turns to play one of their choice. You may have to listen to a few Disney classics, but at least there’ll be no squabbling to contend with!

Finally, drive safely and enjoy your trip!

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Long Grove Chocolate Festival

Posted by html404 on May 7, 2013
in Blog Stuff, Family Stuff, Things to Do in Chicago, Travel

This past weekend I really flubbed up on a blog opp. I felt horrible, seriously, because in all honesty I was really looking forward to doing participating in the opportunity since it was for Chicago area bloggers. However, since I was already at the Long Grove Chocolate Festival I determined to make the best of a sad situation – I bought chocolate – of course.

Blondie and “B” were with me and we spent a little over an hour walking around the festival. Thankfully, we had arrived a little before opening time which enabled us to find parking very easily and we avoided massive crowds and lines during checkout. It definitely pays to be an early bird to popular Chicago events.

It was a beautiful day on Sunday for the Long Grove Chocolate Festival. We enjoyed stopping to smell all the tulips and daffodils in bloom. We rested on park benches and watched people. We visited a Christmas shop called, The Pear Tree Shoppe, the Scandinavian shop, the Irish shop, the Nifty Fifties shop as well as an antique store and others.

My girls were very pleased with our outing, especially when it came time to visit the Confectionary and buy chocolate! We treated ourselves to creamy chocolate fudge, a chocolate covered pretzel and a peanut butter cup with M&Ms on top. We treated those at home to a dozen apple cider donuts and chocolate coins.

All in all the girls thought we should get out more often as we absorbed warm sunshine and pleasant companions.

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5 Things to Do in Our Town During Spring Break

Posted by html404 on March 11, 2013
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Home, Kids Stuff, Seasonal Stuff, Travel

We do not have a lot planned while my mom is here. Our beast is out of commission. It broke down a couple of weeks ago right at the end of a farmer friend’s driveway when we were visiting to learn more about goats. Our 14 year old has been interested in goats for…oh…about five years or more I’d say. We gifted her an educational goat class through one of the local farm organizations one year for her birthday and this year we plan to give her a goat. So what we’d do, but what another family chooses to do on Spring Break will probably completely different.

Here are 5 things to do in our town during Spring Break:

1. Go to the theater. Surely there’s one family friendly one playing.
2. Visit a park. Depending on the weather you might be able to hit a few during the week of Spring Break.
3. Go to the Farmers Market.
4. Coordinate a visit to a local farm. This is for the sake of other families since we live on a farm. But even so we enjoy visiting other farms and learning from them.
5. Travel to Chicago to visit a museum or Shedd Aquarium. This is something we plan to do in the fall when the public schools are back in session and the crowds are minimal.

So what is there to do in your town during Spring Break?

Inspired by another one of Mama Kat’s writing prompts: 5 things to do in your town during Spring Break. Mama Kat’s prompts sure came in handy when it came time to do up blog posts in advance for my mom’s visit!

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My Mom Arrives Tomorrow!

Posted by html404 on February 28, 2013
in Family Stuff, Home, Travel

My mom arrives tomorrow and we still have so much to do. Our plan to use five days to organized sort of back fired. Oh we’ve been working on things every day, but as soon as things are done they quickly become undone! That happens in a household of eight children! So we have track lighting, to put back up after some individual took it down from where it was over our rec room desk, for some unknown reason. We still have to set up mom’s bed and I have to get it made, with linens set out for her, laundry (we do laundry every day so that’s nothing new) and just general tidying; which I am sure will be undone before we can blink our eyes. Good thing mom had four children, but still it’d be nice if the house was presentable for her arrival at least.

Not to mention I am still working on March posts and will still have VA work to do while she’s here – trying to keep it to a minimum but I think it’s going to be tough. I think between contributing writers’ posts and mine we have posts every day up until March 18, which isn’t bad, but many of mine still need to be written! Here’s to hoping today and tomorrow are very productive…ha!

We are so excited to be able to spend time with my mom. She is excited about coming. She’s nervous about flying and getting lost, but I reassured her now that they have non-stop flights traveling from Nova Scotia to Chicago she doesn’t have to deal with Toronto or Ottawa airports. She’ll get off the plane and Robert should be waiting for her. She says she’ll be outside having a smoke after going four hours without! We are hoping her ecigarettes arrive within the week so she can try those while she’s here. She’s excited about trying them and I am impressed she has the desire to. Praying for positive results!

Here’s to three weeks of fun with my mom!

“This sponsored post was made possible by SheHeard. I have been compensated for my time and work on this campaign, however all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.”

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Archive for Travel

Kidoodle TV Free Trial and Giveaway

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Kidoodle.tv – Dad Central

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Chicago at Night from Willis Tower – Wordless Wednesday

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Chicago Field Museum: 1893 World’s Fair Exhibit

What is the 1893 World’s Fair Exhibit about?

The Field Museum Tours App

What did we see?

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Jif Sandwich Contest

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LeapReader “Ready, Set, Read & Write!”

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Tips For Keeping Kids Entertained

Avoiding in-car boredom on your summer break

Design their own game

Plan you breaks

Beware the sugary snacks

Old-fashioned fun

Avoid music battles

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Long Grove Chocolate Festival

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5 Things to Do in Our Town During Spring Break

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My Mom Arrives Tomorrow!

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