Stuff Parents Need

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

Music for Kids: Putumayo Kids World Party Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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Is your little one in need of a fun new YouTube video and song? Here’s a great one!
This is from the fantastically fun new album from Putumayo Kids called Kids World Party. We have really been enjoying dancing around the house to it! It has a wide variety of artists from all over the globe, and it brings home a really terrific selection of different musical styles and sounds.

Here’s a list of the artists and their home countries:
Pakita (France)
Solanna (US)
Famara (Switzerland)
PALO! (Cuba)
Asheba (Trinidad/Tobago)
Sharon Katz and the Peace Train (South Africa)
Tom Freund and Friends (US)
Lucky Ali (India)
Will Street (Canada)
Monedita de Oro (Mexico)
Balentes (Italy)
Eric Bibb (US)
A portion (50 cents) of each album sold goes back to Amnesty International, in commemoration of its 50th anniversary and in support of its work to promote and protect human rights worldwide. I also loved that that packaging for the cd uses no plastic. Way to go on both of these matters, Putumayo Kids!
Buy it!: Kids World Party was released on June 28th and is available for $14.98. If you are looking to bring a global experience to your living room, look no further!
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will snag your own copy of Kids World Party! The contest will run until July 24th 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: Have a little listen to the tracks on this cd (you’ll be so glad you did!) and tell me which one you really like!
Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Putumayo Kids on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect
Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Drenchers: The Best of Flavored Water and Juices Combined

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I think we all know that we are supposed to have at least 8 glasses of water each day, with each glass being 8 ounces. That’s a great thing to aspire to, and more power to you if you are able to do it every day or even most days.

I’m not so much hitting that mark.

The closest I ever came to it was when I was pregnant. I would get about 6 glasses in each day. And that took a great deal of effort on my part. I would have reminders pop up in my work calendar telling me to stop what I was doing and drink some water. Maybe I need to get those reminders going again, because I swear that’s the only reason I did it. I’m so fiercely loyal to my to-do lists!

I struggle for one main reason: water tastes so boring to me! I wish that it tasted super refreshing to me, but it just doesn’t.

A line of drinks has hit the market that is perfect for folks like me who would like to drink more water, but who find themselves ultimately uninspired to do so. Drenchers are drinks that go way beyond those vitamin or flavored waters you see on the market. I tried out all the flavors from their Fit ‘N Lean line, and I found that they tasted like an interesting combination of a flavored water and a fruit juice drink. The calories are more reminiscent of a flavored water, coming in at 10 calories per 8 oz serving. The sugar is also so low that it is a good choice for diabetics. I love fruit juice, but all those calories and the sugar make it not the healthiest choice. And flavored water, to me, is more exciting than water, but still a little bland. Drenchers seem to have incorporated the best of both worlds, offering a tasty beverage that will give you lots of vitamins and minerals, plenty of great flavor, and very little in the way of calories. Very cool!

Drenchers Fit ‘N Lean has 4 great flavors:

  • Endurance (Grape Apple)
  • Restore (Kiwi Mango)
  • Immunity (Pomegranate Berry)
  • Heart Health (Tropical Passion)

Sadly, there are no stores near me that sell this product. But you can order online!

What about you? How do you get your water fix each day? Do you like plain water? Go for the flavored stuff? Prefer juices?

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

Savvy Rest Shredded Latex Pillow GIVEAWAY

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Yesterday you saw my review of the fabulous Savvy Rest Shredded Latex Pillow (aka the pillow of my dreams). Well now you have a chance to win one for yourself! Woo Hoo!

The contest will run until July 23rd 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 continental U.S. (sorry Alaska and Hawaii!).
Mandatory entry: This contest is open to all of my email and RSS subscribers! If you haven’t subscribed yet, now you’ve got a good reason to do so! If you have already subscribed, great! Just let me know in the comments for your first entry.
Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Show a little love to Savvy Rest by liking them on Facebook. Come back here and tell me you did.
2. Blogger love: While you are on Facebook, show a little love to Stuff Parents Need and like my page. Come back here and tell me you did (or already do!)
Rare bonus entry: Follow Savvy Rest on Twitter
Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for the review I provided. The opinions I expressed are strictly my own.

