Stuff Parents Need

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

Why S’mores Create the Happiest Campers (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Would you believe that I have never EVER been camping in all my years on this earth? And would you believe that I don’t feel sad about that, either?! Yeah, I’m not much of an outdoor girl. I think it is because I was raised in a part of the country where mosquitoes thrive and unbelievably large insects roam freely. Also, it’s hot most of the year, and muggy the entire year. So that’s not exactly the kind of conditions that most people dream of when thinking about spending the night outside!

Even so, I do have fond memories of going on hay rides and doing camp fires with my youth group (that’s about as close to camping out as I ever got!). And I can see where getting to do things like camp out in your backyard as a kid would be so much fun. I don’t want Darah to miss out on these kinds of adventures just because they aren’t my cup of tea. I will not discourage her from camping out (maybe her dad will even take her and leave me home!). And I’ll certainly make sure that she knows the most important lesson of all when it comes to camping…

HOW TO MAKE A S’MORE

Because really, everything else is just details, people!

Tim recently made an indoor camp for Darah (ok, really for all of us) to play in. We had the BEST time, and it was all bug-free, thank you very much!

Since I wanted to make sure we covered the essentials of camping right away, I brought out the plate of S’mores supplies. On a whim, I bought the chocolate graham crackers at the store…they totally rock as the S’mores foundation!


My little one wasted NO time sampling the ingredients! While she’s still a bit too young for the full melted S’more experience, she already totally gets that when you put together marshmallows, Hershey’s chocolate and graham crackers, something really magical happens. It certainly brought back fun memories for me, and got me so very excited about all the new memories that await my family on all our future camping trips…even if they all take place in our living room!

I want to encourage you to pop over to Hershey’s Facebook page because they are having a great giveaway! Just capture your favorite S’mores moments and submit your photos for a chance to win S’mores-themed prizes. The grand prize is a Canon Rebel Camera, slate marble outdoor firebowl, $250 SnapFish gift card, roasting skewers and all of the ingredients needed to make S’mores!

Win it!: Thanks to Hershey’s, I’ve got an opportunity for you to make fun memories with your family through your own special camp out! One Stuff Parents Need reader will win a S’mores pack, which contains Hershey’s chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows. The giveaway will run until September 7th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.


Mandatory entry:Tell me about your experience camping out? Do you love it? Have any tips for someone like me who has never been? Anything relevant to the topic works for me.

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love:  Like Hershey’s on Facebook

2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

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

Disclosure: This post is part of my participation in the Hershey’s “Say S’mores” Promotion. All opinions expressed are mine.

Crane Air Purifier Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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Darah will be back in school in 2 short weeks. In 2 1/2 short weeks, I predict she will get her first case of the crud for the school year. I know, I’m not very optimistic. But if you have kids in school, then you know I speak the truth. When that crud crosses the threshold of Darah’s room, we’ll be ready, though. We are armed with the most fierce secret weapon out there.

And it’s a penguin. air purifier for kids

Crane, the makers of the cutest humidifiers in the history of life (including the pig humidifer, which we own), also has air purifiers specially designed for children’s rooms. Our penguin is named Aaron (since he cleans the air). He may look adorable, but he is a death sentence to germs, dust and dander.

Here are the features of the Crane Personal Air Purifiers:

  • Five level filtration helps remove airborne allergens, bacteria, viruses and germs.
  • Germicidal UV light kills viruses and bacteria to deliver germ-free fresh air.
  • True HEPA filter captures up to 99.97% of airborne dust as well as pollen as small as 0.3 microns from air passing through the filter.
  • HEPA filter also helps reduce smoke, mold spores and pet dander.
  • Active carbon filter captures large particles as well as common household odors caused from tobacco, pets, garbage and cooking by absorbing them in the active carbon filter.
  • Photocatalyst filter works in conjunction with the internal UV light to create advanced oxidation that eliminates airborne odors and neutralizes odors and harmful fumes.
  • Washable particle filter uses a foam filter to help capture larger airborne particles and helps extend the life of the HEPA filter.
  • Three-speed control as a low noise setting for continuous quiet operation
  • Easy-to-change filters
  • Tip-over switch with auto-shut-off function.

