Bluum Box Customized Subscription Service for Infants-Preschool

June 16, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Thanks to Bluum Box for providing a box for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always. Affiliate links may be included.

I’m so excited to show you all the fun things that came in our recent Bluum Box for Layah! This subscription service for young children came very prettily packaged and was custom created not only for 25 month old little girls, which is pretty specific, but it also came with items that were perfect for the start of summer.

bluum box

I was TOTALLY impressed!

The box we received from Bluum was all about spending time out in the sun, and protecting ourselves from those pesky UV rays, as well as some fun ways to relax. The first item of note was KidZ BanZ, which are sunglasses that you can strap on to your child so they won’t fall off. Cute, right? I wish I could tell you that she loved them as much as I loved seeing her in them. Unfortunately, I can’t get her to agree to wear them. Bummer…they are an awesome idea, and they retail for $17, which makes them worth a good chunk of what the Bluum Box costs (you always come out ahead, price-wise, with a Bluum Box!).

But I can still get her eyes some protection (as well as the back of her neck!) with this cute sun hat which she WILL wear! 🙂 Darah has even tried to wear it, but alas, her head it just too big!

But she CAN wear the sunscreen that came in the kit. It’s from a brand I didn’t previously know (Purple Prairies Botanicals) and it is a mineral stick of sunscreen. Darah likes putting it on herself, and I like that it is water resistant. I will say that I personally prefer the spray-on sunscreens just because other types take longer to apply and to soak in, but I have used this sunscreen a handful of times and have been pleased with the protection it provides each time. This product retails for $9.99, so by the time you factor in the tax you would pay at a store, the sunscreen and the sunglasses are items your subscription price covered, and everything else (as well as shipping) was free. Not too shabby!

Other items in the kit included a great reusable snack container which has been going to school with the kids for their 2 day/week program, and the book Ten Little Monkeys (which we actually already owned, or else it definitely would have been a hit!).

Bluum Box Pricing

A one month subscription to Bluum costs $29, and we certainly received more than $29 worth of merchandise. But the price improves to just $25/box if you make a 3 month commitment. Up it to 6 months and your price is $23/box, and if you go all in and get a 12 month subscription, you get the very best deal, as each box will now only cost $20.79.

So I’m VERY seriously considering getting the 12 month subscription because I think the value is so high. If you have ever had a Bluum Box subscription, I’d love to hear from you about your experience!

Curried Pumpkin Dip: Rockin’ My Snack Time

June 16, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

This post brought to you by LIBBY’S Pumpkin. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’m not the world’s greatest cook by any means. And I usually leave the crazy experimenting to other folks, and just try their recipes once they perfect them. I let others take the risks and I just enjoy their yummy successes.

But a few days ago, I decided to just go nuts and try something totally off the wall with my LIBBY’S 100% Pure Pumpkin. You may recall that I’ve been on a kick lately to try to see just what #PumpkinCan do as a more regular part of our diet, as opposed to a seasonal guest star. We’ve made some crazy-good stuff, including pumpkin energy boost squares and twice-baked potatoes with pumpkin. They are both great and you should definitely pin them on Pinterest so you remember to try them later!

Curried Bean and Pumpkin Dip

My latest recipe was, in my humble opinion, a major success, and I’m so excited to share it with you. If you like curry and if you like hummus, then this is going to be a new favorite snack for you. The inspiration of the dip is definitely hummus, but there’s not a chickpea to be found in it!

Ingredients:

1 can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup LIBBY’S 100% Pure Pumpkin
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp grapeseed oil (or olive oil)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lemon
1/2 tsp curry powder

Combine cannelloni beans and pumpkin in a food processor using a few quick pulses. Then add all remaining ingredients except for water. Let them process together in the food processor until very smooth. If you feel that the dip needs more moisture, add the water, 1 Tbsp at a time.

Serve immediately with a sprinkle of paprika on top (optional). This goes great with raw veggies or with crackers or pita. Also tastes great when served chilled.

