Stuff Parents Need

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

Earn Rewards While You Shop and Search Online: Bing Rewards

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Thank you to BING for sponsoring my writing today. To learn more about BING Shopping Rewards, click here. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Oh, internet. I owe you one serious love song. And maybe a poem or two. How I adore you! You have changed my world so completely! Today I’m going to focus on one key way that you have changed the way I do things. You have saved me SO much time on a task that I both love and loathe: shopping.

When I was in college, I would hit the local mall when I was stressed out or just needed a break. It was VERY rare for me to actually purchase anything, but it was great to window shop. You could purchase clothing online at that time (this was 1998-2002), but since then the online shopping selections have EXPLODED, and the amount of time I have spent in malls has gone down right along with it.

You see, shopping is a good stress reliever. Sort of. Over time, I’ve found that the peace it used to bring me is often cut short by a few key things:

1. The traffic getting to and from the mall. I don’t so much like traffic. And I don’t like wasting time. And that’s what 20 minutes in the car each ways feels like. Just sayin’.

2. Honestly, this might sound crazy, but I think the selection of merchandise in stores is borderline pitiful as compared to shopping online. So I find shopping in brick and mortar stores to be a bit of a drag. In this season of my life, I have a much better sense for what looks good on me when I shop, so I do less browsing and more targeting searching.

3. I have a toddler. Have you ever shopping with a toddler? Me, too. ONCE. Not kidding. It’s payback for all the times that I would cry in the mall with my mom when we went shopping. I remember thinking that it was worse than a death sentence. Darah seems to agree. So I avoid it pretty much at all costs. The shipping fees I may incur for shopping online seem like such a small price to pay for avoiding having to subject both Darah and myself to shopping together.

4. Store hours. Let me tell you when I live my “non-mommy” life: between 4:45am and 6:30 am, between 1-2:30pm (but I’m stuck in the house because my child is sleeping) and after 7pm, at which point in the day I’m way too tired to schlep out to a store and shop. Especially if that means I have to put on makeup. Forget about it.

Online shopping I can do any time, in my pajamas, face NO lines, no traffic and easily hunt down EXACTLY what I’m looking for. It is bliss. I have been living in Chattanooga since August 2010, and I have been to the mall here exactly 1 time, and that was a few months ago. Wanna know why I went? Only because I felt really weird about the fact that I had never gone. I seriously don’t think I stepped inside more than 2 stores, and I got bored really fast. I have no idea why I would ever go back, unless I desperately needed something I could only get there, and I needed it today. Otherwise, I’ll just buy it online, thank you very much.

So now I want to talk about ways that you can make shopping online super efficient and fun. There’s actually a way to get paid for your searching efforts, which makes online shopping SO much more fun!

I’ve heard of quite a few programs out there, but this one is new to me, so it may be new to you, as well. It is called the Bing Rewards Preview and you can use it to earn credits that can be redeemed for gift cards, merchandise, and even charity donations. I just signed up and earned 250 credits just for signing up! Easy!

You can earn credits by installing the Bing Bar toolbar onto your browser. I like this option, as you can very easily watch those credits increase with your searches!

The other option is to just log into Bing.com and make sure you are signed in. You’ll see your Rewards credit counter in the top right of the header.

So how many credits do you need to get something you’d actually like to have? Well, a $10 Starbucks gift card will cost 1,338 credits. If coffee isn’t your thing, they have Sephora gift cards and those always popular Amazon.com gift cards. So log on and start searching. It literally pays to do your shopping online with Bing.

What about you? Do you shop online? Do you prefer going out to the stores to see and touch the merchandise before making your purchase? Do you take advantage of opportunities to make every search count online with something like Bing?

Tropical Traditions Organic Hair Oils: Fear Not!

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The first time I got my hair cut in Chattanooga, the lady who did my hair told me that my hair needed DEEP moisturization ASAP. She said that I had very thick and coarse hair that felt very dry. Fortunately, she had the perfect solution for me with some product in her salon that cost well over $30. Uh…no thanks. I didn’t return to this hair dresser for 2 reasons:

1. She also told me that my hair was, “weird” due to it having different lengths in it (I lost a pretty decent amount of hair after Darah was born, and most of it has grown back in….yes, it looked awkward. I didn’t need her to tell me!).
2. She put such a hard sell on for me to buy these hair care products and it was my very first time ever coming to the shop. That really rubbed me the wrong way, as I felt like all she cared about was making my final bill larger, not actually helping me improve the condition of my hair in the best possible way. It made me very weary of her claim that I even needed extra moisturization, actually.

