For Kids — Page 2

A New Way to Read Children’s Books

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” – Frederick Douglass… I have always loved to read. I get that from my parents, who are both big-time book lovers. They both read to me regularly when I was a little girl, I grew up watching them read books each night, listened to them discuss their favorite books at dinner time, and was surrounded by ever-changing selections of books to choose from as I got old enough to read them myself. The love of reading is seriously one of the best gifts you can give your children… It expands their world, encourages creativity, tolerance, and inquisitiveness, and gives them the best learning tool you can have.

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on February 7, 2013 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | 3 Comments

Does Your Kid Really Need a Tablet? – #Tech

Does your kid need a tablet yet?… This is a big question, when even kids as young as 5 are getting cell phones. {20% of them, in a recent study by Norton. Totally blew me away!} And tablets are one of those things that every kid wants, and insists that they need. But for the littlest kiddos – is it truly a great learning tool that’s worth purchasing? Or just another gadget that they’ll break or lose interest in within a few weeks – becoming a big waste of money? Well, let’s look at one of the hottest gadgets of the year for 3-9 year olds, the InnoTab 2S, a new tablet for kids from VTech.

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on December 26, 2012 Filed Under: Tech Tips, Reviews | No Comments

What iCarly Taught Me About Kid-Friendly Veggie Recipes…

Kid approved, family ready recipes that make healthy veggies bright and fun… I’m lucky. The kiddos in my house are pretty good fruit and veggie eaters. They help me and grandma grow a big garden out back, so they feel like those tomatoes, carrots, peppers, squash, and strawberries {along with the other abundance of goodies we have!} are their produce. That ownership really helps to encourage them to eat ’em up at meals and snacks. But even kiddos that love good foods benefit from a little fun at meal times, right? If you’re looking for some super fun ways to make veggies “new” again, you have GOT to check out the awesome ideas on the Birds Eye Kids Website.

Kid-Friendly Veggie Recipe Inspiration from iCarly

The reason that the BirdsEye.com website caught my attention at first, is a super fun recipe called the Yakimaniac Veggie Martians. I mean, it’s a super cool creative idea, but that’s not what made it jump out at me. It’s because I’m from a city named Yakima, and the only time I’ve ever heard someone use the term “Yakimaniac” is in reference to people who live here! I knew it somehow how had to be connected… And sure enough, it is. These Martian-ized dinnertime plates let kids add personality to their meal with edible glitter, pretzel antennas, and veggie faces – and they were first featured on the super popular iCarly. And if you’ve watched much iCarly, you know that it’s set in Seattle, and one of the character’s grandpa is from a city called Yakima. Which is where this awesome recipe comes in! Very cool, right? {Every time I travel out of state, and people here where I’m from – if they’re a mom, they mention iCarly right away, lol. Most didn’t know it was a real city!}

Our Kid-Friendly Veggie Smoothies

After showing the kids the awesome Yakimaniac martians named after our hometown, I browsed through some of the other creative ideas – like Veggie Cupcakes and Green Monster Pizza, I decided to try out the Veggie Smoothie recipe, since we are HUGE fans of smoothies here in my house. {It is the easiest way to get a ton of healthy stuff into your kids daily diet!} It’s made with Birds Eye Broccoli, Cauliflower & Carrots – all pre-sliced and frozen, meaning no prep. Mix ’em up in a cool gadget like the Magic Bullet, or whatever blender you have on hand, and you’ve got a super tasty smoothie packed with healthy vitamins. The bright-orange color totally got the kids excited – and the addition of the orange juice, honey, and fruit make is super sweet and yummy.

This was kid-tested in my house – two very picky little boys {6 and 9} and a toddler who has no other opinion than absolute love or complete hate. Verdict? 3 sets of thumbs up!

Try it here. It’s easy as can be to create – and might inspire some other cool veggie combo smoothies too. I’m thinking that carrots with apple sauce and juice, with a dash of cinnamon, might make a really interesting festive drink. And frozen blueberries, frozen broccoli cuts, and cranberry juice combine to make a pretty awesome smoothie – seriously. I’m not always a big veggie fan, so I rely on soups simmered in the crock pot, and cool fruit-veggie combo smoothies to ensure I get a big variety in my diet.

Kid-Friendly Veggie Smoothies

Ingredients

1 bag (12 oz.) Steamfresh® Broccoli, Cauliflower & Carrots, cooked according to package directions, cooled
1/2 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
1 large ripe banana
3 Tablespoons honey or brown sugar
1-1/2 cups ice cubes

Instructions

This is as easy peasy as you can get!
Toss all ingredients into your blender.
Mix 'em up until smooth.
Pour into glasses, and enjoy!
Serves 4 people.

https://sunshineandsippycups.com/2012/11/how-icarly-led-me-to-new-kid-friendly-veggie-recipes/

For more awesome inspiration to help encourage healthy eating, and to simplify meal times in your house – be sure to follow Birds Eye Facebook and Birds Eye Twitter Page, for new promotions and product updates!

Let’s Chat: What are your favorite healthy kid-friendly recipes? Which one of the Birds Eye Kids site are you most excited to try?

{Disclaimer: Photo credit one: Khawkins04. I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Birds Eye. I received product coupons to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 30, 2012 Filed Under: Food | 2 Comments

Help Kids Bounce their Wiggles Out with the iBounce!

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.” – Irish Proverb… If a lot of laughing and some good sleep are the keys to a good life, then I have an amazing new piece of gear that can help you get your toddler to do both. With no arguments. Amazing, right?

The iBounce by JumpSport – Hop-A-Long with Rompidy Roo!

