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

8 Thrifty Strategies to Get the Best Essential Oils for the Lowest Possible Price

March 3, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Disclaimer: I am sharing my own personal experience, but I am NOT offering medical advice of any sort. Please consult your physician should you have any questions or concerns about how essential oils will interface with any medication you are currently taking. Essential oils have not been tested by the FDA.

There was a season of my life when I was pretty darn good at rockin’ the coupons. I didn’t have a spare room in my house dedicated to my stash of freebies, or anything, but I did have a closet, and it was stuffed with mouthwash, shampoo, toothpaste, diapers and razors that I’d gotten for free or close to free. My pantry and my freezer were the same way…plenty of boxes of super cheap food at the ready!

The only problem was that most of the stuff I got for free was actually quite terrible for us. The food was, generally speaking, loaded with sodium an preservatives and the toiletries had all sorts of questionable chemicals in them. What I learned over time is that everything comes with a price, and if you aren’t paying that price in dollars you might well be paying it in other ways. I was compromising my family’s health to cut some costs in our monthly budget. I was the perfect example of being penny-wise and pound foolish.

I’m sharing this story with you because I get a lot of push back from people about the cost of Young Living essential oils. And on the surface, I can totally understand why it might seem ludicrous to pay $23.50 for a bottle of lavender when the health food store down the street sells lavender oil for $9. But I can promise you, this: when it comes to essential oils, you get what you pay for. Do you only want your house to smell good? Then go for that $9 bottle, friend. Do you NOT want to be inhaling chemicals and synthetic additives when you diffuse your lavender oil? And do you want therapeutic benefits from your oil? Then you might want to hold off on that $9 purchase, because it will only be a waste of your $9.

We’ve talked about the unparalleled quality of Young Living’s products. Their seed to seal guarantee will leave you absolutely confident that you have made an investment in quality that will pay dividends for you as a consumer. The difference will be like night and day, and I speak from experience on that one.

But still…the price is the price, and while the per drop price point for most of the oils is actually quite thrifty, it may still sting a bit at the point of purchase, especially if you are the type of person who loves a good bargain. I can totally empathize with this point of view because it speaks to me and to how I am inclined to shop. So with that in mind, I wanted to share with you all some thrifty strategies that I have put into place so that I can get the best essential oils for the lowest possible price. Now that I have experienced the quality difference, I can’t go back to lower grade oils. So I have to work the system for the best possible prices. Here are 8 strategies you can use to get the best possible prices, too!

1. Ask for a Coupon

Young Living distributors, on occasion, have $20 off coupons for their brand new members who purchase the premium starter kit. I have been with Young Living for a year now and have earned 3 of these coupons. I want to emphasize that they aren’t regular occurrences, and that the distributors EARN them. So they aren’t freely available, I promise. But it never hurts to ask, and you just might get lucky. If you are thinking about signing up for a wholesale membership, reach out to the person you’d like to sign up under and see if they have a coupon to use when signing up. They just might! (hint, hint…I might have one right now! stuffparentsneed (at) gmail (dot) com).

2. Get a Wholesale Membership

If you are budget-conscious, you may think it is NOT a good idea to sign up as a wholesale member and purchase the premium starter kit on account of the $150 cost. But let me break it down for you, friend: this is the best deal on the entire Young Living site! The kit comes with a difuser, which retails for $99 (and trust me, the $25 diffusers on the market are not at all like this one…another case of getting what you pay for) and it comes with a collection of 10 oils that retails for $163 AND a bonus Citrus Fresh oil which retails for $20 and some great samples and the product catalog and….are you starting to see what I’m saying, here??? I’ve purchased the kit three times because the value is just that great. You literally cannot buy the components of the kit without spending FAR more on your purchase. And guess what? Because you bought the kit, you have a wholesale membership which means that any purchase you make from here on out is 24% off. BOOM.

3. Share the Love and Get Your Kit Paid For

So what if that $150 price tag is just a bit too much for your budget, even if you totally get that it’s a great deal? I understand that situation, for sure, and I have more good news for you. As a wholesale member, in any given month when you spend at least 50PV (which for the sake of simplicity is like spending $50), you can earn referral bonuses for signing up your friends and family with Young Living. You will have a unique referral link that you can share with anyone who asks you about your oils and if they sign up under you and purchase a kit, you earn $50. So all you need to do is get 3 of your friends to try out the oils with you and your kit is basically paid for, simple as that.