If you try it, let me know what you think! I personally thought the flavors were really yummy, and my snack session with the dip turned into my dinner! And what an awesomely healthy dinner it was! 🙂

Honest Company Dish Brush Review: An Honest Assessment

June 14, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 3 Comments

Hello, friends! It’s been a while since I’ve shared my thoughts on an Honest Company product so I thought I should tackle one today that I use pretty much every day: The Honest Dish Brush. This is a fairly confusing product in that they offer it in two packages. One option is to simply buy the bamboo brush itself for $4.95 (which is what I did). The second option is to purchase it with a ceramic dish in a package called “suds up” for $12.95.

So when I was making this purchase, it was pretty simple for me: do I want to pay $8 for a small ceramic dish? No thanks! And I’m very pleased with my $4.95 dish brush. But I will say that I now better understand that the ceramic dish is meant to not only hold your brush, but to be used when creating more suds for washing dishes. Evidently you just put a tiny amount of soap on the brush, put it in the dish, and then pump the brush up and down to make lots and lots of bubbles with ease.

Sounds cool, but I’m still not interested, personally. But I did want you to know about your options!

Ok, so back to the brush. I love it because it is sturdy (we’ve had ours for 6 months and use it all the time…it is doing just fine). It is also made of bamboo, which is a highly renewable resource, and the bristles are 100% recycled plastic. The price is definitely great for something that has lasted so long, and that is so responsibly made. When ours finally kicks the bucket, I will happily buy another one.

How to Buy the Scrubber Brush

Ok, so the right strategy for buying this brush first depends on if you want the $12.95 version or the $4.95 version. If you want the $12.95 version, your best bet is to include it in your essentials bundle, as the per item price is just $7.20 for bundle items. If your bundle for the month is already full but you still really want to try it, you can add it on as one of your extra 3 items that you can snag for 25% off, and that drops the price down to $9.71.

If you just want the $4.95 brush, DO NOT add it to your essentials bundle. Why pay $7.20 for something that retails for $4.95? Instead, add it as a plus 3 item at the end, and you get an even better deal, paying just $3.71. Or you might find yourself just picking up a few things at the retail price on the shop, and this is totally a fair price to pay retail, so I’d say go for it.

Cheap is Good, Free is Better

If you have never made an Honest Company purchase, there is a right way to start, and it is by getting a whole lot of free stuff! Here’s info on how to start your free trials with Honest Company. And if you have never ordered a bundle before and have no idea what to select, I’ve got a growing list of Honest Company product reviews to help you make the best selections, and to get the very best bang for your buck. The bundles from The Honest Company can be really good deals IF you know how to work them!

Now’s the Time to Get Stocked Up: Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Fundraiser (and Twitter Party)

June 13, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

I’ve partnered with The Motherhood and the JOHNSON’S® Baby brand to bring you this important information on Children’s miracle Network Hospitals. Compensation was provided, and all opinions are my own.

Friends I’ve got some exciting news for you! During the month of June, $1.00 is going to be donated to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals for every single JOHNSON’S® Baby product that is purchased at Walmart! So if you’ve got a baby shower coming up and you are looking for great gift ideas, or if you have simply run out of some of the products you love and need to replace, NOW is the time to go get them, as kids who are fighting the good fight in 170 different hospitals across the United States and Canada are going to reap the benefits of your purchase.

Look for displays like this one when you are shopping:

And if you don’t see it, don’t worry! Just head to the infant care aisle and you’ll find the JOHNSON’s ® Baby CARES items you need and they will be counted toward the donation total!

Help Walmart, JOHNSON’S® Baby, and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals give children what they truly deserve, which is the chance to live better, healthier lives. Walmart has helped raise more than $650 million for Children’s Miracle Network over the last 25 years, and this month they hope to add substantially to that total! Every year 1 in 10 children are treated by a Children’s Miracle Network hospital, so the odds are REALLY good that you either have personally benefited from care there, or that you know someone who has!

Twitter Party!

I hope you’ll join me on Twitter this Tuesday, June 17th at 12pm EST. Follow the hashtag #JohnsonsBabyCARES. There will be 5 awesome gift baskets given away throughout the party for folks who answer trivia questions correctly. It will be fun and we’ll learn more about how to help Children’s Miracle Network be a light of hope for so many children and their families!

