Reviews From The Dad Side

Back To School Book Giveaway Winners

2009-08-31T06:03:00.001-04:00

I would like to thank everyone who entered the Back To School Book Giveaway sponsored by Hachette Book Group.

The winners, chosen at random, are:

Andreanna
JACLYN
Blogging Mama Andrea
jbeckett
jennem

I will be contacting you via email shortly if I have access to your email address.

Thanks again to all who entered, and to Hachette Book Group for providing the prizes. Enjoy your books!

Back To School Book Giveaway

2009-08-20T18:36:00.003-04:00

I am hosting a giveaway sponsored by Hachette Book Group called Back To School Book Giveaway. The following books are part of the prize set:

NurtureShock By Po Bronson, Ashley Merryman ISBN: 0446504122
Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind By Phillip Done ISBN: 1599951487
In CHEAP We Trust By Lauren Weber ISBN: 0316030287
The Love Revolution By Joyce Meyer ISBN: 0446538566
Six Pixels of Separation By Mitch Joel ISBN: 0446548235

The Rules

Entering: leave a comment in this post. That's it.
If you comment multiple times, only your first comment will count.
Deadline: All entries must be received by 11.59pm EDT on Sunday August 30, 2009.
Prizes: I will choose five winners at random (using an online random number generator) from all entries.
Shipping: Contest is limited to addresses in the US and Canada (sorry European readers); no P.O. boxes.
Winners: Winners will be posted on this blog (in a new post) on Monday, August 31, 2009, and will be emailed if they include their email address in their entry (or if it is accessible via their Blogger profile).
Including an email is not necessary for entry; it only makes it easier for me to notify you.

Disclosure: I am receiving books from Hachette Book Group in exchange for hosting this giveaway.

Summer Beach Bag Book Giveaway Winners

2009-07-31T06:04:00.000-04:00

I would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who entered the Summer Beach Bag Book Giveaway sponsored by Hachette Book Group. This was the most successful contest I have ever run at Reviews From The Dad Side (over 200 entries), almost doubling the mark set by my last book giveaway.

The winners, chosen at random, are:

Marjorie
steenface!
morethananumber
plhill2000
Meg

I will be contacting you via email shortly if I have access to your email address.

Thanks again to all who entered, and to Hachette Book Group for providing the prizes. Enjoy your books!

Summer Beach Bag Book Giveaway

2009-07-20T20:15:00.001-04:00

I am hosting a giveaway sponsored by Hachette Book Group called Summer Beach Bag Books. The following books are part of the prize set:

The Secret Speech By Tom Smith ISBN: 0446402400
Julie and Julia By Julie Powell ISBN: 031604427X
Swimsuit By James Patterson , Maxine Paetro ISBN: 0316018775
Obama's BlackBerry By Kasper Hauser ISBN: 0316074357
A Summer Affair By Elin Hilderbrand ISBN: 0316018619
When You Are Engulfed in Flames By David Sedaris ISBN: 0316154687
Any Minute By Joyce Meyer , Deborah Bedford ISBN: 0446582530
The Book of Lies By Brad Meltzer ISBN: 0446616141
Kill for Me By Karen Rose ISBN: 0446616931
Miscarriage of Justice By "Kip" Gayden ISBN: 1599951975

To enter, simply leave a comment in this post. All entries must be received by 11.59pm EDT on Thursday July 30, 2009. I will choose five winners at random from all entries. Contest is limited to addresses in the US and Canada (sorry European readers). Winners will be posted on this blog (in a new post) on Friday, July 31, 2009, and will be emailed if they include their email address in their entry (or if it is accessible via their Blogger profile).

Disclosure: I am receiving books from Hachette Book Group in exchange for hosting this giveaway.

PC 1000 Tastes of Canada

2009-07-07T19:30:00.002-04:00

President's Choice is celebrating the 1000 Tastes of Canada this summer with some new products aimed at highlighting Canada's diverse population and cultures. I was provided with some of their products in exchange for a review.

Suraj Sugar Coated Fennel Seeds - the combination of the fennel (like black licorice) and candy was interesting, but we felt they left an unfavourable after taste.

PC Jamaican Style Ginger Beer - definitely more gingery than your regular ginger ale; it was OK, but not a big hit.

