Stuff Parents Need

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

Winter Activity Ideas for Families: Guest Post

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Special thanks to Christina Johnson for sponsoring this guest post. I got some great ideas from it, and I hope you will, too!

Wintertime is a great time to get outdoors and enjoy the weather. If you have kids, there is nothing better than bundling up and heading out for some awesome snowy fun.

  • Build a snowman or have a family snowball fight. Lie down and make beautiful snow angels. Making a snow fort is always tons of fun. Use sand buckets or any other containers to mold your fort just like you would a sand castle. Forts are great for hiding behind when others are trying to attack you with snowballs.
  • Sleigh riding is always fun if you have sleds, or flying saucers. A family toboggan ride is always exciting – make sure you put a good driver in the front to steer!

If your winters are cold but you lack the snow, no problem. There are plenty of things to do even if the snow doesn’t fall where you live.

  • Bundle up with the kids and go for a hike. Things may look slightly different in the cold weather. The kids may find some frosty areas or see frozen puddles that are lots of fun to stomp on or slide across.
  • A great activity to do outside when it is cold is bubble blowing. Bubbles come out quite differently when blown in the icy cold air. Try it for yourself and see. Another great experiment to show your children is what happens to boiling hot water when you throw it into the ice-cold air. Surprisingly, it will instantly turn into ice. This will really excite your kids.
  • Spend a day in the cold thinking of your furry outdoor friends. Make bird feeders out of old milk cartons, soda bottles, or come up with your own clever idea. Fill them with food and watch the birds show up for a nice winter treat. If you have any small evergreens or bushes around your house, string them with treats for the birds. You can string popcorn together, or cranberries. Then hang them around the bush or tree for the birds to snack on. Another great snack for the birds is peanut butter and crackers. Smash up some crackers and mix them with peanut butter so they all stick together. You can place the mixture in a produce net (like the kind that holds onions) and hang it for the birds to peck at.

If the weather is just too frigid to be outdoors, stay inside and build a play fort. Kids love forts, and you can help make it big enough for everyone to climb inside. Then you can read stories or play games together.

Winter is full of fun activities for everyone — even if the snow never shows up.

Christina Johnson who works remotely for Elliman Prudential in the New York City Apartments and Rentals market. She is using her journalism major to combine what she loves most, writing and her career. Her specialties include home decor design and DIY home improvement projects.

Ultimate Green Store Review and $20 Gift Certificate GIVEAWAY!!!

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If you are looking for a really great one-stop-shop online for all things green that relate to mom, kid and baby, you really need to check out The Ultimate Green Store! They even offer a green baby registry. If this were my first time expecting, I’d definitely be signing up for that one!

After looking around at The Ultimate Green Store, I am really blown away by the number of products they have, and just how many great gift options there are for different people who may be on your gift list throughout the year. They have everything from luxurious organic cotton jersey sheets to a solar powered ipad charger and everything you can imagine in between!

I, of course, couldn’t help but check out their babysection. When I saw that The Ultimate Green Store carried cloth diapers, I was absolutely delighted! They only carry a few lines, and I think they have chosen to carry one of the brands that is the absolute very best: BumGenius. BumGenius AIO is what I started out with when cloth diapering, and I called it the “gateway drug” of diapers, because it was an all-in-one with velcro closures…it was as close to a disposable as you could get, and every bit as absorbent.

I had the opportunity to review the BumGenius 4.0 in Blossom from The Ultimate Green Store. I decided to try out this diaper because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and also because I wanted to make absolutely sure that you, my fabulous readers, know that The Ultimate Green Store has all their BumGenius on sale right now! You can get the 3.0 pocket diapers for just $10.99! EEEEEE!!!!!! The BG 4.0 with velcro are on sale for $15.95 and the organic cotton 4.0 with snap closures is on sale for $20.95. You most definitely need to check out this sale if you are a BumGenius fan. If you’ve never tried this line, then I want to strongly encourage you to buy one at these great prices right now…you won’t regret it!

What makes the 4.0 different from the 3.0? Well, the 4.0 comes with both a small insert for a newborn or younger infant, as well as a larger insert to use as your baby grows. It has also been designed to be an even trimmer fit than the 3.0 version. It is designed to fit babies from 7-35 pounds, which is quite a range! I put the diaper on the smallest setting to get ready for our little one, and it certainly does look like a small, trim diaper! Prepping it was easy; just one wash needed. I’m extremely excited to have this diaper in my collection and I know it will be one of the diapers I frequently reach for, based on my previous experience with BumGenius.

