Stuff Parents Need

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

Appazine Launch and Your Chance to WIN AN IPAD!!!

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This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of ogilvy for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

First, let me just get this out of the way. If you are, for even one second, hesitating about whether or not you’d like to own an iPad, let me settle that matter for you.

OH HECK YES YOU WANT ONE! I won one back in December (three cheers for twitter parties!) and I was really heavily debating whether or not to keep it or sell it and pay down student loan debt. I’m fiscally conservative, and there’s a place for that. But it took me about 5 minutes playing with the iPad before I was head over heels in love. Remember when phones first had cameras? And we all wondered why on earth we would ever need them? And now look at us…

The iPad is like that, times a million. So yeah, you are going want to enter this contest I’m about to tell you about. Keep reading…

For those of you who already have an iPad, or who will in the near future, there’s an awesome app you must get:  the collection

This is the go-to app for staying informed about globally relevant. It’s known as an appazine, which would be a magazine in a format to read on your iPad! Sweet! And I can guarantee you that you’ve never gotten your news in such an innovative format. Stories have pictures (some panoramic), audio and video, and the articles themselves are very well written. In our shrinking world, we have a responsibility to stay informed about what’s happening in the world, and this is an easy way to stay up-to-date. Getting your daily news fix will be very exciting, to say the least! Check it out in the App store, and download it!

So, about that iPad. The collection is giving one away, and it comes with the collection App free for the rest of the year!!!!! You must tweet to enter, and here’s exactly what you need to tweet: Stay up-to-date with current events by using #thecollection iPad App

That’s it! The contest ends on May 15th, and get your tweet on right now! And if you win, please let me know!

Visit Sponsor's Site

Slow Fashion Movement: Ecoland Organic Toddler and Baby Socks (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Sponsored by Tomoson.com

Did you know that it takes roughly 1/3 of a pound of chemicals to grown enough cotton for just one T-shirt? I had absolutely no idea! I think I’ll always carry this fact with me, now that I know it, and I hope it will encourage me to buy organic cotton any time I possibly can.

Today I’m highlighting a company that is committed to bringing you quality cotton products, minus all the pesticides. It’s called Ecoland, and they have wonderful basics for every member of your family. All products are proudly made in the USA, as well.

We had the opportunity to review a new addition to their collections: toddler girl flower socks! One of the things I love about these socks is that they come in a package of 3, and they are all identical. Now, before you go thinking that this is kind of boring, I want to let you in on a trick my mother-in-law taught me…it is ALWAYS great to have at least 2 pair of the same sock, so that when one of the socks goes missing (and you KNOW) it will, you will be able to keep going with other matching pairs until that rogue sock shows back up!

If you look around the Ecoland website, you’ll see that all of their products are in classic colors and styles that never go out of fashion. This is part of what is called the Slow Fashion movement, with the goal to be able to wear clothing for a longer period of time, and thus reduce the overall use of natural resources.

When perusing the site, I saw several wonderful natural baby gift ideas, especially for someone who is drawn to eco-friendly products and/or gender neutral color schemes. This is a very cool company to support, not only because they offer quality products, but also because they really walk the walk, with their products being made less than 20 miles from their home office, and their commitment to recycling even down to the level of reusing cardboard boxes they receive in their facilities to ship out orders to customers.

Buy it!: Ecoland is committed to offering their customers good value. For example, the toddler socks I reviewed are $12 for a package of 3, but if you buy 2 or more packs, the price per pack drops to $10.50! Also, new customers can take an additional 15% off their first order (if you buy multiple products, this could add up to real savings!). Use code GRLFLW15 at checkout! Coupon code expires May 31.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a set of baby girl socks, in your choice of sizes 0-12 months, 12-24 months or 2-6T. The contest will run until May 17th 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.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT (FOUND ON MY SIDEBAR) TO WIN A GIVEAWAY HERE!!

Mandatory entry: Tell me one other product on the Ecoland website that you’d love to give to someone (or even have yourself!).

My answer: I most definitely want a pair of organic socks for myself!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Ecoland 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.


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas a Minneapolis SEO and Web Design firm. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Seriously Stretch Your Wardrobe with the Cardi Wrap by Kymaro

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One thing I am always on the lookout for when shopping for clothing is a piece that will really go the distance. Typically that means that the quality is excellent, the look is timeless and the possibilities for wear are large. I found all of these elements in the Cardi Wrap by Kymaro.

This is a piece of clothing that can be worn over 50 different ways! Talk about adding some diversity to your wardrobe! It comes in 7 beautiful colors (I chose purple) and it also comes with a booklet giving you instructions for all the ways you can wear it.

