Stuff Parents Need

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

Does Darah Prefer Boxers or Briefs? (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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I’ve mentioned this a few times in recent posts, but in case you missed it, Darah is officially 100% potty trained (even overnight!). She has been in underwear full time for about 7 weeks now. Overall, it has been AWESOME (said by the person who does most of the cloth diaper laundry!).

But let me tell you about what has NOT been awesome: the search for underwear that fits and that stays put.

Yeah, pretty much that has been a disaster. Darah is on the young end for being potty trained, and she is also on the small end for kids her age. She can still wear 12-18 month clothes. There’s just no such thing as that size underwear, at least not that I could find, and even size 18-24 months is really tough to find.

As a result, most of Darah’s underwear has to be rolled to stay put, and even then it is very big on her, and looks awkward under her fitted pants. There’s just too much material bunched up!

But then I heard about Girl Gotch, which was started by a fabulous mom named Rebecca who ran into similar problems when potty training her daughter in the summer of 2008. Her little one always was pulling and adjusting her underwear because it kept riding up on her. While having a playdate, her daughter had an accident but didn’t have a change of clothes. In a pinch, she borrowed some little boys’ underwear. They worked like magic, providing full coverage and staying put! Light bulb!!!!

So Rebecca designed a line of underwear modeled after those boy styles with the thicker elastic bands, but put a girly spin on it by offering them in bright, bold colors. She also created a line of little boxers for girls (I’d say they are close to boxer-briefs).

You guys. This underwear is SO STINKIN’ CUTE. And perhaps more importantly, it does exactly what it claims! It stays put! And Darah absolutely loves them. The day they came in the mail, she saw them and immediately took off the underwear she had on, right there on the spot, and asked for her, “new yellow underwear, please.” She knew they were going to rock, I guess!

Any time I give her a choice of which pair of underwear she wants to put on, she ALWAYS chooses a Girl Gotch, and since she has both the boxers and briefs, I can tell you that she picks the boxers first! 🙂

Buy it!: Girl Gotch underwear is available online. They are sold in packs of 3 for $15.99. Most size 2T underwear currently falls off Darah, but Girl Gotch 2T fits her perfectly, so that may mean that they run a little bit small. Sizes go from 2-6!

Win it!: One lucky winner will win a 3 pack of Girl Gotch underwear in your choice of briefs or boxers! The contest will run until June 25th at 11:49pm 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 and Canada. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Girl Gotch wants to be friends with you on Facebook, so follow them and then come back here and tell me you did!

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Follow Girl Gotch 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 complimentary products for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

The Original Coupon Site: MyCoupons.com

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eDo you remember what year you started using the internet? Are you old enough to remember waiting FORTY FOREVERS for the dial-up connection to go through? Was it long-distance when it first became available in your area? It definitely was for us. I remember going to by BFF Leslie’s house to go online and the timer would be set for us by her mom…we would always cheat and re-set it!

So my memories span back to 1993, I think, which is pretty early in the life of the world wide web. Today I’m highlighting a site that has been around almost that long, since 1995. That makes it a real old-timer! It also means that for a site to have survived this long in the extremely competitive online environment, it must be doing something right.

It’s called MyCoupons.com. Ever heard of it? It is the original coupon site designed to help you snag the very best deals while shopping online. They have over 10,000 coupons! Woah!!! Here’s an example, for you. Let’s say that you want to buy some lovely new bedding at a department store you love. MyCoupons.com has a selection of JCPenney coupons, including one that offers free shipping with a $69 or more purchase. That’s just perfect!

Or maybe you are on the lookout for some nice casual clothes for a member of your family. Then you need to check out the American Eagle coupons, and there you’ll find info on how to snag free shipping, as well!

Whatever store you like to shop at, the odds are really good that MyCoupons.com has some deals to share with you. Additionally, MyCoupons.com has a list of discounted gift cards that you can purchase! So just imagine buying a gift card to a store you love for less than full price, and then using that gift card with discount codes you found on MyCoupons.com. You’d really be doing some serious saving!

