Stuff Parents Need

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

Ask a Pediatrician A Question Online! Awesome!!!

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When finding a new Pediatrician for Darah, it was important to find a practice that had a nurse available for questions 24/7. It’s just the law of nature that your child will get very sick around 6pm on a Friday, when offices have just closed for the weekend. And Darah seems to vomit much more often at 3am than at 3pm! So when I am feeling concerned for my child and need some advice ASAP, I’m glad to have that service in place.

But there are so many questions that I’d love to ask a doctor that aren’t emergencies. It seems like an abuse of those nurses on call to call in with those questions. What if I’m keeping them from talking to the parent of a sick child?! I also find that I can ask Darah’s pediatrician such non-emergency questions, but really only during her visits. So I have to remember all those questions, but also make sure I don’t have too many, as getting even 10 full minutes with the doctor is sort of rare.

This is why I’m really excited about a blog that is run by Dr. Tanya, a well-known Pediatrician and author of several wonderful books, including The Wonder Years (about the first 5 years of life) and Mommy Calls, a book where Dr. Tanya answers the top 101 questions about babies and toddlers.

Dr. Tanya’s blog is especially noteworthy, though, because she uses that space to answer questions from parents! There’s an Ask Dr. Tanya section of her site that you can click on to submit your question. You can ask medical or parenting questions! I was so inspired to see this that I submitted a question about helping toddlers give up their pacifiers (Darah still doesn’t want to hear a thing about The Paci Pixie!). I can’t wait to see what she says!

While I was checking out the Dr. Tanya blog, I saw SEVERAL topics that I wanted to read more about, especially if it meant that I was going to hear the perspective of a Pediatrician! Here are the topics listed so far:

  • Activities and Playtime
  • Feeding, Nutrition, Exercise
  • Illnesses
  • Infants (4 to 12 months)
  • Injuries, First Aid and Safety
  • Medical Information
  • Newborns (birth to 3 months)
  • Preschooler (3-5 years)
  • School Aged (5 years and up)
  • Sleep
  • Toddler (1-3 years)
  • Travel

I’ve been reading about chores for 1-3 year olds and what I might need to be doing to help Darah feel more of a sense of responsibility in her home. She already feeds Hattie, and even though there is cat food on the floor all the time, it is really going well, and Darah beams with pride when she sees Hattie eating her food. After reading the article, I feel encouraged to try to let Darah help with more things!

Now I’ve subscribed to Dr. Tanya’s blog so that I read all the great Q&A topics that will be coming in the future. What an awesome resource! She also has a Facebook page you can like if you’d like to connect with her (and with other parents!). And of course, you can also follow her on Twitter (Tweet a Pediatrician? Oh heck yes!).

Disclosure: I was compensated for my time sharing this information with you. All opinions are 100% mine.

Fabulous E-book that Helps You Find Legit Work from Home (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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When I think about the decision Tim and I made last year for me to stay home with Darah, I don’t feel any regrets. For us, it was the right decision (much to my surprise…I swore up and down that I wouldn’t enjoy staying at home).

I have found that I do want to contribute in some way to our income, and so I have done a variety of things so that I can help out in some way. This not only makes me feel good, but it also keeps the potential stress level of being a one income family much lower. Money doesn’t buy happiness, for sure, but not having enough money to get by most definitely causes stress and worry, and I don’t want any of that!

We’ve talked before about work from home opportunities, and there are definitely some very viable options out there. The trouble is that there are SO MANY bad opportunities (scams and those that pay peanuts…less than minimum wage!). Sorting through them all to try to find something that is enjoyable and actually worth your time is completely overwhelming, and can easily cause someone to just give up altogether.

Cindy Buccieri is the voice behind Busy Mom’s Tips. She has been working at home for over 10 years, and have spent years doing research on which opportunities out there are actually worth pursuing. She has put that research into an e-book called Busy Mom’s Ultimate Guide to Finding the Perfect Work at Home Job. It contains a list over over 160 LEGIT opportunities in the following categories:

  • Call Center Support Representative
  • Court Researcher
  • Data Entry
  • Direct Sales
  • Reading Online Ads
  • Paid Surveys
  • Transcription
  • Virtual Assistant
  • Virtual Juror
  • Writing

The price tag of this e-book is just $4.99, which is less than you will pay for a cup of hot coffee and a scone at your local coffee shop. I have read over the book, and I definitely think that if you are serious about finding a way to supplement your income from home, this is money well-spent. You are paying for years of research to determine the validity of these companies. Every single company listed is not a scam, and has a real need for people to employee from home. While there is no guarantee that every company listed is hiring at this very moment, now you have a wide range of options that you can trust, and so you are much more likely to find a viable opportunity that works for you and suits your needs as well as your skills.

