#HPFamilyTime

#HPFamilyTime Prize Pack Giveaway

October 14, 2013 By Lena

Note: The following giveaway is open to Canadians only.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been chatting about the awesome family projects that we’ve taken on thanks to our brand new HP ENVY Rove 20 Mobile All-in-One Desktop PC and HP ENVY 5530 e-All-in-One Printer, courtesy of HP Canada. In case you missed out on all the fun, catch up on the following blog posts:

Brain Training 101: A Clever Way to Entertain Kiddos
Brain Training 101: Creative IQ
HP Family Time for THAT Mom

Of course, you didn’t really think I’d have all the fun and leave you out, did you? No way! The good folks at HP Canada have put together the following AH-MAZING prize pack, valued at over $400:

Included in the prize pack is the brand new Slate⁷ tablet, ENVY 5530 e-All-in-One printer and HP Printing Supplies Kit containing an HP 61XL Black Ink and Tri-colour Ink Cartridge, HP Inkjet Paper and HP Photo Paper.

To enter, simply fill the form below with your qualifying entries. Good luck everybody!…

HP Family Time for THAT Mom

October 14, 2013 By Lena

In some ways, I feel like I’m “outing” myself here, but in reality, I’m sure my readers have cottoned onto me a long time ago: I’m THAT mom.

I’m that mom who cringes when asked to look after a friend’s kids. Some days, I can barely stand my own offspring, leave alone kids that I’m forced to be nice to in an effort to appear like a normal, caring maternal figure. The truth is, I like children in small doses. Say, 10-minute doses.

I’m that mom who sighs when her child asks for another bedtime story. I’ve got a gazillion things on my mind right now, and if I have to read about an inane rabbit in an inane wonderland one more time, I may hurt myself. Every time I turn the dog-eared pages of my son’s favourite story, I make a mental note to search for a nanny-for-hire service.

I’m that mom who ushers the kids in front of the television while I cook dinner, hollering threats from time to time as the boys jump on the couch while the pasta sauce bubbles on the stove. But then I quickly look on the bright side – the fact that I have two boys who mostly amuse each other and give me a hall pass from parenting, at least before bedtime. It’s a well known fact that the only reason I had Reid is so that Ryder would leave me alone. Score 1 – Me.

I’m that mom who loves her kids fiercely, but on the whole, has a hard time connecting with them. Perhaps it’s a lack of patience, or a sensitivity chip that was programmed incorrectly. Maybe I’m just better with adults, and when my boys grow and mature and I can understand their world better, our relationship will take off from there.

I’m THAT mom. But I’m also that much more determined to be better. So I became this mom:

The mom who takes her children on family adventures that help to create lifelong memories.
The mom who works her butt off to show her children that ambition has limitless potential.
The mom who created a career that allows her to be present to kiss every boo-boo and unwrap every popsicle.
The mom who makes learning a priority – and makes it fun.

So I guess you can say, I’m that mom… and I’m this mom… and I’m just being perfectly me. And that’s that.

Now if we’re being honest, what types of family activities do I love? Simple – the ones that keep the kids challenged, entertained and out of trouble… and allow me to be off the hook after brief togetherness.

A few weeks ago, I introduced you to the HP ENVY Rove 20 Mobile All-in-One Desktop PC and HP ENVY 5530 e-All-in-One Printer. (Read my posts here and here.) And now, just in time for Halloween, I’m pleased to introduce you to the HP Snapfish portal, an amazing online resource chock full of fun activity templates for kids and décor ideas. HP Snapfish provides a free, fully-printable party décor kit, pumpkin carving templates, decorations and colouring pages. It’s so easy- just click on the activity you want and hit “Print”!

And so #HPFamilyTime just got even more awesome. Last night, I sat together with the boys and they selected a few colouring pages, in addition to a hanging decoration, straight from the HP Snapfish portal. As advertised, all we had to do was hit “Print” – of course, we printed our fun activities on our HP ENVY 5530 e-All-in-One Printer. …

Brain Training 101: Creative IQ

September 29, 2013 By Lena

Last week, I let y’all know that I’ve had the pleasure of testing out some brand new electronic toys this season. Courtesy of HP, we received the new HP ENVY Rove 20 Mobile All-in-One Desktop PC – read my review here – and the snazzy HP ENVY 5530 e-All-in-One Printer.

