Stuff Parents Need

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

Purex Crystals: Best Fabric Softener on the Market

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So….I have a really funny story for you folks today. It involves top secret product testing, and subsequent hoarding of said product. Take a quick listen:

Here are a few other things that are fantastic and unique about Purex Crystals Softener:

  • This product is 92% natural and is not oil based. It doesn’t coat my clothes, it penetrates deep down!
  • You can use it on your towels! Traditional fabric softeners, which coat the fabric, make towels much less absorbent. But this is a non-issue with Purex. Hooray!

Buy it!: Oh trust me, you are going to want to give this stuff a try. I may or may not have already bought 3 bottles. Just sayin’. You can find it at retailers nationwide, and it comes in 3 fabulous scents: Fresh Spring Waters, Lavender Blossom and Tropical Splash.

Win it!: Two lucky Stuff Parents Need readers are each going to get a coupon for a free bottle of Purex Complete Crystals Softener! Woo hoo! The contest will run until March 13th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the 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: Go to the Purex web page and tell me something cool you learned about the Complete Crystals Softener!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Purex on Facebook (you’ll get a $1 off coupon…win-win!)
2. Blogger love (you can do this entry once per day! Woo hoo!): Tweet this message on twitter and send me a link to the tweet: Check out Purex Complete Crystals from @tiffanyblogs and win! http://tinyurl.com/4b4kmvo

Rare bonus entry: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect

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

Disclosure: I am a Purex Insider, which means that I received complimentary products for review in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given!

Homeopathic Flu Treatment and Homeopathic Cold Treatment

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Since we moved from Memphis to Chattanooga, I have had excellent luck when it comes to avoiding colds. This is because Darah has not been in a full-time daycare environment. I have thoroughly enjoyed my cold-free life.

That is until about 2 weeks ago when I came down with a nasty cold. Boo! I searched our medicine cabinet and discovered that the only medicine we had wasn’t right for my particular symptoms. Two days later (seriously!) I got a package in the mail containing homeopathic medicines to treat various cold symptoms. Hooray!

flu treatment

photo credit: Idhren via photopin cc

Homeopathic Cold Treatment

The company that sent the products is called Boiron and they specialize in alternatives to some of the more traditional medicines you might be used to reaching for when you get sick. Their products are homeopathic.

From their site, “Homeopathy is a therapeutic method that uses natural substances in micro-doses to relieve symptoms.” In the same way that I’m trying to remove nasty chemicals from my house, this gave me an opportunity to keep them out of my body and try a more natural approach to healing my body and relieving my symptoms.

homeopathic cold treatment I immediately put Coldcalm to work, and I did find that it gave me some relief from my congestion. A few days later I developed a cough and started using the Chestal product. I found this to work wonderfully! Traditional cough medicines have been shown in study after study to not really work, whereas a honey-based remedy often proves successful. That is the base of this cough medicine, and yes, it did work!

homeopathic cold treatment At one point during my illness, Tim started to get the first signs of a cold. Coldcalm is a product that can be taken frequently over a 2 hours period in an effort to fight off a cold. Tim followed the instructions and never did get a cold, which was great. There’s just wasn’t room in the house for another sick person!

Homeopathic Flu Treatment

I also received Oscillococcinum (I can’t even pronounce this…might I suggest a different name?) which is meant to be taken at the first sign of flu-like symptoms. I hope I never have to use it, but I’m SO glad to have it in my medicine cabinet should we ever need it. It has been proven in clinical studies to help reduce the duration and the severity of flu-like symptoms if taken right at the onset of sickness.

So what’s not to like about homeopathic medicine? Well, I’m finding that there’s not really a “12 hour relief” pill like you can get from other non-homeopathic brands. That does make taking your medicine a bit more cumbersome, as in many cases you need to take another dose every few hours. While I didn’t love this, one result that came from it was that I slowed down a little bit and acknowledged that I was sick and needed rest. I think that’s really a good thing, in the end.

