Stuff Parents Need

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

DIY Distressed Dresser (3 Part Series)

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I’ve got a really cool 3 part series for all you folks out there who want to give your old, ugly furniture a face lift! I’m going to show you how we exerted not much effort, and even less skill, and turned a $20 old, beat up looking dresser into something shabby chic and totally cute! I’ve got a great giveaway to go along with it, as well as a freebie for everyone, so stay tuned!

First, let me introduce you to our dresser.

distressed dresser diy before picture We got this from a fabulous person off Craigslist for the bargain price of $20. I call it a bargain because I saw potential in the furniture, not because it was in wonderful shape. It was all scratched up and had nail polish on it, but I thought it had a kind of unique look and charm that you just don’t see every day, so I went for it. My plan all along was to paint the furniture. I’m inspired by The Nester and all her gorgeous furniture. The painted look may not appeal to everyone, but I absolutely adore it. The distressed look is my absolute favorite, because it encourages imperfections! For someone who is extremely challenged in the creativity department, I embrace this style, because it is really all I can do (intentional or not!). 🙂

Stay tuned for part 2 where I show you how we sanded and painted the piece using some seriously cool eco-friendly paint called Milk Paint!

Amy’s Soups: Fall Has Arrived!

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A few months ago I introduced you the best frozen food I have EVER had. Check out my review, here, and get ready to add Amy’s products to your grocery list.

amy's soups stock photo Amy’s doesn’t just sell fabulous frozen foods, though. They have a whole line of packaged and canned goods that are organic and scrumptious. We’ve recently discovered the cheddar bunnies. We bought them for Darah, but truthfully, Tim and I ate them ourselves. I think Darah had 2 or 3. In our defense, they seem a little hard for her to eat right now. But mostly we just loved them so much that we scarfed them down before the kiddo had a fighting chance at them.

Anyway, the folks at Amy’s want to help us all welcome fall. In my neck of the woods, it is just now starting to feel like something other than the summer that WOULD. NOT. END. Thank goodness! To usher in my absolute favorite time of the year, Amy’s wants to offer a special giveaway to Stuff Parents Need readers! Woo hoo!

One lucky reader will score 3 FREE PRODUCT coupons good for any Amy’s soup, bean or chili! You’ll also snag a canvas Amy’s tote to take your new Amy’s food home in style. The contest will run until October 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 your favorite fall soup/stew. If you post the recipe, I won’t give you a bonus entry but I will give you plenty of love from my heart (and my stomach. Ha!). My favorite is homemade tomato soup made with plenty of garlic and cream cheese. Yum!

Additional entries:
Sponsor love: “Like” Amy’s on Facebook
Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

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

The Flannery Brothers Review

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As Darah is getting a little bit older, I’m loosening up just a bit on my “no tv” policy. I do try to severely limit how much she gets to watch, and I’m always with her when she is watching. We actually don’t have cable, so we just watch short videos on YouTube. Those are just right for her, and after we watch a few different clips from The Wiggles or Sesame Street, we go do something else. Darah LOVES when the clips contain songs, so I keep an eye out for those.

There’s a new video out on YouTube and it was made by a band whose cd we have been enjoying for the past few weeks. If you are looking for something new and fun for your kids, check out Pirate or Parrot?

The video gives you a taste of a wonderful band called The Flannery Brothers. They are hilarious and have a wonderful sound that reminds me a bit of some of the “grown up” groups I listen to. I like their laid back style and their toe-tapping melodies. It is really easy to get into one of their songs and rock out with them. Darah bounces around to pretty much everything on their brand new album (set to release October 19th!) called The New Explorers Club. From the press release, “The New Explorers Club invites everyone in the fmaily to go exploring. Filled with danceable, clappable, singable, family-friendly rock songs, The New Explorers Club enthusiastically encourages seeking adventure and viewing the world with a fresh new perspective.”

We love The Flannery Brothers at our house, and we are evidently not the only ones! This band has won a very impressive 13 music awards, and that was just for their first two albums! Woah! I want to encourage this group to keep making really fun music, and DEFINITELY make more YouTube videos! I know my child loves not only hearing your music, but seeing the lyrics played out!

Buy it!: If you are looking for some truly wonderful music for your children, The New Explorers Club is a must. You’ll be surprised by just how much you like it, too! You can pre-order now and get an AUTOGRAPHED copy for $15!

