One of the huge hits at this year's BlogHer was Ubisoft’s booth where bloggers had the opportunity to rock out and show their moves in a Just Dance competition and now Just Dance 2 is coming to Blogalicious in just 10 days! The Clever Girls Collective is hosting a party for conference attendees to shake it to Just Dance 2!
If you aren’t familiar with UbiSoft, they make video games for gaming platforms including Wii, Nintendo DS and DSI, Sony PlayStation 3, PSP, iPhone, Xbox, and Xbox Kinect that can be fun for the whole family. Active families will like games such as Just Dance, Just Dance 2, and Gold’s Gym Dance Workout that promote a healthy and active lifestyle while there are plenty of games to choose from for adventure seekers.
As a UbiChamp blogger, I'm excited about the opportunity to review a variety of different games created by UbiSoft for the different gaming platforms. I'm looking foward to trying Michael Jackson The Experience, a dance game that I think will be especially cool on the Xbox Kinect (coming November 10). I'll also be hosting giveaways throughout the fall months!
To enter, visit the UbiSoft site and leave a comment with the game you would be most interested to try. Leave your email or Twitter handle for your entry to count.
For additional entries, leave the required comment as outlined above and do any of the following:
Become a Fan of the UbiParents Facebook page where you can entire to win a Nintendo DSi and a package of UbiSoft games. Come back and leave a comment to tell me that you are a fan.
Blogalicious attendees- Leave a comment to let me know you'll be there ready to get your dance on at the Clever Girls Collective party.
Subscribe to Tech Savvy Mama via email and get my posts delivered to your inbox when they go live. Just leave a comment to let me know you are an email subscriber.
Bloggers- Apply to join the Clever 1000, "a network of social media-connected, natural networkers and influencers." For more information, visit the Clever Girls Collective Clever 1000 page. If you decide that the Clever 1000 sounds like a good fit for you, apply and leave a comment to let me know.
Winner will be selected in approximately one week. I’m a Clever Girls Collective UbiSoft Champion and received games for review and giveaway purposes. This is a compensated post written on behalf of UbiSoft. All artwork courtesy of UbiSoft.
Anybody with a computer, camera, internet connection and a little bit of creativity can create animated films for the masses with the new The Klutz Book of Animation ($19.95). This book is a great how-to-guide for anyone who wants step-by-step instructions for creating a variety of classic stop motion special effects akin to Wallace and Gromit and the dancing California Raisins.
The Klutz Book of Animation includes easy-to-follow instructions, ready-to-shoot scripts, and the required software is available as a free download that can used on either a PC or a Mac. It also comes with low-tech, non-toxic clay, that is ready to be formed into a million possibilities of creatures and characters who will star in your own films. Just provide your own video camera, computer, and a way to connect the two.
Take a look at the video we created here to get an idea of the animated movies you can create and enter the giveaway below!
Stop by Mom Knows It All on Wednesday…to check another fun giveaway & video feature!
Thanks to The Klutz Book of Animation for selecting me as Blog Tour Stop #7. I received a preview copy of the book for review purposes but no compensation was received for this post. Affliate links are included.
You know and trust Marlo Thomas as a successful actress, author, and philanthropist. For decades, she has been inspiring women, making people laugh, and acting as a role model. She's also the face of St. Judes hospital, helping thousands of families and their children each year.
Now Marlo Thomas is going digital.
Join Marlo at the just-launched MarloThomas.com in partnership with AOL -- a new site where Marlo will connect with and inspire women, sharing a laugh, and, most importantly, building a community of support so we can all keep dreaming and achieving!
And she wants to hear from you and tell your story - with video series such as Hero Next Door. Marlo will find and profile amazing women - just like you. Watch the first feature - about Lu Picard of Torrington, Conn. - and then tell Marlo about a fabulous woman you know. Nominate a Hero now by emailingheroes@marlothomas.com!
In addition to launching MarloThomas.com, Marlo's now on social media, too. Follow her Twitter account at @Marlo_Thomas and become a Facebook fan at facebook.com/MarloThomas.
Her active, personal participation on social platforms and her new site provides a great opportunity for two-way communication between Marlo and the community of people she has inspired over the years.
What can you expect from Marlo on MarloThomas.com, Twitter and Facebook?
original content - stories, posts, videos, and photos
great conversations, laughs and inspiration
observations on popular culture and news
entertaining clips of "Free to Be You and Me" and "That Girl"
galleries of celebrity images
family photos
...and a lot more
You can also subscribe to Marlo on YouTube to see new videos each week from Marlo where she will give advice, inspiration, laughs, and more.
When asked why she's going digital, Marlo says the answer is easy. "I want to step out from behind the one-way mirror of television and have a real conversation with women," says Marlo. "I haven't stopped dreaming; you shouldn't either! It's your turn: What should we talk about together?"
