Coast 2 Coast Mom

Hands-on Gaming Fun with Kinect for Xbox 360

Last week while we were in L.A. for the launch of Kinect for Xbox 360, we had time to play with some of the games that are in development to launch this fall. We tried our hands at all of the games available to us, and we enjoyed playing ALL of them! You can't help but smile and giggle watching others control the games with their bodies, and then doing it yourself. We had a blast.

I'd have to say our favorite games were Dance Central, Kinectimals, Your Shape, Kinect Adventures and Kinect Sports. These are some of our personal experiences with the games, so if you're looking for a more authoritative and technical look at the technology, check out my piece for Techlicious.

One of the overall crowd favorites was Dance Central, and while a great addition to any party, I can totally see tweens, dance teams and cheer teams and sorrorities having slumber parties playing this game all night long. (Or maybe, that's what I would have done. ;-)) Developed by Harmonix, the same company behind Rock Band, and you can see the similarities when you play it. I can see my sisters and me holding a dance-off next holiday season between us and the kiddos. It was fun watching others get their swag on, and I laughed watching Li'l Boo and c2cDad get funky.

Raising a Baseball Super Fan, or a Sports Diplomat?

It's a dreary day today, but yesterday was near perfect for the Run for the Wild: Save the Tigers 5K at The Bronx Zoo. Li'l Boo insisted on wearing his Detroit Tigers shirt for the Tiger run. (Thanks to his aunts for sending it to him.) He covered it up in the chilly morning with his zip-up Yankees hoodie, which was a great choice as we learned upon arrival for the race that the Yankees World Series trophy would be on display for photos at the end of the race.

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!

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?

 

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. 

First Family 5k of the Season

Yay! I love 5k-10k walk/run season. Morning charity races get my family up and moving early enough that we can awake, breathe fresh air, appreciate the outdoors, and still complete our weekend errands with time to do something fun or relax at the end of the day. I love the post-race feeling of not being completely spent, but of having "moved" enough to get the endorphins pumping, purge some toxins and be refreshed to tackle the day - all the while knowing we are helping out a charitable organization, and instilling a fit lifestyle in our son. (Okay, to be honest, I really like to see the early season "before" and late season "after" pics of myself looking toned and tan come the fall.) We're fortunate living in the NYC area to have a host of fun places and races to choose from.  

Our first 5k walk/run this year was the Run For The Wild at the Bronx Zoo last week. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and we received free parking, admission to the zoo, and free tix to the Congo Habitat  (including the gorillas) to explore after the race. It was our first visit to the Bronx Zoo, so it was a win-win for us, and it was an amazing way to kick off our 5k season.

Race recap: Li'l Boo ran nearly the ENTIRE second mile of the race, the participant goodie bags included Diego toy sets (we had three Antartic Rescue sets and were able to trade two of them them with other racers for the Mountain and Deep Sea R escues - Li'l Boo's so excited!). Tiki Barber ran the race and signed autographs afterward (the line was waaay long otherwise we'd have had him sign Li'l Boo's race shirt.) We did however walk nearly another three miles around the zoo after the race. The highlight was seeing the gorillas - which were very active and social - coming right up to the glass in front of us! You could see how powerful  and human-like they are in real-life. A truly amazing part of our day at the zoo. We'll return many times to share this experience with out-of-town visitors and with Li'l Boo for years to come.