reviews - Dad of Divas

DADuary Book Review – A Dad’s Point of View by @BruceSallan @aDadsPov #DADuary2013 #dadchat

January 18, 2013 by dadofdivas 6 Comments

About the Book

Taking the best of his columns, A Dad’s Point-of-View (published in over 100 newspapers and websites), about life as a single divorced dad now remarried, Sallan brings it all together in the one parenting and relationship book that readers will totally connect to and catch themselves saying, “I’m right there with you, Bruce!” In fact, many will be turning to it again and again as they face the challenges of raising today’s youths.

And for the thousands of Sallan fans, it truly delivers. Not only is it receiving very positive feedback, but it is has received numerous stellar reviews including one from Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, creator of Spiderman, The Fantastic Four and X-men. Lee states, “Bruce’s fascinating look at the ups and downs of parenting reminds me of Marvel Comics. There too, we choose not to hide the blemishes of life, but to discuss them in an entertaining and helpful manner. Must reading for all parents and would-be parents.”

Sallan’s goal with the book is simple. “It’s my hope that families of all faiths and circumstances will enjoy it and benefit from it as they face the many challenges of parenting. Through my own stories and experiences, I share from the heart about raising my sons, surviving after a divorce, adding a new step-parent to the mix, and how to have more joy in the small things, such as family traditions.”

A Dad’s Point-of-View: We ARE Half the Equation is published by JuneDavid Publishing and sells for $19.95 at leading bookstores including Amazon or through the author’s website, http://www.BruceSallan.com.

My Take on the Book

As a dad blogger I have followed Bruce for some time. I even interviewed him as my 36th father in my Dads in the Limelight Series. So when I heard that Bruce came out with the book that he had been working on for some time, I knew that I had to check it out to see if it followed the quality writing, advice and humor that I have come to expect and appreciate about Bruce’s writing, it did!

I have to say that I truly enjoyed this book! There was so much great information and resources shared within its pages and as a parent I could definitely relate to much of what he was sharing. Most of the book is full of so much everyday parenting humor and information that you will not be disappointed when you learn from Bruce as you are reading along.

This book also is not just for dads, but for parents. The humor that he uses as well as information that he shares will be helpful to all who read it. I loved how the book talked to me as a reader, and it seemed to be that Bruce was sitting in the room talking to me instead of me reading his words on the page.

Overall, this was a great book, and one that when shared between moms and dads will provide for good conversation and for a clearer understanding of the roles that each play in the parenting of a child in today’s society!

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The Sea Captain’s House Restaurant in Myrtle Beach ( @MyMyrtleBeach ) is Amazing! #myrtlebeach

August 26, 2012 by dadofdivas 2 Comments

A few weeks ago my family and I traveled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a vacation and while there we had some great experiences and shared some very fun times. I was lucky enough to be able to work with the Myrtle Beach Tourism Bureau as a part of the trip and one of the things that they provided was a gift card to The Sea Captain’s Restaurant. I had never heard of this restaurant before so I ended up looking online to find out more. What I saw online look simply delicious and I could tell that I was going to completely enjoy myself when we went to this restaurant (as I love seafood)!

We ended up going to the restaurant on an evening after a very full day of other activities and by the time that we got there it was close to 7:30 pm (quite late with kids). We had not called ahead to get a reservation, but seeing at what time it was we thought it would not be too crowded… we were wrong. Even at this later hour, the restaurant was hopping! We ended up having to wait about 25 minutes for a table but the time went by quickly as they had wait staff to bring out drinks and games in the lobby as well.

When we got to our seats we were given a hot basket of hushpuppies and were able to see the amazing array of food that they had on the menu (so much more than just seafood).

My Review of the Restaurant

To conclude, this was an amazing restaurant with amazing food that I would highly recommend to anyone that is going to Myrtle Beach in the near future!

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#BlogPop School Rules Seattle’s Best Giveaway!

