3 Must-Have Gadgets for New Moms

Technology can be a wonderful learning tool for your child – Not only can they learn, they can show off their creative abilities, play games, and have fun with the plethora of new games, apps, and accessories made especially for kids. Not only does Griffin put out great kid-friendly products for the iPad, but also includes great accessories for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Here are a few of my favorite Griffin iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch accessories.

3 Griffin iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch Accessories for Kids

Technology can be a wonderful learning tool for your child – Not only can they learn, they can show off their creative abilities, play games, and have fun with the plethora of new games, apps, and accessories made especially for kids. Not only does Griffin put out great kid-friendly products for the iPad, but also includes great accessories for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  Here are a few of my favorite Griffin iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch accessories.

5 Gadgets that will Help Busy Moms

Next to her family, the most precious thing in a busy mom’s life is time. Devices that help moms organize their lives better and help them save time are indispensable. Below are five relatively inexpensive time-saving gadgets that every busy mom will love.

The Latest our Gadget Blog, GadgetGoddess.com 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!

I have been on a quest to learn about wine for a few years.  Over the last few years, if you asked me what effort had I made to learn about wine, and if I answered honestly, I would say “Not much”.. until the opportunity fell into my lap a few weeks when I received two bottles of wine from The California Wine Club.

Before I received the two bottles of wine The California Wine Club sent, I wouldn’t buy wine for home, choose wine at a restaurant, or drink wine because I was ignorant about how to really ‘taste’ wine, how to choose wine, what glasses to use, etc..

So here I am, on my quest to learn about wine and I realized that the first and most important step for me was to…stop worrying about it!   Worrying about which type of wine to choose and which wine glasses to use kept me from buying or trying ANY wine.  What fun is that? That sure didn’t get me very far.

I was thrilled when I received my first of three monthly wine shipments from California Wine Club, last week.  After I received the shipment, I planned two of our week’s meals according to the wine.  The first of which you’ll see in the photograph above.  I paired a pasta & alfredo sauce meal with a Chardonnay.

I was sent two bottles of wine via California Wine Club’s Premier Club membership, their oldest and most popular wine of the month club. The Premier Club is a great way to learn about wine and the California wine scene, perfect for the wine novice (that’s me!) or aficionado. Just $36.45 per month plus shipping, handling and applicable sales tax.

I enjoyed the first bottle of wine with my husband.  We probably didn’t use the right wine glasses, but that’s ok.. I’m just getting my feet wet with my wine education.  I prefer fruity wines and this Chardonnay served just that.  This is a light wine with tropical fruit flavors and a hint of vanilla.  The delicate crispness went of this wine very well with our pasta meal.

CWC Food and Wine Pairing iPhone App Screenshot

Want to impress your husband and friends?  
You can become an instant wine and food pairing expert!

California Wine Club has a new iPhone/iPad app out called CWC food and wine pairing wheel (iTunes download link).
This, free for a limited time, food and wine pairing wheel app makes it easy to find the right wine to go with your meal.  Next time you go out for a date night, don’t rely on the server to tell you what wine would go well with your meal.  Decide for yourself by using the food and wine pairing wheel app.  It’s simple to use, just choose a meal type from the list across the top of the app; poultry, seafood, pasta, starters, cheese, or dessert, and then spin the wheel below the list to choose the type of food you will be enjoying.  Under each type of food, Lobster for example, you will get a list of results.  For Lobster, the recommended wine is Chardonnay and two types would be Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.  Easy, isn’t it?  Don’t forget to use the app while you are grocery shopping.
The app is now free so hurry and download CWC Food and Wine Pairing Wheel app before CWC begins charging for this very useful and easy to use app.

Connect with California Wine Club:

• CaliforniaWineClub.com
• Like California Wine Club on Facebook
• Follow California Wine Club on Twitter
• Follow The Boring Wine Guy on Facebook to get usable wine advice and easy to understand wine tips.
• Follow @boringwineguy on Twitter

Discount Code Offers:

1. Use code mommyinsider to get 10% off every gift order you place.    Wine makes a fabulous holiday gift.. don’t forget to stock up for Thanksgiving!

2. If you would like to try The California Wine Club, you can use the same promo code and not only will you get 10% off your first month, but you will also get an extra bottle of wine in your first month’s shipment just for being a The Mommy Insider reader!   There is no obligation to stay past the first month.

