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{Tech & Toy Tuesday} Koosh Solar Galaxy Recon Launcher~review

November 6, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

On Saturday, I went to this #MomMixer event for Mom bloggers. It was an opportunity for us to meet with various brands that wanted us to know about what they are promoting this holiday season. One toy that my boys got to take home is the Solar Galaxy Recon Launcher from Koosh. Ok, in full disclosure–it’s a toy gun. One that shoots these little balls about the size of ping pong balls, but they are foam-ish.

Click to see more.

I have no problems with my kids playing with guns. We don’t have that rule in our home and here’s why, my main reasons–

First, I don’t believe that playing with guns is going to translate into my kid turning into a murderer any more than if they play with Barbies, that they’ll turn gay. It just doesn’t work that way. But accidental shootings are a real concern. And it’s my personal experience and belief that many moms spend more time worrying about toy guns than they do real guns. Study after study tells us that while teaching kids about guns and gun safety is important, the most important factor is access. I have had many difficult conversations with people, particularly babysitters and day care. Yes, it feels awkward to say “Hey do you have any guns in your home, and where are they kept?” But this is what parents need to focus on more, instead of toy guns. And why am I semi-ranting about this? Because he wanted to take it to Show & Tell today and was not permitted. Ok, off my soapbox now and on to this awesome toy.

In a nutshell, my boys love it. My 3-year-old can work it just fine, even though it says ages 4 and up. I have talked with a few other moms with kids that are teens/tweens, and they are loving it too.

Features include:

  • Blaster comes with 4 glow in the dark foam balls and instructions
  • Guard the galaxy with glow-in-the-dark blasting power
  • Blaster features awesome sound effects and lights
  • All 4 balls glow in the dark
  • LED lights in the blaster charge up the glowing foam balls

I am making them play with it outdoors. The balls are light enough that they probably won’t damage anything indoors, but our house is small.  And I prefer for them to be outdoors getting fresh air anyway.

If you need a good gift in the $20-$25 range, then definitely give this a look.

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couponers and stockpilers~shelters may need supplies!

October 31, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

I got this message from a fellow Philly Social Media Mom:

Burlington County College’s PE Building has been activated as a Red Cross shelter, and there are currently about 150 people living in the gym – about 100 are adults, and the rest, children. They are sleeping on rows of cots and have very little, if anything, with them. Please if anyone has any of the following items to donate you would be AWESOME! Toiletries: such as shampoo, soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes, combs, sanitizing hand wipes, deodorant, lotion, feminine hygiene products, baby diapers (any personal hygiene supplies!)towels, clean clothing for any age group, toys and games for kids, blankets and pillows. We are going to do the best we can to get the kids a Halloween party tonight anyone interested in volunteering, donating candy or costumes- message me!

This is in Pemberton.

If you can help, leave a comment here on this blog. When you leave a comment, your email address will not be visible to the public, but will be to me. If Pemberton is too far for you but you still want to help, just leave a comment with your town.

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Exton Square Mall opens new indoor play area~Grand Opening is November 1 at 10 am

October 30, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Need to get out of the house? I do! While I am very grateful that Hurricane Sandy’s wrath spared my family and my house, I am sorry to see all the losses that some are experiencing. But, here’s something positive to look forward to if you need to get out of the house.

The Exton Square Mall just completed a new indoor play area and the Grand Opening is this Thursday at 10 am. At the Grand Opening, a ribbon cutting will set the stage for a day filled with free family fun including The Franklin Institute’s Traveling Science Show, The Philadelphia Zoo on Wheels, nature-themed characters such as a Singing Butterfly and Garden Gnome Balloon Artist, arts and crafts, face painting, prizes and giveaways, complimentary refreshments, and live music by the Mummers. Exton Square Mall also recently introduced the Kids’ Klub for local families with pre-school aged children. The free interactive Klub, which engages kids cognitively and creatively, take place on the second Tuesday of each month. Also, members receive exclusive discounts at participating mall retailers every Tuesday.

