Idea Queen Tips & News

Yes, after many grumbles about hearing how everyone else got a Wii, we finally got one ourselves. With a slightly overweight 6-yr-old and me trying to lose weight as well, I finally justified the cost as something this couch potato family really did need.

Now one thing I will tell you - we did NOT buy it from eBay or anywhere else online. I still am just floored how much those are selling for. I’ve yet to see one sell for under $300 on ebay and just about as much at other stores when you add in shipping, which is just nuts to me. The auctions that include a bunch of extras, well, I can understand that. But the ones with just the basic Wii - a set of controllers (remote and nunchuk), the console, and Wii Sports - I can’t understand why those are selling so high. I paid $250 plus tax on one from our local Game Stop. Not the best of deals, but at least I didn’t pay too much and it was brand new (would you believe I’ve seen USED ones sell for more online?).

So far it’s everything we thought it would be. I’m so sore from playing I can’t barely move in the morning, and my daughter hasn’t sat and watched TV since she came home Friday afternoon from school. We had friends over last night for a few games of bowling, which was a blast. And no matter how much I hurt, I can’t stop playing. It’s got the addictive elements of a video game, yet it’s actually GOOD for us. I don’t have the “I haven’t done anything useful” guilt that normally goes along with playing too many games. I LOVE it!

Yesterday I went poking around for more games, just to see what’s out there. It’s not that I really want to spend a whole lot more on this because I really didn’t have the money to buy the Wii in the first place. But I did want to see what we could put on some wish lists and swing for birthdays or whatever. (Amazon and eBay don’t have bad prices on games, by the way)

I did, however, end up buying another “game” anyway. Remember how I said I justified this purchase with the promise of our family getting in shape? Well, I ended up buying My Fitness Coach. I probably would have bought the Wii Fit system, but it just cost way too much right now.

I actually saw another fitness “game” with a well known fitness guru’s face on it at Game Stop, although I’m glad I went online to look around first. For one, the other game has some NASTY reviews on Amazon. Not just a few either, but a LOT. For two, it uses Wii Fit, which My Fitness Coach does not. I don’t want to invest more than I have to at this point.

Now I will say this about the Wii. It does take a little getting use to because it’s not like a normal game system. The bad reviews I’ve seen on them usually have comments such as “I played it for 10 minutes then took it back”. Well, it takes more than 10 minutes to get use to it. Plus if you are looking for a normal game system that requires you to sit on the couch, this is NOT it. Oh no, this MAKES you get up and move, which is EXACTLY why we bought it. In fact, I tried to sit for a moment while bowling, and accidentally threw the ball into the crowd. Oops! So no, it does not work sitting.

Am I glad we bought it? Oh yeah, without a doubt. Was it worth the cost? Well, if you compare it to similar things such as exercise equipment and gym memberships, then YES. But I would NOT spend more than you have to, since you CAN find it locally if you wait or look around a bit (I had seen them before Christmas at Target, yet they were sold out last week. As mentioned, I looked elsewhere and found it).

Let’s face it - the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to decorate a kids room is with posters. Not just any posters though, but rather ones features their own personal interests.

For Christmas I had found a book of Hanna Montana posters that included probably 10 or more sheet-of-paper-sized posters. Since I have a Hanna Montana fan, this made an excellent gift. It also dressed up her room a lot, and she loved it.

Full size posters are also great, and both my kids have those on their walls as well. We got them pretty cheap, spending no more than $5 on each of them.

But what else can you use for fun kids room decor? Well, how about some personalized art?

Just about every place that sells crafts also sells poster boards for a little bit of nothing. You know, the giant sheets of paper the same size as a full size poster, usually made from cardstock or other sturdy paper. While you are there, pick up some crafty items such as paint, glitter glue, foam stickers, colored feathers, or whatever else catches your attention.

With all your supplies ready, let the kids have at it! You could make a whole day around this craft project, then help them put it up on their wall when they are finished. Not only are you giving them something fun to do, but allowing them to get involved in the design of their room. See? Fun, easy, cheap. Perfect!

