Category Archives: Ages 10-13

Play and Freeze Ice Cream Ball

Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Ages 10-13, Food and Drink, Holiday

Icecreammaker1
I love ice cream… my kids (even Madelyn) loves ice cream too.
What I don’t love about ice cream though is that most of the time I can’t pronounce half of the ingredients on the label. Now, Sebastian and I make our own ice cream in about 20 minutes. What’s even better is that we can make whatever flavor we want!  Craving cookies and cream ice cream? No problem.. just add some Oreo’s to the mix. Sounds like too much trouble, doesn’t it?  It’s not! I am not one to make things hard on myself. I like to take the easy way out whenever possible. That’s where the Ice Cream Ball comes in really handy.

There are five simple and FUN steps to making your own ice cream with the Ice Cream Ball.
1. Put ice and rock salt in the ice end of the ball.
2. Pour your ice cream mix (cream, sugar, and vanilla) into the other end.
3. This the fun part.  Shake and/or roll the ball for about 10 minutes.
Read steps four and five on the website.

The Ice Cream Ball is not just a great way to make yummy ice cream but also a wonderful way to have fun with your kids.

You can make up your own recipes or get recipes from the Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker website.Playandfreezeball Recipes on the website inlcude Rum Coconut, Smores Ice Cream, Juice Slush, Grasshopper, Chocolate Chip, and many more!

As most of you know, I LOVE oreo’s so I add about 1/2 cup of crumbled Oreo’s to the original vanilla recipe to make a great cookies and cream desert for me! Seriously YUMMY!!!

Your kids will be so proud of themselves for making their own ice cream.  The Play and Freeze Ice Cream Ball is a great addition to birthday party activities and holiday celebrations.

Where to buy: Amazon.com

Personalized Birthday Hats

Age 0-1 year, Age 1-3, Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Ages 10-13, Baby & Kids Clothing, Holiday

PersonalizedbirthdayhatI can’t believe that Madelyn is going to be one in May! The first year goes by so fast and the fun has just begun.

I am in the midst of planning Madelyn’s birthday parties. We have to have at least two because of our extended families so I may be a little stressed in April while trying to figure out who is coming when and how we will celebrate at each party.

One thing that is making the thought of having multiple parties easier for me, is this super cute personalized birthday hat from Darling Designs Boutique. I put it on Madelyn and everything is OK.

This personalized birthday hat is simply too cute for me to put into words how cute it is. There is pink, fluff, polka dots, Madelyn’s name, a big "1".. and it’s all on Madelyn’s cute little head. (You can brag too if you send me pictures! – alicia@themommyinsider.com)

I can’t wait for our families to see Madelyn in her personalized birthday hat.

If you purchase a personalized birthday hat from Darling Designs Boutique or have already, please send me a photograph of your child wearing it and I will post it on The Mommy Insider for your family.. and the world to see!  I don’t do this for many products, but these are just so adorable, that I want to see your kids in them too!

When you order your child’s personalized birthday hat, you are given the opportunity to enter your child’s name, age, and the date you need the personalized birthday hat by.

Darling Designs Boutique offers several other personalized birthday hat designs including an adjustable princess crown party hat, and they don’t leave the boys out. There are designs for the little prince in your family too!

A few things I love about this personalized birthday party hat:
1. The durable construction. The hat itself is very sturdy and not easily squished when a seven year old "accidentally" steps on it.  Sebastian called it part of the review process?!  He’s smarter than I think sometimes.
2. The fonts are adorable.
3. The colors are vibrant.
4. The selection of fabrics and trim make your child’s hat even more personalized.
5. The chin strap keeps the hat on and doesn’t leave a mark on Madelyn’s skin.

Where to buy: Darling Designs Boutique

The Mommy Insider readers get 10% off with code WAHM10!

Time4Learning…Fun and Successful

Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Ages 10-13, Educational Toys

As a mother of a seven year
old, I’m always looking for a way to balance learning and fun. I’ve
noticed that Sebastian becomes really engaged in learning when lessons and
activities are interactive. In my search
to find the perfect program for Sebastian, I considered a few things. First, I wanted something that would begin
building a foundation of skills for first and second grade. Secondly, I had to find a program that would
help Sebastian who struggles with reading comprehension. Lastly, I was on a budget and needed to find
something extremely cost effective. I
began my search and eventually made an great discovery…Time4Learning.

