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On Force Friday, this is the droid you’re looking for

GEAR, tech, toys By September 14, 2016 No Comments

Raise your hand if you’re a Star Wars fan, married to a Star Wars fan or raising a Star Wars fan. If your hand is up, you probably know that Force Friday is the day when all the new Star Wars toys, gadgets, and gizmos are released for the holiday season.

Last year, Sphero took the world by storm with their BB-8 droid. This little robot toy rolled it’s way into the hearts of kids, leading tech writers and regular old Star Wars-loving moms like me. This year, it’s even better. I had the chance to attend a special sneak peek of Sphero’s lineup for Force Friday and it does not disappoint.

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Huawei Honor 8 Unlocked Smartphone

GEAR, tech By September 3, 2016 No Comments

Being tied down is always horrible. Especially is if costs a ton of money and you can’t get our of contracts. That’s why carrying an unlocked smartphone is a smart move. The new Huawei Honor 8 unlocked smartphone is now available in an exclusive Sapphire Blue colorway only at Best Buy (online and in store), and will be the perfect accessory to carry you into fall.

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#BICFFYW

Moms—Keeping Handwriting Alive, One Letter at a Time #BICFFYW

grow, play, tech By August 31, 2016 1 Comment

My daughter just started preschool and all I can think about is how fast time flies. As parents, I guess we don’t really see the time passing us by until the day we watch our babies walk…out the door for their first day of university.

“Wait..what do you mean you don’t need your blankie anymore?!”

But enough projecting, sometimes it’s all we can do to keep up with their learning pace, so when my three and a half year old started correcting me in our dialogue, I realized that it might be time to get her into preschool.

So much has changed in the school system since my time, and (as a writer and a self-proclaimed anglophile/English history fanatic) I was really sad to hear about the phasing out of cursive writing in schools. Handwriting is an art, perhaps, but it also serves a very basic and necessary function: communication. Once cursive is gone, it won’t be long before the almighty type will begin to chip away at all the options for putting pen to paper. But I will be here to set the example for my child—when she’s ready, she’ll learn it from me.

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olympic moms

Lessons from the Games: Olympic Moms represent all of us

fitness, grow, LIVE, play, self By August 30, 2016 No Comments

I don’t know about you—but my body is definitely not the same since I gave birth. Sparing the gory details, let’s just say that some parts are not where they once were. So, for that reason (among many others), I was blown away by watching the Olympic champions competing in Rio de Janeiro this year…who also happen to be moms.

“How do they do it?” I ask myself. These moms prove that women aren’t past their prime after producing life, instead they highlight how powerful moms are by competing and excelling in the Olympic games. I figure, perhaps it’s because of how powerful we have to be every single day. I mean, let’s be real: women who can withstand childbirth can break records in any endeavour we set our minds to. We can achieve all of our goals and make our dreams come true, because we’ve already faced the greatest challenge: kids.

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, Book Review

books, GEAR By August 18, 2016 No Comments

On July 21, 2007 hundreds of thousands of addicts around the world raced to the bookstore to pick up the last book in the Harry Potter series, I among them. With the treasure safely in my clutches, I practically flew home like a seeker in a Quidditch match and did not leave again until I’d read every last word.

Harry Potter books were themselves magic. There were 7 books in the series and each one launched us deep into a world where vibrant notions of darkness and light came vividly to life. And each time, you turned the last page and wanted more. We’d all resigned to the end, however. We were promised seven and we took mournful leave of the Harry’s story and waited for the films to come out.

And then, nine years later, there were rumblings. Harry was back.

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little black shoe

Finally, the Little Black Shoe is here. Moms, take note.

GEAR, style By August 15, 2016 No Comments

Every mom knows the importance of a perfect LBD. It’s the one thing in your closet you can count on to make you feel comfortable and pretty at once, transforming you from the frazzled mom who just spent the morning scrubbing poo off of a pink stuffed elephant, into an elegant, got-it-together emblem of supreme womanhood. And if you have a little black dress that goes from the playground to date night—even better.

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Power Up the Imagination

GEAR, tech, toys By August 9, 2016 74 Comments

We’re in the home-stretch of summer and my kids are getting fidgety. I don’t want them constantly watching TV or allowing them to morph into screen zombies, and yet their creativity is waning. Sending them outside on bug hunts, creating forts and harvesting their gardens has come and gone. We all know how crucial toys, games and play are for a child’s development, but sometimes we all run out of ideas. Thankfully we found a way to power up the imagination!

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VEX robotic arm

No Summer Vexation Here

GEAR, tech, toys By July 19, 2016 No Comments

The summer boredom had set in, and the kids were driving me batty. “Can we have screens? Mama, can you take us to X,Y, or Z? Can I do something dangerous?” And then the Vex arrived. Hexbugs have always been a hit in our house, and now the company has innovated for older kids (and parents!). Exclusively from HEXBUG comes the VEX Robotic Arm – a completely functional construction kit inspired by real industrial robot arms.

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Epson Ecotank Printer

Epson Expression EcoTank Printer

GEAR, tech By June 30, 2016 Tags: , , , , No Comments

What’s worse than running out of printer ink when the kids remember homework due TOMORROW and it’s bedtime? Not much. Epson has come out with a new printer called the Ecotank, which comes with enough ink in the box to last 2 years and frees you from never-ending cartridge-buying, as the low-cost ink comes in bottles that you actually pour into the printer.

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puro headphones

Sound Epidemic: Save Your Kids’ Ears.

GEAR, health, kids, tech By June 30, 2016 1 Comment

My father doesn’t like to sit still. He’s always outside: tinkering with his tractor, using a chainsaw, or flying in his small airplane. He got his pilot’s license the same year I was born and I grew up riding alongside him in his single engine airplane, peering out the window, yelling at the top of our lungs to communicate with each other.

Over the years, his love for flight hasn’t changed, but now I have to yell to speak to him even when we’re on the ground. The constant exposure to the deafening sound of the engine took its toll and, at 60 years old, he was forced to admit he needed hearing aids.

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