5-in-1 Kids Pack game for the iPhone and iPad

55-in-1 Kids Pack is currently in the app store for an introductory price of $.99!

This app is also available for the iPad: 5-in-1 Kids Pack HD

Learn more about the app on Bacciz’s website.

Earth Day and Dr. Seuss iPhone Apps

OThe Lorax eBook is available in the App Store for $3.99 (one app specially designed for both the iPhone and iPad with no additional charge)

The Lorax Garden children’s game is $2.99

Dr. Seuss Senders, greeting card sayings and quotes, is also $2.99.

Their Press Release is available here.

More info can be found on Oceanhouse Media’s site here.

Simply… Go-Gurt Review and Giveaway

Wanything healthy. One thing both of them really like are the Simply… Go-Gurt yogurt tubes. These snacks are low fat, a good source of calcium and contain no high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors. They come in two flavors: Strawberry and Mixed Berry.

The fact that the yogurt comes in tubes is especially convenient because my kids never seem to sit down to do anything. Even when they eat. They take a bite, run around the room. Take another bite. Snacks that can be taken on the go are snacks that are more likely to be finished!

We received a “Simplify Your Life” prize pack from Yoplait through MyBlogSpark. It included a coupon for a free sample of Simply… Go-Gurt, a pocket Etch a Sketch, weekly planner and a seat back organizer. Well, I picked up our Simply… Go-Gurt sample on Friday morning and it barely made it through the weekend. The kids devour this stuff. (To be honest, we normally buy this stuff in bulk from Costco! LOL!)

So, I have a few things to offer you. First, at the bottom of this post, you’ll see a graphic. The first 30 people to click on the “Try it Free” tab will receive a coupon for a free package of Simply… Go-Gurt. (After the 30 coupons are claimed – there will be a coupon for $1.10 off coupon). On the “Weigh In” tab, you can read what other people are saying about Simply… Go-Gurt and give your thoughts. Or spread the coupon love and click the “Spread the savings” to include a coupon on your site or tell others about the coupon.

HOW TO ENTER THE “SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE” PRIZE PACK GIVEAWAY

1) To enter the contest for the “Simplify Your Life” prize pack giveaway, please leave a comment on this post and share a wholesome snacking tip that works with your kids. (Required. Value: 1 entry.)

Extra Optional Entries
2) Tweet about this post. (and leave a comment here telling me you did). Click here to tweet about the post 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 April 21st, 2010 at 10pm MST. There is no purchase necessary to enter the contest. I will be using random.org to choose the winner. I’ll contact the winner 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: The coupon, prize pack, and giveaway have all been provided by Yoplait through MyBlogSpark.

Life Update

I‘m totally uninspired to write a deep reflective post about anything in particular in my life. We’re just going through the days. So here’s a random scattering of things going on in my life at the moment…

Freelance work has kept me pretty busy – not as busy as it was a few weeks ago (that much busy would have killed me if it kept up!) Still – it’s been hectic enough that eating healthy has taken a back seat. Many dinners have crept up before I could get a handle on things and we’d end up ordering out. Expensive and unhealthy. I finally broke down and signed my saturday morning away to make a bunch of meals through Dream Dinners. I was at first not looking forward to it – but it didn’t take long (about an hour and a half start to finish to prep 12 dinners) and now we have 3 meals a week for the next month ready to go. All relatively healthy (Well at least it’s better and cheaper than the takeout we’ve been getting!)

I’m still waiting on an evaluation to resolve the other issue I discussed. Just a little more info on it: Rachel’s grades have been terrible this year. It’s weird because she’s really very bright, her reading level is well above her grade level – but she has never done as well as I thought she could. But this year is by far the worst. I’m honestly wondering if they’ll let her move to 5th grade. Unfortunately I wasn’t aware of how bad it was until parent teacher conferences a few weeks ago. (Long story – but yeah, I was totally kept out of the loop and I’m REALLY pissed about it. At this point, really how much can we do to get her grades up??!!) Some things in particular that I’ve been seeing have really made me wonder about whether or not she has ADHD. (Not the hyperactivity – but the inattentive type) She’s extremely disorganized. She does really sloppy work and just rushes through it to get it done quick – so she makes a ton of careless mistakes. If you call her on it and make her go back, she’s often able to see her errors. Part of the reason for her bad grades is because she is constantly losing the papers she needs to work on or turn in. When I stand over her shoulder and make her do her homework, she doesn’t really fight me on it – but it is a bit of a struggle to keep her on task. It’s easier when I make lists for her for everything. Including what she needs to do to get ready in the morning – otherwise she’d forget really basic things like brushing her hair or teeth! (And my telling her to go and do it isn’t enough. It’s like if a bird flies by the window, she’s on another track and she won’t do what she was supposed to) Even the religious school teacher said she’ll call on Rachel in class when they’re having a class discussion and it’s like Rachel was checked out the whole time. So now I’m just waiting to see a specialist to have her evaluated. I hesitated to bring it up on the blog because I know there’s all sorts of hype about ADHD – how they’re “diagnosing all kids with it and just dumping drugs on them” or something. Or how people blame TV and video games for the rise in ADHD. (I think they recently proved that to have no effect anyway) I don’t want to hear about how if we change our eating habits and eat all whole foods, etc. how it will cure her. I have started giving her Omega-3 supplements – which I did see some reliable data on how it can improve kids with ADHD, but I’m not convinced that it’s having any kind of a noticeable impact. I’m going to keep it up because I still think it’s probably a good thing for the kids to have – but it’s not a cure for ADHD. All I want right now is a diagnosis. I don’t want to hear how she has to “try harder” and this is all her fault. The level of disorganization, and the level of how much she seems to have trouble with the work that involves a certain level of sustained mental effort – I really don’t think it’s her not trying. And to be honest, I’ve had my suspicions about her since Kindergarten – but of course no one would evalute her for ADHD then! I just want an evaluation, and then we’ll have a plan of action. Whether it be medication or not (I don’t think she’s severe so maybe it’s just a matter of therapy to help her) – I can’t get help until I know and have proof of what the problem is.

=deep breath=

Anyway – moving on… Passover really took a backseat this year. In the past, my parents have come out for some part of it and we’ve had a seder with them – but they couldn’t make it out this year. They do have a big seder at the new Synagogue we’re a part of now, but Zachary is such a spaz that I didn’t want to deal with bringing him. (And it would have had to be me and the kids alone, because Sam wouldn’t have been able to make it out of work in time for the seder).

Sam doesn’t really do the Easter thing with the exception of the candy. LOL! His mom sent the kids a big care package of chocolate and jelly beans – we were able to hold them off until today and now they’re all in a sugar coma.

Speaking of Sam – his job is really unstable right now. I have no idea how this year is going to play out, but it doesn’t look good. Oy.

Anyway – our plans for the day: we’re going to see that new animated movie “How to train a dragon”. (Speaking of movies, we finally got a babysitter and got out to see Avatar last week. Awesome movie!!! I’m so glad we were able to see it before it left the theaters. I’m definitely going to get the blu-ray of that when it comes out too.)

So about the babysitter – after the fiasco with the last babysitter (found out she was lying about a whole bunch of things and had basically “permanently borrowed” someone’s car. That someone showed up on OUR doorstep to collect said car from her… OY!!!) – we hadn’t been able to find anyone and I finally caved in and signed up for a membership with SitterCity.com. SO GLAD I did. We’ve now found this girl, she actually lives really close to us – maybe 2 minutes away, IF that. So far the kids haven’t scared her away yet and as far as we can tell she doesn’t seem to have any serious mental defects like the last one. LOL!

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)