As I learn more and more about children’s music, I have noticed that there are artists who like to stick to a particular sound, and there are also artists who like to show off all their varied musical influences by producing songs with very different sounds, all on one album.
Within that sub-group of musicians, I have also noticed that the majority of these artists do not necessarily excel when they try to be too many different things. They don’t necessarily fail, but rather, just produce ok music that seems a little wacky and all over the board.
The Jimmies, however, are a group that seems to have absolutely nailed this skill. If you were to randomly choose any song on their new cd, Practically Ridiculous, you would think that they were singing a song in their preferred style, and you would think that because they would be so good at it. Move to the next song, and you’ll be shocked to hear a completely different sound, though equally as good.
The Jimmies are a musical marvel, I think. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. They have been voted one of the Top 20 Best Kids Album of the Decade by AOL ParentDish, and The Jimmies find themselves on over 12 Best Album of the Year lists. Woo!
Practically Ridiculous will be available for purchase for $14.99 starting on September 20th. But I have a chance for you to win it right now! Woo hoo!
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Babar DVD Collection Review and GIVEWAY!!!
Are you familiar with Babar? He’s a little elephant who leaves his family in the jungle, ventures into the city, and then brings what he learned about civilization back to his community for the greater good. Babar has been teaching important lessons and entertaining families since 1931!
Recently, two DVDs were released so that Babar would continue to be part of the lives of yet another generation of children. School Days is especially appropriate at this time of year, when many of our children are back in school environments. All 4 episodes on the disc focus on school, with lessons of acceptance, honesty and patience.
The second DVD is called Best Friends Forever. As I watched this disc with Darah I was reminded of a very important lesson: ALWAYS watch what you show to your children, and never assume that the lessons being taught don’t need any further explanation or discussion with a grown-up. There is one episode on this DVD, City Ways, that I found to be too violent for small children (a gun is shown, a grown up dies at the hands of violence, although you do not see the death). Additionally, as a city-dweller, I don’t appreciate the negative portrayal of life in the city, which I believe the episode offers. Keep in mind that these stories are very old, and such views of city life were much more common many decades ago. Still, we will be skipping that episode from here on out, and if Darah ever does want to watch it in the future, I need to be there with her to talk about what she is seeing, and to help her think critically about it.
Of the entire two disc series, that is the only episode that gave me any concern. Darah also seems quite interested in Babar and asks to “watch the elephant” on a regular basis. The DVDs run 90 minutes each and retail for $14.98. Amazon has them on sale right now for $9.99! If you were a fan of Babar growing up, this is a great way to share a cherished character with your little one. It’s fun to get to experience Babar’s adventures all over again!
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the School Days and Best Friends Forever! Yay! New to Rafflecopter? Check out my tutorial before you get started.
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Find the Best Gifts at the Best Prices, Always! Become.com
Have you already started on your holiday shopping list? I have 24 people on my list that I shop for (woah!), so if I don’t shop all year, I really do find myself in a pickle by the time the weather turns cold.
Some of the folks on my list are already taken care of (except for the actual wrapping part!). But there are others that require more digging around to get that perfect gift.
If you are doing some internet sleuthing to find the perfect present for someone (maybe even yourself!), then let me once again recommend Become.com, which is an online price comparison site. It helps you find the very best item you need or want for the very best price.
Perhaps you want to go all out and give your parents who love to watch weekend sports AND who love sitting on their porch an outdoor tv enclosure. That’s definitely something you are going to want to comparison shop for, as the price AND the quality do vary widely.
Maybe you are shopping for a practical problem-solver, and want to find a non slip stair tread. It turns out, there are some options that aren’t ugly at all, and Become.com can show them all to you in one convenient place. I actually could use one of these for our back porch steps, which get really slick when it rains. I’m pleased to see some really affordable prices thanks to this website’s comparison shopping!
Or, maybe you want to give a gift that I actually did receive (and loved!) one Christmas: comfortable bar stools. If you have a space in your home that can accommodate a bar stool, I believe you will never regret getting them! We loved ours and miss them dearly now that we live somewhere without an island or a bar in our house. The selection you’ll find on this site is great! You can shop by price point or even by color, which can help you find your perfect stool faster!
As you start to look for holiday gifts, or even if you are like me and are already in the thick of it, remember to do your comparison shopping through Become.com so that you can be sure you’ve found the very best price!
