Stuff Parents Need

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

Helping Kids Feel Excited About Bedtime: Shushybye Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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When I was a child I was genuinely excited about when it was time to go to bed. I would always think about what I wanted to dream about that night and then close my eyes good and tight so that I could fall asleep as quickly as possible.

If you want to know the truth, I still do this. Sleep rocks, and I always get a little burst of energy just before bed because I’m so darn happy to be going to sleep.

But here’s the thing: that’s kind of unusual. Especially for a kid. Many kids argue with their parents and have a whole bag of tricks that they use to try to avoid going to bed each night. Darah sometimes doesn’t want to go to sleep, but she takes after her mama in that once she is down, she is usually asleep within 10 minutes.

If that’s NOT the case for your little one, Shushybye products might be of some help! From their site, “SHUSHYBYE is the land way above the clouds – and the land where the resident Shushies live and make dreams for children. Led by Snoozles, Dozie and Zeez, the Shushies place their completed dreams in Dream Boxes that are sent to children via the Shushybye Train driven by Conductor McCloud as they fall asleep. Nothing brings the Shushies more joy than to make the most wondrous dreams for little ones.”

Shushybye has a fun line of products including plush figures, cds and books. They also have a live tour! I will say that the stories and music don’t seem to be about helping your child feel sleepy, which is what I was initially expecting. They are really about helping your child get excited about the dreams that await them at night, and the fun they can have while they are sleeping. The cd is surprisingly upbeat (I was expecting lullabies, and I was totally off base!). This is a different approach to talking about bedtime, as the focus isn’t so much on whether or not the child is sleepy, but rather, what fun they are missing out on if they aren’t sleeping. It’s all about shifting the attitude toward sleep, which is really a much better approach than simply trying to wear your kid out or somehow trick him/her into falling asleep.

I think Shushybye products are ideal for 2 and up, and I would recommend them to anyone whose child thinks bedtime totally stinks.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a Shushybye book and cd! The contest will run until August 23rd at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Go to the Shusybye website and tell me the character you think your child would like the best!

My answer: Zeez is Darah’s favorite, I think!

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Like Shushybye on Facebook

2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

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

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

Red Robin Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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A few months ago, I read an interesting article in Parents magazine that highlighted the top 10 chain restaurants in the U.S. to consider if you are going out to eat with children. Red Robin was one of those restaurants.

Until recently, I had never been to a Red Robin in my entire life! I was so curious about what made this restaurant great that I contacted the company and asked if they wanted to be put to the ultimate test: have me come check out the place for the first time ever, viewing the restaurant with the eyes of a parent who does NOT enjoy going out to eat with her toddler. I love little D, but she is a pain in the rear at restaurants, always wanting to walk around checking everything out, wanting her food YESTERDAY and wiggling in and out of her seat constantly. It’s exhausting to me and I always feel stressed out, and never relaxed when going out to eat. That’s why we rarely go! So yeah, Red Robin had a tall order to fill when they invited my family to come check out their restaurant.

When we walked into Red Robin just after they opened, the place seemed ready for business, with a handful of families already beating us there in the first few minutes! That seemed like a good sign when people are ready to go in as soon as they open.

The staff was very friendly. Our waitress asked if we had ever been to Red Robin before, and when we told her that we were new, she gave us a lot of helpful information about how their menu works and special perks to be aware of in their restaurant. There were a few things that REALLY impressed me about their menu:

1. If the meal comes with steak fries, those fries are bottomless, meaning that you can get as many helpings of them as you’d like.

2. You can substitute those fries for sweet potato fries (or SEVERAL other side dishes). The sweet potato fries have an extra charge, but they are also bottomless. Yay!

3. For kids entrees, the side dishes are excellent (apple slices, mandarin oranges and the like) and they are also bottomless. Darah had 3 servings of mandarin oranges!!!

4. Kids entrees come with milk or juice (although soda is also an option). And it is bottomless, too! I was absolutely delighted to see that as a choice for Darah.

