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Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

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Kung Pao Crab with Soba Noodles Featuring Annie Chun’s

May 23, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 134 Comments

What’s your favorite type of cuisine? My all-time favorite is Chinese food (though admittedly, it is the American version of Chinese food). But I have a growing love for all types of Asian cuisine, as well. Thai food, for example, has some of the brightest and most exciting flavors out there (fresh basil, lemongrass, yum!). And I started craving sushi when I was pregnant with Darah and haven’t stopped.

In all the examples listed above, I have found that making my own version of these types of foods usually doesn’t end very well. Because I lack the right ingredients and the right cooking techniques, I’m rarely satisfied with the end result. I had pretty much reached the conclusion that if I wanted Asian food, I should just pay the price for someone else to prepare it for me.

Annie Chun’s is an Asian foods brand found in most supermarkets, and they want to change the perception that preparing Asian food at home is difficult by providing some of the tools that kitchens like mine really need. Annie Chun’s offers a variety of really delicious cooking sauces, noodles, soups and a whole slew of convenience foods for when you are REALLY stretched for time and can only manage to get something in the microwave (been there!).

We have been sampling a few different products over the last month, and I have to say, I have been really impressed. The Annie Chun’s line has 6 different types of noodle bowls. I tried a few of them, and the one that I’m really eager to stock up on is the Peanut Sesame Noodle Bowl. In just a few minutes I can have a VERY flavorful dish ready to serve, and the portion is generous. I have actually used this as a quick side dish for Tim and I to share alongside a piece of chicken. But it is also terrific on its own.

Annie Chun's soba noodles and kung pao sauce

The other products I wanted to highlight for you are the Kung Pao Sauce and the Soba Noodles (also known as buckwheat noodles). I actually came up with a recipe using both ingredients and simply by cleaning out my fridge and freezer! You can make lots of substitutions as you see fit; simply see this recipe as an inspiration!

Kung Pao Crab with Soba Noodles

 Ingredients:

  • 16 oz crab (I used frozen)
  • 8 oz frozen peas
  • 1/2 – 1 red or orange bell pepper, cut into short strips
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1/4 cup Annie Chun’s Kung Pao Sauce
  • greens of choice, such as bok choy or kale
  • Annie Chun’s Soba Noodles
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp vegetable stock (can substitute chicken stock or water).

Ingredients for noodle sauce:

  • 1/4 cup Annie Chun’s Kung Pao Sauce
  • 1/2 tsp ginger paste (can substitute with 1/4 tsp ground ginger)
  • 1 heaping tbsp peanut butter or almond butter
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp soy sauce

At first glance, this recipe may seem to have a lot of ingredients and be a bit cumbersome. But it really is the result of me trying to use up what I had on hand in the fridge and freezer and grabbed what I knew I could throw together. You can substitute the crab for another meat, or swap out some of the veggies with whatever you have on hand or like. 

I began by cutting the crab into bite-sized chunks. I used my Kitchenaid Professional Shears to make this work a bit faster! I use these for SO much in my kitchen. If you don’t own a pair of kitchen shears, let me STRONGLY recommend that you put them on your wish list!

kitchen aid kitchen shears in red

Then I cut up bell peppers and your onions. I happened to have small bell peppers on hand. Next, add peas. I only had about 2 oz of peas, which is why they don’t look very prevalent in the dish. I would have used more if I had them on hand! I then mixed everything together.

kung pao crab mixture

The dish looked decidedly lacking in the green department, but then I remembered that I had some kale. I washed, dryed and then chopped up the leaves (remove the stems from the kale, as they are a bit tough to eat). Then I added the Kung Pao sauce. It was ready to go!

kung pao crab mixture using Annie Chun's Kung Pao sauce

Next, I heated up the skillet on med-high with 1 tbsp oil (I used olive) and 2 tbsp vegetable stock. I added the stock because I knew the kale was going to need a bit of moisture to help it wilt. As I waited for the skilled to warm, I also got a pot of hot water boiling for the noodles. Quick tip: put a lid on your pots and pans while they are heating to get them hot faster!

