I was actually chosen for a Kinect Rush House Party, which I hosted on the 20th. I had lots of great friends come over with their kids. The kids ages ranged from 5 months to 6 years, but the 5 month old was just watching. The players who jumped into the game were the kids ranging from almost 4 to us adults. My son, who is 6, was the one who helped everyone see how easy it was to play, so he ended up in most of my photos with various guests! But he showed everyone how you run, jump, enter the different worlds, climb, slide and more.

We also learned how sensitive the game is to movement. It could easily detect what you were doing, mimicking it on the screen. And every now and then it would even catch guests who weren’t playing (yet) as we watched from the couch.

Besides playing the game, we received some fun VIP lanyards for the kids and there was also some coloring going on. Everyone went home with their coloring pages, lanyards, VIP pass, postcards and other goodies, courtesy of theMomBuzz! You can see the action here on theMomBuzz FB page: Kinect House Party

I would suggest Kinect Rush for ages 3.5+. You can play solo or co-op. When you play co-op the game is slightly different, since your teammate has to work WITH YOU to get things done. So they might have to pull something down while you throw something. Or they pump water while you aim. So you two aren’t always doing the same thing. I love it!

You can buy Kinect Rush Party for Xbox on Amazon for $49.99: Kinect Rush: A Disney Pixar Adventure

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The Mom Buzz did receive Kinect Rush as part of a House Party. She was not obligated to write a review and did this because the game rocked and she wanted to share it with you.

My shorty when Potty Training

One thing that parents both are eager to begin, but fear the process, is Potty Training. I know that when I started Potty Training my oldest son I was wondering how successful we’d be, but I went in “pretending” that success was right around the corner. And in my arsenal I had tips from my sister who potty trained my niece successfully, before she turned 2. My son was in underwear at his second birthday.

And seventeen months later, I took on the challenge of Potty Training my second son. This time the process was even quicker, and I had a second son in underwear by his second birthday. With my success in Potty Training two boys before they were 24 months old, I wrote an article for SocialMoms.com called Ten Tips for Potty Training Boys. I specified boys for two reasons. One – I never potty trained girls. Two  – there is a “myth” that boys are harder to train, but I haven’t found it to be true between my boys and their friends. Although truthfully, I believe all my tips can be utilized for Potty Training girls, sans the learning to pee standing up.

That said, number THREE on my list of Potty Training Tips was to utilize Potty Training videos.

Stock up on your library. There is a wide array of options out there. You can purchase potty training books and videos online or even borrow them from the library.

Now, I am past potty training kiddos, unless my husband and I have “number three”. But new videos have been coming out to the marketplace that you can add to your Potty Training video library. One such video is Potty Time, filmed by Two Little Hands Productions. If their name sounds familiar, they are the same production company that developed the much-acclaimed Signing Time, which is aired on Nick Jr and public television.

Potty Time preview from Signing Time.

Potty Time is designed for children between the ages of 1 and 5 and will work with a myriad of potty training techniques. The video won’t teach your child to Potty Train just by watching it, but I find that videos like these do help children make that association a little easier. Especially when done in a fun way that combines music and videos.

Potty Time teaches about the body and the potty process through 9 songs. They work seamlessly from one to another, thanks to Potty Time host Rachel Coleman. It uses a combination of live action, real children in a studio and, of course, Rachel signing and singing. As you watch the video the first time, keep in mind that she’s working towards the more specific potty talk – she doesn’t just jump in. The Potty Dance (track 4 or 13) is when they really get to using the potty, wiping, flushing and washing hands.

What Makes Potty Time Different than other Videos?

What makes Potty Time unique is that it also incorporates signing into the video. Many of my mom friends taught their children how to sign when they were infants and toddlers, so this video would appeal to them. And the signing also makes this video wonderful for our youngest potty trainers, who may be too young to use specific potty words but can learn the signs to signal they have to use the potty. Potty Time teaches MANY different potty signs, including Potty, Grow, Clean, Help, Flush, Body, Wash Hands and many more. I also like that it can make a potty conversation more “private”. Rather than your child having to say, “I have to pee/poo” – they can now give the sign for it.

