Stuff Parents Need

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

Gelatin-Free Wiggly Snack: Cool Cups

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Darah has recently discovered the beauty of gelatin. Especially gelatin with a little whipped topping on it. Yummy!!!!! It is her new favorite treat!

Did you know that gelatin is one of the things that many vegetarians shy away from eating? Do you want to know why? I had never really checked this out until writing this post. And, uh, here’s why. Gelatin is the boiled tissues and bones of animals.

Yup.

Wowzers. That is disgusting.

Sometimes it is easier to not know this information, right? I know. I’m sorry if I just ruined gelatin for you.

But I know that I actually didn’t! That’s because there’s a new product on the market called Cool Cups. Here’s some of the things you can expect from this product:

  • Gelatin Free
  • Gluten Free
  • Fat Free
  • Dairy Free
  • GMO Free
  • No Artificial Colors
  • No Preservatives
  • High in Vitamin C
  • Less than 95 Calories Per Serving
  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan

How do they taste? Oh, how I wish I could tell you! I wasn’t able to find them at my Whole Foods, unfortunately. They are the #1 product of its type in the U.S., though, so I’m guessing they taste pretty darn good!

Have you tried Cool Cups? Please tell us about them! I’m dying to hear!

Disclosure: I received a gift card to facilitate my review (and unfortunately, couldn’t find the product to purchase it!). All opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Hanes Toddler Underwear Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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Darah has fully owned her underwear collection. She loves the ritual of picking out her new underwear from her basket. I’ve noticed that she likes having a variety of solids and prints, and she really does choose whatever suits her mood.

She spends most of the mornings that we are at home in just a top and her undies. She seems to prefer this most casual attire, and I don’t mind. It’s warm inside the house, and if she’s more comfortable that way, then that’s fine with me!

We just received some new underwear from Hanes, and I’m excited to tell you about them. These are the Hanes Tagless Toddler Girls 100% Cotton Briefs. They come in a package of 6 for $6.50, which is an excellent buy! And as you read in their name, they are TAGLESS!!! This is a very nice feature for comfort. The only drawback is that it does make learning how to put on your underwear a little bit trickier. All the tag information is on the underwear, but because it isn’t on a tag, it’s a little bit harder for a young one to find. You’ll just have to determine if it is more important to have an easily identified tag or to have a toddler who doesn’t complain of something scratching him/her! I really think what you need just depends on your child.

One other fantastic feature of this toddler underwear is that it is guaranteed not to ride up! No wedgies for your little one! I have definitely found this to be true for Darah, and that’s one reason I’d give this underwear a big endorsement.

If you have a toddler boy, Hanes also has a line of tagless underwear for boys, too!

The sizing for the underwear is 2/3T or 4T. I was very concerned that a 2/3T would be enormous on Darah, but I haven’t found that to be the case. They are a little bit big, but we’ve had no problems with them drooping or falling off. Basically, she just has a bit of room to grow, which is nice for the budget!

I would definitely recommend Hanes as a great resource for toddler underwear at affordable prices! Here’s a list of retailers that carry Hanes!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win your choice of toddler underwear for girls or boys! The contest will run until July 20th 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 another product in the infant and toddler line that you’d like to have for your child (choose from underwear, socks, t-shirts and sweats).

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Hanes on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect (found on sidebar)

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

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

Water-Resistant Kid-Friendly Sunscreen: Sunbow Sunscreens Review

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With the temperatures regularly hitting the low 90s in Chattanooga, we’ve been going all over town to play in various water attractions. We don’t have a pool or access to one (there’s one thing I do miss about Memphis…), but we are fortunate to live in a city that has a few water-based activities for little kids that are completely free. We have wading pools in front of and around the aquarium downtown (just a bus ride away!) and across the river there’s a really great fountain that is just perfect for little ones to run around in for hours.

Darah, ever since her Callaway Gardens experience, has been ALL ABOUT getting in the water any chance she can get. But she has inherited pasty white skin from both her mom and dad, and melanoma also runs on her dad’s side of the family. For those two reasons, we are EXTRA careful about sun exposure, and we try to avoid being out in the sun at all between 11 am and 2 pm when the rays are at their most intense.