Time4Learning can be used for
preschool,
as an after-school
supplement, as an
alternative to summer school,
or even for homeschooling. For those children with special needs,
the engaging graphics, songs, and videos create interactive learning activities
that kids really enjoy. Sebastian loves
how the lessons can be read aloud by a fun cartoon character. This feature, in particular, keeps him from
stumbling over new material or from losing his place on the page. Activities in the preschool program, such
as counting games and alphabet songs, keep Sebastian entertained while
learning. It’s amazing! The best part is that Sebastian can work
independently using the personalized program in which he can navigate entirely
on his own. Time4Learning’s low monthly
cost will fit perfectly into any family’s budget.

Sebastian actually looks
forward to logging on to the Time4Learning website after school.  He particularly enjoys the reading lessons.
The characters are very easy for him to follow and enjoy and the stories are
engaging.

Time4Learning is a
student-paced program for grades Pre-K-8th. Children work at their own pace…something I find
very helpful, especially for Sebastian, whose self-esteem began to soar as he
used writing tools such as graphic organizers, spell-checkers, and personalized
evaluations. I saw incredible
improvement and lots of smiles shortly after Sebastian began using the Time4Learning
website.

Learning and fun: http://www.time4learning.com/demos.htm

Preschool http://www.time4learning.com/preschool-games.shtml

After school supplement http://www.time4learning.com/learning-enrichment.shtml

Summer school http://www.time4learning.com/summer-school.shtml

Homeschooling: http://www.time4learning.com/homeschool-curriculum.htm

Special needs: http://time4learning.com/learning-special-needs-shtml

Preschool program: http://learninggamesforkids.com

I’ve got great news!
The first three people
to email me regarding this post will get 1 FREE MONTH on the Time4Learning.com
website! Email me at Alicia@themommyinsider.com and I will email the
first three who respond Friday afternoon to let you know what the next step is.

Disney Mobile Phones and Service

Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Ages 10-13, Electronics, Fun stuff for parents, , , , , ,

UPDATE —

Disney Mobile will discontinue its service December 31st, 2007.  Verizon Wireless has an exclusive offer for Disney Mobile customers. The offer will give Disney Mobile customers three free months of Verizon Wireless Chaperon Service. (this is not guaranteed as information may be incorrect or out-dated). I received a letter in the mail from Disney Mobile & Verizon stating that when you sign-up your family you can get up to five phones free!

The offer is available to Disney Mobile customers only and can be accessed here: www.verizonwireless.com/disneymobile.

———————————

I am so excited to introduce you to Disney Mobile phones and service!

Sebastian is at the age when he likes to go to his friends house after school, but he doesn’t want me
to go inside to talk to the parents anymore. I guess he’s embarrased of his mom!?  How can that be? I am really bad about keeping up with his friends parents names and phone numbers so having his own Disney Mobile phone has been wonderful. Instead of having to search through the desk drawers for the little piece of paper that has his friends moms name on it, I can call him and tell him it’s time to come home.  I think it is always more effective when kids hear the bad news from their own parents and not their friends parents.

Sebastian, myself and my husband have been using our Disney Mobile phones for a few months now. There are a lot of great features. I can’t imagine going back to my regular cell service after using the Disney Mobile phones and service.  The phones are easy to use, nice looking, and best of all, can provide vital information when needed.

I was impressed from the minute I turned on my Disney Mobile phone. When I turned my phone on, a really neat Disney tune played and the animation on the screen was amazing.

The functions are very easy to access and use.. even for Sebastian who is 7 years old.

Sebastian’s favorite feature is the Family Alert feature. With Family Alert, he can send me ‘template messages’ such as ‘yes’ and ‘no’ (and many more) or he can type a message. First he chooses a recipient. Then he can either choose a ‘template message’ or type his own message.  The next screen allows him to check his message and then send it.  He thinks it really fun to send me Family Alerts while we are at home. 

Likewise, parents can send a Family Alert to their child’s phone. The child is alerted with a sound and when he or she opens the phone, the screen lets them know that they have a Family Alert waiting for them. Your kids can no longer use the "I did’t get your message" excuse because the Family Alert message will be the first thing they see on their screen.