This digital effort coincides with the upcoming release of Marlo's newest book, Growing Up Laughing (available Sept. 28).
This post was done in conjunction with a campaign by Global Influence Network. By posting this, I am eligible to win a $25 gift card.
Yesterday I shared my interview with Jay Ingram, lead science advisor, celebrated science author, and television host about The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That.
In honor of the debut of The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, Random House has generously provided a wonderful prize pack that includes a limited-edition canvas tote, four books from The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library by Random House, and bookmarks featuring Cat in the Hat stickers!
Ask him a question that your kids have asked you and you don’t know the answer to or about something you saw on The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!Leave your Twitter handle or email address in the comment for your entry to count.
For extra entries you must do the above and any of the following:
Tweet this daily: @TechSavvyMama is giving away a Cat in the Hat prize pack from Random House! Enter 2 win: http://bit.ly/9Ugmqz
Giveaway generously provided by Random House who sent me the prize pack for sharing the interview with Jay Ingram and hosting a giveaway. No compensation was received for this post. Winner will be randomly chosen from eligible entries in about a week. Winner must provide a US shipping address.
In just about 24 hours I'm leaving for my first ever Type A Mom Conference to represent BitMoms and BitDefender. Held in Asheville, North Carolina, Type A has a fabulous reputation for being a prime place for networking between bloggers and marketers and learning through top-notch sessions.
I'll be live blogging as many of the wonderful sessions I can but wanted to get your input about the things you are most interested in learning about.
Please take a minute to look at the Type A Mom Conference schedule and leave a comment below with the sessions that you think I should live blog and I'll do my best to make it to as many different sessions as possible!
If you are interested in hearing about things as they happen, follow #TypeAMom on Twitter. Type A Mom Business begins on Friday and the regular conference starts that evening and goes through Sunday.
I'll also be sharing conference recaps of the sessions, photos, and more on BitMoms.com.
I'm attending Type A Mom as a consultant to BitDefender and BitMoms. BitDefender is a conference sponsor and is covering my expenses.
One of our new favorite shows is PBS’ The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to interview lead science advisor, celebrated science author, and television host Jay Ingram. Jay is the one who, as he puts it, “ensures that lemurs and toucans aren’t in the same jungle scenes,” and the one who tells the animators “that type of cactus wouldn’t grow in that desert!”
The delightful Cat who dons his signature red and white striped hat has the voice of Martin Short and has become a huge hit in its first week on the air, especially in our house. I loved talking to Jay about the show and getting his perspective many opportunities for kids to think and act like scientists, and how The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That can help further scientific exploration in classroom settings.
But enough from me, here’s Jay!
Are there any studies that show a correlation between kids who are engaged in science at a young age and the number who pursue careers in science, and technology, or engineering?
I don’t know of any data that supports the idea of a connection between engagement early and careers in science. It’s true for me, but I think the more important thing is to establish in kids’ minds that science/nature are interesting, not a turn-off. That’s actually more crucial later than pre-school though.
What’s your formal role in the project?
My formal role is to be ‘science advisor’ which really means to try and keep the story lines as close to natural as possible: if these are tropical flowers, then a Canadian bee shouldn’t be visiting them, or, that whale doesn’t have teeth, it has baleen. And so on. Obviously you have to stretch things (the fish has eyebrows, the animals talk) but the more consistent with reality it is the better.
What can a television show like “The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That” do for kids’ understanding of science principles that a typical classroom situation cannot?
I think the main advantage CITH has over the classroom is that it is story-telling, and it is fun and fantastical. There’s absolutely no drudgery about it, and while I’m sure there are many classrooms that can claim the same thing, there are many that can’t. Kids already identify with the cat – that helps too. So there are none of the usual barriers. Whether it promotes scientific literacy is another thing.
Do some topics make for better episodes than others?
Any topic that features interesting animals is the best kind of topic for CITH. I’m fond of those that stretch that a little, so that instead of birds and butterflies we have possums, and microscopic single-celled creatures – that’s a neat way of stretching kids’ concepts.
The show emphasizes that kids don’t have to go much further than their backyard to understand some basic but important science ideas. Do you think that's true?
Backyard nature is full of riches. The issue is that most don’t think about small-scale nature – most people are, if anything, birdwatchers, not insect watchers – so much of it goes unnoticed.
Last year you were honored for making science accessible to the public and for leading future generations of science journalists. Has this always been an area of interest to you?
