Stuff Parents Need

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

My Very Favorite Products of 2012

· by · 1 Comment

I have had so much fun over the past few months highlighting my favorite products of 2010 and 2011. And now I come to my favorite products of 2012! This list was the most difficult of them all to create. After initially going through all my posts I had 42 products that made me squeal with delight. Sheesh! I painstakingly narrowed it down to 16 products that I want to give one more shout out to as we close our 2012 year.

Do keep in mind that any positive review on my site is completely honest. What you see below is the cream of the crop for my family. These are the products that have surprised us the most, given the most delight, and enjoy the most use. They are in no particular order.

1. Everyday Minerals. This mineral makeup company has generous sizes of product, outstanding prices, beautiful colors, and coverage to match premium brands.

2.  Rubbermaid Hidden Recycler. While it is petite, it is the perfect fit for our small kitchen. Keeps our recyclables out of sight. Lots of love for this product!

3. Jahgoo Infant Bath. Another great space saver for those of you with babies 0-6 months. Layah recently outgrew it. We all were quite sad about that!

4. Attribute Apples. I continue to be amazed at how frequently Darah requests to play with this game. She loves sorting them by size, color and other attributes.

5. LifeLock. This service has helped keep identity theft at bay and also kept me alert to other potential threats, such as registered sex offenders in my neighborhood. I’ve been so pleased with the service provided and absolutely believe that it is worth the cost and then some.

6. Vanessa Gade Jewelry. This designer has a true gift. My necklace from her collection is one of my most beloved material possessions.

7. Pork. Yes, as in the other white meat. I had the opportunity to try out several different cuts of pork this year. We weren’t pork eaters before that time, but now we are. It’s delicious and surprisingly versatile!

8. Bobble Water Pitcher. I have purchased replacement filters for my Bobble since reviewing it because we use it multiple times, every single day. It has a permanent home in our fridge!

9. Ruggable Rug. I can’t say enough what a genius idea a washable rug is. The white shag run we own has been washed several times and still looks absolutely fantastic.

10. Beaba Babypote. This nifty container gives me the opportunity make squeeze pouches for my girls. It saves me a ton of money!

11. Shower Hug. This is the item that pregnant women and brand new moms have no idea they need until they try it. It is bliss!

12. First Years Feeding Chair. We ditched our old high chair that was twice as expensive and took up twice as much room. This chair rocks!

13. Dexas Ice Cube Trays. These bad boys make the biggest ice cubes ever, and they are super space efficient in the freezer. I use them daily!

14. Swaddlebees Simplex One Size Diaper. I’ve seen some amazing diapers, but this one takes the cake. It’s the whole package, folks.

15. Hot Dots. These flash cards are fantastic for learning and independent play. They travel well, too! I’ve bought several more packs and even bought some as gifts.

16. Olay Products. I have been extremely impressed with how well everything I’ve tried from this company works. My skin looks great!

There’s my list! Did you have any standout favorite products you used for the first time in 2012? I’d love to hear about them!

So Many AWESOME Discounts from Educational Insights and a GIVEAWAY!!!

· by · 53 Comments

Educational Insights has got to be one of the very best online destinations for educational materials that kids will really love.

I’ve mentioned before Hot Dots and how much Darah enjoys playing with them. Thanks to these cards, she is learning logic, patterns, sequencing, letter recognition (uppercase and lowercase) and basic science. I’m so excited that there are so many different types of Hot Dots cards for her to use as she gets older and is ready for more complex concepts. We recently snagged some cards that I’m going to keep in our game closet for about 6 more months before trying them out with her. I haven’t even told her about them, because I know she’d want to give them a whirl right away if she saw them! But since she is still working on mastering her sets that are already open, I think we should just stick with those, for now.

Educational Insights has a really impressive selection of Hot Dots cards, and I very highly recommend them for kids. We have certainly enjoyed the Hot Dots, Jr. sets, and look forward to continuing to use the Hot Dots sets as she grows. And before you know it, Layah will be using them, too!

I also want to point out that Educational Insights has a Pinterest page, and it is loaded with great ideas for kids educational activities. In the future, they are going to be holding Pinterest exclusive giveaways, so be sure to follow them there so you don’t miss out!

But wait, there’s more! You can earn $10 off an EducationalInsights.com purchase just be filling out a SUPER short (4 questions!) suvey here: http://www.educationalinsights.com/category/id/119977.do

May I suggest what you put this fabulous credit towards? Some Hot Dots! Now through August 11th, you get a free Hot Dots pen with the purchase of two card sets! That’s an $11 value! Enter code HOTPEN at checkout!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the Hot Dots pen as well as two card sets of your choice!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

Hot Dots Jr. Alphabet Cards Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

· by · 93 Comments

We have a FANTASTIC new educational toy at our house, and I’m so excited to share it with you! It comes to us from Educational Insights, an online store that is packed with really great games and toys that help children learn important concepts.

Hot Dots, Jr. is an interactive set of flash cards. We received the beginning alphabet cards. You use these cards in conjunction with a special talking pen that helps children know if they have solved the problem on the card correctly, or if they need to try again. Darah has Kat, and they also offer Ace the dog. Kat’s eyes turn green and she purrs when Darah selects the right answer. She meows when Darah needs to try again.

The cards in the beginning phonics set have various problems that need to be solved. Darah is just now mastering the set of cards that has her match upper case and lower case letters. We are now moving into the cards that also have her match upper and lower case letter, but offer more options and seem to be a bit more difficult. Darah absolutely LOVES to do these flash cards, and she does not get discouraged when she misses the answer. She remains very focused and also practices the sounds the letters make while doing her work. Its really pretty awesome to watch!

I will most definitely be getting more of these cards for her to work with because she has responded so well to them. I also like that they come in a compact case with a velcro lid and a canvas handle for easy storage as well as easy access by Darah. She can pull these out on her own and put them away on her own, which is really nice.

Hot Dots, Jr. card sets retail for $14.99 each and the talking pens retail for $12.99 each. I highly recommend these products as a way to keep the learning that is happening at school also happening at home.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Hot Dots Jr. card set and a talking pen!

[Read more…]