Stuff Parents Need

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

Personalized Wall Decals (Affordable!)

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There are two big reasons why I love wall decals as a means of decorating:
1. They are AMAZING tools for those of us who have absolutely zero artistic talent. I’m not just talking about whether or not we could draw a wall mural on our own, which I know few of us could do. I’m talking about those of us who don’t know how to pick out a good wall color paint or make a room just feel peaceful and inviting. Yeah, that would be me.

I’ve had a few successes in my decorating adventures, but I’ve had many more misses. Like the time I thought I was painting my living room an elegant brown, and as it turned out, I painted in purple. Had to hire people to come re-do it. UGH…

But wall decals add instant personality to walls that are begging to be brought to life. In our house in Memphis, we used them to decorate Darah’s nursery. I LOVED that nursery; it was so charming, thanks in large part to the birds and cherry blossoms on her walls.

But now we live in a different home, and we don’t own this one. This brings me to my next reason for loving decals:
personalized wall decals 2. They are perfect options for people who rent and who are extremely limited in what they are allowed to do to “personalize” their home. In our current home, for example, we would need to submit color selections for approval before being allowed to paint, and even then, it sounds like the odds would be quite slim that it would be approved. As a homeowner, I totally understand this policy. But it does leave the house feeling a bit less like “us.” Wall decals are very easy to apply, and also easy to remove when you are ready to paint, move or just change the vibe of the room.

Personalized Wall Decals

Today I’m highlighting the company A Lucky Horseshoe and their wonderful designs. They have a very extensive collection of wall decals for the horse lover, but their collections spans far beyond that, as well! As I perused the site I saw many great products that would look so great in our home. But what REALLY struck me was the prices…they are some of the very best I’ve seen!

personalized wall decals We decided to get a personalized decal set for Darah. It has her name, two monkeys and a bird on it (the bird is very reminiscent of the birds from her old nursery!). You can see it here in her bathroom. She absolutely adores those monkeys and likes to chat with them during her potty sessions (TMI? It’s true, though!). After we applied the monkeys we decided that we loved it as is and left the bird off, putting it elsewhere in her room. Would you believe that A Lucky Horseshoe offers this decal set for $14.00? I know!!!! That is a total steal!

I also want to point out that their customer service rocks. The shipping was outstanding. I’m pretty sure my order was in the mail the same day I placed it. Well done! The decals also came with detailed instructions to walk you through how to apply your purchase to the walls. If I can do it, anyone can do it! 🙂

Finally, I wanted to highlight one other thing that makes A Lucky Horseshoe a particularly fabulous find. It is owned by a 14 year old who started this business to save for college. Way to go, young entrepreneur! This teen also loves to give back, and has made 4 donations to a nonprofit that rescues and rehabilitates horses from the profits of the business so far. I love a company that gives back!

Buy it!: A Lucky Horseshoe has a very impressive selection of decals and the prices are just unbeatable!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need Reader will get a $25.00 gift certificate to spend at A Lucky Horseshoe. Lucky, indeed! The contest will run until February 18th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the 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 What you would spend your gift certificate on at A Lucky Horseshoe!

My answer: If I had $25 to spend there, I’d go for the alphabet tree with the birds…or maybe with the monkeys!

Additional entries:
1. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter!

Rare bonus entry opportunity: Post the giveaway on your facebook status, and include a link back to the giveaway for TWO extra entries! (leave me a url to your facebook status update)

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

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

ShaToBu Shapeware Review

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Raise your hand if you need to exercise. I’m seeing a lot of hands out there. Now raise your hand if you exercise as much as you need. For those of you who do, email me with your secrets. For the rest of you, I empathize. In fact, I’ll ask one more question: Raise your hand if you don’t really exercise at all, but you are still tired at the end of the day from running all over the house (chasing a toddler, trying to clean, making trips from the computer to the fridge or all of the above, in my case).

Yeah, except for when Darah and I go out on walks or walk to the bus, my exercise is limited to what I’m already doing around the house. And I know that isn’t good enough. But honestly, I have enough mom guilt to last a lifetime, so I try not to dwell too much on my lack of an exercise regimen.

shatobu shapewear review Enter  shatobu (it stands for Shapes, Tones, Burns). This is a shaping undergarment created by a chiropractor who realized that her patients weren’t performing her recommended exercises. She basically created something that would force your muscles to work harder doing everyday activities. If you are wearing your ShaToBu, you really don’t have any choice but to work out!

