Stuff Parents Need

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

Yoga for Children: Easier Than You Think (With a Little Help!)

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Tim and I put a rather unusual thing on our baby registry when we were expecting: a child-size yoga mat. Are we yoga maniacs? Not by a long-shot. We really wish we did yoga more than we do now. We used to do yoga together most every morning, and it was an amazing way to start the day. While our discipline stinks at the moment, our heart is definitely in the right place, and we are prepared with a mat for little D so that she can join us!

When Darah was an infant I did a little bit of yoga with her, especially moves that would help with her digestion. But as she has become a toddler, I’ve been completely floundering about how to introduce some basic moves to her.

Yoga for Children

Fortunately, there’s a wonderful woman out there who anticipated my confusion at this stage (and the confusion of thousands of other parents with similar desires). Abbie Davies has created a book called My First Yoga.

yoga post for children

From the site, “This award winning book uses kid friendly vocabulary and vibrant illustrations to lead readers through a series of easy to follow yoga poses. Learn to become a strong dog, quiet turtle and proud lion – stretching mind and body to improve focus, balance and concentration.”

My review can be summed up in one word, “HOORAY!” This book is absolutely PERFECT! Darah likes to look through the book and talk about the sounds that each animal makes, and she has been working on a few of the poses, because she likes to imitate what she sees the children in the book doing. While there are a few poses that she isn’t going to be able to do for a little while, there are several in there that she can try out now, at just 16 months old. Her very favorite, at the moment, is the butterfly.

yoga for toddlers
This also provides a terrific activity for the two of us to do together. And while Darah is trying out the different poses, I’m getting a good stretch or two in there for myself. BLISS!

Abbie has a great video of one of her classes on Youtube, if you’d like to check it out. It shows just how interested young kids are in yoga, and how much fun they can have learning different poses!

I’m absolutely thrilled to have this book, and now my dream is coming true of having yoga be something that I share with my daughter on a daily basis. I know it is good for her, and it is also so good for me. She seems to really enjoy the challenge of the poses and also has a lot of fun whenever we do our poses. She laughs and smiles, and also really concentrates from time to time. It’s awesome to watch!

In addition to this wonderful book, Abbie also offers Activity Blasts that can come straight to your inbox with poses and activity ideas for you to do with your child. I just signed up, and can’t wait to get those emails!

Buy it!: My First Yoga is available at many different places online, including Amazon.com for $11.69 and is worth every penny!

Edit: this giveaway is now closed.  
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the book for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. 


Piggy Paint Review and Giveaway!

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Today I’ve got a fun post for you: it’s a throw-back to a year ago, when I reviewed Piggy Paint nail polish. Since that time, Darah and I have developed a ritual every Friday where we both get our toes painted (she especially likes having her toes painted while she sits on her potty. Ha!). I purchased Dragon Tears for her and put it in her stocking this year; it is going to be so cute on her little piggy toes! Since I last posted they have added a Project Earth collection, with bold colors that will especially delight tweens! Check them out!

So without further ado, here’s my original review as well as a giveaway!

I have been looking forward to painting my baby girl’s toes pretty much since I found out I was having a girl. My mom would frequently paint my toes when I was little, and it was good bonding time for us. And of course, I always had the cutest toes of anyone my age. I was really eager to get my hands on my baby’s little piggy toes and turn them pink. Thankfully, I had the sense to pause before breaking out my own nail polish to find out if it would be safe for her. Turns out…not so much. Nail polish and nail polish remover are actually rather toxic, and can contain formaldehyde, acetone, toulene, ethyl acetate and other crazy stuff that I can’t even pronounce. While Darah isn’t putting her toes in her mouth just yet, it is only a matter of time before that is happening, and I don’t want her ingesting any of those chemicals.