I’m very glad to have had the opportunity to try these products and I would recommend them to others.

Affiliate links may be included at no cost to you.

Designer Frames at Bargain Basement Prices: Eyebuydirect.com (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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About a month ago, I lost my glasses in the house. This is honestly a very normal occurrence, as I have a bad habit of taking them off in random places and not remembering where that random place was!

This search ended a bit differently from the others. After looking for about 5 minutes, I realized that I was actually wearing them. That was a tip to me that it was time to have my eyes checked, and that I needed a new pair of glasses!

Thanks to Tim’s health insurance, I was able to get my eyes checked for just a $10 co-pay. I think this is the first time we’ve ever had vision insurance, so this was really exciting to me! The gallery of frames at the doctor’s office was absolutely beautiful, but the price tags attached to those frames was quite scary! As a blogger and blog reader, I’ve learned that there are more affordable ways to get cute frames if you are willing to shop online.

But let’s just be honest, purchasing a pair of glasses that you haven’t even tried on is taking quite a risk, don’t you think?! Fortunately, EyeBuyDirect.com has a way for you to virtually try on your glasses. I uploaded a picture of my face and started trying on frames (and you can see my virtual shot with the glasses I chose to the right)! While I don’t think this can replicate the experience of actually wearing the glasses, it did help me tremendously when it came to narrowing down my search.

As I started my search, I knew one thing: I wanted purple glasses. You heard me….PURPLE glasses! I wear purple quite often and I thought purple frames would just be fun. At the prices EyeBuyDirect.com charges, being a bit different with your selection is much more doable. You are able to purchase frames that retail for $150+ for a fraction of that cost. I think the frames I selected were available for $34.95, and those are on the higher end of what EyeBuyDirect offers. They have frames as low as $7.95, and believe it or not, they are cute frames! 🙂

Overall, my experience shopping with EyeBuyDirect.com was fun, and I’m really enjoying having a fun pair of glasses (that I can see better in!). One suggestion for improvement: I noticed that when you virtually try on glasses and then save your pictures to compare with other pictures later (which I love), the frames that you save always show up as “out of stock.” But they aren’t. That just seems to be a glitch in the program that needs to be addressed, because at first I thought my favorite frames were out of stock. When I realized that my second and third choices were also unavailable, I knew something was wrong, and went back into the website to find the glasses a different way. Fix that blip, and the experience will be even easier!

Buy it!: EyeBuyDirect.com has frames as low as $7.95. Pretty much every frame in the store is extremely affordable, especially compared to what you see in doctors’ offices!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will get to try out purchasing frames online with EyeBuyDirect.com, and will win a $30 gift certificate to the shop. The contest will run until March 13th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the 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 how you normally purchases glasses and the kind of prices you typically pay for frames.

My answer: I bought my last frames at Costco, which is known for its great deals. My frames were $65, which seemed like an awesome deal compared to what I saw at the optometrist’s office, but is still twice what my frames here cost.

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” your favorite pair of glasses on the eyebuydirect.com website (this assumes that you have a facebook account)
2. Blogger love: “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Rare bonus entry: “Like” Eyebuydirect.com on Facebook

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the side bar of my home page.

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

Social Kiddos: Business Cards for Kids and Moms! (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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When I attended the Blissdom conference last month, I learned a bazillion different things! One very important thing that I learned was the power of a business card. They are SOOOO useful! I’m currently going back through the ones I collected from other bloggers, and as I look at each card, memories of our conversations are triggered and I feel more of a connection with the person. It is very possible that I could have completely forgotten that I even met some of these people without having these business cards to remind me, and to encourage me to reach out and connect with them again.

Since that time, there have been at least 6 different occasions when I wished that I had a card to hand to someone I met here in Chattanooga, because I knew it would increase the chances of our talking to each other later down the road. I’ve also just become much more interested in networking with others and less intimidated by the process. It’s who you know, baby!

