Reviews Archives - Page 19 of 24

Celebrate the power of play with the Gymboree Hop ‘N’ Roll collection

I know play time for children is vital as it helps them learn about the world around them in ways I can’t teach them in a book, so I always make play time a priority. From unstructured playtime to working together to create a talent show, a fairy garden, or a circus, we fill our days with as much play as we possibly can. So, I was a little taken aback the other day when I told my kids I wanted them to wear play clothes if they were going to be out digging in our backyard and they both looked at me like I was crazy. “Do you mean dress up clothes?” my daughter asked. Clearly, they aren’t of my generation where we had two categories of clothing: play clothes and fancy. To my kids, everything is play clothes, even if they really shouldn’t be. We’re talking fancy holiday dresses year-round at the beach and white button-up shirts and dresses while gardening. After looking through their closets it became really clear that they could both use some new “play clothes” for summer that would allow them to swing on monkey bars, skip rope, and do all the other things kids should be doing all day without worrying about restrictive clothing getting in the way.

Meet the beautiful Samsung Galaxy Alpha from AT&T

Love the iPhone styling but just don’t love the iPhone? Join the club.

Introducing the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, the sleek and smart Android phone that has the best of both worlds. I will admit I’ve had a mixed history with Android in the past as I love my Android tablet but I can’t quite give up the functionality of my Windows phone and how well it pairs with my PC, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the Galaxy Alpha design and all the premium features built in.

Non-candy Easter treats from Corolle dolls

My kids really aren't big on candy, which makes me really happy. Sure, they get the occasional treat at school or during holidays, but I never load up on holiday candy because it just takes up space in my pantry after the kids forget all about it. Since I already know what happens when they get bags and baskets of treats, I'm always thinking of creative things I can give them in their Easter baskets, and I always think Corolle first.

If anyone thought that having a real live baby of our own would diminish the kids' love of all things Corolle, they were wrong. Baby dolls are a very big deal around here and show no signs of going anywhere anytime soon, so I love the idea of getting them each a little surprise in their Easter baskets that can add to all the doll play and make it even more fun.

Start a love of biking early with the smarTrike 4-in-1 trike

Our family is huge into biking and the kids spend all spring, summer, and fall pedaling all over the neighborhood and beyond. But, with a new reviewer that is going to be too young to join in all the biking fun, I wasn't sure what her and I were going to do while the big kids played. Sure, I could push her in the stroller alongside them, but that's a pretty sad consolation to biking with the big kids.

Introducing the smarTrike® Boutique Touch Steering® 4-in-1 trike that can get her out biking even before she can reach the pedals. Besides starting a love of biking earlier than ever, it also has all sorts of little details that make toddlers and parents happy. It might be so cool that even the big kids love it. Being 4-in-1 allows us to start baby girl on the smarTrike at 10 months and then as she grows we can configure it to fit our needs. Just check out all the ways you can use the smarTrike to grow with your child, or make it useful for families with multiple young kids. Smartrike 4-in-1

Be your own WiFi hotspot with an AT&T Unite for GoPhone mobile hotspot by NETGEAR

Before, when I would travel, the most important thing to me was a comfortable bed and a shower, with a breakfast being a really nice bonus. Now, I would never book a room without WiFi because I've seen what happens when we try to vacation without it. Let me tell you, there's an awful lot of time spent searching for cafes with WiFi and parking ourselves at a back table while the rest of the family waits for whomever was unlucky enough to get the S.O.S. call from back home.

Yes, I know… we shouldn't be on the internet while we're supposed to be on vacation and surfing the internets doesn't count as real surfing, blah blah blah. But, the reality of owning a business, especially one that is web-based, is that having internet access during trips is often non-negotiable.

Thank goodness the internet can now fit in my purse or coat pocket thanks to the AT&T Unite for GoPhone mobile hotspot by NETGEAR. Never again will I pay crazy hotel internet rates or deal with {gasp} broken internets now that I can literally access AT&T's 4G LTE/4G service where available and get secure WiFi on the go.

Expand your play with The Queen’s Treasures accessories and furniture for your 18″ dolls

Around here we take our doll play very seriously. My kids learn with their dolls, we host special doll play dates, and we look for any opportunity to include them in our mother/daughter bonding time. This also means I’m picky about what doll treasures end up in our collection and would gladly pay more for high-quality, detailed accessories and miniatures that will really expand our doll play. All of this and more is why I adore The Queen's Treasures. Sick of all the pink plastic junk I was finding in retail stores, I ended up doing an exhaustive search online to see if I could find 18" doll items that would last through all the kids and make playtime even more fun. I found The Queen’s Treasures in one of those searches and ever since we received our first piece of their doll furniture, I’ve been a huge fan. If you haven’t already fell in love with The Queen's Treasurers, I would highly recommend taking some time to check out their site to see their amazing collection of furniture, clothing, gear, and accessories all miniaturized for 18in dolls. While I love their doll clothing and miniature accessories, it’s their high quality doll furniture that I first fell for. With tiny cupboards, table and chair sets, kitchen, tea sets, bedroom furniture and a huge selection of 18in doll storage trunks, wardrobes and armoires and more that can take doll play to the next level.