 Win a One Month Premier California Wine Club Subscription! {Ends 10/18}

We are giving a lucky reader a one-month Premier subscription to The California Wine Club.

Mandatory Entry:

Go to California Wine Club’s Facebook page or follow Follow California Wine Club on Twitter and mention that The Mommy Insider sent you!

Then leave a comment below telling me which you did and why you’d like to win.

3 extra entries:

• Blog about this giveaway as a separate blog post on your own blog
• Add a comment to any non-giveaway posts on this site (must be relevant to the post you are commenting on).  Tell me in the comments below what post you commented on.

2 extra entries:

• Like The Mommy Insider on Facebook
• Follow @mommyinsider on Twitter
• Subscribe to my email newsletter or RSS  feed
• Tweet about this contest (up to 4 times per day). Your Tweet MUST include the name of the item being given away, my Twitter handle (@mommyinsider), the word giveaway, and a link to this post.
  Example tweet: “I entered to win a 1 month California Wine Club membership from @mommyinsider!  You can enter here: http://wp.me/plszx-2tV  #Giveaway”

*****
Contest Rules
This contest is open to U.S. residents 21 and older. Utah residents are excluded from this contest. No P.O. Boxes.
Entries accepted through 11:59pm EST October 18th.
The winner will be chosen at random and will be contacted via email.  Winner must respond within 24 hours or a new winner will be chosen.
One IP address per household.
*****

Disclosure: I was offered a one month subscription to California Wine Club for review purposes.  My opinions are 100% my own and are not influenced in any way.  I write only about products and services that I have used and enjoy, unless otherwise stated.  You can read my full Disclosure Policy here.

Learn about Wine with Me and California Wine Club! {Review, Discount Codes, and a Giveaway!} 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!

I have no problem admitting that I will hand my 5 or 12 year old the iPad when I’m on the phone with a client, need to cook dinner, write an email, or take a shower.   I try not to use the television as a form of entertainment as much as we used to and after they’ve been playing with Moon Dough, LEGO’s, or Play-Doh for a couple of hours, I think it’s ok to let them spend a few minutes playing on the iPad.   The really cool thing is that my 5 year old doesn’t even realize that she’s learning while she’s ‘playing’ on the iPad!

VocabuLarry’s Things That Go iPad app by BabyFirstTV is a book app that allows your child to read the book themselves or have the story read to them.  I can even record my voice while reading the story so that it’s like I’m reading the story to Madelyn.  This is great when I’m not able to put her to bed because I have to work late.  My husband will read her a story then he’ll put the iPad app on so it’s like I’m right there with her, reading to her.   Animations and sounds activated by her touch make each page of the app interactive. This app teaches babies and toddlers vocabulary.

VocabuLarry's Things That Go Book

From the hit TV channel BabyFirstTV, comes the very first digital book featuring everyone’s favorite parrot, VocabuLarry! The spirited talking parrot takes babies and toddlers on an interactive journey as he meets all different “things that go” – a car, ship, truck and more!

“VocabuLarry’s Things That Go” Book features:

• Basic vocabulary
• Simple and easy to understand navigation
• The option to choose the narrator or read and record the book in your voice!
• Tested by babies, toddlers and parents
• Multi-device (iPod, iPhone, and iPad) support

About BabyFirstTV: BabyFirstTV is the leading TV network made just for babies, toddlers and parents. Developed by educational experts, BabyFirstTV shows inspire a variety of developmental skills. Plus, it’s completely commercial-free! Visit www.babyfirsttv.com

GIVEAWAY

Prize: A code for the “VocabuLarry’s Things That Go” app and a set of 3 BabyFirstTV DVD’s.

TO ENTER

Leave a comment below telling me why you’d like to win.

EXTRA ENTRIES (1 extra entry each)

• Tweet “I entered to win an app & 3 DVDs from @BabyFirstTv @mommyinsider http://bit.ly/babyfirsttv #giveaway”
  You can Tweet this up to every 6 hours.
• Follow The Mommy Insider on Twitter
• Follow @BabyFirstTv on Twitter
• Subscribe to The Mommy Insider email newsletter (emailed to subscribers bi-weekly)
• Be sure to tell us what you’ve done in the comments below so we can track your entries.

