Blogging is one of the most popular trends on the internet.  Blogs can be used as a personal or family journal.  Additionally, they can be used as a business tool or even as a way to add some jingle to your jeans (bring in income).  You don’t have to look far to find someone who has a blog.  In fact, it would probably be harder to find people who don’t have one.  If you are thinking about starting a blog, you have tons of options in regard to who to have host it.  Here is a list of just a few (THE BIG DOGS) but there are lots more.
 
Blogger.com is one of the most popular.  It is free, and very easy to use.The draw backs are that it doesn’t have video support, and can only have one author.  Beginers will not be overwhelmed, and find it easy to navigate. Professionals, however, should look into something a litle more in depth like TypePad.com. 
 
TypePad.com has more features that let you really costomize the look and feel of your blog.  They have hundreds of templates, widgets, and a podcast option. Of coarse, you have to pay for these luxuries.  TypePad has plans that range from $4.95-$89.95 per month to annual fees that go from $49.50-$899.50.

WordPress.com is the middle ground for Blogger, and TypePad.  It has a free plan, along with premium features that you can upgrade to and pay for.  Some of the upgrades are custom domain names, extra storage, and unlimited users.  WordPress has a cool feature called an Intograted Stats System.  It’s designed to give you up-to-the-minute stats on how many people are visiting your blog, where they’re coming from, which posts are most popular, and which search engine terms are sending people to your blog.  If you already have a blog and want to switch t WordPress, they can import your content from Blogger, LiveJournal, Movable Type, TypePad, or another WordPress blog. 

Image and the product being showcased is being provided by bloggertee.blogspot.com.

Kids now a days are better at using the computer than some adults. While most kid sites are innocent enough, you still have to be mindful of what your little ones are doing on the internet. Here are some kid tested, parent approved sites for kids of all ages…

Starfall.com ~ Is a reading website primarily designed for first grade, Starfall is also useful for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and second grade. Starfall is perfect for home schooling.

Aplusmath.com ~ Is a great tool for helping kids with math. It features flashcards, a math game room, work sheets, a homework helper, and lots more. This site makes doing math fun for kids of all ages!

NickJr.com ~ Is a fun site with lots of games and activities featuring the characters from Nick Jr. There is also a nice Parenting link that is filled with tips and even recipies.

Playhousedisney.com ~ Is a site filled with the Disney characters that we all know and love. Along with games, and printables, this site has movies for the kids to watch. It has videos for the little ones like Pooh Bear, and stuff for the older ones, like Hannah Montana. It also has plenty for the adults like  party planning and deals on Disney vacations.

The latest and greatest trend in toys are stuffed animals that you can log on to the internet with. These toys are usually priced at around 10-15 dollars, and can be found anywhere. The idea is that you can make an entire world based on your little animal friend. You can even interact with other friends and their “pets” online. These sites are fun, however most of them have chat rooms, so you will need to decide some safety boundries in the begining. Some examples are Webkinz.com, and also TY.com to name a few.

This is confession time.  Back in 2004, our computer crashed and we lost about 2 years worth of precious family photos.  Specifically, we lost 2 years of my precious baby/toddler daughter’s life.  We did not have backup copies and were devastated to say the least.  Today, photos can be uploaded to a photo sharing website of your choosing as a back up of sorts.  Rest assured, your photos can remain private.  Check out this video for more information:

Man, oh man.. has it really been over a month since my last post?  Yes people, our family computer has had some health issues and I conveniently used her misfortune to justify purchasing the laptop I am currently using.  Rest assured, our family pc will take back her thrown as Queen PC once she has fully recovered (hopefully early this week).

Anywho, touching upon an old post of mine.. the one about setting Computer Time Limits, it has come to my attention that we did not address the appropriate time limit for pregnant women.  My beloved sister Nikole has six weeks to go (until she reaches full term) and is in need of a little guidance.  Now I am not going to mince words or give an elaborate explanation.  The first figure of time that comes to mind is around an hour and 5 minutes. Here is the break down:

Nikole: 5 minutes

My unborn niece Maylee: 1 hour

Take it or leave it people. An hour and 5 minutes is my recommendation.

P.S. If your shopping for a new Family PC, please check out the following websites which occasionally showcase some SCREAMING deals:

FatWallet.com

SlickDeals.net

“Parental Controls” is a term that has been widely used to describe tools that allow parents to choose appropriate content for their children. Parental control software has been developed for everything from TV to the Internet. Safe Eyes falls in the later category of Internet parental control software. Safe Eyes is a flexible set of tools that allows anyone to determine the type Internet usage that is appropriate.