Once the skillet was ready to go, I added my crab mixture, gave it a good stir, and then put the lid on and set the timer for 5 minutes. I opened the lid twice during the cooking process to stir everything around. If you think your mixture is starting to stick too much, just add another tablespoon of stock.

annie chun's buckwheat noodles soba noodles

When the water for the noodles was boiling, I added the entire box of them, gave them a stir, and let them cook for 5 minutes, also. Drain and rinse under cold water once the noodles are done.

While the crab mixture and noodles were cooking, I made noodle sauce by combining all the noodle sauce ingredients listed above together in a bowl. I poured the sauce over the cooked, drained and rinsed noodles and coatedthe noodles evenly with the sauce.

Annie Chun's Kung Pao sauce as an ingredient

Then I placed the noodles in a serving bowl, and topped with the crab mixture. What a healthy, colorful and packed-with-flavor meal!

kung pao crab with soba noodles annie chun's

Want to hear my opinion on the dish after trying it? I thought the noodle sauce was AMAZING and the soba noodles were surprisingly yummy. Will definitely be buying them again. In fact, I’ll make some version of this recipe again sometime this summer. I think I’d like to try the Kung Pao sauce with some chicken next time. The crab tasted good (no regrets!) but I bet the chicken will taste even better.
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a variety of products from Annie Chun’s!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

Filed Under: Giveaways, The Kitchen · Tagged: annie chun, annie chun's review, annie chuns, buckwheat, buckwheat noodles, giveaway, kung pao sauce, kung pao sauce recipes, review, soba noodle recipes, soba noodles

Earth’s Best Chlorine Free Diapers: What We Use to Cure Diaper Rash

May 21, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

One of the many things I love about using cloth diapers is the fact that diaper rash is a SUPER rare occurance while using them. While many disposable diaper users apply diaper rash cream after almost every diaper change as a preventative measure, we break out our stuff MAYBE once a month. And even then we typically use it for one or two applications and then everything is cleared up.

But in those rare instances where we do need to use it, we have found that most rash creams are not cloth diaper friendly. And so, we turn to disposables to use while we treat the problem. It is rather ironic to use a chemical-laden disposable diaper while you are trying to treat sensitive skin that has become irritated, don’t you think?

eco-friendly disposable diapers from Earth's Best

Earth’s Best TenderCare Chlorine Free Diapers are my VERY VERY favorite disposables to use every time diaper rash strikes. They are made with non-chlorine bleached materials, and that is friendly to little tushies as well as to the environment. Additionally, they are made with naturally absorbant materials that are also quickly renewable, such as corn and wheat. These diapers have no latex, no dye and no perfume.

Are you worried yet that they sound like diapers that probably don’t work well? I totally hear you. But I have used SEVERAL packages of these diapers over the years, and there’s a reason I keep buying them: they get the job done!

chlorine-free diapers earth's best

If your little one tends to get a diaper rash fairly easily, either in disposables or in cloth, I strongly recommend Earth’s Best Chlorine Free Diapers as the best choice to wear while healing the rash. Note that if you go through subscribe and save on Amazon, your price per diaper goes down from 32 cents each to 26 cents each. Score!!!

I am an Earth’s Best Preferred Blogger, and as such, I have received complimentary products for review purposes. But rest assured, this isn’t my first time using these diapers! All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

Filed Under: My Favorite Finds · Tagged: best chlorine free diapers, chlorine free diapers, chlorine free diapers reviews, earth best diapers reviews, earth's best, earth's best review, earth’s best tendercare chlorine free diapers, earths best diapers, review

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.

counting lift-the-flap book David Carter's 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:

counting lift-the-flap book david carter's 100

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. 

