In the comments of my last post about the sweet Motorola Xoom I’ve been test driving as part of the Verizon Wireless #MidwestMoms group, Katrina asked to see how big the Xoom is. So, since Katrina and I are old college buddies, and because it was, you know, a really good question, here ya go! (Also Katrina is very funny and you should check out her blog,   The Low Ryder.) The Xoom next to a Reader’s Digest for size comparison:

So, as you can see, it’s slightly larger than the magazine my grandmother orders me every year for Christmas. Very portable! It fits just great in my purse.

Now, I am not a HUGE fan of the kids taking over my devices – I don’t let the kids play on my phone at all. BUT, there is a time and a place!  And sometimes that time is when you’re climbing the walls waiting for some backup (aka the Husband to get home) and that place is the couch!  So, I am glad there are some great Android apps for kids available for the Xoom.  Here’s Sophie practicing writing her lowercase letters on a free app:

At night before bed, Bobby and Joshua play games on the Xoom. It’s a tradition! Both kids also love the kids’ books apps you can get for it. Their favorite is “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” by Dr. Seuss. It looks AWESOME on the Xoom!

Our family is really enjoying the Xoom in a lot of ways.  This past weekend when Bobby took the big kids to his family’s Cabin in the Middle of Nowhere That Has No Phone or Internet, he took the Xoom with him so he and I could chat on instant messenger and stay connected.  It was great and ever-so-convenient.  And while I was waiting on Sophie at her gymnastics lesson, I used the Xoom to make a dinner date, write emails, and get some online work done!

The Xoom is working for us, and we are loving it!  Oh, and as I write this, I’m using it as a Wi-Fi hotspot because our home internet is being DUMB at the moment. Lifesaver!

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Verizon Wireless hooked us up with a Xoom and six months of service because we sold them our firstborns as part of the Midwest Moms program.

As Emily told you last month, we are spreading our coolness around the midwest by working with Verizon Wireless’ Midwest Moms.  What up!?  I was rather excited at the beginning of September when Emily handed custody of the Motorola Xoom tablet we are reviewing as part of the program.  I had never used a tablet before and I was intrigued.  After two weeks with the Xoom, my whole family is lovin’ it!  Here are my favorite ways I’ve used the Xoom so far:

1) In the car – Emily shared with you how the Xoom helped make her family’s road trip successful.  Well my family had a similar experience on our way home from Virginia after Labor Day.  Having the Xoom in the car was awwwweee-some! Not only because the fast 3G Verizon service made using the internet and listening to Pandora possible, but because since the Xoom can also be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot, we could use more than one device at the same time! Yee-haa! It was pretty sweet.

2) In a waiting room.  Oh, Lord, do I do a lot of waiting on my children.  This week I used the Xoom to get me through the waiting times at Sophie’s HOUR-LONG gymnastics lesson, her OT session, and Joshua’s swimming lessons.  I can do biz-niss on the Xoom, instead of just waiting!   Anything I would do on my laptop, I can do on the Xoom.  Pay bills, blog, Facebook stalk people, tweet, play games, etc.  And it’s so nice and portable! It fits easily in my purse.

3) At home.  Last week the kids and I hosted a Yo Gabba Gabba party, and I took the opportunity to test out the Xoom as a video camera.  I LOVED using it to record the kids and their *sweet* dancey dance moves!  It is awesome taking video on the big screen, and it was so easy, I gotta tell you I am much more likely to grab the Xoom and take video with it than I am to dig out the video camera.  And, as you can see from the videos below, the Xoom’s video quality is great!  (You should really watch the videos. Joshua’s is only 12 seconds long and features the stylings of Cortney’s son Evan and the cool detachment of Celia’s son Will.  Sophie’s is 37 seconds long.  37 seconds of ADORABLE!)

I love the Xoom! So I’m linking up to Things I Love Thursday at the Diaper Diaries. Head over there to check out what others in the blogosphere are lovin’.

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Verizon Wireless hooked us up with a Motorola Xoom and 6-months of service.