When I first tried out the ShaToBu High Waist to Knee Shaper, I wore it under my jeans, just around the house. Oh yes I did! Why, you ask? Because that’s what I normally wear when I’m bopping around the house, running after Darah. I didn’t need to be all dressed up to put this shapewear on! After wearing them for a few hours, I have to say that my muscles did feel worked out! ShaToBu undergarments have these seamless resistance bands running throughout that make your muscles work just a little bit hard with every movement. Studies have shown that when you are wearing ShaToBu, you burn up to 12% more calories than you would, otherwise. While that isn’t going to put you on the fast track to mega weightloss, it does help!

I don’t think of ShaToBu as a way to replace exercise. It isn’t meant to do that. It is meant to work your muscles on those days when you really weren’t planning on exercising, but you know your body needs something. I also love that it makes the most of that energy that I do burn through every day as a mom! Of course, if you do exercise, you can use ShaToBu in addition to your workout (but not at the same time as it hasn’t been tested for that) for extra toning!

Buy it!: ShatoBu products are available online, with prices starting at $34.00. While the price isn’t exactly small, if you are like me, neither is your bottom half, and this product can really help out with that! Ha!

Win it!: Joy of joys! One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is about to Shape, Tone and Burn with ShaToBu! You will receive the product of your choice! The contest will run until February 17th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hour to respond to the 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 which ShaToBu product you would choose if you win, and why (choose wisely, as you’ll get what you select here!)
My answer: I love the shaper I have, but if I could get a second product, it would be the footless shaping tight, which is perfect to wear under slacks!
Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” ShaToBu on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by RSS or email
Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

EcoMom.com Review: My Customer Service Experience

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I’ve had people ask me if I ever buy anything anymore, since I’m always reviewing products for this blog.

Yes, absolutely. And I often become a repeat customer for some of the places that I review, because I have such positive experiences with them. Maybe there are some review bloggers out there who rarely make purchases any more, but I think the vast majority of us are still out there shopping!

EcoMom.com

One company I have bought from and will buy from again is EcoMom. I wanted to tell you about my experience shopping with them over the holidays, because they demonstrated superior customer service, and I think they deserve some kudos!

The week of Thanksgiving, EcoMom had an AWESOME sale. Everything on their site was 33% off, and you got free shipping for orders of $50 or more. They also randomly drew 4 sales each day, and gave those customers their orders for free, regardless of how much they ordered. Pretty amazing, huh? I definitely wanted in on that!

I shopped and created a wish list that had over $200 worth of stuff on it. While the discount would have knocked quite a bit off that final bill, it was still more than I could pay. So over a few days I whittled it down until it was much closer to $50. But when I went to place my order, I was sad to see that about 2/3 of the stuff I wanted was out of stock. I was SUPER bummed out, because I had carefully selected some fabulous things for Darah and for upcoming baby showers. I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to take advantage of the sale if I couldn’t place my order that day.

So, not being one to give up so easily, I contacted customer service and asked if there was a way for me to place my order. I explained that I’d be willing to wait for items to come back in stock, even if it meant I wouldn’t get them by Christmas. EcoMom got back to me right away and made it happen so that I could get all my goodies at the sale price. They also kept me up to date on when items were arriving, and I had everything in my hands within 2 weeks. I was beyond impressed. They even offered to ship items to me as they arrived, which of course would have cut into their profits by them having to pay shipping fees multiple times. I declined that offer, but was blown away that they offered that up as an option.

What I learned from that experience is that EcoMom is VERY serious about offering the best in the way of customer service. I will most definitely be shopping with them again in the future because I felt appreciated and I felt that my business was valuable to them, even though my order wasn’t very large. Well done, EcoMom!

Win it!: EcoMom knows that I love them, and they wanted to send some love back to my readers in return! So I have a $15 credit to their store up for grabs! The contest will run until February 16th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the 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 what you would purchase using the credit if you won!
My answer: I’d upgrade Darah’s potty to this one!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like EcoMom on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect

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

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product in exchange for hosting this giveaway. My customer service story is uniquely my own!

