Review: Tap and Teach: The Story of Noah's Ark for Nintendo DS

Lydia (3yo) had a chance to try out a game for Nintendo DS -- Tap and Teach: The Story of Noah's Ark.  It's a new release from South Peak Interactive for kids ages 3 - 6.  Lydia is my little tech-baby, comfortable using her own iPod, our iPad and a few other video games. Until now, we didn't have any DS games that were appropriate for her, so she was excited when I let her use my pink DS to try this one out.

The game has a narration of the Noah's Ark story, which she enjoyed (all my kids love audiobooks), but her favorite part is the coloring pages.  The game also has a few games included to help with reading and music, but she mostly played with the coloring pages and the narrated story.

The graphics are well-done and the game is easy for a 3yo to navigate (granted she's been navigating video games and apps for over a year, but I still think it's easy to navigate.)  I shot a video of her playing with it recently, and I can tell you that it's a big hit.  I look forward to seeing what other titles they add to this series!

(And, I know that's not a pink DS in this video.  That was on the charger, so she was using her Dad's.)




*Disclosure: I received an advance copy of the Nintendo DS game, Noah's Ark to facilitate this review.  No additional compensation was received.*

Review: Pop Chips (and giveaway)

We go through lots of snacks in this house.  I'm always on the lookout for snacks that are healthy, but also appealing as a snack.  I admit that when I first saw Popchips, I didn't pay much attention.  I took a closer look and found that they are potato chips that are neither fried nor baked.  They are "popped" by heating them up to high temperatures.

The next question is, of course, how do they taste?  They are yummy!  I sampled a variety of the flavors and liked every one.  The flavors are definitely strong, and the kids didn't care for salt & pepper or sour cream & onion, but they did like the cheddar and the original flavors.  As a bonus, the original flavor is marked as vegan -- which means my sister who is allergic to dairy can enjoy them.

Each .8 oz bag has 100 calories and 3.5g of fat. The chips are made from all natural ingredients, and no preservatives are added to the chips.  They meet my healthy desires, as well as my snacking desires!

I have a variety pack of single serving bags of Popchips to give away to one of my readers!!  You can enjoy these great snacks if you are chosen by random.org as the winner.  In order to enter the giveaway, please CLICK HERE to go to the giveaway form.  Then, fill in your information as well as the mandatory information below.

**Winner has been chosen & notified! Thank you!!**

I will choose a winner on December 6, 2010 (Happy St. Nick's Day!) so you should be snacking before Christmas.  Good luck & thanks for reading!


*Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of popchips and received a “Get Popped” box of popchips and a $30 gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.*

Review: Whole Foods Gift Box

I was excited when I saw that Whole Foods was offering gift boxes, and even more excited when I received one of my own to review! This video shows you the gift box I received.  Visit Whole Foods Gift Boxes for details on all of their great boxes.



You'll have to forgive the slightly-shaky camera work, apparently Nate had an itch that he was trying to ignore!  Also, I mention wholefoods.com in the video -- which will take you to their site, but it's actually www.wholefoodsmarket.com.

*Disclosure: I received the gift box pictured in the video for review.  No additional compensation was provided.  All opinions are my own.*

Wordless Wednesday - Zombie Christmas

I Need To Talk . . . Apparently quite a lot

Bo is my best friend.  He's the one I want to talk to when I'm having a good day, a bad day, or any kind of day in between.  I need to share my thoughts and ideas and frustrations with someone, and he's usually the recipient of most of it because . . . well, because.  He's my husband and my best friend. The one who understands me more than anyone else, even though I don't think anyone can understand anyone else completely.  He usually sees what I need, and does his best to provide it -- whether it's a mid-afternoon nap or a big hug.

This past 10 days has been difficult for me communication-wise.  First I was gone and while we texted and spoke to each other, we didn't have any long conversations as there was much going on.  And now he's gone and very busy and our opportunity for conversations has been extremely limited.  Okay, non-existent.  I've done my best to wait for his calls . . . and then they've been quick "How was your day. Fine. And yours? Oh, wait, I've got another call . . . I'm expected somewhere . . . I am distracted by shiny things and need to hang up but I'll call you back" and then he doesn't.

I'm not angry, but I am lonely and missing his companionship.  Because I do have a need to talk and communicate and share and he's not here and not available either. So while I'm not angry, I'm frustrated.  And, I realize that even though I've always said I wouldn't re-marry I think I would go crazy if I didn't, so I'm not going to say that anymore.  Sorry, babe. 

Sunday can't come soon enough.

Tell Me Thursday - Hospital Bill

When I was in Wisconsin last week, my mom & I were looking at some old photographs and this bill was included with the pictures.  It's the invoice from my mom's birth and I found it fascinating!

My grandmother stayed in the hospital for 7 days with my mom, and the total bill for those 7 days came to $92.10!