I’ve always felt that the most interesting kinds of science are overlooked by most people, and it’s not that they are scientifically illiterate, but that we’ve always been short of good story-telling when it comes to science. So that’s what I’ve focused on, and that’s also why I’m interested in recruiting more good story-tellers to science. It’s not even that we need to know these things because we’ll be better informed voters and all that stuff, but that nature (and science as a way of investigating it) should be a part of everyone’s cultural life, just as movies, novels, ballet, opera etc. are. Jay Ingram is a Canadian science journalist, author and broadcaster. He has been host of the television show Daily Planet (originally titled @discovery.ca), which airs on Discovery Channel Canada, since the channel's inception in 1995, and is the former host of the CBC Radio show "Quirks and Quarks."
For more Cat in the Hat fun, visit Seussville, the official Random House site of The Cat in the Hat and PBSKids.org where there’s even more Cat fun to be had! Another great resource is PBS Parents'downloadable Explorer's Guide with "tips and strategies to help you support your child's science learning and inquiry during everyday explorations and activities in and around your home." Check local listings for times of The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!
Come back tomorrow when I'm giving away a fabulous Cat in the Hat prize pack courtesy of Random House!
No compensation was received for this post however, I am receiving the Cat in the Hat prize pack that will be featured in tomorrow's giveaway. I am a consultant for PBS Teachers but this blog post falls outside my realm of responsibilities. Images courtesy of PBS.
In honor of the 50th anniversary of Green Eggs and Ham, the #4 best-selling children's book of all time, Oceanhouse Media is offering a fabulous collection of award-winning Dr. Seuss apps for 50% off. iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch apps are priced are less than $1.99 and the sale ends on Thursday, September 23.
Choose from a wonderful selection of eBooks that make your favorite Dr. Seuss books portable without weighing down your bag. eBooks contain the beautiful artwork of Dr. Seuss shrunken to fit the size of your iDevice and includes features like words highlighted as they are read, professional narration, and custom audio.
The Dr. Seuss Camera apps allow users to create unique and whimsical photo cards using the iPhone’s built-in camera or Photo Library. Children will love posing with or becoming characters from the books! Personalize cards with comical and colorful stamps, borders and classic Seussian text and then e-mailed them to friends and family or save them to the Photo Library.
The sale selection also includes Dr. Seuss themed games. Up With A Fish! is a fun kid’s stacking game in which players help the Cat in the Hat stack falling objects atop his tower of fish bowls. Lorax Garden allows kids to design and build their own trees and flowers in real-time 3D in order to repopulate the world’s Truffula tree forests.
Finally, the Dr. Seuss Senders app contains 100 cards with fun Seussian quotes and sayings that can be sent to anyone in need of inspiration, cheering up or just a smile for the day. Greetings from categories such as love, get-well, congratulations, etc. can be saved to your photo library or emailed to your little ones, grandkids, co-workers, parents, teachers and friends. For less than the price of a single, paper greeting card users get the entire set of 100 Dr. Seuss Senders in a single app! What a deal!
Choose from the following Dr. Seuss apps:
Green Eggs and Ham eBook
The Cat in the Hat eBook
Yertle the Turtle eBook
Hop On Pop eBook
The Lorax eBook
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! eBook
Oh, the Places You’ll Go! eBook
Gertrude McFuzz eBook
The Big Brag eBook
Dr. Seuss Camera – The Cat in the Hat Edition
Dr. Seuss Camera – The Grinch Edition
Up With A Fish! kid’s game
Lorax Garden kid’s game
Grinchmas! kid’s game
Dr. Seuss Senders card deck
Dr. Seuss apps are on sale only until Thursday, September 23. Happy shopping!
And did you know Green Eggs and Ham, first published in August 1960, was a bet between Theodor Geisel and his publisher? Dr. Seuss’s publisher (Bennett Cerf) wagered $50 that the author could not write a book using only fifty words. Dr. Seuss won the bet!
I was provided with download codes to redeem for a couple of free Dr. Seuss apps in order to faciliate this review. No compensation was received for this post but it does include Amazon affliate links.
Go back to school in style with these awesome Sesame Street flash drives currently on sale through Totsy that come preloaded with full length content that matches the character and are ready for plugging and playing. These fun USB drives are $19.99 each and also hold up to 400 photos, 400 songs, or virtually unlimited amount of written content along with the preloaded content.
Having a Grover USB in your laptop bag ensures your office hipster cred and makes you a super hero on Take Your Child to Work days when you provide insta-entertainment to the masses so fellow parents can actually work for 30-45 minutes!
Available characters include:
Abby Caddaby with a Sesame Street version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland featuring Elmo called Abby in Wonderland
Cookie Monster includes Cookie Monster’s Best Bites
Ernie features Bert and Ernie’s Word Play
Big Bird will have your kids learning the ABCs with Do the Alphabet
Elmo comes preloaded with the Best of Elmo
Grover includes A Celebration of Me
Sesame Street logo USB offers a full-length home video- 25th Anniversary: A Musical Celebration
Besides Sesame Street USB drives, Totsy always has great products offered for up to 70% off retail for moms on-the-go and moms-to-be looking for brand-specific sales. Totsy's 72 hour sales are designed for moms and kids ages infant to 7. I always love getting my daily emails to learn about the best kid gear. They have fabulous prices on high-end merchandise that is great for your family or as gifts for precious nieces, nephews, and grandchildren!
