Coast 2 Coast Mom

One for the Wish List from Mattel's Blogger Play Date

When I received the email invitation to attend a blogger "Play Date" for Mattel, I didn't have to think twice about if I wanted to attend with Li'l Boo. I purposefully left the month of August open for us to enjoy the dog days of summer, recoup from the July travel, and relax before the new school year began. Those non-plans quickly turned to boredom on both of our parts after a day of nothing planned. We're adventurers, explorers, talkers, do-ers . . . so I began scrambling for activities to do and places to visit to spend our days. Coming from a larger family, I can see how Li'l Boo gets bored so easily when left to himself and me. The opportunity to head into the city and check out some new toys and games for us to play was a no-brainer.

The highlight of the play date for me was watching Li'l Boo try out each of the toys. Our FAVORITE game was Uno Moo!, a preschool rendition of Uno, for kids three and older.  Having tried to play Uno with Li'l Boo before, I can tell you that 1) it was difficult for him to hold the cards, so we had to lay them all out on the floor around us; 2) the rules of the game, though easy for older kids and adults, are actually quite complicated for a preschool mind - what with all of the numbers OR color matching. As I chatted with one of Mattel's R&D folks, Sheila, I noticed that Uno Moo! replaced the numbers with animals, and the cards with balls. Brilliant! Li'l Boo picked up on this game quickly and played several rounds with Sheila and me. If you have a toddler or preschooler, check out Uno Moo! to add to your holiday wish list. It retails for $20, so you can start looking for sales and discounts now.

Another favorite was the game Saucer Scramble, that reminds me of Elefun, but for young kids (it's geared to the five and older crowd). Li'l Boo loved racing and trying to catch the flying saucers with the netted cups. In fact, he tried to chase the flying saucers down and catch 'em with his bare hands too! I was surprised to see the classic arcade game "Whac-a-Mole" brought to life for kids, which was directed at kids four and older, but didn't seem to need any instruction for any of the preschoolers I saw checking it out. They each sat down and promptly began bopping the moles with the mallets.

These games were fine and dandy for Li'l Boo, but the true highlight for him was a screening of the new Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 cartoon, complete with popcorn. The series premiered this week, and airs on The Cartoon Network at 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays (9:00 a.m. by us). The show is aimed at the seven-year-old and up crowd, but I knew that Li'l Boo would not want to miss an opportunity to see race cars! Battle Force 5 was all he spoke about on the train ride home, and while the series is too old for him to watch on a regular basis now, it'll be fun for him to look forward to watching as he gets older. Corresponding Battle Force 5 toys will appear in store shelves in October.

What are some of your favorite games to play with your three-to-five year old? Some that we play on a weekly basis:

1. Chutes and Ladders
2. Cariboo
3. Candy Land
4. Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed
5. Memory

A Kool-Aid KaBoom! Play Day for Playgrounds

So what is this KaBoom! I'm referring to? Oh, and before you even ask . . . YES! That's the Kool-Aid man with Li'l Boo! Today's Kool-Aid man isn't the huge red pitcher and red tight-wearing man of yesteryear (my memories of him growing up), but an updated, modern Kool-Aid man - complete with clothes. Check out the Kool-Aid website to see him dance.

KaBoom! is a non-profit that empowers communities to build playgrounds with the goal of having a great outdoor playspace within walking distance of every child. KaBoom! was developed on the philosophy that play has purpose, and that unstructured play helps to make happier, fitter, more creative and socially adept kids.

Li'l Boo and I recently attended a Kool-Aid KaBoom! Play Day hosted by RoleMommy in NYC where we were treated to lunch (complemented by several sugar-free Kool-Aid flavors), discussed some outdoor play ideas (mostly reminders of games from my childhood), the benefits of outdoor play, and had a professional photo taken by celebrity children's photographer Jade Albert right there in the Penthouse loft of Studio 450. I don't have many photos of Li'l Boo and me together, so we decided to do the shoot with both of us to give my hubby something for his desk at work.  

KaBoom! has launched a coast-to-coast initiative encouraging people to host community Play Days during the week of September 19 - 27 in a parking lot, park, playground, field or backyard to promote playing outdoors. You can find a Play Day already scheduled near you, or plan one of your own. Just for hosting a Play Day, you may be eligible for a KaBoom! grant for a playground project near you, or even $10,000 from the NFL to improve a playspace in your community! Plus, when you follow their steps for hosting a play day, you'll receive a Play Day kit to help you host it! We just received our play day kit this week (and look: it includes Kool-Aid!).

