The Silent I Speaks

Ford Taurus 2010

On Friday, I went to an event sponsored by Ford, hosted by my friends at Clever Girls Collective, introducing the 2010 Ford Taurus.  Riding around in the luxurious, tricked out new Taurus brought back fond memories for me.

My family has a long history with Ford cars. In 1968, my dad had an old Fiat that he basically drove into the ground. I think he abandoned it or sold it when the door fell off on I-75. After the Fiat met it's untimely demise, my dad abandoned foreign cars forever, bought a sturdy Ford sedan, and never looked back.  For my dad, the ultimate car was an enormous champagne-colored Ford LTD he bought new in the 1970's. My dad was really proud of this car, and it felt to me like we were driving around in our living room.  The seats were more  comfortable than our sofa, and the windshield was like some live action large-screen TV.  Through that enormous windshield, my brothers and I watched the world go by.

After my mom went to work in a local factory, her first job after being a stay-at-home mom for 12 years, she bought the car of her dreams: a Lincoln-Mercury Cougar.  The Cougar was red, fast, and symbolized her new-found independence.  She was a working woman, with her own money, making her own decisions about everything from what color the car was to what music played on the tape deck. I think of my mom's Cougar as her declaration of independence, and remember barreling down the highway with Sam Cooke's Greatest Hits blaring and all of us singing along.  Eventually, I inherited that car when I moved to Austin and declared my own independence of sorts.

Callpod FuelTank

Before our Solar Eclipse Trip, I was offered a cool new travel gadget called a Callpod FuelTank to try out.  Unfortunately, it didn't arrive before the trip, so I used it last weekend on my trip to Pittsburgh for Netroots Nation.  I have to say, I wish I'd had it for the solar eclipse trip, because it really came in handy.

Our family is, like many families, a little gadget-crazy.  We have cellphones and portable gameplayers galore, and when we take them on the road with us, the inevitable always occurs: we lose power at the most inopportune times.  This can be particularly frustrating on a 12 hour flight, when the Nintendo DSi battery decides to fail just as your kid is about to achieve global Pokemon domination. Enter: the Callpod FuelTank, part back-up battery, part sanity-saver.

The Callpod FuelTank is a lightweight, portable back-up battery recharger specifically made for cellphones and portable gaming systems.  It can simultaneously charge two small electronic devices at a time, so you don't have to carry around two different back-up batteries. You need to purchase adaptors for each of your devices, but it comes with one.  I received adaptors for the G1, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, and Treo. Sorry, but it won't help your laptop (hey, Callpod, when is THAT coming?).  It comes with a carrying case and it's lightweight so it easily fits in your purse.  When your battery runs out in the middle of a flight or a meeting or some other place you don't have access to an outlet, you plug in your device and recharge.

I have a Google G1 Smartphone, and as much as I love the functionality of the phone, the battery life sucks. The phone battery died in the middle of dinner one evening in Pittsburgh, so I whipped out the FuelTank, plugged it in, and was set for the rest of the night, until I could get back to the hotel and recharge both.  It came in handy for a compulsive Twitter addict like myself.

Overall, I thought this product was a winner, and I recommend it.

Disclosure: I received a Callpod FuelTank and several adaptors to try out at no charge. I did not receive any additional compensation or incentive for this review.

World Breastfeeding Week

This past week was World Breastfeeding Week, but I've been so caught up in work, planning a birthday party, and recovering from my last round of illness that I almost let it go by without mention. I received a couple of interesting press releases and information on this topic that I wanted to share here.  The first was this interview clip from Julie Menin's Give and Take.  In this clip from the interview series, CNN host Campbell Brown talks about motherhood, work-life balance, and looking for role models for working moms.  One particularly resonant anecdote is the one she tells about pumping, and express mailing breastmilk to her husband when she moderated a Presidential Debate. The full interview can be seen in four parts at Julie Menin's website, and will air on select cable channels.

I also received information from a marketing program aimed at increasing awareness by giving out information and breast-feeding friendly supplies as new moms are discharged from the hospital.  When Alex was born 9 years ago, I got not one but two diaper bags from the hospital chock full of...formula.  I thought it was a nice gift, but I was set on breastfeeding.  The only information on breastfeeding I got was some strong encouragement from the nurses and an instruction to watch a video.  Several painful, exhausting weeks later, I threw up my hands and went to see a lactation consultant, but felt like an utter failure.  Eventually, I figured out how to do it without making my toes curl from the pain, but it would have been helpful to have some additional information and supplies.

This has been the norm for a number of years now, so I was pleased to see that an alternative is now available.  The breastfeeding-friendly version of the discharge bag is called the Healthy Baby Bounty Bag.  Starting this month, the bag will be distributed in approximately 200 hospitals across the country, to about 300,000 new moms.  The bag contains milk storage bags, disposable nipple pads, samples, coupons, and information on breastfeeding.  The bags are sponsored by Lansinoh, makers of a lanolin cream that I could not live without when Alex was an infant.