Did all of their suggestions look good on me? Uh, no. Not even close. I think a taller woman would have better luck pulling off some of the looks that just seemed to overwhelm me. But I did find 8 looks that I actually liked, and 8 is a lot, in my opinion! It’s definitely enough for me to say that this is a good item to buy if you are trying to get some pieces that will offer a lot of bang for the buck.

I also think this is a VERY nice item to have on hand during pregnancy. Wraps are very forgiving, and can hide (or even help show off!) a growing belly. It is also ideal to take with you when traveling, as you can get many different outfits out of just one piece of clothing! The wrap is very comfortable, and seems to be well-made, so I’m expecting it to hold up for several years.

My only disappointment with the Cardi Wrap is how purchasing is set up. You can get the wrap for $39.95 plus $9.95 s&h. But it doesn’t come with the accessory kit, which you need in order to do some of the suggested styles. You have to pay another $9.95 s&h to get it. So if you buy everything, you are spending almost $20 in s&h fees. That gets a pretty big thumbs down from me. So I think the way it is sold kind of stinks, but the wrap itself is very nice. I don’t think I’ll get to wear it much for a handful of months since it is warming up where I live, but once fall hits, I’m thinking that I’ll be wearing it at least once a week!

Disclosure: This post was written for Family Review Network & Cardi Wrap who provided the complimentary product for review in exchange for my honest opinions.

Ask a Pediatrician A Question Online! Awesome!!!

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When finding a new Pediatrician for Darah, it was important to find a practice that had a nurse available for questions 24/7. It’s just the law of nature that your child will get very sick around 6pm on a Friday, when offices have just closed for the weekend. And Darah seems to vomit much more often at 3am than at 3pm! So when I am feeling concerned for my child and need some advice ASAP, I’m glad to have that service in place.

But there are so many questions that I’d love to ask a doctor that aren’t emergencies. It seems like an abuse of those nurses on call to call in with those questions. What if I’m keeping them from talking to the parent of a sick child?! I also find that I can ask Darah’s pediatrician such non-emergency questions, but really only during her visits. So I have to remember all those questions, but also make sure I don’t have too many, as getting even 10 full minutes with the doctor is sort of rare.

This is why I’m really excited about a blog that is run by Dr. Tanya, a well-known Pediatrician and author of several wonderful books, including The Wonder Years (about the first 5 years of life) and Mommy Calls, a book where Dr. Tanya answers the top 101 questions about babies and toddlers.

Dr. Tanya’s blog is especially noteworthy, though, because she uses that space to answer questions from parents! There’s an Ask Dr. Tanya section of her site that you can click on to submit your question. You can ask medical or parenting questions! I was so inspired to see this that I submitted a question about helping toddlers give up their pacifiers (Darah still doesn’t want to hear a thing about The Paci Pixie!). I can’t wait to see what she says!

While I was checking out the Dr. Tanya blog, I saw SEVERAL topics that I wanted to read more about, especially if it meant that I was going to hear the perspective of a Pediatrician! Here are the topics listed so far:

  • Activities and Playtime
  • Feeding, Nutrition, Exercise
  • Illnesses
  • Infants (4 to 12 months)
  • Injuries, First Aid and Safety
  • Medical Information
  • Newborns (birth to 3 months)
  • Preschooler (3-5 years)
  • School Aged (5 years and up)
  • Sleep
  • Toddler (1-3 years)
  • Travel

I’ve been reading about chores for 1-3 year olds and what I might need to be doing to help Darah feel more of a sense of responsibility in her home. She already feeds Hattie, and even though there is cat food on the floor all the time, it is really going well, and Darah beams with pride when she sees Hattie eating her food. After reading the article, I feel encouraged to try to let Darah help with more things!

Now I’ve subscribed to Dr. Tanya’s blog so that I read all the great Q&A topics that will be coming in the future. What an awesome resource! She also has a Facebook page you can like if you’d like to connect with her (and with other parents!). And of course, you can also follow her on Twitter (Tweet a Pediatrician? Oh heck yes!).

Disclosure: I was compensated for my time sharing this information with you. All opinions are 100% mine.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Ortega (GIVEAWAY!!! 3 WINNERS!!!)

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Does your family do a taco night, or a Mexican food night every week? I’ve contemplated doing this, and really, I think we DO do this in practice, though perhaps not on a specifically designated day. We just love the flavors of Mexican food and we eat it on a regular basis. Tortillas are almost always on my shopping list!

One thing I don’t buy regularly, though, is hard taco shells. That’s because I always find that at least 25% of the shells are broken when I open the package. They are just really delicate, and don’t handle the journey from the factory to the shelves that well. I actually found a recipe on the Ortega website that requires broken shells. What a cleverl solution to this problem! We tried it, and we liked it. Here it is!