MORE THAN A VIDEO:

Although I suggest adding the video to your library, Potty Time also has additional support available. Here is the full line of products available to you.

• Potty Time DVD: This DVD shows music videos with real people and animated characters that help children feel good about growing up and trying something new – using the potty! Hosted by Emmy-nominated Rachel Coleman. 30 minutes, includes special features. Overall, the DVD is a great mix of signs, songs, animation and live action. It’s fast-paced, so it’s easy for kids and adults to watch.

• Potty Time Music CD: The Potty Time CD features 9 original songs, with a sing-along track for each! That is 18 tracks in all. These playful and positive songs help children feel good about their bodies and celebrate successes of any kind. This comes with the Potty Time DVD! Potty Time Theme, Look at You Grow, My Body is Amazing, Potty Dance, I Wash My Hands, Stop What You’re Doing (and Go), Uh-Oh Accident, Let’s Celebrate, Shining Star.
  

• Potty Time Reminder Watch: Never forget a potty reminder again! The colorful potty watch with timer uses music and blinking lights to remind your child that it’s time to go! Encourage independence by setting reminders at 30, 60, or 90-minute intervals. Includes 2 AG-13 button cell batteries. Suggested for ages 18 months and up.

Products are available in packs. You can purchase the Potty Time DVD & CD pack for $24.95. They come in the same case. You can also get the Potty Time DVD, Music CD and Reminder Watch together for $29.95.

Potty Time Website: This website provides free downloads to help you and your child become successful during the potty training journey. Downloads include charts, certificates, and flash cards.

Potty Time Blog: This interactive blog site is the place to go to get information about potty training. Topics include: potty training
children with special needs, when to start potty training, motivating your child with rewards, and more!

*FREE *Potty Time App: The Potty Time app for Android and IOS helps parents motivate their child with a virtual sticker chart, calls from Rachel to say “Good job!” or “Try again. You can do it!”, and printable charts, and certificates.

To learn more about Potty Time, visit PottyTime.com. From there you can purchase products, read additional reviews and connect with Potty Time on Facebook.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products!

Bamboo CaptureTouch Tablet & the Anime Studio Debut 8.1 Upgrade

So recently I reviewed Anime Studio Debut 8, which is a great beginner animation program. It gives you step-by-step instructions on how to create cool animations to create your own Jib-Jab-like animations. And it only retails for $49.99! You can download a free 30 day trial, too. Well, recently they offered an 8.1 upgrade to allow it to work with Bamboo Multi-Touch tablets.

This upgrade helps digital artists and animators speed up design time and make the entire process smoother. Use simple finger taps and finger gestures to create and adjust characters, objects and scenes, zoom in and out of the canvas, drag and drop, rotate and scale and much more.

I did the upgrade to work with the Wacom Bamboo Capture ($99.95 USD) and found it easy to manipulate the tools and characters. Since I am a beginner with Anime Studio Debut 8, I could easily work from my laptop or the Bamboo Capture seamlessly. It helps that I have over a decade of computer experience, so I am used to using a variety of tools to manipulate tools and screens.

When I had my 6 year old try to use the Bamboo Capture, he had more trouble manipulating the tools. In the end, I think the 8.1 upgrade that allows the Bamboo Capture to be used with Anime Studio Debut 8 is best suited for “older” users, and by that I mean ‘tweens on up. Meanwhile, the Anime Studio Debut 8 itself is great for an even younger crowd, I suggest 8 years on up. That said, my 6 year old is able to make simple animations with my supervision.

More about the Bamboo Capture Pen & Touch
When I connect my Bamboo Capture to the computer via the USB cord, it automatically starts up. You write on the touch pad to have access to a library of apps that you can download for quick use. They have three categories of apps:

• Create: editing, making animations, etc.
• Play: games
• Use: integrate the Bamboo tablet with day-to-day functions on your computer

For the most part, I don’t have too much use for games. I want to create and make the most of my tablet. But what I LOVE about the games is they get you used to using and drawing on the tablet. So what seems like a way to pass time, are actually fun lessons in using the tablet. My FAVORITE game for this purpose is Free the Bird. This game has you draw shapes that a ball will bounce off of. Your goal is to make the ball bounce off the shapes and hit a cage that has a parrot in it. That will cause the cage the open and the bird to be free. I have my 6 year old play this game to understand the tablet more.

