Boogie Superstar

Heather Says:

I was given a Wii for my birthday, and even though I was soooo stoked to get it, I’ve really only stayed with my trusted two games (Wii Sports & Wii Fit). I like both of those games and I’m not really a risk taker. Then Parent Bloggers Network asked me if I wanted to play a singing and dancing game called Boogie Superstar, and I thought, “Self, it’s about time to step out of your bubble.”

When the game arrived, it was packaged so that the included microphone is prominent. My husband took one look at it and said, “Oh boy. Let me know when you’ll be playing this game so I can be sure to NOT be here.” Whatever dude, I have an awesome singing voice. I was not pleased, though, when I opened the package and discovered that the microphone is NOT wireless. This is a game for the Wii – the WIRELESS game system.

The game has a fun and detailed opening sequence that rips a bit on American Idol. My daughter sat there and stared wide-eyed at the TV during the entire opening, but I think the funniest part was when the on-screen characters spoke. I think they are speaking in Japanese, with English subtitles. My daughter (who is one) BUSTED UP laughing when she heard the foreign language. I was shocked since, at one, I figured all adult language sounded foreign to her. Aaaaah kids.

After some quick instruction, it was time to play. Luckily, I wasn’t alone – Casey and her daughter the moosh were at my house and they played with me. Well, Casey played. The moosh and Maddie watched us and danced. It was hilarious.

The game has a few different options. You can perform a karaoke solo or duet, a dance solo, or a dance duet. A karaoke duet is pretty hard with only one microphone, so after one go-round, Casey and I nixed that from our competitions. There are basic dance moves that you perform with the controller, and they slowly get harder and harder. The dance moves are hilarious – there is a move like a bicycle pump, another where you spin around and jump, and one where you flap your arms like a chicken.

We did a lot of dancing and singing (and exclusively dancing after the kids went to bed) and we quickly progressed up the rankings of Boogie Superstar. The farther along you go in the game, the more points you can earn to unlock other songs and outfits for your characters. Casey and I might have played like crazy to unlock “Toxic,” by Britney Spears, and NO I do not find any shame in that. All the songs are by known artists like Britney Spears, Kanye West, Natasha Beddingfield, and The Jonas Brothers, just to name a few. That definitely makes it more fun. And don’t worry – all the songs have clean language, so you can play in front of your kids.

Boogie Superstar is crazy addictive. Casey and I played it so long that we could hardly move our arms the next day. What, the lasso and tornado moves require a lot of effort!!! It is WAY more fun when you play with a friend – the competition aspect is what really makes the game unique.

I like this game a lot, and I know I’ll bust it out a lot over the holidays. My biggest complaint is the wired microphone. If it had been wireless, I would have given Boogie Superstar five flames, but instead it gets the still high Rating:

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Minted Holiday Cards

Heather Says:

So listen. My husband and I aren’t exactly the conventional holiday card type. One year we sent out cards with us dressed as Britney Spears & Kevin Federline with the tagline “Have a Very Cheetos Christmas.” Another year we sent out cards starring our dog Rigby wearing 2006 glasses and below her photo we wrote, “Kiss Me At Midnight!” We like to be different.

Not surprisingly, this doesn’t please some members of our families (COUGH his mom COUGH) who’d prefer we be a bit more…dignified. So when Parent Bloggers Network asked me to try Minted holiday cards, I thought maybe this would be the year Mike and I grew up. After all, we have a child now. Right? HELLO?

The Minted website has lots of gorgeous designs to choose from (and, FYI, they have designs for all events, from birth announcements to invitations, you name it) and the goofball in me felt like a total impostor. But the amateur photographer inside my head was screaming, “YES! Now I will be taken seriously!!!” This is because the options for the cards are all so nice that they could make a picture of a foot look festive. Yes. A foot. I went there.

First, I had to figure out what picture to put on the card. I have lots of silly pictures, but this is supposed to be our GROWN UP card. So I picked a classic picture of Madeline.

Then I settled on design. I went with something that I thought complemented the colors of the photo, the “Home For The Holidays” collection. I liked the classic look to it. It looked very…GROWN UP.

All the writing on the card is customizable. I resisted the urge to write something like, “Maddie sees you when you’re sleeping… because she planted a camera in your room,” and instead wrote the very GROWN UP “Happy Holidays and warm wishes for the New Year.”