August 5, 2011 by dadofdivas

It’s about time to go back to school! Between August 4-7 the 10 bloggers from Blog Pop are working together to bring you some awesome giveaways! So go and check out the following blogs for some other great prizes, and remember to come back here a lot over the next few days to enter for some great prizes! The ten blogs that are a part of the School Rules Event include:

Quick Tattletails	Still Blonde After all These years	The Socialite’s Closet	Stash Mama	Momma Told Me
Turning the Clock Back	Making Ends Meet	My Life with Rats and More	Confessions of an Overworked Mom	Dad of Divas

My next giveaway is Below!

People are passionate about their coffee and many would go as far as saying they truly “love” coffee. Recently, Seattle’s Best Coffee introduced a new line of iced canned lattes.

Seattle’s Best New Iced Coffee

Seattle’s Best Coffee, part of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX), today announced the latest addition to its “Anywhere Great Coffee is NeededTM” strategy: its new line of iced canned lattes. Following a successful West Coast test in 2010, this marks the brand’s entrance in the $1.4 billion dollar U.S. ready-to-drink category. This move capitalizes on the growing trend in iced coffee beverages that according to the NPD Group accounts for about 20 percent of sales in coffeehouses and quick serve restaurants with more than 1.2 billion servings in 2010.
Made with the same premium coffee as the Seattle’s Best Coffee hand-crafted beverages, the line includes an Iced Latte, Iced Vanilla Latte and Iced Mocha Latte each with 130 calories. Through the North American Coffee Partnership (NACP), a joint venture between Starbucks Corporation and PepsiCo, Inc., the lattes will be available in major grocery, convenience and other retail stores beginning in late January with a suggested retail price of $1.49 for a single 9.5-ounce can and $4.99 for a four-pack. Building on the “Anywhere Great Coffee Is Needed” campaign that debuted earlier in the year, the product line will be supported this spring by a significant marketing campaign that will use the brand’s fun and optimistic voice to show many ways the new Seattle’s Best iced lattes can now be enjoyed.
“With this move we’re continuing to deliver on our ‘Anywhere Great Coffee Is Needed’ strategy by bringing a new kind of convenience to iced coffee, which is the fastest growing segment in premium coffee,” said Michelle Gass, president, Seattle’s Best Coffee. “Through our test we confirmed that consumers are looking for a great tasting iced coffee beverage in an on-the-go format and at only 130 calories per serving, it’s a product they can enjoy at breakfast and throughout the day.”
The national roll-out follows a successful year for Seattle’s Best Coffee. Under the new Starbucks Corporation multi?brand portfolio strategy, Seattle’s Best Coffee is accelerating its growth to reach new customers and occasions. Key to the Seattle’s Best Coffee growth strategy is a complete revitalization of the 40?year?old brand and a new business direction that fully leverages its multi?channel strategy to bring great coffee everywhere. To date, the brand has expanded the number of locations consumers can get a freshly brewed cup of Seattle’s Best Coffee® from 3,000 in 2009 to more than 40,000; launched the Level System, an innovative and radically simplified packaged coffee line that makes finding the right coffee as easy as 1-2-3-4-5; and seen a ten?fold increase in interest among potential franchisees as it has continued to expand its retail footprint.

My Take on the Latte’s

Sweet, smooth and delicious, this is all I can say about my thoughts on these Iced Lattes. Getting these drinks nice and cold on a hot day just hits the spot and they also give you that extra energy boost that you need whether it be in the early morning or in the evening. All of the varieties are very unique and have very different flavors, so you will need to check out each one to find what works best for you and for your own taste buds. Overall though, these drinks were very convenient and tasty, I highly recommend to all!

If this sounds good you can try it out for yourself by using the following coupons for some money off: http://bricks.coupons.com/Bstart.asp?o=89166&c=SB&p=BplCyeZH

Giveaway

How would you like to win a Seattle’s Best Gift Pack? All you need to do is subscribe to this blog and be a GFC follower of Dad of Divas and then go to the Seattle’s Best websiteand share let me know what you would like to try from Seattle’s Best in the comment section. The contest will run for one week and will end on August 12, 2011.