Since I have a son who is crazy about books, I’m always looking for ways to include his love for reading in family activities. Recently he picked up a Goosebumps book, and has since fallen in love with the series.

Now I’m especially glad that Goosebumps is so popular that everyone in his class knows it. Peer pressure can sometimes work in their advantage, that’s for sure. Not only do they all know the books, but the series as well. I managed to find a few DVDs for Christmas, and he absolutely loves them.

With there being both books and a TV show, we’ve come up with an excellent activity to do together. First he reads the book and talks about it. Next we locate the show that goes with it (I have Netflix, and have put a few of those on my list), and then talk about the differences.

At school in years to come he’ll have tons of boring book reports to do, so I don’t make him write anything down. But the discussion of something he’s interested in makes for an excellent learning experience that he won’t be bored with.

I’ve also done this with my daughter (who’s just starting to read) with the Barbie and the Diamond Castle. She got the movie and book both for Christmas, and we watched the movie first. When we read the book, she helped read the story because she recognized some of the names and places.

So with my son it’s book first, then show, helping his comprehension skills. With my younger daughter it was movie first then book, helping with her reading skills. And finding something they are interested really does make all the difference.

Here’s a fun craft for kids that I stumbled on today:  Paper Start Wreath

Not only does it look easy, but it’s pretty too!  I check this site often for fun crafts, but especially for sewing projects. There’s just so much to do with not nearly enough time.

Have fun!

Yesterday I picked up a pound of hamburger and sour cream for supper tonight. Now I’ve got two choices, since we have all the “other stuff” for both meals - tacos or beef stroganoff. Taco shells and egg noodles we almost always have on hand because they keep for so long (or as in the case of the taco shells, they keep if they aren’t opened).

Honestly I’m not quite sure what I want, and both are pretty easy to make. So I think I’ll just put it to a vote to see what the kids decide. Something tells me it will be tacos though, since it’s their favorite.

Do you ever put dinner to a vote in your house? And no, voting on which pizza to order doesn’t count. I mean homemade meals.  I’m interested to know!

It’s a beautiful sunny day, but the kids are still in need of something to do. Luckily there’s quite a few options for summer activities, one being making bubbles.

This recipe comes from Free Kids Crafts, off the “recipes” page. You can also find other summer crafts and activities on the site as well.

Bubble Recipe
2 c. Dawn dishwashing detergent
6 c. water
Almost 1 c. Karo light corn syrup

Combine, shake, let settle 4 hours. Store covered in refrigerator to extend suds shelf life. Allow to warm before using. Costs about $1.50 per gallon.

Bubble Tips:
1. If foam develops scrape off with a stiff card.
2. Keep suds clean from dirt and grass.
3. Bubbles are best on humid days.
4. Protect suds from direct sun.

Have fun!

Today I stumbled on a few interesting crafts to help combat clutter. I’m a big fan of crafts that not only entertain the kids, but serve a purpose as well. This one does just that, since it’s to be used as a way to organize your crafts.

The Crafter’s Carousel is pretty easy to do, and uses items you most likely have in your house. I always love when I find crafts with easy to find items, since I don’t like to spend a lot of money on the craft itself.

We’ll most likely be doing this one on the next rainy day, and it’s something you might want to check out as well.

Have fun!

Have you joined CafeMom yet? If not, now is the time to do it!

Not only did the site get a makeover, but they’ve added some really neat features. Now available are “widgets” which are cool additions you can add to your profile (if you are active on Myspace you’ll know exactly what I mean). I found them under “My CafeMom” and currently playing the Road Trip Scavenger Hunt. It’s an absolute BLAST!

Another widget I spotted that I simply must try out was “Sweet Treats”, where you bake virtual goodies and then get the recipe for them. How cool is that?

So anyway, hop on over to CafeMom and get yourself signed up!

Here’s a funny story for you.

If you’ve spent any time at all on this blog, you know I get addicted to PC games pretty easy. Well, any game for that matter, which is why we don’t own multiple game consoles. The computer sucks up enough of my time.