Win it!: Hooray! The Flannery Brothers want one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader to win their very own copy of The New Explorers Club! The contest will run until October 12th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: If your kids like to watch videos on YouTube, post a link to their very favorite video! (here’s Darah’s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyRxY1rXKF4&feature;=PlayList&p;=D8B30753277B8F48&index;=0&playnext;=1)
If your kids don’t watch videos on YouTube, just tell me which Flannery Brothers song you like best (you can listen to their songs here).

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” The Flannery Brothers 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 main page.

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

SoftBums Launches Omni Diaper

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You may remember that I did a SoftBums AI2 review a few weeks ago (truly one of my VERY favorite cloth diapers of all time). I’m thrilled to be able to bring you the great news that SoftBums has created a new diaper, and you are going to TOTALLY. FLIP. OUT. when you hear about it.

Check out my video to see what, exactly, makes this diaper like no other out there.

SoftBums Omni Diaper

So the SoftBums Omni diaper will be at the very top of my wish list for cloth dipes for baby #2 (I sure do talk about that kid a lot given that s/he doesn’t exist and won’t for quite some time!). softbums omni I will add snowcone (blue) and sprout (green) to the coconut (white) diaper I already have. If you have a baby or are expecting one, or if you know someone who is and who wants to try cloth, this is the ULTIMATE cloth diaper. It is an absolute must. And lucky you, starting today you can pre-order them! They will be shipping in November, just in time for the holidays!

So, that’s pretty huge news for the cloth diapering community. And now I have news that is just as big. In celebration of this revolutionary diaper, SoftBums is having one seriously gigantic giveaway, and Stuff Parents Need readers get to take part in it. Hooray!!! There are so many amazing, wonderful, drool-worthy gifts that are up for grabs. Allow me to list them for you.

Grand prize: Ipad
First prize: complete birth to potty package of the SoftBums Omni diaper
Second prize: $75 gift certificate to Softbums.com
Third prize: $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com
Fourth prize (20 winners!) SoftBums Omni diaper
Fifth prize (3 winners) pair of BabyLegs

Are you totally freaking out? ME TOO!!!!!

Ok, so how the heck do you enter? It’s really rather easy, my friends! All you need to do is leave a comment on my blog. I have a few extra entry opps for you, as well, so read on. The contest is open to residents of the United States, and closes at 8pm CST on October 18th. The winners will be drawn from amongst all the participating blogs’ comments.

Mandatory entry: Tell me which prize on the list you are hoping for (you are entered for all of them, no worries) and why you want it! Who will the prize go to if you get it???

Additional entries. I’m going to offer a few more extra entries this time, and break away from the standard method, because I’d really love to see people from my blog when all the prizes, and you need to have as many entries as possible to increase your chances!
Sponsor love: Subscribe to the SoftBums blog (it’s a really good one!)

Blogger love: Follow me on Google Friend Connect, Twitter, Facebook or subscribe via email or RSS (you can get 1 extra entry per method…a rare opportunity on my site!).

You can also enter your name on the sites of the other bloggers reviewing the product. A list can be found here at the bottom of the post.

Good luck! Not gonna lie, I want these prizes for myself, but whatever I don’t win (ha ha) I want to see a Stuff Parents Need Reader snag!!!

Be sure to check out my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my main page.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. Affiliate links may be included at no cost to you. 

Unsure if Your Toys are Safe? Goblin Kids to the Rescue!

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Isn’t it interesting how, when your children are young (and you are naive), you are SO IMPATIENT for them to start walking? I know I’m wishing for something I shouldn’t, but I REALLY want Darah to start walking. She has been crawling for 3 1/2 months, now. Some babies crawl for just a few weeks, and some skip it altogether. Darah seems to be in no hurry to pass by this phase of life. She is a crawling master, and she’s quick as lightning on all fours.

She loves to stand on her own without holding onto anything (sometimes for 30 seconds!). But putting one foot in front of the other doesn’t interest her at all, unless we are holding on to her. With our help, she practically runs.I know the second she starts running all over this house I’ll be begging her to go back to crawling. But for now, I’m eager to see her go from 4 legs to 2!

