Stuff Parents Need

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

Learning Resources My Very Own Doctor Set Review and GIVEAWAY!!

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Can you think of any toys growing up that you never got and still to this day remember how much you wanted them? A doctor’s kit falls into that category for me. I had friends and cousins who owned doctor’s kit, so I frequently got to play. But oh my goodness, how I longed for one of my own!

Darah recently received from Learning Resources the New Sprouts Cure It! My Very Own Doctor Set, and let me tell you, she and I BOTH have been having a blast playing with it! We have opened up a stuffed animal urgent care facility. Darah is the attending doctor on staff, and I am her trusty assistant. I report the symptoms of our patients to her, and she gives a thorough exam and diagnoses the problem.

Here’s the adorable part: about 90% of the time Darah determines that the patient has a hurt heart, and the prescription she gives is, “lots of hugs.”

So. Stinkin’. Cute. It just about kills me, folks.

In addition to healing heartaches, playing doctor is also giving us the chance to talk more about anatomy, and even about viruses, diseases and injuries. There are so many great ways to incorporate some knowledge into our pretend play with this kit.

Naturally, I very highly recommend it. It’s going to be played with for a long time, I can tell! You can find the My Very Own Doctor Set at Learning Resources for $24.99.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a My Very Own Doctor Set from Learning Resources!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

sprouts cure it! my very own doctor set

Building an Outfit with One Key New Piece: Next Clothing US Mummy Challenge Results!

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I was recently contacted by one of the most popular and fashionable brands of clothing in the UK, Next, to see if I was up for a fun challenge. They wanted me to take one article of clothing from their fall girl’s line and put together a complete outfit using that piece. It was up to me whether or not I wanted to buy new pieces to go with it or shop my daughter’s closet.

I definitely took the thrifty approach, and I have to say, I don’t think the end result could have possibly been better, even if I went to the mall with no budget!

In the video below, you will see the adorable outfit I built using the Stitchy Cat Button Through Hoody as the inspiration.

I found this challenge to be SO inspiring. I typically try to be frugalwhen putting together outfits for Darah, but I do splurge on the occasional brand new item of clothing, perhaps without as much strategic thought behind those purchases as I should have.  I realized when I put this outfit together just how much use I could get out of the jacket. By choosing something with a lot of fun colors in it, I opened up the possibilities for different pieces in her wardrobe that will coordinate well and give a “put together” look, even if the reality is that she is wearing 4 different brands from 4 different seasons at one time! By thinking strategically about which new pieces to invest in, I can really make those pieces work hard and be well worth the money spent on them!

The hoody we reviewed retails for $45 and considering the fact that it will be worn at least every other day throughout the fall and winter, I’d say the price is a steal!

If you are a bargain shopper like me, what criteria do you use for the items you are willing to pay a little bit more for? Quality? Design? Fills a gap in the wardrobe? I’d love to hear! 

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

 

LifeLock Ambassador and a Chance to Win BIG ($1,000)!

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Identify theft: I’m guessing this does not rank very high on the list of things you enjoy contemplating. If you are lucky enough to have not (yet) been a victim, then this may not seem like anything you need to spend your time worrying about. Your accounts seem secure with all their promised encryption. You aren’t in the habit of losing your purse or wallet. So what’s the worry?

The threat is so real, you guys. SO. REAL.

Hello, my name is Tiffany, and in the last 8 years I have been the victim of identify theft 5 DIFFERENT TIMES. FIVE!!!!!!

I’m delighted to be a new brand ambassador for LifeLock, a company that works RELENTLESSLY to help help provide identity theft protection to its members. You may be chuckling to yourself and thinking that I’m quite possibly the world’s worst choice for a partnership with LifeLock. But I think the fact that I seem to be a magnet for identity theft makes me the perfect ambassador. Every time I become a victim, I pick up a new practice that is supposed to greatly help reduce the chance that I’ll become a victim again. And every time, it proves to be insufficient.