Filed Under: My Favorite Finds · Tagged: book review, books with flaps, children counting, children counting books, counting books, david carters 100, david carters 100 review, flap books, kids books, review, video review

How I Deal With Life When It Hands Me a Bunch of Lemons

May 20, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 3 Comments

It has been quite an eventful handful of days around here on Stuff Parents Need. I had a blogging emergency problem, I had out of town company (which was a wonderful thing…just time consuming) and my oldest got terribly sick. Have you ever been in a situation like this, where all signs seem to be pointing to the fact that you need to take a break from your work, like it or not???

It all started Wednesday when I started getting reports from readers that they couldn’t see my blog online anymore. I thought it was so odd because I could see it just fine. I made sure that I didn’t have any hackers getting into my account, and then I just played dumb. I assumed that it would just magically work itself out.

What was I thinking???

Finally, around 3am Thursday (yeah, that’s when I wake up so that I can “balance” a career as a blogger with a career as a mom), I couldn’t see my site either. And I couldn’t even get logged into the back end of the blog to fix it. As far as I could tell, my blog, my 3 years and 9 months of HARD work, had vanished into thin air. I almost threw up, no exaggeration.

dealing with stress as a blogger blogging planner

I immediately woke up my tech support, also known as my husband Tim, and pleaded with him to please figure out the problem. After an hour and a half, he did figure it out. And the problem was simple, yet confusing at the same time: MY BLOG DOMAIN EXPIRED. You see, to run your own website, you have to pay for your address on the internet. Additionally, you have to pay for a server to host your site. Most bloggers get both things taken care of together through a hosting service. I have always been pleased with my host. But in this case, they had an expired credit card on file for me and NEVER contacted me to let me know there was any sort of problem. They just let my domain expire!

While the problem was fixable, it cost me nearly 24 hours of traffic. I get new visitors every single day, and the folks who were new to my site over that time period will likely never visit again, assuming that my blog is defunct. I also get emails from PR reps every day. Who knows what potential opportunities were missed because the reps couldn’t find my site? And I wasn’t able to get logged in at all for over 24 hours, which caused some significant delays in my posting schedule. Basically, this was a gigantic pain in the you-know-what.

I was very frustrated with my host for not communicating with me that there was a problem, but I also had to “put on my big girl pants” (a phrase I’m borrowing from the Shanty-2-Chic sisters) and realize that I was partially to blame, too. I should have known when my domain was up for renewal. I should have proactively checked on my account from time to time to make sure all my info, including my credit card number, was up-to-date. I should have called my host the second I started hearing that other people couldn’t see my site. Next time I will do better. And I will do that with the help of my Blogging Planner.

blog schedule blogging planner

The Blogging Planner has been right by my side for the last 3 months, and especially for the last 5 days. Even though I haven’t been able to get much blogging work done, I have been able to quickly communicate delays in postings with my sponsors (all my posts are listed in my planner…they used to just be in my wordpress account, and if I couldn’t get into my account, I couldn’t see them). I also have put reminders in my calendar to check in with my hosting service every six months to make sure everything is in order.

My sister and brother-in-law arrived at my house for a 3 day visit in the midst of the blog drama, and I knew that I would not be able to do much at all to get caught up until they left on Sunday. I quickly scanned over all of my “to do” items for the weekend (which I had originally planned on getting through before they came). And I realized that every single thing could wait. The world simply wouldn’t end if a post went live on Sunday instead of Saturday! And while blogging is a really great source of meaningful relationships and community for me, it doesn’t replace the joy to be found in spending time with my family. I saw my sister’s visit for what it was: a real gift. I think I would have been more harried about the whole thing if I couldn’t have seen my blogging calendar at a glance and easily re-worked post due dates.