Finally, I’ve learned that MyCoupons.com also has a selection of exclusive coupons. That means that they have discounts and offers that you CAN’T find at any other site. That means it is always worth a quick check at this site before you hit the purchase button!

Special thanks to MyCoupons.com for sponsoring this post. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Imperfection is the Enemy: Only with Skincare!

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As a mother, I’ve really had to learn to accept imperfection. My house has never once ever looked perfect (and as a mother, I fall even further short of that elusive goal thanks to a lack of time), my wardrobe never looks perfect, and even my writing on this lovely blog is imperfect. I’m totally at peace with that.

But I love the idea behind the skincare company Perfective Ceuticals, which holds that when it comes to skincare, imperfection is the enemy. That doesn’t mean that you have to apply 45 different lotions and potions, you just need to make sure that what you do use has been developed by a specialized team of doctors and biochemists to eradicate the signs of aging to the fullest extent that science is capable of doing.

I tried out the appropriately named Anti-Imperfection Eye Therapy Cream with Growth Factor. First, you should know that the container is SO cool. It reminds me a bit of R2-D2! You twist the top for the pump to come out. I like this feature because it can help ensure that Darah doesn’t come across it and pump out all of mommy’s eye cream (which could totally happen, otherwise). I can just twist the cap so that it is closed!

I’ve been using the product every day for a few weeks, and here are my thoughts:
1. the cream is thick. A little bit goes a long way. Because of its thickness, I personally think it is better suited for night use than for daytime use (it is advertised to work for both). If you can take your time applying your makeup, though, then using this during the day would be fine. But it does need at least 20 minutes to soak in before you put anything else over it.

2. Does it work? Drumroll please……YES! I am at the age where my wrinkles are still fine, though very much existent. I have noticed that they have softened quite a bit after using this product. Woo hoo! This product is also formulated to help battle dark circles and puffiness, so it packs a big punch, so to speak.

3. Price. There’s just no beating around the bush: this cream is not cheap. It retails for $90 and is currently on sale for $72. But I have also learned that eye creams (especially those that work) are not cheap. It’s one of those areas where you kind of have to spend a bit more. My advice is to go cheap on your eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss and put that extra money toward your skincare.

What do you use for battling wrinkles, dark circles and puffiness around your eyes?

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes through the Family Review Network. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

World’s Best Cat Litter: Lavender Scent! (Big GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Last year I reviewed a product that claimed to be the world’s best of its kind. That’s quite a hefty claim, don’t you think?! In fact, the company was so bold about this claim that they incorporated it into their name: World’s Best Cat Litter. You can read all about my initial review of the product here.

If you are short on time, I’ll give you the scoop (heh heh). The litter works beautifully, the smell is totally captured, and the product is environmentally friendly. It’s a winner, all-around! Now The World’s Best Cat Litter has come out with a lavender scented formula, and we have been giving it a test spin (more specifically, our cat Hattie has been trying it out).It works just as well as the original formula! I will say that the scent was a bit overpowering at first. But the litter box in our house is kept in a very small bathroom, so it doesn’t get a lot of ventilation.I thought the smell calmed down significantly after 24 hours.

I really like that one small bag of litter is designed to last one month (assuming you scoop the litter daily). So far, so good for the amount we’ve used. It looks like we’re going to hit that one month mark!

If you have not yet tried World’s Best Cat Litter, I strongly encourage it. You can find it at most major retailers and I think you’ll be really impressed with how well it captures odors, even for multiple cats!


One thing I wanted to highlight is that World’s Best Cat Litter was kind enough to send me four of their 17 lb bags of cat litter to donate to the local shelter of my choice. What an awesome way for them to have a positive impact on a local nonprofit! Thanks so much!