I clearly need more vigilant and comprehensive protection. And if I need it, I’m guessing millions of other people just like me need it, too. I am really looking forward to sharing my experience as a LifeLock Ultimate member with you. And I’m REALLY looking forward to not having to cancel my credit card and fill out a bunch of paperwork about how I didn’t spend $600 at a Payless in Kansas (yeah, that happened…).

But for now, I want to tell you about a chance that you all have to win BIG with LifeLock!

Introducing the LifeLock for Life Sweepstakes on Facebook! This super fun sweepstakes just started on Tuesday, and it is going to run throughout 2013 so that you have MANY chances to win cool prizes. Every week you can go to the LifeLock Facebook page and answer 10 multiple choice questions that are all about helping to protect your identity (so you can learn something while you try to win!). Prizes are awarded weekly as well as monthly. The specific life events that LifeLock will focus its questions on will change every month. For September, it’s all about heading back to school!

And the prizes….they are AWESOME! This month LifeLock is giving away 4 Ultimate Memberships (ARV $275 each!) and one $1,000 Visa gift card! EEEEE!!!! That would cover Christmas at my house!

So head on over and “like” LifeLock on Facebook, visit the LifeLock for Life tab, and enter to win! I just played, and I learned a lot of things I didn’t know in just a few minutes!

 Disclosure: I am a compensated ambassador for this brand. All opinions (and unfortunately, all instances of identity theft) are my own. 

Oransi Ionic Fridge Air Purifier: Pin it to Win it!

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You have probably received the advice before to put an open box of baking soda in your fridge to help keep odors at bay. I know I have tried this method several times, and I always end up with the same result, which is baking soda spilled all over my fridge due to the box getting knocked over. This is problematic for me because I’m the type of person who puts off cleaning out her fridge for as long as possible (hence needing some help deodorizing it!).

Oransi is a company who has come up with a much better solution, in my opinion, to baking soda. It’s the Oransi Ionic Fridge Air Purifier and it does NOT mask odors in the fridge. Rather, it kills bacteria that is forming, prevents mildew, sterilizes the fridge once every hour or so and neutralizes stale and foul odors. So basically, it takes whatever is causing your fridge to smell less-than-pleasant and annihilates it!

The Ionic Fridge Air Purifier is a compact machine that can easily get tucked into a fridge (even a really full one like mine). It runs very quietly (it’s on for about 5 minutes out of every 2 hours) and uses 2 AA batteries. They will need to be replaced after about 90 days (I highly recommend rechargeable batteries!). As for remembering when to replace the batteries, just replace them when you replace your water pitcher filter. That makes it easy!

This machine is definitely making a difference in my fridge. It’s not unusual for me to have leftovers of salmon, two or three wedges of cheese, and some fresh cabbage all sitting on the same shelf. So you can imagine the hard work this product has to do. And it’s working!!!

Win it!: Here’s your chance to win your own Oransi Ionic Fridge Air Purifier! This giveaway is a bit different, because this is a Pin it to Win it contest. Ready? Set? Go!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

Introducing Ragtime and Blues to Children: Randy Kaplan’s Mr. Diddie Wah Diddie CD (GIVEAWAY!)

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As adults, we know that it is healthy to break out of your comfort zone. Try a new workout (or try working out at all!), give a new type of cuisine a shot, or even make some new friends and not just stick to the friends you have known since high school. These are all good things to do!

Expanding your musical horizons is another great thing to do, but most of us don’t. I personally never listen to country music, even though I can objectively state that there is some excellent stuff out there. It’s just out of my personal comfort zone, so I avoid it. It occurred to me a few weeks ago that if I want Darah to have an adventurous and curious spirit, I’ve got to start doing a better job of role-modeling that behavior. And I need to do so not just with big things, but also with small, everyday things.

