Rock Star on the RoadL Rand McNally’s Car Karaoke

I love being out of the city.  The flowers, the sea, the incessant barking of the dog of the people renting the house next door.  Sunshine, fresh air.  Picking the herbs I need to cook instead of spending $1.50 a bunch for them, using only a few tablespoons worth, and waiting until the rest gets moldy or dried out before tossing it out.

What I don’t like, is all the driving.

Aside from the fact that all the time I spend in the car is one of the primary reasons I end each summer flabbier and fatter than I began it, is the endless tedium of sitting in the car. How many times do I need to hear that the Black Eyed Peas think “tonights gonna be a good night”?  Or that Cobie Caillat is so in love that it’s wrinkling her nose?  I’m wrinkling mine, too, honey, in disgust at the amount of gas I’m using and time I’m spending SITTING SITTING SITTING. (Does pushing the gas pedal burn calories?  I hope so.)

Notice I haven’t mentioned the kids?  Generally speaking, the bickering begins just as we reach the end of the driveway.  Lovely.

Imagine, then, how happy I was to get a distraction in the mail: Rand McNally’s Car Karaoke, part of their Boredom Breakers ™ series of car games for families. (Full disclosure:  they sent it to me for free.  Asked me to review it, but IN NOW WAY direct what I am going to say)

Rand McNally, the 100 + year old travel company mostly known for maps, just introduced a whole series of  games and activities to keep kids entertained and families connected in the car.  Since we don’t have a DVD players in the car (I know, I’m the last holdout) and my kids get sick when they read in the car or even play their DS, The Boredom Breakers™ games are perfect.  According to Rand McNally “The products are designed to bring families together, encouraging conversation, laughter and fun making the miles fly by for moms and kids on the go.”

They sent me Car Karaoke.  Here’s how they describe it: “Mom can sing lead and kids are back-up vocals.  Just pop in the CD with 12 classic rock, pop, and kid favorite songs.  Includes everything needed to be a rockstar: an inflatable microphone, rating cards, and three lyric books.  Choose from favorites like “Build Me Up Buttercup” or “Twist and Shout,” to see who’s got the pipes in the family.  Earplugs not included!”

Here’s how I describe it: hysterical.  My kids LOVE the blow up microphone.  So much better than a hairbrush.  Quite honestly, they don’t know a lot o f the songs on the CD, and don’t really want to sing the kid songs they do, but they use the mike for songs on other CD’s or on the radio (there’s a lot of wrinkling noses in the car) – and are surprisingly kind with the rating cards!  The only suggestion I would make it to include two mikes in the kit — one for each kid.

The quality of the singing on the CD is pretty varied — from quite good to bordering on torture — but you can choose to sing without the singers (like real Karaoke) and in any case, they sound better than you or your kids. (or at least me or mine!)

Truly, they could have just sent the inflatable microphone and the ratings card and it would have been just as good.

Still, it has helped to end the tedium enormously.  And from what they tell me, their other games help spark conversation.  Which, since they are trapped in the car with me, is perhaps the best time to get their attention and get them to talk.

Bottom Line: If you are heading out for a long drive this Labor Day Weekend.  Give these games a shot.  They’re not expensive (under $15,.00 for the Karaoke (why not Car-aoke?? I don’t know!), and they really might make being trapped on the road a lot more fun.

Rand McNally’s Boredom Breakers series of car games are on sale at Amazon.com and RandMcNally.com

I’m packin’ up!

Oy. For those of you who have never seen a Woody Allen Movie, gone to hear Barbra Streisand perform, or had grandparents who remind you of Billy Crystal when he does his old man schtick, “oy” is “oh boy” with a Jewish accent. It pretty much describe the way I feel right now. There are lots of different kinds of travel. Family trips with our kids or romantic rendez-vous without them, business trips and girlfriend getaways. I am on a different kind of trip. I am entering the full-fledged land of the grown up.

Read the rest of this post at Traveling Mom.com. And while you’re there, check out some of the articles about planning your summer vacation, saving money on trips, and lots lots more. I know I write for the site — but I’m not just saying this – there is A LOT of good info at TMOM.  Check it out!

Sleepaway Camp for Families? You Bet.

So last week on Traveling Mom.com, I wrote about camping.  Or, to be more honest, about NOT camping.  It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that — well, I don’t know how so I don’t want to.

So this week, I started looking for alternatives.  And here’s what I came up with: Family Camp.

Family Camp is sleepaway camp for everyone:  the bunks, the campfires, the mess halls, and games of spin the bottle (oh, well, maybe not.)  In any case, it sounds like fun to me.  Sleepaway camp was great.  I made lifelong friends, (I had dinner with one last night), I had my first kiss, my first lead in a big musical (at 11, I was Mary Poppins! Whoo!). I learned how to use a potters wheels and lost my virginity to a lake when I attempted water-skiing.  I even I found out that it was possble for both of your counselors to get knocked up by the same guy in six short weeks. (OK, so maybe it wasn’t ALL positive)

This time around, I’ll be Mommy.  No first kisses– and clearly the virginity thing is WAY over.  But I’ll be Mommy in shorts, no make-up, and using a communal shower.  Don’t ask me why- but I think I”m gonna like it.

Read more about Family Camps on my post on Traveling Mom.com

Only in New York…

This past Wednesday, I had a day that could only happen in NY. The first part of my day will reassure anyone considering a family vacation to New York City that Manhattan is a surprisingly friendly place. (Here’s my friendly native New Yorker tip: NO ONE who lives here EVER EVER EVER calls it The Big Apple. Never.) The second part of my day will convince anyone who is on the fence about this town, that coming to New York is a really really bad idea. In other words, I had the kind of day that epitomizes New York: complicated, surprising, diverse, friendly, and scary…all at the same time. So what happened? Click here to read the rest of this post on Traveling Moms.

