book review - Stuff Parents Need

How to Make Clouds with Soap (Giveaway!)

April 8, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 80 Comments

Review and giveaway copies provided. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

I’ve got a REALLY fun and RIDICULOUSLY easy science experiment for you to do with your kiddos after school today. I’m going to show you how to make soap clouds. I found this super cool trick inside Dad’s Book of Awesome Science Experiments, a truly great book with 30 experiments that will be fun for the whole family, and that will help you teach your kids science concepts.

Let’s get started!

This is really all you need! I would suggest using a dinner plate instead of a salad plate, though. The soap cloud gets REALLY big! And there’s simply no substitution for the Ivory soap. The book explains why it has to be this particular brand, but just trust that it must be Ivory! 🙂

Get your child involved by having them unwrap the soap and place it on a paper towel-lined plate, and setting the microwave for no more than 2 minutes (1:30 was enough for us).

Then watch this happen!

Tim and I were every bit as excited as Darah as we watched the bar of Ivory soap turn into beautiful, fluffy cloud-like shapes. It was awesome! And for the frugal folks out there, don’t you worry…you can totally still use this as soap…it just looks a little different and probably needs a plastic bag to hold all its contents. Or you can just plop it into the bath and let the kids have a whole lot of fun and get majorly clean. I think it is worth every penny of the .75 that the bar costs. 🙂

As for the science behind the experiment, I’m going to leave that secret in the book so you can read for yourself. This is just one of dozens of fantastic science experiments you can do with your kids at home. We are enjoying Dad’s Book of Awesome Science Experiments and definitely recommend it, especially for the price (currently $13.74 or just $9.99 on Kindle!).

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of Dad’s Book of Awesome Science Experiments!

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of the page.

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Worth the Read: Stress Free Kids

February 6, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

I am often asked to take a look at books that are new on the market, and 95% of the time, I have to decline, simply because reading is something I don’t seem to have much time for in this season of life.

But a few weeks ago, I was asked to take a look at a new book from Lori Lite called Stress Free Kids and I immediately said yes. I personally tend to live my life with an elevated stress level, and I have already witnessed this rubbing off on my oldest, which of course, stresses me out. I knew it would be a helpful read for me.

I’m not finished with the book yet, but the fact that I”m halfway through it is very telling, considering that in a typical year I read 1-2 books, total. It seems that on almost every page, I’m finding something written that gives me some pause to think about the example I’m setting for my kids, and the simple steps I can take to make a really positive impact on the environment my family inhabits. Here’s one of my favorite “nuggets” so far:

“It is impossible for the pure, light feeling of love and the dense, foggy feeling of stress to exist at the same moment. If you can tap into the feeling of love, you will reduce stress” (p. 46).

I’ve got some great ideas now, thanks to Stress Free Kids. If you have a child who seems to be prone to worry, or if you are looking for ideas to help you and your children relax a bit more, I really think this is worth the read.

If you read it, I’d really love to hear what your big takeaways were. I’m hoping to blog about some of the tips from the book that I incorporate this year! I also want to recommend the Stress Free Kids YouTube page. It has some helpful videos on there worth checking out!

*Affiliate links included. I only promote what I love, as always.

Half-Popped: What We Are Reading This Month

January 8, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

I received a copy of Half-Popped for review purposes. All opinions are my own, as always. Affiliate links may be included.

Our four-year-old has a lot of questions about diversity these days, and I mean that in every possible way. She wonders why different folks have different color skin, different hair length, different laughs, and different shoe sizes. She is particularly interested, though, in the fact that different people seem to have different personal interests and preferences for activities and ways to pass the time. Basically, she is just really starting to grasp that people are DIFFERENT in a whole lot of ways, and that while it may seem overwhelming or even a little sad (especially when your BFF doesn’t enjoy playing something you do, for example), our differences are actually what make us special and what make the world interesting and even exciting.

Half Popped has been a regular read for us since Christmas. It is about Kenny the Kernal. He was only half-popped when the microwave stopped, and he feels like he isn’t what he is supposed to be because he doesn’t look the same as the other popped kernals. I think every human can relate to that feeling in some way. The feeling that you should be more or different.

Despite his own lack of confidence, Kenny seems to be a great cheerleader for some of his fellow snacks who are also feeling out of place. The book is full of funny illustrations and great examples of how we are so much more than meets the eye.

