iPhone App Giveaway – iMoo

A few months ago, I reviewed a very cute iPhone app called iMoo. Just a quick recap - it's an electronic version of one of those "moo boxes" - with the added bonus that you can make your own recordings. I have an extra promo code to give away (free). If you'd like the application, leave me a comment. (First one to comment gets it). This offer is only good for one week. (until 4/4/2010)

Hello Muddah, hello Faddah, Here I am at Camp Granada

June is fast approaching. Yes, it's only March, and you may disagree with me - but to me - it seems like June will be here much sooner than I'm prepared for. For the first time ever, I've signed Rachel up to go to a (Jewish) sleep-away camp for two weeks. She's going to have an absolutely fantabulous time, I know. The activities they're going to do there are just amazing: Horseback riding, Archery, various sports: hiking, volleyball, softball, climbing. There's all sorts of artistic activities too: music, drama, arts and crafts, photography. And of course, there is an exposure to Judaism that I can't fully give her here. She'll be with other Jewish kids (although kids of other faiths are welcome to go to the camp - but my guess is that is somewhat rare). I'm hoping she will walk away from the camp with a deeper understanding of what it means to be Jewish - even though we don't always follow all the "rules" here at home. There's an enormously long list of items I have to send her with. Many things I'll have to buy (like a frame backpack - the kids hike and camp out in the woods one night). I have no idea how I'm going to fit all these things in her suitcase... ... and this begins the explanation of why June feels like an unstoppable train headed this way. As much as I know she's going to have an incredible time. As much as she's looking forward to it - she's barely been away from home for an overnight. Granted she's very independent, but still. I know she's not worried... but I sure am. They have a policy of not letting the kids contact the parents unless there's a serious problem because they feel that it makes things worse and they're trained and used to dealing with any seperation issues.... but still.... Two weeks. And!... AND!... She has to fly to this camp on her own. Is this an isnanity test or what?!? Everyone has been saying this camp is amazing. She'll be fine. And really, I think I'm not so much worried about her... I think it's me who will be freaking out the two weeks she's away. Meanwhile, she will be too busy having the time of her life. She'll come home happy as a clam, and I'll be a nervous wreck. LOL! Have you ever heard this song? Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh Here I am at Camp Granada Camp is very entertaining And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining! I went hiking with Joyce Fivey, He developed poison ivy. You remember Lennard Skynard, He got tomain poisoning last night after dinner! All the counselors hate the waiters, And the lake has alligators! And the head coach wants no sissies, So he reads to us from something called 'Ulysses'. No, I don't want (this should scare ya), But my bunkmate has malaria! You remember Geoffrey Hardy, They're about to organize a searching party! Take me home, oh mother, father. Take me home, I hate Grenada. Don't leave me out in the forest, Where I might get eaten by a bear! Take me home, I promise that I will not make noise, Or mess the house with other boys. Oh please don't make me stay; I've been here one whole day! Dearest father, darling mother, How's my precious little brother? Let me come home if you miss me; I would even let Aunt Bertha hug and kiss me! Wait a minute; it stopped hailing. Guys are swimming, guys are sailing. Playing baseball; gee that's better. Mother, father, kindly disregard this letter!

Brand new day

" These are not the words you want to hear, half-asleep, 5am in the morning. (Not that those words are ok anytime of the day) And thus began my day of balancing taking care of Zach while lugging my laptop around with me and trying to keep up with emails and whatever little projects I could get done. Fact of the matter was that he ended up being fine. I kept him home for the day, because I didn't know what that was all about and wanted to keep an eye on him to be sure he was ok. But mostly he just wanted to play all day. Chalk it up to another day I'm thankful for my "work-at-home" life - even if I didn't get that much work done today. heh.

Posted by Jennifer on Mar 25, 2010 in family | 0 comments

Silence

Sometimes I want to come on here and apologize for being absent - but I have been purposefully silent. When this blog went public again, it was important for me to step back and not be as open as I had been. There are times that I really miss the ability to pour my soul out somewhere. But pouring your soul out doesn't always fix things, sometimes it makes things worse. And with a password protected blog, sometimes it felt like it didn't matter. If I stood in the woods and poured my soul out to the silence, did it really count? No. Kind of like the tree that never fell there too. I don't know what the solution is. Maybe that's because the solution keeps changing on me. We're dealing with some family issues that I can't get into great detail about on this blog. It's been hammering away at my strength and has made me go from the very worst deep depression, to having hope again. I know I have to talk about it to deal with it, so I've been confiding in a few friends. It's pretty ironic that as much like an outsider that I feel here, I seem to have more friends here than I have had anywhere else that we've lived. Talking has lessened the weight of this. But I still have to deal with it. And we're weeks and weeks away from anything remotely resemebling a solution or help. IF we'll even get it. I can deal with the problem providing I'm not told again there isn't a problem. There is. But unless the help you need is going to walk a mile or ten in your shoes, it's hard to get them to see it, I think. I'll just have to wait and see and hold onto that hope my friends gave me.

