Stuff Parents Need

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

Decorating a Baby’s Nursery: Getting Past The Usual Suspects

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I spent HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS trying to figure out what I wanted Darah’s nursery to look like. Oh for the days when I had that kind of free time! Anyway, I was ADAMENT that her room would not look like every other little girl nursery out there, all pink and princessy and filled with stuff you’d expect to see, like Winnie the Pooh and other Disney characters. Not that there’s anything wrong with Disney characters. Some of my best friends are Disney characters!

Anyway, the irony wasn’t lost on me when after spending the better part of 3 months searching, I landed on a bedding scheme that was…wait for it….PINK. Yup, pink. The most stereotypical girl nursery color in the world.

But at least the design was unique. It was cherry blossoms and birds, and I did have a lot of fun incorporating those design elements into other facets of the room.

With Layah, I just didn’t have time do all that exhaustive research. And since she was baby number 2, I also didn’t really have the resources to start completely from scratch. She inherited many things from Darah’s room, which left me, once again, with a pink nursery.

But this time, I knew where to go to get her something really striking and different for her walls. Flowers, hearts, balloons, sparkles and any of the other usual suspects weren’t invited. I decided to go upscale and get my baby a gorgeous piece of framed art for her room.

Since the color scheme was already decided for me, I simply did a search for art by color at Gallery Direct. After sorting through many different options, I landed on this beautiful piece:

This is Spring Orchard II by Kim Coulter. Doesn’t it look amazing as a framed canvas? I enjoy looking at it while I nurse Layah in the rocking chair. It’s so peaceful and pretty, yet still unexpected in a nursery. I love it.

If you are looking for something a bit out of the ordinary for your baby’s room, why not bring in some beautiful art work? Gallery Direct has thousands of striking options, and their prices are really reasonable for the high quality product you receive.

Disclosure: I serve as a blog ambassador for Gallery Direct. Product samples are provided as part of the program. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Yo Gabba Gabba DVD and Book GIVEAWAY!!!

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Let me just say, for the record, that Yo Gabba Gabba confuses me a little bit. I’ve watched a few episodes with Darah, who was completely hooked on the characters from the moment she first saw them on television. I find them to be bright, cheerful, energetic, and, to be perfectly honest, kind of weird.

But here’s the thing when it comes to children’s entertainment: within reason, it doesn’t matter if I think something is sort of strange. If Darah is enjoying it, that’s the main point. Now, of course, I will always monitor what she watches to make sure it isn’t violent, offensive or something that will completely turn her brain into mush. Yo Gabba Gabba passes my tests in all those departments.

In fact, we’ve been reading the book, “It’s Ok Try Again” that features the Yo Gabba Gabba characters, and Darah has been applying the lesson! When she is struggling with something, I have heard her say out loud to herself, “Try again!” And she’s said it to her dad when she saw him having trouble with something. Pretty cool, huh?

She’s also requested the new DVD, “Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! There’s a Party in My City!” She is allowed a bit of video time every afternoon when her nap time is over, and this DVD has helped her get moving once again. It’s got a lot of songs that encourage your little one to get on their feet and sing and dance. It’s a full-length concert that was filled live, which I think is pretty fun. It definitely gives me a good idea of what it would be like to take Darah to see the group perform. The DVD runs 110 minutes and is available for just $12.99. You can find it at major retailers such as Walmart, Kmart, Target and Toys R Us. It can also be found online!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of the DVD There’s a Party in my City AND a copy of the book, “It’s Ok Try Again.”
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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

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

For All Your Bow Needs: Klippie Klub!

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Darah was fortunate enough to receive another Klippie Klub box this past month. If you don’t remember from my first post, Klippie Klub from Itzy Bitzy Designs is a very affordable way to get an excellent assortment of high quality bows for your daughter each and every month. Subscribers get a 70% discount off the retail price of the bows. Yeah, you read that right, 70%!!!!

