Christina, Author at A Mommy Story

Mar 17, 2014

Streaming TV for Kids with Kidoodle.TV

March 17, 2014 By Christina

At least once a week, we find ourselves in a situation where one or both kids must sit somewhere boring and wait quietly. Sometimes it’s for an appointment, sometimes it’s while we take one to gymnastics or the other to her therapy session, and the other kid has to tag along because the other parent is occupied. Books work in many situations, but for longer waits or long car trips, we often like to pull out electronic media to provide additional reward for waiting patiently.

My phone and my iPad have a few apps on them specifically for the kids, although both get bored with games fairly quickly. I have different video viewers on my devices, but I also know I’m not always right there to make sure one of the girls doesn’t finish one video and then accidentally jump to another video that may not be appropriate for kids. So I either have to hover to make sure the video is appropriate, or block video apps from their allowed list.

To further complicate things, we’re planning to cut cable soon. The final straw was when the cable company announced they were raising our rates again (3rd time in a year), and were also removing some of our favorite channels from the now-higher-priced package we pay for. While I’ll be glad to save money, I know Cordy and Mira will still want to watch TV, especially when we’re making dinner or when they’re cashing in for some free time.

I recently had the chance to try out Kidoodle.TV for our family. Kidoodle.TV is a video-on-demand streaming service specifically targeted to kids 12 and under. It also has robust parental controls to give you the ability to customize what’s available for each child in your house and set viewing time limits.

The main screen of Kidoodle.TV in a child’s profile.

Signing up was a breeze, and it allowed me to create a profile for each child. (You can create up to 5 profiles per account.) Each profile can then have different customizations applied. You can select appropriate age ranges for videos, so your four year old isn’t watching Transformers Beast Wars, or your older kid isn’t watching preschool programming.

Profile setup

Beyond that, you can then look through the list of all shows available, and further customize, turning off shows you don’t want to make available, and turning on others that your child might like, even if it doesn’t fall in the recommended age range.

selecting shows manually

Once you’ve got the profiles set up, you can navigate to the website on your computer or launch the Kidoodle.TV app for iOS or Android, select the profile, and hand the control over to your child.

When you’re in a profile, your child can choose from any available video and watch it immediately. You then set up a passcode so that changes can’t be made to a child’s profile without the parental passcode. I also like that you can lock a profile to prevent that child from switching to another kid’s profile. (Mira, who loves to see what her sister is up to, doesn’t need to be watching all of the video options available to Cordy, for example.)

No changes made without permission.

The video controls are bright and easy to use, too. Mira had no trouble learning how to pause a video, start it again, and control the options available to her. There are a lot of different shows available on Kidoodle.TV, too. Some of the cartoons I grew up with are there–like GI Joe, Inspector Gadget and Jem–and there’s plenty of educational programming, including National Geographic, Zoo Babies, and In Space. I’m excited to introduce our kids to shows that we grew up watching, and we’re enjoying watching new ones together. But when I can’t watch with them, it’s nice to know they won’t wander into anything inappropriate.

This point is completely unrelated to the kids, but Kidoodle.TV is also useful for parent TV time. Give the kids your computer or mobile device for Kidoodle.TV while you watch the TV shows you want to watch!

So far we’re really happy with the Kidoodle.TV service. The selection of kid programming is good, and they plan to add even more great content in the future. We’ve found the iOS app is superbly stable for a video player without the frequent buffering slowdowns of other players. Kidoodle.TV provides a free trial, and then it’s $4.99 a month afterward. BUT…I’ve got a coupon code you can use for 25% off a 1 year subscription to Kidoodle.TV. Just enter this code on the payment page: BLOGHER25. This coupon code expires June 30, 2014.

Giveaway!

Not only can you use that coupon code for a big savings on Kidoodle.TV, but they’re also giving away $100 Visa gift card to one lucky reader!

To enter, leave a comment below to these questions: what devices do you kids use? Do they have their own or share with the whole family? You can also visit here to enter for a chance to win 1 of 3 iPad Minis in March and in April!

You can find out more about Kidoodle.TV on their website, Facebook page, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique terms in your tweet message: #KidoodleTVBH and #SweepstakesEntry; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US or Canada (excluding Quebec) Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 3/17-4/18.

Be sure to visit the Kidoodle.TV brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers posts!

Filed Under: giveaways, pop culture, reviews, sponsored

Mar 12, 2014

Not So Sick (But Possibly Sick of Math)

March 12, 2014 By Christina

Yesterday just after lunch, the phone rang and I recognized the elementary school’s phone number immediately. I answered and one of Cordy’s teachers was on the other end, telling me that Cordy was complaining of a headache, a stomachache and feeling like she could faint.