Thanks to some other bloggers, though, I learned about Piggy Paint, a company that creates non-toxic polishes and polish removers with our little girls (and their safety) in mind. It is made in the USA and invented by a genius stay-at-home mom (doesn’t it seem like the very best products are created by moms?!) I was given the opportunity to try out Girls Rule on Darah. I actually gave my mother the honors of painting her toes first when they came for a visit a few weeks ago. I have to say, applying polish to squirmy baby toes is tough, but Darah and Grammy both had a really good time together during the process! I used the nail polish remover that they sent to wipe off those smears; easy peasy. The polish remover didn’t have that nasty chemical smell that you typically find in polish removers, which was really nice. The next time I put polish on Darah’s toes I will have a hair dryer on hand to help expedite the drying process. It isn’t that Piggy Paint takes any longer to dry than other polishes, but rather that Darah is a baby on the move! The women at the daycare center noticed her polished toes the day after they were done and raved about how cute she was. I’m not gonna lie, I beamed with pride at my little cutie that day!

I also brought the polish with me to California, because all of the cousins on my husband’s side of the family were together for the first time ever. I simply could not wait to get to paint my nieces’ toes! I was only able to paint the toes of the 3 year old, Anna, but she was very eager to get her toes painted. She sat very still throughout the process, and even helped me blow on her toes to help them dry. She showed off her pretty pink toenails to everyone in the house that day. Getting to paint her nails is a precious memory that I will keep with me forever.

The polish does require touch ups every few days, but that just provides you with another opportunity to have quiet, quality time with your little one!

 

Buy It: If you have a little girl and you want to paint her toes, please don’t go to your polish collection. Get her something that you can be confident won’t hurt her. Piggy Paint is the perfect choice, and the color selection is very nice. Now through February 28th, you can score 10% off your purchase by using the coupon code STUFF10L at checkout. You can even put that towards sale items! Also, if you spend $35 or more, domestic shipping is FREE!

Win It: One very lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to score a $15 credit to Piggy Paint! This contest will run until January 6th 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 email before a new winner will be selected. Open to residents of the United States.

How to Enter:
Mandatory Entry: Visit Piggy Paint and tell me your very favorite color polish.

Additional Entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Piggy Paint on Facebook and post on their wall that Stuff Parents Need sent you!
2. Blogger love: “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

rare bonus entry option: If you are a blogger, add my button to your blog roll for 2 more entries! (be sure to leave the link so I can see it!)

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

Reusable Paper Towels: Skoy Cloth Review

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Reusable Paper Towel: Skoy ClothYou probably already know that we rarely use paper towels in my home. I still think they have their place (cat hairballs, anyone?), but overall, I really don’t miss them. The few times each year that I actually purchase a roll of paper towels, I always cringe. Even though I use them only when I feel it is necessary, it still feels like such a waste of money and resources.

skoy cloth reusable paper towel We’ve been using the same set of reusable cloths for over a year now. Many of them are still going strong, but a few of them are ready to be replaced. I’ve heard talk on the blogosphere about the crazy awesome Skoy Cloth and now I’ve had the opportunity to see for myself exactly what all the fuss is about.

SKOY cloths are reusable, and are said to last longer than 15 rolls of paper towels. That’s pretty amazing! From their site, “This new approach to cleaning boasts a cloth that is 100% biodegradable, natural and re-usable. The SKOY cloth has an absorption factor of 15x its own weight, which makes it far superior than any other cloth on the market.”
I’ve found the SKOY cloth to work fabulously. It is much stronger than any paper towel I’ve ever used, and when I’m done with it, I can toss it in the washing machine OR the dishwasher! Love that!
Buy it! SKOY cloths come in packages of four and seem to run around $10. They are available at many different shops online, as well as a variety of brick and mortar stores nation-wide! Since these should do the same work as 60 rolls of paper towels, I’d say $10 is a steal!

Win it! One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to snag a 4 pack of SKOY cloths that I have on hand to give away. Woo hoo! The contest will run until 11:59pm EST on December 27th 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 your approach to cleaning up messes. Paper towels all the way? Only cloth? A hybrid? If you use paper towels, why (and that is not a loaded/judging question, promise!)?

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Skoy 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 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. This post contains an affiliate link.


ERGO Vs. Boba: The Toddler Carrier We Chose!

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You may recall that a few weeks back I told you that were were getting a new carrier. Some of you may be scratching you head, thinking, “I know your child is no longer an infant, so why would you need a carrier?” My friends, we have a child who loves to be held, especially by her beloved daddy. When she fit in her Baby Bjorn, she was at her happiest in that thing! There are carriers that are made to carry toddlers, we just didn’t have the good fortune to own one.

