Robot Fun with Ozobot!

I was recently lucky enough to be chosen to receive an Ozobot starter kit to share. I wasn't familiar with Ozobot at first but Im' a huge fan of STEM learning and activities. Ozobot is described as a small robot toy that helps your child become a maker of technology who learns some computer science basics.

Ozobot really is all about play. The start kit comes with paper activities, a protective sheet, stickers, and markers. In addition it can be used with a few available apps and an iPad. The Ozobot website even has more games which can be replayed over and over again just by printing. You can learn about all of the play option on their website here.

Ozobot itself is a small robot about the size of a normal bouncy ball. It comes with some paper and sticker decoration that help make the various games even more exciting and decorative for littler ones. My 4 year old loves customizing Ozobot when it's his turn but my almost 7 year old is more interested in the actual game not the accessories.

How it works?
It's a bit hard to describe but using colors (marker, sticker, etc) you can program the Ozobot to drive itself various ways. There are functions for jump codes and more too.

The Ozobot website also has links and information for teachers to use for lesson plans in the classroom.

So far we've loved sharing Ozobot with the grade schoolers in small groups. The boys are figuring out that if they don't create the marker lines correctly (too thick or too thin for example) their robot won't work. It's great seeing them trouble shoot to make it all work. Boy Scouts and after school playdates have been even more fun with robots!!

IO Block building and play

Thanks to Tryazon and Guidecraft, the boys and I were able to try out the new IO Blocks and share them with our MOMS Club friends. We've been using them for building, counting, and more in our weekly TotSchool besides having a fun technology and IO Block playdate. 

IO Blocks are made from a soft rubber like material and snap together in various ways. Each set has 12 shapes of blocks and those shapes comes in 6 different colors. They can be slid up and down various pieces and aren't static like legos for instance. Guidecraft calls it a friction sit system which makes perfect sense. This allow open ended play and building. The blocks pair technology with fun, hands-on building through their App. You know my boys are app obsessed just like their iOS developer dad so this was amazing. 

The block set comes with durable cards showing models an ideas of what can be built and with a blank "tracker" card. Using the app and this tracker card you can get additional ideas front he app, see a model in 3D and get custom building tips.

Here in this photo you can see the tracker card and the app displaying a model I chose. Now using the App I can get detailed instructions on how to build. I have to admit it seemed slightly complicated for me but even my 6yr old jumped in and understood it within seconds. I love that when I'm being asked if they can please play on phones I can say yes now and still insure they are doing more than just vegetating on the couch!

IO blocks have a vehicle accessory pack coming soon that the boys have seen and are begging for!  This new set of 48 pieces comes with bumpers, spoilers, cabins, wheels and more. An IO Blocks® Hero figure is included too.  

I love waking up to see them playing bright and early instead of just wanting to watch a show. 

Sharing IO With our friends! They have been loved and tested here with kids ranging in age from 15mo to 8 years old! 

Overall I'm a huge fan and love the sturdiness of this set of blocks. They have been in our house for over 3 weeks now and there isn't a day that goes by that they aren't played with. Right now here is my via as I type this post! These are equally as loved as legos here and I love that they are unique! 

Healthy Eating, Healthy Life

Although I try not to post on it too much, I have small sized children who aren't great eaters. They aren't picky in the sense that they will only consume junk food or a specific brand of something. They just don't ever eat much. If they fill up on non nutritive items first, the healthy stuff will get skipped. I've worked with my friend Chew Chew Mama and have seen nutritionists and dietitians with our local children's hospitals because along with their eating habits they are very small. We now know some tips for better success at meals and work on getting each bite to matter calorie and nutrition wise.

I recently saw Fresh Baby products and thought they might be a fun tool in our arsenal of feeding gadgets, toys, and equipment. Fresh Baby has a line of toddler/preschooler eating plates and utensils that highlight proper nutrition and help engage your child in the meal process. Their 4-piece set  comes with a partitioned plate, sturdy plastic meal guide, bowl, and big kid cup with nice lid.

I have to say the big kid cup turned out to be one of our favorite pieces. My kids usually have sippy cups at the table, yes even my 6 year old, because they aren't careful and knock over their cup 4.7-million times each meal. This cup doesn't have a spout or anything "babyish" but stops full spills while still teaching them to drink with normal mouth movements. Win win!!

The plastic guide that comes with the set has been a fun teaching tool. At our weekly TotSchool last week and at home afterwards we talked about nutrition. The kids learned different food groups and while looking at the divider plate and food guide picked out their favorite foods from each category. Then they drew pictures of their favorite foods. Lunch that day, Carter picked many of his favorites too!

