Ballet Beautiful Total Body Workout DVD



Everyone loves the lean, toned bodies of ballet dancers, and many people look at them and think, they're so lucky.  Except luck has nothing to do with it.  Okay, luck has a little bit to do with it (i.e. the dancers who get into the top companies have the right point, and are naturally flexible, with small frames, etc..) -- but mostly, dancers look the way they do because they are in constant motion, attending class and rehearsals for hours and hours, every single day.  Ballet takes incredible strength, flexibility and cardio endurance -- and it shows.

Like many women, I took ballet as a girl, so I know that all those rond des jambes, frappes, arabesques, battements and other exercises really work  your body out.  I have a couple of ballet-inspired workouts in my DVD collection, and I always have my eye out for more, so when I heard that Natalie Portman's Black Swan trainer had a ballet-inspired workout DVD series, I was intrigued.

Mary Helen Bowers is a former New York City Ballet dancer and the creator of Ballet Beautiful, a set of techniques and workouts that build and maintain the beauty, strength and grace of a ballerina. Her 2 previous Ballet Beautiful DVDs, the Classic 60-Minute Workout and the Ballet Beautiful Blast Series, have both gotten rave reviews on Amazon (and did I mention she trained Natalie Portman?), so I was eager to get a review copy of her DVD and try it for myself.


The Basics

Here's more information about the DVD:
Mary Helen Bowers, Natalie Portman’s trainer for her Academy Award®-winning role in
Black Swan and former New York City Ballet dancer, is sharing her ballet-inspired exercises through the Lionsgate Home Entertainment release of Ballet Beautiful: Total Body Workout on DVD, Digital Download and On Demand. This overall routine will help sculpt sleek and strong legs, arms, butt, abs and upper body to get a tight, toned and elegant physique. Workouts include Bridge Series, Abs, Inner Thigh, Outer Thigh, Arms and Standing that focus on trouble areas while increasing flexibility and improving posture. This targeted mat work will help create a graceful dancer’s body in no time! In addition to the six complete exercises, the Ballet Beautiful: Total Body Workout DVD includes custom workout and music-only options and will be available on September 4 for the suggested retail price of $14.98.

· Bridge Series: A challenging series of bridge exercises that sculpt and tone the muscles on the inside and back of the legs, butt, inner thighs, hips and abs
· Abs: A targeted abdominal workout that strengthens your center of balance and sculpts a lean waist
· Inner Thigh: Focused exercises that strengthen and tone the inner thighs, key to sculpting a ballerina's long, powerful legs
· Outer Thigh: A challenging workout for the outside of the hip and thigh. These exercises tighten and tone the outside of the hip, lengthening the line of the legs
· Arms: Upper body and arm exercises that quickly sculpt and tone your arms, shoulders and back and improve posture without any weights or equipment
· Standing: Dance inspired standing exercises with cardio elements

Ballet Beautiful founder Mary Helen Bowers is an accomplished ballerina and visionary fitness expert, a leader in the global trend of ballet-inspired fitness. Her signature Ballet Beautiful Method uses customized, low-impact cardio and toning exercises to sculpt a strong, graceful physique and beautiful posture. She has been sought out by A-list actresses, celebrities and supermodels around the world including Kirsten Dunst, Helena Christensen, Liv Tyler, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jaime King and Zooey Deschanel. She opened her first studio in New York City’s Soho neighborhood in May of 2011. Mary Helen’s new book, Ballet Beautiful, just launched in June of 2012. In addition, she has a global online training program and has sold thousands of videos in over 50 countries worldwide.


The Bongga
This is a great DVD!  It's not too difficult to follow (even for someone with zero ballet experience), and you don't need much space (just enough to stretch out) or equipment (just a mat).  And boy, does it burn!  The day after I did this DVD I felt muscles I forgot I ever had.  I also love the custom workout option, which lets me alternate workout focus and length, depending on how much time I have, and which muscles are still aching from the previous workout.

By the way, my understanding is that this DVD is essentially the same as the Classic 60-Minute Workout, with the ability to create custom workouts -- so if you already have that DVD, you probably don't want to get this one as well.

The Blah
 Also, I wish this DVD came with a digital copy; it would be so nice to load this workout on my iPad and take it on vacation!  Note, the Ballet Beautiful website also sells streaming videos of targeted-area workouts ($8-$10 for a 15-minute workout), but they are just that -- streaming.  You can't download the videos, so you need an internet connection.

The Bottom Line
Stick with this video, and you'll definitely see an improvement in flexibility and strength.