Once I made all my choices, I submitted my order and was told I’d get a proof to approve. Three days later, the merchandising manager Kate contacted with with two proofs – the one I’d designed, and one that she’d altered slightly so that there wasn’t writing on Maddie’s face. Um, can you say brilliant? I picked her altered proof, and a week later I had my very GROWN UP holiday cards on my doorstep.

Of course, the day the GROWN UP holiday cards arrived, my hubs came up with perhaps the most genius holiday card idea EVER. So we are sending these GORGEOUS Minted holiday cards to the people on our mailing list that might not, uh, get our sense of humor, and we’ll send our genius cards out to those who’d like a good laugh.

If I had to nit-pick about Minted, it would be that they are NOT cheap. This is clearly a case of getting what you pay for, though. The cards are truly beautiful, and the service I received was impeccable. Not to mention, I ordered the most basic card available – the flat note card – and there are other options like timeline, fold-over, and letter-inside.

In the end, I give Minted a Rating: simply because of the price. Not that they aren’t worth the splurge, but they are just a little out of my price range for holiday cards.

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The Epson Artisan 800 – The Printer I Want To Marry

Heather Says:

I’ve been begging The Hubs for months for a photo printer. I love photography and I take (literally) thousands of photos a month. I’d love to be able to print my favorites right in the comfort of our home. But NOOOOO said my Grinch husband. We had to get a new REGULAR printer first. He’s so practical sometimes it hurts. Our old all-in-one printer had served us well, but we had literally used it to death thanks to printing scripts, shower invitations, and Southwest Airlines boarding passes.

Then, through the One2One Network and Silicon Valley Moms blog, I got the opportunity to review the new Epson Artison 800, and I almost cried. It’s a printer-fax-copier-PHOTO PRINTER!!! HOLY MOTHER OF EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED!!! When it came in it’s pretty, pretty box, I literally hugged it.

After I gave the printer a name (Cornelius) and took it on a walking tour of its new home, I decided it was time to get to work. It is very easy to set up, but it takes some time, especially if you are using it on a wireless network as then you have to set it up on each computer (and there is probably an easier way to do it but The Hubs and I were too anxious to follow directions).

The first thing I did was pop my camera’s memory card into the special slot on the front, and using the TOUCH SCREEN INTERFACE, I printed my latest three favorite pictures.

Then I just started messing around with it. I scanned a picture and the Artisan changed it into a coloring page! I mean, that is hours of fun right there and Madeline can’t even color yet!

My husband printed out a script and was thrilled by how quickly it finished printing 109 pages. On our old printer, it seriously took almost an hour. The Hubs might have said, “Man, we should have bought a new printer sooner,” but when I shot him a death glare and told him to repeat himself, he remembered that it was HIS idea to NOT get a printer.

There are so many other awesome features on this printer that I am afraid I’ll forget them all. So you’re gonna get it, bullet-style.

• You can design a design and print it directly onto a CD or DVD. I just put together a CD of pictures for my friend and I put my favorite picture directly onto the CD. It’s The Awesome.
• You can color correct or restore photos on the printer’s touch screen
• Multiple memory card slots
• You can fax in black & white OR color!
• It comes with creativity software. Goodbye free time!
• YOU CAN PRINT FROM VIDEO CLIPS! My head just exploded.
• There are two paper trays – one for regular paper, and one for photo paper.

The husband and I are a lazy people, so seriously the BEST thing about this printer is that it’s wireless. We can print from wherever we are in the house (although we’re usually like three feet away from the printer).

I seriously can’t say enough awesome things about this printer. I’d give it a million flames if I could, but instead it gets our highest rating of

Rating:

Guess what?! You can win your own Epson Artisan 800! Visit the Silicon Valley Moms Blog to enter!

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The Secret Mountain Books

Meghan’s Take:

We’re all about books around here lately.  Dylan is CONSTANTLY asking us to read him a book, and even little Zach can keep himself occupied for a while if he finds a good book.  Preferably it’s of the board variety and contains pictures of his new obsession, trucks.  But, whenever he sees Dylan bring one of us a book, he comes right over and inserts himself into our lap.

So I was pleased to have the opportunity to review three of the books from The Secret Mountain publishing group.  Many of their titles have won awards, and any excuse to not have to read about Thomas & the mean Diesel Engine again is a good one, as far as I’m concerned.