So I switched off the Glee Pandora channel (go ahead and judge if you are embarrassed by that statement…I’m totally NOT embarrassed and am super comfy in my teen pop Gleek skin). And I put on some ragtime and blues-inspired tunes, courtesy of children’s artist Randy Kaplan.

I wouldn’t even have known where to find something like this without his newest cd, Mr. Diddie Wah Diddie. And I certainly wouldn’t have gone out looking for it on my own. So what a blessing it was to get to listen to it, anyway. Because despite my preconceived notions about the type of music I do and don’t like, I thought this cd was a great deal of fun.

Will it be on constant repeat in my house? No. But will it get a regular turn? Absolutely! Darah likes it because it is just so different, and I think that’s why I like it, too.

If you happen to be a blues and ragtime fan, already, this cd won’t be out of your comfort zone, but it will still be a fun way for your children to have their own songs in the same style as what mom and dad listen to. Either way, I think it is a really great addition to a music collection, and certainly a fine way to give a genre that might be unfamiliar to your children a chance. You can pick up Mr Diddie Wah Diddie for just $11.68 at Amazon right now.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of Mr. Diddie Wah Diddie!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

Our #CouchCritics Adventure: The Lorax Review!

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Over the weekend we treated ourselves to a family movie night. These Friday night fun fests are becoming one of Darah’s favorite activities, and now that she is old enough to sit through an entire movie, I have to say that I’m finding them to be enjoyable, as well. This is really the only time I’m able to watch a movie start to finish!

The Lorax just came out this week on DVD and we were able to snag a copy thanks to a nearby Blockbuster Express kiosk. Rentals there are just $2 for the first night, and $1 for every night thereafter. Three cheers for a movie I can actually afford! 🙂 By the way, I’d strongly recommend that you follow Blockbuster Express on Twitter and Facebook. They keep you in the loop about the newest releases and promotions. I got a free rental code just for signing up on their site, so all I’m saying is that they take care of their customers! 🙂

We had a big adventure going to get our movie and our snacks. I’ve included a few highlights for you below. Check out all the fun on my Google+ album! And watch out for the snake! 😉

 

Gotta love the lower fee for subsequent rental days! I also appreciate that you can buy a movie if you love it!

This mobile feature saved the day for us, as The Lorax was already checked out at our first stop.

It was SO EASY to create a theme with this movie. We payed homage to the Lorax by eating orange food!

It was really tough to get a picture of Darah during the movie because she could not tear her eyes away to give me a smile!

The whole family cheered when the one who speaks for the trees made his grand entrance (and grand, it was!).

I’m sharing my review of the movie on the #CouchCritics website, but I can’t just leave you guys hangin’, so here’s a portion of my review for you!

“While The Lorax used quite a few tropes in the story line, as well as techniques that, in my opinion, are getting quite tired (like the slow motion action sequence), I didn’t sit down to watch it for its cinematic innovations. I watched it so that my daughter and I could further explore a story she already knows and loves. And in that respect, the movie was wonderful. I did think it was cast well, and was pleasantly surprised to hear Betty White’s voice as the helpful and hip grandmother.

I thought one of the most visually stunning (and humorous!) scenes in the entire move was “the river” scene. My daughter was on the edge of her seat watching the adventure unfold, and I was left pondering over the limits one should go to in pursuit of the greater good (is it ok to literally send someone down the river when they are harming your community?).”

Parents, this is a really good choice for a family movie night. It’s a great story on so many levels, and you can really have fun with it by incorporating special themed snacks for your event. You can go all out by searching Pinterest for ideas, or you can just keep it simple like we did, and go for all things orange. Darah talked about how much fun she had watching the movie with us on Friday night as soon as she was out of bed Saturday morning. We made a memory together and it didn’t cost much money to make it happen. And now we have SO  much more to discuss when we read The Lorax at bed time.