Disclosure: I received a product sample to facilitate my review, but have not been paid to review the product or give my opinions. Product information is provided by Lionsgate Entertainment and is indicated in italics. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Bonggamom's Friday Finds -- list your giveaways here


Bonggamoms Friday Finds

Welcome to Bonggamom's Friday Finds! I'm glad so many of you are finding this to be a useful way to get more traffic to your giveaways. And as a person who loves entering giveaways, I have to admit it's a great, easy way to find out where all the best giveaways are.

So feel free to leave links to your giveaways, everyone. And don't forget to get cracking and enter everyone else's, too!



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Back-to-School sale on Disney Learning Apps



Now that school is back in session, parents are looking for some educational apps to challenge their preschoolers.  It comes as no surprise to me that Disney apps are some of the most popular kids' apps, because kids love to interact with Disney characters, and parents love to see their kids learning as they play.   But it gets better:  Disney Publishing is kicking off the school year with an exciting app sale - all Disney Learning apps will be only $1.99 on the App Store (orig. $4.99) from August 29th – September 12th! The apps on sale feature some of Disney's most beloved characters, including Winnie the Pooh, Sheriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear.  Here's more information on the apps:


· Pooh’s Birthday Surprise (early literacy and pre-math skills)
Featuring the beloved characters of the Hundred-Acre Woods, this interactive storybook app invites kids to join in Pooh’s birthday party planning. The app aims to help children acquire and retain early literacy and pre-math skills at home and on-the-go through curriculum-based content and such activities as identifying and extending simple patterns, problem solving, vocabulary awareness, and story comprehension. The app is recommended for children ages 3-5.



· Toy Story Showtime! (early reading concepts)
This interactive storybook app, aimed at children ages 4-6, is designed to help learners explore essential early reading concepts through engaging and interactive ways. “Toy Story Showtime!” features Buzz Lightyear as he sets out to impress Jessie the Cowgirl in a talent show. Readers can assist him with his comedy and juggling acts while they discover new vocabulary words through context and story-based repetition.



· Learn Chinese: Toy Story 3 (introduction to basic Mandarin)
Learn Chinese: Toy Story 3 presents a whole new way to learn a foreign language with this read-along app based on the international teaching method Diglot Weave. Kids experience the excitement of Toy Story 3 with Buzz and Woody while gradually transforming it from English to a story they understand in Chinese and Pinyin, mixing the new with the known by playing with 5 progressive levels of the story.





Win 3 free Disney Learning apps!
One lucky Bonggamom Finds winner will receive a download code for each of the following iPad apps:

Pooh's Birthday Surprise
Toy Story Showtime!
Learn Chinese: Toy Story 3


Required Entry
Leave a comment on this post and tell me your favorite Disney character. This entry must be completed before any extra entries will count.
Extra Entries
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.).

1)  Follow Bonggamom Finds on Blogger (1 entry)

2) Follow bonggamom on Pinterest (1 entry)

3) Like Bonggamom Finds on Facebook (1 entry).

4) Write this on the Bonggamom Finds Facebook page (1 entry):
I entered the Disney Learning app giveaway! bit.ly/O07m3K

5) Follow @bonggafinds and tweet this (1 entry only):
RT @bonggafinds Win 3 free Disney Learning apps for the iPad!  Enter by 9/15 at   bit.ly/O07m3K  #giveaway

6) Tweet this (1 entry only)

RT @bonggafinds All Disney Learning apps are on sale $1.99 (reg $4.99), Aug29-Sep12! Check out Pooh's BDay Surprise @ http://bit.ly/tH8iEB 

7) Tweet this (1 entry only)
RT @bonggafinds All Disney Learning apps are on sale $1.99 (reg $4.99), Aug29-Sep12! Check out ToyStory Showtime @ http://bit.ly/s3EwSL 

8) Tweet this (1 entry only)
RT @bonggafinds All Disney Learning apps are on sale $1.99 (reg $4.99), Aug29-Sep12! Check out Learn Chinese: ToyStory3 @ http://bit.ly/ABMlUQ


The Rules
This giveaway ends at 11:59PM PST on September 15, 2012; I will draw a winner at random on September 16 and post his/her name after she/he confirms acceptance. Continental US residents only. For additional giveaway rules, click here. 


Disclosure: Thanks to Disney Publishing for providing the giveaway app codes and all product/promo information.  The views and opinions expressed here are my own.