4. Get Additional Discounts Through Essential Rewards

For us thrifty folks, this next idea is also not going to sound like a good idea, at first. But just hear me out and you will see how this strategy is GREAT for getting your oils at a better price. Young Living loves to reward its regular customers by offering additional discounts to them through the Essential Rewards (ER) program. You commit to purchasing 50PV/month on oils, and in return, you earn a percentage back on your ER purchase in the form of credit that you can later spend on products. Additionally, there are special bonuses offered for higher volume orders each month exclusively for ER members. This means that there are FREEBIES to be had (and I have more details in strategy #6 on how to snag those freebies without spending your own money). By placing these monthly orders, you will save money on your oils and other Young Living products, and you will also get discounted shipping on your order. In the last year and a half I have personally earned enough credits to “purchase” over $900 in Young Living products FOR FREE. 🙂

5. Continue to Share the Love Get Your Essential Rewards Order Paid For

So the ER program sounds like a good deal for folks, but $50/month is still $50/month, and might be a tough thing to build into your budget. No problem, though! Remember how you got your Premium Starter Kit paid for? All you need to do is make a goal of referring 1 friend each month to Young Living and that will cover your Essential Rewards expenses. You will be totally shocked by how easy it is to refer your friends, too. Pinky promise. You are going to be having an amazing experience with the oils, and just by sharing your thoughts with others, you are going to pique their interest. The oils really do sell themselves. The post I did on Facebook just a few weeks ago got 8 comments. People are totally curious and want to try the oils, you’ll see! 🙂

6. Earn those Monthly Freebies Without Spending Your Own Money

I mentioned in strategy #4 that Young Living offers monthly promotional items to Essential Rewards members who place higher volume ER orders. Here’s the example from March 2015 just to give you an idea.

This month with a 190PV or higher order, you get a 5 ml of Marjoram free. If you are on Essential Rewards, you also get a 5ml of Idaho Balsam Fir for free. If your order goes up to 250PV, you earn a $20 enrollment coupon (like the ones mentioned above) to gift to someone else. And if your over goes to 300PV+, you also get a free Ortho Ease. The retail value at the 300PV level is $117.37. So as you can see, you can place a large order and get totally free products from Young Living as a thank you gift. And friends, there’s no reason for all of that money to be YOUR money! All you need to do is let your friends and family who are curious about Young Living and who want to try a few oils go in on your monthly ER order. Every single month, for example, I am ordering the weight loss trio for at least 2 different people. That adds $100 to my order that I didn’t have to spend and helps me earn more ER credits (yay!) AND pushes me towards those bonuses. I personally typically spend $75-$100/month on my own oils and other products, and the rest of my order, which is almost always over 300PV, comes from other people going in on the order. They try the products for a good price. I earn the credits and keep those freebies. Win/win!

7. Start Replacing Products You Need to Purchase with Young Living Products

Another way to make the most of your Essential Rewards orders is to start replacing those chemical-filled products you likely have stuffed in your bathroom with products that are SO much better for you. I have donated my old toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, shampoo, body wash, lotion, and household cleaners and have replaced them with Young Living products that are absolutely AMAZING. I’m not spending that time clipping coupons, running from store to store to try to get the deal, and I’m feeling absolutely great about the products that are in my home. They are worth every single penny, and I get them for free now because that’s what I like to spend my earned Essential Rewards credits on. 🙂

8. Consider the Business Opportunity

If you are finding that your referrals are more numerous than the amount you need to cover your kit and your monthly ER purchases, then you might want to take a minute to explore the business opportunity that is staring you in the face right now. You may have started out looking for a way to get your essential oils for free but instead discovered something even more lucrative. I order a generous amount of product every month and my commission checks FAR exceed what I’m spending on products. I have turned something I enjoy sharing about into a legitimate business, and all on my own terms and during the hours that I choose to work. It’s a beautiful thing, and it is leading my family in the direction of financial peace and security. All that time spent clipping coupons got me on the path to thinking strategically about my purchases, which eventually led to me thinking strategically about my family’s health, which led me down this path toward abundance. If that sounds like something you might want to explore, I always love sharing my story with others, so don’t hesitate to reach out and we can talk more about it. stuffparentsneed (at) gmail (dot) com.