Bonus Entries

Blog about my Giveaway by linking back to this post (1 entries per blog post. Please leave each entry in separate comments with your URL link in order for it to count) (+4)

Grab my badge to your sidebar (+2)

Subscribe to the Dad of Divas Reviews Site (+1)

Subscribe to Dad of Divas by Email (+2)

Follow me on Twitter (@dadofdivas) (leave username in comment) (+1)

Share this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook or any forum, including the name of the prize and a link to this post. Here I’ll make it easier on you, copy and paste this:” @dadofdivas is giving a Seattle’s Best Giftpack – http://dadofdivas.com/giveaway #schoolrules #blogpop” (Then leave the link to your post. One entry per place per day) (+1)

Like Dad of Divas on Facebook (Leave username in comment) (+1)
Like Blog Pop on Facebook (Leave username in comment) (+1)

Follow the Blog Pop! blogs: (+1 each)

1. Confessions of An Overworked Mom
2. Momma Told Me

3. Making Ends Meet
4. Stash Mama
5. Socialite’s Closet Blog
6. Turning The Clock Back
7. Still Blonde After All these Years
8. Quick Tattle Tails
9. My Life With Rats And More

Enter any of the giveaways below (+1 per giveaway entered)

Make sure you comment separately for each task after the required entry task so you will get credit for each one ~ and leave your e-mail where you can be contacted.

This contest will run until August 12, 2011 at approximately 11:59 pm Eastern.

Winner must be a resident of the U.S or Canada.

Winners are chosen at random, if you want all your chances counted, make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!

Winner has 48 hours to contact me or another name will be chosen.

As required by the FTC: Blog POP! received no monetary compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are those of the writer’s alone.

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Book Review – Parenting Without Stress

July 24, 2011 by dadofdivas 4 Comments

About the Book

This book describes solutions for more effective parenting by using the three proven practices of positivity, choice, and reflection along with the Raise Responsibility System (used in homes around the world) to prompt young people to WANT to behave responsibly without any external or manipulative approaches of rewards, bribes, threats, or punishments. In the process, stress is reduced, relationships are improved, and young people become more responsible.

About the Author

Marvin Marshall—an American educator, author, and speaker—is widely known for his approach and his landmark education book, Discipline Without Stress® Punishments or Rewards – How Teachers and Parents Promote Responsibility & Learning.

He has founded a charitable organization to assist schools promote responsibility and learning by supplying the education book at no charge to every teacher of any school in the U.S.A. that applies to use his proactive and noncoercive (but not permissive)approach. Applications are available online at DisciplineWithoutStress.org.

He has presented in 44 of the United States, in 16 countries, and on 5 continents to parent groups; schools; school districts; universities; local, state, national, and international associations; and government agencies.

He has a world-wide audience of over 15,000 subscribers to his free monthly newsletter,“Promoting Responsibility & Learning.” You can subscribe at the home page.

His approach stemmed from his experiences as parent; recreation director and camp counselor; classroom teacher at the elementary, middle, and high school levels; middle school counselor; middle school assistant principal; high school counselor; high school guidance department chair; high school assistant principal of both supervision and control and curriculum and instruction; and as an elementary and high school principal.

He has also served as a demonstration teacher, instructional coordinator, district director of education, and full-time instructor at California State University, Los Angeles.

He earned his Bachelor’s in Language Arts and his Masters’ in Business Administration at California State University, Los Angeles. His Doctorate in Education was awarded by the University of Southern California.

He is certified by the William Glasser Institute on Reality Therapy and Choice Theory.

His experiences prompted him to develop a system that employs internal motivation—rather than relying on external approaches of bribes and manipulation or by employingcoercion in the form of threats or punishments. A prime reason for its success and thegrowing numbers of parents and teachers using his approach is that internal motivation is significantly more effective in changing behavior than any external approach.

