Stuff Parents Need

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

Red Alert! Free $5 to Amazon!!!

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I’ve been meaning to write another open love letter to Amazon Prime, and just now I found my reason to finally do it.

  free gift card to amazon

Right now, if you purchase three $15 Amazon gift cards you will earn a $5 bonus Amazon gift card. I probably make a purchase on Amazon twice a month, and even more often during the last 3 months of the year, so I’ll have absolutely no problem putting that free $5 to work! And those $15 cards are going to fill in some gaps for some of the “hard to shop for” people on my list (which is pretty much all the men).

This promotion is open to Amazon Mom members who have either a paid Amazon prime membership, or who have signed up for the free trial of Amazon prime.

And let me tell you, there is no better time than RIGHT NOW to get your free trial on! Just think about how much of your holiday shopping you can take care of without having to worry about if you have purchased that pesky minimum $25 amount. And your purchases arrive sooner which means you can wrap them faster and be done with the shopping sooner and then just enjoy the holiday season!

And by “enjoy” I mean EAT ALL THE COOKIES. At least that’s what I’ll be doing. We are wrapping Christmas presents today (yes, I am totally serious). Checking stuff off that list, baby!

Here’s how to get the free trial: Join Amazon Prime

And once you are signed up, here’s how to get to the Amazon Mom Gift Card promotion. Hop to it, friends!!!

And by the way, the Amazon mom program rocks so hard. MAJOR discounts on lots of things, most notably diapers and wipes! It doesn’t cost anything to join beyond the Amazon Prime membership, either!

I’m an affiliate of Amazon, but I only promote what I already use and love. I paid for my own prime membership and I’d do it again in a heartbeat! 

NWF Is Writing the Book on Outdoor Time with Kids (Giveaway!!!)

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If your kids are anything like mine, then they ask to go outside every day to play, whatever the weather may be like. With so many gorgeous days around this time of year, I’m partnering with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) to help you find solutions for getting outdoors with your kids during the summer. I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to run out of easy and fun outdoor ideas and I’d love to get some new ones!

outdoor activities with kids

Also, if I’m being honest, I can’t say that I have the same excitement about going outside as my kids do. From hot and humid air, to mosquitos, to having to slather on sunscreen before heading out the door…I can pretty easily find an excuse for answering their requests for outside time with, “Not right now.”

Later this summer I’ll be part of a team partnering with NWF to launch a free e-book that will give you some great ideas to make outside time easier to fit into your day, less cumbersome for the grown ups, and WAY more fun for the kids. I’ve got a few of my own ideas for unstructured yet highly entertaining outdoor fun, and I can’t wait to share them with you! Here’s a little sneak peek! 🙂

ideas for outside time with kids

In addition to this great ebook that will be launching this summer, NWF also has a lot of resources and ideas to share with you on their site, Be Out There. Definitely check it out and get inspired!

I Need Your Help!

For my section of the e-book, I’m going to be writing about finding time for the outdoors in everyday life, and as part of my contribution, I want to share ideas from my readers! Please let me know how you fit outdoor time into your busy family schedule in a way that doesn’t just feel like one more activity on your to do list! I’m not talking about structured activities like sports teams, but rather, unstructured, stress-free stuff.  And how do you overcome those barriers to getting outside, be it the weather or the lure of the television or computer? Any tips or ideas you can share would be greatly appreciated, and you just might get published, too!

Win it!: To thank you for taking the time to share how your family gets outside, I’m offering up a $10 Amazon gift card! The deadline is 06/23, so hop to it!

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Thanks to National Wildlife Federation and The Motherhood for bringing me on for this sponsored campaign. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. The giveaway listed here is personally funded. 

 

Did you Know My Father is an Artist? (Gift Card Giveaway!)

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As a mother, I know all too well how a parent’s heart just swells with pride when they look at their children. We are delighted and awed by the amazing little people our children are, and I can only imagine how amazing it will be to watch my girls grow up and see their personalities come into full bloom. Doesn’t it blow your mind to realize that your parent or parents love/loved you this much, too??

But today I don’t want to talk about how much I love my kids or how much my parents love me. I want to talk about how proud I am of my father and how much I love him! He’s the hardest working person I have ever known, and has spent decades working as a sheet metal mechanic so that he could provide for his family. That work is back-breaking and it has nearly broken him on several occasions, but he hasn’t stopped for longer than was medically necessary.

I’m so happy to report that he is now retired from that line of work. Unfortunately, his retirement came about due to the plant where he worked closing down. But I honestly believed that job would eventually kill him, so even though the financial stress of not having that job is a reality for him, I can’t help but be happy that he isn’t there any more.

Part of the reason why I’m so thrilled is because he now has more time to pursue a passion of his, which is decoupage. My dad has been doing this type of art for as long as I can remember. I distinctly remember a trunk he created with pictures of his family all over it. I don’t think I was more than 4 or 5 when he made it. He has his own unique style that admittedly, not everyone can appreciate. He calls it “collage-a-page” because it is decoupage but with a collage-type style to it.

decoupage by dero

If you look closely at any of his pieces, though, you will really be blown away by the stories they tell. So much thought goes into where each image is placed, and there are so many little hidden treasures just waiting to be found. This is what makes dad’s art so special and not just a craft or a hobby.