Finally, when the time to work yesterday rolled around, my oldest started throwing up. Of course. But as we all know, seeing your child sick will put EVERYTHING into perspective in about 2 seconds flat. All she wanted in this world was her mommy. And all I wanted to do was to be her mommy and cuddle her, tell her stories, and sing her to sleep over and over again throughout the day and night. While she rested I would get back into my Blogging Planner and continue to re-work the schedule and to cut out every task that wasn’t absolutely critical. When you don’t have enough time to accomplish all of your goals you have to go into triage mode, and let go of a lot of things. The Blogging Planner really helped me quickly prioritize what was a must based on commitments and based on my specific monthly goals I had created, and what could wait for another day, or even another week or month.

At first glance, the past 5 days have been really crappy. But as I head into a new week and start to get caught back up with everything, I also realized that my forced vacation from work was a blessing, too. I got to focus on what mattered the very most (my family) and I realized that I am now organized enough to deal with blog problems in an effective way that minimizes my stress level. As a person who is prone to worrying, this is a really big deal. The Blogging Planner played a very important role in saving my sanity. I can’t stress enough what a tremendous tool it is. If you blog, you need one. Period.

I received a complimentary planner and am providing my honest assessment through a review series. This post contains affiliate links, which I only include in a post when I’m SUPER excited about a product. If you blog, this planner is a game-changer.

Filed Under: My Favorite Finds · Tagged: balance work and family, blog money, blog planner, blog planning calendar, blogging, blogging for profit, blogging planner, blogging planner review, blogging tips, create a blog, how to blog, making money blogging, planners, review

3 Tips to Get Rid of Mosquitoes in Your Yard (Mosquito Treatment Giveaway!!!)

May 19, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 24 Comments

Here in eastern Tennessee, the mosquitoes are already out, and man are they hungry! I seem to be in the most fortunate category of people who are extremely delicious to mosquitoes. I’m sure you are jealous! Last summer, every day I would get bitten by at least one mosquito in the time it took me to go from my back door to the car (9 seconds…I’ve timed it).

Darah and Layah both really love to play outside, and I want them to get to enjoy the beautiful weather and get to play in the yard, with their splash table, and with the kiddie pool. And I want this all to happen without them being bit by mosquitoes like crazy. Also, I’d like to avoid that fate, myself!

I recently connected with Arrow Exterminators, a pest control company with offices in 9 different states (Alabama, Arizona, Flordia, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas). They came out and provided a mosquito treatment to our property, and they also taught me quite a bit about their services and what strategic steps I can take to help reduce the mosquito population around my house. I highly recommend this company, but even if you don’t live in their service area, you can still learn some great tips from them, so keep reading!

I have never had my yard sprayed for mosquitoes out of concern that very toxic chemicals would be used. I was really relieved to hear that Arrow uses products that are registered with the EPA and that is designed to bond to foliage, and not to people! Once the area that has been sprayed is dry, it is completely safe to walk around on (even barefoot!). In my experience, it takes about 4 hours for the product to dry. I also thought the fact that the person spraying our lawn wasn’t wearing special clothing or a special mask was very telling. If he trusts the chemicals enough not to be “suited up” and he sprays them all day, every day, then there’s little to worry about!

how to get rid of mosquitos with Arrow Exterminators

I was also concerned about the cost of the treatment. For a yard my size (which is admittedly small) and for the Chattanooga area, the montly cost of a mosquito treatment would be $55. Honestly, that’s not a price I would have paid before having kids, as I personally don’t like to spend a lot of time outside, but it is something I’m strongly considering now. Because my kids like to do this. A lot.

how to get rid of mosquitos in your yard

The exact cost for your property to be serviced is likely not going to be the same as mine, but Arrow can provide you with a free estimate.

I asked Arrow for some tips on helping me make the very most of my monthly treatment, as well as some good general tips for keeping the mosquitoes at bay. Here’s what I learned.

Tip #1. Eliminate as much standing water on your property as possible. For example, if you have empty pots on your deck that just collect rain water, turn them upside-down. If you have larger water containers like a kiddie pool or a splash table, it isn’t necessary to empty them daily, but they should be emptied once a week. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water, which is why it needs to go! If you have something like a pond in your backyard, Arrow has specific chemicals it can use that targe mosquito larvae and that won’t harm the pond plant life.

