Thursday, June 24, 2010

2-in-1 Potette Plus Review


Recently I bought the 2-in-1 Potette Plus travel potty to keep in my minivan. The seat folds up fairly small and flatish, and has it's own carrying baggie. I'll probably use the seat mostly for when I can't find a restroom quick enough, but of course it's perfect for traveling - no matter how long the trip. With Summer here, everybody travels more - I plan to make a few trips too!

I found the price of the travel potty ($16) to be very reasonable and it works great. The plus model doubles as a toilet trainer seat, which I haven't used and really don't plan to. I probably should've just bought the regular seat for $10 instead. Still, the seat is well-made and sturdy. Just make sure you snap the legs in place before your child sits on it.


The seat comes with 3 little bags. They have a small absorbent pad inside each bag. On Amazon, a 10-pack of refills is $5. Now to me, that's pretty expensive - especially when you consider how many you'd need to buy for a single trip!

So, I bought a 60-pack of Evenflo breast pads for less than $5 and gathered a bunch of used Wal-Mart plastic bags. I pre-loaded a dozen bags (don't forget to check for holes!) with 2 breast pads each (you might be able to get away with using just one), and stuck them in the back of my van with the potty seat. I keep cheap flushable wipes back there too.

The homemade bags work perfectly! Make sure you tie the bag tightly and then throw it in the nearest trash can when you're done. Simple and cheap!




Here's a picture of the seat in the back of my van rigged with the Wal-Mart bag/breast pad combo:




Below is a picture of the seat with the refills made to fit it. Can you see the absorbent pad in the bag? I haven't tried the refills yet, since I wanted to see if the Wal-Mart bag/breast pad combo would work first, but from the Amazon reviews they appear to do their job. But they are so expensive!




I like that I can put the seat in the back of my van and not worry about yucky spills. Serenity can also get on and off the potty with a little more privacy too. Although, when the back of my van is full of stuff, it's really not that big of a deal to position the seat next to the van so no one can see Serenity getting on and off the potty.

I think this this is an excellent seat to keep in your car for traveling or long trips around town. It doesn't matter if your toddler is just learning to potty or a pro - or maybe you don't like public restrooms (lets face it, some of them can be pretty nasty), when the time comes - you'll be glad you have this seat in your trunk!




Have fun!!

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Kid-Tested & Approved iPod Apps



When apps for kids start off at FREE on up, it's kinda hard not to want to try one everyday! As I've blogged about before, I think the iTouch is a wonderful device for kids. The educational Apps that you can get are so incredibly cheap, and they will keep your child occupied and learning for hours!

Ideal for car trips, airplane rides, restaurants, grocery store, etc.

One thing I can't stress enough, is to make sure your child's iTouch is well protected. They will eventually drop it!

The new Otterbox Defender case is now available for only $29.95.

Get one - it works!

For $30 you're keeping a $200 investment well insulated from harm when it's being tossed around and dropped by your toddler/preschooler. Serenity has dropped her iTouch (while it was in the Defender case thank goodness) from shopping carts (several times now) and it's not the least bit damaged! You can't ask for better than that!

The only thing that I might have a small teeny tiny gripe with the Defender case, is that some headphone jacks won't fit with it on. Only jacks that are straight (like on the Kidz Gear and Fisher Price headphones), not the ones with bent jacks like the Caliphone headphones. I have used an adapter for Serenity's Panda Caliphones since they are so comfortable for her to use and it works fine.

Okay, now on to the new Apps Serenity has tested and approved of recently!

Miss Spider's Tea Party ($4.99) - This is one that she plays everyday since I've loaded it on her iTouch. So much to do with this App. There is a wonderful story about Miss Spider looking for a bug to have tea with her (they are scared of her 'cause she's a spider after all!), an interactive story that's lots of fun, and games like memory match, puzzles and painting. Definitely a good buy!

Olivia (2.99) - Another favorite of Serenity's. We got it when it was first introduced for only 99¢. Lots of fun painting, and then the paintings become animated. All right!

Super Why (2.99) - This one is a little advanced for Serenity, but that doesn't matter to her - she still thinks it's a blast to play. First you pick your Super Hero character, then you learn to spell (and write) in a interesting way. It teaches her to listen to a story and then find the correct answers. She's having fun with it, even if she doesn't get every one right.