In addition to all of these great features, we find that the penguin is great at providing white noise. We have a fan that we run in Darah’s room at night for that purpose, but I think that we can now replace it with the penguin. And the penguin is doing a lot more for the air quality than that fan was!

The filter in the air purifier does need to be replaced, roughly every 2-3 months, just depending on use (we run the purifier overnight as our standard practice). The instructions for replacing them couldn’t be easier, and are located on the inside of the penguin (hooray for not having to go find the instruction manual!).

We are extremely pleased with the Crane Personal Air Purifier. It is a comfort to me to know that Darah’s room has the cleanest air in the house and that when she comes home with all those germs, she only needs to go play in her room to have the airborne ones be eliminated! Love it! Darah’s bathroom also houses the cat litter box, and I have noticed a SIGNIFICANT improvement in the air quality there, as well.

 

Click here to check out a list of national stores where Crane products are sold.

Edit: this giveaway is closed.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Crane Personal Air Purifier in your choice of penguin or shark (SRP $79.99)!! The contest will run until September 4th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via And the Winner Is. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me which product, specifically, Crane makes that you would love to have in your home.

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Like Crane USA on Facebook

2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by RSS or email

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

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

Conair You Style, You Lift and You Curl Brushes Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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Does anyone else out there have a brush thief in their house? I totally do. Darah loves to play with my brush. And when I say play with, I mean take it to random places in the house. I don’t want to talk about how many times I have searched the house in vain only to pull my hair back in a ponytail because brushing it was literally not an option.

But now I have a whole new collection of brushes. Darah can go ahead and run off with one of them. In fact, when she does that, she can just help me decide how I want to style my hair based on which brushes she leaves me with!

Conair has a super cool new line of brushes that are designed to help you create a variety of looks with ease. My very favorite brush is the You  Style. It is a 2-in-1 brush, which really means that it is a brush version of a Transformer. In its open, flat position you can use it for everyday brushes or for blow-drying your hair straight. But you can also push a button on the brush, and the sides collapse into a rounded shape, which is great for adding lift and soft, sexy waves (yes, I said sexy! It can happen, I promise!).

The second brush is called You Lift. T his brush doesn’t collapse, but can help you achieve a straight look without sacrificing volume. Yay! The edges of the barrel are able to get closer to the scalp for extra lift while the flat sides of the brush help straighten the hair. You can also use it like a round brush for smooth waves or curls.

Finally, we have You Curl. This brush is designed to create a very natural looking wave or tousled curl that is narrow at the hairline and wider at the bottom.

Each brush retails for $9.99 and can be found at retailers nationwide. They ,all work great, with just a bit of practice on your end (I got overzealous the first time I used the You Lift and got my hair just a tiny bit stuck…but I only made that mistake once!).

I cannot wait to get my hair cut this week (after 5 1/2 months…there, I admitted it). It is so long and heavy. I will be making most excellent use of these brushes with my new ‘do! Thanks, Conair, for creating such excellent brushes that help folks like me step away from the ponytail and embrace the fabulous hair that they really can have!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the same Conair brushes featured here! The contest will run until September 4th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me one other product made by Conair that you already own and love, or that you would like to own!

My answer: I would love to have this makeup mirror. Whenever I stay in a hotel with these, I always do a great job with my makeup because I can be more precise.

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Like Conair on Facebook

2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

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

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

Green Toys Fire Truck Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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When we were expecting Darah, I had many parents warn us that our home was about to become a plastic jungle, at least for the next 10 years. Tim and I REALLY didn’t want to see that happen. We didn’t want our house to be overrun with toys at all (um, yeah, totally FAILED that one), and we also didn’t want plastic junk everywhere made with questionable chemicals and that would easily break and have to be pitched.

 

So it may seem a little strange that I’m featuring a plastic fire trucktoday as an excellent toy of choice for your little. But this isn’t just any old plastic fire truck! It’s from Green Toys, and it is made entirely out of recycled plastic! milk containers! Even the packaging it comes in is made entirely of recycled and recyclable materials. It is the world’s greenest emergency vehicle!