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias #CBias. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

Eco-Friendly Dishwashing Detergent In Tablet Form: Ecover Review

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I’ll be the first to tell you that I love dishwashing detergent that comes in tablet form. I think you know what I’m talking about: individual packets that you just pop into the detergent section. It’s mess-free and usually works REALLY well.

I have never found an eco-friendly version of this type of detergent. That is, until now! For the past few weeks, we have been using the Ecover Zero automatic dishwasher tablets, and we’ve been really impressed! These tablets clean just as well as the tablet product I used before (Finish) and they also come with zero guilt! I didn’t feel good about using products that contained harsh chemicals, but I also really struggled to find eco-friendly detergents that actually worked well (the only one I had found prior to this post had to be ordered online and was pricey enough to keep me from placing another order).

So I’m really happy to see that Ecover’s tablet works really well, and I will definitely be buying it again. I also use Ecover’s stain gel in my laundry room, and since I’ve had good luck now with 2 of their products, I’ll be buying more things in their product line. I love that their products are perfume free and don’t contain any artificial fragrances. Everything is also biodegradable, and phosphate free.

I thought they were a relatively new company, but they’ve actually been around as long as me (since 1980!). I always love when a company like this has been around since before being green was the popular thing to do!

Ecover Zero automatic dishwasher tablets are currently on sale at Alice.com for a competitive $8.52 (that’s 26 loads, so roughly a month of dishes around my house). You can also look for your nearest local retailer here.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes as a Naturally Savvy blogger. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

Eco-Friendly Nail Polish Delivered Monthly: Julep Maven (Try it for A Penny and GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Have you noticed one of the latest bargain shopping trends lately? It takes the form of a subscription service with a company, where you get discounted and awesome goodies in the mail every month.

Today I want to introduce you to one that all the ladies who love having beautiful nails will love! It’s called Julep Maven, and through this subscription-based monthly program, you will receive some really beautiful and on-trend nail polish delivered right to your doorstep!

I recently received a Julep Maven Intro Box, and here’s what it looked like:


There are a few key things that really jumped out to me about these products.

1. The size of the polishes are PERFECT. When I purchase a full-size polish at a store, without fail, it always starts to separate and become unusable long before I have finished up the bottle. It’s rare for me to even make it half way through a bottle of polish before I have to pitch it. I am actually going to get to use up this polish, which is cool. Plus, these days I’m really into things that don’t take up much room, so that’s another bonus for the size.

2. Julep products are free of harmful toxins that are often found in nail polish. YOu won’t find formaldehyde, DPT, toluene, paraben or sodium laurel sulfate in this polish. My daughter has some eco-friendly nail polish, and I’ve been wanting to get some for myself. Now I have some in “big girl” colors!

3. Aren’t the colors really pretty? I have to tell you that if I went to the drugstore on my own, I probably wouldn’t have picked out any of these colors, more out of fear than anything else (I have like 6 different shade of mauve nail polish…clearly I have a small comfort zone). But now I’m so glad to have all of these colors! Lily (sizzling fuchsia creme) has been so much fun to wear. Charlotte (demure lavender creme) is my go-to polish for September as the colors in my wardrobe calm down a bit for fall. And Sasha (cantaloupe melon creme) is the breakout star. This is not a color that looks attractive when near my face, so I never wear it. But on my toes, it is SO cute! I love having that pop of color!

This is me stealing a quiet moment this morning relaxing and sipping on some iced coffee during Layah’s nap.

I may have the nail painting skills of a six year old, but I still feel fabulous! 

4. A portion of sales from Julep Maven boxes go to various organizations that support women. I’m a sucker for a business that has a heart, people!

So, here’s how it works to join the Julep Maven program (or if you’d like to gift this to a girlfriend, which would be such a fun treat!). The monthly subscription is just $19.99 and it gets you a box every month that retails for $40. You also get 20% off and free shipping for anything you’d like to purchase in the Maven boutique. You get an email previewing your upcoming box on the 20th of each month. If you like it, do nothing and you will be charged on the 27th, and your box will ship that day. If you don’t like it or just need to skip the month, just log into your account and let Julep know. It’s just that simple! There’s no contract to sign and no commitment.

