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I was able to get my parents one of the best Christmas presents ever (actually, she got it early, so I could review it for you)! My mom is not too technologically inclined. She doesn’t know how to work her DVR or turn on their computer. My parents all have dialup, so if I send them pictures, it takes way to long for them to download them. Since we only see them once a month, they miss out on a lot of things. For example, Madison somehow whacked herself in the face the other night with her pumpkin flashlight (and she was in her room suppose to be sleeping). She gave herself two cuts, black and blue marks, and a fat lip. I was able to take a picture, but had no way to show them until now.
Presto has made it super easy to send pictures to people without computers, who have seriously slow internet connections (that would be all of you with dial up), and people who are not technologically inclined. Set up for the printer took around five minutes. I was able to go online and set up the account while my sister was setting up the printer for my mom. Now, you are able to call in the information if you don’t have an internet connection too. To make the Presto Printer work, all you need is an analog phone line, paper, and a print cartridge. The Presto Service includes an @presto.com email address and unlimited incoming email, photos, and other content. You will not get spam either. The only people who can send things to print off have to be included on your friend list! (I wish regular email worked that way. Think how nice that would be!). You also are able to set up five times a day for it to check and see if you have any messages.

Over the last two weeks, I have sent several pictures over to my parents (especially the one I talked about above). It was nice that I could show them. Now, we just visited them this weekend, so I could see the quality of the pictures. I am impressed. My mom could tell that Madison had a fat lip. She could also see when Will got his hair cut. Instead of missing that milestone, she really got to be a part of it!

This is truly the perfect gift for someone who does not have high speed internet, doesn’t have a computer, or is not technologically inclined. If my mom can do, anyone can.

I recently came across another item that falls along the lines of “why didn’t I think of that?”. The mom who came up with the Parking Pal, in my opinion, is a genius.  The Parking Pal is a circular magnet with a child size hand print in the center.  When you put it on your car/van/vehicle, you child puts they hand on their, and it keeps them safe while you load or unload your vehicle.  Being that I don’t have a driveway and we park on the street a lot with the minivan, I love that this keeps Madison safe.  I’ll be honest, when we first used it, I was completely surprised by something.  Madison knew what I wanted her to do without telling her.  She knew that I wanted her to stand there with her hand on the magnet while I was loading the car.  I love that this is intuitive enough that she just knew what was expected.  This has also been a hit with other moms.  They all wanted to know where I got this from, and all thought it was a great idea.  Now, the Parking Pal does come in several designs to pick from — everything from soccer balls, to fish, to flowers.  There is definitely something for your kids that you can get on there.  The Parking Pal will run you about $7.99.  However, $8 is well worth insuring my daughter’s safety.