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Teaching Young Children How to Clean Their Bikes

October 22, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 57 Comments

Thanks to Dawn and Double Duty Divas for partnering with me to make this post possible. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always!

Our oldest is working hard on learning how to ride a bicycle. Her confidence is growing with every ride around the block! It wasn’t long ago that she couldn’t really figure out how the pedals worked, and now she can’t be stopped!

But the more she uses her bicycle, the more it gets, well, USED. And every once in a while, it needs some maintenance and care provided to it so that it can stay in good working order. Teaching children how to care for their possessions is an important aspect of helping them understand how to get maximum value from them. The idea of bicycle maintenance isn’t new to Darah, since she’s seen her dad work on his bicycle many times. But this weekend, she got the chance to give her own bike a little TLC!

how-to-take-care-of-your-bike

All you need to get started with basic bicycle care is a bottle of Dawn and some water. We all know that Dawn cuts grease in the sink, but it can do the exact same thing with bicycle wheels and chains! Wherever grease and dirt can be found, let Dawn get to work for you. All you need is a few drops!

Let your child take the lead, but provide some guidance. They will be shocked by just how much grime-fighting power they can get out of just a tiny dab of Dawn. Have them help you fill the bowl with warm water and teach them how to ring out a sponge if they don’t already know. Then, set them free on their bicycle to get to scrubbing!

While Darah was cleaning her bike, her father was talking with her about the various parts of the bicycle, teaching her the names of the parts, and talking with her a bit about their jobs, and how they all work together to make a bicycle. By seeing and touching the parts as she cleaned and as she learned about them, I think she really absorbed what she was hearing. It was a sensory experience!

Darah felt proud of the work she did on her bicycle, and Dawn did a great job of making it easy to wipe away the grime that had accumulated on her bike during her practice sessions. I’m guessing that she’s going to ask to clean her bike again before it really and truly NEEDS to be cleaned. But that’s perfectly fine with me…this activity helps her better understand bicycle mechanics, and instills in her the importance of taking care of what is yours. And maybe we can work her up to cleaning our car for us, too! 🙂

If you’d like more ideas on great ways to put Dawn to use once your dishes are clean, check out Dawn’s page for a big list of alternative uses!

My Favorite Dry Shampoo, How to Earn Free Gift Cards, and $50 Giveaway! Woo!

October 15, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Thanks to Global Influence for partnering with me to make this post possible. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always!

I’ve been a fan of Suave products for quite some time, but in particular, I’m a HUGE fan of one item in their line. I think it works better than similar products that cost 4 times as much. It’s a steal, and you should buy 3 cans of it the next time you are in the store, no joke:

This is Suave Dry Shampoo. I bought it for less than $3, and I seriously like it better than a different brand I so foolishly bought at a salon for top dollar. So learn from my mistake!

Suave Family Perks

As if Suave’s incredible prices were reward enough, Suave has now partnered with Walmart to offer the program. Here’s how it works:

1. Purchase your favorite (or perhaps some new-to-you) Suave products at Walmart.

2. Upload a picture of your Walmart receipt on the and start earning great perks for your family.

3. Once you have earned 150 Suave Family Perks points, you can convert those points to a $5 Walmart e-gift certificate. That will almost get you 2 cans of my favorite dry shampoo! 🙂 I checked out their listing of what products are worth, and the point value is based on the price, but as an example, the dry shampoo would get you 30 points! You can see how it won’t take long at all to get to your free gift card!

This program is exclusive to Walmart, and is yet another great way to enjoy savings while also enjoying products that, at least in my experience, are on par with or even out perform similar products with MUCH higher price tags. Talk about a win/win situation!

Giveaway!

Suave and Walmart are SO excited about the savings they are offering to their customers that they want to throw a little giveaway! Who could use a $50 Walmart gift card? Um, everybody! Here’s your chance to win one! Good luck!

Suave Family Perks – Resourceful Mommy

How to Make a Reading Nook for Kids (Giveaway!)