Taco Casserole

Ingredients

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COOK beef, onion and garlic until beef is browned; drain. Stir in water, taco sauce, chiles, 1/4 cup olives and seasoning mix. Cook over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes.

LAYER half of broken taco shells on bottom of greased 12 x 8-inch baking dish. Cover with half of meat sauce; sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Repeat with remaining shells, meat sauce and cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Top with remaining olives, tomatoes and green onions.

In addition to having an EXCELLENT array of Mexican food recipes, Ortega also has something else that I found VERY exciting: whole grain and whole wheat hard and soft tacos! Woo hoo! Try as I may, I just don’t care for corn tortillas, and I have always felt bad about buying the flour ones because I knew they were made with enriched flour. Ortega has made this a non-issue for me. Very exciting!

The next time you are grocery shopping, be sure to check out these fantastic new Ortega products. I can tell you that my family has a new tortilla of choice now, and it is from Ortega!

Win it!: In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, THREE lucky Stuff Parents Need readers will each get a Whole Grain & Whole Wheat Hard & Soft Taco Kit from Ortega! The contest will run until May 14th 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.

REMEMBER, TO QUALIFY FOR A GIVEAWAY ON MY SITE, YOU MUST PUBLICLY FOLLOW ME VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT (FOUND ON MY SIDEBAR)

Mandatory entry: let me know you follow on GFC and also tell me one Ortega recipe that sounds delicious to you!

My answer: The Vegetarian Tostadas look simple and delicious!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Ortega 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 through the Family Review Network in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have provided.

Fabulous E-book that Helps You Find Legit Work from Home (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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When I think about the decision Tim and I made last year for me to stay home with Darah, I don’t feel any regrets. For us, it was the right decision (much to my surprise…I swore up and down that I wouldn’t enjoy staying at home).

I have found that I do want to contribute in some way to our income, and so I have done a variety of things so that I can help out in some way. This not only makes me feel good, but it also keeps the potential stress level of being a one income family much lower. Money doesn’t buy happiness, for sure, but not having enough money to get by most definitely causes stress and worry, and I don’t want any of that!

We’ve talked before about work from home opportunities, and there are definitely some very viable options out there. The trouble is that there are SO MANY bad opportunities (scams and those that pay peanuts…less than minimum wage!). Sorting through them all to try to find something that is enjoyable and actually worth your time is completely overwhelming, and can easily cause someone to just give up altogether.

Cindy Buccieri is the voice behind Busy Mom’s Tips. She has been working at home for over 10 years, and have spent years doing research on which opportunities out there are actually worth pursuing. She has put that research into an e-book called Busy Mom’s Ultimate Guide to Finding the Perfect Work at Home Job. It contains a list over over 160 LEGIT opportunities in the following categories:

  • Call Center Support Representative
  • Court Researcher
  • Data Entry
  • Direct Sales
  • Reading Online Ads
  • Paid Surveys
  • Transcription
  • Virtual Assistant
  • Virtual Juror
  • Writing

The price tag of this e-book is just $4.99, which is less than you will pay for a cup of hot coffee and a scone at your local coffee shop. I have read over the book, and I definitely think that if you are serious about finding a way to supplement your income from home, this is money well-spent. You are paying for years of research to determine the validity of these companies. Every single company listed is not a scam, and has a real need for people to employee from home. While there is no guarantee that every company listed is hiring at this very moment, now you have a wide range of options that you can trust, and so you are much more likely to find a viable opportunity that works for you and suits your needs as well as your skills.

I will say that I wish the book had more detailed information about each opportunity, giving insight into how much the work might pay and what level of job satisfaction employees reported back. I know that providing this information would take a lot more time, but it is also the kind of thing that if included, I’d be willing to pay more than $4.99 to know. All the same, this is an excellent resource to help you get started. What’s great about this being in e-book form is that you can download it instantly (no waiting for it to come in the mail!) and you just click on the hyperlinks when you see something of interest. Easy!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a copy of this fabulous ebook! Woo hoo! The contest will run until May 15th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via 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.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAYS!

Mandatory entry: Tell me why you need this book!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Subscribe to the Busy Mom’s Tips blog
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 copy of this ebook for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Great New Apps from Oceanhouse Media (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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There are several amazing companies out there making great apps for kids, but Oceanhouse Media is definitely one of my very VERY favorites. They bring Dr. Seuss, The Bernstein Bears and even Little Critter to life, just to name a few!

They’ve just put out two new apps, and I want to give you the dish on them!