If you sign up for the Krazy package, here’s what you get:

  • Over 70% savings
  • Free Klippie Klutch (value $20.00)
  • 1st Kit Free (value $40.00) (only pay $4.99 S&H)
  • Free Shipping
  • $15.99 per month
  • Retail Value $40.00
  • Commitment: purchase 6 monthly kits
If you’d like to go for the Kasual package, you’d get the following:
  • Over 50% savings
  • $18.99 per month
  • Retail Value $40.00
  • Free Shipping
  • No Commitment

I can tell you after receiving products for 2 months, though, that the quality is outstanding. These bows do NOT fall apart easily. So if you are feeling unsure about making a 6 month commitment since you haven’t personally seen the products yet, my personal advice is to go for it, because I certainly have been impressed with what I’ve seen!

Not only does Itzy Bitzy Designs send you great bows at a great value, they also are supporting efforts to get the word out about Treacher Collins, a condition that has affected the lives of the CEO’s family. Your money spent with this company is also going to a greater good, which I absolutely love!

So, do you want to see what came in this month’s package?

It was a celebration of colors that newborns love to see, which was timely for us. Everything was black and red, and we even had a bit of gray thrown into the mix. These are all VERY useful colors, and were a welcome addition to Darah’s collection, which until now was a bit heavy on pinks.

I highly recommend joining this program if you have a little girl who loves to wear bows. In 6 months, you’ll have a delightful and comprehensive selection of bows that should last you for years!

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

 

Shower Time Revolution for Nursing Moms: The Shower Hug (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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There’s a product I have been using on a very regular basis since about 2 weeks before Layah was born. It has been helping me SO much with feeling comfortable in those weeks before and the weeks after having a baby.It’s called a Shower Hug, and at first glance, it may not really seem to be that phenomenal of a product. But hang with me and I’ll explain!

This is a terry velour wrap that goes around your breasts in the shower. It is meant to be a protective barrier between your chest and the shower spray, which can suddenly feel VERY uncomfortable when your breasts are sore or engorged. Additionally, it acts as a warm compress which is extremely soothing and does help to ease engorgement.

Now, for me, engorgement only lasted 3 days. The Shower Hug provided enough comfort in those 3 days that I would say it is worth it just for that period, but I can also tell you that it has several uses after this phase of breastfeeding ends.

First and foremost, if you are going to be breastfeeding, you will learn that you are supposed to avoid using soap on your nipples and areolas, as they can actually dry you out and impede breastfeeding. I am still using the Shower Hug when I get in the shower to keep suds from my soap bar and from shampoo away from that area. But at the same time, the Shower Hug does get wet, so I don’t feel as though I’m not rinsing that area off well.

I also really enjoy getting to take hot baths again, and when I am taking a hot bath, I dip the Shower Hug in the hot water and then wear it while I soak. Our tub is on the small side, so it is impossible for me to fill it up to the point where my chest is submerged. The Shower Hug gives me that same feeling, though!

The Shower Hug is also useful to me during the night when I really don’t want to wear a nursing bra to bed, but I know I can’t sleep with nothing on or else I wake up with wet sheets! I can wrap my Shower Hug around me and put in breast pads. It is really nice to take a break from something with straps.

The Shower Hug comes in white with pink trim, white with blue trim or natural with sage trim. It is proudly made in the USA. It is available here for $29.95.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Shower Hug!

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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. 

How I Revolutionized My Inbox: UnRoll.me

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I pride myself on keeping my inbox from getting out of control. I actually think of my email inbox as kudzu, which is a vine-type weed that grows at an unbelievably fast rate and will cover EVERYTHING if you give it the chance. You must stay on top of it in order to keep it under control. So yeah, my personal email is like kudzu! (image from theresilientearth.com)

The week before Layah was born, I started to be not quite as disciplined about getting through my emails each day. Frankly, I just had other things that needed my attention more. And then I went to the hospital for a few days to have her, followed by a few days back at home where I didn’t even open my account at all.

