Wendy’s Frosty Cone: Treat Yourself! (Giveaway)

June 29, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 245 Comments

It’s hot out there. Time for a sweet treat! How about a Wendy’s Frosty Cone?

Looks yummy, right? It WAS!!! This was actually my first time trying the vanilla frosty flavor, and I loved it!

Now it is your turn to treat yourself to Wendy’s latest incarnation of the beloved Frosty: the Frosty Cone!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a $5 gift card to Wendy’s!

To enter: Let’s keep it REALLY simple: in the comments, tell me your very favorite item on the Wendy’s menu. Go ahead…make me hungry! 🙂

Rules: The contest will run until 12:01 am on July 13th when a winner will be selected using 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.

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

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

How My Snack Stash Saved the Day

June 29, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 7 Comments

Last week I told you all about my toddler snacks that I took for our road trip up to Asheville. They were a great help in the car, to be sure. But they also totally saved the day in the most unlikely of all places:

AT A RESTAURANT.

That may surprise you to hear me say. But then again, if you have a toddler, then you understand that when they want to eat, they want to eat NOW. Tim and I took a while to figure out what we wanted to order, and then the food took a little while to come out. That span of 20 minutes was 8 eternities to little Layah, and she quickly started to lose her composure.

At first I thought one of us would just have to leave with herand we’d have to take turns eating our food. Then I remembered that I stuck an Earth’s Best Sunny Days Snack Bars in my purse.

I handed it over to Layah, and then turned around to grab my camera so I could snap a picture of our lunchtime hero. Here’s what was left of the bar once I turned back around:

This snack bar earns full credit for keeping Layah from losing her cool, and for keeping our family all at the same table, eating our food at the same time. It saved the day!

What snacks do you keep in your purse, either for your little ones or for yourself?

I am an Earth’s Best Preferred blogger, and as such, have received complimentary products to facilitate my review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links. I only recommend what I already buy and love.

My Mom Has Fibromyalgia, I Have Resources

June 29, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 6 Comments

This is a sponsored post by me on behalf of Lifescript.com.

My mother has an illness called Chronic Fibromyalgia. She’s been diagnosed with it for at least 10 years, though I suspect she has been suffering from it for 20 years, if not more. Even now, there are surprisingly few resources for support for Fibromyalgia sufferers and their loved ones. Here’s what I used to know about this disease: it causes tenderness and pain at certain points all over the body. It flares up unexpectedly and can send you straight to your bed for a few days at a time. It doesn’t have a cure. And based on experience, watching my mom deal with it, I knew it was really terrible. But that’s all I knew.

For the past few days, I’ve been combing through the resources on Lifescript all about fibromyalgia. Lifescript.com provides medical information, tips and advice that are all written by professional health writers, experts and physicians. I’ve been writing down all sorts of helpful information and will be calling my mom today to talk about what I have learned. I think much of what I have learned she will already know, but there are some other really important things I want to tell her I discovered and encourage her to try.

For example, I learned about how yoga has been shown to help reduce pain and enhance the mood of Fibromyalgia sufferers who undertake the discipline, even doing very basic poses, on a regular basis. This is because yoga helps you focus in on sources of pain in the body and teaches you how to release tension in those areas. This was such a lightbulb moment for me, as I enjoy practicing yoga and have found it to be helpful when I was experience body aches and pains. I’m definitely going to encourage my mom to try a few very simple poses every day to help with pain relief. After all, medicine alone isn’t keeping her pain-free.

My sister and my mom. Can’t believe my mom will still put on stilettos with all the pain she is in. That’s fierce, woman!

Lifescript has given me a reliable place to learn more about Fibromyalgia syndrome and its symptoms, but more importantly, Lifescript has shown me various treatments of Fibromyalgia, including those that go beyond medication. I suspect that my mother’s doctors are not as well versed in these non-medical treatment options, and so she is probably not hearing very much about them. I’m happy to be able to point her to these resources now so that she can decide what she’d like to try on her own to help her not only survive, but also thrive. Visit www.lifescript.com for useful information on Fibromyalgia and other prevalent medical conditions related to women’s health.