My favorite purchase from Totsy has to be the glow in the dark shark and Hello Kitty Sigg water bottles that I recently scored for our kids for the bargain basement price of $8-10 each when they retail for $20+ a piece!
Not a member of Totsy? Since the free membership is by invitation or request only, you are welcome to use my referral link to join and browse their great specials for kids.
All images courtesy of Totsy. Referral links included which means I get a Totsy credit if you join through the links above and make a purchase. No compensation was received from this post.
Now that you have the labels to ensure that everything returns home, send your child off to school clad in some great clothes that don’t have to break the bank. I am a firm believer in quality items that will not only last, but have the ability to be passed on as long as they aren’t all pink, purple, and/or glittery. I also find that some items can last through two seasons rather than just one thanks to thoughtful features that allow the clothes to grow with our kids.
While Lands’ End is a classic for children’s clothing, my other favorites include brands you may not be so familiar with. Here’s a look inside our closets to see some of the items our kids will be wearing this year.
Favorite Kids’ Coat for Changing Seasons:Polarn O. Pyret WindFleece ($59.50)- When the weather starts to turn from summer to fall, I reach for the kids’ WindFleece jacket from Polarn O. Pyret. This Swedish based company knows cold weather so I can count on their clothes to withstand a DC winter and still have plenty of wear left to pass them on. The WindFleece is wind-resistant and water-repellent jacket but also nonbulky yet incredibly warm and soft. I love the abundance of tastefully placed reflective stripes and thoughtful details like the thumbholes in the cuffs that my kids can pull down over their hands for some extra warmth. Take 20% off all WindFleece Jackets, including the new recycled WindFleece($85) with the code TECHPOP until September 22. Also stock up on other items for throughout the year that are 70% off and get free shipping with orders of $150 or more. I won a WindFleece jacket through a Facebook contest but have personally bought many POP items since learning about this great brand two years ago.
Favorite Clothing Line for the Dirtiest of Kids: Bersica Futurewear Clothing- If there are days where your child reminds you of Pig Pen, complete with omnipresent dust cloud swirling around their head, then Bersica was designed for them! This high performance clothing line is revolutionary because the breathable fabric is waterproof, stainproof (!), and offers UV protection thanks to the special Nanosphere surface that repels water, dirt, and anything else your kids come into contact with during their day. Bersica offers shorts ($14.99), pants ($14.99), and polo shirts ($19.99) for girls, boys, and babies at competitive prices especially considering that these pieces will save on laundry since they basically clean themselves! I was provided with a pair of shorts and pants from the Bersica line that we spilled on, stomped over, dragged through a mud puddle, etc. to test the stainproof ability and they passed!
Favorite Casual to Dressy Clothing: Tea Collection- I’ve loved Tea Collection’s designs ever since we were gifted with a Layette Set for newborn Captain Computer. Four years later, I still love their clothes for their durability, charm, and the fact that they can be dressed up or down, making them the ultimate in versatility. This season I’m in love with the collection of school dresses that are under $30 for our first grader who loves to run with the boys at recess but still maintain her girly side and the graphic Ts for boys. Tea Collection now makes a women’s line but I hope that they will make their kids’ Kimono Robe in a larger size so I can order one for myself when fall sets in! I received a gift certificate in exchange for writing about Tea Collection and conducting a giveaway earlier this year.
Favorite Snow Gear: Lands' End- Last year when the DC area was pummeled with snowstorm after snow storm, I was so glad that I had stocked up on Lands’ End boots and Squall outerwear. Not only were we well prepared but my kids were warm, dry, and never tired of playing in the white stuff that blanketed our yard for months. This year each child will be clad from head to toe in Lands’ End fleece hats, Sport Squall Gloves, Squall Snow Pants, Squall Parka (with sleeves that grow with your child thanks to a hidden hem), and down to the easy to slip on Snow Flurry boots so bring it on, Old Man Winter! The Tech Savvy household is ready for you! Check out the Lands' End Outerwear sale section where you can score tons of great deals including Kids' Snow Flurry Boots, currently on sale for $14.99 in a great selection of colors for those who wear sizes 5-8! All items personally purchased.
All images courtesy of the companies mentioned above. No compensation was received for this post.
Giveaway update: Congratulations to Shannon who will be able to keep her family's belongings safe thanks to WordLock and Mabel's Labels!
