This Mom’s Glow-in-the-Dark Pajama Hack to Get Some Peace and Quiet Is Pure Genius

by Shahrzad WarkentinOctober 3, 2019

At the end of a very long day you probably look forward to a little bit of quiet time. One mom couldn’t wait for the kids to go to bed to enjoy a restful moment so she came up with a clever pajama hack to help settle her kids down.

Mom of two Jessica D’Entremont recently shared her hilarious hack to get her kids to quiet down for bed time and parents are loving it. “Looking for a way to keep your kids still….” she wrote in her Facebook post. “Buy them glow in the dark pjs. Tell them they have to lie really still under the light to “charge” them…..”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Du9YGg0np/

The photo shows her pajama-clad kids laying on the floor as quiet as can be and you can almost hear a pin drop just looking at the picture.

Of course, the only way this clever hack will work is to ensure that the glow-in-the-dark pajamas are in need of recharging. Luckily, D’Entremont has the answer for that too. “To expand on the trickery I’ve started putting the pjs back into their drawer when they get dressed in the morning……unexposed to light all day they dim and do not glow in the dark when they tried to test me last night until they laid down again. Reinforcing the need to lie quietly under the light before bed,” she explains in an update to her original post. Genius.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

Featured photo: Courtesy of Jessica D’Entremont

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You Can Now Design a Custom IKEA Couch & Twitter Had Too Much Fun with It

by Shahrzad WarkentinJune 28, 2019

IKEA offers a lot of unique products to make your home cozier and your life easier, but nothing in the Swedish home furnishing store provides as much laughter as the company’s new feature that allows you to create a custom IKEA couch.

Twitter users picked up on the creative possibilities of building your own IKEA couch when user @rudermensh posted a self-designed mega sofa, which the IKEA platform priced at over $15,000. The post garnered thousands of likes and comments prompting followers to have a little fun with the IKEA couch designer.

https://twitter.com/rudermensch/status/1142181758026182656

Twitter users quickly responded to the original post with some very unique configurations of their own, like this one that spells out the word “couch.”

C O U C H pic.twitter.com/dKTyA4ivxi

— Patrick Laverick (@PatrickLaverick) June 23, 2019

And this one that ensures your significant other doesn’t hog your space.

I call this the "married but don't like each other." pic.twitter.com/uVo9auGKy0

— The Jenneral (@thejenneral) June 24, 2019

This person-shaped couch that looks like it wants to give you a hug.

https://twitter.com/bamboolean/status/1142941287185833985

And this clever creation that is aptly described as making blanket forts easier.

Well, at least blanket forts will be pretty easy pic.twitter.com/xt8k5cihuU

— Peganox 🇵🇸 (@PeganoxTV) June 24, 2019

In case you feel like designing a couch of your own, you can have some fun with IKEA’s sofa planner here.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

Featured photo: IKEA

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Your Parenting Journey: March & April 2019 Spoke Writing Contest

by Keiko ZollApril 8, 2019

photo: Courtesy of Intrepid Travel

Spring is finally on its way—and it’s time for another Spoke Writing Contest! Don’t forget: our Writing Contests now run for six weeks at a time instead of monthly, so make a note of dates.

Let’s Talk Theme: Your Parenting Journey

They say life is a journey, and none more so than the experience of parenting. We want to hear about your family journeys, whether it’s a special story about the first time you took your kid to Disneyland or the journey of welcoming a new member to your family. We want your stories of where you’ve been—and where you’re headed—together as a family this year.

Contest Writing Prompts

Need some inspo? Here are a few ideas to get your started:

I Never Thought I’d Become a Parent: My Journey from Infertility to Parenthood
The Hilarious/Epic/Disastrous/Surprising Story of My Kid’s First Flight
A Parenting Road Map of Realistic Expectations During Your Baby’s First Year
Our Family’s Journey of Adoption
The Surprising Story I Found When I Made My Family Tree
Our Family Tree Looks a Little Different from Most & That’s Okay
Recapping Our Family’s Cross-Country Road Trip (& What We Learned Along the Way)
How I Overcame My Fear of Flying—with Kids
Our Family’s Trip of a Lifetime
The Weirdest Trip We’ve Ever Taken as a Family

Feel free to write about whatever you’d like as it relates to this theme, and make sure your post fits into one of our three Spoke post categories: Real Talk, Rockstar Parenting or Parenting Humor.

