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

Headed Back to the Gym? Get a New Lock for Your New Look! GIVEAWAY!!

January 10, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 83 Comments

If you have recently joined a gym (or like me, just started going back to the one where you already have a membership) then this post is for you!

Going to the gym is much less of a hassle when you have a locker to stow away all of your stuff. I’ve experienced not having a locker before and having to pile up all my belongings on the gym floor. Not only is that gross (if you’ve ever seen The Biggest Loser then you know that gym floors are soaked to the brim with sweat), but it is also a distraction. I was always keeping an eye out for my purse as dozens of strangers passed by it. This made it more difficult to stay focused on my pace on the treadmill!

Master Lock might not be the company you first think of to help you achieve your resolution to get in shape, but they do have something that can help you: a fantastic combination lock. I want to encourage you to get one of those lockers at that gym, and to put an awesome Master Lock lock on it. The 1534D is a great choice for a combination padlock. I like that you have a choice of using letters, numbers, symbols or any combination therein. This makes it MUCH more difficult to be cracked, because there are over 25 million combination possibilities.

I also like that the soft touch dials offer a no-slip grip. This is perhaps the feature that makes this lock the most ideal for a gym setting. Sweaty fingers aren’t a problem!

The lock retails for $12.00 and will serve you well at the gym or most anywhere else where you need to keep items secure.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a 1534D combination padlock from Master Lock

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

I am a member of the Master Lock Live Secure Safety Squad, and as such, I receive complimentary products as a thank you for my time. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own, however.

How We Hang Art on the Fridge: Super Strong Magnetic Clips (GIVEAWAY!!!)

January 9, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt ·

If your child attends any sort of parents’ day out, day care, or preschool (or if you are just a crafty parent), then your house is likely swimming with pieces of art that your little Rembrandt has completed.

I shared a long while back one way that we display some of our favorite pieces. We have frames set up along a short wall in our house and we rotate out the art work. It is at Darah’s eye level, which she really enjoys. And it elevates the art to gallery status, even if only for a few weeks.

But as Darah has gotten older and started to do more coloring and drawing, and as she has started to request that more of her work be displayed, we’ve run out of framed space. And so, we turned to the fridge.

I wanted to find some magnets that Darah would be able to make use of on her own. But I know from experience that she loves to play with magnets and sometimes leaves them on the floor. With a crawler in the house, this just won’t do.

Learning Resources has the perfect option: Super Strong Magnetic Clips. These magnets are strong enough that Darah can’t take them off the fridge, yet because they have a clip, Darah is still able to use them and hang her artwork all by herself. I like that with these magnetic clips, the child has control over which art pieces get displayed and which get removed, or at least put behind other art.

The Super Strong Magnetic Clips, in addition to being great teaching tools for children, are also true work horses. Each clip can hold up to 50 pieces of paper at one time (!) and in terms of weight, can hold up to 20 pounds. Can you believe that?!

Learning Resources offers this product for $14.99 for a set of 4. These are magnets that you will use for the rest of your life. They are durable and oh-so-useful. While you are checking them out, see what else you might find at Learning Resources. They are having a huge after-holiday sale with many items 20-50% off! 🙂

What about you? What do you use to display your child’s art work?

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a set of Super Strong Magnetic Clips

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

I’m Never Wearing Pants Again! No nonsense Leggings Rock!

January 8, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 3 Comments

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of No nonsense for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Are you familiar with the George Michael song, “I’m Never Gonna Dance Again”? Of course you are.

Well for the past 3 weeks or so, I’ve been singing it, but I’ve changed the lyrics to, “I’m never wearing pants again.”

Because seriously, I’m never wearing regular “pants” again. Leggings have entered my wardrobe, and please lord, let them never go out of style (no doubt this sentence will make me laugh out loud 20 years from now, but I really mean it right now!).

I have resisted leggings for a few years now. I mean, does it really sound like a great idea to wear something so skin tight when you aren’t exactly fit as a fiddle???

