Free Your Shipping with Amazon Filler

From Clever Mom:

It is almost potty training time here, so of course I headed over to Amazon to find a few board books for potty time reading. I discovered that there is a 4 for the price of 3 sale going on, so I picked my four books and went to checkout. I discovered that I was 8 cents short of free shipping. Eight cents. I did some googling, and discovered that "amazon filler" leads to websites with great ideas for cheap, cheap things to push your order ever so slightly into free shipping land. My favorite was a link to the Small Parts, Inc store.

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rs=16403521&sort=price&ref_=sr_pg_1&me=AIUBT5HP6PMAF&qid=1229469626&rh=n%3A16403521&page=1

In addition for Lift the Lid, Use the Potty, Too Big For Diapers, and My Big Boy Potty for my little big boy, I'm getting a copy of my favorite parent's book about potty training On Becoming Potty Wise and a pack of 5 Alloy Steel Hex Socket Set Screws M3 Black, 5mm Length, Cup Point -- all for $25.17.

Sex Education

The Washington Post's On Parenting blog has a post by Brian Reid that brings up a lot of important points regarding parents' responsibility to teach their children about sex. Specifically, what do they need to know and how early do they need to know it? It's important for parents to realize early on that they are primarily responsible for teaching their kids about this aspect of life on Earth.

There's a lot in Brian's post to be discussed. One idea that I picked up from a friend and absolutely love is to find a good, frank, candid, smart book about human sexuality and keep it on a low shelf. It sounds like this would be a great supplement to an open and honest approach to parenting, as anything your tweenage kid is too embarassed to ask you they can look up in a book you approve of instead of picking up bonkers urban myths from their friends.

Chocolate Cake Mug

From the "How Could Something So Chocolatey Good Be Wrong?" department: The Wired How-To Wiki has an article about how to make a tasty chocolate cake in a coffee mug using only your microwave and these simple ingredients:

Hot cocoa mix
Flour
1 Egg
Oil and water
Chocolate chips (optional, but amazing)

My wife and I tried this last night, and the results are gooey and chocolatey and satisfying indeed. If you aren't much of a baker, just make sure you don't overmix it. Beat the egg before you add the dry ingredients and then just stir until everything is wet.

We found that you end up with an aesthetically pleasing, dome-shaped cake if you use one of those Friends style, gigantic, round coffee mugs. I found one in a box in my basement, next to a dishevelled-looking David Schwimmer. He moaned something to me along the lines of, "Does Rachel want to get back together?" and I silently took the mug and closed the lid.

The Magic of Tractors

Our son has taken a liking to tractors, trucks, cars, riding mowers, and various other things with wheels. When we're out for a walk, he'll often point to passing cars and ask "Da?" to which we'll respond with the make and model. On a recent trip to great-grandpa's farm he was in heaven looking at the antique tractors. This led to the discovery of a great way to keep him occupied during those difficult, antsy times when we're all waiting for something or he's in a particularly squirmy mood in his car seat. Check the rack of free publications near the doors of your local grocery store for auto/truck/tractor trader magazines. The hundreds (thousands, perhaps?) pictures of cool vehicles in these magazines will enchant any kid who happens to be in an "everything with wheels is awesome" phase.

Frugal, Healthy Microwave Popcorn

Do you enjoy microwave popcorn, but are looking for a less expensive and probably far healthier way to enjoy this treat? America's Radio Sweetheart Jesse Thorn recently noted on the Maximum Fun weblog that you can make an easy snack by putting popcorn and a spritz of canola oil into a paper lunch bag and tossing it into your "radar range" for a couple of minutes.

For a little more initial investment, you can pop with little or no oil using a bowl specially designed for microwaving popcorn. I bought a Presto PowerPop a few years ago, and it continues to provide amazing popping performance. You should be able to find one for under 15 bucks. I use it without oil, then add some fat-free butter spray and salt after popping. Not only do I think this tastes better than what you buy in the bags, but you know for sure it isn't flavored with a cocktail of weird chemicals (that you didn't add yourself).

Review: Tamagotchi Connection V5

A couple of months ago, this product was sent to me for review. Since the PR firm involved in promoting this toy was nice enough to provide me with one, I decided to go ahead and review it despite the fact that my own kid is not nearly old enough to be in its target demographic.

Remember those Tamagotchis from years and years ago? They were little, egg-like electronic devices with a pixellated representation of a cute little baby creature on a black-and-grey LCD screen. You pushed buttons to feed them, play with them, send them to the toilet, etc. I never had one when I was a kid, but I knew enough about them to understand this Achewood comic strip about a fictional toy called "Click Robot". This V5 is pretty much the same deal, only now it's an entire family of little creatures in your care, and they've added some features as well as an online component.

The basic functions of the toy are cute enough. The little things dance around and play as long as you keep them happy. The games that you play with them are fun, but quickly grow tiresome as there isn't much to them. Sometimes they get bored and demand that you "train" them. This involves picking from three provided activities and then watching your creatures do it. I "trained" them to make a paper airplane, and their pixellated expressions conveyed just how much this blew their tiny tamagotchi minds.

I think this would be an okay toy for a kid who wants a pet but whom you think needs a bit more experience with responsibility before they can take care of something for which there are actual consequences for neglect. They toy is kind of fun at first, but after a few days of responding to occasional beeps keeping the things fed and happy it grows tiresome.

The manufacterer also provides a website where your Tamagotchi family can interact with other such creatures in a worldwide, online community. I didn't even attempt to mess around with this. If this were actually my kid's toy, I would be quite annoyed that it was asking him to spend additonal time serving his Tamagotchi overlords via online games, etc. I think the company would be better off putting more effort into making the toy a more robust, self-contained experience rather than luring youngsters into an online "community" as so many toys, TV shows, and breakfast cereals are doing these days.


It's good that kids are comfortable using computers - I think it's a legitimate way to spend time learning, socializing and being entertained - but I don't like when I get the feeling that a marketing ploy is trying to stake a claim to as much of a child's time as possible in order to build brand loyalty. Some kids in my neighborhood have been working on building a fort of some kind in the trees beyond my backyard. At first, I was just annoyed to see kids out running wild and making a mess. On further reflection, though, I thought about how they were outdoors, enjoying the spring, working with their hands, cooperating on something, and using their imaginations. I remember such play from my own childhood, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to run around like that.

Good, bad, or okay: Okay!

Get a Free One: Since I got this thing for free and my kid is many years to young to play with it, I'd like to give it away to a Clever Dad reader. Please comment below and include your first name if you're interested. I'll choose one of the commenters at random and announce the winner on this site. Then you can email me your address and I'll ship you this lovely, pre-played-with toy that has been chewed on by my toddler.

Mother's Day Approaches

Mother's Day is this coming Sunday in the United States, and Garrison Keillor has these words to share in his column at Salon.com:

She knows when you're in trouble. And you will get into deep trouble someday. Count on it. Someone will file a lawsuit against you and subpoena your e-mail and it will all come flooding out, your dark secrets, your nefarious dealings, and your friends will cross the street to avoid you and your brothers and sisters will fade into the woodwork, but your mother will still love you. Like an old lioness, she'll come running even if you're 2,000 miles away.

Reading this, it really rings true with how my wife and I have come to feel about our own progeny. When you meet your baby for the first time, he's a tiny, little stranger and you wonder if you'll ever feel that overwhelming love that so many people talk about. After a year with our boy, we're absolutely dedicated to being on his side come whatever may. We never knew we could feel that way about anyone besides each other.