Stuff Parents Need - Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

(Giveaway!): Get Ready for Halloween with a Halloween Countdown Chart!

September 18, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Thanks to One Step Ahead for providing the Halloween countdown review and giveaway products. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

One of the most successful holiday “craft” projects I ever conducted was the year I made a paper chain that served as a countdown for Christmas. My oldest eagerly looked forward to removing one chain each morning, and it eliminated the question of, “How much longer?????”

So when I saw the totally adorable Halloween countdown chart that One Step Ahead has out right now, I knew it would be just perfect for my family to use this year and for many years to come.

This chart is made of felt and comes ready to hang up and to decorate with 31 different spooky images. If you are creative, you can actually create a fun scene at the top of the chart. I struggle with creativity, but I’m certainly going to let my kids take a crack at placing the characters in an intentional way.

As the days of October pass, you take one character from the scene and cover up that date to mark its passing. There’s also a small pocket that can fit a small piece of candy, a piece gum, or a small note inside. You could do have a fun “fall” idea listed on some of the days to surprise your kids, even!

I totally love this product because it makes for a great Halloween decor item in and of itself, and because it helps you and your kids celebrate a little bit every single day of the month. The chart retails for $39.95 but is currently 20% off!

Win it!:

Lucky you! One Stuff Parensts Need reader is going to win this fantastic Halloween countdown chart!
Halloween Countdown Chart

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the right side of the blog.

A Subscription Service for the Tea Aficianado: Just Add Honey

September 18, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Thanks to Just Add Honey for providng a box for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always. Affiliate links may be included.

I am a huge fan of the afternoon ritual of tea time.

Well, let me clarify: in my world, that looks like afternoon coffee time, but that particular ritul that is totally a part of the cultural fabric of England is spot on (pardon the pun). I have tried many times over to fall in love with tea so that I could do a proper tea time each afternoon. Alas, it’s just not in the cards for me. But I know many of you out there adore a delicious cup of tea, and if that’s you, then you need look no further than Just Add Honey.

This monthly subscription service offers its members exclusive blends of tea that come from small growers all over the world. The ingredients are organic and I can tell from first-hand experience, they smell AMAZING and they are beautiful, too.

This is petal pusher, which I sampled due to its medium caffeine content, which I needed mid-morning! It’s a blend of black tea and rose petals and the smell is intoxicating!

The directions for how much to use and how long to steep are on the package. You’ll get several cups from each package.

And let’s not forget that gorgeous honey!

Subscribers get a different yummy honey with each box (for the honey subscription or for the tea and honey subscription). This one is from Walker Honey Farm in Rogers, TX. It’s dark and YUMMY! I added a teaspoon to my tea after it steeped and thought it was delicious! Every box features a new jar of raw American harvest honey from small batched beekeepers. So cool!

If honey isn’t really your thing, you can also go for the tea subscription box. Pricing is as follows for the 3 types of boxes:

honey subscription box: $12.95
tea subscription box: $19.95
tea and honey subscription box: $29.95

If you or someone you know LOVES tea, then I think Just Add Honey offers something really special that you can’t just run to the store and replicate.

Coupon Code!

Want to give Just Add Honey a try? Use promo code YOYAL-I-TEA and you’ll get 20% off anything on the site!

Young Living Abundance: A Detailed Look at Abundance Essential Oil

September 17, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Over the past 1 1/2 years, I have really fallen in love with Young Living essential oils. I have purchased many oil singles and even ventured into several different essential oil blends. One oil blend in particular, though, made me a bit weary at first.

That oil blend was called Abundance. The name tells you exactly what the purpose of the oil is: to attract abundance to your life. And this, to me, was honestly a little weired and, I feared, a little selfish.

But eventually I did a little research on this oil blend and discovered that I had some misgivings about it based on the name. I was associating the term abundance exclusively with financial wealth, and the thought of asking the universe for piles of cash didn’t sit well with me.