As a work-at-home mom, still relatively new to this city, I’m starting to really crave developing more friendships with other moms. Guess what? I’ve got to put myself out there more! I’ve had some good chats with other ladies during different events, but they never go anywhere. How to fix this???

Social Kiddos is the answer! This is a genius new product from Kiddo Tags (a company I have bragged about before). These are basically business cards for mom and baby together. They are much more playful and much less business-y, though, I promise! These stickers, which are adhered to card stock to create the card, itself, give the name of the child and the parent, as well as contact information. The cards I selected are to the right…super cute, no? I have found them to be such an awesome tool when it comes to making new mommy friends and scheduling some play dates! I love that my card just goes ahead and says, “Let’s Play!” for me so that the mom knows I really would love to get together.

If you have school-aged children who want to invite friends over to play, you can also send these to school with them so they can hand them out!

Buy it!: Social Kiddos aren’t available just yet, but will be very soon!

Not to fret, though, because right now you can

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a set of Social Kiddos set, complete with 24 stickers, 14 card stock, mini marker and gorgeous leather card holder! You are going to LOVE it! The contest will run until March 12th 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 how you make friends with other parents! Any tips? 🙂

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Kiddo Tags on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by RSS or email.

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

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

Best Outlet Covers EVER! Kid-E-Cover (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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What do you use to keep your little ones away from the outlets in your house?

We use these, and we DON’T like them. The problem isn’t that they don’t work. They do. In fact, they work so well that it is a giant pain to get them out every time we need to use an outlet (typically when we are doing our vacuuming). Then when I take one out to temporarily use the outlet, I have to remember to put it back, or not absentmindedly set it down somewhere. You can probably guess that I have done that quite a few times, leaving outlets exposed and providing Darah with something that could be a choking hazard. It aggravates me on a weekly basis.

I’m totally thrilled to see that there is a better solution for those “high traffic” outlets in your home. Check out the Kid-E-Cover by Elicole.

These cover your entire outlet, and have a default setting of covering the outlet plugs. In order to expose the outlet, you need to slide back the little pull things on the side and insert your plug while still holding it. It is not hard to do (though it doesn’t slide without some effort!), but the fact that you have to continue pulling on the lever to get your plug in really does make it beyond the abilities of toddlers to figure out. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE that as soon as you take out your plug, the outlet is immediately covered again. There’s nothing to remember! Hooray!

The Kid-E-Cover is a bit more expensive than the plugs we are currently using, but they are leaps and bounds better in terms of their overall quality. While I couldn’t personally afford to cover every single outlet in my house with a Kid-E-Cover, I will most definitely be buying more of these for all those high traffic plugs in my house. They are completely and totally worth it! I also have these bookmarked as an awesome baby shower gift idea.

Buy it!: The Kid-E-Cover is availble at the Elicole website and is currently on sale for $15.00 for a package of 5. If you are looking for a quality babyproofing product, you cannot go wrong with this. I very strongly recommend it!

Win it!: One Stuff Parents Need reader will score a 5 pack of Kid-E-Covers! Sweet! The contest will run until March 11th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the 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: Do you have a child safety product that you love? One that you loathe? Tell me all about it!

My answer: You already heard about my outlet plug nemesis. In our old hose we used a safety gate at the base of our stairs and it was quite effective!

Additional entries:
1. Blogger love: “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Rare bonus entry: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by email!

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.

Black and White Patterns for Infant Visual Stimulation

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Have you ever seen a new product idea that made so much sense that you kicked yourself for not coming up with the idea on your own? That’s exactly how I felt when I learned about Bright Baby Tees. This is an organic clothing line that uses only non-toxic inks. This is wonderful, of course, but that’s not what makes it so brilliant. It’s what is on the shirts that is so smart and unique!