Anyway, a few years ago I was talked into the buying THE computer game - The Sims. I loved it, played it all the time. Until we lost the disk that is. Every once in awhile I would see the box and pout a little, wanting to play it again. But never did actually replace it. Just sorta put it out of my mind.

Well the other day I found the disk. Rather strange actually, since it was wedged between my desk and the wall where lots of stuff falls, and I’m just sure we looked there before. But there it was, on the top of other stuff, like it had just fallen back there yesterday. WEIRD! Ironically enough I also found the missing remote, and I was actually looking for something else (isn’t that always the case? Whenever I look for one thing, I find the last thing I was looking for….).

So I was pretty excited, and popped the disk in. Only it didn’t work, and I couldn’t even reinstall it. Tried on the other computer too, and it still didn’t work. MAJOR BUMMER! I fought with the “game computer” for awhile, but to no avail. It was a loss cause really - the disk is just too old and who knows where it’s been the last two years.

Alright so now I’m REALLY wanting to play The Sims. BAD. So of course, I buy a new one. Actually, mine was the original and there’s now Sims 2 out, so I see that as justifiable for buying a new copy.

Since I just couldn’t wait any longer, I bought the instant download copy of The Sims 2 Double Deluxe off EA’s main site. However, if you are more patient, then you can probably get a MUCH better deal and a hard copy elsewhere. I would check for The Sims 2 at Amazon. There’s tons of options for different versions here, but make sure you buy the main copy (The Sims 2, The Sims Deluxe, or The Sims Double Deluxe) before you buy the expansion packs. There’s PLENTY to do without the expansion packs and extras, so it may be wise to try out the cheaper, less flashy versions first before you upgrade or add on anything.

Now, as for the game itself………it’s awesome! As mentioned before, it’s been a few years since I played the original Sims games, but I still know this version is LOTS better. They’ve added quite a bit to do, and the game play is slightly different. Plus if you have any expansion packs at all there’s other stuff to do within the game.

The load time is a bit slow on our computer, but it’s also almost 3 years old. With a newer computer I’m sure it would load faster. The actual game play isn’t that bad though, it’s just in between “moves” that’s a bit slow (like when you leave the house of the Sim you are playing, it takes a bit to load and get somewhere else, but when they are doing things in the house it’s pretty smooth - at least on my computer it does).

I’ll warn you though, this game is extremely addictive. After downloading it all day Friday (”instant” download took 8 hours), I played it all weekend. You can bounce from family to family in your choice of neighborhood, and so far I’ve only played two families - one that was already set up and one that I created. There’s just so much to do this game can go on forever.

Highly recommended!

Kids have a wonderful imagination, there’s no doubt about that. Why not draw out some of that creativity by writing as a family? Yes mom and dad need to join in too!

This activity is perfect for a rainy day. In fact I just heard thunder outside, so it’s something we might be doing today. To start you’ll need to pick a place or time. It can be a fantasy world, or a real world in any area you chose. Here’s a few ideas for real world eras:

- Roaring 20s
- Modern day (as in today)
- Pioneer days (1800s)
- Pilgrim and Indian days (late 1600s, early 1700s)
- Medieval times
- Dinosaur age

Once you pick your place and time, you’ll need some characters. Take a little time to study up on your chosen era, unless you chose fantasy, then you can make up whatever history you want. Describe your characters in their clothing, homes, and modes of transportation. The more details the better.

Next you’ll need to have your characters face a challenge of some sort. For example, a pioneer faced many obstacles traveling to the west. If you’ve done a little research on the time period, you’ll find lots of information.

Finally, have your characters resolve the problem. Get creative with this part, describing how they saved the day. Turn your fictional characters into heroes!

When you do this project as a family, you can either have everyone pick the same setting or chose different settings. Once finished, read your stories out loud. Mom and dad might want to do some minor editing (grammar, sentence structure, etc), but really the purpose here is to get creative.

Have fun!