But that idea was really all in my head, and I have come to realize that I wasn’t thinking broadly enough about what abundance really is. Abundance is really about having more than enough for yourself, which puts you in a position to give away or share with others. Abundance doesn’t need to be about money, either. You can have an abundance of love in your life, or an abundance of joy, or an abundance of energy, etc. All of these things, in abundance, can not only bless your life, but can equip you to bless others. And that’s a very awesome thing, indeed!

Check out my video review of Abundance essential oil to learn more about the specifica oils in Abundance, as wel as 3 specific ways I use this blend.

If you want to check out Abundance for yourself, and start to intentionally draw an abundance of something positive into your own life, consider adding it to your next Young Living order. If you aren’t a member of Young Living, I’d love for you to sign up under me at a retail customer, or as a wholeasale member. You can learn more about the perks of being a wholesale member here (for example, wholesale members get 24% off their orders for life!). I also offer folks who are new to Young Living and want to try 1-3 bottles of oils at the wholesale price the opportunity to go in on my monthly order. Email me at stuffparentsneed@gmail.com to find out when the next order happens. Abundance oil blend is currently priced for the 15 ml bottle (that’s roughly 250 drops) at $48.68 plus tax and shipping for retail customers, and $37.00 plus tax and shipping for wholesale members.

If you are already using Abundance, I’d love to hear from you about how you use it!

Fall Into Great Fashion for Girls at Kmart

September 16, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Kmart through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about Kmart’s back-to-school apparel collections, all opinions are my own.

A few weeks ago I took my girls shopping for one brand new outfit each for a fun fall look as they head back to school. We did our shopping at a place I haven’t thought before to check out for affordable, on-trend clothing: Kmart.

When we arrived, I was completely shocked by the HUGE selection of clothing they had for children, as well as the number of items on sale or clearance, marked down from what I would consider to be reasonable prices at their suggested retail price point.

So basically what I’m telling you is that if you haven’t checked out Kmart for some back-to-school looks, you need to get on that. Stat.

Today I want to show you an adorable look Darah put together. She just turned 6 and has started first grade (!!! My baby!!!). She has been a really easy child to dress over the years, pretty much letting me put her in whatever I want, as long as it is comfy, and bonus points if it twirls. But when I gave her full rein to pick an outfit at Kmart, she surprised me and went in a different direction!

She opted for an outfit with pants! A major shocker! She fell madly in love with her “snuggly soft” eyelash top from Piper Girl (currently $10.49…prices subject to change). She told me it was so soft that she never wanted to take it off. And she certainly does reach for it first from her clean laundry pile! 🙂

And while I was surprised to see her veer from her standard dress outfit, I really couldn’t blame her when I got a good look at those leggings!

These moto leggings are sparkly to the max, y’all. And just so stinkin’ cute. This is another Piper Girl find, and at present they are just $11.49!

After she put together her top and pants (and didn’t she do well? They look great together!) we headed over to the shoe department, where I was very excited to see that many of their fall shoes were Buy One Get One Half Off. Darah and her little sister both scored these awesome boots.

Once again, Piper Girl was our pick (such a great line! You should check out all their offerings!). These are the Haylee fashion boots, and they are currently priced at $24.99.

To finish off Darah’s great new look, we found a few accessories.

Kmart had this sweet satin headband from Goody at $5.49. A piece like this can go with just about anything, so I know we’ll get our money’s worth out of it in no time!

We also found a set of Joe Boxer heart earrings. These were $7.99, but they came with 6 different pairs, in a variety of colors. This is PERFECT for my girls, who both have pierced ears and who love to switch out their looks.

Finally, we looked for some fierce new underwear for the school year, and Kmart did not disappoint. Darah opted for superhero styles and Layah went for Disney Fairies. Both great choices, and both were priced at $9.99.

I already have plans to head back over to Kmart in the near future to do some more shopping. I was very impressed with the selection and the price points, and I so enjoyed seeing both my girls ooh and ahh over the fun styles. I also enjoyed being surprised by what they picked when given the freedom to choose!

Stay tuned, because in a few days I’m going to show you what my budding fashionista Layah chose for her preschool debut!

Teaching Financial Literacy from a Young Age: Financial Adventure Subscription Review

September 15, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

Thanks to Financial Adventure for providing review materials. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Affiliate links included.