What is the iBounce? It’s an award-winning children’s trampoline that includes a super cool tablet mount that fits, iPad, Kindle, Kindle Fire, Samsung and most other tablets. Why do you need a tablet mount? Because there are some super fun videos that kids can watch while they bounce, featuring Rompidy Roo, a baby kangaroo who has just as much bouncy energy as your toddler does! Rompidy Roo leads kids through cool activities and adventures, so they really shake all of those wiggles out. Want to see a little peek at the videos?

Did the iBounce Kids Trampoline live up to my expectations?

When I first heard about the iBounce, I was super excited to try it out. We used to have one of those little round trampolines, and Abby loved to get on it and try to bounce, but at 2 years old, doesn’t have the coordination to be able to do it safely. The fact that this one had the handlebars totally sold me! What a super smart idea. I was so hoping it would live up to my excitement. And it sure as heck did! There has not been a day that has gone by in the past couple weeks that we haven’t used it! Want to see it in action, and learn a little more about why we love it, and the cool features? {Including one suggestion that could make it even more awesome?} Check it out:

Let little ones bounce their wiggles out!

As you can see, Abby gets some SERIOUS bouncing on here!! She gets so excited – If you watch the video, you’ll hear her yelling things like, “Looka meeee!!! I’m jumping!!!!” She likes wearing her butterfly outfit when bouncing, so she can “fly” – which cracks me up. In that first clip you see her at the end yell, “Juuuuuuuuuuump!!!” Yep, she likes it. And can you imagine how much easier it is to get her to take a nap after a 15 minute session jumping with Rompidy Roo? Here are a few other awesome features:

The Tablet Mount: When I made this video, we didn’t have a tablet yet – but we still use the iBounce daily, Abby just watches the DVD’s on the TV. But I ordered a new Kindle Fire that should be here soon, and I can’t wait to be able to hook it up and let her watch her own videos while we have something else on the television.
Easy Assembly: This was actually really easy to put together. I’m not usually good at that type of stuff, and was able to complete it all by myself, without huge frustrations or throwing things, lol. And it’s SUPER sturdy.That was a big worry of mine, but even with my limited skills, this is very secure.
Health Benefits: This has SO many benefits for your little one! It’s just plain fun – but it also helps develop balance, coordination, and physical fitness. Plus, as they watch the videos with Rompidy Roo, they practice skills like counting too.

The only thing that I can possibly think of to make this better is if there was a way to make the handlebar section easier to remove and replace. That would make it easier to store this when not needed. We keep it out in the living room, {You can see in the video that we just put up our Christmas decor! It goes up as soon as we put the turkey and trimmings away after Thanksgiving dinner! Annual tradition with my mom and I} and store it in the spare bedroom when company comes. But honestly – this gets used so often, I can’t imagine we’d ever need to put it away for long!

Visit JumpSport.com today to learn more about their products, and watch for special deals on the iBounce sets – that include the trampoline, tablet mount, and DVD’s too!

You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter – to stay updated on cool new products and promotions! And see more of their cool products on their YouTube channel too!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 29, 2012 Filed Under: Fun Stuff | 4 Comments

If Only Healthy Snacks Smelled as Good as Bacon…. #SmartSnack

“Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.” – Doug Larson… Do you struggle to get your kids to eat healthy snacks? We do pretty well in my house – but when they’re bombarded by commercials for sugary treats, fat-loaded snacks, or toy-filled fast food meals – it can be a bit rough. But, as smart mommas, we always have a few tricks in our toolbelts, right? Whether it’s ~~sneaky~~ – err, I mean creative – ways to get kids to eat more veggies, frozen meals that are high on convenience but still low on fat and yucky additives, or new ways to make whole grain sandwiches more fun – I’m always hunting for the best new ideas and products to keep us eating great, while still staying on a budget, and keeping it all low prep.

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 21, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution, Food | 2 Comments

Creative Gifts for Kids – Site Wide Savings on Gifts!!

Do you have little crafters to shop for this season? If so – don’t miss this deal on a great way to keep them supplied with creative gear at a sweet discount… Kelly Kits is offering 10% off their entire site for 72 hours!! Check out the details…

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 21, 2012 Filed Under: Deals and Coupon Codes, Shopping | No Comments

Better Than a Wolf Eating Grandma – Lil’ Riding Hood & Wolfie!

Like most other little girls, I loved fairy tales… And, I still do – I am so totally hooked on that new ABC series “Once Upon a Time.” One of the things that I love about it is the way that it’s a fresh look at those fairy tales I loved as a kid – new backstorys, new ways of looking at characters, mixing up the ideas of who’s good and who’s bad. So, when I found a new set of story books from My 1st Story that reinvents the classic stories too – but by making them friendlier for little readers, I was instantly hooked on those too.

I Love Cake!

The original fairy tales are often a little bit scary – big heartless wolves devouring grandma isn’t exactly the kind of thing you want to hear about before mom turns the lights out, and you’re left alone in the dark, right? In our favorite, My1story – I Love Cake! – with Lil’ Riding Hood & Wolfie – the scent that brings the wolf is a fresh baked pie, and the story includes him learning to share. You can get the sweet Lil’ Riding Hood Plush doll too, to read along with you – Check her out on Amazon to see the pics, I’m impressed by how BIG she is! I’ve got this on Abby’s list for Christmas shopping this year…

Jack and the Magic Beans

This one is super cute too – My1story – Jack and the Magic Beans. This is the story about Jack and Beanstalk, again, in a lighter and happier version. And of course, there is also a Beanie Plush character from the story too! We love reading these books before Abby’s naptime – and I’ll definitely be picking some up as gifts for friends too. They’d be a perfect idea for a baby shower gift!