I have three children: daughter (8), son (11), and husband (39). When I joined them the other day for a game of Quelf Jr. I really didn’t expect it to be much fun for me as an adult. Well, I was wrong! This game had us all laughing and giggling nearly the entire time.

The game itself is really easy to play: You perform actions and move either forward or backward on the board. Sometimes you’ll get a “Mr. Sour Face” card, which happened a lot near the end of the game for us, and you’ll have to go back several spaces.

My daughter was the perfect age to enjoy this game, my son maybe a little too old. However, we all had a great time as a family! What other game has you making your toes have a conversation or swimming the backstroke in the middle of the floor?

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My kids have always loved Hot Wheels. The only problem with tracks was how much space they took up. If we left it out, it got stepped on and broken. If we took it apart, it never got put back together or pieces got lost. Now we can leave the track out without the worries!

The track assembled super fast. The instructions were easy to follow and included a template to hang on your wall, marking where the hangers would go. Less than 5 minutes later, cars were zooming down the track and through the look! My kids really love the multiple exit points. Yes, we know that there are other pieces you can buy to connect there, but there is just something about tiny cars falling to their doom….

The only downside so far has been with cars getting stuck in the loop. I suggest using only normal, modern styling cars on the track. Everything else jams the loop and the fun stops until someone (read me) digs the car out.

Otherwise, brilliant idea! My kids have played with it nearly every day for the last month!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I was really excited to get this case. I just purchased my Nintendo 3DS and I would have liked to have protected my investment. This “case” is just odd. I don’t see myself ever using it. Here are the reasons why:

1.) It is huge! I need a carrying bag just to carry the case. I think I am more likely to drop my 3DS, or put it down somewhere and forget it with this monster of a case. Something this big really needs a carrying strap or at least a handle.
2.) Only room for 3 games. Seriously? As I said, this thing is a monster and they only put 3 game slots in it?
3.) You have to take the DS completely out to play. Another opportunity to lose something.

The only upside is that this thing does what it says: it protects the 3DS. The way the inside is rigged, if you strap down your DS like your supposed to, even a fall of a few feet isn’t going to affect your DS.

That said, I am still looking for a convenient way to carry and protect my 3DS. It would be nice, but not necessarily required, for it to carry a few of my games as well. This case just does not fit the bill.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I remember having several similar toys when I was a child. Either you revved up the cars, you pulled them back, or you has some type of gizmo to perform one of those actions for you. However, those toys were usually cheaply made and didn’t last long. I was prepared to be disappointed by the Ratchet Racers, but I’m glad that I was wrong!

These little cars are fun and fast! Not only that, but they go a respectable distance as well. They are really easy to wind up, even my 5 year old nephew was able to set them up and let them go. He thought it was funny when they would run into a wall and bound and roll to a new direction and just keep going.

I think the ability to “Mix and Match” the front and rear is kind of cool, but I could have done without it. In my experience, kids will take them apart, lose one piece and off to the store we go to buy a new one!

A great new toy that brings back a lot of good memories! I can see this being a big stocking stuffer for the holidays.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

At the time of this writing, I’ve had a day and a half to play with the new Kindle Fire so I thought I’d take some time to leave my impressions… the good and the bad.

The set up was pretty easy, upon arrival and opening they were already attached to our Amazon accounts so there wasn’t any registering to be done. My content was already showing as available, we just had to download the apps, books, etc that we wanted to have available.

At first glance, I was really surprised by how thick and meaty the Fire is. After playing with e-ink kindles for so long, it felt heavy, but sturdy enough that I didn’t worry about dropping it and shattering it into a million pieces. We turned on the switch and up it lit – super pretty display. It’s crisp and clear and we have nothing but good to say.

The software is pretty self explanatory. It didn’t take me long to figure out where to tap, move, hold, etc. This is not complicated. Amazon really went all out on the KISS factor (keep it simple, silly). I like that. It means that I can give it to my kid and they can’t screw it up too much like they do with my cell phone. It also means that, beyond the favorites area, it’s not really customizable. You kind of get what you get.

The screen is super responsive. I have yet to have a problem getting it to open or move anything I wanted. It scrolls pretty smoothly, with a few stutters if you really push it too much.

Reading books is basically out for me on this device. I’m keeping my e-ink kindles, the backlit just kills my eyes and ruins the reading experience for me. Having said that, I’ve heard that others don’t have this issue, so it might be a non issue for some. I just really am in love with e-ink for long form reading.

