Tiffany Merritt - Stuff Parents Need

Pampers Little Miracle Mission ($50 Visa Gift Card GIVEAWAY!!!)

May 9, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · 221 Comments

Today I want to talk about the joy that can come from giving to others. The South has recently been afflicted with one of the worst storms we have ever encountered in our known history. EVER.

The day of the storms, my family took cover 3 separate times as we heard information that multiple tornadoes were on the ground in our area. MULTIPLE. And this turned out to be over 300 in the entire storm area that crossed Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

The devastation is widespread. Hundreds of people lost their lives. And thousands of people who knew those individuals lost people they love, which is heartbreaking. And beyond that, thousand of people lost everything they own. EVERYTHING.

Just try to imagine for a moment suddenly having nothing but the clothes on your back, and having to start over. It’s difficult to wrap your head around, I think. But this is the reality for so many people throughout the South. It is the reality that faces anyone when they lose their homes in fires, which happens all over the country every single day. It is the reality of a woman who decides to leave an abusive relationship, and this also happens every day. The needs of this world are very great; really overwhelming when you stop to think about. But please don’t get overwhelmed by the need and decide that there’s nothing you can do that will make a difference!

Today I’m partnering with Pampers who has launched Little Miracle Mission. The campaign kicked off at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York by providing gift baskets to families with babies in the NICU. These parents are beyond stressed out, and having people reach out to them and show they care really means a lot. Please check out the Pampers Facebook page for more information on this fantastic campaign aimed at celebrating little miracles and reaching out to the families who support them in their time of need, whatever it may be.

Pampers sent me a $50 Visa gift card to spend on a little miracle in my own community, in whatever way I saw fit. I agreed to do this campaign just days before the tornadoes came through, and I knew as soon as it happened that I would want to find a family with a baby who had been impacted. I was made aware of a family who completely lost their home to the tornadoes and who had a 15 month old baby boy. My heart was particularly touched since this family had a son so close in age to my daughter. I tried to imagine not having diapers or snacks or….ANYTHING that I needed to keep my daughter healthy and happy, and it really broke my heart.

I took my gift card, along with some coupons I had, to a few drugstores and came back with this:

Yes, I would have loved to have bought the family some cloth diapers, but honestly, this is really not the time to push my own diapering preferences on someone. Diapers is what the parents especially needed, so I used coupons to buy them as much as possible. I also bought them wipes and diaper rash cream, and then realized that they probably don’t have any baby shampoo, so got some of that, as well (again, I wish I could have bought more eco-friendly options, but I don’t know how much help this family will get, so I decided that I needed to stretch my dollars as far as possible). Finally, I saw those two cute stuffed animals marked 75% off, so I snagged them so that the little boy could have a few buddies.

Overall, I got quite a bit for $50! But I didn’t feel satisfied with it. So I raided my linen closet (where all our toiletries are kept) and found unused deodorants, razors, soap and toilet paper to add to the gift basket. Later that day, while I was reading to Darah, I thought of this family…they don’t even have books to read to their child, now. So I pulled a few from Darah’s shelf to give. She won’t miss them, and they will make a big difference to a family with nothing.

While I originally didn’t think I had much to offer those in need, simply because I personally don’t have much money to give, I quickly realized that I was wrong. When I think about having nothing, and when I think about that through the eyes of a mother, I suddenly saw many things in my own home that could be put to better use elsewhere. I felt so blessed to be able to give.

Win it!: So now it is your turn to celebrate a little miracle in your own community! Pampers wants to offer one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader a $50 Visa Gift Card, with the idea that you will pay-it-forward and extend some kindness to a family who is expecting a baby or who currently cares for one. I’ll randomly select one winner on May 19th at 11:59pm EST using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

REMEMBER, YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER OF THIS BLOG VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT (FOUND ON THE SIDEBAR) TO QUALIFY FOR ANY GIVEAWAYS

Mandatory entry: Simply tell me your idea for how you will use the money to make a positive difference in the life of a baby or babies in your community. Please be specific with your ideas! Comments that are really vague such as, “I’ll give it to someone” won’t count! Let’s all inspire each other right now with our ideas!