PC Indian Butter Chicken Cooking Sauce - we loved the frozen dinner version of this product (it sustained me during the first week's of my daughter's life when all I could do was microwave frozen dinners), and the sauce didn't disappoint. My wife loved the leftovers in a wrap as well.

Glico Pocky - they tasted like a not too sweet cookie covered in icing and were devoured by my wife and daughter before I could try one, so I suppose that means "good".

PC Blood Orange Italian Soda - a tart take on traditional soda that we both really liked.

PC The Decadent Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies - I'm a huge peanut butter fan, so I was really excited to try these. I found them good, if a little too chocolatey and not peanut buttery enough.

PC Barbeque Baby Back Ribs Rippled Potato Chips - they come in a resealable bag to maintain freshness, which works but makes the bag opening a little small when you're digging in the bottom. I liked the flavour, although the cheddar and onion ones (another new flavour) were much better tasting.

PC Tzatziki Yogurt Dressing - it tastes like a vinegary, more watery cousin of tzatziki, and was a huge hit with my wife, who I suspect would have chugged shooters of the stuff if it was socially acceptable.

There were some other products that were provided but we did not get a chance to try before I had to post this review:

PC Memories Of Mexico Fajita Cooking Sauce - this looks really good
NuPak Hot Pepper Sauce
Suraj Hot Chili Powder

Mee Wee

2009-07-05T21:36:00.001-04:00

On my personal blog, I open every post with a song. By perusing the songs I use there, you can see that my tastes tend toward the metal and/or alternative genre, but I have been known to enjoy hip-hop from time to time. Unfortunately, most of the modern stuff I enjoy isn't exactly kid-friendly (unless of course you want to have you kid ask you about hookers and blow and bustin' a cap and vicodin), so I can't really listen to it in the car with my kids.

When I was first contacted by representatives from Mee Wee with an offer of some of their mp3s in exchange for review of their music, I was skeptical. What is Mee Wee? From their website:

MeeWee is fun, exciting, and uplifting Hip-Hop music for elementary school age children. Through the years, nearly all Hip-Hop music and culture has been designed for adolescents and adults. These fans now have children who love the lively and energetic songs that they hear; unfortunately, most of the lyrical content isn't quite appropriate. Well, MeeWee solves that! With songs like "I Need A Hug", "Us Bus", and "I Can Be Anything", Hip-Hop fans who are six, seven, and eight years old have cause to celebrate. So do their parents, as they get their children ready to rap and dance to the beats and rhymes of MeeWee.

Sounds too good to be true, right? Wrong.

Mee Wee is everything they promise and more. The songs are positive and fun and entertaining. From "I Can Be Anything" (which can be heard on their homepage) to "HipHop-O-Potamus" (my daughter's favourite) and everything in between, Mee Wee is a welcome change to the typical folksy kid's music most parents suffer through. In all honesty, I'm not sure if Mee Wee was a bigger hit with the kids or my wife.

I highly recommend giving Mee Wee a listen if you're a hip-hop fan, and even if you're not - parents can always use a new set of songs to listen to in the car, right? You can download their music at various online retailers, including Amazon (they also have previews of all the songs) and iTunes.

If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay

2009-06-24T20:08:00.000-04:00

Recently, I was provided with a copy of If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay by Dr. Lara Zibners for review. (Actually, the complete title is: If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay: How to Know if Your Child's Injury or Illness Is Really an Emergency. I know; I like short titles too.) Dr. Zibners is a pediatrician specializing in emergency medicine, and her book is intended to convey her years of experience in the emergency department to parents in the hopes of helping them avoid unnecessary visits to the hospital, panic and anxiety.

The book is logically organized; there is a section for babies that covers many different areas, but then there are complete sections about poisons or allergies for example. It is thoroughly indexed, and is intended to be used more as a reference than to be read cover to cover. There are also small mini-sections within the book, highlighted by a shaded background, with critical information for parents (further identified with headings like Warning or 911 to indicate a need for an emergency department visit).

It is also written is clear, easy to understand language, which is especially important since parents are most likely to consult this book when their child is ill or injured and they are unsure what to do. This is probably the strongest feature of the book.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. Even though we are not the type of parents to make a quick decision to take one of our children to the hospital, it was still an informative and helpful reference. I would recommend it to anyone, and I personally think it would make an excellent gift for new or expecting parents.

