Stuff Parents Need

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

Rethink What Matters Campaign (Bare Escentuals GIVEAWAY!)

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I’ve mentioned before that I really love mineral makeup. I think many of you out there agree with me on that. I actually don’t think I’ve ever personally talked with anyone who tried out mineral makeup and didn’t like it! (Let me know if you are one of those people!).

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that Bare Escentuals, the company that makes the very well-known Bare Minerals makeup, has come out with a really fun and empowering campaign called Rethink What Matters. They are inviting women nationwide to shake up their foundation and sound off on topics that are more than just skin-deep—from going bare in public to discussing what freedom really feels like.

Each week at RethinkWhatMatters.com, a new discussion topic has been featured with five questions for all to answer, share with their friends and have the chance to instantly win free products and other fantastic goodies. New topics and products will be featured weekly, posted each Friday to the site. This week’s topic is, “Rethink What A Revolution Feels Like”! I just took the latest quiz, and it was really fun to see how many women who also took the quiz felt the same way I do! Head on over. The quiz takes all of 2 minutes, and you just might be a winner of a Tutorials: Smoky Eye Kit!

Edit: Contest is closed.

In celebration of this campaign, Bare Escentuals would like to offer one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader a bareMinerals 100% Natural Lipgloss (worth $15.00!). The contest will run until February 27th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Open to residents of the United States.

How To Enter:

Mandatory Entry: Go to Rethink What Matters, take the quiz, and tell me if you were an instant winner. Also tell me your favorite shade of 100% Natural Lipgloss (choose wisely, as this will be the color you get if you win!).

Additional Entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email
2. Follow me through Google connect (2 entries, so leave 2 comments)
3. Put my button on your blog and leave a url where I can find it (2 entries, so leave 2 comments)
4. Subscribe to the Bare Escentuals newsletter (on the bottom of the page)
5. Become a fan of Bare Escentuals on Facebook
6. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your TwitterID)

7. Follow Bare Escentuals on Twitter (leave your TwitterID)
8. Enter any other currently open giveaway on my site (one extra entry per giveaway that you enter)

Current giveaways: handmade lovey (ends 2/24), custom stickers/labels (ends 2/27)

Disclosure: I will receive a lipgloss as a thank you for supporting this campaign. The love I have for BareEscentuals is not influenced by this gift; this company makes really good makeup, and I know because I’m a customer!

Spreading the Award Love!

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This past Tuesday, I received word from two different bloggers that I won two different blogger awards. I cannot tell you how totally amazing this made me feel! These are my first blog awards ever. I have been wanting to give some awards to my favorite bloggers, but typically you have to have been given an award in order to pass it on. So now is my chance!

First, Sarah from Cars, Trucks and Teething Rings gave me the Beautiful Blogger Award. Here’s what I need to do in order to pass it on, and what you need to do if I have mentioned you below:

•Thank & link to the person that gave you the award.
•Pass this award onto up to 15 bloggers you’ve recently discovered and think are fantastic.
•Contact said Blogs and let them know they’ve won
•State 7 things about yourself

For now, I’m just going to pick 5 of my favorite recent blog finds. Be sure to check them out when you have a moment!
1. Handmade Guru
2. Sugar Pop Ribbons
3. PhD in Parenting
4. My Super-Charged Life
5. Budgets are the New Black

7 things about me:
1. I’m 29 years young
2. I didn’t have a driver’s license for almost 5 years, and I just got it again in December.
3. I once won a trip with National Geographic to Peru. It was beyond awesome.
4. I can and will eat cereal any time of day or night. I never EVER get tired of it.
5. Ironically, I can’t stand eating the same meal more often than once a month (or maybe even a little longer). Cereal, of course, is the exception.
6. I teach a course on world religions online. I’m currently on a break from it so that I can do more blog stuff (blogging is much more fun than grading).
7. I wish with all of my heart that I was creative in terms of having crafty abilities. And folks, I have to tell you, I’m seriously horrible at it. This isn’t me being modest. I STINK at anything that involves creative skills. I am so thankful for the people in this world who do have those gifts and talents!

