I had a bunch of posts planned, but as you know, life with baby happens. I’ve been working on a new new theme that is just about done, maybe I’ll release it while in Austin. I’m so tired of MDB looking a mess in Internet EXPLOITER. The new theme will be compatible…for the most part. I’m still fighting with the Stack Overflow Error at line: 2 popups. Just click ok and keep browsing…
I’ve been a wreck for weeks. I’ve come to many conclusions regarding how I spend my time. So many thoughts about the reviews, the giveaways, the time, the headache, the Mommy Daddy Blog before all of that stuff, the regular readers who disappeared. Changes are coming. I’m anticipating Spring and Summer and I am determined to enjoy the warm weather outdoors with Jayden.
I’ve been up for over 24hrs and I will be heading to the airport in about 5. My main source of anxiety now is wondering if Jayden does well without me, well, my boobs. I won’t go in to detail, maybe when I return…
I’m excited to finally meet my fellow Elevenmoms, but I am nervous at the same time. Then, there’s the networking and the bunches of people. I’m going to need some Calms Forte!
Before I go, let me introduce you to my travel companion, HP Mini XP 1001. Isn’t she a hawt mama?
Right now she’s getting her beauty rest in my bag.
Her Specs:
The perfect companion PC with the flexibility of Windows XP. Reliable and efficient so you can stay connected without missing a beat.
* Integrated wireless technology helps you get online easily
* Websites and photos are easy to view on both the 8.9″ or 10.1″ displays
* Travel light with the ultra-mobile design – only 1″ thin, starting at just 2.3 lbs.
* Ideal for email, IM, and chatting face-to-face with built-in HP Mini Webcam*
Now I need to lay down for a few hours so I can get some type of rest as well. Shout outs to my sponsors who made it possible and easier for my attendance at SxSW!
Follow hashtag #sxsw09mdb for all of my SxSW tweets!
For years, there’s always been two things that really interest me, cars and computers, and the two commonly “collide” with each other. These collisions usually result in things such as the wallpaper on my computer’s desktop featuring whatever car I’m feeling at the moment, or me scheming to integrate a laptop into the dashboard of my car. The latest collision has resulted in a Chevy Corvette car mouse from RoadMice.com!
Road Mice is a brand of computer products that includes computer mice that look like actual real-life cars. Their current arsenal of car mice include the Dodge Charger (SRT-8 model *drool* and police car model), Chevy Corvette Z06, Ford Mustang GT, Chevy Camaro (2010 year model, which is also available as a police car), Dodge Viper SRT-10, Dodge Challenger, Chrysler 300C, Chrysler PT Cruiser, and Ford GT.
The detail that they put into each mouse is amazing. Every detail right down to the door handles are designed to look exactly like the actual auto counterparts. Even the tires are made of a rubber-like material instead of plastic. The headlights of each car mouse even light up when the mouse is clicked to give it more of a realistic effect (which of course can be turned on or off with a switch on the bottom of the mouse to save on battery life).
As if the Road Mice car mouse couldn’t be made to be more realistic, you can even register your car mouse and receive a title made specifically for it as if it were an actual car!
And for those of you who are habitual bad drivers while cruising the web, you can purchase the Road Mice car insurance:
The Road Mice™ Replacement Plan provides comprehensive coverage from day one. This plan covers all of its Optical Wireless Road Mice products with no deductibles or other hidden charges. Its comprehensive, bumper-to-bumper coverage that protects against all types of damage, including: mechanical breakdown, crashes, theft, fire, acts of god, parental repossession, beverage or water damage, earthquake, floods, drops, falling rocks, animal consumption, jealous friends or family members stepping on it, and anything else that typical insurance companies will exclude from coverage. The plan offers a onetime product replacement per customer and does not include shipping.
Road Mice definitely has this reality thing down pat! Road Mice car mice are compatible with both PC and MAC and every mouse comes with a 6-month warranty!
But of course, the Road Mice car mouse isn’t perfect and has it flaws, as does every other product out there…
Since each Road Mice car mouse is created to match their actual auto counterparts right down to the smallest of details, it does take some getting used to if you’re used to traditional mice. My car mouse is a Corvette, which has an edged rear end, completely opposite of the curves I’m used to on traditional mice. It’s not exactly a big deal, but it did feel weird for the first few days of using it.
