Stuff Parents Need

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

Giving the Gift of an Xperience! GIVEAWAY!!!!

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I personally believe that the very best kinds of unique gifts are not material objects, but experiences, as these give the recipient memories to hold on to for life. My best friend has such fond memories, for example, of the time she got to spend with her grandparents out in Arizona every summer as a child. I don’t think she, even as a child, would have wanted to swap those great memories for all the toys in the world.

I can also remember, even more than 10 years later, times when Tim and I went and did really fun things together in college, such as taking road trips or going to really fancy and fun restaurants (that was a rare treat on our budgets, for sure!). Having special experiences with people you love is something that money might be able to buy, but its worth is priceless.

Today I’m highlighting a company that wants to help you give a unique and special experience to your loved one as a gift. It’s called Xperience Days, and it can radically change the way you shop for gifts from here on out! I think it is an especially fabulous shopping destination for the men in your life, who are likely much more difficult to shop for than the women (at least that’s my experience!).

Simply type in your zip code on the site and see what offers are available to you. While there currently aren’t any offers in Chattanooga, I found 4 activities in Nashville, just 2 hours away! They have a few different types of hot air balloon ride packages and even a woodworking class. Atlanta, just 2 1/2 hours away, has 18 different experiences. We are planning a trip there in July, so I’ll definitely be back to this site to purchase something super awesome for us to do together!  I’m so glad to have found this resource for getting gifts that will be really and truly special. Go check it out and see what you can find in your area!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a $50 gift certificate to Xperience Days!
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Darah’s Big Girl Room Gets Big, Bold Color from Gallery Direct (GIVEAWAY!!!!)

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We’ve already established that I absolutely loved Darah’s nursery. I never thought I would go all out with pink for my little one, but I did. And it was so sweet.

When we were getting ready for our recent move to a new house, I knew that it was the perfect opportunity to make some changes to Darah’s room. She had already been out of her crib for a while, but we just had her mattress on the floor (Montessori-style) while we waited to find a cool new bed for her. Changing rooms and moving to a house where we are allowed to paint opened up new possibilities, and I knew it was time to let all that pink go and explore some different colors.

Tim painted her walls a very pale gray so that we could experiment with bold colors with her accent pieces. I’m still trying to find some colorful drapes and perhaps an accent rug, but with help from Gallery Direct we have already found the statement piece of the room that is going to inspire everything else.

This print proudly hangs in Darah’s room, just above her gutter bookcases (thanks, Pinterest!). It is dramatic, it is fun, and it is full of beautiful colors. I absolutely love it! We have it in a size large, on canvas with no frame, and I have to tell you that from a distance it really does look like an original piece. You can see the texture of the painting and the brush strokes. You have to touch it to realize that it is a print! It looks magnificent!

It also brings such a vibrant pop of color to an otherwise very unassuming, very pale and neutral room. If you are working on making some changes to a room for your little one, carefully consider getting some great art. And MAKE IT BIG!! In the past, I’ve been very guilty of putting “art” on the wall that is no bigger than 8×10. Maybe the pieces are pretty, but they certainly don’t stand out at that size. Really go for it and make a splash with your art work. Gallery Direct is a site that can help you do this for a VERY reasonable rate. The piece we got for Darah retails for $249, but is on sale right now for just $125! AMAZING!!!

Gallery Direct also is a wonderful place to go if you want to turn photos into art. In fact, right now a 12 x 18 gallery wrap of your photo upload is just $49. That’s a PERFECT gift for Mother’s Day!

Win it!: Gallery Direct has a very special giveaway for 2 (yes, TWO!) of my readers: a 12 x 18 gallery wrap of your favorite photo! Woo hoo!

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Letter Construction Activity Set Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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One important concept of the Montessori philosophy of learning is that children require true hands-on experiences with everything. They need to be able to engage many different senses when learning a concept. When it comes to learning pre-writing skills, children not only look at letter, but they trace them and they touch them. This is critical to the mind mapping taking place in their heads!