Ok, and the second award I received is from one of my all-time favorite bloggers, Desi at Wee Share! I am supposed to pass this award along to up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire me.

Here are the rules for me and for you if your blog is below:
-Put the logo on your blog/post.
-Nominate up to 9 blogs
-Let them know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog.
-Remember to link to the person from whom you received your Splash Award.

I am going to choose 4 bloggers today who rocks my socks off, and who are all just such genuinely nice people. They are all so fun to read!
1. Cleared for Takeoff
2. My Wee View
3. A Modern Day Ricky and Lucy
4. Barefoot Childhood

Check all of these awesome bloggers out when you can. I hope you will love them just as much as I do!

Current giveaways: awesome children’s cds (ends 2/18), flower arranging dvd (ends 2/19), handmade lovey (ends 2/24) and custom stickers or labels (ends 2/27)

Infant Ear Piercing: My Thoughts

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When I was 4 months old, my mother was interested in infant ear piercing and took me to have my ears pierced. Well, actually, my father took me, because my mom couldn’t handle witnessing the whole ordeal, even though it was her desire to have my ears pierced in the first place.

infant ear piercing

Reasons I’m Glad I Had Infant Ear Piercing

Even though I always found it ironic that my mom refused to be present when my ears were pierced, I have always been very glad that she had them done when I was a baby, and here are my reasons why. I never had to take care of newly pierced ears myself, which was nice. I remember so many friends throughout my childhood and adolescence who got their ears pierced and who then didn’t properly care for them, which caused infections, holes closing back up, or scar tissue forming. I can’t say with any certainty that I would have done any better of a job caring for my ears if I had gotten them pierced at 8, 10 or 12, myself. But I can say with certainty that I would have reached a point in life where I would have wanted to get my ears pierced. And I am so glad that I never had to go through the mental anguish of psyching myself out about the horrible pain that the piercing gun would surely cause. And I would have most definitely spent a lot of time thinking about it and getting freaked out. I may have even been one of those girls who only got one ear pierced before running out the door in fear. Yikes.

Choosing Infant Ear Piercing for My Baby

In the past few months, I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about whether or not I wanted to get Darah’s ears pierced. Mostly I thought about about that scary piercing gun (told you I would!). Could I really do this to my baby??? I started doing research online, and I learned a few things. First and foremost, the IDEA of ear piercing is much more painful than the actual process. The pain is pretty much on par with getting a shot, because the ear lobe is mostly just cartilage. The second thing I learned is that, as with all things related to parenting, there is a heated debate about this topic. In the most extreme cases, I read posts on chat boards where mothers were calling those who got had their babies’ ears pierced child abusers. Woah!

So what did I do? At Darah’s 6 month checkup on Monday, I had her pediatrician pierce her ears. I was in the room (Tim was holding her. I did one better than my mom, but I did chicken out a little bit). She cried for a grand total of 12 seconds. I made the very best decision I knew to make for Darah. I decided that in our culture, ear piercing is so common that the odds are very good that she’d want it done at some point, and this way I can spare her the tiny amount of physical pain later on, as well as the large amount of mental torture that comes with getting freaked out about it. I do understand the position that some parents take that you are making a permanent change to your child’s body without her permission. This is an excellent point, and it did give me a great deal of pause. I ultimately decided that if, in the future, Darah expresses frustration that I had her ears pierced, I will be ready and willing to give her my reasoning for choosing infant ear piercing, but humbly apologize if my decision upsets her.

I think that there are really compelling reasons to pierce your daughter’s ears, and really compelling reasons to wait. If you have thought over this decision yourself, I’d love to hear what you decided to do. But please refrain from calling anyone a child abuser!