October 12, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 8 Comments

Thanks to Magic Cabin for supplying the fairy wings pillow. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Affiliate links may be included.

Our oldest is starting to read now, which is equal parts thrilling and excruciating to witness (as those of you who have been through this season of life already know!). I have been wanting to create a special place in her room that will draw her in, and serve as an invitation to read, and perhaps to even get lost in the world of great stories as her reading skills continue to grow. I’d love to show you what we put together!

We already had these really awesome rain gutter bookshelves in place in her room. Tim was able to make them a few years ago when we first moved into the house. They aren’t meant to hold piles and piles of books, but they do make a nice display. There are lots of examples of rain gutter bookshelves online, but here’s a tutorial to help you get started.

We then headed to Amazon to pick out some sort of fun netting option. We landed on this canopy that is really intended to be a canopy over a bed, but we made it work in this space. We wanted something large enough to cover the entire area, but if you want something smaller, I totally love this daisy canopy, exclusive to Magic Cabin.

We also bought lights on Amazon, and while you will likely be able to find Christmas lights in the stores at this time of year, we wanted to get white wire lights so that they would blend in better. Those are a bit harder to find!

There are two rugs on the floor for softness and a pop of color. The shag rug is actually a washable rug, and the blue rug was an Ikea find. Also on the floor we have the sparkle fairy wings lounge pillow. This is exclusive to Magic Cabin, so you won’t find it anywhere else, and it actually was the reason I put together the reading nook in the first place. I saw this item in the catalog a few months ago and it just got the wheels spinning in my head about how great it would be to create a space for Darah where she could let her imagination soar while reading.

We put some beautiful butterflies that I actually found a while back at a thrift store on the walls for some added decoration and whimsy. Magic Cabin has some other great products that would look great in an area like this. I particularly like the felt butterfly wreath and the decorative butterflies.

At the far end of the nook we have a bin with additional books in it, as well as a place where Darah hangs her necklaces. Admittedly, the necklaces don’t really have anything to do with the reading nook, but the truth is, we live in a small house. We’ve got to make use of our vertical space!

Darah named the area butterfly cove, and she is really enjoying sitting in there and reading. I enjoy getting to hang out in there with her, too!

I’m so glad we put this together. I think it is a great use of a space in her room that was somewhat awkward. Now it has a clear function!

Have you put together any sort of special reading area for your little ones? Do you like “butterfly cove”?

Win it!: Magic Cabin has generously offered a sparkle fairy wings lounge pillow for one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader!

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I’m All About that Base: 3 Examples of How a Rug Can Make the Room (Giveaway Alert!)

October 3, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 21 Comments

This post brought to you by Kalaty Rug. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Stuff Parents Need.

Dreams and Designs by Alanna Peters

I don’t know about you but the change of seasons always gets me thinking about making changes at home. This time of year, in particular, I start thinking about decorating the house for the upcoming holidays. It starts with that slight chill in the evening air, the appearance of pumpkin everything in the stores, and before you know it I’m thinking about Halloween…then my birthday…then Thanksgiving, and then – EEK – Christmas!

But how much more fun would it be if I could actually decorate a NEW home for the holidays?! Our house is sufficient for us for at the moment but we are outgrowing it rapidly. (And no, I’m not pregnant!) I can’t wait for the day that we can finally buy our dream home…the one that we see ourselves living in for the rest of our lives. (You know, the one with the library, and the conservatory, and the playroom, and the master suite with double sinks in the bathroom, and the big backyard with a garden and a pool…)

Alas, that won’t happen for a long while. In the meantime though, I’m thinking about making some simple changes so the house at least feels new. They say one of the easiest ways to change a room is by painting. But what if you want to make a big change without all that sweat equity? One of the very best ways to completely change the vibe in a room is by starting with the floor, and more specifically, with one seriously gorgeous rug.

I’ve been spending my morning daydreaming online as I browsed the new fall rug collections from Kalaty.com. Are you familiar with this company? They’ve been around since the early 1900s, so it’s safe to say that they know a thing or two about beautiful rugs. They have several new style lines out right now and I found some gorgeous rugs that I love! Since I was imagining my dream house, I figured I might as well decorate the whole room to go along with the new rug. Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?!