Baby Clothing Network: Doing Baby Clothes Trading Right!

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I’ve been a member of a baby clothing and gear trading website before. The concept was awesome. The execution…not so much. It is hard to find someone, for example, who is in need of size 3 month baby girl clothes and has size 2T baby girl clothes that she needs to get rid of! If she has a girl, she wants to hang on to those bigger sizes (I know I would!). In my experience, finding clothes that you wanted was easy. Figuring out a trade that worked for both parties was very difficult.

There’s a new site that has launched and that has really streamlined the process of trading clothes, and I want to strongly encourage you to check it out (it’s free to join, after all!). It’s called Baby Clothing Network. This site is, as the name suggests, just for clothes. So this isn’t the place to swap your books, baby gear, or anything else. It’s all clothes, all the time here!

Here’s the basic information you need to know about how Baby Clothes Network (BCN) works.
1. Clothing is shipped in bundles put together by individual members. There are two sizes of bundles, medium and large. A medium bundle has between 10-20 items (you will know exactly how many as the person who made the bundle will specify). A large bundle has 20+ items. Each bundle must be size and gender specific.The shipper is to use a flat rate USPS box which can be picked up from the post office for free.

2. The person requesting the bundle pays the shipping cost ($10.50 for a medium box and $14.50 for a large box) plus a $2.00 transaction fee. The person putting together the bundle is able to print the shipping label that the buyer paid for so that they don’t have to get reimbursed for shipping costs. Very easy!

The idea is that you can get gently used clothing for roughly $1/piece and have it sent to your door. You also don’t have to find someone to do a swap with you, but can simply “buy” from whoever has what you need. When you send away a bundle of clothes, you get 1 point on the network. To request a bundle, you are deducted 1 point. You can send a bundle or request a bundle to start (so you can have a negative balance). But the purpose of the point system is to give the community a sense for who is giving and receiving fairly. In that sense, it sort of monitors itself, as those with high negative numbers will likely be denied by the people whose bundles get requested. Make sense?

The Baby Clothing Network walks you through how to put together a bundle so that you can be sure you do it right and present something that someone else is going to want (no stained clothing, please!).

I am absolutely fascinated by this idea. I have TONS of clothing that got picked over when I tried to put it in a consignment sale. There was nothing at all wrong with the clothes, they just couldn’t beat out the Baby Gap and Gymboree items sitting right next to them. The Baby Clothing Network is the perfect place to go to so that I can find new a new home for this baby clothing. And I can also try to score some great play clothes for Darah to have now or grow into while I’m at it.

The price is also very fair. You are just paying for the shipping plus a $2.00 fee. You’re basically paying garage sale prices for the clothing without having to brave the heat and drive all over town to go to garage sales! It saves time and money. Gotta love that!

Give Baby Clothing Network a try. Browse over the bundles that are currently being offered. I bet you’ll find one (or more!) that you’d like to have. That will inspire you to part ways with some of the stuff your kids have outgrown. Everybody wins! 🙂

Special thanks to Baby Clothing Network for sponsoring this post. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

The Best Fluffy Pillows: Savvy Rest Review (Giveaway Coming Soon!)

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Different people have different pillow preferences. My husband has the flattest pillows. They completely confound me. I don’t even understand why he has a pillow at all if he’s going to have one as flat as his.

As for me, I’m a fluffy pillow gal all the way. I grew up with feather pillows, actually, but as I developed allergies over the years, I have been told to steer clear of those.

So now I have a pile of 3-4 pillows (not kidding) that are each very flat but that when combined are tall enough for me.

Are you surprised to hear that I have serious neck pains? Shocking, I know….

