Reviews Archives - Page 15 of 24

You can make a difference if you Lift Your Voice

When I think of my biggest wishes for my daughters, at the top of that list is that they always understand that their voices are powerful. Their voices unfortunately have the power to hurt others, but they can have the power to make someone feel loved and special. It’s up to them to use their voices for good. And, just like they can choose whether to use their voices to hurt or to help, their voices also have the ability to make a real difference in the world. Melody Ellison™, the newest BeForever™ doll from American Girl, is learning the power of her voice and has arrived just in time for my daughters to really learn from her unique story. Her story is full of life lessons that give us a glimpse back into our past as well as ways to empower our girls to make a difference in the future.

Britax Frontier ClickTight Harness to Booster Seat review

It’s a big time in our house! Baby girl has finally reached a really big milestone: she outgrew her infant seat and it’s now time to switch her to a rear facing convertible seat.

But, the problem is that we have three young children in car seats and we own a compact sedan. Knowing what a tight fit the infant car seat had been, I was dreading moving her to an even bigger seat because it was clear it just wasn’t going to work. We looked into numerous convertible seats to transition her to, but they were all just too big.

It began to look like we had two options: 1) buy a new car, or 2) switch my almost 6 year old to a booster seat. Obviously, neither option appealed to me. So, I began to research anything and everything to fit three across in our compact sedan.

When I found the Britax Frontier ClickTight, I realized that it just might be the best of all worlds – a 5 point harness that converts to a booster seat and is slim enough to fit in a compact car easily. With the dimensions of 19" W x 36" H x 21" D at its maximum and only 28” H at minimum, it’s one of the slimmer car seats we found anywhere, and by far the slimmest with the features we were looking for. Add in the fact that it converts and can be used by my son until he no longer needs a seat and it’s the clear choice.

As soon it arrived, the kids went crazy celebrating their “big switch”.Sorry, baby girl. This is your brother’s seat. Your new-to-you Britax convertible seat will hopefully be just as exciting.

Embrace the magic with Pete’s Dragon – in theaters this week

When I think of my own childhood, I definitely wouldn’t describe it as magical. Sure, it was a good childhood, and I have some really awesome memories, but it was always rooted in reality. Since I was the fourth of five children, it meant that if the older siblings figured out something, I did to. I honestly never remember believing in Santa, in fairies {tooth or otherwise}, or anything else that would be described as magical, and I knew that there were some serious limitations to our finances that meant sometimes we went without.

In parenting my own children now, I’m experiencing the magic of childhood through them. And, I’m always surprised by how that magic really makes everything more fun. It’s not that I now believe in Santa or fairies or that I don’t worry about finances anymore, but there is something really amazing about watching the magic of childhood right in front of you, and it makes me long for that type of magic in my everyday life. So, when choosing films, TV shows, and books to read with my kids, I always struggle with the balance between reality and fantasy. I figure they have their whole lives to explore reality, so while they are young I am very much enjoying exploring fantasy with them in ways I never did as a child. But, because I’m an adult, over-the-top fantasy and make believe is hard to get into, so this means walking a fine line between the two worlds and finding things we can all enjoy together. Since my son is obsessed with dragons and both kids love magic and adventure, I knew they would be thrilled to see “Pete’s Dragon” at the Seattle media preview. But, even though I knew the kids would love it, I honestly wasn’t expecting that much from the film. Maybe this is because I was picturing a very cartoonish dragon based on the quick previews I had seen, and I was thinking it was going to be one of the movies that leaned too far toward fantasy for my liking.

Introducing the WellieWishers line at American Girl

As you know, we're huge American Girl fans around here. So, whenever the brand debuts something big, we get lots of messages and questions asking about the new products. Such was the case this past month when American Girl introduced the new WellieWishers line to their already full product offerings. If you've been wondering about the line and excited to learn about the new dolls, this is the post for you.

About the WellieWishers

American Girl describes the WellieWishers as a sweet and silly group girls that are helping kindness and friendship bloom. The line has 5 main characters: Willa, Kendall, Ashlyn, Emerson, and Camille. Each friend brings something unique to their group, but they all have the same common goal: to be a good friend. To better understand each others' perspectives, they are encouraged to take a step in each others' wellies {aka boots}, a spin on the idea of "taking a walk in each others' shoes".

Their signature wellies and their flair for fashion make them really popular with both kids and adults. Every time we've visited the Seattle store since their release, the WellieWishers area has been swarming with parents and girls picking out their favorite doll while fawning over the cute accessories and fun details. And, I can't really blame them, the line is adorably enticing.

Gearing up for a safe and fun summer with SafeSplash Swim School

I’m sure you’ve seen all the articles circulating about drowning, and how it doesn’t look like what you think it does. I saw an article about the dangers of drowning a few years ago and promptly purchased some life jackets for all the kiddos because there is no way I can keep them out of the water when we spend our summers at lakes, rivers, pools, and beaches.

So, for the past few years they have been safe, yes, but unfortunately they haven’t gained any actual swimming skills. I knew I needed to get them out of their jackets and was thrilled when I heard about SafeSplash, a company that believes swimming is a life skill. I love this concept and I couldn’t agree more about the importance of learning swim skills.

Find the perfect gift for Dad from Cloud 9 Living – from helicopters and fighter pilots to wine tastings and golf {$20 off code}

At this point in my life, I’m pretty hard to shop for. While I love getting new things just like everyone else, I just don’t actually need much anymore. I’m not hard on my clothes, I’m not growing out of anything, and I haven’t picked up any new hobbies so I don’t have many gear … Read more

10+ reasons why you should own ZOOTOPIA on DVD and Blu-ray

It’s the day we've been waiting for! ZOOTOPIA is now out on DVD and Blu-ray!

As soon as I saw Disney's ZOOTOPIA movie, I was smitten. In so many ways, ZOOTOPIA 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 months later, we’re all still talking about takeaways from the movie and parts that we really enjoyed as a family. The conversations are only getting better as we process the movie and discuss it further. Clearly this was a movie we needed to own.

Why should you own ZOOTOPIA? I'm so glad you asked. Here are just some of many reasons:

Make your Oribel PortaPlay even more amazing with two awesome new accessories

I’ve said before how much I love our PortaPlay Convertible Activity Center from Oribel. We’ve had it for a year now and it’s still one of my favorite items we got for our little one. This is because the PortaPlay bouncer/activity table isn’t just for babies. The PortaPlay converts as baby’s needs change, so what started out as a bouncer/exersaucer for baby becomes a toy-covered or flat-topped activity table that can be used for years. After almost a year of use as a bouncer, we recently converted the PortaPlay to an activity table and my new little walker was super excited to walk around the table and play with the toys from a new angle. And then when the newest Oribel accessories arrived and we converted the PortaPlay to a flat-top art table, she was super excited to use the PortaPlay with her favorite dolls and toys.

Take in the wild and beautiful ride of Alice Through the Looking Glass

As you may know, I have a really big soft spot for Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. Maybe it’s that I watched the animated version hundreds of times growing up or maybe it was that Lewis Carroll’s books were some of my absolute favorites, but I loved the curious {and couriouser} world of Alice. So, as soon as I heard that a sequel to Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland {2010} was planned, I knew it would be one that we had to see.

But, then at Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, Suzanne Todd gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the making of James Bobin’s movie, Alice Through the Looking Glass. Hearing some of the backstory and all that went into bringing it to life made me even more excited to see the film. Knowing how much work went into each and every scene and how deliberate all the little details are made me so excited to see how it all came together on the big screen.

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.