Dads And Grads Book Giveaway Winners

2009-06-18T06:07:00.002-04:00

First of all, a huge thank you to everyone who entered the Dads And Grads Book Giveaway sponsored by Hachette Book Group. This was the most successful contest I have ever run at Reviews From The Dad Side.

The winners, chosen at random, are:

cheekofgod
Rebecca Cox
jwx4

I will be contacting you via email shortly.

Thanks again, and check back soon for another book giveaway (this time for summer reading) sponsored by Hachette Book Group.

Pacify Me

2009-06-10T21:11:00.001-04:00

Recently, I was provided with a review copy of Pacify Me: A Handbook for the Freaked-Out New Dad by Chris Mancini. The back cover of the book promises guidance and answers for soon-to-be fathers who are nervous, scared, or apprehensive about their impending fatherhood.

Admittedly, the author is pretty much the anti-SciFi Dad. Whereas his revelation of his wife's pregnancy was met with trips to the therapist and prescription medication (initially), I was quite the opposite. (True story: at the first session of one of our prenatal classes, the instructor went around the room and asked the dads how they felt. The answers went like this: stressed, stressed, stressed, stressed, stoked, stressed, stressed, stressed. Guess which one I was?) In fact, he even admits up front that dads like me should "give this book to one of their friends and go to Babies R Us right now and fill out your registry".

However, since I already have two kids, registering would be a little weird (although, now that I think about it, technically Babies R Us allows you to add things from Toys R Us, which means I could register for a whole whack of Star Wars action figures and maybe that massive Lego Star Wars Death Star, which would have been cool). Plus there was that whole review thing I had promised, so I soldiered on past page seven ~~all the way to page nine~~.

The book reads like a mixture of personal anecdotes and advice/opinion with a side order of humour. Since the intended audience is men, I won't dwell on the caveat that the humour is "man humour", meaning lots of pop culture references (he has a table comparing Dr. Spock to Mr. Spock) and pot shots at people (like French Canadians and their famous singing brethren). If I had to say something critical, I would mention that some topics are merely glossed over because the author didn't feel they were important.

That aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was entertaining and light-hearted, and would likely be a source of comfort for more nervous dads to be. The fact that I had almost no connection to the feelings he was describing, yet was somehow able to relate to them, is a testament to how well the book was written. I would definitely recommend this book to any dad: "to be" or otherwise. It takes an honest look at parenting from the dad's perspective, not from the "male mother's" perspective most books of this genre take.

Dads and Grads Book Giveaway

2009-06-03T20:13:00.002-04:00

I am hosting a giveaway sponsored by Hachette Book Group called Dads and Grads. The following books are part of the prize set:

The Nine Lessons By Kevin Milne ISBN: 159995074X
Do-Over! By Robin Hemley ISBN: 0316020605
The Man's Book By Thomas Fink ISBN: 0316033642
Ghostwriter By Travis Thrasher ISBN: 0446505587
An Honorable German By Charles McCain ISBN: 0446538981
The Richest Man in Town By W. Randall Jones ISBN: 0446537837
Lincoln on Leadership By Donald Phillips ISBN: 0446394599
Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell ISBN: 0316017922

To enter, simply leave a comment in this post. All entries must be received by 11.59pm EDT on Wednesday, June 17, 2009. I will choose three winners at random from all entries. Contest is limited to addresses in the US and Canada (sorry European readers). Winners will be posted on this blog (in a new post) on Thursday, June 18, 2009, and will be emailed if they include their email address in their entry (or if it is accessible via their Blogger profile).

Disclosure: I am receiving books from Hachette Book Group in exchange for hosting this giveaway.

New President's Choice Meat Products

2009-05-24T20:08:00.001-04:00

President's Choice is expanding its selection fresh meats in celebration of 25 Delicious Years. I was provided with samples of their PC Tender and Tasty steak, PC Free From pork ribs, and PC Air Chilled chicken. To compliment these meats, I was also given some condiments to try.

We made some steak with the PC Steak Spice Marinade, as well as some using only the sea salt and black peppercorn grinder. Both were grilled, were quite tender and moist, and tasted great. The only concern we had was with the peppercorns in the marinade: my four year old found the steak a little too spicy. However, once we scraped them off, she was able to enjoy it.

