Stuff Parents Need - Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

How We Study the Weather and the Calendar (Giveaway!)

June 2, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 54 Comments

What morning rituals does your family have these days? I’d like to show you one of ours that Darah (my almost 4 year old) is really enjoying and that creates great moments for learning. Check out the Funky Monkey Forecast!

Learning Resources has this set of 60 magnetic pieces available on their website. It comes with a jumbo monkey and 28 different accessories to dress him in, depending on the day’s weather. There are also 6 weather icons and 3 weather words. Every morning Darah looks outside to see what the weather looks like at the moment (sunny, cloudy, etc.) and I also check the forecast online to get a sense for the daily temperatures and if any special weather conditions are headed our way.

After Darah dresses the monkey for the day, she has a better idea of how to dress herself, too! This helps tremendously once we head upstairs to pick out an outfit. She used to choose things that were seasonally inappropriate and not understand why she would be much too hot or much too cold in them. Now she gets it, and she edits her options accordingly. And as you likely know, drama over wardrobe is GREATLY reduced when the child gets to make her own choices. So the Funky Monkey is helping us not only with weather comprehension, but also with the practical life skill of dressing oneself.

Darah dressed this moneky for a warm day at school. Note the backwards shoes and the lack of pants. Darah finds pants to be an annoying component of wardrobes, to be avoided if at all possible.

practical life: weather and dressing with funky monkey

Her clothing selection (a dress, which means no pants needed! )

Additionally, I’m starting to work with Darah on the calendar aspect of the Funky Monkey set. It comes with the 7 days of the week, as well as the 12 months of the year. Darah is starting to associate the days of the week with the different activities we do on those days (such a school on Monday and Wednesday during the summer, or Daddy being at home on Saturday and Sunday). She isn’t yet able to identify the words by sight, but the magnets are helping us practice and improve in that area.

I’m really pleased with this fun new tool that provides my child with a morning ritual to get her day started right. And I also LOVE that it comes in magnet form, which means it takes up very little space. Three cheers for that!!!

Buy it!: The Funky Monkey Forecast is available for $29.98 through the Learning Resources website, as well as through Amazon.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Funky Monkey Forecast!

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. This post contains an affiliate link.

How To Use Credit Cards to Pay Down Debt

May 31, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 7 Comments

Special thanks to Shay for partnering with Stuff Parents Need to make this post possible. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Does the title of my post cause you to do a double-take? Does it sound very counter-intuitive, or at the very least, very stupid? I mean, how on earth can a credit card, which is often the source of debt problems, be a helpful tool in paying down debt???

But there are a few tricks that you can employ to put your credit cards to work for you in your efforts to pay down some of your debt!

How to Pay Down Debt Using a Credit Card

1. The best way to help pay down your debt by using a credit card is to wait for a really good balance transfer offer, and then to take full advantage of it. For example, one of your credit card companies may offer you 24 months of interest free payments on any debt you want to transfer over to their card. So let’s say you have a $5,000 debt on a different credit card at that time, and you are currently paying 15% interest on that debt every month. If you can develop a plan to get that $5,000 fully paid off in 24 months, then transferring the debt makes perfect sense. And while you are paying it off, you aren’t having to pay huge interest charges, which saves you even more money!

I also want to mention that if you take all of your debt from one credit card and put it on another credit card, you can then cancel out the old credit card. This is a good thing to do if you find that credit cards are a bit of a temptation for you. If you are trying to improve your credit score, this might also be a good way to go, as creditors take a look at your overall credit available. If you have too much credit at the ready, you become a higher credit risk.

I wouldn’t recommend transferring an amount higher than what you feel very confident that you can repay by the interest-free deadline. Otherwise, this move can bite you in the behind, as some credit card companies will charge you for all the interest you would have paid over that time period if the debt remains after the interest-free period (sneaky, isn’t it?). BUT, if you know you can pay it, then this is actually a really great way to help you get out from under the foot of your debt!