It was nice for Li'l Boo to run around and play with the balls and hula hoops with the Kool-Aid man. I mean really, what tastes better when coming in from outdoors all hot and sweaty than a glass of cold Kool-Aid? I try to remember to put some Kool-Aid (or Gatorade or lemonade) in the freezer or have a pitcher waiting in the fridge when we come inside from mowing the lawn or gardening. Ahhh . . . oh yeah!

First Ever North Jersey Fiber Arts Festival

I was purchasing some yarn at Close Knit Yarns in Wyckoff last week and picked up a flyer for the first ever North Jersey Fiber Arts Festival. I've been hearing a lot about the "fiber arts" lately - a term which encompasses all of the knitting, sewing, crocheting, quilting, lace-making, embroidering, needlepointing, spinning, felting, dyeing and other fiber and textile artisans. Maybe it's a sign of the times that the fiber arts are seeing a surge in popularity amidst this recession? Or maybe it's a result of the eco-friendly era we're living in this decade? I personally started knitting to give my hands something to do so I don't eat while I watch television, and to help me connect with producing something tangible. Doing public relations for technology companies required me to spend my days reading online, writing online, texting, chatting on IM and Twitter and talking via phone (repeat cycle) and I longed to see the physical results from my 60+ hour a week career. A lover of sweets, baking became my go-to stress reliever and at the expense of my figure, I began looking for another outlet. Oh, I still bake several times a week, but I enjoy reveling in my latest finished project and the excitement of giving it to whomever I've knit it for. A self-taught knitter (thanks to Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Hats), I'm at often amazed at the creativity and resourcefulness that crafters employ not only in their work, but in their daily lives as well. (Why can't I think of these things?!)

Anyway, since I've recently connected online with other fiber artists (ooh - that sounds funny referring to myself as one!), I thought I'd share the details of the upcoming North Jersey Fiber Arts Festival: Finding Our Common Thread. Let me know if you're planning to attend and I'll arrange to say hello when I drop in myself!

When: Friday Oct 2nd 7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. and Saturday Oct 3rd 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Where: The Unitarian Society of Ridgewood, 113 Cottage Place Ridgewood, NJ 07450

Admission: $8 (seniors $7) and includes a festival tote bag and free gift while supplies last

What: Workshops, demonstrations, lectures, food and shopping

Why: To interact with other fiber arts lovers, get ideas for new projects, learn about new crafts and just for the fun of it!

Plus: Children's activities, raffles, yoga for knitters, create a project to give comfort to those in need

Our Recent Visit to Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Michigan

One of our stops along our Midwest Summer Roadtrip '09 was Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Mich., along I-94 to take in some sun, sand, waves and visit family. We love visiting St. Joe, and apparently we're not alone as Delta Airlines recently selected St. Joseph as a "World's Greatest Escape." With clean beaches and plentiful sand, it's a family-friendly town and is easy to get to from Southwest Michigan or Chicago as it's just off of I-94 (about an hour from The Loop via car). While we only spent a morning at Silver Beach this past trip, I was surprised to see so much construction near the train depot and Silver Beach. The renovation includes a Whirlpool Compass Fountain, the construction of a carousel and reconstructed Shadowland Ballroom (which is now booking for 2010 weddings). I look forward to taking Li'l Boo to ride the carousel on a future trip.

Time Out Chicago posted a suggested getaway to St. Joe last year that included some of my recommendations too: Schu's, Tosi's, Kilwins and The Chocolate Cafe (The South Bend Chocolate Company). While we didn't have time to do it on this trip, part of what makes it one of our favorite places to visit is the opportunity to enjoy the view of Lake Michigan from the bluff downtown. We like to count sailboats or use binoculars for fun from up there, and eat some nibbles as we sit watching the view from a bench or swing. Of course, Li'l Boo also likes to walk along the pier, waving at boats heading in or out along the St. Joe River.

Inspired By Our Day At Silver Beach

 . . . inspired by our visit to Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Mich., as Li'l Boo and I reviewed our photos from our Midwest Summer Roadtrip '09. The boy's got some mad poetry skilz. Word.