His system is based on the simple fact of life that a person can be controlled by another person but only can be changed by the actual person. This understanding that individuals can only change themselves is critical to successfully influencing young people to have them become more responsible—while simultaneously reducing parental stress and allowing parents to have a life of their own.

Additional information about his approach is at MarvinMarshall.com

[amazon_enhanced asin=”0970060661″ /]

My Take on the Book

This book is a treasure trove for any parent. I know that for me, I struggle with staying calm and keeping my head at times when things get crazy or hectic. This book was so easy to read and full of amazingly practical examples and resources that any reader can follow and learn from. I have already tried to use a few of the examples and tips within the book and I am liking the results that I am seeing thus far.

What I liked most about the book is that it empowers parents to empower their own children to make the right decisions as they get older. I know for me this is something that I am hoping that my daughters are learning from me, but I sometimes do question how much they are retaining. I mean, as a parent, one of the most important things I can think of is raising a responsible child. This book leads you in the right direction! If you are currently a parent or if you plan to be in the future, you should check out this book today!

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Book Review – What Do You Expect? She’s A Teenager!

July 23, 2011 by dadofdivas 2 Comments

About the Book

How often do you hear mothers of girls talk about their dread of the tween and teen years? As a mom of a daughter about to turn ten, I myself have had my share of panic thinking of the middle and high school years and the “girl drama” I have been told to expect.

What Do You Expect? She’s a Teenager! A Hope and Happiness Guide for Moms with Daughters Ages 11-19 (Sourcebooks; TP $14.99; August 2011) by Arden Greenspan-Goldberg is just the life raft moms need. I’d be happy to send you a review copy with my compliments if you‘ll let me know where to send it.

A calm, collected voice of reason, Arden’s message is: “I’m in your corner. I know you can do this. Moms are their daughters’ secret weapons and their very best defense.”

Arden is a nationally recognized family and marriage psychotherapist who has specialized in teen issues for more than 30 years, encouraging mothers of teenage daughters. Based on her renowned clinical practice, as well as her own personal experiences parenting her now-grown daughter, What Do You Expect? She’s a Teenager! is the ultimate preparation manual and survival guide for mothers of tweens and teens.

Packed with tips, expert interviews, real-life vignettes, and helpful conversation starters, What Do You Expect? She’s a Teenager! preps moms in advance for the issues they’ll face, from the familiar teen problems-sex, drugs, and alcohol use-to newer territory-cyberbullying, sexting, and internet pornography.

Arden’s unique philosophy of “Aerial Parenting” empowers moms to respond rather than react. Turning conventional wisdom on its head, she argues against curfews and punishments, and instead tells us to expect our daughters to make mistakes and enlist them in creating their own solutions to their problems. With Arden and her essential and accessible primer at their side, moms can not onlysurvive, but actually thrive during the teenage years.

A nationally featured expert on The View, MSNBC, and CNBC among others, Arden is available for interviews and guest posts throughout August and September, just in time for the back-to-school season. In addition to review copies, I also have a limited number of free copies I can offer for promotional giveaways. Should any of this be of interest, I’d be glad to facilitate.

My Take on the Book

One of the biggest fears right now is about what I have in store for me once my eldest and then both of my girls make it into their teenage years. I mean, I was a good kid during high school and really did not make too many waves (or at least that is what my parents say now). Thus for me it is hard to fathom what it could be like to have a child that does not do this (though I know that many are not like this).

What I liked about this book was that it was set up like a reference guide and had the answers to almost any question that I could think of in helping your teenage daughter. Also, the book is set up to be practical with so many examples of real life teenagers and their mothers and it is through these examples where the reader can see themselves. There are also a ton of checklists and sections where the reader is asked to put themselves in the learning role and having yourself ask hard questions about where you are truly at with your relationship with your daughter(s) during their teenage years.

