Jasper is Tagged!

Jasper is always running off with Roo's Leapfrog Tag Reader so we were pretty excited when we heard about the new Leapfrog Tag Junior, a similar learning device made for younger book lovers.



The pen-like Tag Reader is a bit unwieldy for Jasper to use but the Tag Junior is just his size. It was specially designed for children aged 2-4, with an appealingly chubby ad easy-to-grasp shape. The books in the Tag Junior series are smaller and sturdier, too, with glossy cardboard pages that can withstand toddler abuse. And teeth. (Not that either of my kids would ever gnaw on a book…)



Like its older sibling the Tag Junior also allows parents to view their childrens' progress online via the Learning Path. Since the audio component is stored in the Tag Junior, you can see what your child was engaged with and for how long, not to mention what they might be struggling with or be drawn to from an academic standpoint. For example, it tells me that "Jasper recently spent 22 minutes engaged with Tag Junior Included Title- If I Were" and that the skills he has explored include "Reading Basics, Comprehension and Life Science."



I think it's a great device but I have two issues with it and with its predecessor: first, it's a big pain to only be able to access the audio for five books at a time. It's not a big deal or particularly difficult to plug the reader into the USB drive and transfer files but it would be awesome if you didn't have to and could just download the information every time you bought a book. Secondly, I was disappointed that you can't download the audio files from regular Tag Reader books onto the Tag Junior, although apparently you can read Tag Junior books with the original Tag Reader. Since Roo has amassed quite a library of Tag Reader books, it would be great if Jasper could "read" them with his Tag Junior, too. I know there are many titles that appeal to both age levels, especially the classic storybooks like Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, which Roo and Jasper have enjoyed together often. It would be great if Jasper could use his Tag Junior on that one, even though it's technically his sister's book. I'm crossing my fingers there will be a way to do that eventually. Other that that minor quibble, to say that Jasper enjoys the Tag Junior would be an understatement!





Leapfrog provided the Tag Junior for our review but we did not receive any additional compensation. Just so you know.

Public Service Announcement

In case you're wondering, I'm not participating in any kind of blackout. I'm just drowning in summer fun with the family…which seems to preclude the clickety clack of the keyboard. I'll be back soon. Scout's honor. (Seriously, I was a Brownie back in the dark ages.)

Epic Summer

We haven't been on a family vacation this year. Actually, we haven't been on a family vacation en masse since Jasper was born, which really needs to be rectified soon since he's already two. One of the reasons we haven't has been money, sure, but it's also because it's so hard to find vacation options that truly offer something for everyone in the family and aren't just a giant tourist trap. What to do if your family wants to experience nature and luxury simultaneously?



Vail Resorts has created Epic Summer as an antidote to pedestrian family vacations. The all-inclusive packages allow your family to experience the scenic outdoor adventureland that is Colorado, with pre-planned itineraries for four or seven day trips. Pre-planned vacation tours aren't just for black sock-wearing octogenarians anymore. Epic Summer tours pack in horseback riding, hiking, rafting and picnicking with historical tours and fine dining. Each tour is led by an experienced guide who will transport you to your destination and give you the local's lay of the land. Activity locations include popular destinations such as Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Rocky Mountain National Park. I've only seen these towns covered in snow so I can only imagine what they look like blanketed in wildflowers!



Epic Summer is especially great for kids between 6 and 12. Reservation agents try to pair families with similarly-aged children to maximize the fun for everyone. The wildlife watching and outdoor activities are also tailored to give kids something to do while adults can relax a bit. I can see my kids enjoying getting to know the guide and group and asking a zillion questions but they're too young for the trip, at 5 and 2. Maybe in a couple of years…



I wrote this review while participating in a blog and giveaway campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Epic Summer and Vail Resorts. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Goooooal!, Jasper's Haircut and Other Kid Pictures

Obviously, I was suffering from post-BlogHer stress syndrome this week and couldn't manage to get a Wordless Wednesday post up. This is a condolence post for those of you who simply cannot go a week without scads of pictures of my beauteous kiddos. Hi, Dad!



Taking the kids to Sam's the day after returning from such a whirlwind trip was enough to put me on high blood pressure medicine. No joke! They may look sweet but these two are devil spawn. I blame Bob.



