Category Archives: Fun stuff for parents

Motionbox: online personal video managment

Fun stuff for parents, Organization

MotionboxlogoI have been using the Motionbox.com premium service
for about two months and I couldn’t be happier. When I started my Motionbox membership, I was paying a ‘big name’ online video storage website.  Motionbox totally won me over and I am not paying the other service any more!

Motionbox premium allows for unlimited storage, the ability for your family to download the videos you have uploaded to Motionbox, and I think uploading a video to Motionbox is so much easier than to YouTube.  You can sort your videos into folders. I created a ‘Sebastian’ folder, a ‘Work’ folder, and a ‘Product reviews’ folder to name a few. The folder feature makes finding the video I am looking for quickly.   

What really makes Motionbox stand out from the rest is their Flipbook product.  Do you remember those?  I used to make them when I was a child.. with the ball bouncing up and down.  You can create a Flipbook from any of your videos and you can choose a custom cover for your flipbook.  One other feature that I absolutely love is the ability to edit and ‘mix’ videos.  For those of you who have a website of your own, you can embed a video onto your website.  Simply click on the ’embed’ link below the video and choose to include the filmstrip or not and the code is supplied for you.

Like I said, Motionbox has a lot of great features.  The website itself is very easy to get around and once you log in to your Motionbox account, uploading videos is very easy. I highly recommend Motionbox as a great tool for parents to share their videos with far away family and friends.  You can sign up for a Motionbox premium now for only $29.99 a year as opposed to the regular $34.99 yearly fee.  This offer is available for a limited time.

Icon_website2_2 Motionbox: Online personal video storage

Q-BA-MAZE construction toy + giveaway!

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

Qf009q50towerWe received several Q-BA-MAZE kits to review back in December and
the feedback from parents and kids alike has been aMAZing!

When Sebastian gets out his Q-BA-MAZE construction toy I know I won’t see him for a while.   Like most  children, Sebastian loves to build things then take them apart.  If he could he would try it on my car.  When I received Q-BA-MAZE to review, I knew right away that this is a toy to play with when Madelyn (almost 2) is not around.  With small marbles and pieces that stack, the combination is a sure disaster. She would have Sebastian’s project scattered on the floor in no time.

Q-BA-MAZE is unlike any toy I’ve ever seen. Not only is this a construction toy but it is also a marble maze.  Structures can be designed and built using the included architecture plans, your child’s imagination, or from architecture plans found on the Q-BA-MAZE website. 
The fun isn’t over when you’ve used all of the construction pieces.  When you are finished building a structure, drop the included marbles in and see where they come out!   What I love about this toy is that there are so many design possibilities and little inventors can spend hours making their own buildings, bridges, or other structures and then watch the marbles roll down and out!  The structure above is one of the simpler designs. Visit the website to see the design possibilities for each set.

Q-BA-MAZE packs come with 20 or 50 very durable pieces and include several marbles.  We have three 50 piece Q-BA-MAZES to giveaway and will do so in March.  Sign up for our newsletter using the "Get our newsletter" form to the right to be notified when we run the giveaway contest.

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Q-BA-MAZE construction toy

O Yikes! Messenger diaper bag

Diaper Bags, Fun stuff for parents, Organization

When reading my product reviews please keep in mind that I am not paid to write what I write. My reviews are 100% honest and are based on real life experience with product. That being said..

I have so many bags I don’t know what I’m going to do with them when Madelyn and I grow out of the diaper bag stage. Like most women, I have three or so handbags (diaper bags in this case) that I use most often. My three favorites are all in different price ranges. One is <$100, then I have my O Yikes! bag, and I have a >$300 diaper bag that I carry on special occasions which quite frankly is rare.

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I use my O Yikes! Messenger diaper bag when visiting friends, going to the local coffee shop to work ( laptop case + diaper bag), and when we go to the kids Grandmother’s house down the street. Now that I think about it, the O Yikes! is my most used bag these days. There are several reasons for this. The laptop case (sold separately), the accessory bag which usually holds my cosmetics or laptop accessories, the bottle holder that keeps my drink cool, and the trillions of pockets that hold everything I need to travel the world in three days or less. The six inside pockets hold many ‘things’ that I can’t begin to get into here. There are two outside pockets which usually hold a spiral bound notebook and files. There is also a drink pouch on one side that has a drawstring so I can access Madelyn’s sippy cup quickly.
Oh, and the inside key ring has saved me so many times. I am terrible with losing keys.. not when I am carrying this bag!

O Yikes! bags are made to last for years and are multi-functional. We’re not just parents after all. Sure, we have playdates and story time but we also work. It’s nice to carry a bag that isn’t just a diaper bag.

Icon_website2 Messenger Diaper Bags at OYikes

Tickle Bellies: Personalized stationary, labels and more

Announcements & Stationary, Fun stuff for parents, Personalized

Ticklebellies1Tickle Bellies founder, Colleen, created TickleBellies.com after designing a birth announcement for her second daughter Ellie. Colleen realized that there weren’t a lot of fun, yet simple, birth announcements available
on the market that were affordable.

She didn’t stop at birth announcements though.
Realizing that parents would pay for her designs, she branched out into other print products including ‘From the Mom of…’ notepads, personalized address labels and more.

Colleen recently sent me a few absolutely adorable items.   I received a ‘From the Mom of…‘. notepad with cute little pictures that represent my kids very well (above).  The notepad includes 100 sheets which will probably last the rest of this school year and into the next.   I don’t have to write notes to Sebastian’s teacher on notebook paper anymore! 

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Shopping at Tickle Bellies is fun. First you choose the items you want then you select hair styles, hair color, skin color, and more so the finished product will represent your family perfectly.

Visit Tickle Bellies to view the large selection of personalized notepads, labels, luggage tags, birth announcements, and invitations. Why not get your Valentine’s Day cards at Tickle Bellies?

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Personalized stationary products

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Use code INSIDER to get Free Shipping on your Tickle Bellies order!

Digital Voice Recorder: $149

Electronics, Fun stuff for parents, Gadgets, Organization

Digitalrecorder
When I received this Sony Digital Voice Recorder to review, I knew right away that it isn’t an ordinary recorder.. and is definitely not like the recorder I had when I was young which is the last time I used one.

Dory from Finding Nemo is a distant cousin of mine and we share the same short term memory loss problem.  My mother will call to remind me to register Sebastian for baseball and she will ask me how I am going to remember what she just told me. Pretty bad.  Now I can record a remind while we are on the phone.. she is finally convinced I will remember.  Being small enough to fit in a pocket, enables me to carry the digital recorder with me anywhere, anytime.  Once a day I download my recordings using the USB cord and cradle.

  • Great for when you think of something important while driving.Digitalrecorder2_2
  • Record your child singing her favorite song.
  • Dad can take it to the PTA meeting so you can listen to everything later.
  • Record your parent teacher conference so you can listen to it again later.
  • Note important dates such as doctor’s appointments without having to write them down while standing at the receptionists desk.
  • You can file messages/recordings in folders directly on the recorder. I have one folder for personal reminders, one for work, and one for the kids.

Another really fun feature of this digital voice recorder is the alarm.  I recorded ‘Wake up Sebastian!’ and set the alarm for 6:20a.m. and he was awakened by me without me in the room. He thought he was hearing things.  Why not record a romantic message for your husband to hear when he walks in the door in the evening.  What a great Valentine’s Day idea!  You just have to know when he will be home so you can set the alarm feature.

This is a great tool for the tech savvy parent.  I have to admit I was a bit intimidated by all of the buttons and functions at first but I learned to use and appreciate them in no time.

Icon_website2_2Sony Style