Pony Royale – Ponies with Mix and Match Manes

Update- with new Time To Play photos

Once Upon a Time….

…has got to be one of the best way to begin a story, and that is the way the story of the Pony Royale toys start. Every month for a year, a beautiful princess was born, and was given a gorgeous crown with a birthstone in it. At the time of each birth, a majestic pony was also born who had the same jewel in her forehead, thus bringing about the Pony Royale kingdom. The ponies were then given a magical forest to play in. And play they did. And now it is your turn to play. Each Pony Royale comes with changeable fashion and hair styles including two Change-It-Up hairstyles and brushes. These ponies are have a articulated head giving you the ability to [Read more…]

remote services vs sending off

Tech Support comes in many forms and factors including in home tech support and remote support as well bring your computer to a technician. There really are only three ways to go about fixing a royal screw up on your system. And those are:

Bringing your system into a PC repair shop. The drawbacks are it can take a long time to get to your system, plus you don’t really know what is happening to your system as well who is doing it. This can be unnerving for some but the best option considering the drop off pick up convenience.

There is also the option of remote accessing your system, via remote desktop and file transfers as well as downloads. The downside to this is, no system, no help. There must be some way to connect to your system, which can be the main issue to begin with. The positive is, you can see exactly what is going on [Read more…]

Top 5 Tips to Prepare Your Teen for High School

It can be jarring to go from middle school to high school, and your teen might not
always be ready for such a transition. There are all sorts of new students, probably a
larger campus, and a new class structure that your child will have to familiarize him- or
herself with, and such a task can seem daunting, even to you. As a parent, there are
actually a few things to make sure your teen is properly prepared for his or her high
school experience, and most of them don’t actually cost a thing.

  • Time Management

Learning how to balance your time is an important part of being in high school.
Your teen will likely play some sports or join a club of some type, so you want to make
sure you’re instilling habits and practices around the house that will help your teenager
be familiar with good time management and understand its importance — it’ll become
especially vital as your teen starts to take on more and more responsibility.

  • Don’t Let Eighth Grade Get too Easy

One of the biggest problems with the end of middle school is that it gets way too
easy right before the transition to high school takes place. You can help avoid this by
encouraging learning-oriented activities and making sure your teen takes care of regular
responsibilities around the house.

  • Discourage an Idle Summer

With the end of middle school being as easy as it has a tendency to be, and the
uninterrupted of relative freedom and independence that follows it, the transition to a
brand new high [Read more…]

Clifford the Big Red Dog Coming to Keswick Theatre

Clifford is coming soon to the Keswick Theater, and we cannot wait to go see the show. What child doesn’t love this Big, Red Dog?

Clifford the Big Red Dog is coming to the Keswick Theatre on Sunday, October 14TH for 2 BIG shows at 1 and 4PM to celebrate his 50TH Birthday in a special live theatrical show featuring new songs, dancing and laughter the whole family will love.
[Read more…]

Food Myths Debunked

Over the years we have all heard advice related to food safety and preparation, much of it from word of mouth, or a simple Google search online. But how much of what we hear and read is actually true?
To help consumers protect themselves and their families from food poisoning, the Ad Council, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, FDA and CDC and their Food Safe Families campaign as well as the Partnership for Food Safety Education are setting the record straight on food safety to save you time, money and most importantly, peace of mind, that your food is safe for [Read more…]

National Coffee Day with Eight O’Clock Coffee

In honor of National Coffee Day on September 29th, Eight O’Clock Coffee, America’s Original Gourmet Coffee,is demystifying coffee jargon—and explaining how to make a great-tasting specialty coffee drink at home, no fancy machines needed. Behold, your guide to creating a cafécoffee experience right in your own kitchen, courtesy of Eight O’Clock Coffee!


Latte- Traditionally, this is made using espresso and foamed milk. The milk to coffee ratio is 3:1.

  • Make It At Home! Use a strong coffee, like Eight O’Clock Coffee’s Dark Italian Roast, and brew regularly. Pour some milk into a saucepan and place over medium heat. Whisk milk as it heats to make it frothy. Pour some of the coffee into a mug, add some hot liquid milk and spoon the foamed milk on top.


Café Mocha- This is simply a latte with some type of chocolate flavor added in.

  • Make It At Home! Prepare using the latte instructions. Before adding the coffee and milk, pour 2/3 cup of hot chocolate mix into the bottom of the mug, add coffee and milk and stir until the mix has dissolved.


Café au Lait- Similar to a latte, but usually uses strong brewed coffee instead of espresso and has a 1:1 ratio of coffee to milk.

  • Make It At Home! Brew Eight O’Clock Coffee’s Dark Italian Roast, steam the milk and add equal parts milk (add this first) and coffee to your mug.


Cappuccino- Usually made with equal parts espresso, steamed milk and frothed milk.

  • Make It At Home! Follow the same instructions as the latte, but pour equal parts coffee and steamed milk into the mug and top with frothed milk. It’s great with cinnamon or chocolate sprinkled on.


Macchiato- A traditional macchiato is a shot of espresso with a bit of milk foam. We usually think of the caramel macchiato, which is very popular at coffee [Read more…]

Bialetti Moka- Perfect for Travel or Entertaining

There is a wonderful complexity, yet simplicity to a good cup of coffee. For some it is a flavor or a certain creamer or sweetener, for others the bitter darkness of the coffee. Still others like the roast-y flavor of the coffee, and others just like a cup to wake them up in the morning.

There are just as many ways to make a cup of coffee as there are flavors in the coffee. One of the most enjoyable for me is Italian coffee. A seemingly inconspicuous, small cup of coffee- but upon first sip, there is an explosion of flavor, a concentrated coffee where every note is extended to enjoy the full flavor of the coffee. How can one make a cup of coffee of this caliber? Easy! Bialetti Moka. This wonderful little coffee pot can make up to 12 cups of coffee, depending on the pot bought. And is a lot of fun to make. The coffee goes into the small cup and the water goes into the bottom. [Read more…]

VTech Switch and Go Dinos @vtechtoys

Want to see a cool new toy that is both a dinosaur and a vehicle? It is way cooler then you are thinking- even if what you are thinking is very cool.

Take a look at these nifty new VTech Switch & Go Dinos. Each dinosaur can be changed from a dinosaur that roars and gives Dino-facts into a driver/pilot in a vehicle saying cool driver things like “Saddle Up, Partner!” There are at a minimum 10 phrases per Dinosaur for the starter Dino’s, and at the high end, 40 for Brok, the biggest of the crew.

These Dino’s are big. Brock is the largest, and he is very pliable for a transforming toy that is still transformable for little hands. This is a big deal, because as transforming toys go- the bigger they are, in general- the more complex the transformation often times is, frustrating little ones and leaving them with either broken toys or a lack of interest. It is very nice to see a big Dino transforming into a truck in 7 easy steps. Going from Dino roaring, into truck revving, in a matter of minutes. Little Man had a blast changing back and forth, and after a few times watching daddy change it, he was able to all by himself.

Each Dino comes with an accessory- some bigger then others, depending on the Dino in question. Aan example is the big Brachiosaurus [Read more…]