On the Loss of a Parent

February 28, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 23 Comments

We have had such a horrible week here at The House of M. My husband’s father, a very special person in our lives, unexpectedly passed away Sunday evening from a ruptured aortic aneurysm that we didn’t know existed. To say we have been devastated feels like an understatement.

When life deals you such a mighty blow, it’s amazing how quickly your entire world gets laser-focused on what matters the most. I have spent a lot of time this past week crying and grieving, a lot of time just being with my family (thank goodness for Skype so I could see their faces and feel that much closer to them). And I’ve also spent a lot of time just holding my babies.

I’m so thankful for this blog and for being my own boss, because I had the luxury and the freedom to step away and take the time I needed. I will continue to take time as I need it over the coming weeks and months, so if a handful of days go by without a post, just know that I’m taking time to be with my family and to celebrate and enjoy life the way my father-in-law taught me to. This guy was truly the life of every party. Always a smile on his face. Always an adventure right around the corner, waiting to be discovered. I’m going to follow his example more closely than ever before and savor the joy that can be found if you just take a second to look for it.

We love you so much, Dad. You are so very, very missed. And we are so grateful for the time and all the fun we had together. We promise to keep your legacy of prioritizing fun with family alive. Cheers to the next adventure!

February Beauty Box 5: I Love the Improvements!

February 21, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

Complimentary box provided for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

Hello sweet friends! I hope you are having a lovely weekend. It is absolutely dreary here in Chattanooga, which makes it the perfect day to stay inside and play with my makeup a bit. 🙂

Today I’m showcasing the contents of the February 2015 Beauty Box 5 subscription box. This is a box that I highly recommend because of it’s budget-friendly price tag (as low as $8.75/month!) and for its really nice selection of offerings at several price points. Basically, this box contains products that I would actually buy as well as a few surprises from brands that are totally new to me.

Previous Reviews

If you want to see other reviews I have done to get a sense for what the boxes are like, check ’em out!

July’s Beauty Box 5

November’s Beauty Box 5

December’s Beauty Box 5

January’s Beauty Box 5

February’s Beauty Box

Here’s a sneak peek at what’s inside (notice that SWEET $20 gift card!!!!). For a detailed look, click play and I’ll tell you everything, darling!

Potty Training Tips: How Essential Oils Can Help with Night Time Potty Training

February 20, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Disclaimer: I am sharing my own personal experience, but I am not offering medical advice of any sort. Essential oils are very potent so PLEASE take great care when administering them to young children, be liberal with your dilution, and carefully research the brand you choose, as the vast majority of essential oils on the market contain synthetic fillers. Please consult your physician should you have any questions or concerns. Essential oils have not been tested by the FDA. Affiliate links included. I love promoting what rocks my world!

As I announced yesterday, we are officially all done with diapers in my home. People, this is such a beautiful moment in my life! And while my youngest isn’t even yet 3, her potty training journey was a year long, and so we have been working on this for a long time.

easy ideas for using essential oils while potty training

Why have we been working on this for so long? Well, her older sister was 100% trained by the time she was 20 months old, so we assumed that our second child would do the same. And she DID show signs of interest in the potty early on. But she never was really willing to fully commit to it, and we’d go back and forth between thinking we were almost done altogether, to being right back in diapers full-time. Long story short, we made a lot of mistakes and didn’t follow the child the way we probably should have.

Night Time Potty Training

BUT…now that is all behind us, and little Layah decided that she was ready to be in underwear full-time, so here we are! After we overcame the issue of pooping in the potty, tackling the overnight potty training was the toughest piece for us. Since I love essential oils and love to incorporate them into our lives, I started to do some research on potty training tips that integrate essential oils and I found some GREAT ideas that I want to share with you all!

Potty Training Tips

First and foremost, give diffusing the Young Living blend Peace & Calming a try. I use this blend with my kiddos, anyway, just to help them unwind and relax. This will be an especially helpful blend for any child who experiences anxiety about going to bed at night due to bed-wetting. I find that 2 drops is plenty in the diffuser for getting the little ones off to sleep!