It seems to me that The Ultimate Green Store has put a lot of thought into the brands and items that it carries. I love when a store has that extra layer of quality control, so that you can shop with confidence knowing that you are going to get something terrific. The bargain shopper in me is also so pleased to see that they have a warehouse clearance sale section up right now, with deals at up to 50% off. This is a great opportunity to re-stock your gift closet with things that people would be thrilled to receive! I’m loving this circuit board picture frame, which my self-professed geek husband would love to have on his desk at work!

 

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a $20 gift certificate to The Ultimate Green Store! LUCKY!!!!

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Everyday Minerals Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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I’ve mentioned before that mineral makeup is my very favorite to wear. If you haven’t tried it yet, you simply MUST. Your makeup doesn’t look as heavy on, but that doesn’t meant that it doesn’t provide coverage, I promise. I’m at the age where looking like I don’t have on a stitch of makeup doesn’t really work for me, anymore, but I also don’t want to look like a makeup artist just tried out every product at the counter on my face. I have found mineral makeup to be the very best way to get a polished look, but not a caked-on look.

Also, mineral makeup is good for your skin! What other makeup products can boast such a claim? The ingredients are found in nature and in my experience, don’t clog your pores the way other products do. If you forget to wash your face one night, no big deal. Gotta love that!

Today I’m featuring a line called Everyday Minerals, and I am SUPER impressed with the quality of this makeup! This line is organic, vegan and eco-friendly, and 100% full of quality makeup that lasts all day. The first product I received to review from the line was the soft bronzer. I was quite nervous when I saw it, because I have really pale skin, so I NEVER use bronzer because the end result is always an orange face. Well, I could not have been more pleasantly surprised by this product! It is designed for lighter skin and can be used all over to give a healthy (not orange) glow. I have used it in place of foundation a few times and was pleased with the end result! Want to hear what’s even more exciting? This product is just $9.00! SERIOUSLY!!!

The second product I reviewed was the mineral blush in pink ribbon. Once again, I’ll tell you that when I saw the product, I was a bit nervous. It has a good amount of shimmer in the product, and as a 31 year old, I tend to shy away from putting sparkly stuff on my face. But, as it turns out, this blush is absolutely adorable, and the shimmer is subtle and pretty, not over the top or garish. The shade is also very fresh and absolutely perfect for spring. A big container of this blush is $10.00. These prices are so awesome!!!

If you are curious about trying out mineral makeup, or if you already love mineral makeup but are looking for less pricey options, you will be very pleased to go with Everyday Minerals. Start by putting together 7 samples for yourself. You even get to select the price for these samples (paying as little as .01!), and 100% of what you give goes towards the Everyday Wilderness Preservation Plan. How cool is that?!  If you are ready to place a larger order, you can order products individually, or go with one of their custom kits, ordering 3 big size items for a 25% discount. And remember that the prices are already great!

You are sure to find products that meet your needs and your skin tone at Everyday Minerals. They offer 34 shades of foundation, 20 shades of light application powder, 21 shades of blush, and 84 shades of eyeshadow.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to snag a bronzer and a blush from Everyday Minerals! Get ready to glow!

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(Maternity Monday) Milkin’ Cookies to Increase Milk Supply! GIVEAWAY!!!

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The last time I was breastfeeding, it became fairly obvious as soon as I returned to work that I needed to increase my milk supply, as I wasn’t producing enough to create any sort of storage supply. My doctor recommended that I start taking the herb Fenugreek. For me personally, it only helped a little bit. And it also had a VERY interesting side effect…it made me smell like maple syrup.

Seriously. Just ask Tim.

Maybe that sounds sort of sweet and cool to you, but I hated it. It was certainly not what I wanted to smell like, but I had no choice.

Since I’m already aware that I had supply issues the last time, I’m taking a more proactive approach this time. Tim and I have discussed if the right strategy is to start taking that smelly herb from the start. I’m willing to do it, but oh my gosh, I really don’t want to.

But there is another option, and it is SO much better. I’m trading in my Fenugreek for cookies.

You heard me, COOKIES.

Introducing Milkin’ Cookies, a line of delicious baked treats created by two physicians (and moms!) to help women increase their milk supplies. You may be thinking, “Can I just buy some double-stuff Oreos and get the same results?” Afraid not, my friends. These cookies are a very special recipe, and they are stuffed with galactagogues. Those aren’t ingredients from outer space, by the way, they are ingredients found to naturally increase milk supply (for example, oatmeal, flax seed and wheat germ).