And in the end, Kenny even sees that for himself.

Half-Popped is a great jumping off point for conversations about difference, gifts and talents and what it means to be true to yourself. It is currently available on Amazon for $8.99.

Stevie Tenderheart Books: A Change of Heart Changes Everything (Giveaway)

June 17, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 50 Comments

I am fortunate in my line of work to have met many passionate people with great ideas to help make life a little less hectic and a lot more fun for parents of young children. Many of the products I review here are the physical representation of years of hard work, lots of dreams come true, and lots and lots of heart. Today I’m excited to share with you the work of an author, and he is perhaps one of the most passionate individuals with whom I have yet to work.

The author is Steve Laible and the books he has written are part of the Stevie Tenderheart series. The books are about a little boy who thinks his bed is the greatest place on earth, and he wishes it would go with him everywhere. He has some fun adventures there just by using his imagination a little bit. The books are very fun to read and most definitely capture the attention fo my oldest (who is almost 4). They are perfect for her, because they are filled with vibrant and colorful pictures, yet the content of the books goes far beyond that of a picture book. There’s more to read, so the story is more in-depth and we have more to talk about on each page. Additionally, each book has a companion coloring book, which helps your child get even more involved with the characters in the book and the message being presented, which is that a change of heart changes everything.

Aside from the books, themselves, having a great message and being fun to read, I think the mission of the author is what sets these books apart from the rest. Steve Laible is currently working very hard to contribute Stevie Tenderheart books to the Million Pillow Pledge. This is a campaign that places dolls and books on the beds of very brave children in hospitals throughout the country, as well as any place where there’s a child who might need some encouragement. Through the Stevie Tenderheart website you can purchase materials to be directly donated to many different hospitals, or you can specify exactly where you’d like your books to be donated. Steve will ship the books you purchase absolutely free to the place in the U.S. of your choosing. And he has worked really hard to keep the cost of the books very low for you (just $4.95 each!). What a gift you can give to a child going through a tough time. Steve is passionate about this cause, and wants Stevie Tenderheart to be a beacon of happiness and hope for kids all over the nation.

Additionally, Steve has big dreams to open a camp for children called Camp Tenderheart. You can read all about the vision and plans for this facility here. Isn’t it uplifting to encounter a person in this world who is working with so much passion to help create safe and healthy spaces for children to help them thrive? I’m so inspired! And I hope you will also feel inspired to help support this dream and to introduce children you know to Stevie Tenderheart. The books are really good, and so very affordable. Click here to check out all the purchasing options and consider buying a few for children you know, as well as a few for children you don’t know but who could use a little cheering up.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of both books (My Favorite Place to Be and Wait a Minute!)

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

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I received complimentary books for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Food for Thought: The Fast Metabolism Diet

June 14, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/The Fast Metabolism Diet

So over the past few weeks I’ve been reading a very “interesting” book. Can I just pause here and ask if you have ever noticed that people use the word, “interesting” when they really mean something else altogether?

I suppose I do mean something different, although I did really and truly find The Fast Metabolism Diet to be interesting. I also found it to be ridiculous, amazing, confusing and exciting all at the same time. I talked out loud at the author, Haylie Pomroy, frequently as I read about her approach to weight-loss. Quite frankly, it was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. And as someone who has been overweight for a few decades, I can tell you that I’ve read quite a bit on the subject of weight loss!

Haylie has developed a 28 day regime of mostly diet, and a little bit of exercise, that she claims will revive a sluggish metabolism. She switches up the kind of food you are eating every few days, and has a list of foods from which you can choose for each segment of the week as well as sample menus if you want to keep things as easy as possible for yourself.

I have to tell you, I found the confidence of the author to be a bit jarring, and perhaps even borderline obnoxious. With that said, however, I think that her confidence comes from a track record of success. She has had countless celebrity clients and has helped thousands of people not only shed some weight quickly, but also set themselves up for future success by getting their metabolisms to speed up a bit.

I haven’t tried out the program, myself, but after looking over the foods on the list, I can say that I respect the food choices she suggests. She cuts out any and all “diet” products, and she also cuts out processed, refined foods, as well as caffeine. She keeps to what appears to me to be a “clean eating” menu, and that is something I have come to value.