Another thing that takes a little getting used to is the position of the “clickers”. On my Corvette, the clickers point inward toward the scroll wheel, while I’m used to positioning my fingers more toward the outsides of a mouse. Although this isn’t a big deal either, it does take a little time getting used to. Just from looking at pictures of other car mice on the Road Mice website, it looks like the same goes for the Viper, GT, and PT Cruiser. So if you’re like me when it comes to finger placement on a mouse, I’d recommend getting something else other than those four models.
I’d say the biggest downside to the wireless car mice is battery life. They eat up batteries like it’s Thanksgiving! When not in use, your wireless car mouse will automatically turn itself off to conserve battery life. To turn it back on, all you have to do is click the mouse or scroll the scroll wheel. To save money, I’d recommend buying some rechargeable batteries. Alternatively, you could get a wired Road Mouse which doesn’t need batteries.
Other products by Road Mice include auto-branded USB flash drives and mouse pads to go with your car mouse.
Although the Road Mice car mouse has a few downsides, they’re very minor, and that only applies to the wireless Corvette that I received. Opt for a wired Mustang and 2/3 of the minor downsides I found with the car mice are eliminated. So they’d definitely be great for the auto enthusiast in your family and would make a great gift for the special guy in your life on Valentine’s Day!
For those of you who don’t know, I am one of Walmart’s Elevenmoms. I mentioned it, but I have yet to write an official post because I am still taking it all in! I’m just not the type of person to run with info as soon as I get it. I have to let it marinate first.
As one of Walmart’s Elevenmoms, I with the help of Greg, am excited to offer a sweeeet giveaway to you guys; a shiny new 2nd Gen 8GB iPod Touch MP3 player and a $10 iTunes gift card to purchase the Elevenmoms top 10 love songs!
How To Enter
There are a total of 5 ways you can enter this giveaway. You can enter using as many methods listed below as you’d like. Here is how you can enter:
1. Send us an M&M ecard (worth 25 entries into this giveaway). To help promote Walmart’s Valentine’s Day page, we’re giving 25 entries into this giveaway to anyone who creates an M&M ecard through the Walmart Valentine’s Day page and sends it to us! Here’s instructions on how to create an M&M ecard:
Click “Upload” and you’ll be prompted to select a picture to upload from your computer.
Click “Browse”, find the picture you’d like to use, select it, and click “Upload”.
After your picture is finished uploading, you can crop it how you’d like.
Once finished cropping, click “Submit”, and your pictured will be transformed into an M&M mosaic!
Click “Continue” and you’ll be prompted to enter your name and e-mail address, as well a recipients name and e-mail address.
Enter your name and e-mail address, and for the recipient’s name and e-mail address enter “Greg and Sheena” and “itouch@mommydaddyblog.com”.
Click “Send”.
For those of you who like visuals better, we’ve created a video showing how to create an M&M ecard:
That’s it! Afterwards, be sure to leave a comment below letting us know that you have done this, and use the same e-mail address you entered when sending the ecard to us! We’ll receive an e-mail with your M&M mosaic and we’ll credit you with 25 entries into this giveaway! Don’t forget to send your M&M mosaics to your friends and family or upload them to the gallery where it will be featured with many other M&M mosaics!
2. Write a post on your blog about this giveaway (worth 1 entry into this giveaway). You can write about this giveaway in your own words or you can copy and paste the text provided by us below. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this by leaving a direct link to your post.
3. Put the button below in your blog’s sidebar (worth 1 entry into this giveaway). Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this.
4. Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter (worth 1 entry into this giveaway). Be sure to copy and paste the text provided by us below, and let us know in the comments that you’ve done this by including a direct link to your tweet (how to link directly to a tweet).
5. Subscribe to receive e-mail updates from us (worth 1 entry into this giveaway). Doing so will ensure that you’re updated on future happenings here at Mommy Daddy Blog. All you have to do is enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe. Be sure to let us know that you’ve done this (or if you are already subscribed to receive e-mail updates from us) in the comments using the same e-mail address you subscribed with.
This giveaway will end on February 11th at 12PM 7PM CST and the winner will be announced on February 14th. Direct family members and residents outside of the U.S. and Canada are ineligible for this giveaway.
Many of the Elevenmoms are giving away this sweet combo too, so be sure to enter their giveaways as well! Special thanks to Nestle, Mars/M&M, Russell Stover, and Walmart for making this giveaway possible!
This giveaway is part of our Three Gs For The Holidays event. Visit the announcement post to get involved in other fun giveaways, get shopping ideas from our Gift Guide, and learn how you can help children in need this holiday season!
