September 2014 - Rave & Review

Mustela products are now available at Walgreens {enter to win}

I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Influence Central for Mustela. I received a promotional item to facilitate my review.
When I was pregnant with my oldest, I found Mustela prenatal products at a specialty store in the Seattle area and fell in love. I ended up using the line through both pregnancies and still use many of the products to this day because I love the scent of their creams and lotions so much. It wasn’t until my daughter was a few months old that I heard about the Mustela Bébé line from her pediatrician. It was then that I embarked on a multi-store hunt to find Mustela products that ended with me ordering online out of frustration.

So, I was thrilled as I was shopping a few weeks ago and saw that my local Walgreens carried the line as well as some of the prenatal line. With baby’s arrival becoming more and more real, I’m starting to stock up on the essentials in preparation, and one of the essentials for me is Mustela – for me and for baby.

Mustela has been the skincare expert for babies and mothers-to-be for over 60 years and is the #1 Baby Care and Stretch Marks Brand in Europe. But, up until now it was somewhat difficult to find it in-store in the States. I’m very grateful that just in time for my shopping for baby, I can now pick up Mustela products when I pick up family prescriptions, our household items, and our health and beauty items.

5 simple ways to pretend it’s fall… wherever you live

Is it still shorts and flip flop season where you live? Trust me, I feel your pain! Even in the Pacific Northwest, which is known for its gorgeous and crisp falls, it is still feeling very summery despite a few sprinkles here and there. There’s no color in the trees, it’s definitely not sweater weather, and the last thing I want most days is a hot beverage.

But, you see, I adore fall. I long for autumn almost as soon as summer begins and visions of this kind of weather keep me happy even during the hottest days of the year.

Seattle getaway: La Conner, Washington in the fall

I was talking to a Seattle resident a few weeks ago and I mentioned that I was taking a roadtrip to La Conner, WA to sightsee. She admitted that she had never been further north than Lynnwood, and I don’t think I hid my shock very well. How could you possibly limit yourself to just … Read more

New I SPY Adventure for the VTech InnoTab

I grew up reading I SPY books and challenging myself and friends to find not only all the items listed on each brightly colored and vivid mini-scene, but also finding hidden gems in each picture. So, of course I was thrilled when my kiddos also fell for the books. We enjoy reading the I SPY books together numerous times a day and I love that I can stump them by choosing objects I’m not sure they will recognize by name or objects that can inspire a learning opportunity.

But sometimes? I wish they were old enough to read to themselves because I SPY books would be a great way to pass time while we’re traveling without having to pass the book back and forth from the front seat to the backseat with each new page.

That’s where our beloved VTech InnoTab 3S comes in. With the new I SPY Adventure game, now the kids can play I SPY wherever we go.

The Land of Nod Seattle celebrates their Grand Re-Opening Bash

Oh, how I love The Land of Nod. It's always the first store we turn to when we're shopping for kids of all ages because they have a great mix of eclectic, classic, and modern styles. We've shopped there for just about every birthday, major holiday, and room redo over the past 8 years, and we've become big fans of everything from their toys to their storage solutions and more.

But, a few weeks ago we were walking around U Village shopping center in Seattle on a mission to hit all our favorite stores and enjoy some sunshine and panic set in when the entire store looked dark and empty. We had hoped to do some shopping for my brand new baby nephew, with a few peeks over into the baby bedding for our baby on the way, so the idea of the store being closed was incredibly sad to us.

We were all relieved to find that the store wasn't closing, it was simply being remodeled, and would be back even better than ever. In fact, a few weeks later we got the word that the grand reopening was scheduled and it was going to be amazing.

Big things are happening at Rave & Review

A few days ago we made our big announcement on Facebook and wanted to announce it here as well. That's right, in just a few short months we will be welcoming baby #3. Hello, party of 5. Goodbye, compact sedan.

This has felt like the fastest pregnancy ever so far, but I will likely be singing a very different tune come December. I imagine the last month is going to drag by with all the Christmas craziness and I'm exhausted beyond belief, so I'm just going to enjoy the fact that I still have a good amount of energy to expend each day.