The second thing I’d recommend is making a glass roller ball with a dilution of Cypress Oil and a carrier oil of your choice (we love grapeseed oil). While the bottle states the dilution is not required, I always dilute oils for use on children. For me, the roller ball has 1 drop of cypress for every 3 drops of carrier oil. That is what I am comfortable with, but you should do what you are comfortable with! If my child was older, I would probably drop down to 1:2 or even 1:1, just depending on age. Apply this mixture right over the lower abdomen just before getting into bed. Cypress does wonders for helping little ones make it through the night! If you don’t see results immediately, give it time (at least a week and up to 2 weeks) because everyone is different and some people just take a bit more time to adjust to it. You can also increase the ratio of essential oil to carrier oil if you aren’t seeing results after a few weeks.

Third, I would suggest incorporating the Young Living oil blend called Valor and the Young Living oil blend Melrose. I personally would make a second glass roller ball with this concoction, and for every drop of essential oil I would have 3 drops of carrier oil. I would take the roller ball and rub it on the bottom of your child’s feet, paying careful attention to cover the bottom of the big toe (this is a Vita Flex connector point to the brain).

As you experiment with essential oils to help your little one stay dry all night long, you might even want to consider starting with just one oil or oil blend and see how it helps. If you aren’t seeing the results you were hoping for within 2 weeks, you could add something else to the mix. I would suggest starting first with Cypress simply due to the high success rates I have read about from others.

Another Resource

And if you are working hard on potty training right now and need some help figuring out how to wrap it all up and be done, I highly recommend Potty Train in a Weekend by fellow blogger Becky Mansfield. It’s a great affordable resource that you can download as soon as you purchase it. It gets rave reviews from parents everywhere who aren’t sure how to keep potty training from going on and on forever! Good luck!

One Simple Change Made the Difference: How We Potty Trained with Pull-Ups®

February 19, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 8 Comments

After going back and forth with Layah for over a year on a “laid back” potty training approach, I threw my hands in the air and decided to try something new: we just stopped using diapers cold turkey. I made peace with having a bit of a mess to clean up during this transition, and I also purchased some Pull-Ups® Training Pants for night-time, when I know it is harder for toddlers to go accident-free, at least in the beginning of the effort. Pull-Ups® had recently reached out to partner together for a post since they knew we were still in the midst of potty training, and I decided that now was as good a time as any to try a different approach since Layah wasn’t fully committing to being out of diapers. Want to hear about what happened when we simply removed diapers from the equation?

Short Answer: It Worked!

I kept my explanation of the changes we were making easy breezy with my daughter, and I had lots of very cool new things to show her, too. I laid out her super cool character underwear for day time and I also chose the so that she would be drawn to the designs on them, as well. Doc McStuffins and Ariel are some great new characters you’ll find on the designs for the girls, and the boys have Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Lightning McQueen. I explained that we would wear character underwear until we had an accident, and then if we had an accident, we would take a break and switch to underwear that didn’t have a design on it.

The main thing Layah was struggling with up to this point was pooping in the potty. This is a major sticking point for a lot of kids. She would ask for a diaper and we would often cave and give her one because let’s be real: who wants to clean poop out of underwear? It’s not high on my list of things I’m interested in doing.

So this time I explained to her that mommy and daddy and big sister were here to help her all day long and to get her to the potty any time she wanted to try, and that it was totally fine to try and not get the poop out on the first try. We could try again and again, no problem! BUT...if she pooped in her character underwear, unfortunately they would get so dirty that we would have to throw them away. I was VERY careful with my explanation of this because I did not want to make Layah feel any sort of shame. I was simply experimenting with a different consequence, as the previous consequence for pooping in her underwear, which was to help us clean it up, didn’t seem to be having much of an impact. And to be honest, I wasn’t so sure that she would care at all whether or not her character underwear got tossed in the garbage.

But guess what? She NEVER pooped in her pants again. She even took herself to the potty several times that first day until she was successful. And OH MY GOSH did we throw an impromptu party for that kid once she pooped in the potty. You would have thought that we had won the lottery by the level of celebration happening!

To further boost Layah’s confidence once she conquered her big hurdle of pooping in the potty, we made use of Pull-Ups® Training Pants at bedtime. We simply called them night time underwear and showed her that you put them on and take them off the same way. We talked about how it would be fine to take trips to the potty during the night and how she could call for us if she needed help. For the first few nights, we were getting up to do a few potty sessions with her and she did wake up a few times having gone potty in her sleep. But she very quickly started to shift to waking herself up and going potty all by herself.

