Stuff Parents Need

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

Some Seriously Awesome Organic Pouch Baby Food

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So I try really hard to make all of Darah’s food. It keeps our costs under control and I know that she is getting mostly organic and preservative-free stuff. Win-win.

But people, life happens, and sometimes you just need to be able to reach for something that is already made and that the baby will eat at room temperature. So I do use pre-made foods whenever we travel. I also have a few containers on hand in the pantry for the times when she totally rejects whatever delicious meal I have lovingly prepared for her. 😉

I recently learned about a company called Ella’s Kitchen. They have a limited line of products that come in these really cool pouches so you can squirt the food directly onto the spoon. That really helps with the mess factor. Great design, people!

We recently had the opportunity to try out a few different products and let me tell you, Darah went nuts over every single one. Seriously, she loved them so much I actually had a moment where I thought, “Is my food really terrible? She acts like this is the first time she’s ever had something delicious!” I tasted every product for myself, and you know what, Darah’s on to something. Everything was yummy!

One night I actually had some homemade veggie medley on hand for Darah, but she refused to eat it (even after I added cheese!). Fortunately, I had Ella’s Kitchen pouch food as a backup, so I broke out the Carrots, Apples and Parsnips. She ate every spoonful and smiled the whole time. I checked the ingredients. It had just what the title said, “carrots, apples and parsnips.” All the fruits and veggies are organic. So basically Ella’s Kitchen successfully accomplishes what I’ve tried to do on my own, only what they produce is consistently excellent and what I produce is hit or miss. Sort of like my cooking for everyone else, too!

Other things we tried and loved from Ella’s Kitchen included Strawberries and Apples, Peaches and Bananas, and The Yellow One Smoothie.

organic pouch baby food from ella's kitchen Let me just put it to you this way: even though I make 90% of Darah’s food, I have already found out where in Chattanooga I can buy these products. And buy them, I will. If you haven’t tried these products out yet, I definitely recommend that you pick a few up. I bet your little one will LOVE them, just like mine did!

Buy it!: You can check out the store locator here to find your nearest retailer, or you can shop online at places like Diapers.com or Amazon.com!

Win it!: Ella’s Kitchen wants to give your little one a gift pack of their yummy pouch food. Hooray! The contest will be open until September 7th at 7:59pm CST 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 anything about your child’s eating habits: favorite/least favorite food, your attempts at preparing your own, whether or not you feed your kid organic. Anything relevant to the topic at hand will suffice!

Additional entries:
1. Follow Ella’s Kitchen on Twitter
2. Sign up for Ella’s Kitchen newsletter
3. “Like” Ella’s Kitchen on Facebook
4. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter
5. “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook
6. Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by RSS, email or Google Friend Connect (only one extra entry, even if you subscribe multiple ways)
7. If you are a blogger (posted something within the past 3 months) put my button on your blog and leave a url so that I can find it.

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

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

New Furniture for a New Home

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I’ve mentioned this a few times before, but if you missed the notes, WE MOVED! Our living room is completely full of boxes and we are slowly unpacking and trying to figure out where everything will live.

We moved from 2,000 square feet to 1,300 square feet. Oh boy.So when we left Memphis we got rid of the majority of our furniture. And now we are looking for new (and smaller) as replacements. Currently I’m looking for a new dining table. I haven’t been shopping for one of those in several years, and this time, I’m going to get something very functional. I would say that we have an eat in kitchen now, as opposed to a separate kitchen and dining room. I imagine that Darah and I will be spending a lot of time in that area, and I don’t want a big dining room table hogging all the space. I really like the look of this drop leaf table…it even has some storage space underneath! Most of the time, we would keep the leaves down and that would leave lots of room for Darah to play, which is what we really need!

In addition to looking for dining room/kitchen furniture, we are also looking for a couch and some dressers. I’m excited to tell you that I’m partnering with CSN Stores again and will be reviewing something super cool to help keep Darah organized. I’ve had very positive experiences with CSN Stores in the past and can’t wait to try out another one of their stores! Stay tuned for all the juicy details…

What piece of furniture would you most like to replace in your home?

