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

How to Print Pictures From Your Phone for FREE

April 23, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 68 Comments

Today is one of the days that give me pure joy about being a blogger, and specifically, a blogger striving to help busy families find cool products that they NEED. Let me tell you about a service that I just started using myself and that I can’t believe is even real (but it is!).

There is a new monthly subscription service called GrooveBook. Before I even tell you what you get every month, let me tell you the cost: $2.99. That’s it.

Now for what you get every month: up to 100 pictures that you took on your smart phone printed in an adorable keepsake book and delivered right to your front door! The pictures even have perforated edges in case you want to take them out of the book and give them to people (like the grandparents) or have them framed.

So to recap: $2.99 gets you 100 printed and mailed photos that are on your phone just taking up space. For me, personally, I currently have over 800 photos on my phone, and I’ve never known how to print them in an easy and affordable way. So they have just been sitting there. I have newborn pictures of my first child on there for goodness sake! Here’s how I used to get photos off my phone:

1. email myself the picture

2. upload the picture to my desktop computer

3. log into to a printing service like Walgreens and upload the picture

4. request that the picture be printed and then pay for it.

5. drive over to Walgreens to pick up the picture.

I have done this a grand total of 2 times. It is just a pain in the rear! GrooveBook is SO much easier, and it is cheaper, too! To get 100 prints for $3 is 3 cents per print AND you don’t have to go pick them up! I have pretty much never found a better deal on printing pictures.

I ordered my book 7 days ago and it was super easy. It is all done through an app on the phone. As a first-time user, I’d say it took me about 10 minutes to get everything set up and ordered. Next month it won’t take me as long.

Here’s what showed up in the mail 2 days ago!

how to print pictures from your phone with groovebook

This is the cute booklet that the pictures are in.

I was really excited to see that each picture was stamped with the date, time and location where it was taken. So cool!

groovebook how to print pictures from phone

Each picture has perforated edges so you can tear them out and frame them or share them with others!

Here Comes the FREE Part…

Speaking of next month or any month thereafter, I can cancel my subscription to GrooveBook at any time. There is no commitment to stay on for a certain number of months. And $2.99 is the price every month (yes, that includes shipping!). That isn’t an introductory offer! In fact, I actually have an introductory offer for you: 100% free for your first order! Use the code GROOVEPARENTSNEED to get your first book absolutely free. Woo hoo!!!!!! You will be asked for your credit card information at check out, but you will not be charged thanks to the code above.

So what are you waiting for? Go get your FREE photos printed right now! Don’t forget to use code GROOVEPARENTSNEED at checkout to get your first book 100% free! Let me know if you try it!!!

This post contains affiliate links. I only sign up as an affiliate for something when I am VERY passionate about it and when I’m a customer, myself.

Fantastic Book for Bloggers and Marketers: Return on Relationship

April 22, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 5 Comments

After my previous post about the fact that I only read one book each year, you will be surprised to hear that in the last 3 days I have read another book, cover to cover. What????!!!!????!!!

Well, it is a fast read, so that really helps. And the topic was super interesting, which is also very helpful. I dedicated some of my blog work hours to reading this book, and that was time well spent. The book is called Return on Relationship, and it is writen by Ted Rubin and Kathryn Rose, who both work at Collective Bias, which just might be my very favorite company to collaborate with on blogging projects.

While this book is ideally suited for businesses, there are still LOTS of nuggets of wisdom for bloggers to glean. Since my professional background has nothing to do with marketing, PR or social media, I am always eager to learn more about the ways people in these industries think (or should think) so that I can be a better compliment to them in my blog work.

Ted and Kathryn emphasize in Return on Relationship that we have sort of come full circle in the type of marketing that works. For a long time it was personal, individual, and relationship-based. Then it became about the spray and pray effect, where information was blasted as far and wide as possible, and customers were told what to think and how to feel.

Social media has turned the Mad Men marketing world on its head, and the smartest brands are devoting a lot of time now to individual relationships and to listening more. Only this time, when a customer is “listened to” (via Twitter or Facebook, for example) hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of other customers are watching.

