Stuff Parents Need

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

We Used ModernGreetings.Com for Our Holiday Cards (and We’re Thrilled!) (GIVEAWAY!!!)

· by · 5 Comments

Last year at this time I was still battling severe nausea with my pregnancy, and so I just let go of the idea of having holiday cards altogether.

This year I knew I wanted to get a nice picture taken of the family. I booked a local photographer so that we could get a nice family picture. The photographer rescheduled on me. And then 1 1/2 hours before our photo shoot, she completely cancelled. Without an offer to reschedule. And she referred me to another photographer was mostly booked and who charged about 3 times what she charged.

Gee, thanks.

So despite my advanced planning, in mid-October I was left in a complete scramble trying to figure out what to do. I felt sad because I really wanted to send Christmas cards out, and even more than that I wanted a decent looking picture of my family. My mom made an excellent suggestion to see if a friend of mine might be willing to snap a few photos. Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife was SO sweet to take a few minutes directly after her daughter’s fantastic princess-themed birthday party to take some pictures of my crew, and they turned out just lovely.

The next day (Sunday), I uploaded my favorite photo to the ModernGreetings.com website, and I picked out several different cards that I liked and then inserted the picture to see what looked the very best. It was very easy to do, and in the end, I went with something very different but that I loved. I chose a square card that had a beautiful text greeting on one side and on the back side had the photo. I thought it looked really neat.

I placed my order that afternoon. The cards were in my hands by Wednesday. WOW!!! I couldn’t get over the rapid service! They were printed and prepared for delivery the same day I ordered them (on a Sunday!).

Want to see what they look like??? The photo I took of them below was in natural light, and the result is a more muted look than what they look like in person. In person, the colors are rich and vibrant!

 

My mother has already received her card and she called and bragged about how beautiful the colors were on the card. I have to agree with her. The cards looks great and I’m quite proud to be sending them out. I have been very pleased with ModernGreetings.com, and I want to recommend them to you if you are still looking for a holiday card provider. They have TONS of options for color scheme and design. And of course, they offer so much more than holiday cards!

Speaking of which…

Win it!: Every single Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a hard cover photo book ($30 value!). Yes, you are already a winner!

All you have to do is submit your email address to this link and you will receive a code for the book. Seriously! I signed up, too. What a perfect holiday gift this will make for someone!!! Why is ModernGreetings.com doing this? They are so certain that you will be pleased with the product you receive that they believe you will give them your business down the road. And I think they are right!

I received a complimentary set of holiday cards for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

A Must-Have Stocking Stuffer for Kids: SAFESKIN Antibacterial Gel (Coupon and GIVEAWAY!!!)

· by · 50 Comments

As much as parents would love to shield their children from pain, that’s just not the way life is set up. Kids are going to get their feelings hurt, experience loss and grieving, and get LOTS of experience feeling frustrated when they don’t get their way. Good thing moms and dads have endless supplies of hugs and kisses on hand!

Kids are also going to scraped up on a regular basis. I’m often surprised at how resilient Darah can be, and I try not to react strongly when she falls, but wait and see how she is feeling. More often than not, she dusts herself off and keeps playing. But sometimes the skin gets broken and she sees blood. That’s when she turns to me with wide eyes that well up with tears. And that’s when I know it’s time for Dr. Mom to report for duty.

Lately we’ve had exceptionally good luck and haven’t had any scrapes or cuts, but I know it won’t be long! When it happens, I’m reaching for SAFESKIN, which is a new kids antibacterial gel. This product safely creates a barrier on cuts and scrapes for up to 48 hours to give them a chance to heal without nasty germs finding their way inside. It is non-greasy so that a bandage can easily be applied on top.

This is an excellent stocking stuffer for your little one, as you can be sure that a scraped knee or elbow will be part of life in 2013! I also happen to have a coupon for you, because we could all use some help making stuffing those stockings a bit easier on our wallets!

You can find SAFESKIN at select Walmart locations.

You can also win a tube right now!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

Strolling Through the Holidays Stroller GIVEAWAY!!

· by · 20 Comments

Would you like to go strolling with your loved one this Holiday Season?

The Blogging Mamas Network and KiddyUSA have come together to bring you a great giveaway for the brand new KiddyUSA City ‘n Move Stroller!

This stroller is the perfect companion – it’s Lightweight {at only 21 lbs}, Comfortable for Mom/Dad and Child, and Maneuvers Easily.