 

Shining, Blinding

Heating, Tanning

Glowing, Burning

Warms the sun.

 

Crunching, Squeaking

Budging, Rubbing

Shifting, Sifting

Moves the sand.

 

Rolling, Swirling

Crashing, Splashing,

Bubbling, Lapping,

Flows the water.

 

Whipping, howling

Rushing, Cooling

Sailing, Pushing

Blows the wind.

 

Running, dancing,

Jumping, floating

Shrieking, giggling

Go the kids.

 

 

Fun at SEGA Blogger Day in NYC

Yesterday Li'l Boo and I attended a SEGA blogger event at the Shoreham Hotel in NYC and had a blast trying out a couple of games that will be available this holiday season. Here are three things I learned while there:

1) Must-haves for Li'l Boo's holiday wish-list: Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games, the Planet 51 game, and a balance board.

2) Must. Practice. Video games. Looks like video games will be a part of our daily family life and an important bonding opportunity for Li'l Boo, my hubby and me throughout the years.

3) Daisy Fuentes is as beautiful in person as she looks in pics and on TV . . . or so I was told when learning about the Daisy Fuentes Pilates game. ;-)

Li'l Boo first sought out the Planet 51 game (which complements the Planet 51 movie coming out in November). The game looks exactly like the movie animation and includes different "missions" for the astronaut Chuck Baker to accomplish: including chasing a rover on foot, racing the Planet 51 police and army to get home to Earth, helping the "alien" Lem drive a hovercraft . . . even lawnmowers are involved. What my son will pry like the most about it is that there will be an opportunity for kids to re-play some moments from the movie in the game. The Planet 51 game is aimed at kids 6-10 years old, though Li'l Boo picked up on the basics of it pretty quickly, and I'd feel comfortable having him play even as a four year-old.

I caught a demo of Daisy Fuentes Pilates, which is available in stores now. I was curious about how pilates transfers into a fitness game, as it depends so much on engaging and isolating specific muscles and holding positions just-so. From what I saw, the game provides the experience of being in a pilates class with an instructor (Fuentes - whose digital rendering is HOT Hello? Motivation anyone? - and you can even choose her outfit if you have little gals - or big boys? - who would be into that. ;-) ) The balance board registers your motion placement and timing to provide feedback or commend you if the exercises are being done correctly. The game then logs your achievement (number of reps per exercise, etc.) and progress with each session. Daisy Fuentes Pilates allows you to customize as much or as little as you would like. The background setting for the game is a resort, so you can choose a different scenic setting for each of your exercises, or stay with the workout center background. You can also choose the option of listening to Fuentes en Espanol or English, which I thought was pretty cool. I have a feeling that this "game" is more like a workout video than an actual game, but I haven't gone through the whole thing myself yet. (I suppose this former certified personal trainer needs this to get back into shape and begin training again!)

The major highlight of the SEGA event for Li'l Boo was playing the Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games and using the balance board. He could have played this all day! (In fact, he kind of did the whole time we were there.) I wish I had taken my FLIP camera along to record him shaking his hips on the board during the downhill ski races, or sitting on the board leaning left and right for the bobsled races. I don't know why, but I just get a kick out of seeing young kids using technology. They pick up on it in a snap! It makes me laugh to think about my childhood and attending a summer computer camp to learn to write basic "run" or "execute" programs on the Apple computer twenty-something years ago (How little I knew then.)

With the creative problem solving and coordination that these video games require and encourage in kids, I can't even begin to imagine what Li'l Boo will be playing with and working on years from now. I mean, have you seen the Project Natal teaser?

 

Battling the Bug

Did you know that some experts estimate that parents miss more than 125 million workdays a year to stay home with a sick child? Or estimate that children miss school more than 189 million days a year due to colds? Ick! Thinking about these things are among the worst parts about preparing to return to school: the runny noses, sneezing, close quarters and sharing of toys, locker rooms and equipment among kids. The local news too has been doing its part to keep this in the forefront of our minds, touting the threat of the H1N1 flu spreading once school resumes nationwide in the coming weeks. Most of the coverage has focused around the Center for Disease Control's reccomendation for the H1N1 flu vaccination series and that the vaccine is being rushed into production with little testing, so there's questions about the safety of vaccinating our children against H1N1 swine flu. These things were on my mind when I received an invitation to join a blogger meet-up hosted by Kleenex Anti-Viral Tissues at the Bronx Zoo last week. What perfect timing to discuss basic cold and flu prevention methods, right? Good hygiene, sleep, exercise and nutrition may not save us from getting sick, but it is still the best defense we have.

