giveaway - Stuff Parents Need

Tip to Make Errands Easier: Purchase Everyday Essentials Online (Walmart Gift Card Giveaway!)

August 3, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 278 Comments

The Walmart gift cards and information have been provided by P&G. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When I go shopping, some of my least favorite items to buy are paper towels and toilet paper because they take up SO much space in my cart, and in my trunk. And that’s why I REALLY love to just order them online and have them shipped straight to my front door.

Did you know that places like Walmart.com make it really easy and affordable to do just that? At Walmart.com, for example, you get FREE shipping on purchases of $50 or more. And the prices you see online are, at least in my experience, the same as what you’ll find in the store. So what I do now is place a large order for everyday essentials to get free shipping and to get these items checked off my list for some time.

I also picked up some laundry detergent. Detergent doesn’t necessarily take up too much space in my cart, but man it’s heavy! No need to tote it all over the store, anymore!

Here are some of the items you can find at Walmart.com. Take them off your next shopping list and get them ordered right now! Easy peasy! I’ve linked to the products I purchased in case you need them, too!

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– Pampers Cruisers Diapers
– Pampers Sensitive Baby Wipes
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– Swiffer Dry Sweeping Sweeper Cloths Refills
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– Pampers Swaddlers Diaper
– Luvs Leakguards Super Absorbent Diapers Super Pack
– Pampers Baby Dry Diapers
– Swiffer Bissell SteamBoost Mop Starter Kit

Have you ever shopped for everyday essentials online? Did you know it was even possible to do that for a reasonable price? Hopefully I just saved you some space in your grocery cart! 🙂 And if you don’t want to use a credit card, Walmart takes Paypal! I thought that was pretty cool!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a $25 Walmart gift card so you can get stocked up on some great everday essentials, too!

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

The (Messy) Beautiful Truth about Laughter as a Mom (Giveaway!!!)

July 26, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 5 Comments

Thanks to Poise and Linqia for partnering with me to make this post possible. All thoughts an opinions are my own, as always.

I talk a lot on the blog about the fact that having kids is really REALLY hard work. That’s because I feel like sometimes this brutal truth gets swept under the rug quickly in favor of sentiments like, “But I’d never trade it for the world!” or “My children are my greatest joy!”

I identify with those feelings, too. It’s a mixed bag, this parenting business, full of some of the most intense lows and the most intense highs you have ever known, and often in the same hour, let alone the same day. Since I’m a fan of showing both sides of the coin, I thought we should tackle the subject of laughter.

photo credit: Auntie K via photopin cc

The Messy Truth

Let’s just go ahead and tackle the bad news right off the bat: if you have given birth to a child, then laughter is about to change in a physical way. Your laugh will pretty much sound the same (though perhaps the pitch might hint at sleep deprivation). But here’s the thing people don’t warn you about: a really good belly laugh might result in a change of wardrobe. That’s right, sisters, YOU MIGHT PEE YOURSELF. Thanks, Mother Nature, for that fun little post-delivery bonus!

This part of of laughing after you have kids is not fun, and it can also cause you to not enjoy life as much, out of fear that you might have a little “situation” when you weren’t prepared. For me, the solution is not to be found in curbing my laughing (because what fun is that?) but in making good use of a brand new Poise product designed for light bladder leakage (totally not a fun term…so let’s rebrand it as “mom laughs”).

Check out Poise Microliners the next time you are out running errands. You can find them at many retailers (such as Walmart). They are super thin, super discreet, and take care of you when something is absolutely hilarious and you just want to laugh, dang it!

The Beautiful Truth

The beautiful truth about laughter after becoming a mom is that the entire universe slows down and condenses itself inside of your little bubble in those moments that bring a smile to your face. It’s a completely overwhelming feeling to be totally lost in the joy of loving another little person, and that feeling happens at an alarmingly regular interval, as well. The highs are higher than you ever dreamed, friends, and that’s why the laughter is so often accompanied by tears. Your body is just feeling ALL THE FEELINGS and those are the moments when you feel like, “This. This is my greatest day on earth!”