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Betty Crocker Shake-N-Pour review and giveaway



I love cupcakes.  And The Pea and I make pretty good ones from scratch, if I do say so myself!  But there are still times when I rely on a mix:  when I have to make 4 dozen cupcakes for the class baking sale the next day, when The Pea had a cupcake decorating party, basically any time I need to come up with a lot of cupcakes in a small amount of time.  Baking mixes generally do the job, but now there's something even easier than traditional mixes: Betty Crocker Shake-N-Pour.  Unlike most baking mixes which require eggs, water and butter or oil, all you add is water. What's more, it comes in a sealable plastic jug, so you don't need mixing bowls or spoons -- just pour the water into the container, seal it, then shake to mix the batter up.   I recently tried  baking with Shake-N-Pour, and it takes all the effort and mess out of baking!

The Basics:
New Betty Crocker® Shake-N-Pour™ Dessert Mixes let you get to the fun faster and with less mess.

Varieties include delicious Chocolate Brownie, Confetti Cupcake, and Chocolate Cupcake

These mixes are so easy (and fun) to make that even your kids will want to get in on the action. Simply add water to the dessert mix, shake, and pour into your favorite baking pan. In a matter of minutes you and your family can enjoy that same taste you love, in a fraction of time. Fun is just a shake away!


The Bongga
There is no easier way to make cupcakes.  Even the laziest person can do it!  There are no wet ingredients to deal with, and nothing to measure except water.  All the mixing goes on inside the container, so if you're careful when you pour, there are no spills or splatters and nothing to wipe up!  Best of all, we only had to wash 2 things:  the spatula and the cupcake tins (the measuring cup only held water!).  No, actually, the best thing about it is the taste -- it tastes just like the chocolate cupcakes  you get from the regular Betty Crocker mix.

Here's a video of The Pea making her first batch of Betty Crocker Shake-N-Pour cupcakes!



The Blah
I wish they had used a squarer container, to make it easier to mix in all the dry ingredients, and to get all the batter out.

The Bottom Line
Betty Crocker Shake-N-Pour mixes are great when need yummy baked goods but are short on time!

Win a Betty Crocker Shake -N- Pour prize pack
One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will receive a prize pack courtesy of Betty Crocker & MyBlogSpark, containing

* All three varieties of the Betty Crocker Shake-N-Pour Dessert Mixes
* 60 minute baking timer
* Treat stand
* Oven mitt






Required Entry
Leave a comment on this post and tell me when you would use new Betty Crocker Shake-N-Pour Dessert Mixes to "shake up" your busy routine.  This entry must be completed before any extra entries will count.



Extra Entries
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.).

1)  Follow Bonggamom Finds on Blogger (1 entry)

2) Follow bonggamom on Instagram (1 entry)

3) Follow bonggamom on Pinterest (1 entry)

4) Repin any of my pins on Pinterest (1 entry for each repin, max 5 entries/5 repins).

5) Pin this giveaway on your Pinterest board (you can use the "Pin It" button at the bottom of this post -- 1 entry). 

6) Like Bonggamom Finds on Facebook (1 entry).

7) Write this on the Bonggamom Finds Facebook page (1 entry):
I entered the Betty Crocker Shake-N-Pour giveaway! http://bit.ly/UfdTXe

8) Follow @bonggafinds and tweet this (1 entry per day):
RT @bonggafinds Win a Betty Crocker Shake-N-Pour prize pack!  Enter by 9/15 at http://bit.ly/UfdTXe #giveaway #MyBlogSpark


The Rules
This giveaway ends at 11:59PM PST on September 15, 2012; I will draw a winner at random on September 16 and post his/her name after she/he confirms acceptance. Continental US residents only. For additional giveaway rules, click here.


Disclosure: The product, gift pack, information, and additional sample have been provided by Betty Crocker through MyBlogSpark. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.


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How to dress your American Girl doll like Caroline Abbott



On September 4 American Girl will introduce Caroline Abbott through her book series and her collection of dolls, clothes, accessories and playsets.  Girls will be able to recreate Caroline's world and relive that period through Caroline and her friends.

Unlike some AG historical dolls like Julie/Ivy, Kit/Ruthie or Cecile/Marie-Grace, none of Caroline's friends will be available as dolls -- but that's where your girls' imaginations come in.  If they have another American Girl doll, they can dress her up in Caroline's clothes so it looks like they're both from 1812.  But what should those dresses look like?  This post will help you understand some key characteristics of girls' clothes in the early 1800's so your daughter can dress her dolls like Caroline (or give Caroline a few extra outfits to wear!).