So I avoided. But my BFF Leslie told me back in August that she really loved her leggings and found them to be a friend to busy moms who might be looking for something that looks better than yoga pants but that is just as comfy.

I’ve been sporting the No nonsense tights and leggings and it was true love from the moment I put them on. They are SOOOOO soft. And yes, they are fitted, but if you style it right, they look great! I have found two tricks. First, make sure your rear end is covered up. That goes a really long way toward making leggings not look unfortunate. Long sweaters are very in style now, and this is also a great way to wear a dress, even in the winter months. Here’s my weekend look I put together on polyvore:

My other trick is to wear riding boots with leggings. They look so great together! I spent $50 on a pair of riding boots as my “investment” piece for the season (does that give you a clue about my wardrobe budget???). I think leggings look even better than jeans with them. I’m actually wearing this combo even as I type this.

I think No nonsense leggings are a really affordable way to greatly enhance your wardrobe this year. I’m planning on buying another pair. Black, which I have, is an absolute must, but I’d also like to venture out into something a bit more colorful. I’d also recommend No nonsense leggings because I can say from experience that these are NOT see-through. It is always so awkward to see someone sporting leggings and to know that they didn’t make sure they got the non-see through kind. Yowzers!!!

No nonsense leggings are also easy to find. They are available at most drug stores and mass retail stores! No having to hunt them down online or at specialty stores!

Be sure to keep up with No nonsense on Facebook as that is a great way to hear about the latest affordable fashions. I’d also suggest that you follow the handle @BeNononsense if you are on Twitter. They tweet out some cool pics to inspire you!

No nonsense has also recently partnered with Jill Martin, who is their new brand ambassador. She is, in my humble opinion, such a breath of fresh air because she knows how to marry cutting edge style with everyday life. By that I mean that she makes fashion statements that are adorable AND practical. That’s exactly the type of look I’m seeking!

Want more ideas for how to wear No nonsense leggings and tight this season? Click below!

King Laurin and His Rose Garden App (GIVEAWAY! 4 Winners!)

January 8, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 26 Comments

Are you looking for a fun new app for your kids? Preferably one that is inexpensive? I’ve got one for you today!

I just spent some time reading King Laurin and His Rose Garden, and it is a very interesting story about the Dolomites (a mountain range in northeastern Italy) and why they seem glow red twice a day.

If your child is interested in kings, queens, brave knights and a bit of magic, then this story won’t disappoint. The pages are interactive to keep little ones engaged, and the story is not too lengthy, so a younger child will be able to stay focused. The makers of the app recommend it for kids as young as 4, and that seems right to me based on the content of the story. My favorite page of the story is the scene where the knights fight. Kids can move the knights around the page to do battle with one another (no worries, there is nothing violent to see…you just hear swords clashing).

Evidently the story of King Laurin is a familiar one in Europe, though it is new to me. Have you heard it before? Because the app has an appeal beyond an American audience, it can be listened to in English, Italian and German. So if you happen to be teaching one of those languages at home, this is a great addition to your library!

King Laurin and His Rose Garden is available on Itunes for a very affordable $1.99. That’s pretty much like renting a Redbox video for a night, only you get to keep this app and enjoy it any time!

Win it!: Larixpress, the makers of King Laurin and His Rose Garden, would like to offer four lucky Stuff Parents Need reader download codes so that you can enjoy this great app!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

Thanks to Larixpress for sponsoring this post and giveaway. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

How We Got Our Baby to Sleep Through the Night (Sleepeasy Solution Review and GIVEAWAY!!!)

January 7, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 56 Comments

I’ve been looking forward to this day for months and months now. The day when I could share with you that my baby is soundly sleeping through the night. I assumed that she would do it pretty much on her own, just as her sister did around 6 weeks of age.

Long story short, I couldn’t have been more wrong, and as Layah got older, she seemed to get worse and worse at putting herself to sleep and at staying asleep. She had absolutely no clue how to do either and Tim and I were at a loss for how to teach her.