Here are a few of my favorites.

The first rug I fell in love with was from Kalaty’s Contemporary line. It’s a grey-blue Inspira rug, and I think it’s gorgeous! I pictured it lying all silky and glorious in my luxurious living room, surrounded by cool, relaxing colors and lush gold accents.

The second rug I chose to decorate with was from the Ikat style line. I really like the Caspian multi-colored wool rug – the colors are so deep and rich. I think it would be perfect for the library I hope to have someday! I’d also have a nice, big reading chair and a comfy pillow to lean back on while I read my latest adventure novel.

The third rug I was really drawn to was from the Southwestern style line. I’m normally not big on the whole southwestern thing but I really liked the muted neutral colors of the “Mojave” natural wool rug. I think it’d be a great fit in a bedroom that’s not necessarily western-themed but just has more of a rugged, outdoorsy kind of feel. It reminds me of some of the mountain ranches I’ve stayed in when I’m home visiting Colorado.

How about you? Are you dreaming of a new home too, or at least redecorating a room to feel new for the fall season? Have you ever used a rug as the starting point for a change in the look and feel of a room? Which of the style boards above speaks the most to your design aesthetic? Kalaty likely has some other designs that you may like even more than what I chose! Take a look atwww.kalaty.com and let me know which rug you would choose for a fresh new look! And for even more inspiration, be sure to followKalaty’s Pinterest board. It is loaded with beautiful ideas! You’ll also find some great ideas and inspirations through Kalaty’s Twitter and Kalaty’s Facebook page.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!

I bet you want one of these rugs, don’t you? I know I do!!! You’ve got a chance to win a 4×6 Kalaty rug right now (valued up to $1,000!). Here’s what you need to do:

1. Visit Kalaty Rug at http://kalaty.com/rebate and enter your email address to receive a mail-in rebate form. This form can be used even if you don’t win to get a great discount! 🙂

2. If you want additional entries, you can enter up to 3 valid, additional email addresses for the Mail-In Rebate, to count as 4 total contest entries. Spread the word to your friends and increase your odds!

3. You can also earn an entry by leaving a comment on this blog post stating where your nearest Kalaty Rug dealer can be found (http://kalaty.com/find-a-dealer.htm will help you!).

4. Additionally, you can leave a comment on Kalaty’s Facebook page with your nearest Kalaty Rug dealer. Leaving a comment on the Kalaty Rug Facebook with the nearest Kalaty Rug dealer (found by going to http://www.kalaty.com/find-a-dealer.htm).

There are many great ways to enter, and you can pull them all together by using the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck, everyone! Just click on the link below if you can’t see the form; it’ll take you to the entry page.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Preparing for Disney World: A New Minnie Mouse Lovey from Build-a-Bear

September 5, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Thanks to Build-a-Bear for sending along Minnie Bear to keep us company at Disney World. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always!

It’s no secret that both of my girls LOVE stuffed animals. They come by it honest; my collection topped out around 200 animals when I was a child. I’m pretty good about saying “no” for most toys when the request is made, except for stuffed animals!

And of course, both of my girls have their most precious loveys that they sleep with every night. I’ve been thinking about how to handle this for our upcoming trip to Disney World (missed those posts? Check out my Disney vacation tips post and my Disney vacation budget post). If either one of these loveys were lost, it would be…not the end of the world….but just ever-so-slightly less devastating than that. It would RUIN our trip, you guys, not even kidding. But since we’ll be gone for a week, I think they are going to be getting in the car with us. But let me tell you something, they will go from our house, to the car, into the hotel room, back to the car, and back to our house. THAT IS IT!!!!

To help keep the girls occupied in the park, we need some loveys that they will enjoy. So how awesome is it that Build-a-Bear has just come up with a Minnie Bear? She’s an adorable pink bear with a signature Minnie Mouse bow and LOTS of fun Minnie accessories. She will make for a fun playmate while we wait in line or during strolls all over the park. And while it would not be fun if she were to get lost, I know that we would survive the ordeal, which is more than I can say for certain with bunny and doggy.

