Stuff Parents Need

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

6 Giveaways You Don’t Want to Miss!

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If you are new to Stuff Parents Need, or if you are just behind in reading all your blogs, make sure you take a moment to enter all the great giveaways happening here right now!

ending 06/06 Luxury Mouse Pad (great Father’s Day gift!)

ending 06/07 Freshhanger set (another great Father’s Day gift…super useful!)

ending 06/10 eBags packing cubes (a must-have for your summer vacation!)

ending 06/12 professional photographic art (GORGEOUS stuff to adorn your walls!)

ending 06/13 Medela nursing camisole (perfect baby shower gift!)

ending 06/22 $20 gift card to Amazon (and a list of other awesome review and giveaway blogs!)

Next week there are more amazing reviews and giveaways coming your way, so stay tuned. I promise you won’t want to miss them!

Meet the Double Duty Divas

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pink double duty divas logo

I’m part of a wonderful blog network called Double Duty Divas. This network provides support for product review bloggers who balance family, blogging, and often part or full-time employment as well. Companies who work through this network are offered effective online advertising and multi-blog discounts. It is a great community to be a part of and to work with. If you are a blogger or if you have a product you would like to promote, you should definitely check out Double Duty Divas. Tell them Stuff Parents Need sent you!

One of the things I like the very best about being part of this network is that there are so many other cool people who are a part of it! Now you have a chance to meet the Divas, yourself, and possibly even win! Check out the list of great review and giveaway blogs below. For each one you subscribe to, come back here and leave one comment stating that you did (you can leave up to 26, total!). Once the contest has ended (on 6/22), one winner will be chosen from all entries. The prize? A $20 gift card to Amazon! Plus, if you sign up for these new blogs and start entering their giveaways, you will probably win something else, in time! 🙂 Good luck, and enjoy the new blogs you are about to find!

Disclosure: This post is part of a cross-promotional opportunity with the Double Duty Divas.

Nursing Apparel from Medela

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As many of you know, I’m a working mom who is still breastfeeding (a commitment that is not without its challenges!). I have the good fortune of having my daughter in a daycare that is literally across the street from where I work. This makes it possible for me to visit her every day at lunch and breastfeed her at that time.

Because I can breastfeed during my work day, I have to give careful thought to the clothes that I am wearing. I feed Darah right in her classroom, since the daycare doesn’t have any private space. I need to be able to get my clothes away from my chest without totally exposing myself in the process. Trust me, it’s tricky to do!

Medela, the company that is known for its top of the line breast pumps
has also created some nursing wear that helps breastfeeding moms out in similar situations. They have a nursing camisole that I had the opportunity to try it out, and I LOVE it! It has pretty much revolutionized my work wardrobe in terms of making it nursing friendly. The lace along the edges help dress it up a bit to make it work appropriate. I also found that it provided a great deal of support. As someone with larger breasts, I find it difficult to find tank tops or camisoles that offer the support I need, but this one does the trick. Thank you, Medela!

Overall, I’d have to say that Medela is definitely on to something good with the creation of this nursing camisole. I get the sense that this company is committed to turning out products that are high quality and do the job they need to do very well. This top gets an A+ from me and has turned me into even more of a Medela fan than I already was!

Are you already a fan of Medela? If you want to be even more involved, fill out the survey at http://www.mommavens.com/join to see if you qualify to become a Medela Mom Maven. This unique group of parents helps inform others about safe, high quality Medela products; gets a first look at new Medela products; and is able to share feedback directly with Medela. To learn more visit www.mommavens.com. Also, Medela would love to have you join their Facebook group or follow them on Twitter if you are interested in learning more and talking with other breastfeeding moms!

Buy It!: The Medela nursing camisoles are available at a variety of online retailers and retail for $34.99.

Edit: This giveaway is CLOSED!

Win it!: Medela wants to give you the chance to win one of their fabulous nursing camisoles! The winner will receive a camisole in her choice of size and color. The contest will run until June 13th at 7:59pm CST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will be emailed and will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States.

Mandatory Entry:
Tell me the size (S/M/L/XL) and color (white or black) you would like in the camisole if you are drawn as the winner.

Additional Entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS, email or Google friend connect (only one extra entry, even if you subscribe more than one way)
2. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
3. Tell me one other product Medela makes that you own and love or that you would like to own.

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

8 and 8 Meme! Play Along!

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Barefoot Childhood is participating in a really fun little game, and I decided to play along. The rules are as follows: Go to your eighth folder (of pictures); choose the eighth photo…then tell the story.