The Fine Print

Three winning posts will be selected by our editors and based on quality, originality and page views.

Each winner will receive $100 each for their original post. (Remember, only original posts are eligible for Writing Contest prizes.)
Entries must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. Pacific by Apr. 30, 2019. Winners will be notified and announced the next month.
To enter, please use of the following Red Tricycle Article Code with your post: #parentingjourney2019. (No caps and please include the hashtag.)

We can’t wait to read your awesome entries!

—Keiko Zoll, Spoke Contributor Network Editor

This Organized Life: January & February 2019 Spoke Writing Contest

by Keiko ZollJanuary 14, 2019

Photo: Eleni Koureas via Unsplash

New Year. New you—maybe? Maybe not. But there’s no denying there’s a certain kind of re-energy this time of year, inspiring us to do and be our best—if not for ourselves, then definitely for our kids.

New for Spoke this year? Our Writing Contests now run for six weeks at a time instead of monthly. We know it’s not easy trying to whip up brilliance in just four short weeks, so we gave you two extra.

Let’s Talk: Theme

For our first Spoke Writing Contest of the year, the theme is “This Organized Life.”

Everyone loves a fresh start and there’s something about this time of year that inspires us to do and be better. Whether it’s your parenting resolutions in the New Year, your rockstar organizational hacks or just how you stay motivated as a parent (or even motivate your kids), we’re here for all the ways you plan to make 2019 your best year yet.

This Organized Life: Writing Prompts

Need some inspo? Here are a few ideas to get your started:

The One Parenting Resolution I Promise to Keep This Year
The Parenting Resolution I’m Ditching This Year
How I Get My Kids Motivated & Out the Door on Time
Clever Organizational Hacks for…Kids’ Rooms, Pantries, Nurseries, Closets, etc.
How I Use __________ to Organize My Life
Ease Ways to Squeeze in a Workout/Meditation/Self-Care During a Busy Day
Why I Get Up Before Everyone Else (or, conversely: Why I Go to Bed After Everyone Else)
Time Management Tips for New Parents
Things Better/Easier/Cooler than a Family Calendar
Apps that Save Me Time (& My Sanity) as a Parent

Feel free to write about whatever you’d like as it relates to this theme, and make sure your post fits into one of our three Spoke post categories: Real Talk, Rockstar Parenting or Parenting Humor.

The Fine Print

Three winning posts will be selected by our editors and based on quality, originality and page views.

Each winner will receive $100 each for their original post. (Remember, only original posts are eligible for Writing Contest prizes.)
Entries must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. Pacific by Feb. 28, 2019. Winners will be notified and announced the next month.
To enter, please use of the following Red Tricycle Article Code with your post: #organizedlife2019. (No caps and please include the hashtag.)

We can’t wait to read your awesome entries!

—Keiko Zoll, Spoke Contributor Network Editor

Moms, Beware This Viral Lululemon Scam on Your Instagram Feed Right Now

by Erica LoopDecember 17, 2018

Beware! If you’re looking to get your hands on free athleisure wear in 2019, don’t fall for this Lululemon recruitment scam. A recent scam surfaced on Instagram, and if you’re all about this super-popular yoga/athleisure brand, you need to know about it.

Sometimes those way too good to be true ads on IG are just that. An IG account called lulurecruitment.us recently shared a post claiming that the Lululemon brand was looking for 150 ambassadors for 2019.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Brbf7JsBs8r/

According to the ad, the ambassadors would receive free Lululemon clothing, first access to new lines, gift cards and discounts. Sounds pretty perfect right? Hmm…maybe a bit too perfect. The ad also stated that the only requirements for consideration were having 150 IG followers, following the account (lulurecruitment.us) and reposting the original post on Instagram Stories.

