News & Reviews Archives - Page 17 of 31

Spring clean and organize your digital life with MiMedia

I know this isn’t a popular sentiment, but I actually really love spring cleaning. Call me crazy, but I love cleaning up and clearing things out until everything is neat and organized just the way I like it. During my spring cleaning sessions, just about nothing is safe and I recycle, donate, and gift with abandon. It’s a beautiful thing.

But, until now there is one area of disorganization that was too scary for me to even begin to delve into: my digital life. We’re talking decades of pictures, music files, scans, videos, and documents that have been over-categorized and misplaced until it’s impossible to find anything or enjoy it properly.

Like this gem. Hidden away in a file called "10-26-2015-BHJLHK". Because OF COURSE I would look there first when searching for an adorable picture of the kiddos with me during our trip to Georgia. If that doesn't scream "open me for adorable pictures" I don't know what does. That’s where MiMedia comes in. MiMedia is the personal cloud you’ve been waiting for that gives you an easy-to-access, safe and secure digital home for all of your precious memories. Imagine knowing that all your files you care most about are safe in one spot where you can keep them organized and accessible on all of your devices. With MiMedia, they can be.

Seattle date night: Sherlock Holmes and The American Problem now through May 22nd

Tonight we used one of our rare nights out to see a production at The Seattle Repertory Theatre that I’ve been looking forward to for months. Admittedly, we don’t make it to the theatre as often as we used to now that we have young kiddos, but I knew this one was one we couldn’t miss. I mean, c’mon, it is Victorian England meets the American Wild West in R. Hamilton Wright's highly anticipated Sherlock Holmes and The American Problem. How could you go wrong with that?

Find your keys, purse or phone with a Tile tracker from AT&T

Sometimes, things just happen for a reason. Earlier this month, when AT&T offered to send me a new Tile, I thought, “That’d probably be nice to have just in case”. I had no idea just how nice it would be to have.

I was literally waiting on shipment of the Tile when I truly lost my car keys for the first time in my adult life. It took over a half hour of all of us running around the house looking before I realized where they were – they were locked INSIDE my trunk sitting atop the stroller console where I had left them after shopping the previous day.

Thankfully, I have a husband who drives for work and he was able to swing by and unlock my trunk for me, because I would have had some super sad spring breakers missing a day at the Children’s Museum as a result of my forgetfulness. As it was, we had already wasted much of our day looking for keys and then waiting to be rescued.

But, what if we could have located the keys in an instant and immediately called my husband to help us out? That’s where the Tile Bluetooth Tracker comes in. The tiny Tile is the size of keychain, but it can do so much more. How much more, you ask?

Labyrinthitis: taking it easy, even if it kills me

It’s been this kind of week. Anyone who knows me knows how stir crazy I go staying home for long periods of time. Give me an order to stay in bed to recuperate, and I will fight you to regain my independence, even at the cost of my health. I just can’t do “take it … Read more

Where cute meets comfort – introducing the Rocky 4EurSole sandals

Disclosure: I am part of the PTPA Brand Ambassador Program with Rocky 4EurSole and I received compensation as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

A wise person once told me that life was too short to wear uncomfortable footwear. Never has that been more true than when you are caring for and chasing after kiddos. Ever try and take care of toddlers in stilettos? No thank you. I’ll take a pair of sneakers or sandals any day. But, that doesn’t mean you have to wear ugly orthopedic shoes. In fact, you can even wear cute, fashionable footwear in comfort with Rocky 4EurSole. With so many cute options to choose from, they make practical footwear actually lust-worthy.

When I was thinking about my needs over the next few months, I decided pretty quickly that I wanted to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Spring and summer in the Pacific Northwest is truly the best with waterparks, lakes, rivers, ocean, and pools in just about every town, so starting in spring break we spend most of our time in and around water. Clearly, I needed a good, comfortable sandal that would look and feel great for all of our adventures with kids, and I knew Rocky 4Eur Sole was the perfect place to turn.

Oribel introduces 2 new PortaPlay items {pre-order and save 15% off}

Do you remember my review of the awesome PortaPlay from Oribel that I posted last year? It’s still one of my most favorite “baby” items we’ve ever had, and I love it even more now than I did when it first arrived. See that tree NOT getting mauled by my 10 month old? Thank you, … Read more

Taking care of me with Nature Made

This post was sponsored by Nature Made® as a part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. I know most of you reading are parents, so you’re well versed in the art of caring for others. But, ask yourself one question: what ways do you care for yourself? I’m not talking about cruising through a … Read more

Take your kids to see Disney’s ZOOTOPIA today

It’s the day that every kid and kid-at-heart has been waiting for! ZOOTOPIA is now playing in theaters everywhere!

As soon as I saw the toys hit stores for the new ZOOTOPIA movie, I was sure I was going to love it. Not knowing anything about the characters or the movie plot specifically, I was already drawn in just by the diversity and flair of the main characters. One hilarious preview in, and I was counting down the days to March 4th for the theatrical release of ZOOTOPIA.

I'm not saying that I'm always good at predicting a blockbuster, but I did call that Frozen was going to be a sensation, so….

We got to see ZOOTOPIA at the Seattle pre-screening, and it was just as good, and in many ways better, than I had hoped. It had action, it had adventure, it had heart, and it had a really wonderful message. Even days later, we’re all still talking about takeaways from the movie and parts that we really enjoyed as a family, and the conversations are only getting better as we process the movie and discuss it further.

Bring The Good Dinosaur home today

We missed seeing Disney•Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur in theaters by mere hours, and my kids have been reminding me about it ever since. The kids are both dinosaur obsessed, and since it’s Disney•Pixar, it’s always a safe bet so I thought it would be a fun film to own once it came out. But, I will admit I knew absolutely nothing about the film, except for the fact that it was about prehistoric times and it had a boy in it.

The Good Dinosaur finally arrived on DVD and Blu-ray Combo Pack, Digital HD, and Disney Movies Anywhere {DMA} today, February 23rd, and we immediately sat down for a family movie night to check it out with the kiddos. It turns out I was right, it was about prehistoric times {thank you, obvious title}. And, I was definitely right that this is a film that we needed to own. But, I had thought that the movie was about a boy who finds a dinosaur. It turns out it’s about a dinosaur who finds a boy. I know that probably seems like a distinction without a difference, but if you have seen the film, you understand.

Guard Your Teeth: why you should always have dental insurance

You don’t fully appreciate dental insurance until you are ever left without it. In 2014, we made the mistake of letting our dental insurance lapse and to this day we are still dealing with the fallout… and the medical bills.

Who would have ever guessed that my daughter would get knocked into a desk face-first, smashing her gums and breaking the two front teeth in the last month of that year? Or that my husband would get his first cavity, ever? Or how about guessing that I would find out that your bite can get misaligned seemingly out of nowhere and that the result is super painful? Never again will I go without, folks.

Fair warning: the image below could bring a grown man or woman to tears. Now imagine seeing your child in this kind of pain with tooth and gum damage and knowing your options are extremely limited because you don’t have insurance.