giveaway - Stuff Parents Need

Plush Monster: A Best Buddy for Your Child

May 3, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · 117 Comments

Most of the children I know have far more toys than they need, and maybe even more toys than they even want. This is because we, as parents, find things in the stores that seem so cool, but that our children hardly play with when we bring it home to them. Or, children beg for the latest toy that is being heavily advertised on television and you eventually give in, only to have it break after 20 minutes of use or turn out not to be very entertaining, after all. So many of our homes are knee-deep in plastic crap.

Many children also have an extra special toy that they love to pieces and that goes with them everywhere. Often, this toy is a very special stuffed animal. I know when I was a little girl stuffed animals were my very favorite, and I would play with them for hours on end. I had a stuffed monkey who wore an outfit very similar to Dorothy’s (from The Wizard of Oz). Her name was Samantha and she was my best buddy.

I want Darah to have a best buddy, too, and I have found the COOLEST handmade stuffed animals…err….creatures EVER! Meet Darah’s new plush monster pal Eloi. Eloi comes from a shop called Mr. Sogs and is the handiwork of a wonderful Memphian named Joelle. Joelle has always had a soft spot for animals that are a little bit different, and that is reflected in her creations. Whenever she feels inspired to make a new creature, Joelle will make a few different versions until she gets it just right. All of her creatures are made two of a kind (she says that’s so that they will never really be lonely!).

The name Mr. Sogs comes from Joelle’s very large cat by the same name. Mr. Sogs loves the creatures that Joelle makes, so much so that he used to open the door to her sewing room when she wasn’t around, steal the creatures, and then sleep on them! Ha! Rest assured, she keeps her sewing room locked, now, much to the chagrin of Mr. Sogs.

Now, back to the creatures. When Joelle gave us the opportunity to choose something in her shop to review, Tim and I took this job VERY seriously. We carefully examined each creature, and talked about the features we loved about each one, and whether or not we sensed that each one would be a good potential buddy for Darah. We had to make some tough choices due to all the unbelievably cute animals in the shop, but eventually, we knew that Eloi was destined to reside at the House of M. And when he arrived, Tim and I were so excited! I’m sure if anyone had been watching us, they would have laughed at how excited we were to present Eloi to Darah. But we couldn’t help it! We took a good long look at him before we handed him over, and were just blown away by how beautifully he had been put together. He was part work of art and part future BFF, ready to romp and play. He was, in a word, perfect.

We chose Eloi because we knew that Darah wouldn’t be able to resist those fabulous antennas. And we were exactly right! She reached for Eloi and grabbed him by the antennas and started chewing away. The she loved on him by putting his face on hers. Tim and I just about died. It was so cute. Whenever Eloi gets spotted in the toy box, she reaches for him and just keeps on chewing. Fortunately, he is so well-crafted that he can withstand the abuse, no problem.

I know that Eloi will be having many adventures with Darah and with our entire family, and I just can’t imagine a cooler best bud, except perhaps a certain gingham-dressed monkey.

While Eloi has already found his forever home, there are several other sweet plush monsters at Mr Sogs waiting to be adopted! Wallace is Eloi’s cousin, and he’d love to join your family! Or perhaps Elmore is just the right fit for your little one? Whichever creature you choose, rest assured that they are each made with lots of love and filled with love to give! Micro Creatures at Mr. Sogs start at $19.00 and larger creatures start at $40.00.

EDIT: Giveaway CLOSED!

Win it!: Mr. Sogs the cat doesn’t want to share these creatures with you, but Joelle does! One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win either Chester or Elmore!! The contest will run until Thursday, May 13th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Open to residents of the United States. Be sure to leave your email address in your comments or have it in your profile or else I can’t contact you to tell you that you won!

How to Enter:

Mandatory entry: Tell me the creature from Mr. Sogs that you never knew belonged in your home until now! Also tell me if you prefer Chester or Elmore.

Additional entries:

1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email (one extra entry total, even if you subscribe both ways)
2. Follow me through Google Friend Connect
3. Put my button on your blog (leave blog url)
4. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
5. Become a Fan of Mr. Sogs on Facebook
6. Add Mr. Sogs to your Etsy favorites

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product in order to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Hurry! Get Your Extra Entry for the Memphis in May Giveaway Series!

April 30, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

This is a friendly reminder to make a comment on this post by May 2nd so that you can have an extra entry for the Memphis in May giveaway series. If you don’t know anything about Memphis, here’s a link to the Wikipedia entry about the city to help you out! You are going to be so glad that you got an extra entry, because the products you are about to see are awesome!