How to Create Your Own Stickers

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I’m a new member of the UPrinting.com Blog Sponsorship Program. I’m very excited about this partnership, because I will have opportunities throughout the year to tell you more about all the wonderful things that UPrinting offers (such as a way to create your own stickers) AND give you the chance to win some of their terrific products and services. Woo hoo!

how to create your own stickers  Today I have the opportunity to tell you about the stickers and labels you can purchase from them. If you are like me, you could use some updated mailing address labels, and this is a terrific way to be able to customize the look of your labels. If you don’t have a specific look in mind, UPrinting also has a large selection of templates from which you can choose.

Custom stickers and label printing are also helpful if you own a business and would like to put your business name or logo on products or packages. My friend Desi over at Wee Share (who is also hosting a Uprinting giveaway right now) points out in her post that bloggers can even have stickers made to match their blog buttons. That’s a really cool idea! This could also be a terrific tool if you own a small business (like at Etsy shop) and could use labels for the packages you mail out. The size range that they offer is also really impressive, going from 2 x 2.75 to 11 x 17!.

One really cool thing I want to highlight about UPrinting is the fact that they have a low price guarantee. From their site, “UPrinting.com will match the currently advertised price of other online printers for any product configurable through our website.” With this guarantee in mind, there’s no reason not to try them out!

EDIT: This giveaway is closed. Congratulations #25!

Win it!: And one of you is about to get the opportunity to do just that! UPrinting is giving away the following custom sticker/labelpackage to one Stuff Parents Need reader!

  • 250 Stickers/Labels
  • Sizes: 2” x 3.5”, 2” x 4”, or 3” x 3”
  • Paper: 70lb Label Matte
  • Specifications: Full color front, blank back; 6 Business Day printing
  • Shipping: FREE UPS Ground Shipping


The contest will run until February 27th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Open to residents of the United States.

How to Enter:

Mandatory Entry: Check out all that UPrinting has to offer. Then come back and tell me what you will use your stickers/labels for if you win!

Additional Entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email
2. Follow me through Google connect (2 entries, so leave 2 comments)
3. Put my button on your blog and leave a url where I can find it (2 entries, so leave 2 comments)
4. Subscribe to the UPrinting blog
5. Become a fan of UPrinting on Facebook
6. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your TwitterID)
7. Enter any other currently open giveaway on my site (one extra entry per giveaway that you enter)

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this post. I will receive the same sticker/label package in appreciation for hosting the giveaway.

Current giveaways: awesome children’s cds (ends 2/18), flower arranging dvd (ends 2/19) and handmade lovey (ends 2/24)

How to Stop Swaddling Your Baby

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How to Stop Swaddling Your Baby

Some of you may recall that Darah has always been a big fan of her swaddle. She simply will not sleep without being swaddled! It has such a calming effect on her that she will sometimes start to fall asleep while we are in the process of swaddling her. She’s been rolling over for a month, though, and this makes having her arms tucked in a blanket too dangerous. So we’ve been on the (bumpy) journey of figuring out how to stop swaddling (well, actually, we’ve just been getting her used to having her arms out…her legs still get swaddled!). I have to tell you, this was REALLY HARD in the very beginning. Darah’s arms would move wildly about, even though she was exhausted. She simply didn’t know what to do with them. They often made their way up to her face, and she’d pull out her pacifier again and again. This, of course, would keep her awake.

One of my amazing readers, Lisa, sent me a product from her new Etsy store, Leyton Smiles, that really helped us out. She sent Darah a CuddleBug lovey. Darah has been loving her lovey since the day it came in the mail. I often hand it over to her when it is time for bed, and it gives her something very interesting to play with. Her hands stay occupied, but away from her face. She usually falls asleep within just a few minutes after getting her lovey. In my eyes, this makes it a miracle blanket!

