*This giveaway has closed. Congratulations to the winners!*

My husband has always been into video games. I have too. I can still remember saving up my own money when I was 8 or 9 and going to the store to buy my first Nintendo system – the first one out that came with the duck hunting game and gun. Remember that? It’s no surprise, then, that my husband and I enjoy playing video games together and that this too has become a favorite family activity with our daughter.

However, there’s not that many games available that both entertain and are easy enough for her almost-five-year-old self to play. We end up helping her a lot when she plays games, even those that are supposedly for her age level. Which is why I was excited when I learned of the Sesame Street video games while I was at the Blogalicious 2010 conference. You’ve got Sesame Street characters like Cookie Monster and Elmo, educational games, and even a remote cover (or special pen for the DS version) to help children with their game play.

Our family received Cookie’s Counting Carnival for the Wii system to try out. Right away, our daughter was excited to play the game and couldn’t wait to put the Cookie Monster cover on the remote! I have to admit, I was just as excited and the fact that she was so engaged with the character and idea of it, automatically made me engaged as well. She was able to play the game by herself without much help at all. The mini-games included were appropriate for her age and of course, Cookie Monster’s guidance made the experience fun for her. By the way, have you ever seen Cookie Monster on Sesame Street’s Twitter? You get hilarious tweets from Cookie himself, like this one!

Anyway, it’s really no surprise that she enjoyed the game and as parents, my husband and I were glad that she was reinforcing many skills from preschool through a fun game experience. As adults, though, that play a variety of video games, it was hard not to notice a few things about the game that we wish were improved upon:

• The synching of the voices to the mouth movement was off. See the video below for an example.
• The remote cover actually made it a little harder to play for her. I think it was because it didn’t exactly fit the Wii remote, so it kept sliding around as she played. That may just have been our remote and/or cover; I’m not sure if all are the same.
• The reaction time from pressing a button on the remote and the game recognizing your choice/move was also a bit off at times. This made for very slight frustration on her part as she knew she had the right answer and the game didn’t recognize it!

Sesame Street: Cookie’s Counting Carnival Video Game for the Wii from Melanie Edwards on Vimeo.

Like I said, those are minor details that she didn’t notice while playing the game, but that we did since we’re into video game playing. None of that made for a bad experience in playing the game and each was easily resolved by ignoring it, removing the cover, and using it as a life lesson of “Sometimes things aren’t fair.” Luckily, our baby girl is strong and adjusts quickly, so she was not phased.

All that being said, how about you give the games a try yourself and see how your kids like them? The Sesame Street folks have provided one each of Sesame Street: Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure for the Nintendo DS and Sesame Street: Cookie’s Counting Carnival for the Nintendo DS. That means, that two ModernMami.com readers will win! Here are the descriptions for each game, as well as a video trailer with more information:

• In Sesame Street: Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure, kids head to the Zoo with Elmo, Zoe and their animal friends, as they explore fun games including letter identification, rhyming, letter sounds and color and shape identification. Kids can also explore fun Zoo habitats including the Aquarium, Savanna, Jungle, Wetlands and the Arctic.
• In Sesame Street: Cookie’s Counting Carnival, kids join Cookie Monster and Big Bird at a fun-filled carnival, through gameplay steeped in math skills that include number identification, counting, shapes and pattern recognition. Kids journey through the game in the many areas of the carnival such as The Grandstand, Midway, Petting Zoo, Food Court and the Arcade.

In case you don’t win a game, or need one for the Wii or PC instead of the DS, you can also take advantage of the 10% coupon code they’ve provided. Simply go to sesamestreet.org/videogames and enter promo code MOMMY at checkout. Coupon details:

• End Date: December 20, 2010
• Type of Discount: 10% off any Sesame Street Video Game
• Promo Code: MOMMY

Reader Giveaway

Two (2) of you will win a Sesame Street video game for the Nintendo DS: One will win Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure and the other Cookie’s Counting Carnival.

