My Daughter Loves Online Games

My daughter is old enough now to play online games and she's been thrilled with a few of the games I recently let her try out on our computer. I always take the time to thoroughly read the reviews of any games she'd like to play. I look for a few key things before I let her play a game, including a "G" rating. The G rating tells me that there isn't any bad language or unpleasant violence in the game and that it is appropriate for children of any age. I also try to encourage her to play online games that are educational in some way. Fortunately, there are tons of games now available that pass both tests.

I've discovered that my daughter loves playing any kind of game that involves animals. Is this something common to all little girls? She's just loving a game called "Kitten Sanctuary," where she gets to rescue a bunch of sweet little kittens from aliens. Of course, she's now interested in getting a real kitten some day soon! In the meantime, online games with lots of animals keep her satisfied.

Another game she likes (and I enjoy as well) is "Fishdom." She gets to design and stock an aquarium with beautiful tropical fish, then take care of them. The graphics are wonderful, and it's a pretty and relaxing game that is great just before bedtime.

We've set up some rules for playing online games that limit the time she can play each week, and so far they've worked really well. She knows she can play an hour of online games each afternoon, and we sometimes get some extra playtime in together on the weekends. Even her dad enjoys playing online games with us, so the games are really family activities!

The Best Cell Phone Plans for Busy Families

Many families these days are made up of two adults that work and one or more children that are involved in what usually feels like dozens of activities. In order to be able to stay on top of everything and stay connected during the busy days of life, it is important to have a good cell phone plan. Even if only the adults in the families have cell phones, it is important to have a cell phone plan that is affordable and useful.

The best cell phone plans for busy families usually have plenty of minutes and are useable during the day. After all, if a mother is at the grocery store and needs to make a call home to find out whether they are out of peanut butter, she shouldn’t have to think about whether or not she will be charged at a higher rate because she’s making the call before seven in the evening.

An unlimited local plan is often a good plan for busy families as long as they live in the same area as their close friends and extended families. Families that have relatives who live in other parts of the country should look for a cell phone plan that will allow them to make calls outside of their local area. This is especially true if long distance calls are often made from cell phones instead of the home landline. After all, a multi-tasking mom might find that the best time to catch up with her parents is on the commute home from work.

Some of the best cell phone plans for busy families also allow for shared minutes and rollover minutes. Also, look for a cell phone plan that will allow additional members of the family to be added on as the kids get old enough to have their own phones. In short: look for flexibility and practicality.

gifts for teens

So after getting toy gifts for the kids few weeks ago for Christmas, next shopping agenda ... gift for the teenagers for godchildren, friend's kids and family. You see, buying gift for tweeners (in between kids and teens, which is aged 10-12)and teens, the most difficult age group to please. Well, aside from teens tends to be choosy nowadays, there are so many nice (and pricey) items available online for their picking. For girls, buying fab items like statement shirts, designer bags, dressy shoes always the "in" or preferred gift item. But for boys, really difficult! There are so many nice, updated gadgets available on line such as MP3s, camphones, digital camera, ipods and CD/DVDs which makes buying and choosing even more difficult. Well, I guess to save me with all the shopping trouble (and buying useless and unwanted presents), how about giving them money envelope or gift checks instead for Christmas. Wouldn't that be a better option? Gives them more freedom to choose and shop for items they like. What do you think?

home improvement

Finally, our LCD tv already mounted on our red wall. This was hubby's weekend project. To have the TV mounted, and install the home theater surround system. Now happily I can say, mission accomplished. He even completed his task by setting up our old home theater system in our bedroom. Hahaha! Sinipag ata!

Actually, I've been begging hubby for weeks now to mount this baby. For fear of any possible accidents by the bratinella ... luckily, it survived and was unharmed while being exposed as a stand alone gadget. I guess Sam's too pre-occupied with her fave Kung Fu Panda movie from our bedroom (yes, we watch this movie everyday!!) thus she never bother to touch the new tv. Hehehe!

Now really, really happy. The family room (purple wall) already equipped with entertainment system as well as our bedroom. And lastly, our living room red wall now with my fave painting ... the Samsung LCD TV with the 6-speakers surround system. Another home improvement mission --accomplished!

Hmmm... think need to buy centerpiece accents too. The existing centerpiece accent kinda boring. Need to spice it up! I can't wait for our incentive release this week for another home shopping! :)

Family room picture to follow next post.