Who Knew Going Green Could Be So Lovely? (Reusable Bag GIVEAWAY!)

April 29, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · 122 Comments

EDIT: Giveaway CLOSED!

I consider myself to be an eco-friendly gal. I’ve greened my cleaning products, many of my personal care items, and even some of the food choices I make. But there’s one area where I have failed. I bring my lunch to work almost every single day. While bringing my lunch is very wallet-friendly and arguably good for the environment since I’m not motoring all over town to find some fast food, I make a crucial error when it comes to how I transport the food.

Almost every single day, I use plastic sandwich bags. And I don’t wash them and re-use them. I just throw them away. Frankly, I didn’t give that habit much thought at all until recently. But I realize now that I’m being totally inconsistent by breaking out my reusable totes for every grocery trip, where I proceed to buy more plastic bags to use and throw away.

There is another option, I am pleased to say. Did you know that reusable snack and sandwich bags are available? And even better, they are really cute! Bleu Roo is a shop that has the cutest reusable snack bags that you’ve ever seen!

Amanda is the brains behind Bleu Roo, where she combines a love of the environment with her crafty skills and her embroidery techniques! She sent me a reusable snack bag to try out, and I’ve been toting it with me to work every day since. The outside is a cotton and the inside is a waterproof and stain resistant nylon. The bag secures with velcro. I have already washed the bag after using it for my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and it held up beautifully in the wash. It also line-dried very quickly. The bags are large at 8×8, so they can hold enough food for kids and adults, alike. Overall, I found these snack bags to be excellent, and I only wish I had tried them out sooner!

Bleu Roo offers so many beautiful items. I’ve put the hand embroidered snack bag on my wish list for Mother’s Day, birthday or Christmas, and I also love the personalized totes that Amanda offers.

Buy It!: If you use ziploc bags for your own lunches or for your kids lunches, consider making the switch to reusable bags. They are so much more attractive than plastic, and they will pay for themselves in just a few months. Bleu Roo has a beautiful selection with prices starting at just $5.50!

Win It!: Bleu Roo is spreading the love by offering one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader one plain snack bag AND one embroidered snack bag of your choice so that you can go green in style! The contest will run until Sunday, May 9th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Open to residents of the United States. Be sure to leave your email address in your comments or have it in your profile or else I can’t contact you to tell you that you won!

How to Enter:

Mandatory entry: Tell me the embroidered snack bag you want if you win (choose wisely, as this will be your bag if your number is drawn!)

Additional entries:

current giveaways: Hen and Chicks cloth diaper (ends 4/30), Sugar Free Allstars children’s cd (ends 5/4), MAM pacifiers (ends 05/07)
Disclosure: I received a product sample for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Do We Like Pacifiers? Yes MAM! (GIVEAWAY!!!)

April 27, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · 108 Comments

EDIT: Giveaway CLOSED!

Before Darah was born I didn’t think we would use a pacifier very much. I didn’t want to risk nipple confusion when she was a newborn, and I also didn’t want to have to deal with taking it away from her later.

BUT…..
My little one had a strong need to suck on something from the onset. Here you will see our solution for the first two weeks of her life…our fingers! That was cute for a minute, but then got old. After her 2 week checkup, we were given the green light for pacifiers. We had a couple of different brands for her to try out, but there was one very clear winner: MAM.

Darah has been loyal to MAM pacifiers since the first day she tried one. She spits out every other binky out there, even the one that I thought might have almost identical shapes. They must not, because Darah can clearly tell the difference. Can I tell you how awesome it is that the MAM website has a store locator on its site? We’ve used that during an emergency missing pacifier crisis!

So what makes MAM pacifiers so great? From their literature, “MAM pacifiers have been developed in partnership with internationally known pediatricians, orthodontists and pediatric dentists. The exclusive MAM shield has a unique system of large ventilation holes and a patented raised pattern of dimples that reduce skin irritation by not allowing saliva to be trapped against the skin. MAM nipples are extra soft and ventilated to adapt naturally to your baby’s sucking action. MAM nipples are symmetrical so there’s no danger of them being used upside down. The concave shield is contoured to conform to your baby’s face. It pulls gently inwards as your baby sucks to encourage the healthy development of teeth and jaw.”

In short, there are many different things that make MAM pacifiers a great choice, not the least of which, for me, is that my child absolutely adores them and can spot an imposter a mile away!