The guide and plate support the USDA My Plate program and give serving size examples. 

We also use the Fresh Baby cutlery set with travel case. It has preschool appropriately sized fork, spoon, and knife in a cute neoprene like zip container to take with you on the go. The knife is child safe and was a huge hit. Even my 6 year old was jealous his brother has a new knife to use. Carter spent time cutting up items (and then eating them) he normal wouldn't touch or eat just to get to use the knife. 

I love adding new tools and fun instruments that make meal time easier for us. I tried Fresh Baby through a promotional program that sent me the items in exchange for a blog post detailing our usage. No compensation was received and all opinions and ideas are all my own! If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. You can find your own sets of this BPA free meal time fun on Amazon. 

Home Warranty Ridiculousness

So when we bought our house back in May we received a home warranty with it through American Home Shield (AHS). Back in early October the garage door spring snapped and we checked our policy. There were some exclusions related to the garage door but they all said that was in regards to the garage door opener and it looked like the actual door and its mechanisms should be covered.

We placed a service order through the internet webpage for AHS for our garage door spring (not related to the garage door opener at all). Five Star Garage Door was the company contracted by American Home Shield who phoned us back. They stated that our policy did not cover the garage door spring, although we have no way of knowing or confirming this. Even though it's not covered they told us they could still come out to fix it for a charge of $150 total and they would cancel the service call through AHS. We agreed and they came out a few days later.

The technician ended up calling the day of service and asking to come a few hours early so I changed my plans, left a playdate, and obliged. He ended up even earlier than what he requested and so he arrived before I did. As I  walked up to the door, he got out of his truck and I led him inside to show him the area. Before entering the house he asked, “Did your husband talk with you about the price?” I found it an odd way to start a conversation considering he hadn't said anything else to me yet and it was referencing my husband instead of just asking if I was aware of the costs. I said indeed and confirmed that it was $150 total. The technician then said that the repair was $150 and there was a $60 Five Star service fee on top of that. I was confused and let him clearly know that this was not discussed with us and the total price was quoted as $150. I stated that we weren't okay with the sudden hidden charge and asked for the technician to call back and speak with whomever we had originally spoken with. He said it was him although the voice did not sound at all the same. He didn't offer any sort of response but just stood there and asked if we were going forward with it. When I asked how this sudden $60 fee was saving us any money, which was the exact line the person giving us the original quote used, he stated that the home warranty service fee was $75 so they were saving us $15. We felt quite duped as when the original $150 quote was given we checked local prices and that was the exact amount being quoted elsewhere and those places confirmed no hidden fees or service charges. It seemed like bait and switch and the company by offering a slight measly $15 difference expected people to just deal with it.

I stated that we did not want to move forward with the work. I'm not a fan of rewarding shady business practices with my money but of course I didn't say that to him as I was being professional. The technician became upset, angry, and unprofessional. He puffed and pouted and murmured under his breath then said, “well you'll owe $75 still and your home warranty will bill you.” I told him that wan't what his company had told us on the phone as we were told the service call had already been canceled. This seemed like petty retribution and from his response it seemed like he knew the process and this had happened before. I had the choice to pay their $60 service fee and the $150 to get it fixed or go elsewhere and pay $150 to have it fixed and still get billed the AHS service charge ($75). I stated that I wasn't okay with being billed for a cancelled service call and the only reason work wasn't being done was because they changed the quote upon arrival. He then left our property having never touched the garage door but only after placing a bill for $75 in our mailbox and then sitting in the driveway for 15 minutes.

We had the garage door fixed that day from a local company for $150. My husband phoned American Home Shield (AHS) that evening to describe our incident. The representative listened to the issue but stated there was no way to make a dispute for a claim or have our case looked at. He was told there was no complaint process at AHS regardless of what happened.

After that call the same evening our phone rang and it was Five Star Garage Door. There was a female receptionist on the line and she asked if we wanted to schedule an appointment to repair the door making no mention of the days incident. She then stated it was covered by our AHS warranty plan and would be $75 total. At this point we had paid the $150 to another company to repair our door after they told us it wasn't covered. 

Since this issue I've looked up reviews of Five Star and see numerous people having similar issues all being referred to the company from home warranties. Today a bill from the American Home Shield showed up for $75. I called in, again explained the situation and got no where. Their technicians recite the exact same phrases and state there is absolutely no way to dispute a charge or have a service fee waived and there is simply nothing to be done regardless of how poor the service you receive is. I asked to speak to a supervisor or management and was placed on hold for 35 minutes. The next person who answered recited one single section from the home warranty and wouldn't actually acknowledge the poor service or provide any sort of notion that they might understand how wrong this whole situation was. We have no dispute process and no one else for you to talk to was all I was told. Apparently only shady service companies can cancel service calls and they only do so if you agree to their misrepresented prices. Beware if you're purchasing a home warranty and use caution in whom gets sent to your place for their service calls. 

