Our Neighborhood Radio Shack Store is Packed with Options to Bring Our DIY Tech Projects to Life #LetsDIT #shop #cbias

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a #LetsDIT - Do It Together social shopper amplification for #CollectiveBias and its advertiser Radio Shack.

It's no secret how much every member of our family embraces technology.  With my husband working in IT, we are pretty well-versed in where to shop for our various tech needs.  Those needs can range anywhere from shopping for a new mobile phone to building a custom charging station to accommodate multiple devices per person for five people.  This DIY tech project was just one of the reasons we headed to Radio Shack last week.  We also wanted to checkout the Boogie Board eWriters we recently heard about (to replace those old magnetic doodling boards we finally had to get rid of) and to find out what options there were for robotics components and kits for our 10 year old son.  The latter is not something I think a big box store would carry, but I knew that Radio Shack, who caters to DIYers and hobbyists, would.

Our local Radio Shack store is not a big one, but it is conveniently located in the largest mall in New England.  You will be amazed when you walk in the store to see how organized the store looks, while still being packed full of product.  After the courteous associate showed us where the Boogie Boards were located and we made our color choices, we noticed that there were robotics kits for children on the shelves right above them.  Then we looked to our right and saw the colored SOL Republic headphone bands our son had been hinting about.  I can't think of any other store where I can see three things I would be interested purchasing without wandering through aisle after aisle.

A small store definitely does not mean a small selection at Radio Shack.  I think their secret is that they display only a small handful of each item and replenish them as they sell out, rather than giving each sku multiple spots.  As a customer, this is fine with me.  I never need to purchase 20 of the same thing . . . just one or two.  I also appreciate being able to see everything available without needing to conduct an extensive search.

Ultimately, we purchased two Boogie Boards and an HDTV antenna.  My husband has missed watching some games on TV since we switched to strictly streaming video.  We did look at components for building a custom charging station, but decided we weren't ready to move forward with it just yet.  We still need to figure out a few other aspects of the charging station to make it look organized and user-friendly.  The associate suggested we look for more ideas on RadioShack.com since their site offers free shipping to our local Radio Shack store or to our home on orders over $25.  We also checked out the robotics components where our son could build robots from scratch, but we decided against it for now since I'm not ready to trust our 10 year old with a soldering iron.  The great thing is that we can stop back for any of the items we didn't purchase that day the next time we're in the mall!

I remember shopping at Radio Shack with my dad when I was younger than my children are now.  It's almost like going to the corner hardware store . . . you can find everything you need for your latest project and get personalized and friendly service.

It is on my to-do list to return to Radio Shack to pick an associate's brain about getting our son started on DIY robotics projects before summer arrives.  I also need to check the trade-in values of all our old mobile phones, tablets, headphones, cameras, video games, and more online, so we can come back to take advantage of Radio Shack's Trade & Save Program (not available at franchise locations).  What better way to reduce our clutter and to pay for new gadgets on our family's wishlist?

Voice Rockrz Voice Altering Mic from First Act Discovery

My children are naturally . . . loud.  They enjoy being loud and seem to live for it.  They also love playing with musical instruments and pretending to be rock stars, so I knew the new Voice Rockrz Mic from First Act Discovery would be a musical toy that they would have lots of fun with.  In fact, I assumed that our oldest, our 7.5 year old son, who made an electric guitar video last fall, would have no problems rocking out with this toy microphone on video.  Well, he reluctantly agreed and then got stage fright, so I had to recruit our 4.5 year old daughter.  I played with our Voice Rockrz Mic and had a lot of fun belting out some of my favorite songs.  I would have done the video if there had been another adult around to tape it for me.

We received the Voice Rockrz Mic in blue, but it is also available in pink.  The blue set comes with the mic plus a skull bracelet (or a zipper bracelet) and a skull ring.  The pink set comes with a pink mic plus a skull bracelet and a flower ring.