a lovey is an answer to how to stop swaddling Lisa has really put a lot of thought into the design of her CuddleBug loveys. The square shape (12 x 12) makes it just the right size for a little one to tote around. I’ve even it been able to stick it in my coat pocket from time to time! We’ve found that in addition to it being useful at bed time, Darah also likes to have it on hand when she’s in her car seat.
Lisa points out its usefulness, stating, “This lovey is meant to not only serve as a security and comfort item for little ones, but also to stimulate their senses with numerous ways to learn and explore!” We have found that to be the case, for sure. It keeps Darah’s hands busy whether she’s drifting off to sleep or sitting in her car seat. She also likes to rub the minky side of the blanket against her face. All of the ribbons on the blanket (which are VERY securely sewn in) really delight Darah. She love to pull on them, run her fingers through them, and scratch them to hear the different noises that they make. Notice in the picture that the ribbons are different sizes, colors and materials. This makes it more interesting for the baby!

There are a few other features of this lovey that I’d like to highlight. First, I really like is the loop that is attached to the lovey. We can use this and a toy clip to connect this to her stroller, car seat or even her activity mat. Second, we have washed this lovey a few times, and I’ll admit that I was nervous that the ribbons would fray or that some of the stitching might not hold up. This has NOT been the case. Lisa does an outstanding job of preparing these blankies to be washed again and again! Finally, I just have to say that the overall look of this lovey is sooooo cute. The bright colors are so much fun, and everything coordinates together. I have had a few other parents ask me where they can find something this cute for their little ones.

Buy It!: Leyton Smiles is a shop where you can find these beautiful and unique loveys as well as burp cloths, blankets and other fun items. You can even place a custom order to match your desired color scheme! If you need something special for your little cuddlebug to hold so you can stop swaddling, I highly recommend the CuddleBug Lovey. It is a huge hit at our house. Purchase one today for $16.00.

EDIT: This giveaway is now closed.

Win It!: Lisa wants to give you the chance to win a CuddleBug Lovey right now! Awesome! This contest will run until Wednesday, February 24th at 7:59pm CST when a winner will be selected via random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before a new winner will be selected. Open to residents of the United States. Make sure your email address is either in your comment or in your profile or else I can’t let you know that you won!

How to Enter:

Mandatory Entry: Head over to Leyton Smiles and tell me your favorite item in the shop OR tell me something that you’d like to see sold there!

Additional Entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email
2. Follow me through Google connect (2 entries, so leave 2 comments)
3. Put my button on my blog and leave a url where I can find it (2 entries, so leave 2 comments)
4. Subscribe to Leyton Smile’s Blog
5. Become a fan of Leyton Smiles on Facebook
6. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your TwitterID)
8. Enter any other currently open giveaway on my site (one extra entry per giveaway that you enter)

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

Other current giveaways: awesome children’s cds (ends 2/18) and flower arranging dvd (ends 2/19)

Tupperware Reviews: Plastic Can Be Green!

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When you were growing up, did your parents own any Tupperware? Did you ever get to go to a Tupperware party as a child? I have very distinct memories of going to a few Tupperware parties with my mom in the mid-1980s. I remember seeing all the products on display, and all the women oohing and ahhing over them. I didn’t really understand why, but I knew even back then that Tupperware was super awesome. We had a few pieces in our home, and guess what? My parents still have those pieces! After all, Tupperware is built to last. That’s why I’m so excited to bring you some Tupperware reviews today.

You may be surprised to hear that Tupperware is something that I’m highlighting as “green.” After all, what’s environmentally friendly about plastic? Well I’m glad you asked! tupperware review for the on the go line Tupperware has a special On the Go line that consists of drinking bottles, containers, tumblers and mugs that are specifically designed to get you out of the habit of using bottle water, Styrofoam coffee cups and other disposable items that are taking up so much space in our landfills. I recently had the chance to try out their FlatOut storage containers from this line. They are fabulous because they can collapse or expand, depending on your storage needs. This makes them useful for that small piece of cake or for that big bowl of chili! Since I received these, I decided to donate a few of my other plastic storage containers since these are so multi-functional. Also, these storage containers do a terrific job of keeping your food fresh, which cuts down on the amount of food waste you might have in your home.