Bite Me: One Seriously Funny Cookbook

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When it comes to creating meals, I don’t mind doing it. Yeah, that’s about as much passion as you are going to get from me about the joy of cooking. Sometimes it can be relaxing, and in those rare moments when I create a dish that tastes great, I do feel like I accomplished something. But my kitchen philosophy is that I want to spend as little time in there as possible and hopefully still get good results. That’s why I plan all our weekly menus and help with prep, but Tim is our executive chef the vast majority of the time. I have the vision, and he has the skills needed to make it happen. Ha!

So isn’t it funny, then, that I LOVE to read cookbooks? Yes! If you were to look up my library check out record over the past 5 years, I bet 60% of what I read has been cookbooks. I tend to avoid the fancy ones that require you to spend the greater part of a day whispering sweet nothings to your ingredients in the hopes that they will defy science (and gravity) and come together to form something unbelievably amazing. Invite me over for dinner if you enjoy cooking this way, as I’m more than happy to eat it. But as for making it? Meh.

Bite Me

bite me funny cookbook Today I’m bringing you a cookbook that I could swear was written just for me. Bite Me is, as far as cookbooks go, one of the very best reads EVER! It is chock-full of witty banter, sarcasm that makes you giggle and an approach to cooking that throws the gloves off and just gets down and dirty. You do your best and then you get the heck out of dodge! That’s my cooking style, to a T! I’m interested in those “different” recipes, but I want a cookbook that won’t make me feel like an idiot if I don’t nail it. I honestly feel like I have a girlfriend with me in the kitchen, talking me through the recipe while also reminding me to not take it so seriously. I’ll raise my glass to that!

The pictures are gorgeous (and sometimes a bit scandalous! Oooh!) and as for the recipes, themselves, what I have tried so far has been quite good. I did try one recipe that proved too difficult for me to accomplish when I was in an especially lazy mood, and honestly, I could just hear the authors saying to me, “Eh! Who cares? Take what you like from this recipe and screw the rest!” And that’s exactly what I did! 🙂

Buy it!: Bite Me is on sale right now for $16.47 (regularly $24.95) from Amazon and makes the perfect gift for anyone who, like me, thinks cookbooks are novels. And this one is seriously juicy!
Edit: this giveaway is now closed.

Win it!: One Stuff Parents Need reader is about to have WAY more fun in the kitchen! You will get a Bite Me cookbook, shopping bag and Bite Me hat! Woo hoo! The contest will run until February 15th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the 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 which recipe listed on the Bite Me website is making your mouth water?

My answer: The chunky white chocolate cranberry cookies are on my list to make. YUM!!!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Bite Me on Facebook (and get ready to laugh even more! Their posts are funny!)
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the side bar of my home page.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Kathryn the Grape: Just Like Magic

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Don’t you just love finding fun new books to read to your children? We go to the library at least twice a month and check out the latest and greatest, as well as older books that withstand the test of time (well, at least the stories do…some of the actual books at the library do need to be replaced!).

kathryn the grape Anyway, today I’m bringing you a delightful story about magic, specifically the magic that is within every person (your inner strength!). Kathryn the Grape: Just Like Magicrecently hit the scene, and it is such a great story! The pictures of this 40 page book are bright and beautiful, which makes it all the more fun to read. It tells the story of a girl named Kathryn and her magical butterfly friend, Maggie. They have lots of adventures together, and learn about being strong, helpful and fearless when it comes to tough things like making new friends.

One of my very favorite things about this book is the great deal of thought that went into it. The website for this book has an awesome section that tells you all about the symbolism behind each character, which helps the parent tease all all the wonderful things the book has to teach to your child!

I also like that $1 from each book that is sold goes to the Kathryn the Grape Foundation, which supports various nonprofits dedicated to education, empowerment and sustainability!

I have a feeling that Kathryn the Grape is going to be having many more adventures in books that will be coming out later. I can’t wait to see what awaits her, next!

Buy it!: If you are looking for a little bit of magic as part of your bedtime story routine, check out Kathryn the Grape – Just Like Magic! The book is available for $16.99 and comes autographed by the authors and the illustrator!!!

Edit: this giveaway is now closed.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will get their own copy of this magical story! The contest will run until February 14th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the 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 the book in your child’s collection that seems to be on “instant replay” lately!