First, a brief history of children's fashion in the early 1800's:

Prior to the 19th century, children were dressed like miniature adults, with all the frills and fripperies (the Toddlers and Tiaras mothers would have been in their element).  Fortunately for Caroline, by the early 1900's, the fashion had shifted to simple, flowing empire-waisted dresses inspired by classic Greek and Roman silhouettes.


Children were dressed in more comfortable clothing that actually allowed them to move around and play!  For girls, that meant white or light-colored shift dresses with satin sashes, slippers, pinafores and sunbonnets.


Caroline's story is set in 1812, which is right in the middle of the Regency period.   This period is most famously represented (and wonderfully described) in the works of author Jane Austen -- so one of the easiest ways to see what girls like Caroline were wearing during this time would be to watch a Jane Austen movie (Pride and Prejudice, Emma, etc...), or Google "Regency fashion".

With that in mind, here are photos of Caroline modeling some Regency-era fashions that I put together:


Let's start with Caroline's party outfit.  This is actually a nightgown, which is perfect because it's white (a period favoritehttp://www.janeausten.co.uk/dressing-the-part-childrens-clothing-in-regency/), long and simple.  I added a blue ribbon sash (note the high waist, a key feature!) and pulled the skirt in at the back to give it less of a flouncy, and more of a slim, silhouette.



I piled her curls up high and tied a ribbon around her head, and gave her a pearl choker to wear because hey, it's a party outfit.  Doesn't she look like Gwyneth Paltrow playing Jane Austen's Emma?



Although white was fashionable, prints were also worn, especially in the mornings, because it was more practical and less likely to show stains.  The dress that Caroline is wearing is actually a Felicity dress --  I hitched up the waist to Empire height and tied a sash to make it look more authentic.  Notice the pleats at the bottom of the dress?  They're also a feature on the pink dress that Caroline comes in  -- mothers could let the pleats out as their daughters grew taller!


During the Regency period, everything ancient Greece was in vogue, so I tied Caroline's hair ribbons in the way I've seen in pictures and drawings of females in ancient Greece.



Regency girls wore pinafores and smocks to cover their dresses up and keep them clean.  I used 2 nightgowns for this outfit and tied a sash at Empire-waist level.  I'm left with the impression that Caroline is going to bed (especially since her hair is down for the photo), but hey, these Regency lasses all looked like they were gallivanting around in their night shifts anyway.

 Note, Caroline lives in Sacketts Harbor, NY and all my sources refer to the English Regency period -- same time, different place, so just as there were variations in lifestyle, there are sure to be variations in dress styles.  But looking at Caroline's other outfits, they all seem to conform with the major characteristics of Regency style.  If you keep the following in mind, you can't go wrong:

1) Simple dresses, with a minimum of frills
2) Straight, slim, narrow skirts
3) High (empire) waist

Have fun dressing your American Girl doll!


Info sources:
Jane Austen's World
The Jane Austen Centre
Fashion-Era
The Oregon Regency Society

Image sources:
Wikipedia
Bumblebutton Antique & Vintage Graphics


Disclosure: I received a sample Caroline doll from American Girl. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.


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Alice in Wonderland costume ideas from Eden Fantasys


Every year my kids' school hosts an auction fundraiser in October.  It's a parents-only night, and it's always a lot of fun because the event has a theme that varies from year to year -- pirates, pajama party, Greek and Roman gods, and so on.

This year the theme for the auction is Alice in Wonderland, and I'm so excited because Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland movie and the Disneyland's Mad T Party have opened up so many cool possibilities for costumes.  You no longer have to be a boring White Rabbit or Cheshire Cat!  I checked out the Halloween costumes on EdenFantasys, and there are a ton of fun options:



This Alice costume is sexy but tasteful, and I could definitely wear it to the auction (maybe with a puffed-sleeved blouse underneath?) without incurring shocked whispers from the PTA.





This is actually a vampire costume, but I could totally tweak it and make it into a Goth Mad Hatter costume.  It already has the perfect hat!




Instead of stilettos, I would wear black combat boots, and I would lengthen that skirt by wearing a black nylon petticoat like this one.




Oh, all right, this isn't exactly a White Rabbit Costume... maybe I'll save this bunny costume for another event!


Whether you've also got an Alice in Wonderland party of your own, or you're planning your Halloween costume, or want to play dress-up with your partner, here are some discount codes you can use to save at EdenFantasys!