If you have a tween or teenage girl or if you have a daughter younger than this, this book would definitely be the type of book that could be a lifesaver!

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Legacy Learning & Gibson Teaches you to Play Guitar – Giveaway

July 14, 2011 by dadofdivas

The Gibson name has stood for superior quality in musical instruments for decades now. With Gibson’s Learn & Master Guitar, taught by guitar pro Steve Krenz, that tradition of excellence continues.

Gibson’s Learn & Master Guitar course is known as the most complete course available for learning guitar. It is the winner of the Acoustic Guitar Magazine ‘Players’ Choice’ Award, two Telly Awards, and an AEGIS Award for Excellence in Education.

What’s Inside:

20 professionally filmed DVDs in HD with over 40 hours of instruction.
5 Jam-Along CDs.
100+ page lesson book.
Unlimited access to our online student support site.

Gibson’s Learn & Master Guitar is designed for all skill levels. We provide the roadmap and you provide the practice!

The Alternatives

If you have looked online for guitar courses, you have probably seen a lot of thirty-minute “Learn Guitar Overnight” videos. Your instincts tell you that these will not work. For someone who really wants to learn to play guitar, Gibson’s Learn & Master Guitar provides a series of video guitar lessons that will take you from any skill level, even a total novice, through to advanced levels.

Not a beginner guitarist? That’s OK. Skim through the basics and jump into the more advanced training. Learn more about using the course as an intermediate player..

Lesson books alone, with no detailed video instruction, can be confusing. Using software-based instruction chains you to your computer and is difficult to use. Private guitar instruction is pricey, inconvenient, and depends on finding the perfect teacher. An average weekly guitar lesson will cost you $2,000 per year plus all that driving!

Gibson’s Learn & Master Guitar program solves all of these problems. We combine the best instructional tools for learning guitar in one course. Learn & Master Guitar is serious guitar training. Order Now!

My Take on the Guitar Training

I am not a great guitar player, but I would like to be one day. I have owned an acoustic guitar for some time thanks to my mother passing it on to me and for many years it sat in a hard case in our basement due to lack of knowledge on my part. I would start and stop my attempts at learning every now and again, but would eventually stop due to frustration or lack of time. I know as a trumpet player that this is not the way in which you learn an instrument, so I have to chastise myself for this lack of follow through. In saying this, I was excited to find that in fact there was a program through Legacy Learning that provides you with the opportunity to get serious about learning the guitar. As some of you know I went through another of their programs recently in learning about Photography. If you did not read about it, find the post here.After finding out about this program I took the plunge and decided to strike out to see what I could become.

The program is set up to be very user friendly. They take you from the very beginning where you might not know anything to the end where you will hopefully be jamming to some of the tracks that they provide. I am definitely at the ground floor working myself up, but that is ok and I am fine with that fact!

So, the program is set on 20 DVD’s and there is over 40 hours of instruction, so you have to pace yourself, as your fingers will definitely thank you in the long run. Back to the course itself, I found the lessons to be great. They were easy to follow and I loved the fact that I could come and go as I pleased and that I could repeat a certain lesson that I might be having more difficulty with or that I did not completely understand.

I am not almost through the course and I do see a marked difference in my abilities. I am not saying that I will be the next Jimi Hendrix, far from it, but this program did allow me to become more confident in my own abilities and be able to know that I too can play the guitar. My girls think I am cool now that I can play some of the songs that they enjoy as well!

So what are you waiting for, go and check out this program today, you will not be disappointed!

Giveaway

How would you like to win a copy of this DVD set? All you need to do is Subscribe to this blog and follow me on Google Friend Connect and then visit the Legacy Learning Learn & Master Guitar site and leave a comment on this post. Tell me What you would hope to learn by taking this course?. The contest will run for one week and will end on July 21, 2011.

