Ever wanted a game that your kids can grow into? Or would you want a game that will take them years to outgrow? If you want both of these things, then you definitely need to get your hands on the Ultimate Spinner game. This game is for kids 4 and up, and I can see us playing with The Ultimate Spinner game for years. This game is 12 games in one! I know we have been able reinforce a lot of what we are teaching Madison with this game. They work with the alphabet and numbers. Some of the more advance things (that we will eventually work toward are the math equations and telling time. There are rules that come with the games. However, I love the fact that there are “Considering Tender Hearts” rules. These rules are for those little ones who don’t have the attention span for an entire game. There is also enough things in here that they can make up their own games! I know Madison liked that the best with this! I also love that the game is very brightly colored and everything is made with good quality material. For those of us who are worried about foreign products, have no fear. This game is made here in the United States in Maine by a family company who wanted to provide their grandchildren a game they didn’t have to worry about.
I definitely see this being a top game this Christmas season. Check it out and you won’t be disappointed.
Can you believe that Halloween is less than a month away? I know I can’t. Madison wanted to be a fairy with wings or a princess. My mother in law has a princess costume that we can use, so she was easy. However, I had no idea what to make Will. He is in a weird size this year, and it is really hard to find costumes for him. However, I did find a some Halloween costumes at the Halloween Party Store that were super cute and that would fit him.
(Ignore the mess in the background and the pearl necklace he’s holding too). I just ordered this for him and it came within a couple of days! It is tad long but besides that it fits awesome. I love that the toolbelt is attached to the costume, so you don’t have to worry about losing it. You can also adjust the belt in back and make it tighter too! This does come with a cute little red hat too, but there is no way I can keep that on a 16 month olds head! I am impressed with the quality and service from the Halloween Party Store and highly recommend you use them for your Halloween costume needs!
If you have little ones in your house, check out Baby Rodenburg. This DVD teaches you child sign language, A-B-C’s, numbers, colors, and animals. The DVD was a huge hit here. Madison (my 4 year old) is learning sign language in preschool, so she loved the reinforcement. My son who is 15 months loved it due to the music and seeing other babies. I am not sure if he really “understood” any of the sign language. Mom like it, because I got to actually learn some sign language (like how to sign eat) that is actually quite useful at my house.
My only complaint about the DVD is that it seems a bit disorganized at times. I wish they correlated the signing to whichever letter they were on. Meaning, when they did the sign for eat, I think they should have been talking about the letter E. That being said, they really reinforced each sign and what it means using several different ways. As each thing was signed, Madison often repeated the sign several times and repeated the word that went with the sign. Will danced with the music and pointed to the screen and said “seeeeeee” every time an animal, baby, or toddler was on.
This DVD was created by a set of parents who couldn’t find any DVDs out there that fit their needs for their child. Instead of complaining, they made their own DVD to use with their own child and to share with the rest of us!
This was my favorite newspaper. I think we have been subscribing to it since we have moved here. However, about a week ago, they changed their format. Now, I have went through several format changes with them already. However, this one, I cannot stand. I cannot stand it to the point that I will be leaving them and getting a subscription to another area newspaper. (The advantage of living in Chicago is that we have quite a few to pick from).
This makes me sad. However, the changes that have been made this time around I just cannot stand. The majority of their articles completely blend with the ads for things like fat burners and real estate. As a blogger, we got a lot of slack for not disclosing what is paid and what isn’t. However, it doesn’t look the print media has to have the same standard. The majority of the articles have huge pictures and less content. I know it is not just my eyes playing tricks on me either. It actually takes me quite a bit less time to read the paper everyday. A lot of the articles also look like blog posts with the amount of stuff on the page. If I wanted to look at something that looked like a blog, I would read my news online. I personally love having a print paper in my hand. I like the style and how informative a paper is. If I want a synopsis, I go to the internet. If I want to read full articles, I look for my local paper.
As soon as I find my credit card, I will be canceling my Chicago Tribune subscription and signing up for the Chicago Sun Times. Hopefully, their paper will be less tabloidy and more news.