I also got to try out the Quick Chef. tupperware review for the quick chef This is an alternative to an electric food processor. I actually own a food processor, so at first I didn’t think this would be of much use to me. WRONG! It turns out that this is an ideal product to use when preparing meals while Darah is napping. My food processor wakes her up (believe me, I know from experience). This gadget, on the other hand, is extremely quiet. And honestly, it is just as quick as my electric food processor. I’m amazed at just how fast I can dice onions, carrots and even chicken in this thing. It can also be used to make pesto sauce, which we use often in my home. This product gives the earth a big hug every time you use it by not requiring any electricity. In my book, this is a knock-out invention, and I highly recommend it!

A third innovative product that I was given to try out is the Stuffables Mini Set. These award winning storage containers are pure genius! tupperware review for the stuffables mini set The lids on these containers are flexible, and can expand as needed. This may not make sense at first, but think about all of the times that you have tried to put away your leftovers, and you were unable to get the lid to shut because the food was sticking out a bit. I hate when that happens! These storage containers remove that problem. This product is earth-friendly because it keeps you from having to take the food out of one container and put it in another one, or even in plastic resealable bags, creating even more mess to have to put in the dishwasher. It also keeps you from tossing out a little bit of food just to make the lid fit. I seriously doubt that I’m the only one guilty of doing that…

Perhaps the best example I can offer about what makes Tupperware earth-friendly is this: a company that makes products that will last for decades without needing to be replaced is being an excellent steward of resources. Think about all of the disposable or low quality plastic containers you have probably used in your home. Now think about Tupperware. If you’ve ever owned any, it is unlikely that you have had to toss it for wearing out! You may even have inherited some Tupperware!

Tupperware gets two thumbs up in my book for helping my house go green. If you are looking for some new food storage containers, I think you should look no further!

Do you own any Tupperware? If so, how has it held up for you?

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

Anthropologie Rug Taste and a Target Budget

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Hello fabulous readers,

I have been looking for a rug to go in my guest room for the past 7 or 8 months (!!!). I really want a rug that is lovely and that brings color and texture into the room. Let me give you some examples of rugs that make me swoon. These are Anthropologie rugs. But I just can’t stomach the price tags. So tell me, where have you purchased your rugs from, and were you able to snag something lovely that didn’t break the bank? Please leave a comment and share your knowledge!
anthropologie rug

Rock Music for Kids: Three Great Albums

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EDIT: This giveaway is now closed.

Since Darah was in the womb, Tim and I have made an effort to expose her to a variety of music. She gets plenty of classical music when her dad is home with her on Mondays. When she’s with me, we like to listen to a lot of Ben Folds. We’ve recently discovered that Darah is particularly fond of a few Michael Jackson songs, especially Smooth Criminal. She loves the quick beat; it makes her giggle when we play it! This got us thinking that we needed to find more rock music for kids.

I’m glad that we are exposing our baby to music that we love. We also need to look beyond our own favorites and expose her to other types of music that she might love all on her own. I recently had the opportunity to try out three bands that are new to me, because they are bands geared toward children.

The first a charity and the rock music for kids lbum we listened to was Party Like a Twinkle Star, a double album by Charity and the JAMband. The first cd has 10 songs designed especially for “rocking out,” and the second cd has 10 songs for the end of the day as you wind down. I really love that the music is on two discs, separated by overall mood. We listen to selections from the Party disc at different points throughout the day. We seem to dance the most to “Get Your Booty Out of Bed” and “Row Row Row Your Boat.” We also listen to the Twinkle disc sometime in between her last nap of the day and her bedtime routine. There are several really sweet songs on this disc, with our favorites being “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “So Long to the Day.” So what does this group sound like? From their website, “JAM is a hootenanny, a hullabaloo, a dance party, a shindig-bash, a festival, a family band, a rain dance, a sun song, a fairy frolic, a wander in the park, a race on the beach, a flitting floating butterfly-bop, a blundering thundering elephant-stomp, a twirling-whirling-swirling dizzy-dee fall-down boogie!” The overall sound of this band is what I would call funky laid-back rock. It’s not the type of music that Tim and I already had on our Itunes, which makes it a welcome addition! I was also impressed to learn that two of their four albums have won Children’s Music Web Awards! Check this album out for yourself. Right now you can download “We are Stardust” from the Twinkle album for free and get an idea of what you would be buying! I really think you and your little one will like it!