I asked if this would be available at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, our local hospital, but unfortunately, it is not.  This might be a good project for our local Palo Alto & Menlo Park Parents' Club to take on.  I hope these bags will help other moms ease into breastfeeding a little smoother than I did.

 

 

La Loop: Functional Jewelry

I'm nearsighted, so I wear glasses.  I don't need them all the time, just when driving or watching movies. The problem is, when I'm not wearing them, I tend to leave them lying around. This leads to frantic searches for lost glasses, and more than a few times, damaged glasses from people sitting on them by accident.

So, when I received an offer to try out La Loop, it looked like something I could actually use. La Loop looks like the very popular circle neckaces, but of sturdy material that you can hang your glasses on.  The one I received was the "Sport Loop", a hot pink elastic band with a plastic ring attached to it.  It's the kind of thing you could wear to the beach and use for your sunglasses, or while biking or hiking.

I don't have many shirts that go with a hot pink plastic ring, so I wore it with a white t-shirt around the house.  It was very practical.  I always knew where my glasses where when I needed them.  When I had my glasses on, I wasn't aware I had the necklace on.

I had previously tried a beaded chain that attached to the earpieces of my glasses.  I ended up with guacamole-covered glasses when I reached for dip while wearing my glasses this way. With La Loop, the glasses lay flatter against your chest, so they don't dangle.  Plus, I didn't feel like the reincarnation of Marian the Libarian like I did with the chain.

Overall, I like La Loop. On the website, there are some that look like fashion jewelry, with freshwater pearls and gemstones.  In fact, I may buy a fancier one and wear it to work.  Mother's Day is just around the corner, so maybe I'll drop a not-so-subtle hint to the family to consider getting me one of the  Smokey Glass. Thanks to La Loop for letting me try out the Sport Loop!

La LOOP ranges in price from $20 -$250 and are available at www.laloop.com or 1.877-505-1500. (hint, hint).

Game Review: Wii Boogie Superstar

Thanks to the Parent Bloggers Network, we received a free copy of Boogie Superstar with Microphone for the Wii to try out and review.  It came with a cool Logitech microphone that plugs into the back of the Wii.

Since last Christmas, our family has been pretty much addicted to the Wii, the Wii Fit, and all things Wii-related.  We didn't want to buy a game console because we knew that once we did, Alex would probably never see blue sky and fresh air again.  With the Wii, we all play and enjoy many of the games as a family.

Wii Boogie Superstar is one of those that the entire family can enjoy.  That is, if you are from a family of hams who like to sing and pretend to dance.  That would be us. 

According to the elaborate introduction, the contestants on Boogie Superstar were selected for their killer karaoke and elaborate dance moves and have been whisked off to a remote island to compete in a song and dance contest.  Think "American Idol" meets "So You Think You Can Dance" meets "Temptation Island."  Well, maybe not the last one.

Contestants can choose from pop, urban, or techno and select songs from these genres.  You can do a combo of dancing and singing, or just dancing or just singing.  I haven't quite mastered the rhythm it takes to swing the Wii remote in the proper configuration for the dance moves, so I generally skip the dance part, and go straight for the karaoke.

When we first got this, I thought all the songs were made up just for the Wii.  Then I heard a number of them on the radio and realized that I was just out of touch.  I had no idea Leona Lewis was popular until I saw her singing my favorite Wii Boogie Superstar song, "Bleeding Love" on "Dancing with the Stars" last week.  Natasha Beddingfield is apparently also very popular, because the game came with a poster of her. Thank goodness for "Dancing with the Stars" or I wouldn't know who she was either.

The game is rated E10 for 10 and over due to some mature lyrics.  I guess we haven't unlocked those yet, because the songs we've heard are pretty mild, or have particularly salty language removed.  Alex is 8, and I have no problem with him playing this game and singing along to the lyrics.  It would be nice if the game had a feature that allowed parents to de-select certain songs that they might find objectionable. Maybe they can work on that for the sequel.  It's nice to have a game where no one gets shot with a laser, gun, paint pod, or toilet plunger.

One unintended benefit of this game is that it is actually helping Alex practice his reading skills.  When you do the singing, you have to follow the words at the bottom of the screen, and he is doing quite well following along. 

So far, Alex is beating me on most of the game.  I'm waiting to exact my revenge when they issue the "Wii Boogie Superstar: 80's Edition".  At least, I hope they plan to do that.  I'm not sure how much more urban-techno-pop I can take. 

I asked Alex for his unbiased review of this game and he said, "It's excellent!"

I guess that just about sums it up for me, too. 

