Samantha, Author at Have Sippy Will Travel

Toy Fair Trends 2018 #NYTF

February 20, 2018 by Samantha Leave a Comment

It Febuary, so you know what that means. Parents@Play was at the New York Toy Fair, checking out all the newest and best toys and games that are coming out this year, and we think it will be a fantastic year for toys. James Hamilton, of the popular pop-culture website http://geekstronomy.com was there to lend a hand covering the massive show floor (and we thank him for his contributions to this coverage).

We found that some of the trends for the next year are somewhat of a continuation of old trends, albeit slightly updated. Some of these continuing toy trends do venture into new territories, and it’s always fun to see what the year will bring to our families.

One of the continuing trends has to be the “blind boxes”. While these have been growing in popularity, one of the variations on these “blind box” items is that the blister pack will show some of the toys or contents with one or more figures being obscured. The remaining contents are visible to the consumer, and the hidden toy is often a “rare” item. The other big news in blind boxes is the packaging has gotten very creative, having the packaging serving a dual purpose such as being used as a Christmas ornament, storage tin, or as part of the toy itself. We LOVE this, and we think your kids will, too.

One of the other trends we witnessed is expansion of STEM based products. If you are not familiar with the term STEM, it stands for Science, technology, engineering and math (another variation is “STEAM”, where the “A” stand for Art- which we like better). Build a robot, learn to code, build atoms, mix colors, new takes on old classics like volcano building- there is no shortage of truly fun with learning options. Starting from months old and up, the child can learns coding though programming a robot’s actions, how to use a musical instrument, and so much more. This year, education is king, and we are happy to see that trend.

Another trend which doesn’t seem to be losing any steam is the prevalence of potty humor. There is no end to a child’s (or his father’s) fascination with poop and fart noises, so the demand continues and the products expand to fill it. There is everything from games to toys with the potty theme. I guess no amount of flushing with make this one go away.

One thing that continues year to year and will never go away is the popularity of plush toys. This year, there are a few plush toys that seem to be everywhere. Not new, but continuing to be hot trends are mermaids and unicorns (many with sparkles, glitter, or “magic” sequins that go in multiple directions) donuts, and narwhals. In addition, you will find a multitude of dinosaurs, flat stuffed toys in every variety (even superheroes), and the new fun food toys are bananas, pineapples, avocados, which you will see everywhere by every brand. The new trendy animals this year? Sloths, llamas, and aliens.

While we saw tons of these toys stuffed, you will find them in blind packs, action figures, pull toys, as bouncy balls, as pillows, coloring books, crayons themselves, and in more options then you can imagine.

While we are speaking of dinosaurs- you won’t be able to turn your head this year without looking at one (or take a step without tripping on one, as it might turn out). With the new Jurassic Park movie coming out shortly, as well as the 25th anniversary of the movie (don’t you feel old now? I sure do), not only are there a wide array of Jurassic Park toys and characters and more, but never before have there been so many books, paleontologist kits, stuffed animals, figures, remote control toys, costumes, and anything else you can think of that will have your child in a pteroble state of dino-madness.

Filed Under: review, toys Tagged With: Best Of New York Toy Fair, New York Toy Fair, newspaper cross post, toys

When Your Kid is Having a Public Meltdown #GroceryHero #ad @Walmart

February 20, 2018 by Samantha 3 Comments

This might seem like a strange photo- but he wouldn’t stop crying until I gave him this carrot and that potato. We’ve all had those moments where our children are little beasties in public- and where we will do ANYTHING to make it stop and just get out of wherever we are in one piece. What can we do to make shopping easier with little kids?

Impatient leg swinging from the shopping cart seat is often followed by a litany of Mom, Mommy, and MOM! Even when I respond there are times that my little one just doesn’t stop. Then there are the forceful kicks to emphasize his impatience. Maybe you avoid those dangerous little feet, maybe you wind up with a dirty shoe scuffing up your white shirt. Or maybe you share my experience… a day when those scuff marks were more than just dirt.

I confess that I don’t love all things poop related and blown out diapers and clothing. What, you know someone who does? Diaper days were not my favorite. So that day between the tantrum throwing toddler in a store I visit regularly, what I can only figure was dog poop (please?) transferred from his shoe all over my embroidered white shirt, and an otherwise too stressful week- there was a scene of epic proportions. I was almost in tears myself by the end of the shopping trip. And of course- THE LOOKS you get from other shoppers, ugh.