It is intimate, yet magnified. And that means that you’d better get it right!

I read Return on Relationship with my highlighter in hand and marked several different things to go back to so I could chew on them more and let that wisdom sink in. For a book that is shy of 130 pages, it packs a lot of great stuff in there. And you can snag it on Amazon now for under $13 (or under $9 if you have a Kindle!). It’s a great read, and you’ll fly through it. If I can read it in this season of my life, you can, too!

I received a complimentary copy of Return on Relationship for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Saffron Road: All Natural Halal Cuisine (Giveaway!)

April 22, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 80 Comments

Little by little, we are purging our home of products with enriched flour, high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, artificial preservatives, and many other things that have ben proven again and again to be poor choices for our bodies.

And that means that as a general rule, I’m currently avoiding the frozen food section altogether (except for frozen meat). Honestly, this part is really hard for me, because I can’t help but feel as though I am giving up more of my time by giving up convenience foods. I simply have to make more from scratch now.

Saffron Road

When I was recently told about the company Saffron Road, you can imagine how eager I was to try them out. Saffron Road has an entire line of frozen entrees that are all-natural, halal packaged, and many of their options are also gluten-free. I went over to my local Whole Foods to check out their selection. All of their choices were ethnic-inspired, and that means that they were things I couldn’t easily replicate at home. That is my favorite type of frozen entree to buy!

What is Halal?

Before I go further, some of you may be wondering what it means for food to be “halal prepared.” This is a meat preparation method as set out in the Qur’an for Muslim adherents. Muslims are not to eat pork or animal blood, and they are only to eat animals that have been properly cared for during their lives, and slaughtered in a manner to minimize pain and suffering. While I am not Muslim, I can certainly respect this idea. While I noticed that Saffron Road prices seemed a little high for the amount of food in each box, I understand that when you purchase these products, you are also paying for the ethical treatment of the animals and special preparation techniques.

A few nights ago, Tim and I thoroughly enjoyed two dishes from Saffron Road.

We shared our food with each other so we could both enjoy the Chicken Birayni and the Lemongrass Basil Chicken. They were both very flavorful and delicious. I thought the Chicken Birayni has the best visual appeal.

But it was the Lemongrass Basil Chicken that really stole the show in terms of its complex and delicious flavors. It is the dish I will be purchasing again, for sure.

In addition to an entire line of frozen foods, Saffron Road also offers single-serving simmer sauces, broths and savory snacks. I’m interested in picking up these crunchy chickpeas as an afternoon snack for Darah.

Saffron Road is a great find for anyone who craves really delicious and convenient frozen food offerings, minus all those gross preservatives, high sodium content, and questionable preparation practices. I thought the dishes tasted remarkably similar to restaurant food, which makes them a really nice treat for those days when you don’t feel like cooking, and are even too tired to go out to eat! Click here to find your nearest Saffron Road retailer.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will receive 5 free product coupons from Saffron Road!

Be sure to enter to win my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.
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I received complimentary coupons for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Disney Princess Dress Up Game: Beauty and the Beast

April 21, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 18 Comments

In our current culture, there seems to come a point in time in every little girl’s life where it is very difficult to resist the influence and the appeal of princesses. Darah’s interest started around 2 1/2, and by now (3 3/4) she is decidedly into all things pink, sparkly and royal. As a feminist, I certainly have some concerns and reservations about this interest, and find myself flinching when my daughter asks me if she is pretty like a princess. But ultimately, Tim and I both have decided to “lean in” to this season of life and let her have her princess fun, all while doing our part to showcase the positive attributes of the characters she seeks to emulate, and give very little attention to surficial beauty.

Darah is head-over-heels already for Ariel and Rapunzel, and her latest Disney princess interest is Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She recently received a Belle costume to play in, and I have been creating a Disney princess dress up game for her when she wears it. She loves nothing more to pretend that she is a princess, but I am working to expand her idea about what it means to be each character.

