Busy Mom Reviews

Walmart and P&G's newest Family Movie Night movie, Field of Vision, premiers Saturday, June 11, 2011 8pm ET on NBC.

Field of Vision stars Faith Ford, Tony Oller, Joseph Adler, Alyssa Shafer, and Philip Casnoff, and it's the story of Sinclair High School's star quarterback, Tyler McFarland, who is faced with doing the right thing even though it could mean costing the school the state championship.

Through some footage captured by his sister's mysterious old video camera, he learns that his teammates have been bullying Cory Walker, a new transfer student living with a foster family since his mother died. Tyler is faced with turning his friends in, knowing they may get kicked off the team.

The old camera also reveals some clues about Cory's past, and Tyler's sister Lucy sets out to convince her family to help him find the answers when they initially think she's imagined the clues.

I got a sneak peek of the movie, and I really enjoyed it. The whole family will enjoy the plot and the sports scenes as well as the element of mystery. The bullying theme is great for discussion and is realistic rather than hokey and could be a great way to launch a discussion with school-aged kids.

It's appropriate for all ages, but very young children could be a little bothered by a bullying scene or two. It's nothing outrageous, but worth noting for small ones sensitive to conflict.

Don't forget to check out the Family Movie Night Facebook page for more information!

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Thank you to Cube Dog for sponsoring this review. For more information about Cube Dog please visit the Facebook page or download Cube Dog on iTunes.

Cube Dog is a cute little interactive 3-D (free) app where you can customize your own pet inside your iPhone, It really is very cute, and it got my attention when I saw that one of the dogs is named Scout since that was my dog's name.

Make your own dog from lots of options for customizing different bodies, ears, faces, etc. Your Cube Dogs can play fetch, call your cell, be placed in real-world pictures in any environment, and be shared via Facebook and Twitter.

Meet my dog, Ferdinand:

See how he's really sitting on my computer? You can put your dog in whatever picture you choose, it's easy!

Cube Dog uses iPhone technology where you can interact with your dog by tapping, pinching or swiping the screen. Your dog can do fun activities like play fetch, call your iPhone, dance, bark, wave, fight off Ninjas and more. You can even share your dog via Twitter or Facebook.

The best part is you can play with your dog any time, but it doesn't require maintenance like some other virtual pets out there, so the kids won't be disappointed if you you forget to "feed" him or something.

Be sure to check out the Cube Dog Facebook page and watch for a fun contest running June13-17, 2011!

(Cube Dog is currently incompatible with the following devices: iPhone®, Phone® 3G, iPod touch® (1st, 2nd generation) )

Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

As I was thinking about how we connect with e-mail, one of the first things that came to mind was my dad.

He's 78, and he teaches high school. This is a second career for him, so he came into teaching later in life, and he's had to learn a whole lot of technology that I imagine he never thought he'd have to be bothered with. But, he's embraced it a lot more than I imagined he would, and is actually pretty good at it now.

One of the first things he learned and had to become proficient at was e-mail. Though it started out mainly for work, he's grown to use it for personal communication as well. I think he's been surprised to see how much he enjoys it.

I've had to teach him some things over the years, but the best part for me is seeing how he's used it to communicate with old friends and family, and it was a lifesaver for him when my mother had cancer and he couldn't leave home a lot.

He communicated regularly with his brother (my uncle), 12 years his senior, who lived several hours away. Before email, they talked occasionally on the phone, but that was about it. After e-mail, they shared news, family history, jokes and other information they both valued.

My uncle liked to send me jokes and quick notes, too, and I've really missed those e-mails since he died a few years ago.

It's also been fun for me to communicate quickly with my dad via e-mail. Even though we live in the same town, I enjoy sending him pictures of the kids and jokes to share with his friends. I'm also able to help him with computer documents and such from home when needed.

Something as simple as e-mail has given him so much over the years, and I look forward to using it with him for a long time.

I love this little Yahoo! video, it reminds me of sharing with my dad and uncle:

If you're a parent, you'll know that keeping your children safe in a domestic environment is one of your top priorities.

Ensuring that your home security is up to scratch is, therefore, a task that you'll have to undertake when moving into a new home or bringing children into the world.
It doesn't matter if you're a security newbie calling a home security company in Arizona or you're an expert who can install a video security system in their sleep, it's worth taking the time and making the effort to install a full security suite if you want to feel adequately safe.

There's a lot of fear-mongering going on in the world today - companies trying to persuade you that villains and crooks are just waiting for you to leave a window unlocked so they can take everything you own while you sleep. Allow us to disprove that theory and simply state that there's nothing wrong with a secure home - if you'd lock your car when your kids are in it, why aren't you locking your house?

A logical approach works best - you don't need eighty bolts on the front door, just two or three very high-quality ones and a thick, solid door and frame. Windows are best if double-glazed and installed with handles and locks, as these often require keys that can be hidden away. This is great for your children, as it means they can't simply open the windows and let themselves out or anyone else in.

Cameras can also help, if only to keep an eye on kids that might think about misbehaving while you're away. It's one thing to have a few friends round, but parties have been known to get out of hand very rapidly and lead to major repairs being needed. Cameras tend to discourage bad behaviour by helping you keep an eye on your home.

Security companies are happy to install anything from home alarms to full security suites, but you can also install some security measures yourself. New locks for a window are simple enough, and if you're competent with basic DIY tasks, you'll find a fair few methods of making your home that little bit more impregnable are within your reach. So invest some time, money and effort into the security of your home, and keep you and your children safe.

Disclosure: this post was brought to you by All Home Security

I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour conducted by Clever Girls Collective on behalf of Children's Claritin®. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program.

When Busy Girl (now 16) was an infant, she contracted RSV which she recovered from, but it left her with some asthma issues and her asthma is especially aggravated by seasonal allergies. Every time we think she may have grown out of it, a few days off her medicine tells us it's likely she'll be on medication for the foreseeable future. She's old enough to handle her own medicines and they do the job, but some times of year her allergies are worse than others.

There are a few things we try to do to keep her allergies at bay, most of them are common sense, and you just have to do what works for you by trial and error. Actually, the other 2 kids have seasonal allergies, too, but not quite as bad as hers. Nonetheless, we have quite the stock of a variety of medications.

We live in an old house, so we have to be careful with dust and such, and we have several pets, but they are mostly outside. People are always telling us we should take up the carpets in the house, but they are also people who've never lived in an old house in the winter. (Seriously, though her situation isn't as bad as some people's and we have some hard wood floors and some carpeting).

Oddly enough, pool chlorine gives her a little bit of a problem this time of year, which can be an issue since she's a lifeguard, but other than taking her medicines properly and showering promptly, there's not much she can do about that.

When she was younger, she used to have problems with allergy attacks in the car, but we discovered our car had a cabin air filter, and changing that made a big difference. Now that she's older, she's not quite as sensitive to allergens in the car.

We could improve on keeping curtains and other decor clean, but she always lets us know if it's a problem. There are a lot of special bedding items on the market that help with allergies, but outside of a pillow cover, we've never had to do anything along those lines, but it's always worth a try if you or your child are having allergy problems, especially at night.

For more information on allergies, be sure to check out, "Clear to Enjoy Spring: The Allergy Guide for Moms and Kids”:

For more tips on relieving allergies, visit www.facebook.com/Claritin. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.