Infrared thermometer

So Tim has an infrared thermometer for grilling and smoking meat but we never thought about how great one would be for children's temperature. I struggle to get and keep a thermometer in the house that works well, fast, and accurate. I was excited to try out the SantaMedical Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer.

Each reading takes less than 1 second and the thermometer can store the last 32 readings so you never have to wonder what the last temperature was. I'm not big on reading manuals unless I get stuck so I grabbed the thermometer, hit the go button and tried it out. It's intuitive and easy to use. The directions when I got around to reading them suggest placing the thermometer parallel to the forehead for a second. You'll see the temperature in the lcd screen and ca control the sounds the device plays too. 

The reading can be affected by skin temperature so taking it after exercise or sweating etc. can be misleading. Just like with any thermometer don't run up the stairs and tun take your temperature. I liked how easy it was to check and recheck without undressing and disturbing my kiddos. You can easily switch between celsius and fahrenheit too.

If you're interested in purchasing or to check out more reviews visit Amazon here.  I received this product in order to review it but all opinions are my own and no compensation was taken.

SAHE Silicone Baking Sheets

I recently got to try out SAHE's silicone baking sheets. These are available on Amazon and ship for free with Prime membership. The two pack ave a woven material layer sandwiched between two thin layers of silicone. The silicone while not actually sticky has a very adhesive feel that helps it stick to the baking sheet.

I've been wanting to try baking sheets to limit the use of parchment paper and extra oils. I always seem to run out of parchment paper when I need it and it's a bit expensive. With my love of kitchen gadgets this seemed like the perfect new addition for my love of baking.

These sheets are oven safe to 450 degrees. They are also food safe and BPA free. Although they don't get very messy in use, they are dishwasher safe if you need it. You can get your own at Amazon!!

I received this two pack to review. All opinions are my own and no compensation was received.

Body Comp Fun!

I was lucky enough to be chosen to host an iHealth party through Tryazon. A part of the party pack included the iHealth core wireless body composition scale and their wireless blood pressure monitor. I was immediately thrilled with the idea of tracking my halt through their free and well thought out app. It's iPhone compatible and you can log in from any webpage to view your private health data too.

The iHealth core body composition scale does a lot more than just weigh a person. Here are some technical specs better left to the pros to explain...

• Body weight range: 11 lb – 400 lb/ 5-180 kg

• Body fat measurement range: 5%-65%

• Body water measurement range: 20%-85%

• Visceral fat rating range: 1-59

• Body weight: ±1.1lbs (11lbs~88lbs); ±(1%+0.2lbs) (8~330lbs); ±0.5kg (5kg~40kg); ±(1%+0.1kg)(40kg~150kg)

• Body fat: ±1%

• Body water: ±1%

• Body muscle mass: ±(1% + 0.2 lbs) / ±(1% + 0.1 kg)

• Bones mass: ±0.66lbs / ±0.3 kg

• Visceral fat rating: ±2

• DCI (Daily Calorie Intake): ±200kcal

You are more than a number. You are Beautiful!

So what's that all mean? For me it immediately gave me the info to show that I was dehydrated. This is important since I'm currently nursing my son. I probably could have guessed this but now that t's in writing it's easier to do something about it! I found out my body fat measurement is fine for a female of my age/size and surprisingly my bone mass isn't as much as I would guess. No idea what to do with that knowledge but with Halloween coming up it made me think of skeletons and I thought they'd be a lot heavier!

It was very easy to sync the scale to my iPhone app and the scale allows more than one user too. Just a tip, don't hold your iPhone and try to measure yourself. It will only give the weight reading not the body fat calculations! 

The wireless blood pressure monitor is also a breeze to use. The data easily syncs to the same app and your information is shown right along with the other data points. iHealth has additional tools such as glucose meters and pulse ox devices too. 

I received the above mentioned products in order to share with friends and review. All opinions are my own and no compensation was received. 

Homemade Crayon Art

This week we received #SnBDeluxeCandyMolds to review and play with! They are food grade silicone molds in great shapes. We received two sets of lego bricks, two sets of lego men, and a set of heart shapes. It's their Deluxe set available on Amazon here and with free shipping for Prime members.