Under the Create category, I’ve downloaded and enjoyed Philter (quick photo editor, reminiscent of Instagram or Camera + options on the iPhone) and Animator (just quick animations with a few background choices. Down and dirty animations, similar to what you can do on the LeapPad or Leapster Explorer with Mr. Pencil). There is also Montemarte, which you upload a photo and can give it fun, colorful edits. But really, I don’t have too much use for highlighting hair with neon colors. I prefer the more sophisticated options that Philter offers.

Under the Use category, I’ve downloaded Input Panel, Handwriting recognition. I can actually “write” on the tablet and it will turn it into typed text on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Type or write-whatever your preference.

Just push insert once you are done writing using the Bamboo. I WROTE the above with the pen and it turned it into that nice handwriting and then I pushed insert to get it into this post. Cool, right?

You might also want to upload Bamboo Paper, which is a note taker using your own handwriting. You can save notes as PDFs, erase, use a variety of pen and colors, bookmark pages, etc.

All the apps mentioned above are free.

The Bamboo Capture comes with a “pen” and a USB cord to connect it to the computer. It also included a full version of Adobe Photoshop Elements, which I ADORE. It’s the best photo editing software. Additional software is Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 WE3 and Autodesk Sketchbook Express. You can set the Bamboo Capture for either right hand or left hand use.

There is also a Bamboo Create available, which has a larger digital canvas. It’s MSRP is $199. You can purchase the Bamboo Capture and Create tablets on the Wacom site, as well as on Amazon.

PURCHASING LINKS:

Bamboo Capture – $99 on Wacom and I saw it for $88 on Amazon last week.

Bamboo Create – $199 on Wacom and I saw it for $65 on Amazonlast week.

Anime Studio Debut 8 – $49.99 and available at http://www.smithmicro.com/anime.

Upgrade Anime Studio Debut 8.1 by visiting http://anime.smithmicro.com/upgrade.html.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The Mom Buzz did receive the Bamboo Capture to use for the 8.1 Upgrade of Anime Studio Debut.

Try Anime Studio Debut for Free: 30 Day Free Trial

My oldest son is beyond creative. He will take pictures and combined them together to make a story line, write his own books, film his own movies, dabbles in “beginner” stop-motion movie techniques, and more. And he is only turning 6 this year! When I see this young talent at such an early age, of course I want to give him the tools to develop it further in a fun way. That’s where Anime Studio Debut 8 comes in.

Anime Studio Debut is a complete program for beginners to create fun and easy 2D animations. Since my son is only (almost) 6, I knew I had to learn how to use the program myself so that I can show him the tools to create his own animations. After dabbling with the program and reading the quick start guide, I will say that this is most appropriate for ages 8 and up. And from a parent’s perspective, it helps if you are familiar with other design programs, such as Photoshop or Illustrator.

After 1 week of use, I was able to animate shapes, a bouncing ball and a figure. And in turn, my 6 year old was able to animate a shape. Don’t have a clue what I am talking about? Well, here are two amateur videos of my work.

Blob:

Animated Figure:

So if that was after 1 week, imagine how much easier it will get! And this is one program I can encourage my child to play, because it has educational value, highlights a useful skill and will give him a head-start in animation. With practice, we both will be able to create lively and entertaining animations. The goal is create little short videos, similar to what you would see on JibJab.com. Once we create our videos, we’ll be able to stream them online.

Here is a COOL video of what can be achieved:

The Quick Start Guide is a must-read, really allowing us to follow the steps so we can create our own animations quickly. And it was nice not having to build our own characters. They have a built-in character wizard that we can use with a variety of character options – boys, girls, aliens, super heroes and more. You use a “bone-rigging” system which gives the characters natural movement. Eventually, once we develop our skills, we’ll be able to create our own characters and even convert paper drawings into animated vector images.