Why I Love Skype!

I am LOVING Skype.  Read why, here. On my latest NYC Moms Blog post.

Longboat Key: The Secret to Staying (relatively) Young

The kids love the calm water

If you’re from the Northeast -and maybe even if you’re not – going to Florida means one of two things: going to the ultra-hip, cool, and trendy South Beach, or going to see your Grandparents.

Of course Grandparents-in-Florida means a lot of things:

• - polyester pants -
• canasta by the pool -
• early bird specials -
• really really bad driving
• women sneaking rolls into their purses at the diner
• constant discussions over the price of a can of Tuna Fish
• constant monitoring of every single piece of food you put in your mouth because your grandmother is obsessed with being thin and you’re not. Thin, that is.

Oh, wait. Was that last one just me?

Check out my post on TravelingMom.com

I’m TravelingAgelessMom at my new gig, as the Saturday blogger on Travelingmom.com. Check out my first post here:
Business Travel: The Good, The Bad, and the Yoga.

What A Trip!

I’ve been back from my 23andMe super-secret-special-project extravaganza trip for some time now.  I’ve been basking in the glory that was four days away from household chores, drop-off, pick up, and frigid temperatures. I did miss my kids and hubby, tis true, but it was a small price to pay for a little solitude, a bit of fun, and a whole lot of information about personal genome testing.

But my giveaway jacket is chocolate brown!

Since I am still bound by the 23andMe code of secrecy, I can’t tell you too much about why I was there and what I’ll be doing for the company.  I can, however, tell you that while I was there I scored an ENORMOUS amount of swag.  One of the cutest things I got was the little jacket pictured here (only mine is chocolate brown)., by wati design.  Sadly, it’s a size two.  Too small for my 8 year old daughter.  But that’s where you come in: leave a comment below, and you could win this gorgeous little embroidered size 2T blazer, sure to make any little girl look like a million bucks.  (Just make sure to leave your email so I can find you if you win.)

Keep reading and I’ll tell you more about the rules and regs at the end of the post.

Virgin America: The Best Airline EVER

Virgin America is, quite simply, the best airline I have ever flown. Clearly, the people at Virgin Airways do not know that in order to be an airline, you must be rude, inefficient, overcrowded, and have an aesthetic sensibility from 1972.
No – these people greeted me at Kennedy Airport with a smile….and not from behind a desk. The staff member walked over, helped me with my bag and shook my hand.
Then he pointed out the exact location of the gate, and sent me on my way with a “have a good trip” that sounded like he really meant it. It was like entering a parallel universe!
Then there was the plane itself.  No 70’s era synthetic semi=plaid fabric seats and fluorescent lights.  This plane was cool looking. Pink neon lights, a slick all-white walls, hip music, and leather seats – each with a touchscreen of it’s own that has tv, movies (for purchase), and even video games that you can play with the handy-dandy control  built into your armrest, but which comes out to be a remote control or game controller.
Even the safety announcement (and accompanying animated short) was cool: “for the .00001% of you who have never put on a seatbelt….”
When they needed us to buckle up, guess what they said? “Please sit down and buckle your seatbelts.” I don’t think I realized until that moment just how ridiculous the usual “the captain has illuminated the seatbelt sign. Please return to your seats and ensure that your seatbelts are securely fastened” line really is.  It’s some weird airline-speak.  Why do the airlines think they need to say things like “please put your tray tables in their upright and locked positions”?  There’s something vaguely demeaning about plane-speak — as if we can’t quite fathom the complexities of air travel without their special code. Virgin just says “Tray tables up please, we’re getting ready to land.” English, not plane-speak.  Hallelujah!
And their food service? Please, let the gods of airline travel heed the call: you order your food on the touchscreen, (I had a lovely mini-sandwich combo on artisinal bread) and a flight attendant just hands it to you. No cumbersome cart to hit you in the elbow as it rolls on by.
Pleasant and flying are not two words one utters too often in the days of three dollar charges for a bag of four almonds – but Virgin America – I was pleasantly surprised…no shocked…at how truly pleasant flying with you was.

That may have been my “very first time” but it sure isn’t going to be my last.

Mommy Blogger Roadtrip Shameless Promotion

In addition to my endless ramblings here, I also blog at NYCMomsblog.com. NYC Moms Blog is part of a nationwide group of blogger-Moms (including sometime guest blogger Katie Couric!) with sites all around the country.

Who knew there were that many women with that much to say? Oh, I guess anybody who knows any woman would know that we ALL have a lot to say!

Anyhoo – though I am deeply jealous, I am also truly thrilled to direct what meager traffic I may to the latest, greatest happening across the blogs: Silicon Valley Moms Roadtrip ‘08. It’s five moms, one mini-van, a cross country road trip, lots of opinions and a whole lot of blogging going on.

The women selected to make the trip will have to endure:

1. Each other. (Mostly, they don’t really know one another except through their blogs. Could end up like Big Brother — trapped in a MiniVan until they’re voted out!)

2. Constant media attention. Seriously, these women are going to have to look good A LOT of the time. They will be on video, on local news casts, and more. I don’t know about you – but the “I just spent twelve hours in the car without a bathroom break” look doesn’t work for me. My advice: concealer and a ponytail. Works wonders.

3. All of us. See, not only are they taking the road trip – we all get to comment on it along the way. Talk about backseat drivers!

Still, all in all, it should be a great ride. Plus, it ends in San Francisco – a truly fabulous city, where the women will join the Blogher conference. (And get some pretty fine swag bags, from what I hear!) And I do love swag. Really I do.

I’ve been reading these women for awhile now. They are funny, smart, and way more accomplished than I am. So I’ll be clicking along as they drive along.

Give ‘em a try.