Hi fellow parents, I am looking for beta testers for Brainfeed, my new iPad app. Brainfeed features educational, inspiring and entertaining short videos for children 7+, tweens, teens, and even inquisitive adults. Videos are selected to be age-appropriate, curriculum-based, engaging and visually stimulating. And the good part is the app provides a safe, child-friendly viewing experience free of advertising and inappropriate content. Brainfeed will launch on the App Store in February 2014. However, before I launch, I want to get feedback from parents and children to make sure that there are no teething problems when it goes live. As a thank you for testing the app I will give you a complementary 6 month subscription to the service, with absolutely no obligation once the trial period ends. If youâÂÂre interested in helping out, please send me an email at mark@brainfeed.org. If you want more information before committing please see my website at www.brainfeed.org. Thank you, Mark Hoffman mark@brainfeed.org Here is a link that might be useful: Brainfeed App

I have multiples of many types of emergency lights. I have some great battery operated led lanterns I bought at big Lots for $10 each, several of the headset led lights which are great for doing things because your hands are free and the light is on your work or whatever you are reading. I have the small led flashlights all over the house in every room. We have some big super powered led lights too one military grade, you can see for a mile with that thing. I have a collection of oil lamps, some antiques from my family some I have bought at various places, I keep several bottles of lamp oil in the garage. They are wonderful for lighting a whole room. I have many candles but I rarely use them for these types of situations. Candles are too dangerous. We also have a generator for the house or rv. Having lived in Louisiana with hurricanes, Oklahoma with tornadoes, and Texas with both I try to stay well prepared! You can always charge your tablet and phones in the car using a charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter, I have several of those in all the vehicles they are dirt cheap and available just about any where. Leaving a candle that is poured into a glass jar lit for hours is extremely dangerous they tend to cause the glass to Crack and sometimes even explode. I have a few that I checked and the glass had cracks in it and I never let them burn long time. The only ones I would ever trust are the Circle E candles because the glass is extremely thick. They are my favorite candles they are good quality and the best smelling, they don't trigger my scent allergies.

Dedtired- how do you like your new iPad so far? The 10.5" is intriguing but I wonder if it's more than I need so I was curious what you thought. I like the keyboard/cover too. I know how you feel about the mental exhaustion - this week I've been researching cell phones but when I discovered that Verizon will give me $200 additional off an iPad I figured I'd upgrade that too and give my 9.7" to my DDIL. She's pregnant with her first and may find the iPad handier than her big Macbook. As I mentioned in my other thread my son gave me an iWatch a month ago that's still in the box. So I envision moving into my local Apple store while I take their classes - luckily I have 2 Apple stores within 8 miles so I can spread my ignorance around a little. lol

Thanks so much for all of the input and suggestions! Moxie, I particularly found your link helpful, as I might not have even thought about checking to see which carriers support my phone. (Turns out, a good number of them do across all bands, including names I recognize like 3, GiffGaff, O2, and Vodafone.) We used a portable WiFi in Iceland and it was a godsend. I think a UK SIM card will be the more economical route to go for my trip, though, so will continue to pursue that route. Looks like several of you successfully use WhatsApp. I'm probably more likely to continue using Skype, as I don't use Facebook products at all if I can avoid it (just a personal thing with me, no need to expound on it here). In thinking this through, I'm hesitant to ask my US contacts to download an app if they don't already have it. Actually, I may need to explore switching my carrier (particularly if I can find one that includes talk/text between UK and US), and perhaps looking at getting DH and I on the same plan. My phone was not unlocked until recently, so this wasn't an option - but it is now. If, however, I keep my current carrier (which does not have coverage in the UK) and purchase a UK SIM from one of the carriers that is compatible with my phone, I remain confused as to how calls and texts between the UK and US work. I understand there's a charge associated, but how do I pay for the calls and texts? ETA: Looks like with some SIM cards, the cost of texts/calls from UK to US simply comes out of airtime credit and can be topped up online as needed.