2. The other way you can use your credit cards to help you get out from debt is by taking full advantage of any rewards or perks that your credit card offers. So many people really don’t understand their rewards programs and let the points they are racking up just sit dormant. In many cases those points can be used for airfare, hotels, electronics, or even for cash back. Take a little bit of time to investigate the rewards you are eligible for, and then use them, preferably for something you were planning on purchasing anyway (such as plane tickets for the holidays). You can then take the money that you were planning on spending for those items or services and send it straight to your debt, instead! How cool would it be to take the $1,000 you were planning on spending on your next vacation and put it toward your debt, all the while still getting to take that vacation! That may be more possible than you think, all thanks to those rewards available through your credit card!

And should you find that your credit card offers no rewards (gasp!) or really lousy ones, then it might be a good time to do a credit card comparison. Shop around and see if you can find ways to make your credit card work a bit harder for you. Credit cards, when used wisely, really and truly can help you save money and pay down your debt. It may seem counter-intuitive, but it is true!

photo credit: Josh Kenzer via photopin cc

4 Reasons to Buy Organic Clothing, and A Great New Store! (Giveaway!)

May 31, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 69 Comments

I have talked many times over the last few years about striving to purchase more organic products for my family, and in particular, for my children. There’s no doubt about it: buying organic and eco-friendly products, in general, can be pricey. But I believe making a few key investments is completely worth it.

The trouble is, I don’t know WHICH products to choose and which ones to pass on. It can get really overwhelming to try to research EVERY. SINGLE. THING. that will touch your baby (clothes, diapers, baby wash, toys, bottles, etc.) and honestly, there have been times when I have just decided to go with whatever is the cheapest, or whatever I can find the fastest. And any time I take either of those roads, the end result is often that I DON’T get the product that was truly the best fit for me and my family.

Buying Organic and Eco-Friendly Products on a Budget

So what to do? I want to make a good choice, but now that I have 2 kids, I have even less time to spend hours and hours researching products. This, my friends, is exactly why I am really loving Organic Treasure. This is an online eco-boutique run by Vivian, the mom of an 8 month old infant, who has decided to put her passion for and knowledge about all things eco-friendly to work for other parents who want to make great choices for their children, their homes and their gardens. She has great picks for every family, whether they can purchase an entire wardrobe of organic cotton and an entire nursery of eco-friendly toys, or if they can only buy one thing. Organic Treasure has already done the hard work for you, and each item in the boutique has been hand-selected as being truly outstanding amongst its competitors. On the site you will even find a baby registry to help make the process of preparing for your new baby easy, as well as a great registry checklist. I appreciate that it is a bit more streamlined than many of the checklists I have seen, and sticks more to the basics; what you REALLY need!

At Organic Treasure, you’ll find brands such as Aden & Anais, Baby Soy, Miyim, Green Sprouts, Under the Nile and Finn + Emma. You will also find that Organic Treasure was awarded the Green America Bronze Certified Business Seal. This award comes after a rigorous certification process, and is presented to small businesses that show a clear commitment and dedication to positive social and environmental change. Vivian shows her dedication to environmental stewardship not only in the products she carries, but also in how she runs her business, right down to running on 100% wind energy and using recycled paper products and soy based non-toxic inks. Organic Treasure is truly a model for what the future could look for all businesses!

As I was perusing the site, I also read a great article that listed several reasons we should all strongly consider purchasing organic clothing. I wanted to share some of them with you today because they are really eye-opening!

4 Reasons to Buy Organic Clothing

1. Bamboo is a great alternative to cotton, as it is VERY sustainable (the fastest growing plant in the world!). This product also grows easily without pesticides or fertilizers, and it is naturally antimicrobial. It is the perfect choice for people with sensitive skin! And if you have never worn it, let me tell you…it is super soft!

2. Conventional cotton is the most widely sprayed agricultural crop in the entire world. Washing the fabrics only eliminates a fraction of the toxic chemicals found in the clothing made from it. I personally have actually researched how to get pesticide residue out of clothes and the short answer is this: you can’t. 🙁

3. Organic cotton is free from these toxic chemicals. It is also not treated with formaldehyde (all conventional cotton contains this nasty chemical, which gives the cotton a smooth finish and color). This chemical is known to absorb into the skin. Yikes!

4. As demand for organic materials increases, so will the supply! Businesses and farmers will change farming practices and switch over to more sustainable products as more people start purchasing them. We are voting with our dollars!