And now? More nights than not, she makes it through the entire night completely dry, and she is good about taking herself potty first thing in the morning. Our youngest is now potty trained.

photo credit: BLUE SKY2 via photopin (license)

It took forever and a day, but once we changed the tactic around and simply removed the crutch (diapers), the process wrapped up very quickly. If you are just getting started with potty training instead of being in the thick of it, you might want to think about starting with Pull-Ups® full-time while your child adjusts to learning how to start using the potty. Then you can gradually start introducing underwear during the day time until your child is in underwear 100% of the day, and after that, tackling night time potty training will likely not take very long, either. Pull-Ups® are a great addition to the potty training experience because they get kids started right away with training on how to be independent by taking their underwear off and putting it back on (thanks to those nice, stretchy sides) while also offering a level of protection against those accidents that are frequent in the beginning.

Special Coupon Offer

If you are ready to ditch diapers and give this approach to potty training a try, be sure to get the awesome coupon for (size Jumbo or higher) currently being offered. You can take $2 off, which is great, and if you share the coupon via social media, you get an upgrade to a $3 off coupon! .

The Pull-Ups® Big Kid Academy

If you want a customized road map for your potty training journey, be sure to enroll in the Big Kid Academy at . It’s totally free, and totally helpful, as you’ll find activities and advice perfect for wherever you may find yourself on the road to potty training. Parents can find expert advice there, too! And don’t miss out on the Pull Ups® Time to Potty App! Your toddler probably already wants to play with your phone, so you might as well bring in some helpful potty training resources during phone time!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pull-Ups®.

Another Resource

If you are in need of a resource to help you kick potty training into high gear, I have heard RAVE reviews for blogger Becky Mansfield’s ebook, Potty Train in a Weekend. Definitely check that out if you have a feeling that with the right approach, your little one can finish up potty training quickly!

How to Introduce Dog to Baby

February 18, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 3 Comments

Friends please enjoy this helpful guest post about how to introduce your dog to your baby from children’s book author Wendy Dubrow. It’s full of great tips for moms and dads of fur babies who are expecting a not-so-furry baby!

Many pet parents expecting their first child have concerns surrounding how their first baby, their dog, will adjust to the new family member. We were those people. We read every book and talked to as many people as possible about their experiences welcoming baby. My husband and I each read Cesar Milan’s, A Member of the Family, to help us prepare. Aside from showing your dog as much love as possible, even after baby’s arrival, I highly recommend sending something home for your dog to smell with baby’s scent on it before introducing baby in the flesh. While still at the hospital we had friends bring home a baby hat with our newborn’s scent so our dog, Hudson, could smell it for his initial introduction.

Obviously, there could be a number of factors, but from our experience Hudson and our daughter Kaya had a seamless meeting. From the get go, we treated them both like our children, gave Hudson ample opportunity to smell and kiss Kaya, without smothering of course, and made sure Hudson still slept in our bed, just as he always had despite the new addition of Kaya in the mix. Of course there were nights filled with crying when Hudson opted to sleep elsewhere for peace and quiet. I didn’t blame him. I secretly wished I could sneak out too. Furthermore, Kaya was never off limits to Hudson and we made sure that the love for each of them never waned. In fact, our daughter, now 21 months, loves Hudson so much for two primary reasons. First, he has always showered her with love and second because she witnessed our love, or call it obsession, for him. In case it isn’t obvious I am a dog-loving mama who has made sure both my babies, our dog and our daughter, feel treasured.

I have so much energy swarming around these two that the arrival of our daughter actually led to the inception of my recently published children’s book: Hudson’s Tales, The Adventures of Puppy Brother, Meet Hudson! It is the story of an adored family dog (Hudson). Hudson leads a very charmed life and is the center of attention in his family. Like many families, they grow over time and everyone needs to adjust to new dynamics. This book shares the arrival of a baby, which brings Hudson to his new role in life…puppy brother! It is love at first sniff and Hudson fills with excitement at the thought of sharing future escapades with his new baby sister! This book is a must have for any expecting pet parents or dog lovers with young kids.