How I Earned $160 in 10 Minutes: Time to Check Your Car Insurance Rates!

June 12, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric® Community. #CollectiveBias has provided me with compensation for my time and effort to evaluate this website. Participation in this program is voluntary. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

photo credit: sleepyjeanie via photopin cc
photo credit: sunshinecity via photopin cc
photo credit: Nick-K (Nikos Koutoulas) via photopin cc

Friends, I know that auto insurance talk is about as fun as watching paint dry (although there are days when my kids drive me so crazy that I’d actually jump at the chance to watch some paint dry in silence, but I digress…). I myself haven’t given much thought at all to my auto insurance coverage since I signed up for it…in 2002. Yeah, 12 years ago.

You see, we have auto, homeowners and renters insurance all with one company. You often get nice little discounts when you have more than one policy with a company. And frankly, I’ve been pleased with the service, so I haven’t been terribly motivated to compare and contrast rates. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

Get Paid Like a CEO for Reviewing Your Auto Insurance Policy

But here’s the thing: this morning I finally did check my car insurance rates. Well, that’s not entirely true. I actually let someone else do all the hard work for me. I went to AutoInsurance.com and gave them some information (nothing too private like social security numbers or driver’s license numbers) and input some basic information about my current policy (which was easy to pull up online so it wasn’t too cumbersome of a task). Within 10 minutes I had 5 quotes from other companies for policies that looked exactly like mine, as well as quotes for policies that includes less and more coverage. And that’s how I learned that I could save $160/year (from $319 every 6 months to $238 every 6 months) and get the same coverage I have now. Let me remind you that I spent all of 10 minutes on this project. Ten minutes of effort for $160 in savings is the equivalent of getting paid $960/hour. Just sayin’.

What I Can Do With $160

I’ll say it again: I haven’t been unhappy with my current insurance provider. But let me tell you what I could do with $160 a year back in my pocket:

1. I could pay for a semester’s worth of dance lessons for Darah.

2. I could support 4 children who don’t have sponsors yet with Compassion, International for a month.

3. I could buy 4 different essential oils that I really want to get for my father, who has dementia, as he has reported great results with what I have sent him so far.

4. I could pay for an extra night of lodging at Disney World for our upcoming vacation there.

photo credit: Express Monorail via photopin cc

5. I could treat myself to a pedicure every 3 months for the next year.

photo credit: Rachel D via photopin cc

So for me, that $160 just got REAL. Why am I handing it over to someone else when there’s no need to? Sure, it isn’t going to have a drastic impact on my day-to-day expenses, but it’s enough money that it could really make a difference in the life of someone else, or help me create some truly great memories for myself or for others. It’s not an insignificant amount, to be sure!

And keep this in mind: I have a pretty stellar driving record, and I’ve been with the same company for a long time, so my rate looks like it was already pretty darn good. You may be eligible to save even more per year than me. You are only 10 minutes away from finding out! Please do note that the website is only fully functional in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Louisian, Tennessee and Mississippi at this time (sorry about that, everyone else!).

So, can I encourage you to pause for the cause real quick and #Compare2Win? You might find an extra $160 like I did, or you might even find more! And you’ll definitely get a quick refresher in the type of coverage you do and don’t have just in case you are over-insuring an aging car that might night need as much protection, or under-insuring a car! AutoInsurance.com is a great, independently operated one-stop-shop that helps you save time and money. I had a great experience there and I highly recommend it! You can even purchase a new plan directly through the site, or get on the phone with a licensed agent. And of course, you are under no obligation to make a purchase, and you are not assessed any sort of fee for using the service. The goal of the website is to help you get the right protection for the right price, not to lock you in to a policy you don’t need!

If you try it out, let me know how much you can save! I’d love to hear!

Brew Over Ice Hacks for The Best K Cup Flavors Ever!

June 11, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 18 Comments

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This #BrewOverIce shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for #CollectiveBias and its advertiser. I am also participating in a contest as an additional aspect of this campaign.

If you’ve been to my blog for more than 5 seconds, then you probably know that I love my coffee, and I love it brewed over ice. All the time. Always. And preferably in my Keurig. I’ve even shown you how my iced coffee keeps me company throughout the day.

