Sparkup Reader–Outstanding Toy for Kids

Disclosure: The SparkUp Reader mentioned below were provided for me in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” tab for more information.
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I absolutely love reading to my children. Occasionally I am gone at bedtime or have to be out of town. I always want to still be able to read with my children as they are going to bed. I know that it isn’t always possible, but it would be great if it was. SparkUp Reader has made it possible to read a variety of books to your child at anytime.

About SparkUp Reader:

Sparkup is a privately-held company based in Israel. It is managed by young parents who understand first-hand the challenges facing children’s reading and playtime experiences in a digital era. The investors and management team are passionate abou enhancing the lives of children and their families.

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The SparkUp Magical Book Reader is a revolutionary devices that clips directly on to any picture book and reads it aloud in your voice. You can record the book yourself, in any language, and add your own personal touches, or download professionally recorded stories, complete with sound effects, directly from the Sparkup website. While recording, Sparkup’s tiny camera takes a picture of the book’s front cover and each page. later on, when a child connects Sparkup to the book, Sparkup immediately recognizes its front cover. Sparkup follows the child’s place and reads aloud as he or she turns the pages – even out of order.

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Win Tiggly Counts to help your Child Count

Disclosure: The Tiggly Counts mentioned below were provided for me in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” tab for more information.
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With a two year old and a four year old we are always working on learning letters and numbers and all the wonderful things in the world around us. I was very excited to give the Tiggly Counts a try to see if they truly helped my daughter with counting and adding numbers together.

About Tiggly Counts:

Tiggly is a New York-based company that develops interactive toys and apps for the digital generation. Toddlers and preschoolers love the iPad as much as Mom and Dad, but 70 years of academic research has demonstrated that manipulating physical objects is essential to early childhood development. Tiggly enables parents to bring this critical component of early learning to the “digital sandbox” today’s kids inhabit.

Their debut product, Tiggly Shapes, was designed by educators specializing in early childhood development and tested by parents and toddlers at homes and in preschools. Their second product, Tiggly Counts, is an award-winning math learning toy for ages 3-6.

Their products are fun for all ages, but specifically intended to help children between 18 months and 6 years old develop spatial reasoning, motor skills, language, and creativity.

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About the Apps:

Tiggly Cardtoons – You can now count, drag, match, and enjoys as the simple buttons that you create come alive in a wildly imaginative story. Shuffle the basic pieces of digital cardboard and watch as they become one bluefish with a fancy bowtie, two peanuts for a hungry elephant, tree candles for a cow’s birthday cake, etc. Tiggly Cardtoons will help you learn basic math ideas such as one-to-one matching, counting, and equal sets.

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Hyrule Warriors (New Zelda Game)

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Zelda has long been an institution for Nintendo from the first Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo Entertainment System to its most recent iteration Hyrule Warriors, great fun is to be had. Today we are looking at Hyrule Warriors a recent game which takes the familiar Zelda franchise characters and settings and adds Dynasty Warriors game play and game mechanics to create a great game for long time Zelda fans or new comers to the characters.

First of all it is important to know this game was made by two big game developers Team Ninja and Omega Force. The result is a masterfully put together game which is hack and slash by nature and Zelda by setting, character and even music. The game play itself is simple button mashing fun which is a welcome change for little ones playing the game. Little Man loves it compared to the more complicated RPG controls of other Zelda games, which he doesn’t have a firm grasp on yet. Emphasis on YET.
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ShaveTech Travel Razor

Disclosure- We revived a sample of the below in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are our own and honest. This post was co-written by my husband, who used the razor, and myself- so that it read in complete sentences.  I love you, sweetie.  😛

Shaving is something that is necessary for most men. I know personally I would feel like a grizzly bear when I go a day without shaving. Also the scratchy face makes for not so comfortable hugs for others. Because of this, a nice shave is a great way to make a good first impression or just keep up a professional  appearance. A great little shaver for all us shaving men out there is the ShaveTech, with is a clever spin on a necessity (and nice to keep in an office drawer for a “spruce up” before a big meeting).

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It is not only a kick butt little shaver, but the ShaveTech is also charged via USB. (This means that a desktop or laptop will charge this small pocket sized shaver.)  Most cell phone chargers also have a USB port on them as well, and can be used to charge the shavers if you prefer. This is the perfect gift for any man. This could either be packed in with the laptop for work related travel or brought to work for shaving emergencies. If brought to work, there are lots of chances to use it- forgot to shave that morning?  Late in the day meeting with higher ups? Or just to freshen up (we all have “those days”, don’t we).  If you have it at work, the more often you’ll find yourself grabbing it.