The truth is that those moments are fleeting, just as a good belly laugh is fleeting. But they come at you out of nowhere and just blow you away with the intense amount of love and happiness that hits you all at once. It is like being submerged in joy, or as Queen Bey would put it, being Drunk in Love.

Laughter as a mom is worth the inconvenience that accompanies it ten times over. But let’s not be afraid to talk about the messy business of laughter, too, ‘k?

Win it!: We all need a “win” every now an then, and today is your lucky day! Every last one of you is about to be a winner! Poise wants to send you a free sample of their great new microliners. All you have to do is click on over and give them your mailing address. I think you will really like the product (I do!), and if you don’t, hey, it was free! 🙂

Starbucks Giveaway: That’s the Way to Start the Day! :-)

July 18, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 147 Comments

Thanks to Starbucks for sending goodies along for review and for sponsoring a sweet Starbucks giveaway! All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

In the recent podcast I took part in with Sarah, (go check it out! It’s a fun one!), one of the things we touched on was finding time in the day, every day, to do at least one thing for yourself. Parents tend to put themselves last because, understandably, our needs seem less urgent, and we have enough discipline and maturity to wait a bit longer than our kids do. But friends, the danger in this logic is that we always put our needs and wants in the spot on the to-do list that never gets crossed off. And if we don’t give ourselves a little bit of TLC, we will start to wither, and we’ll eventually break. For me that looks like a crying meltdown in front of my husband followed by two hours locked in my room by myself with the entire carton of ice cream and whatever I can find on Netflix to help me totally zone out.

Been there? Or some version of there? Yeah…we all have.

I think having a good cry every so often is totally healthy, but what’s even healthier is keeping yourself from getting to that breaking point in the first place. And I think what it means to do that will look different for everyone. For me, it means finding realistic ways to treat myself. I’m not going to be able to afford a weekly pedicure (both in terms of costs and in terms of time), but I can afford to treat myself to premium coffee.

starbucks giveaway 2

And I’m not talking about heading out to Starbucks every day, either (once again, my wallet and my schedule are both not able to accommodate that!). Instead, Starbucks is right at home with me. Iced coffees are one of my favorite things EVER, and that means that I need to do them right and make them with truly delicious coffee. It doesn’t really get much better than Starbucks, and I can brew it at home and keep my costs reasonable. If you LOVE coffee like I do, treat yourself to a really beautiful tumbler and to quality coffee, like Starbucks, that you can brew from home. Your taste buds will be so grateful, and if you are anything like me, everyone in the house wins when mama gets her good coffee. 🙂

Lately I’ve been enjoying Pike Place Roast from Starbucks. It’s a medium roast and it has some subtle flavors of cocoa and toasted nuts. Basically, it’s terrific! I need a dark roast to get me going in the morning, but Pike Place is my second cup of coffee choice (which happens around 10am). I will brew it in the tumbler immediately after making my first cup, and that gives it time to cool down a bit before I’m ready to pour ice over it.

starbucks giveaway

So whether you prefer your coffee hot or iced, I bet you super duper love it when it’s free! Want to win some? Let’s do this!!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a lovely To-Go Tumbler just like the one pictured above, as well ask a K-Cup Pike Place pack. YUM!!!

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

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Chocolate Banana Pudding with TruMoo

July 17, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 126 Comments

This post brought to you by TruMoo. All opinions are 100% mine.

Yesterday I made a special treat for you all! I decided to make a banana pudding, but I wanted to make it even better than a traditional banana pudding.