In addition to the great menu perks, there were other things that really impressed me about Red Robin:

1. Bendy straws for the kids. Seems like a minor point until you are trying to help a toddler drink something. That’s when you realize that the bendy straw is brilliant.

2. Red Robin celebrates with you. We were asked by our waitress if we were celebrating anything special, and we mentioned that Darah’s birthday was the following day. Well guess what? At the end of our meal, she got a special birthday song and a sundae! 

3. Red Robin has a loyalty card. You get a free appetizer just for registering, a free burger on your birthday and get your 10th purchase free when using the card. Pretty awesome, right?!

4. The chocolate milkshake. OMG. So good. You can see that Darah was impressed by the fact that she quickly pulled both our shakes to her side of the table.

This is the most fun that I’ve had at a restaurant in a long time. The staff seems  not only used to being around kids, but also genuinely fond of them and infinitely patient with them. That goes such a long way toward making a nervous mama feel more relaxed. I thought the food was tasty and I felt like the value was excellent. I’m sad that I waited so long to visit a Red Robin, but that certainly won’t be my last visit! It’s at the top of my list, now, of places to go out to eat with Darah.

I wanted to highlight two cool things happening at Red Robin right now. First, there is a special burger on the menu called the Mt. Vesuvius Burger. It was created by a 12 year old in the Red Robin Kids’ Cook-Off last year. This burger is topped with applewood smoked bacon, provolone cheese, bleu cheese and tangy lava sauce, which is a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce.  Sounds great, right? Here’s what makes it even better: fifty cents from every one of his burgers sold will benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, up to $50,000!

Second, the 2011 Kids’ Cook-Off Cookbook is available for you to check out. It has 50 gourmet burger recipes from kids across the country, as well as child safety tips and activities from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Best of all: it’s FREE! Go to the Red Robin website to download it now!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a $25 gift card to Red Robin! The contest will run until August 22nd at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Check out the Red Robin menu and tell me something you’d like to try (or something you already know you love!)

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Like Red Robin on Facebook! Don’t forget to come back here and leave me a comment that you did.

2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by email or RSS

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

Disclosure: I received a gift card to Red Robin for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Member’s Mark 4X Probiotic: My Thoughts After 2 Weeks

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Tim and I have been taking the Member’s Mark 4X Probiotic every day for the past 2 weeks (check out my original post on #digestivehealth here, if you missed it). I thought I’d tell you about our experience and what I have (and haven’t) noticed while taking these pills.

1. The pills are quite large. To be fair, they contain over 5 billion live probiotic cells when they are made. So bearing that in mind, I suppose the size is reasonable!

2. I personally am not noticing any changes with how I’m feeling, but I am also not the person in the family who has digestive issues.

3. Tim has been problem-free since taking this product, and that is really exciting to see. We both think that Member’s Mark 4X Probiotic is keeping his intestines happy, and that is keeping Tim happy!

Moving forward, I will likely stop taking this as part of my daily regimen, but it is something I would take with me when traveling, for sure. Tim is going to continue taking it since it seems to be making a positive difference for him.

If you or someone in your family has Chron’s Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome or just suffers from an easily upset stomach, I would recommend this product based on the results Tim is seeing. Member’s Mark 4X Probiotic is sold at Sam’s Club and retails for $28.88, which gives you a 3-month supply of the product.
Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own. 

Tame Those Tangles: The Knot Genie Review and $500 Contest!

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I have vivid memories of having major knots in my hair as a child and spending time in the bathroom crying as my mom worked them out with a comb and a brush. She tried to be gentle, but there was only so much she could do to make the situation painless. It didn’t really help matters that she had a spiral perm put in my hair when I was only 9 and couldn’t really take care of hair that curly by myself. But I digress…

Some kids  have hair just that curly on their own, or even if it isn’t that curly, still seem to be prone to major tangles and knots. Enter The Knot Genie. This is a wonderful de-tangling brush that really does work like magic to de-tangle hair, all without the tears and tantrums that usually accompany those hair brushing sessions. We’ve tried it out, and found it to be really soft and really good and brushing out hair. We aren’t yet at a place where we have tangles, but Darah’s hair does have some curls, and they are no problem for the Knot Genie.