This is the last giveaway for Three Gs For The Holidays, and we thought there would be no better way to end them off than by celebrating the company that has made this all possible: HP! We have been HP fans for years simply because they make quality products. Of all the desktop computers, laptops, and printers we’ve owned or used, HP has been the one brand that never craps out on us. In fact, we own a total of five HP products, and use most of them on a daily basis. This includes a 3 1/2 year old laptop, nicknamed “Old Yeller”, that still works like the day it was born (and I think it’ll be a long time before we have to put this old fella down!); and the latest addition to our HP arsenal, a Pavilion A6460T nicknamed “The Gorilla”, that HP sent us simply because they are freakin’ awesome! Every picture and video uploaded, every blog post published, every single memory we share with you guys on this blog is done on our HP computers. Mommy Daddy Blog is powered by HP!
So when we were able to get our hands on the HP Photosmart A826 Photo Printer, we already knew it would meet our expectations. Since Sheena already wrote an extensive review on the A826 (and writing another one would just be repetitive), we’ve decided to create a video this time around to show this baby in action! In the video, we mention a really easy way for you to earn TEN extra entries into this giveaway, giving you a better chance at winning!
How To Enter
There are a total of 56 ways you can enter this giveaway, and everyone is eligible! You can enter using as many methods listed below as you’d like. Each method of entry is worth 1 entry. Here is how you can enter:
1. BONUS: To learn how you can earn TEN easy entries into this giveaway, watch the video above!
2. Take a look around HP.com and leave a comment below with the names of some of the items you would love to add to your home office!
3. Write a post on your blog about this giveaway. You can write whatever you’d like or you can copy and paste the text provided by us below. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this by leaving a direct link to your post.
4. Put our Three Gs For The Holidays button in your blog’s sidebar. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this.
5. Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter. You can write whatever you’d like or you can copy and paste the text provided by us below. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this by including a direct link to your tweet (how to link directly to a tweet).
6. Subscribe to receive e-mail updates so we can keep you updated on future happenings here at Mommy Daddy Blog. All you have to do is enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe. Be sure to let us know that you’ve done this (or if you are already subscribed to receive e-mail updates from us) in the comments using the same e-mail address you subscribed with.
This giveaway, along with all other Three Gs For The Holidays giveaways, will end on December 14th!
We’d like to help out those who are less fortunate this holiday season, so we’ll be donating some toys to Toys For Tots! But, since there’s only so much we can do, we encourage you to make a donation also. You can donate toys or cash to Toys For Tots, at your nearest Toys For Tots drop-off location. You can also donate a cash gift, online via credit/debit card by visiting the Toys For Tots Online Donation page, or by texting “TOY” to 90999 using your cell phone. With your help, there’s no limit to the amount of smiles we can put on childrens’ faces this year!
This giveaway is part of our Three Gs For The Holidays event. Visit the announcement post to get involved in other fun giveaways, get shopping ideas from our Gift Guide, and learn how you can help children in need this holiday season!
I have a couple of questions for those of you who are parents: Approximately how many pictures and/or videos of your children do you have saved on your computer?
Now, once you have come up with an answer for that question, answer this one: How many of those pictures or videos do you have duplicates of that are not on that same computer?
The reason I ask is because I think it’s so crazy how much technology has evolved and how computers are used for practically everything now. The other day I was thinking about how we haven’t even started on the baby books for Jayden yet, although he is now 7 months old. We have been keeping track of all of his milestones on our computers through picture files, video files, and text files. In this day and age, “virtual” baby books have become more popular than the traditional physical baby books. But one thing we have to keep in mind is that computers aren’t perfect. They can catch viruses. They can get damaged. They can get stolen. And before you have your doubts about using a computer to store all of your precious memories, the same applies for physical baby books also. They, too, can get lost, stolen, or damaged. Either way it goes, everything is gone. Everything.
So after thinking all of this through (which I actually should’ve done long ago), I decided that it was time to back up the hard drives on our computers so that in the event that something happens to one of our computers, we won’t lose everything that was on it. It’s better to be safe than sorry. So we got into contact with the generous folks over at Storage Appliance Corporation, who specialize in backup and storage devices, and they sent us a Clickfree Portable Backup 160GB External Hard Drive! And I have to say that I am in love with this thing!