It’s also SO much fun! Darah is a HUGE fan of fire trucks, always on the lookout for them when she takes a ride in the car, and always listening out for their sirens. We live a few blocks away from a big fire station, so she gets to hear those sirens at least once a day, much to her delight. Her Green Toys fire truck rarely even gets put away. It seems to now live in our hallway, which is the best place for “driving.” Her smaller stuffed animals and figurines are also getting extra play time, as they will fit on top of the fire truck, much to Darah’s delight.

I have given the truck a thorough inspection, and I am very impressed with the quality. It really looks as though it was built to endure many hours of play from children who love their toys, but aren’t necessarily the best at taking care of them, yet. I expect that our fire truck will endure quite a bit of rough-housing with Darah, but will still be in fine shape for the next child, or even for Darah’s kids later on. It’s definitely a winner!

Green Toys has an excellent line of eco-friendly toys, all made from recycled materials, and also all free from lights, batteries and other annoying things that play for your child, instead of encouraging imaginative play. The price points for the toys are a bit higher than their non-recycled plastic counterparts from other brands, but these are toys that are built to last generations, instead of having planned obsolescence, so I think they are worth it! The fire truck I reviewed retails for $27.99

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Green Toys Fire Truck! The contest will run until September 4th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me one other Green Toys product that would be welcome in your home!

My answer: The school bus!

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Like Green Toys on Facebook

2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

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

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

Tips for Keeping Your Home Secure While Traveling: Master Lock GIVEAWAY!!!

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Are you getting ready for Labor Day weekend, that “last hurrah” before the fall season officially begins? If you have travel plans then, or if you are planning on traveling during the fall/winter  holidays, I’ve got some tips to share with you to help keep your home secure, courtesy of Master Lock.

Before you load the family into the car or hop on a plane, Master Lock has developed a series of travel tips to ensure your vacation is an ideal time spent making lasting memories. To help avoid stress and frustration before, during or after a trip, follow these four guidelines:

1. Secure all points of entry to your home, including dead bolting doors, windows, sliding glass doors and garage/shed doors to bolster your home’s security. If you have an alarm system in place, be sure it is activated before departing. Leaving just one of these areas open or unlocked can lead to theft.
2. Keep your home active. Whether you’ve hired a dog walker or a neighbor is headed over to water plants and pick up deliveries, ensuring your home still appears to have people coming and going regularly can deter thieves. Store your house key in a key safe such as the Master Lock 5400D Key Safe to allow these individuals to easily enter and exit your home, locking it up as they leave. Make sure these approved visitors know the code to your home alarm system, if applicable, so they can deactivate it and reset it after finishing their tasks. If you do not have anyone visiting your property while you’re away, consider placing lights on a timer and stopping your mail delivery by visiting www.usps.com.
3. Lock up your luggage. Airports are full of people and distractions. Items can be easily stolen from bags while awaiting your flight’s departure, or before you pick up checked luggage from the baggage claim area. A TSA-accepted lock like the Master Lock 4688D luggage lock will help keep your possessions safe while in transit and allow you to move through security lines with ease. 
4. Secure important items in your room. Whether you’re staying in a hotel, cabin or resort — it’s important to lock up valuables when not in your room. A secure document storage or cash box will help ensure your passport, traveler’s checks, cash and jewelry safe while you and your family enjoy the sights and sounds of your destination. If you’re taking your small valuables out and about with you, consider a Master Lock 5900D Safe Space to keep your belongings secure while you’re on the go.

 

About Master Lock
Master Lock is the world’s largest manufacturer of padlocks and related security products providing innovative security solutions for home, automotive, campus, power sports, bike and storage security needs for consumers and contractors alike.

Win it!: Just in time for end-of-summer travel plans, one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the Master Lock 5400D Key Safe which is mentioned in tip #2! The contest will run until September 3rd at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Share any tip you have for keeping your home or your possessions safe when traveling. What do you do?

My answer: We use light timers to keep lights turning on and off at different times in our house.

