Leanne, Author at Rave & Review

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.

Power your devices anywhere with the Rayovac Mobile Battery Power Pack

My electronics are constantly dying just when I need them the most. Whether it’s my phone while I’m at blogging events or traveling, my tablet as I’m finishing a post for a deadline, or my camera at a big life event, I find myself often wishing I had a way to charge things on the go. Take a look at any airport lounge or all day event and you will see people crowded around any outlet they can find – some going as far as camping out in bathrooms or hallways just to get a little more battery life.

That used to be me.

But, now I know I’m covered no matter what with the new Rayovac Mobile Battery Power Pack that I can keep right in my purse and don’t require any outlets of electricity.

Send them back to school on the right note with SOL REPUBLIC {DECK wireless speaker review}

Are you in the thick of back to school planning like I am? There are clothes to buy, glue sticks to stock up on, and there are goodbyes to plan for, because back to school is sneaking up on us quickly.

But, what if your baby isn’t quite a baby anymore and those days of construction paper and pencil cases are well behind you? For you, back to school shopping requires some creativity in order to send your child off to school on the right foot.

Sure, you need the latest sneakers and some updated clothing, but what I think is more important than that is what your child will be listening to. Sending them back to school with a good pair of headphones, earbuds, or even a portable speaker can make those early mornings, bus stop waits, and late nights studying a whole lot more enjoyable if you have your music with you.

Cheesy Broccoli Pasta recipe

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. #CollectiveBias and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.When I was little, I loved helping my grandma cook and I would help her measure, stir, and taste test whatever we were cooking for our family. Aside from actual cooking, I vividly remember one of my main jobs was to carefully remove all the Campbell's Labels for Education so I could add them to her stack she collected in her kitchen drawer.

At the end of every visit, she would place that thick bundle of labels in my hand so I could take them to my elementary school that was saving them to earn much needed playground equipment. When I returned to school next, I remember taking that huge bundle of labels secured tightly with a rubber band, setting it on my teacher's desk, and hearing an audible gasp from every table at the sheer number of labels I had collected.

From soup, cereal, and snacks to dairy products, beverages, and school supplies, there are over 2,500 items that can earn points for your school and I've been saving Campbell's labels ever since I was little. Before I had kids, I would give them to my nieces and nephews, but now that I have kids, I have my own helpers in the kitchen whose job it is to remove those labels, clip them, and then collect them in our little tin canister on our counter to take to their own schools.

Bumbershoot? {August 30 – September 1 2104 at Seattle Center}

Yes, Bumbershoot. Not the often mispronounced “Bumpershoot”, which I’m pretty sure doesn’t mean anything at all. We’re talking Bumbershoot, as in the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival that takes place at the end of every summer in Seattle. This weekend thousands of music and art lovers will descend upon the Seattle Center in the shadow of the Space Needle for concerts, comedy shows, and so much more. It’s this variety that truly sets Bumbershoot apart from other festivals, and that keeps us coming back year after year.

Thank Goodness It’s Back to School with Fruit of the Loom

You know what back to school means? It means fall colors, tall boots, chunky sweaters, steaming lattes, and a whole lot more “me” time – even if I do plan to spend it working.

This is the first year I will have both kids in school {even if it’s just a few hours a week}, and quite honestly I’m a bit teary eyed about it. But, I know it’s so good for both kids to be with kids their own age and learn with their peers that it’s hard to be too sad about it. For that reason, I’m saying TGIBTS {Thank Goodness It’s Back to School}. One of the things I’m most excited about is the fact that I get to go school shopping. I’m using back to school shopping as a great motivator for purging the old so I can make room for all their new must-haves, and I’m loving it. Anything with holes or worn spots is gone, anything that is outgrown or doesn’t fit quite right is donated, and anything that just isn’t getting the love that it should is passed down to someone who can truly appreciate it. In doing that, I have started from the top drawer and am working my way down. That means all those well worn, mismatched, and outgrown socks and undergarments are being purged first and I’m finding that we desperately need to restock before the new school year. Thank goodness Fruit of the Loom has us covered!

Corolle Dolls have our hearts

Corolle Dolls is a brand that I will never grow out of. My love of the brand started in my own childhood when I grew up playing with their baby dolls and then later collecting their older dolls as a young girl.

Even well after I was done playing with dolls and had purged all my old stuffed animals, my old toys, and my once-sentimental items, I just couldn't get rid of those Corolle dolls I had loved so much. Instead, I packed them away and hoped that one day I would share this love of Corolle with my own children. I was thrilled when not just one, but both of my children gravitated towards the brand at a young age, and even more excited that they loved their dolls as much as I used to. In fact, I think it would be fair to say that they love their Corolle dolls even more than I had as a child, which I never, ever thought was possible. Their babies are not treated merely as dolls, their babies are truly friends that go everywhere with them, sleep with them, and are part of nearly every game they play.