Enter ActivityTree.com! This is a really neat resource. ActivityTree.com is a website loaded with information on kid’s lessons, classes and camps. You can search your area using the handy search engine feature, to look for thousands of activities in your location. I was surprised to see so many activities in my area– I had no idea! The results show all sorts of goodies: activity group information and descriptions, contact information, website links where available, maps and directions and more.

ActivityTree.com also helps parents locate information on kids scholarships for various activities and summer camps. And if you run an organization, you can register your group with ActivityTree.com to get your event or activity listed.

The whole thing is great. It’s free to use, and you just may make some new friends, too. Check out the Get Kids Active! Facebook Campaign on Facebook, too.

Here’s the “snowpow” coming through… ha!

The boys like to play King of the Hill, where the opposing forces duke it out on top of the mountain, to see which one is worthy of the honor of securing his address plaque to the mount….

We made some videos, too, but I’m too busy to edit them today. These kids are just hilarious! They must have inherited their wacky sense of humor from their father! I don’t dare publish my address sign on my blog– my neighbors might read this blog, and they think we are weird enough already! LOL

Sorry I haven’t posted here very much this week. I’ve been horrendously busy, doing a billion and one things for work like writing articles about everything under the sun, like honey locust trees, gas dryers, address plaques and etc, doing school with the kids, taking care of the husband who has been under the weather, and etc. But then again, YOU guys seem busy, too, with Christmas preparations and etc. I like the Christmas season, but I don’t like the busyness of it. It messes with the normal routine. I miss everyone’s regular blog posts and comments– it seems that everyone is away during this time.

Well, at least it gives me time to fool around with the kids in the snow, eh? Livvy took a jaunt out there, too. Hang in there, I’ll have photos!

My kids had something like these kids kitchens as kids. Actually, we had two of them. They didn’t have the Kid Kraft brand, but they had those cheesier plastic models. Kids kitchen are usually very durable. I always wanted one as a kid. I never did get one, but one year–I was about 7 years old– I got an electric Easy Bake oven for Christmas, from my beloved uncle. (He became my favorite uncle after that, lol). I was SO SO happy with it! But I didn’t have it more than one week when my brother put his plastic Pokey toy (from Gumby and Pokey series) into the oven. I didn’t know it was in there. I turned the oven on and Pokey melted all over the stove. It stunk like crazy– the memory of the horrid smell is burned in my brain– and my parents had to throw the Easy Bake oven away. I cried for a long time.

Oh well, I have my OWN real oven now. And my brother is NOT allowed to go anywhere near it!

A Play Kitchen is actually a great way to get the kids interested in kitchen work. Parents, it will serve you well when you need helpers to make your coffee and put dishes away, heh heh! My one daughter absolutely loved her little kitchen, and she is the main kitchen helper in the house. The play kitchen has served us well.

She worked all day, painting the trim in the dining room, so that I could work on my writing assignments (and boy, did I have a ton of them). The other daughter cooked and cleaned… and the boys helped with laundry and cleaning.

Gosh, my kids are amazing.

THANKS, GUYS!!!!! I love you!

I’ve been preoccupied with other things this week, however, to have had much progress the last two weeks. I took a business trip to New York this week; I’ve had multitudes of assignments and deadlines for articles, and etc. So as you can expect, we are extremely eager to get this project FINISHED. I only have six more weeks scheduled for it.

Yes, believe it or not, I DO know where every single one of these wires belongs...

It’s been very difficult on the kids and husband. And I am surprised how difficult it has been on me, too. I am the one who started all this… I fully expected it to disrupt our lives… but the kids are finding it hard. Oh it was OK the first few weeks.. but we’ve been without a working kitchen/laundry room/dining room for almost two months now, with one more to go… it’s tough. We had to pack up a lot of their stuff (movies, DVD player, Playstation console, books, and most of the toys and things from their bedrooms) so that we could protect it all from the demolition dust and so that we could have space to wire their rooms with electricity, finally. It was like getting furniture moving equipment and packing everything away for a move: everything is in boxes EVERYWHERE. Inaccessible. It’s stressful when we need to dig something out (like my income paperwork because the IRS chose NOW to audit my income two years ago!). I really, really thought we were prepared for this renovation… but honestly, it’s SO big and SO disruptive that all my preparations are futile. Face it. We must endure these 3-4 months and live in chaos for a while. It WILL be worth it, it will! But it’s really, really tough for them right now, which makes it tough for me. Most teens are too busy worrying about their acne and hair and pronexin… my kids are struggling with no electricity, and having plaster dust in their pores! I feel so bad. I want things to go smoothly, but it so out of my control. *sigh*

So as much as I am loving this time because my dream is FINALLY coming true after 12 years… it’s not a pipe dream. But I will be so happy to have the entire house electrified, to have clean central heating, to have the downstairs insulated… there’s still so much to do for the next few years (you should see the upstairs and the 100-year old windows, OY VEY!) but that will come. For now, we must grit our teeth and GET THROUGH this kitchen renovation!