This post brought to you by Become.com. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
Home Air Freshener and Odor Eliminator: Pure Air Candle Review
So here’s a story about a time when I didn’t follow my nose. Two weeks ago, I was making dinner for my family. It was taco night, so I pulled my ground turkey out of the fridge (we aren’t so much into ground beef). When I opened it up, I thought it smelled not so awesome. But I second-guessed myself and thought, “Eh, I bet raw meat always smells gross and I’m just not remembering.” So I threw the meat into the pan and cooked it. Then I added the taco seasoning to it, and since I thought it still didn’t smell fabulous, decided to give it a taste.
OMG. Rancid meat. Cooked rancid meat with taco seasoning on it. That’s what it was. My nose tried to warn me, but I refused to listen! After I spit out the bite in my mouth and then pitched that night’s dinner into the trash can, I was left with an olfactory reminder of my mistake. The kitchen and dining room totally reeked, and now that it had been confirmed that the smell was bad meat, it made me sick to my stomach.
That’s when I remembered that I had recently been sent the Pure Air candles from David Oreck. These candles claim to eliminate odors, not mask them. I knew that rancid meat smell would really put them to the test! I brought in the candle, lit it, and left the room for about 5 minutes. When I came back in, the smell was mostly gone. After an additional 5 minutes, it was completely gone. And that’s with the gross cooked meat still sitting in the kitchen garbage can. Yeah!
If these candles can stamp out that nasty smell, I think they can tackle pretty much anything. I was very impressed! I also like the fact that these are made with a non-toxic odor eating vegetable compound blend, so it isn’t releasing chemicals that are unsafe to breathe.
Buy it!: Right now is an EXCELLENT time to buy these candles. They are trying to get the word out and get people excited to try them, so they are offering a Buy 1 get 2 free deal! Woo hoo! Purchase the 22 oz jar candle for $34.95 and you’ll receive two 11.6 oz candles absolutely free. These make excellent gifts, but you should definitely keep one for your own home!
Edit: this giveaway is closed
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a Pure Air candle for yourself! Yay!
Secondary Colors Activity
Hello Stuff Parents Need readers! I’m Desi and I blog at a little slice of the world called Wee Share. I am thrilled to be spending a little time here with you all and Tiffany. She is my oldest blogging buddy, so it really is an honor.
This summer, we have spent a lot of time learning about colors. Raileigh has known all of her colors for a while now. So, I began teaching her about primary colors, and how they combine to create secondary colors.
We have done lots of fun activities to illustrate this principle. Today I am going to share one of our favorites with you! This activity works best on a sunny day.
Supplies You’ll Need:
- 3 Ice Cube Trays
- 3 Mixing Bowls
- 3 Mixing Spoons (wooden spoons not recommended)
- Food Coloring
- Water
- Toothpick
- Gloves
- Old Towel (or something else to cover and protect your counter)
Instructions
Day 1
1. You will want to start by filling each of your ice cube trays with water. Don’t fill quite all the way to the top.
2. Now, you can add the food coloring. In one ice cube tray, make half of the cubes red and half of them blue. Tray 2 should contain half red and half yellow. The last tray will be half yellow and half blue. We put 4-5 drops of food coloring in each ice cube slot. You’ll want vibrant, bright ice cubes for this activity!
3. Use a toothpick to mix the color up with the water in each ice cube slot.
4. Put the ice cube trays in your freezer to harden.
Day 2
1. The ice cube trays should be frozen by now. So, remove them from the freezer and get ready to have some fun!
2. Put your gloves on. I didn’t and my hands became very colorful. If you like colorful hands, then go ahead and omit the gloves.
3. Get out your 3 mixing bowls. Pop the cubes from each tray into a bowl. You’ll have red and yellow in one bowl, red and blue in another bowl, and blue and yellow in the last bowl.
4. Head outside with your bowls of ice. Also bring along the mixing spoons.
5. As the sun began to melt the ice cubes, Raileigh enjoyed mixing the cubes and swirling them around with a spoon.
6. Depending on how sunny and hot it is, the melting process may take a few hours. So, you can either stay watch the cubes melt and play with them as this occurs. Or, you can go about your business, checking in periodically to see how the cubes have melted, and the two colors have merged together to form a NEW color!
This was a really fun, inexpensive way to demonstrate secondary colors and color mixing to Raileigh. She has asked to do this activity time and time again. I don’t mind because it costs virtually nothing, entertains her, and is educational. You can’t beat that!
Monster Vapor
As Darah has developed her own likes (ice cream, fire trucks) and dislikes (spinach, flies), she has also developed her own fears. I do not always understand them, but that doesn’t make her fear any less real.