Until now! And where did we get it? That fabulous place we all know and love:CSN Stores. If you aren’t familiar with CSN Stores, oh my word are you in for a treat. This is a collection of over 200 stores in the CSN family, and they sell, well, just about everything you can think of that you might need or want in your home, including furniture, decor, clothes, toys and yes, even baby carriers. I was more familiar with their toys and their furniture from my previous shopping experiences with CSN Stores, and was surprised to find an impressive selection of some of the top carriers out there.

Boba vs. ERGO carrier We diligently did out homework, and thought we wanted to get an ERGObaby carrier, since they get such rave reviews. Unfortunately, CSN was out of the ERGOS when we went to make our purchase. We thought about waiting until they came back in stock (you can sign up for email notification when a product you want is re-stocked), but then went back and did a bit more research on another brand I had heard was excellent: Boba. We actually found a great comparison post written by a mom who owned both carriers, and she came out a bit more in favor of the Boba.

Bottom line, I think we would have been extremely happy with the ERGObaby. But I can also tell you that we are thrilled with our Boba! CSN Stores had a nice selection of colors from which to choose, and we went with the Dusk carrier. It is absolutely beautiful! Darah is snug as a bug inside of it and it has certainly made going on walks MUCH easier.

CSN Stores offers free shipping on all of its Boba carriers, and you are notified when your package is sent out and can track it. While it would have been great if they could have had our first choice in stock, I’m so pleased that they also carried another brand that moms and dads seem to like just as well. I don’t think we compromised one bit when choosing our carrier, in the end!

Do you use a carrier? Do you have a favorite brand?

Disclosure: CSN Stores provided me with a $75 gift certificate in exchange for my honest review about shopping with them. I paid the difference between what the certificated covered and what the carrier cost. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

Sale at My Baby Clothes Boutique!

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Two days ago I posted a great giveaway from My Baby Clothes Boutique! Today I’m bringing you a great sale from the same store. If you are still shopping for a little one, check them out!

15% OFF ALL ORDERS over $75!

Everyone needs a little help once in a while, even Santa.

For four days you can finish your holiday shopping with big savings at My Baby Clothes Boutique.

Holiday baby clothes with matching baby headbands, warm and snuggly baby hats,

Tutus for your little prima ballerinas, and so much more – whatever you need for your baby, you will find it here.

Take $15 off any order of $75 or more.

Starts 12/16/2010 and ends 12/19/2010 at midnight EST

Don’t wait – inventory is selling fast!

This is your last chance to order and have your gifts arrive by 12/24/2010.

Use the discount code below to get 15% OFF any order over $75.

Simply enter this code at checkout

Discount Code – SANTASHELPER2010

* Offer valid from 12/16/2010 to 12/19/2010 at 12am EST.

Cannot be combined with other offers. Shipping not included.

Baby’s First Photo Album

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In the last few months, Darah has taken a keen interest in the pictures that we have up on the wall. In particular, she seems to enjoy the large frame we have that has dozens of pictures of her during her first year. She loves to point to the baby, and when I tell her that these are pictures of her when she is small, she seems absolutely amazed. So cute!

baby's first photo album

Earlier this week, we received something in the mail that Darah has also become quite attached to: the Take Your Pix Board Book Album. This is a very sturdy album (just like a board book) with slots in the middle of each page for a 4 x 6 picture. It comes with a picture of a baby on the very first page, which Darah immediately began giving kisses to. She also sat right down and started flipping through the album to see if there were more pictures. I knew right then that I’d better get some photos in there, and fast!

I actually stuck an engagement photo of Tim and me in there, and I’m not the least bit worried that it will be damaged. The pages won’t bend and there’s a protective covering over the photo, so it can withstand her toddler kisses.

The album also has little grooves in each page that make it easy for little hands to flip through. I can also see this feature being ideal for anyone who has trouble doing things like turning pages of a traditional photo album, young or old.

Another great feature of this photo album is that it can be customized. There is a lot of room around each picture, and that’s by design. The idea is that the owner of the album may want to decorate it in some way. This would make it a perfect first scrapbook for a child or just a fun art project. It also can help make this photo album a very special gift for someone!

Darah is delighted with her photo album and has been toting it around quite a bit. I only wish I had known about this product sooner!