One thing I have always loved about Build-a-Bear plushes, and what makes them stand apart from other stuffed animals, is the attention to details. Look at Minnie Bear’s feet! While Build-a-Bear has lots of super cute shoes that you could buy for her, aren’t her little bear feet (er..paws?) adorable?

The same holds true for the accessories. If you have never been inside a Build-a-Bear store, it is a treat! The outfit selections will blow you away, and they will be easy to use on different loveys from Build-a-Bear. Check out this great feature: pants with a hole in them just for little tails! Hee Hee!

So even if you have a different Build-a-Bear lovey that you’d like to get all dolled up for a trip to Disney World, or if you just have a Minnie Mouse fan in your house, check out the full line of Minnie accessories, perfect for Minnie Bear or any other Build-a-Bear in your collection!

I’d love to hear: do you have a travel policy in your home in regards to your child’s favorite stuffed animals or other favorite toys?

My KIND of Snack Attack (Giveaway)

August 22, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 101 Comments

Thanks to my friends at KIND for sending along some snacks to check out. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always!

Y’all. I am going through some sort of phase where my snacking needs simply cannot be met. I mean, I snack frequently as a general rule. Grazing is just how I roll. But lately it’s like there’s a hungry teenager inside of me…why eat a bowl of cereal when I can just eat the whole box? Why have 1 chocolate covered almond when I can have 14?

Out. of. control.

I think my body is aware that I’m about to start spending some time on the treadmill once Layah starts school and it is freaking out or something.

I think it also means that I need to switch up some of the snack foods we have on hand. When I get in a snacking funk, I find that I just keep eating more and more as I try to find that one thing I really and truly want.

But oh my friends. I found that thing. Oh yes I did.

KIND has an amazing snack bar out that comes in a 12 pack. It’s like almonds are doing a dance in the rain, only the rain is dark chocolate.

Or maybe it’s caramel.

Do we even need to discuss this further? Are you not already sold just by looking at them??? They taste every bit as good as they look, and I would know because I’ve been hitting them pretty hard over the past few days. 🙂

Nut-Free Snack Option

Darah has been enjoying the Vanilla Blueberry KIND Healthy Grains bars, and I wanted to highlight these because you may have a family member with a nut allergy or your child’s school may have requested nut-free products be sent in school lunches due to the prevalence and severity of nut allergies. I thought that Darah had to bring nut-free items, and have recently learned that this isn’t the case, though if she has a product with nuts in it at lunch, it could impact who she is allowed to sit by. So I’d prefer to do my best to keep things nut-free. These bars are SO good, and like all KIND products, they only contain items that you can pronounce.

If you are in a snacking rut, or if you are looking for a nut-free snack item, definitely pick up the KIND products I’ve highlighted here. And truth be told, you aren’t going to go wrong with any KIND product you try. I’ve had many products in their line and I have yet to be disappointed!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a box (12 bars) of KIND bars in your choice of chocolate or caramel. Awwww yeah!!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

8 Months In: How’s Our “Sanctuary” Looking? (GIVEAWAY!!!)

August 15, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 89 Comments

I am participating in the ZonePerfect Blog It Forward program, and am receiving complimentary products as a thank you for my participation. I am encouraged to provide honest feedback, be it positive, neutral or negative! So just like always, all thoughts and opinions listed here are my own.

Sanctuary: Have We Succeeded?

We are now 8 1/2 months into 2014, getting ready to bid farewell to summer and work our way into the fall. Seems like a good time to do a check in on our goals for the year.

Do you even remember the goals or resolutions you set? I can remember the gist, but even so I had to go back and read my 2014 word for the year post to jog my memory a bit!

So this year was supposed to be all about creating sanctuaries. Not talking about building a religious space, but rather intentionally creating personal space that feels good. That means a lot of different things for us, and I’ll break down how it’s going in each area.

