Stuff Parents Need

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

A Few of My Favorite Things from #TMSelects

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Gift selections provided by The Motherhood. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always. 

Earlier this week I received a very fun gift in the mail from my friends at The Motherhood. These are women I work with on a regular basis, but I’ve never actually met in real life. I actually have a surprisingly large number of people I work with as a blogger who I converse with via email all the time, but I’ve never shaken their hands. Isn’t the world live in strange? 🙂

This fabulous group of ladies decided to share some of their own favorite things (Oprah-style!) with some of the bloggers they connect with. I loved this concept, because this was not driven out of any sort of campaign. It was simply women sharing with other women products that they adore. I felt like I got to know these ladies better by trying out these products for myself, and in the process I started to fall in love with the products, too!

Here are the top picks from The Motherhood crew.

1. Wild Explorers slippers

#tmselects 1

Aren’t these just so gorgeous? I am totally jealous of my little Layah, who is the proud new owner of these super soft, hand-made leather slippers. These will be perfect for her at school, where she has to wear slippers every day. Each pair is handmade with love by Hannah Allen, who is the mom of a sweet little boy. Yay for mompreneurs!

2. Larabar

#tmselects 2

These are popular with a lot of people, and I’ve tried the wildly popular lemon Larabar before, but The Motherhood since a wide variety of options, and my crew has been digging them. They are truly the perfect food item to stick in your purse or your backback. We’ve been munching on them while going for family walks and even while traveling across the country this week. My kids seem to prefer the blends with fruity flavors (like blueberry muffin) and I’m particularly fond of any of the bars with a nutty flavor.

3. S’well Water Bottle

swell bottle

This water bottle also went traveling with me this week, as I headed out to the dry heat of Phoenix. Staying hydrated is absolutely critical, so I knew we’d need to keep a filled water bottle around for all of us.

The thing that has really impressed me about the S’well bottle is how long the water I put in it stays honest-to-goodness COLD. Hours and hours, people! The design of the bottle is such that it will actually keep your cold drinks cold for 24 hours, and your hot drinks hot for 12 hours. I haven’t attempted a hot beverage yet, because as you know I’m all about cold stuff, but so far I’m super duper impressed. This is anything but a typical water bottle. The different colors and patterns available for the bottle are also pretty awesome. Take a look around and see which one is your favorite!

Do you have any favorite things that you think everyone should own? I’d love to hear about it! 

Giving Tuesday: What I am Teaching My Daughter about Giving This Year

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Special thanks to The Motherhood for partnering with me to make this Giving Tuesday post possible. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own, as always. 
We are just a few short days away from Giving Tuesday (#GivingTuesday), friends!
Maybe I should back up for a second….have you heard of Giving Tuesday? This year it will take place on December 3rd, and it is designed to follow on the heels of Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which I think we all can agree tend to be a little heavy on the spirit of excess consumption. On Giving Tuesday, we turn our attentions to the joy that can be found in giving. It’s also an opportunity for people to join together to think of ways to give more, give smarter, and to let personal philanthropy shine as part of the holiday season.

What I am Teaching My Children about Giving

Last week my Sunday School class had a great conversation about how we cultivate a spirit of gratitude and a spirit of generosity, both within ourselves, and within the children who are part of our lives. I shared my approach to the topic that day, and it made me realize that it is something others might want to hear, as well. I don’t think I have the perfect approach, by any means, but I do think it has been an effective with my preschooler. Perhaps it will be helpful to some of you, as well!
One of the ways that my family gives back during the holiday season is by participating in the Angel Tree, and purchasing some needed and wanted gifts for a local child whose family is struggling to provide. I involve my child in the entire process of selecting a child to “buddy up” with (as opposed to “sponsor”) and she also helps me with the gift selection, based on the child’s expressed needs and wishes.
Because she is a child, she understandably goes through a period of discomfort when the remembers that the awesome stuff she has picked out is not for her. And that’s when the questions begin about why we are giving away these things, and why she can’t have the same stuff.

Taking Turns

This is when I talk with my child about how one thing it is important to do as a human is take turns helping out one another. Then I help her remember all the ways that people help us in our lives. I point out babysitters, friends, teachers introducing lessons, going over to someone’s house and being treated to dinner, and even shopping at the thrift store, which we love to do. Darah knows that everything in that store is there because someone was ready to share with others. After I help her recall how others give to us and how wonderful that feels, I explain that it is our turn now to give to someone else.
Perhaps the examples I give her of us being helped are not as obvious as something like being helped by Angel Tree, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a whole lot of people out there who, one way or another, have helped us so that we can be our very best selves and be safe and happy. When you help a child to develop empathy for a situation, and to relate to being helped, then helping others doesn’t feel like a hand out, or reaching down to someone who is in some way “less.” It is simply about taking a turn to be the one to share.
Will the lesson need to get a little more complicated over time? Of course. But my real hope for now is that I’m laying the foundation in my children that they will be more aware of how much others help us, so that they will feel a compulsion to pay it forward and help others. Not trying to be too Pollyanna here, but can you imagine how different the world would be if giving to others was something everyone just naturally did? And I know it is big task to try to develop that in my own children, especially since I will tell you that I sometimes struggle to role model that behavior, but I think it is a goal worth pursuing all the same

Join Us

This Tuesday, please join me in being generous in whatever way speaks to you the most, be it by writing a check to a nonprofit whose mission moves you, or by volunteering, or by helping your neighbor in some small way. We are going to be taking a load of donations to the thrift store that we also shop at, because it is our turn to share some items with others! We are going to try to send more toys this time around, so that some of those toys might find themselves under someone else’s Christmas tree this year! Here are a TON of ideas to get your family started!