There is a second element to this brush that I really love, too. It is EXCELLENT for any toddler who still has cradle cap. Darah is one of those kids who didn’t lose her cradle cap at a year, or even at 2. We’ve tried countless things to get rid of it, and have had minimal success. But this brush’s bristles are doing the best job of anything so far at massaging her scalp and getting that stuff to come off. Yay!!!

The Knot Genie retails for $19.99 and can be purchased online.

Win it!: If your child needs a Knot Genie, I’ve got a great contest to tell you about today! Check out the Facebook page for Knot Genie, and you’ll see that you can win your own Knot Genie AND a $500 savings bond (woo hoo!) for creating a 1 minute (or less!) video about why your child needs this product. That’s SUPER easy and the payoff could be tremendous. PLUS, the first 50 entrants automatically get a free Knot Genie!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by The Knot Genie. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

How to Keep Cereal from Getting Soggy: Obol Review

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When we were in college, there were 3 distinct times that I fell completely in love with Tim (all before we started dating, even). One of those times was during dinner at the dining hall freshmen year. We were eating with our usual crew (two married couples came out of that mix, by the way!). It was a rough night as far as the menu options were concerned, so Tim included a bowl of cereal on his tray. When he sat down, I noticed that his cereal didn’t have any milk in it. I mentioned to him that he forgot his milk, and that’s when he pointed to a small glass of milk on his tray. He told me that he purposely didn’t add it so that he could have the cereal later on in the meal without it going soggy.

And I just melted into a puddle. I know, it didn’t take much. I thought he was the smartest person ever to walk the face of the earth, as evidenced by his outwitting of the soggies!

So a few weeks ago I saw a review of this bowl called Obol, and when I saw it, the memories of swooning over Tim that night in college came flooding back to me. “I must seek this treasure for my love!”, I thought to myself (what is with me being so crazy about this guy when it comes to anything cereal-related???).

I contacted Obol, and was sent one for review. You are probably wondering what the heck it is. Check it out!!!

The basic idea is that you keep whatever you want to eat with a liquid (cereal, cookies, goldfish) in the top, and then you can scoop the amount you want down in increments. Tim LOVES it, and reports that he is now enjoying the best cereal experience of his life! 🙂

It really is a fantastic bowl for anyone who likes to keep their cereal crispy.

Is there anything not so great about it? Admittedly, yes. It is a rather large bowl with an unusual shape. That means that it doesn’t easily nest in with other bowls, and you can’t really fit other bowls on top of it, either. Because of this, it takes up quite a bit of space, which is a bummer if your cabinet real estate is precious, as ours is. I’d love to see Obol figure out a way to make the bottom fit in with other bowls a bit better. But other than that, it’s a cereal connoisseur’s dream! I did get word from the company that a smaller version of the bowl is in the works, so that may help with its awkward fit. Yay!

The Obol can be purchased on the Obol website or through Brookstone.com for 19.99!

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

You Need a Budget: Final Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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I’ve been singing the praises of You Need a Budget (YNAB), a personal finance software program that can (and WILL!) forever change your relationship with money and put you in the driver’s seat of your financial future.  If you missed them, please check out my first post and my second post so that you can hear all about my family’s journey and how much has changed since we started using YNAB back in December.

Here’s the final vlog about where we stand now!

Pretty exciting, huh? We were able to seize the opportunity to start our own business because we could clearly assess how the endeavor would fit in with our financial goals, as well as with our priorities as a family. We were able to say “yes” to the right thing at the right time!

Buy it!: YNAB retails for $59.95 and I cannot emphasize enough how much it is worth the price. It will change your life, people.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win your own download of the software! Yes! The contest will run until August 20th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me anything related to the topic of personal finance. What are some of your financial goals? What are some of the obstacles you face to reaching those goals? How do you currently keep track of your finances? Anything related to the topic works for me!

