ShannonAlbert.com - June 2009

LeapFrog Word Whammer Fridge Phonics

LeapFrog is by far my favorite brand of toys. They are so fun and educational and always a hit. This new toy from LeapFrog takes their old Fridge Phonics to a new level for older children and lets them begin to spell words. The toy knows over 300 words and lets you play in 3 different ways (letter hunt, word builder, word hunt). Usually sells for between $20 and $25 from most discount and toy stores.

I'm not sure how she's managed to do it but Payton has grown 5 inches in the past 18 months and seems to have also gotten 5 years older as well. Her recent addition of braces (no pics yet) seems to have added to looking older as well. We can now share shoes and t-shirts and before long, she'll be at least as tall as me. It's fun watching her become such a lovely young lady but at the same time can make my eyes water seeing my "baby girl" get so big.

(RED) Products

Why not help out while buying some Christmas gifts this year? Bono and Bobby Shriver worked with many corporations to get them to donate to The Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Africa. The percentage of profits donated varies depending on the item but the campaign has gotten off to a very successful start and has already helped tens of thousands of African people to get better. Some of the products that are part of the campaign: Red Motorola RAZR phone American Express Red Gap clothing including the Inspi(red) t-shirts Armani products Converse Chuck Taylor style shoes which you design yourself Red iPod nano The Killers new Christmas single from itunes.com For more information on the campaign, please visit JoinRed.com.

Family Gifts

We have a rule/policy/habit that once a family has 3 or more children, it is easiest for us to get something the whole family can enjoy together rather than individual gifts (unless the children are infants and unable to participate in the family gift). Here are some ideas for some family gifts. Board games - preferably ones that span across age ranges such as Uno, Life or Charades for Kids. All of these allow everybody to have fun (even the parents!). Charades for Kids includes cards with pictures on them so the non-readers can still participate without knowing how to read. Night at a hotel - if you find a good deal at a fun hotel, this can be an affordable family gift. For the past two years, we've gotten my brothers' family a night at The Great Wolf Lodge which has an indoor waterpark so the kids are entertained throughout the stay. Movie packages - all movie theaters offer gift certificates that you can get to cover a movie for everyone plus some snacks. DVDs - Most kids and adults like to watch movies but picking ones that everyone likes can be tricky. Some DVDs that seem to please everyone at our house are School of Rock, Elf, and many musicals.

TiVo

TiVo is the best invention of the last decade. Sounds dramatic but it's very true. It changes the way you watch TV and gives you control of your TV watching. Don't miss any more shows, don't shush your kids because you're watching TV, and don't feel tied to the TV at a specific time. If you don't have a TiVo, you need to get one (or at least a TiFaux - DVR offered by your cable provider) and start experiencing what everybody else has been raving about. If we could, we'd buy one for everybody we know. TiVo is offering some boxes for free when you sign-up with a service plan. Service plans are around $19.95/month but can be even lower if you sign a longer contract. The price is more than worth it!

Gemini Specs

Gemini Specs are holographic glasses that allow you to see various things when looking at light. For instance, when you put on the snowflake glasses and look at the Christmas tree, each little light appears to be a snowflake. There are also many other shapes available such as stars, snowmen, hearts, alients, etc. I think they are especially fun to wear when driving around to look at Christmas lights. For example, here's what it looks like to look at our Christmas tree with the snowflake glasses. Without the glasses With the glasses The glasses sell for around $2 and can be found at various toy or gift shops everywhere or online at The Spoon Sisters.

Scooba

Scooba is the newest creation from iRobot with their most well-known being the Roomba which we have and love. Both machines are robots that vacuum your floors for you but the Scooba mops and vacuums. It's a ridiculously frivolous item to have but so much fun and useful as well. Available for $399.99 on their website at http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=128 or for even less on eBay and in some home furnishings stores.

The Radio City Rockettes have a Christmas show that goes on for about a month in the DFW area. Last year, I really, really wanted to go but Andy and the kids weren't interested (much to my surprise - they are all usually into shows). This year, I went with Amanda and it was a great show. As Amanda put it, "I'm in cheesy heaven."

Some pics from the show...









The final scene wasn't a Rockettes scene but it was a really beautiful Nativity scene complete with live animals.

If you count the dog, I stuff a total of 6 stockings every year and it's my absolute favorite part of Christmas. Finding interesting little things to fit into a stocking has been the most fun I've had gift buying since I was a teenager. Every year, I stop by The Container Store to pickup some of their many stocking stuffers. They always have unique, interesting and handy items. In fact, they are so well known for their stocking stuffers that they put out a catalog every year with just stocking stuffers in it. Some of the ones they are offering this year...

Luggage Tags and Passport Wallets

These whimsical travel items are fun but also useful because colorful luggage tags help you to spot your luggage more easily in the sea of black bags coming onto the carousel. $12.99 - 24.99

iSlice Magnetic Cutting Tool

Product packaging can be very difficult to cut through but this tool safely cuts through all of that to make opening things easy. Also great for cutting out recipes, this is magnetic so you can stick it on your refrigerator to make it easy to find. $4.99

Unforgettable Door Hanger

Help keep track of things you need to remember with this handy notepad that fits on the doorknob. $4.99

All of these stocking stuffers (and many, many more) can be found on The Container Store's website at http://www.containerstore.com/browse/index.jhtml?CATID=62523.