When I discovered Walmart’s Online Grocery Pickup I was elated. I get to stay in the car, cut my errand time by 80%, and save myself from the grocery store drama. I have always loved shopping, but that is one thing my munchkin did not inherit. Now I can browse from the comfort of my home, get everything my family needs, and just drive by and pick everything up. Someone looked at my life and found a solution for one of my biggest stressors. Now first time users can use promo code WOWFRESH for $10 off and find the bliss I have discovered with Walmart’s Online Grocery Pickup.

Once you and your child have bawled your eyes out in a shopping aisle it is hard to go back to traditional shopping and now there are other options to save me from my shopping terror.

Next time you shop? Use promo code WOWFRESH for $10 off your first Walmart Online Grocery order, and save yourself some cash and hopefully some sanity.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Walmart. The opinions and text are all mine.

Filed Under: review Tagged With: family, kids, shopping

Make Sure Your Home Is Healthy for Your Dog

February 20, 2018 by Samantha Leave a Comment

Having a dog at home is an incredible way to ensure companionship and make great memories. However, it can also be challenging. After all, your furry friend will probably be curious and adventurous, and you want to ensure that your dog is not in any danger when he is simply roaming or exploring around.

If you have a pet dog, check out the following tips for ensuring that your house is safe. By taking some steps to make sure your home is good for your dog, you can create a space where you, your family and your dog can have great experiences for years to come.

Make Sure Cabinets Are Latched or Locked

When you have a dog at home, it’s important to make sure reachable cabinets latch or lock. That way, a dog cannot get into the cabinet and eat or tear up whatever is in it. (This includes food, medicine, chemicals and more.) By keeping your dog out of the cabinets, you can ensure that he doesn’t ingest something that will hurt or kill him.

Only Have Non-Toxic Plants

Do you have house plants around your home? If so, make sure they are non-toxic. That way, if your dog takes a bite, he won’t be poisoned. If you’re not sure if your plant is poisonous and you think that your pup may have eaten some of it, call your vet. You may have to bring your dog and the plant into the vet but he or she will be able to tell you if your dog is safe, and if not, treat him for any potential health effects.

Give Your Dog a Comfortable Space

Your dog should have a comfortable space to retreat to especially if he gets stressed or anxious. This means that your dog may want a crate of his own, or he may want a bed in a spot where he can hide away if something scary happens. If your dog’s special place is upstairs and he has aches and pains, a medication like Carprofen may help for inflammation in dogs. It takes away pain from arthritis and hip dysplasia (as well as other joint diseases) and can help make it easier for an older dog to do things like climb stairs or ease into small nooks and crannies.

Keep the Toilet Lid Closed

Your dog may love to drink from the toilet. In reality, though, that’s a bad idea. If you use cleaning products in the toilet, your dog can be poisoned. Or, if your dog is small enough, it’s possible he can crawl into the toilet and drown. Make sure that your toilet lid is closed, and that way you can use the bathroom when you need to and ensure that your dog doesn’t encounter anything hazardous there.

Be Careful With Wires

So many things in your house have wires: your television, your computer and your alarm clocks (etc., etc.). Make sure that you tie up loose or dangling wires and keep them out of the way of the dog. That way, your dog won’t be tempted to chew on them (which can cause shock and damage your electronics) or he won’t trip on them when he is running around.

Having a furry friend at home is a great way to warm up a space and make it feel loving. However, you can’t just bring a dog into your space without first ensuring that you’ve done the proper prep work. If you do the work to make sure that your space is safe and healthy for your dog, your family and your pets can enjoy a fun, stress-free life together.

Filed Under: animals, health Tagged With: animals, check in, dogs, health, pets

Qualities to Look for in the Best electrician

February 20, 2018 by Samantha Leave a Comment

There is a lot to think about when you need to hire an electrician. You need to think about your budget, the work that needs done, whether you need to the work done now or whether you want to wait, and so on. Added to this is the extra burden that not everybody who labels themselves as an electrician is qualified to do so, which can leave you in a worse position than you started out from. These people take the money and word-of-mouth recommendations which should by rights go to an actual electrician.

Certification

A qualified electrician will be able to show his certification if you ask for it. Aside from being able to ask him or her to specifically show you certificates which say that they are proficient in the skills you need, they are usually legally required to show such certification on their websites or promotional material. The certificates show that governing bodies have seen fit to say that the person you have engaged for your electricity work is actually capable of the job.

