KidzBop Kool But Kinda Kreepy

Jul 12, 2011 by Sara

July 19th can’t come fast enough. Why? Because if I hear KidzBop 19 one more time in my car I might flip my lid.

The next volume – KidzBop 20 will be released on iTunes on July 19th.  Seriously, I’m so desperate to hear something new I just pre-ordered it.

For all you Mommies with kiddies under 3 you probably don’t know about KidzBop yet, but don’t worry, you will.

Trust Me.

So… What is it?

Well… it’s all the radio hits with the lyrics “cleaned up” and sung by kids. Yep, kids are belting out “DJ Got Us Falling in Love” and “Bulletproof.”

So far there are 20 volumes and several holiday specials and extreme ballad editions too.

Some of the cleaned up lyrics can be a little awkward at first but you get used to it and I will do anything not to listen to Dora over and over again.

For example on KidzBop 19 they change the words to California Gurls by Katy Perry as follows:

Original:

“California girls, We’re unforgettable
Daisy Dukes, Bikinis on top
Sun-kissed skin, So hot, We’ll melt your Popsicle
Oooooh oh oooooh”

Becomes:

“California gurls, we’re unforgettable
Fine, fresh, fierce, we got it on lock
Sun-kissed beach, so hot, will melt your Popsicle
(Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh)
(Oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh)”

It’s not perfect.

The kids are still singing about “melting Popsicles” and adult breakups, which I have to agree with Ray at Cover Me is still creepy.

But I’ll take it.

Better than trying to explain what Daisy Dukes are to my kids or why they can’t have a “gin and juice.”

The best part about the soon to be released Vol. 20 – they do a cover of Adele’s Rolling In The Deep. YAY!

The song I’m least looking forward to: they do a cover of ‘Whip My Hair’ by Willow Smith. HELP ME!

I could do without that one but I’m seriously done listening to “Cooler Than Me”.

read more

0 Comments

And Tango Makes Three

Jun 30, 2011 by Sara

Last week, New York did something awesome, it embraced marriage equality for same sex couples.

Today, Ilana over at Mommyshorts also did something pretty awesome, she put together a great list of children’s books that captures the essence of New York, my old hometown.

Immediately after I falsely accused Ilana of leaving out Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (Lyle the Crocodile), one of our favorites, I remembered another book which combines these two subjects beautifully.

It’s called And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and I thought it would be a nice lighter post after my last one.

 

 

This beautifully illustrated books is the true story of two male penguins from New York’s Central Park Zoo that fell in love and wanted to raise a family together.

It is simple and sweet, and drives home the message that a family is a family no matter how it’s made up.

I love reading this story to Anna and Jack and I love that it’s part of our library.

So if you love New York, go visit Ilana’s list of fantastic NY books for kids and then add one more: And Tango Makes Three.

Happy reading!

Sara

 

read more

2 Comments

Is Technology Always the Answer?

Jun 28, 2011 by Sara

I’m writing this post from +30,000 feet up in the air. Pretty cool right? Gotta love technology! WiFi, laptops, iPads, movies on demand…

The woman next to me has two small little girls who I have to say are some the best behaved kids I’ve ever seen.

So while I should be enjoying this 5 hour flight from SF to NY without my little ones, instead – seeing these two angels across the aisle only makes me miss them. Plus the fact that I’m going to NY for a funeral has me a little emotional.

So to divert myself I thought I would write quickly about this gadget this Momma next to me just broke out to keep the little ones occupied. It’s kind of like a cross between the etch-a-sketch and an iPad. But I have to do it quickly because I’m only at 7% battery life – I know… the irony of this is not lost on me.

Goodness knows l cringe every time my kids ask for my iPad and I reluctantly hand it over. I don’t mind the educational apps on it but inevitably they find movies and start watching Dora and it drives me nuts. Not to mention their gummy little fingers leave permanent mystery smudges all over the screen.

So my curiosity was peaked when the Momma next to me broke out this thing called a Boogie Board.

Here’s what it looks like:

 

She leaned over and told me it’s from Brookstone and will keep the kids entertained for hours.

Hours? That’s cool…

It stores the pen at the top and you just push the button to erase the picture and start over.

At first I thought, WOW! That is SO cool!

So having this neat and dandy WIFI at mid-air I thought why not look this thing up? It’s $40 from Brookstone, not bad… WAY cheaper than an iPad I thought.

But something looked so familiar about it.

I couldn’t place it. I’ve seen this thing before… wait a minute…

What is this thing called again?

 

Then through the power of Twitter at 35,000 feet, the Twitterverse and  I figured it out:

Remember this?:

The MAGIC SLATE!

 

Same thing… but no battery… no technology… doesn’t weigh as much as the Brookstone one… and DEFINITELY cheaper!

It made me wonder… is technology always the answer? In this case for sure, no. My kids would love to draw with a magic slate.  Probably not for hours but it would be good entertainment for sure and it wouldn’t cost $300 or even $40.  I wouldn’t be panicked if turbulence strikes and spills a drink on it or it gets dropped in the aisle.

Technology is definitely NOT always the answer… BUT…

It did help me figure out what the heck this thing was called, while I was flying at 35,000 feet!

And I did get to tweet, email, catch up on my blog reading all while cruising at ridiculously speeds through the air…

So it did keep ME entertained and therefore can’t be all that bad.

HA!

And YES, Magic Slates are still available for $5 bucks.

Enjoy!

xo

S.

read more

2 Comments

Frrrrrresca

Jun 20, 2011 by Sara

 

Jack today started talking about Fresca. Not Fresca, but Frrrrrrrresca.

No idea where he heard this.

Mommy only has Fresca at parties with vodka. Yummmy.

Here’s a little clip of him and him rolling his ‘rrrrrr’s

jack_fresca

 

read more

4 Comments

Postcards From My Phone to a REAL Inbox

Jun 15, 2011 by Sara

There’s nothing better than getting a real letter or postcard in the mail these days instead of just bills. With the art of letter writing almost completely extinct, I truly appreciate a little note or postcard from a friend.

So do my kids.

They run to the mailbox and search for envelopes with their names on it. Usually they have to be satisfied with the Oriental Trading catalog (which I always tell them is just for them).  That 30 page catalog can provide a good 20 minutes of entertainment.

Yesterday I discovered a fun app that combines snail mail and snapping pictures on the go.  If you take cute pictures of your kiddos with your phone while on the go but then want to actually SEND them to someone (like Grandma) there’s a new solution for that: Postagram.

Sending postcards of our summer activities just got a whole lot easier!

 

 

The app takes your photo, either from your regular photo album, facebook or instagram accounts and turns it into a postcard with a photo that can pop out. You provide the message, address and they do the rest.

 

Pretty cool right?

LOVE this idea.

Cost of the postcard is $0.99 – the first one is free. It works with iPhone or Android.

Enjoy!

xo

Sara

read more

8 Comments