The price is comparable to video games. You can purchase Anime Studio Debut 8 for $49.99. Learn more at: http://anime.smithmicro.com/index.html

Disclosure: The Mom Buzz received Anime Studio Debut 8 for review. All opinions are 100% my own after trying the product.

A big thank you to Lucas for helping his Titi out. And a big thank you to Seth McMahill for keeping us in the loop on what we can expect in the world of Pokemon gaming.

But recently I was introduced to Kidz Gear Wired Headphones, which offers “grown-up” performance for kids, with features parents can approve of. Most important was the volume limit technology, which sets the max volume at 80 – 90 db. Anything louder can cause hearing loss. The headphones are designed for smaller heads. Plus it has padded ear covers for a comfortable fit.

Kidz Gear Wired Headphones are specifically designed to work with the Apple devices, such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Both my boys use refurbished iPhones to watch videos, play music and play games. Sometimes between them and my husband, there is a lot of competing sounds. But with headphones designed to work with their Apple devices, they can easily move through tracks with the built-in remote. And there is also an inline mic, which is great for Don’t Let the Pigeon Run this App, which records my children’s voices as part of the game. If they are using your phone, the mic would allow them to talk on the phone while wearing the headphones or issue commands to Siri.

Kidz Gear Apple Wired Headphones for Kids are available now for $29.95. You can find them at:

• Apple: Volume Limit Headphones – $29.95
• Amazon: Kidz Gear Wired Headphones For Kids – $29.95
  
• GearForKidz.com

Don’t Forget the Accessories!

• Kidz Gear Headphone Volume Limit Splitter – let’s two headphones be used with one device. And right now if you buy two headphones from KidzGear, you get the splitter for free! The Headphone Splitter retails for $5.99.

• Keep your child’s  headphone safe in a nylon, drawstring bag with a soft, lined inner. Each bag retails for $5.99.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz received samples and thought they were so buzzworthy she shared the item with you!

At first, I thought Twister Mania for XBox Kinect was going to do something old-school, with a virtual mat and players would have reached for colored circles. Boy, was I delightfully wrong!

This is a family-friend party game. There can be up to 8 players. You can play individually or in teams. When you play you are given a color to let you know when it’s your turn. It also takes your photo and places you in a colored circle to help you remember your color. The game will flash your color and picture when it’s your turn, since you don’t go in the same order every time. That makes sense, since otherwise player #1 would be at a disadvantage since they’ll always be thrown at a challenge without knowing what it entails while other players would be able to learn from their mistakes. Having the game decide who goes first and it being different every time is fair.

We played Party Mode. In that mode you get to spin the virtual spinner. You hold your hand up and then push down. It will spin around and land on a random challenge. There are 4 different challenges. But each challenge can present itself in a different way, so there are plenty of new ways to play. Btu you have to unlock some of these new modes of play.The four challenge types were:

Shape Frenzy: I loved this one. Letters, shapes and silhouettes appear on the screen and you have to contort your body to mimic and fill in the shape. You will see your body on the screen as you try to fill in the space. You are also trying to win stars as you do this.

Break It Down: This one has shapes stacked high on the screen. You are trying to fit into an individual shape to make it break and bring down the rest of the shapes. So you keep filling a shape with your body and letting it break. I liked this challenge too.

Twist & Fit: Players are faced with walls which have shapes and figures cut out from it. You are trying to fit through these spaces, without knocking down any parts of the wall. Okay, this is my FAVORITE challenge. SO FUN!

Spot On: This challenge is HILARIOUS. But adults versus kids is just not fair. See, what happens is one person strikes a pose and then the other players have to mimic the pose. But the shorties, including me, could never match my tall, gigantic husbands poses! And he was throwing some difficult ones out there! But if everyone is the same size (all adults or all kids) this would be more fair. That said, it caused a lot of laughter as we tried to give my husband the disadvantage when he played. It never worked though, he slam dunked this challenge.