I found Organic Treasure to truly be a treasure trove of fantastic products and helpful information. I also love that it is run by a mom with a real passion and desire to help other parents make great choices for their families. You will receive impeccable customer service from this company and can even reach out to Vivian with any questions you may have about which products to choose for your family. She would be delighted to help you!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win one item of your choice from Organic Treasure with a value of up to $35!

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

Special thanks to Vivian at Organic Treasure for partnering with Stuff Parents Need for this post. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own, as always.

bamboo photo credit: Stuck in Customs via photopin cc

$200 Visa Gift Card Giveaway Time!

May 30, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 12 Comments

It’s been one of those weeks. Sick baby. House that just REFUSES to clean itself. Deadlines popping up left and right. I don’t know about you, but this mama is ready for the weekend!

And what fun I could have with a free $200 Visa gift card! If I could have $200 to spend strictly on myself, I wouldn’t hesitate to go to the nearest day spa and get a massage and a fabulous manicure and pedicure. The mere thought of it makes me feel more relaxed!

What about you? What would YOU do with $200 to spend on yourself? Let’s make that dream of yours, whatever it may be, come true! Thanks to a fabulous sponsor, North West Pharmacy, you can win a $200 Visa gift card right now! No joke! See the rafflecopter form below and get entered. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Green Your Summer Giveaway Hop! Dozens of Prizes!

May 30, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 99 Comments

Welcome to the Green Your Summer Event! The Blogging Mamas Network has come together with like-minded bloggers to make sure your grass isn’t all that is green this Summer!

Each blogger in the Event is bringing readers a great green prize to win. You have until June 13th to enter, so be sure to hop around to them all and find great eco-friendly products to help you go green!

While you’re hopping, be sure to enter the TWO Grand Prizes for to Green Your Summer for Mom and Baby! You’ll find prizes including a Lunette Menstrual Cup, Amber Necklace and Bracelet Set, a Merino Wool Sleepsack, re-usable Snack Pouches, and earth-friendly Vinyl Wall Decals from Walls Need Love!

Stuff Parents Need Giveaway:

Today I’m absolutely thrilled to bring you not one, but TWO fantastic DVDs, both with an Earth-friendly focus!

First up, The Magic School Bus: All About Earth. Darah and I have watched this at least 6 times together, and we both give it two enthusiastic thumbs up! This great new release from Scholastic features 3 all new, never been released episodes of the long running Emmy Award-winn science adventure series. It also includes a bonus fourth episode, for a total run time of 90 minutes.

The second DVD is actually a musical DVD, and it is called Marsh Mud Madness. This is from the children’s music entertainer Roger Day, and all 12 songs featured on the DVD are about plants and animals that make up the Atlantic ecosystem. It looks like the PERFECT video for any child who loves to be outside and who frequently gets dirty during play time!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of Marsh Mud Madness AND a copy of Magic School Bus: All About Earth!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
_____________________________________ Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. According to Jenny, So Easy Being Green, the Blogging Mamas Network, and the Green Your Summer participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations. _____________________________________ Linky:

Van’s Offers Great Gluten-Free Snack Options for Summer (Giveaway)

May 29, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 83 Comments

It is very likely that you personally know someone who has some sort of gluten sensitivity. That person might even be someone in your immediate family. My mother-in-law cannot eat wheat, so we try to remember to have some wheat-free options on hand every time she visits.

I recently got to experience what it was like to not only be wheat free, but also gluten-free. Tim and I practiced the Paleo diet for about a month, and one of the things you avoid on this diet is gluten. While it was tough to break old habits and stop eating things I was very used to eating (pasta, bread, carbs of all shapes and sizes), I was very pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to find YUMMY food that was gluten-free in the stores. When I asked my mother-in-law about her experience finding such products, she said that it has become significantly easier over the past few years, as awareness and diagnosis of the allergy has increased.

Gluten-Free Snacks

Van’s Natural Foods is a brand that I have purchased before and will definitely purchase again. They make a wide variety of nutritious and delicious products, including two gluten-free options I wanted to highlight today. And trust me when I say that you don’t need have a gluten sensitivity to love these. They are DELISH!!!