Easter Village – iPhone App for Kids

IHere is a video about the app. Easter Village: $0.99* *Price at time of this writing.

Barbie in A Mermaid Tale – Review and Giveaway

MBarbie in A Mermaid Tale. This movie is about a girl named Merliah. She goes on an adventure to save her mother and the people of Oceana and meets some new people on the way. One friend she meets is a dolphin named Zuma who helps Merliah defeat her mother's evil sister, Eris. As queen, Eris controls the people of Oceana with whirlpools that are impossible to escape. Merliah has to get three tools to defeat Eris, so she goes on an adventure to get what she needs. To find out more, you'll have to watch the movie. I liked this movie because I think Barbie is amazing, and she gets to have all sorts of adventures. I also love mermaids and sometimes wish I could be one! I would love to be able to breath under water and have a tail of my own. I also like this movie because whoever Barbie is playing, she learns a lesson. In this movie, she learns that what makes you different can be your greatest strength. You should get this movie because there's lots of action and because of Barbie's cool adventures in Malibu and Oceana. Also, at the end of the movie, there is a music video called "She's the Queen of the Waves." ---------------------------- Convincing, no? 😉 If you have a Barbie fan in your house, then you'll be happy to know that I have five copies of Barbie in A Mermaid Tale to giveaway. (1 movie per winner) Here is how you can enter: 1) Leave a comment on this post. (Required. Value: 1 entry.) 2) Tweet about this post. (and leave a comment here telling me you did). Click here to tweet it now. (Optional. Value: 1 entry.) 3) If you have a blog or website, link to this post. (and leave a comment here telling me you did) (Optional. Value: 2 entries.) Contest ends March 22nd, 2010 at 10pm MST. There is no purchase necessary to enter the contest. I will be using random.org to choose the winners. I’ll contact the winners via email, and he/she will have 48 hours to respond. After 48 hours, if I don’t receive a response, another winner will be chosen. *Disclosure note: We received a free copy of the movie for the purpose of this review.

Dr. Seuss iPhone Apps

Dr. Seuss is one of my all time favorite children's book authors. I loved the books as a kid, and as an adult, I still love reading the books to my kids. So it should probably come as no surprise that the Dr. Seuss iPhone apps totally thrill me and my kids.

The Cat In the Hat

Love this book. For some reason, I feel like this book relates to my life on so many levels. From the thing one and thing two ransacking the house (=cough= Zach and Rachel =cough=) to suddenly finding yourself in a mess that is "so deep and so tall" you can not pick it up, there is no way at all... except a cat with a magical room cleaning machine never seems to show up at my doorstep. Hmmm... This eBook has it all. The ability to have it read to you or read it yourself. Little animations, little interactions, even a little background sound, music and effects. (There's settings to turn those off too if you don't like them) This is the way an eBook should be done. The Cat in the Hat: $3.99* (NOTE!! See below about a special price on this app for March 2, 2010 only!!)

Dr. Seuss's ABC

I have to admit - reading this book myself isn't as much fun as reading The Cat in the Hat - but having the eBook read TO YOU it is actually alot more fun. Somehow the reader on the eBook does a much better job. (Maybe it's also because I seem to get tongue tied reading this book long before I'm even halfway in) LOL! Either way - this book is great. Sound effects, interaction. If you leave the book in the middle, it will even remember where you left off and give you the option of starting there when you start the book/app again. Dr. Seuss's ABC: $3.99* (NOTE!! See below about a special price on this app for March 2, 2010 only!!)

Dr. Seuss Camera - The Cat in the Hat Edition

Ok, this is a lot of fun. My kids LOVE playing with the camera on the phone, so this is a no brainer. You can pick out a "frame" and then take a picture or use one from your photo library or camera roll - usually putting someone's face inside a cartoon - and then save it, email it. You can add "stickers" to it, etc. My only comment here is that the icons on the bottom are a little ambigous and took a little getting used to understand what they did. But exploring and playing with the app was so much fun, we didn't mind. Dr. Seuss Camera - The Cat in the Hat Edition: $2.99* (NOTE!! See below about a special price on this app for March 2, 2010 only!!)

NOTE!: So now here's something really cool: Oceanhouse Media (the developer of these apps) is celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday and NEA’s Read Across America Day by dropping all Dr. Seuss iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad apps to $0.99 each for one day only, Tuesday, March 2, 2010. Definitely recommend you scoop these up tomorrow while they're on sale. That's a great deal!! You can read more about that here Click here to learn more, see demos and see more Dr. Seuss apps *prices at time of this writing.