Milkin’ Cookies are made in small batches and are individually wrapped for your convenience. Most women find that they only need to eat one cookie each day to see noticeable results in supply levels. These cookies are made with NO preservatives, so they are best if eaten within 2 weeks, or they can also be frozen and simply thawed for 30 minutes before being ingested. You can purchase a 14 day sample pack ($20.99) , a 30 day supply ($44.99)  or get a 3 month subscription for $119.99.

Could you make something like this yourself? Perhaps, although I can’t point you to an exact recipe. You’d have to dig around online to find one that is getting universal praise (which is what these cookies are getting!). And then you’d have to go purchase all those slightly unusual ingredients. And then you’d have to make them. And then freeze them individually. And then hope that they taste ok. But with a newborn on your hands, you won’t be busy, so this should be no problem (said with much sarcasm).

Seriously, though, I think this is one of those things that is worth paying for, because the cookies have been tested by other moms and have produced great results. Also, I should tell you that they seriously yummy. They come in two flavors: cranberry almond oatmeal and my very favorite, oatmeal chocolate chip. Both Darah and Tim love eating them, too, and they are perfectly safe to be eaten by anyone. All the ingredients are good and good for you. They are also loaded with fiber, which makes them good to eat during pregnancy! I remember that my pain medication I was on right after having Darah caused constipation…a side effect NOBODY mentioned to me. Let’s just say that I did some crying in the bathroom a few days after getting home from the hospital. My plan this time is to eat a cookie. BEST PLAN EVER!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a 14 day supply of Milkin’ Cookies! Yum!!

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A New Way to Provide Calcium to Your Kids: Kraft Milk Bite Bars

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Does your little one not like to drink milk? We don’t have the problem with Darah, as long as we add a few drops of chocolate syrup to it! Desperate times call for desperate measures, but I’d prefer that she drink it without the added sugar. We have mixed results when we leave it out, though, and I often find myself throwing milk down the drain. With the price of milk as high as it is (and we buy organic for Darah), this is maddening!

Kraft has just released a brand new product that can help you get more calcium to your kids, and even to you if you struggle with your calcium intake. The product is called Kraft Milk Bite Bars. They are similar to granola bars, but have a creamier taste. Each bar also contains enough calcium to equal one 8 ounce glass of milk!

Darah LOVES these and asks to eat them all the time. I think they are a terrific snack option for the middle of the day, but I wouldn’t choose it as a breakfast alternative for my kids because one bar does have 10g of sugar (that’s about 2 1/2 teaspoons…could be worse, but could be better).

I have sampled the strawberry and chocolate flavors, as well, and I agree with Darah that they are quite scrumptious, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t really like granola bars.

Look for Kraft Milk Bites in the refrigerated section of your grocery store (they are kept there because of all the milk in the bars!). Other flavors include peanut butter, oatmeal raisin and mixed berry. A box of 5 bars retails for $3.50.

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

This Week’s Pork Challenge: Pork Loin Roast! Hearty and Healthy Valentine’s Idea!

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This is week 3 of the #Publix4Pork Good and Good for You challenge, and my mission was to try out a pork loin roast. To my knowledge, I have never before purchased this cut of meat. EVER! To give you an idea of just how unfamiliar I am with it, on sale this week at Publix is the bone-in pork loin roast. Well, I was having some sort of mommy brain when I went grocery shopping and didn’t pick up the bone-in cut that was actually on sale! You can buy a pork loin roast bone-in or boneless, and I just grabbed the first pork loin roast I noticed. Which happened to be boneless. Oops! Fortunately, I found the dish I made to be so tasty that I don’t really care that I missed the sale. Now that I know my family likes this cut of pork, it’ll be on my list to pick up again the next time it is on sale, bone-in or not!

Pork loin is such a great meat option for your family, and I’m so glad to have discovered it. Did you know that ounce for ounce, pork tenderloin is as lean as skinless chicken breast?! It’s true! It also is packed with nutrients. A 3 ounce slice of pork tenderloin is considered to be an excellent source of protein, vitamin B6, thiamin, phosphorous and niacin. It is also a good source of potassium, riboflavin and zinc. You get all this goodness, AND that same serving amount would only contribute to 6 percent of the calories in a 2,000 calorie diet. Wowzers this is a great lean meat to eat!

