reviews

Leave a comment Posted on October 17, 2014 food reviews, reviews, Uncategorized

Unboxing Of Annie’s “Grass Fed” Surprise Package

Last night as I got back from Jacksonville for Toyota’s “Family Reunion Preview”, I noticed there was a box waiting there for me at the door.

I have been expecting a book that I will be reviewing about managing time as a family in the age of smart phones, so I thought that’s what it was. However, this box was bigger and heavier than a box for a paperback should be.

So after using my knife to cut open the box, I found a letter from Annie’s Homegrown. Plus, I felt something sort of cold, and moist, and alive, with the tips of my fingers.

My wife suggested that she film me opening the box; after all, people apparently love “unboxings” these days.

And that’s exactly what happened. What you see in the video below is completely unscripted, unplanned, and unpracticed:

As you can see from this unboxing video, Annie’s sent my son 2 boxes of their new “grass fed, organic, non-GMO” mac and cheese along with a really cool wooden plant holder with live grass to celebrate their new grass fed mac and cheese.

Like I said in the unboxing video, I accept their grass plant as an early housewarming gift; as we are scheduled to close on our new house on January 29^th, with our townhouse currently on the market as of this week.

Something I am quick to point out is that I strictly only feature brands and products I believe in.

Just in the past month, I’ve turned down about $450 in gift cards because between 3 different companies all reaching out to me, wanting me to promote their products on Family Friendly Daddy Blog. However, their products include high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors and dyes, and were obviously not organic or non-GMO.

With that being said, I’ve always proudly believed in Annie’s Homegrown. It’s hard to argue with that non-GMO label on their boxes.

I’m happy for Annie’s and I’m happy to see them growing as a company, finding larger distribution.

Thanks to Annie’s for helping me be able to spread the good word about food without GMO’s and artificial junk!

1 Comment Posted on October 8, 2014October 8, 2014 Nostalgia, parenting, reviews, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Book Review: The Truth About Nature, By Stacy Tornio And Ken Keffer

I’ve had a few people curiously ask me why it seems I never seem to review products that I don’t like; from cars, to food, to toys, to books.

Here’s why: I don’t feel it’s worth my time and effort to type up 500 words on a product I don’t believe in.

That’s why I do my research on a product before I review it, to make sure it meets my strict qualifications and standards before I invest in it.

With that being said, I believe in this book: The Truth About Nature: A Familiy’s Guide to 144 Common Myths about the Great Outdoors, written by Stacy Tornio and Ken Keffer; illustrations by Rachel Riordan.

My nearly 4 year-old son believes in this book too, but for different reasons.

Jack likes the book because he makes a fun game out of “finding the animals” in the 212 pages, most of which contain at least one illustration of the animal that page features.

“Daddy, I found the blue jay!” he proclaims from the back seat on the way home from school, with our copy of The Truth About Nature in hand.

What I personally like about the book is that in a few years, once Jack is able to start comprehending words other than his name when he reads them, he will learn some really cool facts about animals that most people don’t know.

Here’s an excerpt:

Myth 106: Animals sleep with their eyes closed. Sleep varies a great deal from one animal to the next. Some sleep standing up. Some sleep during the day. Some even sleep with their eyes open… Dolphins are the most fascinating sleepers. They actually sleep with one eye open and continue to swim while they’re sleeping!

Like my son, I also appreciate the book’s illustrations. I want to classify the style as “Portland, Oregon postcard from 1983.” The drawings are classic, nostalgic, and enchanted.

The retail price is $18.95. Again, this is a beefy book, with 212 pages.

Our family has discovered it makes a great “road trip” book with all our reviews of cars that we do. This book is entertaining in an interesting way, not simply just in a trivial way.

The authors, Stacy Tornio and Ken Keffer, have already proven they know what they’re doing when it comes to writing books. Their previous book, The Kids’ Outdoor Adventure Book: 448 Great Things To Do In Nature Before You Grow Up, was a winner of the National Outdoor Book Award.