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: “Like” Pampers 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 my homepage.

Here’s a great video to get your inspired!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary gift card so that I could give to a family in need. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Harnessing the Power of Sea Buckthorn Berries: Sibu Beauty

May 8, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

For the past 3 weeks, I have been putting something interesting on my face: sea buckthorn berries.

Huh?! Yeah, that’s what I said, too! I’d never heard of such a thing in my life before recently. There’s a reason for that: they are only grown in the Himalayas! This is and of itself, is interesting, but doesn’t mean that this is something really good for your skin. But here’s what science says about this special ingredient:

“Sea buckthorn is designed to provide advanced restorative skin care from within by addressing both internal and external aging factors. This ancient berry has a written history focusing on the aging issues of healthy and beauty of more than 28 centuries. such uses include treating and soothing damaged skin, healing wounds from ancient battles and part of a special nutrition program for Russian cosmonauts. Over 190 bioactive nutrients have been found in this fruit of the Himalayas. It contains Omega 7, which is very unique, and significant amounts are found in only two known plant sources: macadamia nuts and sea buckthorn berries. It helps neutralize free radicals and aids the production of collagen, a body function that begins to diminish with age. Studies have shown improvements in membrane function, skin and tissue hydration and enhanced elasticity.”

I have been using the Repair & Protect Sea Buckthorn Facial Cream from the company Sibu Beauty. I have been very impressed so far! I find it to be not at all greasy. I can apply my makeup just a few minutes after putting it on. But it goes the distance, leaving my very dry skin feeling hydrated all day long. Since I’m no spring chicken, anymore, I also like that this product has Omega & to help boost collagen production. Also, it smells wonderful (great citrus scent)!

This company is dedicated not only to providing products that work tremendously well to fight aging and promote healthy skin, but they are also a company committed to sustainability and fair trade practices. They work very hard to ensure that their harvesters and other workers are paid fair wages and use environmentally safe processing techniques, as well as healthy, safe working conditions. It seems to me that their goal is to have not only a positive impact on the beauty industry, but also on the areas in which their business resides. Love that!

Sibu Beauty gets two thumbs up from me for making products that really work and incorporating business practices that seek a greater good.

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

Appazine Launch and Your Chance to WIN AN IPAD!!!

May 7, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of ogilvy for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

First, let me just get this out of the way. If you are, for even one second, hesitating about whether or not you’d like to own an iPad, let me settle that matter for you.

OH HECK YES YOU WANT ONE! I won one back in December (three cheers for twitter parties!) and I was really heavily debating whether or not to keep it or sell it and pay down student loan debt. I’m fiscally conservative, and there’s a place for that. But it took me about 5 minutes playing with the iPad before I was head over heels in love. Remember when phones first had cameras? And we all wondered why on earth we would ever need them? And now look at us…

The iPad is like that, times a million. So yeah, you are going want to enter this contest I’m about to tell you about. Keep reading…

For those of you who already have an iPad, or who will in the near future, there’s an awesome app you must get: the collection

This is the go-to app for staying informed about globally relevant. It’s known as an appazine, which would be a magazine in a format to read on your iPad! Sweet! And I can guarantee you that you’ve never gotten your news in such an innovative format. Stories have pictures (some panoramic), audio and video, and the articles themselves are very well written. In our shrinking world, we have a responsibility to stay informed about what’s happening in the world, and this is an easy way to stay up-to-date. Getting your daily news fix will be very exciting, to say the least! Check it out in the App store, and download it!

So, about that iPad. The collection is giving one away, and it comes with the collection App free for the rest of the year!!!!! You must tweet to enter, and here’s exactly what you need to tweet: Stay up-to-date with current events by using #thecollection iPad App

That’s it! The contest ends on May 15th, and get your tweet on right now! And if you win, please let me know!