Learning Resources has an excellent resource that can give children that hands on experience that they need as they prepare to learn to read. Check out the Letter Construction Activity Set! It comes with a variety of pieces that children can use to literally build the alphabet. There are instruction cards that show children the materials needed to make upper case and lower case versions of each letter. This product helps children with hand-eye coordination, problem solving, and of course, letter recognition. I absolutely love it. If you are a teacher, know that there are enough pieces included so that four children can build the exact same letter at the same time, so this also makes for a great small group lesson.

Learning Resources is a fantastic destination for play items that develop critical skills for children as they grow and learn. I very highly recommend this set for your pre-reader, and I highly recommend the site for all your educational needs!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a set of Letter Construction Activity Set from Learning Resources!
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Sigvaris Maternity Stockings Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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This post is especially for all you ladies who need to dress to impress, even while sporting a baby bump. If you wear stockings at least once a week as part of your wardrobe, then being pregnant presents a bit of a challenge. How in the world are you going to wear them once your belly starts growing? The last thing you want or need is something constricting your belly, and there will definitely come a point where traditional pantyhose will simply not stay put on you any longer!

There’s a company called Sigvaris who is going to be debuting a line of maternity pantyhose exclusively at A Pea in the Pod in August, and I recently got a sneak peek by being sent a sample. I was 34 weeks pregnant when I tried on the pantyhose, and I was nervous about putting them on. I didn’t see how pantyhose would be able to fit around my basketball belly and also fit me in the legs at the same time.

But guess what? They did, and they WEREN’T tight, although they stayed put at the same time. They were actually comfortable! That’s a word you don’t hear very often in reference to pantyhose!

The fact that they fit well is only one thing that makes the Baby Your Legs line by Sigvaris so wonderful. They are also specially designed to help support your legs during pregnancy and relieve pain, as well as reduce the risk of varicose veins, which afflict 30% of women during their first pregnancy.

The Baby Your Legs line includes opaque pantyhose, opaque calf stockings and cotton calf socks. They will help you look and feel your very best all the way through your pregnancy! Be sure to look for them at Pea in the Pod!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a pair of maternity pantyhose from Sigvaris!

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Eco-Friendly Alternative to Comet: Emily by Eco-Me

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Are you still using toxic cleaning products in your home? The two main reasons I have heard people cite when explaining why they aren’t going green with their cleaning products are cost and effectiveness.

If either one of those (or both!) is true for you, then you’ve officially run out of excuses, because there’s a very affordable line of products out called Eco-Me and they can go toe-to-toe with your extra strength chemicals!

As we were preparing to move out of our old house, we needed to give our tub a serious scrub. Tim tries to clean it once a week, but he doesn’t typically do a thorough scrubbing. We tested out a product called Emily
(all the products have people names, which is cute). Emily is a gentle abrasive that can safely be used in the bathroom and in the kitchen (even on pots and pans!). We put this product to the test on our tub, and we were really embarrassed to see just how much gunk came off our tub when cleaning with it. We were also really impressed! Check it out, and try not to judge!

Eco-Me has an excellent range of products for all your cleaning needs, and can be found at Alice.com, or on Amazon! You can also search for a local store or see a complete list of online retailers here. Emily can be purchased for a very reasonable $5.39 for 16 ounces! A little goes a long way, too!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the Eco Me product Emily, just like I reviewed! You will love it!

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Zodiac Baby Lotion and Body Wash Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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One area where we have completely made the switch to organic products is with our kids’ bath supplies. We are very committed to only having natural products for washing Darah and will be doing the same for her baby sister. There are several great options on the market if you are interested in doing the same thing, but today I’m featuring a line that not only offers you organic ingredients, it also has aromatherapy designed just for your child based on astrological sign! Check out Zodiac Baby!

Since baby girl isn’t here, yet, Darah has been trying out the Taurus line of products, including a shampoo & wash and a lotion. This stuff smells WONDERFUL, yet it is not overpowering. I probably wouldn’t put it on baby for the first 2 or 3 months of her life, but after that point, I will start using it regularly for her, because it works great and smells great. The cleaning agents are derived from coconut, and the products also contain organic aloe and Vitamin B, which is evidently an ultra-hydrating ingredient. The products are also free of all that yucky stuff that you want to avoid, like parabens, sulfates and phthalates.

