Category Archives: kids

Geeky Stuff, kids, tech

Beamz & Beaming Kids

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A great surprise in the mail!

My kids love getting surprise boxes in the mail!!! (ok, so I knew it was coming;) I first saw Beamz at CES back in January this year and thought was great! Beamz is a light based interface that lets you play musical instruments along with a song on a computer. I was stoked when I got a chance to review one with my kids.

Just take it out of the box and you are almost ready to go!

It is super easy to set up and play! You take Beams out of the box and plug it into your PC via a mini usb cable. Then pop in the cd, click to install and then add the libraries to your computer. You are ready to play!

On board controls

You can change songs, switch instruments, start and stop songs, etc very easily. You can control it on the computer using a mouse or using the on board controls. The kids found it very easy to control using the on board controls. And you don’t have to figure out what they are because you get a legend with the Beamz.

There are so many song choices in Beamz and there are new ones being added all the time! You can go through and chose songs by genre, including a kids genre with Old MacDonald. There are also multiple instruments that you can play with each song. It just takes a button push to change instruments and tempo. The kids also like recording their creation and then dancing to it on play back!

So much fun!!!!

It is so much fun that they can play it together! What you don’t see it their 2 sisters dancing;).

(“This product has been provided as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. While they provided the subject, all opinions are purely mine! #CBias)

kids, tech

Verizon: Keeping Cell Phones Safe for Kids

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Recently I was blessed to attended a meeting of bloggers and some of Verizon’s best in San Francisco. It was a two way meeting, we learned about some of their products and Verizon learned our very blatant opinions;). One of the areas I learned a lot about is 3 packages available to parents to help keep their children safe on both their cell phones and in life.

One of the things I love that is universal to all of these packages is that the controls are not set on the physical phone! You go to you My Verizon site where the rest of your account data lives. Then you can set up the packages per phone from there. It is a little less hackable by your kids. Not completely but much better than having it on a phone they play with constantly;).

Let’s start with the free tools, because you know free is my favorite;). Content filters available for free on their phones. What does that men? It means that you can choose a rating for a phone and the media center material, song downloads, V-Cast material and websites will be blocked or allowed according to that rating. Your rating choices are C7+, T13+, YA 17+ and of course there is always the filter off option. I think it is a super easy step that every parent on Verizon should be taking! It just takes a second to set up and you can change the settings as the kids get older or phones get passed down.

The next package is Usage Control. This currently runs $4.99 a line. It has a few areas. the first is Usage Limits. You can go in and set up how many texts your kids can send or how much data or minutes they can use so you aren’t charged with go over your plan! You can also set limits on how much they can spend on the extras like ringtones, apps and music. You also can set up time restrictions. If your child isn’t supposed to use their phone while they are at school you can set it up that during those hours the only calls that can be made are from “trusted” numbers that you set up. So they can’t text or call their friends but can call you! You can also block numbers, emails, screen names, the like. This can be that extra step of protection or just help to limit contact with someone who isn’t the best influence. My favorite part is the trusted numbers. No matter how much you limit the phone’s usage they can always make and receive calls from the numbers you list under this feature!

The last safeguard is the Family Locator program. This runs $4.99 a line or $9.99 per account. I like their description better than my own;).

From your PC, phone or tablet, enjoy the comfort of knowing you can check on the location of family members’ phones. Family Locator is a simple, secure service that allows you to:
Receive arrival & departure updates for each family member. A Verizon Wireless exclusive!
Locate your family members.
Create scheduled location updates for each family member.
Now available as an Android app and Web app for iPhone (fl.vzw.com on your phone’s browser).
Enjoy your first month free!

If this is something you are interested in make sure you try it out while they are offering a free month!!!

I learned lots of other cool things at my Verizon trip and there will be more posts! They really are trying to create more than just a cell phone carrier. They are attempting to partner with their customers to live a full digital life and they are thinking about all sides of that. Including safety for us and our children!

(Disclosure: I did get a trip to visit Verizon but all opinions and thoughts are mine and mine alone!)

Brick and Mortar, crafts, kids, Summer Activities

Free Building and Crafting Workshops

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Home Depot has a monthly building clinic on the first Saturday of the month from 9am-12pm. It is completely free. The kids get to use Home Depot’s tools to build a project. In addition to the project the children also receive an apron, a commemorative pen and a certificate of achievement. It doesn’t look like you need to register for it.
Lowes has building clinics a couple of weekends a month. On the weekends there are clinics you have your choice of Saturday at 10 am or Sunday at 2pm the weekends they are doing them. They get an apron, goggles, a patch, and this month they are building wooden projects on the weekends of 6/9 and 6/23. Must register online

Michaels has a variety of craft events. Some are adult only and some are for children. Also some are totally free and some require the purchase of 1 of the supplies. For example they have decorated mugs where you purchase the mug and sometimes it is just free. They are also offering paid craft classes like Wilton cake decorating for 8-12 year olds for $15. The schedule is up for June but the next month isn’t always posted until the month has began.

These are year round deals but are especially great for summer fun!!!