The Kiddy brand, based in Germany, is synonymous with innovation and style when it comes to children’s car seats and strollers and now the brand has launched in the US.

The KiddyUSA City ‘n Move comes in 7 fantastic colors {Winner will choose their Favorite!} and accommodates children 6 months to 55 pounds!

To see even more of the City ‘n Move Stroller, including detailed pictures and favorite features, read the KiddyUSA City ‘n Move Stroller Review by Lindsey from So Easy Being Green.

The KiddyUSA City ‘n Move Stroller is available at a variety of retailers.  The City ‘n Move retails for $219.99 and will be available on Amazon very soon!

:GIVEAWAY:

This giveaway is open to US residents, 18+ only.  Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on November 30th.

To enter, please use the Rafflecopter Form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:  Special thanks to Hosts According to Jenny, So Easy Being Green, Leetle Baby, and other Strollin’ Bloggers!  Event bloggers are not responsible for Sponsor Prize Shipment.

 

Helping Santa Bring Magic to 3 Little Girls: #DisneyPrincessWMT

· by · 2 Comments

With a 3 year old in the house, we are in the throes of the princess craze. This is an issue that I felt nervous about up until just a few months ago. I never liked receiving “Daddy’s little princess” onesies or anything that was overly sparkly or blingy or that had crowns all over it. I thought that perhaps if I curbed the amount of such things in our home that my daughter might not go ga-ga for princesses.

But let me tell you how her love for princesses, and Disney Princesses in particular, came to life. Last year one of my nieces requested The Little Mermaid on DVD for Christmas. As you probably know, you can’t buy this DVD new in a store, as it is locked away in the Disney Vault. Ebay is one of your best bets. I ordered a used copy online, and when it arrived I wanted to make sure it worked before I wrapped it up. And I let Darah watch it with me. I thought it would be fun to share with her my favorite Disney movie.

And the rest, my friends, is history.

Ariel is her favorite (which I sort of love since Ariel is also my favorite). She can find Ariel most anywhere (some of my favorite locations where she has managed to find her include Home Depot, a convenience store at 5am on Thanksgiving morning, and the curio cabinet at her Grammy’s house).

There are still many Disney movies that she hasn’t yet seen, but she is starting to learn more about more about each princess, and she is adding to her list the movies she has seen. Beauty and the Beast was recently playing at a friend’s birthday party in the background (it was a princess theme). She plopped right down and watched the whole thing, and she had the cutest expression on her face the entire time.

I have learned over the past year since to lean into this season of life, rather than try to prevent it from happening. Every Disney Princess has some amazing qualities that I try to highlight so that the focus isn’t on being pretty. We’ve been playing, “under the sea” for a year now, and the focus of that game is to go on a brave adventure, just like Ariel, who isn’t afraid to take a risk. We also pretend that our hair glows like Rapunzel (#2 on her list of favorite princesses) and use that power to heal others when they are not well, demonstrating kindness and empathy. Tiana never ever gives up, even when the odds aren’t in her favor. She has a tenacity from which we all can learn.

If you have a Disney Princess fan in your home, be sure to download the Royal Ball app (download here for apple and here for android), which is totally free and lots of fun. We downloaded it before heading to Walmart to be big helpers for Santa Claus. Through this app, you can get yourself ready for a royal ball by building your own outfit (gown, necklace, shoes, tiara) and making your own custom carriage. Once you arrive at the ball, you use your phone to dance at the ball. It’s really cool, because you get to see the ballroom as if you were in it, and as you dance or look up or down, the screen moves with you. I will fully admit to taking this app on a few spins through the living room, myself!

I highly recommend that you download this app before you head to a store that will have some Disney Princess signage, as there are pictures on these signs that will unlock additional dresses.

I also really love that you can bring a bonus carriage to life right in the store when you snap a photo of the Cinderella Blu-Ray DVD. Basically, this app can make a trip to Walmart so much more fun for any Disney Princess fan. And if you are doing a little holiday shopping, it can also keep your little ones distracted while you take some stuff over to the layaway department! 🙂

On our most recent shopping adventure, we were being special helpers for Santa Claus. He asked us to get 3 Disney Princess bicycles for 3 little girls in Chattanooga. His sleigh was getting very full, and having these bikes already here would sure help him out! Darah was excited to be summoned for such a special task and took her role quite seriously! If you’d like to follow along with our entire shopping experience, check out my Google+ album.