Win it!: WBCL didn’t forget about you! Oh boy, there are going to be FOUR winners of this giveaway! Two winners will each received a 17 lb bag of scented litter, just like what I reviewed. One winner will get a 17 lb of clumping litter, and 1 winner will get a 17 lob of Multiple Cat clumping litter! Woo hoo! The contest will run until June 22nd 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: Check out the World’s Best Cat Litter difference, and tell me something you learned!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like World’s Best Cat Litter 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 a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Earning an MBA Without Quitting Your Day Job To Get It

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Time to share another little-known fact about me! Did you know that I am a college faculty member? It’s true! I teach a course on world religions (so that Master’s Degree in Theological Studies really does get put to work!).

But I don’t report to a local university a few times each week. In fact, I don’t even have to report to an online class at any specific time of day. I do most of my grading around 5am every day, in my pj’s, while Darah is sleeping. If she wakes up early (as often happens), Tim takes the early morning shift with her while I grade papers and respond to discussion questions about different religions and how they interface with each other in our shrinking world.

As a faculty member in this type of environment, I have to say that I really appreciate this approach to education. I can make teaching fit into my life. I know that the students are in similar situations. Most of my students are trying to balance part-time or even full-time jobs, family commitments, and getting an advanced education so that they can improve their career prospects. Going back to school is hard work no matter how you decide to do it, but the online learning environment provides the flexibility that so many people need so that they can earn a degree without quitting their jobs (as going without an income is not at all possible for so many people).

Perhaps you have a great idea and an entrepreneurial spirit. You’ve always dreamed of starting your own business. Have you considered going for an MBA? Such a move can really help you create a solid business plan to help ensure that your great idea can actually turn into a viable business. I think so often people have AMAZING ideas, but their businesses never get off the ground because a great idea is not enough to keep a business going, unfortunately.

Fortunately, there are so many fantastic programs that can be taken online, or that meet regularly but are designed for someone who has other commitments, such as work or family obligations. For example, this Colorado Business Schooloffers everything from an accelerated full-time program that you can complete in 11 months (wow!) to all sorts of part-time options.If you have the time and want to go full-speed ahead, then those options definitely exist. But I want to make sure that those of you out there who are daydreaming of earning a degree understand that you really can go back to school for an MBA, or for most any other degree and find a program that fits your needs and that fits into your busy life. I know this for a fact since I teach in such an environment, and experience the benefits of an education that is rigorous, but can bend and flex depending on your needs. Don’t let a lack of time be a barrier for you!

What about you? Are you in school? Thinking about going back? I’d love to hear!

Disclosure: I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

How to Make Yogurt

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Sometime last year, I decided to try my hand at making yogurt. Darah eats yogurt at least once a day, and we were reaching the point where I was thinking about investing in some yogurt stocks (only half kidding…that kid eats a LOT of yogurt). I had heard people online say that making it wasn’t so hard and could help you save money.

That was all I needed to hear; I was in!

I used a crockpot method that involved several steps, and heating the milk at varying temperatures for about 18 hours. It was a long process.

The end result for me? Chunky milk, which is NOT yogurt. It was SOOO disappointing! I didn’t roll my sleeves up and try again. I just quit. One spoiled gallon of milk was enough for me to go back to buying yogurt.

But then I learned about a very cool cool gadget called the Automatic Yogurt Maker. I found it at an awesome online resource that is all about cheese making called the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. Hang on to your hats, folks….a review of their cheesemaking kit is forthcoming! So exciting!!! I’m not usually a fan of kitchen gadgets that just do one thing, but considering just how much yogurt my family eats, it made sense for us to give it a whirl.

Here’s a video showing you what we did! We had a thermometer (came in our cheesemaking kit) to help us get the temperature just right in the beginning.

I’m very happy to report that the yogurt maker worked beautifully and took about 1/3 of the time as the method I tried before. And it tastes awesome! While we used some store bought yogurt to create a starter this time, we can either save one jar of yogurt that we make to use as the starter for our next batch, or we can use some of the yogurt cultures that the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company sends along with your purchase. We’ll never buy yogurt again! Wow! This product is a winner for us, and if your family eats a lot of yogurt, I highly recommend it! This is a really great way to make organic yogurt for a fraction of what it costs in the stores. The Automatic Yogurt Maker is available for $49.95.