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Like YNAB on Facebook

2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by email or RSS

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

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of YNAB for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

The Best Professional Decision I Ever Made as a Blogger

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Today I’m guest posting at Simply Stacie about the best professional decision I ever made as a blogger. I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag here, so hop on over the Simply Stacie and see my answer. I’d love to get some comment love over there and hear what you think!

Making Silly Faces by In the Nick of Time: Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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T here’s a children’s musician who has been on the scene for a while named Nick Deysher, and I’m just now learning about him (I know…how is that possible?!). His band is called In the Nick of Time (get it? Cute, huh?) and on September 6th their fifth studio CD will drop. It’s called Making Silly Faces, and I’ve got the inside scoop for you!

First, let me just say that Nick’s last album, People, Places & Things won a Parents’ Choice Gold award in 2010. That’s a HUGE compliment, and based on what I heard from this latest album, I think the praise is deserved.

I would describe the sound of this group as very eclectic. There’s a little something in there for everyone, for sure. Nick has been influenced by a wide variety of artists and states that, “Careful listeners will hear hints of Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, The Ramones and many others (even Snoop Dogg).”

I think Nick’s varied taste in music shines through in his own contribution to the art. He seems like a very interesting individual. I was shocked (and really excited) to learn that in addition to putting out critically acclaimed music for children, he also is serves as a preschool music specialist 5 days a week AND serves as a program director and teacher at an after school music program for 4 to 7-year-olds. Wow! That is some serious dedication to exposing kids to music!

This is a great addition to our musical collection, and one I would recommend adding to your own. Making Silly Faces runs 37 minutes, and is ideal for ages 2-8. The retail price will be $14.99. You can buy it right here!

Win it!: Before it even hits the stores, one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will snag a copy of Making Silly Faces! The contest will run until August 18th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Nick would love to be friends with you on Facebook! Like him and come back here to tell me you did for your first entry!

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Subscribe to Nick’s blog, Singing in the Bathtub.

2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

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

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

Shabby Apple Dress GIVEAWAY!!!!

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Tim’s birthday was a few weeks ago. Darah’s birthday was yesterday. My birthday is in a few weeks. We are birthday maniacs this time of year! You can imagine that by the time my birthday rolls around, the usual things like cake and ice cream or even going out to dinner just aren’t as appealing. Been there, done that. TWICE.

So, in the spirit of switching it up as we head towards my special day, I thought I’d do something special for my readers and offer a giveaway.

Ok, you’re right. I do that pretty much every day. But THIS one is in honor of your hostess with the mostess.

I picked out something super fabulous for one lucky reader. It’s one of many fabulous dresses from Shabby Apple and it’s what I would wear to my 31st birthday party if I were to have one (and let’s be real, I’m going to spend that day playing with building blocks, writing blog posts and cleaning dried yogurt off the table, just like any other day; such is the life of a work-at-home parent!).

Anyway, back to that dress. Wanna see it? It just screams, “Summer isn’t over yet, people! Keep the party going a few weeks more!”

 

Super cute, right?! I KNOW!!!! Shabby Apple simply has the best selection of women’s dresses I’ve ever seen. They are this fabulous intersection of modern and vintage. They are always elegant, understated, but also unforgettable. They rock! If you see anything on the site you like, right now you can score 10% off by using the discount code stuffparentsneed10off. Yay!

And now it’s time for one of you to rock this dress!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the Lighthouse dress shown above in any available size (ARV $89.00!). The contest will run until August 18th at 11:49pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Give me the greatest birthday gift of all: subscribe to my blog via RSS or email! Just leave a comment letting me know that you already subscribe or just subscribed and that will be your first entry!

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Like Shabby Apple on Facebook

2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

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

Disclosure: No products or compensation was received for this post. Affiliate links are embedded.