This hasn’t been the first time I’ve had a call like this. They’ve been somewhat frequent in the past two weeks. At first I thought the headaches and other complaints were due to Cordy’s new glasses. Since the correction for her left eye is so strong, the optometrist said she might feel a little dizzy or get headaches while adjusting to her glasses. In previous calls, I usually recommended that she take her glasses off for a little bit, maybe rest for 15-20 minutes, and then go back to class.

The most recent call before this one, Cordy said she wanted to go home. At that point, I was starting to put together the pieces and noticed a pattern. These complaints of headaches and feeling faint were all coming either just before or during her math class. Which means that feeling sick let her escape math class for a bit. Hmmm. So that time, I told her that if her head hurt that much, she could come home, but that if she did it would be best that she not watch any TV or play any video games that night, so we wouldn’t make the headache worse. Falling for the trick, she immediately told me that her headache wasn’t THAT bad, and she agreed to tough it out the rest of the day.

This time, though, she had added in the stomachache as well. The teacher put her on the phone so I could talk to her. “I feel really sick and think I need to come home, mommy,” she told me.

“Are you sure you’re really sick, and not just nervous about going to math?” I asked.

“Yes, I really am!” she insisted. “I want to go to math and earn all of my points for the day, but I don’t think I can do it because I feel so bad.”

We went through variations of this same questioning a few times, and I reminded her that if she was that sick that would mean she’d have to come home and go to bed – no video games, no TV. She thought it over. “What do you think I should do, mommy?”

“I can’t tell you, Cordy, since only you know how bad you’re feeling. It’s up to you.”

There was a pause. “I think I should come home,” she weakly murmured.

“OK, I’m on my way to get you.”

Cordy suddenly sounded less weak. “Great! I’ll go try my best in class until you get here.”

“Um, no,” I replied. “If you feel well enough to go back to class, I’m not coming to get you.”

“Oh,” she said, realizing her error. “You’re right, I should wait here.”

I told the teacher that I was on my way to pick her up, even though something still felt off to me. I didn’t think she was sick, but was instead trying to get out of her math class. But I also didn’t want to leave her there if she was feeling sick.

When I arrived at the school, the secretary told Cordy that I was there, and she popped up off of the nurse’s cot with a big smile and a hug for me. Again, she didn’t seem sick. When I told her that, she put on her best miserable look, and barely pushed out the words to tell me that she really didn’t feel well.

On the ride home, whenever I looked back she was all smiles, watching the scenery fly by on this sunny day. I reminded her that she had to go right to bed when we got home.

At home, she immediately hugged Cosmo and tried to play with him. I sent her up to bed, tucked her in, and told her to get some rest. I also took her Nintendo DS from her room so she wouldn’t be tempted to play it when I wasn’t watching. Then I went back to work downstairs.

A short while later, I hear her door open. Soon she’s peering down at me on the staircase, eyes bright with a wide smile. “I feel all better now!” she announced. “Can I play on the DS for a little bit?”

So much for being sick.

Clearly not sick.

I still wouldn’t let her have any screen time, but told her she could work on her homework or read a book. We discussed her symptoms from earlier, and she continued to insist that she wasn’t making it up, that she really did have a headache, stomachache and felt faint, but then felt all better at home. I asked if she thought she was just nervous about math, but she again insisted she wasn’t.

Maybe she was faking it all along. Or it’s possible she doesn’t realize her anxiety over her math class is causing her symptoms. I’m a little sad at the thought that math – a subject she’s gifted in, and does so well at when she’s not paralyzed with the fear that she’s doing something the wrong way – could be making her physically sick from worry.

We talking about her feelings and her worries, and I explained how a person can worry so much they make themselves feel sick, and that it’s not healthy to do that. We then discussed ways to help ease worrying, like picturing things that make her happy, or taking a few deep breaths.

I’m hoping that my talk with her yesterday will help her get past this. I don’t want her to see school as a place to run away from. She used to love being there, and couldn’t wait to go back each day. But this year she’s more resistant, and now trying to find ways to get out of school before the end of the day.

I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that there’s not another call home today.

Filed Under: Cordy

Mar 3, 2014

Keeping Myself Moving

March 3, 2014 By Christina

Since the start of 2014, I’ve been making an effort to exercise more again. I was a bit delayed with that goal due to my shoulder injury, but now that physical therapy has started, there’s no excuse not to get moving.