They're much easier to deal with when untethered in the wild. I got them this mini soccer goal set to try and wear them out. Roo likes the trash talking element of sports while Jasper prefers kicking balls into poison ivy. Score!




Sometimes Jasper likes to up his cuteness factor by getting as close as possible to any of our six cats. T. Rex is probably the most tolerant, although Chunk lets Roo lead him on a leash like a puppy. I think Rex feels like Jasper is his twin. They have very similar personalities, both wanting to be stroked and adored constantly. And both have crazy, sweaty bedhead.




One day, Jasper had sweet blondish flyaway curls (okay, there was a serious dreadlock thing going on in the back) and then suddenly…



…he is all grown up! Maybe he'll be able to keep up with that pesky Roo now. There's gonna be trouble, people.



The weather has been unusually mild since and I appreciate the reprieve since August in Kansas usually feels like living in a convection oven. It's been really great being able to hang out in the backyard without melting. Idyllic, even. Roo likes to blow bubbles and Jasper likes to chase them. It's really a win-win situation for me.






I love this sea bird that Bob made out of old license plates for the upcoming Horn Island show at MCA. Surprisingly graceful swaying from the crabapple tree.

Smooshies!

Smooshies are plush toys that allow your child to mix and match different crazy limbs and hair and facial features to create their own unique monster. Or alien. Or robot. Or animal. The only limit to what Smooshies can be is your imagination!



Roo and Jasper were both immediately captivated by the bright colors and soft fabrics of the Smooshies. We only received one to review so I actually had to make them take turns playing with it!



Roo liked putting the Smooshie together, while Jasper was more interested in taking it apart. The velcro makes it easy to do both although I think for younger kids it might be better to have bigger velcro flaps, especially for the skinny arms and legs which were a little more tricky to adhere perfectly. They're a great size for kids to tote around and cuddle with and the price is definitely appealing: bodies run $5.99 and additional parts are just $1.99 exclusively at JoAnn.com. My kids had the various appendages strewn all over the house in a matter of minutes!, so the one thing I would like to see with future Smooshies would be a way to contain all the parts- either via a self-contained pocket inside the body or a separate bag.



Roo thought these pink lips looked better on the backside of the Smooshie because she's five and nothing is funnier to a pre-kindergartner than butts… except maybe farts. (Thankfully, Smooshies haven't expanded into a smelly range of accessories yet.) I have to admit that it does make a fetching butt-ruffle effect.



One2One Network supplied us with the Smooshie pictured to facilitate this review. We also have the chance to win a gift card by writing about this toy. Just so you know.

BlogHer: Mostly Awesome

Hands-down, the best thing about BlogHer was the opportunity to meet other bloggers. Specifically, my girls Kathleen and Candice who got to witness just how frickin' long it takes me to get ready to go anywhere. And I think they still like me, anyway. (This picture is from the EyeFiCard BowlHer Flickr stream. Yes, I owned all of those clothing items before I heard of this event.)



I got to mingle with lots of fabulous bloggers, some famous and some not-so-famous, and it was good to realize that we're all pretty much geeks who like to write and/or take pictures. The Shutter Sisters were incredibly gracious in sharing their knowledge and interest of all things photographic and apparently I really need a Nikon D50. Aside from snazzy DSLR cameras that dangled like jewelry from many blogger's necks, my most-coveted item from BlogHer was the Yudu screenprinting machine. It looks easy and relatively economical to use and you can create tons of cool stuff. Way more fun than this photo of Gabrielle would lead you to believe…



I attended several of the panels, although some of my favorites were "Room of Your Own" sessions. Identity/Passions: Enough About You...Who's Reading You? featured an interesting quartet of bloggers (Laura Roeder, Twanna Hines, Ree Drummond and Susan Getgood) discussing readership, community and privacy issues. Totally interesting and I got to give Ree (Pioneer Woman, y'all!!!) some Chicken PooP so I was thrilled. Plus, I turned around during the session and noticed Gudrun sitting behind me... we'd been partners in a gift swap a while back, so it was a crazy coincidence. The kind that seems to happen a lot at BlogHer.