Area #1: Decluttering

MAJOR WIN. We are getting rid of stuff that we don’t use, don’t wear, don’t like, or just don’t have the space for left and right. I take a trunk full of stuff to my favorite thrift store every single month. Our house is still FAR from being clutter-free, but we can feel the difference. The house is more calm and peaceful, even with all those LEGOs and My Little Ponies all over the floor.

Area #2: Organization

Fail/Win: We hired a professional organizer who gave us AWESOME ideas. And then we struggled to actually implement those ideas. If you want my advice about getting really and truly organized, it’s this: set aside the money so that you can pay the professional organizer to do it with you. We just couldn’t swing more than the first session (and doing one session is better than doing no sessions, so don’t misunderstand me! Go for one if that’s all you can afford!), but in hindsight, I wish we had saved a bit more so that we could have had more hand-holding. Focused, ruthless organizing is hard to do and easy to put off for another day.

With that said, we are making progress in this area. It’s just slower than we’d like it to be. Decluttering is a big part of that, as you can’t really organize clutter. We are also slowly but surely making some larger purchases that our home needs to help it be more comfortable, more grown up, and more spacious. This year we bought an outdoor storage shed, a more comfortable couch (total game changer…we all hang out in the living room together much more now that there’s somewhere comfy to sit!), a new bed, a new mattress (we are sleeping better!), a new dresser for our youngest who was outgrowing her old one, and we have a new dining room table and chairs on the horizon. Perhaps those items don’t really fall into the organized category, but I do see them as relevant to helping us find the right homes for things, by having the right containers (even if what they are containing are our selves!).

I still haven’t hired a housekeeper, though it is my goal to have that piece in place by the end of the year. Sometimes it can just be really hard to take that leap, you know?

Area #3 Taking Care of Our Bodies

Still in pre-launch: I’m not calling this a fail by any stretch. But I am going to be honest and say that we are still in pre-launch mode on this one. We HAVE done some really important things that are helping us all, physically, such as replacing many of our medicines with essential oils. I have also developed the habit of having iced water first thing in the morning (it’s what I have to do to earn my first iced coffee, so I’m dedicated to the pursuit!). I’m also all stocked up on ZonePerfect bars (my very favorites being the Perfectly Simple bars…they taste AWESOME and have limited ingredients. I used to be awake for 2-3 hours before having breakfast; that was SO TERRIBLE for my body and for my metabolism! I’m pleased that I have made that change, and I do feel the difference in my energy level early in the morning.

But the trips to the gym still elude me. I do have a plan, though! My girls will both be in school 5 days a week by the end of this month, and I’ll be headed straight from their drop off over to the gym (it’s on my route home…perfect!). It is being incorporated into my work schedule as part of my job. While I won’t get paid for my time in the gym in income, I have realized that the benefits to being in better shape will be worth more than whatever I could have earned in that extra 45 minutes. I’m excited to get started and to invest more in myself, because when mom feels good, everybody wins!

How are your goals for the year coming along? Take a moment to revisit them and see what you can nudge along. It’s never too late to get started!

Win it!: Let me help you get motivated with a little giveaway! One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win this fun gift set (pictured above) full of fun items, including some yummy ZonePerfect bars (and I’m totally jealous of that tumbler!)!
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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

Rachael Ray Helps Me Feed My Family (Including My Cats!) (Giveaway!!)

August 7, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 124 Comments

I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Nutrish for Cats. I received a sample of Nutrish for Cats to facilitate this review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

Who Doesn’t Love Rachael Ray?

I credit Rachael Ray with being one of the people who taught me how to cook when I was in my early 20s. And if you are wondering just how badly I needed the help, ask Tim, who still likes to remind me about the meal I made served one evening that, among other things, had ground beef, tater tots, and Cheetos in it. It seemed perfectly reasonable at the time, y’all.

Rachael Ray and her totally awesome 30 minute meals have been an inspiration for me. She has such great ideas for getting food on the table fast…and GOOD food, at that (sorry bout ya Cheetos).