I do have a few suggestions for improvement, not to the products, but to the site. I would love to hear more information on the particular scents contained in each product (all I can tell you is that Taurus smells wonderful, but I can’t pinpoint the fragrance), and I’d also like to hear why those scents were especially selected for each astrological sign. That would help me better understand the rationale behind each formula! If I had a better idea of what things were going to smell like, I also might be tempted to buy additional products for myself (Virgo) and for Darah (Leo).

Zodiac Baby products are beautifully packaged and work great, too. I would definitely recommend them as a wonderful gift for anyone who likes to read the daily horoscopes!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a set of products from Zodiac Baby in your choice of astrological sign!

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My Very Simple Solution to the Complex Problem of Cloth Diapering a Newborn

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I’ve heard people who don’t cloth diaper repeatedly question why I would get myself into something so “complicated” as using cloth when there are a million other things that need my attention as a new mom. I have to tell you, though, cloth diapering is NOT hard! Yes, you have extra laundry. Yes, you have a learning curve as you figure out your best wash routine, the best diapers for your growing baby, and troubleshooting occasional laundering problems. But there’s a HUGE community waiting to help you, and before you know it, you are a cloth diapering champ and are thanking your lucky stars to be avoiding those late night trips to Walgreens to pay through the nose for YET ANOTHER package of diapers.

I started cloth diapering Darah when she was 7 months old, and I really felt like I knew what I was doing within a week. Seriously! So I figured that cloth diapering baby 2, right from the start, would be just like getting on a bike after a few years off of one. I even had all her old diapers ready to go!

But my research into cloth diapering from the start revealed something: those “one size” diapers that I have tons of aren’t necessarily a good fit for brand new babies (unless you have a really chunky one, which I likely won’t have). They are simply too big! But do not despair, many brands make newborn size cloth diapers. There’s the solution, right?! Except, then you have to buy a bare minimum of 18 diapers at roughly $14/each that will just be worn for 1-2 months. So that would mean spending $252 for 1-2 months of diapering and then having to get diapers for the next size up if you don’t already have a stash. Suddenly something that was supposed to be very simple got really complicated.

While it is true that you can re-sell your used diapers for close to what you paid for them, I knew I just wouldn’t have time for all that. I was really confused about how to make this work, and was just about resigned to the fact that I wouldn’t be cloth diapering for the first 2 months.

How to Cloth Diaper a Newborn

how to cloth diaper a newborn

And then I read about Earthy Crunchy Mama and her AMAZING newborn cloth diaper rental program. I got myself signed up and am SO excited to share the details with you of how this works and why it is THE WAY TO GO if you want to use cloth from the start. 2017 Edit: Jen’s program is no longer operating but here’s a link to one that is currently available, though I haven’t personally tried it. Just didn’t want to leave you without an option! There are also some decent prices on 6 packs of newborn diapers on Amazon if you want to check that out. 


Jen is the brains behind this operation, and she is SO UNBELIEVABLY NICE! You can tell that she is absolutely passionate about helping parents easily transition to the world of cloth, and she wants to do everything possible to help you feel comfortable and relaxed about your decision to try it out. She has put together VERY comprehensive packages that you can rent so that you don’t need to buy anything else related to diapers in your first 1-2 months. You also get the opportunity to try out several different brands and types of diapers to figure out which types you like the most. This is such a great thing, because when you are ready to buy your next size diapers (be they one size or sized diapers…your choice), you will know if you are a pocket family, or an AIO family, or if you like hybrids or want to get a variety (you’ll also be down with all that cloth diaper lingo by that point!).

I want to show you what came in my rental package. It is SO awesome! First, just look at all the fluff! EEEEE!!!! (I promise, if you want to try cloth you will start to LOVE getting fluff in the mail. It’s addicting…you’ve been warned). Let me break down for you what’s in my package (which Jen specifically tailors to each client based on a phone conversation about your needs and wants). You will notice that some of the products are brand new, and some have been used. I can tell you that by looking at the diapers, themselves, you wouldn’t know which was which. Everything is in impeccable condition!

how to cloth diaper a newborn cloth diaper renta

 

cloth diaper rental

Cloth Diaper Rental

Here’s what was included (if it has a * beside it, that means that you get the keep the product!):