A cousin of mine who is a financial planner recently introduced me to a totally new kind of subscription service for kids. We LOVE getting subscription boxes because it’s an easy way to do crafts and to try fun new products. This subscription service, though, is teaching a critial life skill to kids: money management!

The Financial Adventure subscription comes with a monthly packet of materials, and you can also get the starter packet, which has some extras like a calculator, a mock check book or a piggy bank.

I received samples from two of the three levels. What you will see below comes from piggy’s financial adventure (geared toward kids ages 5-7) and from the kids & teens packets (ages 8-18). There is also an advanced financial adventure packet for kids 13-18.

You get a worksheet for the month which includes a starting balance and various things that happen throughout the month (getting small financial gifts from family members, buying treats, etc.). You get play money to deposit into your piggy bank, and to take out when those transactions take place, and you get to do some addition and subtraction to keep up with your balance along the way. My 6-year-old hasn’t yet learned how to count money, so even though she’s in the age range for this set, she’s not ready for it. And that’s ok! She’ll be learning about this concept this year in school, and when that happens, we’ll use our financial adventure kit to do some real world practice!

In the set for kids & teens, you aren’t keeping your money in a piggy bank anymore, but instead in a checking account. You are also having to pay for things like your cell phone bill and gas. I think this might get a bit lost on the 8-year-olds, but this is SO perfect for teenagers who might be getting their first jobs, and who might be wishing for more expensive items, like the ability to drive a car or have their own phones. When kids grasp early on just how expensive it is to have all these luxuries, they are better equipped to take better care of them and to appreciate them more. They can also make better decisions about which ones might be worth it, and which items they should pass on, or at least wait for a sale! 🙂

I think this is a really great concept; by teaching kids some financial literacy early on, like managing expenses or applying for scholarships, you are equipping them to make fewer money mistakes and paving the way for a more secure financial future! I would recommend selecting the kit that sounds like the best fit for your child and staring with that level’s starter kit and a one month subscription to the financial adventure packet. After that point you can decide if it’s a great fit, and if so, go for the year subscription, because it’s the best deal at $10.95/month (vs. $14.95/month if you go month-by-month). I think this is an excellent investment to make in your kids’ future! 🙂

The Triumphant Return of One of My All-Time Favorite Stores: Filene’s Basement

September 14, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

This post brought to you by Filene’s Basement. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Stuff Parents Need.

I lived in Boston from 2002-2004 while pursuing a Master’s degree. I was young, newly married, and way out of my comfort zone in a big city of New England. To be honest, I often felt as though I didn’t even speak the same language as the folks in Boston simply due to have different the vibe was there from the South.

But I found a place right in the middle of downtown Boston that made me feel like a million bucks every time I visited (and that’s saying something because we were quite strapped for cash during this season of our life!). That place was Filene’s Basement. undefined

Have you ever heard of this legendary store? This chain of 20+ brick and mortar stores could be found in various locations throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states (as well as in Chicago). Perhaps its biggest claim to fame was it’s “Running of the Brides” event, an annual fire sale on bridal gowns that would draw massive crowds and near frantic dashes to grab something incredible for a bargain basement price.

I learned about Filene’s Basement through a roommate of ours (yes, we were married and had roommates…told you we were strapped for cash!) and fell instantly in love with the hum of excitement that greeted you as you stepped off the escalator and into a vast space with bin after bin of bargains.

You had to be willing to roll up your sleeves and do some digging to find treasures, but if you had the time, you could save some money. I definitely didn’t have much money, and so, I gave quite a bit of my time to Filene’s Basement in search of the best possible finds.

Would you believe that 11 years after I made my last purchast at Filene’s Basement, I still use the item that I purchased every single day? It’s my wallet, and I’ve looked in earnest half a dozen times at wallets to replace this one, but I just can’t seem to bring myself to do it. It’s my last tangible connection to a place I so loved to visit for a break from the stress of graduate school, especially since it was one of only a very few places where I could actually afford to buy something thanks to the deep discounts.

