Stuff Parents Need

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

A Blogger Who Has Inspired Me!

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This post is meant to be a big pat on the bag and cyber high-five for Lindsey from So Easy Being Green. Lindsey and I have never met in real life, but we have been bloggy friends since before she even became a blogger!

It has really been a treat to watch her blog grow and evolve. I’ve also really enjoyed having someone to swap ideas with as our blogs have grown.

But that’s not why I’m giving her a shout out today (although she totally rocks, in general, and is worthy to be celebrated just for being her!).

I want to bring attention to Lindsey because this weekend she ran her first race.

(photo from soeasybeinggreen-blog.com)

Five weeks ago she started training. At that point it was a big step in her training when a few days in she ran for 5 minutes straight. She worked her way up to this day and ran 4 miles without stopping. She also met her goal to get it finished in under an hour.

As someone who once tried the couch to 5k program (which I quit after 2 days) I know that what she did took a whole lot of commitment and determination. I felt completely overjoyed to hear of her success, and it rekindled something within me. Just because I gave up on something once before doesn’t mean it is out of reach for me. I can take it one day at a time, just like Lindsey did!

Lindsey, like me, has 2 small children. And she’s a blogger. And a wife. And a woman with her own interests. Making time for fitness is REALLY hard to do in the midst of this season of life. But she did it. And she’s glowing!

I am SO inspired. Way to go, Lindsey!

Collective Bias and Good Call (remember that amazing iphone docking station I reviewed that is the latest and greatest iPhone innovation and is just $80?) have come together in celebration of moms who inspire others, and are offering up 10 of their #GoodCall sets to nominated women, and I am officially throwing Lindsey’s name in the hat! She deserves it!

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This content was created for Collective Bias™ and GoFusion but is a non-compensated post.  If Lindsey wins the set, I also win a set, but that’s totally not why I wrote this. I wrote it because she rocks my socks off! #CBias #SocialFabric 

8 Top iPhone Apps for Monitoring Your Spending

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Please enjoy this guest post brought to you by We Know Money. As an iphone user, it gave me some really good ideas for apps I need to get! 

iPhones give users a unified platform to handle many of their day-to-day tasks. For those who wish to track their expenses, the iPhone has several options that allow users to quickly and easily store records of their spending. Some of these apps offer advanced features, helping users to gauge the big picture of their spending habits. This collection of apps from We Know Money will reduce the amount of time users have to spent manually calculating their expenses and may help users discover areas in which they can save money.

1) ExpenseTracker

ExpenseTracker, which costs $2.99, offers an easy-to-use app for managing one’s personal finances. Its simple interface allows users to input new expenses and even allows users to add income with the same interface. ExpenseTracker features informative and attractive bar graphs and pie charts that allow users to visualise their spending habits.

2) DebtMinder

The DebtMinder debt tracker, costing $1.99, is a tool to help users manage the task of paying off their debt. Its interface allows users to enter several types of debt categories, such as car loans, student loans and credit cards and charts their progress as these debts are paid. Advanced planning tools make it easy for users to judge their progress, and a tool calculates how much interest the user has avoided with their progress.

3) CashFlow Free

CashFlow Free, a free app, is a comprehensive personal finance app that tracks both spending and assets. Its interface is focused on providing instant updates to its user’s financial assets, and the interface shows the user’s balance at the bottom of the screen at all times. With analysis tools including a pie chart that shows how much the user spends on various categories of expenses, CashFlow can help users determine if their spending habits are appropriate or excessive.

4) DebtTracker Pro

DebtTracker Pro, which costs $1.99, is designed to help users track their progress in paying off multiple lines of debt. An overview screen shows users their total debt, and the ability to sort by debt amounts helps users prioritise their payments. Another screen displays how much of a particular line of credit is available and provides calculations of the monthly interest that credit lines will accrue.

5) Balance

Balance, a free app, is an expense tracking app that tracks its user’s cash, checking account balance and savings account balance. Its interface is designed to resemble a traditional, paper chequebook register, allowing users who are used to managing their balance the old-fashioned way to easily adapt. Balance is a great app for helping friends or family members who are reluctant to use newer technologies change their financial tracking activities to a digital device.

6) Spend Free

Spend Free, a free app, allows user to budget their available funds for various categories of spending. Colour-coding gives users a quick-to-read screen showing how much money is available for categories such as food, gadgets, gas and movies. As the funds are depleted, the green background becomes yellow as that particular budget shrinks and red if the user has overspent in that category. Another screen tracks spending by day, week and month and gives users a graphical representation of their changing spending habits.

7) Mint.com Personal Finance

Mint.com Personal Finance, a free iPhone and iPad app, may be the most popular personal finance app on Apple devices. With the ability to track incoming money and spending, Mint.com allows users to track their budgets with a clean, attractive interface. Mint.com can automatically login to banks and other financing websites, giving users automatic updates to their financial reserves. Mint.com allows the budgeting and tracking of several categories of spending, such as DVD rentals, fast food purchases and groceries. The app can also provide low balance alerts and financial budgeting tips.