Well friends, it’s been almost a year, now, since Keurig came into my life. We’ve logged a lot of hours, turned A LOT of water into delicious iced coffee, and we’ve even picked up a few tricks along the way to maximize the Brew Over Ice experience. Today I’m going to show you two hacks for AMAZING drinks, and one is even NOT coffee, so if you don’t drink coffee, I may not understand you on a fundamental level, but I still have something yummy in store for you!

#BrewItUp All Fancy!

Did you know that your Keurig is for SO much more than coffee? And I’m not even talking about all of the hot beverage options (though there are a gazillion of those). I’m talking about iced cold delicious drinks made right there, on the spot. If you are confused, that’s understandable! After all, the Keurig keeps a supply of hot water at the ready for you, and does make use of that hot water any time it is making a drink with a K cup. But there are specially designed Brew Over Ice K cups that will give you then end result you seek: a delicious drink that is cold! The ice cubes actually are intended to largely melt as part of the process, and they have perfected this system so that your drink does not taste watered down, but instead, just right. I still get excited about this concept when I talk or write about it, and I’ve been using it for a year now! I found my Brew Over Ice K cups at Walmart. They had some in the aisles, but they had a bigger selection in their specialty display area.

Ok, so on to the hack. I’ve got two recipes for making Brew Over Ice cubes that will add some seriously flavor to your next drink. Let’s start with the Tropical Strawberry Burst you see pictured above. To make the ice cubes, start with a Vitamin Burst in Strawberrry Pomegranate and brew on the next to smallest setting with maybe 2/3 of the amount of ice cubes that you would usually use if you were going to drink this right away (so fill your 16 oz cup 2/3 full of ice instead of totally full). Important safety reminder: please do not brew your cold drinks in a glass container, as it is hot water coming into the cup. Get yourself a cute plastic tumbler (I found the ones pictured in this post on Amazon, and I love them because they have the look of mason jars but they aren’t made of glass).

Ok, so after your drink is brewed, the vast majority of your ice cubes will be melted. Just give the drink a little stir to help remaining ice cubes melt.

Next, chop about 4 strawberries. The size I went for was small enough to get lots of flavor, but big enough to not get stuck in my straw. You can do whatever you like best, from large slices all the way down to teeny tiny pieces. Totally up to you!

Place your strawberries in your ice cube tray. I elected to squeeze them all into 9 sections, but you can space yours out more than that if you like. The other half of my ice cube trays were left sans-strawberry, just for the sake of variety.

Now it’s time to add that tropical flavor that really will give your drink a kick: coconut water! Add 1/2 cup of coconut water to your Vitamin Burst drink. Stir to combine.

Now carefully pour your drink into your ice cube trays. You should have enough liquid to make two trays of tropical strawberry burst ice cubes. Place them in your freezer until they have frozen, which will take anywhere from 6 to 18 hours (sorry…I don’t have any hacks for getting them to freeze faster).

Once they are ready, get your ice cubes out and decide how many you want to fill your glass with for making your drink. You could go totally nuts and exclusively use tropical strawberry burst ice cubes, or you might prefer a more measured approach, like me, and do half standard ice cubes, and half specialty ice cubes.

Now have the Keurig make your drink for you! If you use all specialty ice cubes, you might want to go for the second to smallest or even the middle setting on the Keurig, and if you go half and half, then you might go for the smallest setting. Play around with it and see what you like the best, flavor-wise! Edit: I can no longer find the vitamin burst k cups, but this is a good replacement.

As your speciality cubes melt, your drink will have beautiful strawberries floating around in it, and a coconut infused flavor that will take your brew over ice beverage to the next level. I’m actually working on making a month’s supply of these ice cubes for Tim to have on hand, as he really enjoys the Vitamin Burst drink (he’s not a coffee guy…more proof that opposites really do attract!). He’s also not much of a present guy, but he really appreciates acts of service like this. So one of his Father’s Day gifts will be specialty ice cubes at the ready for his drinks! And just FYI, you can also find Vitamin Burst K Cups in Acai Berry. I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s on my list for my next Walmart trip and I’ll be making similar specialty ice cubes for those!