24 diapers, broken down as follows

(3) new bumGenius All-in-One diapers

(3) used GroVia Newborn All-in-One diapers

(9) used FuzziBunz Pocket diapers

(9) used MiniMaestro Pocket diapers

(3) new Punkin’ Butt inserts, size XS

(1) new Rumparooz wet bag

(1) used GroVia pail liner

*(12) new cloth wipes

*(24) new reusable micro-fleece liners

*(1) new Baby’s Butt balm

*(1) Eco Sprout Detergent

*(1) Water test strip

The package also comes with detailed information about each product, and great tips for launder and care of your diapers. Jen really dotted all her i’s and crossed all her t’s with this package. Even if you know NOTHING about cloth, what she has provided with give you a great deal of confidence to get started!

Stay tuned for part 2 of this series next month, where I break down the cost of the rental program (VERY affordable) and tell you about my experience using these products on a new baby! 

If you are eager to learn more now, you can find lots of information on Jen’s site about her cloth diaper rental program and how you can join. If you decide to sign up, I would love for you to list me as your referral (Tiffany or Stuff Parents Need). I receive a $5 credit to the shop for each referral I send her way! And she has so much great stuff that I’d love to buy! Told you cloth was addicting!

Edit: Here’s the follow-up post I wrote after I finished cloth diapering a newborn with the cloth diaper rental program!

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

SafeShepherd: Helping Prevent Online Fraud. GIVEAWAY (5 Winners!!!)

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Have you ever been the victim of identity theft? I have (twice!) and it is a TERRIBLE feeling. I am the type of person who feels very comfortable shopping online, and for the most part, it really is safe. But the convenience of getting to shop from my bed and in my pj’s at all hours of the day and night and with stores located all over the country (or even the world) has the occasional drawback. Sometimes, the sites are not as secure as they need to be, and someone is able to access my credit card information. When that happens, it REALLY stinks. It doesn’t keep me from shopping online, but it does cause me to monitor my credit report closely and watch my bank account!

Identify theft isn’t even the only problem you might incur by having an online presence, though. People can find all kinds of information about you online, including your date of birth, address, income, names of your family members, your criminal history if you have one and more. This information, believe it or not, is actually for sale about you online, and people ARE buying it! Doesn’t that just give you the creeps?!

Fortunately, there’s a company out there who wants to help you keep your private information to yourself, and get it offline so that nobody can buy or sell it, and worse, make use of the information to steal your identity. SafeShepherd removes your family’s personal information from the internet so you can rest easy that you can protect your family online. It works by scanning the internet for information about you that could be compromising (talking about identifying info, not your Facebook photos that you shouldn’t have uploaded!). If they find something, they get it removed for you!

Want to know what’s REALLY wonderful about SafeShepherd? They offer basic accounts for FREE! There’s absolutely no excuse not to prevent online fraud thanks to SafeShepherd. With a basic account, you can find your personal info online, receive privacy alerts, and have your basic records removed from online.

You can also get a premium subscription for $14/month or just $65/year (the best deal!). This paid membership also provides always-on privacy monitoring (so you know anytime something new is added about you online), removal of difficult records, scanning for records at any time and personal customer service should you have any questions or need extra help.

Win it!: FIVE lucky Stuff Parents Need readers are each going to win a one year premium membership to SafeShepherd! Woo hoo!

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A Hop, Skip and a Jump Children’s CD Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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Today I’m featuring a CD that has been out for a while now, and has been sweeping up awards left and right, so it’s definitely becoming an instant “classic” in the world of children’s music. It’s called A Hop, Skip and a Jump and it is by Pam Donkin. It is 48 minutes in length, and is loaded with activity songs especially designed for the 1-5 year old crowd. The songs are very easy to sing along to (and of course, to dance to!). 

The CD has won 3 prestigious awards: Parents’ Choice Approved Award, Creative Child Seal of Excellence, and a Children’s Web Award. This is proof that parents and children alike are really impressed with this CD, and they are right to be! I find the music to be just great for getting Darah dancing and moving around, and she loves being able to pick up on the songs so quickly.

This recording comes from the Grandma-owned record label, A Gentle Wind, which has been producing award winning music and stories for kids for over 30 years. They certainly know what they are doing, and they are doing it right!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of A Hop, Skip and a Jump!

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