Last week was my first meeting with the physical therapist. Since having the cortisone shot in my shoulder, I’m not feeling any pain in the shoulder, which is great, but it’s still stiff. She had me try some basic movements and concluded that it doesn’t have nearly the same range of motion as the right shoulder, and is significantly weaker now. So I’ll be going to PT twice a week until my shoulder is stronger and more flexible. I’m hoping the cortisone shot won’t wear off during this time, since exercising pain-free is much better than the alternative.

The first session wasn’t too bad. She had me show her the exercises she asked me to practice at home. It’s funny how something as simple as a shoulder shrug can be difficult when asked to do it thirty times with a weak shoulder. I found myself laughing from the frustration of struggling through what should be easy movements – laughing only so I didn’t show how much it bothered me. I’m not used to having a part of me not working properly. I can already tell I’m going to be unbearable as I grow older.

One positive to come out of physical therapy is that it’s a mandatory upper body workout twice a week, so I can’t complain about that. I tend to not pay enough attention to my upper body when I exercise, so maybe this will start a new habit to spend more time on those muscle groups?

But I have also started running again, too. Back in January it began as walking on the treadmill. (Most of January was covered in snow here, so the treadmill was the safest option unless I wanted to actually ice skate.) While I was only walking in January and still getting out of breath, I gradually got used to it and started the Couch-to-5K program again.

I’ll be honest: it took two weeks to successfully get through week 1. I can partially blame the awful head cold that Mira passed along to me, but the other part was purely being out of practice. The legs were willing, but the lungs were not. It was disappointing to struggle through the most basic week of the program, unable to run all of the eight 1-minute run periods, gasping for air like a fish out of water.

It did get better, though, and on the second try I completed week 1 without any added walking breaks. I’m now on week 3, and I can assure you it’s not getting any easier. I’m up to running three minutes at a time, and I’m remembering how three minutes can feel like FOREVER when running.

I’m going to get through it, though. There are moments when I’m running and feel like I’m in a comfortable spot and suddenly all is right with the world. I can’t make those moments longer without pushing harder beyond them first. Now that spring is almost here (right, March? RIGHT?) I’ll be able to run outside again, too, and the change of scenery might help the training go faster.

And it is training. Because I’ve signed up to do a two mile runDisney Fun Run when I go to the Disney Social Media Moms conference in April. Not only will I be running, but I’ll be doing it in costume. I don’t want to be the one who collapses on the run, or comes in last, or just looks like she might pass out at any moment.

Hey runners – what do you do on the days when you don’t run? Do you do strength training? Another form of cardio? I’m curious what else I should be doing to make running easier for me.

Filed Under: Fitness, me me me

Feb 21, 2014

Even An Optometrist Appointment Has Drama

February 21, 2014 By Christina

Last week, I took Cordy and Mira to their first optometrist appointments. I know, I should have scheduled eye appointments long before now. But Cordy has only recently reached a point where she doesn’t have a panic attack in any kind of doctor’s office, and all of the tools used to look at eyes would have freaked her out in the past. The school nurse does a brief eye exam every year, and both kids have brought home 20/20 vision reports with no indications for referrals.

So, I waited until now. Partially my own procrastination, partially wanting to shield my child from more scary things as a special needs parent. After all, Cordy reads ALL the time – if she had vision problems, wouldn’t she have complained about her eyes hurting? But I have noticed recently that one of her eyes was turning out occasionally. It’s happened since she was three or four, but back then it was a very rare thing, and her doctor said it was common when little kids are very tired. (Which is primarily when we noticed it.) Now, though, I’ve been seeing that eye turn out more and more, not tracking in sync with the other eye.

The hardest part in getting ready for the appointment was convincing Cordy that an eye doctor doesn’t have any shots to give. Because apparently doctor = shots. I went through the whole process with both girls, explaining what they’d do and what they’d see in the office.

Cordy was called back first, and I went with her. The initial tests that involved looking into a machine and clicking buttons when she saw dots of light was a little frightening to her at first, but I convinced her it was a game and then she loved it and asked if she could have a second try to improve her score. Then she was taken into the exam room, where the digital eye chart was displayed and she was asked to read the smallest line she could comfortably read. She found this “test” easy and rattled off the bottom line, a line so small I had to work to read it sitting only a third of the distance away.

Yes, she brought a book to read while at the optometrist.

But then she was asked to cover up one eye and read it again. She covered the left and rattled off the letters on the chart again. Switching to cover her right eye, though, she paused. She then tried to cheat and partially uncover the right eye. The assistant asked her to totally cover the right eye, no peeking, and read the smallest line she could. Cordy squirmed and leaned forward, again briefly uncovering her right eye. That was enough time for her to memorize the line and repeat it back. (Sneaky kid.)

