10 Best Holiday Apps for Kids


'Twas the night before Christmas and across the map, every child was playing with a holiday app. The holiday season means festive parties, volunteering, family gatherings, and last-minute shopping—one seriously jam-packed schedule. That's why just like Santa, you need a bag of the best holiday apps for kids to use on tablets, smart phones and MP3 players, keeping little hands busy while you check items off your to-do list.

The best holiday apps won't only keep your kid busy, but these interactive games can help keep his mind sharp, and avoid a winter slide before school starts up again. Here are ten entertaining, educational apps—found on iTunesAndroid Market and Amazon—that will test your little one's reading, math, logical and spatial skills.
  • Snowman Math ($.99) Who needs to brave the cold to build a snowman? Skip the time it usually takes to bundle up your little one and let him build Frosty indoors with the Snowman Math app. Every time your kid answers a simple addition or subtraction problem, he'll add a carrot nose, mittens, coal eyes, or other traditional snowman accessories to his icy pal. Classical guitar, enchanting graphics and sound effects add up to seasonal fun with numbers.
  • A-Story-A-Day Advent Calendar Christmas ($1.99) Looking for an interactive Advent calendar without the sugar buzz? This app allows your child to count down to Christmas with a customizable calendar. Help him choose from holiday tunes and background themes to make this countdown his own. Each of the 25 days also comes with a different Christmas image and corresponding holiday book to read. You'll look forward to reading and watching as Christmas gets closer.
  • Cookie Doodle ($.99) Avoid a sticky mess without sacrificing tradition with the Cookie Doodle app. Boasting 199 cookie cutters, 24 make-your-own cookie dough recipes, 21 instant cookie dough flavors, 48 different sprinkles and 85 candy toppings, this baking app has everything your little baker needs to create colorful, mouth-watering treats for Santa—without covering the kitchen in flour. Your kid will learn some of the basic rules of baking, including how to measure and mix ingredients, that he'll eventually be able to use in the kitchen.
  • Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift ($.99) This Christmas-themed version of the popular game Cut the Rope challenges your kid to slice strings of lights, freeing holiday goodies to be scarfed down by Om Nom, a hungry little monster. Your kid will be so jazzed about the adorable graphics, lively music and 25 levels of puzzles that he won't even notice reaping the educational benefits of physics fundamentals and fine motor skill practice.
  • Santa's Christmas Village ($.99) Step off the Polar Express and enter the magical world of lights, elves, and workshops in Santa's Christmas Village. This app features 17 classic brain games with a holiday twist—including solitaire, Sudoku, word searches, and checkers—set to a soundtrack of holiday songs. Challenge your child to a friendly competition with multi-player games, help Santa plan his delivery route, or help your child create a melody by tapping on the North Pole's most musical bears.
  • Super Dreidel ($.99) Rousing games of spin the dreidel are a Hanukkah tradition, and the Super Dreidel app puts a modern twist on the classic game. Up to 8 players can challenge each other in three different speed modes; Traditional, Vegas or Turbo. A quick swipe with a finger sends the dreidel spinning, and the last person with gelt wins! Complete with different versions of the classic "Dreidel Song," this portable game saves you the trouble of hunting down a spinning top after the latkes and brisket are eaten.
  • Reindeer Match 'Em Up ($.99) Challenge your child's memory, concentration, and motor skills with this fast-paced game. Find Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen's look-alikes in Reindeer Match 'Em Up, a virtual memory game played solo or with a friend. Rack up bonus points by matching Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen cards in record time.
  • Grinchmas ($.99) The grumpy hermit who attempts to steal Christmas is back, but this time in a highly addictive app. If your kid loves whack-a-mole, he'll love playing the part of 'Mean Grinch' or 'Merry Grinch' perched atop Mount Crumpit, lobbing presents or snowballs down to Who-ville. Speed and accuracy are crucial as your kid races against the clock, all the while soaking up information about physics basics and honing fine motor skills.
  • PopOut! The Night Before Christmas ($4.99) This electronic rendition of childhood classic, The Night Before Christmas, is full of surprises! Based on the beloved children's story by Clement Clarke Moore, this storybook app allows your child to interact with everything on the page as the story is read. He'll get to do pull-tabs, spin-wheels and other interactive elements, bringing these classic illustrations to life. As he goes, the "Read to Me" function can help him practice phonics, as words are narrated and highlighted on the screen.
  • Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer ($2.99) Everyone's favorite little sleigh-leader is back! This digital book version of the 1964 Christmas special allows your kid to read the book in its traditional form, listen to the narrated version and follow along with highlighted words, or simply press play and watch the classic story unfold. With customizable music, original artwork and clips, this app is sure to warm hearts by bringing this timeless story of friendship and acceptance to life.  By: Lori Calabrese - Education.com

Life at its best!

Its been a while since my last entry on this blog. If my memory serves me right, that was back a couple of months ago.  Oh! Well!  What did I expect with such a very hectic schedule while working abroad?  I didn't even have time to check all of my emails and do other things while away, with life being so busy.