Slow Fashion Movement: Ecoland Organic Toddler and Baby Socks (GIVEAWAY!!!)

May 7, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · 47 Comments

Seriously Stretch Your Wardrobe with the Cardi Wrap by Kymaro

May 6, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

One thing I am always on the lookout for when shopping for clothing is a piece that will really go the distance. Typically that means that the quality is excellent, the look is timeless and the possibilities for wear are large. I found all of these elements in the Cardi Wrap by Kymaro.

This is a piece of clothing that can be worn over 50 different ways! Talk about adding some diversity to your wardrobe! It comes in 7 beautiful colors (I chose purple) and it also comes with a booklet giving you instructions for all the ways you can wear it.

Did all of their suggestions look good on me? Uh, no. Not even close. I think a taller woman would have better luck pulling off some of the looks that just seemed to overwhelm me. But I did find 8 looks that I actually liked, and 8 is a lot, in my opinion! It’s definitely enough for me to say that this is a good item to buy if you are trying to get some pieces that will offer a lot of bang for the buck.

I also think this is a VERY nice item to have on hand during pregnancy. Wraps are very forgiving, and can hide (or even help show off!) a growing belly. It is also ideal to take with you when traveling, as you can get many different outfits out of just one piece of clothing! The wrap is very comfortable, and seems to be well-made, so I’m expecting it to hold up for several years.

My only disappointment with the Cardi Wrap is how purchasing is set up. You can get the wrap for $39.95 plus $9.95 s&h. But it doesn’t come with the accessory kit, which you need in order to do some of the suggested styles. You have to pay another $9.95 s&h to get it. So if you buy everything, you are spending almost $20 in s&h fees. That gets a pretty big thumbs down from me. So I think the way it is sold kind of stinks, but the wrap itself is very nice. I don’t think I’ll get to wear it much for a handful of months since it is warming up where I live, but once fall hits, I’m thinking that I’ll be wearing it at least once a week!

Disclosure: This post was written for Family Review Network & Cardi Wrap who provided the complimentary product for review in exchange for my honest opinions.

Ask a Pediatrician A Question Online! Awesome!!!

May 6, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

When finding a new Pediatrician for Darah, it was important to find a practice that had a nurse available for questions 24/7. It’s just the law of nature that your child will get very sick around 6pm on a Friday, when offices have just closed for the weekend. And Darah seems to vomit much more often at 3am than at 3pm! So when I am feeling concerned for my child and need some advice ASAP, I’m glad to have that service in place.

But there are so many questions that I’d love to ask a doctor that aren’t emergencies. It seems like an abuse of those nurses on call to call in with those questions. What if I’m keeping them from talking to the parent of a sick child?! I also find that I can ask Darah’s pediatrician such non-emergency questions, but really only during her visits. So I have to remember all those questions, but also make sure I don’t have too many, as getting even 10 full minutes with the doctor is sort of rare.

This is why I’m really excited about a blog that is run by Dr. Tanya, a well-known Pediatrician and author of several wonderful books, including The Wonder Years (about the first 5 years of life) and Mommy Calls, a book where Dr. Tanya answers the top 101 questions about babies and toddlers.

Dr. Tanya’s blog is especially noteworthy, though, because she uses that space to answer questions from parents! There’s an Ask Dr. Tanya section of her site that you can click on to submit your question. You can ask medical or parenting questions! I was so inspired to see this that I submitted a question about helping toddlers give up their pacifiers (Darah still doesn’t want to hear a thing about The Paci Pixie!). I can’t wait to see what she says!