There were celebrity chefs to ogle, like Paula Deen (I couldn't get anywhere close to take a pic with my point-and-shoot) and Rick Bayless:



Listening to the crowd talk about Carson Kressley was almost as entertaining as listening to Carson Kressley talk. I geeked out and didn't even have my photo taken with him so I was happy to come across this one. (This picture is from the BabyJiDesign Flickr stream.) Even though I am smirking and bizarrely tan. Much like Carson, himself, I guess.



Staying in a hotel was nice. Comfy beds, luxurious bedding, the ability to crank the air to like 35º. Thank goodness Kathleen likes to sleep in Arctic conditions, too! The only bummer was not staying long enough to see Chicago. The view from our room was pretty spectacular. I think the tallest building in Wichita is like sixteen stories, no lie.




Companies sent stuff to our rooms, too! Crazy. I was so sad we couldn't take the gorgeous flowers home.



Realistically, though, there was a LOT of stuff to take home. Folks who have been to multiple BlogHers said that the swag lust at this one was insane and I can definitely believe it. There was so much stuff, it was frightening. And people were grabbing for it in very unseemly ways. It kind of creeped me out and made me question just how much stuff I really need when I have too much to review already. This is a picture of my swag pile, pre-packing. Keep in mind, Kathleen had a stack this big over on the other side of the room. We were swimming in stuff. Believe it or not, we were fairly selective in what we took.



The best "swag bag" was definitely from SocialLuxe, which was also the first party we attended. Coincidentally, the President was also at the Hyatt, which made it even more surreal. It was also the first place we witnessed the swag freakouts. People were in a frenzy over the free stuff. They gave you elastic wristbands to claim your goody bag and apparently people were tying them back on to get extra bags. Eeek! I kept thinking "that's someone's mom!" Not cool. And I guess it got even uglier when the bags ran out. I can't imagine yelling at the hosts of a fabulous party with tons of food and drink and entertainment because you didn't get gifts to take home. Double not cool. Most-coveted swag item in the bag: Kodak Zi6 Pocket HD Video Camera. Mine is pink and I am sure I will tell you more about it when I have time to try it out. Most totally random swag was also from the SocialLuxe bag:



Yes, it's a bobbleheaded doll version of Robert Osborne, the Turner Classic Movies guy. Huh? (I would have preferred season two of Mad Men…)



In the end, we had to pare the piles of stuff down into more manageable, packable size. Removing packaging, taking stuff we wouldn't use to the swag recycling booth, etc. If anyone wants to know the perfect swag item for next year, I would recommend duffel bags… my poor bags were busting at the seams.



The baggage handlers had a little note for me, too:



Back home in Wichita, Roo and Jasper hung some welcome signs on my office door:



It's good to be home.

BlogHer 09

Kathleen is such a great roommate! I'm really going to miss her and Candice when we go home. Not to mention Katja, Kristin, Allison, Renee, Sheena, Kim, among many other great new blogger friends. Way cool to watch Design Mom iron and see CityMama and Bad Kitty spur Carson Kressley's spontaneous nudity by gifting him with a Ript Fusion tee (Yummie Tummie's shapewear for men, FYI).

My WiFi is slooooooow and keeps booting me off so I'm just going to post a couple of pictures and tell you all about it next week...

Britax Marathon CS Review

We are a Britax family. Case in point:


Roo in her Marathon, Jasper in his Boulevard. They're like plush recliners for your kids, only with the added bonus of protecting them in the event of a crash. In fact, these carseats are so well-designed, they have been known to keep children safe even when the car they are riding in has been struck by a train! (I would still recommend not stopping on train tracks, in case you were considering doing some home-testing.) That seat was a Roundabout, a convertible seat that is good for rear-facing infants to 40 lb forward-facing kiddos.

We went with the Marathon when Roo was a baby because it has such a long lifespan. Britax carseats are not cheap but they are extremely well-rated and in our experience they are just as durable as they are plush and good-looking. When Jasper outgrew his infant carrier (at six months!), I discovered a new Britax convertible seat. The Boulevard is even cushier than the very similar Marathon (both seats are recommended for children up to 65 lbs) and my hands-down favorite feature for Jasper has been the No Re-thread Harness Adjustment which allows you to adjust the harness height without having to re-thread the harness straps– super handy when you have a rapidly-growing baby/toddler/kid. Roo was a much more gradual grower so it's not as much of an issue to have to switch out the harness height every six months or so when you pull the cover off to wash it.