Buy it!: If you like the idea of a board book photo album for your little one or as a gift, Take Your Pix Board Book Albums are available for $19.95, have 10 pages, plus the cover and come in white, black, pink, blue and yellow.

Win it!: Take Your Pix wants to give one very lucky Stuff Parents Need reader a board book in your choice of color! Woo hoo! The contest will run until December 26th 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 why you like the idea of this type of photo album. Would it be for a young child? Would you make use of the ability to add your own embellishments?

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Follow Board Book Albums on Twitter
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

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

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 & giveawayDisclosure. This post contains an affiliate link.

My Baby Clothes Boutique GIVEAWAY!!!

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Have you finished your holiday shopping? Are you still looking for a few great finds for little ones? Today I’m bringing you a store that offer so many great and stylish products, and the prices are kept really low, especially considering the quality and designs that are offered!

I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing My Baby Clothes boutique before, and we were really impressed with our order. Darah got that jaw-dropping adorable tutu (which she is still rockin’, by the way). That tutu has held up beautifully to being worn by a curious and playful toddler, and that’s really saying something! The quality of the tutus found at My Baby Clothes Boutique are high, let me tell you!

I have a few gift suggestions for the baby on your list: What about one of the baby hats found at My Baby Clothes Boutique? If I had a little boy to buy for, this fedora would be high on my list! And for my little one? The hat shown in the picture here is so cute it hurts! And the price is just $9.50…unbeatable!

 

I’d also like to recommend some adorable baby socks to warm little toes this holiday season! And by the way, if you have a strategy for keeping your baby IN his/her socks, please let me know! 🙂

Win it!: My Baby Clothes Boutique wants to bring some holiday cheer to one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader! You will score a $25 gift certificate to their site! The contest will run until December 24th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected by Random.org (also known as Santa Claus, to some!). The winner will have 28 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 one thing you have left to buy for the holidays, or if you are completely finished, what was the very last thing you purchased? My answer: I’ve still got stockings to fill with yummy candies! And I’m looking for some tub toys for Darah.

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: “Like” My Baby Clothes Boutique on Facebook

2. Blogger love: Follow me on Google Friend Connect

 

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

 

Disclosure: No compensation or free products were received in exchange for hosting this giveaway. I’m hosting because I love My Baby Clothes Boutique! Merry Christmas!

(GIVEAWAY! 5 WINNERS!) Serious Family Digital Organization Made Easy: AboutOne

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Tim and I are both really big fans of using Google Docs to try to manage our household in various ways. For many things, it works just great. But as life is getting a bit more complicated (just a part of getting older, I suppose), I find it not to be a totally comprehensive system. I’m finding myself overwhelmed with all the different documents and spreadsheets we are creating for various aspects of our lives and for Darah.

This is why I was excited to have the opportunity to review AboutOne. AboutOne is described as an affordable online storage system for families. Its design is more specific that what you will find at a place like Google Docs. It has categories for storing detailed information about everything from your best friend’s cell phone number to the amount you sold your home for (oh how I long to be able to fill that section out….PLEASE sell, house!!!). Best of all, the system is VERY secure, so there’s no need to feel concerned about putting your private information in the system. It’s on lockdown!

There are many great features to this site, but I want to tell you about a few that stuck out to me, in particular.

1. There’s a place to keep you medical records. This is so valuable! I can imagine taking Darah to the doctor for the first time here in Chattanooga (which reminds me…I need to schedule an appointment!) and being able to pull up a copy of her shot records from my phone (because yes, the odds are good that I’ll forget to physically bring them).

2. You can send pictures straight from your phone to your AboutOne account. Love that! This comes in especially handy when something cute is happening that you want to capture as a memory. I have so many cute pictures on my phone, but they never go anywhere because I don’t know where to send them!

3. You can keep track of the gifts that you get (or even that you have in mind) for loved ones. You guys would be so embarrassed for me if you saw the random scraps of paper that I often you to keep track of this kind of stuff. I’m very lucky if I don’t lose it before Christmas! With this system, you can also see what you got for the person last year. So helpful!

4. You can easily compile newsletters for your family based on the memories that you have entered throughout the month, or coming soon, throughout the year! I’m putting together our Christmas letter this way. Hooray!