Getting the Right Pillow
I’ve known for quite some time now that I needed to invest in a quality pillow that would properly support my head and neck and also be fluffy, just like I like. But it can be a real challenge not to be short-sighted when making a pillow purchase. At my age, I know better than to buy a cheap pillow that will wear out in 6 months, and yet, I find myself doing it again and again rather than saving up for a pillow that will perform better.

The wait it over. Finally. I am the proud owner of a Savvy Rest Shredded Latex Pillow. Let me tell you why this is a particularly excellent choice for a place to rest your head.

  • The soft, shredded latex is designed to conform to your head and neck for lasting comfort
  • The pillow is custom fit to your preference. It comes over-stuffed, so you just keep removing stuffing until you get the pillow exactly how you like it
  • The materials in this pillow are natural and non-toxic

I’ve been using the pillow for several weeks, now, and I’m excited to tell you about my experience. Even though I do really love fluffy pillows, the Savvy Rest pillow really and truly is overstuffed. I don’t think anyone would want to sleep on it as is! But removing the shredded latex is easy to do. It took me about 3 nights to get the pillow exactly how I wanted it. I erred on the cautious side when removing the shredded latex, as I sense that putting the stuffing back in would be similar to putting toothpaste back into a tube. Better to just remove a little bit at a time until you get it where you like.

Once I got it to the right place for me, I started to enjoy sleeping even more. I have noticed a significant positive difference in how my neck feels. My neck pains are not completely gone, but they are much improved.

I have resisted getting a higher quality pillow for so long. Have you done the same? I can now tell you from experience that I believe they are worth it. I feel so much better sleeping on a quality pillow. It makes a difference in how tired/cranky I feel all day long. Now I see that this is something I should have done a really long time ago. I’m now very curious about the natural latex mattresses offered by the company. I bet they feel like clouds!

Buy it!: Savvy Rest Shredded Latex Pillows come in 4 sizes and start at $89.00. Savvy Rest also has other pillow types that you should definitely check out. While you are browsing around, check out Savvy Rest on Facebook. They have a lot of really interesting info there!

Stay tuned, because tomorrow I’ll be hosting a giveaway for a shredded latex pillow!

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

Headboards: Why Did We Wait So Long To Get One???

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Tim and I have been married for 9 years. For 8 of those years, we did not have a proper bed. By that I mean that we didn’t have a headboard of any sort. After the pain of buying a nice mattress, we just didn’t have any money left over and we assumed that bedroom furniture would easily cost $1,000!

When we bought a house in Memphis, we found a beautiful bed at a garage sale that had been in someone’s guest room, pretty much unused. We got the whole thing for $350 and promptly tucked it away in our own guest room. We were very pleased with how nice that room looked, while our own room continued to be a complete afterthought.
It was only when we moved that we decided to claim the bed for ourselves. It really is quite lovely, but if we didn’t already own it, I would have found something else for us by now. There are headboards for queen size beds in such a wide variety of styles and colors. It really is amazing, and not at all like the options that our parents had when looking for furniture. There’s no need for your bedroom furniture to look just like your neighbors!

I think if I were looking right now for something, I’d want to go with an upholstered headboard. That seems to be a bit more my style. I secretly wish that I could paint the bed that we currently have, but I can objectively recognize that the wood is very pretty, though not perfectly my style, and I just can’t bring myself to do it!
Headboards for full size beds are just as varied these days. If you have a little one making the move from toddler bed to full-size bed, take a bit of time to look for a headboard that fits in with your child’s personal sense of style (because they do each have one!). You’ll no doubt be able to easily find something that is functional and attractive. While you are at it, why not find an affordable one? The days of having to pay an outrageous amount of money for a nice bed are over, especially if you shop online!

Parents Magazine Subscription for $4! Hurry!

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As a parent (especially those of us who are doing it for the first time!), it seems as if there are always new situations that arise and you have absolutely no idea how to handle them. Thankfully, many other parents have been through these situations before and are able to help us with their experiences and advice. Thanks to Parents magazine, that information is all compiled into a monthly magazine for easy access!