Also, FYI, in case you’re interested in the authors coming to your child’s school, they are currently having a contest for that:

So there you go: I officially endorse The Truth About Nature. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken the time and effort to be telling you about it today.

You can learn more about the book here on their website. Thanks for reading my blog today!

Were you interested in what you just read? Was this post a strangely pleasant distraction to other things popping up on your Facebook or Twitter feed? Ya know… you could always like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or even subscribe to Family Friendly Daddy Blog by clicking on the appropriate icon on the left side of this page. No pressure though…

Leave a comment Posted on October 1, 2014October 1, 2014 car reviews, reviews, Uncategorized

Folding Down/Up The 3rd Seats Of The 2014 Lexus GX 460

Third row seats in SUVs are so hot right now! And chances are, if you’re reading this, you’ve recently purchased a 2014 Lexus GX 460; or you’re leasing or renting one.

Even though it would have been much more practical for my son to have sat in the 2nd row seat for the past week, which included a 5 hour round trip road trip, he liked the very back better.

He was able to have a place for his sippy cup, blanket, vintage Transformer toy from my own childhood, and his favorite stuffed animal which he clothed in his own underwear.

Now, let’s get to what you came for. In just a few simple picture collages, I hope to show you that it’s actually pretty simple to fold up and down the 3rd row seats of the 2014 Lexus GX 460.

The 1st step is to unlock the back door using your remote. Then pull the door handle open, on the left side of the license plate. Once you swing out the back door from left to right, you’ll see some interesting things.

On the door itself are two panels, which after you open them, you’ll discover a roadside tool set on the left and a 1st aid kit on the right.

Turn facing the front of the vehicle and on the right interior side you will see a convenient power outlet; AC 120 V, 100W. That’s the kind you need for your electronics!

If you face your left, you will discover a secret compartment to hide and store whatever you can imagine; whether it be rare golden coins lifted from the Titanic (I won’t ask how you got them), or simply just tickets to the upcoming Dave Matthews Band concert.

Oh yeah, the seats. Let’s learn how to fold them up and down now.

Pull the lower handle you see on the back of the seat. What that does is automatically pulls in the base of the seat in front you. See my “action shot” below.

Now you want to pull up the ribbon handle which allows you to fold in the head rest.

To actually fold the seat down, left up the latch on the back shoulder, then push the seat down until it becomes the floor.

Follow those same steps for the other 3rd row seat and you’re done. Your view should look like the upper left corner shot in the collage below.

So now, real quick, let me show you how to fold the seats back up:

Just lift up the “back shoulder latch” and push the seat up, while standing next the vehicle with the back passenger door open.

Now you need to pull out the base of the seat again by pulling a tray right underneath the seat base. And don’t forget about those head rests!

While it may have taken 2 minutes and 13 seconds for you to read and process this information, I’m confident that once you do it a few times, you’ll be able to fold the 3rd row seats up and down in less than 30 seconds.

Hopefully this is now officially the most entertaining review of how to fold down and up the 3rd row seats of a 2014 Lexus GX 460 that exists on the Internet!

That’s sort of what I was going for, at least… Thanks for reading!

Were you interested in what you just read? Was this post a strangely pleasant distraction to other things popping up on your Facebook or Twitter feed? Ya know… you could always like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or even subscribe to Family Friendly Daddy Blog by clicking on the appropriate icon on the left side of this page. No pressure though…

Leave a comment Posted on October 1, 2014 car reviews, reviews, Uncategorized

Syncing Up Your Phone/Using Driver Assist In The 2014 Lexus GX 460

You found it! This is the post where you can quickly and easily learn how to use Driver Assist, as well as sync up your phone in the 2014 Lexus GX 460.

Seriously, there currently is no other post on the Internet that caters to such a specific and targeted demographic.

That makes you special for finding this. Now that you’re here, let’s get to work.

To sync your phone, press “home,” then on the phone symbol. Meanwhile on your phone, pull up the equivalent of “settings and tools.” Find “bluetooth menu” then select “add new device.”