Best Buy is one of my most favorite stores. Usually. However, last night was an entirely different story (and this review is actually going to be more like rant instead). On Sundays, Best Buy closes at 7. I personally thought I had plenty of time. What I didn’t know was that out of the three people in the computer department, 2 of them were new. Interesting times, let me tell you. In the amount of time it took me to get waited on, I could have seriously taken a CDL training course. The other thing is that I went looking there for a desktop. This weeks ad had a ton of them in there. Surprise, Surprise. Of all the desktops that had in their ad, they had 1 in stock. Yes, 1 in stock. They had some not in their ad but the CPUs along were over $1,000. Ummm, no thanks. I ended up walking out of Best Buy at 8:00 pm — one hour after they closed due to their employees having no training!
Well, the first question you need to ask yourself is how fast do you type? Personally, I type pretty darn fast (over 70 wpm). However, what Dragon Naturally Speaking does for you is allows you to talk, and it types what you say. You do need to “say” the paragraph breaks and punctuation. However, you end up with typing 150 words per minute! Most people I know cannot type that fast! It makes it much easier to generate more content in less time too. I know when I am composing a post like this I am actually saying the words in my head anyway. However, my head works faster than my fingers. That is why I love this product. Do you do podcasts? You can use Dragon to convert your podcasts into a transcript that you can also post on your site! There are just so many uses that I can come up with for this. I know people who use this and absolutely loved it including the New York times (click here for the NY Times Review of DNS10). Some other uses include people with disabilities such as dyslexia and even people with carpal tunnel who can’t type anymore. Heck, I’ve heard that John McCain doesn’t use the computer due to his injuries suffered when he was a POW. This is would even be helpful for him!
If you would like to see this in action, watch the videos below:
Don’t you want one of these to make your blogging easier?
I personally have a lot on my plate. I am a mom, a freelancer, and a blogger with 5 blogs. My free time is limited, and now that I am getting older, I am finding that my mind is not as good as it use to be. When I saw ListPlanIt, I knew this was something I could definitely use! I swear that this site has every kind of list you could ever need (my mother would be in heaven here — she loves making lists!). I have to admit that my most favorite list had to be the grocery shopping one. It allowed me to organize my shopping list, so I wouldn’t be running all over the store finding what I need. It made me categorize each item I needed, so when I was in that department, I was able to get everything in one shot. It is amazing how something so simple can save you a lot of time. The second set of lists that I love is the time management ones. Who can’t use a little help with time management? You can do everything from a year in advance to daily routine planning. I like being to write down what reviews I want to do, so I don’t miss anything. There is even a weekly planner with meals! I am in love with the meal planning lists. There are just so many lists here, and I can find a use for almost all of them! I literally could go on and on and on.
Now, can you use website that will help you organize your life? (Seriously, who can’t?) If so, I have the best giveaway for you. ListPlanIt will give the winner a Quarterly Membership to their site to check it out. Once you start using these lists, you will find it addicting. What do you need to do to win?
Each one of these things will give you one entry:
1. Leave a comment on this post. I want to know which lists you think you would use the most.
2. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify.
3. Stumble this post. If you don’t know what Stumble Upon is, please read Lori’s post at Blogging Cents. She explains it extremely well.
4. Add this post to other social media sites like Digg, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, Reddit, Propeller, Etc.
For 5 additional entries,
1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
2. Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
3. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed
4. Add my badge to your sidebar:
Good luck! This contest will end Oct. 6, 2008 at 8:00 PM CST.
Ever wanted a game that your kids can grow into? Or would you want a game that will take them years to outgrow? If you want both of these things, then you definitely need to get your hands on the Ultimate Spinner game. This game is for kids 4 and up, and I can see us playing with The Ultimate Spinner game for years. This game is 12 games in one! I know we have been able reinforce a lot of what we are teaching Madison with this game. They work with the alphabet and numbers. Some of the more advance things (that we will eventually work toward are the math equations and telling time. There are rules that come with the games. However, I love the fact that there are “Considering Tender Hearts” rules. These rules are for those little ones who don’t have the attention span for an entire game. There is also enough things in here that they can make up their own games! I know Madison liked that the best with this! I also love that the game is very brightly colored and everything is made with good quality material. For those of us who are worried about foreign products, have no fear. This game is made here in the United States in Maine by a family company who wanted to provide their grandchildren a game they didn’t have to worry about.
If you have little ones in your house, check out 
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