But like most women, I never did fully let go of that criticism I got that day at the salon, and I began to wonder a bit about different deep conditioning treatments. At one point, I came super close to purchasing some Moroccan Oil online, although the price tag (also around $30) made me chicken out at the last minute.

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to try out Tropical Traditions answer to the needs of my parched hair. They offer Organic Hair Oils, made with Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil and a few other fabulous oils. They are priced a bit below the other products that have been recommended to me, and are on sale now starting at $18.99. There are testimonials on their website from satisfied customers, and if you just do a Google search for coconut oil as a deep conditioner, you will read countless stories of people swearing by it.

coconut oil hair treatment Knowing that every other product I have tried from Tropical Traditions has impressed me, I decided to give this a try. But I’ll be honest with you, I was pretty nervous about putting oil in my hair. What if I couldn’t get it to rinse out? What if it made my hair just look gross and oily? What if it smelled weird? What if it ruined my pillowcases? These were all thoughts I had, but I decided to trust in the reviews of so many other people.

I first washed my hair, and then I applied the product. This is an area where you sort of have to just use your best judgment. I started with an amount about the size of a quarter. I think I ended up doubling that amount for my hair, which is thick and past my shoulders. Once I worked it through my damp hair, I piled it on top of my head, grabbed a magazine, and soaked in a hot bath for about 45 minutes (which was SO nice, by the way). The directions on the bottle state that you can leave it in for anywhere between 15 minutes and overnight. After 45 minutes, I used a small amount of shampoo (probably about 2/3 of what I would normally use to wash my hair) and then rinsed it out. Then I dried my hair as usual.

I thought my hair looked shinier, and it most definitely felt softer, but I wanted to get Tim’s opinion. He will always be honest with me, and he reported that he thought my hair looked significantly shinier than before using the oil. Hooray! I apologize that I totally forgot to take pictures, but I promise you that the difference in shine was quite noticeable! And it did NOT feel weighed down of greasy.

I found my hair to be noticeably easier to manage for the next 2 weeks, which was just terrific. Now I have penciled into my calendar a once a month date with Tropical Traditions Organic Hair Oils. I’m a firm believer that it can add shine and smoothness to many different types of hair. If you’ve been thinking about trying out a deep conditioning treatment of some sort, this is a great way to go, and it is made with awesome organic ingredients! Also, depending on the length of your hair and how often you use the product, it could last you a really long time. I’m estimating that my bottle will last me at least 2 years!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win Tropical Traditions Organic Hair Oils in your choice of scent (or you can choose unscented). The contest will run until May 29th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

REMEMBER, YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER OF THIS BLOG VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A GIVEAWAY. YOU CAN SIGN UP ON MY SIDEBAR IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE SO, ALREADY.

Mandatory entry: Tell me anything about your hair. Any magic potions for keeping it beautiful? Any difficulties you haven’t yet figured out? Do you dye it? Ever tried a deep conditioner? Anything related to the topic works for me!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Tropical Traditions on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Needvia RSS or email

Rare bonus entry: Subscriber to the Tropical Traditions newsletter (and hear about their sales!)

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.

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

Helpful for Many Reasons: Batiste Dry Shampoo (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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I’m excited to be highlighting a product today that you might not yet realize you need, but keep reading, and you will! It’s called Batiste Dry Shampoo, and it comes in two scents: original and blush (which smells a bit more floral). It’s the #1 dry shampoo in the U.K. and now it is coming to the U.S.! This product is designed to revitalize greasy, dull and lifeless hair between washes. It is quick and very convenient. It basically works like aerosol hairspray, in terms of how you apply it. Give it a good shake, maintain a sensible distance from your hair, and get to work. I found that for me, just applying it to the crown of my head made the most sense.

In my experience, I don’t think it made my hair look as clean as it does when it is freshly washed, but I also know that it made it look clean enough to go out and about with no worries that I might look “dirty.”

There are several reasons why this product is so useful. First, I can tell you that it DEFINITELY came in handy when we were without hot water for 6 days. I didn’t have to suffer through nearly as many cold showers thanks to having this on hand! So first and foremost, it’s an excellent product to keep in an emergency kit!