There are over 2,400 charities, volunteer organizations, corporations and foundations working together in all 50 U.S. states to help get the word out about Giving Tuesday, and to encourage individuals to live out one of the most awesome traits of Americans: generosity. And remember: it doesn’t have to be grand to be good. Every turn taken to be the one to share has a ripple effect. Get ready to start one of those ripples this Tuesday!

 

Some of My Sweetest Memories Involve KISSES (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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I was recently asked to think about what my sweetest memory is that involved Hershey’s KISSES. I absolutely adore KISSES and eat them pretty much any time I spot them somewhere. But a specific memory? I was really stumped for about a week trying to remember something specific.

And then it hit me while in the shower (why do all great thoughts happen in the shower?). My mind brought me back to something very subtle, but very special, indeed. And Hershey’s KISSES where right there while it all happened.

It was Christmas time 2001, and I was a senior in college. My parents gave me permission to travel to California with my boyfriend and spend the holidays with his family. I had never been further West than Arkansas, with the exception of one conference I got to go to in Utah during college. It was a big deal for me to get to see this part of the U.S.

And it was a seriously HUGE deal to get to spend Christmas with my boyfriend and his family. Mama didn’t raise no fool…I packed a nice dress just in case a proposal was headed my way. And it was, as it turned out. But he proposed to me while I was wearing flannel rubber ducky print pajamas, which is not nearly as scandalous but every bit as hilarious as it sounds.

Anyway, it was also my first time to meet Tim’s older sister and brother-in-law and to spend a significant amount of time with his family (more than a few days). And on top of all of that, it was my very first Christmas away from my own family. Can you just imagine all of the emotions running through me during this trip? Excitement, adventure, anxiety, sadness, hope, and of course, love. Lots of love. Love for the family I was gaining, love for the family I was missing, and love for the man who was my best friend. It was such a roller coaster!

In the midst of all of those emotions and in the midst of all the Christmas hullabaloo, there was something very special sitting on the kitchen counter. It was a crocheted gingerbread house that had a removable roof. Under the roof and inside the house were dozens and dozens of Hershey’s KISSES. Now, Tim’s family had significantly healthier eating habits than my family did, and for a gal with a sweet tooth, adjusting to the lack of refined sugar had its challenging moments. But those KISSES were like a beacon, and once I discovered them, I paid them visits multiple times a day.

Tim’s mother must have known, because every time I thought to myself, “I’m eating too many of these! I need to stop before they are all gone!” I would then notice that the house had been re-filled! Which would tickle and delight me, and make me think, “Well, one or two more won’t be noticed…”

Ha! I bet I ate an entire bag during that trip! And I have zero regrets. Hershey’s KISSES are woven into the fabric of my engagement story. I had forgotten, but now I remember and I’m so glad. No wonder those silver wrappers and tiny flags give me a huge grin every time I see them. They remind me of home, and where it all started.

Hershey's KISSES infographic

Hershey’s KISSES infographic

Do you have any special memories that include Hershey’s KISSES?

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win 4 bags of Hershey’s KISSES!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

I am participating in a compensated campaign on behalf of Hershey’s KISSES and The Motherhood. All sweet memories listed here are strictly my own! 

Want to Party with Me on Twitter? #PlatesofPork Twitter Party!

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I’m always excited to have the opportunity to hang out with my blog readers for a while. And of course its a bonus if there are prizes to be won while we chat!

There’s just such an opportunity this Thursday, July 19th from 7-8pm EST. Please come play with me at the #PlatesofPork Twitter party, hosted by the National Pork Board and The Motherhood. We are going to be hamming it up (hee hee!) and talking about recipe ideas for pulled pork, which this Southern gal absolutely ADORES!

And yes, there will be some GREAT prizes. Five prize packs will be given away throughout the hour, based on responses to really fun trivia questions. Each prize pack has a $20 Walmart gift card (score!), a slow cooker, cutting board, three-piece BBQ tool set and a sauce bucket/brush. Heck yes you want to win!

To join the party, you need to do the following:

1. Follow @AllAboutPork and @theMotherhood on Twitter (you must be following both to be eligible for the prizes!).

2. Be on Twitter this Thursday from 7-8pm EST following the hashtag #PlatesofPork

3. Let us know you are coming! Clink this link and press the orange “count me in” button on the right-hand side –http://twtvite.com/platesofpork

 I’d also love it if when you get to the party you give me a shout out and let me know you are a reader of Stuff Parents Need! I’ll be totally excited to meet you!
See you then!