First up, we have It’s Tyrannosaurus Rex! This is a fantastic app for kids to have as soon as they go through their “dinosaur” phase (for me, that was first grade). It tells the story of a Tyrannosaurus Rex trying to find some lunch, and you get to learn about a lot of other prehistoric creatures on page after page. It also has some very cool factual information about dinosaurs to offer your young paleontologist!

Second, Tacky and the Winter Games is now available. This is the third Tacky book that OM has brought to life, each containing hilarious stories about a penguin who doesn’t quite fit in, and the great adventures he has because he’s a little bit different!

Both apps are available for $2.99 each, which are an excellent value! I highly recommend both apps, and if you haven’t done much looking around the Oceanhouse Media website, you really must. I think you’ll be hard-pressed to leave without finding at least one (or ten) apps that you want! 🙂

Win it!: Two lucky winners will each receive an app download from Oceanhouse Media! One of you will win It’s Tyrannosaurus Rex and one will win Tacky and the Winter Games! The contest will run until May 14th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winners will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and new winners are selected. Open to residents of the United States.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT (FOUND ON MY SIDEBAR) TO ENTER A GIVEAWAY ON MY SITE!!!

Mandatory entry: Leave a comment telling me that you follow on GFC and telling me one other OM app that you’d love to download!

My answer: I’d love to get Elmer’s Special Day!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Follow Oceanhouse Media on Twitter
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 complimentary apps for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Garlic Oil for Cooking: a Must Try!

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In our house, we have learned to reach for olive oil when we do the majority of our cooking. It is a MUCH healthier choice than butter, and even than most other liquid oils, because it is chock full of the “good” fat! We actually use extra light tasting olive oil so that we can use it in a wider range of dishes.

Because we use extra light tasting olive oil, I sometimes forget the wonderful flavor that other types of olive oil really have. This is why I’m so glad I had the opportunity to try Garlic Gold Oil, which is widely recognized as the finest tasting garlic-infused organic extra-virgin olive oil on the market. I can tell you from personal experience that this particular type of olive oil has brought several dishes we have made to new heights. It is FANTASTIC! Most recently, I turned to this oil as a butter substitute for a delicious pasta dish that called for 1/4 cup of butter (yikes!). I decided to do 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of the Garlic Gold oil, and the end result was spectacular (much better than when using the full amount of butter, as I will admit to having done in the past).

Garlic Gold Oil comes in an 8.44 oz bottle for $9.95! If you are able to do so, I’d recommend going this route, as I think these bottles make perfect gift ideas for anyone who likes to cook. And you might go through more than 1 bottle, yourself! A bottle will last 6-12 months once it is opened, as long as it is stored in a cool, dark place. Did you know that liquid oils will go rancid if left in the sunlight? It is true!

Once you taste this stuff, I think you will quickly come up with many uses for it in your own kitchen. But if you are feeling stumped, Garlic Gold has a great selection of recipes for you to try on their site!

Complimentary products provided for review purposes. Affiliate links may be included at no cost to you.

Schick Intuition Naturals: Cutting Down on Plastic Packaging

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How do you get rid of unwanted hair on your body? I think the majority of people use razors. I know I do! I tried waxing once. Just once. That was enough for me! 😉 Shaving is annoying because you have to do it so often (at least in theory…I’m likely to shave my legs just once or twice a week, especially in the colder months!). But once you get used to using a razor, it is the least painful way to get rid of hair. What I don’t like about using disposable razors is just that…they are disposable. And so, they contribute to waste.

Schick has just launched a new product in their line, Intuition Naturals. It is the razor with environmentally friendly packaging! The packaging eliminates the former plastic package and is now made with 55% post-consumer recycled paperboard, 25% post=consumer recycled window and VOC-free inks.

Wanna know what I think about this? I think it is a good start. But I wouldn’t go as far as to call this razor “green.” After all, the razor itself still comes shrink-wrapped in plastic and it comes with a plastic razor holder for the shower and a plastic cap for the razor, both of which I think can be done away with with little to no grumbling from customers.

But still, Schick is headed in the right direction, and the best way that we can get other companies to follow suit is to support this move with our dollars. I hope that Schick has just raised the bar and set a new standard, and once other companies are offering the same thing, I hope Schick will take going green to the next level and eliminate even more plastic from its products.

Other features of the Schick Intuition Naturals razor are as follows:

  • No need for shave gel, soap or body wash, as you can lather and shave in one easy step
  • 4 blades, which helps eliminate nicks and cuts, leaving a very smooth shave
  • ergonomic handle

The razor retails for $9.29 and $9.99 for a 3 ct of blades, or you can get 6 for $17.59

For a limited time, there is a $3 off coupon if you like Schick Intuition on Facebook!

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