The games described above were all the “classic” versions which you can play in all modes. But there are variations of each which will have you race, work together, place time limits and change up the rules just enough to keep interesting. There are 16 ways to play in all, with thousands of shapes to challenge you.

We’ve so far done the Beginner Level, since we were playing with our 4 and 5 year old sons. There is also an Intermediate and Advanced difficulty level. And you can choose how long your round should last – short, medium or long. You can see some video clips from us playing below. You can only imagine what the screen was showing us, as we contort and jump around. They do screen captures as you play, which we loved seeing and laughing about.

Overall, if you are looking for a family-friendly, everyone can play, Kinect game – this one rocks. My husband is already planning on inviting friends and family over to play.

Twister Mania Important Links:

• More information on Twister Mania for XBox Kinect can be found here: Twister Mania Learn More
• Twister Mania Official Website
• Twister Mania on Facebook
• Majesco Entertainment on Twitter

Twister Mania At-A-Glance

• Rated E for Everyone
• Up to 8 Players, play individually or in teams
• MSRP $49.99

WIN WIN WIN

You have a chance to win Twister Mania for XBox Kinect by checking out their Facebook Page on November 22nd, 10am PT!

BUY NOW ON AMAZON: Twister Mania on Amazon, $49.99

Other XBOX Kinect Reviews:

• Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster
• Michael Jackson: The Experience

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz received the sample above for review as a member of the Game Review Network. No compensation was received for my opinion on the product. I loved it so much I decided to share the buzz with you!

The Story Time Pad can be personalized with your child’s name, likes (animal, color, food), and you have a few music and story options that you can change so that the toy remains “new” and “surprising”. You do have to connect the Story Time Pad with a USB cord to your computer and connect to LeapFrog Connect to download these customizing details.

Compared to the LeapPad:

Right now the hot item is the LeapFrog LeapPad.  Compared to the LeapPad, this Story Time Pad is meant for a younger audience as an early reading tablet for kids. This is NOT a more economical version of the LeapPad.  Many of the Scout plush features are built into the Story Time Pad including the personalization, songs and stories.  The curriculum is not as advanced as what’s on the LeapPad, since this is meant for 2 to 4 year olds. The LeapPad, with advanced games to reflect a higher academic skill set, is meant for children 4 and up.

Pretty much, if your child is outgrowing the Plush Scout, yet is still too young for the LeapPad of Leapster Explorer – the Story Time Pad is the transition between.

My thoughts:

The Story Time Pad is nook-sized – 8.1″ x 6.1 x 1.2″. I can’t help but compare it to the LeapPad. It doesn’t have the same robust graphics or large screen, because it’s actually a transition product from the Scout line.  I found the screen to be a little small for my tastes, only 2.5″ x 1.5″. The screen is not backlit for play without a light. But most toddlers won’t mind those lack of features and tech-savvy preschoolers can use the Leapster Explorer or LeapPad instead, but you’ll be paying extra for those improvements.

When you turn it on, it has options for 2 volume controls. It greets my son, since I plugged it in to my computer to download his likes and information. As he plays, it will give him ideas – like to check his e-mail or listen to music.

I was able to personalize three e-mail messages – 2 from me and 1 from his dad. But you can also do other names.

Online I was able to choose from a large selection of songs and melodies to download into his music section. He can go from song-to-song using arrow keys on the Story Time Pad.

Towards the top of the Story Time Pad are four characters. I was surprised to learn they were “buttons”. If you push them, they come onto the screen with ideas of how to play next or exclamations of how happy they are.

It has a QWERTY style keyboard so they can learn about the alphabet.

The one problem we ran into was that we were unable to download any of the stories we selected from LeapFrog Connect to the Story Time Pad. It would just never finish downloading, so I finally gave up after waiting 45 minutes. If we had more success, the stories we would have chosen would have been personalized with his likes and dislikes.

Overall:

Overall, this is “beginner tech” for children. I think your best bet is to give this to a child who is 2 and not ready for the more advanced LeapFrog HandHelds and LeapFrog e-readers (Tag and Tag Jr.). There is the well-known green and white version, as well as a pink version for girls.