Birthday gift choices for hubby

My ever-patient, loving, generous and sweet hubby (Mike) is turning 33 this coming Monday, February 4.

Until now, I haven't decided yet what to give him as birthday present. For weeks now, I've been toying with the idea of buying him a new mobile phone. An Apple iPhone to replace his old Nokia communicator. You see, he carries two Nokia communicator phones everyday. One for his personal and the other unit, for business use. Lately, I want him to change his original and jurassic version, N9300. Aside from its bulky size, the outside cover looks old and battered. Kinda embarassing if he use it during business meetings... though according to hubby, this is his lucky phone since most of his business transactions were consumated here!

Anyway, any feedback on iPhone? How about compatibility with our current GSM network? Any idea how much an iPhone costs in Greenhills? I have a reliable company vendor that sells iPhone at P23K, is this acceptable?

My second option is to treat my honey on our upcoming vacation/anniversary at HK/Macau. Treat as in hotel accomodation and airfare ako taya!?! Waahhh... though I don't mind giving this as a gift. Mas tipid ito, but want to give him something tangible sana! Hahaha! Bahala na...But looking forward to our Macau anniversary destination. Can't wait to check out these great Macau spots...




Goodness...February is my most expensive month of the year. Hubby's birthday, Valentine's Day and Anniversary. Need all possible moolah-resources for this month. And I seriously hope my blogging raket can help me. lol! :)

New Baby

Nope, I am not pregnant… no new addition to the family!

But, got myself a new baby…. My new Nokia 6300 mobile phone! Yehheey! Finally, I was able to upgrade my phone after two years. Hahaha!

I am not a techie gadget-type person, but I love everything about this phone. Aside from its usual mobile phone function, it has integrated MP3 player and stereo FM radio. Nice camera with 2 mega pixel quality and 8x digital zoom. And you can take great videos too! Really cool, huh! :)

And best of all, it is very stylish, sleek with matte stainless steel finish. Elegant looking! Simple and easy to use and… very affordable too! (real winner for non-techie person like me, promise!)




So there you go…out of my frustrations to get myself new LV bag (still, no available stock btw!), I opted to upgrade my mobile phone instead. Hah!

Gosh! I can’t stop spending …mauubos ko na budget ko for my LV bag! lol.

Got better end of the bargain…

My plan to get iPOD video was stopped by hubby the other day :( After convincing and persuading him for more than three days, my grand plan of getting 80G iPOD was put to halt! Can’t believe it! The offer was too tempting … MAC books and iPOD’s can be availed at zero (yes, zero interest!!) for 12 to 24 months thru our company loan program! Incredibly great offer!

I would really love to get the iPOD! BUT, I was weak on defending my case why I badly need the sleek gadget! Hahaha! Here are my reasons:

1. I can store lots of music and music videos.
2. Tons of pictures can be stored and can serve as my portable album.
3. I can download my favorite tv series thru my iPOD ie: Grey's Anatomy, CSI series.
4. I can use it as a back up memory for my files on my laptop.

Duh-uh! Not too convincing enough!!

4. Try this... I even tried rationalizing of getting the iPOD for Sam’s Elmo and Barney videos. Hahaha! literally, ginamit ang anak! :)

But I think he really saw my true intentions…I just want the gadget because it really looks so cool and hip, lol. He even asked me…”eh, you don’t even know how to download music!” Darn… he got me there!

Surprisingly, he suggested that instead of getting the iPOD (which will be under utilized, anyway!) he told me to get the Samsung LCD TV I’ve been eyeing for the past months! Aha-ha! Did I hear that right? The LCD TV?!!? Gosh… he knows…and he remembers…he was listening after all! :) He finally said yes! Of course, getting the LCD TV means I need to do some budget tweaking! Hahaha! Nevertheless…I got the better end of the bargain. I asked for an iPOD… and was denied BUT, won the LCD TV instead! Hahaha! Ain’t that great deal! :) Super thanks, honey! I love you!

Hmmmmm…next question, where should I put the new TV and Home Theater? Our Bedroom or Family Room? Uhhmmm... need to put some holes on our red wall to mount that tv! (lagot?! hahaha!)

See the Samsung LCD TV I've been eyeing for the past 6 months! :)


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