Sadly, the store was completely out of Disney Princess bicycles. Santa isn’t the only one who wants to be gifting these this year, it seems! We went with a back up plan and purchased 3 Fisher-Price Little People Princess Song Palaces. I bought every single one they had on the shelves. Looks like Disney Princes stuff is really hot!  I like that this particular item is safe for princess fans as young as 18 months, and it has lots of different places for imaginative play. It even has some fun sound effects to add to the magic!

You may be wondering why I wanted to buy 3 items and why we were being special helpers to Santa. Well, 2 of the items we purchased are going to go to the Angel Tree. As a mom, I know what it is like to have your child ask for a very special toy for Christmas. And I can imagine how hard it must be to know that getting a gift like that isn’t a possibility. Darah asked for a bike this year, and I am going to get one for her (she doesn’t know that little girl #3 we are shopping for is her!). I want to pay it forward and get the same bike for 2 other 3 or 4 year olds in my community who have the same wish as Darah, but whose parents can’t afford it on their own.

After I got home, I decided that as cute as the Little People Princess Songs Palace is, I really had my heart set on getting the bikes, so I went to Walmart.com and ordered 3 of them there. Shipping to my house was completely free, which was awesome! I’ll be doing another post in a few weeks and I’ll be sure to show you the bicycles in detail! They arrived at my house 2 days after I ordered them (totally serious) so I’ve already had a sneak peek! Can’t wait to show them to you!

While you wait for the big bicycle reveal, be sure to check out lots of different ways that other shoppers have had a blast with Disney Princess items, and get some great ideas for parties, games and gifts! And don’t forget to follow Disney on Twitter. I’m really enjoying following them and getting little doses of joy and sunshine from Walt and those who have followed him in my Twitter feed!

Do you have any Disney Princess items on your holiday shopping list this year? I’d love to hear about them!!! Santa is going to have a Rapunzel doll in his sack to leave for Darah on Christmas Eve! 🙂

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Disney Consumer Products, Inc  #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

A Truly Portable Activity Seat: Go-Pod Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

· by · 82 Comments

At 6 months old, Layah is one heck of a busy body. Darah, at this age, was perfectly content to sit in a spot on the floor and play with toys for quite a long time. She didn’t crawl until she was almost 10 months old. Honestly, it was awesome.

Layah, on the other hand, has no interest in sitting still. She is already crawling all over the the place. She’s got to be on the move, which means mama’s got to be paying super close attention at all times.

And if I don’t stay on top of her, accidents do happen. Why yes, as a matter of fact, she has already fallen off the bed! I was gone but a moment and I left her far from the edge. But she’s a quick one. When that happened, I knew I needed to start taking extra precautions with her. She needs some restrictive space that doesn’t make her FEEL tied down.

She has a jumperoo, which she loves to play in, but which Tim and I don’t love, simply because it takes up SO MUCH SPACE!! We have a small house, and our downstairs living room/dining room/kitchen area really isn’t very big. So to have a jumperoo in the middle of the floor every day creates a space problem.

But now we are using a very clever invention called the Go-Pod, and I think it rocks! It is an ultra lightweight portable activity seat. First let me show you what it looks like when it is not in use.

That is a thing of beauty, my friends! It folds up like a camping chair! Which means it can get tucked away in the corner, or in a closet, or even under the bed. Cue the angels singing!!!

And here’s what it looks like with little Layah inside of it.

While it lacks the ability for babies to bounce or to turn in it, it is still a very comfortable seat and Layah is quite happy every time I put her in it. I absolutely LOVE the mat that is on the bottom. It protects the floor from my kid! And it provides a nice surface for her feet if I ever set this up on the hardwood floor.

In this picture you will see that there are some attachment devices on the Go-Pod. These are great because you can connect toys to them for play time.

The Go-Pod by KidCo is very well designed. It only weighs 7 pounds and comes with a storage bag, which makes travel with it a breeze. Additionally, it has 4 heights so that it can grow with your baby. It is ideal for babies from 4 months until they start walking. Setting the Go-Pod up takes all of 3 seconds. There is a lock button you can easily hear when it clicks in place so that you know it is safe to put your baby in it. There are also drink and snack holders for your little one in case you want them to eat or drink a little something while you buzz around the house taking care of whatever needs to be done (in my case, the kitchen is in CONSTANT need of attention).

There is no way in this world that I would have been able to take Layah’s jumperoo down to Alabama for Christmas this year. But the Go-Pod is on the packing list! We can even take this with us for visits with friends. It gives us a place to easily put the baby that she will enjoy and where we know she will be safe. After all, not every house has been child-proofed!