Plus, if you refer 2 friends to become Julep Mavens, you will earn a free month! That’s a pretty sweet deal just for spreading the love!

Want to try it? Right now you can for ONE PENNY!!! That’s right, if you use the code MAVENINTRO at checkout, your first box is just one penny. I mean, it doesn’t get any better than that, right? Well, I guess better than one penny would be totally free, so here’s a chance to win, too!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Julep Maven Intro Box! (If you are having trouble seeing the Rafflecopter form, just click on the Rafflecopter link below and it will take you to the form! Easy Peasy!)

a
Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

What I’m Learning about Fitness: It Really Starts on the Inside!

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I have been working on improving my overall health and fitness for the last 8 weeks. I have an almost 4 month old now, and I gained a bit more weight with her than I did with the first. There are two reasons for that extra weight gain, I think:

1. I was on bed rest for the last 3 weeks of the pregnancy.

2. I wasn’t as active during my second pregnancy as I was during my first.

I didn’t gain an obscene amount of weight, but it was definitely more than I wanted. But I wasn’t super worried, because I had good luck getting the baby weight off thanks to breastfeeding the first time around.

Well, the second time around, even though breastfeeding is going even better than it did the first time, My weight is coming off S-L-O-W-L-Y. People warned me that it might happen that way the second time, but I didn’t want to believe them. Unfortunately, it’s true.

But I’ve also learned that I can’t really blame my condition on the baby, entirely. I haven’t had healthy eating and exercise habits in FOREVER (I’m not sure if I’ve ever had healthy eating habits in my entire 32 years, to tell you the truth!).

And over the last 10 years or so, I’ve very slowly put on extra pound here and there, and I’ve had to admit out loud for the first time that I’m no longer just 10 or 15 pounds from a really healthy weight. I’ve got much more work to do than I had been telling myself.

So that’s the bad news.

But the good news is that I’ve been working on improving my health with a two-fold system. Yes, I’m working on getting regular exercise and improving my diet, as most people know those are both key ingredients for success.

But I’m also doing something I have never done before when trying to lose weight: I’m working on what’s happening inside my brain! I’m digging much deeper to try to identify the real source of my unhealthy habits, and what the message is that my brain is telling itself about what kind of a life I deserve. As much as I like to think I have positive self esteem, I’ve definitely uncovered some weak areas, and some places where deep down, I don’t think I’m capable of being physically fit.

What nonsense!!!

One of the tools that has really been helping me a great deal is an ebook I’ve been reading called 8 Weeks to Wellness. It’s put out by a fitness coach named Tatiana Abend. She and I have been communicating via email, and I can tell you first hand that she has a deep passion for helping people achieve their fitness goals from the inside-out. It’s a unique and powerful approach, and her week-by-week guide has gone a long way toward helping me chart a course for success. I feel as though I am standing on a solid foundation. Because I can now articulate exactly what I want to do and exactly why I want to do it, the implementation part of getting fit is significantly easier! I think we all can say from experience that having a specific goal is always better than a generic one. Tatiana’s book really helped me map out a vision of the future that I really want, and that makes me excited to work for it!

(These are my new Zumba shoes Tim got me for my birthday. I adore them, and I adore Zumba! Who knew?!)

If you are looking for some help getting truly motivated (beyond that momentary blip you feel when you see a number on the scale you don’t like), Tatiana can definitely help you. She has a variety of classes that she teaches in conjunction with the University of Vermont (online! available to anyone!) that really go deeper into the issues that stand in the way between you and a healthy life.

If you’d like to learn more about Tatiana’s Body Vision Health Coaching, definitely check out her comprehensive website. She has a free membership option that gives you access to some awesome resource. There’s absolutely nothing to lose!

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