I know what you are thinking: “Banana pudding does not need any improvements, Tiffany!” I hear you. Banana pudding is totally amazing. But CHOCOLATE Banana pudding is even more amazing, promise. I made mine with TruMoo Chocolate Milk. Have you seen it in stores? I’m a big fan, especially since it’s got no artificial growth hormones. Check out TruMoo for more information

And even though it doesn’t look super duper chocolately in its finished form, the color has been diluted with whipped topping and condensed milk. But there’s also chocolate pudding made with TruMoo chocolate milk, which basically makes it double chocolate pudding. So I’m thinking right about now you’d like to learn the recipe, yes? Ok, let’s do it!

Ingredients

for chocolate pudding

1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups TruMoo chocolate milk
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Other Ingredients:

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 package of vanilla wafers, crushed
4 medium bananas, sliced to desired thinness

To make the chocolate pudding:

In a saucepan on medium heat, combine cocoa, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add TruMoo Chocolate milk, roughly 1/2 cup at a time and stir until well combined after each addition.

Once all the milk is added, bring to a gentle boil (still over medium heat).

Let the mixture boil gently while constantly stirring for about 2 minutes. Then add the butter and vanilla and remove from the heat. Allow to cool down to room temperature (this will take 20 minutes or so, and goes faster if you give it a stir every few minutes).

Next add the condensed milk to the chocolate pudding mixture. Stir it well until it is throughly combined.

Now it’s time to fold in the whipped topping!

The finished mixture should look something like this:

The next part of the recipe was totally my favorite because it involves getting out your aggression. Poor vanilla wafers never saw it coming. Crush as many as you think reasonable at a time, but I can tell you that putting the entire bag of wafers in a quart bag at one time is over shooting. Just trust me on that one ;-).

I guess I should explain why the wafers are crushed instead of getting artfully arranged. Well, for starters, I don’t “artfully arrange” anything well as you’ll see in a second when you see the final product. But more importantly, I honestly think banana pudding is better this way because the crumbly goodness of the wafers is much more evenly distributed. Try it and let me know if you agree!

Ok, so back to the recipe. It’s time to get your layer on! Start with a layer of crushed wafers, followed by a layer of bananas.

Now add a layer of that awesome pudding you just made! I got a total of 4 layers of wafers/bananas and 3 layers of pudding. This isn’t an exact science, so it’s ok if yours doesn’t turn out like mine. And most likely, yours will definitely turn out prettier than mine! Layers are just not my thing, y’all.

So while it isn’t the most beautiful pudding in the world, it can hold its own in the taste department, and I think a lot of that has to do with the inclusion of TruMoo Chocolate Milk! I hope you will give the recipe a try; my crew has been thoroughly enjoying it as a special treat after dinner (and yeah, after lunch, too. Can you blame us?!).

Want more ideas for how to use TruMoo to make super yummy recipes like this one? Check out TruMoo on Facebook and join the community there to get more ideas, and to even hear about great promotions.

Babywearing made simple with the Soothe Shirt (GIVEAWAY!!!)

June 23, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 66 Comments

by Alanna Peters

I received a complimentary product for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

I am all about babywearing. I wear my baby pretty much all day long, and we love it! I’m getting to be pretty good at wrapping and I’m figuring out the soft structured carriers, but when my baby was just a little squish it all seemed pretty complicated to me. Lalabu has come up with the sweetest, simplest way to wear and nurse your baby throughout the day! They created the Soothe Shirt, which has a built-in, cross-front nursing bra for easy breastfeeding and a pouch to put your baby in!

The Soothe Shirt is perfect for new babies up to 15 pounds. My baby is almost 16 pounds already (holy moly, she is getting big SO fast!) but we gave the shirt a try just to see how it works. You guys, I SOOOO wish I had this shirt from day one. My baby LOVED it! As you can see, she was all smiles as soon as I put her in the pouch. She’s a little big for the pouch so she was leaning out of the top but it would have been PERFECT for her when she was a little smaller. (Another bonus? I felt like the shirt made me look quite slim when the pouch wasn’t full of baby!)

Watch this cute video “A Day With Lalabu” to see how easy it would be to go through your day in this shirt. I LOVE it!

