Stuff Parents Need

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

iPhone Awesomeness Meets The Comfort of a Home Phone: #GoodCall (GIVEAWAY!!)

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Tim and I haven’t had a land line since 2004, which is exactly when we got cell phones for the first time. We were late to the cell phone party, but early to the “no house phone” party, I suppose. But in 2012, it’s actually quite common to drop your house line. Your cell phone is with you at all times, even in your house, so there’s little need for an additional phone line.

But I have to tell you, there are certain things I miss about land lines. To be more accurate, what I really miss are the phones, themselves. Yes, my iPhone is like a miniature version of the 8th wonder of the world. It can do all sorts of fun tricks and it certainly helps keep me connected in the way that a land line phone never could.

But…

I miss the way I could easily cradle a phone in between my ear and my neck. With my iPhone, any time I try to do that I end up hurting my neck and hanging up on the person on the other line. That touch screen feature is cool for a lot of things, but it can be a pain when you are just trying to have a conversation!

Well, folks, now I get to have my house phone back, without actually having to get a land line. There’s a BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW product out called Good Call, and I lurves it!!!

Here’s what landed on my door step on Wednesday afternoon:

Good Call is an iPhone handset. It’s also an iPhone docking station. Basically, it’s iPhone awesomeness. Wanna see how it works? Check this quick video out!

I love how the product is smart enough to really talk with your iPhone, and you can use the nifty voice activated feature to call folks in your address book without even touching your iPhone. So cool! I’m also enjoying having a second docking station in my home. We have a docking station upstairs, but during the day, Layah and I are almost exclusively downstairs. It’s great to have another easy place to get my charge on! Also, while I’m talking on my handset, my iPhone is STILL charging, all without me being tied down with a cord. LOVE it!!!! Here are some shots of my family using the Good Call. I love how Darah reacted to using it. She’d never seen a phone without a touch screen before! Ha!

I probably don’t need to remind you that Father’s Day is this weekend. If you have an awesome father in your life, whether it be your own dad or the father of your kiddos, this would be a fantabulous gift to get him! True, it isn’t yet available, but that’s part of the fun of the gift, especially if the man you are thinking of loves to get the latest gadgets…this is so new you CAN’T even buy it yet. The product launch happens on June 19th on the Good Call website.

There will also be a Twitter party (register here!) this Tuesday from 1-2pm EST, during which 2 units will be given away every 15 minutes. That’s a party not to miss, for sure!

But for the next few days, the only way to get your hands on this awesome gadget is to win it on a select number of blogs.

Speaking of which…

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a #GoodCall device! SQUEAL!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

GeoSafari Jr. BugWatch Review and GIVEAWAY

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For the past two meals, I have had to share space at the table with a snail. Why is that, you may ask? Well, because Darah is fascinated with the snail she and her father caught so that they can closely inspect it. And meal time seems to be the optimal time to study snail behavior. Sigh…

Despite this disruption to what would otherwise be a pleasant part of my day, I have to say that Darah’s growing interest in insects is pretty cool. I was definitely raised to fear all kinds of bugs. I don’t want the same for Darah. Yeah, bugs can be gross. But they can also be really fascinating, especially if you can check them out up close. Darah is able to do this thanks to the GeoSafari Jr. BugWatch. This is a great container for bugs that has magnifying glasses on both the top and the bottom of the container so that you can view the bugs you find from all angles.

Pretty much as soon as Tim walks in the door from work Darah is asking if they can go outside and catch some bugs. Tim is LOVING feeding Darah’s curiosity and talking with her about insects. Darah seems to be increasing her concentration levels and really absorbing what she is learning from her dad. She talks at length about different bugs and what makes them unique.

The GeoSafari Jr. BugWatch, available from Educational Insights, is a toy that requires the child to interact with nature, which is a really rare find for toys these days. I wish that I had grown up with a toy like this! This is the perfect companion to all the summer days that are ahead of us, as it will get your kid outside and exploring. Just be prepared to have some unusual guests at your dinner table! By the way, the snail is getting returned to the great outdoors today. No harm done, except to my appetite!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the GeoSafari Jr. BugWatch!

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.

 

Getting Beyond Dora: Sing with Senor Uno Dos CD Review and GIVEAWAY

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Darah has just started to get into Dora the Explorer. That means that we have just started to learn a few words in Spanish, which is a lot of fun.

But I know we can take this language exploration a bit further than what Dora can offer, and we can still do it in a really fun way.

That’s where Sing with Senor comes in (sorry, there should be a tilde over the n, but I can’t for the life of me figure out how to create it!). Sing with Senor is headed up by Felipe Canete, who taught Spanish to middle school students and found great success getting his students to learn Spanish by creating fun, original songs. He’s transferred this skill into the children’s music realm, and has just released a great album called Uno, Dos. The songs are all in Spanish, but they are at a speed just right for picking up and following along to!

Here’s one of my favorites from the album, Los Vocales!