Here are the things that I know scare my two year old:
- Smoke Alarms
- Balloons
We are seeing a bit of an improvement in her fear of balloons (slowly but surely), but the smoke alarm issue is one we deal with every single day. We find ourselves having conversations about how the sound is scary, and why a smoke alarm goes off, and how there’s no smoke in the house and isn’t that wonderful?, and how smoke alarms want to protect us. Some days she seems to make peace with them and move on with life, and other days, she seems almost completely fixated on them.
If you child battles with a fear of something that causes him/her anxiety, you may want to consider getting some Bravery in a Bottle. These products have been developed by a very savvy stay-at-home mom named Nancy to help children cope with four very common fears: monsters, storms, needing courage (for things like doctor’s appointments) and homesickness.
From Nancy, “Children tend to feel small and often powerless. The world can seem big, frightening, and confusing. Vivid imaginations contribute to their fears. The symbol for the things children find scary and feel might harm them, manifests itself in the form of “monsters.”
The best way to solve childhood fears is to give children the feeling of control and power over what is frightening to them. An excellent way to overcome these fears is to tell the child a story about a protective monster that watches over them. In addition, a picture of a friendly monster – like our awesome logo Winston – is superb in helping them frighten away the “bad” monsters.
Aromatherapy sprays with essential oils create an actual soothing effect. Give them “bravery in a bottle”. Empowering children is key to overcoming their fears.”
We received the organic Winston plush. I will NEVER forget the day he came in the mail, because Darah’s reaction to him was absolutely priceless. When I opened the box for her and let her look inside, she said, “Oooh! An owl! (Winston has large eyes, so I’m guessing that’s why she thought he was an owl). I explained that he was actually a very helpful monster, to which she replied, “He’s my best friend!” Then she gave him a big hug, and hopped (literally…like a rabbit) from the dining room where we opened the package to her room, where she introduced him to bunny. On the way, she declared that he was, “So cool!”
So yeah, Darah was pretty smitten with her little monster! I’ve encouraged Darah to give Winston a sniff when she is feeling a little bit scared (he is infused with Monster Vapor) and that does seem to help a bit. I would recommend ordering a bottle of the Monster Vapor along with the plush so that you can freshly scent Winston when he is needed.
I really like that Nancy has created a friend to help chase away those scared feelings, and that she has also created blends of something very natural, essential oils, to help children calm down a bit. It’s very hard to be logical, after all, when you can’t calm down! The oils that are included in each product are listed so that you know what’s in there, too.
Buy it!: Bravery in a Bottle products are all available online. The scent-infused plush we reviewed retails for $15.99 and the essential oil sprays are $12.00 each.
Win it!: One of you will win a bottle of Monster Vapor! Woo hoo! [Read more…]
A Teen Offers Insight on How Parents Should Choose Babysitters
What Parents of Young Kids Should Keep In Mind When Hiring a Teen Babysitter
Hannah is a teen writer for Radical Parenting.com, a parenting website written from the kid’s perspective with 82 teen interns! She is a 16-year old from New Jersey. She loves to compete with color guard and marching band, and play piano. She hopes to become a writer one day, and to inspire others to follow their dreams. For more articles by teens please check out RadicalParenting.com.
One of the many hard decisions a parent will make can occur before a child can even walk. Choosing someone to watch and take care of their children is very difficult, especially when most babysitters are teens. Therefore, it is best to have a few guidelines to keep in mind when picking a babysitter for a young child.
- Pick someone whose family you already know.
Sometimes, this may not be an option if you are new to a town, or if you have few friends with teens. However, if you are lucky enough to know a teenager, you will already know how they were raised, how they may handle bad situations, and if you can trust them with your child. Furthermore, a teen will probably be a better babysitter for a family they have known for a while.
- Choose a qualified teen.
Look for a teenager who has a babysitters’ certification. The Red Cross offers an informative babysitter course, and a qualified teen will be better with your child. The course teaches teens how to care for babies and even older children. Good babysitters do not necessarily have to have a certification, but it can offer you reassurance that the teen knows what they are doing.
- Find out about the teen’s life.
Make sure you know the teen’s interests. If your young child likes music, a babysitter that likes music will be more effective than one who prefers sports. Also, find out the teen’s activities. If the teen reports that they participate in various clubs and sports, they may sound responsible. They may also, however, be too busy to have a flexible schedule to watch your child. Also, find out about the teen’s family. If the teen reports having younger siblings, they will be more effective than an only child babysitter.