I’ve been thinking about ways to encourage her to walk on her own, and many moms say that the right toy will do the trick. She already has a push toy she loves to use, but what about a pull toy? We have one, but I have been feeling uncomfortable about letting her use it, because it is made of plastic and it came from a garage sale, so I don’t even know what brand of toy it is (can’t find any indication on the toy, itself). All signs point to it being very cheaply made, which gives me worries about BPA and other questionable chemicals.

goblin kids toy drum I found an online site that specializes in quality toys that you can buy with confidence, and that are built to last. Have you ever heard of Goblin Kids? You should really check it out! Goblin Kids is owned by a wonderful lady named Saza who group up in Europe. She recalls that her toys, growing up, with typically made with wood or soft fabrics, and they lasted through her childhood years as well as her younger brother’s, with ease! When Saza and her husband started their family in the United States, she was very disappointed with the quality of toys she was finding in U.S. stores. After visiting Europe again, she noticed that her friends’ children has those wonderfully made toys, and she decided to bring those products to the United States, to give parents better options. Thus, Goblin Kids was born!

goblin kids toy lion Gaston the lion recently joined our family, and Darah is totally enamored with him. Who can blame her? He is so cute! She enjoys pulling him while she’s standing up, and while she hasn’t walked with him, I know she will very soon. Gaston is made by a French toy company called Vilac, and I’m VERY impressed with the quality of their toys. Darah loves to gnaw on Gaston (sorry, little lion), and the paint isn’t coming off, so far. I also know that they use non-toxic paint, so should it come off, it’s not really a big deal. His mane has been pulled and tugged on repeatedly, and it hasn’t budged. Well done, Vilac! Goblin kids offers many awesome toys from Vilac. A few that are catching my eye include the wooden race car, the toy cell phone and the farm memory game!

Goblin Kids has an outstanding selection of toys that are safe, that encourage creative play and that are built to last. You can shop for toys by age, which is a great feature for first time moms like me who aren’t quite sure what is most appropriate for their babies at different ages! Definitely give this shop a close look when working on your holiday gift list!

Buy it!: You no longer have to cross the Atlantic to find the highest quality toys. Goblin Kids will do it for you! Does your little love need a lion friend? Gaston is available for $28.99 and is worth every penny!

Win it!: Goblin Toys wants to offer one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader a $25 gift certificate to their site. Joy!!! The contest will run until October 10th 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 about the best (most durable, most fun, however you define “best”) toy you had growing up, or tell me about the best toy your child owns now.

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Goblin Kids on Facebook (they are giving away a $100 gift certificate once they reach 500 fans!)
2. Blogger love: “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to check out my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my main page!

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

Natural Lice Prevention and Treatment

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Recently, I started thinking about something that hasn’t crossed my mind since the fourth grade: lice.

Gross, I know.

I think the fourth grade was the last time the school nurse came into our classroom and did a lice check on every child. I guess someone in the class came down with it and so we were all under close inspection. Lucky for me, I didn’t get it. In fact (knock on wood), I’ve never had a case of lice. It sounds like a really difficult thing to get rid of, having to soak your hair in nasty chemicals and all.

So why am I thinking about lice again? Well, Darah is headed back into a school-type environment, and those are the places where lice spreads like wildfire. But really, there isn’t anything I can do to stop her from getting it if it comes into her classroom.

Natural Lice Treatment and Natural Lice Prevention

natural lice prevention Wrong! There IS something I can do to keep lice at bay, and in a nasty chemical-free way! Check out Happyheads, a line of products designed to prevent lice infestation, and to combat it naturally should your child (or you!) come down with a case.

Since we aren’t currently dealing with a lice problem, we have been using two of the lice prevention products, and I love them. Happyheads has a leave-in conditioner that is so easy to use. You simply spritz it on your child’s wet or dry hair and leave it there! This is a great product for anyone who westles with bath time for their kids, since you just leave it in! It is infused with essential oils, which means it smells great, unless you are lice, in which case it smells terrible! This means that with this product in your hair, lice will skip over your kid in favor of less stinky ground. Hooray! This product is also paraben free and 96% organic! Happyheads also offers a preventative shampoo and even a hair gel that has lice repelling oils in it. How cool is that?!

The products work by lightly coating your hair with essential oils scents of tea tree, peppermint, lavender, lemongrass and geranium. This coating makes the hair less clean (only in the eyes of the lice, who actually PREFER clean hair) and makes it difficult to lay eggs on the hair shafts.