If you would like to exposure your child to the Spanish language, this is a really fantastic way to do it!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of Uno Dos by Sing with Senor!

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. 

Babyganics Sunscreen Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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Skin cancer runs in Tim’s family. That means it is serious business for us to make sure that our children have on sunscreen if they are going to be spending a significant amount of time outside. I am always on the lookout for sunscreen that has an high SPF, that is water resistant. I also give careful thought to how the sunscreen is applied. For Darah, something that goes on really fast is best. She doesn’t mind having sunscreen put on her, but she’s always in a hurry to go play once we get outside, so having her wait 5 minutes to get lathered with lotion and then wait another 5 minutes for it to soak in just won’t work.

Babyganics has a Sunscreen Spray that we’ve really been enjoying. It has an SPF of 50 and it absorbs into the skin quickly. The spray feature also helps speed up the application process. Perhaps what I appreciate the most is that it is formulated with babies and toddlers in mind, and leaves behind parabens, paba, sulfates and other nasty and questionable chemicals, all while keeping the skin protected.

Babyganics is a company founded by two dads who wanted products that were not only eco-friendly, but also people friendly (sometimes we assume that if something isn’t harmful to the earth that it also isn’t harmful to people, but that’s not necessarily true!). You should definitely check out their impressive line of products that are good for everyone and really work!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win Babyganics CoverUp Baby Sunscreen Spray!
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. 

Fighting the Signs of Aging Olay Total Effects Tone Correcting Line: GIVEAWAY!!

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I’m 31 years old. Most days, I still feel relatively youthful (except for those days when my kids wear me out!). But there’s no doubt that my skin is starting to change a bit. It simply doesn’t glow and shine the way it did in my teens and early 20s, at least not without some help from quality skincare products. If I don’t give my skin a boost with these types of products, I have noticed that it seems much more dull than it did even 5 years ago.

One of the key signs of aging on your skin is an uneven skin tone. Olay has the Total Effects Tone Correcting Line that is specifically designed to target this sign of aging and to help restore that youthful glow to your face.

I have been trying out a few of the products in this line, and I’m really impressed. Before I started using these products, I honestly didn’t think that I had a problem with uneven skin tone. But now that I see how much better my skin looks after using this line, I realize that my skin tone is starting to look uneven on its own.

My very favorite product in the line, and one that I plan to immediately purchase again once the bottle I currently have is empty is the Olay Total Effects Tone Correcting UV Moisturizer. This is the PERFECT daytime moisturizer for me. It provides deep hydration and it also provides some sheer coverage for the face. It absolutely helps my skin tone look even. I usually apply this first, followed by my foundation. The finished look is much more polished than it is when I don’t use it! I also appreciate that it offers protection from the sun, which is an important step to take in your skincare routine to keep your skin looking young! This product retails for $14.95

I also am enjoying the Olay Tone Correcting Eye Treatment. At this point, I only have fine lines around my eyes, so I can’t comment on how well this would work for deeper lines. But for me, it does seems to brighten my eye area and give me a more awake look. This product retails for $18.95

Olay also works hard for me while I sleep. The Olay Tone Correcting Night Moisturizer helps smooth away the appearance of discolorations. If you have age spots, this also helps with those, as well. This product retails for $21.95

I have been so pleased with all of the products in the Total Effects Line that I have tried over the past few months. My skin does seem to be improving and looking more refreshed, and that’s really saying something when you consider the fact that I have a new baby at home keeping me up at odd hours!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the Olay Total Effects Tone Correcting Line product of your choice!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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. 

Kidorable Helps Make Picking Up Clothes More Fun: Coupon Code!

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About twice each week, Darah and I spend some time with each other cleaning up her room. Darah focuses on putting away the toys, and I am tasked with putting her clean clothes away. We hope to make some changes to her closet in the near future so that Darah will be able to put her clothes away all by herself (currently the closet rod is much too high for her).

Once we make her closet more toddler-friendly in terms of access, I also want to make it more toddler-friendly in terms of the aesthetic. I will be adding a few extra special hangers that will delight Darah, and also help her learn how to keep her clothes separated by type. She has a few costumes that will be available to play with, but they need to be kept seperated from her everyday attire. Kidorable is going to help Darah learn how to keep her dress up clothes in their own grouping, all thanks to their fantastic wooden hangers. These aren’t just any wooden hangers, though! They have wonderful designs that coordinate with other Kidorable products.

Darah is going to get the mermaid hangers because she is currently obsessed with mermaids. She also happens to have a mermaid costume, and what better to hang it up with than a mermaid hanger?! The quality of these hangers is awesome; they are hand carved and hand painted! A set is just $20 for the smaller size, and $22.50 for the larger size. These are definitely a fun way to help bring some fun design elements to your child’s closet, and to help them turn the chore of putting away clothes into something much more fun.

From June 11-18 Kidorable is offering a 20% discount on their hanger sets! Simply enter code CLEANUP2 at checkout to get your discount!

