The Mommy Insider

What is Memorial Day?

Alicia — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:14:07 +0000

Memorial Day History

Memorial Day, celebrated on the last Monday in May each year, was originally referred to as “Decoration Day”. Shortly after the end of the Civil War, many Confederate women’s organizations honored their fallen heroes by visiting their graves and decorating them with flags and flowers. For many, this was an opportunity to keep alive memories of kin they lost in the war. Decoration Day was continued across the US to commemorate the loss of those who served in the military during World War II. Gradually, Decoration Day became known as “Memorial Day.”

Events and activities that will get your child involved in Memorial Day

Shortly after World War II, events and activities were planned to honor war dead:

Parades
Placing wreaths and flags on the graves of military dead
Placing wreaths and flags on statues of local town war heroes
Visit a Veterans’ Hospital

Read more about how you can explain Memorial Day to your children and get them involved in Memorial Day activities and celebrations!

Teaching Children The Importance of Honoring Their War Heroes and Remember and Celebrate

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Fabulous Summer Shorts from Fresh Produce

Alicia — Thu, 17 May 2012 21:38:58 +0000

Kids are getting out of school soon and summer plans are being made. Many families have plans to go to the beach or on some type of summer vacation. If you are like me you get a little anxious when you think about choosing clothes for your summer wardrobe. Every winter I think I would be happy wearing sweaters and long pants year-round as they conceal my ‘trouble areas’.. for the most part.
However, it never fails that by mid-May I go up to the attic in hopes of finding a few pairs of summer shorts. Before I had the chance to raid the attic, I received a pair of Park Avenue Pedal Pusher shorts from Fresh Produce. Great timing!

Park Avenue Pedal Pusher Shorts

The Park Avenue Pedal Pusher is a variation of Bermuda shorts that have comfortable cotton sheeting and functional pockets.
100% cotton sheeting, drawstring waist, slash pockets, front and back patch pockets, just-below-the-knee length.

Park Avenue Peddle Pusher Shorts

The fit and material of these shorts is perfect for me. The drawstring waistband makes the shorts very comfortable and the thin material keeps me cool all day. I have been working in the garden a lot lately and these shorts are fabulous for situations when I am bending a lot and need to stay cool.

Fresh Produce clothes are very versatile. The Park Avenue shorts’ sleek, classic style allow them to be worn with a casual t-shirt, polo, or a dressier shirt such as a drape top, depending on the occasion.

Impromptu Dress in Fiji

While you are on the Fresh Produce website take a look at their selection of vacation shorts, dresses, womens caribbean clothes, and skirts. You’ll find that it is very easy to put a few summer outfits together in no time at all when you visit a Fresh Produce store or the website. Imagine putting together your entire summer vacation wardrobe in one online order or shopping trip!

Fresh Produce now ships to over 200 countries, so women outside the US can enjoy the colorful styles, too!

More Fresh Produce

Disclosure: This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.

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iPhone Photography for Parents: Apps That Will Make Your Life More Colorful Instantly

Alicia — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:03:52 +0000

The rapidly increasing photographic capabilities of the iPhone are beginning to rival those of standalone cameras. Apple’s flagship smartphone manages to pull off amazing iPhonography without the use of additional lenses and filters. That’s especially convenient for busy parents without a lot of time to fiddle with their camera equipment when trying to capture a moment in time. Here are four amazing iOS apps that will allow you to take stellar photos on the fly with your phone.

Instagram

While Instagram is more closely associated with nostalgic hipsters and the technorati, it’s really perfect for anybody who wants to take distinctive photos. It’s the kind of app that’s tailor-made for taking photos of the kids at the beach. Vacation photos just look better for some reason when they have a washed out, analog color palette created by a custom filter and some post-production effects. A newer feature of Instagram is that you can import photo from your iphone’s photo album and edit them in Instagram. I love this! Sometimes I just can’t get to Instagram quick enough to snap a shot using the Instagram app, but now I can snap the shot with the native camera app then import it into Instragram to edit and publish online.

Pros: It is very easy to view your photo with many different filters in just seconds.
Cons: As of now, there isn’t a way to access your Instagram photos via an online interface. With the number of iPhone users using Instagram, this would be a great feature.

Instsagram photograph - Click to enlarge

Hipstamatic

Much like Instagram, Hipstamatic allows parents to tweak the look of their family photos to achieve a timeless feel. The stock installation of Hipstamatic costs a mere $1.99, though the base functionality can be extended with “HipstaPaks” comprised of custom filters that run $0.99 a piece. I spent about $5 on “HipstaPaks” for purposes of this story. Users can preview the add-on HipstaPaks and download the right digital lenses before a photo shoot or family trip, ensuring that you get the perfect look to match any given occasion. The one thing that I wish Hipstamatic did like Instagram, is allow us to import photographs into the app. That’s not in Hipstamatic’s plans for now though.

The photographs in the image to the right were all taken with Hipstamatic. I just changed the film for each photograph. Unlike with Instagram, I couldn’t see the filter being applied to the photo as I lined it up so I didn’t know how the photograph was going to turn out.

Pros: Hipstamatic allows users to share a photo on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,Tumblr, Flickr, and a Hipstaccount.
Cons: Not easy to switch between films (essentially filters). You can’t import photographs from your iPhone photo album in order to apply Hipstamatic ‘effects’ to them.