Second, we have all been told that you should not wash your hair every day. I’m in the habit of washing mine every other day, although I’d love to be able to stretch it to 3 days. If you are in a similar boat, but just can’t stand how “dirty” your hair looks in between washes, this product will help you get through that tough time until the oils in your scalp recalibrate (not a scientific term, by the way…I just made that up) and your hair doesn’t look as bad in between washes. So for me, I’ve been using this to help me make the move to washing my hair once every 3 days, and it has been working great! The end result is healthier hair!

Third, we all know that as parents, or heck, even just busy adults, there are times when a shower is a luxury that you just can’t afford in your super packed schedule. It’s true! I remember in college actually scheduling my showers in my planner during the last few weeks of school, when I was at my most stressed of the semester, or else I knew that I’d never ever get one! So when those days happen, and you know they do, you can turn to this product so that you don’t have to wear a ball cap all day or just feel moritified and like you are wearing a big sign that says, “I didn’t shower today…or the day before…”

Based on my experience with Batiste Dry Shampoo, I highly recommend this product to find a place in every busy parent’s bathroom. It is a lifesaver in so many ways!It is available for $7.99 through Ulta.com or Drugstore.com!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a can of Batiste Dry Shampoo! Hooray! The contest will run until May 28th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A GIVEAWAY ON MY SITE, YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT. YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE VIA THE LINK ON MY SIDEBAR IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY.

Mandatory entry: Tell me why you want to try dry shampoo! Have you ever tried it before? Anything relevant to the topic works for me.

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Follow Batiste Dry Shampoo on Twitter

2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.

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

Honestly Better Than Homemade: Marie Callender’s Pot Pies

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There are certain dishes that I have learned it is far better to pay someone else to make for you than to attempt yourself. My list of such foods consists of the following:

  • fried chicken
  • catfish
  • anything that is deep fried
  • Indian food
  • crab cakes
  • steak (I don’t have a grill….we ALWAYS overcook it on the stove or in the oven)

What am I leaving off? I’m sure there are several other things that you can think of that are best left to the experts (by the way, if you DO know how to successfully make any of the above items, you are invited to my house for dinner…bring the food!).

Then there are the things that I promise you can make on your own and they will taste just as good as the restaurant or store bought versions. Here’s my list of such foods:

  • biscuits
  • pizza (yes, sometimes the convenience is worth it, but the taste CAN be replicated!)
  • baked potatoes (secret weapon: the crock pot)
  • applesauce
  • meatball subs
  • pot pies

Today’s post is going to address the last item: pot pies. When I was growing up, I was a HUGE fan of pot pies…the frozen ones you could buy for virtually a song. I ate them on a weekly basis. One day I took a big bite out of one and the center was stone cold. It RUINED me on pot pies for several years.

As an adult, I still couldn’t bring myself to buy those frozen pot pies, but I decided to try my hand at making my own. I had great success with a few different recipes, and decided that what I made at home was so much better than anything in the frozen food section. Plus, it was hot all the way through! 🙂

And then I went to the Blissdom blogging conference and I got a coupon for a free pot pie from Marie Callender’s. I’ve eaten at this restaurant chain before, and I knew the food quality there was excellent, but I had never purchased her frozen food. Most frozen food is disappointing, so I need a compelling reason (like a free coupon) to even try it. And so I did.

CUE THE ANGELS SINGING, HERE!!!

This pot pie would make you slap your mama (if you have a mama who makes excellent pot pies, that is….my mom makes excellent Jell-o, and that’s about it). The chunks of chicken are huge and moist. The filling is thick and seasoned perfectly. And the crust….it tastes like it is made from scratch and filled with love. It puts my formerly awesome homemade pot pies TO SHAME. Seriously.

So the pot pie is coming off the, “homemade is best” list and getting moved to the, “let someone else do the cooking for you” list. Evidently I’m not the only one who has this opinion of the Marie Callender’s Pot Pies. Check out this article called “8 Grocery Store Products that are Better than Homemade (really).”