These are the products I’m reaching for before Parents’ Day Out each week. They are safe for Darah and keep her out of dodge for any gross lice that may be lurking.

If you child ever does come down with a case of lice (and there’s a fair chance of that happening at some point in elementary or middle school!), you don’t have to go to the drugstore and get those toxic chemicals! Happyheads offers natural lice treatment products that contain a patented formula of enzymes that breaks down the exoskeleton of the lice, causing them to die. Because the biology of insects depends on the creation of enzymes for survival, it is impossible for lice to develop a resistance to enzymes when used as a pest control device. this is not true of synthetic pesticides, to which insects invariably develop an immunity. What if that nasty stuff sold in drugstores doesn’t even work on your case of lice? It could definitely happen!

Buy it!: Happyheads products are available online, sold as individual products, or as prevention and treatment kits. I think this is a terrific way to help keep lice at bay, or to treat it effectively without exposing your kids to harsh chemicals that may or may not work.

Win it!: Happyheads wants one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader to snag a bottle of Scootie-Cootie Organic Repelling Shampoo & Leave-in Conditioner & Detangler! This is a $29.95 value! Additionally, you will receive 10 tips on how to avoid lice this school year. The contest will run until October 8th 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.

Mandatory entry: Let’s talk lice! Tell me if you ever had lice and when, or if your child has ever gotten it. If not, what do you remember about lice outbreaks in school? Anything relevant to the topic will work!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Happyheads 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 home page.

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

Hanes Comfort Flex Waistband Boxers Review

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So my husband is a boxers guy. He says he has been for as long as he can remember. For years, I would be on the lookout for great deals on boxers. I would always feel like I hit the jackpot when I would find them on mega-clearance for $4/pair at Banana Republic. They had some cool prints, but the truth is, those boxers wore out (especially in the waistband) just like everything else. Just because they were more expensive didn’t mean they were higher quality!

hanes comfort flex waistband boxers

Tim LOVES to wear Hanes t-shirts (please tell me you have checked out their lay flat collar undershirts!), but he’s never really tried their boxers. Until now! For the past month, he has been putting Hanes boxers with the Comfort Flex Waistband to the test, and they have passed with flying colors for us both. Tim likes the fact that they are tagless, which means they don’t ever itch. This is especially nice since he rides his bike to work every day, and the tags on other boxers can irritate him during his commute. The waistband is designed to move with you, and best of all, to hold its shape (this is the key problem he has with boxers). So far, so good!
And perhaps best of all…the price! Hanes sells a set of 3 boxers with the comfort flex waistband for $9! That’s better than the “deal” I normally look out for (which I haven’t found in the past year…sorry, honey).

I’m not sure why I never tried Hanes for Tim’s underwear before now. We’ve always been impressed with the quality as well as the price for their shirts. Now I know to look to them for great deals on quality boxers, and I don’t have to wait for any special sale to stock up! Great job, Hanes!

Win it!: Hanes wants to send one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader (or their significant other!) a pair of Hanes underwear with a comfort flex waistband. You can choose a boxer, brief or a boxer-brief! The contest will run until October 6th 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 which style of underwear you find to be the most comfortable, either for yourself or that your loved one likes the most (for example: I would answer boy shorts as my favs).

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Hanes on Facebook (fans get first word on special sales and promotions!)
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect!

Be sure to check out my other current giveaways, located on the sidebar of my home page.


Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own (and my husband’s!).

Moo Moo Kow Cloth Diaper Review

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If you are curious about cloth or are already a cloth diaper convert, this is going to be a very exciting post for you!
Today I am featuring a diaper that there’s a good chance you’ve never even heard of before. It’s a cloth diaper brand from Singapore, and while you can buy it directly from the company online, it isn’t yet offered in U.S. cloth diaper shops. All you cloth diaper fans out there know that getting your hands on a “rare” cloth diaper is SUPER AWESOME. And now’s your chance. Read on!

Let me introduce you to Moo Moo Kow! I’ve found that the very best way to tell you about cloth diapers is to show them to you in a video, so first, check out my video review!

Darah from Stuff Parents Need in a Moo Moo Kow diaper

Now that you’ve seen and heard a bit about Moo Moo Kow diapers, I wanted to share a few other things I love about them. I think their diaper color options are lovely. I especially love the seaspray option they offer (an unusual blue-green), that gorgeous royal blue and the white diapers that have either blue snaps or pink snaps. So cute!