8) Pageonce

Pageonce, a free app for the iPhone and iPad, is a personal finance app targeting bill payments and other expenses. Pageonce tracks its user’s balance, upcoming bills and spending while providing alerts about upcoming due dates. Its interface tracks when the bill was last paid and the user’s overall debt and investments. Pageonce even has a feature to track the user’s credit rating over time. With a thirty-cent upgrade, users can use Pageonce to automatically pay their bills from an account of their choosing.

Aurora Crinkle Friends Brights Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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When Darah was a baby, she LOVED to hear crinkly sounds (dry leaves being stepped on during a walk, for example). She would pay such close attention with both her eyes and her ears. It was so cute to watch.

Aurora World actually has a line of plush toys that make that same crinkly sound when you touch them. They’ve had a crinkly frog, pig and cow out for some time, but they recently added some really fun and different animals to the mix.

Introducing the Crinkle Friends Brights! They crinkle, but they also squeak and rattle. And boy are they cute!

Take a closer look at our new friend, Hedgehog:

The day Hedgehog arrived, I explained to Darah before I opened the package that it was a new special friend for Layah. When I pulled out the crinkle friend, Darah shrieked with delight, and exclaimed, “Layah will love it!” And then she proceeded to play with the hedgehog for pretty much the rest of the day.

Long story short, Hedgehog sleeps in Darah’s bed now. She will still tell you that it is Layah’s toy, but that Layah is sharing with her. Hopefully in the next few months I’ll be able to get Darah to start sharing back with Layah!

Crinkle Friends are suggested for children ages 6 months and up and are priced at $17. They can be purchase at retail outlets or online at the Aurora shop. They are bright and absolutely delightful to babies. And toddlers, evidently!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the Crinkle Friends Brights of your choice!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

Oh Katy One Size Pocket Diaper Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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Today I’m bringing you a video review of the Oh Katy One Size Pocket Diaper. You do not want to miss seeing what is so unique about their inserts, so check it out!

And aren’t all the colors this diaper comes in just fabulous? Silver is my favorite, but I’m also swooning over twilight and violet!

You can purchase these diapers for $17.95 each. Oh Katy offers $5 flat rate shipping, too! AND, for the entire month of July, if you purchase 4 diapers you get 1 free! That’s like getting 20% off! Woo hoo!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win an Oh Katy One Size Pocket Diaper in your choice of colors!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

Need a New Vacuum? Dyson Giveaway Coming Up!

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I got a new vacuum back in April, and it has been revolutionary for us. I never realized just how much my old vacuum sucked (er…didn’t suck, I guess…)!

If your old vacuum is ready to be put to rest, but you aren’t feeling excited about paying for a new one, just hang tight and get ready for a DYSON giveaway! SQUEAL!!!!

If you are a blogger, read below for details on how to join this awesome giveaway!

The Dyson DC24 Cleaner Home Giveaway Event hosted by Mom Powered Media: Iowa-Mom, Powered by Mom and Real Mom Reviews is now open to bloggers!

Cost is $5 or free with announcement post. See bloggers wanted post for more details.

Prize: Dyson DC24 All Floors Vacuum (retail value $399)

Open to: Worldwide (note – if a winner is selected outside of the US, they will be responsible for shipping costs and fees added by their country).

The event dates: August 3 –  24

Link options are: Email, RSS, Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon and Pinterest.

What is required to join? 

  • You will receive an email confirming your participation a week before the event. If you do not, please email teri@momtobedby8.com and someone will check into it!
  • Then on or around August 1st you will receive an email with the html code for publishing the giveaway.  Note it is required that you publish the giveaway html in full to be included in this event.

Referral prize: The two bloggers who refer the most bloggers and businesses to join will receive $20 via paypal or amazon e-code.

Thirsties Diapers: Introducing the Thirsties Duo

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All in One (AIO) cloth diapers were my first love when it came to using cloth. Or to look at it a different way, they were my gateway drug. AIOs are the very best way for someone who is new to cloth to get started because they just couldn’t be any easier.

Thirsties Diapers has come out with a new diaper, the Thirsties Duo AIO diaper, and it has something I’ve never seen before on an AIO and it makes my heart skip a beat! I love it! Watch my video to see what it is!

Pretty sweet, right?!

thirsties diapers, thirsties duo

You can purchase one of these totally rad diapers from any Thirsties retailer or you can get them on Amazon!. Solids are $15.75 and prints are $16.75.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Thirsties Duo AIO solid color diaper of your choice!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

BabyKicks NEW Premium Pocket Diaper Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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Today I’m pleased to be featuring a new diaper from BabyKicks! It’s called the Premium Pocket Diaper and it has several really impressive and clever features. Check out my video to see just what this diper has to offer!