Since my first “Marie Callender’s Pot Pie Encounter,” we have purchased them quite a few more times, which is saying something, because we really do avoid frozen food (other than pizza and ice cream, of course!). FYI, they sell these in packs of 8 at Costco. Trust me, you’ll love them enough to get that many! You can also pick them up at grocery stores nationwide. I think the price for mine was a very reasonable $2.50. I would easily spend twice that amount making my own, and it wouldn’t taste anywhere close to as good as this does. I’d also be in the kitchen for an hour putting it together and baking it, and this pot pie goes from frozen to on the table in 10 minutes. You save time, effort, energy AND money, and the end result is tastier than homemade. I’m so glad to be a fan of pot pies once again. But only Marie Callender’s!

Disclosure: I have been compensated by Marie Callender’s and TheMotherhood for my time writing this post and reviewing the product. The opinions are 100% mine.

New DVD Series from Scholastic (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Did you know that Scholastic has launched the My First Collection, which has videos that are specifically designed for younger children, ages 2-6? They are designed to help encourage a love of reading (and not for tv to replace reading!). The debut release is My First Collection Featuring Splat the Cat, which is a 3 DVD series that has 14 great stories and runs over 1 hour and 40 minutes. While you wouldn’t want your kid to barrel through them all in one sitting, I can tell you from experience that it is difficult to not watch at least 2 stories at a time, as they are so captivating.

The day that this DVD series arrived in the mail, Darah was right by my side, excited to see what was in the package. She squealed, “Hattie!” when she saw the cover (Hattie is our cat). And immediately put in to, “See Hattie? See Hattie?” on the tv. So we watched it immediately!

One of my favorite stories in the group is The Napping House, a book that a few of my readers have recommended to me, but that I’ve never even seen. What a fun story that is, and Scholastic really brought it to life in such a fun way. Now I’m definitely on the hunt for the story in book format so that we can read it at bedtime.

This is a delightful series that Darah is really enjoying and that really does seem geared toward a younger crowd. She delights in watching it! You can purchase the entire set for $24.95 or you can purchase the DVDs individually for $12.95 each.
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to snag the My First Collection Featuring Splat the Cat! The contest will run until May 27th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

REMEMBER, TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A GIVEAWAY ON MY SITE, YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT. YOU CAN SIGN UP ON MY SIDEBAR IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY A MEMBER.

Mandatory entry: Tell me which story in this set sounds really fun to you!

My answer: We also love Duck on a Bike!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Sign up for the Scholastic newsletter (found on the bottom right side of the page)
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.

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

How I Found the Right Babysitter for the Right Price

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Tim and I have been saying for months now that we need to find a babysitter. We’ve actually been saying it since we first moved to Chattanooga, but have really been feeling a sense of urgency about it for about 2 months. We realized that the only time we were going out on non-lunch dates was when we had family in visiting from out of state. It seems sort of silly that someone has to fly in or drive 6 hours in order for us to feel comfortable having dinner together!

So we started asking around. We still don’t know a whole lot of people in the city, and many of the people we know don’t live in our neighborhood…or even anywhere remotely close. There’s just no sense in getting the number of a great babysitter who lives 30 minutes away from us. It’s just not worth her drive, especially not for what we can pay!

A few weeks ago, I signed up for Sittercity, a website that helps connect people who want to babysit, nanny, or even help around the house with people looking to hire them. I’ve been thinking about doing this for over a year now, and finally took the leap.

I’m so glad I did!

In addition to being able to search for sitters based on your location, you can also post a specific job opportunity, and then interested parties can apply for the job. This is the route I chose to take because I am looking for something very specific: once a week babysitting at my house, for 3 1/2 hours, and the pay is on the low end ($8/hour). I wanted to be very up front about what I needed so that only people who knew what I wanted and were still interested would apply. I got 6 applications in just a few days time! Two of my applicants had background checks on file, which was really awesome. I set up two trial run babysitting appointments with my top two picks.

So basically, thanks to Sittercity, the wheels are in motion and I will soon have some help for the summer. I will also forge a relationship with a wonderful young lady in the area who could do occasional weekend babysitting for us during the school year, as well. To say I’m thankful for this service is an understatement!

I’m actually very strongly considering posting another job opportunity for once a week housework help. When we lived in Memphis I had a college student come over for 2 hours, once a week and do all our vacuuming and clean the bathrooms. It was the best $20 I ever spent, and even though money is really tight, I think that if I can outsource that work, I can do more with this blog and hopefully make up for the money spent and then some!

