Preschool Apps

If you are like me then you let your child play with electronic devices only when necessary, like when you are trying to cook, or clean, or give the dog a bath, or pack a suitcase, or get rid of a headache, or talk to gramma on the phone, etc.   The child has gotten pretty good at unlocking both my phone and Kindle Fire HD and can navigate to his favorite apps without my help (thankyouverymuchmama).  When I first looked for apps for Giddy I had no idea where to start so here are a few of our very most favorites for those of you who are new to preschool tech:

1. Preschool Monkey Lunchbox

This thing is insane and essentially toddler learning crack.  There is a monkey and he asks you to perform a task, maybe count some apples, pick out the biggest grapes, or select the word that starts with B.  After you perform several tasks you GET A STICKER.  

2. Another Monster at the End of This Book

Genius!  I am a huge fan of this book and love that it is now an app.  Grover and Elmo tell you the story and you get to help them both by either keeping the pages from turning or undoing Grover's traps.  Giddy can't get enough of knocking over the blocks!  Very easy to navigate and we aren't sick of it yet.  I won't spoil the ending for you but just know, there is a monster, or two, at the end of the story.

3. Peppa Pig

If you love Peppa you need this app.  You actually get to play Happy Mrs. Chicken.  'Nuff said.

4. Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

Based on the sweet natured show from the Fred Rogers Foundation this app lets kids play with Daniel Tiger in 4 different ways.  You can play with stickers, help put him to bed, play doctor, or explore the bathroom (yep, they get to use as much toilet paper as they want).  Giddy loves all of the games and the music is very soothing.


5. Super Why

Giddy isn't very good at this game but he doesn't care because mama, it's WHY!  Besides the brand recognition it really is a good little learning app with games to help with rhyming, ABCs, spelling, and story completion.

6. My Play Home

This app is great for all ages.  There is a house, a family lives in it, you can interact with all the stuff and move the family around.  It is as good as a real dollhouse but no one has to step on the tiny kitchen table that somehow keeps ending up on the living room floor.  Or is that just me?

Have any other apps to recommend?  Let me know in the comments.

BelVita Breakfast Cookies

This morning I tried the BelVita Cinnamon Brown Sugar Breafast Biscuits that I received in my Influenster Sugar and Spice Vox Box.  That was a lot of capitalized words.

The facts:  There are 4 "biscuits" (largish cookies) per bag.  A whole bag has 230 Calories, 8g of fat, 220mg of sodium, 35g of carbs (3g dietary fiber), 4g of protein, 19g whole grains, and about 10% DV of iron, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and vit B6.   No high fructose corn syrup has touched these biscuits.

My thoughts:  The cookies are pretty!  I know, that's really neither here nor there but it is still true.

I liked the way they tasted, like a hearty graham cracker with a pinch of salt.  They were also very filling and made for a satisfying breakfast, which I wasn't expecting.  However, it damn well better be at 6 Weight Watchers points.  Yep, 6.  I was also kind of disappointed with the vitamin and mineral content, I was expecting some calcium at least, but mostly got riboflavin and thiamin.  The package says that I will be provided with nutritious sustained energy and the package was right.  I did some yoga this morning, glued the legs on some robots, and played with my child before cooking spaghetti for lunch.

According to the information sheet in the Vox Box, these retail at $3.69 for a box of 5 packets.   I found them on Amazon with a 4 pack of 4 selling for $15.70 but the reviews say they are less expensive in stores.

Final verdict:  I would buy this again (not online), assuming I was not on a weight loss plan.

Sugar N' Spice Vox Box

As I mentioned before, Influenster sent me a box of freebies last week.  It was big and orange and heavy.

I opened it up without a clue as to what would be inside and I was pleasantly surprised.

The item I am most excited about it the Vaseline Spray & Go moisturizer.

I didn't even know this existed, had I known I would probably already own it.  We relit our pilot light this evening because winter decided to come to TX after all, you know, in March.  Heater + Me = Dry skin.

Second place in the excitement race goes to the Colgate Optic White whitening system.

   
I have decided to indulge the science teacher in me and go all experimental with this, more on that tomorrow.

I am going to eat these belVita breakfast biscuits tomorrow.

I will have to come up with an excuse to use the Splenda Nectresse and Dickinson's oil controlling towlettes, I'll let you know how that goes.

Anyone else get an Influenster box?  What have you tried so far?

What is up with all of this?

We've all seen them on facebook, twitter, and our blog feeds; Influenster, House Party, Crowdtap, BzzAgent, Swaggable, (and I am sure there are more), basically sites that say they want to connect you with your favorite brands (exciting!).  I think what they really want is to connect their paying brands with you but frankly I am not complaining.   As a member of House Party I received a box full of Hasbro games for free which made for a great New Year's Eve Party.  Free.  As in no money.  Believe me, I was shocked when it turned out not to be a scam, too.  I joined Influenster a while back and promptly forgot about it.  Last week I received a box of free stuff in the mail that made me feel like a big time poser.  Sure I love the free stuff but am I upholding my part of the bargain?  Fast forward to today and this new blog.  I am going to actually tell the world what I think about the products in my house.  Some of those products may have been sent to me by a company specifically so I can provide them with free advertising, so I will spread the word, even if that word is "Oh hell no."   Other products will be things we use everyday that I love/hate/saw near my computer.  I figure I already feel the need to tell the people in my life about what they should and should not be buying, why not tell strangers?  And finally other products will be things I have seen ads for and specifically purchased to review.  I also like to call these "things this blog gave me an excuse to buy."

So listen up folk, here's what I think...