I’ve actually come around to a place where I’m interested in giving this diet a try for a month. I’m glad I took issue with Haylie and really wrestled with some of her concepts. She gave me a lot to think about, and ultimately, I don’t think her diet suggestion sounds unhealthy, so I think it is worth trying out. I’m always skeptical of any plan that promises you can “eat your way to skinny” but I think in the end, that’s not what The Fast Metabolism Diet is offering. It is offering a way to set your metabolism on fire AND to change your eating habits for the better.

Has anyone else out there read the book? Or even tried the diet? I would REALLY love to hear from someone who has and can comment on the impact it had on how you feel, physically!

Best Lift-the-Flap Counting Book Ever: David Carter’s 100

May 21, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

Lift-the-flap books are SO cool when you are in preschool. At that point, you are old enough to use care when turning pages and lifting flaps, and you are young enough to still be fascinated by what might be underneath each flap, even if you’ve already seen it 50 times. Or 100.

David Carter’s 100 is, in my humble opinion, the best lift-the-flap book ever! It helps a child practice counting to 100 by making the task simply irresistible. There are 100 fun things to count in this book, and each page has 5 items that are hidden under a series of flaps, just waiting to be discovered. Here’s an example of what a page looks like in the book:

If you’d like to see the entire book, there’s actually a great Youtube video that quickly runs through every single page. It can give you a good sense for just how much fun the book really is!

The next time I make a purchase at Amazon, I’m actually planning on buying another copy of this book (priced nicely right now at just $12.92). It will go in my gift closet to wait for the next birthday party we attend. It makes an EXCELLENT gift.

Have you recently discovered any children’s books that are just too good not to share? I’d love to hear about your finds and your favorites!

I received a complimentary book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Fantastic Book for Bloggers and Marketers: Return on Relationship

April 22, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 5 Comments

After my previous post about the fact that I only read one book each year, you will be surprised to hear that in the last 3 days I have read another book, cover to cover. What????!!!!????!!!

Well, it is a fast read, so that really helps. And the topic was super interesting, which is also very helpful. I dedicated some of my blog work hours to reading this book, and that was time well spent. The book is called Return on Relationship, and it is writen by Ted Rubin and Kathryn Rose, who both work at Collective Bias, which just might be my very favorite company to collaborate with on blogging projects.

While this book is ideally suited for businesses, there are still LOTS of nuggets of wisdom for bloggers to glean. Since my professional background has nothing to do with marketing, PR or social media, I am always eager to learn more about the ways people in these industries think (or should think) so that I can be a better compliment to them in my blog work.

Ted and Kathryn emphasize in Return on Relationship that we have sort of come full circle in the type of marketing that works. For a long time it was personal, individual, and relationship-based. Then it became about the spray and pray effect, where information was blasted as far and wide as possible, and customers were told what to think and how to feel.

Social media has turned the Mad Men marketing world on its head, and the smartest brands are devoting a lot of time now to individual relationships and to listening more. Only this time, when a customer is “listened to” (via Twitter or Facebook, for example) hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of other customers are watching.

It is intimate, yet magnified. And that means that you’d better get it right!

I read Return on Relationship with my highlighter in hand and marked several different things to go back to so I could chew on them more and let that wisdom sink in. For a book that is shy of 130 pages, it packs a lot of great stuff in there. And you can snag it on Amazon now for under $13 (or under $9 if you have a Kindle!). It’s a great read, and you’ll fly through it. If I can read it in this season of my life, you can, too!

I received a complimentary copy of Return on Relationship for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links.

I Only Read One Book A Year: What I Picked for 2013

April 12, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 13 Comments

When I think back on the last 15 years of my life, I spent a good chunk of that time reading. I was in college, and then on to graduate school. It was very normal for me to average 200 pages of reading material every night during that time of my life.

And ever since my 3 1/2 year old was born, my time to read anything longer than a blog post or a magazine article has completely diminished.

To the point where I usually read one book EACH YEAR.

In 2010 I read The Help. This was such a great read! And a powerful story about what can happen when women work with each other instead of against each other. Also….that pie!!!!

In 2011 I read Brene Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection. I saw Brene speak at a conference and in that 20 minute talk she gave, I learned several important lessons that I STILL remember and think about at least every week. The book was a great follow-up to her talk.

2012 was a banner year, because I read TWO books! Good Enough Is the New Perfect and When Did I Get Like This?. By this point, I was fully immersed in reading about balance, just how impossible it is, and the struggle to find a new way as a modern mom. I highly recommend both works.