Disney princess dress up game: Belle

In the case of Belle, when she dresses up as her we do the following things:

1. Go to her library of books in her room and get SUPER excited about all the adventures waiting for her inside the pages. Belle was an avid fan of literature, so it is imperative that we READ if we are pretending to be her.

2. Seek out her stuffed animals that may not be as lovable looking at first glance. Eloi, Maggie, hippo and others are given special attention by Belle and are invited to tea parties. We talk about how wonderful each of her stuffed friends is, not because of how they look, but because of how kind they each are. Belle was not concerned with outward appearances, and that’s a trait of a princess that I would LOVE for Darah to emulate.

3. Have snowball fights. The character trait we learn about here is simple: a spirit of joy! Princesses need not be afraid of a little spontaneous fun (and quite frankly, that’s a lesson I still need to learn, myself).

To those of you out there with little girls who are into princesses, do you have any special Disney princess dress up games you play? Any tips for highlighting those positive character traits that can be found in every princess?

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

Guest Post: How I Treat and Prevent Eczema for Infants

April 21, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 14 Comments

Scratching on the skin of most children is quite normal but a constant scratching doesn’t seem to be, and that’s what happens to 3 of my boys. They have eczema, and it has been passed on from their father, which means they are more likely to get it. I have learned how to treat and prevent eczema for infants due to years of experience, and I hope what I have learned will be useful to some of you reading this.

Causes and symptoms of eczema

I never knew until my oldest developed eczema on his legs and feet. My poor 6 month old son cried and screamed almost every night. As a first time mom, I had no clue on how to treat it. I have tried every OTC creams, soaps, etc but they didn’t help. My oldest always rubbed his feet together which caused them to be red and inflamed. He didn’t have any allergies or asthma, though, and those are associated with eczema. We went to the doctor to get presciption cream and they seemed to help a little. My poor child was able to sleep peacefully. We used this cream until he turned 5 and his eczema never returned.

My middle son had the same problem as his older brother but it’s more on his legs than his feet. As an experienced mom, I treated it with a no scent soap such as Dove and Aveeno and retained the moisturizes with cetaphil and/or Eucerin lotion. I often found that prescription creams that the doctors got for my boys didn’t seem to help much; often the symptoms only worsened after applying them.

I believe what triggers my boys’ eczema are dry winters with little moisture, skin becoming too dry (often times I forget to apply moisturizing lotion every three or four hours – that’s my biggest problem) and excessive heat. Those are the three factors that triggers eczema in my boys.

how to treat eczema in infants

How to treat eczema

I help prevent or treat eczema by doing the following, step by step: running a warm bath (not too hot which triggers the flare-ups), use a mild soap such as dove, aveeno, cetaphil, eucerin. don’t too much scrubbing on them and I gently pat them dry with a towel (not too rough!). Then apply moisturizing lotions right after toweling. I also recommend that you choose light-weight clothing, ideally made from cotton. If I can, I could put socks on them but my boys hate wearing socks to bed so I leave them alone. I always keep our rooms cool and keep the fan/AC running overnight to avoid the flare-ups.

Since my youngest son is here and he recently developed eczema, I now know some ways to prevent them and follow my past experiences to keep it under control.

What are some ways do you keep it under control? I’d love to hear them. Do you have a friend who has children with eczema? Please share this post with them so they can benefit!

Special thanks to Linda from My 2 Crazy Curls for sharing what she has learned about how eczema flare-ups occur, and how to treat them quickly and effectively. Check out Linda’s blog, where she blogs about life as a deaf stay-at-home mom to three adorable little boys. She shares her latest great deals and other musings daily!

This post contains affiliate links.

Octonauts: Ready for Action, Captain!

April 20, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 7 Comments

Until we attended an Octonauts-themed birthday party earlier this year, my family was completely unaware of the team of creatures that lives underwater and enjoys lots of fun adventures together in the quest to explore, rescue and protect. The main characters are Captain Barnacles Bear, Kwazii Kitten, Peso Penguin and Shellington Sea Otter.