You can imagine what happened when I finally did check my email. It was OUT.OF.CONTROL. And 5 weeks later, I hadn’t recovered, and was still fighting a losing battle with my kudzu email. Here’s a screen shot of my unread email from a few days ago:

Yeah…395 unread messages. It was making me sick to my stomach, and was actually causing me to not want to check my email at all, which of course, only makes the problem bigger. Just when I was thinking that I would hate my email account for the rest of my life, I heard about UnRoll.me, which is a FREE online service that will categorize all of your email subscriptions for you and help you unsubscribe with ease, as well as keep all your subscription emails in just one daily digest. 

Ok, so then I got signed up for UnRoll.me. You just need to give them your email address and permission to access some of your info. Then you sit back and wait while they compile all your subscriptions. I had to wait about 5 minutes for the system to compile all my data. Here’s the tally:

Yeah….I had 79 email subscriptions. GOODNESS! UnRoll.me had them all organized for my review, and they were even categorized into groups like deals and rewards, social, education, entertainment, etc. It was so cool!

And then it went from being cool to being BLOW YOUR MIND AMAZING. Because in about 3 minutes. Yes, 3 MINUTES I unsubscribed to 44 things. YEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!

This is work that I had been putting off, and if I had unsubscribed to all of these things in one sitting, even if I was super focused, it would have taken me at least an hour. And I probably would have hesitated a bit more and decided not to unsubscribe as many. But seeing just how many different types of emails I was getting gave me the strength to slash and burn!

Here’s the other cool thing that UnRoll.me does. For all those subscriptions that you’d like to keep, it gives you the option of getting them all rolled up into one email. You can take any of the subscriptions out that you’d like if there are some that you want to make absolutely certain you don’t miss. I took a few out that were important (stuff from my bank, for example). But the rest all come to me at one time, rather than throughout the day and night. UnRoll.me sends them my way every morning, so I know just when to expect them. It ROCKS! Now my inbox looks like this (note how few emails I get in a day now!):

 

The only problem I had with using UnRoll.me was that I didn’t have success getting it to work in Chrome. Every time I tried to choose my email type, it would start me over in the process. It worked flawlessly in Firefox, so I’m guessing it is just some little kink that needs to be worked out. I’m telling you this just in case you have any trouble with it. If so, don’t give up, just try a different browser!

Go forth, my friends, and revolutionize your inbox. Find the solution to your kudzu-like emails and tame them forever! You’ll be so glad you did.

Disclosure: 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™ #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Why I Prefer Real Jewelry: Silverloops.com Review and GIVEAWAY!!

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I remember when I was a child and I was ready to graduate from “kiddie” jewelry to something a bit more grown-up looking. My mother gave me some advice that I’ve never forgotten about jewelry. She told me that it is perfectly fine to have a few pieces of costume jewelry that are trendy, but that most of my jewelry collection should be elegant, timeless and REAL. That means gold and sterling silver.

She didn’t give me that advice because she’s a jewelry snob. She just knew that these pieces would last longer and become more special to me. She was absolutely right. The majority of my jewelry collection is real. I don’t have a huge collection of pieces, but what I do have is quality, and I’ve worn many of the pieces for 10 or 15 years, which makes them rich with memories.

Do you feel the same way about jewelry? Or are you wishing that you had a bit more of the real stuff? Silverloops.com is a site that can help you out in the sterling silver department, even if you are on a budget! This company aims to provide the highest quality pieces of jewelry that are both exquisite and affordable. Gotta love that!

I received these twisted square earrings, and I am delighted by them. They are simultaneously flirty and delicate. I enjoy having an earring that dangles a bit but that isn’t over-the-top, screaming for attention as so many dangly earrings are, in my opinion. Given that they are sterling silver, I’m also very pleased with their price point. They are listed at $30 but are on sale for $25! Not bad for a pair of earrings that I’ll hang on to forever!