When I first got started with AboutOne, I’ll admit that my launch was a bit bumpy. I was having a difficult time remembering to log in and make updates. About a week after I got started, I got an email from the company just asking how everything was going. I told them I was struggling a bit, and do you know what they did? They set up a web meeting with me to go over some of the features I hadn’t really noticed right away and to help me feel more comfortable getting around the site. That’s some of the best customer service I’ve ever experienced! I learned how to create newsletters for family and friends, which is something I’m using to the fullest for our holiday letter this year (which I wanted to have out last week…AboutOne, I wish you could magically prevent me from procrastinating, but I suppose you aren’t magic!).

I’m very happy to be using the AboutOne system, and I think it is going to be such a great landing pad for all the important things we need to keep up with as a family. I also really like that the company is very open to feedback and is continually making improvements so that AboutOne can be exactly what families need it to be! Digital organization, here we come!

And I just want to point out, I have BARELY scratched the surface of what AboutOne can do. I highly recommend that you check it out!

Buy it!: AboutOne truly is affordable, with a one year membership fee of just $30/year. You can also go for the $5/month plan, or even try AboutOne free for 15 days!

Win it!: Oh my, you lucky ducks! FIVE Stuff Parents Need readers are going to each win a one year subscription to AboutOne! How awesome is that?! The contest will run until December 23rd at 11:59pm EST when winners will be selected using Random.org. The winners 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 about any struggles you are having with keeping your household organized (especially as it relates to any sort of data you need to keep up with). My answer: Oh my gosh, if you could see how I squirrel away tax info. Yikes, people. It’s ridiculous, and of course, doesn’t really work.

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” AboutOne on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect (find it on my sidebar)

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

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

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

 


Make a Pretzel Pizza with Auntie Anne’s Baking Kit

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As a general rule, my family avoids trips to the mall. We don’t like the crowds, we don’t like all the “stuff” and we definitely don’t like feeling sad that we can’t really afford to buy whatever strikes our fancy. My husband doesn’t even like to shop, at all, so the mall is pretty much pointless to him.

With one exception.

If he ever must go into a mall, he follows his nose until his comes to his favorite place: Auntie Anne’s Pretzels. I swear, it’s as if they call to him like a siren as soon as he sets foot in the mall. He can’t NOT find them. I feel so bad when he doesn’t get a pretzel, and he’s certainly not one to make the special request. But every now and again he gets one, and he’s always so happy. It makes for such a fun treat. I suppose I should be grateful that his weakness is pretzels and not something like new watches.

Recently I learned that the company has developed Auntie Anne’s At-Home Baking Kit so that you can make their signature pretzels in your own home! PERFECT! Now Tim can have that delightful treat without having to brave the mall, and the overall cost is less, too. Win-win!

Pretzel Pizza

Last week we broke out the baking mix, and even watched this video showing us how to use the kit (loved that; a video is much more fun to watch than reading the instructions). While watching the video, though, I learned that the dough really can be used for more than pretzels. I was particularly intrigued when I learned that it could make an awesome pizza dough. Believe it or not, we decided to make pizza dough with our Aunt Annie’s At-Home Baking Kit instead of pretzels. I guess I should tell you that the only thing Tim likes more than these pretzels is pizza.

Here is our finished product.

pretzel pizza
It is a bit over-cooked, and that’s entirely our fault. We just forgot about the pizza for 2 critical minutes. Oops!

So how did it taste? Really quite good! At first, I wasn’t in love with the crust. It was much thicker than the crust we normally make for our pizzas. But after about 3 bites, I really started to like it quite a bit. I guess my taste buds were just getting used to it. The dough is almost a little sweet, so that’s another difference. I do think we could have stretched the pizza out a bit more than we did. So this will make a very big pizza and feed lots of people! It is also just perfect if you prefer deep-dish pizzas.

Buy it!: Auntie Anne’s At-Home Baking Kit is such a great kitchen project do do with kids. It’s also a great way to satisfy a craving for an Auntie Anne’s pretzel without having the schlep out to the mall. And it’s a surprisingly delightful pizza dough. Whatever your particular needs, I recommend this baking kit!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains an affiliate link.