We grilled the ribs and the chicken with some barbecue sauce another night. The ribs were amazing: tender, meaty, and fall off the bone good. (Our eight month old son loved to teethe on the bones - completely supervised, of course.) The chicken drumsticks were so moist and soft that we actually put some pieces into our son's mesh feeder and he gnawed away on them happily, getting bits of chicken.

We were very satisfied with all of the meat offerings, but our favourite was the free from pork ribs. The fact that they came from animals who were never given antibiotics made us feel better about the choice too. The sea salt and black peppercorn grinder was also a hit for its convenience.

Potty Training Talk

2009-05-22T08:23:00.001-04:00

When my daughter was just under two, she expressed an interest in using the toilet, so we started the process by keeping her in a diaper and letting her use the toilet whenever she asked. Eventually she graduated to pull-ups (we used them as a milestone/reward).

Then, one day we were at the mall, and she asked to go pee. It wasn't a convenient time, so we told her to just go in her pull-up instead. She did, and immediately asked to be changed.

After that, she totally reverted and was back in diapers full time within a few days. (Our approach was that if she was going to use the pull-ups like diapers, we would use diapers. Pull-ups were a privilege she wanted because of the characters on them.) It took another few months before she was ready to try again, after seeing some panties that my wife had found on sale and purchased in anticipation of her potty training completion.

We went through the progression from diapers to pull-ups to panties, and eventually left off the diapers at night (the last stage for us). But we learned two important things from this: first, when your kid is ready, they will tell you (ours was ready a lot earlier than some of our friends) and consistency is the only path to success.

This post has been prepared for a Parent Bloggers Network Blog Blast entitled "Potty Training Talk", sponsored by The Potty Project.

The Man's Book

2009-05-10T19:45:00.000-04:00

I was provided with a review copy of The Man's Book, by Thomas Fink. It is billed as "the essential guide for the modern man", and is intended to be used as a reference book for subjects men are either interested in, or need to be informed about.

The Man's Book covers, in varying degrees of detail:

the various ways one can tie a necktie
the way to identify the type of cigar by diameter
a list of essential tools every man should own
where to stand at an array of urinals (including a 67 question test on the subject)
an extensive exploration into wine and spirits
lists of manly films and books
and even instructions for building a treehouse

Although not intended to be a humourous book, some of the subject matter can be found entertaining, if for no other reason than the straightforward, clinical manner in which it is discussed. It is thoroughly referenced with an exhaustive table of contents and index for easy look up, and the per-subject style makes it a perfect bathroom book (as noted by William).

I thoroughly enjoyed The Man's Book, and will continue to refer to it in the future. I think it would make an excellent gift for Father's Day, or a graduating young man, or pretty much any adolescent or adult male on your list.

Do-Over

2009-05-04T19:31:00.002-04:00

Recently, I was provided with a review copy of Do-Over, by Robin Hemley. It is a non-fiction account of a man's efforts to revisit some of the less pleasant episodes of his childhood and try to experience them again, this time with more favourable results.

Some examples of his do-overs include:

another attempt at Kindergarten, where he even gets a turn with the Surprise Box (where the kids hide something in a box and then give clues to figure out what it is)
summer camp revisited, including sleeping in bunks with other campers
taking another shot at sixth grade, complete with science reports and bullies
going to prom (he never went to his when he was in high school) with, through a twist of fate, his high school crush

There are other events as well, such as eighth grade and a children's play, and in each one he tries to learn something from his experience.

The book reads well; the stories of his various do-overs are peppered with brief forays into his own childhood, giving the reader some perspective about the author and protagonist. The narrative style works, although occasionally it can be a bit disorienting trying to follow the stories of two sets of classmates or two teachers. His sense of humour is dry and sarcastic, which I personally appreciated, and helps keep the focus that this is a middle aged man doing childish things.

But therein lies my problem with the book. In as much as it is a novel idea to relive parts of childhood, doing so as an adult has consequences. Every do-over starts with a background check (of course), which is an indicator of the nature of his experiment. Ultimately, this is a grown man living life with children, sometimes with uncomfortable results. One example that sticks out for me is in his sixth grade do-over, he encounters a young girl who is annoying and a perfectionist and probably bears more than a passing resemblance to a girl we all went to school with. While jealousy or dislike for a child is OK for another 11 year old, it's disconcerting to read it coming from an adult, and for that adult to go on and say that she will likely date the class bully and have an unwanted pregnancy and live a life full of regrets is a more than uncomfortable experience.

