Stuff Parents Need

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

Things to Buy for a Dollar (at Dollar Tree)

· by · 7 Comments

There is a Dollar Tree in the shopping center where I do the majority of my grocery shopping. I try to pop in at least twice each month to see if there are any cool new finds or great deals. I always love hearing when other bloggers find cool stuff to buy for a dollar at the Dollar Tree, so I thought I’d share 3 things I recently bought that I love.


1. Whales. These are a great alternative to goldfish! Darah doesn’t really eat goldfish, yet, but her daddy does, in a major way! I wouldn’t go as far as to say that these are “good” for you, but they have no trans fats and not artificial colors or flavors (hard to believe, but true!). And they are, you guessed it, $1.00. Goldfish are a rare treat for Tim because they are a bit pricey and are really just junk food. But he can have these much more often since they are just $1.00!

2. Halloween decor. I love the trend of having white pumpkins as part of the holiday decorations. My budget is super tight for decorating (pretty much anything that isn’t necessary must be carefully considered before it is purchased these days), but I thought I could fork over the dollar, especially since I’d be getting something I’ve been coveting! And no spray paint involved!

3. Trash bags. I REALLY hesitated before purchasing these. In my experience, you get what you pay for when it comes to trash bags. Still, I just couldn’t resist the chance to get my trash bags for about 5 cents each, so I went for it. I’m glad I did! They are most definitely not heavy duty, and Hefty trash bags are better, but I’m finding these to perform better than the Wal-Mart brand, which is what I had been buying. They are cheaper, too! Give them a try and see what you think!

Your turn: what do you love to buy for a dollar at The Dollar Tree???

Natural Lice Prevention and Treatment

· by · 33 Comments

Recently, I started thinking about something that hasn’t crossed my mind since the fourth grade: lice.

Gross, I know.

I think the fourth grade was the last time the school nurse came into our classroom and did a lice check on every child. I guess someone in the class came down with it and so we were all under close inspection. Lucky for me, I didn’t get it. In fact (knock on wood), I’ve never had a case of lice. It sounds like a really difficult thing to get rid of, having to soak your hair in nasty chemicals and all.

So why am I thinking about lice again? Well, Darah is headed back into a school-type environment, and those are the places where lice spreads like wildfire. But really, there isn’t anything I can do to stop her from getting it if it comes into her classroom.

Natural Lice Treatment and Natural Lice Prevention

natural lice prevention Wrong! There IS something I can do to keep lice at bay, and in a nasty chemical-free way! Check out Happyheads, a line of products designed to prevent lice infestation, and to combat it naturally should your child (or you!) come down with a case.

Since we aren’t currently dealing with a lice problem, we have been using two of the lice prevention products, and I love them. Happyheads has a leave-in conditioner that is so easy to use. You simply spritz it on your child’s wet or dry hair and leave it there! This is a great product for anyone who westles with bath time for their kids, since you just leave it in! It is infused with essential oils, which means it smells great, unless you are lice, in which case it smells terrible! This means that with this product in your hair, lice will skip over your kid in favor of less stinky ground. Hooray! This product is also paraben free and 96% organic! Happyheads also offers a preventative shampoo and even a hair gel that has lice repelling oils in it. How cool is that?!

The products work by lightly coating your hair with essential oils scents of tea tree, peppermint, lavender, lemongrass and geranium. This coating makes the hair less clean (only in the eyes of the lice, who actually PREFER clean hair) and makes it difficult to lay eggs on the hair shafts.

These are the products I’m reaching for before Parents’ Day Out each week. They are safe for Darah and keep her out of dodge for any gross lice that may be lurking.

If you child ever does come down with a case of lice (and there’s a fair chance of that happening at some point in elementary or middle school!), you don’t have to go to the drugstore and get those toxic chemicals! Happyheads offers natural lice treatment products that contain a patented formula of enzymes that breaks down the exoskeleton of the lice, causing them to die. Because the biology of insects depends on the creation of enzymes for survival, it is impossible for lice to develop a resistance to enzymes when used as a pest control device. this is not true of synthetic pesticides, to which insects invariably develop an immunity. What if that nasty stuff sold in drugstores doesn’t even work on your case of lice? It could definitely happen!

Buy it!: Happyheads products are available online, sold as individual products, or as prevention and treatment kits. I think this is a terrific way to help keep lice at bay, or to treat it effectively without exposing your kids to harsh chemicals that may or may not work.