My son and I arrived at the Battle the Bug event to find a variety of interactive games for children and parents to learn about how germs spread. Li'l Boo enjoyed playing Whack-a-Bug, and playing a video quiz game that ended with the machine "sneezing" on him. We had the pleasure of  meeting and discussing cold and flu prevention tips from Jean Grabeel, executive committee member for the National Association of School Nurses.

Perhaps the most interesting thing that I learned was that 70% of all childrens' illnesses in 2008 did not occur during the "typical" winter months - cold and flu bugs live all year round. So it's critical to discuss and instill good hygiene and cold/flu prevention practices even now in the summertime, and a good reminder to make sure such practices are second nature when school begins. Grabeel (Does the name ring a bell? She's also the mother of Lucas Grabeel of High School Musical fame.) encouraged all of us parents to work closely with our children's school nurses, and if we did not have one at our child's school, to propose hiring one. She explained that a school nurse is on the front lines of detecting colds and the flu within the school, and something as simple as informing the school nurse if our child was "off" that day/night - but without a fever or other symptoms - then the nurse can check in on our child later in the day to monitor for symptoms, which can be a big help in identifying children with communicable germs early.

Here are some of the tips Grabeel and Kleenex shared with us to help prevent the spread of typical colds/flu and battle the bug:

1) Wash hands after going into a bathroom, before meals, after playing outside or playing with "equipment" in stores, gyms and classrooms. It's important to wash between the fingers.

2) Teach children to sneeze into a tissue (like the Kleenex Anti-Viral Tissues which says it can kill 99.9% of cold and flu viruses in/on the tissue within 15 minutes!) or cough into their inner elbow/arm. Grabeel suggested playing a timed tissue/sneeze game to time how long a child can get to a tissue before a "sneeze" or alarm goes off.

3) Ask teachers if hand sanitizer is available in the classroom (donate some if it is not).

4) Make sure children get plenty of sleep as sleep helps to boost one's immunity.

5) Dispose of used tissues immediately, don't let them linger on a table or countertop.

6) Make sure kids are up-to-date on their immunizations.

Li'l Boo's favorite parts of the morning were the two "bugs": one was a germ, the other, a car. Here's a photo of some of the other NYC-area bloggers and us with Jean Grabeel after the event:

 

Come Along for the Ride

Now that I've had some time to decompress and play catch-up since our trip to Chicago for BlogHer, I thought I'd share some of the sights along the road from North Jersey to Chicago and back. As we've driven this roadtrip three times so far this year, I thought I'd fill you in on some of our tips:

One, we pack a cooler of food to take along. Not just snacks - chips, crackers, cookies, cheese, etc., but sandwiches, fruit and salad (and dressing). This way we not only save time from ordering and waiting for food along the way, but we can also control our calorie/carb/sodium intake so that we don't swell up along the route from fast-food options near the highway.

Two, the earlier you get on the road, the earlier you'll arrive at your destination. The shortest we've done the NJ to Detroit drive was in 10 hours. Sometimes just by leaving three hours later (say, at Noon as opposed to 9 a.m.), you can actually add an hour to the drive based on greater traffic at different times of day, plus you'll add additional stops the later you're in the car (for additional meals, to run around or to change into pj's, etc.).

Three, pack the car the night before. Packing always takes longer than people anticipate, and waiting to do it in the morning before you leave will only push back your departure time, as well as add stress to your day. Avoid the frustration of packing up the car by doing it the night before so you can start the trip in good, fresh moods.

The question I get asked a lot is how do we entertain our son along the drive? Yes, we do have a portable DVD player and we do take along some movies. However, we don't allow him to watch more than two along the 10 hour drive. So at an average of 90 minutes each (for a Disney movie), that leave seven and a half hours to fill. We usually play rounds of the usual I Spy and letter games (naming animals that begin with each letter of the alphabet, food that begins with each letter, etc.). We have marked on a map the upcoming signs and landmarks and look for those along the ride, we play counting different items along the road (cows, RVs, etc.). We listen and sing along to one cd (usually a Laurie Berkner or Raffi cd), sometimes even accompanied by copying each other's seated dance moves, our son plays with my phone for a bit, we take turns taking photos with the camera, we read some books to him, he plays with his Leapfrog Tag, listens to stories on tape, he plays with miniature dinosaurs and cars, and he usually falls asleep for about an hour of the ride. Oh, and did I mention we eat? So that takes up at least a half-hour. . .