When I got home with my not-quite correct cut of meat (just missing the bone, really not a big deal), I reviewed the scrumptious recipe I had decided to use from Porkbeinspired.com. I chose the orange-glazed pork roast. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

6 pound bone-in pork loin roast
1 tablespoon dry mustard
salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons steak sauce
1 orange (optional), sliced

Cooking Directions

Rub dry mustard into roast and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Make a drip pan of aluminum foil about 1 1/2 inches deep and extending about 3 inches on each side of roast; place under roast. Place on grill about 6 inches above low coals. Close hood of grill. Cook for 1 1/4 hours.
Combine orange juice concentrate, honey and steak sauce in a small saucepan. Heat until bubbly, and brush on roast. Grill an additional 20 minutes basting often with sauce.  (About 15 minutes per pound total time grilling) When internal temperature on a thermometer reads 145 degrees F. remove roast from heat; let rest 10 minutes.
Garnish with orange slices, if desired.

 

Doesn’t that just sound mouth-watering?! I thought so, too. And so, I set out to prepare this meal for my family, testing it out to see if it might even be a Valentine’s Day worthy meal (because let’s be real, we have a toddler…we aren’t dining out for Valentine’s Day). As I got prepared to make what was sure to be a stunning recipe, I realized that I forgot to buy the concentrated orange juice. And then I let out the world’s longest sigh. It seriously lasted 45 seconds. Was the world just set against me getting this right? It was one of those days…

But here’s the silver lining that I found. This cut of meat is extremely versatile…SO much can be done with it. For example, Porkbeinspired.com has 21 pages of pork loin roast recipes. TWENTY ONE!!!! I also found some terrific options all over the internet filled with other ideas. Since I needed to work with whatever I happened to have in my pantry and fridge, I did have to limit my options a bit, but oh my gosh I found some great recipes that I bookmarked to try later while I was hunting. This mistake was turning out to be a positive thing, after all!

I finally landed on a recipe I found at Allrecipes.com. It is a spin on the old “pork chops and applesauce” combo, and it is called Applesauce Pork Loin. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

  • 1 (3 pound) boneless pork loin roast
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 3 sprigs fresh rosemary

Directions

  1. Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, brown roast on all sides in oil. Place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Combine the applesauce, mustard and honey; spread over roast. Top with rosemary. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 1-3/4 to 2-1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Now, at this point, I thought it just didn’t make sense to follow a recipes to the letter. I’m on such a roll with doing things my own way already, so why mess with it?! I decided to make this SUPER easy by cooking it on low for 4 hours in the crock pot. That was a fantastic idea, if I do say so myself. The roast came out SO tender and delicious. Typically, when I think of a roast, I do think of a dry cut of meat (sorry mom, but I think that’s how you cooked them!). But this was SO juicy! I paired it with a curried potato salad (and I cut back on the mayo, switching half of it out with yogurt to make it more heart-healthy!).

I can’t say that this is the most visually pleasing meal to ever have graced my table, so I probably wouldn’t choose it for a special occasion. But I would say it is most excellent for an easy weeknight meal if you are at home to monitor the crock pot, or if not, throw it in on a Saturday after lunch and get ready for an awesome weekend dinner with precious little work!

Porkbeinspired.com has become one of my very favorite websites to peruse, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, please do. You will come away with so many great ideas for serving lean cuts of meat to your family without sacrificing flavor! And don’t forget to swing by Publix this week and pick up a great deal on the bone-in pork loin roast!

Also be sure to join the Pork Be Inspired Facebook page for more great recipes and ideas!

Next week I’ll be giving away an awesome prize pack from the National Pork Board, so stay tuned!

Disclosure: I am participating in this campaign in conjunction with The Motherhood, and am being compensated for my time. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

La Bella Stella: Celebrate Earth Music Series (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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La Bella Stella is a really delightful compilation of artists who each contributed songs to the album that celebrate this great earth we all call home. It’s been released by Recess Music, a production company with the following mission: “We entertain, encourage, and educate children and families about or magnificent green planet through Earth-friendly music.” This album is a true celebration of the earth (and even the galaxy!) and is perfect in getting geared up for Earth Day in a few months!

One thing I love about albums like this is that they give you a means to familiarize yourself with a variety of children’s artists. Your favorite songs on the album are likely by groups that you would enjoy on their own, so you can go check out their other albums and see for yourself!

My personal favorite song on the album is Gravity. It actually reminds me a bit of the John Mayer song by the same name! The lyrics of this song, though, really help deconstruct just what gravity is and how it works. I love it!