Anyways, God was just so amazing,  'cause its been awhile now that I haven't felt any stress at work, and the calmness I feel at my work place is pretty awesome now, to the extent that I even sneak time to browse the Internet and check some sites that offer great deals!  It's so weird, 'cause I actually have some time to browse the web at work, but at home I don't.   It's just that I feel so tired when I'm heading home, so all I wanna do is cuddle my pillow and fall asleep.


Oh! By the way, I bet you guys would be interested in something I just discovered.  Just earlier this afternoon as I was checking the web on my free time at work, I  found this dry ice blasting equipment for sale at a very affordable price. You can actually Click here for more products they sell, aside from the items I found earlier. One good thing was that fact they even have dry ice blasting rental too! So, if you think that it is too expensive to buy, you can try their rental service as it may suit your requirements for the time being.  But I would suggest that you browse their site and check all the products, services and some headlines they have, that will give you a clearer understanding about them, which could possibly just blow you away!


One last thing, for more information about them you can contact one of their dedicated customer service reps, so that you can find the answers or details you are looking for. Enjoy shopping!



7 Habits of Highly Successful Teens


For teens, life is not a playground, it's a jungle. And, being the parent of a teenager isn't any walk in the park, either. In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, author Sean Covey attempts to provide "a compass to help teens and their parents navigate the problems they encounter daily."
How will they deal with peer pressure? Motivation? Success or lack thereof? The life of a teenager is full of tough issues and life-changing decisions. As a parent, you are responsible to help them learn the principles and ethics that will help them to reach their goals and live a successful life.
While it's all well and good to tell kids how to live their lives, "teens watch what you do more than they listen to what you say," Covey says. So practice what you preach. Your example can be very influential.
Covey himself has done well by following a parent's example. His dad, Stephen Covey, wrote the book The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, which sold over 15 million copies. Sean's a chip off the old block, and no slacker. His own book has rung in a more than respectable 2 million copies sold. Here are his seven habits, and some ideas for helping your teen understand and apply them:
Be Proactive
Being proactive is the key to unlocking the other habits. Help your teen take control and responsibility for her life. Proactive people understand that they are responsible for their own happiness or unhappiness. They don't blame others for their own actions or feelings.
Begin With the End in Mind
If teens aren't clear about where they want to end up in life, about their values, goals, and what they stand for, they will wander, waste time, and be tossed to and fro by the opinions of others. Help your teen create a personal mission statement which will act as a road map and direct and guide his decision-making process.
Put First Things First
This habit helps teens prioritize and manage their time so that they focus on and complete the most important things in their lives. Putting first things first also means learning to overcome fears and being strong during difficult times. It's living life according to what matters most.
Think Win-Win
Teens can learn to foster the belief that it is possible to create an atmosphere of win-win in every relationship. This habit encourages the idea that in any given discussion or situation both parties can arrive at a mutually beneficial solution. Your teen will learn to celebrate the accomplishments of others instead of being threatened by them.
Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
Because most people don't listen very well, one of the great frustrations in life is that many don't feel understood. This habit will ensure your teen learns the most important communication skill there is: active listening.
Synergize
Synergy is achieved when two or more people work together to create something better than either could alone. Through this habit, teens learn it doesn't have to be "your way" or "my way" but rather a better way, a higher way. Synergy allows teens to value differences and better appreciate others.
Sharpen the Saw
Teens should never get too busy living to take time to renew themselves. When a teen "sharpens the saw" she is keeping her personal self sharp so that she can better deal with life. It means regularly renewing and strengthening the four key dimensions of life – body, brain, heart, and soul.

By: Education.com

Caribbean Vacation...

There's nothing more amazing than traveling around the world. Experiencing the cultures, lifestyle, traditions, practices, foods and geographical arenas of each place is one of the nicest things to do. You know why? Because you'll be able to explore the real beauty of nature and how great it is to be part of every living thing.

For some people they find traveling to be a hobby, or somehow the best way to relax and unwind from a busy life in the city. Some also find traveling to be the best way to explore every culture and the differences of each one. But most reasons why people tend to have a vacation is simply because they want to enjoy life at its best.

For that reason, if any of you are planning to have a break and would love to have a Caribbean vacation, I highly recommend you browse the web and look for cheaper packages that suit your budget.

There are several online bookings out there for your desired vacation, but be vigilant in choosing. One good thing about considering a resort in the Caribbean is the fact that it offers a variety of foods, accommodations, and some other options you may possibly get if you consider an all inclusive package.

So, if you guys are one of the few people who can afford to have a great and long vacation, then better to take some time now and spend it in the most adorable resort in Caribbean paradise and have a blast while you're there!

If you're in hurry and want to book a resort in the Caribbean right away I highly encourage you to visit this site at breezes.com and book your reservation for said vacation. You can actually consider some other place if you think the Caribbean is not your type. You can browse on their site and look for some for some other packages they offer at different locations. Enjoy the vacation!