We recently received a new Britax model, the Marathon CS. The "CS" refers to the Click & Safe audible indicator that helps to determine when the child seat harness is within range of appropriate snugness. I remember taking a carseat safety class when I was pregnant with Roo and being informed that an alarmingly high number of parents were installing their seats improperly AND using the harnesses incorrectly, as well. I think it might have been close to 70%! The Marathon CS is just as comfy and sturdy as its non-clicking predecessor but it does give me a reassuring feeling to know that there is a way to make sure the harness is optimally tightened. Especially since this seat is going to go in grandma's car…

The Click & Safe feature is also available in the Boulevard CS. (Did I mention how totally awesome that No Re-thread Harness Adjustment is for wiggly boys?) The Britax Marathon CS has a MSRP of (USD) $299.99 and can be found wherever quality baby goods are sold.

Wordless Wednesday- Jasper Is Two!

Share your own pictures this week at Wordless Wednesday HQ!

Happy Birthday, Jasper!

You made it to two years! Nice job, little buddy. I love you so much.

Picture Keeper- A Must Have!

***WINNER PICKED 8/7 WITH RANDOM.ORG***

***CONGRATULATIONS, Carol EL!!!***

her comment...
I like that I don't need software to use it.


I'm not so great at organizing photos. It's embarrassing to admit but I haven't backed up or done anything with my photo library on my computer since before Jasper was born. He turns two tomorrow and I have 3000+ photos slowing down my hard drive. Yes, I am a bad techno mommy. Anyway, being lazy as sin led me to discover something new and totally awesome! The Picture Keeper looks like an ordinary USB flash drive stick but it is pre-loaded with software that will automatically detect photos on your computer and copy them for safekeeping. How cool is that?


Unlike so many nifty gadgets I read about, this one is actually compatible with all Windows XP and Vista systems AND, more importantly to me, Mac. Too often we Mac users get shafted on solid, inexpensive technology like this but the Picture Keeper even provides a screen-by-screen tutorial on setting up automatic backup from iPhoto files that was much, much less complicated than I expected. I think it took me two minutes, maximum. And then the Picture Keeper promptly located 5600 photos on my hard drive. Eeek! I already need to upgrade from the 8 GB model I received to try out…

The Picture Keeper is available in several versions, depending on your archiving needs: 4 GB (saves up to 4000 pictures), 8 GB (saves up to 8000 pictures), or 16 GB (saves up to 16,000 pictures). The company also recently introduced the 160 GB PK Pro external hard drive which connects via a USB cable and stores a whopping 160,000 photos! Additionally, you can choose to build your own Picture Keeper by purchasing their proprietary software and using it to format your own drive.

What I find especially useful about the Picture Keeper– aside from its obvious use as a safety net in backing up your important memories– is that it is truly cross-platform and can share information between PC and Mac computers easily, which would be great for sending a zillion trillion grandkid pictures to my Apple-deprived in-laws in West Virginia or my dad in Hawaii. You can also plug the Picture Keeper into any USB-ready digital picture frame for immediate viewing. It really doesn't get any easier, as far as I know. As a matter of fact, it was recently named one of Dr. Toy's Best Vacation Products for Summer 2009 and I would heartily agree.

To enter and win your 4 or 8 GB Picture Keeper, please comment on this post with your favorite thing about the Picture Keeper– is it the ease of use or the low cost or the easy-to-carry-anywhere size that appeals to you most?


Entries will be accepted through August 5th and I'll pick the winner using Random.org. US readers are eligible. Only one entry/comment per person, please.


For an additional entry, post my button on your blog (see code on sidebar), follow my blog, follow me on Twitter, fave me on Technorati or subscribe via email or subscribe via reader. You can also post the picture you'd most want to back up with the Picture Keeper on your blog and link back to this contest! Leave an extra comment letting me know what you did for each additional entry.



Make sure you leave an email address in your comment or that you have one accessible on your blog so you can be contacted if you win!