Bonus Entries

Blog about my Giveaway by linking back to this post (1 entries per blog post. Please leave each entry in separate comments with your URL link in order for it to count)

Grab my badge to your sidebar

Subscribe to the Dad of Divas Reviews Site
Follow me on Twitter (@dadofdivas) (leave username in comment)
Share this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook or any forum, including the name of the prize and a link to this post. Here I’ll make it easier on you, copy and paste this:” @dadofdivas is taking himself to guitar school,how about u? #Win a Legacy Learning Guitar Course – http://dadofdivas.com/giveaway ” (Then leave the link to your post. One entry per place per day)
Like Dad of Divas on Facebook (Leave username in comment)

Make sure you comment separately for each task after the required entry task so you will get credit for each one ~ and leave your e-mail where you can be contacted.

This contest will run until July 21, 2011 at approximately 11:59 pm Eastern.

Winner must be a resident of the U.S or Canada.

Winners are chosen at random, if you want all your chances counted, make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!

Winner has 48 hours to contact me or another name will be chosen.

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Game Review – Splinter Cell 3D (3DS)

June 24, 2011 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

About the Game
Coming exclusively to the Nintendo 3DS™, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 3D is the highly anticipated hand held game in the multimillion-selling Splinter Cell series and one of the most critically acclaimed franchises of all time.

Sam Fisher is sent behind enemy lines in the Korean Peninsula to prevent WWIII, by investigating the responsible party that sunk the USS Clarence E Walsh, U.S.’s most advanced cruiser. Through his investigation, Sam learns that the key parties who are planning to use the Masse Kernels to launch WWIII are war comrade Douglas Shetland, Displace International, and Admiral Otomo, the Third Echelon Information Self Defense Force (I-SDF) contact.

The cutting edge hardware of the new Nintendo 3DS™ allows Splinter Cell fans to play in immersive 3D and ability to interact with the game like nothing before.

Features:

Immersive 3D Action – Gameplay, Cinematic, Maps, HUD, Menus, Loading screens, and more are projected in stereoscopic 3D.
Optimized Controls – New button mapping with the Slide Pad and Touch Pad gives the player seamless control to equip weapons and gadgets for more effective mission executions.
Enhanced Weapons – Protagonist Sam Fisher is equipped with enhanced weapons and better gadgets to infiltrate the enemy: new fusion goggles, OCP electronic disabling device, wall mine, more add-ons for the SC-20K rifle, smoke and gas grenades.
Infiltration Evolved – Lock picking is enhanced by utilizing the new Slide Pad to mimic the realism of lock picking. Hacking has also evolved from numeric codes to solving interactive 3D puzzles.

[amazon_enhanced asin=”B004L491A6″ /]

My Take on the Game

I had played Chaos Theory on a friend’s Nintendo DS system in the past and this game reminds me a lot about it (without the 3D action that is). As a single action shooter game, the 3D adds depth to the game. There were a few parts where it was a little blurry, but what I liked was that I could turn off the 3D if I so chose at those points in time.

It takes a little time to get used to the controls on the game, but once you do it is a lot of fun! I will warn you though that after you do get the controllers down, this game can be addicting and you can find yourself losing track of time and instead finding that hours have passed you by (not that this has happened to me…I’m just saying).

The one part of the game that I did not like was the time it takes to load the game. At different points in the game, it tends to get bogged down, such as when you die and need to restart. Though this was a bit frustrating at times, I still loved the game and know that I will be playing it for a long time to come.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site’s Disclaimer for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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Game Review – Raving Rabbids Travel in Time (WII)

June 24, 2011 by dadofdivas 1 Comment

About the Game
The

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are about to change the course of human history and you’re invited to the party!

Rabbids are bwaaack and this time they have an infallible plan to travel back in time and invade human history! Plunge into the past with the wacky Rabbids and revisit the greatest moments of history like the discovery of fire, the broken nose of the Sphinx or the legend of Arthur. Uncover how Rabbids wreaked havoc and changed the course of history.