I will say that I wish the book had more detailed information about each opportunity, giving insight into how much the work might pay and what level of job satisfaction employees reported back. I know that providing this information would take a lot more time, but it is also the kind of thing that if included, I’d be willing to pay more than $4.99 to know. All the same, this is an excellent resource to help you get started. What’s great about this being in e-book form is that you can download it instantly (no waiting for it to come in the mail!) and you just click on the hyperlinks when you see something of interest. Easy!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a copy of this fabulous ebook! Woo hoo! The contest will run until May 15th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to 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.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAYS!

Mandatory entry: Tell me why you need this book!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Subscribe to the Busy Mom’s Tips blog
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 copy of this ebook for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Ortega (GIVEAWAY!!! 3 WINNERS!!!)

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Does your family do a taco night, or a Mexican food night every week? I’ve contemplated doing this, and really, I think we DO do this in practice, though perhaps not on a specifically designated day. We just love the flavors of Mexican food and we eat it on a regular basis. Tortillas are almost always on my shopping list!

One thing I don’t buy regularly, though, is hard taco shells. That’s because I always find that at least 25% of the shells are broken when I open the package. They are just really delicate, and don’t handle the journey from the factory to the shelves that well. I actually found a recipe on the Ortega website that requires broken shells. What a cleverl solution to this problem! We tried it, and we liked it. Here it is!

Taco Casserole

Ingredients

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COOK beef, onion and garlic until beef is browned; drain. Stir in water, taco sauce, chiles, 1/4 cup olives and seasoning mix. Cook over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes.

LAYER half of broken taco shells on bottom of greased 12 x 8-inch baking dish. Cover with half of meat sauce; sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Repeat with remaining shells, meat sauce and cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Top with remaining olives, tomatoes and green onions.

In addition to having an EXCELLENT array of Mexican food recipes, Ortega also has something else that I found VERY exciting: whole grain and whole wheat hard and soft tacos! Woo hoo! Try as I may, I just don’t care for corn tortillas, and I have always felt bad about buying the flour ones because I knew they were made with enriched flour. Ortega has made this a non-issue for me. Very exciting!

The next time you are grocery shopping, be sure to check out these fantastic new Ortega products. I can tell you that my family has a new tortilla of choice now, and it is from Ortega!

Win it!: In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, THREE lucky Stuff Parents Need readers will each get a Whole Grain & Whole Wheat Hard & Soft Taco Kit from Ortega! The contest will run until May 14th 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, TO QUALIFY FOR A GIVEAWAY ON MY SITE, YOU MUST PUBLICLY FOLLOW ME VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT (FOUND ON MY SIDEBAR)

Mandatory entry: let me know you follow on GFC and also tell me one Ortega recipe that sounds delicious to you!

My answer: The Vegetarian Tostadas look simple and delicious!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Ortega 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 complimentary products through the Family Review Network in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have provided.

Great New Apps from Oceanhouse Media (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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There are several amazing companies out there making great apps for kids, but Oceanhouse Media is definitely one of my very VERY favorites. They bring Dr. Seuss, The Bernstein Bears and even Little Critter to life, just to name a few!

They’ve just put out two new apps, and I want to give you the dish on them!

First up, we have It’s Tyrannosaurus Rex! This is a fantastic app for kids to have as soon as they go through their “dinosaur” phase (for me, that was first grade). It tells the story of a Tyrannosaurus Rex trying to find some lunch, and you get to learn about a lot of other prehistoric creatures on page after page. It also has some very cool factual information about dinosaurs to offer your young paleontologist!

Second, Tacky and the Winter Games is now available. This is the third Tacky book that OM has brought to life, each containing hilarious stories about a penguin who doesn’t quite fit in, and the great adventures he has because he’s a little bit different!

Both apps are available for $2.99 each, which are an excellent value! I highly recommend both apps, and if you haven’t done much looking around the Oceanhouse Media website, you really must. I think you’ll be hard-pressed to leave without finding at least one (or ten) apps that you want! 🙂

Win it!: Two lucky winners will each receive an app download from Oceanhouse Media! One of you will win It’s Tyrannosaurus Rex and one will win Tacky and the Winter Games! The contest will run until May 14th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winners will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and new winners are selected. Open to residents of the United States.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT (FOUND ON MY SIDEBAR) TO ENTER A GIVEAWAY ON MY SITE!!!