First up are the Van’s Whole Grain Crackers. Lately I’ve been pairing these with hummus and just keeping a platter on the dining room table for snacking throughout the day. We’ve tried the Multigrain flavor and the Say Cheese flavor, and I would buy them both again! These retail for a very reasonable $2.99 and are made with gluten-free oats, brown rice, millet, quinoa and amaranth. They are free of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives, which makes them very clean-eating friendly, too! Don’t they look yummy?

The other product we have been enjoying, especially around 3pm when you hit that slump in the day, is the Van’s Whole Grain Snack Bars, which retail for $4.49 per pack. These contain more than four times the fiber of other gluten-free bars on the market today, and they are nutrient-rich. I will usually split one with Darah along with a glass of milk. They are very satisfying!

One of the reasons I’m particularly fond of these snack options from Van’s is because they pack so much nutrition into products that are very fun to eat. I think that’s a big improvement over things like popsicles, which are of course also fun to eat, but typically just full of empty calories.

What are you serving up for snack time over the summer? Any suggestions to offer to others as they make their grocery lists?

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win 2 coupons for free whole grain snack bars and 2 coupons for free whole grain crackers (ARV $14.96)!

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.

What I Would Do With $1Million plus $5,000 Every Week for Life (Giveaway!)

May 28, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 28 Comments

Special thanks to Publishers Clearing House for sponsoring today’s discussion.

When we purchase lottery tickets, I call it “cheap thrills.” I find the entertainment value in dreaming up how we’d spend the money to be worth the $2 we spend on the ticket. This is the same reason why I always enter the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes. There is no charge to enter, and somebody’s going to win…it could be me! And win or not, it is so much fun to dream.

publishers clearing house sweepstakes

The current sweepstakes from Publishers Clearing House is AMAZING. It’s called the Win $1 Million plus $5,000 Every Week For Life Mega Prize. And I think you can guess what the prize is, no? You get a check for one million dollars AND you get $5,000 every week for the rest of your life (which adds up to $260,000/year, by the way).

Now, a million dollars is nothing to sneeze at. It will change your life, for sure. But to be honest with you, it isn’t going to RADICALLY change your life. I suppose it could for a brief period of time if you blow through it quickly. But if you use it judiciously, then your lifestyle probably won’t change too terribly much, aside from the fact that you might be able to retire from your job. But when you add $5,000 each week on top of that, you can really start to do some interesting things!

Here’s what I would do if I won the prize.

1. Get a REALLY GOOD financial advisor. This is the most important step you can take, and it would be something I would do before letting any of my family or friends know that we had won. Tim and I would want to develop some sort of game plan to maximize so that we can do great things for as many people and causes as possible.

2. Tithe. As a Christian, I do believe that it is important to give back, not only to your religious community, but also to causes that address issues of injustice in the world. I would immediately begin tithing 10% of the $5,000 every week (so $500/week). Half of that would go to my home church, and the other half would go to various nonprofits. It would be a lot of fun to be able to send a $250 check to a different nonprofit every week, I think! I would probably even blog about which nonprofit I was supporting each week and why to encourage others to give!

3. Soundly invest the 1 million dollars. I basically wouldn’t touch this money but would have a plan in place to let it grow as much as possible so that we can do more with it in the future.

4. Pay off our debts. We have a mortgage on a house in Memphis. I still have school loans. Those are our only debts, thankfully, but they still hang over us and the total is still quite hefty. I would put our weekly money toward paying off the debts first and not use any of it for a frivolous purpose until the debts were cleared. That’s the honest truth! That means that Tim would still go to work and I would keep right on blogging!

5. Once our debts our paid, take our extended families on a really nice vacation. This would be the big splurge for us! We’d love to plan a vacation for my family and another vacation for Tim’s family. Creating memories together are one of the greatest gifts you can give each other, and we’d have an absolute blast planning something truly fantastic.

6. Regroup. After the tithing, the investing, the debt repayment and the vacations of a lifetime, we would regroup to determine the best way to use the funds coming in moving forward. No doubt a percentage of them would be put into the million dollar investment account, a percentage would go to family members to help with debts and/or college savings accounts, and a percentage would go toward larger gifts and contributions to nonprofits that mean a lot to us (such as our alma mater, Rhodes College). We would also assess our current work situations at that point and determine if we want to retire. 🙂

I’ve entered this contest, myself, and let’s be real: I hope I win! But I also want you to get to have as much fun dreaming up your plans as I did dreaming up mine. So I want to share with you how you can easily enter the current Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes. It’s pretty simple, actually. Just enter your information on this form. That’s it! 🙂

Now it is your turn to dream! What would you do with 1 million dollars + $5,000 each week for life? I would SO love to hear your answers!