Key Features:

Deeper mini-games: 25 mini-games with 4 different types of gameplay and 10 micro-games: flying, dancing, bouncing & pointing games in different historical environments from Egyptians to King Arthur.

More competition, more fun: Sabotage your opponents, seamless online/offline gameplay, multiplayer up to 4 players.

High level of customization: pick and play between 30 unique historical costumes, such as Indian, Cowboy, Egyptian and Musketeer.

Wii motion compatible, no board required.

[amazon_enhanced asin=”B003O6FVN8″ /]
My Take on the Game

The first thing that I loved about this game was the fact that it provides games within games. There are so many mini-games within this game that you will be amazed at the amount of fun that you and up to three other friends or family members can have in the ever-changing silly game.

I have played Raving Rabbids games before, and if you liked the graphics then, you will like it now as they continue in their full vivid color and display. There are better graphics out there for other games, but I have to say that the graphics did not hold me back at all! For me, this game was more about the fun you can have!

The game transports the Rabbids back in time to many different points and they get into a ton of hair-brained situations that you have to work hard on getting through. It takes some hand-eye coordination in some parts and my eldest daughter took a little time to get used to the game itself (she’s almost seven). One of the things I would definitely recommend is that you take the time to watch the short videos that are spread throughout the game. The Rabbids are just so funny and especially if you are playing with younger kids, they just love them and find them to be hilarious!

I have now played a number of the mini-games (though not all) as well as the WII Motion plus games, and all are fun. I really enjoyed the motion plus games though and found them to be interactive and engaging and the extra motion adds that extra bonus for the players enjoyment.

One of the things that my daughter loved was dressing up the Rabbids in period costumes (I think she liked the mummy costume best).

Overall this was a great game and one that I would highly recommend for the whole family!

CTA Offers a Great Travel Charging Dock for the new Nintends 3DS

June 15, 2011 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

About the Product
For many gamers, the battery life of the Nintendo 3DS™ just doesn’t cut it. Fortunately you can double the battery life of your 3DS with

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. What makes the battery pack so unique is it’s internal lithium ion battery, which doubles your power, acts as an external battery and also a wireless charger to the 3DS stock battery. It also has a built in stand so you can position your 3DS just the way you like it. Once the battery pack is fully charged using the included USB cable, you can play and recharge your 3DS anywhere, without any wires. Simply attach the battery pack to the back of the 3DS, push the power button and your all set! Unlike other 3DS external batteries, there’s no assembly required, and no need to unscrew and tamper with the back of your 3DS. The 4 blue LED lights on the right indicate it’s power status and when it’s fully charged the red light on the left will turn green. This way you know exactly how much power you’ve got, and if you find yourself with no power at all, the battery pack acts as an external battery to power the 3DS. So with the Portable Power Battery Pack for Nintendo 3DS™, you can enjoy the freedom of gaming for hours wherever you want.

• The Blue LED lights indicate the battery pack charge level.
• The Red light turns to green when the battery pack is fully charged.
• Have extra power for your 3DS when traveling.
• Integrated Stand for an optimum viewing angle.

• 5 hours for a full dock charge.
• 1.5 hours for a full 3DS charge.

Package includes:
(1) Portable Power Battery Pack for Nintendo 3DS™
(1) 42’’ USB Cable

Find out more about this product by visiting CTA’s website – http://www.ctadigital.com/item.asp?item=2918

My Take on the Product
I agree with what the product description states, the power behind the Nintendo 3DS sometimes does lack and being that when I am playing I don’t want to simply shut down the system to charge, this charging dock and internal battery offers me a great addition power source to boost and add to my gaming time altogether.

I loved the fact that the product was so easy to use and set up. It is really a plug and play type of device. There is nothing difficult about the system. You simply hook it up and you are ready to go, it’s that simple.

Best of all is the fact that this product does deliver. It does give you the extra time that it states it will. Thus, if you are a Nintendo 3DS player and you are finding (like I was) that the existing power within the system was not enough, you cannot find a better priced option than

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Mama Money & the Three Little Pigs and Allowance Tracking

May 22, 2011 by dadofdivas 6 Comments

About the Items

As school quickly comes to a close, keep your kids laughing and learning with products from Prosperity4Kids.