Mandatory entry: Leave a comment telling me that you follow on GFC and telling me one other OM app that you’d love to download!

My answer: I’d love to get Elmer’s Special Day!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Follow Oceanhouse Media on Twitter
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by email or RSS

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

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

Garlic Oil for Cooking: a Must Try!

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In our house, we have learned to reach for olive oil when we do the majority of our cooking. It is a MUCH healthier choice than butter, and even than most other liquid oils, because it is chock full of the “good” fat! We actually use extra light tasting olive oil so that we can use it in a wider range of dishes.

Because we use extra light tasting olive oil, I sometimes forget the wonderful flavor that other types of olive oil really have. This is why I’m so glad I had the opportunity to try Garlic Gold Oil, which is widely recognized as the finest tasting garlic-infused organic extra-virgin olive oil on the market. I can tell you from personal experience that this particular type of olive oil has brought several dishes we have made to new heights. It is FANTASTIC! Most recently, I turned to this oil as a butter substitute for a delicious pasta dish that called for 1/4 cup of butter (yikes!). I decided to do 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of the Garlic Gold oil, and the end result was spectacular (much better than when using the full amount of butter, as I will admit to having done in the past).

Garlic Gold Oil comes in an 8.44 oz bottle for $9.95! If you are able to do so, I’d recommend going this route, as I think these bottles make perfect gift ideas for anyone who likes to cook. And you might go through more than 1 bottle, yourself! A bottle will last 6-12 months once it is opened, as long as it is stored in a cool, dark place. Did you know that liquid oils will go rancid if left in the sunlight? It is true!

Once you taste this stuff, I think you will quickly come up with many uses for it in your own kitchen. But if you are feeling stumped, Garlic Gold has a great selection of recipes for you to try on their site!

Complimentary products provided for review purposes. Affiliate links may be included at no cost to you.

Schick Intuition Naturals: Cutting Down on Plastic Packaging

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How do you get rid of unwanted hair on your body? I think the majority of people use razors. I know I do! I tried waxing once. Just once. That was enough for me! 😉 Shaving is annoying because you have to do it so often (at least in theory…I’m likely to shave my legs just once or twice a week, especially in the colder months!). But once you get used to using a razor, it is the least painful way to get rid of hair. What I don’t like about using disposable razors is just that…they are disposable. And so, they contribute to waste.

Schick has just launched a new product in their line, Intuition Naturals. It is the razor with environmentally friendly packaging! The packaging eliminates the former plastic package and is now made with 55% post-consumer recycled paperboard, 25% post=consumer recycled window and VOC-free inks.

Wanna know what I think about this? I think it is a good start. But I wouldn’t go as far as to call this razor “green.” After all, the razor itself still comes shrink-wrapped in plastic and it comes with a plastic razor holder for the shower and a plastic cap for the razor, both of which I think can be done away with with little to no grumbling from customers.

But still, Schick is headed in the right direction, and the best way that we can get other companies to follow suit is to support this move with our dollars. I hope that Schick has just raised the bar and set a new standard, and once other companies are offering the same thing, I hope Schick will take going green to the next level and eliminate even more plastic from its products.

Other features of the Schick Intuition Naturals razor are as follows:

  • No need for shave gel, soap or body wash, as you can lather and shave in one easy step
  • 4 blades, which helps eliminate nicks and cuts, leaving a very smooth shave
  • ergonomic handle

The razor retails for $9.29 and $9.99 for a 3 ct of blades, or you can get 6 for $17.59

For a limited time, there is a $3 off coupon if you like Schick Intuition on Facebook!

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

Truly Safe Odor Eliminator: PureAyre (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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I think most of us can agree that little babies are soft, snuggly, super cute and that they even smell great, right?

Well, they smell great most of the time.

But they can also produce some rather unfortunate smells. If you use disposable diapers, you have probably either spent a good deal of money on a diaper genie contraption to contain the smell, or you do battle with your diaper hamper to try to keep the smells at bay.

But before I get all smug on you as a cloth diaper user, I have to tell you that we aren’t immune to the smells, either! Our wet bags do help contain the smell, but they can only take so much before they start to smell, too. Trust me, I know.

So is the solution to just spray some air freshener in the baby’s room every day? I hope not! The chemicals in those products are highly questionable for us to be breathing in. We’ve actually banned them from our house, altogether, because we don’t like ingesting the chemicals, nor do we like adding them to the environment.