Safe Eyes Parental Control Software Includes:

Content Controls – Flexible content control allows you to select the types of website that are appropriate.
Program Controls – Control Instant Messengers, P2P File Sharing, and other harmful programs.
Time Controls – Control the amount of time spent online, and the times when the internet is available.
Usage Logging – Create and review logs of websites visited, programs used on the Internet, and Instant Messaging Chats.
Usage Alerts – Be notified instantly via email, text message, or phone call when someone visits inappropriate websites.

1-year subscription download costs $49.95.

Product and product description is being provided by internetsafety.com.

Did you just shun the post about limiting your computer time? You may want to take good HARD look at the Suzukaze (Cool Breeze) seat cushion.

“The built-in fan pushes over 170 liters of air per minute through the cushion, dissipating the heat and moisture around your buttocks that causes discomfort and sweating.”

This gizmo will run you a cool (and refreshing) $89.

Product and product description is being provided by kilian-nakamura.com.

We all know that the internet is addicting. There are endless ways to spend you time on the computer. From getting caught up looking at your favorite websites, to responding to email and just playing around. Before you know it hours have passed, and you have wasted your entire day. It is important to set limits on how much time is spent on the computer, for both adults and children. 

While I am not ready to limit myself quite yet , I will focus on time limits for kids. Kids should know up front that using the computer is a privilege, not a right. If they abuse it, the privilege is taken away. When setting limits, be strong and stick to your guns. Let your kids know that keeping the time allotment is a pre-requisite for using the computer again. Be prepared to intervene when necessary. If they won’t get off when time is up, simply shut the computer down. Be prepared for the mother of all tantrums, but don’t beat yourself up. You are doing the right thing, and one day they will know it’s because you love them. 

Here are some suggestions for age-appropriate computer usage. You can tweak the time based on your own family situation.

Babies (& Wives): There are a lot of websites geared to stimulate babies’ minds. Don’t go overboard though, 10-15 minutes is plenty for one day.

Toddlers: 30 minutes of play time is more than enough for them. Preferably the parent will be there helping them along, and making sure they don’t crash the computer.

Elementary Age: Kids this age are very capable on the computer. They can usually navigate from one site to another, and get by with minimal help. 30-45 minutes is a good amount of time. Be flexible with school assignments that may require more.

Middle School: An hour per day during the week is enough. Have them earn more time on the weekends if they feel that they need more. Homework is always negotiable, but make sure that is what they are really doing.

High School: Kids this age really do need to use the computer more, especially for school. Use your best judgment, but one to two hours a day should suffice. Again, homework changes things, and so time can be added to accommodate school assignments.

The internet is one of the necessary evils in life. If abused, it causes nothing but problems. However, used correctly, it is an invaluable tool. Setting limits is a good, responsible thing for everyone. Now get off the computer, and go do something else!

Best,

If you got into family blogging late in the game, your desired blog address was most likely long gone. You may have just settled for something like:

AwesomeSmithFamilyBlog.WordPress.com

Well, have no fear. An alternative to sharing such a lengthy blog address with family and friends is to register a custom domain name. On average, a domain name will only run you around $8.00 a year and the traffic it receives can simply be forwarded to your original (lengthy) family blog address.

For example, you may want to register one of the following variations using YOUR surname/last name of course:

SmithFamily
Smith-Family
SmithFam
TheSmithFamily
THeSmiths
SmithBlog

Also, these are the domain name extensions I would consider, DotCom being my first choice:

.com
.net
.org
.info
.us

I guess my point is this. My family blog’s current blog address is my SurnameBlog.com. Originally we had SurnameBlog.Blogspot.com however, having a domaining background, I just had to pimp my family blog.

Anyway, please consider our sister site www.DotFamily.org for all of your custom domain name needs.

Best,

Dad

Many blogging services, including WordPress.com, allow you to request for your blog to be unlisted in the search engines.

You can also choose to protect your blog so that only the members YOU CHOOSE have access to it. If your blog’s main goal is to communicate to family and friends and you wish to avoid any collateral damage to your privacy, please consider using such a feature.

Lastly, if you host your own blog, you can also set it up to be password-protected, or to be visible only to individuals viewing it from certain computers.

Best,

Dad

FYI: Our family blog is a private blog, and with good reason. Some of the stories and pictures my wife includes don’t cast me in the greatest light!

Please consider the Nerf Vulcan EBF-25 blaster – an awesome, fully automatic dart cannon.

Blaster comes with ammo box, folding tripod, 25-dart belt and 25 SONIC MICRO DARTS ammo and instructions. Value Pack includes additional ammo belt, 25 additional darts and shoulder strap.

PLEASE NOTE: Before enforcing time limits with this beauty of destruction, please check with your local law enforcement for clearance.

Product and product description is being provided by hasbrotoyshop.com.

Best,

Dad