When asked on Twitter if this ad was for real, a rep for the real Lululemon account responded, “We’re not associated with this account and have already looped in our brand protection team—they are on it! You’ll know an account is ours if it has a blue verified check mark.”

We're not associated with this account and have already looped in our brand protection team—they are on it! You'll know an account is ours if it has a blue verified check mark.

— lululemon (@lululemon) December 14, 2018

While the fake IG page did manage to get more than 350,000 followers over the course of their not-so-real promotion, the account is now no more. But it seems like others are still trying to scam social media followers. There are now several new accounts that have popped up on IG, all with the fake brand ambassador ad.

To repeat: these ads are NOT the real deal. As Lululemon pointed out on Twitter, its social media accounts are verified and thus have the check mark.

—Erica Loop

Featured Photo: Lululemon via Instagram

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How to Play Farmers Market BINGO

by Erin FeherJune 7, 2015

Next time you hit up the farmers market, bring your little eagle-eyed fruit and veggie hunters along for the ride. This super cute game of Farmers Market BINGO from Live Simply will whet their appetites and work their brains at the same time. Make sampling new items part of the game for a fun activity that comes with its own snack!

Photo: Live Simply

Print out Live Simply’s super cute bingo cards here. For a reusable game, we recommend laminating the cards and buying a few dry-erase markers.
Start shopping! The farmers market is the perfect locale for this game, because all the food isn’t stocked together in the same section like at the grocery store. Hunting, and even asking questions to your local vendors, is required.
Each time your kiddo spots a item on their card, have them shout out the items name and mark their BINGO card.
The first one with a full row filled out yells BINGO!
Free spaces can be filled by trying a sample or snack of a something new at the market.

For an alternative version that can be played at home, check out Live Simply’s original post here.

Do you have any other cute ideas for making shopping trips extra fun? Let us know in the comments below!

Gotcha! Just Kidding!

by Erin LemMarch 9, 2014

Happy April Fools Day!

We really could use a device that muffles our baby’s cries but really, a cry collar??

If we fooled you, share the April Fools love by sharing this story with your friends and family. Click here to get back to the original post.

April Fool’s! Just Kidding!

by Erin LemApril 1, 2012

April Fool’s!

Admittedly, we love our technology (in fact, our kids would be happy carrying around the iPad 24/7), but c’mon folks, did you really think we would ever endorse such an app?! So for the record — this app is fake.

Feel free to share the fun and tweet, email or post this silly April Fool’s Day gag on Facebook or any other social media tool. Go ahead, you know you want to. Click here to get back to the original post, then click the share button at the bottom of the post.

PS – No children were involved in the photoshopping of this image.

Just Kidding!

by Jacqui BolandApril 1, 2011

April Fool!

Seriously folks, please don’t pee on your iPhone.

But feel free to share the fun and tweet, email or post this silly April Fool’s Day gag on Facebook or any other social media tool. Go ahead, you know you want to. Click here to get back to the original post, then click the share button at the bottom of the post.

PS – The image we used was from Babycenter’s PhonyPhone, which is a real iphone app for parents/ kids that is actually pretty cool. Check it out.

Ride on!

Your friends at RT

Just Kidding! April Fools’!

by Erin LemMarch 31, 2010

Gotcha! April Fools’!

We’re all for an individual’s right to privacy, but did you really think a law would pass that would prohibit hospitals from revealing the gender of a baby?

ML Interest Tag: original-post

Your Parenting Journey: March & April 2019 Spoke Writing Contest

Let’s Talk Theme: Your Parenting Journey

Contest Writing Prompts

The Fine Print

Related reads

This Organized Life: January & February 2019 Spoke Writing Contest

Let’s Talk: Theme

This Organized Life: Writing Prompts

The Fine Print

Related reads

How to Play Farmers Market BINGO

Related reads

Gotcha! Just Kidding!

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