For the Iced Coffee Fans

Now, you really didn’t think I’d use up all of my creativity on a NON coffee drink hack, did you? Heck no! I want something yummy for my favorite drink, too! So here’s my iced coffee drink enhancement.

Ok, this really is a similar process to the Vitamin Burst ice cubes, but the ingredients are obviously different. Start by making your Brew Over Ice coffee but only fill your 16 oz cup 2/3 of the way with ice instead of the whole way.

Give it a good stir after it is finished to help melt the ice. Now it’s time to add some major flavor!

To this cup of coffee I added 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (I know…that’s totally insane…and I’m not sorry about it) and I added 2 Tbsp of agave nectar (that’s my sweetener of choice). Remember, this is going to make your specialty ice cubes, so you want it to be creamier and sweeter than how you would normally make your iced coffee.

Ok, once everything is blended, carefully pour your beverage into two ice cube trays (I’ve tried many, MANY different kinds of ice cube trays. These are the best ones by far). Place back in the freezer and allow to freeze.

Once they are ready, it’s time to brew more iced coffee! Once again, you need to decide if you are going gangbusters on your drink and exclusively using your specialty ice cubes, of if you are going to use half regular ice, and half specialty ice (that’s what I do). Either way, totally fill up your glass, and then brew your cup. I opt for the second to smallest cup setting, but play around with this and see what you prefer. With my specialty ice cubes, your drink has the sweetness and the cream already added in from the start, AND it is stronger, as some of the ice cubes were actually coffee! Talk about a great way to get moving quick in the morning, friends!

The K Cup Aftermath

Do any of you suffer from K Cup guilt due to tossing those little suckers every time you make a drink? Well good news! Keurig has its own recycling program called Grounds to Grow. Take a moment to learn more about it and be sure to spread the word so we can stop putting these K cups in the landfills!

Let me know if you try either of my Brew Over Ice hacks. I think they take your cold drinks from super yummy to OUT. OF. CONTROL. 🙂

Hurricane Harbor at Six Flags Over Georgia is a Family-Friendly Oasis!

June 10, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 6 Comments

I serve in a compensated role as a Six Flags Supermom. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own, as always.

Last weekend my family took a little trip to the hottest “cool down” spot in the Southeast.

We spent close to 5 glorious hours splashing around at Hurricane Harbor, the latest addition to Six Flags Over Georgia (which has turned an already amazing park into a one-of-a-kind experience!).

Tucked away in the far side of the park from its main entrance, you’ll find turnstiles into Hurricane Harbor. Admission to this part of the park is included with your ticket price (woo hoo!) but the guarded entrance and exit is there to ensure that visitors don’t head back into the main park area wearing just their swimsuits. I really appreciate their forethought on that one! 🙂 Once inside, you feel like you’ve stepped into a laid-back beach-side community, complete with very clean bath houses for changing, a grab-and-g0 eatery, and the ultimate in relaxation: deluxe lounge accommodations!

Cabanas at Hurricane Harbor: 5 Reasons to Try Them

We stayed in one of 11 private cabanas that are available to rent ($150 weekdays and $175 weekends). Now, as fabulous as my life is, it isn’t so fabulous that this is a price I would pay without careful consideration. After giving it a whirl, though, I’ll tell you why I think it could very easily be worth it.

1. Party time! If you are having a special event like a birthday party, you’ve just rented your party area. Fees for renting party rooms are normally around that rate, anyway, so that actually makes a lot of sense!

2. Cabana renters get private access to the wave pool. And you guys, my family spent probably 75% of our entire day at the park in this fun private area. It was SO nice having all that space in the pool that wasn’t crowded and where the girls could freely splash around without bothering anyone else.

