Month: May 2009

iPhones and Kids – Color Now

The iPhone is a great investment if you have kids.? Forget about all the cool features you’ll want for yourself.? Your kids will want it more.? And all the games available will come in handy when you need to keep your kids occupied and quiet for an extended period of time.

There are some really great games for kids.? Thing 1 likes to play Checkers.? Thing 2 likes Sound Box, where you press a button to hear a “whiney dog” or a “cuckoo clock” sound.? I won’t let Thing 3 touch my iPhone because, well, that will be the last time it works.? Best of all, most of these basic games are free or almost free.

Color NowToday I had Thing 1 and Thing 2 try Color Now.? Color Now is a unique application that takes coloring books to the digital era.? Kids and kids-at-heart will be able to add color to artistic images using a vibrant palate of paints.? Once they?re finished, they can save their finished masterpiece and use it as wallpaper on their iPhone, print it or send it to friends via email.? There are 12 images to choose from.?? The image here is one example.

The concept is good enough. But I have to say it didn’t translate well to the small iPhone screen and would probably work better as a full desktop application.? Thing 2 had trouble selecting the colors and shapes on the screen.? At 4 years old, he can’t quite get the hang of the iPhone reverse pinch zoom.? Thing 1 was able to manuever better but he said it wasn’t a game “because there was no winner at the end.”? He’s very competitive.

Laundry Made A Little Easier

Let’s face it — laundry has to be one of the all-time worst chores.? It’s never ending and as soon as you think you’ve caught up, it’s time to do another load.

Laundry BasketThat’s why I agreed to try out a new product called Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets.? Any product that claims to improve the laundry process I had to see for myself.? It’s a detergent, softener, and anti-static all in one? sheet.? You put into the washer and the detergent part gets washed off with the water.? Then transfer with the clothes to the dryer and it’s a regular dryer sheet.

I was a little skeptical at first.? It’s not like doing laundry with a separate detergent + dryer sheet is all that difficult.? Do we really need an all-in-one?

I did a couple loads and it lived up to it’s promise.? Clothes were clean, soft, and static free.? The end result was no better than what I usually get, and we’re probably not going to make a switch just yet.? But I can see the benefits to the all-in-one concept.? These would be great in a college dorm, when travelling with the kids, or whenever space is limited.

Adding It Up

Toddlers can be attached to the strangest objects.? Thing 2 had Mustache Guy and Mister Dragon.

Thing 3 has cycled through several stuffed animals as his comfort objects.? First it was the monkey, then Pablo from Backyardigans.? Stuffed animals I can understand as comfort objects.? They are soft and cute.

But his latest object doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.? He has become very attached to a calculator.? He sleeps with it.? He reaches for it as soon as he wakes, and walks around the house with it in his hand.

I’ve seen him laying on the ground and pushing the buttons with a very serious look on his face.? What exactly is he calculating?? I have a few ideas.

Maybe he is adding up all the times he has cried so far today.? Believe me, he needs a calculator for that, it’s a very high number.

Or maybe he is adding up the amount of milk he’ll drink in the next 16 years.? If he maintains his current pace, that works out to $541,935.? More or less.

Or how about the number of rounds of golf his Daddy will play this year.? Oh wait, you don’t need a calculator to count those.? Just a couple of fingers.

Makes Me Want To Cry

Partly because he’s at that age, and partly because it’s his temperament, Thing 3 cries a lot.?? Here’s a rundown of a typical weekday morning, as I try to get them to school and me to work.? In between all the crying he’s generally pretty happy and playful.? And the crying doesn’t last long, only until he gets what he wants or the unpleasant (to him) activity is over.

He cries when he wakes up and wants to get out of his crib.

He cries because he wants a cup of milk.

He cries because he wants me to turn on his favorite show, The Backyardigans.

I mention “time to change your diaper” and he runs and hides.? He thinks this is very funny.? I play along for a minute, then pick him up and take him to the changing table.?? Then he cries.

I let him run around in his diaper for a while, so he’ll stop crying.? He does, until it’s time to put his clothes on, and the run-hide-crying game starts again.

He cries when The Backyardigans is over, until I start a new one.

He cries when his milk cup is empty until I refill it.

He cries when I put his jacket on.

He cries when I put him in the car.? Until I turn on The Backyardigans on the DVD player.

And finally, when I drop him off at daycare, he cries when I leave the room.

Ah, weekday mornings.