All posts by Alicia

Insignia Bluetooth Speaker

Wirelessly Stream Music and Audiobooks from your Phone with Insignia Bluetooth Speakers

Best Buy disclaimerMy daily routine starts with reading news on my iPhone before I get out of bed, then the kids and I listen to The Bert Show on iHeartRadio while they get ready for school – again, on my iPhone after which I drive the kids to school.  During the drive we usually listen to the radio but on the way home I listen to a podcast or audiobook, through my iPhone.   Once I’m finished exercising, showering and eating breakfast, I head upstairs to my home office where I get comfy and usually turn on music to start my work day.    Once I’ve gotten into the work day and am not trying to concentrate on responding to the initial emails I play whatever audiobook I’m listening to.  My iPhone is like a third hand I suppose.

While I love being able to listen to music and audiobooks from my iPhone, I’m not crazy about the shallow, often tinny sound it produces when what I want to hear is the depth of the music or emotion in the audiobook reader’s voice.  The iPhone 6 Plus does produce good sound quality, but since the option is out there to have higher quality, deeper sound, I’ll take it over listening directly from the phone any day. Insignia makes portable Bluetooth speakers that will satisfy most any casual music and audiobook listener.   Not only because of the portability of the Bluetooth speakers but because of the sound quality which is very impressive coming from such small devices.

Insignia Bluetooth Speaker

To put the listening range of the Insignia speakers I received to review from Best Buy to the test, I placed the (teardrop shaped) Insignia Bluetooth Speaker on a shelf in my office then took my phone with me as I walked through the upper level of my house.  It played my music up to 25 feet away and with three walls separating my phone and the speaker.  The Plug-In Wall Speaker played music wirelessly approximately 40 feet away, down a flight of stairs, and through two walls.   Impressive! While I prefer the sound produced from the Plug-In Wall Speaker, I like that I can hang the Insignia Bluetooth Speaker from anything like the bar on my bookshelf or rowing machine.  It’s small enough to slip into the cup holder on my treadmill  and I can hook it to a belt loop!   I can’t tell you how many times my iPhone has fallen out of my back pocket right into a bunch of garden soil.. yuck.

Insignia Bluetooth Speaker

 

Once both speakers were connected to my iPhone via Bluetooth, when I was out of range of one speaker, the other speaker would kick in.  That was an unexpected surprise.

The Insignia™ Bluetooth Speakers silicone strap, light weight, splash-proof, and compact design make it easy to take with you anywhere, including by the pool.   After up to 6 hours of playback you can charge the speaker using the built-in USB charging port.

Insignia’s Plug-In Wall Speaker has a built-in power adapter and rechargeable battery so you can listen to your favorite tunes for up to 2 hours when the speaker isn’t plugged.  Designed as a wireless audio solution for your home, it plugs directly into your wall outlets – no wires, shelf space or expensive receiver needed.   I love having this speaker in our kitchen where the outlets at higher on the wall than in a bedroom.   It’s sleek, white design blends in to your home and its portability makes it perfect for taking it with you while you’re on the go.  If you’re into vintage MP3 devices ;), the auxiliary audio input jack connects your non-Bluetooth devices for more listening options.  The fact that this speaker has a built-in power adapter alone makes it a winner to me.  Between the four of us we’re always asking who has what device because they don’t have ‘homes’.  A plug-in wall speaker can have a forever home in one outlet or be moved from room to room and won’t get lost in the shuffle of clearing off the counters or shelves.

Insignia Wall Plug-In Bluetooth Speaker

As I’m writing this, a weather alert came through my phone and it played through the speaker on my bookshelf, not my phone.  That was kind of crazy but made the message clear and easy to hear!

Through September 5, 2015 Best Buy customers will get 30% off any Insignia Portable Bluetooth Speaker purchased at Best Buy!  To redeem this offer online, use code 4331899 at check out. 

 

 

Shaun the Sheep Movie

Shaun the Sheep Movie in Theaters August 5 | Enter to win a Shaun the Sheep Movie Prize Pack!

Shaun the Sheep Movie disclosure

If you’ve been to a movie lately you’ve seen the trailer for “Shaun the Sheep Movie.  From the creators of Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit this movie will be a huge hit with your kids and you’ll love it too!  Landing in theatres August 5th, “Shaun the Sheep Movie is easy to follow for the youngest of viewers, even though it features zero dialogue.  Shaun is the smart one in a herd of goofy wooly stop-motion English sheep who spend their days doing typical sheep things while their caring Farmer keeps them in line with a very stringent schedule.  Shaun and his pals leave the safety of their farm and head into the netherworld of the nearby town in search of their loving, long-time farmer, who has amnesia.  This is when things, almost everything, seems to go wrong! The sheep must adopt disguises and evade the animal catcher, Trumper, in order to find their farmer in the Big City.

At just an hour and 25 minutes long, the claymation movie flies by with laughs, oohs, and ahhs.   The film geared for ages 4-10 stars the popular characters from the long-running children’s television series of the same name.   Meet the movie’s youngest character, Timmy who enjoys copying everything Shaun does in the “Meet Timmy” Featurette below.