- Meet the teen before hiring them.
Before scheduling a teenager to babysit your children, choose a day to meet with the teenager. This way, you can show them around the house, discuss salaries, and see how the teen interacts with your children. If you just schedule a teen before meeting them, it will not give you any time to change your mind or see what the teen is really like.
Hiring a babysitter may be nerve-wracking, but it should be fun too. Just remember, this is your chance for a break, and many teenagers are capable of watching your child. You just have to find the right one!
Scholastic’s Curious George and The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
It’s a new month, and that means it is time for some new releases from Scholastic! Woo hoo! I ALWAYS get excited when I get an email about what is coming out, and this month was no exception.
First, as we all know, we are commemorating the 10th anniversary of the September 11 tragedy this month. As adults, we all remember where we were on that fateful day. I was a senior in college. I can actually see that day on campus very clearly still, because it is so burned in memory. But how do we explain the event to our children who weren’t even alive at the time? Scholastic has released a Caldecott Award winning book by Mordecai Gerstin that can help children understand what the World Trade Towers looked like, and that highlights a really memorable story from their history. It is the story of Pehilippe Petit, a French man who walked a tightrope between the towers in 1974, at a time when they were the world’s tallest buildings, and it is called, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. It is narrated by Jake Gyllenhaal, and offers a great way to share a positive memory about the towers and the bravery of a single man. What a great story to reference when teaching your children about September 11th later on, and the bravery of all of those people inside the buildings. This disc has 4 stories of inspiration and retails for $14.95.
The second release this month tips its hat to National Hispanic Heritage Month, which is September. It features Curious George, also known as Jorge El Curioso! The title is Jorge El Monito Ciclista. This set has 19 stories in 3 DVDs, and they are all in Spanish as well as English. This is an excellent choice for any child who is working on learning Spanish, as you can hear it in Spanish with Spanish subtitles, Spanish with English subtitles, or English with Spanish subtitles. Yes, you can even watch it in English with English subtitles, which also makes it an excellent choice for any children who are Spanish speakers but are learning English. This set is available for $24.95.
Buy it!: Both sets are available for purchase now on the New Kideo website!
Win it!: Two lucky Stuff Parents Need readers will each win one of the titles I reviewed today! Yay! New to Rafflecopter? Click here for a tutorial! [Read more…]
Natural Stress Relief: Rescue Remedy Review and GIVEAWAY!!!
There’s a saying about the experience of raising children that states, “The days are long but the years are short.” SO true! My little one is blossoming in front of me, and try as I may, I can’t hold on and keep her as a baby. She’s nowhere close to that, anymore. She’s 100% toddler, and every now and again, I even get a glimpse of the kid she will soon be!
But let me tell you, it is easy to lose sight of just how quickly this is going by in the day-to-day practice of being home with a toddler. There have definitely been days when I have stared at the clock and begged it to move faster so that Tim would be home sooner and I could get a break from my whiny child. And it seems that every day when Darah goes down for her nap, I stare at my “to do” list and get completely overwhelmed. I’m the type to put 8 hours worth of work on my list, knowing full well that I only have 1 1/2 hours to actually do the work. Sigh…
When I sit down with that list, I also grab a Rescue Remedy product to help me calm down at the start of my work time. Rescue Remedy is a natural remedy made from flower essences that is designed to relieve stress. It has been around since the 1930s, which means that several generations of people have benefited from it.
Rescue Remedy sent me 3 different products to try. First, I tried the Rescue Pastilles. This is actually my very favorite item. It is an alcohol-free, sugar-free gummy lozenge in a really cue tin. The flavor is orange/elderflower. I find it to be delightful and helpful at getting me to calm down.
Next, I tried the Rescue Gum. This is perfect for keeping in your purse. It has the same flavors as the pastilles (orange and elderflower). The gum has a liquid center which makes it fantastically fun to chew. I love the idea that you can have gum on hand that will help you relax.
Finally, I tried the Rescue Spray. Two quick sprays of this product on your tongue provide one full dose of Rescue Remedy. This is something I keep by my bed. For some reason, I’ve been having bad dreams lately, and when I wake up from those, I can give myself a dose of Rescue Remedy immediately and then get back to sleep.
I feel comfortable using Rescue Remedy because it uses only all-natural ingredients. I also like that it has been around for so long. When a company’s product doesn’t work, they don’t get to stick around for so long!
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the same Rescue Remedy gift set I reviewed!
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