If you are in the market for sterling silver jewelry, do yourself a favor and check out what Silverloops.com has to offer. They’ve got something for everyone!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a $20 gift certificate to Silverloops.com!

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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. 

Buy 1 Get 1 Free on Glasses at Eyebuydirect.com!

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This post is very timely for me. I’m about to tell you about an opportunity to snag some prescription eyewear that is already a great buy, and at Buy One Get One Free on top of those great prices.

Why is this a timely post for me? Because I’m currently using my spare glasses. I can’t find my favorite pair, but fortunately, I have a back up pair (actually, I have two!). I have to reach for my spare glasses about once a week due to my unfortunate habit of taking off my glasses at random times and places, only to find them a few hours or even a few days later.

So having extra glasses is crucial for me. But I can’t afford to spend $150+ on a spare pair of glasses. Heck, I can barely afford to do that for the glasses that I prefer to wear every day! But I also don’t want my spare glasses to be ugly, as “affordable” glasses often are, especially since I find myself wearing them so often!

EyeBuyDirect.com has a HUGE selection of affordable prescription eyewear. Their prices start at just $14.95, and yes, that does include the lenses. Wow! Every so often, this website gets crazy and offers a Buy one Get One Free promotion. So you could get 2 pairs of glasses for as little as $14.95 total. That’s nuts! This promotion ends on June 25th, so hop on over and pick out your new glasses now!

If you don’t have a spare pair of glasses, this is your chance. And you don’t even have to get ugly ones! You can get a pair that is super cute!!! You could also get some glasses for other members of your family. If ever there was a time to get stocked up, this is it, my friends.

Maybe you aren’t as silly as me and don’t lose your glasses every week, but you WILL lose them at some point. As frustrating as it is, it isn’t so bad when you can just reach for another pair while you search. And searching for stuff is MUCH easier when you are wearing your glasses, I promise!

This post is brought to you by EyeBuyDirect.com. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project Book and CD GIVEAWAY!!!

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One of my first memories of hanging out with my BFF for the first time (back in 1993!) was listening to a tape she had of Phantom of the Opera. I’d never heard the musical before. In fact, I’m not so sure that I’d ever really heard any Broadway songs before that point. I remember sitting in her room and listening to the music, and having Leslie explain to me what was happening with the characters. I thought the story was really creepy but the music was absolutely captivating. I suppose that was by design, though, right Mr. Weber?

I now have a very fun way to introduce Broadway voices to Darah long before she’s in middle school. There’s a fantastic new CD out called Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project. It has 26 songs sung by some of Broadway’s brightest stars. It is so special and so sweet. I adore it!

It also serves a greater purpose, in that proceeds from this album are going to fight breast cancer so that moms and dads all over the world can be with their little ones even longer, and not let this disease cut their time short.

There’s also a book available, and it has beautiful illustrations of the lullabies as well as a 17 song cd that comes with the book. This book can beautifully integrate story time and song time just before bed (we tend to read and sing before the lights are out at my house, so this is perfect!).

The CD is available for $15 and the book is available for $18.95. You can’t go wrong with either choice; both are absolutely beautiful!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of both the CD and the book from Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project!
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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

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

Time for Some New Threads! $250 Summer Wardrobe GIVEAWAY!!!

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Welcome to the $250 Summer Wardrobe Giveaway!

Aéropostale is a mall-based, specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories. Aéropostale provides customers with a focused selection of high-quality, active-oriented, fashion and fashion basic merchandise at compelling values. Products can be purchased in-stores and online at Aeropostale.com and ps4u.com.   You can find exclusive Aeropostale Coupons and discounted gift cards on CouponTrade.com, your only source for both! Now you finally have a way to stack your savings in a whole new way!!!

Great! Now log your entries in the Rafflecopter form below and don’t forget to come back for your daily entries!

 

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