Buy it!: Need one of these for your home? You can find a list of local as well as online retailers here. The Go-Pod retails for $49.99.

Win it!: Just in time for holiday travel, one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Go-Pod!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

Make Way for Robots! Scholastic My First Collection DVD Set Review and GIVEAWAY!!

· by · 88 Comments

Volume 4 of the My First Collection from Scholastic was recently released, and it is fantastic! This DVD series features stories that are aimed at children from ages 2-6. Darah has consistenly loved every My First Collection series she has received. She has MANY Scholastic DVDS, but the ones from these collections get viewed the most frequently.

Volume 4 has some very cool stories, including Robot Zot (and more rhyming stories), Too Many Toys (and more stories about problem solving) and The Curious Garden (and more stories about nature). There’s something for everyone! I also like how thoughtfully Scholastic has each book narrated. They are interesting to listen to in their own right, but adults will often hear familiar voices (on this set you will hear Zach Braff).

And of course, the Scholastic Read-Along feature (where the words are at the bottom of the screen and highlighted as they are read) is available. I always have that feature turned on to help Darah with her reading skills.

The set of 3 DVDs is available for $24.95 and would be a fabulous holiday gift. You can also purchase each single DVD for $12.95. If you don’t have any Scholastic titles in your video collection for your kids, I just can’t say enough wonderful things about them. They are true treasures for us. In fact, I will be giving a DVD set to a niece of mine for Christmas and I know she is going to giggle and laugh again and again as she watches it, just as Darah does! Scholastic videos are winners, to be sure!

Speaking of winners, it’s time to win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of My First Collection Volume 4!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

 

Fifteen Minutes for Mommy: PEOPLE Magazine is a Guilty Pleasure! GIVEAWAY!!!

· by · 234 Comments

We are just days away from a very important shopping event.

No, I’m not talking about Black Friday. I’m referring to something that is going to hit the stores on November 16th. If you haven’t already, you must mark your calendars so that you can be ready!

I’m talking about PEOPLE Magazine’s Annual Sexiest Man Alive issue.

I’m grinning from ear to ear just thinking about it! That issue is a total guilty pleasure for me! I love to curl up with some Godiva ice cream and flip through the pages of dreaminess. I don’t get to spend too much time learning about the latest and greatest celebrities, so it isn’t unusual for me to know precious little about the winner (last year’s winner, Bradley Cooper, was totally unknown to me…which makes me feel sort of old and out of touch, but I digress).

Who do you think will win this year? If social media has anything to say about it, it’s going to be Ryan Gosling. All those “Hey Girl” photos and captions that are rampant on Pinterest and Facebook crack me up. And he really is a cutie, I have to say!

Regardless of whether or not Ryan is on the cover of the upcoming issue, I can tell you that I will be headed over to Walgreens to get the issue. I may have to read it over several days, as getting enough time to myself to read an entire magazine cover to cover is a very rare thing, indeed. But a girl can dream, can’t she?

Don’t miss this issue, as it is only going to be on the stands for 2 weeks! I think it would make a fun stocking stuffer or part of a “pampering” holiday gift for a girlfriend! Or you could even get a year’s subscription to the magazine for a really special treat!

PEOPLE Magazine is such a fun read. It’s the magazine I gravitate toward at the check out line and the one I scoop up first when I’m in any waiting room that has one! I think their pictures tend to be really good, and their articles are short and sweet, which is exactly what I need as a busy mom. I actually flip through it to get hair and style ideas, and if I have time left over, I’ll check out some juicy celebrity gossip. It’s a wonderful way to take a break from the craziness of your day and get caught up on the latest hot looks (most of which can be easily copied with affordable fashion) and to see what your favorite celebrities are up to this week. You can also learn about the movies that are coming out and hopefully be inspired to plan a date with your significant other so that you can enjoy some kid-free time together!

While I enjoy PEOPLE Magazine any time of the year, it really is the Annual Sexiest Man Alive issue that makes my heart go aflutter. I know when it comes out that I’ll find a way to carve out some time to myself to giggle like a teenager and do a little swooning.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to snag a $20 gift card to Walgreens so you can get yourself the PEOPLE Magazine’s Annual Sexiest Man Alive issue, some ice cream, a bottle of nail polish or whatever else you consider to be a a total indulgence for yourself!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™, but all my opinions are my own http://cmp.ly/3/KqtZiE.