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Follow Master Lock on Twitter

2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

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

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

StinkyKids Plush Dolls and Books Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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Julie is Darah’s new best friend. No, she hasn’t surpassed bunny and llama, but she is definitely in the high inner circle of plush toys. Julie is a super cute soft doll from the Madame Alexander line called StinkyKids. Darah makes Julie dance (her arms and legs move easily) and has tea parties with her often. I like Julie because she is safe enough for babies (no small parts that might detach), she is washable when the need arises, and she is so stinkin’ cute (no pun intended).

I was unfamiliar with this line of dolls until I was contacted for a review, and now I’m so glad to know about them. One of my favorite things about this line is that the characters can be found in two books, StinkyKids and the Runaway Scissors, which we had the chance to check out, and StinkyKids See a Full Moon, which will be available in September but can be pre-ordered now. Darah thought it was VERY cool to see her Julie on the pages of a storybook, and as a result, she plops down and listens to the story (it’s not long, but it is a bit longer than most other books she will listen to all the way through, so I know that having Julie in the story is a big deal to her). The motto of StinkyKids is, “Always be a leader of good,” and you can see that lesson coming through in the book.  The book that is currently out won the 2011 Silver Mom’s Choice Award for best children’s picture book, so I’m not the only one who thought it was a good read!

As it sometimes happens with any product that is sewn together, occasionally a problem occurs. Darah’s doll Julie seemed to have a faulty hem on her skirt, and after just 8 days was fraying considerably. I’m actually kind of glad that we had this experience with a StinkyKids item, because it gave me insight about the customer service this company provides. First, I learned that I received a sample doll, so the quality could vary slightly from what is available online. Second, I learned that of the 25,000 dolls that have been produced so far, this is the second reported problem. The sponsor told me that it is their policy to look into the defect and determine if there is a problem with manufacturing, and to make the mistake right by not only replacing the doll, but sending additional goodies from the store as an extra measure of goodwill. That really showed me that this company takes quality very seriously, and also takes customer satisfaction very seriously. So I can tell you with confidence that the odds are astronomical that anything will be wrong with a StinkyKids doll if you buy one, but if it is, you can rest assured that customer service will make it right and then some! Furthermore, Julie is very much loved by Darah, and a scraggly hem isn’t going to change that!

One other fabulous feature of StinkyKids is that a percentage of profits from each sale go to Books, Bears and Bonnets, Inc., a charity founded in honor of the aunt of the StinkyKids founder, who passed away from uterine cancer. It delivers gift boxes to children and adults fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. This company takes the StinkyKids motto, “Always be a leader of good,” to heart!

Buy it!: StinkyKids dolls can be purchased at Amazon and retail for $16.99 (but I’m seeing some smokin’ hot deals on some of them right now!).

Win it!: One lucky  Stuff Parents Need reader will win the StinkyKid of your choice!!! The contest will run until September 2nd at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Pick out the StinkyKid you want for your child, and choose wisely, as the winner will get what s/he selects for this entry!

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Like StinkyKids on Facebook

2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect (found on the sidebar of the blog)

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

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

How to Clean Your Smartphone: Klean Screen Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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If you are reading this post then you are either on your computer or your smartphone. Take a second and really look at your screen. I bet it is gross. I know mine was until a few days ago. In addition to the constant use and abuse that Tim and I subject our phones and computers to, our 2 year old gets added to the mix, and puts her peanut butter fingers all over her our iPad on a regular basis. To say it gets sticky would be an understatment! When I first realized that we needed to learn how to clean screens I had to do a bit of research, since you don’t exactly want to wipe a damp cloth all over your phone (at least not if you want it to keep working).

 

Klean Screen wipes are now available, and they are a great way to keep all your gadgets and gizmos that have screens nice and clean. They are alcohol and ammonia free, and they come individually packaged for your convenience. I was actually a little bummed out about the packaging (so much plastic!) until I saw that it is 100% recyclable. That’s better!

These work great! We were able to clean our iPad, 2 iPhones, and 2 computer screens with just one wipe, so you can really get a lot of mileage out of each cloth. A box of 25 wipes is just $4.95, and shipping starts at just $2.00. These are a really great gift idea for pretty much anyone. When you get a fun new thing like an iPod or a phone, you aren’t really thinking about how to keep it clean until you realize that it’s filthy. If someone you know is going to be getting a gift that has a screen on it this year, this is the perfect companion gift, and the price is right!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a box of Klean Screen wipes! The contest will run until September 1 at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me how you currently keep your screens clean (if at all!).