Any time we are out, even on cloudy days, we load up with our “lotion” (what Darah calls sunscreen). I’m pleased to report that Darah already knows that applying lotion before we play outside is just part of the process, and she goes along with it without issue.

It doesn’t hurt that we have some really cute products on hand, either! Lately we have been using two great new products from Sunbow Sunscreen.

Sunbow Sunscreen products have two beloved children’s characters on them: Spongebob Squarepants and Dora the Explorer. We’ve been using the Sunscreen Stick that has SPF 45 for Darah’s face and the Sunscreen in a non-aerosol pump form that has Dora the Explorer and an SPF 30 (I do wish this number were a bit higher). Both products go on with a slight color to help you or your child see what areas you have covered and what areas you have missed, but then they quickly dry clear.

I really like the application methods for each product. Darah likes lotions that spray on and the stick covers her face very quickly. This means that the process of putting on lotion doesn’t take long at all, which is good for squirmy toddlers who just want to get in the water!

Speaking of water, these are water-resistant sunscreens. So they are perfect for play time AND pool time. These products are also hypo-allergenic, which makes them ideal for anyone with sensitive skin.

Of course, you don’t have to be a kid to enjoy these products. I’ll usually just wear whatever sunscreen Darah has on to avoid packing multiple bottles. Sunbow Sunscreen has kept my skin protected, as well!

Buy it!: The spray sunscreen retails for $9.99 and the sun stick retails for $7.99. All products can be ordered online!

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

Party Dresses from Tea Collection: Help Me Pick a Dress!

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My tiny love is turing 2 in one short month.

I am at a loss for words about this. Almost 😉

I’m in so much denial about it that I haven’t even started planning a birthday party for her. I’ve never had an official birthday party for a child, and the nuances of etiquette for such parties makes me dizzy. But that’s an entirely different post altogether.

What IS fun to think about is what the birthday girl should wear on her special day. And I’m all about having a party dress.

But not just any party dress.

I want something ultra awesome. And that means I need to look at Tea Collection.

Tea Collection has some of the snazziest collections of girls clothing season after season. I love that they reach beyond pastel or hot pink for inspiration, and even look for patterns, cuts and styles from other countries. It makes for some seriously cute stuff.

Wanna see what Tea has out now that is perfect for someone turning 2? Here are my top picks, in no particular order (each and every one makes me swoon!).

Aren’t they all just awesome?! I think the the days of me having all the say in what Darah ways are drawing to a close. Already she prefers to select her clothes for the day from her closet by herself. It will be so interesting to see what her personal style is as she begins to express it. I love Tea Collection because it reminds me of the way that I want to dress, but at the same time, it is still playful and not at all grown up. I wonder what Darah will think of Tea Collection when she starts exercising her free will even more?

One thing is for sure. There’s no possible way that she will look back at pictures of her second birthday and not adore the frock I chose.

Which one do you think I should go for???

This post is brought to you by the fabulous folks at Tea Collection. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Mezzetta Review and GIVEAWAY (and $25,000 Contest Announcement!)

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It’s hot. H-O-T! And do you agree with me that when the weather is like this that the last thing you want to do is turn on your oven, or really even your stove?! Summer meals in my house incorporate many more fresh ingredients, and we also turn to meal ideas that take little to no cooking.
And that means that we eat a lot of sandwiches over the summer!
We don’t eat sandwiches often during the rest of the year, so it’s fine for us to have a sandwich season in our house. But Even though the “season” just lasts a few months, I can get bored with my sandwich options after just a few weeks. I get stuck in a rut and find myself eating the same boring things over and over again, just because I don’t know what else to do, nor do I have any cool ingredients on hand.
But not anymore! Today I’m featuring some products that really need to go on your next grocery list, because they are probably not things that you think to include, but if you have them, they can revolutionize your sandwiches (promise!).
Mezzetta is a family-owned business that has been operating since 1935 and is based in Napa Valley, and they are the leading producer of glass-packed peppers, olives and specialty foods in the United States! They offer a wide-variety of products that you can read about here.
I’ll pause while you wipe the drool off your mouth…
All better? Ok.