At first, I was worried that our preschool-aged daughter would not be able to use the various functions, but she had no problems at all once I gave her a mini lesson:

• Press the "ON/OFF" button to turn the mic on and off.
• Press the "FX" button to hear a drumroll.  Then press it again to hear a crowd cheering.  This button simply alternates between these two sounds.
• Press the "MIC" button to reset the microphone back to just an amplifier.  You can use this button to clear out any voice changing effects before you choose another one.
• Tap the ring to the target on the back of the microphone to turn on the "HI-NOTE Effect", which changes your voice into a high pitched one.
• Tap the bracelet to the target on the back of the microphone to turn on the "ECHO-TASTIC Effect", which causes your voice to echo like you were on stage.
• Tap one Voice Rockrz jewelry item onto the target on the back of the microphone and then tap the other jewelry item to turn on the "ROBOT-RIFFIC Effect", which gives your voice a motorized robotic sound.

You can also plug an MP3 player into the mic so your child can sing along to songs by their favorite artists.  Unfortunately, the only MP3 player we had in the house was misplaced about a month ago, so we were not able to test out this feature.

Here is our daughter's singing debut video . . . 

She is singing "I Love Rock N Roll" by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts.  You will need to turn the volume on your computer all the way up.  Her voice was so tiny that the microphone only picked it up here and there (hence the subtitles).





The second I was done recording footage for the video, our oldest son ran around the house with the mic singing for a good hour or so.  All 3 children had a blast with it once they knew they did not have an audience.  I have to admit that both my husband and I had fun playing with this Voice Rockrz microphone, as well.  It makes my voice sound much less out of tune than it really is!

To learn more about this product, visit VoiceRockrz.com and Voice Rockrz on Facebook.  You can find this microphone, which retails for approximately $24.99,  at most major toy retailers, such as Amazon.com, Toys'R'Us, Target, Walmart, and more.

Thank you to First Act Discovery for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon and for providing a second product for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a Voice Rockrz Mic in Pink or Blue (Color choice is subject to availability).

Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Leave a comment telling me what your favorite song is to sing out loud. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1)  For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.


2)  For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3)  For 10 extra entries, subscribe to the First Act Discovery Newsletter (bottom of left sidebar). Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments telling me you did.

4)  For 1 extra entry, "Like" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here with the link to your Facebook profile.

5)  For 1 extra entry each, follow Voice Rockrz on Twitter and/or "Like" Voice Rockrz on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for each with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile.


6)  Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7)  Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8)  Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9)  Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, September 12th, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Look Who's Coming for Dinner!

Look who is going to make a surprise appearance at our house! It's BIGFOOT the Monster from Fisher-Price's Imaginext line. Our children have been fascinated by him since we saw him at Toys R Us recently. Now that the BIGFOOT the Monster television ads have been running, he is all our 3-1/2 year old son can talk about. What an enormous surprise it's going to be when BIGFOOT shows up at our house.

Please take a minute to watch this footage of BIGFOOT the Monster in the city of Manhattan . . .

Of course, it's the little BIGFOOT that will be coming to our house. I do not believe the big one will fit through our front door. Look for our review of BIGFOOT the Monster later on this fall.

Although we will be receiving a sample toy to facilitate our upcoming review, no compensation was received for sharing this video with our readers.

My Photos (W/E 10-17-09)

This week I am pleased to say that I have a little more variety to offer . . .

"Vampires Beware"

"Jump For Joy!"

"Shining Through"

"What IS That?"

"Radiant"

Thank you for taking the time to view my photos this week! If you'd like to play along or see more great photos, stop by to see Lotus at Sarcastic Mom.

Shop 'n' Share: A Picnic For Two

Last week, we had some time to kill while we were filling a prescription at Walmart. Since the kids were with us, we just had to stop by the toy section. When we got there, several of the end caps were filled with summer-themed toys.

We picked up this picnic basket set for only $5 (regularly $20). It comes with a little picnic blanket, a serving plate, two dinner plates, 2 forks, 2 spoons, 2 knives, and 2 tumblers. The cake was not included, but was part of another food set we already own.

Even though this is a summer-themed toy, I think it would be great for playing indoors on a rainy or snowy day. Not bad for $5!

Review: ERGObaby Doll Carrier . . . Just Like Mommy's

Since my daughter has a fascination with backpacks, it occurred to me one day that she would probably love to have a soft carrier for her dolls. It has been almost 6 months since I made it my mission to find the right doll carrier that was a good fit for my daughter, user-friendly, and realistic.

I found many slings that looked like the real thing, but I was not impressed at all by the selection of toy soft carriers out there. That was until I came across this ERGObaby Doll Carrier. This toy soft carrier looks exactly like the adult version for which ERGObaby is so famous. This doll carrier sells for just $25. I cannot tell you how many unrealistic carriers I saw that cost that much or more.