Price

The old adage that you get what you pay for is still very true when it comes to industries that involve electricians. If someone is asking an amount of money in payment for their work which seems too good to be true, assume that it is. Prices vary within the electricians – this is why you should get quotes from at least three different people before making a decision on what to do – but in general the prices should be reasonable for the work you actually need done. This can mean that it is a bit higher than you might otherwise have thought.

Recommendations

This can mean word-of-mouth recommendations, but this is also how fake electricians get their work, so tread carefully. Reviews and recommendations are now available in various places online – so long as the electrician has an online presence, you should be able to find some reviews about them online. These reviews can lead you towards or away from certain electricians, depending on how good the service was.

Another way to use recommendations is to ask the electrician themselves to give you letters of recommendation from previous customers.

It can be difficult to see how anybody could tell the difference between an actual electrician and one who is just running a scam, especially since anybody can set up an online presence these days. But there are ways to ensure that you get a properly qualified electrician, and while this article is only the start of how to go about that, it is definitely a good place to start, and a good place to get some ideas for how to proceed in finding more information. Finding a good electrician can take a lot of work, but it is something that is entirely worth the effort, as good electrical work can last a lifetime, while bad work can be something which leads to your entire house being put in danger.

Filed Under: home Tagged With: check in, for the home, home

5 Easy Steps to Potty Training Your Puppy

February 20, 2018 by Samantha Leave a Comment

Are you one of the many people who perceive puppy potty training difficult—or even impossible? It’s actually easier than you think.

Today we’re going to give you advice straight from a professional puppy trainer on how to potty train a puppy from as young as 6 weeks old. So whether you’re a breeder who wants to sell ready-trained puppies, or a new dog owner; these tips will help you and your puppy succeed.

Develop a Routine

Routine is by far the most important factor in getting your puppy trained fast. There are three routine steps to take into consideration:

A feeding routine
A potty routine
A sleeping routine

Let’s look at each one more closely.

A Feeding Routine

Ensure that you feed your puppy at the same time every day. Your puppy will start expecting to be fed at that time each day, which will automatically prompt a potty routine.

Avoid leaving food out for your puppy for it to eat whenever it feels like it. If it isn’t hungry, take the food up and feed it again at the next interval. A great way to create a feeding routine is to feed your puppy once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

Take your puppy outside about 15 – 20 minutes after its meals to do its business outside. With repetition your puppy will be potty trained within a matter of days.

A Potty Routine

Apart from its normal feeding & sleeping routine, take your puppy outside at the same time each day. You’ll soon start learning how often your puppy needs to go outside to potty, so set designated times for it to do so. three or four times in the middle of each day should be sufficient—depending on how much it eats and drinks.

A Sleeping Routine

Your puppy’s sleep routine ties into its potty routine too. It’s important to let your puppy go outside just before it’s being put to sleep. Your puppy will quickly learn that potty before bedtime is the norm, and this will reinforce the habit of doing its business outside.

Read the Signals

There will be times outside of feeding and bedtime when your puppy will need to potty. It will give you signals that it is about to go by one or more of the following:

Circling around
Sniffing the ground
Folding its body

Dedicate yourself to watching your puppy. If it shows these signs or any other characteristic sighs of wanting to potty, pick it up and take it outside quickly. It will quickly learn that doing its business inside is unacceptable.

Establish a Designated Potty Area

Throughout your puppy potty training, always direct your puppy to generally the same outside area every time. The smells of previous potty sessions will trigger its memory, and with repetition it will learn where it needs to go for a comfortable wee or pool.

Deal with Accidents Effectively

When accidents happen, see this as a training opportunity rather than a failure. Punishing your puppy won’t do much good in the long run. A stern “No!” is all your puppy needs to know that what it has done is not acceptable.

If it’s a poo take it outside to its designated area and show your puppy that next time this is where you want it to do its business. If it’s a wee, pick your puppy up and put it outside for a few minutes.

Also be sure to clean up the mess with something that takes away the smell completely.

Use Positive Reinforcement

Be patient and calm while training your puppy and you’ll be amazed at how quickly it responds to your training efforts. Before you know it your puppy will be potty trained and automatically go outside when it needs to.

Filed Under: animals Tagged With: animals, check in, family, pets

Knitting And Crocheting – Is There Really Any Difference?

February 20, 2018 by Samantha Leave a Comment

Once you have started knitting, crocheting or both you will quickly see that there is a difference in the way these two methods are completed and the finished result. However, this is not always obvious to the untrained eye, hence why this article will help you to understand the difference.

It is worth noting that both techniques use the same type of yarn, you can find a huge array of products if you click here; that should give you the inspiration to get started!