Win it!: Happyheads wants one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader to snag a bottle of Scootie-Cootie Organic Repelling Shampoo & Leave-in Conditioner & Detangler! This is a $29.95 value! Additionally, you will receive 10 tips on how to avoid lice this school year. The contest will run until October 8th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the 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.

Mandatory entry: Let’s talk lice! Tell me if you ever had lice and when, or if your child has ever gotten it. If not, what do you remember about lice outbreaks in school? Anything relevant to the topic will work!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Happyheads on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

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

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

Hanes Comfort Flex Waistband Boxers Review

· by · 1 Comment

So my husband is a boxers guy. He says he has been for as long as he can remember. For years, I would be on the lookout for great deals on boxers. I would always feel like I hit the jackpot when I would find them on mega-clearance for $4/pair at Banana Republic. They had some cool prints, but the truth is, those boxers wore out (especially in the waistband) just like everything else. Just because they were more expensive didn’t mean they were higher quality!

hanes comfort flex waistband boxers

Tim LOVES to wear Hanes t-shirts (please tell me you have checked out their lay flat collar undershirts!), but he’s never really tried their boxers. Until now! For the past month, he has been putting Hanes boxers with the Comfort Flex Waistband to the test, and they have passed with flying colors for us both. Tim likes the fact that they are tagless, which means they don’t ever itch. This is especially nice since he rides his bike to work every day, and the tags on other boxers can irritate him during his commute. The waistband is designed to move with you, and best of all, to hold its shape (this is the key problem he has with boxers). So far, so good!
And perhaps best of all…the price! Hanes sells a set of 3 boxers with the comfort flex waistband for $9! That’s better than the “deal” I normally look out for (which I haven’t found in the past year…sorry, honey).

I’m not sure why I never tried Hanes for Tim’s underwear before now. We’ve always been impressed with the quality as well as the price for their shirts. Now I know to look to them for great deals on quality boxers, and I don’t have to wait for any special sale to stock up! Great job, Hanes!

Win it!: Hanes wants to send one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader (or their significant other!) a pair of Hanes underwear with a comfort flex waistband. You can choose a boxer, brief or a boxer-brief! The contest will run until October 6th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me which style of underwear you find to be the most comfortable, either for yourself or that your loved one likes the most (for example: I would answer boy shorts as my favs).

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Hanes on Facebook (fans get first word on special sales and promotions!)
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect!

Be sure to check out my other current giveaways, located on the sidebar of my home page.


Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own (and my husband’s!).

It’s Been a Year!

· by · 8 Comments

Happy blogoversary to me!


Thanks so much to all of my readers; I would not have made it to a year if nobody was reading what I had to say. I appreciate all of you more than you know, and I’m really enjoying getting to know you better thanks to the new contest entry format I’ve got!

I think it is interesting that one of the very first reviews I ever did is for something that Darah STILL plays with! Good stuff!

Moo Moo Kow Cloth Diaper Review

· by · 1 Comment

If you are curious about cloth or are already a cloth diaper convert, this is going to be a very exciting post for you!
Today I am featuring a diaper that there’s a good chance you’ve never even heard of before. It’s a cloth diaper brand from Singapore, and while you can buy it directly from the company online, it isn’t yet offered in U.S. cloth diaper shops. All you cloth diaper fans out there know that getting your hands on a “rare” cloth diaper is SUPER AWESOME. And now’s your chance. Read on!

Let me introduce you to Moo Moo Kow! I’ve found that the very best way to tell you about cloth diapers is to show them to you in a video, so first, check out my video review!

Darah from Stuff Parents Need in a Moo Moo Kow diaper

Now that you’ve seen and heard a bit about Moo Moo Kow diapers, I wanted to share a few other things I love about them. I think their diaper color options are lovely. I especially love the seaspray option they offer (an unusual blue-green), that gorgeous royal blue and the white diapers that have either blue snaps or pink snaps. So cute!

I also wanted to point out that the inner lining of this diaper is stain resistant. I haven’t had a single thing set in, and trust me, Darah has tried many different times to do so! 🙂

So my final verdict: Two thumbs up for Moo Moo Kow diapers! They are high quality and they are working wonderfully for us. Moo Moo Kow is one of the first diapers out of the clean pile time and time again! You can purchase them directly from Moo Moo Kow for $21.90 plus shipping, or you can contact your favorite online diaper retailer and tell them to start stocking these diapers!