Bright Baby Tees have designs that promote infant visual stimulation. Babies, and especially newborns and young infants, are drawn to particular colors, shapes and patterns (black, white and red for the first few months). When Darah was a tiny little things we had shapes and patterns in these colors up all over our house, and we go on daily tours to check them out. She would stare at them each with such intensity! Bright Baby Tees has taken those colors and designs that babies love to look at and put them on clothing!

black and white patterns for newborns

Why is this so brilliant? Newborns and young infants spend lots and lots of time being held by their parents, grandparents and other caregivers. Just imagine how great it would be if there was always something of interest for them to gaze at during awake time!

I think these make fantastic gifts for new moms and dads. In those first few weeks after you have a baby, you are definitely not getting all dressed up for the day. This is a good way to get you out of your pajamas but keep you in something very comfortable! I know I would feel motivated to put it on because I would know that my child would enjoy looking at it! Seriously….why didn’t I think of this?!

And don’t forget to pick up our favorite book for infant visual stimulation, as well. It is so great to bring out during tummy time!

Buy it!: Bright Baby Tees are available online with prices starting at $18.00. If you order 3 or more shirts, shipping is free!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win your very own Bright Baby Tees shirt! The contest will run until March 10th 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 what your child enjoyed looking at when s/he was very tiny. If you are currently expecting your first, what types of products do you have or want for the first few months, in terms of visual stimulation?

My answer: As I mentioned in the post, we had black, white and red images up everywhere in our house. One of Darah’s favorites was in our room, right where she could stare at in while we burped her after feeding her.

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Bright Baby Tees on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to my blog via email or RSS

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

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.

Billy Kelly: The Perfect Music for the Crazy Time of Day!

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Do your kids have a “zany” time of day? A time when they are at their goofiest and just need to run and scream and laugh? For Darah, that time is the second dad gets home from work. She is usually a little bit hungry and tired, which means that she can easily have a meltdown. But we’ve found that she can also very easily turn into a complete giggle monster, so we try to steer her in that direction.

billy kelly And now we have the music to accompany this time of day! The album is called The Family Garden from recording artist Billy Kelly. It is the musical personification of wacky! 🙂 It is also quite hilarious. One critic wrote, “Imagine if Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld wrote lyrics for all-ages music played by an acoustic Weezer. I cannot recall a funnier, more intelligently conceived debut family record.”

I would say that this album is pure laid-back fun. It’s not for nap time or for the very first part of the day, but is best listened to when you kid is already warmed up and ready to roll!

The Family Garden is $12.00, has a 37 minute run time (which is pretty much perfect!) and releases April 5. We are certainly enjoying running around and laughing while it plays in our home, and I know you will, too!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win your own copy of Billy Kelly’s The Family Garden! The contest will run until March 9th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the 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 one strategy you have for helping your kids get through their crazy time of day!

My answer: We have a park right down the street (thank goodness!). Since the weather has been nicer, Darah has been asking to go to the park every day once dad gets home. Even she knows that she needs to run around!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Bily Kelly on Facebook
2. Blogger love: “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to enter my other giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary cd for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
This post is part of the All About Parenting blog carnival on kids and music. Follow that link to read more from parents and parenting experts across the blogosphere.”

Nature, Luxury and Value Join Forces: Happy Me Skincare

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Today I’m going to introduce you to a skincare company that I had never even heard of until about a month ago, and whose tagline really caught my attention. The line is called Happy Me Skincare, and their motto is, “combining nature, luxury and value for happy results.” Those are definitely 3 words you don’t see together very often!

happy me skincare I had the opportunity to try out their anti-aging products. This is the first time I have ever used products that were specifically designed to make my neck, chest and hands look better. I was very excited to get started, because as I have turned the corner and am now in my 30s, I’m realizing that my skin is already getting tired, and it needs some help to restore its youthful glow!

Happy Me Skincare’s products seem to be working quite nicely. It is a bit of an adjustment to add 3 additional products to my morning regimen, but I think my efforts are going to pay off. My hands and my neck and chest do feel very smooth, and I like knowing that they have spf 30 protection on when I wear these products. That’s just another incentive for me to make them part of my daily routine.