PRODUCTS MENTIONED

LeapPad – REVIEW and LINK FOR PURCHASE ($139 for bundle)

Text & Learn – REVIEW and LINK FOR PURCHASE ($19.99)

Tag Reading System – REVIEW and LINK FOR PURCHASE ($39.99)

Leapster Explorer – REVIEW and LINK FOR PURCHASE ($69.99)

One reader will win a LeapFrog Story Time Pad (Approximately $29.99 Value)

FIRST: MANDATORY ENTRY:

Who would you like to win the Story Time Pad from LeapFrog for?

SECOND: EXTRA ENTRIES:

To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED/MANDATORY entry. But for extra entries, you can do the following – leave a comment for each:

• Add theMomBuzz to your Twitter
• Share this contest on your Facebook page – Link it to @theMomBuzz – Here is the text:

Win a LeapFrog Story Time Pad @theMomBuzz. Give-away ends 12.15.11 http://themombuzz.com/?p=19170

• Tweet the following – can be done daily:

#win a LeapFrog Story Time Pad at #themombuzz – Visit http://themombuzz.com/?p=19170

• Stumble any review or post on theMomBuzz.com (Please don’t Stumble Give-aways). Let me know what you Stumbled!
• Leave a comment on my Learn, Create and Share Party Post!
• Add the Mom Buzz to your blogroll (Feed: http://themombuzz.com/feed/)

Contest ends 12/15/11. This is open to the USA. Please refer to complete contest rules. The entries listed above are the ONLY entries for this contest. Winners will be notified by e-mail (if supplied in the entry or on profile page), as well as on the Winner’s Wall.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contestsso you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The MomBuzz did receive the products above for review.

In my opinion, online games are just one way to get the feeling you aren’t alone during those long, dark nights. And online Bingo is fun! Just like live community or church BINGO games, it’s an opportunity to socialize and win some cash. And thankfully, online bingo games are easy to play when you’re sleep deprived. (You know, they call a number and you mark it off your Bingo card.) And the big bonus of playing online is that no one cares that you are playing in your pajamas!

Have you ever played online or real-life bingo? What tips can you share for Bingo success?

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! Links in the post are compensated.

Yesterday, my husband published a Roku 2 XS Review on theMomBuzz Holiday Gift Guide. Today, we have two holiday tips to help you get more out of your Roku!

Party On for the Holidays

Don’t forget that Roku is much more than access to all your favorite TV shows and movies; it can also be the inspiration and centerpiece of your holiday soiree!

Do the kids just sit around the TV during Thanksgiving get-togethers? Get them moving with casual games like Angry Birds and have a competition.  While they see who can knock down the most little piggies—why not serve some pigs in a blanket?  Find some great recipes and tips from the James Beard Award-winning site Chow.com, Food Network or AOL Home for the kids and grown-ups alike.

Need a little mingling music to set the mood?  Music is the best way to get the party started…and to keep it going.  Make the music selection a collaboration by streaming favorite Christmas music on your Roku through a Pandora station or have party guests bring a USB stick with their top hits.

Want to display favorite photos from the year for your guests to enjoy? Forget about that digital picture frame; use your Roku for a wireless slideshow of Facebook or Flickr pictures on the big screen!

No matter the guest list, Roku is a great tool to enhance your next bash!

Travel with your Roku

Roku makes it simple to carry all of your family’s entertainment with you no matter where you go for the holidays.  Whether traveling to a friend’s house or a hotel, simply plug in your Roku and hook up to the Internet via Wi-Fi or through a wireless router, and presto you’re in!

You’ll never miss out on your favorite shows while away from home again or have to worry about your host’s cable package/the hotel’s limited offerings and its ridiculous movie rates! Traveling with your little Roku is easy and ensures that you’re bringing your commercial-free programming (as well as casual games to keep the kids occupied, music and news/lifestyle content to enjoy!) with you too.  Next holiday destination, pack your Roku and your personalized entertainment is in the bag.

This buzz was provided to theMomBuzz. She enjoyed it so much, she decided to share these tips with her readers!