Watching movies and shows using Amazon, Netflix and Hulu is really great. Turn it sideways and it’s actually perfect for viewing on the go. The video is super smooth. I tried it with and without headphones and it was absolutely fine.

Listening to music is easy and the cloud service is fantastic. I can see me taking this device on a plane, listening to some tunes while reading a magazine or something. BUT you really need headphones. The speakers aren’t bad, not overly tinny, but they also aren’t fabulous. I must admit that I was actually pleasantly surprised. This is not some expensive device and the speakers are better than I expected.

The really bad for me is that there’s no Google apps, there’s no native app or anything for Gmail or Google Calendar. Because so many rely heavily on Google, I think this is probably a big negative for the Fire. It’s kind of annoying because the thing is built on top of Android. So, either you work around it (the built in email is okay with Gmail, but I need the powerful features) or you figure out a way to hack or side load it. Not having the calendar on there at all right now is just REALLY annoying. Nevermind Google Docs (which my company uses a lot!) and Google Reader (which I was REALLY looking forward to – using my Fire to catch up on my feeds). I hope Amazon rethinks this.

Speaking of apps, right now there is a limited selection available for the fire. Amazon is vetting each app separately to be included in the Amazon Appstore. Hopefully they’ll get on the ball and get some more in there. Business and productivity apps are really limited.

Hardware wise, the power button is a little awkward. I have hit it a couple of times. I just turn it upside down so I don’t hit it when I’m resting it on my leg or whatever. I do wish it had bluetooth. I would have been willing to pay a little extra. I have a wireless stereo headset that I’ve come to adore, no wires to worry about, and I would really like to be able to use it with this device.

I keep hearing people compare this to an iPad. I don’t think that’s exactly fair. This is a nice toy. It’s mainly for personal use, if I’m being honest. Then again, I think the iPad is just a fancy iPhone and I’m not a fan, so there you go. I do believe that as we see more apps coming into the Amazon Appstore, we’ll see more business applications. Painfully absent are things like Dropbox that many of us mobile folks have become to rely on.

Bottom line? It’s a small form tablet. It’s $200. It’s a great toy and I have enjoyed laying in bed and tweeting and playing around on it. I’m not sure it’s quite there yet for business users but I’m hopeful that that piece will come – perhaps along with a larger 10″ screen version. I don’t regret the purchase at all, it’s a great tablet at a great price.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I first got a kindle in March of 2009 when the 2nd generation came out. I’ve since purchased more kindles than I want to admit – for myself, my family, my extended family and friends. It’s a go-to gift for me as well as prize when I have a giveaway to do. There are currently 7 kindles in this 4 person household (each person has their own plus we have 2 new Fires and I’m moving my stuff from my keyboard to this new Touch) – plus I play librarian to several family members. To say that I’m a bit of a kindle freak would be an understatement. When someone I know says they are going to buy a kindle, they usually are asking me for my opinion on which one, etc. So, that’s where I’m coming from with this review.

The new Touch and Basic put me in a really tough spot. I use text-to-speech from time to time so having the audio is a must (the Basic version doesn’t do audio), so the Touch is a must right? Well… I’m not in love with the touch screen, so I should get the keyboard right? Well, I like the smaller size. Sigh. I need Amazon to design a kindle JUST for me – basically, a Basic edition with audio. BUT since good old Jeff doesn’t live his life to please me, I guess I’ll just make do…

Anyway, my recommendation is almost always to save the $30 or whatever and get the ones with ads. Hey, at least the screen savers are different and I’ve seen some really neat deals (let’s face it, coupons are kind of trendy now anyway and I hear that Amazon Local will be available on the kindles with ads soon, if not already). The ads are NOT in the books, it’s only on the screensaver and a little ribbon at the bottom of the home screen. But what do I recommend to friends and family now? It comes down to the audio for me.

Other than audio, the biggest difference is, obviously, the touchscreen. I originally thought the screen was going to be divided into thirds – it is NOT – thank goodness because left-handed reading would have been awkward at best if that were the case. The way it’s divided up is that tapping the screen moves the page forward except for the left edge (which turns back a page) and the upper edge (which brings up the menu). It’s pretty easy to use. You can also swipe your finger to turn the page if you wish.