(Keep in mind that all phones are a bit different, but I hope to serve as a decent guide for you today.)

Keep on eye on the panel screen of the vehicle, making sure you select “ok” and “add” once the phone and vehicle begin discovering each other…

You’ll know for sure everything is complete once you see on your phone that the Lexus GX appears on your “bluetooth menu.” From there, the next time you use your phone, the conversation will automatically happen over the vehicle’s stereo speakers.

Now let’s talk about Driver Assist. I love it because, call me lazy, but I’d rather not have to look up and find the address of my destination.

So instead, I just press the “nav” button, then “dest.” on the screen. From there, I press “Destination Assist” and then a friendly person starts talking to me over the stereo speakers, asks me where I want to go, then uploads the route to the GPS.

Then I press “mark” and “go” and “ok.”

Alright, you’re all set. Thanks for finding and trusting me with teaching you this today. You never know when I might come in handy again…

Were you interested in what you just read? Was this post a strangely pleasant distraction to other things popping up on your Facebook or Twitter feed? Ya know… you could always like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or even subscribe to Family Friendly Daddy Blog by clicking on the appropriate icon on the left side of this page. No pressure though…

2 Comments Posted on September 21, 2014 food reviews, reviews, Uncategorized

Going To Get Tater Tots Makes My Son Feel Special/The Great Food Truck Festival Of Nashville

3 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

Recently as part of an art activity at school, you were asked to draw a picture that answers the question, “What’s something that makes you feel special?”

I would have thought you would have said playing with Legos, or getting a Hot Wheels car at Kroger, or even simply playing at home with Mommy and me.

Instead, you answered, “Going to get tater tots.” You drew a picture of yourself with 5 tater tots. To you, that apparently equals feeling special.

This weekend turned out to be a “stay in Nashville kind of weekend”. Coincidentally, “The Great Food Truck Festival” just happened to be taking place in the neighborhood next to ours, in the parking lot of the only place you have ever eaten tater tots: the critically acclaimed and award winning Burger Republic.

So Mommy and I decided to officially make you feel special…

In anticipation of the tater tots arriving, I helped distract you by drawing tomatoes on the Burger Republic coloring sheet for you to “run over” with your new acquired Jeep Scrambler. (I would scribble over each tomato after you rolled the car over each one that I had drawn on your race track.)

I could tell, just being there was a big deal to you. I could clearly see you felt special once those tater tots arrived!

Of course, I can’t fail to mention that we were visiting some of our wonderful friends there. (You’ve grown up with them and their dog.) You were fairly oblivious to their presence until after you had consumed the famous tater tots and we were outside on the playground next to Burger Republic.

It made my day to get to see you and their daughter Parker get along so well. Not only did you play perfectly synchronized, but I even think the two of you look a lot a like.

You were lucky. You didn’t have to take a nap because of the fact we met up with them about the time you should have been in the middle of your nap.

Fortunately, you were able to burn off 100% of the extra boost of energy you ironically get from not taking a nap.

I’m so glad to know that the the of you with be attending the same elementary school and be in the same grade once you graduate out of pre-school. I think Parker is going to make a great friend for you!

You were even able to successfully share your Jeep Wrangler with her. Man, that’s saying a lot…

We finished off the afternoon by walking in between all the glorious food trucks there for the festival.

Having already eaten the food that makes you feel very special, your main concern at that point was to find out which color truck was the coolest.

As I would imagine, you chose the pink one.

When you live in a fun city like Nashville, even the “stay at home weekends” end up being pretty interesting… and special.

Love,

Daddy

FYI: Burger Republic was unaware I was writing a “family friendly review” on them at the time. I was simply a paying customer who happened to be taking a lot of pictures of my son. In other words, I did not “work for free tater tots.” I simply have always enjoyed going to Burger Republic and thought they deserve a shout-out. In case you’re wondering, they do serve vegan burgers too.

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