Low Radiation Hair Dryer: Barbar Eco8000

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Today is my 30th birthday. Wow.

Actually, I feel fabulous and like my 30s are going to be an incredible time. I’m just now embarking on a brand new career (staying at home with my little girl full-time!) and I know that our days will be adventure-filled. Basically, I’m about to do childhood all over again, and I can’t wait.

Barbar eco-friendly blow dryer But at the same time that I’m crawling around the house, playing peek-a-boo and enjoying my youth (again), I’m still grown up Tiffany and I still want to make sure I take care of myself. And a girl only turns 30 once (or 29 twice, depending on how you look at it). It is a milestone age, and reaching it does mean I deserve a little treat, don’t you think?

And oh yes, my friends, I did get a special treat. I got something I probably would have never bought for myself, but that I LOVE now that I have it.

Check out my new salon-worthy hair dryer! This is the Barbar ECO8000 Blow Dryer and it is one lean, mean green machine!

First, you have GOT to watch this video. It shows how the radiation output is so unbelievably reduced in this dryer…it blew my mind (no pun intended)!


It is also very powerful! My hair dried extremely quickly, so don’t let the 1,000 watts listing fool you…this dryer is serious business.

I just love knowing that my new dryer actually uses the electricity it pulls in (yay for my electric bill), does NOT put out much radiation (I had no idea my old dryer was doing that…very scary stuff) and dries my hair quickly. I’m just going to go ahead and say it: I think this is the greatest hair dryer EVER.

I’m thrilled to have such a nice product in honor of turning 30, and I know I’ll have this dryer for years and years because it is such a great quality product. You know, as I get older I realize that in many cases, spending a little extra on something that is truly the best quality can actually save you money over time. I believe that is the case with this dryer.

Barbar is an awesome company with many great hair styling products. You should definitely check them out if you think it is time for a product upgrade. And if you are freaked out by that radiation output reality, definitely consider getting a Barbar Eco8000 hair dryer!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own! Affiliate links may be included at no cost to you.  

Hampton Inn Chain of Friends Sweepstakes

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This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of . All opinions are 100% mine.

Hampton_logo

The is my very favorite hotel chain, at least of those I have had the pleasure of staying at thus far. Every time I have stayed there, the beds have been SUPER comfortable, and they don’t have those horrible comforters on them that are ugly and itchy (maybe that tells you something about my budget when staying in a hotel…). I’ve also always found the service to be outstanding. Hamptons are usually at the top of my budget, but I’ll spring for them whenever possible, because I know I’ll be pleased with the room and the hotel, overall.

I just learned about a cool sweepstakes that Hampton Inn is currently running. It is called the , and every day they are giving away a free weekend stay at the Hampton of your choice. There is also a crazy grand prize: an entire hotel for 2 nights (100 rooms)! What?!!!!

First, let me just pretend that I even have 100 friends. If I did, and I won this, I would have so much fun just hanging out with people I love and that I don’t get to see very often. It would be like my own personal family reunion.

What would you do if you could bring 100 of your closest friends and family together for a weekend?

Where would you go if you won one of the daily prizes? I know exactly what I would do…head to Atlanta for a fun getaway (we only live 2 hours from the city now). We could seriously use a vacation, and downtown Atlanta would be such a great place to check out. I haven’t been there in probably 10 years!
Click Here

Follow the Divas on Twitter and Win! (Amazon GIVEAWAY!!!)

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I wanted to make sure all my readers knew about this fun promotion happening with Double Duty Divas, a network I am a part of that brings together a lot of great PR friendly mommy bloggers.

Right now, you can enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card. Woo hoo!

How do you enter? It’s really quite simple. You will need to follow all the Double Duty Divas on Twitter. We’ve made following everyone very simple. Just use this link to follow all participants with one click. http://tweepml.org/Meet-the-Divas/ Then come back here and leave a comment that you have completed the above step. This is very important, and your entry won’t count for the giveaway if you haven’t left a comment!

There will be one gift card given away to one lucky follower, and I hope it is you! Good luck, everyone! The giveaway will run through 09/02!