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love:  Like Klean Screen on Facebook

2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect (found on the sidebar)

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

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

 

The Monster at the End of This Book Comes to Life: Callaway Apps Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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My second favorite childhood book of all time is the classic work starring lovable, furry old Grover. Yes, I’m talking about The Monster at the End of This Book! I can’t even begin to guess how many times I have had it read to me and read it myself over the years. It STILL cracks me up to read the story!

When we first started looking at children’s books that have been turned into apps, this was the book I immediately started looking for online. But no such luck.

UNTIL NOW!!!

Yes, it is now a fantastic app! It is put out by Callaway Digital Arts, and they really nailed the whole spirit of the book. Grover’s voice is spot on, and there are little enhancements and surprises on every page that make this book even more fun than it already is (how is that possible?!). The app is $3.99 from iTunes, and in my opinion, it is an absolute MUST for anyone with a little one at home.

We also had the opportunity to review Miss Spider’s Tea Party, and I’m so glad we did! We weren’t familiar with this book before, but Darah has taken a real interest in the story (bugs are quite interesting to her right now) and she reads it multiple times a day now (she usually goes back and forth between the two Callaway apps!). The illustrations are beautiful the bonus features (a matching game, a coloring book) are very cool, as well. This app is available for $4.99, and I think the higher price is justified by all the extras that come with it.

Callaway apps also has a few other titles that would be of interest to young children, such as Angelina Ballerina and Thomas & Friends! While I haven’t tried out these apps, based on my experience with the two I  have seen, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. Callaway Digital Arts knows what they are doing when it comes to putting together a quality app for kids!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the two apps I reviewed! Yay! The contest will run until August 30th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me a book that you would buy in a heartbeat if it were turned into an app!

My answer: My favorite book is by Marc Brown (who later wrote Arthur) and it is called Pickle Things!

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Like Callaway Digital Arts on Facebook

2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

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

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

Ebeanstalk: My Thoughts On This Online Shopping Destination for Kids

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I was recently asked to check out Ebeanstalk.com and see what I thought about this resource for children’s toys that are high quality, educational and fun.

In short, I’m really impressed! Toys are categorized and featured in ways that resonate with me. Recommendations are sorted by age, which I really appreciate. I’m not as keen on the “boy” and “girl” designation for toys, but that’s another post altogether.

You can also get detailed information about exactly why a particular toy is recommended by their experts. This can help you make wise decisions about which toys might be best suited to meet the developing needs of your child. I know I’ve mistakenly bought things for Darah that were too advanced for her in the past, and Ebeanstalk helps you avoid making those mistakes (or the mistake of buying something that works on skills your child may have already mastered!).

We know several tots who will be turning 3 this year, so the list of toys for 3 year olds will be really helpful. I’ve also spent a bit of time reviewing their list of birthday gifts for 2 year olds, since Darah just turned 2. I’m really loving the learn to dress monkey. Darah LOVES practicing putting her clothes on (I found the poor child laying on the ground last week after falling over because she had both legs in one leg hole of her shorts!). This toy would be so great at helping her start to practice buttoning and unbuttoning, which she would certainly love!

Perhaps the thing I liked the very most about Ebeanstalk is their Grow and Learn series. This is an absolutely outstanding gift idea for grandparents, I think. When you purchase one of these series, the child will be sent a developmentally appropriate toy every 3 months for the entire  year. Isn’t that a smart idea?! The prices vary depending on which package you are purchasing. I appreciate that they have different options for each age and each budget. If you don’t check out anything else, definitely give this a glance; I think you’ll be really impressed!

From remote control toys to beloved children’s books, Ebeanstalk.com’s selection of quality toys for children is impressive, indeed. I would feel very confident with my purchases when shopping there!

Disclosure: I received a gift card to Ebeanstalk.com in exchange for my honest opinions, which I have provided.