I “splurged” on this Liz Claiborne wallet for $20 (side note: I have the ability to remember the price I paid for stuff, even a decade later. It’s a rare and almost entirely useless gift so I’m super pumped to be putting it to use right now!). It’s got so much sentimental value to me that even though I’ve upgraded to a Coach purse by this point in my adult life, this wallet just keeps on keeping on with me. I can’t very well head back to a Filene’s Basement to get a new wallet because the last one closed in 2011. Thankfully, it turns out that you can have a functional keepsake, after all.

The Return of Filene’s Basement

Well surprise, surprise, friends. My beloved Filene’s Basement is making a comeback, and in a way that is so very 2015. This fall get ready to shop ’till you drop for bargains galore at FilenesBasement.com. Wherever you live, now Filene’s Basement is accessible to you, which is just the best thing ever. On the website you’ll find a curated online marketplace that you can customize to your personal taste and you’ll find branded apparal, accessories and even home goods. So now instead of having to dig through all those bins (which was actually sort of fun at the time but would now be something I wouldn’t have time for) you can simply click around online to “Find What’s You.”

I think it might be time to retire my wallet after all, because I think I’ve finally found the place that will have it’s replacement. I’ll be buying it at Filene’sBasement.com.

Honest Company Dish Soap Review: An Honest Assessment

September 14, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 3 Comments

Affiliate links included. I make all my Honest.com purchases and review them to help others out! 🙂

I’ve had Honest Company dish soap for a long while now, and it was on my list of things to share with you about that I would NOT recommend. And then I realized that others must have felt similarly, because the bottle design AND the formula changed.

So I ordered the new Honest dish soap, and have been using it for a few weeks. The price went down (actually, I think the price, itself, stayed the same, but the number of ounces in the product increased). I’m going on memory so somebody correct me if I’m mistaken about that.

I really like the improvements made to the formula of the dish soap. I think it cleans great now and the scent is also really nice (I tried lemon verbena).

The packaging is another story. Aesthetically, it is also a big improvement. I love that the bottle is tall and also clear. It has a really fresh, really pure look and the graphics are better than the old design. The problem lies with the hole where the dish soap comes out. It’s too big, and so dish soap pretty much spews out of it every time you use it. I have more dish soap than I did with the old design, but it’s getting used at a faster rate because every single time I use it, even now that I know to be careful, more comes out than I want or need.

So would I buy the product again? It’s hard to say. Again, I think the formula works great, but in order to not be dissatisfied overall, I’d need to move the contents into an entirely different container. And if I’m going to go through all that hassle, I’ll probably just buy something different altogether. But that’s just me.

If you want to try the Honest Dish soap, I recommend that this item be one of the + 3 items in your bundle due to it’s low cost. You can have up to 3 +3 items included with your order, and those items get marked down by 25%. This is the place to put your lower cost items.

I had a commenter once advise me not to always think that anything cheaper than $7.20 (that’s the per item cost for your budle items) needs to be +3, and I think she was really on to something. She said that she adds up the total cost of the items in her bundle and if the total cost is greater than what she is paying for the bundle (bundles are $35.95) then she is satisfied that she got a good deal. With more and more items available that are under $7 retail, I actually think she’s on to something, because I have quite a few of those items that I love…more than the +3 spaces I usually have to offer.

But with all of that said, at $3.95 the Honest Dish Soap is one of the very cheapest items on the entire site. So I would firmly say that this one should go in your +3. If you need to put some low priced items into your bundle, at least save those spots for items that are $6.95 or even $5.95. You’ll get a better overall value. 🙂

Want more suggestions for what to get and what to avoid? Check out my list of Honest product reviews. I also have information about how to get 3 free trials of products from the Honest Company for anyone out there who is brand new to this great line of eco-friendly and affordable products!

New My Little Pony Toys: Sweet Apple Acres!

September 14, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Product provided for review consideration. Additional product purchased on my own because Applejack is amazing. 🙂

I have to give a big thank you to my BFF, Leslie, who encouraged me (and by that I mean yelled at me) to start watching My Little Pony with my girls. I’ve been going through the episodes with them for about 6 months now (maybe longer, actually!) and that show is GREAT! The episodes are funny and thought-provoking, and provide a lot of great material for discussion.