The Soothe Shirt is such an awesome product. The pouch is very comforting for newborns, who crave that closeness to mom. It is not intended for hands-free carrying but it does take baby’s weight off of mom’s arms and provides the comfort and bonding benefits of a wrap without the complexity. It is made in the USA and the seams are very secure, with the strength of climbing apparel. The shirt itself is designed to be worn all day long, either alone or layered with your favorite outfits.

Check out these other videos showing how to wear and nurse with the Soothe Shirt:

Lalabu Soothe Shirt | How to Wear
Lalabu Soothe Shirt | How to Nurse

Another aspect of Lalabu that I love? Lalabu gives back. The company was created by Keri Fosse and her husband, Brian, who were inspired on a trip to Africa. In addition to the creation of a great product, they’ve built a One Day One Dollar business model. Each Lalabu team member volunteers one day a week to help women in need. They also give $1 of each sale back to women in Africa. What an awesome concept!

Buy it! You can purchase a Soothe Shirt from the Lalabu website for $60. Shipping is free!
Win it! Would you like to win a Lalabu Soothe Shirt? Enter to win a Lalabu Soothe Shirt (winner can provide size and color preference).

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Georgia Aquarium Tickets Giveaway!!!

June 19, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 65 Comments

Thanks to The Georgia Aquarium for providing free tickets for this giveaway.

I know there are some places in the country where school is just not getting out, but my school-aged child has been out for a month, now. We have been keeping cabin fever at bay by planning EASY crafts, taking advantage of fun little notions at the dollar store (puzzles, hoola hoops, etc.) and by making sure we do a little bit of traveling to experience the fun to be had in our neighboring big cities.

For us, that means heading down to Atlanta every few weeks, and one of our favorite finds has been The Georgia Aquarium. You can check out my Georgia Aquarium review.We were so impressed with just how friendly this place was for ALL ages. And before you get mad at me for making you want to go SO SO SO bad, just know this: I’m about to give one of you some free tickets!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win 4 free Georgia Aquarium tickets!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

Good luck, everyone!!!

Survive the First 24 Hours with a Basic Training Manual for Dad (GIVEAWAY!!!)

June 3, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 31 Comments

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Commando Dad.

by Alanna Peters

How many expecting moms do you know? I’m sure you can quickly think of one (or three…or ten!), assuming your Facebook feed looks anything at all like mine!

Now, what if I ask you how many expecting dads you know? You may have to stop and think for a minute. I feel like dads often get a little overlooked in the excitement of a new pregnancy. So, now that Mother’s Day has come and gone, it’s time to start thinking about our dads (and dads-to-be)!

When I was pregnant the first time I had shelves full of childbirth books but I didn’t really have any books about actually taking care of a baby. I am the oldest of 6 children and spent most of my teenage years babysitting so I was pretty confident about baby care, but my husband had pretty much zero experience with babies. He and I attended one very basic baby class (one of those awkward things where you get to put a diaper on a doll) but he still didn’t feel fully prepared for taking care of a baby. So many things just came naturally to me as a mom but for a dad who doesn’t spend 24/7 with a baby it can be quite overwhelming!

Neil Sinclair felt the same way and decided to write a baby manual just for dads. The manual he put together is called Commando Dad, and it is funny, informative and geared specifically towards the guys. Sinclair was a real military Commando in the British Army and his manual takes the approach of a military handbook. (Apparently Prince William even read it to prepare when he and the Duchess were expecting! I’d say that’s the royal stamp of approval. Haha. :D) Sinclair was frustrated to find that all the information he had received before the birth of his son was geared only towards birth and not beyond. He felt totally lost when they actually brought their new baby home! He set out to put together a manual to help all the other new dads out there.