Let’s face it. Things get lost at school so it’s best to protect your investment with some high quality security devices- labels and locks!
Favorite Way to Claim Ownership of Clothing:Mabel’s Labels makes gorgeous and durable labels that you can affix to every article of clothing your child owns and might take a trip to school this year. I love the new Labels Out Loud line of full color labels that are bright, easy to read, and can also withstand the dishwasher and laundry. The teachers at Captain Computer's preschool appreciate that I use the shoe labels so they can easily return his shoes to his cubby when he kicks them off!
Other great labels include the kid safety line that alerts caregivers of allergies and special needs. Mabel’s Labels can even help organize your home with specially designed household labels for crafts, cord control, curbside trash and recycling, spices, and bins. All labels are available for purchase individually or as combo packs. If you are ordering, order an extra pack for your child's teacher as a much appreciated teacher gift or if you have a specific product need, let me know in the comments and I can personally email you a discount!
Favorite Method for Beginning Readers and Bike Riders to Keep Bikes Safe at School:WordLock personal and commercial locks use our natural ability to remember words in order to secure our belongings using word and letter combinations. Rather than having your child carry a key for their bike lock or padlock on their locker, kids can come up with a word and set their padlock without ever having to worry about a misplaced key. Simply genius!
4 year old Captain Computer loved learning how to ride a bike this summer and but was even more thrilled when he got to select a word made up of four letters to secure his ride. I won’t tell you which of the 10,000 letter combinations he chose, but he loves finding the letters on the dial to unlock his bike. We were also sent a rust-proof brass padlock that is perfect for outside use since it double locks for added security. WordLock also makes TSA approved luggage locks in a variety of colors.
To enter to win the Mabel’s Label’s Ultimate Back to School Combo or WordLock prize pack, leave a comment about your child’s most prized possession that needs to be locked and labeled and which product would be perfect for securing their treasured belonging! Don’t forget to include your email address or Twitter handle so I can contact you when you win!
For extra entries, complete the required response above and do any of the following:
Like WordLock on Facebook and then come back to leave a comment letting me know you’ve done so.
Maryland, Illinois, and Texas readers can apply to be Mabel’s Labels brand ambassadors through the BuzzMamas program to spread the word about these fabulous labels with everyone you know! Fill out the application and then come back here and leave a comment to let me know you’ve applied. BuzzMamas are hand selected by Mabel's Labels and I have no influence over the selection process and will not be held accountable if you are not chosen. Applications are only being accepted from residents of MD, IL, or TX.
Tweet daily to win and comment with each Tweet: @TechSavvyMama uses WordLock & @MabelHood labels 2 secure her belongings. Enter her #giveaway 2 keep your stuff safe: http://bit.ly/a4Uu8r
Giveaway ends Sunday, September 19 at Midnight. Eligible entries must include either an email or Twitter handle. Giveaway is open to US residents only.
I have personally purchased Mabel’s Labels for this school year in addition to receiving samples from Social Luxe Lounge at BlogHer and by being a Mabel’s Labels BuzzMama. WordLock sent me products for review purposes. No compensation was received for this post.
As of Friday, both children are now in school. Jig of joy! The house seems strangely quiet but it is nice to return to a routine even with homework, nightly lunch making, and after school activities.
I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing some fabulous items for the Fill the Backpack campaign but have many more that I have been wanting to share with you.
Throughout this week, look for posts about some of my favorite items- many of which were personally purchased- along with giveaways and coupon codes.
I hope the start of school has gone well for your family and everyone is settling in to what will be a wonderful schol year!
If you haven’t already entered, and left a comment on my Magnificent Moments of Mom post, comments will close on Wednesday, September 15 at Midnight and I will choose the winner the very next day!
Thanks to everyone who has entered so far! There are 290 comments and entries for the Fill the Backpack safely stored in my inbox from changing commenting systems over the weekend. Please don't worry if you visit the Ziploc post and don't see your entry. Rest assured that I have it and you are still eligible!
I’m also giving you another chance to enter with a daily Tweet between now and Wednesday! Come back to leave a comment (along with Twitter handle or email) after Tweeting this:
Last chance 2 enter @TechSavvyMama’s @FilltheBackpack contest w/$300+ in prizes thx 2 Ziploc Magificent Moments of Mom http://bit.ly/cPo2Hy
Classroom teachers are also encouraged to enter the Dream Classroom Contest sponsored by ClassWish.org. ClassWish.org is a nonprofit site where teachers and parent teacher organizations create Wish Lists of needed resources, and visitors make tax-deductible contributions to help children thrive and will be giving two teachers $500 to help create the classrooms of their dreams. Email your child’s classroom teacher, send them a note on Monday, or tell them at pickup or drop off encouraging them to enter! It’s not too late!