They also provide a lot of great inspiration for play! And it seems that for me, I have TWO areas of weaknesses when it comes to buying toys for my girls: one is stuffed animals, and the other is My Little Pony.

A few days ago I was out running errands and while I was inside one of the big box stores I thought I’d just see if there might be any fun Apple Jack toys. And yes, there was something SUPER fun!

I bought the sweet apple juice stand because LOOK AT APPLE JACK! She is in mid-buck! 🙂 Those apples on the tree come off, too, which means my youngest can have her favorite pony kick that apple tree again and again and again.

I also bought it because I knew something extra awesome was headed our way from Hasbro.

Sweet Apple Acres! Hot Diggity! 🙂

Please note the AWESOME figures included: Granny Smith and Crimson Gala!

Y’all Granny Smith is one of my FAVORITES. She crosses the road like a BOSS with that walker. And she has a lot of hilarious lines, too. My youngest absolutely adores Apple Jack, so to be able to play at Apple Jack’s farm is SO fun!

The set includes a picnic blanket, a bushel of apples and some yummy treats and a table so that you can get ready for the Apple family reunion or for Apple Bucking Day. There’s even a cute little chipmunk included, although I really wish they had inclued Winona, Apple Jack’s pet dog, instead. Oh well!

The Sweet Apple Acres Barn play set is available from most national retailers for $19.99 and the set I purchased with the bucking Apple Jack is available for $9.99.

Who is your favorite My Little Pony of the bunch? Mine is Twilight Sparkle, although I have such a soft spot for Fluttershy! 🙂

(Giveaway!) Our Best Swimming Lesson Yet: How Kidizoom Action Cam Helps!

September 12, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 12 Comments

Thanks to VTech for supply a review and giveaway unit. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

Friends, my husband (bless him) has spent the past 6 weeks taking our 6-year-old to the gym 4 times a week to give her private swimming lessons. The process has been nothing short of arduous for him, mostly because for the first 3 weeks of lessons, she REFUSED to actually go underwater (a critical component of learning how to swim!).

During this period of time, I had agreed to check out the VTech Kidizoom Action Cam, simply because my girls love to grab my phone and take videos or pictures, and I loved the idea of them having their own device that they could play with and that was built tough so that I wouldn’t worry about it being in little hands.

When I realized that the Kidizoom Action Cam has a waterproof case, I sent it along with my daughter to her lesson and suggested that she try to record some videos of her swimming. She thought that was the coolest idea she had ever heard, and so when she got to her lesson with her dad, this happened:

The camera provided her with a focal point, and the idea of having a video of her swimming underwater was so cool to her that she kicked the fear right out of the pool and got to work. This was a HUGE breakthrough; Tim was really beating his head against the wall about how to get her to go underwater. We weren’t expecting a camera to be the trick, but it was!

The girls have been playing with their camera daily, but they especially like to use it when the family is doing something extra fun. We had a pinata as part of my birthday celebration, and that was a fun opportunity for the girls to practice their video skills and their photography skills. Darah captured her little sister taking a crack at the pinata:

They also were able to practice using some of the funky features that allow for altered shots. This one was a favorite!

The girls were also quick to discover that the camera also has three built-in games. When you add this to all the spcial effects features, this has become one highly entertaining device.

Summer may be officially over 10 days from now, but that doesn’t mean that your kids won’t be able to find awesome things to capture, inside or outside. The Kidizoom Action cam comes with ounts so you can attach it to a bike or a scooter. And if you have any travel opportunities coming up and your hotel has an indoor pool, bring along the action cam and the waterproof case.

Perhaps one of the things I love the very most about this product is the price tag: under $60! You do have to upload your videos frequently since the amount of storage is on the small side, but as long as you remember to do that after your kids have finished playing with it for the day, you’ll be fine! You can also just get a microSD card of up to 32 GB if you want more storage. Easy peasy!

Win it!

One Lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a VTech Kidizoom Action Cam!

Kidizoom Action Cam

Be sure to enter to win my other current giveaways, found on the right sidebar of the blog.