Would you like more information on fibromyalgia? Here are 3 articles that I have personally learned a lot by reading:

A message from Lifescript:

Lifescript’s Fibromyalgia Health Center features tips, quizzes, recipes and articles – all by professional health writers, experts and physicians – covering new fibromyalgia research, the best foods to fight fibromyalgia, how to get a correct diagnosis, management tips for moms and more. Please visit the Lifescript Health Center on Fibromyalgia for more information.

And to check out this free website, click here!

This is a sponsored post by me on behalf of Lifescript.com. I hope this article was helpful to my readers out there who may be suffering from this condition or know someone who is!

Ants on a Log: Counting Made Fun! (Giveaway)

June 28, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 74 Comments

One of the Montessori lessons that prepares children for math comprehension is the red rods. These are designed to help show differences in distance, size and even units of measurement.

(source: Montessorimaterials.com)

Darah mastered this lesson at her school earlier this Spring. So when I saw a similar but more advanced concept at Learning Resources, I knew it would be just perfect for helping her with the next lesson: counting and beginning math.

Ants on a Log, offered by Learning Resources, is a truly fun activity that Darah has been playing with regularly. The set comes with various flexible yet sturdy “logs” with ants on them. There are two logs for each quantity of ant (1-10). One side of the log shows the number itself, and the other side has the number of ants that correspond with that number.

We’ve been practicing matching like rods by size, and finding two different rods that will be the same size as a pre-selected bigger third rod. This has been such a fantastic sensorial way to introduce the concepts of addition and subtraction. Darah has a very tangible representation of what some might think of as an abstract concept. She’s using her hands, her eyes and her brain power to solve problems with this set. This is how children truly learn, rather than simply memorize.

I’ve been extremely pleased with this product, and would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in Montessori learning, specifically, as well as anyone with a preschooler! There are SO many different things you can do with Ants on a Log to help promote math readiness and comprehension. I’m so happy to have this on our lesson shelf at home. You can purchase Ants on a Log from Learning Resources for $19.99. Great price for a great product!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win Ants on a Log!

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

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

Summer “Thyme” Spritzer with Reynolds Baking Cup Covers

June 27, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 13 Comments

I am a Reynolds Real Mom, and as such, have been compensated for my time. All thoughts and opinions express here are mine, as always.

Are you planning any summer soirees this year? When the weather is gorgeous, the great outdoors become the perfect backdrop for a gathering with family and friends. But the bugs in the air can definitely put a damper on things, especially if they land in your drinks! There’s a clever solution to this problem that takes just a second to create, and that makes your event look totally swanky.

Aren’t these Reynolds Baking Cups drink toppers awesome?! Here’s how to make them:

Simply flatten out a Reynolds Baking Cup and then form it around the top of your glass. Stick your straw through the top (I recommend cutting a small hole in the top of the baking cup with a pair of scissors first) and your beverage will be bug-free. It will also look pretty darn cute! What an easy way to dress up your drink and solve a problem all at once. That’s how this Real Mom does it! Here’s a link to the exact baking cups I used if you are as in love with them as I am!

Now for what’s inside those beautifully covered cups!

Summer “Thyme” Spritzer

Ingredients

32 ounces lemon flavored sparkling water
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 lemons, sliced thinly
fresh thyme
ice cubes

Fill your small pitcher with the sparkling water. Add 2 Tbsp lemon juice to give the beverage a little extra kick. In 4 individual glasses, place a slice of lemon, a few sprigs of thyme and some ice cubes. Pour drink into each glass, cover with a Reynolds Baking Cup, add a straw and enjoy!

This post contains an affiliate link. I only promote what I already love!

Super Affordable Children’s Clothes Shopping: Sophia’s Style (Giveaway!)

June 27, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 98 Comments

Attention all parents out there who like to find fashionable clothes for their kids but also who have a rather tight budget: I have found an AWESOME online place to shop! I have been SO excited to share this because I think the bargains I found at SophiasStyle.com were amazing! Wait until you see how much adorable stuff I got for $50! More on that later.