Enter by visiting the Fill the Backpack site and leaving a 200-300 word essay as your comment on the Dream Classroom Contest post by Midnight on September 14. There are a few more rules that are outlined in the Dream Classroom Contest post.
This post is part of the Fill the Backpack program and is sponsored by Ziploc and 20th Century Fox. Fill the Backpack is hosted by Volunteer Spot. All prizes were generously provided by the participating companies. No compensation was received for my involvement in the Fill the Backpack campaign.
For eight years September 11th has come and gone and my husband and I have quietly remembered the tragic loss of so many lives without uttering a word to our two children. I always knew that that one day the time would come to talk about the significance of 9/11 and today was that day.
Today, on the ninth anniversary, we did something as American as apple pie- we went to a baseball game to see the Washington Nationals play in our Nation’s Capitol.
As we approached the stadium, we were greeted by a giant flag suspended between two outstretched ladders from two fire trucks and just beyond, saw that the flags were flying at half mast while the LED scoreboards were proclaiming that today was Heroes Day at the ballpark.
I wrote about how we talked with our 4 and 6 year old about September 11th for the first time in this week’s post on The LeapFrog Community.
If you discussed the significance of September 11th in your house this weekend, I'd love for you read Lessons About September 11th and share the ages of your children and what you talked about, how you brought up the subject, and if you did anything in remembrance.
Thank you.
I am compensated to write a weekly column on The LeapFrog Community but am not required to share my posts on my personal site.
If you are a pizza loving family like us but crave a healthier pizza option that uses high quality ingredients and can customize your pie according to dietary restrictions, zpizza is the perfect place for you!
zpizza is made with organic wheat flour, organic sauce, award-winning rBGH-free cheese, msg-free sausage & pepperoni, and they offer a gluten free crust, vegan cheese, veggie crumbles for those with special dietary restrictions.
With locations all over the country and many in the DC Metro area, zpizza has been on tour all summer long providing samples, meeting fans, and giving away goodies like t-shirts, gift certificates, and free pizza for a year! Yum!
Join zpizza at their Alexandria location on Tuesday, September 14 from 4-7 pm as they make their final stop on their Summer Tour for samples, prizes, and the opportunity to ask about zpizza ingredients and discuss any other special needs.
Here’s the info for DC Metro readers:
Date: Tues, Sept 14th
Time: 4:00 - 7:00 pm
Where: zpizza Alexandria, VA 6328-C Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22306 (703) 660-8443
Fun: Free samples, the chance to win prizes (t-shirts, gift certificates, free year of pizza-!), and the opportunity to ask about zpizza ingredients and discuss any other special needs!
We love zpizza so I was happy to help Janine share this event with local readers in exchange for a zpizza gift certificate to defray our own personal pizza expenses. Thanks zpizza!
MJ is working on an article on Kids' Digital Lives and has also been approached by the Chicago school district to present a series of seminars to educate parents about online applications and safety issues.
"We belong to a high tech school and at least half of the parents have no idea. And kids opening FB accounts are getting younger."
Oh so true!
If you can help MJ out, please feel free to review the survey before asking your child to take it.
At last week’s Twitter party I gave away one of the two backpacks that were for my Fill the Backpack giveaway but you still have the opportunity to win the second one which will be given away on Wednesday, September 15. There are also other participating bloggers would love for you to come enter their giveways for backpacks containing fabulous products from companies like LeapFrog.
LeapFrog products are growing up and while there is still a wealth of great content to foster math and reading skills, now there’s a wide range of new products that satisfy early elementary ages through the tween years for the just released Explorer handheld and also the Tag that your family knows and loves. Spending money on the initial LeapFrog device can certainly be seen as an investment but the new content ensures that there will be new learning opportunities that engage young users as they grow.
When our daughter was first learning to read, Tag and classic stories like Green Eggs and Ham, Miss Spider’s Tea Party, and Click, Clack, Moo helped her develop her reading skills even on the go. Tag enabled her to learn one to one correspondence, increase her sight word vocabulary, and engage her in fun learning games by tapping on the picture.
Now the new Tag United States of America Map satisfies her never-ending curiosity about United States geography. The new double sided interactive map measures 35” x 20” puts the United States at her fingertips with over 45 games that allow her to learn map skills such as north, east, south, and west and the different features of a map. She’s also learning about the diversity of our nation’s regions like mountainous regions, deserts, lakes, and rivers. The map allows her to visit natural and manmade wonders and learn fun facts about the various animals that inhabit our country.
LeapFrog’s newest device- Leapster Explorer ($69.99)- provides handheld learning experiences in a portable device designed for ages 4-9. The latest learning gadget from LeapFrog serves as a mobile hub for downloadable Leaplet Learning Apps which include eBooks, video, games, and flash cards that auto adjust during game play according to a child’s needs and skills. Just as with other LeapFrog devices like Tag, Leapster 2, and Didj, parents can track their child’s play and progress on the Explorer through the LeapFrog Learning Path.