Our Favorite Organic Shampoo for Babies: Little Twig

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Bath time is totally where its at in our house. Darah LOVES to take a bath, and she comes by that honest. Tim and I are both bubble bath fanatics (hope I didn’t just embarrass you, dear).

Thanks to the power of moms talking online, I learned about organic shampoo for babies by a company called Little Twig, and they specialize in shampoo for baby and other bath products for tiny tots. Thanks to a great blog win by my little sister Laura, we’ve been using Little Twig unscented baby wash, and it has rocked! It gets her clean as can be, and there’s never been the slightest irritation. I also have had the opportunity to work with little twig, and they sent me the Happy Tangerine baby wash. HEAVEN IN A BOTTLE! The smell is amazing, and Darah seems to like it, too!
organic shampoo for babies Now, I’m going to tell you, when I saw the prices for the products, I thought they were a little bit steep. They are $10 for an 8.5 oz bottle. BUT….the more I use the stuff, the more I realize that the price is actually amazing. The products are completely organic and natural (I recognize everything on their ingredient list). AND let me tell you, a little goes a long way. We are going to be using her bottle of baby wash for several (as in, probably 6) months before we run out. And we bathe Darah every 1-2 days. So $10 for baby wash that will last 6 months and that is not scary for my baby = TOTAL STEAL! They also sell the products in a 17 ounce container (with a pump…super nice) for $14.50, which lowers the cost per ounce quite a bit more!

We also had the opportunity to test out the little twig mineral sunscreen. This stuff goes on smoothly, is water-resistant and is nasty chemical-free! I’ve been very pleased every time I have put it on Darah, though I do wish the SPF was a bit higher than 30.

I also want to point out something really awesome about Little Twig. From their site, “Each month little twig chooses a charitable organization benefiting our environment and children’s issues. little twig donates 15% of the purchases you make every Wednesday to organization we have chosen.” I love it when companies actively give back. You rock, little twig!

Buy it! Overall, I’d have to say that little twig offers an incredible line of delightful and effective products that you can use without worrying about your child’s safety. I highly recommend them! You can buy Little Twig products on Amazon.

Win it!: little twig wants to give one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader a $50 gift certificate to use on their site. You read that right, $50!!! That will take care of your bath and body needs for a long time! The contest will run until September 4th at 7:59pm CST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. You will have 48 hours to respond to your 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 anything about bath time at your house. Is there a favorite tub toy? Favorite shampoo for baby? How often do your kids take baths? Any relevant comment will do!

Additional entries:
1. “Like” little twig on Facebook
2. Follow little twig on Twitter
3. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter
4. “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook
5. Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by RSS, email or Google Friend Connect (only one extra entry, even if you subscribe multiple ways)
6. If you are a blogger (posted something within the past 3 months) put my button on your blog and leave a url so that I can find it.

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. This post may contain affiliate links. 

A Quick Update

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We’ve been moving over the past handful of days. We are working to get settled in to our new home city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. That’s why things are a bit quiet over here at Stuff Parents Need! But we’ll be back in business in no time. In fact, there’s a great review and giveaway headed your way tomorrow. Stay tuned and thanks for bearing with me!

Best Frozen Food Ever? Maybe!

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Several years ago, I didn’t think twice about stocking my freezer with convenience foods such as hot pockets, pizza bites, frozen pizzas, etc. They were SO easy to prepare, they were tasty (thanks to mountains of sodium being added) and they were reasonably inexpensive, especially if you watched for sales.

But as I’ve gotten a bit older (and arguably, wiser) I’ve realized that those things are SOOOO bad for you. Terrible, even! They are loaded with sodium, preservatives and other questionable chemicals. Very few frozen food items have much nutritional value to speak of, and make you feel gross after you’ve eaten them. While we break down every once in a while now for a frozen pizza, on the whole, we just don’t have frozen convenience foods in our freezer (ice cream aside, obviously…I’m not yet ready to acknowledge how bad ice cream is for me…)

But I do miss being able to “prepare” dinner in 3-5 minutes, start to finish.

Enter Amy’s, a fabulous company that makes wholesome organic foods that taste great and are a snap to prepare. Amy’s also offers types of foods that you don’t traditionally find in the freezer aisles (hello there, Indian cuisine!).