One of the many reasons I am so thankful for the Stuff Parents Need community is that I not only get to be a resource for all of you, but all of you pay it back by becoming a resource for me when I need it. I reached out on Facebook asking for tips and suggestions for getting a little one to sleep through the night. On both my Stuff Parents Need Facebook account and my personal account, the Sleepeasy Solution was mentioned and lauded, so I decided to check it out.

I had a great email conversation with one of the founders, and I could immediately tell that she felt a true calling to helping parents through the sleep troubles that plague so many infants and toddlers. I decided that I wanted to try out the system, and was sent a book and DVD.

Now, to be honest with you, I wondered if it was redundant to have the DVD and the book. I remember thinking, “just one or the other should be fine!” And you definitely can get a complete understanding of the system by just having one or the other, but I’m SOOOO glad I had both, and I’ll tell you why.

The book is great for some of the nitty gritty questions you may have. I definitely referenced it a few times as we ran into specific problems when trying to implement the system. On night two of our training, we had some major fails, and it was only after going back through the book and re-reading some sections that we realized a critical error we were making (we tried to wean Layah off night feedings too quickly).

And the DVD is something I would recommend SO strongly, as I can’t even begin to explain how helpful it was to watch parents implementing the system, and to see coaching taking place during those difficult moments. You guys, I cried and cried watching that DVD because I empathized with the struggles of the parents, and because I felt a glimmer of hope as I watched those babies get the hang of it and put themselves to sleep. I wanted that so badly for my little girl, and by watching the process, I was better able to accept what we needed to do.

So what is the process? The Sleepeasy Solution emphasizes a very predictable bedtime routine for your little one (something we thoughts we were doing but after watching the DVD, realized we totally WEREN’T doing!). It also emphasizes removing sleep crutches (no falling asleep on the breast, no falling asleep with a pacifier, no falling asleep on mommy or daddy). Tim had been walking the top floor of our house for months with Layah at night time, swooshing and bouncing her to get her to fall asleep. He’d have to do it 2-4 times a night. And she always had a pacifier at sleep time.

The removal of the pacifier scared me more than anything else. But it also excited me more than anything else, because we didn’t do the hard work with Darah when we should have, and as a result, she gave up her binky on her third birthday, and it was an ORDEAL. Could we really break the pacifier habit AND get Layah sleeping through the night all at once?!?!

The final component of the Sleepeasy Solution is to put your baby in the crib awake so that she falls asleep on her own. At first, of course your baby will cry. You are set up to go in after 5 minutes, again after 10 minutes, and then again every 15 minutes until the baby falls asleep. This is the hardest part because when you go in, you are not to touch your child. You are to have a soft, calm and very positive voice and simply let the baby know you are there, they are safe, and that they can do it.

I think one of the most difficult things for a parent to do is to watch their child struggle. Every bone in your body aches to fix it for your kid. But for us, 7 months of “fixing” her struggle at night time resulted in such sleep-deprivation for me and for Tim that we genuinely felt uncomfortable driving our cars. Our reflexes were impaired. And to say we were grumpy with each other would be a very kind way to put it. Without a very basic need like sleep being met, it is hard to give time or energy to higher order pursuits. In short, we were miserable and our baby was, too.

It took us 4 days for Layah to really get the hang of putting herself to sleep, but she’s got it, now. We don’t nurse or bottle feed after bed time anymore (another thing we were doing at all hours of the night previously). She doesn’t use a pacifier to sleep, and she sleeps from about 6:30 -5:30 every day now. She seems so much more rested and alert during the day and I can tell you that Tim and I are finally coming out of that fog of sleep-deprivation.

It is nothing short of glorious. I am so thankful to my readers for recommending this program and I am so glad that Tim and I put in the hard work for a few days so that we could totally turn around all the bad sleep habits we had unwittingly introduced our daughter to over time. We are all happier and healthier.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Sleepeasy Solution book and DVD!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

Advice Needed! What Would You Change About Your Everyday China If You Could???