The three books we received were “Down at the Sea Hotel”, “Dream Songs Night Songs: From Belgium to Brazil” and “A Duck in New York City”.  The books have GORGEOUS illustrations and each one comes with a CD of music that accompanies the story.  My personal favorite of the three is “A Duck in New York City”.  And not simply because it’s about a duck traveling to my favorite city, but because it’s a sweet story with a nice message.  The duck’s refrain is “Yes I Can” which reminds me of a certain Presidential Candidate’s refrain every time I read it.  The music on it’s CD is also my favorite.

Dylan likes the duck one, but I’d have to say his favorite is “Down at the Sea Hotel”.  He LOVES to read about and see all the creatures that make an appearance.  And any book that rhymes gets a few extra points in his book.

I really enjoy the fact that these aren’t your “typical” children’s books.  The illustrations, while kid friendly, are a bit more “mature” (but not in an XXX kinda way!) and the songs on the CD’s are definitely NOT akin to The Wiggles.  Which is a DEFINITE positive, in my opinion!

If you have a young book lover that you need a few gifts for, check out what The Secret Mountain has to offer…you won’t be disappointed!

These books get a: Rating:

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Butterball Turkey Giveaway

It’s that time of year!!!  Turkey time!  And the good folks at Butterball have generously offered up TWO $15 off gift certificates!

They also sent over some delicious recipes…

CRANBERRY PUMPKIN CRUMBLE CHEESECAKE SQUARES

A fresh take on traditional cheesecake with the addition of canned pumpkin, dried cranberries and spices on a crunchy pecan crust.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: About 5 hours, including refrigeration

Makes: 16 servings

Ingredients:

CRUST:

2-1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup chopped pecans

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

CHEESECAKE:

4 packages (8 ounces each) softened cream cheese

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup sour cream

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends extending over sides of pan.

2. For crust, combine crumbs, nuts, sugar and butter; mix well. Firmly press 3 cups of mixture onto bottom of prepared baking pan. Set aside remaining 1 cup while preparing cheesecake.

3. For cheesecake, mix cream cheese, sugar and flour in large bowl of electric mixer on medium speed until blended, about 2 minutes. While mixing, add sour cream, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed until just blended. Fold in cranberries. Pour cheesecake batter over crust.

4. Sprinkle remaining crust mixture over top of cheesecake. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely on wire rack.

5. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Lift cheesecake from pan, using foil edges. Cut into 16 pieces. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

Tips and Ideas:

• Garnish with a dollop of whip cream for extra flavor.
• Substitute dried cherries in place of cranberries for a more tart cheesecake.
• Substitute reduced fat cream cheese and reduced fat sour cream for the full fat products for a reduced fat version of the cheesecake.

CITRUS, MUSTARD & HERB INFUSED TURKEY

Butter-based mixture of Dijon mustard, orange and lemon zest and fresh herbs infused under the turkey skin for a flavorful take on the Thanksgiving favorite.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: About 4 hours

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened unsalted butter

3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

3 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon orange zest

2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 Butterball® Turkey (14 to 16 pounds), thawed if frozen

*If fresh herbs are not available, substitute 1 teaspoon dried herbs for each tablespoon of fresh.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine butter, herbs, zests, mustard, salt and pepper in work bowl of blender or food processor; cover. Process until well blended.

2. Remove neck and giblets from body and neck cavities of turkey. Reserve giblets for stuffing recipe. Drain juices from turkey and dry turkey with paper towels. Turn wings back to hold neck skin against back of turkey.

3. Remove butter mixture from blender. Carefully work fingers under skin on breast of turkey. Place half the butter mixture under breast area. Rub remaining butter mixture over breast and legs of turkey.

4. Place turkey, breast side up, on a flat rack in a shallow baking pan. Roast turkey approximately 1-1/2 hours. Then, cover breast and top of drumsticks loosely with foil to prevent overbrowning.

5. Roast turkey another 1-1/2 hours, or until meat thermometer reaches 180°F when inserted into the deepest part of the thigh.

6. Let turkey stand 15 minutes before carving.

Contest Rules:

Entering to win a gift certificate is easy.  Simply leave a comment here telling us your favorite part of Thanksgiving.  One entry per household.  US Resident’s only.  All entries must be received by 5:00pm Pacific Time, Wednesday, November 19th.  I will notify the winner’s via email and they have until Friday morning to send me their mailing address.  If I don’t receive their information by Friday morning, I will pick another winner!

Time is of the essence!  We’ve got just over a week until the big day!

OH, and as always, remember that if you have any questions or need any help with your turkey, you can always call the Butterball Turkey Talk line at 1-800-Butterball!

Good luck!

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