When I gave birth to Colin in 2000, the hospital bill was around $35,000 -- but that was an emergency c-section.  In 2002, Nate's bill was right around $10,000 for a natural delivery.

I stayed in the hospital 3 days after Colin's birth and around 36 hours after Nate's birth.

It almost makes me wish I had saved those bills!  I can't imagine what my grandchildren's births will cost!

I used the Dollar Times inflation calculator to see what $92.10 would be in 2010, and came up with $849.95.  That's a far cry from $10,000!

Review: . . . Featuring Norah Jones

I recently received Norah Jones' new CD, titled . . . Featuring for review.   In fact, I just received it as it was in the pile of mail I came home to on Sunday.

It's been a hectic week. Lydia & I traveled, then came home with enough time to have lunch with Bo before he left for a week.  Lydia and Nate have both been sick, I've had commitments I had to meet, the usual things in our schedule and all without the support of another adult in the house.

Nothing too crazy, but the equilibrium is definitely upset this week.  So, this CD has been a welcome addition to the sounds of the week.

It's mellow, as can be expected from Norah Jones.  It also has covers of some of my favorite songs from childhood -- like Baby It's Cold Outside (with Willie Nelson!! one of my grandmother's favorite singers) and Blue Bayou (featuring M. Ward, who I don't know, but it's a cover of a Linda Ronstadt tune that I remember my dad playing when I was a kid.)  Those 2 songs make it a comforting sort of background noise, but every song on this CD is enjoyable.

The songs were recorded from 2001 to 2010, and this CD is a compilation of duets and collaborations with musicians of diverse styles. I really like this CD and am happy to have it in my collection!

*Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this CD to facilitate my review.  I was also entered into a drawing  for a gift card in exchange for posting within a certain time frame, sponsored by One2One Network.  All opinions expressed are my own.  No additional compensation was provided.*

Interview with Michael Chiarello!!

I was excited about the opportunity to interview Michael Chiarello!  My work schedule didn't mesh with a live video chat, but he was kind enough to answer my questions and send me the video.  As I mentioned before, he is one of my favorite chefs and I have been reading his latest cookbook, Bottega, over the last couple weeks.

I asked him a few questions about holiday cooking, and love his ideas about roasted brussel sprouts and also pumpkin brulee.  The simplified turkey cutlet is something I plan to try as well! I hope you enjoy the interview!



*Disclosure: The interview was arranged by Progresso. I received no compensation or product in exchange for posting.*

Wordless Wednesday - Hospital Bill

Travel with Kids: Wisconsin

At Betty Brinn, in the space shuttle area

Last weekend,  my sister, Lydia and I took a trip to Wisconsin to celebrate my and my mom's birthdays. We went last year in November, too, and were pleasantly surprised when the temperatures were at least 20 degrees warmer than last year.

Lydia still proves to be an excellent traveler, and I think it is just her personality that makes it easy.  Her iPod Touch and our iPad definitely helped pass the time, and I'm grateful for the amazing apps that people create, and how easy it is to load episodes of kid-friendly shows.  I also absolutely love that Netflix has a streaming app for the iPad, because when we had wifi, she was able to watch things straight from our queue.

The trip was short, but we were able to spend some great quality time with my parents, visit downtown Waukesha (including the gelato shop) and the Fox River, visit the Betty Brinn Children's museum (where they accused my brother of being a pedophile since he arrived before we did -- that was fun!!), saw my in-laws and even visited a dairy farm, thanks to my brother's girlfriend.

Even though she wasn't feeling great (she has a lingering cold), it didn't stop her from being gregarious, independent and a delight to everyone around her.  We packed carefully so that we didn't have to check any bags, and she was great about carrying her own backpack through the airports.  She didn't even complain at being woken at 4:30AM so we could catch our early morning flight home.

She said a lot of amusing things, but she kept asking about things in "this world" and how they were different in "our world."  Things like the leaves falling off the trees, and the dreary, gray skies.  I wasn't sure why she was thinking we lived in different worlds, until I came home and continued reading The Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis to the boys.  I have been reading it as a read-a-loud for a couple weeks, and there is much talk of different worlds.  It makes perfect sense that she would see the landscape and lives of those in Wisconsin as a completely different world as the one we live in here in Arizona. 

Traveling with one child is much simpler than traveling with three.  It helps that she is an easy traveler!  (Doesn't mean I didn't miss my boys though!)

(ETA: I realize this post is a grammatical nightmare . . . but I'm exhausted (Did I mention that I came home in time to see Bo off to Minnesota for a week? And that Lydia is sick? And so is Nate? And I have work commitments like crazy to take care of?) and I wanted to get this up before too much time went past because mostly I wanted to remember about Lydia and her worlds.  So, forgive me. )