January 4, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 8 Comments

I’m reaching out to you all to get some feedback about everyday china. For Christmas, some of my family members gave us some funds so that we could replace our 10 1/2 year old everyday china. We’ve been using Colorwave in Graphite by Noritake (pictured below) ever since we got married, and I stopped liking it about 5 years ago. So this was a really wonderful gift to receive!

For several years, I have been saying that when I get the opportunity to change my everyday china, I’m going to buy all white plates, but buy several different patterns so that nothing matches perfectly but everything still looks cute together.

I still think that is a fun idea, but now that I am able to get new plates, I’m getting cold feet! Is this idea of an eclectic pattern-mixing display only good in theory? I want that, “you shopped at a thrift store and knocked it out of the park” look, which I know is possible to achieve. But I fear what is more likely is a, “you shopped at the thrift store and now you have a pile of weird and non-matching dishes” look.

Why is looking effortlessly fabulous so hard, people?!

I suppose I’m timid because I’ve lived for 10 1/2 years eating off plates that I didn’t really like and I don’t want to make the same mistake for the next 10 years!

So what would you do if you were in my shoes? Would you keep it nice and neat and just find one simple pattern, or would you take a walk on the wild side and get all different plates that are still the same color? Or would you take the middle road and do something like mix just 2 patterns together for more cohesion? Have you ever changed out your everyday china? Any regrets with what you own now?

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with me. I need some different perspectives!

Live Clean (Baby): An Affordable All-Natural Baby Care Line Exclusive to Walgreens

January 4, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

My girls have personal care products that are all-natural, and whenever possible, organic. I try to do the same for myself, but I do have to make a choice sometimes due to budget restraints, and will always opt to get these types of products for my little ones even if I can’t also get them for myself. It stinks having to make that choice, but that’s the reality when it comes to expensive products.

So when I heard that Walgreens, a store I shop at every week, was the exclusive U.S. retailer of a very affordable brand of eco-friendly personal care products, I wanted to hear more! Live Clean (Baby) is a Canadian brand that has just hit the U.S. market thanks to its partnership with Walgreens. Live Clean (Baby) contains non-irritating, very gentle plant-based ingredients. It is free of parabens, Sodium Laurel Sulfates (SLS), animal-based products and phosphates.

Basically, the ingredients of Live Clean (Baby) sound very similar to other products I purchase, but the big difference is the price tag. The suggested price of each product in the line is just $7.99. That’s music to my ears and my wallet! I also like that I don’t have to make this purchase online (which was the only way I could find some of the products I had been purchasing). I can just go to my nearest Walgreens to get whatever I may need!

The entire line of Live Clean (Baby) products includes the following:

Tearless Shampoo and Wash
Moisturizing Baby Bath
Moisturizing Baby Lotion
Non-Petroleum Jelly
Diaper Ointment
Moisturizing Bar Soap

After having used these products, I can tell you that I am very pleased with them. They are gentle and effective. I love the packaging, I love the very mild scent, and I definitely love the price point and the convenience. I will be purchasing these products again as I run out and I would suggest them as great baby shower gifts for new parents, as well.

What about you? Are you spending an arm and a leg to provide all-natural personal care products for your little ones? Have you noticed this line at Walgreens, yet?

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

Dora and SpongeBob Partner with Kidorable for Rainy Day Fun

January 3, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Do you have a SpongeBob or Dora the Explorer fan in your house? Darah happens to love both characters. I enjoy watching Dora with her from time to time, and drawing maps together so that we can be explorers just like her.

SpongeBob, I must say, continues to confuse me. He reminds me a bit of Ren and Stimpy, though less crass and more suited for a younger audience. I find him to be an odd bird, but Darah thinks he is hilarious. She is especially fond of his pet snail, Gary, who in every way mimics the mannerisms of a cat.

Told you it was strange.

But if your kids are fans of either character or of both, then you’ll be excited to hear that Kidorable now has rain gear products (rain boots, rain jackets and umbrellas) with Dora and SpongeBob on them.

