Coast 2 Coast Mom

Happy 30th Rubik's Cube! Now With Solutions To The "Hot Mess"

I saw a news release earlier this week about 2010 marking the 30th aniversary of the Rubik's Cube in the U.S. (While created in 1974, it was introduced and sold in the U.S. beginning in 1980.) To celebrate the anniversary, Rubik's Cube is launching a new initiative for kids and teens, "You CAN Do The Cube," that provides incentives and solutions for kids ages 8-18 tackling the madness that can be the cube . . . causing the addictive user like me to become a "hot mess." The "You CAN Do The Cube" campaign is working with schools, camps and... Read more →

The Coco Chanel Mom Uniform

This post is inspired by this month's Silicon Valley Mom's Group book club choice, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky by Chris Greenhalgh (Now a major motion picture). I received a complimentary copy of the book as part of the book club. I didn't intend for it to happen. I didn't WANT it to happen. But alas, here I find myself in my slate colored yoga pants and long sleeve workout tee sitting with my laptop. Now a regular rotation in my laundry pile, I have succumbed to donning The Mom Uniform. I know I'm a part of the stereotype I... Read more →

Flipping for Phonics: Learn to Read with Word Families

Last fall I had the priviledge to attend a luncheon with Ellen Steiner to learn more about Flipping for Phonics. Flipping for Phonics is an affordable learn-to-read system based on phonics. It features Flip the Monkey and has three components: a flip book allowing you to form different words up to six letters long, storybooks featuring popular rhyming word families, and a music cd to reinforce the phonetical learning. While the reading system was developed for toddlers-adults, I think the perfect age is for 3-6 year olds. It was amazing watching my newly four-year-old pick up on the word families... Read more →

Siftables: These Little Blocks Could Be A Big Deal

As I prepare to attend Toy Fair next month, I want to share a product - launching later this year - that may be a contender for one of the top spots on holiday gift lists next year: Siftables. These smart blocks interact with each other by wirelessly sensing and communicating with neighboring blocks, creating essentially a digital block-based gaming system. Imagine your child playing Leapster 2 games or their favorite iPhone apps with interactive blocks. Cool concept, and even cooler to see the video demos on their site. Besides the "wow" factor in seeing the blocks interact seemingly through... Read more →

T'was A Good Thing: Attending the Martha Stewart Show

I was positively giddy last week in preparation for attending The Martha Stewart Show's special blogger show. I was going to see MARTHA! I've been a subscriber to her magazines, and ALWAYS search her website for holiday baking ideas, or other holiday "good things." The only thing I stressed about was what I would wear as there was a strict audience dress code in effect. (I went with orange thinking it was a color no one else would wear, and lo and behold, my bloggy friend Jen wore orange too!) I attended with my friend @Jenrab of NextKidThing and we... Read more →

How Vicks Saved My Marriage This Weekend...OR How I Got My Humility Back

Last fall I was honored to have attended a FABULOUS luncheon at Spa Chakra in NYC hosted by Vicks. The "Breathe Life In" event was fabulous in that it was well organized, featured friendly informative speakers, offered healthful food, and was in a beautifully sunny and relaxing setting. (Even the spa display shelves leading to our meeting room sylishly showcased the new Vicks products - c'est chic!) About a dozen or so local NYC-area bloggers participated in the luncheon to learn more about this year's new product line from Vicks, and we heard from Procter & Gamble employees Dr. Crystal... Read more →

Check Out Headphonies for Haiti: A Donation with Each Purchase

Now that holiday gift-giving is behind us, many of us are looking for ways to customize their techno gifts (such as iPhones, Droids, gaming devices and the like) with personalized cases, coverings or other accessories. One speaker accessory that I saw and liked the looks of at CES was the Mobi headphonie. I haven't tried them out myself yet (soon), so this isn't a review or endorsement, but I just learned about the headphonies for Haiti fundraising campaign and this DOES endear them to me. If I'm going to purchase something, I like that the company is supporting a cause... Read more →

Getting Our Pre-Sale Tickets for Walking with Dinosaurs at Madison Square Garden Summer 2010

Li'l Boo has been interested in dinosaurs since he was about two - dinosaurs quickly replaced the train obsession, and today he can name nearly 100 different dinosaurs. (Hence why I'm such a HUGE fan of The Dinosaur Train on PBS.) Of course, his favorite dinosaur is the T-Rex. I remember seeing commercials for the show Walking with Dinosaurs a year and a half ago when it was at Madison Square Garden, and debating every day whether to purchase tickets for us to see it, as I worried the show would be too life-like and scary for Li'l Boo at... Read more →

Let Your Kids Play With Your Computer Worry-Free With Kidos FREE Beta

I was going to create a round-up posting of my favorite products and offerings at CES for kids and parents, etc. here on Coast to Coast Mom, but because I'm writing about some of these items for Techlicious and Write On! Online, I've decided the best thing to do is just share my faves one by one to more quickly tell ya'll about 'em. So, without further adieu . . . I LOVED Kidos for the 3-7 year old set. It temporarily turns your adult computer into a kids computer with a secure operating system and customized interface. Kidos is... Read more →

First Post from CES: Loving the SANYO Dual Cameras

Alright everyone, here's my first CES entry of the year. I saw a ton of exciting products yesterday, and while some of the biggest news from yesterday's press conferences entailed 3D televisions and other down-the-line products, the first devices I saw that made me want to run out to the store were from SANYO. These will be available in February2 2010 and would fit seamlessly into my own daily life . . . and I thought they were gorgeous to boot. The two products are what SANYO calls "dual cameras" meaning they shoot video and still photos. The first is... Read more →