The Explorer features a myriad of content through downloadable Leaplet Learning Apps and cartridges ($24.99). Apps such as eBooks, video, games, and flash cards feature favorite characters that can help motivate a child to learn. Kids can practice story comprehension, phonics, and letters through Disney Princess: Pop-Up Story Adventure or with Buzz and Woody in Disney-Pixar Toy Story 3. Content for ages 5-8 features Disney Fairies and Wolverine and X-Men while 1-3rd graders can enjoy learning math through NFL Rush Zone, geometry and fractions with SpongeBob or Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
With thoughtful content designed for a range of learners with a variety of interests, Explorer moves beyond LeapFrog’s initial goals of engaging kids in math and reading by providing topics like science, social studies, handwriting, and health for their newest device.
If you haven't already entered to win the $300+ Fill the Backpack prizes from my Ziploc Magnificent Moments of Mom post, please do so now! The contest will close on Wednesday, September 15 with the winner announced later that week.
Take a look at what you could win!
FoxEntertainment is including both Diary of a Wimpy Kid & Marmaduke DVDs in our backpacks.
Ziploc is including a variety of storage containers for conveinient back to school storage.
Popchips donated a variety pack of popchips & variety of coupons to each backpack.
Every backpack will include BitDefender, security software for your PC.
Orange Circle Studio is sending winners a “Do it all” planner & a family calendar.
The backpack will include a variety of notebooks, folders, and binders from Carolina Pad.
Rose Art is sending you back to school with glitter markers, dry erase board, and fun Color Blanks.
Every backpack will include a ClassWish.org $25 Credit! Perfect for helping your community’s schools!
DreamSakes is giving winners 20 free artwork scans! These are a great way to save or share your child’s masterpieces!
Sun and Earth is sending a sampler pack to each winner.
FamZoo, an online allowance management site, is including a year long membership
Simon & Schuster added a great book, “E is for Ethics,” that will have you and your kids thinking!
The backpack will contain either a LeapFrog Tag Reader with book set and US map, OR a LeapFrog Explorer with 2 games! (Penguins of Madagascar and Toy Story 3)
Stonyfield Farms included coupons, awesome recycled plastic storage containers, & a few other surprises!
Silver Dolphin added the “Human Body” book, and “Facts to Annoy your Teacher” books. Both are for kids!
Visit the other participating sites this month to learn about the other companies who have generously donated items for our Fill the Backpack giveaway! The other 7 blogs are:
Huge thanks to all the companies listed above for their participating but especially to Ziploc and Fox Entertainment for their sponsorship!
I am a weekly contributor to The LeapFrog Community and appreciate LeapFrog providing sample product and donations to our Fill the Backpack campaign but was not compensated for hosting this giveaway or providing reviews.
If there’s a picky eater in your house or you stare blankly at the screen, wondering what to serve each night, Tech Savvy Guest CEO David Feller encourages you to visit the new Yummly.com.
Lauched in late June, Yummly is like Pandora and Netflix, but instead of making personalized listening and viewing suggestions, Yummly.com provides perfect recipes that meets your family's tastes. Yummly 'understands' food and 'learns' what your family like to eat, to intuitively make custom meal recommendations by letting you search 500,000 recipes from leading cooking sites like Epicurious, All Recipes, The Food Network, Gourmet, Food + Wine, Bon Appetit. But enough raves from this food lover and Yummly fan! Here’s David to share more about the site!
Kids always want to do it themselves, but when it comes to making friends, doing homework and eating dinner, we parents want to make sure our kids are making the best possible choices.
Have you ever wished you could find a way to make broccoli and spinach appetizing to your four year old, longed for a way to find a meal that would please the picky palates of your entire family, or maybe just wanted a tool that would let you recalculate the nutritional value of a recipe based on your ingredient substitutions? Finding a nutritious meal that everyone in your family will eat might be difficult, but it’s not impossible - and now, it just got a little easier...
If you’re constantly short on ideas for meals that everyone will eat and enjoy, then Yummly has you covered. Founded on my own distaste for mustard, Yummly was created especially for picky eaters. Our unique recipe search engine, the Yummly FoodFinder, was designed to learn and remember your tastes to make meal planning a breeze. Simply create a profile and share your family’s favorite foods and the ones that you or your little ones refuse to touch with a ten foot pole (after all, it’s all about compromise isn’t it?), and Yummly will instantly narrow your recipe search results to include only recipes that match your family tastes.