So, everyone wants to know: are the kiddos excited for their little sister to arrive? I could tell you how they lovingly kiss my belly a few thousand times a day, or all the sweet things they say to me about all the things they can't wait to do with their baby, but I think these pictures say it all. These kids were clearly made to be big siblings.

Back to school lunches made easy with goodnessknows

Do your mornings look a little like this these days? A whole lot of washing, chopping, preparing, and packaging for on-the-go has been happening around here lately.I feel like I’m constantly thinking lunch now that school is back in, and searching for clever ways to pack up all the food groups in a way that will actually be eaten. And, even though it’s only the third week in, I’m already running out of creativity.

Sure, some days I have all this energy and feel like making special bento boxes for everyone with cut up fruits, cheeses, and vegetables. But, some days I feel like a sandwich with a yogurt cup and carrots is good enough. For those days, I try and plan ahead and have something fun I can throw into the lunch boxes to add a little excitement without having to spend hours making it happen. Thank goodness for goodnessknows snack squares that are easy to pack, perfect for picky kids, and are a big crowd pleaser for kids and adults. Anyone who has tried these delicious snack squares know how amazing they are. But, if you haven’t tried them before, you are probably wondering what makes them this good.

Philips Avent for peace of mind – from baby to toddler

by Sarah, editor and reviewerIt's true that parenting changes your life in ways you never imagined. But, what I have found is that having the right tools for your child's specific needs can make the difference in whether or not you're a stress case or if you're a more laid back parent.

Take lack of sleep for example.

It's a well known peril of parenthood that one must learn to function with significantly less sleep than the pre-baby days. In the early stages, I was up every 1-3 hours with my hungry newborns. But when my youngest started sleeping through the night, we got rid of our faulty baby monitor {that would randomly lose connection and cause me immense stress} and started leaving our bedroom door open to hear her.

And that's when I became a night time worrier. What if I didn't hear her all the way down the hall? What if I slept through her crying when she awoke sick, scared, or in need of a diaper change? I found myself getting up in the wee hours of the morning to check on her.

As you can imagine, it had been a long time since I had experienced a full night's rest. But, this all changed when we started using the Philips AVENT DECT audio baby monitor

Corolle Dolls for your beach babies

Our vacations almost always include water, which isn't that surprising considering we're literally surrounded by water here in the northwest. We spend our summers with our toes in the sand, splashing in the sound, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The one problem with spending so much time at the beach is that there are certain things that just aren't beach-friendly, like electronics and toys with small parts. Thank goodness that Corolle dolls, which are one of my kids absolute favorite toys, are definitely water-ready, as long as you know which dolls to choose. Since the kids can't go on vacation without bringing a baby, I was really excited to learn that we already owned a few water-approved dolls in our Corolle nursery. Whether you go with the soft bodied Tidoo dolls or with Emma and Paul, there are multiple options for your beach babies to play down by the water, including some awesome water and sand accessories to really enhance the doll play.

Our love of GoldieBlox begins!

Anyone who knows my kids knows all about their deep desire to understand how things work. They are rarely content with a simple explanation of the facts and instead require an in-depth analysis of everything that perplexes them. It is likely this knowledge that led many close friends and family members to reach out via phone calls, my inbox, and various messaging systems with a suggestion of a brand they knew my kiddos would flip for: GoldieBlox One click to the GoldieBlox homepage and I was instantly smitten. This wasn’t just a toy my kids would love, this was a toy that I would have designed for them if only I knew how. It includes all of their absolute favorite things: building things, imaginative play, and figuring out how things work in a really fun way that the whole family can get involved in.

For those of you who have been emailing over the past year begging me to get the GoldieBlox toys for my kids, I say thank you. You will be very happy to know it was literally love upon first #unbloxing and even though they have only been playing with their own GoldieBlox toys for the past few weeks, they are just as enthralled with them as you probably guessed.

If you want to see how excited we are about GoldieBlox, you should go ahead and watch this video:

For those of you who haven’t heard about GoldieBlox or seen their adorable Super Bowl commercial, you are probably wondering what makes this building toy different, and the short answer is: a lot.