***Click Giveaways on my sidebar to see what else you could win!***

Problem Solvers Recognized

This is the last weekend the public can vote for their favorite entry of the James Dyson Award, an international competition that is open to product design, industrial design and engineering university level students (or graduates within 3 years of graduation) who have studied in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, and USA. The designer with the highest rating as of Midnight BST on July 20th will receive the US People’s Choice trophy and a chance to progress to the international finals where their work will be viewed by an international judging panel comprising high-profile designers and engineers, academics and journalists. James Dyson, the renowned will make the final judgment, informed by the international judges.

This year’s US-based entries include:

Bag Electronic Series – a line of household electronics which eliminate wasteful packaging.
Fresh, the Shrinking Milk Jug – a milk container that keeps air out and allows milk to stay fresh nearly a week longer.
Galileo – a manual wheelchair with a power assist function that uses saved kinetic energy to propel the chair forward without the use of a battery.
New Water – a redesigned mop wringer with filters throughout the front outputs and base of the enclosure.
Roto – a bedside clock that allows someone to read it from 360 degrees.

My favorite entry is the Rollie Pollie Cleaner, which combines the fun of a ride on or push toy with the functionality of a carpet sweeper. It might not be an earth-shaking, world-changing invention like some of the other entries, but if you've ever secretly wished to tape dustcloths to your baby's onesies, this one's for you…


The winner of the James Dyson Award 2008 was Michael Chen, from Middlesex University in the UK, who designed Reactiv, a cycling jacket that communicates a cyclist’s intentions to other road users.



Winning the James Dyson Award came as a surprise to me. I’m immensely proud to have been selected from a list of such outstanding product designers from around the world. And to be personally selected by James Dyson himself made it more special. The James Dyson Award has given me many new opportunities and much publicity for my designs. -- Michael Chen

Live, in Person!

I know I've been lax on the personal stuff lately but there's a feature on me over at Katydid and Kid today if you've been wanting to know a little bit more about me. Yeah, right…



Kathleen is my BlogHer roomie for next week and I am so excited to hang out with her in person. We'll be the ones hanging out in the corner, talking about our kids, come say hi… as an added incentive (along with our obviously charming personalities and covetable business cards), I'll be handing out goodies from Chicken Poop, Twisted Silver and Mayron's Good Baby while supplies last!

Green Enough

Leave it to the geniuses at The Onion to create the perfect eco-conscious statement water bottle…



On sale now for $16 at The Onion Store.

Love and Marriage

We're going to a birthday party for one of Roo's classmates this afternoon. Roo says she's going to marry him, which I think is hilarious. Here is the "card" she made for him, it's a picture of Roo and Gene getting married!

Wordless Wednesday- Pool

And, yes, I am too cheap to waste swim diapers in our own backyard…



Share your own pictures this week at Wordless Wednesday HQ!

Waiting

I'm writing this from the frontseat of my mom's car, parked in the lot of Exploration Place. Jasper fell asleep en route and I don't really want to subject my aunt and cousins (or Roo and grandma, for that matter) to my nemesis, overtired and cranky boy.



This summer has been a giant exercise in waiting. Trying to balance Jasper's nap schedule with Roo's activities, spend time with family and friends, find time for myself, waiting for BlogHer as a pivotal demarcation of time. It's been hard for me to maintain a blogging schedule and I apologize profusely for that- especially to my patient and merciful giveaway sponsors! I hope I haven't bored anyone so much that they won't come back once the heat and lethargy have subsided... Regular programming will return; hopefully sooner than later.

You'll just have to wait for ME to wake up...

--Post From My iPhone

Welcome, Space Monkey!

Laura, my compatriot from Mums the Wurd, has launched a seriously cool project with her husband and a couple of their good friends. Their new brainchild is Space Monkey, an online gallery/storefront where you can buy ready to hang 12″ x 12″ canvas prints (high gloss or matte finish) signed by the artists. Eventually they plan to expand their offerings to include clothing, toys and more. Laura's husband, Elliott, is the proprietor of an Ebay collectibles shop and they have two little boys, so they definitely know what grabs and holds kids' interests… and what will span the test of time. I'm partial to the Stitch-Kins, which blend the homespun charm of rag dolls with cuddly critters.



In honor of Space Monkey's grand opening, they're offering my readers a 15% discount using the code BLASTOFF (expires August 1st). They're also offering $20 off of their adorable Dino-Shores line, this week only!