While I was checking out the Dr. Tanya blog, I saw SEVERAL topics that I wanted to read more about, especially if it meant that I was going to hear the perspective of a Pediatrician! Here are the topics listed so far:

Activities and Playtime
Feeding, Nutrition, Exercise
Illnesses
Infants (4 to 12 months)
Injuries, First Aid and Safety
Medical Information
Newborns (birth to 3 months)
Preschooler (3-5 years)
School Aged (5 years and up)
Sleep
Toddler (1-3 years)
Travel

I’ve been reading about chores for 1-3 year olds and what I might need to be doing to help Darah feel more of a sense of responsibility in her home. She already feeds Hattie, and even though there is cat food on the floor all the time, it is really going well, and Darah beams with pride when she sees Hattie eating her food. After reading the article, I feel encouraged to try to let Darah help with more things!

Now I’ve subscribed to Dr. Tanya’s blog so that I read all the great Q&A topics that will be coming in the future. What an awesome resource! She also has a Facebook page you can like if you’d like to connect with her (and with other parents!). And of course, you can also follow her on Twitter (Tweet a Pediatrician? Oh heck yes!).

Disclosure: I was compensated for my time sharing this information with you. All opinions are 100% mine.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Ortega (GIVEAWAY!!! 3 WINNERS!!!)

May 5, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · 65 Comments

Does your family do a taco night, or a Mexican food night every week? I’ve contemplated doing this, and really, I think we DO do this in practice, though perhaps not on a specifically designated day. We just love the flavors of Mexican food and we eat it on a regular basis. Tortillas are almost always on my shopping list!

One thing I don’t buy regularly, though, is hard taco shells. That’s because I always find that at least 25% of the shells are broken when I open the package. They are just really delicate, and don’t handle the journey from the factory to the shelves that well. I actually found a recipe on the Ortega website that requires broken shells. What a cleverl solution to this problem! We tried it, and we liked it. Here it is!

Taco Casserole

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup water
1/2 cup ORTEGA Thick & Smooth Taco Sauce – Medium
4 ozs. ORTEGA Diced Green Chiles
1 can (2.25 oz.) sliced ripe olives, drained, divided
1 package ORTEGA Taco Seasoning Mix – Regular
1 package (4.5 oz) ORTEGA Taco Shells (12 ct), broken
2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes (optional)
1/8 cup sliced green onions (optional)

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COOK beef, onion and garlic until beef is browned; drain. Stir in water, taco sauce, chiles, 1/4 cup olives and seasoning mix. Cook over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes.

LAYER half of broken taco shells on bottom of greased 12 x 8-inch baking dish. Cover with half of meat sauce; sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Repeat with remaining shells, meat sauce and cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Top with remaining olives, tomatoes and green onions.

In addition to having an EXCELLENT array of Mexican food recipes, Ortega also has something else that I found VERY exciting: whole grain and whole wheat hard and soft tacos! Woo hoo! Try as I may, I just don’t care for corn tortillas, and I have always felt bad about buying the flour ones because I knew they were made with enriched flour. Ortega has made this a non-issue for me. Very exciting!

The next time you are grocery shopping, be sure to check out these fantastic new Ortega products. I can tell you that my family has a new tortilla of choice now, and it is from Ortega!

Win it!: In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, THREE lucky Stuff Parents Need readers will each get a Whole Grain & Whole Wheat Hard & Soft Taco Kit from Ortega! The contest will run until May 14th 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.

REMEMBER, TO QUALIFY FOR A GIVEAWAY ON MY SITE, YOU MUST PUBLICLY FOLLOW ME VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT (FOUND ON MY SIDEBAR)

Mandatory entry: let me know you follow on GFC and also tell me one Ortega recipe that sounds delicious to you!

My answer: The Vegetarian Tostadas look simple and delicious!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Ortega on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

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

Disclosure: I received complimentary products through the Family Review Network in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have provided.

Fabulous E-book that Helps You Find Legit Work from Home (GIVEAWAY!!!)

May 5, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · 24 Comments

When I think about the decision Tim and I made last year for me to stay home with Darah, I don’t feel any regrets. For us, it was the right decision (much to my surprise…I swore up and down that I wouldn’t enjoy staying at home).