Tip #2. Do you have any areas of your back yard that are overgrown? Mosquitoes rest on foliage, and LOVE to congregate on bushes, trees, or better yet, clusters of such things. We actually got rid of a lot of overgrowth this past winter, and I think that is going to help us significantly. If you ever needed a good reason to do some cleaning up in your yard, now you have it!

Tip #3. Mow your grass BEFORE you have it treated for mosquitoes. The product adheres to the blades, so if you cut your grass right after your treatment, your results will not be as optimal. Unfortunately, we were due for a grass cutting when our exterminator came over, but we let the grass continue to grow for about 5 more days so that we could get as much as possible out of that treatment. It has been 2 weeks now, and even though we have cut the grass, I am still not noticing nearly as many mosquitoes in our yard, so I’d say our treatment was successful!

If you live in an Arrow Exterminators service area, please do get in touch with them to get an estimate on servicing your yard. Your body will thank you for the lack of mosquito bites it will have to endure this summer!

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

Filed Under: DIY Projects, Giveaways · Tagged: arrow exterminators, arrow exterminators review, exterminator, giveaway, mosquito, mosquito control, mosquito exterminators, mosquito spray, review

Roomba Review: How a Robot Broke My Heart

May 18, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 23 Comments

Originally posted in October 2009.
roomba review

When I was a little girl, I was confident that I would not have to clean up after myself as an adult. It wasn’t that I thought I would be rich enough to afford a live in housekeeper (though of course in my mind that would also be true, dahling). Rather, I was certain that pretty much everybody would have a robot maid, just like in the Jetsons.

Let me be clear; I WAS CERTAIN.

Time passed. I was getting older. The new millennium came. College was ending for me and I was facing…THE REAL WORLD! Soon I would have to go out and purchase my robot maid since I would be living on my own.

Only, it turns out that robot maids still didn’t exist. WHAT?!?!?! Yes, as a 21 year old, I was genuinely dismayed. So I sucked it up and learned how to do basic housekeeping, but only to bide my time until those robot maids hit the market.

And then it happened.

ROOMBA! While it wasn’t a robot maid, it gave me sooo much hope for the future! Roomba would be the first step toward fulfilling my dreams. It only does the vacuuming, but hey, that’s a start.

I didn’t get a Roomba for the first few years it was out, because it turns out that robot maids are pricey. But when we realized that we were ready to start a family last year, it made our Christmas 2008 wish list. I simply didn’t feel right about bringing home a bundle of joy in 2009 without my pseudo robot maid to help out around the house.

My husband has very generous and kind parents, and because of them, Roomba was under the Christmas tree last year. Yippee! I remember the moment when I realized that I would NEVER have to vacuum again. It was beautiful.

When we got our lovely vacuuming robot home, we put him right to work! Our Christmas tree had dropped quite a few needles, so we thought this would be the perfect test. Roomba vacuumed in our living room (an average size living room) for 45 minutes, running around seemingly at random looking for dirt. Roomba wasn’t as loud as a standard vacuum, but he wasn’t quiet, either. That’s ok, as long as the job gets done, right? Well, the job didn’t really get done. The little tray that holds the dirt/debris filled up, so we had to stop and empty it. Then it went back to work for maybe another 20 minutes (after being charged, because it has also run out of energy). It still didn’t get everything up. But we forgave it and decided that Roomba was probably ideal for more everyday vacuuming. To be fair, it isn’t every day that we have tree needles all over our floors.

The weeks passed, and we kept hope alive for little Roomba. But what we found was pretty consistent with our experience on day one. Our findings were as follows:
1.Roomba takes FOREVER to clean a room (20 minutes, at a minimum).
2. Forget about staying in a room while it is being vacuumed. It is too loud and Roomba will run into you.
3. Roomba gets tuckered out pretty quickly and has to be recharged after doing 3 average size rooms. Having to constantly recharge the Roomba really lengthens the amount of time you spend trying to get your house vacuumed. We try to vacuum the whole house on one day, and it really does take all day to get it done.
4. Roomba DOES NOT do well if you have a house that actually gets dirty. We have 2 cats. Roomba gets cat hair stuck in it on a regular basis, and has to be cleaned out. The debris tray is also teeny tiny, which means that you frequently have to empty the bin.