I will say that I don’t find the smell of these products to be fabulous. They contain ingredients that sound divine: apple fruit extract, sweet almond extract and rosewood oil. But I find the end result to be borderline medicinal (like a very mild sports cream, almost). Fortunately, the smell doesn’t linger at all, and I don’t notice it after about 10 seconds.

The third product in their anti-aging line that I’ve been using is the Pore & Fine Line Protector and Primer. I’ve always wanted to use a primer for my makeup, but just never forked over the cash to buy any! My only point of comparison is using no primer, and my makeup definitely stays put much better with this product. It goes on very light and silky…it’s a strange sensation, really. This product does help create a smooth look, and that’s a very good thing!

So overall, I’d say that these are products worth trying out, especially if you are looking for a little help slowing down the clock for your skin but you don’t want to spend mega dollars. At 30, I already regret that I didn’t take better care of my skin in my twenties, so don’t put it off if you are like me and just assume that you will always be as cute as you are now! 😉

Buy it!: Happy Me Skincare products are available at Drugstore.com and will be available at CVS.com soon!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will get the same anti-aging kit that I received from Happy Me Skincare! That’s a $45 value! The contest will run until March 8th 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 what you do now to care for your skin. Do you have a particular product that you use? Are you looking for something new and effective to try?

My answer: You’ve heard about all the new products that I’ve been trying. I’m really excited about finding greener options as that is something I had been seeking out but not having too much luck finding in the stores. The internet saves the day! 🙂

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Happy Me Skincare on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the side bar of my home page.

Disclosure: I received complimentary products as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Thank You Notes for Children

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Confession: writing thank you notes is something I typically enjoy. The process of hand writing something to someone and thinking about them as I write is such a rare treat these days, so I usually don’t mind doing it at all. I do remember that after my high school graduation and my wedding, though, it did get a little rough. Writing 3 thank you notes is much different than writing 30 or 50! What about you? Do you love or loathe writing notes?

Whether I’m writing 1 or 100, I would still say the process is fun for me. I especially enjoy picking out stationery to use, and today I am bringing you something extra special that I have NEVER seen before.

Thank You Notes for Children

Introducing The Knotted Note. This company offers beautiful cards that also come with a gorgeous ribbon and an antiqued charm or button attached. They are really beautiful, and they take getting a handwritten note in the mail to the next level!

thank you note for children In particular, I’d like to highlight the children’s thank you notes that Erin, the mompreneur behind The Knotted Note has created. They are just perfect for a child who can do some basic writing, but who might still be overwhelmed by having to write an entire thank you note alone. They are fill-in-the-blank, but still leave room for a child to write something personal about why they are enjoying their gifts. We received the Cute as a Button notes, and guess what? They ARE cute as a button!

I can’t say enough how very special these notes are. I would say that their quality is comparable to professionally done wedding announcements. Erin included a note to me in my package on The Knotted Note stationery, and even though I don’t personally know her, I kept the card because it made me feel so special to receive it because it was so beautiful. I’m a purger, so that’s really saying something if I’ll hang on to a note like that!

In addition to thank you notes, The Knotted Note offers a variety of invitations (the baby shower invitations are SOOOOO cute!), personalized stationery and even holiday cards!

Buy it!: If you or your child are in need of some really nice note cards, you absolutely cannot go wrong with a purchase from The Knotted Note. Hands down, these are some of the most beautiful notes I have EVER seen. All products can be purchased online. The thank you notes I reviewed are $25.95 for 12 notes and envelopes.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a dozen knotted notes in your choice of style! Woo hoo!!!!! The contest will run until March 7th 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: I want to knowwhat design you would choose if you won, and choose wisely, as the winner will get what s/he puts down for this entry!

My answer: If I could get another set of notes from The Knotted Note, I’d get the owl personalized stationery!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” The Knotted Note on Facebook (she posts all her giveaways on there so you can find multiple chances to win!)
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect

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

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