Rosita's Jump Count (1.99) - This one is too funny. Learn to count in Spanish while playing jump rope. It's so cute to watch Serenity jump while playing this App!

K-Magic (FREE) - All of K-Magic's Apps are wonderful and FREE! Serenity likes playing them - and you just can't beat free!

iWash My Dogs Lite (FREE) - A silly little App. First you "wash" the dog, then you "rinse", "dry" and last you "brush" the dog until it's "all sparkly clean" like Serenity says! If you buy the App you'll get more dogs - but for toddlers and preschoolers I think the free App is just fine to keep them interested.

Kid's Maze (99¢) - A neat labyrinth game that helps them to count and teaches hand/eye coordination. It takes some concentration and it holds her attention.

BalloonMaker (99¢) - Cute, fun, and what kid can resist balloons? Touch the screen to blow up a balloon - touch the balloon to pop it. Turn the iTouch to watch the balloons "float" to the top too!

Bert's Bag ($2.99) - Use your finger to open the bag, shake the iTouch to make the bag dump the stuff inside, then touch the objects to count them. Kids have to learn to listen to directions, and it teaches them how to count. Another fun interactive educational game.

Fish School (99¢) - Tap the screen to get the fish to form different letters, then a woman's pleasant voice "sings" out each letter. Touch the letters in the left-hand corner and the narrator tells you what the letter stands for: J is for jellyfish. Cute game.

Make A Martian (FREE) - create your own Martian! Hundreds of options! Lots of FREE fun!

Count TV ($2.99) - Sesame Street's The Count goes through 9 different interactive Sesame Street videos (some from really old shows) and teaches your child to count up to nine. Very entertaining!

Alphabet Tracing (FREE) - Follow a tiny train with your finger to trace over each letter. Great little FREE program!

Glow Coloring (FREE) - So neat! Change neon colors, use stamps, use your own pictures, and more. You can pay 99¢ to remove the ads too. The ads aren't all that annoying - besides it's FREE!

Mega Jump (99¢) - Crazy, wacky game that you tilt side to side to move the little guy and collect coins so he can jump high. The more coins you collect the higher he jumps. Takes a little getting used to (for me not Serenity), but quickly becomes addicting.

Nick Jr.'s A to Z ($1.99) - Serenity loves everything Nick Jr. so this one was a no-brainer. I knew when I saw it she'd be hooked! Find hidden letters - big and small, plenty enough on this game to keep your preschooler playing for hours.

The Cat in the Hat ($2.99) - A classic book now available for the iTouch! Your child can have the book read to her and when she touches different things in the picture, words pop up and the narrator reads them to your child. A wonderful way to learn new sight words.

Team Umizoomi ($1.99) - Nick Jr.! Of course Serenity loves this one too. Learn patterns and shapes. Lots to do and lots of fun!


That's all this time. I'll probably have more posts like this one in the future since I love finding new Apps and so does Serenity!

UPDATE:
In response to one follower's question: Serenity's iPod usually has around 7 full pages of Apps, it'll hold 9 pages, but I tend to take off Apps she doesn't play often - after I've okayed it with her first! One page is full of Apps that came with the iTouch and you can't take them off (unless you jailbreak it).

Each page holds 16 Apps, and even if you subtract the 16 of Apps that come with the device, that's still 96 Apps! Apps won't take up all that much room on an iTouch so you could probably put 9 full pages and still have plenty of room for other stuff. Nine full pages of Apps is a whapping 144 Apps!

Serenity's iTouch is a 16GB (we actually switched with my MIL for the bigger iTouch when she got an iPhone), and I've put videos, music, movies, and TV shows on there too. It's packed!


Have fun!

And the WINNER is...



Ticia!

Congratulations!

I just sent you an email - be sure to check your spam folder if you don't see it!

Please email me your mailing address so I can mail off your new Tangle Teezer Magic Flowerpot!

As an extra bonus, I'll be adding a few of my clippies!

I hope your little girl likes her prize!


A HUGE thank you to everyone who entered!


Please stay tuned for a NEW giveaway next week!

Have fun!