VOLOOM your hair for lasting volume

I have what my sisters refer to as "baby hair". I believe the official word for my type of hair is “fine”, but on top of that it’s also really thin – like baby hair. As for actual styling, it's just about as frustrating as trying to style a baby's hair and requires a ton of product in order to somewhat hold even the easiest hairstyle. Even backcombing my hair doesn’t work very well because my soft baby hair just won’t hold and soon after it’s styled it ends up limp and lifeless.

But, while there are hundreds of products on the market for thinning or receding hair, my baby hair has always left me wishing I had any other type of hair. The best advice I've gotten from hair professionals so far in terms of managing my fine, thin hair has been to damage it as best I could.

Sounds crazy, right? Really, it's not as nuts as it sounds, but it makes my hair very high maintenance because unless it's basically fried through chemicals, dyes, heat and product, it just lays there limp. Or, at least it used to.While at BlogHer this year I met a company called VOLOOM and it sounded just like what I needed to try to help give my baby hair some real volume – without having to spend hundreds of dollars in a salon damaging my hair. However, it was so popular that every time I passed the VOLOOM booth there was a line of girls waiting to try it and I never got a chance to see it work in person.

When I heard that VOLOOM was working with iFabbo to get the word out about a whole new way to add volume to your hair, I gladly volunteered my locks. You see, I’ve tried volumizing powders, mousse, hair spray, creams, and just about every other gimmick on the market without success, so I’m willing to try anything at this point.

So, what is the VOLOOM? It's not a curling iron or a flat iron; it’s the first hair volumizing iron that was created specifically to add huge volume to hair. Basically, VOLOOM creates hidden layers of texture underneath your style that adds volume to any hairstyle.

First Ascent Girls’ Downlight Hoodie from Eddie Bauer

Every parent knows the dilemma of the cheap kid’s coat. At first it seems like a great idea as it costs very little and you reason with yourself that they will only wear it for a short time, so why not? Then you find yourself needing to replace it halfway through the season due to normal wear and tear or you end up going somewhere truly frigid and you realize quickly that the cheapy coat isn’t really cut out for freezing temperatures.

Parents, put your money away at the discount store and instead go for a good quality coat. You won’t regret buying a coat that truly lasts, never goes out of style, and keeps your kiddo comfortable in mild to extreme temperatures. Trust me, your kid will thank you for it. It may not have the newest Disney character on it or have glitter and hearts, but once your kid gets used to the comfort of a good coat, none of that will matter.

Continue the tradition with the new BeForever line from American Girl

Have you checked out American Girl recently? They just debuted their BeForever line this fall in stores nationwide as well as online and it has girls everywhere excited. We were at the Seattle store the day BeForever was announced to check the line out in person and do one of their many in-store crafts thanks to a recommendation from our personal shopper. I honestly had no idea what to expect and was just going for the craft and event aspect, but I was thrilled when I realized what exactly the new line included.

It’s no secret that we love American Girl and I always talk about how we end up at the Seattle store whenever my daughter gets to choose what we do for the day. But what you don’t know is that we spend most of our time checking out the historical collection and looking at anything and everything that’s new for each of their historical girls.

This time we were met at the store by one of our favorite American Girl employees and told that the line was replaced, and I’m sure I didn’t hide my disappointment very well. She quickly went on to explain that the BeForever line still had many of the dolls we adore as well as a new addition she knew we would be thrilled about.

Friends, welcome back Samantha Parkington.

Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition with FreeTime offers entertainment at home or on the road

As someone who is on the go a lot with kiddos, one of the main things I get asked about from friends, family, and readers is about essential gear for family travel. And while my “essentials” list has changed based on the ages of my children, there are a few things that never change. One of those things is the prevalence of tech gadgets. It’s true that tech gadgets can change your life dramatically and make life easier, especially when traveling, but there are also some huge downfalls.

One major concern is being weighed down with technology instead of making life easier. When we’re talking DSLRs, laptops, smartphones, tablets, action cams, and more as well as all the accessories and gear that go along with all those tech accessories, you can easily fill up a suitcase – and that’s before you pack any toiletries, clothing, or footwear.

So, I always say that when traveling, less truly is more. If you can go without a full laptop simply by packing a small add-on keyboard to your tablet, you are going to be a whole lot happier when packing, lugging your tech bag through airports and onto airplanes, and going through airport security – especially when you’re also corralling kids. By pairing your tablet with lightweight accessories and gadgets as well as apps to make your tablet function like a laptop, you can truly ditch the extra weight and end up with a versatile go-to device for everything from reading by the pool to editing work documents.

For this reason I love the Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition that is an ideal tablet for kids but also packed with features to make it perfect for adults, too. A few weeks ago my son got to play with one of these awesome tablets at the TravelingMom-Techlicious Holiday Tech and Travel Show in Seattle #TNTSeattle and he was so sad to say goodbye to it when the time came. Amazon saved the day {and month, and year} by sending us home with one of our own to play with and both kids were quickly smitten.