From my experience there are two camps of expecting pet parents; those who treat having a dog like a test run for parenting and those who treat having a dog like their first baby. The latter of the two perpetuates the cycle of dog lovers. Our children learn from the examples we set as we care for our dogs as appreciated members of the family. It is no coincidence that Kaya’s first and most frequent word is “Hudson”! In addition to being siblings, they truly are best friends. Of course every dog is different but I am a firm believer that parents set the tone for how pets fit into the family dynamic. Hudson has been the best puppy brother to Kaya. Kaya’s life and personality is all the richer for having him.

Wendy Dubrow has a Masters Degree in Childhood Education and Special Education from New York University. She currently teaches social skills for students on the spectrum part-time while enjoying her children and mamahood! Please visit hudsonstales.com to learn more about the book, Hudson and Wendy! Hudson’s Tales, The Adventures of Puppy Brother is available on Amazon.

Oh, Swing, How Do I Love Thee?! Let Me Count The Ways.

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

By Alanna Peters

I received complimentary product and compensation from Graco® for this post. We are huge fans at our house so I’m thrilled to share with you a little story about how much we like their products!

I realize that many of you have been dealing with some COLD temperatures lately. So let me apologize in advance when I say that it has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL here in Southern California. This beautiful weather has led to lots of park days for us!

These past couple weeks have really been the first introduction to playing at the park for my baby. She enjoys climbing around on the play structures and eating sand (who’s idea was it to put sand in a playground, anyway?!), but there is one park staple that is totally her jam. You guys, Katrina is OBSESSED with the swings. I decided to put her in one of the baby swings and push her for a while, and she loved it. That happy, joyful smile was adorable! After a little while I figured we’d move on to something else so I reached in to pull her out. Uh-oh… That baby was STUCK. I swear, there was glue in the swing! Any time she saw me so much as THINK about taking her out she held on with a death grip and tensed her legs so that I couldn’t get her out. And so the love affair with the swing began…

As much fun as it is to go to the park every. single. day. a mom can only handle so much. We do have a swing in our backyard, which she also loves, but there are times when I actually need to be in the house. Like when it’s dark outside. Or I’m cooking, or folding laundry, etc. And still Katrina likes to swing! Enter the .

I was afraid she would be too old for a baby swing but I was pleasantly surprised to find that she loves it! Most swings can’t really be used for babies over 6 months but the Simple Sway Swing holds babies from 5.5 lbs all the way up to 30 lbs. My chunky nugget is definitely still within the weight range! She loves to lounge in the seat and watch me while I cook, or sit and laugh while her sister performs some awesome dance moves for her.

If you’ve been following us on social media, you already know that Katrina and I attended a Graco® Live party last week. We had such a great time! First of all, our hostess has an amazingly gorgeous home, and she provided us with delicious brunch goodies and great conversation. Katrina was thrilled with the berries and French toast sticks, and I was loving the Greek yogurt and granola. (The donut holes were a nice touch too!)

While we nibbled on our brunch, all the babies (they ranged from about 5 weeks all the way up to 12 months) got a chance to try out the Graco® Simple Sway™ Swing. Every single one of them loved it! All of us moms chatted about parenting, blogging, and of course, our favorite Graco® products. We even played a fun game to see who could do the fastest in-lap diaper change. Sad to say I did not win, but I was pretty darn fast, let me tell you!

We also spent some time chatting with the Graco® rep and looking at some new Graco® products, including the and the new . And of course, the Graco® Simple Sway™ Swing!

Some of the highlights of this swing are:

1) Its size! This swing has a small footprint so it’s great for smaller houses. My house is only 1200 square feet so we don’t have a lot of room to spare for big, bulky baby equipment. This swing is small enough to tuck away into a corner without being underfoot.

2) It is lightweight. The swing only weighs around 19lbs so it’s super easy to move from room to room.

3) IT PLUGS IN. Yes, it takes batteries, but no need to worry about running out of battery power mid-nap. This swing can be plugged in which saves you money on batteries, and also eliminates the need for running out to the store in the middle of the night for more batteries. (Or from pushing the swing with your foot for hours on end.)

4) The seat vibrates. This swing can also double as a vibrating bouncer seat for a newborn. (Or your older baby might just like having their bottom vibrated, like Katrina does.)