MOMocrats Swag-O-Rama Raffle

The MOMocrats are doing a raffle to earn money to go to the Democratic National Convention.  Take your chances by looking at our fantastic gift bags over at the Help A Mama Swag-o-Rama Site. Just choose the prize packages you want to bid on, put them in your shopping cart using the paypal widget, and check out when you're done. We'll notify the winners on Saturday, August 9.  Proceeds go toward helping the MOMocrats pay travel expenses to get to and from the DNC.

I promise I'll stop the begging for the MOMocrats as soon as we get back from the Democratic National Convention.

If you have a blog and want to help us advertise the raffle, just put this code on your sidebar:

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://momocrats.typepad.com/raffle"><img border="0" alt="MOMocrats Swag-O-Rama Raffle" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/steph-trey/swagoramabigcopy.jpg" /></a></p>

THANKS!

How I Learned to Love the Michelin Man

If you want to see this video & post, you have to check it out over here. 

Sorry!  BlogHer Ad Rules.

Staples Presents: Fun With Personal Security!

I mentioned previously that I went to an event for bloggers sponsored by the nice people at Staples, featuring Bill Stanton, Today Show personality and security expert. I've been meaning to share the information that we learned there, but have been caught up with all the political stuff going on got distracted.

It was a fun event, and I enjoyed getting to hang out with some of my favorite bloggers, like CityMama, TechMama, Bad Kitty, Momma to LG, and Not Just A Working Mom.  Some of us carpooled up together, and it was great to catch up.  I also met some new people, like Lesley of Your TV 20.

I went in expecting something on tightening up your on-line identity, but the talk was much more focused on personal security and identity theft.  Bill gave some good tips on protecting your home and property, and illustrated it with stories of staged crimes that he had set up on the Today Show and Dateline to see how people react. He has staged burglaries in the middle of the day, child abductions, and other crimes and amazingly, no one really batted an eyelash to help.  This isn't news exactly, but still makes you wonder what you would do in this situation.  I think most people are concerned that if they get involved, they might get injured themselves or something might happen to their kids.  I'd like to think that if I saw a child being harmed in someway, I'd step in.

Zula Patrol: Science for Kids

I received a copy of The Zula Patrol:  Explore Space DVD from my friends at Parent Bloggers Network  to review.  I hadn't actually heard of this show before the DVD arrived, but since we love all things science-y in our house, I thought we'd give it a whirl.

I sat down last night with the house expert on TV shows for kids, Alex, who at seven has quite a discerning palate for television.  He first harumphed that he didn't like this show because it was Rated G, which meant it was "for babies." 

"I like PG," he stated very matter-of-factly.  I told him he needed to just keep on watching and ignore the fact that it was rated G.

The show features a cast of fanciful CGI images that are round, smooth, and non-threatening aliens, and a host of talking planets.  The one bad guy is more comical than scary, so I don't think this would frighten smaller kids. They intersperse lessons on science (in this case, space) with little cartoon vignettes. The lesson in the first one was an explaination of how the moon reflects light on the earth.  Each segment is followed by a "Multo Moment," which is a review quiz on what was learned at the begining."

I learned a couple of things that I didn't know about the solar system from the show.  For example, did you know that Jupiter has 11 moons?  One of them, Io, has the most active volcanoes in the solar system.  Did you know that the moons of Mars are not round, but sort of lumpy, like potatoes?  I thought that was cool.

My critic-in-training was not as impressed.  Alex said,  "That orange alien is always trying to be Mr. Smartypants.  I don't like the talking planets."

On the plus side, Alex did remark at the end, "I like these shows on the DVD more than the ones I saw on TV.   I like that you get to learn stuff.  I learned about the planets, Pluto, Uranus, Jupiter, Mars, Earth.  OK, Pluto is not a planet, but maybe it will be in the future."

Maybe they should explain that Pluto is not going to grow up to be a planet someday.  Otherwise, I'd say the show was a hit, even for a jaded seven year old.

Disney Comes to the SV

When we went to Los Angeles in January, we didn't have time to stop at Disneyland.  We didn't tell Alex that we were close to the Land of Mouse, otherwise we would have never heard the end of it.  In our travels, we've been to six Disney parks (Disneyland, California Adventure, Disney World, Epcot, Tokyo Disney and Disney Sea), and each one was a memorable experience. 

I think my favorite has to be Disney Sea, the companion park to Tokyo Disney, with it's around-the-world sea coast theme.  It's a truly amazing place, even though Alex threw the mother of all meltdowns at the turn-of-the-century Cape Cod attraction.  Still, it's a place I'd recommend to anyone visiting Tokyo.  I'd love to go back now that he's older and less prone to throwing popcorn out of a stroller at unsuspecting Japanese children.

We were fortunate to be invited to a Disney party this weekend, thrown by the wonderful women of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog and Disney.  When I told Frank about it, he said, "What exactly does one do at a Disney party?"

I had to admit, I had no idea.