If you are interested in offering babysitting, pet sitting or house help, signing up for Sittercity is completely free! If you are looking for this help, Sittercity is offering a free 7 day trial. You can sign up for one month for $35 (totally worth that to find someone you can count on for the next year or so!) or you can sign on for a whole year for $140, which is less than $12/month!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you sign up, I make a small commission. But I’ve tried it myself, and am only recommending it to you because I know from experience what a valuable resource it is!

You Know You Want To: Moving from Blogger to WordPress (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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I always get a particular sort of joy out of writing reviews of products that feel oh-so-very timely. Today I’m showcasing an e-book that is designed to help those of us who use Blogger as a blogging platform move ourselves over to WordPress.

If you use Blogger, then you know why this is so timely. We had a MAJOR outage this week, and found ourselves unable to write, edit or publish ANYTHING on our sites, and our readers were unable to comment. Bloggers live and breathe on the comments they receive, and in my particular niche of product reviews and giveaways, when my readers can’t leave comments, they can’t win, and my sponsors are left feeling as though nobody was interested in their product. Everyone loses, basically.

I’ve known for at least a year now that I’ve needed to make the switch. I’ve read countless posts about how great it is to have so much control over your blog, and to not be at the mercy of Google, facing the potential of losing your blog at a moment’s notice, as so many of us experienced a few days ago. Additionally, WordPress is perceived on the internet as a professional platform, for those who see their blogs as more than simply a hobby.

So, I’ve known that I SHOULD move for a really long time. But I haven’t done so, for two primary reason.

  1. I can’t really afford to pay someone to move me. The prices I have found have just been beyond my budget, and to be honest with you, the people who don’t charge very much make me uncomfortable….what if they screw it up and then can’t really help me fix it?! Sometimes you get what you pay for, and I’ve just been really nervous about “going cheap” when it comes to my blog.
  2. Option 2 is to do it yourself. The reason I signed up for Blogger in the first place is because it is designed for people who know absolutely NOTHING about web design. While I’ve learned a few HTML tricks in my time as a blogger, I still know almost nothing about web design. The amount of time I would have to spend in chat rooms and various forums, painstakingly making my way through the process and screwing up an infinite number of times is just too much to bear.

So here I am, still with a “.blogspot” address and still with Blogger. Sigh…

And then I heard about an ebook written by a self-taught web designer who has moved over 100 blogs over to WordPress from Blogger. The book is appropriately titled, How to Move from Blogger to WordPress by Sharon Hujik. It is a GEM, people. This is a step-by-step guide, with plenty of pictures, and in plain English (all tech-speak is clearly explained!).

When I first got the book to review, my plan was to hand it over to my husband to read and handle for me. But as I kept reading, I realized that Sharon wrote this book for me, and people just like me…the ones who are scared out of their minds to do this on their own. She holds your hand the whole way through, and breaks every step down for you, from getting your blog self-hosted all the way to the coolest bells and whistles that you’ll want to add to WordPress once you are rolling.

The book is 94 pages long. I’m telling you that so that you can understand how detailed Sharon is in this book. She’s not trying to fool anyone into thinking that making the switch takes just 2 minutes. It can be more complicated than that, for sure. But she does show you exactly how to do everything you need to do, with no missed steps or assumptions made along the way.

The book is $35, and if I had not received a copy for review, I’d definitely be ready to spend the money on this, now. Additionally, there’s a coupon out right now to take 20% off the price (use code time4wp at checkout). This is far less than the quotes I’ve had to get it moved for me, and will save me hours and hours of time piecing it together on my own (which in all honesty, would just never happen). So really this book is saving my blog from being taken hostage by Google again in the future. I’ll be taking the leap in the next month, and I feel SO equipped with the knowledge and tools I will need to do this. Plus, when things mess up with my blog in the future (as they do, from time to time), I’m going to be so much more savvy about diagnosing the problem and finding the solution! And yeah, I’m going to feel sort of like a rock star when I MOVE MYSELF from Blogger to WordPress. Thank you, Sharon!

Win it!: Want to join me in leaving the dark side? Here’s your chance to win a copy of How to Move from Blogger to WordPress! The contest will run until May 25th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me why you want to make the switch from Blogger to WordPress!

Additional entries:

  1. Sponsor love: Follow Sharon on Twitter
  2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.

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

The Last Nail File You’ll Ever Own! (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Recently a reader of mine reached out to me to tell me a bit more about a product that she thought might be of interest to busy moms out there who need products to really go the distance for them.