Edit: this giveaway is now closed

Win it!: You know you want this diaper…here’s your chance to win it! I have a mint green Moo Moo Kow snaps one size diaper for one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader! The contest will run until October 4th at 11:59pm EST when the winner will be selected using Random.org. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household.
Mandatory entry: Tell me anything you know about Singapore!
Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Moo Moo Kow on Facebook!
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need via RSS or email
Be sure to check out my other current giveaways, located on the sidebar of my main page.

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

Paperspring: Beautiful Custom Thank You Cards

· by · 87 Comments

Do you know what I love to get in the mail (besides amazing products to try out and tell you about)? I love getting hand written notes. Doesn’t everyone? I love them because I know all too well that finding the time to sit down with a pen and paper is hard to come by, and so when someone does it, they were really thinking about you, and devoting a slice of time just to you. It makes me feel so special!

I especially love when I get notes from my nieces. They aren’t exactly old enough to write me, on their own, but I’m delighted to hear from their mommies what they are up to, or if something I sent them is a hit. And I absolutely adore when they write or color on the note themselves. I don’t know why, but that takes the note from really sweet to priceless for me!

As Darah grows, she will have many opportunities to send notes to her cousins and friends (perhaps with a little help from mom). Between birthdays, Christmas and special visits from family members, there are several times each year when a hand written note to her loved ones is in order!

I still have some of the thank you cards that we used when she was a newborn, but they just scream baby, and little Darah is decidedly a toddler now! I have been looking for some cards that are perfect for a tot, and that will still be useful until she is at least 6 or 7, should they last that long. And I found them!

Check out the great online stationery company called Paperspring. This company was launched in 2008, but it comes out of a company, Charlie Chan Printing, that has been around for over 40 years, so they know a thing or two about how to deliver quality products and outstanding customer service!

Customer service is actually something I’d like to highlight about this company. When I placed my order, I received immediate confirmation. A handful of hours later, I got word that my order had been shipped! That’s right, SHIPPED! Same day! Who does that?! Paperspring does.

A week after the order was shipped, I got a follow up not from Paperspring making sure I was pleased with the service and the product I received. I was given an email address to send any and all feedback to, and I could tell that they genuinely wanted to hear about my experience. That tells me that this company is satisfied only if the customer is thrilled with their experience. Anything less will not do.

custom thank you cards And I was thrilled with the experience. I thought Paperspring had a wonderful variety of stationery and cardstock for all sorts of occasions. It took me a while to decide (due to all the cute stuff on the site) but I ultimately went with the birdy thank you cards in plum. I put Darah’s full name on the card, and I’m not keen on sharing that online, but to the right you’ll see what it looks like. You have the option to add some text on the inside, but I opted to leave it blank.

I didn’t have a specific color in mind when I was shopping for Darah’s cards, but I LOVED that you can, in fact, browse by color. What an awesome feature!

There’s one more thing that rocks about Paperspring: they are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as a chain-of-custody provider of recycled paper made from environmentally sustainable forests. From their site, “All of our matte cards are printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled thick cardstock. Furthermore, we utilize chemistry-free and waterless printing processes in our operation, in order to provide our customers with the greenest forms of printing.” That’s awesome, Paperspring!

I had a truly delightful experience placing an order with Paperspring, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to this site for holiday cards, birth announcements, or anything else! Right now, you can snag $10 off a $50 purchase by using the code SEPTEMBER at checkout! Get on it, ladies!

Win it!: Paperspring wants to offer one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader a $50 gift certificate to their shop! There are so many different ways to spend it…the tough part is deciding what to get! This contest will run until October 2nd at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me something about the best card or note you ever gave or received, and what made it so memorable.

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Paperspring on Facebook
2. Blogger love: “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook
Not on Facebook? Give up the fight and sign up! You are missing out! 🙂

Don’t forget to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page.

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

 

Jenulence Mineral Foundation Review

· by · Leave a Comment

Have you tried mineral makeup yet? I really hope you have. And if you haven’t, you really should!

Worried about the price? I’ve found that my jars of foundation last a really long time (several months). The coverage is also outstanding and breakouts just don’t happen with mineral makeup (I can only speak for myself on that matter, obviously). So the price is really quite reasonable when you consider how long it lasts and how good it looks.