I recently picked up a Dora the Explorer rain jacket for Darah to wear next fall (she already has a rain jacket for this season). I was really impressed with the level of detail on the jacket. Licensed character merchandise is rarely my favorite thing, but the Kidorable products have the same attention to details as everything else in their line. Well done, Kidorable!

I am looking forward to the adventures we will have out exploring with Dora this fall, rain or shine! The rain jacket we reviewed retails for $45 and comes in sizes 12-18m through 6x.

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

Paying Attention to Liminal Spaces in Your Home

January 2, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Have you ever heard of the term liminal space? It’s something I learned in graduate school (I have an advanced degree in theology, which most people find to be shockingly random…).

Anyway, I studied liminal spaces as they related to houses of worship, but liminal spaces can be found most anywhere.

They are, simply put, places of transition. Liminal spaces are rarely lingered in, and are markers between one type of setting and another. So in a church that might be the narthax. In a restaurant it is the space between the first set of doors you enter and the second set of doors you enter, into the actual restaurant.

Homes often have liminal spaces, too. We currently live in a rather small home, so we don’t have an entryway, which is a typical liminal space. But we do have places in our home where we don’t tend to linger, and that simply serve as conduits from one place to another. Since we spent little time dwelling in these spots, we don’t spent much time thinking about how to make them feel more welcoming.

But I recently did spend some time thinking about one of our liminal spaces and how I might make an improvement upon it. I looked very closely at our upstairs bathroom. The bathroom is designed in a fashion you have almost certainly seen before in other homes, with two sinks and under counter storage serving as the first room and the toilet and shower in the second room. All the bathroom “dwelling” takes places in the tiny second room, and the first room gets mostly walked through, though of course we do wash hands, brush teeth and when the spirit moves me, apply makeup in there. Still, it isn’t an area where I will hang out (except for that one time that I hid from my family so I could read a magazine…).

It occurred to me last month that there is a huge, empty wall on one side of that first room, and that the other side of the wall has a huge mirror. If I could find a lovely piece of art for the blank wall, I could enjoy looking at it through the mirror, even if only briefly while using the sink or the bathroom counter. It would make the space feel less institutional and more like my home.

So I headed over to Gallery Direct to find the perfect piece for the space. Since my whole goal was to encourage a bit of slowing down in a “move on through” area of my home, I searched for prints that made me feel very calm and quiet. I found the perfect piece by one of Gallery Direct’s newer artists, Brett Pfister. He is quickly becoming one of my favorites, as his work seems to draw me in again and again.

I absolutely loved We Who Find Rest and decided that a beautiful forest scene was the perfect thing for me to reflect on while getting myself and Darah ready in the bathroom each morning. We may be a home bustling with energy, but even in the midst of our busy day, it is good to be reminded of the beauty and serenity of nature, and the peace that comes with being still, if only for a moment.

Since this was a forest scene, I knew exactly how I wanted it mounted: on birchwood. This is a very cool option that Gallery Direct provides, and the other piece I have had mounted on birchwood gets rave reviews from folks who see it. It was a beautiful choice and I’m very pleased with it. And the price point was amazing…today it is on sale for $101 for the large. What a bargain for a beautiful piece of art that is mounted in a unique way.

Do you have a space in your home that is hurried past and where, for whatever reason, you don’t feel comfortable dwelling? What can you do to make it more inviting, and to make it feel less transitional and more like a space in its own right? I’d really love to hear your thoughts!

And don’t forget that if you follow Gallery Direct on Pinterest and pin your favorite piece from the Gallery Direct website using the hashtag #gallerydirect, you’ll be entered into their weekly Pin it to Win it drawing. Every week a winner is drawn for a $200 credit. Here’s an example of how a pin it to win it entry should look: https://pinterest.com/pin/278308451942150520/

I serve as a blog ambassador for Gallery Direct. Product samples are provided as part of the program. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.