Here’s what I found:

So this is Christmas 2007 (probably not Christmas day, but somewhere right around there). We are just outside of Clarksville, Arkansas, where Tim’s brother and his family lived at the time. In this photo, Tim and I were enjoying the scenery of a neighboring town. We are actually in the parking lot of a Catholic church that has some of the best real estate in the area…on the top of the hill! Right around this area are a few vineyards where you can sample the finest wine that Arkansas has to offer. It’s mediocre stuff, but visiting the wineries was fun, anyway!

To the casual observer, we may look exactly the same now. But when I look at this shot from 2 1/2 years ago, I’m struck by how much younger we seem. We were probably just very well-rested. Sigh…

I’m supposed to tag other people to play along, but if I try for that, I’ll never get this post finished (just being honest). So if you have a blog, please play along. If you don’t have a blog, still do the exercise and tell me what you found! It was kind of fun to go digging through a folder I haven’t looked at in a long time!

Affordable Art: Professional Photography Prints (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Edit: This giveaway is CLOSED….but the coupon for 15% off any purchase has been extended until June 19th! If you didn’t win but still want a print, now’s the time to order!

Even though I have been able to spruce up my desk space at home and work with the most precious picture frames (from Round the Bend and Quilly Nilly!), the walls at my house are still mostly bare. I’m actually not a big fan of putting family pictures on the wall (with the exception of the HUGE collage of pictures of my baby hanging in my dining room). I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, it just doesn’t suit me for some reason. I’d rather have art of some sort to admire. But I have trouble finding paintings that aren’t either really bad, really cheesy, or REALLY expensive. One medium that provides beautiful images at affordable prices is photography. Too bad I stink with a camera. Fortunately, there are folks out there who are quite handy with a camera lens, and today I’m going to introduce you to one.

I’m excited to be featuring a photographer from my hometown of Enterprise, Alabama! Blogosphere, meet Erin Johnson! Erin is a graphic designer by trade, but her heart belongs to photography. She is highly skilled, having the ability to photograph landscapes, animals, flowers, architecture AND people! Many photographers will specialize in just one area, but Erin does them all!

Erin sent me a beautiful picture of a pink zinnia to help breathe new life into my home. It currently is hung in my bedroom, at the wall opposite my bed. I’m really enjoying having the very first thing I see every morning be a beautiful image from nature. It lifts my spirits!

Erin has so many beautiful photos on her site, and I’m sure that there’s at least one that would look great on your walls at home or work. A few of my personal favorites include The Old Mill, Sunset Fields and the Ladybug. Erin can print these photographs in almost any size, so contact her if you see a print you like but you want a size other than the one offered! Her 8 x 10 photographs are only $18.00, which makes this art not only lovely, but also affordable. And that makes it a winner! During the contest, Erin is offering you 15% off any purchase. Just include the code, “Stuff” in your notes to seller, and she’ll refund your discount through paypal!

Speaking of being a winner, here’s your chance to win! Erin is offering up one 8 x 10 photo from her collection to a lucky Stuff Parents Need reader. Fantastic! The contest will run until Saturday, June 12th at 7:59pm CST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will be emailed and will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me the print you want to win and where you would hang it. Choose wisely, as you will get what you select in your entry!

Additional Entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS, email or Google friend connect (only one extra entry, even if you subscribe more than one way)
2. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
3. Follow Erin Johnson on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
4. Add Erin Johnson Photography to your Etsy favorites
5. Make a suggestion to Erin for something she should photograph
6. “Like” Erin Johnson Photography on Facebook
Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Finding Great Deals in Unexpected Places

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This morning we headed off to the zoo. It was a big day for the zoo since so many families had an extra day to spend together. There were long lines to get in, and just as you stepped inside, employees were taking your picture (in the hopes that you would buy it). All of the food stands were open and the amusement park rides inside were ready to go for anyone who bought tickets to ride on them (at our zoo, these things only happen on peak days).

The zoo is a really fun place to visit, and it is also a place where it can be very easy to spend A LOT of money. So imagine my surprise when the main zoo gift shop was having a huge sidewalk sale! Many of the items were only marked down 25%, which is not enough to tempt a thrifty gal like me. But then I saw them….piles of cute stuffed animals marked down to $2.99! SCORE! I had already mentioned to Tim that I wanted to maybe get Darah a toy from the zoo today, and I was mentally prepared to fork over $10.00. So $2.99 was the deal of the century…or at least the deal of the day, I suppose.

Darah got to choose between a stuffed llama and a lemur, and she happily chose the llama. She had a grip on that thing for the rest of the morning…precious! I was definitely not expecting to snag a stuffed animal at 70% off at the zoo gift shop, and it really felt good to find a deal in an unexpected place.

Have you recently found a good deal at an unexpected place? I’d love to hear about it!