I also wanted to point out that the inner lining of this diaper is stain resistant. I haven’t had a single thing set in, and trust me, Darah has tried many different times to do so! 🙂

So my final verdict: Two thumbs up for Moo Moo Kow diapers! They are high quality and they are working wonderfully for us. Moo Moo Kow is one of the first diapers out of the clean pile time and time again! You can purchase them directly from Moo Moo Kow for $21.90 plus shipping, or you can contact your favorite online diaper retailer and tell them to start stocking these diapers!

Edit: this giveaway is now closed

Win it!: You know you want this diaper…here’s your chance to win it! I have a mint green Moo Moo Kow snaps one size diaper for one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader! The contest will run until October 4th at 11:59pm EST when the winner will be selected using Random.org. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household.
Mandatory entry: Tell me anything you know about Singapore!
Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Moo Moo Kow on Facebook!
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need via RSS or email
Be sure to check out my other current giveaways, located on the sidebar of my main page.

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

Paperspring: Beautiful Custom Thank You Cards

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Do you know what I love to get in the mail (besides amazing products to try out and tell you about)? I love getting hand written notes. Doesn’t everyone? I love them because I know all too well that finding the time to sit down with a pen and paper is hard to come by, and so when someone does it, they were really thinking about you, and devoting a slice of time just to you. It makes me feel so special!

I especially love when I get notes from my nieces. They aren’t exactly old enough to write me, on their own, but I’m delighted to hear from their mommies what they are up to, or if something I sent them is a hit. And I absolutely adore when they write or color on the note themselves. I don’t know why, but that takes the note from really sweet to priceless for me!

As Darah grows, she will have many opportunities to send notes to her cousins and friends (perhaps with a little help from mom). Between birthdays, Christmas and special visits from family members, there are several times each year when a hand written note to her loved ones is in order!

I still have some of the thank you cards that we used when she was a newborn, but they just scream baby, and little Darah is decidedly a toddler now! I have been looking for some cards that are perfect for a tot, and that will still be useful until she is at least 6 or 7, should they last that long. And I found them!

Check out the great online stationery company called Paperspring. This company was launched in 2008, but it comes out of a company, Charlie Chan Printing, that has been around for over 40 years, so they know a thing or two about how to deliver quality products and outstanding customer service!

Customer service is actually something I’d like to highlight about this company. When I placed my order, I received immediate confirmation. A handful of hours later, I got word that my order had been shipped! That’s right, SHIPPED! Same day! Who does that?! Paperspring does.

A week after the order was shipped, I got a follow up not from Paperspring making sure I was pleased with the service and the product I received. I was given an email address to send any and all feedback to, and I could tell that they genuinely wanted to hear about my experience. That tells me that this company is satisfied only if the customer is thrilled with their experience. Anything less will not do.

custom thank you cards And I was thrilled with the experience. I thought Paperspring had a wonderful variety of stationery and cardstock for all sorts of occasions. It took me a while to decide (due to all the cute stuff on the site) but I ultimately went with the birdy thank you cards in plum. I put Darah’s full name on the card, and I’m not keen on sharing that online, but to the right you’ll see what it looks like. You have the option to add some text on the inside, but I opted to leave it blank.

I didn’t have a specific color in mind when I was shopping for Darah’s cards, but I LOVED that you can, in fact, browse by color. What an awesome feature!

There’s one more thing that rocks about Paperspring: they are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as a chain-of-custody provider of recycled paper made from environmentally sustainable forests. From their site, “All of our matte cards are printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled thick cardstock. Furthermore, we utilize chemistry-free and waterless printing processes in our operation, in order to provide our customers with the greenest forms of printing.” That’s awesome, Paperspring!

I had a truly delightful experience placing an order with Paperspring, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to this site for holiday cards, birth announcements, or anything else! Right now, you can snag $10 off a $50 purchase by using the code SEPTEMBER at checkout! Get on it, ladies!

Win it!: Paperspring wants to offer one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader a $50 gift certificate to their shop! There are so many different ways to spend it…the tough part is deciding what to get! This contest will run until October 2nd at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me something about the best card or note you ever gave or received, and what made it so memorable.

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Paperspring on Facebook
2. Blogger love: “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook
Not on Facebook? Give up the fight and sign up! You are missing out! 🙂

Don’t forget to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page.

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