We were sent a few products that are especially useful for taking your sandwich from, “Meh” to “MEZZETTA!!!” 😉 You guys, I had NO idea what a humongous difference a little swipe of pesto on a sandwich would make. It’s a huge game-changer! Or have you ever thought of trying roasted red bell pepper strips on your boring turkey sandwich? Oh yes, it’s not boring, anymore! And don’t even get me started on the power of sundried tomatoes. Oh. my. word. Divine!!!!
These are things I’ve seen before in fancy-pants sandwich shops. Occasionally, I’ll spring the $8 for one of those sandwiches. But why? You can totally make this stuff at home for a fraction of the price! You just need a little help from Mezzetta!

If you are feeling inspired by these sandwich savers, then listen closely: you can turn your culinary wizardry into $25,000! From now through September 5th, you can submit your best jazzed-up sandwich idea and be entered to win! They also have some excellent sandwich ideas from celebrity chefs on the site, so be sure to stop by. Someone is going to win this money….why shouldn’t it be you???
Buy it!: If your local grocer is wise to the deliciousness of Mezzetta, you should be able to find these products on your next trip to the store. But if not, never fear! Mezzetta products are available online! they are worth buying, for sure, and you can even pick up a few extra jars of products as these make excellent hostess gifts to bring along to your next dinner party.
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a gift basket from Mezzetta (sponsor’s choice!). The contest will run until July 18th 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: This contest is open to all my email an RSS subscribers! All you have to do is subscribe (or already be subscribed) and tell you me do so in the comments for your first entry.
Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Mezzetta on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook
Rare bonus entry: Tell me which Mezzetta product you want to try!
Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of the page.
Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Best Strollers for Two: Your Thoughts?

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Tim and I are choosing to space our kids out a little bit. It is likely that by the time we have another baby, Darah will be too big to sit in a stroller. So we should be able to make do with just one stroller for both kids.

But that’s not the path that everyone takes! I know people who have children 13 months – 2 years apart from each other. And of course, I know lots of folks with twins!

If you are one of these folks, I’d love to hear about what you choose for strollers with double the fun. Did you decide that you wanted a double stroller of some sort and then did your homework to find t
he best one for your budget? Or did you try to make do with one stroller or 2 single strollers and then gave up in frustration?
Has anyone out there tried tandem strollers? At least in theory, these seem like a really good option. I like that they are pretty much as narrow as a single stroller. That would make getting in and out of doorways a bit easier. Or does it? I’m realizing now that the adult pushing the stroller is now further away from the door handle!
I also really like the sleek design of jogging strollers, and their functionality for going off-road. This Schwinn Turismo swivel double jogger looks pretty darn sweet! We’d love to get a jogging stroller of some sort for the next kid, as we found that we wanted to use the stroller the most when we were out on long walks. And that’s pretty much the worst place to take a conventional stroller.
We used a carrier for Darah much more when she was little, and now we use a really cheap umbrella stroller, just because it is so easy to travel with. Isn’t that sort of ironic that the more expensive stroller gets used so much less? There’s definitely something to be said for a stroller being as lightweight as possible. Is that something you have to forgo altogether, though, if you want a double stroller? Or can it be found, but only for a really steep price?
What are you using for a stroller, whether you are pushing one or more! 🙂



My Little Superhero (Costume Discounters Review)

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Play time gets more exciting every single day. Darah’s imagination is already amazing to witness, and I know its only going to get better! One of my big projects that I’m currently working on is putting together a bin of dress up costumes for her. Some of the items I can get at the thrift store or yard sales, and some accessories I can pick up on clearance (all that big, chunky jewelry that is so popular right now is perfect for dress-up!). But there are some costumes that just need to be left to the experts to create and that are worth paying for. Take this photo, for instance. I wouldn’t trade it or the memory of the first time she put on this costume for $1,000! I mean it!

Darah is sporting the deluxe Supergirl costume for toddler, and isn’t she fabulous in it? I had just put it on her and wanted to do a little photo shoot. I suggested a dramatic hands-on-hips pose, but she had other plans, and immediately went for the more contemplative superhero stance. She’s a bright one, because this look is just so perfect! It’s as if she is looking down from the sky at the people in need, thinking through her strategy in her head and gathering her strength for her upcoming mission. Love it!