3. Dedicated staff are on hand just for you! We had folks checking in on us regularly to make sure we were comfortable and happy, and offering to do things like snap family photos for us and clean up in our cabana. It was insanely awesome service. And speaking of awesome service, when you get hungry, you just place an order with your server, and s/he goes straight into the kitchen at the Tidal Wave cafe to place your order, where you have VIP status. In most cases, your food is back in your cabana within about 5 minutes of you placing your order, and you didn’t even have to move a muscle to make it happen. That means more time for this:

5. Luxury and security. Each cabana is equipped with a refrigerator that has 6 complimentary waters inside, as well as a HUGE lockable storage trunk. Our stroller fit in there with absolutely no problems. You also get a lock and a key. I had my nicer DSLR camera with me, and I really appreciated being able to lock it away before heading out into the waves. Hurricane Harbor does have other locker facilities for rent for any guest who wants them, but again, this one was HUGE and was right there in my cabana. I would have spent A LOT of time walking back and forth to the locker area for my camera if I hadn’t been in a cabana.

Was it an indulgence? Of course it was. Was it worth it? I think yes! It’s not something that my family could afford to do every time we visit, but it is a GREAT option for groups of folks (up to 6, I believe, for the standard cabanas) or for special occasions, or even just for an occasional splurge. You will be treated like royalty, I guarantee it.

So right outside of the cabana area you will find Calypso Bay wave pool. If you don’t want to do the cabana thing, there is still plenty of seating area around the entrance. We found the crowds to be very manageable (it was a Friday, so I’m sure weekends are busier) and the lifeguards to be abundant and vigilant. As a parent, I always appreciate knowing that the staff are on top of their game, especially as it relates to matters of safety.

Behind Calypso Bay you’ll see Tsunami Surge. We were told that it required at least 2 people to ride, so since we had small kids with us, we didn’t get to try it out. But it includes a zero-gravity element, so if you are able to do so, I’m gonna go ahead and say this is a MUST RIDE!

Not far away from the cabanas, but on the other side, you’ll find the Bonzai Pipelines. These are a series of 3 different slides that can each hold 1 or 2 riders together. Tim really enjoyed them and they are a fun option for anyone in your party who might not be feeling that zero gravity business!

And finally, closest to the Hurricane Harbor entrance and exit, you’ll find Paradise Island. This element of the park actually existed last year, and was such an enormous hit that it was one of the reasons that Six Flags decided to expand its water ride offerings. It is a great location for the younger set, and has fun slides, rope bridges, and plenty of spraying water features.

My family was thoroughly entertained at Hurricane Harbor for almost our entire visit to the park. For some folks, it might be the primary desination for the entire day, and for others, it might just be a place to go cool off for an hour or two. Either way, it is an AWESOME offering and I think it makes the park even more family-friendly (for families of all sizes and ages!) than it was before.

Save Some $ By Going for a Season Pass

The way to do Six Flags Over Georgia is definitely to get a season pass. We are season pass holders, and we weren’t the least bit concerned that we didn’t ride many non-water rides on this trip. We know we’ll be back, so there was no pressure to see and do it all. We just fully enjoyed where we were and what our kids wanted to do. It made for a more relaxing visit and frankly, when you are more relaxed you have more fun, anyway! Plus, we know we can go back as many times as we want this season; the entrance fee is already covered! Season passes are a tremendous value, so take a moment and check out all the great season pass options!

Do you have plans to visit Hurricane Harbor this season???

Sweet Memories: On Powerhouse Smiles and Rockstar Dads (Sweepstakes!)

June 9, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 11 Comments

What a weekend I had, friends. I spent all day Saturday and a bit of Sunday morning down in Alabama with 2 of my 3 siblings helping to clean out as much of my dad’s house as we could. He lives in a 3,000 square foot home and I’m not convinced that he’s ever gotten rid of anything other than obvious garbage since he moved there in 1993.

So, yeah, there was a lot of stuff.

We were doing this because my dad needs to downsize for many different reasons, the most sobering of which is that he has been diagnosed with vascular dementia. We aren’t at the place yet where he isn’t remembering who we are, but we are aware that we will be there one day. There’s just no other way to say this: it sucks.

Sweet Memories

But as we sorted through coffee mugs and Christmas ornaments that should have been sold at a garage sale (or in some cases just thrown out) 15 years ago, we also uncovered some things that brightened our spirits and made us all smile. And let me tell you, the moments when my father was laughing so hard because he was REMEMBERING hilarious moments were the best. I seriously wouldn’t trade hearing his laugh for anything (other than a cure for dementia. I’d totally trade it for that).