MAM has an amazing selection of pacifiers for different ages, stages /fashion needs! Darah likes their 2+ month pacifiers, and even as an 8 month old, she prefers them to the 6+ month models, although she’s slowly warming up to the larger ones now. She has every MAM Pearl that we have been able to find in the stores. MAM Pearls are a great option because they have really pretty colors and designs on them, so it is easy to make sure the pacifier coordinates with the outfit, if that is something that matters to you (check her out, here, at 3 months old rockin’ the head-to-toe pink and white look!).
After contacting MAM to tell them that we had their biggest fan living at our house, I learned that they had some options that we had never even seen. I’m a little bit embarrassed to admit how thrilled I was to learn about this. What can I say, pacifiers have become really important in my house, and to learn that the only brand my daughter will accept has some models that we don’t have was awesome news, and I wanted to get my hands on them ASAP! MAM sent me those models, and no surprise, they are much loved.
First, let me tell you about the MAM Night. It glows in the dark! I cannot tell you in strong enough terms how much we love this pacifier. The glow holds for several hours, so that when she wakes up in the middle of the night and can’t find her binky, we can easily locate it for her! I was worried, at first, that it would be so bright that it would keep her awake. But that has not been the case. At this point, she doesn’t seem very curious about the fact that it glows, and goes right to sleep with it just as she does with her other pacifiers. This is a huge hit at our house, and I have no idea why our local stores aren’t carrying it!
The second model we got was the MAM Soft. The outside edges of the pacifier are made of silicone, which makes it good for the skin. More importantly, however, it makes for a terrific chew toy for teething babies! Darah absolutely loves to take her MAM Soft out of her mouth, chew on the edges, and then go back to sucking on the binky. We don’t give her this one at night time because she plays with it so much, but it gets used frequently during the day.

Buy It!: MAM products are available nationwide at places like Target and Rite Aid, just to name a few. Give MAM a try…the odds are good that what they offer will be a huge hit with both you and your baby!

Win It!: MAM would like to offer one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader 3 sets of pacifiers in your choice of size and style! Awesome! The contest will run until Friday, May 7th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Open to residents of the United States. Be sure to leave your email address in your comments or have it in your profile or else I can’t contact you to tell you that you won!

How to Enter:

Mandatory entry: Tell me one thing you learned about MAM when checking out their website!

Additional entries:

1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email (one extra entry total, even if you subscribe both ways)
2. Follow me through Google Friend Connect
3. Put my button on your blog (leave blog url)
4. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
5. Follow MAM on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
6. Become a fan of MAM on Facebook
7. Enter any other currently open giveaway on my site (one extra entry per giveaway that you enter) and even

Current giveaways: Ranky Tanky children’s cd (ends 4/27), Hen and Chicks cloth diaper (ends 4/30), Sugar Free Allstars children’s cd (ends 5/4)

disclosure: MAM sent me a few sets of pacifiers for review purposes. The opinions expressed above are strictly my own (and my daughter’s!)

Funky Fresh and Sugar Free! (Music Giveaway!)

April 24, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · 42 Comments

I just received a copy of a new children’s album called Funky Fresh and Sugar Free by the Sugar Free Allstars. Funky Fresh and Sugar Free presents a rock-solid sound that parents will love and kids will groove to. From the initial call-and-response strains of “Rock Awesome” to the rousing choruses of “In My Pocket” and “SFA Disco Dance Party” and “Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da” (a new arrangement of the Beatles’ classic), these tunes will get any party started. “Hey Now, It’s Your Birthday” invites kids to “run and jump and play on this wonderful day.” The songs “Little Red Wagon” and “Cars and Trucks” and “The Train Beat Song” are perfect for family road trips, too. The brassy song “6th Grade Band” will inspire young musicians to “learn how to rock” while they’re still in school!

Sugar Free Allstars is Chris (Boom!) Wiser (lead vocals, keyboards, saxophones and bass clarinet) and Rob (Dr. Rock) Martin (vocals, percussion) a duo that has been making funky-fresh music for families for five years. Their 2007 debut family music releaseDos Niños(their fourth CD release overall) brought them national attention and acclaim, including selection as one of the best CDs of the year by the Fids and Kamily critics’ poll and heavy rotation on Sirius XM Satellite Radio’s Kids Place Live, where the song “Bathtub Boy” topped their playlists for many weeks.

Listen to a few of the songs from the album here or check them out on YouTube! The album will be available for purchase on April 27th.

EDIT: Giveaway closed!

Win It!: Now is your chance to snag your very own copy of Funky Fresh and Sugar Free! The contest will run until Tuesday, May 4th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Open to residents of the United States. Be sure to leave your email address in your comments or have it in your profile or else I can’t contact you to tell you that you won!

How to Enter:

Mandatory entry: Tell me your favorite song of of the 5 you can preview!