Since our introduction, we have become fans! Since we don’t have cable, we are sticking to online resources for octonauts videos and octonauts coloring pages. We recetnly received for review some REALLY fun Octonauts toys that I wanted to share with you. If you have an adventure-loving child, then Octonauts might be a perfect fit for imaginary play.

Great Gift Ideas for Preschoolers

Darah has been playing with her Octonauts in the area under her loft bed. We have lights strung up there and a blue rug to give the space an “under the sea” vibe, since Darah plays mermaids all the time. The Octonauts and their underwater adventures fit right in there!

First and foremost, please check out the Octopod Playset. After Tim put it together, I commented that this is the type of toy that kids always clamored over when we were growing up. Basically this is the Octonauts version of the Barbie dreamhouse. It is their underwater home, and when Darah plays with it, she uses it as the home base for the Octonauts creatures. This is where they bring back the treasures and other discoveries they have made while playing in the ocean (also known as the floor of her room) and it is where the Octonauts sleep at night.

We’ve also been playing quite a bit with the special Kwazii and Slime Eel Playset. There are several special sets like this one offered, and I think it is a great idea to buy at least one so that you can have extra figures to play with around the octopod. Darah is particularly fond of the net that came in this set, as well as the treasure chest.

The Octonauts Gup C Playset is designed to be put in water, which is good, because it seems to be a very popular choice for both girls during bath time. One of my favorite features is the fact that you can look through the Gup C to the “ocean” floor and check out what is below. Very fun!!!

While all the toys are getting played with on a regular basis, the one getting the very most use is the Octo-Compass. It has several different buttons that can be pushed in order to hear catch phrases that are often said on the show, like, “Sound the Octo-alert!” and “Shiver me whiskers!” If Darah is playing Octo-nauts, then having her Octo-Compass on hand is a must.

Do you have an Octonauts fan in your house? Or maybe just a child who loves the ocean and adventure? The Octonauts toys that have recently been released are certainly a lot of fun, and I’d recommend them for kids aged 3-7.

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

Learning Resources Twisty Droppers Water Droppers (Giveaway!)

April 19, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 52 Comments

While I am feeling very sad, in some ways, that my baby is turning one in a few weeks, I’m also feeling REALLY excited.

Mostly because I know what her “big” present is. Since Layah isn’t a reader of mine, I can spill the beans here: she’s getting a water table! Layah takes her play VERY seriously, and I know that we are going to spend hours and hours on the back porch splashing in the water while big sister runs around in the yard.

I’ve already got the perfect accessory for the water table, and it is also great in the tub! Learning Resources Twisty Droppers are very affordable (just $12.99 for 4 droppers). They are sturdy (Layah has been chewing on them, so I know for a fact that they hold up well!). And they are FUN!

Kids love to play with water, and they also love to move water from one vessel to another. The Twisty Droppers provide a means through which they can have a lot of fun and also work on several different skills and competencies, including developing fine motor skills, strengthening hand muscles and learning cause and effect. While Layah doesn’ t yet have the hand coordination skills to use the droppers as they are intended, Darah does, and when she plays with them in the tub or at the table doing a water lesson, I can see her really concentrating hard. She LOVES watching how the water goes up the dropper, and then back down. The twisty effect really helps kids pay close attention to what is going on inside the dropper.

I think this toy is a winner. And if you don’t need all 4 droppers for your kids, they make fantastic gifts. What a cute item to put on top of a birthday present as part of the wrapping!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a set of Twisty Droppers!
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Be sure to enter my other contests, found on the sidebar of my page.

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

How Keeping an Editorial Calendar Is Changing How I Blog

April 18, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

I have been writing, at least a little bit, pretty much every single day since I started this blog in September 2009. When I started the blog, I had pages and pages of topic ideas written down and I couldn’t wait to start writing about them. As opportunities to partner with brands increased, my blog calendar filled up, and I have been operating at what feels like warp speed for at least the past 3 years.