My answer: Darah loves for us to read Elmo Says, typically at least 67 times a day. For real.

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Kathryn the Grape 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 home page.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Doll Blankets: The Perfect Doll Accessory!

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This Christmas Darah got her first doll. It was carefully and lovingly selected by her Grammy. The doll is really beautiful and special. Would you like to see it? Of course! The doll is April, and she is by the German designer Kathe Kruse. Isn’t she super-cute???

Ok, now that I’ve gone on and on about this doll, it’s time to tell you about a very special accessory she just got for her doll: a coordinating doll blanket so that she can have her special doll go “night night.”The blanket came from Rhonda, the brains behind a shop I’ve featured before called Lil’ Bit Sassy.

Rhonda wrote a post on her blog asking for new ideas for her shop. The ideas she liked the best would get that item sent to them for free! Now, you know I love a good contest, so I put on my thinking cap and decided that one thing I’d love to have for little d is a blanket for her doll. Rhonda loved the idea, and as we talked more, decided that she wanted to make something that would coordinate with the particular doll I had in mind. She turned my good idea (doll blankets) into a great idea (customized doll blankets)!

doll blanket doll accessory And here you see Darah putting her new blanket to good use with April. It’s so interesting, because so far, this blanket is really reserved for April, in Darah’s mind. I think she notices that they look so great together! 🙂

Buy it!: Rhonda is really enjoying making these new doll blankets for her shop. She has several for sale now, and she’d also love to work with you create a custom doll blanket with just the right colors for your needs! All her blankets are reversible and ridiculously cute! They are priced at $15.00. While you are at Lil’ Bit Sassy, take a look around. I bet you’ll find something else you need!

doll blanket doll accessory Win it!: Rhonda created this precious doll blanket just for this giveaway. One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to take it home. Hooray! The contest will run until February 13th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the 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 which item in Rhonda’s shop is calling your name!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Subscribe to Rhonda’s blog where you will hear all about her latest creations!
2. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect

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

Disclosure: I received a complimentary item because I won a contest. I offered to review the item because I LOVE it! 🙂

Best Canned Tomatoes and Tomato Products: Dei Fratelli (Review)

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best canned tomatoes

Raise your hand if you love tomatoes! Yeah, I see pretty much everyone raising their hands except for my BFF. And even she can respect a good tomato as long as it is cooked! I recently had the opportunity to try a company that makes tomato products and that has been around for over four generations, but is new to me: Dei Fratelli!

Dei Fratelli translates to mean, “of the brothers.” This company is family-focused from the inside out! The business is family owned and managed, and the products they make are keeping families together around the dinner table, eating delicious home cooked meals with just a little help from Dei Fratelli!

I have to say, I have been very impressed with what I have tasted so far, and as a result, have gone on the Dei Fratelli website to find out exactly where I can buy more! I do wish that they had an easier way to search for local places to shop (you have to call a number to find out where you can purchase). However, while I was there, I learned that I can shop online, which is the easiest option of all!

In addition to their fabulous selection of canned tomatoes (which we go through like crazy around here) they also have a pizza sauce that we have used and love (it doesn’t have the tin-y flavor that so many canned pizza sauces seem to have). I was also majorly impressed with their salsas. We received two jars, both medium in flavor. As you know, I have a hard time eating anything with much heat, but these salsas were perfect! There was a bit of a kick, but it was really quite slight. If you want your salsa HOT, then this might not be your best bet, but if you want your salsa to be full of flavor, this is a must try! I would absolutely buy this again, no question.

Overall, I give Dei Fratelli two thumbs up. I know I’ll be buying them again, for sure. The flavors are fresh and delicious!

What about you? Have you ever tried these products? Am I the only one who didn’t know about them???

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

Not-to-Miss iPad Apps for Toddlers!

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Today I’m bringing you some more awesome iPad apps that are geared toward 2-5 year olds (though Darah is already LOVING them at 18 months). Oscar’s Apps is a company with 3 apps and they rock! Let me tell you about the two we have been enjoying.

First is the Alphabet Song app. There are 3 ways to play this game, which involves popping bubbles with letters on them. First, you can pop the balloons that are laid out in alphabetical order. This is ideal for a younger child, like Darah, who still needs some help finding her letters. The second mode is that the balloons are all jumbled up, but the right balloon will be highlighted to help the child find it. The final mode is where the balloons are all jumbled and the right balloon will only be highlighted after the child has had a while to look for it on his/her own. Tim and I may or may not have been racing each other to see who has greater alphabet balloon popping skills. Just sayin’.
Second is 1-10 Balloons. The concept is very similar to the Alphabet Song. It involved balloons, and the three modes are pretty much the same. What I really love about this is that the person’s voice elevates a bit as the numbers go higher (which is what we do when we count to 10, if you have ever noticed!).
My understanding is that their third app, 1-20 Balloons, is exactly the same, it just has more numbers!
These apps are value-priced at .99 each, and are absolutely worth it. Check out this great video to see just how much toddlers love playing with them!

Disclosure: I received complimentary apps for review purposes through the Family Review Network. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Why Mom Bloggers Matter to Marketers: Let’s Discuss!

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As you may recall, last week I went to a conference held just for women bloggers. It was AWESOME!!! In honor of that amazing experience, I am bringing you a guest post today that is all about why mommy bloggers really matter to companies. If you are a fellow blogger or even if you are just an enthusiastic giveaway entrant, this article will give you insight into why all these blog reviews and giveaways exist in the first place! I would LOVE to hear your thoughts in the comments about what Lisa brings up here. Let’s chat!

 

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle …

Smart Marketers Clamor for Mommy Blogger Support

By Lisa Viselli

hand that rocks the cradle
It turns out that 19th Century American poet William Ross Wallace was ahead of his time. When he wrote, “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world” as an homage to motherhood as a powerful force for change, it’s doubtful he was thinking about product reviews and giveaways. But, here we are, nearly 150 years later, and his words stand the test of time as savvy marketers clamor for mommy blogger support.

Mommy Blogger Trends
A recent report from eMarketer predicts the number of mommy bloggers in the U.S. will reach 4.4 million in 2014. Say it with me … four point four MILLION. When you consider how many people subscribe to each of these blogs and then factor in the Kevin Bacon effect, it’s easy to understand why companies, big and small, are eager to market their products and services using this influential medium.

Powerful Marketing Strategies
Enter product reviews and giveaways. There is an overwhelming number of baby, toddler, kid and teen brands on the market today, and consumers are bombarded with hundreds of marketing messages daily. Marketers are constantly on the lookout for new ways to rise about the noise, and targeting influential mommy bloggers with a loyal following has become a popular approach.

Product Reviews
Product reviews have always played an important role in purchase decision, but when you combine a thoughtful review with a recommendation from a trusted source, the likelihood to try a new product increases dramatically. In particular, social is especially important to product reviews for two reasons:

  1. Most buyers use the Internet to research a product before making a purchase. So, if I’m seeking information on “new Disney princess dolls” for my daughter, the search engines return a variety of sites, including online communities and mommy blogs that include that phrase. Disney still leads the pack, but now it’s got company.
  1. Google recently changed its top-secret algorithm so, in addition to returning highly targeted links, it also returns product review pages alongside search results. This has made companies keenly aware of the need for plentiful, preferably positive, reviews.

Product Giveaways
Moms have always had a great deal of purchasing power in the home so it makes sense that companies have showered them with freebies. Now, in the digital age, marketers have taken their tactic one step further, realizing that they can tap into the tremendous online followings that some mommy bloggers enjoy by extending their offers for free samples or other goods.

Enlightened marketers view giveaways as an investment, not an expense or lost revenue. Of course, companies need to be smart about how to deploy scarce resources to have the largest impact on revenue. This explains why we’re seeing so many analysis tools enter the market claiming to quantify the most relevant and authoritative voices in the blogosphere. But, the fact remains that companies that do their homework and promote giveaways with targeted mommy blogs often enjoy measurable increases in exposure, web traffic and revenue.

Moms as a Force Majeure
The opportunity to forge meaningful relationships with an army of moms who can introduce, talk about and maybe even recommend a product to their readership is the stuff of geeky marketer dreams. Considering the increasing influence that mommy bloggers are enjoying, perhaps we could update the title of Mr. Wallace’s poem to “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the online world?” Just a thought.

Lisa Viselli is a freelance copywriter and owner of Michigan-based Write Brained. She provides somewhat informative, mildly entertaining musings on marketing and other such geekery. www.writebrainedco.com