Additional entries:

1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email (one extra entry total, even if you subscribe both ways)
2. Follow me through Google connect
3. Put my button on your blog (leave blog url)
4. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your TwitterID)
5. Become a fan of Sugar Free Allstars on Facebook
5. Enter any other currently open giveaway on my site (one extra entry per giveaway that you enter)

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this album for review purposes. No form of compensation was received in exchange for this post.

Get Ready: Memphis in May Review and Giveaway Series!!!

April 23, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · 18 Comments

May is the month when my city is absolutely glorious. Everything is green and lush. The weather is delightful and invites you to come outside and play in the sunshine. Memphis is dressed in her finest, and can be compared to no other in May, no doubt about it.

The city is alive with festivals, barbecue contests, graduations and all sorts of fun. I’m happy to be adding my own little piece of joy to the mix this year by hosting my own personal Memphis in May review and giveaway series. I will be featuring 8 amazing local artists who have whipped up some finery for you all to check out. I’m so excited to have the opportunity to introduce you all to some Memphis talent (yes, we have more going on than Elvis!). Get ready, because you are not going to want to miss this! The fun starts May 3rd! Stay tuned!!!

AND...if you leave a comment on this post with something you know or love about Memphis by 8pm CST on May 2nd, you’ll get an extra entry for the giveaways! Show me your Memphis love!

Hen and Chick Cloth Diapers

April 20, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · 134 Comments

If you are following along with my journey figuring out how to use cloth diapers, then you’ll know that I’ve discovered that there is a bit of a learning curve to using these diapers. It just isn’t the case that you can just whip out a cloth diaper that is always ready to go (as long as it has been washed!) and that fastens on as quickly as a disposable diaper, and that is as thin as a disposable diaper.

Well, that’s what I thought, at least.

I t turns out that there are cloth diapers that are remarkably similar in their ease of use and thin design to disposables. They are called All in One diapers (often referred to as AIO). Let me introduce you to Hen and Chick Cloth, a fabulous Etsy store run by a delightful mom named Heather. She makes super cute AIO diapers! If you want to try out cloth, but you want it to be as close to your disposable diaper experience as possible, in terms of ease of use, I think giving AIO diapers a try is a good idea!

Here’s what I loved about my Hen and Chick Cloth AIO diaper that Heather sent me:
1. Bumblebees?! I almost can’t stand how precious this is. I mean, look at that!!!
2. The diaper couldn’t be easier to get on and off. There’s nothing to stuff or snap.
3. Velcro ensures a really nice and snug fit.
4. This diaper is almost as thin as a disposable diaper. This makes it really easy to use in conjunction with any outfit she has (you may recall that I stated earlier that cloth diapering requires sizing up your baby’s pants, but in the case of the Hen and Chick AIO, there’s no need!).

Here are the things that I found to be not as awesome:
1. Darah is just about to outgrow the diaper already. It is meant to be for sizes 10-20 pounds. I’m guessing that Darah is around 16.5-17 pounds, but she won’t be able to wear this diaper much longer at all, so either they run small, or Darah’s thighs are on the roly poly side! This brings me to an important point: cloth diapers, just like disposables, are going to fit each baby differently, depending on their build. So for Hen and Chick Cloth, in my opinion, I would err on the larger side when purchasing these diapers unless your little one has thin legs.

2. AIO diapers take much longer than any other cloth diaper I own to dry. Because the inserts are sewn in, as opposed to being detachable, there are just more layers on hand to dry. This is a problem you are going to run into with all your AIO diapers and is not unique to Hen and Chick Cloth diapers. Heather has a suggestion for this problem, though. She keeps a few towels in her laundry room to throw in with her AIO diapers. She says it really helps cut down on the drying time!

3. Because the diapers are thin, they just aren’t as absorbent. However, this is easy to solve by simply adding an insert. Heather sells inserts that fit beautifully into her diapers for just $1.00 each! So that problem is very easy to fix, I’m pleased to say.

Overall, I think Hen and Chick Cloth offers very cute diapers that are very easy to use! Two thumbs up, Heather!

Buy It!: If you are on the lookout for a slim AIO diaper in a really cute pattern, Hen and Chick Cloth has what you need. Prices start at $10 for small diapers, and go up to $16 for large diapers. The shop also carries cloth wipes and wetbags!

Win It!: Heather wants Hen and Chick Cloth diapers to be on your baby’s bottom! One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win an AIO diaper of their choice from the available listings! The contest will run until Friday, April 30th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Open to residents of the United States. Be sure to leave your email address in your comments or have it in your profile or else I can’t contact you to tell you that you won!