If you haven’t had a chance to browse a Parents magazine yet, I strongly recommend taking a look at one. It’s full of information about behavior and discipline, development, health and safety, education, fun activities, food and recipes, and much more! It’s a great magazine for expecting moms all the way up to parents of older children.

The yearly rate for Parents magazine is just $12, which is already a great bargain. But now, Purex Detergents is partnering up with Parents and offering Stuff Parents Need readers a full year’s subscription for just $4! That’s only 33 cents an issue – you really can’t beat that!

If you’d like to take advantage of this great offer, head over to this link: https://www.purex.com/parents-promo and use this special promo code from Stuff Parents Need: PX0891. This offer is only good until July 22nd, so be sure to use it ASAP!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Purex; I have written this post so that I have a chance to win a gift card.

Boutique Hairbow Review and Discount Coco Penny

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If you have a little girl, you probably find it hard to resist the temptation to get some boutique hair bows for her hair. Darah always pulls her bows out, but I am like the Little Engine that Could, and I just keep trying. We’ve actually reached a point where her bangs are so long that they bother her, and she’ll let me pull her hair back with a bow or put it in a ponytail….at least for 5-10 minutes.

Today I’m featuring a site that specializes in affordable hair flowers. They are so precious! It is called Coco Penny. What I really like about their products is that many of them can easily go from daughters to mothers without looking strange. This is definitely the only hair accessory in Darah’s collection that I could wear, too.

Coco Penny has such a sweet array of hair accessories, inspired by daisies, gardenias, dahlias, sweet peas, peonies and more. Coco Penny also uses interesting materials, including felt, chiffon and jersey knit. This gives every piece a casual feel that I really love. Cute doesn’t have to be formal and stiff!

Each hair flower has an alligator clip, which is a very versatile clip because it can go straight into your hair, it can go on top of a ponytail, or it can slide onto a headband. They can also attach to hats, belts, handbags, coats and sweaters. You can get a lot of use out of just one hair flower!

Buy it!: Coco Penny pieces start at just $3.50! You can buy individual hair flowers or sets of 3-4. Right now you can also score 15% off your purchase using the code COCOBLOGS.

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

Baby’s First 100 Days Review and GIVEAWAY

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Anyone who has ever had a baby can confirm that the old saying is true: baby’s don’t come with instruction manuals! Fortunately, millions of parents have come before us, and over that times, we’ve learned quite a lot about newborn development, and what is normal, and what should raise concern.

Baby’s First 100 Days is a new book that has just come out, and I like it for a few main reasons.
1. It is brief. When you are in the throws of learning how to feed your child (breast or bottle), learning to diaper, and falling madly in love while learning how to survive on no sleep, it can be a little overwhelming to have to flip through a book the size of an encyclopedia to find the information you seek. This book is 84 pages long and has a very handy table of contents. It will fit on your night stand right next to your diaper cream and breast pads. Just sayin’.

2. It has pictures! When you are a first time parent, sometimes a book will describe newborn behavior, but you won’t know for sure if what they are describing is what your baby is doing. Having a picture that shows what they are talking about is enormously helpful! When you are brand new to parenting, you have no idea what a grimmacing face might look like, or a proper swaddle. Pictures really do help.

I would recommend Baby’s First 100 Days as a baby shower gift for a first time mom and dad. I don’t think it is necessary for anyone who has already had a baby once before. I will be passing my copy along to a childhood friend of mine who just had her first baby 6 days ago. I hope she will find it to be helpful!

Buy it!: Baby’s First 100 Days is available from Amazon for $7.99.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of Baby’s First 100 Days. The contest will run until July 21st at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using 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 a tip that you would give to a brand new parent

My answer: We purchased the sound of a heart beating in utero from iTunes for 1.00. Best dollar we spent! When Darah was a newborn, she preferred to have that playing on repeat while she snoozed during the day. I highly recommend it!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Follow Cedar Fort Books 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 homepage.

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