Ok, you are thinking, you are right. I should give this stuff everyone talks about a go. Should I buy the stuff in the drugstores to save a few bucks? In my humble opinion, no. I personally found the coverage to be lacking, so I went through my drugstore brand much faster than I thought, which made it no longer the good deal I thought it would be.

Ok, Tiffany, so I guess I should go get Bare Minerals, right? You can if you like, but I’ve learned over the past year that there are a few other brands out there that offer products of the same quality as Bare Minerals, minus the super high pricing (Who do you think pays for all that advertising in the end? The customer!).

stock photo of jenulence mineral foundation Today I bring you a fabulous find, Jenulence. From their site, “JenulenceTM mineral makeup is handcrafted using synthetic-free high quality natural minerals and cosmetic pigments. We do not use synthetic preservatives, talc, nano-particles or micronized minerals in our mineral makeup. It is water and sweat-resistant, hypoallergenic, doesn’t clog the pores, and delivers complete sun protection.” I love their motto: “If you can’t eat it, don’t use it on your skin!”

Jenulence offers an ingredient list for each of their products, and everything is just as natural as they claim, which is really awesome. When is the last time you could pronounce all the ingredients in your makeup?

For my review, I chose 2 products that I need most as a mom. I need to look put together really fast, and I need some help covering up my dark circles since I don’t get as much sleep as I need. Therefore, I selected the Pink Ginger Mineral Foundation Powder and the Under Eye Dark Circles Concealer.

First, I want to talk about the concealer. It goes on really smooth and brightens the skin under my eyes. I’ve noticed that when I wear it I have a brighter overall look. This is so ideal for those (many) days when I feel tired, and you can see evidence of my tiredness without some good makeup on! Thank you, Jenulence, for creating this product!

Second, I want to talk about the foundation powder. One of the things I like the most about Jenulence is the great range of colors they offer for their foundations. When I’ve ordered Bare Minerals products in the past, I’ve had to order 2 of their colors and combine them to achieve the right look. That equals more money, which is quite painful! Jenulence has the perfect shade for me, no blending required. Hooray! Pink Ginger is pale but still peachy, and it goes on really smoothly. My skin looks flawless in it, and I love to wear it. Check out all the shades they offer; you will be amazed!

I also really appreciate that Jenulence has all budgets in mind, so they offer their products in different sizes, depending on your needs and what you can afford to spend at the time of purchase (another big thank you from this girl who has to watch her pennies!).

Buy it!: Jenulence foundations start at just $1.00 for a trial bag, and go all the way up to $20.00 for the full size product. You’ve got nothing to lose by giving a few of their shades a try, and I bet you that you’ll love them just as much as I do, and go back for more!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need Reader will win one full size jar of Jenulence foundation/powder! The contest will run until October 1st at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize before it is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Limit one entrant per household, please. Open to residents of the United States.

Mandatory entry: I want to hear which of the fabulous foundation shades you think would be best for your skin. I’m so wowed by their selection and I’m curious to hear what your match is!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Jenulence on Facebook or subscribe to their newsletter (found on the bottom left of the home page)
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways (listed on the sidebar of my home page)

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

Closet Catastrophe Solved: CSN Stores to the Rescue

· by · 1 Comment

When we moved from Memphis to Chattanooga, a good chunk of our furniture did not make it on the trip with us. We sold our dressers, which seemed like a fine idea at the time. They were just in ok shape, I think we even got them for free, and we valued other stuff more than them (the POD was so packed that we had to choose).

Once we got unpacked and saw that our clothes now lived in a big pile on the floor, we realized that we needed to re-think our brilliant strategy to “make excellent use of the closet space.” Our closets are much more spacious here, and we are definitely making great use of them, but still, we need space to put underwear, jammies, socks, etc. Organizational FAIL!

I wanted to give priority to Darah’s room, and made peace with needing to get her some sort of a dresser. One problem: there’s no space for a dresser in her room! We decided to throw a queen bed in her room for our occasional guests, along with her crib, glider, bookshelf, and huge pile of toys. So a dresser would have to be, um, suspended from the ceiling? Yikes.

Upon looking more closely, though, I realized that there was this great space in the back of her walk-in closet (such a luxury as compared with our teeny tiny closets back in Memphis!). If we could find just the right piece to fit in that nook, we’d be in business.