I am so proud of him, and so proud that thanks to help from my older brother, he now has a Facebook page where he can start to display some of his pieces. He can also take requests for custom designs. And his work is affordable, too, as he says that the process of making these pieces is therapeutic for him, and he considers it part of his payment. 🙂

decoupage 2

I want the world to see what unique and fun art my father makes, and I can’t think of a better forum to do that than through Facebook (unless, of course, the Met wants to display his pieces, in which case they should send me an email!). Each Facebook like my father receives fills him with joy. He carefully watches to see where folks who like him are from and it just tickles him to no end when someone he doesn’t personally know “likes” his page.

So let’s give my dad the best two weeks ever. The contest will end on his birthday, and I can’t think of a better gift for him than for his Facebook page to grow!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a $20 gift certificate, to your choice of either Amazon or Walmart!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

This contest is self-sponsored. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

$50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!!!

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Woo hoo! Need a boost to get started with your holiday shopping? Here we go!!!

Welcome to the Adios August Amazon Gift Code Twitter Giveaway hosted by MamaNYC!  A great group of bloggers have teamed together to celebrate the end of August with an Amazon Gift Code giveaway! All you have to do is follow our Twitter accounts in order to gain entries in this giveaway!

One lucky winner is going to receive a $50.00 Amazon Gift Code! This giveaway will run from August 29th through September 16th, which should give you more than enough time to hop down the Rafflecopter and follow all of our Twitter accounts.  This event is open to entrants worldwide; Winner will have 48 hours to confirm prize. If you see our event button – no need to enter again! We are all using the SAME Rafflecopter, so your entries are only needed on one of our blogs. Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

$200 Amazon Gift Card GIVEAWAY!!!

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A brand new giveaway is now open for all our valued readers! Get a chance to win a $200 Amazon Gift Card. Only one lucky winner will be chosen on August 15, 2012.

This event would not become possible without the participation of these amazing co-hosts: I Heart Giveaways, Zoes Printable Coupons, My Charmed Mom, Keeping It Simple, Pinay Jade, Fashion In The Forest, Richly Middle Class, Go Momma Coupons, Celebrate Woman Today and More from Mom!

This giveaway is open worldwide. There are daily entries so keep on visiting this post to earn the bonuses for more chances of winning. Good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

$20 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway for all you Facebook Fans!

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Today I’m bringing you a fabulous $20 Amazon gift card, courtesy of the Double Duty Divas, a review group I am part of and love so much (if you are a review blogger, check them out!).

Previously we did a DDDivas “follow us on Twitter” campaign, which was SO much fun, and we’ve done a “Meet the Divas” opportunity where you could check us out and subscribe (there’s a wonderful list of Divas here if you missed it in June).

This giveaway is focused on getting to know the Divas on Facebook! If you aren’t on Facebook, give up the fight and GET ON! You are missing amazing discounts that businesses only offer to their fans, great giveaways and of course, all your old friends from high school! 🙂

Do you have to “like” ALL the DDDivas to enter? No! But that’s not a bad idea, either! To sign up for a chance to win on my site, here are the rules (and they do deviate a bit from the traditional SPN rules, so listen up). The contest will run until November 5th at 12:00 noon EST when the entries will be handed over to DDDivas. DDDivas will draw the winner from all qualified entries. Open to residents of the United States.

Mandatory entry: “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Additional entries.
1. “Like” Real Moms Real Views
2. “Like” Hot Mom Tips
3. “Like” Reviewer’s Retreat
4. “Like” Thanks, Mail Carrier
5. “Like” Review Retreat
6. “Like” The B Keeps Us Honest
7. “Like” The Mommy Diaries
8. “Like” Experimental Mommy
9. “Like” My Four Monkeys
10. “Like” Icefairiy’s Treasure Chest

Be sure to check out all my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page.

A $20 gift card to Amazon. There will be one winner for the entire promotional campaign, not one winner per blog. All entries will be pooled together and one winner will be selected.

Follow the Divas on Twitter and Win! (Amazon GIVEAWAY!!!)

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I wanted to make sure all my readers knew about this fun promotion happening with Double Duty Divas, a network I am a part of that brings together a lot of great PR friendly mommy bloggers.

Right now, you can enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card. Woo hoo!

How do you enter? It’s really quite simple. You will need to follow all the Double Duty Divas on Twitter. We’ve made following everyone very simple. Just use this link to follow all participants with one click. http://tweepml.org/Meet-the-Divas/ Then come back here and leave a comment that you have completed the above step. This is very important, and your entry won’t count for the giveaway if you haven’t left a comment!

There will be one gift card given away to one lucky follower, and I hope it is you! Good luck, everyone! The giveaway will run through 09/02!

Meet the Double Duty Divas

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pink double duty divas logo

I’m part of a wonderful blog network called Double Duty Divas. This network provides support for product review bloggers who balance family, blogging, and often part or full-time employment as well. Companies who work through this network are offered effective online advertising and multi-blog discounts. It is a great community to be a part of and to work with. If you are a blogger or if you have a product you would like to promote, you should definitely check out Double Duty Divas. Tell them Stuff Parents Need sent you!

One of the things I like the very best about being part of this network is that there are so many other cool people who are a part of it! Now you have a chance to meet the Divas, yourself, and possibly even win! Check out the list of great review and giveaway blogs below. For each one you subscribe to, come back here and leave one comment stating that you did (you can leave up to 26, total!). Once the contest has ended (on 6/22), one winner will be chosen from all entries. The prize? A $20 gift card to Amazon! Plus, if you sign up for these new blogs and start entering their giveaways, you will probably win something else, in time! 🙂 Good luck, and enjoy the new blogs you are about to find!

Disclosure: This post is part of a cross-promotional opportunity with the Double Duty Divas.