Adults will find humor in the film through the use of dialog-free smart wisecracks, visual film puns, including a sequence satirising Silence of the Lambs.  This claymation film wasn’t quick to come to fruition.  Standing seven inches tall, Shaun’s clay model was posed, poked, and reshaped thousands of times resulting in a high quality claymation film you won’t believe isn’t computer generated.   The textures are unbelievable with Shaun’s fleece even having to be stiffened with PVA glue to stop it from catching fire!  Shaun is a true sport! 😉   Model makers crafted 157 human figures and 197 sheep puppets—including 21 for Shaun alone.  Each sheep needed to be covered with 31 inches of fleece.  The miniature environments featured in this film overflow with lovingly rendered detail.

Shaun the Sheep Movie

We’re planning to take my daughter and a friend to see Shaun the Sheep Movie when it comes out in theatres this week.  It’ll be a end-of-the-first-week-of-school celebration!

Connect with Shaun the Sheep Movie fans on Twitter and Facebook. Use the hashtag #ShauntheSheep to share what your kids think about the movie.

To help promote the movie, we partnered with Lionsgate and Influencer Central to bring you a fun giveaway of a Shaun the Sheep Movie package.  The package includes:

  • One (1) Shaun the Sheep Movie Children’s T-Shirt
  • One (1) Shaun the Sheep Movie Adult’s T-Shirt
  • One (1) Shaun the Sheep Movie Headband
  • One (1) book from the Shaun the Sheep Movie book series
  • One (1) Shaun the Sheep Movie poster
  • One (1) Serta Sheep Plush

We’re making this giveaway easy. Just enter your email address (not made public) and complete two additional tasks for extra entries if you’d like.

This giveaway is open to US residents 18+.  No PO Boxes.  Entries accepted through until 12:00 AM EST August 11, 2015.  Winners will be drawn using Rafflecopter’s Random Number Generator. All entries will be verified.  The winner will be notified via e-mail and will have 24 hours to reply before we draw a new winner. No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited. This contest is not affiliated with Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, or Google.

America Insomnia Nation

Tired of Insomnia? So Are 4 Million Other Americans!

Influence Central Disclosure Image

sleepMy husband and I were laying in bed.  He, drifting off to sleep while I was twitching to get up and be productive.  I rolled over and said “you know, sleeping is such a waste of time”.   He was in absolute shock.  It was as if I called his Ford Mustang  the ugliest car in the world, in the meanest way possible.  He values sleep like I would value the idea of living on an isolated island surrounded by peaceful ocean waves, palm trees, and no mosquitos – a lot!

Tim can lay down and be asleep within 3-5 minutes – in just about any situation including camping in a hammock, after playing with the kids on the floor, and even on a staircase.   Yes, that really happened.  If only I could find the photo to show you.   He’s not narcoleptic, he’s just chill and relaxed, without a care in the world.  Many men are like that.  That’s not a familiar scenario for many women.   Women are multitaskers, not necessarily a fabulous trait, I’ve learned.  Our brain tries its hardest to multitask even when we’re in bed trying to go to sleep or when we wake up in the middle of the night.    I thought my inability to fall asleep as quickly as my husband and to be able to stay asleep all night was because I was thinking too much about work, what’s on the agenda the next day, or health.

For me, insomnia began after my car accident.  My body changed, hormones and all, causing major changes including the lack of being able to fall asleep or stay asleep.  I stayed up for nights on end.  Granted, I created some amazing scrapbooks of the kids early years those sleepless nights but I was exhausted after about 72 hours of being awake.  And cranky.  And completely unproductive.  After this bout of sleeplessness happened several times over a 4 month period I talked to my doctor about it.   She requested lab tests (hormone, etc) and diagnosed me with chronic insomnia pretty quickly based on the results and my input.

Fast forward several years.   Since being diagnosed with and finally accepting I have insomnia and it’s not just my ADHD keeping me awake, I have made changes to my evening routine that help me get to sleep and stay asleep.

Five of my Insomnia Conquering Habits

Keep in mind that my doctor and I have found that doing these things works best for me, but they may not work best for you.

  1. I turn my iPhone, iPad, and Kindle off after being in bed for 30 minutes.  I allow myself to watch a show on my iPad or read a book on my Kindle for 30 minutes.  Doing this allows my brain to slow down.
  2. I turn all the lights of in my bedroom, bathroom and nearby hallway.  Even the faintest light can cause trouble when trying to fall asleep.
  3. I refrain from drinking water after 7pm.   I’ve found that when I drink after 7pm, I’m more likely to wake up having to go to the bathroom.  Once I’m awake, that’s it.. I’m awake for the rest of the night.
  4. I am not afraid to take medication to help me get to and stay asleep when needed.  I am a much better person when I’ve had 6-8 hours of consistent sleep.
  5. Don’t worry about sleep.  I used to worry about falling asleep quickly and being able to stay asleep.  Everyone knows that worry doesn’t usually help a situation so I decided to go with the flow and assume every night I was going to fall asleep and stay asleep.