So basically, Roomba is ideal for someone with no children, no pets, no mess, who lives in a 3 room house and doesn’t mind leaving them while vacuuming happens.

Oh my little robot maid, I had such high hopes for you, but what I’ve found is that just getting out an upright vacuum and doing the job myself is much less of a hassle.

photo credit: Eirik Newth via photopin cc

photo credit: ekai via photopin cc

Filed Under: Popular Post · Tagged: review, roomba, roomba review, roomba robotic vacuum, roomba vacuum, roomba vacuum reviews

10 Great Preschool Videos for Under $10!

May 15, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 6 Comments

This is the last week of school for Darah. Her summer begins in just 4 short days! AAAAHHHH!!!!

This mama needs to get prepared. I’ve been working on a summer calendar of activities (is that something you’d be interested in seeing???). I know that when it comes to hands-on stuff, if I don’t plan ahead, it will never happen!

I also know that if I don’t pre-plan which videos Darah can watch, she’ll end up watching WAY too many. So yes, I actually have videos built into her daily schedule, not so much to ensure that she DOES watch them, but more to ensure that she doesn’t watch MORE than I have listed as options.

As I was putting together my list, I realized that she has some pretty amazing videos in her collection. There are so many things that I would highly recommend! If you are seeking some quality videos to have on hand for the summer for your preschooler, but you also don’t want to spend a fortune, I’ve got 10 videos that are great for kids 5 and under and that all cost less than $10! Ready? Here we go!

videos for preschoolers

One for the child who loves a little thrill

One for the child who loves kittens

One of the child who sports fairy wings daily

One for the child who loves to make up rhymes

One for the child with a big heart

One for the child who loves to perform

One for the child who lives outdoors

One for the child who love adventures

One for the child who loves to soak up knowledge

One for the child who wants to go on safari

 

What will you be watching this summer???

 

This post contains affiliate links. I only recommend products I love! 🙂 

Filed Under: My Favorite Finds · Tagged: best preschool movies, best preschool videos, preschool video, preschool video reviews, preschool videos, preschool videos under $10, review

Parenting Tip for the Non-Crafty: Get a Wummelbox Craft Subscription!

May 13, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 5 Comments

We’ve talked before about how NOT crafty I am. It just isn’t in my genes, people. But I have a 3 1/2 year old who loves to work on projects and try new things and just spend quality time with mommy and daddy.

Thank goodness for companies like Wummelbox.

wummelbox craft subscription service

See all this? This is everything I need to create some games, do some crafts and engage in some really creative and fun learning with my preschooler. It came with crystal-clear instructions straight to my front door. No anxiety-filled trips to Michael’s for this gal!

Wummelbox offers European-style arts & crafts ideas, with each box containing 3-4 projects that fit within a theme. I received a box all about time travel.

Wummelbox craft subscription time travel theme

I really appreciate that the materials that came in this box are all made to the highest European and U.S. standards for toys, and eco-friendly materials are given top priority, being used whenever possible. I have no worries about Darah playing with everything in the box, or with Layah getting her little hands on stuff, either!

Wummelbox craft subscription service paiting wooly mammoth

Darah opted to play the hunter & gatherer game first, which required her to paint a Wooly Mammoth and to cut out some animal tracks!