rock music for kids: Sarah Lee Guthrie The second album we have been listening to is Go Waggaloo from Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family. Sarah is the granddaughter of Woody Guthrie, and she is definitely continuing her legacy of gifted singing and songwriting. If you are a fan of his, you should know that this album features three songs with lyrics by Woodie that have never before been put to music. So what does this music sound like? From her site, “The arrangements blend traditional folk music with contemporary lyrics and instrumentation. Among the surprises on Go Waggaloo are a scratching drum machine, songs about Xboxes and DVDs, and a spur-of-the-moment song recorded on a cell phone by the Guthrie family on a road trip.” I really liked the overall vibe of this album, and I have found myself singing some of the songs to Darah even when the cd isn’t playing. “Don’t I Fit in My Daddy’s Shoes?” and “If Mama Had Four Hands” are among my personal favorites, and “Oh How He Lied” makes Darah smile when she hears it. You can really get a good sense for the music by checking out this short YouTube clip about the album.

rock music for kids The third album we have added to our music collection is the self-titled album by Earthworm Ensemble. I thought this was a very interesting cd because if features a lot of different vocalists, which gives each song a unique sound. From their site, “We’re calling it family music, rather than just children’s music. We hope children and their parents can enjoy the songs together, and talk about some of the ideas in the songs. We sing about the earthworm’s role in the plant cycle; about buffalo migration as told by a young buffalo; buying fresh corn at the farmer’s market and taking it home to cook; how to make pizza from scratch; and trains, walking in the woods, birds, and a superhero team of Bear and Dog who’ve come to save the planet!” That pretty much sums it up, folks. With this album, I found myself chuckling quite a bit and tapping my feet right along with the music. If you are intrigued now (and you really should be!) and you’d like to hear some of their tunes, check out their MySpace page.

Buy Them!: If the only music you have in your house is the stuff you know and like, it’s time to branch out a bit and try some sounds that will appeal to kids (and that will surprise you by how much you enjoy them, too!). Purchase Party Like a Twinkle Star (double album) for $20, Go Waggaloo for $11.98 and Earthworm Ensemble for $15.99.

Win Them!: Right now I’m giving away one copy of each of these terrific rock music for kids albums! Three very lucky Stuff Parents Need readers will be winners! The contest will run until Thursday, February 18th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Open to residents of the United States. Be sure to leave your email address in your comments or have it in your profile or else I can’t contact you to tell you that you won!

How to Enter:

Mandatory entry: Tell me which of these albums you’d most like to win (1 winner will be selected for each album).

Additional entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email
2. Follow me through Google connect (2 entries, so leave 2 comments)
3. Put my button on my blog and leave a url where I can find it (2 entries, so leave 2 comments)
4. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (include your TwitterID)

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

The latest product from Apple?

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First we had the Ipod, followed by the Iphone and the Itouch. These were all fabulous inventions. But this past weekend, Darah gave us some inside information on the latest and greatest product that Apple is putting out….

The Ida! The Ida is AMAZING…it will feed you, change your diaper, read you stories, make you giggle and cuddle with you. It will also help you locate your pacifier an unlimited number of times when you lose it throughout the night.

You may be scratching your head and thinking, “Hmm…that sounds a lot like a DaDa to me!” Well, we thought so, too. But no, Darah is very insistent that this clever invention is called, “Ida!” Ida also responds to, “Tim.”

We love you, Ida!