5) The swing plays 5 nature sounds and 10 songs, and has a multi-volume control.

6) It operates quietly! This has been a deal-breaker for us with swings in the past. Every other swing we’ve owned has had an awful clicking or grinding sound but this one does NOT. It operates so quietly it’s like a dream come true. It has 6 different swing speeds so you can set it to your baby’s liking. (If you have a heavier baby like mine you’ll want it at level 6 to keep them moving!)

I definitely think this swing is a great value for all these great features! It provides several options for soothing your baby and is still easy to move from room to room (or patio!) when necessary.

You guys, I am a huge fan of . I did a quick inventory of my home (and vehicles) and realized that the majority of the baby products we own are made by Graco®. The company has been around for more than 60 years and is a leading innovator of baby and children’s products. We’ve owned their car seats, strollers, highchairs, playards, swings and more! Graco® is definitely a brand that I trust for quality products for my family.

Now please excuse me. I’d love to chat more but I need to go put my baby in a swing! 😉

In closing, I’ll leave you with some adorable photos from our Graco® Live party.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Graco®.

Jane.com Review: The Best on the Web for the Very Best Price

February 17, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Complimentary products sent for this Jane.com review, and affiliate links included. I am a frequent Jane.com shopper and only promote what I love.

One of the things I have been doing this year to get a bit of my time and my sanity back is unsubscribing from email newsletters. I try to pay attention to what I’m reading and what I no longer seem to be interested in, and take just a few seconds to remove myself from the emails I’m no longer reading.

But one email I most definitely want to keep receiving is the one from Jane.com. Do you get this awesome daily email? If not, let me tell you why it deserves a spot in your inbox. Jane.com is a site that gathers together flash sales on an impressive array of clothing, accessories, home decor and children’s items every single day. The sales last for a few days, or until inventory runs out (whichever happens first!). I have personally purchased quite a few items from Jane.com over the last year or so, and their items show up on the blog quite frequently, as well, when I spy a deal too good to pass up. I have purchased countless birthday and Christmas gifts on the site, as well as little treats here and there for myself!

Here are a few examples of my latest finds. All of these items were spotted on the exact same day on Jane.com!

Barnwood State Sign

I absolutely LOVE these! I snapped up the state of Tennessee because I thought it would make a great conversation piece for my husband’s office. The fact that it is fashioned out of reclaimed barn wood makes it extra awesome. The price ($39.99) for something this unique and handmade was fantastic, too! And for a size point of reference, it’s almost 4 feet long, so it’s quite large! 🙂

Valentine’s Day Wreath

This might be the type of thing that a very crafty person could put together on their own. But you see, I have ZERO crafty skills, so I was really thrilled to see this up for grabs for a reasonable price ($23.99). My oldest was also asking for some type of Valentine’s Day decorations, and this was the perfect option for our home. And while Valentine’s Day is now over, I spotted 2 different Easter door decorations up for grabs right now on the site. The selection changes daily, so hop on over! 😉

Personalized Door Mat

Finally, when I saw the personalized door mat option, I decided to go for something I have been wanting for a long time. My husband and I actually have different last names, but since they both start with the letter “M” we actually call our family and our home, “the House of M.” I asked if I could get that on a door mat, and it was no problem at all! Yay! Also? It was only $20!

What’s so amazing about Jane.com is that on any given day, you can find several different things that might be perfect gifts for loved ones in your life, or perfect additions to your own home. I love that I was able to do a bit of updating to my front door area and get some meaningful art work for my husband’s new office all at once and for really reasonable prices. Take a peek and get signed up for their emails. It won’t be long at all before you find a treasure you’ve been seeking, I promise!

What have you found on Jane.com that you love???

A Beautiful Break in the Clouds: On Feeling Sad and Then Feeling Joy

February 15, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Friends, I hope you will take a moment today to head over to my dear friend Jessie’s blog, JessieWeaver.net, to read her share her heart with you all as she talks about her journey with feeling sad, and with the blues becoming something so much more than just the blues…a near-constant battle with negative self-talk and sad feelings. I believe that this story is meant to reach people, touch them, and encourage them to think about some alternatives to the help they may or may not currently be receiving.

photo credit: The night falls down II via photopin (license)

Thank you so much for sharing, Jessie! You are certainly showing us a break in those storm clouds!