Nolan's school is a snack free zone so no edible birthday treats are allowed. They request the kid bring a game to share at recess or a small toy/goodie bag item to celebrate their birthday. I've been brainstorming what we could do for his birthday coming up and these molds gave me the perfect inspiration. We are going to make a lego crayon set for each of his classmates. Here are the results of our trial run.

 I peeled a bunch of our broken crayons and used a small knife to chop them into pieces. Then they were placed into the molds and baked on low (260 degrees) for about 15-20 minutes. The molds were perfect, released easily, and washed up well too. SnB recommends once you use them for non dibble items you keep them as a non food mold so even though crayons are non toxic we'll keep these two for fun non food items!!

Get your own fun molds and make crayons, chocolates, ice, or those new Pinterest-y fruit snacks that have been floating around on social media!!

I received this product in order to give an honest review. No compensation was taken.

Discover with Dr. Cool

The boys and I tried to have a lazy Sunday but as all moms know with children that never happens. Instead I spent the afternoon trying to find fun activities to keep them entertained. I pulled out our Dr. Cool's Glow in the Dark Slime Science Kit we recently received to review.

The Glow in the Dark Slime Science Kit contains the ingredients to make two separate batches of fun colored some. One is blue and the second green. The powder packet is simple to use and premixed. You just pour the powder in the container they include, add 1 cup of water, and stir.

 After mixing together the packets the boys spent time playing with their slime. As it started to get to thick, we added a bit more water. We also read the science discovery book included in the kit which gave fun tips and scientific tips. Then we took our slime to a dark room for even more fun!!

Once done we were able to store it for future play in the included fun container.

Both boys loved playing with slime and thought it was fun and gooey. The sensory fun and ability to talk science while playing was great. If you're looking for fun activities check out the kits Dr. Cool has to offer. They are available on Amazon with Prime shipping even!

I received this kit in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and no compensation was taken.

Borolux Casserole Dish Review

Along with the awesome pie dish I got to test out, I received Borolux's 9 by 13 baking dish to try too. Like it's counterpart I reviewed here, the rectangular baking dish is very thick and heavy compared to other brands. It definitely feels sturdy and like it will last. The borosilicate glass, which is used in test tubes and beaker construction, is shatter proof up to 650 degrees, able to microwaved in, frozen, and dishwasher safe. This product is also made in the USA!!

I love the capacity of the rectangular 9" by 13" casserole baking dish. The interior of the baking dish measures 6.5 x 10.25 x 2 inches and holds up to 3 quarts. I used it for baking and everyday meals too. I made homemade pot pie for our first test run in the dish. Being glass, it doesn't scratch easily or absorb food odors or colorings. 

When you're in the market for your next glass cookware be sure to check out Borolux's products!! They are available on Amazon with Prime shipping even. 

I received this product in order to facilitate a review. All opinions are my own and no compensation was taken. 

Borolux Pie Dish Review

I make most of our meals myself and love baking so I jumped at the chance to try out Borolux Borosilicate shatter proof bakeware. I started with their pie dish and was pleasantly surprised. When it arrived from Amazon, it was heavy and very thick. It felt really sturdy and I was excited to bake some brownies in it. 

In case you're wondering the brownies were quite good. 

I own regular glass baking dishes and they do not feel as thick or sturdy as these Borolux products. As for the shatter proof qualities, we'll see! They've held up well so far and each dish has been used numerous times. The decorative edges around the pie dish give it a nice classy touch that makes it feel a little like the nostalgic bakeware I'm always on the lookout for at estate sales and thrift stores. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase a Borolux product next time I'm in the market for baking dishes!!

I received this product in order to facilitate an honest review.

Turmeric, spicing up our foods!

I was lucky enough to receive organic Turmeric to review and test out. I've heard lots of things about the benefits of curcumin but had not yet put it to the test. Curcumin is the main ingredient in turmeric and often found in dishes containing curry. It's an anti-inflammatory and touted as helpful for neurological issues including ADHD, autism, and dementia. I'm obviously not a doctor or natural medicine practitioner but we figure if there is even a chance it has some positive benefits it's worth a try. Turmeric has been used for over 4,000 years!

While it can easily be used in cooked dishes, the flavor of turmeric needs to then be taken in to consideration. In order to hide that goodness from picky kids, we went with smoothies!! I was able to dose both kiddos without major complaints. 

It mixed in well and was barely detectable once we were done. My children have since eaten smoothies numerous times with it. I love that the Organic Wise product is available on Amazon and certified organic. It ships timely and in a sealing pouch you can continue to use. It's a vibrant color and has the potent smell/taste all great Turmeric should! Give it a try if you're in the market for turmeric!! #OrganicWise