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August Audio Fest at Best Buy

Disclosure- I have been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free- all opinions are my own.

pic9August is Audio Fest month at Best Buy this mean special deals and events and more at Best Buy’s across the country from August 3rd through August 30th.. These specials will involve all the best offers on the best audio products throughout the month. Products including portable Bluetooth speakers and headphones, to home theater solutions and car audio are all available.

To Celebrate Audio Fest we are going to review the new Denon HEOS speaker system. HEOS comes in 3 varieties HEOS3 for small to medium rooms like bedrooms or bathrooms, retails for $299.98, HEOS5 for medium to large rooms retails for $399.98 perfect for larger bedrooms, offices and small living rooms, and the HEOS7 for large spaces such as big living rooms and halls which retails for $599.98.

pic5The HEOS line of speakers all support form very interesting specs including the ability to control the audio with a smart phone either iOS or Android, both work well. There is also a USB port on the back of each speaker for easy music listening. Any music on a USB drive plugged into the back of the unit will play the music through the speaker system. The HEOS3 can be used with another HEOS 3 to make a stereo pair. The unit itself has dual custom full-range drivers and a two-channel digital amp. The HEOS5 features four dedicated class D amplifiers, two custom-designed tweeters, two mid-range drivers and a passive radiator. The HEOS7 has a subwoofer, two full-range drivers, two tweeters and two passive radiators to round out its big sound.

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Tech Gear You Didn’t Know You Always Wanted

Disclosure- I received the below in order to facilitate my reviews. All opinions are my own and honest.

Need to get your gear on this season?  Protect your phone, your ears, your photos, and keep it all together as you move along with the latest must have gadgets.

07 26 14 lumix 020Wires, wires, everywhere, and no one knows where they go.  Or how to untangle them.  Why not go wireless?  The Kinivo BTH240 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones – $35 on www.Pure-Gear.com will keep you in tune with the music but without the wires- not only great for teens, but for younger kids who (like my 6 year old) want to chew the wires.  Not a problem if there are no wires to gnaw on.  They work with almost any device, and make it easy to wander about the car, plane, hotel room (wherever) without crossing mom and dad’s wires. Once you try these, you will wonder what you did before you had them.

07 26 14 lumix 025I love my new Samsung Galaxy S5. I want to protect it from all the abuse I dole out to my travel gear as best I can.  The new PureGear: DualTek ExtremeCase for Samsung Galaxy S5 is amazing, it fits like a glove, doesn’t inhibit photos or phone use, and takes quite a beating. It doesn’t add much in the way of bulk, and comes in 3 colors (yellow, white, and black).  The shock case keeps it safe from drops, scratches, and has padded rubber corners to absorb impact and isolate vibration. The material is tough yet flexible, and very durable while not compromising your photos or ease of use. Starting at $35 at http://www.pure-gear.com
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Win FarFaria iPad App

Disclosure: The Farfaria iPad app mentioned below was provided for me in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” tab for more information.
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As I’m sure that you are all well aware by now, I am all for allowing my children to play/use the iPad as long as it is only occasional and it is an educational/positiveexperience. The FarFaria iPad app has a wide variety of children books that it will read to your child, or allow your child to read.

About FarFaria:

FarFaria is an iPad app that provides the perfect story time experience. They have more than 600 amazing children’s stories – and five new ones added each week – story time has never been easier.

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This app was created for children ages 2-9, FarFaria helps children develop a passion for reading and encourages families to spend quality time reading together. FarFaria’s engaging story-discovery experience encourages children to stumble into new stories they’ll love forever.

Features:

  • Unlimited reading from the reading library of more than 600 stories.
  • Interactive experience is fun for kids and easy for parents
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Reactiv Sound Instinct Speaker

Disclosure: The Instinct Speaker from Reactiv  was provided for me in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” tab for more information.

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Between iPads and cell Phones and all the other technology in our home we are often listening to music. My girls love to listen to music and dance as well. The Instinct Speaker from Reactiv Sound has been such a great fit for our family.

About Reactiv:

The people of Reactiv believe in good, crisp, big, bold sound without having to spend thousands or even hundreds of dollars on an elaborate system. They truly believe that one shouldn’t have to pay through the nose just to listen with their ears.

They stand by their products. They think so much of their products that they offer a full year, no questions asked warranty. As long as you didn’t throw it off your roof because the sound was so awesome, they will replace it – free of charge.

About Instinct:

Rich, full-bodied sound that’s packed with bass and clear at any volume. Fill your living room, bedroom, or backyard with big, bold music in an instant via Bluetooth connection. 

  • Wireless Connectivity – Connect quickly to any Bluetooth device and play your favorite music.
  • 8-Hour Rechargeable Battery- Your speaker can always be ready whenever you are.
  • Built-In Microphone-Speaker can also act like a high quality speaker phone.
  • Completely Portable – You can take it along wherever you go.

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My Thoughts:
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