(pictures not my own, but from the world wide web!)

eBags Packing Cubes 3pc Set

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We just returned from a fantastic vacation to North Carolina to see my bff and her family. Everything about the trip was relaxed, simple and fun…including the act of packing!

ebags packing cubes 3pc set We decided that we were going to pack everything that we needed for a 5 day trip for 2 adults and 1 infant into 2 carry on bags. Sounds crazy, right? Well, part of the reason that we were able to do this is because we could wash our clothes halfway through our vacation. But the other reason we could do this is because we had eBags packing cubes. This eBags Packing Cubes 3pc Set helped us keep our clothes and other items grouped together in the most logical way. For example, one cube had all of Darah’s diapers, bibs, wipes, blankets and clothes in it. Another cube had all of my husband’s clothes and the third cube had all of my clothes. Unpacking was a piece of cake, and when we needed to retrieve something from a suitcase in the middle of our travels (as you often need to do when traveling with children) all we had to do was find the correct cube and we could locate the item we were seeking. Our suitcases remained neat and orderly.

On our trip home, we kept dirty clothes in one cube, which really helped with unpacking. In the past I’ve had to wash clothes that may have still been clean simply because I couldn’t remember what had been worn or because I had to pack dirty clothes on top of clean clothes. This was a huge time saver for me when we got back to Memphis.

eBags offers packing cubes in a variety of colors. If you have several family members you could consider different different colors for each member of the family. This is definitely a set that I’ll consider expanding for our family when it grows again, and I think the color I’ll add to our red set is green!

You may be wondering if packing bags within your bags takes up valuable space and adds unnecessary weight. These are made from an extremely lightweight fabric. They weigh next to nothing, and yet, they can really hold a lot of weight. They are also very flexible, so they can easily conform to the space in which they need to fit. I didn’t notice any difference at all in the amount that I could pack into our suitcases by using these cubes. The difference I noticed was that the way things were packed now made much more sense, actually! I’m not the only one who thinks these are handy. It looks like 98% of the people who bought these packing cubes would recommend them!

One other item I’d like to try is their shoe bags. I love the idea of keeping shoes separated from other clothes, but sticking your shoes into a shoe box when traveling is rarely a practical solution. This provides a great way to keep your clothes from getting dirt that may be on your shoes on them without sacrificing extra space.

In addition to being so glad to have found these packing cubes, I’m also really glad to have found eBags! If you poke around your site you will see that they have an extensive collection of all sorts of cool stuff, from luggage, to you diaper bags, to wallets and messenger bags. There’s something for everyone and for every budget. This store is certainly not afraid to have a sale, so make sure you check out what they’ve discounted lately to snag a steal! One of my favorite features of the store is that you can shop for items by color. I love that!

Buy It!: If you are going to be doing any traveling as a family, take the headache out of packing and invest in some packing cubes. You will be so glad you did, and you’ll never take a trip without them again, guaranteed! The medium set I reviewed is currently on sale for $22 and is offered in 5 colors. There are also other sets and sizes of packing cubes that you should check out, as well!

Win It!: Now is your chance to win your very on packing cube set for your upcoming adventures! Thank you, eBags! The contest will run until June 10th at 7:59pm CST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will be emailed and will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me about your next planned trip that you are taking (hopefully with the packing cubes!)

Additional Entries:

1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS, email or Google friend connect (only one extra entry, even if you subscribe more than one way)
2. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
3. Tweet the following: Great eBags giveaway happening now. If you are going on vacation, you will want to win this! http://tinyurl.com/27bkqh5
4. Follow eBags on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
5. “Like” eBags on Facebook
6. Post the url to one other item that eBags sells that you covet

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

Felt Mouse Pads: Father’s Day Gift for the Tech-Savvy Man

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This will be Tim’s very first Father’s Day. As someone whose love language is gifts, I see this as a really fun opportunity to buy him something super cool that he will love. But there’s just one problem: he is IMPOSSIBLE to shop for. Gifts just aren’t really his thing. He’s the type of guy to go get new clothes once his are threadbare, and he just has no interest in buying anything other than technological gadgets. I love you, honey, but I’m NOT buying you an iPad for Father’s Day.

I know I’m not the only woman out there with a husband who doesn’t really want anything if it isn’t the latest and greatest in technology. If you are on a budget, like me, this makes gift giving occasions such a headache! So I’ve been thinking a lot about what I could get him that would say, “We love you! Thank you for being a great father!” and still pay homage to his true interests, all without emptying out our savings account.

felt mouse pads I’m happy to report that I DID find something that met this criteria. Tim is on the computer for the majority of his day at work, and I recently learned that he doesn’t even have a mouse pad there. I was so surprised! I wanted to get him a mouse pad for his office, but not just any mouse pad. I wanted THE BEST mouse pad. And I found it at FeltPlanet! Check out this 5mm thick virgin merino wool felt round mouse pad. There are so many things I love about it, and that Tim loves about it, too.