Hipstamatic photographs - Click to enlarge

moreBeaute2

If you’re a busy, sleep deprived mom who still cares about looking good, moreBeaute2 should be right up your alley. Like a lightweight, mobile version of Photoshop that works automatically, moreBeaute2 snaps amazing pictures while removing wrinkles and dark under-eye circles immediately. In order to get rid of dark under-eye circles and wrinkles, just take a picture and tap the auto-correct button to look flawless in your photos. Like a mild form of airbrushing, it makes everyone look their best. This is one of my favorite iPhonography apps.. for obvious reasons!

Pros: moreBeaute2 can make the most tired mom look awake and fresh, instantly.
Cons: You can’t adjust color or contrast within the app.

Before | After - Click to enlarge

Software has an impressive ability to make up for the limitations of the underlying hardware that it’s running on, which is especially true when it comes to mobile photography. That’s not to imply that iOS devices are weak when it comes to the quality of their lenses. However, you can take far better pictures of the family with these programs by your side. For weary parents who rely on their trusty iPhone to act as their primary camera, these worthy applications are all you’ll ever need.

Find more iPhone photography tips tricks and lenses on our iPhonography article on GadgetGoddess.com.

Do you have a favorite iPhone photography app?
Share with us in the comments below. We love to learn about new and interesting apps!

I was not compensated from any of these app companies, for this story. I purchased all of the apps mentioned above and all opinions are 100% my own.

iPhone Photography for Parents: Apps That Will Make Your Life More Colorful Instantly is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

Skype vs. FaceTime: The Differences

Alicia — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:46:57 +0000

Do you wonder what the differences between Skype and FaceTime are? Why should you use Skype over FaceTime?

When I was approached about becoming a Skype ambassador, I thought to myself “why would I want to use Skype regularly instead of FaceTime?”.

Just by asking myself that question, I realized that I had subconciously blocked all of my PC owning family and friends, from my video call list. Most of my family members own PC’s and do not own an iPhone or iPad. Let’s just say they live simple lives. Therefor, I can’t FaceTime with them. I have cousins who have children that my kids would love to video chat with but until it clicked for me that we can all use Skype, I didn’t even consider it. With Skype, my kids can chat with any family member who owns a PC, Android device, iOS device, or Mac.

While I love FaceTime for video chatting with my Dad and Sister who both own an iPhone, iPad, and MacBook, FaceTime does not allow me to chat with my PC loving friends and family.

Skype vs FaceTime Feature Comparison

	Skype	FaceTime
Video chat from PC/Windows	Yes	No
Video chat from iPhone/iPad/Mac/iOS	Yes	Yes
Video chat from Android	Yes	No
Let’s you know who’s available	Yes	No
Chat function	Yes	No
Group video calling	Yes (Premium feature)	No
Send files while you chat	Yes	No

These comparisons are valid as of May 2012.

Situation when using Skype rocks!

If you have a child who is graduating school soon, Skype is a great way to help grandparents celebrate with you!
Include relatives in your child’s birthday celebration
Your kids can video chat with Mom or Dad when they are traveling
Read a bedtime story to your child when you are traveling
Bloggers, catch up with your blogging buddies between events via Skype!

Connect with Skype:

Disclosure: While I am a Skype Ambassador, this post was not required.

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Blogger Tip: Find your blog’s real search engine position without logging out of Google

Alicia — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:24:27 +0000

I operate a local parenting site and my team and I are often checking what position specific pages on the site are in search engines like Google.

When I am logged in to Google/Gmail and I search for a particular phrase that I hope my site comes up for, my website’s pages may show higher in Google’s search engine results than if I am not logged in to Google.com. However, it is a pain to have to log out of Google/Gmail every time I want to check the real Google position of one of my pages.

For example, if I am logged into my Gmail account and I open a new browser window and search “atlanta maternity stores”. My Maternity Stores Guide is usually #1 or #2 in the results. However, when I log out of Google/Gmail and search Google for the same keyword phrase, my Maternity Stores Guide is the 5th result. Not a bad position to be in, it’s just not what I thought it was.

Google Chrome Incognito Window

How to find your real position in Google:

Using Google Chrome, open an incognito window.
To do this click the ‘tool’ button in the top right corner of the URL/search bar, then click ‘new incognito window’.
An incognito window is designed to not have access to your browser’s history information.
Do not log into your Gmail/Google account from this incognito window.
Go straight to Google.com and search for your keywords.
Because this will be a a non-personalized search this will reveal your true rank/page position.

Bloggers are increasingly needing to to share their Google search positions with potential advertisers and PR representatives. It is important to make sure that we are sharing the most accurate information and this is how to do it!

Blogger Tip: Find your blog’s real search engine position without logging out of Google is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

New Exclusive Coupon Code: 15% off at Momo’s Special Toys

Alicia — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:45:49 +0000

Momo’s is an online educational toy store for all children. We select toys that help children develop visual, motor, sensory, auditory, cognitive skills to enhance home therapy and everyday play.

Discount: 15% off your entire purchase

Use coupon code: insider

Expires: June 14th, 2012

Some brands offered: Melissa & Doug, Tomy, Tag Toys, Hape, Calico critters

Momo's Special Toys - Super Skipper

Offer valid through 06/14/12. Valid online only . Limit one coupon per customer. Offer excludes sales tax & shipping charges. Valid on in-stock items only. No ship-to or special orders. Not to be used toward the purchase of gift cards or in conjunction with any other offers, prior purchases or sale items. No cash value. Offer void where prohibited.

Connect with Momo’s Special Toys

New Exclusive Coupon Code: 15% off at Momo’s Special Toys is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!