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

 

Prodigy Skincare Review and GIVEAWAY

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Long before he was on How I Met Your Mother, Neil Patrick Harris captured America’s hearts at Doogie Howser, M.D., the teenage doctor on television. Remember how he would write journal entries at the end of every episode on his blue screen computer? And how that was SO technologically advanced? Perhaps all of us blog writers are just indulging in our secret desires to be just like Doogie by writing these posts every day.

But I digress.

I brought up Doogie Howser because the product line I am featuring today was created by a real life teenage doctor! The founder of Prodigy Skincare graduated from medical school at just 16 years old, making him the youngest doctor in his specialty field of dermatology. He spent years working on a line of products that would be effective for his patients with dry skin, allergies and a sensitivity to fragrances. What he came up with has been highly praised by those who have used the products.

I have been trying out two different products from the line and have been really pleased with both!

First, I’ve been using the Prodigy Advanced Moisturizing Soothing Gel. This is a product that you apply after cleaning your face but before your moisturizer. It binds moisture to your skin to give your complexion a more supple look. As someone with VERY dry skin, I think this works really great, and it seems to give my moisturizer a little extra help, which is always good. This product retails for $56.00.

Next, I’ve been using the Prodigy Advanced Moisturizing Firming Eye Cream. I’ve told you before that once you hit your 30s, taking care of the skin around your eyes really is no longer optional. This is one area where you need to find a product that really works even if the price tag is a bit higher than what you are used to paying for skin care. This particular product does 3 things at once: it reduces that morning puffiness around your eyes, it reduces fine lines and wrinkles and it protects your skin from additional environmental damages, which typically wreak havoc on our faces on a daily basis. The product is very smooth, and you only need a tiny amount each day, so a bottle will last a long time. This product retails for $68.00.

If you have been looking for products that are developed by some of the best and brightest medical professionals, and that cater to those of us with sensitive skin, then look no further than Prodigy Skincare!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the item of your choice from Prodigy Skincare!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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. 

Just in Time for Father’s Day: A Unique Experience from Cloud 9! (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Any time I ask Tim what he would like for whatever gift giving occasion is on the horizon (Father’s Day, birthday, Christmas), he responds with a blank stare, and then a shrug. Seriously, people, he NEVER has a suggestion for me. And it isn’t because he’s being coy and wants me to read his mind. He just doesn’t feel as though he needs any stuff!

But let me tell you what he DOES love: experiences. But in our culture, experience gifts aren’t as easy to wrap in a box or in my case, stuff in a gift bag, and so they aren’t as popular as gifts. But Cloud 9 Living aims to change that.  They do extensive research to ensure that they are working with extremely high quality experience providers, and help you plan something extraordinary that your gift recipient will NEVER forget. Here’s a video that shows you exactly how it works!

While Cloud 9 Living doesn’t offer experiences in every city in the U.S., check out their list of options, and I bet you’ll find something relatively near you. I’m currently checking out the options in the Atlanta area(they currently have 47 experiences in the area!!!). The tandum hang gliding opportunity is really catching my eye, as I recall Tim telling me just a few weeks ago that despite his fear of heights, he has always wanted to go hang gliding. Wouldn’t he be surprised if I got this for him for his upcoming birthday?!

If you think an experience might just be the perfect gift for someone you love, then you’ll want to check out Cloud 9 Living. Be sure to follow them on Facebook and hear about special offers and discounts!

 

Win it!: One very lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a $50 gift certificate to Cloud 9 Living and a gift pack, which includes the gift certificate, a personalized message, and a detailed card of the experience. Not only will this gift be amazing, but so will the presentation!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Cloud 9 Living. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

A Fun Father’s Day Gift Idea: A Gumball Machine! Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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If you are still looking for a fun Father’s Day gift idea, I’ve got one for you! One thing Tim is getting for his office is a gumball machine.

That’s right, a gumball machine! I thought this was a clever way to add some more personality to his office, and a fun thing for his co-workers enjoy when they come to visit (much more entertaining than a simple candy dish!).

Gumball.com is the #1 online source, not only for gumball machines, but for all bulk vending supplies. They have a VERY impressive selection of gumball machines. We opted for a simple carousel gumball machine that fits nice and neat on Tim’s desk. When we opened it and read the instructions, we thought it was really cool that you can customize your machine to either take money in order to get a gumball or not require money at all. That’s a cool feature, because I think it would be sort of rude for Tim’s co-workers to have to pay a quarter to get some gum! But on the flip side, if the gumball machine ever comes back home, we could turn that feature on so that our girls wouldn’t simply help themselves to all the gum they wanted!

Gumball.com is definitely a site worth checking out. They have every time of gumball machine you can imagine, and they have a full supply of gumballs. I personally like the transparent gumball machines. They are unique and would especially fun for kids!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a carousel junior gumball machine and a box of gumballs!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to enter my other 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.