Crazy Stuff I Feed My Baby, and My Thoughts on Whole Grains

· by · 2 Comments

When Darah was getting ready for solid foods, I read the book Super Baby Food. While I would argue that it is a poorly edited book, it does still contain a great deal of helpful information, as well as encouragement to have your baby try various foods that I wouldn’t have even considered before. I’m actually headed to Whole Foods later this morning, and these are some of the items I will be purchasing today:

  • Brewer’s nutritional yeast
  • Ground sprouts
  • Powdered kelp
  • Wheat germ
  • Tahini
  • Brown rice
  • Earth’s Best infant cereal
  • organic plain yogurt

Some of this stuff probably sounds pretty crazy, right? But I know from experience that if you expose your child to food that is so healthy early on, when food preferences and tastes are developing, you stand a much better chance of having an adventurous eater who will go for more than chicken nuggets, mac and cheese and peanut butter sandwiches later on. I was amazed at the stuff Darah would willingly eat as a baby, and I know giving her such yummy things helped her immune system and of course gave her body excellent fuel on which to run. While Darah still has her picky moments, to be sure, she is much more adventurous with what she will try than most other 3 year olds. I’m going to do the same thing for Layah, and so far she is loving everything she has tried!

Maybe I’m not going to convince you to start putting powdered kelp in your baby’s food, but I do want to emphasize just how important it is to make sure your little one is getting whole grains. The USDA recommends that at least 3 of our grain servings each day be from whole grains and have great, unique flavors. When kids eat whole grains from a very young age, they tend to develop a preference from whole grains over enriched products and that sets them up for nutritional success! Darah loves whole grain bread, for example, whereas I had to make the transition over to whole grain bread in my twenties. It was kind of painful. Just sayin’.

As Layah continues to have Earth’s Best infant cereal added to each of her meals, I appreciate knowing that she is getting lots of fiber to help her digestive system function smoothly. A constipated baby is such a sad sight, and so far we have not had any problems in that area. I also know that I’m hard wiring her taste buds to enjoy the taste of whole grains.

While I’m at the store today, I’m also going to be on the lookout for a product I haven’t yet purchased from Earth’s Best, which is the Fruit and Grain Purees. These squeeze pouches come in some really great blends, such as apple peach oatmeal, apple plum kamut, banana raspberry brown rice and pear apricot barley. Don’t those sound awesome?! Each pouch has 45% of the daily value of Vitamin C in addition to lots of great fiber. I love to make my own baby food, but even after getting some unique items at Whole Foods, I still can’t put together concoctions with all the fun stuff that some of these pouches have on hand, so I’ll be glad to have them as well.

I also appreciate the convenience factor. Just yesterday we were out and about and had to cut our outing short to come back home and feed Layah because I didn’t have any baby food with me. These fruit and grain purees are the perfect thing to keep tucked away in the diaper bag and my purse for such situations.

The Earth’s Best fruit and grain pouches are intended for babies 6 months and older. I can also tell you that my 3 year old continues to love these types of food, too. She eats them as a special snack.
Have you tried the Earth’s Best fruit and grain purees? How about their infant cereals? I’d love to hear if you have a favorite!

I am a blog ambassador for Earth’s Best, and as such, I have received complimentary products as a thank you for my time. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Melissa & Doug Trunki GIVEAWAY!!!

· by · 161 Comments

In celebration of the Melissa & Doug Terrific Twenty List and daily giveaway, Stuff Parents Need is getting to host its own giveaway for a very special item that is on the list.

Check out the Trunki!

The Trunki is a suitcase designed for little ones. Darah LOVES having her own suitcase. It makes her feel like an independent little traveler! She likes to pack it herself (though dad usually goes back and makes some adjustments so that all her stuff can actually fit!).

But the Trunki takes pint-size travel to a whole new level. If kids get tired of carrying or pulling their suitcases, they can just hop on the Trunki and start scooting around with it! Brilliant!

I’m tickled to be putting the Trunki under the Christmas tree for Layah (and I’m guessing big sister will get to “borrow” it from her a few times before she starts using it!). At just $39.99, it makes an affordable and fun gift for little ones. Buy it from Melissa & Doug! And don’t forget to enter the Terrific Twenty daily giveaway, as well!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going t0 win a Trunki in your choice of color!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

I will receive a complimentary Trunki as a thank you for hosting this giveaway. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.