This is the find that made him laugh for the longest time:

Ok, so this looks like a pile of dusty trash, right? Well, it is that. But it also has a story behind it. These are the plastic rings that went around new gallons of milk. You had to take off one plastic piece for the top to come off. And BOTH of my brothers were notorious for flicking the plastic rings up above the fridge and onto the very top of the kitchen cabinets. Why? Because it was fun, I guess. And also because it kept them from having to take 6 steps over to the garbage can. Notice that the girls in the family did not partake in this foolishness.

This cabinet is WAY too high for my father to safely reach, and so, here are the remnants of several years of plastic rings from when one of the boys was the first to open the gallon of milk. It gave dad such a good laugh that it made me sort of glad that they did this, after all.

I was also delighted to uncover lots of cards just like these from my dad:

When I was young my father traveled a lot for his job. He was a professional musician in a band. He missed a lot of important days, but he always made sure to have a card with a special message in there for me. And in fact, by the time I was 7, he traded in his music career for back-breaking yet steady work as a sheet metal mechanic, and much of the reason that he did that was so that he would see his kids every day. I know he would make the same choice again if he could because he loves his children just that much. But I still think of my daddy as a singer (and he actually does still play with his band!). I mean, check out my awesome dad, folks (he’s the singer):

Truly, you guys, my dad is a rock star. In my heart, on the stage, everywhere and all the time. And the smiles he has put on thousands of peoples faces over the years can’t be erased by time or disease.

Oral-B Power Dad’s Smile Everyday Sweepstakes

Speaking of smiles, I want to encourage everyone to take a moment to enter the AWESOME sweepstakes that Oral-B is currently hosting in honor of all the great dads out there. There will be over $1,000 in prizes, and to enter, just share a photo of your Dad on Twitter or Instagram using #oralbsweeps. You’ve got until 6/15 to get your entry in, but go ahead and do it now while its fresh on your mind! Here’s my entry: http://instagram.com/p/oyytSGQU4V/. You could win the Oral-B Black ProfessionalCare 1000 Rechargeable Toothbrush, the Braun Series 7760 shaver and a $250 Target gift card! Enter now, friends. I’m totally wanting to win the Oral-B ProfessionalCare 1000 toothbrush, as it removes 5x more plaque along the gumline than a manual toothbrush. These gums of mine have a favorite hobby, which is bleeding, so I’d love to be able to seriously attack the plaque that hangs out near them! And don’t worry, I won’t leave dad out in the cold. He’ll be all over the Braun shaver to keep his beard nice and trim.

I’d love to hear about some sweet memories you have with your father as we get geared up for Father’s Day this weekend! Here’s some inspiration for you, straight from my dad!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Great New Children’s Books from Independent Publishers

June 9, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Affiliate links included. I only promote what I love!

Looking for some new reading material this summer? I’ve got a few new books that were sent our way that we are reading over and over again!

From Lemniscaat USA

The Mermaid’s Shoes is gorgeously illustrated, and is about a little girls who brings her memories of the beach back home with her after vacation. She searches for the perfect spot in the city to be a mermaid, and she ultimately finds it! It’s on sale at Amazon now and is a book I would very highly recommend for any mermaid fans out there!

From Floris Books

While we aren’t reading this book constantly, it is a really cool find for those of you out there with any woodworking experience. It gives some very detailed tutorials for introducing young children to the trade. If you already have a few woodworking tools on hand, then you should definitely pick up a copy of Woodworking with Children.

From Gecko Press

Tongue-twisters are always a fun treat, and Toucan Can! is certainly a good one! It isn’t too hard for a young child to attempt, though, and similar to Mermaid’s Shoes, it also has really beautiful illustrations. This is also a great choice for an early reader!

Other Notable Titles:

A few other books that I recommend you consider for purchase this summer are Pom and Pim (about the good and bad luck a child and his favorite lovey encounter throughout the day) and Watch Out for the Crocodile (about a girl and her father going hiking and camping, and all the things the little girl notices out in nature…very imaginative!).

What new titles are you reading this summer? I’d love to get some recommendations from you!