Win it!: Oh my gosh, this is such a fun giveaway! One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win the Automatic Yogurt Maker, courtesy of the New England Cheesemaking Company! The contest will run until June 21st at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to 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: The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company is such a cool cheesemaking resource. Poke around the website and tell me something you learned there or something else you’d like to own.

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Join the monthly newsletter for the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by email or RSS

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.

An Incredible Detergent You May Not Know: Country Save (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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If you cloth diaper your child, you are most definitely going to read this post.

Or, if you are on the hunt for a more eco-friendly detergent for yourself and your family, but are none too impressed with the price tags for most options, you also need to keep reading.

Today I’m doing my part to bring a fantastic laundry detergent out from the shadows and into the spotlight. I’m certainly not claiming that I discovered this. On the contrary…thousands of people have been using it for several decades! But people seem to be rather quiet about it. I will occasionally hear another blogger talk about using it, but its only in passing, as if it is kind of a secret! Naturally, this made me very curious.

The detergent is called Country Save. Ever heard of it? I hadn’t until about 8 months ago, at a time when I was having some serious cloth diaper issues (repelling and MAJOR stink). The name was popping up on a few cloth diaper forums, with great success being reported with it. I couldn’t find it in any stores, but did see it available online.

Do you want to know why I didn’t buy it? Because it was about 33% cheaper than another brand of cloth diaper detergent that was so highly praised. So I was afraid that I would get what I paid for, and not in a good way! Isn’t that dumb?! But it’s true!

I’ve been talking with the President of Country Save (does that give you any indication of how connected they are with their customers?!) and he sent me some packets to review. I didn’t test this out with cloth diapers since D is now potty trained, but I used it on our clothes and everything came out fresh and clean!

One of Country Save’s best features is the fact that it doesn’t leave residue on your clothes. Most other detergents do…did you know that? Check out these results from an independent study done comparing residue left behind on a variety of detergents, most of which are “green”:

Country Save Sample
Country Save
90F, 130ppm, 100 R.P.M.		 Bi-O-Kleen Sample
Bi-O-Kleen
90F, 130ppm, 100 R.P.M.
Seventh Generation Sample
Seventh Generation
90F, 130ppm, 100 R.P.M.		 Tide Sample
Tide
90F, 130ppm, 100 R.P.M.
Ecover Sample
Ecover
90F, 130ppm, 100 R.P.M.

Woah! This is crazy to see. And if you cloth diaper, then you know just how serious detergent build-up can be on your diapers. It causes all sorts of problems that you DON’T want!

I was also impressed to read that Country Save is the laundry detergent of choice for hotels that are members of the Green Hotels Association, and that includes many Wyndham and Hilton vacation resorts.

I really hope this post helps get the word out about Country Save. This is an ideal detergent for every family, cloth diapering or not, and it does just what it promises, and leaves you wearing fresh and clean clothes, not fresh and clean clothes plus detergent! 🙂 It is available for purchase through Amazon.com. I think you are really going to love it.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a 10 lb box of Country Save! The contest will run until June 20th, 2011 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: Go to the Country Save website and poke around a little bit. Tell me anything you learned there!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Country Save on Twitter
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need via email or RSS

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

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

Cube Dog: The Perfect (Virtual) Pet!

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Thank you to Cube Dog for sponsoring this review. For more information about Cube Dog please visit the Facebook page or download it on iTunes.

Raise your hand if you have had to deal with a child asking for a new pet. Darah hasn’t explicitly done so, but she asks to, “See doggies!” ALL. THE. TIME.

We are not dog people. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Some of my best friends are dog people. It is nice to visit those people and their dogs. And then return to our dog-free house. Tim and I are in total agreement on that one, and I will tell you that it does give me a bit of concern to see that Darah might feel quite differently.