[pdf height=”1300″]http://www.themommyinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Silenor-infographic.pdf[/pdf]

View the full size, printable PDF here.

As a parent with many daily responsibilities, laying our heads on our pillow and closing our eyes at the end of the day proves to be one of the most important steps we can take to stay healthy and be in top shape ourselves and for our kids.   But a new survey shows that on average, nearly three-quarters of Americans are missing out on almost three weeks of sleep per year.   Yikes, that comes out to 470 hours!  As I entered my adult years, I noticed that lack of sleep was glamorized.  Successful friends and peers would boast about how little sleep they got and how busy they were.   I was never that type – before my accident.  I was the first to fall asleep at slumber parties and never felt like I missed a thing by going to bed early.  I wanted to sleep.  My parents wanted me to sleep.  As you can see from my more recent life history, that hasn’t been the case since my car accident, but people change.  Our bodies change and these changes, especially when it comes to lack of sleep, should not be ignored.   

Getting a full, uninterrupted night of sleep has many benefits allowing us to put our best foot forward on a daily basis and even proves to boost performance and spur creativity.  Our kids need us to be at our best and sleep helps us achieve that.  But sleeplessness has become a widespread health issue – with 4 million Americans suffering from chronic insomnia, including difficulty falling asleep and the inability to stay asleep throughout the night.

Fortunately, there are simple steps you can incorporate into your daily strategy to improve your sleep, like those I listed above that I’ve incorporated since being diagnosed with insomnia.  Exercising early enough in the day to give your heart time to slow down before bedtime, limiting use of technological devices before bed and blocking out light are three important habits to take on if you’re having trouble sleeping.  But for people with insomnia practicing these habits alone may not be enough.  The good news is no one needs to suffer. There are effective treatment options available without worrying about risk of abuse or physical dependence.   The first thing you need to do is have a conversation with your doctor.  Tell your doctor how active you are, what your diet is like, and what distractions and worries you might have as well as the symptoms you experience related to sleep or lack of. 

To learn more about the importance of getting a full, uninterrupted night’s sleep visit Wanttosleepmore.com

 

Panasonic Home Monitoring System DIY Surveillance Camera Kit

Save 33% on Panasonic’s DIY Indoor/Outdoor Home Surveillance Camera Kit July 15th on Amazon.com

Panasonic Home Monitoring System DIY Surveillance Camera Kit

I keep a close eye on the front door when I know a delivery is due.   Cody, our dog, barks when he hears knocking or the doorbell – something I like to avoid at all costs.   I’ve run down the stairs faster than I could slide down them on many occasions just to avoid his endless barking.   When the kids were babies, I’d do the same thing when they were napping so a knock or ring of the doorbell didn’t wake them up.     Now, what seems like eons later, there are affordable monitoring systems available to homeowners that are easy to install, allowing us to keep an eye on what’s going on inside and outside our home.

Panasonic’s Home Monitoring System DIY Surveillance Camera Kit is easy one home surveillance kit that’s easy to install and use.   The kit includes two Indoor/Outdoor Cameras, 4G SD Card and one Hub Unit and allows parents to monitor indoor and outdoor areas such as entrances, baby’s nursery, the driveway, and yard.

Panasonic Home Monitoring System DIY Surveillance Camera KitReceive alerts and arm/disarm the system via a smartphone/tablet.  Easy, right?  There are no fees after the purchase of the kit and July 15, 2015 you can get Panasonic’s Home Monitoring System DIY Surveillance Camera Kit for 33% off the regular price of $299!

Do packages go missing from your doorstep?  Is a squirrel digging up your container garden on your back patio?  Record video to Micro SD card, view on your computer.  I’m not sure what good the recording will do in the case of the squirrel but it sure would be nice to know what’s ruining my potted plants!

Don’t miss out on this great deal July 15!  Learn more about the Panasonic Home Monitoring System here on Amazon.com.

Brick Marketplace - LEGO store

Coupon Code: Brick Marketplace – 15% Off LEGO® Sets in Addition to Sale Prices

Brick Marketplace - LEGO storeMy daughter will stay occupied for hours with LEGO® sets and BRICK Marketplace is a fabulous online store with a huge selection of LEGO sets for sale plus awesome info & tips on expanding young minds!

BRICK marketplace offers a variety of new, old, rare, and out of circulation LEGO sets in their online store. Find classic sets like the Star Wars AT-AT, or items from newer themes like Jurassic World and The Hobbit. They also run an education blog focused on fun activities for developing young minds.

TIP: Some of their LEGO® sets are less expensive than on Amazon.com so if your kids are into LEGO® sets, check the price on Brick Marketplace before you buy on Amazon or elsewhere.

Coupon offer: 15% off in addition to existing sale prices

Use coupon code: mommy-builders

Offer expires: August 3, 2015

Website: BrickMarketplace.com