As a second-time mom I felt like I didn’t really need a manual for baby care but I was surprised to find that the Commando Dad actually had some great tips and reminders that I hadn’t really remembered, or ever even considered to begin with. If you asked me how to bathe a baby, here is what I’d tell you:

“Fill the baby bath with warm water. Put your baby in it, hold onto her, and gently wash her with a soft washcloth and gentle, non-toxic baby wash.”

Helpful enough? For me, yes. But for a new dad? Probably not. Commando Dad breaks it down by the numbers:

1. What to bathe your baby in.
2. What temperature the water should be.
3. Which order you turn on the faucet taps (cold first!).
4. How deep the water should be.
5. How to put your baby in.
6. What to wash her with.
7. What order to wash baby’s parts in.
8. And so on.
(And just in case, he even reminds you to check the diaper for poo before popping your baby in the tub!)
All that may sound like a lot of information but it’s presented in such a clear and concise form that it’s easy-peasy to read at a quick glance.

Along with the bathing tips, I especially liked the tips on what to pack for going out for different occasions and the awesome tips for sleeping – both naps and overnight. (This is something we are still struggling with!)

I thought the book was an easy and fun read. The handbook uses both real and made-up military terminology – home is now “Base Camp”, an explosive poo is a “Howitzer”, and the baby is referred to as a “BT”, or Baby Trooper. (There’s a glossary at the end of the book so don’t worry if you forget what half these terms are referring to!)

Neil Sinclair is a stay-at-home dad so the book is definitely geared towards the dad’s way of caring for the baby. It’s easy to navigate for quick reference when you’re in the middle of a crisis situation. The Table of Contents very clearly labels the location of each topic, and the index at the end is helpful as well. There’s a quick chapter about preparing for the arrival of your BT, a chapter about surviving the first 24 hours (which is oh-so-important!), and from there it digs into daily life with your troopers. The manual includes training information for three full years of child-raising, including nutrition, potty-training, tantrums, and more, so it will be helpful to dads (and moms!) for quite some time. There is also a companion website for Commando Dad, which includes more resources, a forum, a blog, and even a store. If you know a guy who is (or is about to become) a new dad, this book would be an awesome Father’s Day gift! It’s easy to navigate, quick to reference, and it’s good for 3 years or more – what’s not to love?!

What are YOUR top tips for surviving the first 24 hours? What do you wish you had more instructions for during the first few days home with your new baby?

If you’d like to buy this book for a special dad on your list this Father’s Day, you can purchase it from Amazon.com for $12.45. Or, you can also try your luck and enter to WIN a copy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Commando Dad. #CommandoDadBook

On Mean Girls, Mosquitoes, and Reclaiming the Backyard (Giveaway!)

May 31, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 18 Comments

Special thanks to Arrow Exterminators for providing a complimentary pest control session for my review, as well as for a giveaway. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

So last week my favorite pest control company on the planet rolled up to my front door to help me handle a little problem I was having with the neighborhood mean girls. You know the ones…

I’m talking about mosquitoes. And not any and all mosquitoes, my friends. Just the girls!!! The service professional that Arrow sent out was a certified entomologist (that’s a fancy way of saying “bug genius”) and he told me that not all mosquitoes bite, and that the ones that do bite are always the females. The males are actually pollinators, just like bees! Say what?! In fact, when Arrow comes out to treat a property, they will not spray flowering plants as that is where the boy mosquitoes like to hang out. As for the girls? They aren’t interested in nectar. They are on an all-blood diet. And they REALLY REALLY REALLY like my blood. That makes them officially uninvited to my backyard.

Arrow Exterminators offers a service where they will treat your property once a month during mosquito season, and the session is super quick. My yard (which is on the small side) was completely treated with 3 gallons of chemicals that are ONLY harmful to mosquitoes in 15 minutes flat. I noticed that they sprayed in some interesting spots, including along the siding of the house (evidently a place where the “mean girls” really love to hang out) and on lower-lying branches. The treatment was quick, but also quite thorough!