ROMANCE15 - save 15% on your order
ROMANCE20 - save 20% on orders of $50+
ROMANCE25 - save 25% on orders of $100+
ROMANCE30 - save 30% on orders of $150+

Community Forum Discussions - Adult Community at EdenFantasys

Disclosure: EdenFantasys is providing me with a gift card as a thank-you for writing this post. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.


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First photos of Caroline




American Girl fans are waiting with bated breath for the release of their newest historical character, Caroline Abbott.  The Caroline doll, books, clothes and accessories will be available at American Girl stores and American Girl online starting September 4, 2012.

No doubt you've already seen photos of Caroline around the web -- they were gorgeously staged and photographed by American Girl.  The photos on this post aren't quite as nice, but I'm so excited to be able to show them off, because they're photos of an actual Caroline doll, in my house! American Girl sent me a Caroline doll to check out before the release -- so everyone can get a sneak peek.

My apologies for the poor quality of the photos; I will take better photos of Caroline and post them sometime next week, but I wanted to take some quick shots of Caroline and put them up before she comes out!


Here she is, peeking out of her red American Girl box.


As with all AG dolls, Caroline's hair has been carefully netted so it doesn't frizz and tangle while in the box, and her future owner gets to enjoy combing and styling Caroline's beautiful blond hair.



Here she is, out of the box.  Her pink empire-waisted dress is quite thin, and came out a bit wrinkled, so I'll have to give it a light press on the iron to keep it looking fresh.




Caroline's hair goes past her waist (which is probably historically accurate).




Caroline has cute pink patent-leather slip-on shoes and chunky-knit white knee-high socks that look like they might have been hand-knit (again, a subtle detail that goes a long way towards getting the historical period right).  I love the dainty lace trim on her pantaloons!  Note, each historical AG doll that comes with pantaloons has a different lace trim (check out Marie-Grace's clothes and Cecile's clothes).


She's beautiful, don't you think?  Stay tuned for more Caroline photos from Bonggamom Finds!



Disclosure: I received a Caroline doll from American Girl to review. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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LeapPad 2 Giveaway




Now that the LeapPad is firmly established as the #1 learning tablet on the market (if all those awards they've won won't convince you, then all the glowing reviews on Amazon, Target, and product review sites should,and if those don't , then my own LeapPad review will definitely do it!), what can they possibly do to top it?  Well, for starters, they've made a new, improved, version, and it's out in stores now!  The LeapPad 2 is everything parents and kids love about the LeapPad, and more.  It has more memory, faster processors,  front and back cameras, and longer battery life.  What's not to love?



Features
Works with LeapFrog Explorer™ cartridges and apps
Works with LeapPad learning apps
Built-in camera and video recorder2 (Front and Back)1 (Back)
Memory Size4 GB2 GB
Recharger available
Battery LifeUp to 9 hoursUp to 8 hours
Processor550 Mhz393 Mhz
Other Specifications
Screen Size5"5"
Screen resolution480x272480x272
Batteries4 AA4 AA
AC adapter available
USB port
Headphone jack
Cartridge retail price$24.99$24.99
App retail price$5 and up$5 and up

One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will be able to do more than read the table above -- they get to check out the LeapPad 2's fab features on their very own LeapPad 2!  Leave a comment (or two, or eight) to enter the contest below, and good luck!


Win a LeapPad 2
Leapfrog is giving away a LeapPad 2 and cartridge game!


Required Entry
Leave a comment on this post telling me what your child would enjoy most on the LeapPad 2. This entry must be completed before any extra entries will count.

Extra Entries
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, Pinterest link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.).

1) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Blogger (1 entry)

2) Follow bonggamom on Instagram (1 entry)

3) Follow bonggamom on Pinterest (1 entry)

4) Pin this giveaway on any of your Pinterest boards  (you can use the "Pin It" button at the bottom of this post -- 1 entry). 

5) Like Bonggamom Finds on FB and write this on the Bonggamom Finds Facebook page (1 entry):
I entered the LeapPad 2 giveaway! http://bit.ly/PhawMa

7) Follow @bonggafinds on Twitter and tweet this, up to once per day (1 entry per day):
RT @bonggafinds Win a LeapPad2 and cartridge game from @Leapfrog! Enter by 9/9 at 
http://bit.ly/PhawMa

8) Enter any open giveaway on Bonggamom Finds (1 entry for each giveaway you've entered)


The Rules
This giveaway ends at 11:59PM PST on September 9, 2012; I will draw a winner at random on September 10 and post his/her name after she/he confirms acceptance. Continental US residents only.For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck! 