Using the various filters in the side bar, you can specify the recipe your hunting for right down to its flavor (salty, sweet, savory, sour or bitter), cuisine type (feeling like Mexican? Mediterranean?), meal course, cost per serving, or the preparation time required to make it. You can also specify specific diets that you observe or allergens you need to avoid - from vegetarian and vegan, to gluten or dairy-free diets - and your preferred recipe source (like Epicurious, AllRecipes and others). And thanks to Yummly’s easy-to-read, step-by-step instructions, you can even start enlisting your own little Wolfgang Puck or Barefoot Contessa to help out.
Once you begin finding and rating recipes, Yummly gets a better idea of what you like and can start making recipe suggestions in accordance with your tastes - the more you use it, the better it gets to know you and ‘understand’ your preferences - and can even deliver weekly hand-selected recipe recommendations right to your email inbox. Gone are the days of aimlessly searching recipe sites trying to find something that looks good and fits with what your family will eat - Yummly brings your next great meal idea right to you in just a few mouse clicks.
With your Yummly profile you can start enjoying other perks as well, like saving recipes with your own tweaks and modifications, making friends with other like-minded foodies to build a community of ‘TasteBuds’, or importing your favorites from other websites to your Yummly recipe box. And we also make it easy to email and print recipes in easy-to-read formats, so you don’t have to worry about spilling on your keyboard when your making your meal. It’s been known to happen! : )
There are countless recipe sources on the web, but Yummly is the only one that gives you everything you need to make cooking and meal planning easy and fun - right in one place. Foodies and non-foodies alike are making Yummly their go-to site for recipes and meal planning because of its approachable, easy-to-use format, great visuals and intelligent search capabilities.
Yummly knows what’s for dinner - do you?
This post and accompanying images were provided courtesy of Yummly. No compensation was received for this post.
“Mommy, I like the lunches that you and Daddy make. Those school lunches look yucky.”
-Little Miss Techie, First Grader
I can understand Little Miss Techie’s avoidance of school lunches despite movements by the First Lady and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's attempts to make them healthier but sometimes it can be a challenge to figure out what to include in the lunch box that will provided needed nutrition to hard working growing brains and bodies.
Since our kids aren’t big sandwich eaters, I always look for new ways to include protein in their diets. Meat rollups, hummus, and yogurt are lunchbox staples in our house.
I love that Stonyfield Organic is one of the companies that is providing items for our Fill the Backpack giveaway. We have been longtime fans of Stonyfield Yogurt. We’ve been to their factory in New Hampshire, I was an instant fan of their Oikos Greek Yogurt upon first bite, and our non-milk drinking Captain Computer practically lives on the 32 ounce containers of strawberry yogurt. We also love their Smoothies that provide very portable protein in a refreshing drinkable format that is perfect for lunch boxes for grownups and kids alike.
New treats that we have recently gotten to try thanks to Fill the Backpack include PopChips. These crunchy snacks are baked, not fried, so they deliver a much healthier crunch factor. While the individual sizes are easy to throw in a lunch box, I prefer to buy the big bags and pack them in appropriately sized reusable bag or Ziplocs (my kids bring them home for reuse!) to cut down on waste and to ensure that the kids get the right portion.
To round out the lunch, throw in some SunMaid raisins with your Stonyfield Smoothie and PopChips to sneak in a serving of fruit and pack everything into a cute reusable lunch bag like the adorable dog one from Peek Kids.
Did you know I’m giving away one of 16 backpacks overflowing with great gifts like from companies like LeapFrog, SunMaid and Carolina Pad?
Enter to win my Fill the Backpack giveaway through my Ziploc Magnificent Mom Moment post. For an extra entry, FIRST enter on my Ziploc post and then come back here to share a list of your kids' must-have lunch box items. Be sure to include your email address or Twitter handle!
I'm a DC Metro area dwelling mom of 2 and former teacher with an background in classroom technology integration & school administration. I am a family internet safety & security expert, social media consultant, regular columnist on The LeapFrog Community, Parenting Connection, Savvy Source, and Mom Blog Magazine, dog owner, car enthusiast, and an avid gardener.
One of the huge hits at this year's BlogHer was Ubisoft’s booth where bloggers had the opportunity to rock out and show their moves in a Just Dance competition and now Just Dance 2 is coming to Blogalicious in just 10 days! The Clever Girls Collective is hosting a party for conference attendees to shake it to Just Dance 2!
As a UbiChamp blogger, I'm excited about the opportunity to review a variety of different games created by UbiSoft for the different gaming platforms. I'm looking foward to trying Michael Jackson The Experience, a dance game that I think will be especially cool on the Xbox Kinect (coming November 10). I'll also be hosting giveaways throughout the fall months!
To enter, visit the UbiSoft site and leave a comment with the game you would be most interested to try. Leave your email or Twitter handle for your entry to count.
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