This giveaway will end October 5th at 11:59pm EST.  The winner will be chosen via Random.org.  Winner will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond.  Open to U.S. residents only!  No P.O. Boxes.

Disclosure: This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media.  I was provided with a code to install the app for purposes of this review.  Thoughts are my own.

BabyFirstTV App Review and App Code + DVD Set Giveaway {Ends 10/5} 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!

Sale: Oceanhouse Media’s Back to School Sale Kicks Off with Ten Dr. Seuss omBooks for $1.99 Each 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!

My husband and I are on a ‘get rid of stuff‘ kick.  We are selling tons of baby and kids stuff at a consignment sale here in Atlanta this weekend and let me tell you.. if I ever sign up to do this again (which I seriously doubt I will) I’m going to make sure I have lots of time, xanax, and sleep the week of the sale.   What a royal pain in the butt this week has been, but the hopefully the payoff will be worth it.  You may have noticed that I’ve written fewer reviews and posts in the last 5 or so days.. blame it on the consignment sale!

What does this have to do with Kijiji you ask? I was recently introduced to Kijiji.com which is an online community where members can connect with one another to exchange goods, ideas, and services and is the perfect place for a mom like me to sell used kids stuff without having to enter each item into an online inventory system, print card stock tags, and then secure the tag onto the item with packing tape… sorry.. I went off on a rant again.

The FREE Kijiji iPhone app allows Kijiji users to search local classified ads, watch listings, reply to listings and post items with just a few simple taps while on the go. The Kijiji iPhone app makes it easy to buy or sell everything from clothes to cribs, find a babysitter, adopt a pet, rent an house and do so much more, right from your iPhone.
What a great way to occupy yourself while waiting in the pick up line at school!  Find stuff to buy, locally, and cheap.. just because it’s a little ‘used’.  Just don’t get to the point where you need a Kijiji intervention though.. it could happen!

Learn more about the Kijiji iPhone app here.

We are giving a lucky reader a $25 iTunes giftcard!

We’ll give you one entry for each question you answer. Tell me your answers in the comments box below.

1. What is your favorite family-friendly iPhone app?
2. If you sold $300 worth of stuff on Kijiji, what would you do with the money?
3. What’s the most expensive item you’ve purchased online in general?

Have fun with the Kijiji iPhone app and good luck on the iTunes giftcard giveaway!

Kijiji iPhone app review + $25 iTunes giveaway! 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!

I’m having a blast trying out new iPhone apps and what’s even better is that I get to watch my kids enjoy them too! Yes, I try apps for organizing, apps for recipes, apps for travel, but apps for the kids are the most fun because my kids are involved and I love to see their reaction and desire to play or watch them over and over again.  My kids are on iPhone time limits.  I don’t recommend handing your iPhone over to your kids and letting them have at it for hours. I think about 10 minutes at a time is plenty.

Animal Fun Time (iTunes link), brought to us by people operating technology, provides interactive musical on-screen flashcards featuring the animals as the stars. Promoting interactive see, touch & recognition skills, with bright colors and great sound effects, it’s the perfect app for a busy toddler AND for a busy parent who needs a busy toddler!

So what is Animal Fun Time? It is an app that teaches toddlers ages 3+ animal recognition as well as hand-eye coordination.  There are 5 animals on the screen at a time and your child must ‘press’ on the correct animal to move to the next screen. Kids are awarded with realistic (if not real) animal sounds and enthusiastic praise when he/she presses on the correct animal.

Madelyn, 3 years old, has a great time with Animal Fun Time. She loves to hear the noise each animal makes when she chooses the correct animal. The game is randomized so the game is never the same and thus your kids won’t get bored with it. Oh, and don’t worry, there’s no need for instructions so you can count on handing your iPhone over to your toddler to play Animal Fun Time and she’ll be on her way to a super fun time!

GIVEAWAY!
Thanks to people operating technology, we are giving 5 lucky readers their own free copy of Animal Fun Time!
1 entry: Just leave a comment below telling me why you want to win Animal Fun Time and/or tell us a funny story about your child and your iPhone.  Did something crazy happen when your kid had your iPhone?  Let us know!
2 extra entries: Click the green ‘retweet’ button to share this post with your Twitter friends then leave a comment below with your Twitter ID.
Entries accepted until August 25th, 2009.

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Animal Fun Time iPhone app review + 5 readers will get a free copy! 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!