Wummelbox craft subscription animal tracks

Darah worked on her motor skills as she cut the fabric (of note: the scissors that were included int he package just weren’t “cut out for” the fabric, sorry to say. Had to go with a more grown up pair and more careful adult supervision). The game also had some great language and movement development opportunities built into it.

wummelbox craft subscription hunter gatherer game

I also appreciate the intentionality behind each activity, as I learned that they are each designed by early childhood educators, parents and designers. Later this month we’ll also tackle the other cool activities in this box, including building a time machine and creating a cave painting. The subscription service is available for $34.95/month, but the deal is REALLY good if you go for a year subscription, in which case you only pay $19.95/month! I would order this again now that I have seen it first hand, and would definitely recommend it!

Plenty of use can be had out of the crafts, as they are all designed to be used again and again. So they aren’t just one-time craft projects! You can order a Wummelbox here, and also keep up with the latest news on the Wummelbox Facebook page.

If you aren’t crafty, what have been your “work-arounds” with your young kids? Any tips to share???

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

Filed Under: DIY Projects · Tagged: childrens crafts, craft ideas, craft subscription for kids, european style crafts, kid crafts, kids craft ideas, review, wummelbox, wummelbox craft subscription, wummelbox review

LEGO Storage: Box4Blox

May 12, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 144 Comments

LEGO Storage

Is this a familiar sight in your home?

too many LEGOS! LEGO Storage

What you see scattered across my living room floor is a huge collection of 20+ years old space themed LEGOS that Tim’s mother so lovingly stored away in her attic until it was time to pass them on to her grandchildren.

Tim looks at this pile and sees countless memories from his own childhood, as well as memories to come from playing with these with his girls. I see hundreds of choking hazards. And this. I see lots and lots of this:

stepping on a LEGO. LEGO Storage

The LEGOS actually came to us in a nice box, but the only way to play with them every time is to dump them all out on the floor. To which I say, “No thanks!” But once Layah gets old enough to know not to eat the LEGO pieces, I really do want the kids to be able to play with them. So a better solution was needed.

And I found one! Want to see what that giant pile of LEGOS looks like now? Check out Box4Blox!

Box4Blox LEGO storage container

That’s right. Every. single. LEGO. all nice and neat in this 10 1/4 inch box. And this isn’t just any old box. Oh no! The inside looks like this:

LEGO storage compartments with Box4Blox

The tiers of the box have graded filters. So when it is time to put your LEGOS away, at first leave out the very largest pieces and then just start piling in the LEGOS, given them a gentle shake every so often so that the pieces fall through to their appropriate level. This makes putting away the LEGOS actually fun! But what I love even more is what it looks like when it is time to get them back out!

LEGO storage compartments Box4Blox

All the LEGOS are sorted so that it is so much easier to find the pieces you are looking for. The tiniest pieces are in the bottom green tier. Medium-small pieces are just above in red, large-medium pieces are above that in blue, and the largest pieces can be found in the top yellow tier. No need to dump everything out. Just lay out your trays!

It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it???

Darah’s grandparents were so kind to hang on to Tim’s childhood treasures, and now we have a way to store and organize them that really makes sense. I think this a perfect gift option, especially for grandparents to purchase because it strikes this great balance between being very practical (and something the parents will appreciate) and very fun! This product is also made in the U.S.A. which is a really nice bonus!

When Darah gets a little bit older, I’ll be purchasing another Box4Blox set, as we have even more LEGOS waiting upstairs in the attic!

If you have LEGOS in your home, and you are starting to run out of ideas for how to store them in an effective way, then you are definitely going to want a Box4Blox. They are currently available at Amazon for under $45. Put it on your wishlist right now. Or better yet, just put it in your online cart!

LEGO storage from Box4Blox


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

Filed Under: Giveaways, My Favorite Finds · Tagged: box4blox, box4blox review, giveaway, lego organizer, lego storage, lego storage box, lego storage brick, review, storage for legos, toy bin, toy organizers, toy storage bins

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Grab your beverage of choice (mine is iced coffee) and let's hang out for a spell! I'm Tiffany, and I've rambunctious little girls and a fierce desire to share any tip and trick I can find to make lives with little ones a bit less hectic and a lot more fun. [Read more...]

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