Social awkwardness aside, Do-Over is an interesting and funny book. It is definitely a thought provoking read for parents, as it offers some insight into the classrooms and social interaction of young kids.

Simply Clean Communities Challenge

2009-05-03T20:30:00.000-04:00

Community centres see a lot of action in the summer months, with kids out of school and into other programs. In anticipation of this, P&G has sponsored the Simply Clean Communities Challenge, and have selected nine centres (five from southeastern Ontario and four from Quebec) to compete for a chance to win a complete cleaning by a team of professionals.

One centre from each region will win a complete and thorough cleaning, as well as a three month supply of products from Mr. Clean, Swiffer, Dawn, Cascade and Febreze. The other participating centres will receive a basket of cleaning products valued at approximately $100 to help them get ready for summer.

To vote for the centre in your community, visit http://simplycleancommunities.ca/. The challenge runs until the end of May.

UPrinting.com Giveaway Winners

2009-05-01T06:06:00.000-04:00

The winners of the giveaway sponsored by UPrinting, a company specializing in online printing for over 25 years. The two lucky readers who have won a free 16x20 inch high gloss poster print are:

Aunt Becky
chromiumman

I will be contacting you both directly via email.

Thanks again to Uprinting for sponsoring this poster printing givewaway. I'm sure both winners are excited to print a poster of their very own.

Win a 16x20 High Gloss Print From UPrinting

2009-04-22T19:40:00.008-04:00

I have a giveaway sponsored by UPrinting, a company specializing in online printing for over 25 years. Two lucky readers will win a free 16x20 inch high gloss poster print.

There are two opportunities to enter, and you can enter once using each method for a total of two chances to win:

Leave a comment in this post telling me what you will do with your poster printing prize.
Write a post about the contest on your blog. Your post must include a link back to this post, as well as one to the sponsor - http://www.uprinting.com/Poster-printing.html. (You can leave the link to your post here in the comments, or you can email me the link. Check my blogger profile for the address.)

All entries must be received by 11.59pm on April 30, 2009. The winners will be announced May 1, 2009 here. Two (2) winners will be selected at random from all entries. (I have decided to limit the number of wins to one per person, which means that even if you put in two entries, the best you can win is one print.)

Each winner will receive the opportunity to print a poster for free using the sponsor's website. Shipping and handling is free for the U.S. and Canada only. Winners from other countries will still receive a free print, but will be responsible for the shipping charges to their location.

50th Anniversary of Mr. Clean

2009-04-05T22:02:00.001-04:00

Recently, I was provided with a custom Mr. Clean 50th Anniversary bucket as part of Mr. Clean's celebrating the fact that he's been helping clean Canadian homes for 50 years. The bucket had some new Mr. Clean products for my wife and I to try.

Mr. Clean Extra Power Wipes - The dispensing container was very easy to use, although we found the wipes to have a very strong chemical scent. In all honesty, we didn't find that they appeared or cleaned any differently from the regular wipes, and prefer those.

Mr. Clean Disinfecting Wipes - These were the perfect size and dampness for all-purpose cleaning. We really liked the scent of these, and my wife deemed them her new preferred method of cleaning when using a chemical-based cleaner.

Mr. Clean Powerful Multi-Surface Cleaner with Febreze Fresh Scent - We liked the scent, and found that it did a great job on the surfaces we tried (porcelain in the toilet and ceramic tiles).

Mr. Clean Powerful Multi-Surface Spray - As with many of the Febreeze scented products, we found the scent very strong (however, it should be noted that we typically prefer unscented or lightly scented cleaning products, so some people may not share our point of "scent"). Scent aside, these cleaned and disinfected really well.

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser - I've already mentioned that Mr. Clean magic erasers saved my marriage. The next generation of that product is a good improvement. It works well on hard stains, and the new design is easier to hold. We will always have one of these on hand.

Finally, for some ~~cheese~~ entertainment value, you can check out the Mr. Clean on Guiding Light video below:

Swiffer 360°

2009-03-23T20:46:00.002-04:00

Recently, I received a package of Swiffer 360° dusters for review.