My personal favorite aspects of the diaper are the air gussets (which I thought was going to be my least favorite!), the JoeyBunz insert and the newborn snap. Great design, BabyKicks!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a BabyKicks Basic Pocket Diaper!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

Lotus Bumz Cloth Diaper Review

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Lotus Bumz is a cloth diaper company started by a mother named Lorain who saw the need for affordable cloth diapering options on the market. She has, in my opinion, come pretty darn close to perfecting the pocket diaper, all thanks to one especially clever feature, which I’ll tell you about shortly!

I was sent the one size pocket diaper in a cute star pattern (they do offer newborn pocket diapers, as well). We had to wait about a month after Layah was born to start using the diaper. Layah was 7 pounds 3 ounces when she was born, and was right around 9 pounds at 4 weeks. I will tell you that for the first week or two that we used the diaper, we had inconsistent results with it, in the form of leaks out of the legs (a problem we seem to frequently have with Layah in most cloth diapers). I think that Lotus Bumz simply require a little bit chunkier of a leg!

Now that we are further along and Layah has really started to chunk up big time, we aren’t having leaks at all with this diaper. So I don’t think our problems were the fault of the diaper, just a timing thing. I wouldn’t recommend the one size Lotuz Bunz for your newborn, but would definitely say to start using them around 6 or 7 weeks, which is when we started to have good luck with them. lotus bumz

Lotus Bumz one size pocket diapers feature 3 rows of snaps so that younger babies and toddlers alike can wear the diaper. Also note that there is a snap on each hip. I think this is a fantastic addition, as it does allow for a more snug fit around the legs, which as we discussed, is very important for Layah.

But the feature that I’m absolutely bonkers about, and that I think catapults Lotus Bumz diapers to the top of the pocket diaper pile is the hole in the back where you stuff the diapers. The hole is pretty small. Well, it really isn’t, it just  has elastic around it on both the outer and the inner sides, and this keeps the microfiber insert from coming out of the back. Trust me when I say that it is literally a pain in the rear to have your inserts start creeping out the back of your baby’s diaper. When your baby pees and the insert is sticking out, you are about to have one wet mess on your hands! Lotus Bumz nips that problem in the bud by having a back pocket that is not wide open like so many other diapers are. Three cheers for this feature, Lotus Bumz!

Lotus Bumz one size pocket diapers are available for just $16.97 in an adorable assortment of patterns and solid colors. You can also stock up and save by ordering 10 diapers at once, and in return, you’ll receive an extra diaper and a wet bag for FREE!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Lotus Bumz printed pattern diaper! Yay!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

Sunbaby Diapers Review

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Attention all cloth diaper users who are on a tight budget! Have I got a treat for you today!

Sunbaby Diapers

There’s a brand of diapers called Sunbaby Diapers, and they are a frugal family’s dream come true! These are one size pocket diapers that are cute as a button and extremely easy on the wallet. Wanna hear just how inexpensive they can be? How’s $5/diaper for you?!

Now for the rub: you have to buy the diapers in larger quantities (group of 12) to get this great price. In fact, that’s the only way you can buy the diapers on the Sunbaby site. But for $60, you get 12 Sunbaby covers, or for $78 you get the 12 covers and 24 microfiber inserts. Shipping is FREE! I challenge you to find a better deal on diapers.

At this point you may be thinking what I was thinking…are these diapers being responsibly made if they can be sold for such a low price? The answer is yes! A wonderful lady named Sun Pei owns this company, and she oversees the production of her diapers. Here’s what she has to say about how the diapers are made: “Sunbaby Diapers are manufactured in Shanghai, China. Our city has strict laws forbidding cheaper labor. People who use child labor will be put into jail or fined huge amount money. So buy confidently! Your diapers are manufactured under fair labor conditions. I am the only seller of Sunbaby diapers in China, I never make wholesale business to retailers in china so that I can ensure that I have a reasonable profit and workers in our factory can get paid well and don’t have to work overtime.”

Sunbaby diapers have a very soft interior for a comfy fit for baby. They also have those awesome snaps at the hip to give an extra snug fit around the legs, which is where most cloth diaper leaks happen. They also have 3 vertical snaps so that the diaper can grow with your baby. Layah is still using the shortest setting at 2 months and it is working very well.

I also like that the one size diapers actually come in two sizes. Size 1 diapers are simply designed for a thinner baby, and size 2 diapers are the best choice for a chunkier baby. The website needs to be a bit more explicit about this information, as it is sort of buried in the site.

I do think that the outer PUL fabric is a bit thinner than some other brands of diapers I have used, but if you consider that the diapers cost about 1/3 (or less) of what other diapers cost, this difference can be overlooked. I have not noticed the thinner fabric to cause more leaks.

I also think the Sunbaby website should show the fabric colors and patterns offered so that customers can get an idea of what their package of 12 diapers might look like. My diaper had a cute Hello Kitty character (Melody) on it, but I had no clue what the diaper might look like before it showed up. sunbaby diapers

I’m very pleased with the Sunbaby line and would recommend these affordable cloth diapers to anyone! If you need to build a stash super cheap, this is the way to do it. You could also get together with a friend and split an order, too!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Sunbaby diaper!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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