Just last week I made a crazy good, crazy easy salmon recipe of hers. It was fresh, flavorful, and colorful to boot!

Nutrish for Cats

Now it’s time for the kitties of the house to feel the Rachael Ray love. She has created a line of healthy cat food products called Nutrish for Cats and we recently got to introduce our cats to some of the offerings.

Up first, the easy-to-please newest addition to our family, Rose.

Rose was adopted from McKamey Animal Center a little over a month ago. She came from a hoarding situation, and as a result, we immediately noticed her very strong preference for human food over pet food (she likely had to forage around the house for scraps of whatever she could find). It took about a week, but we got her to start eating pet food, and now she’s pretty happy with whatever we put in her bowl.

Rose got the dry Nutrish for Cats to sample, gave it a sniff, and then had a little snack, right on the spot. Two paws up!

And now for the resident ice queen, Hattie.

Hattie is 12 years old, and we’ve had her for 9 of those years. She is an absolutely beautiful cat, and she’s also quite large! We think she might be part Maine Coon, actually. One thing she isn’t, though, is friendly. She’s not aggressive, just wants everyone to leave her alone. And she wants to be the only cat in the house, on account of her HATING cats.

So when Rose came home, well, that went over like a turd in a punch bowl, lemme tell ya.

The cats still don’t eat in the same part of the house, which is the way Hattie wants it. The poor old girl has been having such a rough month, what with the presence of that disgustingly adorable furball, so I thought she might want to try the wet Nutrish for Cats as a special treat.

OMG, y’all. SHE PURRED WHILE SHE ATE! She doesn’t purr, as a general rule, and she dang sure isn’t going to purr while eating…how undignified would that be?! But alas, she did just that, and she didn’t even look up from the plate once until it was completely licked clean. So, um, yeah…gonna call that one a WIN!

How to Learn More (and Save $!)

If #NutrishforCats sounds like something you’d like to bring home to your cats, then you should start by snagging some Nutrish coupons. Then you’ll want to look up where to buy Nutrish locally so you can redeem the coupon and make your cats SO happy that they might even start to get along (ok, I’m still holding my breath on that one…). You can also follow Nutrish on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to keep up with the latest promotions.

Win it!: One lucky reader is going to win a variety of Nutrish for Cats products, including a 3 pound bag of Nutrish for Cats dry food and 3 containers of wet food.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

My Latest ThredUp Finds (And a $250 Giveaway!!!)

August 6, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 119 Comments

Referral links included. I only promote what I love!

Just 30 minutes ago my doorbell rang and my polka-dot box from ThredUp was waiting on my doorstep. I decided that it would be more fun to do a video unboxing so that we could get excited together about all the fun stuff (and the AWESOME prices) from ThredUp! I did it by myself, so unfortunately, I didn’t have anyone on hand to tell me that the picture was a bit fuzzy, so I apologize for that. Still worth a watch, though!

Ok, so if you are new to ThredUp, you can check out my ThredUp review (I give you 4 tips for making the most of your experience, so don’t miss it!), and I can also give you the Cliff’s Notes version right now: ThredUp sells gently used clothing (though I’ve also purchased items that still had the tags on them!). ThredUp also buys gently used clothing (or stuff sitting in your closet with the tags still on!) for women and children. The prices are higher than a thrift store, naturally, but the selection is outstanding. You’ll only find items in excellent condition and you can shop by size or by brand with a simple click of a button. Try doing that at a thrift store!

Don’t forget to spend a little time cleaning out your kids’ closets as the school year begins, too. Make room for those new (to you) duds, and for the coming fall season, and make a little $$$ in the process, too. 🙂 Get yourself signed up today and you’ll automatically get $10 to spend on the site, no strings attached (except for the cute ThredUp tags on the clothes, of course!).

Back to School Giveaway Time!

Just in time for back-to-school shopping, ThredUp wants to celebrate with Stuff Parents Need by sponsoring one seriously awesome giveaway!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader and ThredUp member is going to win a $250 gift certificate to ThredUP to go on one heck of a shopping spree!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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