(In the interest of honesty, I have a long and sorted history with dusting, dating back to "The Great Chores Treaty of 1984" where I negotiated an exchange of responsibility between my younger sister and myself: I would clean the toilet if she would dust the livingroom furniture. I successfully avoided dusting in any form from that point until after university - let's be honest: university aged men do not "dust" - when I met my wife and had to dust as part of the weekly cleaning I assumed because my commute was shorter. Once we had similar commutes, and then later when she became a SAHM, she assumed all dusting responsibilities.)

(OK, I need to explain myself a little more: I am by no means a misogynist or chauvinist pig. I do what I think is a reasonable share of the work needed around the household. I just don't dust.)

So, I picked up the Swiffer 360° duster and eyed it suspiciously. Fearful that excessive usage would result in my wife assigning me dusting duty, I tested it out on all my "problem areas" from my days as "the dust man" in the relationship. It made cleaning off ~~my precious~~ electronics a lot easier, as it slid into small crevices that would previously cause grazed knuckles. It handled both types of surfaces (we have smooth and more textured shelves) in our house equally well (the textured ones had always been a problem for me).

Like I said, I'm no longer "the dust man". In all honesty, my wife dusts and asks me what I notice, and I reply that everything is rearranged on the table (and then I duck for flying objects). But, I did notice that when I ran the Swiffer 360° around the ~~limited~~ surfaces I tested with, it removed the dust that was there (and a lot that I hadn't noticed), so I guess that means it works.

Loblaw's no name® Products

2009-02-22T19:01:00.001-05:00

Recently, I was provided with a selection of some of Loblaw's no name® products for review. no name® products, which are available at Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Loblaw Great Food, Zerhs, Zehrs Great Food, Loblaw Superstore, Your Independent Grocer, nofrills, Fortinos and valu-mart, save shoppers 20% when compared to national brands.

no name® Original Roast Ground Coffee - The coffee was good, if a little weak when used with exact measurements (one tablespoon per cup). However, when well-rounded measurements were used, it was pretty good. Honestly, you're not going to mistake it for Starbuck's, but for the price it made a decent cup of coffee.

no name® String Cheese - These were one of the biggest hits in our house. Prior to this, my daughter would only eat marble cheese sticks, but the mozzarella ones we were provided with are now some of her favourites.

no name® Blueberry Waffles - The blueberry count could be higher, but other than that, these tasted just like the name brand versions we usually buy. Our only complaint is the lack of a low fat variety.

no name® Applesauce - Another item that was popular with our daughter. She couldn't tell the difference between it and the regular stuff we buy.

no name® Frozen Meat Lasagna - You simply cannot beat this item for value. It is huge (we fed six adults with one and still had leftovers) and tastes great. It is definitely something we keep in the freezer for big groups.

Milk Bank Breast Milk Storage System

2009-02-19T06:02:00.000-05:00

Recently, Parent Bloggers provided my wife and I with some products from MilkBank, a BPA-free breast milk storage system. The storage system includes not only BPA free bottles, but also a vacuum pump and compatible bottle lids and an insulated feeding system.

The pump worked well, if a little awkward to use (our only prior exposure to a similar product was a vacuum pump for wine bottles, which had a handle you could grasp more easily than the larger plunger style in the MilkBank); there was an audible hiss when opening the bottles, indicating that there was a vacuum inside. The vented caps allowed air flow back into the bottle, which reduced the amount of air our son got when taking a bottle, especially when compared to the glass bottles we had been using.

Finally, the insulated liner was a brilliant addition: basically, it's a slightly larger bottle that fits over the smaller bottles (2.5oz and 5oz) and can be filled with warm water to maintain a more even temperature throughout a long feed.

Overall, I really liked the vacuum concept, as it helped preserve the milk, but in my opinion their best feature was the insulated bottle. This is probably the best breast milk storage system we have used with either baby, and we'll probably be purchasing some additional (larger) bottles for the future.

MTM has joined Parent Bloggers as well, so don't forget to check out MTM's opinion on this product too.

Online Poster Printing - Contest Winner

2009-01-30T06:03:00.002-05:00

I would like to thank everyone who entered this week's contest, as well as Online Poster Printing for their sponsorship and their generous prize.