When you first pick it up and start tapping (or banging while cursing) on the screen, it’s a bit confusing. It took me a good 10 minutes to figure out why I couldn’t get the thing to do what I wanted (it apparently doesn’t read my mind). Once I got the whole tap, swipe, long press, menu thing down, I was in business. It also helped when I realized that the comb/vent thing on the face of the kindle was actually a button that, when pushed, took me to the home screen (this is probably why I should I have paid attention to those start up screens – eh, who needs instructions, right?).

Really, that’s the only difference between the keyboard, basic and touchscreen versions. There’s the new x-ray thing, of course, but for most of us that just want to read, it doesn’t much matter. I do think the screen refresh is better on the basic and touchscreen, it doesn’t do a full clear-screen “thing” except for every six pages are so, so it’s a little faster than my keyboard. On the Touch, the screen is slightly recessed, I assume so it’s harder for us to turn the page on accident.

The contacts are now on the back of the kindle, where presumably the lighted case will draw power (I wouldn’t know because the delivery date, at the time of this writing, keeps getting pushed back for both my touch and my daughter’s basic edition – not that I’m impatient or anything).

The really big difference for me and the reason I’m going through the long process of moving my books from my keyboard to the touch is the way it looks. It’s smaller, sleeker and it just looks better. It’s like the kindle is growing up and turning into quite a young lady.

I’m sure once I get more used to the touchscreen, it will be fine. I’ve already mastered peck-typing on it. I have not, however, mastered highlighting and sharing. It’s much easier to use a cursor to get to where you want to go instead of your finger – especially if you use a smaller font. Again, something I’ll probably get used to as time goes on, but for now it’s on my “annoying” list.

I’d recommend this as an upgrade from a K1 or K2. If you are happy with your keyboard version and don’t care about the look or the size, then you can probably skip this upgrade. Otherwise, it’s a very worthy “what’s next” step.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I bought the K2 when it came out and then the K3 (now known as the Kindle Keyboard). I was excited to see there was a new device. I knew the difference would be small. I’ve also ordered a Fire and a Touch. So, that’s where I’m coming from with this review. I bought the Basic Kindle with ads just so I could check it out and see if I wanted to upgrade my Kindle Keyboard. The answer is… I don’t know. So, I’ll talk a little about the differences in this review.

The page refresh and time to turn on/off is much improved. It appears to only do a full “anti-ghosting” (for lack of a better term) refresh every 6 or 7 screens. This is allowing it to put up a new e-ink screen faster. Kinda nifty. This is, by far, my favorite improvement over the previous versions.

The on/off button is slightly different. There’s no slide. You push it in. It’s a little annoying at first, but I can see that at least it won’t get snagged on things in my purse like it does now. Of course, it will probably still get bumped around and turn on. So, this is kind of a draw for me. I must have bigger thumbs than the average person

There’s also no hinge. From looking at the photos of the covers coming for the Kindle Touch it looks like it sits in a frame of sorts now, so I’m guessing the contacts on the back is how it will charge from the device if you buy a lighted cover. The cover is a sore spot for me. I like to read in bed. I need a light and I really like having my kindle in a cover. I really want to use this one to see if I like it over my keyboard version, but this will be a tough one. I’ll suck it up and get over it, a cover should be out soon-ish, right?

As I mentioned, I bought the ad-supported version. The ads aren’t obtrusive, they show up as screen savers and also as a little block at the bottom of the menu. They are NOT in the books at all.

I don’t have a library card/overdrive so I wasn’t able to test that out. It does have less internal space than the Kindle Keyboard, but that’s only a consideration if you’re using a lot of books. This kindle also doesn’t have speakers or a headset jack (remember, very basic, entry level!) so it doesn’t have the need for audio files. I think the space is fine unless you must have more than 1400 books on it for some reason. Obviously, no text-to-speech on this one either.

The virtual keyboard is much easier to use than I anticipated, it’s pretty zippy and I was able to type up a note easily and quickly, maybe slightly slower than I can on my keyboard version. The highlighting is slightly different with two other steps put in there from what I’m used to. Most people might not notice this, but I do make notes, so I noticed it right away.

The look is basically the same, same screen resolution. It is a lighter black color around the screen like a shimmery silvery black almost.