I have found that I do want to contribute in some way to our income, and so I have done a variety of things so that I can help out in some way. This not only makes me feel good, but it also keeps the potential stress level of being a one income family much lower. Money doesn’t buy happiness, for sure, but not having enough money to get by most definitely causes stress and worry, and I don’t want any of that!

We’ve talked before about work from home opportunities, and there are definitely some very viable options out there. The trouble is that there are SO MANY bad opportunities (scams and those that pay peanuts…less than minimum wage!). Sorting through them all to try to find something that is enjoyable and actually worth your time is completely overwhelming, and can easily cause someone to just give up altogether.

Cindy Buccieri is the voice behind Busy Mom’s Tips. She has been working at home for over 10 years, and have spent years doing research on which opportunities out there are actually worth pursuing. She has put that research into an e-book called Busy Mom’s Ultimate Guide to Finding the Perfect Work at Home Job. It contains a list over over 160 LEGIT opportunities in the following categories:

Call Center Support Representative
Court Researcher
Data Entry
Direct Sales
Reading Online Ads
Paid Surveys
Transcription
Virtual Assistant
Virtual Juror
Writing

The price tag of this e-book is just $4.99, which is less than you will pay for a cup of hot coffee and a scone at your local coffee shop. I have read over the book, and I definitely think that if you are serious about finding a way to supplement your income from home, this is money well-spent. You are paying for years of research to determine the validity of these companies. Every single company listed is not a scam, and has a real need for people to employee from home. While there is no guarantee that every company listed is hiring at this very moment, now you have a wide range of options that you can trust, and so you are much more likely to find a viable opportunity that works for you and suits your needs as well as your skills.

I will say that I wish the book had more detailed information about each opportunity, giving insight into how much the work might pay and what level of job satisfaction employees reported back. I know that providing this information would take a lot more time, but it is also the kind of thing that if included, I’d be willing to pay more than $4.99 to know. All the same, this is an excellent resource to help you get started. What’s great about this being in e-book form is that you can download it instantly (no waiting for it to come in the mail!) and you just click on the hyperlinks when you see something of interest. Easy!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a copy of this fabulous ebook! Woo hoo! The contest will run until May 15th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to 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.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAYS!

Mandatory entry: Tell me why you need this book!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Subscribe to the Busy Mom’s Tips blog
2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

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

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this ebook for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Great New Apps from Oceanhouse Media (GIVEAWAY!!!)

May 4, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

There are several amazing companies out there making great apps for kids, but Oceanhouse Media is definitely one of my very VERY favorites. They bring Dr. Seuss, The Bernstein Bears and even Little Critter to life, just to name a few!

They’ve just put out two new apps, and I want to give you the dish on them!

First up, we have It’s Tyrannosaurus Rex! This is a fantastic app for kids to have as soon as they go through their “dinosaur” phase (for me, that was first grade). It tells the story of a Tyrannosaurus Rex trying to find some lunch, and you get to learn about a lot of other prehistoric creatures on page after page. It also has some very cool factual information about dinosaurs to offer your young paleontologist!

Second, Tacky and the Winter Games is now available. This is the third Tacky book that OM has brought to life, each containing hilarious stories about a penguin who doesn’t quite fit in, and the great adventures he has because he’s a little bit different!

Both apps are available for $2.99 each, which are an excellent value! I highly recommend both apps, and if you haven’t done much looking around the Oceanhouse Media website, you really must. I think you’ll be hard-pressed to leave without finding at least one (or ten) apps that you want! 🙂

Win it!: Two lucky winners will each receive an app download from Oceanhouse Media! One of you will win It’s Tyrannosaurus Rex and one will win Tacky and the Winter Games! The contest will run until May 14th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winners will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and new winners are selected. Open to residents of the United States.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT (FOUND ON MY SIDEBAR) TO ENTER A GIVEAWAY ON MY SITE!!!

Mandatory entry: Leave a comment telling me that you follow on GFC and telling me one other OM app that you’d love to download!

My answer: I’d love to get Elmer’s Special Day!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Follow Oceanhouse Media on Twitter
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 my homepage.

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