Last summer I wrote a helpful post all about how to get rid of mosquitoes. Definitely go back and give that a good read. I just did and it reminded me to make a few changes in the backyard right away (I’m looking at you, weird, overgrown plant by our back deck). But for immediate relief, definitely get in touch with your nearest Arrow Exterminators location and schedule a treatment. Remember to cut your grass just before your appointment, and schedule it for a day that will be dry and ideally not very windy. Those are the ideal conditions for optimal application! 🙂 You also need to let the product dry for 4 hours before getting back out there to play. The product lasts for approximately a month before its effects have worn off and a new application is needed.

Since we had our yard treated, we have been outside to play and even to eat a few meals on the back deck. Not one time have I been bitten, and trust me when I say if there is a mosquito within a 1000 foot radius of me, she will find me and bite me. But there’s a force field around my house keeping all those mean girls out for the next 4 weeks. Thank you, Arrow Exterminators for helping me reclaim my yard! 🙂

Win it! One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader who lives in an Arrow Exterminators service area (found in Alabama, Arizona, Flordia, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas) will win a complimentary mosquito treatment service!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

Here’s What My Dream Vacation Looks Like (Giveaway!)

May 31, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

A few days ago I entered RCI’s Win Your Dream Vacation Sweepstakes. It had actually been on my “to do” list for a few days, and I was really looking forward to entering it, because as part of the entry, you get to build your own dream vacation. I thought that sounded like a ton of fun, but I actually set aside a chunk of time to do it because I assumed it would take 20-30 minutes to do.

NOPE! Not more than 3 minutes after I started, I had my results! It was ridiculously easy and the dream vacation that was built was absolutely perfect. Basically, RCI showed me just through this sweepstakes that they had what I needed, and could take care of every little detail if that’s what my heard desired. I may have gone back and visited this information daily and swooned over it. Just sayin’.

Please send me to a beautiful beach (St. Maarten blew my mind with its beauty and my stay was WAY too brief there back in November). The place I stay needs to be family-friendly. And I don’t want to have to fret over a thing, but instead to know that it is all paid for. That’s the recipe for true relaxation for me! And it looks like creating a vacation that looks just like that is a piece of cake for RCI.

No Time to Plan? No Money to Spend?

There was a time in my life when I would spend tens if not hundreds of hours planning out vacations. Largely this was to try to save as much money as humanly possible since more often than not, our budget was crazy tight. And the truth is, there are many instances where I would get partially through the planning process only to abandon the dream of a vacation altogether, reasoning that we simply couldn’t afford it.

But after 12 years of marriage and 2 kids, I now have this perspective: we can’t afford NOT to take time off to be together. This is true for time just as a couple, and it is also true for memory-making for our entire family. I don’t meant to imply that you should spend money you don’t have, but rather that you really should work a vacation fund into your budget and set aside money every month so that eventually you’ll have enough there to create some memories that you will cherish forever (like of your family playing on the beach in St. Maarten!).

photo credit: alljengi via photopin cc

Sometimes it is worth spending a little bit more to have an expert handle all the details for you. It can save you time and headache, and not give as much wiggle room to start to justify NOT going. If someone else is taking care of all the details for you, that just frees up more time in your life to relax, friends! And if your savings rate is leaving you feeling like you’ll be taking that dream vacation when you are 80 and not a moment before, then you really must enter this sweepstakes! Someone is going to win their dream vacation worth up to $25,000: if you enter, it just might be you!

In fact, a total of 40 vacations are going to be given away in celebration of RCI’s 40th anniversary. RCI is the global leader in vacation exchange and I promise you this: they have something for everyone (not just those of us who long to be beach bums!).

You can enter from now until June 18th, and the more you share your dream vacation through social media, the higher your chances of winning become!

What does your dream vacation look like? Big city exploration? Spa getaway? Time with girlfriends? Time to yourself? Whatever your vision, you can build it with RCI. And you just might win it, too!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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