How to Enter

Required entry: If you’d like to enter this contest, simply leave a comment below telling us if your younger kids enjoy playing video games and if so, which are their favorites.

Extra entries (optional):

Each of the following will count as 1 extra entry. You’ll need to leave a separate comment for each entry.

1. Follow @modernmami on twitter.
2. Tweet the following: Win #sesamestreet #videogame at @modernmami for Nintendo DS! Ends 12/14 http://bit.ly/ssgame #giveaway #contest #sorteo #holidays #preschool
3. Receive post updates by subscribing to our RSS feed. You can do so either via email or through a RSS reader. Leave a comment saying you did so or are already a subscriber.
4. Subscribe on friendfeed and leave a comment with your friendfeed ID.
5. Like ModernMami.com on Facebook.
6. Write a blog post on your own blog sharing your favorite childhood video games or those your kids enjoy. Be sure to include details of this contest with a link back to this post. Leave a comment with your post link.

All entries must be in by Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 11:59 pm EST. Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be notified via email. (Please be sure to provide a valid email address with your entry.) Winner will have 24 hours to respond and claim prize, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: A video game copy was received for facilitating this review. No compensation received.

Photos and video game trailer provided by and used courtesy of Sesame Street.

Disclosure: In conjunction with hosting this giveaway, I will receive two months of personal assistant service from TaskUs.com and a 2-night stay at Hyatt Place.

What does every busy working parent need? Besides more sleep, of course – that’s not something I can help you with.

Take another guess. Go ahead….give up? Oh ok.

Personal assistant. Am I right?

I know there’s been many times I’ve said, “If only I had a personal assistant to…” – you fill in the blank. From keeping up with work, the house, finances, our families, and the many many responsibilities we have every day, maintaining your sanity can be hard at times. We work hard to achieve work-life balance in our lives and we need every little bit of help we can get. In fact, a recent national study conducted by Hyatt Place found that the number of Americans struggling with work-life balance has nearly doubled to 71% since 2006.

It seems that one of the reasons we’re having a harder time finding our balance is that we’re no longer splitting up our various roles. The average 2010 American is instead multitasking all day, every day. Some interesting stats from the study:

• 83% of Americans said they often take care of work matters from home
• 59% stated that they often handle personal matters at work
• 62% of respondents said they are constantly multitasking
• On average, someone working from home is doing five tasks simultaneously

Sound familiar?

To help with your busy multitasking life, Hyatt Place is currently giving away 2 months of virtual personal assistant service to 20 people. The service will be provided by TaskUs.com and you can enter through April 9.

But, you can enter for an even better giveaway right here. In addition to the 2 months of virtual assistance, you can also win a 2-night stay at a Hyatt Place hotel of your choice. Oh, and, two of you will win!

Giveaway

Two readers will win a 2-night Hyatt Place hotel stay and 2 months virtual personal assistant service from TaskUs.com

How to Enter

If you’d like to enter this contest for a 2-night stay/2 months service package, simply leave a comment below and tell us why you need a personal assistant.

For extra entries:

1. Tweet about this contest with a link back to this post and include @modernmami in your tweet. You must leave a separate comment with a link to your tweet for your entry to count.
2. Become a fan of ModernMami.com on Facebook and leave a comment on this post with your Facebook name.
3. Subscribe to this blog via email and leave a comment with the email you used to subscribe. (You can use the email field to do this instead of putting your email in the comment if you prefer.)
4. Subscribe on friendfeed and leave a comment with your friendfeed ID.
5. Write a blog post on your own blog sharing with your readers why you need a personal assistant and make sure to link back to this contest page in your post. Leave a comment with your post link.

All entries must be in by Wednesday, April 7 at 11:59 pm EST. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry. The winners will be chosen using Random.org and will be notified via email. (Please be sure to provide a valid email address with your entry.

Additional Contest Information

• There are no blackout dates for the Hyatt Place hotel stay.
• The TaskUs.com personal assistant service hours must be used by August.
• Official rules for the nationwide Hyatt Place sweepstakes can be found on the contest website.