The mall is also pleased to announce recent additions of stores for kids and families, including Crazy 8, GAP Kids, Gymboree, Justice, and a new Learning Express just to name a few. Hope to see you there. The mall is opening late today (Tuesday) but I am assuming that by Thursday everything will be back to normal and this event will go on. I’m very much looking forward to it!

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{Tech & Toy Tuesday Review} What’s the difference between Leap Pad 1 and Leap Pad 2?

October 23, 2012 by · 1 Comment

Last year I tried to do a weekly feature throughout the holidays highlighting deals on the latest toys and tech gadgets. I’m going to try to bring it back this year. For this week, I’m going to talk about the Leap Pad. After owning it for about a year, I think we can give a good review on the Leap Pad 1.

leap pad, $99 leap pad

Click to see more Leap Pad apps and games.

I was one of the moms (hangs head in shame) who bought into all the hysteria over the Leap Pad last year. However, in my defense, my parents actually purchased it for the boys, not me. And, really, it is a toy that gets played with almost every day. I have gone through bouts of buyer’s remorse over it, but all in all, they really enjoy it. Last year, of course you could only get the Leap Pad 1, so that’s what we have. The Leap Pad 2 was not available until this fall. My boys do not have unlimited access to ours. I keep it “high up” and they have to ask to use it. It is essentially a video game and a mini-video player all in one, so I don’t want them spending endless hours on it every day.

Here is what I really like about the Leap Pad–

  • It’s awesome for the car, waiting in waiting rooms, restaurants and situations like that where I need them to be polite and quiet.
  • It’s just for kids, so by default the only things you can download onto it are kid-friendly (unlike an ipad or regular tablet)
  • Nice variety of learning videos, games and activities.
  • Not everything on it is a Disney or Nickelodeon or other branded character. There are no-name kid activities on there that they really enjoy.

Here is what I wish I could change about the Leap Pad–

  • The apps and games are much more expensive than what  you pay for a regular tablet and they can only be purchased in one spot. No competition, high prices, very disappointing.
  • On ours, the back plates that cover the batteries fall off constantly. Right now, though, Amazon has the gel case for $9 or FREE when you buy a Leap Pad 1, so I ordered it. Hopefully that will keep the back on.
  • Since you can only get apps in one spot (from the Leap site), I have no doubt that they are collecting our user data when we get apps. I don’t like that.
  • We got through tons of batteries, I wish it was rechargeable.
  • I wish it shut off automatically when my kids just set it aside.

So, there is the Leap Pad 2. What is different, and what does that mean to us?

  • Twice as much memory. I don’t think we are in danger of running out of memory on the Leap Pad 1.
  • More processing. Again, I haven’t found this to be a problem. Ours works and boots just as quickly as we need it to.
  • Camera is now front and back, instead of just the back. Not really necessary, they like the camera just fine and have fun with it.
  • Rechargeable. A ha! Now we’re on to something. I wish ours was.
  • And the battery life is an extra hour longer.
  • Price difference: On average, you will pay $20-$30 more for a Leap Pad 2 or bundle set, as compared to the Leap Pad 1.

The only thing that would really interest me is the rechargeable battery. I have a charger and rechargeable batteries from Energizer, I just need to get better about using it regularly. All the games and apps are the same. But, if you don’t own one yet, I would pay the extra for the Leap Pad 2. Because we have easily gone through $20-$30 worth of batteries in one year, so that will pay for itself. Unless I could sell ours gently used and get back what we paid for it, I can’t justify spending another $100+ to save money on batteries. Now, here are some places to shop for the Leap Pad 1 and Leap Pad 2. Please keep in mind if you are finding this post at a later date, these offers may no longer be valid.

Leap Website: Currently offering 15% off your order of $50 or more.

Kmart: Use code KMART10PSAVINGS to get 10% off entire purchase.

Toys R Us: Currently has 20% off entire order + free shipping.

WalMart: Free shipping on orders of $45+

Amazon: Has the Leap Pad 1 for as low as $60-with the green gel case, a great price. See the whole collection of Leap on Amazon Also on there they have had the $20 app card for $13-$15.

Stay tuned and make sure you follow my blog! We love the Leap Pad and post deals on the apps card and the free apps whenever we can find them.
 

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