Disclosure: I did not receive a sample or monetary compensation for this post. Thanks to Leapfrog for providing the giveaway prize.  Product comparison was reprinted from the Leapfrog website. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.



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Bonggamom's Friday Finds -- list your giveaways here


Bonggamoms Friday Finds

Welcome to Bonggamom's Friday Finds! I'm glad so many of you are finding this to be a useful way to get more traffic to your giveaways. And as a person who loves entering giveaways, I have to admit it's a great, easy way to find out where all the best giveaways are.

So feel free to leave links to your giveaways, everyone. And don't forget to get cracking and enter everyone else's, too!



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Nukotoys launches Monsterology & Animal Planet card games for the iPad



Kids love trading cards.  They love collecting cards, arranging them in neat stacks, organizing them into categories, checking their cards off a master list, and just looking at them.  They love comparing their collections with friends, trading their doubles, and bartering life and limb (or maybe a week's allowance and a lucky pebble) for that much-coveted super rare card.

Kids also love videogames.  They love competing with their friends, completing quests, earning virtual coins and prizes, and immersing themselves in virtual worlds where they can take on different roles and do things they can't in real life.

So why not combine the two?

That's the premise behind two new games from Nukotoys:  Animal Planet Wildlands and Monsterology.   Each game lets kids collect (read: purchase), trade and play with physical cards, much like Pokemon or Monsuno or Magic: The Gathering.  Some of these card games also have online versions where you type a code in to unlock virtual characters.  But that's where the similarity ends.  Because unlike anything out there, once you download the (free) Animal Planet Wildlands and Monsterology apps on your iPad, you simply tap your Animal Planet Wildlands or Monsterology trading cards on your iPad and -- get this -- have the creature on the card COME TO LIFE on the iPad.


That's right: when you tap a leopard card into the Animal Planet Wildlands app, a virtual leopard drops into your virtual wildland habitat, and you can make it run around, race other animals, and take down a gazelle or two.



And when you tap a Sphinx card into the Monsterology app, a virtual Sphinx gets added to your collection of monsters, ready for you to use to battle other mythical monsters in a strategic, turn-based game.

How do they do it?  Each card has an invisible code, printed with a special ink, that conducts a charge when the card comes in contact with the iPad's touchscreen.  The app recognizes the code and activates the corresponding creature in the game.

Cool, huh?  My kids certainly think so.  I first told them about the apps a year ago, when Nukotoys was still in mid-development, and they fell in love with the concept alone (although I guess it's not so surprising, given that these 2 apps are based on 2 immensely popular brands -- Discovery Channel's Animal Planet Wildlands series, and the Monsterology book series). After a year of waiting and "When is it going to come out?", we got to test a pre-release version over the summer, and they loved it even more.  Both apps were released to the public this week, so now every kid gets to enjoy them!


These kids certainly loved them; they were at Nukotoys' SF headquarters yesterday for a local news segment taping, and they were almost too busy playing with the apps to pay attention to the reporter's questions!

Watch out for future posts with more detail on each app.  For now, I'll leave you with a brief description of the app as described by the ABC7 news reporter, the kids.... and one mom blogger :)




You can download Animal Planet Wildlands and Monsterology apps for free, from the Apple app store.  You can purchase physical cards ($1.99 for a pack of 3 cards) at all Apple stores and select ToysRUs and Target stores.

Disclosure: I am a Nukotoys Parents@Play member, and have received compensation for my work with Nukotoys.  The views and opinions expressed here are my own.


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Funny Face Dried Cranberries



Now that school is back in session, I'm back on my age-old quest to find healthy food for my kids' lunchboxes -- that won't come home uneaten.  Dried fruit is one of my lunchbox staples, because it's not too messy, my kids like it, and it's healthy.  But my kids like variety, so I can't rely on the same raisins/cranberries/apricots/fruit leather every single week.


Enter Funny Face, a brand of dried cranberries geared towards children.  They come in four flavors -- raspberry, cherry, grape and strawberry -- and they claim to have half the sugar and 25 percent fewer calories than traditional dried cranberries.  Funny Face sent us the grape and strawberry flavors to try, and they are really good! They taste a bit like grape and strawberry candy, so they're a hit with the kids.  If they came in teeny boxes instead of bulk bags so I could pack them in lunchboxes, that would be even better!



Disclosure: I received a product sample to facilitate my review, but have not been paid to review the product or give my opinions.The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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