Knitting is believed to originate from before Christian times, making it an ancient art. There are certainly many examples of it through history.

Crocheting, on the other hand, appears to be a much younger practice. It dates from the 19th century and has been referred to as ‘shepherd’s knitting’.

The Differences

There are several clear differences as illustrated below:

Needles

The first thing you need to note is that the procedure for creating items is very different. Knitting uses two needles. Stitches are placed onto these needles and are referred to as live, because they can all be added to.

In contrast crocheting uses one hook and has one live stitch.

The result is a fabric which feels different and generally feels lighter with crocheting.

The Bumps

Crocheting results in sideways stitches, as opposed to knitting where it is more like weaving.

This means that knitting provides a closely woven material which is excellent at keeping you warm. In contrast crocheting will have loose stitches which almost appear to have holes in. This is not great or warmth and can even be an issue for modesty. Of course; in warmer climates this can be seen as preferential!

Speed

Crocheting generally appears to be faster as you deal with just one stitch at a time. However, the length of each row does need to be the same as knitting so this might be more of an appearance issue than an actual fact!

Your speed at either crocheting or knitting will depend upon your experience and confidence.

Dropping Stitches

You work with just one live stitch when crocheting which makes it virtually impossible to miss a stitch. In contrast it is relatively easy to do this when knitting, which can be extremely frustrating when you are several lines along before realizing! You have to literally unpick all your stitches!

Design

Both crocheting and knitting use patterns to assist you in creating your desired design. However, knitting will generally allow you to make a much more detailed and ornate piece that crocheting will. This is simply the nature of the technique and a matter of personal preference regarding which style you prefer.

There are a great number of followers of both techniques and many people learn both, but be assured they are different and do produce a different feel and look when completed.

You can always seek support from one of the many knitting and crocheting forums on the web, this will ensure you are never short of ideas and get your designs right!

Filed Under: crafts, lifestyle items Tagged With: check in, crafts

Kirby Encourages Fans to Perform Random Acts of Kindness

February 16, 2018 by Samantha Leave a Comment

While the nation celebrates Random Acts of Kindness Day this weekend, Kirby, the charming hero known for his powerful Copy Abilities, is preparing a celebration of his own at this year’s Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle. Attendees of Emerald City Comic Con will not only be among the first to play the Kirby Star Allies game for the Nintendo Switch system and try out Kirby’s new Copy Abilities before the game launches on March 16, they will also have the chance to earn cool Kirby themed items for being nice to people around them – just like Kirby himself!

In Kirby’s new game, he uses a new ability to turn his enemies into friends to create a powerful team to save Planet Popstar. But despite his friendly appearance, Kirby brings some seriously powerful new moves and abilities to his new game that would even impress the most hardened video game players. In fact, Kirby’s moves in Kirby Star Alliesare some of his most powerful and impressive yet.

And just like Kirby, attendees of Emerald City Comic Con will have the opportunity to unleash some powerful moves of their own – the power to make the world a better place through acts of kindness! Kirby would be so proud.

Select Nintendo representatives will be walking around Emerald City Comic Con March 1-4 to reward people for performing random acts of kindness for other people. If these mobile Nintendo teams catch a Comic Con attendee doing something nice, from holding the door for a stranger to picking up litter, that person will get the chance to earn fun Kirby themed items.

These same mobile teams will also be surprising people waiting in lines around the convention with the opportunity to play Kirby Star Allies for Nintendo Switch in Handheld Mode. The game will also be available to play at the Nintendobooth in TV Mode.

“Many of our classic characters are heroes in numerous ways, but Kirby epitomizes what it’s like to be powerful, but also kind,” said Cindy Gordon, Nintendo of America’s Vice President of Strategic Communications. “While we love bringing our games directly to fans at events like this, we wanted to do something a little different this time to show that teamwork and kindness are two of the most powerful forces around.”

Kirby Star Allies is one of the largest and most robust games in the Kirby series – and the first on Nintendo Switch! In the game, Kirby can recruit enemies by tossing out hearts to gather friends for a party of up to four characters. This newly formed party can be used to solve clever puzzles or unleash powerful friend abilities. In addition to familiar Copy Abilities like Sword, Fire, Ice, Stone, Bomb and more, Kirby will have access to new abilities like Spider, Artist and Staff. Some Copy abilities can even be imbued with different elements, such as wind, water, fire and electricity. Kirby uses this large collection of powerful moves and abilities to make his way through a wide variety of colorful and challenging worlds.