For 2013, I have selected my book. I even pre-ordered it!

My choice?

Carry On, Warrior

This is written by Glennon Melton, who is the voice behind my all-time favorite blog, Momastery. She writes about just how brutiful (that’s brutal and beautiful) life is, and how we can do hard things, and how love wins. She makes me cry, but they are really fat, healthy tears. She is living her life unarmed and unashamed, and she is SO inspiring. If you aren’t familiar her and would like to hear more about her perspective, I recommend that you subscribe to her blog. If that’s too much of a commitment, then just read one of her most famous posts, “Don’t Carpe Diem“. That piece changed my life, people. Not exaggerating!

Glennon even made an adorable birth announcement for her book. And she didn’t say it was her baby. She said it was OUR baby. Love that!

image credit: momastery.com

Are you like me? Do you only have time to read little snippets of info here and there? Is reading a book a HUGE accomplishment for you in this season of life?

If you can only read one book this year, let it be Carry On, Warrior. If I don’t get to read anything else this year (and I likely won’t) I know I will have picked the best possible read for this season of my life.

This post contains affiliate links.

Making Friends as an Adult: MWF Seeking BFF Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

February 21, 2012 · by Tiffany Merritt · 40 Comments

Remember the good old days (college, high school and even grammar school) when making friends was as easy as walking down your dorm hall or striking up a game of hopscotch with someone on the playground? When we were younger, we had lots of time to invest in friendships, and we were constantly surrounded by people our own age. I’m not saying that there were never any challenges with friendships during these times, but you’ve got to admit, it was a heck of a lot easier to make and even nurture friendships than it is as an adult.

I’ve also come to realize that our friendship needs back in those “glory” days were also simpler. And maybe that’s part of the reason why we become so frustrated when our search for friends as adults doesn’t go as smoothly…we forget that we aren’t really looking for friendships born out of sheer convenience, anymore. That’s just one of MANY things I learned while reading a great book, MWF Seeking BFF.

This read by Rachel Bertsche chronicles a year-long experiment the author did to really put herself out there and find some friends after moving to a new city to marry her boyfriend, leaving her best gal pals behind SEVERAL states away. She set out to go on 52 different “girl dates”, and she tried just about everything under the sun to meet new people and see what it takes to form meaningful connections with others as an adult.

It was certainly an ambitious project, and it started to become its own full-time job. While what Rachel did is not necessarily what everyone needs to do in order to find great friendships, it does point to the fact that hard work and interntionality does have to go into the search. And you have to thicken your skin a bit, too. Rachel does actually get dumped/rejected a few times by would-be friends, which of course, is a blow to the ego, and I think what most of us fear to the point that we doing put ourselves out there at all. But you know what? For the most part, Rachel found that other women are really and truly excited to be invited to lunch/dinner/whatever with someone new. Don’t you feel that way every time someone reaches out to you?! It takes some courage to be the one doing the reaching out, but the payoff is tremendous. Even if the friendship spark isn’t there after all, you’ll still walk away with an acquaitance and one more way to feel connected in your city, however loosely.

It won’t always work out, but if you are willing to be the one to make the first move, the odds are SO much better that you are going to form some good friendships than if you sit at home, feeling sad that nobody will call/text/email you with an invitation. As it turns out, those women you are wishing would call you might very well be sitting at home doing the same thing! Rachel says, “Most women I’ve met with are similar. We all think we’re living in a world of grouches, so we’re too self-conscious to be the overly friendly one” (177).Overall, I felt very encouraged by Rachel’s project to put myself out there more. There’s really very little to lose, especially if you can withstand the occasional bruise to the ego (some people are just not going to be that into you, I’m sorry to say). I have been motivated after reading the book to follow up on several, “We should get together” email exchanges I have had with other women in town as well as just reaching out to some ladies I have met briefly and thought, “She seems cool! I wish I could hang out with her sometime!”

MWF Seeking BFF is a really fun and encouraging read. I’ve definitely taken some steps in the right direction since reading it, and I find myself thinking about what worked and didn’t for her frequently, and putting those strategies to work in my own life. I’d say the time I spent reading the book was a very good investment, indeed!

Buy it!: Right now MWF Seeking BFF is priced at a steal for just $10.20 on Amazon! That’s less than a lunch date would set you back!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a copy of MWF Seeking BFF!

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