~~The winner, via random.org is idahomom! Congratulations, idahomom. Please email me at talesfromthedadside [at] gmail [dot] com for instructions on how to claim your prize.~~

Update: it's been 24 hours, and I still haven't heard from idahomom. If I haven't heard from her via email within a week of this post going up (roughly 6.00am on Friday February 6, 2008) then I will randomly choose another winner.

Update (2009.02.06): since idahomom never contacted me, I chose another winner at random using the same method. Congratulations to Proud Wife of a U.S. Soldier. I will email you shortly.

Online Poster Printing

2009-01-25T19:31:00.001-05:00

Recently, I was contacted by OnlinePosterPrinting.com, asking me if I would be interested in doing a product review and giveaway promotion for one of their poster prints. Since I love to take photos of my kids and am always saying I need to put more photos up around the house, I gladly accepted their offer.

The service was excellent. From the online ordering (which included a scaled sample of the print size against a person and a sofa for perspective) to the shipping (the packaging was very thorough), and all points in between, it was a very positive experience. I even had to use their live chat-based support, which was both courteous and helpful.

As I mentioned above, they would also like to have a contest. The winner may print an image of their choosing on their poster print using their easy-to-use website and helpful customer support. Imagine your digital photos or graphic designs on a 16×20" poster print!

Online Poster Printing provides the newest and best poster printing options and their trained professionals are well versed in image editing and photo printing procedures. These printing pros know what they are doing and they back up their word with a Money Back Guarantee!

How to Win a Free 16×20" Poster Print
In order to win all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what you would use the poster print for if you won. (We are planning to mount our print - of the two kids - in our bedroom.) A winner will be chosen at random from the comments that meet the criteria (in other words, "this looks cool" doesn't count, people). I will accept comments on this post until 6.00am Friday, January 30, 2009. The winner will be posted later that morning.

Disclaimer: Shipping is free for United States and Canada only. So, if you live outside those areas, you will have to pay for shipping but the print will still be free.

The No Cry Nap Solution

2009-01-11T19:21:00.001-05:00

Recently, I was provided with a review copy of Elizabeth Pantley's new book, The No-Cry Nap Solution. Some of you may be familiar with the author's other book, The No-Cry Sleep Solution, which she felt covered sleep quite well. However, after many questions surrounding nap time, she came to the realization that bed time sleep and nap time sleep are very different matters, and consequently decided to write this new book.

Since I work outside the home and my wife is a SAHM, I had her assistance with this review. (Also, she had read The No-Cry Sleep Solution, so she could offer some contrast and comparison.)

The book separates newborn sleep from other stages, allowing us (with our relatively newborn son) to focus on the applicable details instead of trying to cull notes from multiple sections. It has solutions to many common nap time struggles, including the progression from multiple naps to one nap to no naps, which were a particular challenge for us with our daughter. I think some of her solutions would have made our transition from two to one nap easier.

The key strength of the book, however, is that the author has covered every type of sleeping challenge possible: children who only sleep in a parent's arms, children who nurse or bottle feed to sleep, kids who cannot settle and jump up minutes after falling asleep alone, and others.

If you are having any difficulty with nap time, this is definitely a great resource that I (and my wife, for that matter) recommend. I asked my wife to give me a quote for this review, and I think she sums up our feelings perfectly:

I can't speak highly enough of Elizabeth Pantley. I think she writes excellent, easy to read books that are easy to pick up and remember where you left off. The book is also good to keep as a resource for future nap time issues.

Cascade All-in-1 ActionPacs

2009-01-05T06:13:00.001-05:00

Recently, I was provided with a package of Cascade All-in-1 ActionPacs for review. The ActionPacs are single-load dishwasher detergent that provide pre-treating, food dissolving, grease and stain fighting, and rinse assistance, and come in two scents: fresh and lemon burst (we were provided with the fresh scent).

The ActionPacs performed as well as our regular detergent, a leading brand. The dishes came out clean, without a trace of grease and had no spots. I did notice a stronger scent when first opening the dishwasher with the ActionPacs, however that dissipated rapidly.

The best feature about the ActionPacs is their no-wrapper design. Unlike our current brand, the ActionPacs do not have a disposable wrapper. They go straight from the package (which conveniently included a zipper closure) to the dishwasher, meaning that you don't have to struggle to remove the residual powder from your fingers like with our brand, and it also reduces waste.

Overall, I would definitely recommend the Cascade All-in-1 ActionPacs.