This costume came from Costume Discounters, which is a really great resource for superhero costumes (babies through adults!). I think every child’s dress-up box needs at least one caped or masked avenger. For Darah, Supergirl was the perfect choice. You see, Tim was well-known as a child for wearing his superman costume EVERYWHERE. No really. Everywhere. In fact, my mother-in-law was known by some people simply as, “Superman’s mom.” Ha! It is fun for Darah to be able to continue the tradition.

I’m not sure if Darah will be Supergirl for Halloween this year, although that is certainly a possibility. Costume Discounters has a really wide variety of Halloween costumes for toddlers, so I’ll at least be looking over their options in a few months to see if anything strikes me (or lines up perfectly with whatever Darah will be into at that point in time…it changes weekly!). Currently I’m loving their plum pixie costume!

What about you? Are you starting to think of Halloween costume ideas? Any favorites from past years? I’d love to hear!

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


Homeopathic Topical Pain Relief: Tropicin Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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The more I read about homeopathic remedies for various illnesses, the more interested I have become in having them in my house as the items we turn to first. I recently learned about a fantastic line of topical treatments that are homeopathic in nature. The brand is Topricin, and today I’m introducing you to 3 products in their line.

From their site, “Topricin is the nation’s leading natural therapeutic topical treatment. It is FDA regulated formula that brings together 11 homeopathic bio medicines that work synergistically to relieve pain associated with a wide range of ailments abd injuries, including: fibromyalgia, arthritis, lower back and shoulder pain, sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, and trauma and sports injuries.”

I love when a product can address such a wide variety of issues, and when there are no known side effects for using the product, as is the case for Topricin!

First, for the little ones we have Topricin Junior. This product can deal with a whole host of issues, including injuries, bruises, sprains, cramps and muscle aches (growing pains!), bug bites, minor burns and eczema. Isn’t that amazing? In addition, 5% of sales for this cream go back to Pediatric Cancer Care, a non-profit organization.

Next, I’d like to introduce you to the original Topricin. This product is safe for all skin types and even for pregnant women! It is meant to alleviate pain. I’ve used it on sore muscles and found it to be effective! I’d like to get some for my mom, who suffers from fibromyalgia, to see if she experiences any relief with the product. It seems from the reviews that others with this condition are report Topricin to be very helpful.

Finally, we received Topricin Foot Therapy Cream. I have not had the opportunity to try it out, yet, but I am prone to leg cramps when I get stressed out, so I’m really glad to have this on hand for when it happens . It can also help alleviate pain associated with sprains and sports-related injuries.

Topricin products provide relief in about 15-20 minutes from the time of application, and the relief lasts 4-6 hours. I think these products are extremely useful for a whole host of reasons, and deserve a spot in your medicine cabinet. Find your nearest Topricin retailer here.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a 3 pack of Topricin products! The contest will run until July 16th 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: Poke around the Topricin website and tell me something you learned (don’t miss the informational videos in the resources section!).

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Topricin 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 homepage.

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

Baby Bites Review and GIVEAWAY

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I just finished reading a FANTASTIC book that should be in the home of anyone with a baby or toddler. It’s called Baby Bites, and it is written by Bridget Swinney, a Registered Dietitian. It is chock-full of really good information that parents need to think about when getting their babies started on solid foods. It even has tips and tricks for those of us with picky eaters on our hands.

While Darah eats table food at this point, I still got a lot of really good ideas about foods to expose her to, and what her daily diet needs to have in it. I’m doing a decent job, but after reading this book, I see some areas where I’m missing the mark and need to be a bit more intentional. The book didn’t make me feel guilty about these shortcomings, but rather, left me feeling more empowered to take control of making sure Darah is surrounded with healthy foods and healthy messages about our relationship with food.

Baby Bites is available from Amazon for just $10.40 and is well worth it! I highly recommend this read!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of Baby Bites. The contest will run until July 15th 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: Tell me the most interesting food that your child loved as a baby or toddler

My answer: Darah, just like her mother, felt passionately about mangoes from her very first bite. She would literally shake in anticipation of getting to eat a bite of pureed mango!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Subscribe to Bridget’s blog
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

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

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