For now, I want to tell you more about the company. SophiasStyle.com is a family owned company with the goal of providing whimsical and fun outfits for little boys and girls, as well as accessories and little gifts. Looking for a birthday outfit or something perfect for a picture-taking session? This is your spot! I know I am already starting to think about girls christmas dresses (never too early to start!) and I’ve been excited to see they SophiasStyle.com already has a great selection available!

And I haven’t even mentioned the fantastic prices. Sophia’s Style offers discount prices on their trendy, designer pieces. That want to help your little one look his or her best and also give your wallet a sigh of relief. May I show you what I was able to purchase for $57 total, including shipping costs?

I also purchased a Melissa & Doug sand scooper for just $1.99 in addition to all these great clothes!

The only drawback to finding these great prices is realizing that their stock moves quickly. I saw many super adorable items that were no longer available in Darah’s current size, so I either had to find alternatives or just buy ahead for next year. In many cases, I decided to just buy ahead. The prices were too good not to snatch up, even if I have to wait a while for Darah to be able to wear them!

Also, as if their prices weren’t already good enough, they are currently running an extra 25% off sale on all clearance items. Oh boy….might be spending a little time on their website this afternoon, myself!
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will receive a gift certificate for $50 to Sophia’s Style!Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

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I received a complimentary gift certificate for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links. I only recommend products I already love!

My Daugher is Allowed to Play with Her Food (Giveaway!)

June 26, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 103 Comments

When Darah doesn’t want to eat her food, she typically starts to play with it. And I hear myself over and over again saying, “Don’t play with your food!” I also often talk with her about how her body needs fuel, just like a car, in order to get through the day, and it is her job to make sure all that “fuel” gets into her body.

Oh, and I also remind her that anyone who doesn’t give their body enough of that good fuel can’t have a special treat later. This seems to be the most compelling argument to her for some strange reason. Can’t imagine why!

But these days, I’m caving just a little bit to her desire to be playful at the table. And here’s why:

Darah has been really loving her Vitacost multi-vitamin gummies. They are shaped like dinosaurs. They taste like candy. And she can play with them.

So they are pretty much the greatest thing ever. In fact, she loves them SO much that she NEVER lets me forget to give her one in the morning. She’s taken full responsibility for making sure her body gets those supplemental vitamins. Or to look at it another way, she’s taken full responsibility for making sure she gets to play with her food at least once each day. 🙂

Vitacost vitamins are a great buy, in my opinion. The multi-vitamin gummies are just $11.49 for a 2 1/2 month supply (!). You can also purchase a one month supply for $6.50.

Darah is also totally bonkers about the Vitacost Omega 3 Gummies, which are $7.19 for a 30 day supply. I’ve tried them myself, and they taste like candy, not like fish! 🙂 When Darah takes them, she thinks she is getting an additional special treat. She has no idea that the “treat” is all those great Omega-3s for her brain!

In addition to the already fantastic prices at Vitacost, you can also get an extra 10% off your purchase by signing up for the set & save program which will automatically ship you more of your chosen products when your original supply is set to run out.

And lest the grownups feel left out of all the gummy fun, Vitacost also offers a 30 day supply of Vitamin D gummies (just $5.49) for adults to help us maintain strong and healthy bones!

This has been our first experience with Vitacost. We have been really impressed, and I plan to shop there in the future when my current vitamin supply runs out. The prices can’t be beat and the quality is excellent, as is the wide variety of products!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a $25 credit to Vitacost!
Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links. I only promote what I love!

A Childhood Favorite of Mine: Fla-Vor-Ice!

June 25, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

This post brought to you by Jel Sert. All opinions are 100% mine.

Once a summer my mom would buy a HUGE package of Fla-Vor-Ice at our local Winn-Dixie grocery store. It was a marker for me, as a child, that summer had arrived. I would (dead serious, here) keep track of the number of each color that was available in the freezer at any given time, and would carefully plan the order in which I would eat them.