I called her on it that time, though, and asked that she try again with a different chart she hadn’t memorized. The assistant helped hold the eye cover in place to prevent cheating again. Cordy frowned, squinting and shifting around while staring at the eye chart. She then said, “It’s all fuzzy. I can’t see the letters.” We encouraged her to not worry about the smallest line and read whichever line she could. She tried reading the top line, and missed two of the five letters.

Hmmm…that’s a problem. So much for the school nurse’s 20/20 in each eye report.

The optometrist spent a good deal of time looking at Cordy’s eyes, confirming that she can tell there’s a bit of outward drift with her left eye. She also confirmed that Cordy can’t read much of anything from that eye. Her right eye is 20/20, and she believes her left eye was likely equal to her right until very recently, probably a year or two at most since it changed. How she was able to determine that her vision change was a recent development is beyond my knowledge, but I trust she knows what she’s talking about.

The treatment plan first calls for glasses, so Cordy can actually use her left eye for reading. At the moment, her right eye is doing all of the work, so it’s time to make the left eye do a share of it, too. After a few weeks of getting used to glasses, she’ll then see a pediatric specialist for the muscle issue. It’s likely she’ll need special treatment (probably wearing an eye patch for a period of time each day) to strengthen the muscles of her left eye to keep it from drifting.

Cordy’s reaction to needing glasses bordered on a meltdown. She yelled that she didn’t want glasses and wouldn’t wear them, because everyone would think she was a nerd. The optometrist explained that lots of kids wear glasses, and I reminded her that her parents wear glasses sometimes, too. “It’s OK for adults to wear glasses, but I’ll be a nerd and teased,” she cried. As for her friends who wear glasses? “They’re already cool, so they’re able to wear them without being nerds.”

The doctor made it very clear to both of us: she has to wear glasses, or her left eye will only get worse, leading to developing a lazy eye, and possibly losing any use of it. Well then, she’d going to wear those glasses, even if I have to use every method possible to convince her to do it.

I took Cordy out to the waiting room so we could look over the selection of frames while Mira had her eyes examined. I hoped that by giving Cordy some control in choosing her frames, she’d be a little happier about the process. She wasn’t. She tried on pair after pair and declared each to be “not that cool” and fell back on her fears of being a nerd. With every pair, she sniffed and frowned and grumbled that she didn’t want glasses.

Some of the pairs we tried on. She wanted me to take a photo of each so she could see what they looked like on her.

We didn’t find any pair that she was happy with, but there was a pair I thought looked best on her. I tried to convince her that they were the best choice. “They’re not blue,” she replied. “I don’t want anything that isn’t blue.” The assistant quickly whisked the frames away to check them in their computer, and returned to tell me they also came in blue. Bingo.

The assistant sat Cordy down to measure her pupil distance to place the order for her glasses. Cordy again began to cry that she didn’t want glasses. At the same time, Mira came bouncing out of the exam room, announcing that her eyes were healthy. The optometrist was right behind her, confirming that everything looked good.

“So can I pick out glasses now, too?” Mira asked. Unlike Cordy, she was excited about getting glasses, because to her they’re a fashion accessory.

The doctor laughed and then said, “No, honey, you don’t need glasses. Your eyes can see perfectly!”

And then Mira cried. Big tears rolling down her cheeks over being denied glasses.

I stood there, with Cordy on my right, crying that she had to get glasses, and Mira on my left, crying because she couldn’t get glasses. The assistant looked up at me. I sighed and said, “I give up. I can’t make anyone happy today.”

So Cordy will be getting glasses soon, which will hopefully make it easier for her to read and will start the process of strengthening her left eye. The kid reads for hours and hours a day, so I’m amazed she wasn’t complaining of eye strain with one eye doing most of the work.

As for Mira? I caved and took her to Claire’s. She now has a flashy pair of fake glasses:

Fake glasses FTW.

And she’s already forgotten them at school for most of this week.

Filed Under: Cordy, Mira

Feb 19, 2014

Castaway Bay: Escape Winter Without Leaving Ohio

February 19, 2014 By Christina

Are you done with Winter?

I’m a person who loves snow, but even I have my limits. The dry skin, the constant cold, slipping on the ice, dreading leaving my warm blankets each morning when the alarm goes off…there have been several times I’ve wished I could get away to a warmer climate for a few days. But Ohio isn’t all that close to Florida, so a trip to a warmer climate would have a hefty price tag attached to it.