So I turned to CSN Stores to find the perfect solution. It had to be just the right dimensions and it needed to look like something appropriate for a little girl. It was actually a really tough order to fill. But did I worry one bit? NOPE! Why? Because CSN Stores has everything you could ever need, and then some, when it comes to home furnishing! I am continually impressed with the ENORMOUS selection of products they offer in their 200+ stores (yes, you read that right!).

Wanna see what we got????


LOVE IT!!! It fits in her closet SOOOO perfectly! The wicker basket storage unit shipped the day after I ordered it, and was on our front porch by the end of the week. It did require some assembly, but Tim had it together in about 30 minutes. I think he only swore once! 😉

I really love that this dresser will be able to grow with her for several years, and that both rows of drawers are down low, so that she can open and close them when she gets a little bit older and wants to try dressing herself. The top is also sturdy, which means we just created an extra shelf in the closet. Woo hoo!

Big thanks to CSN Stores for helping solve our closet catastrophe. I would recommend this piece to anyone, and I can say that I have had a very positive experience each time I have placed an order with CSN Stores. Check them out the next time you are looking for just the right item for your house. I bet they have it!

Disclaimer: I received a $75 gift certificate to put toward a purchase for review. I paid the difference between the price of the furniture and the certificate myself. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

I Know Why the (Un)Caged Bird Sings: Lisa Leonard Designs Jewelry

· by · 2 Comments

Today I’ll be reviewing Lisa Leonard Designs jewelry, a well-known maker of custom stamped jewelry. To give you some context about the design I chose, I want to talk about making the transition from full-time worker to full-time mommy. How do I describe what the past month has been like as a new stay-at-home mom?

I could tell you that it has been hard, and that would be very true. A young toddler has boundless energy and a fierce sense of curiosity that keeps you on your feet at all times, constantly sweeping the horizon for potentially dangerous items (and sweeping the inside of your little one’s mouth for the dangerous items they spotted first!).

I could tell you that it has been scary, and that would also be true. We have less than half as much money as we did just a month ago, and we are now paying a rent in Chattanooga plus a very high mortgage in Memphis. Ouch ouch ouch. This is a source of much worry for me, and it is difficult, at times, to have faith that it will all work out.

I could also tell you that it has been a bit alienating, and that would also be true. I didn’t fully realize that I had a whole other family I used to be a part of between 8-5 on weekdays. I miss my colleagues and my students and all the great conversations we used to have.

But more than any of that, I have to tell you that this transition has been liberating. I feel so free!!! Darah and I have the world as our oyster each and every day, and we are free to explore, imagine, create and play. It is a magical time, and even in the face of all the struggles, right now I am soaring like a bird let out of her cage.

As I was getting ready for this transition, I had the opportunity to work with the reputable company, Lisa Leonard Designs, to do a review. I wanted to select something that would usher in my new job, and remind me that what I was doing was really going to be worth it. I was going to be experiencing a rare gift: freedom.

“Freedom” is exactly what I decided to have stamped onto the beautiful songbird necklace I chose (unfortunately, they no longer carry this style). It serves as a daily reminder to me that I am richly blessed to have the time I now have with Darah. Freedom doesn’t mean “easy living,” but it is a blessing, all the same. It is up to me how I use this freedom. I can fuss about how I can’t get anything done while watching Darah, or I can embrace the fact that she’s my #1 job, and anything else is a bonus. I can stay up at night developing ulcers over our super tight finances, or I can pray for peace and do my part to keep us fiscally sound without letting it get the best of me. I can sit in my house and wonder why I have no friends here or I can get my butt out the door and meet some folks. I have the freedom to do all of these things, and I hope that I do a great job of making choices that bring my whole family joy, happiness and peace.

Thank you, Lisa Leonard Designs, for making custom jewelry that sums up exactly where I am in my life right now. I love this piece!

Buy it!: Lisa Leonard Designs makes a wide variety of breathtaking pieces, each of which can be customized for you. Check out the shop and put something there on your holiday wish list!

Win it!: LLD has a special treat for one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader! You will get a $50 gift certificate to their store so that you can create your own special piece of jewelry! Woo hoo! The contest will run until September 30th at 11:49pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me the word that sums up what’s going on in your world at this season of your life. If you’d care to explain it a bit, I’d really love to hear why you chose that word!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Subscribe to Lisa’s blog
2. Blogger love: “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to check out my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page!

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