Brick and Mortar, Deals, kids, Summer Activities

Free Summer Bowling, Mostly

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AMF is once again doing their free bowling program for kids! You register each one of your kids on the site and then AMF will email you weekly vouchers for 2 free games a child. And you will receive these emails every week until September 3rd so if you can’t do it one week don’t worry!

So why did I say mostly? You still have to rent shoes each time you go. In my area it runs about $4.50 so while the games are free each kid will still need shoes. Unless you happen to have your own;)?

But it is still a great deal for a physical activity to do through the summer in an air conditioned environment!

Brick and Mortar, Deals, kids, Summer Activities

$1 Summer Movies

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Regal always has a great summer program for the kids and this year is no different! This year it is $1 PG and G movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. A portion of the $1 will go to the Will Rogers Institute. Just put in either your zip code or your state to see a list of dates/theaters/movies.

I personally, am a big fan of the $1 charge instead of it just being free. This actually helps to keep it a little more orderly because people have to be just a little more serious. It cuts down on the kids running through the theater;).

This year there are some great movies! The movies are not just for little kids this year! What are you taking your kids to see?

Deals, gift worthy, household, kids, Online

Scout Sale!

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Ok, I love Scout bags! I have one big one and it is great for taking to the park because I can put food and drinks in there and if anything leaks I just wipe it down. Easy peasy! And everything seems to hold so much relative to their size!!!

So in the spirit of parks, bbq’s, beaches and summer there is a sale going on! All Indigo Girl and Starstruck patterns (in a variety of bag types) are 20% off right now!

But don’t wait! Get these bargains by May 20th when the sale ends!

(Yes, these are affiliate links! It helps support this blog to get your fabulous deals through my links!)

Brick and Mortar, Comics, Deals, Free, kids, Kids Books

Free Comic Book Day 2012

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Free Comic Book Day is tomorrow (May 5th)!!!

But what is Free Comic Book Day, you might ask. It is a day where you and your kids head down to your local comic book store and get a free comic book! Once you find the participating stores in your area it really is that simple. Free Comic Book Day is not just designed to get kids into comic books but to overall encourage reading in children.

We always hit Heroes here in Fresno. And while there is a line it moves super quick. And as you see, they bring out the characters;). The kids love that! They interact with the Star Wars guys every year.

The list of the “available” comics is posted ahead of time. I use quotes because sometimes they are out of one by the time you get there or didn’t get one of them. So I recommend you peruse the list and come up with a top 3 for every person. And person gets a comic, including the adults. They had some preview and special edition copies of some comics we were interested in last year.

We always have a ball and highly recommend you go! Let me know what decide you want to get!

crafts, kids

Popsicle Stick Bird Feeder

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This is the perfect bird feeder for your kids to make! Kids that are probably 2nd grade and up can make it on their own with just a little instruction. This is my favorite bird feeder because you can put what ever you want in it. This one will be holding some stale hamburger buns after I am done with my tv spot;).


Do you remember when you were a kid and you would save us your used Popsicle sticks? Gross… It is so much easier to buy them on sale from Walmart or Michaels;). First, build your base. As one of my kids said, they build a fence piece.  I have them lay down one Popsicle stick as a guide post to figure out how many sticks to lay out. Then glue on 2 supports. We just use regular white glue to afix everything. Then from there glue 2 more sticks going the opposite way, keep going until the desired height.

Before you add your last to sticks you need to take a second to add your hanging string. Tie the string to each of the last two sticks. When you glue down that sticks make sure the knots are on the inside of the joints and are on opposite corners.

Let everything dry before you pick it up. White glue will definitely hold everything well but until it is dry everything is still squishy. Then hang it out and fill it for the birds!!!!

crafts, kids

Peanut Butter Birdfeeders

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A Toilet Paper Roll and Pine Cone Birdfeeder

I love bird feeders because I love birds! When I was a kid we used to hang bird feeders outside the bathroom window so we could listen to them when my mom was getting ready in the morning. We also hung them outside the back door and I would watch the birds when I needed to take a break from homework;). And my kids love them too! So making bird feeders is a must in our house!!!

This is a super easy bird feeder that young elementary school kids can make with practically no supervision! It is easy and I made these when I was a Brownie. But I have changed it from how I did it as a kid. Changed it just enough to make it easier;).

Both of these use peanut butter as a glue to adhere the bird seed. I remember trying to spread peanut butter on a toilet paper roll as a kid and getting super frustrated! So I solved the problem! Put some peanut butter in a bowl and then add a little vegetable oil. Mix! This will thin out the peanut butter and make it workable. Just don’t thin it too much or you will just be spreading oil onto your stuff;).

With the toilet paper roll feeder there are just a couple of steps! First, punch holes across from each other. Then tie twine, butcher’s string, or fishing line to both holes. Slather the toilet paper holder with your thinned peanut butter. Then roll the toilet paper roll in a bowl you have filled with birdseed. Make sure you press firmly! And that is it! Just hang and watch the birds feast.

The pine cone feeder is basically the same deal. Slather your pine cone in the thinned peanut butter and roll! Then ties a string on it! My daughter did one where she added shaped green pipe cleaners to make it look like a fruit;).

Seriously, that is all it takes for super cute, cheap and easy peanut butter based bird feeders!!!!