Up to four players can play together in local co-op, with one player controlling Kirby and, for the first time in the series, the other players taking control of the recruited enemies (additional accessories may be required in multiplayer mode). Players can still embark on the adventure solo, though, with team members automatically controlled by the game.

Emerald City Comic Con runs March 1-4 at the Washington State Convention Center at 705 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98101. For Comic Con hours and more information, visit https://www.emeraldcitycomiccon.com/.

For more information about Kirby Star Allies, visit https://kirby.nintendo.com/star-allies.

Remember that Nintendo Switch features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about other features, visit https://www.nintendo.com/switch/.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Nintendo Switch^™ system and the Nintendo 3DS^™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System^™, Nintendo has sold more than 4.5 billion video games and more than 710 million hardware units globally, including Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, as well as the Game Boy^™, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS^™ family of systems, Super NES^™, Nintendo 64^™, Nintendo GameCube^™, Wii^™ and Wii U^™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names, such as Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Zelda and Pokémon. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Americas. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at https://www.nintendo.com/.

Filed Under: gaming Tagged With: check in, comic con, Nintendo, video games

Subscription Box Gifts for Everybody in The Family + Coupon Codes for Each One

February 16, 2018 by Samantha Leave a Comment

Are there times you give and give and give only for you to realize that you totally forgot about your needs? If yes, it is about time you did something about that. It is okay to be selfless but how about you tried out something that would give to your family and you as well? One way to achieve this is by subscribing to monthly gift boxes. The following are some of the coolest subscription gift boxes for your entire family. Notice that all of these boxes offer discount codes, Coupon Cause is a great site for finding the most recent deals for any of these subscriptions.

Fido – PawsAndPals

Subscription by Paws And Pals delivers high-quality toys, accessories, treats for your furry pal. At PawsAndPals.com you will find three subscription plans – deluxe bag at $40, novelty bag at $ 30 and the sample box at $20. Paws And Pals allows you to custom size your gift box by indicating the size of your dog. Now the ball is in your court- place an order and get your Fido’s tail wagging!

Paws And Pals Coupon: 10% Off with Newsletter Sign Up

Teenage Son – LootCrate.com

LootCrate.com is one of the best website leading to fun such as entertainments, sports, gaming and pop culture to deliver monthly theme subscription boxes for geeks and gamers. Loot crate provides a monthly mystery crate for pop culture fans that comes packed with super amazing exclusive collectibles and apparels from your favorites games, movies, and tv shows. In the monthly crate, you will find super cool t-shirts, capes, fancy sunglasses, and a cartoon magazine for the teens.

LootCrate.com coupon: +5% Off First Month Crate with Code LOOTR15

Mom – BeanBox.com

Are you a mom that loves coffee? Then beanbox is the subscription box for you. BeanBox delivers monthly subscription gift boxes with coffee right at your doorstep. BeanBox.com offers different types of coffee packages which include, a single bag of coffee and some other four different coffees in a smaller bag. Read about organic coffee brands at thehomemakersjournal.com if you don’t have good ideas about the benefits of different coffee box. BeanBox is known as the U.S coffee capital due to the variety of coffee they offer such as the Lighthouse Roasters, Conduit Coffee, Kuma Coffee and Herkimer Coffee.

BeanBox coupon: 50% Off any Bean Box Subscription with code FRESH50

Dad – BBQ Box

Most men are not naturally acquainted with cooking. But there’s need not to worry anymore since the BBQ Box is there for you, BBQ Box is a package of packed foods, that stimulates your craving for food. The sets include marinade, Rub, Jerky, snack, a package of premium wood chips, and one custom recipe from Myron Mixon showcasing the best of your box from BBQ. Therefore, dads have all reasons to celebrate BBQ Box since all the stressful time when wondering how to get cooking and come up with that delicious pie is over. All that is left for you to do is to place an order and the pie will be delivered to your doorstep

BBQ Box coupon:15% Off First Box – CMOON15

The Artistic One – Doodle Crate

Most children are artistic in nature and they love drawing, shading and other simple art projects. This art increases the creativity of the little ones. Doodle Crates offers different materials for assisting the young kids from the age of nine to sixteen years in their artwork which includes yarn, washi tapes, inspiration sheets, video tutorials and easy to follow step by step instructions to guide the children as they do their artwork. The packages are delivered to the doorstep once you place an order.

Doodle crate coupon: 30% Off First Month’s Crate with Code CAUSE30

Filed Under: saving/money Tagged With: check in, coupons