One of my favorite features is the Family Locator. With this feature, I can locate Sebastian where ever he is as long as his phone is on. When I first tested the Family Locator feature, I had Sebastian’s phone on the desk next to me. If the phone could talk, it would have told me I was crazy!  The message that appeared on my screen was "Sebastian is within 10 yards of your phone"!  I couldn’t believe it pinpointed the location so perfectly. The Family Locator also gave me the address. If your child has a few friends on your street that he plays with, you can find out who’s house he is at with the Family Locator. If you have a pre-teen who is supposed to be at the mall but you think she walked to the movie theatre, you can find out with the Family Locator!

I am impressed with the durability of the phones.   Sebastian’s Disney Mobile phone has been through a lot… even the washing machine (sorry Disney!). We simply laid the phone out to dry and now it is as good as new.

Another great feature is Call Control. With Call Control, parents can limit their child’s phone usage by the time of day, and by days of the week. This is great for kids who take their phones to school. You can use Call Control to make sure that they don’t use their phone during school hours.  The really neat thing about the Call Control feature is that your child’s phone can have ‘always allowed’ numbers that he can call even during hours that you have restricted which is great for emergencies. Your child can call you, but not their friends.

Ok, you are going to LOVE this feature. Family Monitor. The Family Monitor feature allows parents to set monthly spending allowances for calls, text messages, and downloads.  When your child has reached his spending limit, both your child and you are notified.

Other FUN features include:

  • Awesome ringtones. Ringtones include "Bare Necessities", "Electro", "Granted Wish" and a classic telephone ringtone.
  • Camera
  • Voice recorder
  • Notepad
  • Alarm clock
  • Scheduler
  • Themes – Give your Disney Mobile phone a new theme.  Themes include Floral Fantasy, Mickey and Friends,  eXtreMe and more.
  • Radio Disney.. yes, that’s right!  Just click on Radio Disney and your child can vote for their favorite Radio Disney song, send a shout out, find your local Radio Disney station, and keep up with the top 30 Radio Disney songs
  • Ringtones – additional ringtones can be purchased and downloaded right from your phone.  There are several categories to browse include Disney Favorites, pop, top downloads, and hip hop. Parents will appreciate the ‘super star’ ringtones which include songs by Gwen Stefani songs, The Killers, and The Fray.
  • Images – download additional images to your Disney Phone. Images can be used as your phone background or can be sent to a friends phone. Images include "Flaming Heart Tattoo", "Tinker Bell Name", "Thumper Peeved" and many more.
  • Web – access popular websites such as ABC News, USA Today, AccuWeather, ESPN, horoscopes and many more.

Way to go Disney Mobile!  ‘The Mommy Insider’ gives Disney Mobile two thumbs up for great phones, excellent mobile service, and wonderful customer service!

There are too many features to mention so go on over to Disney Mobile and take a look at all of the great features today!

Lulla Bed Story Blanket

Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Ages 10-13, Bedtime, Nursery & Room Decor, , ,

Lullabed
I never dreamed something like this would be on the market. It is so neat!  Lulla Bed came up with a great idea to create kids comforters that actually light up and play sounds related to the comforter’s theme. Sebastian’s Lulla Bed Story Blanket is the Space theme and plays really cool space sounds. The lights are bright enough for Sebastian to see when the lights are off but not too bright to keep him awake.   Lulla Bed Story Blankets are  not only great for bedtime but for play time also!  Sebastian loves to build a fort with his Lulla Bed Story Blanketl, push the light and sounds button and read books, or play with toys. It’s like the ultimate fort. I would have loved to have had a light up and sound making blanket when I was young.

The Story Blanket  is a duvet cover and comforter with 133 miniature LED’s. The comforter plays a themed soundtrack while the duvet cover softly bubbles with light.  The sound can be played in two ways. There is a two minute light and sound show for storytime or playtime and a one minute fading light show for sleepy time.

What’s really cool about Lulla Beds is that they make co-ordinating pillows, pillow shams, and bed skirts so your child’s bed will have a complete theme.

Choose from a Space theme, a Princess theme, a Heroes theme, and a Kitty theme.

Oh, and there is one more very important product sold at the Lulla Bed website… It is a "Bed Effects Light". You know how years ago, you would see cars with ‘glowing’ lights under them? That’s what this does to your child’s bed!  It is really neat! Your child will no longer be afraid of ‘monsters under the bed’ when they have a Lulla Beds Bed Effects Light.

Where to buy: Lulla Beds