She introduced me to a website called FilesNStyles, and they are the exclusive distributor of the original glass nail files. Have you ever seen a glass nail file? They are beautiful, but they are so much more than that! Here are some reasons to consider trying a glass nail file:

1. The file surface is made to last a lifetime! Just imagine buying one more nail file and being done with that purchase for the rest of your life!

2. Glass nail files support healthy growth of nails.

3. These files can be cleaned easily and then used by another person. This makes them significantly more hygienic than other options.

4. Glass files work well on both natural and artificial nails, so if you get acrylic nails from time to time, your file is still ready to work for you!

5. They are really lovely! They come in a variety of colors, and many of them have Swarovski crystals on them.

I have been enjoying my nail file very much. I keep my nails very short, and to tell you the truth, didn’t have a nail file for a while, at all (I lost mine!). Once I got this in the mail and started using it, I remembered how great it is to have smooth nails that are shaped beautifully. And I love knowing that as long as I don’t lose this one, there’s no need for me to ever buy another file. I always appreciate a product that is meant to last a lifetime.

Right now, almost all of the glass nail files are on sale for very reasonable prices! In addition, you can score an extra 10% off your purchase by using the discount code SPNBLOG10! That makes for a very reasonable price for the last nail file you’ll ever buy. Stock up on these, as they make wonderful gifts!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win 1 glass nail file of your choice! Woo hoo! The contest will run until May 24th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit on entrant per household, please.

REMEMBER, TO QUALIFY FOR A GIVEAWAY ON MY SITE, YOU MUST FOLLOW PUBLICLY VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT. YOU CAN SIGN UP THROUGH THE LINK ON MY SIDEBAR.

Mandatory entry: Tell me which nail file you will select if you win, and choose wisely, as the winner will get what s/he puts for the response here!

My answer: If I could get another one (though I don’t need one!) I would pick the clover file.

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like FilesNStyles on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.

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

Re-Post: Filling out Surveys: The Good, The Bad and the Genuinely Fun

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*Apologies to my email subscribers…I know you are seeing this twice. Blogger deleted the entire post, and I had to completely re-post it. So sorry to be crowding your inbox!

One of the things I’ve been experimenting with to generate some side income is joining various survey groups. I’ve carefully selected the groups I have joined based on the feedback that members have to offer. I’ve only picked the places that people say actually pay (remember, there are LOTS of scams out there) and that offer a decent number of survey opportunities.

Wanna know how it is going? Not so great. I used to be a member of Pinecone, the group that paid the best, but I stopped working with them for about a year, and I guess forfeited my membership. I’ve tried to sign back up twice but their quota of people in my demographic is always full. Most of the other sites I work with I struggle to qualify for their studies, which you only learn after filling out their screeners. Honestly, over the last few months I’ve spent hours and hours trying to qualify for surveys and getting rejected. I have been able to fill out several, as well, but I have very little, financially to show for it. For many of the sites, you have to earn at least $20 to cash out, and trust me when I say that it takes FOREVER to get to that point.

I have judged this method of making extra money to be, overall, not worth the time invested. I think I’m earning less than minimum wage doing it. Also, filling out the vast majority of those surveys was BORING. Like, poke my eyes out boring. Bleh.

But recently an online friend introduced me to Crowdtap, and I have to say, I’m having a lot of fun as a member of this site. Crowdtap connects you with brands by getting your feedback with questions that are fun to answer, straightforward and fast. You can answer as many or as few questions as you want at a time, and the more you answer, the more points you build. Points help unlock higher levels in Crowdtap, which help you gain access to the really fun stuff, like paid discussion groups, product reviews, etc. (I say “etc.” because I’m only at level 3…I don’t know what awaits me at the higher levels!). There are opportunities to interact with other people and share your thoughts. It is SO much more fun than any other survey site I’ve joined (and I’ve joined a lot of them in my day). Also, as you earn points and cash, so does the charity you select! Crowdtap gives back when it gives to you. That rocks!

Right now they are offering all new members $1 just for signing up. In my book, $1 for 30 seconds of work is pretty decent pay. But I bet you’ll stick around and answer some questions, and then unlock a few levels. They make it so much fun that you don’t want to leave. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

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