What can I say, I’ve been a planner all of my life! Of course, the life lessons I learned as I planned out my snack time treats were there, courtesy of my brother. He’d mess up EVERYTHING by eating the wrong flavor on the wrong day, causing me to have to rearrange my plans again and again. Good thing I was a kid and only had to worry about things like what to do when the green Fla-Vor-Ice was all gone by mid-July (green was my favorite!).

This year I started buying Fla-Vor-Ice for Darah. I’d like to share with you why this is a “mom approved” snack in my book:

the cost! Fla-Vor-Ice is about 10 cents per serving. Can’t beat that!
made with real fruit juice
gluten-free
low in sugar (5g per serving for standard size)
pantry friendly. I don’t have to stuff my freezer full of Fla-Vor-Ice
freezer friendly. These freeze fast and don’t get freezer burn.
portability. Just grab and go!
refreshing. These are just perfect after a round of outside play.
one family, one snack. These aren’t just for the kids in my house!

Darah seems to prefer the red Fla-Vor-Ice at the moment, which works out just great (more green for me!!!). And her favorite time to enjoy them is during her afternoon video time (3pm). I am very choosy with what she gets to eat at that time, as she is sitting on our leather couch and paying much closer attention to the screen than to her food. So it may surprise you to hear that she gets to eat a Fla-Vor-Ice then. But at her age, I haven’t found them to be messy. I think because they are SO yummy, she does take care to make sure she gets every last drop! 🙂

If you are a fan of Fla-Vor-Ice like my family is, consider liking Fla-Vor-Ice on Facebook. YOull find tons of fun image and information on the site. It will be worth your time, I promise!

What are you snacking on this summer?

How to Make a Lava Lamp: Simple, Kid-Friendly Activity!

June 25, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 12 Comments

Even though I’m “really old” (according to my daughter) I’m still too young to have been around when lava lamps were all the rage (not counting their brief revival in the ’90s when all things from two decades prior was cool again for 5 minutes….Queen, anyone???).

But I saw this great post (courtesy of Pinterest, also known as where I hang out WAY too much!), and it showed how you could put together a fun science experiment that produced something very similar to a lava lamp, though much more brief in the time it actually releases the lava bubbles.

It looked really simple, and I actually had the supplies on hand (which is a miracle, because we all know I stink at anything related to crafts, projects, or general creativity). So we decided to give it a go. Now I’m going to show you how to do this in your home!

How to Make a Lava Lamp

1. Gather your ingredients. You need some type of oil (canola is what I had on hand…go for the cheapest oil you have), food coloring, water, a see-through bottle(the taller the better and with a lid so you can re-use it, and bonus if you can see the bottom clearly) and some alka-seltzer tablets.

2. Fill your container about 2/3 full of oil, and 1/3 full of water. Leave 1-2 inches up top so you don’t get any spillover during your experiment. This is also a great time to talk with your child about how different liquids still can have different weights and how oil and water don’t mix, but like to stay separated!

3. Now it is time to add about 10 drops of food coloring in the color of your choice. They will sit in between the oil and the water for a little while before fall to the bottom of the container. Very fun to watch!

4. Break one Alka-seltzer tablet into 4 pieces. 1/4 of a tablet is all you’ll need for about a minute of fun coming up. Drop the tablet in, and see what happens!

To give you a sense for how affordable this is, even though it doesn’t last long, Amazon is currently selling 72 tablets for $9.35. 72 x4 = 288 mini tablets to use. You will spend .03 per lava lamp “show” on the tablets. You do also have the oil cost and the very minimal food coloring cost, but those elements can be reused again and again! 🙂

This item is getting played with over and over again. It is cheap, it is fun and it is entertaining! And there’s a little bit a learning thrown into the mix, too. What’s not to love about this DIY version of a lava lamp?

Let me know if you give it a try! And if you know someone whose kids would love this, please share the post with them!

If you enjoyed this activity, you might also like trying out the colored rice activity or the fizzy sand activity. Both cheap, easy and fun!

This post contains an affiliate link, just in case your kids don’t cause you to already have alka-seltzer on hand! 😉