Leanne, Author at Rave & Review

Maleficent comes to DVD and Blu-ray November 4th {with Halloween villain fun downloads}

Ever since my childhood, I have been obsessed with all things Sleeping Beauty. I have definitely passed this love down to my children and there is nothing they love more than exploring Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disney Land, dressing up like Princess Aurora, or admiring my miniature model of the Wood Cutter's Cottage I've had since my teens.

How could you possibly resist the magic of the fairies, the beautiful scenery, and the amazing Sleeping Beauty castle? More importantly, how can you not love to hate Maleficent? I think we can all agree that she’s one of the best Disney villains of all time. Even though she made her debut decades ago, her role has proven to be timeless. So, isn't it time we learned her side of the story?

Surely she wasn't that distraught over not being invited to a baby shower…. right? So, why bestow such an awful gift on a helpless baby? Where does her hatred for Aurora come from? And why on Earth would she trust a crow to be her eyes and ears in going about her evil plans?Clearly, there is a lot more to know about about this ruthless villain, which is why I love the new Disney movie Maleficent and cannot wait for the DVD and Blu-ray release next week.

Travel must-have for kids: The LeapPad3 learning tablet

My kids are pretty awesome travelers for the most part. They can handle short flights like pros and are the best road trip buddies on long car rides. But, as it turns out, they are pretty awful redeye international travelers. Go figure.

When I look back now, I can’t help but ask myself what I was thinking taking two small kids on packed overnight flights that included 4 airports, long layovers, no meals, and a trip through customs. Oh, and did I mention I am very pregnant and have a hard time getting comfortable in even the plushest digs?

Seriously. What on earth was I thinking?! Having taken dozens of flights with them before, some of them international and some of them redeye in which they handled themselves perfectly, I was clearly going into things far too cocky considering the itinerary and their ages.

Thank goodness our friends over at LeapFrog realized that even good travelers could use something to pass 14+ hours of travel and they sent us their newest tablets, the LeapPad3 to use on our way to #BeachesMoms Social Media on the Sand conference. I spent the night before our big trip loading up on learning software, TV shows, and music to put on the tablets in addition to our collection of software cartridges from our original LeapPad, and I’m so glad I did. This awesome show? This was my view during one of our shorter flights. Would you believe that she is rocking out to the old classic "Do you Know the Muffin Man"? Someone download this girl the Frozen sing-a-long, stat.

Our Beaches Turks & Caicos Babymoon

I can’t even count how many people asked if our recent trip to Beaches Turks & Caicos was a “Babymoon”. Although I had heard of the idea of a Babymoon before, I honestly had no idea that they were such a well-known thing. As it turns out, Babymoons are a very big thing for the travel industry and many parents are using the opportunity score special packages and discounts to take one last big trip before baby.

In our case, our Babymoon happened by accident as our Turks & Caicos trip was planned mere days before we saw the positive pregnancy test. But while the pregnancy didn’t play much into the planning of the trip other than getting the okay from the doctor that travel during the 3rd trimester was fine, I’m still calling this a Babymoon.

And, why not? Babymoons are a relaxing time to reconnect as a family before sleeping in and diaper-free travel are a thing of the past. Of course, there were a few things I couldn't do while pregnant, like indulge in their adult beverages or go scuba diving, but I honestly didn't miss them with all the other amenities I could enjoy. For us, Beaches Resorts was a great way to celebrate as well as holding numerous luxuries I couldn’t have even dreamt up on my own. Amenities at Beaches resorts that pregnant moms will love:

Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro car seat offers safety and comfort to grow with your child

As a parent, I want to keep my kids as safe as humanly possible. That has meant extended rear facing, five point harnesses as long as they fit the weight/height maximums of their seats, and never allowing my children to just simply use adult belts because their peers are allowed to.

For us, graduating to a booster seat is a very big deal, and we took our time coming to the decision of when we would do it, which vehicle we would switch first, and what brand would help us make the leap. When I met Kiddy USA at The Baby Ladies BlogHer Baby Shower, I knew that this was a company that valued safety as much as I do, and I couldn't wait to work with them to help make our "big kid" transition from five point to the Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro seat.
Just look at this happy "big girl" sitting in her new seat.

All the reasons I love the Ninja 3-in-1 Cooking System

Fall is by far my favorite season. It’s still hot enough here in the Pacific Northwest to wear skirts and sandals some days, but then it’s boots and sweaters the next, all under the gorgeous backdrop of changing leaves and fall colors. Just look at my happy harvester, collecting vegetables for the week. The one thing that isn’t awesome? Meal planning. With unpredictable weather and high temperatures nearly every afternoon, it makes it hard to plan what kind of meals to make that won’t leave the house sweltering at the end of the day.

When a friend suggested I try slow cooking instead of heating up the oven and making our house unbearably hot, I couldn’t believe how brilliant she was. It turns out I can still have the hearty meals I’ve been pinning, but without making us all miserable by simply using an appliance I typically reserve for winter meals.

Hello, Ninja 3-in-1 Cooking System!

10 tips to keep your kids safe this Halloween

Did you know that Halloween night is one of the most dangerous nights of the year? In fact, kids are twice as likely to be hit by a car on Halloween over any other day of the year. With little kids in costume sharing the road with vehicles of all types and lights turned down low, it's really a recipe for disaster. While those are certainly sobering statistics, that doesn't mean you can't keep your kids as safe as possible this Halloween by planning ahead and helping teach your child basic safety rules before they head out hunting candy.

Hello, phablet! Nokia Lumia 1520 16GB from AT&T

Remember my beloved Nokia Lumia 920 Windows phone? It met its untimely demise after the screen was crushed at Disneyland last April, which is after it was revived after it took a swim in the kids’ bath, and after it had been dropped a bazillion times while juggling kids. I was so distraught about ruining my phone that I simply couldn’t retire it and kept on using it even with the cracked screen and the odd thumping noise it made when it would get shaken. But, then the Nokia Lumia 1520 with Windows Phone 8.1 arrived and I happily ditched the 920 in a pile of paperwork until it could be recycled properly.

Friends, meet my upgrade, the Nokia Lumia 1520. Part phone, part tablet, the Nokia Lumia 1520 is best described as a phablet. With a huge 6” HD 1080p display, this is quite possibly the biggest phone I have ever seen, which I honestly wasn’t sure was for me before now.

Where we were: an Urgent Care rite of passage

Yesterday my daughter wakes up and comes into my room saying, "What should you do if you have a rock in your ear?" as if it was hypothetical. I was all "DO YOU HAVE A ROCK IN YOUR EAR?"

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.