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Hello Alexa!

For Mother’s Day, my husband bought me an Amazon Echo.  Better known as Alexa.  I love it.  He actually loves it too, he’s not much of a technology kinda guy but he finds her entertaining and loves that he can get music just by asking for a song.  Then there are the kids.  It’s like they have a new member of the family.  Seriously, it’s hilarious.  Plus, she’s a member of the family they think they can boss around which is a whole other story.

Alexa and the kids…

Alexa doesn’t understand my 3-year-old too much,  I think it’s because of the tone of his voice.  If he uses his “hulk voice” which is a deep version of his regular voice then she acknowledges him.

My daughter is starting to understand she can’t ramble on, she has to say “Alexa- play Let it go” as opposed to “Alexa, play that song I like from Frozen.  The one Elsa sings.  You know, ‘let it go, let it go’.”  I’m hoping it carries over to her not rambling when she is trying to ask me a question either…lol!

When we took our trip to Orlando the kids asked if Alexa could come.  I explained that no, she couldn’t because she doesn’t travel and what if we forgot her when we left.  They accepted that but weren’t really happy.  My daughter was telling someone we met that “we have a black girl at home, her name is Alexa…” I quickly clarified that she meant we have an Amazon Echo/Alexa at home and that it was the black one.  The poor lady she was talking to looked so confused.  I was mortified…lol.  She laughed through understanding my daughters’ explanation afterward.

We get home from Orlando and the kids run inside… Alexa! Did you miss us?

Fun Features

With Amazon Alexa, you can sign up for Amazon Music and get streaming for $3.99 a month through the echo plan.  You can’t beat that.  You have to sign up through Alexa, if you just go to amazon there will just be the individual $7.99  option (which even that isn’t a bad deal).

Try Amazon Music Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial

Alexa’s Skills

Alexa also has various skills you can enable.  One of those skills is that she can tell the kids a bedtime story.  These are typically funny, kind of silly stories.  My kids get a kick out of it.

One of my favorite skills that Alexa has is I can tell her to add something to my shopping list and she does, which then causes the IFTT app to add it to my “reminders” in my iPhone.  No more forgetting the grocery list for me or trying to remember what we’re out of!  I just have her add it when I come across the fact I’m out and then I’ll have a reminder for the store.  No more forgetting to write it down or losing my list.

I know there’s been reports of people whose kids have ordered expensive cookies and such through Alexa, and I did put a passcode on there just in case to prevent that but my biggest concern is the kids being misunderstood and getting an answer or song that isn’t kid-friendly.  So far, the only thing they ask that I wish they wouldn’t is for Alexa to play “oh my God look at her butt.”  I can thank the Sing movie for that.

Do you have Alexa? What are your favorite features?