We had the opportunity to try out a few different foods from Amy’s, and we loved every single thing. LOVED, I tell you!

The Paneer Tikka was some of the most outstanding frozen food I have ever had. Seriously. Every thing about it was delicious, and I cleaned my plate. Most of the time when I crave Indian food I go to a buffet here in town. For $10, I get some fantastic food, but I ALWAYS eat way too much. After I finished this food, I realized that I was full, but in a comfortable way. No unbuttoning my pants this time (am I the only one who has had to do that?). I will absolutely be stocking my freezer with this dish so that when the Indian craving hits, I’ve got a simple solution that won’t cost as much money or take up as much space on my waistline!

Tim had the honor of trying the burritos. He thought they were fantastic. He commented to me that they were the best frozen burritos he has ever tasted (and he’s tasted LOTS of different frozen burritos, folks). Here’s the really awesome thing about these particular burritos: they are gluten-free! This is great news for folks like my mother-in-law who have wheat allergies! We are going to be sure we have some on hand for her the next time she visits us.

Amy's organic pizza Finally, we got to try a pizza, the classic frozen food. We got the broccoli and spinach pizza and it rocked! I thought it was really flavorful, and I felt good knowing that it is made of organic ingredients. Can you say that, DiGiorno? Don’t think so!

So my experience with Amy’s products was completely awesome. I didn’t know frozen food could taste so yummy, and I’m thrilled to discover that there are terrific options out there for people who might need something super fast AND healthy. Thank you, Amy’s!

Buy it!: Amy’s products are available at major retailers nation-wide. Find your local store now!

Do you have a favorite Amy’s dish? Tell me what it is; I’d like to try it!

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

Spork Little: Utensil Training Just Got Better

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I really enjoy feeding Darah, and for several reasons. But one of those reasons is because I can keep the mess factor of meal time reasonably low if I’m the one wielding the utensils. I recently read a magazine article that strongly suggested letting toddlers her age start to try using the spoon as it is time for them to start developing their fine motor skills in this area.

GROAN!

plastic spork Life is so much easier without having to clean food off the floors and walls. But I suppose that Darah has to learn somehow, and she won’t learn until I let her try.

I found some really cool utensils that are perfect for training her to feed herself. Check out the Spork Little, made by Light My Fire, and sold at a super cool site called Spoon Sisters. Here’s a bit more about the Little Spork: “Our Spork brings a bit of civilization to the wild and a bit of the wild to civilization. No serrated edges. made of heat resistant material. Dishwasher safe. Extremely durable. Especially designed for infants and toddlers.”

The folks at Spoon Sisters sent us the 3 pack that comes with a red, white and light pink Little Spork. They are super cool! I’ve been really surprised by how sturdy they are, which is a good thing, because Darah likes to try to bend them. I could see other utensils made with weaker material breaking, but these are going to make it, just fine. I also really love that when I give her a spork, she has the opportunity to try both a fork and a spoon. While she isn’t yet poking anything with the fork, it’s good for her to get used to it. Finally, I like that the sporks are compact. While Darah still flings food with them (grumble grumble), I noticed that the food doesn’t go quite as far with her sporks. Hooray!

The Little Spork set is one of HUNDREDS of downright awesome gifts that Spoon Sisters offers. From their site, “Our product mix sets us apart. Our sensibilities range from classic to kitsch, funny to functional.” I have found that Spoon Sisters has one of the best selections of gift-worthy items that I have ever encountered online. They have cool gift ideas for every occasion, every recipient and every budget! In addition to those fabulous Little Sporks, some of my favorites finds are the Sky Umbrella, the Herb Savor and the My Biby Tee (what an adorable shower gift that would make!).
Buy it!: If you need to train your little one on how to use utensils, Spork Little is a great way to go. A pack of 3 is just $8.95. If you are on the lookout for the perfect gift for pretty much anyone, you really should browse the Spoon Sisters website. I bet you’ll find something you’ll absolutely love. I’ve definitely bookmarked their sale section to visit in October when I’m doing most of my Christmas shopping, because I love finding bargains on super cool stuff!
Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post may contain affiliate links