Some highlights along this roadtrip included our visit to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Mich., and the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak, Mich. along with spending a brief amount of time visiting our families. (I'll include recaps on those adventures separately.) For now, here's some photos from the road. . .

BOB Stroller Sale and Free Shipping now through August 15th!

In case you're looking to buy a new BOB stroller (or know someone who is), they're on sale at Joggermom.com right now - with, get this, FREE SHIPPING too! Sale prices and free UPS ground shipping are good through August 15th.

We LOVE our BOB stroller and just found out about this rare BOB sale through the BookieBoo mom's fitness site. We had a jogger stroller from a local retail chain early on, but it was difficult to push and run at the same time (we were always trying to fix the tracking and our forearms were always sore from trying to correct the direction), and making turns on the sidewalk or path? Fuhgeddaboutit! (So why'd we buy that one? Because Hubby didn't see the point of paying the BOB's price for a stroller at first.) Once we picked up the BOB, though, we'll never go back. It is surprisingly light, and SO easy to manuever. We use it everywhere - yes, even while travelling, and not just for jogging. If you're thinking about getting one, it is definitely worth the investment and a FABULOUS deal on sale! (Hubby now wishes we had invested in the BOB from the get-go.)

The BOB Revolution single stroller (what we have) is normally $389, and is on sale now for $350. The BOB Stroller Strides Double Fitness stroller usually goes for $589, and is now $530! The BOB Ironman single (which is the version Sarah Palin sports in this month's issue of Runner's World magazine) is on sale for only $314, and the Ironman Duallie is only $431!!

Check out Joggermom.com if you're interested in the BOB stroller sale, and don't forget to pick up accessories like the must-have handlbar console, infant car seat adaptor or the rain or sun/bug shield. 

Bugsby's Great Adventures Contest

VTech recently launched the Bugsby Reading System for kids ages 3-7 (similar to the LeapFrog Tag reading system with a wand and books), and I learned through TwitterMoms that they're promoting the system with a fun and easy contest for you and your child(ren). Bugsby's Great Adventures allows your child to write his/her own Bugsby adventure story, and runs now through August 25th. The neat part about the contest is that VTech will choose three of the stories submitted for future publication, so three lucky kids will become published authors!

I sat down with Li'l Boo to create our story this morning. To be sure, he is a natural storyteller and talker. He surprises strangers and store employees on a daily basis when they hold the door for us to enter, or smile and ask him something as innocuous as how he doing, or if he's being a good helper -  and he responds in complete sentences with a full-on five minute recap of what we've accomplished that day, or what we went into the store looking for. (Hi! I'm good. We're here to pick up some bananas so we can make banana bread. I don't like to eat fruit, so mom makes banana bread for me to eat for snacks, but not for dessert because chocolate's dessert - not banana bread. . . etc.) These strangers look at me with their jaws dropped as I smile, wink and hurry Li'l Boo along. He's not even four yet and seriously, this kid's a talker!

I attribute his vocabulary and chattiness in part to reading to him everyday since birth, listening to a lot of music, us traveling a lot exposing him to so many different experiences, and from asking him open-ended questions about things we notice in our daily lives. "Mom, there's a blackbird in our yard." "Oh, what's it doing? Looking for worms?" "Yeah, it's looking for worms. Big long juicy worms. To fly back to her baby birds in the nest." So I guess he kind of creates his own story adventures each day on his own! ;-)

Li'l Boo's thrilled with any chance he gets to be on the computer, so he was happy as a lark as I read him the options he had for text, and showed him the different characters and objects he could drag and drop into the story. (I still giggle when I see little kids on computers like in the Microsoft/PC commercial with the adorable four-year-old girl emailing a photo of her fish to family.) He had lots of ideas for story twists on the moon and on Mars - including a personal assistant monkey!

Unfortunately, I've tried to upload the story to share twice now, but there's some kind of issue with the submission process, so I'll have to link to Li'l Boo's story after it gets fixed. It was fun for us to create the stories, though.