First, it is large and in charge. The generous size (10 1/2 inches ) gives you plenty of space for your mouse maneuverings without having to constantly pick the mouse back up like you have to do with smaller mouse pads.

Second, this mouse pad is sturdy. Since it is so thick, it doesn’t slide around on the desk at all.

Third, it is beautiful. Have you ever seen a beautiful mouse pad before? I doubt it! But the felt used here is beautifully dyed and just invites you to touch it. I love all the different color choices you have, so that your mouse pad can compliment the decor of the room it is in, rather than be a utilitarian object with no aesthetic qualities. It is also simple. Tim is a guy with an eye for sleek, uncluttered designs, so the look of this ouse pad is absolutely perfect for him.

Finally, I love that felt is an eco-friendly product. It is renewable, reusable and recyclable. Felt is also really warm, which makes it great for browsing if your hands get cold!

felt mouse pads If you are banging your head against the wall trying to come up with a cool Father’s Day gift idea for your tech-savvy hubs or father, I’ve saved you the trouble of searching. Pick up a FeltPlanet mouse pad in a rectangle or round design. Prices start at just $15.00. And while you are there, go ahead and pick up something nice for yourself. Perhaps this lily pad bowl would look nice on your dresser? You’re welcome. 🙂

EDIT: This giveaway is CLOSED!

Win it!: Felt Planet wants to give one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader the opportunity to give the best Father’s Day present this year. You will win a felt mouse pad in your choice of shape and color! That’s so awesome! The contest will run until June 6th at 7:59pm CST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will be emailed and will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me the shape and color mouse pad you would like to win. Choose wisely, as the winner will get what is listed in his/her entry!
Additional Entries:

1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS, email or Google friend connect (only one extra entry, even if you subscribe more than one way)
2. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
3. “Like” FeltPlanet on Facebook
4. Add FeltPlanet to your Etsy favorites

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

Keep Your Clothes Smelling Fresh Longer (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Edit: This giveaway is CLOSED!

Every season, when I bring some of my clothes out of storage, I run into a problem. Despite the fact that my clothes are freshly washed and clean when I put them away for the season, they always have a stale, less-than-pleasant smell when I pull them back out of their bin. In the past I have just re-washed all the clothes, or in moments of weakness, sprayed some Febreeze on them and hoped for the best (this method never really worked, by the way).

I recently learned about a product that can help me out with this particular problem. Check out the FRESHhanger. The FRESHhanger is like a jacket for a hanger. But this jacket serves a great purpose. It removes odors from your clothes!

When I pulled out my summer clothes a few weeks ago, they had that weird smell, just like always. But this time, I hung up a few pieces on hangers that had a FRESHhanger cover. Then I hung up the remaining pieces in the same closet, but not on hangers with the FRESHhanger. I wanted to see just how powerful these things really were. I also hung up a few items in a separate closet altogether. Let me tell you about my results!

The clothes that were on FRESHhanger hangers were smell-free within 24 hours. The clothes that were hung up in the same closet with FRESHhanger hangers were odor-free after 48 hours. The clothes that were left to air-out without the help of the FRESHhanger smelled less funky, but still not great, about 72 hours later. They still smelled enough that I would need to wash them to get the smell out.

I’m gathering from my little science experiment that the FRESHhanger really works! I have a small closet, and I’m finding that just having 2 FRESHhangers in my closet at a time is doing a nice job of keeping everything smell-free. If you have a larger closet, you may want to use more than that at one time.

Now let me tell you how it works. From their site, “FRESHhanger is made of specially formulated activated carbon – the same material used int he space program to clean air and water. FRESHhanger absorbs odors from your clothes better than just airing out…and for up to 6 months!” I really like that it comes with stickers that have the different months of the year so that you can put the month that you need to change out your hanger on it. That makes it really easy to remember when it is time to change them out!

Buy It: The FRESHhanger is sold in packages of 5 for 14.99 and can be found online here. If you battle the seasonal stink with your clothes, wish you could get just one more use out of your shirt before washing them or if you spend more than you like on dry cleaning, this is a wonderful product for you and will save you time and money!

Win it!: Ok folks, I know I’m not the only one who doesn’t want to have to do laundry so often. Here’s your chance to win a FRESHhanger set and take back a bit of your time fro the laundry monster. The contest will run until June 7th at 7:59 pm CST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will be emailed and will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States.

Mandatory Entry:

Tell me one reason why your family needs the FRESHHanger.

Additional Entries:

1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS, email or Google friend connect (only one extra entry, even if you subscribe more than one way)

2. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own.