After plugging in the Clickfree hard drive via USB cable, I found out exactly why it is called “Clickfree”; because you literally don’t have to click anything at all in order for it to do its job. As soon as you plug it in, it runs on its own. You don’t have to install any programs or anything. Once it starts running, it’ll begin to count down to let you know that it will start backing up all of your files. Once the backup progress begins, that’s it. Just let it do its job. The amount of time it takes to backup your files depends on how many files you have on your computer. You can just let it run in the background while you complete other tasks on the computer. And it won’t slow down your computer either. It only used 15MB of RAM while it was running for me.
Once the backup is complete, you can browse and search through the files that were backed up. And that’s it. You can unplug the hard drive until you’re ready to back up again. For each subsequent backup after the first, only new and modified files will be backed up. So unless you go on a file creating frenzy, or you don’t back up again for the next two years, the next backup should take only a few minutes. Whenever you want to access files that you have previously backed up, simply plug in the Clickfree hard drive, click on “Options”, then click on the “Restore” tab.
You can also use the Clickfree Hard Drive to store files so that they don’t eat up the hard drive space on your computer. This is perfect for those who use laptops, and/or have massive music and video collections. You can keep the Clickfree Hard Drive plugged in the USB port and you’ll always have immediate access to those files. And since the Clickfree Hard Drive is so small and compact (only 4.52″ in length, 2.9″ in width, and 0.67″ in height), it won’t clutter up your desk space.
Enter promo code cfr3314 at Clickfree.com to receive free shipping AND $15 off any Portable Backup Hard Drive!
Note: Clickfree Hard Drives are NOT compatible with Mac computers!
Alright so who would like the pleasure of owning one of these bad boys? You? Great, because I have a Clickfree Portable Backup 160GB External Hard Drive to give away! Check out the details below to learn how you can win it!
How To Enter
There are a total of 5 ways you can enter this giveaway, and everyone is eligible! You can enter using as many methods listed below as you’d like. Each method of entry is worth 1 entry. Here is how you can enter:
1. Remember those two questions that I asked at the beginning of the post? Leave a comment with your answers.
2. Write a post on your blog about this giveaway. You can write whatever you’d like or you can copy and paste the text provided by us below. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this by leaving a direct link to your post.
3. Put our Three Gs For The Holidays button in your blog’s sidebar. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this.
4. Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter. You can write whatever you’d like or you can copy and paste the text provided by us below. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this by including a direct link to your tweet (how to link directly to a tweet).
5. Subscribe to receive e-mail updates and announcements so we can keep you updated on future happenings here at Mommy Daddy Blog. All you have to do is enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe. Be sure to let us know that you’ve done this (or if you are already subscribed to receive e-mail updates from us) in the comments using the same e-mail address you subscribed with.
This giveaway, along with all other Three Gs For The Holidays giveaways, will end on December 8th 14th!
We’d like to help out those who are less fortunate this holiday season, so we’ll be donating some toys to Toys For Tots! But, since there’s only so much we can do, we encourage you to make a donation also. You can donate toys or cash to Toys For Tots, at your nearest Toys For Tots drop-off location. You can also donate a cash gift, online via credit/debit card by visiting the Toys For Tots Online Donation page, or by texting “TOY” to 90999 using your cell phone. With your help, there’s no limit to the amount of smiles we can put on childrens’ faces this year!
I’m an avid user of Firefox; have been for a couple years now. One of the reasons I love Firefox is because of the array of extensions that make your web surfing experience easier and more exciting. I recently came across a website, Gadget Advisor, that highlights some of the Best extensions for Firefox. Among those extensions is the Google Cache Checker Firefox extension, which enables you to instantly see whether a site is cached by Google or not via your status bar. Gadget Advisor also spotlights software that they find interesting and helpful. Check out their Blaze Media Pro review, which features an all-in-one program that edits, records, and converts many audio and video formats.
Gadget Advisor is the place to discover product releases and tech news. It’s definitely a must visit for all of you techies out there!
From each time that Jayden poops all over Mommy and Daddy, to when he takes his very first steps, you can be the first to know about it! How? Get every single one of our updates as soon as they're posted! You can get our updates in a feed reader via RSS (What is RSS?) by clicking on the family to the right, or you can get our updates through e-mail by entering your e-mail address below!
! And I have to say that I am in love with this thing!
I’m an avid user of Firefox; have been for a couple years now. One of the reasons I love Firefox is because of the array of extensions that make your web surfing experience easier and more exciting. I recently came across a website, 