Yep, I’ve managed to keep my kids away from the excessive electronica of our day for this long, but I’ve got a few sons who are suddenly into music. And cameras. And stereos. All we have around here is ONE CD player and one old cassette player (and I still have my old record player, by the way!). But problem is, we don’t buy CDs or cassettes anymore. Everything is moving to mp3 and digital files, and now that the boys like their music…. I guess I’m going to have to adapt. I am very comforted that they like good music, though– Hillsong, Kutless, Newsboys, Andres Segovia, etc. So while I do have to get them mp3 players, at least I don’t have to stomach the fingernails-on-chalkboard screeches of Metallica or anything. Whew!

So. MP3 player. Gosh, where do I begin?! They are expensive! $350 for an mp3 player, for a TEENAGER? That’s crazy! I don’t even have electricity in my upstairs bathroom! NO WAY am I getting an iPod or iPhone, NO WAY.

Ah, but looky here– an iPhone imposter! It’s at Buy.com and it’s very, very slick! It’s the V-Touch 8GB MP3/MP4 2.8″ Touch Screen, and it has a camera and earbuds, too. On sale right now for under $50, with free shipping. I love it, because it does everything a cell phone does except make and receive calls! (My sons have no need for a cell phone, but they like to play with mine because of all the features it has). The V-Touch has got a webcam, a digital camera, plays music and videos, has a voice recorder, an e-book function (very nice!), has a calendar, and more. I think this is perfect for kids, and not *too* expensive, either. It sure beats the $350 price tag for those other players. It’s on sale right now at Buy.com, along with sales on loads and loads of other stuff. I also use Buy.com for my household needs, such as small appliances and parts, garden supplies, etc. I love Buy.com! And I think my kids will love Buy.com, too. This gadget is definitely going on the Wish List!

They are all good brushers, but when it comes to flossing…. the boys are not too keen on it.. It’s a tedious, boring task, I know. But still, it must be done! I try to give the kids every thing I can to make the task a little less tedious.

One cool tool I have discovered is DenTek’s Fun Flossers. Even my older kids like them! They have a strip of floss on a colorful, grippy handle, and are angled to reach all the teeth– they are the perfect kids floss tool. So even the boys will use them. It took some haggling to convince them— we made a cute video about our Flossing Foibles… take a peek! It looks like the Fun Flossers really are fun!

Now isn’t that cute!! The kids have such a good sense of humor!!

Check out DenTek. Kids like colorful (and easy to do) stuff, so if you’ve been having a hassle getting them to floss, DenTek will help!

Remember, I’m a pro-blogger and I am sometimes compensated with stuff or money to review products! This was one of them. You can read more about my blog policy on my “About Us” page.

But some stores do make the shopping experience fun. I try to shop as much as I can online, too. GREAT DEALS are online, people! Here’s a premier online store with some of the best outdoor clothing and school gear I’ve seen: Webtogs.co.uk. They are based in the UK, and are having an end of summer sale with great prices. Messenger bags are a very hot commodity (plus they are SO convenient). I saw this bag, here. Wouldn’t it be perfect for one of the girls? I love it! And I think messenger bags are better than backpacks– less strain on the back, they are big enough for books, and they are padded to hold netbooks and laptops.

If you’re looking for superior, quality clothing, footwear, camping equipment, backpacks and carrying bags, clothing accessories for active kids, and more, you really should look at what Webtogs.co.uk has to offer. And on top of their end of summer sale, they are offering free shipping across EU. They also have a 60-day ZERO Hassle Return policy. Their inventory is great– perfect for the active family, the outdoor family, or for those who just want to ooze style and coolness for school. Check out Webtogs.co.uk!

Over the holidays, we got some fancy-schmancy toothbrushes for two of the kids. The Oral B Triumph with SmartGuide toothbrush, and the Oral B Pulsonic. Both toothbrushes come highly rated by our dentists and orthodondist’s office. I decided to try them out, and gave the Oral B Pulsonic to my 16 year old daughter (who wears braces) and the Oral B Triumph to my 12 year-old son, a reluctant brusher. I’ll review my son’s Triumph toothbrush in this post, and give my opinion about my daughter’s Pulsonic in a future one.