In addition to the super sleek tech gadgets, HP also sent us a copy of Creative IQ: Giving Young Learners the Creative Edge in a Competitive World. The book offers over one hundred activities contained within ten-themed chapters to help parents and teachers develop children’s Creative IQ; a concept they have defined as the ability to confidently develop and express creative, out-of-the-box solutions to challenges relating to every aspect of life. The activities involve art, music, drama, creative movement, cooking, science, mathematics and fitness.

Well, since I have two little guys who love to learn, we dove right into some of the Brain Training Challenges, including “My Dream Bedroom”, which fosters Design and Categorization Skills.

“This activity will allow kids to draw their ideal bedroom with a pencil, black marker, or crayon. Photocopy the bedroom design several times with the ENVY 5530 e-All-in-One so that young learners can experiment with different colours to see which combination looks best. Challenge: Ask the children to identify each of the colours used as a primary, secondary or tertiary colour, thus helping to build their classification skills.”

Well, since Ryder was recently treated to a dream bedroom makeover, I thought it was only fair that Reid had a chance to create his own ideal bedroom too. However, we ran into the first roadblock right from the start; (1) Reid can’t actually create an intelligible design and (2) neither can I. Seriously, when God was handing out artistic talent he skipped over me completely. (Guess I’ll just have to rely on my wit and charm, eh?) Hence, after a few futile attempts that proved mildly embarrassing and majorly annoying, I turned to my good friend, MS PowerPoint….

Brain Training 101: A Clever Way to Entertain Kiddos

September 24, 2013 By Lena

‘Tis the season for back to school, and thus, ’tis the season for gadget reviews! Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of testing out some brand new electronic toys; specifically, a phone, an ultrabook and a brand new Mobile All-in-One Desktop PC. (Yes, I’m feeling très geek chic.) The truth is, even though I’m not a tech writer, I have a pretty good handle on what works well for my family, and hence, am enthused to share some of our favourite gadgets for the new school year. Let’s begin with the All-in-One.

Courtesy of HP, we received the new HP ENVY Rove 20 Mobile All-in-One Desktop PC. Touted as “the desktop with a built-in battery that leaves the desk behind”, your family can enjoy an all-in-one that moves with you. Stand the touchscreen upright to watch movies, then move it to the living room and lay it flat for group games and creative projects. Think of it as the king of tablets. And when I say king, I mean King Kong, because the 20-inch HD display is downright massive.

So, Ryder has been at school for just over 3 weeks now. And even though I feared he may have an awkward, fearful transition – he had been just fine. More than fine, actually; while he still shows signs of anxiety, he also shows excitement for going to class because he loves to learn. Reading, writing, math and art – you name it – he is utterly obsessed with gaining knowledge. And so we try to tailor the activities at home to keep the Brain Training alive; you’ll often find Ryder’s head buried in a primary reader, assembling 100-piece puzzles on the floor and always, always colouring. (And shouting at little Reid to colour between the lines.)

Last month, HP issued a Brain Training Challenge aimed at helping parents and teachers give young learners the creative edge in a competitive world. I was asked to perform a series of challenges with my boys in the first few weeks of school – a “kick start” of sorts to get their creative and analytic juices flowing from the beginning. Of course, I had the perfect tester!

Before I chat about the visually-striking, family friendly educational apps we tried, I really should point something out. See the HP ENVY Rove 20 Mobile All-in-One Desktop PC on my coffee table? Did you notice anything that’s missing? Oh, just the EXTENSION CORD – that’s right, with a built-in battery, my entire “home office” is now completely mobile! So when I’m not pounding away on the keyboard drumming up blog posts, the kiddos are watching movies online, playing games and ~~fighting over~~ taking turns with the apps I’ve downloaded from the Windows store….