How to Enter:

Mandatory entry: Tell me the diaper you would choose if you won (choose wisely, as you will win what you select if your number is drawn!).

Additional entries:

1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email (one extra entry total, even if you subscribe both ways)
2. Follow me through Google connect
3. Put my button on your blog (leave blog url)
4. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your TwitterID)
5. Subscribe to Heather’s blog
6. Add Hen and Chick Cloth to your favorites on Etsy (leave your etsy username)
7. Make a purchase from Hen and Chick cloth (worth 5 extra entries!!!)
8. Make a comment that contributes to the conversation at this post (“I like cloth” would not be a good comment, for example) and come back here to tell me you did.
9. Enter any other currently open giveaway on my site (one extra entry per giveaway that you enter)

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed above are strictly my own.

Ranky Tanky: Music the Whole Family Will Love

April 17, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · 58 Comments

Darah squeals with delight when we play music at home. She loves to hear a good beat and just thinks it is so funny when mommy and daddy sing along with a song. Over the past few months we have been listening to some terrific music from artists like Charity and the JAMBand, Earthworm Ensemble, Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family. We recently added another absolutely fantastic album to our collection. Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem is a folksy string band and they have just released a family album called Ranky Tanky. I would say that the style of music in this album is upbeat, playful, rockabilly, and even a bit impromptu. I LOVE this album. I wish I had a way to express how much I like it beyond the caps lock function of my keyboard! Every single song on here is fun, catchy, and sounds great. Great classics such as Purple People Eater and The Green Grass Grows All Around are huge hits here. In fact, when I put this cd on for Darah (and also for me, since I love it), we don’t skip over a single song. We love them all! Don’t just take my word for it, though, listen for yourself!

Buy It!: Do you need some tunes to groove to with your kids that won’t drive you crazy? This is the album to buy, then! Ranky Tanky is available for $15 plus shipping today!

EDIT: Giveaway closed

Win It!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is about to bring some musical joy home. You will win your very own copy of Ranky Tanky! The contest will run until Tuesday, April 27th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Open to residents of the United States. Be sure to leave your email address in your comments or have it in your profile or else I can’t contact you to tell you that you won!

How to Enter:

Mandatory entry: Of the songs available for preview, tell me which one you like the very best.

Additional entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email
2. Follow me through Google connect
3. Put my button on my blog and leave a url where I can find it
4. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitte r (include your TwitterID)
5. Sign up for the Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem mailing list
6. Become a fan of Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem on Facebook
7. Enter any currently open giveaway (1 extra entry per giveaway)

Disclosure: I received a product sample for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own.

Customized Greeting Cards (UPrinting GIVEAWAY!)

April 13, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · 60 Comments

EDIT: Giveaway closed!

One of my favorite partners, UPrinting, is teaming up with me to do another awesome giveaway!

A little while back I told you about the custom stickers and labels that you can make with UPrinting, for anything from address labels to business logos that you put on your packages. I recently ordered my address labels, and I was very impressed with the customer service. They were lightning fast and helped me out when the file I submitted was the wrong size. I was very pleased with the service!

Today I want to talk about greeting cards. UPrinting can custom make greeting cards for you! How cool is that?! Perhaps you run a business and you like to send out cards to your clients during the holidays. UPrinting can help you create the perfect card, customized to your needs. No more generic boxed greeting cards for you! UPrinting also offers envelopes that can have your return address printed on them, which will save you a lot of hand cramps from writing your address 100 times, and which will look even more professional than an adhesive address label. Or perhaps you need a really nice set of thank you cards, but everything you see in the stores is either extremely boring or extremely expensive (that’s my experience, at least). Now you can get something personalized at a price you can stomach!

Today you have the chance to win a set of 50 7x 5″ (folded to 3.5 x 5″) Custom Thank You Cards with plain envelopes, including 14 pt Cardstock Gloss coating and full color outside and blank inside. Awesome! The contest will run until Saturday, April 24th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Open to residents of the United States.

How to Enter:

Mandatory Entry: Follow me on Google Friend Connect or subscribe to my blog via email. Your first entry should be a statement that you have done so. It’s just that simple!

Additional Entries:
1. Put my button on your blog and leave a url where I can find it
2. Subscribe to the UPrinting blog
3. Become a fan of UPrinting on Facebook
4. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your TwitterID)
5. Tell me one other product UPrinting offers that you could use.
6. Enter any other currently open giveaway on my site (one extra entry per giveaway that you enter)

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this post. I will receive the same greeting card package in appreciation for hosting the giveaway.