Lighting candles isn’t really a good alternative, as they aren’t a safe option when you have kids around, or when you are in the season of your life where you are very tired, and therefore, likely to forget that you lit one. What we’ve been doing, instead, is a combination of washing the diapers more frequently (which isn’t great, because then we are using even more water), or just dealing with the smell (which isn’t great for obvious reasons).

So I was excited to learn about a new product on the market called PureAyre Odor Eliminator for Baby. This is the only food-grade odor eliminator on the market, which means that it is the safest way to get rid of icky smells, all without compromising the safety and health of your child, yourself and even your pets. The product is enzyme-based and does not use chemical products or artificial fragrances.

And there’s another great feature that this product has: it can be used to remove stains! I really love when a product has multiple purposes. Our space for housing cleaning products is limited, so it is always a plus to me when one product can meet several needs. I have tried it as a stain remover, and yes, it works!

I also think this is a terrific product for anyone who suffers from allergies or asthma, as chemical-based air fresheners can cause breathing difficulty for these folks. This is a non-issue with PureAyre!

In addition to having an odor eliminator designed for dealing with all sorts of baby smells, PureAyre also has products designed for pets, dogs, marine life and the home. I will say that I have found the baby product to also work fine dealing with cat messes. I used it to clean up a hair ball, and it dealt with the smell and the mess all at the same time!

Buy it!: You can find your nearest retailer of PureArye here, or shop online! Product prices start at just $2.99!
Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Explore Asian Heritage Through Classic Stories with Scholastic (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Do you remember the hilarious story Tikki Tikki Tembo? I read it over and over again as a child. It is a classic Chinese tale that shows why giving really long names to children is no longer the standard practice.

If you aren’t familiar with the story, it basically involves two brothers, one named Chang and the other named Tikki Tikki Tembo (that’s actually only about 1/4 of his name). When Chang falls into a well, Tikki Tikki Tembo is able to get him help very quickly. But when he falls into the well and Chang needs to get help, it takes a really long time because of how much time he has to spend telling people the name of his brother who is stuck! I remember how much fun it was to chant his name over and over again throughout the story; it really does take forever to say!

This latest dvd out from Scholastic brings this great tale to life. I don’t have a copy of the book, so I’m happy to have this dvd so that I can now share one of my favorite stories with Darah. It also contains 5 other stories that all celebrate Asian heritage and illustrate problem solving and friendship. They are also terrific for early readers, as there is an option to view the stories with highlighted captions as the words are read.

Buy it!: Tikki Tikki Tembo is available for just $13.49 on Amazon!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win your own copy of Tikki Tikki Tembo! The contest will run until May 10th 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.

Mandatory entry: Tell me the name of a book you’d like to see brought to dvd!

My answer: I’d love to see Hooray for Fish by Lucy Cousins on dvd!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like New Video Digital on Facebook
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 dvd for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Do You Know What Is in Your Lip Gloss??? (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Have you ever given thought to how lipstick and lip gloss is made? I know I haven’t. Did you know that the vast majority of these products contain beeswax and carmine? And do you know how these products are collected? Beeswax, obviously, is harvested from bees. And anytime you are using an animal by-product in large quantities, the likelihood that the creatures who are providing these products are being treated kindly lessens.

And as for carmine…do you know what it is? It’s crushed beetle scales. Totally serious. And it is in LOTS of makeup. Woah.

Today I’m highlighting a company called Monave. their products are micro-formulated in Baltimore, and the company is woman-owned and operated. You won’t find any carmine in these products, but you will find a large selection of vegan makeup as well as gluten-free makeup (you’d be surprised by all the places you’ll find wheat products when you start looking!).

I had the opportunity to try out the Lip Glaze and found it to be quite beautiful. It was smooth, and not sticky. While it didn’t last very long, I’ve never encountered a lip glaze that does, and it certainly didn’t wear off any faster than other products I have used in the past. The color was sheer, but still noticeable. I quite liked it!

If you are becoming more and more concerned about the chemicals that you are putting on your face or the welfare of the creatures whose by-products might be used for your makeup, then Monave is a company worth checking out. Most of their products are vegan, most of them can be gluten-free upon request, and all of their products are free of irritants, dyes and preservatives.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win 2 lip glazes from Monave! Woo hoo! The contest will run until May 9th 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.

Mandatory entry: Tell me your two favorite lip glaze colors, and choose wisely, as the winner will get what she puts down for this entry!

My answer: Divine and Ruby Slippers!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Monave Minerals 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. Link

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.