But I have been posting like a mad woman without any sort of a clear plan about what I’m doing. My blog calendar has been completely at the mercy of sponsors, and not only is that not very fun for me as the blog writer, it also doesn’t make good business sense! I have all these fun ideas for blog posts that never see the light of day, and as a result, my readers don’t get to know me quite as well. I’m also often missing the boat, seeing things go viral on Pinterest or StumbleUpon that I had already thought of and planned to write about “one day.”

Since I have been using The Blogging Planner, I have been able to step back and actually think more long-term about the type of posts I want to write and figure out how to work them in. Believe it or not, I’ve already got a full editorial calendar for OCTOBER. Don’t believe me? Just take a look!

I decided that I’m going to participate in the “31 Days” series this year and offer great recipe round-ups every day of the month. While I don’t yet have everything written, the topics are already planned. That increases the odds that I’ll actually go through with the idea tremendously. I can also work on the posts between now and then little by little, and not be overwhelmed come October. And don’t worry, there will still be plenty of reviews and giveaways that month! 🙂

Thanks to having this planner, and thanks to advice I have received from other successful bloggers to plan my calendar out a year in advance, I’m now starting to make room for all those post ideas that are swirling around in my head, but that I haven’t been able to write in the past because I’ve given away all of my time and post slots to sponsors.

Stuff Parents Need, at its heart, is a review and giveaway blog. I have no intentions of changing that. I LOVE to tell readers about cool new products on the market. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE to give away prizes! But I have other interesting things to share, too, and I am absolutely thrilled that I’m starting to give those post ideas room in my calendar.

I’m still writing like a mad woman these days. But I’ve got a much clearer vision of where I’m headed, and I feel SO good about being able to offer my readers a really good mix of product-focused posts and other interesting content. I have learned so much about “blogging for stuff” over the past 3 1/2 years, and The Blogging Planner has helped me to finally take the reigns of my blog instead of handing them over to everyone else. What a game-changer it has been for me!

If you are a blogger, how do you plan out what you are going to write about? Do you keep an editorial calendar? Do you struggle to find opportunities to write about the topics YOU want to write about?

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

Where I’m Aging the Most and How I’m Fighting It With Olay

April 17, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 7 Comments

Want to see where aging is rearing its wrinkly little head the most for me right now? Here it is:

Can you see how I’ve got what looks almost like stretch marks under my chin? That’s because the skin right there is starting to get a bit looser on me and show signs of wrinkling.

Which is totally not cool.

For the past month, I’ve been using a great product from Olay that is helping me to hone in on trouble spots like this one for some serious repair work. It is called Olay Regenerist Advanced Anti-Aging Intensive Repair Treatment, and it has been clinically proven to reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and age spots in eight weeks. I’m 4 weeks in, and I am seeing a little bit of improvement. The special ingredient found in this product is Niacinamide. Here’s a picture I took of the bottle so you can know what you are looking for. While it is a rather small tube, the amount I have squeezed out in the picture is all I need for the day. I apply this underneath my moisturizer.

I know you want to go check out how the skin under your chin is looking, so go ahead. I’ll wait for you. 🙂

Back? Ok. I’m also using the Olay Age Defying Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream. It has Pro-Retinol, which used to be considered too harsh for use for many skin types. But Olay has gentler formulas that are much more compatible. I tend to have sensitive skin, and I haven’t had any problems whatsoever with reactions or anything like that.

My only complaint about the eye cream is the dispenser method. You just use your finger to get out the desired amount of product. With eye cream you need VERY little, and I always get too much this way. I wish it was in a tube like the other product! But at just $6.99 on Amaon right now (regularly $12.99), I suppose I can afford to use a bit more than is necessary.

Those are the new products I’ve been using in the past month. What about you? Are you a huge Olay fan like me? What are you currently using on your skin, and do you love it, or want to find something different?

And the most important question of all: do you have wrinkly skin under your chin like me??? 🙂

I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts, opinions and wrinkles shown here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links.