If you are looking to check out some new artists, or you simply want some tunes that help your kids learn about loving our planet, La Bella Stella is a great find!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need winner will receive a copy of La Bella Stella!

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Rub-a-Dub-Dub, Eco-Friendly Toys in the Tub! Sprig Toys Review

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Today I want to introduce you to a fabulous toy company based right here in the USA! It’s called Sprig Toys and they make eco-friendly and fun toys that are built to last and that inspire creative play. I really love the story of how this company got started. It is the brain child of 3 toy designers who had been having fantastic success with their toy designs. But when they toured the plants where their ideas were being turned into toys, they realized that what they had created was having very harmful effects on the environment surrounding the plant. This was such a shock to them, and they decided to change the way they were designing toys altogether! I am always impressed when someone sees a real problem with something (even if it is working in terms of profits being made) and decides to do something about it!

Sprig Toys currently offers four different groupings of toys, including the following:

Adventure Series: a world full of vehicles, characters, and animals to take your child on a fun filled expedition on both land and water!

Sprig Hollow: a cast of wacky bee and butterfly characters on adventures in the sand, garden, or pool. Includes playsets, vehicles, and outdoor tools all in one!

Eco-Trucks: include a loader and a dump truck for playing in the sand!

Storybuilders: classic tales of princesses and working hard on Old Mac’s Farm. These playsets allow children to build fast and tell their own stories. Our Storybulding classics books are great on the go, a complete building playset and classic storybook all in one!

We have been playing with the Dolphin Explorer Boat  from the Adventure Series, and it is a HUGE hit, especially at bath time! I have absolutely no worries about harming the toys by having them in the tub, because they are made from a product this company calls Sprigwood. It’s a bio-composite material made from bits of reclaimed wood and recycled plastic. It is completely safe for children. It also gets pigmented during the production process, so the toys, themselves have not been painted with anything. Having your child play with these toys, get them wet, and even chew on them will give no cause for concern! I can also tell that these toys are going to hold up well to repeated exposure to water and rough play (Darah is a site in the bathtub…she plays so hard in there!). As her other toys bend and break, Sprig toys are going to hang tight with her, likely until she outgrows them!

Overall, we are extremely impressed with Sprig Toys and would highly recommend them to anyone. The set we reviewed retails for $24.99 and can be purchased here or you can find your nearest retailer here.

Want to keep up with the latest and greatest at Sprig Toys? Follow them on Facebook and Twitterand stay in the know about new products and promotions!

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

Kid’s Xlear Nasal Spray Review (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Darah is in preschool, which of course means that she frequently has the sniffles. I am reluctant to pump her full of medication all the time, though. So for the most part, we’ve just been trying to keep her Vitamin C intake high, and stocking up on tissues.

Recently, however, we’ve added a new tactic to our plan and it does seem to be helping a bit. It’s a product called Kid’s Xlear (pronounced “clear”). It’s an all-natural nasal spray that is safe enough for infants to take. That really makes me feel good, because as anyone with an infant will tell you, there’s precious little out there safe enough for young babies!

You may already be giving your child a nasal spray to help deal with congestion. But are you paying attention to the ingredients? Many of the ones (yes, even the ones designed for children) contain hazardous chemicals. Kid’s Xlear contains xylitol, which is what sets it apart from every other option on the market.

I didn’t know what xylitol was until I received this product to review, so if you don’t know either, let me explain. It is a white crystalline substance that is naturally occurring, and looks and tastes like sugar. When used as an ingredient in cooking, it has 40% fewer calories and does not promote tooth decay. It’s a very cool product, but what does that have to do with nasal congestion? Well, it has also been shown through studies to be extremely effective in relieving nasal discomfort. It’s also been shown to have overall health benefits to the body when ingested. For these reasons, it is being used by Kid’s Xlear to provide a safe, non-addicting, all natural product that can help with your child’s runny nose.

I have been using it with Darah. The toughest part is getting her to sit still while I administer the product. As you can imagine, a 2 year old isn’t too fond of having me put drops of liquid up her nose. I do wish the dispenser was a mister instead of a drip. But beyond that, I’ve been pleased with the results we are getting. EDIT: I just learned from the sponsor that if I squeeze the product while upright, it is, in fact, a mister! That’s great news!
Buy it!: Kid’s Xlear is available at Whole Foods and Vitamin Shoppe locations all over the country, and you can also purchase it online at www.xlear.com.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a bottle of Kid’s Xlear!

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