First off, I want to say that I am a freak of a mom, when it comes to brushing. The Wrath of Mother may come down from the Heavens if my children do not brush with frenetic fervor. You see, I had terrible dental hygiene as a kid. I rarely brushed, didn’t see a dentist until my late teens and subsequently I have seven teeth missing from my set (and a gold crowned tooth, which is very cool to show off to kids, lol). ANYWAY, as a mom I was determined that my kids would not be in the pain and agony that I was– they were going to have good teeth. My two daughters have marvelously clean teeth (the 16 year old has never had a cavity). I slacked off with my sons (too much candy flowing around here) and they have had cavities. Plus, my youngest never liked brushing very much. It IS a dull chore, I know….

So… what do you do with a kid who hates boring chores like toothbrushing but loves electronic gadgets? Blend the two! That’s what Oral B did, and I have to hand it to them– they did a fantastic job with this toothbrush. No longer do I have to stand over the sink like a vulture, watching my son to make sure he does it right and brushes long enough. Oral B does it for him, and makes it fun to do. It’s really cute, they must have had kids in mind with this.

Be prepared for sticker shock– it’s $149 at Walgreens (but it is on sale right now), so it’s no cheap fix. Amazon has it for about $100, which is more reasonable. But it makes a very nice gift (and I do prefer practical gifts for the kids). And ALWAYS look for coupons, rebates, and promo codes before buying. Last I heard, there was a $15 rebate on this toothbrush, and things go on sale from time to time, too.

So this gadget is pretty high tech for a toothbrush. There is wireless signal from the toothbrush (when activated) to the timer box. This is the most amazing thing about the Oral B Triumph, I think. My son loads up the toothbrush machine with his brush (there are two brushes that comes with the package) and activates the brush. The timer box has a screen that shows how long you must brush and where. When you have completed that section of the cleaning time (30 seconds per area), the timer box shows what you must attend to next. This MAKES SURE that my son brushes for at least two minutes– no more guessing about brushing time, and no more guessing about what part of his teeth he cleaned and what he forgot. I have to say I just love this gadget! The timer box works as a clock when it’s not in use for the brushing time, too.

When the entire cleaning procedure is done, a smiley-face appears on the timer box screen (adorable!). And if you continue brushing longer, a winky face eventually shows up. It’s really a perfect gadget for the reluctant toothbrusher. We’ve been using this toothbrush for over 30 days now, and there has been a noticeable difference with my son’s teeth (and his breath). And most importantly, my son’s dental hygiene HABIT has been changed– from an “I don’t feel like it/I think I brushed enough” to a “This is cool/I know I brushed everything completely” attitude. And that means no more nagging and fussing for me!

Other little things about the Triumph:

• The timer display box tells you when you will be needing to replace the brush.
• The timer box also tells you when you are brushing too hard!
• The timer box can be handheld, but it comes with a small case that has sticky-tape on the back. You can therefore attach the case with the timer box in it, on the wall to save space. Love this!
• There are multiple brush attachments you can use, including a nice polishing brush.
• It comes with a travel case.
• The Triumph is completely rechargable– needs no batteries.
• The toothbrush handle is waterproof.

Definitely the Oral B Triumph is an investment, but worth it. And like I said, this would make a really great gift. There’s a website about the Oral B Triumph toothbrush. It has manuals, a gallery, information, etc. And there’s a good site here more about how the Triumph works. I found it useful. If I get this for myself, I’d need to read the manual, but my gadget-savvy son picked up on the toothbrush very quickly, without reading anything! This is really great for kids!! Thanks, Oral B!! Thumbs up from the Mecombers!

Stay tuned for my review about the Oral B Pulsonic for my daughter…

Hey, move over I have to write my post! (He’s pretty good– how do kids do that so well?!)

OK OK… this is an amazing and fun website. They have games, an activity center, articles and ideas for parents, a consumer services section, instruction manuals, and an area where you can browse some very cool toys. My pre-teen and teenage boys are into construction stuff, like MagNext stuff and the iCoaster, and at the MEGA Brands site they can browse through the different models.

MEGA Brand is well known for their toys for very young children, too. My kids have always had MEGA Brands toys; MEGA Brand stuff is very durable and very affordable.

Check out the site, it’s a great place for all ages. And you may want to bookmark it for when company arrives over the holidays- this site is kid-safe and will keep them busy for hours.

OK, I have to go now. My son wants to continue his game…. :S