The good news is that you don’t have to go all the way to Florida to escape the cold for a little bit. Our family was invited to spend two days at Castaway Bay recently, where it’s always 82 degrees with plenty of swimming and entertainment to forget about the snow outside. Castaway Bay is the indoor waterpark at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Didn’t know they had an indoor waterpark? Of course they do, and Cedar Point puts just as much attention to detail into this indoor oasis as they do their world renowned amusement park.

The outside of the resort gives only a hint of what’s inside. It’s not until you walk in the front doors and are greeted with a roaring fireplace and a pirate ship that you start to feel far away from the cold outside.

We didn’t want to waste any time, so we quickly checked in, stashed our stuff in our room, and suited up. (Bathing suits, that is.) The waterpark is unlike many of the other waterparks in the area. First, there’s one small entrance that has a staff member positioned to oversee everyone coming in and out. This narrow entrance/exit is ideal to prevent smaller children from wandering outside of the waterpark on accident.

Once inside, you’re immediately immersed in warm, humid air, with plenty of beach chairs all around to drop off your stuff. There are lockers if you’re daytripping it, but otherwise you can leave valuables in your room.

The deepest water in the park is four feet, which means there are few areas where an elementary school age kid could find themselves in trouble in the water. There are also more lifeguards on duty than any other waterpark we’ve ever been to. I felt incredibly safe letting my two out of my sight for a few minutes.

Cordy, who worries about everything, was immediately put at ease by how everything was so kid-friendly. While she refused to ride some of the bigger water slides, she was thrilled that she could touch bottom in the deepest part of the wave pool. She wore a life jacket to feel more secure, but then ran right into the wave pool without hesitation.

Learning to ride the waves. (And I learned I need a waterproof case for my phone to take more photos!)

Mira liked the wave pool, but she was also determined to find some thrills, too. She and Aaron rode the Rendezvous Run, a water roller coaster, several times along with other water slides. Mira also really liked the Cargo Crossing, using her upper body strength to hold onto a cargo net while crossing the water on floating boxes and barrels.

Even though the water may not be deep, there’s plenty for adults to do, too. The wave pool works for everyone, with a zero depth entry for babies to sit and play, all the way out to the four foot section, where even adults will have to work against the waves. There are water slides for all ages, too. Even Cordy tried out two of the smaller water slides in the Lookout Lagoon Family Funhouse, although she kept going back to the wave pool with her new-found love of the waves. It made me a little weepy to see her enjoying the water so much.

My favorite part? The hot tub. But this isn’t just any hot tub. In case you want to remember what you’ve left behind, the hot tub flows to the outside, too. We moved through the hot tub to the outdoor portion, and the kids were amazed that they were wearing only their bathing suits in near zero weather, with snow all around, and yet felt toasty warm in the water. It was so relaxing, even if my hair froze after being exposed to the air for only a few minutes. (It thawed just as quickly by leaning my head back into the water.)

In case you get tired of the water (how?), Castaway Bay has plenty of other entertainment for you. There’s a huge arcade with games of all types, including games to earn tickets for prizes. Kids can also check out Camp Castaway to work on crafts and activities.

Mira’s color-your-own beach towel in progress

There are also different daily activities, including a family movie night with Snoopy and friends. Snoopy is a frequent visitor around the resort.

There’s plenty of food, too: three restaurants and two snack shops can provide nearly anything you need, including gluten-free options.

Not only did they have gluten-free pizza for Aaron, but it was GOOD gluten-free pizza!

For two days away from Winter, we couldn’t have asked for a better staycation. Our room was spotless and comfortable, the waterpark had something for everyone to enjoy, and the other resort activities ensured we were never bored. Getting the chance to put aside work, homework, and chores, and instead spend some time together as a family was a wonderful and much-needed break from everyday life.

Castaway Bay is also a great value – room deals start at only $99, which includes the room and four waterpark passes. (It’s usually a lot more at other local waterparks.) Day passes for the waterpark are also available if you’d rather include it as part of a larger trip to Sandusky or Lake Erie.

If you’re short on time or a trip to a southern climate just isn’t in the budget, Castaway Bay might be the perfect mini-vacation to forget about the wind and cold. And if this weather doesn’t get better soon, we may need a second trip to help us endure until warmer weather arrives.

Disclosure: We were provided with a one-night stay, including waterpark passes and one meal. Travel and other expenses (like my kids insisting they needed to win a stuffed animal in the arcade) were not compensated. As always, all opinions expressed here are my own, and your mileage may vary. Thanks to Cedar Point and Lake Erie Shores & Islands for a great trip!

Filed Under: local fun, reviews