Bottom line for me? I’m not sure yet what I will do with this kindle. I LOVE the faster page turns. LOVE. But the lack of a lighted cover right now (not taking off stars for that as I’m assuming that will be remedied pretty quickly). For now, I’ll play with both and decide. Then decide again when my Touch gets here in November.

I’ll update the review when I do decide, but my gut reaction is that, page turns aside, I’ll end up sticking with my keyboard version for a little while longer.

—–

Update: I found the covers. I couldn’t find them before, but someone pointed them out. So yay! I’ll pre-order one for it (wish they were available now, but at least I’ll have a lighted cover!). However, after mulling it over, I think I’m going to pass this one to my daughter. ONLY because I’ve ordered a Touch though and I don’t see the point and setting up this one with all my books and collections, etc just to have to do it again in six weeks. Otherwise, I might make the switch. I think I’ll stick with the ads on the Touch as well. I don’t mind them and it’s a change up from the same old screen savers.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

It is hard to find a game that my entire family can sit down with and enjoy. Either game is aimed at the younger members or our family, or it is better for the older members. Usually the grown ups have to give in to the kids. But now we have Hedbanz and we all have a great time playing it.

The rules are simple: ask questions of the other players until you guess “what you are”. Older players will tend to ask better questions, but younger players will have much sillier questions and answers that can really throw the adults off track!

Of course, it is hard not to be silly when you have a card strapped to your forehead by a bright blue plastic band. We all had a blast! Sometimes it pays to be only 7 ask simple questions that lead you right to the answer. At other times, an adult can get themselves way off track. It was a ton of fun and this is our new game night favorite.

We do have one complaint though: it only comes with 75 cards. You’ll probably only go through 20 or so cards in a 4 person game, but this still means that you will start seeing the same cards after your 3rd game. No such a big problem for kids, but if you have 2 adults playing the games could start to get repetitive after a while.

Overall, I highly recommend this game for a family or group with a broad age range. Everyone will have fun and can play at their own skill level.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I picked these up last month and knew I would review them, but honestly, they are band aides, you know? What exactly do you say? “Yeah, they stuck to the skin and not the wound.” Um. Okay.

But then…

This week, my daughter took a bit of a tumble in the driveway and ended up with a large scrape under her knee. If your kids are like mine, this meant that we had to pick up said child, screaming like a banshee while kicking because “No medicine! No medicine! It will burn! No medicine!!!!!” Neosporin doesn’t burn but the extra step of squeezing it out onto the adhesive pad is usually just too much for my kids. They’ve already worked it up in their head that it’s going to hurt and that is that. I was running late and really wasn’t in the mood.

But then I remembered the bandages. Hmmm…

So, I plopped her up on the counter, rinsed the scratch out and grabbed one of these bandages. Seriously, folks. These things are genius. Whomever developed them had to actually HAVE children (which helps, ya know). They are individually packaged and open easily (great when said child is throwing a fit “IT BURNS!!!!”. The best part is that the little peel-away pad is about 1/5 over to the side, so I just peeled away the small side stuck it on the screaming child and let it roll off the other side so it would cover the scrape.

Voila. That was it. I didn’t tell the kid the medicine was already there and amazingly enough it didn’t burn. The best part is that I got the bandage on her without a complete and total meltdown. It was THAT easy. Seriously.

We’ve actually used similar products in the past, but only the small long rectangle type. These are 3X3 and perfect for the scrapes that kids get constantly. I am so pleased with these. I will be buying more of these for sure.

These lose a star only because after a few hours, the sticky part started to roll away. We were doing a lot of walking, but they’re kids, they run and walk. Still, not too bad, we got 3 solid hours out of it and I gained a kid not screaming bloody murder.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My daughter recently got a desk in her room. It’s pink. I am pretty anti-pink, which is probably why she likes it so much. When I saw this mouse pad, it had her name written all over it. Plus it matches her pink desk with the pink chair next to the pink bed frame (not that I’m bitter, mind you).

Seriously though, it’s actually really cute, much cuter than the photo here portrays. My husband and I were impressed. It’s small enough to fit on a child’s desk and big enough so that she can use it effectively. The wrist support is firm, yet has a good amount of give to it. Of course, we were most impressed that if you push on the gel, it makes the flowers look like they warp. Kinda like a bad trip from the 70s. (Hey, I’m just sayin’!)

Overall, it’s a well made mouse pad and my daughter loves it. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

Pink or not.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars