Stuff Parents Need

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

BeautiControl Instant Manicure for Rough, Cracked Hands

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BeautiControl Instant Manicure to the Rescue

Now that weather is warming up it is time to ditch the winter gloves and show off your beautiful hands. What’s that?! Your hands are dry, cracked and rough after Old Man Winter’s visit to your town? If you are now glove-free but wishing you could hide your hands, you should check out a really nice product from BeautiControl that can help those hands look their best!

beauticontrol instant manicure for rough hands I recently had the opportunity to try out the Beauticontrol Instant Manicure, which is an exfoliator designed specifically to moisturize hands and cuticles. I just keep this in my shower now and put it on once a week. It’s doing a really good job of keeping my hands looking really nice. I’d say it is on par with other higher-end exfoliants I have tried. I was a little taken aback by the price tag for this ($27 for 10 ounces) but I’ve realized that it really only take a little bit to really scrub your hands. I’d say this container will easily last me 1 1/2 years using it once/week. You can also find it cheaper on Amazon!

I think BeautiControl sounds like a great company to work for out of your home. I love their vision: “To empower millions of women to live the life they love.” So I’d love to hear if anyone out there has ever or is currently working for BeautiControl? If you love working with this company, tell us why!

This is the first product I have ever tried from BeautiControl. Has anyone ever tried a different product they make? Do you love it? Dish!

beauticontrol instant manicure Disclosure: I received product samples in order to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed are strictly my own. This post may contain affiliate links. 

My Favorite Diaper Rash Solution (Balmex GIVEAWAY!!!)

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EDIT: Giveaway closed

On the whole we have been very fortunate with Darah and diaper rash. For the first 4 months of her life she had ZERO diaper rash. When she was a newborn, we were careful parents and we slathered her with diaper rash cream after every change just to be safe. As time went by, we realized that she wasn’t having any problems, and we started to get a little bit lax. We’d just put cream on her once a day, and we used cornstarch powder the rest of the time. And then we pretty much just stopped using diaper rash cream altogether. This worked out great until around Christmas, and then we were hit hard with a case of diaper rash! We weren’t afraid, though, because we had lots of cream and we started applying it again. We were applying it constantly for about 2 weeks and saw absolutely no change in her condition. That’s when the dim lightbulbs in our head came on and we realized that the stuff we had, at least for our baby, was completely worthless.

I had a coupon in my stash for Balmex, so I decided to give it a try. Cue the spotlight and the choir of angels, folks! Balmex was and continues to be the definitive answer to diaper rash in our house. Once we started using it, her diaper rash cleared up in just a few days and IT HASN’T BEEN BACK SINCE! And once again, we don’t apply diaper rash cream after every change, but we do make an effort to put some on once a day (usually at night since she’ll be in that diaper for a while).

diaper rash solution I wrote to Balmex to thank them for making such a great and effective product, and they sent me some samples of their products to test out. There are two products of theirs that I had not tried before but that I absolutely LOVE. First, did you know that Balmex puts out a powder? This powder is especially effective because it contains zinc oxide. It also contains an exclusive blend of botanicals that it calls ActivGuard. It is talc-free, and in my experience, totally awesome. This is what we use after most every diaper change, and it is doing a terrific job of keeping diaper rash at bay. We always call Darah our little beignet during diaper changes since she gets sprinkled with powder! Second, I’ve already talked about how sold I am on their diaper rash cream, but I’m even more sold now that I’ve seen the variety of packaging options that you have when you buy it. I first purchased the 2 ounce tube, which is absolutely perfect for the diaper bag or for travel (especially airplane travel, when your “liquids” are restricted in size). diaper rash solution They also have a big 16 oz jar, which is perfect for the changing table at home or to send to daycare. But the ultimate option is to buy their diaper rash in the form of a cream stick. It basically looks like a stick of deodorant and is dispensed the same way that you would put on deodorant. The top of the stick is a bit more narrow, which I realized when using it, makes it perfect to get into all the little folds around your baby’s bits! GENIUS! Also, since you apply it directly, there’s no mess left on your hands. This is totally the way to go, folks!

I also learned a lot from the diaper rash advisor section of the Balmex web site. When you are new to diapering, as Tim and I were just a handful of months ago, you don’t know what exactly to look for, and anything and everything freaks you out and causes you to worry. The advisor section of this site gives you some great tips for detection, correction and protection!

All you other parents out there may be looking for a more effective diaper rash cream than what you are currently using. Balmex has been the very best and most effective choice for our baby. Give it a try. If you need further incentive, right now you can print a coupon for $1.00 off any Balmex product!

Win It!: Balmex has generously offered two winners a Balmex kit, each containing a few of the great products I mentioned here! The contest will run until Monday, April 19th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim the prize. Open to residents of the United States.

How to Enter:

Mandatory Entry: Follow my blog using Google Friend Connect! You must follow publicly, not privately. It’s just that simple! Your first entry should be a post stating that you follow.

Additional Entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email (one extra entry total, even if you subscribe both ways)
2. Follow me through Google connect
3. Put my button on your blog (leave blog url)
4. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your TwitterID)
5. Tell me something you learned when checking out the Diaper Rash Advisor section of Balmex’s site
6. Tell me the Balmex product you’d most like the try
7. Enter any other currently open giveaway on my site (one extra entry per giveaway that you enter)

Disclosure: I received product samples for review purposes. The opinions expressed above are strictly my own.

Best Glitter Eye Makeup from Orglamix: Review

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I truly love mineral makeup. It offers such great coverage while giving you a very natural look that I haven’t yet been able to achieve with liquid foundations. It also has far fewer chemicals in it, which makes it better for your skin. Lately I’ve been reading great reviews from several other bloggers of mineral eye shadow by Orglamix. I checked out the site, and was completely blown away by the color selection available for eye shadows  Since I only have a little bit of experience using mineral eye shadow  I decided that I wanted to start there. But how on earth was I going to pick out the shades to wear? I’m going to be honest with you, I just don’t have an eye for design, or frankly, even color coordination (just keeping it real). Orglamix has an entire “get the look” section showing you an eye makeup look using 3 colors, and telling you which 3 colors were used to create the look. PERFECT! I saw many different glitter eye makeup looks that ranged from demure to downright wild, and they all looked beautiful. I landed on Haute Coal, and was sent this set to review.

best glitter eye makeup from Orglamix The makeup arrived very quickly, just a few days after being ordered. I was very impressed with the speedy delivery! When I opened the makeup, I have to say, I felt a little bit nervous. The colors were very rich, but also VERY shimmery. I felt worried that I would look like a sparkly mess and that I would look as though I was trying to get away with teenage-looking makeup. Good news, though. This makeup is shimmery, but it has a very sophisticated look. It doesn’t look gaudy in the slightest. In fact, it looks downright lovely. The colors layer beautifully and the look is chic, not cheap! Perhaps the most impressive thing to me, though, was the staying power of this eye shadow  I wore it for 11 hours, and while I can’t tell you that it looked as though I had just applied it by hour 11, it still looked very good, to the point where I wouldn’t have needed to touch it up if I wanted to wear it longer. I don’t have any other eyehshadow that has performed as well as this set has, in that regard. I also got a compliment from my husband the day I first wore these colors. He made a point of telling me that my makeup looked really nice, and that felt so good! I think that using this set of mineral eye shadow colors gave me an updated look that I needed. Thank you, Orglamix!

If you need some new makeup, I really think you should give Orglamix a try. Their eyeshadow kits are a very reasonable $14.95, or you can buy individual colors for $4.99, which is such a bargain! Orglamix also carries a very impressive collection of foundation, blush, makeup brushes and kits to get you started if you want to try a little bit of everything! Be sure to check out the weekly specials section for great deals, too! Orglamix offers a money-back guarantee on your purchase, so what are you waiting for?!

EDIT: This giveaway is now closed. Congrats #111!

Win It!:Orglamix wants to give you the opportunity to win 3 mineral eye shadow colors of your choice! The contest will run until Sunday, April 18th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim the prize. Open to residents of the United States.

How to Enter:

Mandatory Entry: Tell me the three eyeshadow colors you want most. Choose wisely, as you will receive what you name in your entry if you win!

Additional Entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email (one extra entry total, even if you subscribe both ways)
2. Follow me through Google connect
3. Put my button on your blog (leave blog url)
4. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your TwitterID)
5. Follow Orglamix on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
6. Become a Fan of Orglamix on Facebook
7. Enter any other currently open giveaway on my site (one extra entry per giveaway that you enter) Disclosure: I received product samples for review purposes. The opinions expressed above are strictly my own.

I received complimentary mineral eye shadow products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

 

 

Big Bibs that are Fashionable and Funcional

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Now that Darah is eating solids, I am finding that her cute little bibs are no longer useful. She needs more coverage from big bibs during mealtimes, and even during playtime when she sometimes still spits up. Am I the only one who has noticed that the cutest bibs in stores are really tiny and the big ones are nothing to write home about? This is the case for the vast majority of large bibs that we have in our house. Sometimes this doesn’t matter to me, since keeping Darah clean is the number 1 goal, but anytime I am taking Darah out and about and have her dressed up really cute, it bothers me to cover up her whole outfit with a bib that is drab.

Bib Bibs With Style!

Bazzle Baby is a company that offers a solution to this problem! I saw them featured in Baby Talk magazine, and when I check out their site, I learned that they offered super cute AND functional big bibs! From their site, “Big Bibs put a twist on tradition with their squared edges and ultimate coverage. Our Big Bib is perfect for your little eater! Coverage area is 8″L x 10″W. 100% Cotton designer print.”

Bazzle Baby has big bibs for baby Bazzle Baby was kind enough to send the Lava Bloom Big Bib for Darah to put to the test. I was very impressed when I put it on her and saw how much coverage it provided. The pattern is also really cute! I’ve found that this bib is typically an asset to her outfits and never a deficit. As a result, this is the bib I reach for most anytime we are headed out the door! Let me be clear, though, we aren’t afraid to use the thing! Do you know people who have “good” bibs or “good” burp cloths and don’t use them because they don’t want them to get dirty? I really can’t relate to that, folks. A bib has a purpose…to get dirty so that your child doesn’t! The Big Bib has held up beautifully in the wash (and it has been washed MANY times at this point) and the stains have all come out, so far! If ever the time comes when a stain won’t come out, though, I bet it will be really difficult to notice since it has a fun, busy pattern!

drool bib bandana bib One thing that I really love about Bazzle Baby is that it is family owned and operated. Amanda Davis is the captain behind the Bazzle Baby ship, and she was inspired by her first baby to create bibs that can get the job done without sacrificing aesthetics. Every single product in this line came about as a solution to a problem for each of her children. Check out the award winning Banda Bibs that are perfect for little droolers and Burpers that are large and very absorbant, just as a burp cloth should be!

I also want to mention that Bazzle Baby is a company that gives back. It donates a portion of all sales to charities selected by its customers! You can nominate your favorite charity by emailing Amanda@bazzlebaby.com. How cool is that?!

Buy It!: If you are tired of covering up your baby’s unforgettable outfits with totally forgettable bibs, you need a Big Bib from Bazzle Baby! Check out the awesome selection of patterns and pick a few out today for $13.00. During this giveaway, you can also save 15% off your purchase by using the code TRENDS at checkout.

Edit: Giveaway closed

Win it!:Bazzle Baby has offered one very lucky Stuff Parents Need reader a Big Bib from their current collection! Sweet!!! The contest will run until Tuesday, April 13th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim the prize. Open to residents of the United States.

How to Enter:

Mandatory Entry: Tell me your very favorite Big Bibs pattern. Choose wisely, as you will win what you select!

Additional Entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email (one extra entry total, even if you subscribe both ways)
2. Follow me through Google connect
3. Put my button on your blog (leave blog url)
4. Sign up for Bazzle Baby’s newsletter (leave email address you used to sign up)
5. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your TwitterID)
6. Follow Bazzle Baby on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
7. Become a Fan of Bazzle Baby on Facebook
8. Enter any other currently open giveaway on my site (one extra entry per giveaway that you enter)

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

Toy Piano for Kids: My First Piano by Schoenhut

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We have a new favorite toy in our house. Meet the toy piano for kids called My First Piano by Schoenhut. Darah has been rocking out on it every day for the last few weeks. She absolutely lights up when we pull it out. At first she would just bang on all the keys, but now I notice that she is doing some experiments with the keys. She will just hit one key at a time, or maybe two. She even hits different parts of the piano to hear different noises, or uses different toys she has to hit the keys to see if the sound is different. It is beyond awesome to watch her little brain at work, and to see the joy on her face as she “makes music.” Darah has started to try to pull herself up using the piano, and I’m so relieved to tell you that it has even threatened to tip over. This is a sturdy toy, and I know it is going to be around for baby #2! The adults in the house like the piano, too. Tim and I have both caught each other playing songs on the piano when Darah wasn’t even in the same room! 🙂 This piano is recommended for little ones between 6 months and 2 years, and that seems just about right to me.

toy piano kids We were sent this little piano from a really cool website called Toys and Games Online. (Edited: Toys and Games Online is no more, but fortunately, this piano for kids is available on Amazon!) I am so glad to learn about this store; it is now bookmarked as a go-to-site when I need to find very cool and engaging toys for Darah or for other children in my life. I have yet to find another store that offers as many high quality toys. They are also organized very nicely and in a variety of ways (theme, gender, outdoor, indoor, building, etc.). A majority of the toys on site also have reviews from individuals who have purchased the toy. I always appreciate this feature, as it helps me buy with confidence!

Toys and Games Online is an incredible store, but the company behind it is even more incredible. It is part of the CSN Stores family. This company includes over 200 stores offering pretty much everything you can think of, from mattresses to water tubes! I really encourage you to take s look at all of their stores and see what you can find. I bet that you’ll find some really cool stores that carry just the thing you’ve been trying to find for a while! I’m taking a close look right now at their affordable sofas and their area rugs.

Check out CSN Stores, and leave a comment below about a store you found that you like! This will be worth an extra entry in an upcoming giveaway!

Disclosure: I was sent the piano pictured above in order to facilitate my review. The opinions in this post are strictly my own. Affiliate links may be included at no cost to you.

Children’s Books Made into Movies! (Scholastic Giveaway!!!)

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Scholastic has children's books made into movies (short movies)

Hopefully we are all in agreement that there is just no substitute for reading to and with your child. Tim and I cherish story time with Darah. Even though her primary goal right now is to get the corner of any book we read into her mouth, we know that she is still absorbing language and learning that books are a source of great fun.

As your child progresses along in his or her relationship with books, there are some cool ways to reinforce the value of reading. Scholastic has a really great dvd series that is designed for children and their parents. The dvds contain popular children’s books made into movies, and encourage children to read along with the story by including the text on the screen and highlighting the words as they are spoken.

children's books turned into movies We received the Treasury of 50 Storybook Classics to review. While Darah is a bit too young to view these herself, Tim and I have played some of the stories. We really liked that the book illustrations were used for the stories as opposed to cartoons. This helps keep the focus on the words being spoken, and it keeps it from having the feel of a television show that changes screen shots every 2-3 seconds. We were also pleasantly surprised when we heard some familiar voices serving as narrators (Meryl Streep and John Lithgow are two examples).

This collection seems to be appropriate for children ages 2 or 3 and up. We will definitely be showing these to Darah in a few years, and we are glad to have them on hand for when our nieces visit. This isn’t something I would be inclined to turn on for kids and just leave them alone with, but rather, these are terrific stories to experience with children, so that you can read along and encourage them to try to read, too. You can also pause the videos to talk about what you are seeing in the pictures. Another great idea is to check out some of the books in the set from your local library, and then when you view the dvds you can have the books on hand, too!

Buy It!: This entire collection contains over 8 hours of delightful stories for a terrific price: $49.95! That’s just $1 per story. We all know how pricey books are, so this is a great deal. It is currently available on Amazon for just $32!

Win It!: I bet you know a little bookworm in the making who would love to have this set! Scholastic wants to make that happen for one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader, who will score the 50 Storybook Classics dvd set we reviewed! The contest will run until Saturday, April 10th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim the prize. Open to residents of the United States.

EDIT: Giveaway closed

How to Enter:

Mandatory Entry: Tell me the story in this collection you would read along with first!

Additional Entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email (one extra entry total, even if you subscribe both ways)
2. Follow me through Google connect
3. Put my button on your blog and leave a url where I can find it
4. Subscribe to the Scholastic Treasures DVD newsletter (bottom left corner)
5. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your TwitterID)
6. Tell me one other Scholastic Storybook Treasures box set you would also like to own!
7. Enter any other currently open giveaway on my site (one extra entry per giveaway that you enter)

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post may contain affiliate links. 

Best Baby Shower Decoration Idea!

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baby shower decoration ideas

As we all know, one of the really fun things about reading blogs is that different bloggers often have really cool product reviews and giveaways. The very first blog giveaway I ever won was for a diaper cake from Diaper Cakewalk. I was pregnant at the time, and for the last 2 months of my pregnancy, I used the diaper cake as the centerpiece on our dining room table! It was just that cute, folks! It served as a reminder that our big day was close at hand, and since it was an eco-friendly diaper cake, it also reminded us to try to go green as much as possible as we prepared for our baby.

I have to tell you, I have memories of diaper cakes being sold in local grocery stores when I was a kid, and they were ugly. I assumed, therefore, that all diaper cakes were unfortunate-looking. I am so glad to report that I WAS WRONG. Perhaps the person who made them at my local store was just not particularly skilled at making them! The diaper cakes from Diaper Cakewalk are downright beautiful. They make such an excellent baby shower gift idea for the expecting mom. I can tell you from experience that they are so fun to have on display, and they are also fun and easy to use when the time comes. A 4-tier diaper cake will have enough diapers in it to last roughly 9 days, which is awesome! The diapers are size 1 Pampers Swaddlers. I like that they aren’t made with newborn diapers because some babies are born too big for newborn diapers. In my case, Darah wore size newborn diapers for about 3 weeks, but that just meant that I had a little while longer with the diaper cake before I had to disassemble it!

 

diaper cake as baby shower decoration ideas If you are hosting a baby shower in the upcoming months, I strongly encourage you to consider purchasing a diaper cake. They will provide excellent decor for your event and double as a very useful gift that has more staying power and purpose than a vase of flowers. Diaper Cakewalk even offers some great baby shower ideas on the site to help you plan your shower!

 

Perhaps you are pretty crafty, yourself, and you’d like to try your hand at making your own diaper cake. Diaper Cakewalk even offers Do-it-yourself diaper cakes as an option if you want to customize the overall look yourself.


Concerned about how the cake will hold up during shipping? Don’t be! My cake arrived in MINT condition, ready for immediate display. These diaper cakes are very well-constructed!

Buy It!: New moms need only one thing more than sleep, and that is diapers! Buy a beautiful diaper cake for the expecting mom you know today. It’s a gift that is guaranteed to delight her!

EDIT: Giveaway closed

Win It!: I am so excited to have the opportunity to give away a 3-tiered diaper cake from her bestseller category! You are going to flip if you win this! The contest will run until Friday, April 9th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim the prize. Open to residents of the United States.


Mandatory Entry: Pick out the 3-tiered diaper cake you would choose if you won. Choose wisely, as you will win what you pick out!



Additional Entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email (only one extra entry total, even if you subscribe both ways)
2. Follow me through Google connect
3. Put my button on your blog and leave a url where I can find it
4. Become a fan of Diaper Cakewalk on Facebook
5. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
6. Follow Diaper Cakewalk on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
7. Enter any other currently open giveaway on my site (one extra entry per giveaway that you enter)

Part-Time Cloth Diapering: Here we Go!

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We have been a disposable diaper family since before Darah was born. The thought of cloth diapering or part-time cloth diapering never even occurred to me. When I was pregnant I used online resources and a whole lot of coupons to get some really good deals on disposable diapers in sizes 1-3. Doing this helped take the sting out of the expense of buying diapers so that we have only had to purchase a handful of packages since Darah was born.

In my world outside of blogging, I only know 1 person who used cloth diapers, and she used the hybrid system (gDiapers ). They really sounded like the best of both worlds, but the price was just something I couldn’t afford, which is why we decided not to pursue that method of diapering for Darah. I didn’t (and still don’t!) personally know a single person who uses any other type of cloth diaper.

You have probably noticed, however, that there tends to be a disproportionate number of mommy bloggers who are using cloth. I have no idea why this is, but it has really fascinated me! Cloth diapering mamas seems to constantly be singing the praises of their favorite cloth diaper companies, and swearing up and down that cloth diapering is EASY. The overall thriftiness of cloth diapering, however, is what really piqued my curiosity.

Baby in a wool cover part-time cloth diapering

Over the last few months I have started paying attention to cloth diaper posts. I’m starting to learn the lingo (which, by the way, is very intimidating and overwhelming to a newbie). I’ve even started entering cloth diaper giveaways. I figured that if I won one, then it was meant to be and we were going to give it a try.

Well, I did win one! Stay tuned for my next post where I tell you all about our very first cloth diaper experience, courtesy of Holden’s Landing.

I’d love to hear all the mama’s who DON’T cloth diaper talk about why you are choosing/chose not to. There’s no judgment from me for not doing it…I can relate to being wary about going cloth! 🙂