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and It’s Only a Dollar Until You Add It Up are great gifts this year because though kids are out of school, it doesn’t mean they should stop planning for their futures.

This beautifully illustrated read-aloud book introduces the basics of sound money management and helps children develop a positive money attitude. Featuring adorable characters and engaging child-friendly explanations, the book helps parents teach their kids the value of giving to help others, investing for their future, saving for retirement and spending their money wisely – the four components of abundant money management.

Lori Mackey, Prosperity4Kids,INC

Award-Winning mompreneur, Lori Mackey, guides kids down the road to financial freedom, and help parents put an end to the “gimmies”. Having two young children of her own, Lori understands the hardships of trying to teach your children the value of money, and simple concepts such as saving, investing and spending money wisely. Lori created Prosperity4Kids to education children in a fun and engaging way, teaching valuable lessons on how to grow up and be financially savvy adults.

Lori recently partnered with ING DIRECT to create a series of fun and creative activity books that engage children in the basics of earning, spending, saving and investing through fun activities using word searches, check writing and math concepts teaching compound interest, investing and the rule of 72. Schools and kids clubs have already begun to implement the books into their curriculum and school children are learning valuable life lessons in money management. ING DIRECT is donating the two part series to schools, teachers and parents in order to encourage financial education.

[amazon_enhanced asin=”0974457027″ /]

My Take on the Items
How did you learn the importance of money? Who taught you how to manage the allowance or babysitting money or money you earned mowing lawns, etc.

Lori Mackey has written a book full of useful information to help children learn the tools to managing their money. She uses a principle that is 10/10/10/70. As adults we can learn how to manage our money or see how our saving, investing, charity giving and daily expenses fit into this principle.

Let me share some of the book with you.

Through

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, Lori presents her financial lessons.
Money Mama’s first pig is THE GIVING PIG. She uses her money to help with nature’s animals, homeless people, and pets. THE GIVING PIG reminds us that by using our time and money we can do something to help the world. She uses 10% of her money for this.

The second pig is THE INVESTING PIG. You can use 10% of your money to invest in stocks, bonds, companies, etc. As you invest the money grows so you can use it for your future.

The third pig is THE SAVING PIG. Putting your money in a savings account now will enable you to travel, purchase large items in your future and other goals you have in mind.Again this is 10% of the money that is made.

The last 70% is for everyday expenses. Maybe they have a camera that needs batteries or a birthday is approaching and they need to purchase a gift or card.

Before a child spends their money on a object,they need to learn about needs and wants and of course choices. Will that toy they want to purchase be something they will enjoy for a long time?

Of course young children need continual guidance. However as your child grows showing them how you budget for the family needs of shelter, food, etc. will help them realize where the family money is spent.
I do recommend this book as a useful guide for the initial discussions on teaching your child money management.

[amazon_enhanced asin=”0974457094″ /]

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An Allowance chart

This spiral notebook accompanies the book Money Mama and The Three Little Pigs.
After reading and discussing the story, you can easily implement the step by step directions for using the daily charts.

The pages are reusable. There is a page for each day of the week. At the back of the booklet are tear apart lists for jobs/ responsibilities and coins to represent the money earned. You “punch” these out to use on the daily pages.

So each day you put the jobs the child has and the amount of money that job is worth. If they follow through on their responsibility there is a place to write the amount they earned that day. You proceed through the week and then there is a tally sheet at the end of the week for the total.

You can then reinforce the concept of 10/10/10/70 in relationship to their earnings.

To me ,this is a wonderful visual tool for a child. It will assist them to see their responsibilities and also the money they earn or maybe do not earn during the week.

The nice feature is it is reusable.

Take a look at this .It could be the tool you have been searching for to assist your child in managing their money.

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