What I thought about our ERGObaby Doll Carrier:

1) I think the perfect doll carrier would allow my daughter to be active and to keep up with her brothers, while still being able to bring one of her dolls along for the adventure. This doll carrier by ERGObaby does just that. It can be worn on the front or the back. As you can see, she can do almost anything, including playing monster trucks, without worrying about her doll falling out or the straps slipping off her shoulders.



2) I was amazed at how similar in design and quality this "toy" was to the real ERGObaby soft carriers. It even has the genuine label sewn right in.

3) I love this sweet and girly Heartrose print. I do want to point out that ERGObaby recently added the Galaxy Gray Doll Carrier, which is gray with stars, and would be perfect for a boy or a girl. I'm glad to see that ERGObaby is including boys in using this toy carrier since so many men use their product.

4) I very much like that the shoulder straps are generously padded, as is the wide waistband.

5) My little peanut of a daughter will be turning 3 in January. We were lucky that the shoulder straps are fully adjustable on the sides as well as the straps at the waist area. The doll carrier fit perfectly when we adjusted the straps as small as they would go. This means this toy will last us for at least a few years, which adds even more to its value.

6) Although my daughter cannot yet secure and undo the fastener on her own, I think she will learn to do it over time.

7) Many of my daughter's dolls were much too small for this carrier. The 16" Cabbage Patch Kid is the largest doll she owns and it works in the ERGObaby doll carrier just fine, but I think this doll carrier would fit an 18" doll perfectly.

I think this is a unique reasonably priced high quality product that should definitely make it onto your holiday shopping list for at least one deserving child this year. This toy will be used for pretend play for years to come and costs half the price of a video game that may only be played with for a few months, if that.

You can purchase this doll carrier in 3 different prints right on the ERGObaby website. You can also find this product on Amazon.com and at many online boutiques.

Thank you to ERGObaby for providing us with a review product free of charge.

Review: LeapFrog Tag Reader Book "Pirates! The Treasure of Turtle Island"

If your child does not already have a Tag Reader System by LeapFrog, you should consider putting it on his or her wish list this year. My son Jake just loves his. Go here to read my Tag Reader review.

If your child does already have a Tag Reader, then you should be all set for gift ideas this year. Several new titles for Tag Reader books have been released for fall 2009. Plus, if your child's Tag book collection is growing, you may want to consider picking up the Tag Storage Case. This case securely holds the Tag pen and several Tag books. We only own four currently, but I estimate that this case can hold about 7 hardcover Tag books. I have to say that this hard shell handled case has been the perfect way to keep my son's Tag books protected and separate from the rest of our library of children's books.

Since there are so many choices in titles available for Tag Books, I thought it would be helpful if I could share my thoughts about the books that we have had a chance to experience. Look for reviews of additional titles in coming weeks.

What I thought about "Pirates! The Treasure of Turtle Island" (for ages 5-7):

1) The theme behind this books is the classic one of good vs. evil. What is unusual about this story is that the good side is represented by a family of pirates. One does not often think of pirates as being good and one certainly does not think of pirates as the type to raise a family.

2) One cool thing about this book is that your child can select a pirate nickname from several different combinations that will be heard throughout the book when your child is addressed. For example, one of Jake's pirate nicknames was "Blue Beard".

3) Some of the main phonics lessons in this book teach your child different ways to turn a short "A" vowel sound into a long "A" vowel sound. Another lesson shows your child the different vowel sounds a "Y" can make. Although there is not a formal lesson, there is a theme of words containing double consonants.

4) As with all Tag books, this book has some activities that are available in 3 difficulty levels. Level one is clearly easy for my son, but I he often sticks with it because he is comfortable there. I need to teach him that it's okay to challenge himself. This and the other Tag books are slowly showing him that.

5) Jake has used this book many times and there are still new things to discover everytime he sits down with it. That's one of the things I love about Tag books. They keep Jake's interest for quite a long time.



If your child has any interest in pirates, I think he or she would enjoy this book. You can learn more about this Pirates! Tag Activity Storybook by visiting Leapfrog.com .

Thank you to LeapFrog for providing us with a review product free of charge.