Publishers Clearing House (PCH) has awarded over $240 million in prizes over the year. No purchase is necessary to enter their giveaways, but should you choose to make a purchase, 100% satisfaction is guaranteed on any purchase you make through the mail or through their website, pch.com. PCH has an online game network where someone wins a prize roughly every 10 minutes. The winner for the Win $1 Million plus $5,000 Every Week for Life Mega Prize will be announced June 30th. There will be a winner. Why shouldn’t it be you???

The Questions I Have When I Need to Know Now (Giveaway!)

May 28, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 59 Comments

How many times in a typical day would you say that you turn to the internet to get the answer to a question you have? I actually wrote down every query I had in a single day. It was A LOT, and yet, I’d say this was a very normal day in terms of the number of times I sought information online! Want to hear what I was asking the world wide web to help me figure out?

freezer breakfast ideas
enzo’s chattanooga store hours
can you grill beet greens?
grilling tips for chicken
natural toddler allergy remedies
how much zyrtec to give a 12 month old?
Can you use All Free & Clear on cloth diapers?
gymboree coupon code
Setting up Google AdSense with DFP

So this tells you that yesterday, in addition to just hanging out with my family, I was doing a lot of cooking, a bit of worrying about my sick baby, some cloth diaper laundry, a little shopping and finally, some work on Stuff Parents Need advertising.

Now, the world would not have ended if I had not been able to get answers to my questions, but the fact that I was able to find out exactly what I needed within just a few short minutes every time I approached a search engine made it so that I accomplished much more than I probably otherwise would have! I learned how to earn more money thanks to my DFP search, I SAVED some money thanks to that coupon query, I cooked some YUMMY food for my family, and I found some tips to try to get my Layah Bug feeling better faster.

I often wonder what people did before the internet came to be. Of course I know, as I was already 13 years old when dial up service and AOL chat rooms made their debut. People certainly made do by calling family and friends, guessing the answer, or just putting the question on the back burner until they had time to do more research. But I have to say, it sure is nice to know now!

In honor of the new, lightning fast MSN, which is the perfect tool for helping you get the answers you are seeking when you need to know now, we’ve got a fun giveaway today!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a $25 gift card to the Microsoft Store thanks to #MSNKnowNow.

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

This post was created in partnership with MSN. Find out more about the all new MSN experience at allnew.msn.com or see it in action on Windows 8, Android, or on iOS at msn.com

Free: 21 Disney Octonauts Coloring Pages for a Quick Summer Activity!

May 27, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt ·

Darah has been all about the Octonauts for about 4 months, now. She already has amassed quite a collection of Octonauts toys. I am summoned almost daily to play Octonauts. But now that summer is officially here and she has longer stretches of time to be at home, I need to have more independent play activities ready to go for her.

That’s why I’ve printed off several different Octonauts coloring pages for her to enjoy over the summer. And all it cost me was paper and ink from my printer!

I thought some of you out there might also have little undersea explorers in your home, ready to Explore! Rescue! and Protect! just like the Octonauts. Here are links to some free coloring sheets you can use when they are getting cabin fever and need something new to do!

21 Disney Octonauts Coloring Pages

Cuddle With a Cuttlefish

Anemone Hat Party

The Octonauts Explore

Friends are Found on a Merry-Go-Round

Kwazii Shadowboxing

Peso & the Elefish

Meet the Frown Fish

Captain Barnacles’ Old Time Band

Baking With Professor Inkling

The Octonauts Find a Happy Pearl

I’d love to hear if you have an Octonauts fan in your home! And have you found any other great coloring pages (Octonauts or not!) that your kids love? Interested in any other coloring page round ups???

I didn’t create these awesome coloring pages; just sharing what I found with you! If you found this post helpful, will you share it with your friends (buttons on the left side for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and StumbleUpon!).