My family and I recently bought an Alexa. It was not something I was rushing to do, but I was outvoted 3 to 1. After recently watching my kids scream at the Alexa to play JoJo Siwa’s “Boomerang” at a friend’s house, it gave me a window to what my future held.

Luckily, the screaming at our own Alexa and the fighting of who could scream at it first was short lived.

If you’re unfamiliar with an “Alexa”, it’s basically like a Siri, but instead of it being on a phone, she’s a speaker.

Below is a list of Alexa’s features as described by Amazon, as well as my (a mom’s) perspective:

AMAZON: All-new Echo (2nd Gen) has a new speaker, new design, and is available in a range of styles including fabrics and wood veneers. Echo connects to Alexa to play music, make calls, set music alarms and timers, ask questions, control smart home devices, and more—instantly.

MOM’S POV: If there’s one thing I LOVE about my Alexa, is how it matches my living space. I’ve mostly seen people with the black/standard version. When we went to purchase, we realized that for $10 more, we could get something a little more stylish that will look great in our living space. We opted for the Heather Grey Fabric design. And I couldn’t be happier. Other styles include Charcoal fabric, Oak finish, Sandstone fabric, and Walnut finish. Check out these styles here (and BONUS, today, it’s 15% off!).

AMAZON: Just ask for a song, artist, or genre from Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, and more. With multi-room music, you can play music on compatible Echo devices in different rooms. Echo can also play audiobooks, radio stations, news briefs, and more.

MOM’S POV: Playing music is probably our favorite, most used feature. It allows us to play all kinds of music and have epic, impromptu dance parties. It took us a couple of weeks to decide to do the Amazon Music trial (free for 30 days), but we kept asking for music that Alexa could not find, (frustrating) and we kept being greeted with her saying “would you like to try Amazon Music trial)…so far so good on that. Our Alexa is kept downstairs in our main living space, but we were sick of carrying it back and forth upstairs (we like to play music while we’re getting ready upstairs). To fix that issue, we did the Echo add on, so we can avoid traveling with the Alexa several times a day. It was just ordered, and hasn’t arrived yet, but I have high hopes for the device to streamline our household music.

AMAZON: Call or message almost anyone hands-free with your Echo device. Also, instantly connect to other Echo devices in your home using just your voice.

MOM’S POV: I haven’t played with this feature, but at first glance, do I want my kids to be able to call anyone in my contact list at will, at any time of the day? Moving on….

AMAZON: New speaker, now with Dolby processing for crisp vocals and dynamic bass response. Echo can fill the room with 360° omnidirectional audio.

MOM’S POV: The sound is really nice and I like how you can just tell Alexa to make it louder and she does it. Would these speakers pass Dr. Dre sound test with flying colors? I’m not sure. But for us, it will do.

AMAZON: Just ask Alexa to check your calendar, weather, traffic, and sports scores, manage to-do and shopping lists, control your compatible smart lights, thermostats, garage doors, sprinklers, and more.

MOM’S POV: We haven’t gotten this far into setting up our Alexa. We’ve played a little with setting up grocery lists and asking her about weather. As far as setting our garage door and sprinklers, I’d be interested to see how that works. I’m feeling more and more like Jane Jetson just talking about it.

AMAZON: Alexa is always getting smarter and adding new features and skills. Just ask Alexa to control your TV, request an Uber, order a pizza, and more.

MOM’S OVERALL POV: Alexa is fun and interesting, and adds a nice technological kick to our home. Am I totally blown away? No. I can ask her a question, and sometimes she either doesn’t know the answer, or misinterprets what I’m saying. So “always getting smarter”….good, because you’re not quite there yet.

Would I recommend Amazon Alexa? Sure! Just don’t expect her to clean your house or fold your laundry. But, she can provide some really kick ass music to motivate you while you’re cleaning your house and folding laundry. That’s something, right?

Do you have an Amazon Alexa? Tell us what you think! You can grab one here.

P.S. If you have an Alexa, check out this Facebook community of over 8,000 who share their favorite tips about the Alexa device. Just search @AmazonAlexaTips