Fortunately, if you are faced with a request for a dog that cannot be fulfilled, there’s an app for that. It’s called Cube Dog, and it is FREE, and available on iTunes now!

Wanna see? Here’s a 40 second intro to your new family pet!

As you can see, Cube Dog helps you create your very own customized dog. Building the dog is super simple and fun, but the best part is getting to play with it! In the free version of this app, there are 3 different tricks the dog can do, and it also REALLY enjoys being petted or scratched. It’s actually quite adorable, and that’s coming from me, the “NOT A DOG PERSON” person.

If your child proves that s/he can take good care of this virtual pet, then you might want to consider purchasing the two extra packs that are available for this app ($2.99 each). They unlock MANY more tricks and features. Or you could just buy them a real dog. And then feed it, walk it, clean up after it, etc. My vote goes to Cube Dog. Plus, Cube Dog can go with you anywhere and everywhere, whether it be to the grocery store or to the beach. No need to hire a pet sitter!

June 13-17, the Cube Dog Facebook page is going to be hosting a VERY cool contest. Go ahead and like them so that you can be in the know when it launches!

I think that this is a very cute app for kids, and yes, even for adults (my Cube Dog is THE CUTEST! I’m not ashamed to say it!). I do think that the additional packs that you can purchase are needed in order to hold an older child’s attention very long, as what you can do with the free app is pretty limited. But the price is right for them, and I think very much worth it!

While Cube Dog provided me with the app to review, the opinions I’ve expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Cube Dog, Clever Girls Collective and I promote Blog With Integrity.

Tea Parties and Rag Dolls: Best Pals Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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I loved having tea parties with my dolls and stuffed animals as a child. We never actually drank tea (at least not hot tea!) in my house, but tea parties were all the rage. We have photos of me dressed up in my finest (including a miniature mink stole, if you can believe it…) sipping tea with my favorite stuffed friends.

I know it is cliche, but I’ve been really looking forward to having tea parties with Darah. And I’m happy to report that they’ve just started happening! Yay!!!

We’ve been using the Best Pals Tin Tea Set. It comes with service for 4, a serving tray and of course, a tea pot. Everything fits inside a cute carrying case, which makes it easy to take with you on play dates!

Our background music for high tea has been the Best Pals Sing Together cd, and it is delightful! The sound is simple and very singable, and you’ll recognize many of the tracks, such as Sing, Sing a Song, Candy Man, and Anything You Can Do. Kathy and Janet Lennon sing on the album, along with Janet’s three granddaughters!

Kathy and Janet are sisters, and they have been singing together professionally since they were in middle school in the 1950s, but their memories of playing with special dolls made by their Nana goes back even further than that! Inspired by their special dolls, they have created a line of products to encourage creative play in children and to celebrate their own special bond as sisters.

Several different dolls are available at their shop, but the one I am excited to highlight today is Danny. It is unfortunately still not very easy to find a little boy doll. I remember “My Buddy” from the 1980s when I was a child, but I don’t think he’s being made anymore. As Darah has become more interested in dolls, I want to make sure that every single doll she has to look like her. So I was really thrilled to see Danny as an option on this site. Isn’t he precious? He comes with a little lovey of his own and a teddy bear to cuddle. Darah loves to rock him.

I also love that Kathy and Janet have a line of doll clothes, paper dolls and mini dolls. The look of their products is very old-fashioned, but in a very good way! I know Danny will have a special place in Darah’s heart, and the tea parties we will have are going to have a very special place in mine.

Buy it!: The Best Pals dolls are very reasonably priced at $24.95 each. While you are picking out your favorite, be sure to check out all their other offerings!

Win it!: One VERY lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win one Best Pals doll, a Tea Set and a CD! The value of this prize is $75!. The contest will run until June 19th 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 Best Pals doll you like the best, and choose wisely, as you will get that doll if you win!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Best Pals 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.