Stuff Parents Need

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

Cuteheads Clothing (Made in the USA!) Review and Outfit GIVEAWAY!!!

· by · 121 Comments

We have selected Montessori education as the path for our little ones from the toddler years all the way through kindergarten. We love the philosophy behind it, and we appreciate the emphasis that is placed on independence. This was not something emphasized in my home growing up, and even as an adult I find myself too quick, sometimes, to rely on help from others rather than trying to solve a problem myself. I want Darah and Layah to be confident about their own abilities to solve problems and to take care of themselves.

Today I’m featuring a new clothing company called Cuteheads (products made in the USA!) that emphasizes allowing children to dress themselves. The clothes are easy to take on and off and can mix and match easily with one another to create multiple outfit combinations that kids will love and that moms and dads will approve!

Darah is really enjoying the Forget Me Not dress in Lavender (ARV $36). It is sized generously which means that it is quite easy for her to get on all by herself. It also means that she’ll probably still fit into it even after she outgrows most of her other 3T items. That’s a plus for me!

In addition to selecting her own hair bows (hey, why have just one when you can have two?!), she also identified the matching Little Legs leggings in lavender (ARV $16) in her pants drawer and made the match herself. High five, Darah!

Darah has been pairing both the dress and the pants with other items in her wardrobe, as well. The pieces are popular with her because she likes the colors, but more importantly, because they are comfortable and she knows she can get them on all by herself.

Cuteheads has a great selection of tops, bottoms, tunics and dresses for your little girl to mix and match. Definitely check them out and consider some of their pieces for holiday gifts this year!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win an outfit of their choice from Cuteheads!

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.

New Jammies (Organic!) Review and GIVEAWAY!!!!

· by · 155 Comments

Darah is really starting to enjoy picking out her own clothes. She still chooses to wear dresses 6 out of 7 days of the week, pretty much. She likes to experiment with different colors and patterns and to admire her fashion creations in the mirror each morning.

Bed time is yet another opportunity for her to demonstrate her budding fashionista skills, and she insists on picking out her own pajamas. Lately she has had a clear favorite: her New Jammies. She has a shirt and shorts set (so nice for our unseasonably warm weather right now!) that has adorable Flower Girls all over it. Even though her jammies aren’t a dress, she likes that the characters on her jammies are sporting cute dresses.

Let me tell you what I like about these jammies (adorable print aside). I like that they are made of organic material. When they arrived in the mail, Darah wanted to put them on immediately. I didn’t have to tell her to wait until they got washed, first. That was nice!

I also love the bold colors in the fabric. The set is just so vibrant; I can’t help but smile when I see her in it. And of course, the fabric is super soft to the touch, which means that these jammies are quite comfortable.

Finally, I love the fact that this company was created by a woman with a background in chemistry, who has a true love and passion for the power of chemicals in our life, but at the same time, saw a need to reduce exposure to some of them in our day-to-day lives. The company also supports a variety of nonprofits, which is something I ALWAYS love to see. That means a portion of your purchase is going back to the greater good. Woo hoo!

New Jammies make a fantastic birthday or holiday gift option for little ones, or just a special treat. I can tell you from experience that they hold up beautifully in the wash, and we aren’t yet experiencing any color fading. They have a great variety of short and long-sleeve organic pajama sets from which to choose. They also have onesie sleepers and options for preemies. The set we reviewed retails for $31.00

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a set of New Jammies in your choice of size and style!

[Read more…]

Kidorable Dragon Knight Collection and AWESOME COUPON CODE!!!

· by · Leave a Comment

Kidorable, the makers of those too-cute-for-words children’s umbrellas (among other things) have just launched the Dragon Knight collection. All of you parents of dragon slayers and brave knights listen up! From December 5-11, you can use the coupon code DRAGON7 to receive a FREE Dragon Knight umbrella with any order over $20 (be sure to add the umbrella to your cart before using the code so that it works). Um, yeah, that’s an AWESOME deal, and just in time for the holiday crunch…see, last minute gifts can be AMAZING and bargain-priced!

Now that I’ve told you about the awesome deal, let me tell you more about the Dragon Knight collection. We received the rain jacket to review. I’m saving this to give to my nephew when he is big enough for it. I’ve let Darah try it on to see how it looks and it is simply smashing! The hood is my favorite, as it looks like a medieval helmet! I almost can’t stand the cuteness, people. This coat is also made of a new material called PU (polyurethane). It’s softer and lighter than PVC, which is what is typically used for rain coats.

The Dragon Knight collection has a variety of super cute pieces. While the rain jacket is my personal favorite, the umbrella, with its dragon horns and wings sticking out, comes in a close second. 

Slay those outstanding items on your Christmas list right now with help from Kidorable, or get stocked up for birthdays in 2012 with this deal!

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

 

Maternity Week: Getting a Special Shirt for the Older Sibling(s) (GIVEAWAY!!!)

· by · 77 Comments

When we were getting ready to tell my mother-in-law, who visited us in September, that we were expecting, our plan was to have Darah simply come out of her room in a “big sister” shirt. We thought that would be really cute and fun, and totally not hard to do.

So off I went to the store to get one of those shirts. Only….they are IMPOSSIBLE to find in a brick and mortar store. I made the erroneous assumption that they would be a breeze to find. WRONG!!! While someone may have one time or another been lucky and found one in a store, I couldn’t to save my life. Unfortunately, my MIL was due to arrive the next day, so I couldn’t order anything online. Let that be a lesson to all of you who might be looking for “big sister” or “big brother” shirts in the future…order online, and at least a week before you need them!

I am still going to get to use my idea for Darah’s big reveal at her school. Today she’ll be wearing this precious shirt to school as a way to tell her teachers that she is going to be a big sister! Isn’t it cute? I love the design, and Darah LOVES to wear things that have her name on them (it’s a word that she can recognize by sight). This shirt is from a company that I HIGHLY recommend called Pipsqueak Boutique. This company specializes in stylish and personalized birthday gifts for babies and toddlers. Here you will find sibling shirts (look out for a brand new collection of these that will be released in the next few weeks!). They also have an amazing collection of first birthday shirts for your little one’s very first celebration! I know I’ll be coming back here to take a peak when it is time for this tiny one’s first birthday!

The quality of Darah’s big sister shirt from Pipsqueak Boutique is excellent. It is soft and has a fitted look to it. If your child runs a bit large, I would consider sizing up with these shirts, as they do have a slimmer cut to them. We are very pleased with the product, and I would feel confident about shopping with them again. And I love the variety of gifts they offer. I’ve definitely got my eye on their personalized swaddling blankets. Now if only we can decide on boy and girl names! I forgot how hard picking out names is! 🙂

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a personalized shirt for a boy or a girl in your choice of design from Pipsqueak Boutique! Woo hoo!

[Read more…]