Remember my post about Lea Clark, the 2016 Girl of the Year from American Girl? If so, then you understand how excited we are for her release. She is an American Girl Doll who loves photography, starts a blog, and loves nature. Lea is basically everything we were hoping for in the new Girl of the Year, and then more. 
As excited as I was to see that Lea has an accessory pack with a camera, I was almost as excited when I saw Lea's Rainforest Hike Accessory Set that comes complete with an adorable walking stick. I’m a huge fan of hiking with a walking stick as it makes it so much easier to navigate rough or slippery terrain, and this is especially true for kids. 
Toys & Games
Give back with Lea Clark, the 2016 Girl of the Year from American Girl
It’s hard saying goodbye to beloved friends. In the past few weeks I have heard plenty from my kids about how sad they are that American Girl ever retires dolls and how much they miss McKenna, Caroline, Molly, Ruthie, Ivy, and Grace. But, I always remind them that American Girl plans these retirements so that … Read more
Relax, there’s still time to score the perfect gift thanks to the Kmart Fab 15 Toys
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of the Role Mommy Writers Network and Kmart. All opinions are 100% my own.
Are you still shopping for the holidays? Yeah, me too. This year has been really hard for me to cross off my list while still working and doing all the school and family obligations, and I'm way behind with just days to go.
The fact that I'm running behind isn't really the surprise, it’s who is still left on my list that is the crazy part. It's not the usual hard to buy for group of teenagers and those that have everything, it's the kids. You know, the normally easy to buy for kids that I usually have gifts for back in June. Those kids are still on my list. Every time I’ve gone to shop for them, I’ve started doubting my choices worrying that it’s not the perfect gift and I've left with nothing. 
And, it’s not just nieces and nephews that I’m second guessing myself on. Would you be surprised that I still don't even have Santa presents for my own children? Yep, it's true. Santa might be a big 'ole letdown this year because of my lack of planning and the fact that I've been struggling to find where to start looking for the vague gift ideas they gave the big guy. Are you scared for me?
Don't worry, because Kmart is coming to my rescue, again. Kmart boasts ridiculously awesome toys and games for kids of all ages and stages, and that means that I can find everything I need in one place. But, what if I get overwhelmed when I walk in the toy section and see all those awesome choices? That’s where the Kmart Fab 15 Holiday Toy List comes in.
Get her before she’s gone: American Girl Grace collection is 30% off in-store!
Do you have an American Girl fan on your list? Chances are they would love to open up Grace Thomas Girl of the Year doll and accessories this Christmas. 
Remember how we were super excited to announce her arrival last January as the 2015 Girl of the Year? This is just a gentle reminder that you only have until 12/31/2015 to get any Grace items before she’s gone for good! Many of her really popular items are already gone, so don’t wait too long if you’re planning on purchasing.
And, want to know something really, really cool? If you live near an American Girl store, you can get 30% off the Grace collection now, including the doll! How awesome is that? 
10 reasons why you should get a Lundby dollhouse
I’ll admit that I never really outgrew my childhood dollhouse. Even when I finally moved it out of my bedroom in my early teens and let my sister play with all of my miniatures, I was more than just a little sad. In fact, I think I spent more time that summer helping her paint and decorate her new dollhouse than she did, which at the time I chalked up to being an awesome big sister. Clearly, it was just an awesome excuse to redecorate a dollhouse one last time.
As soon as I found out I was having a daughter, I knew I would one day share with her the joys of miniature building, decorating, and playing. And, I couldn’t wait. When the day came that our Lundby dollhouse arrived and was ready to be decorated, I realized just how much I missed playing with miniatures. Yes, it was still about my daughter and what she wanted from a dollhouse, but it was also about what we could build and do together that got me the most excited. 
I look back now to that day two years ago and I realize now why people thought it was crazy to bring such a fragile dollhouse into our living space with a 2 ½ year old and a 5 year old, but at the time I was too excited to care. In the years that have passed, I have not only grown to trust them with the house and all its little pieces while supervised, but about a year ago I started allowing them to play with it all by themselves. And, as soon as baby learns "gentle", she's going to be allowed to play with it, too.
We love the 2015 Hess Fire Truck and Ladder Rescue
My son loves vehicles of all kinds. Big ones he can sit in and pretend to drive, little ones that fit in his pocket, and medium sized ones that he sets up scenes for so he can play make believe all day long. But, although he loves all trucks, cars and vehicles, fire trucks are the epitome of cool to him. 
So, when I heard that the new 2015 Hess Toy Truck that was released this November was a Fire Truck and Ladder Rescue, I knew it had to be his. A quick look into the “Hesstory” of the company {see what they did there?}, and I already knew this was going to be a yearly tradition with me and my son.
Have you heard of Hess Toy Trucks before? The tradition began in 1964 when the first toy truck was revealed. Each November the new design is released to their eager fans, which includes both collectors and kids alike. 
Dress up with official NFL kid’s costume sets from Franklin Sports
Are you sick of the Halloween costumes made to last one night before they get abandoned? In my house, we won't even consider a costume unless we are sure the kids will use it for dress up even well after the pumpkins have been tossed. This means no cheapie costumes that will rip and fall apart after one use, we need stuff that is kid tough and made to be played in. 
So, this year we're going with something we know the kids will wear every Friday and Sunday during football season as we cheer on the Seahawks, the Franklin Sports official NFL deluxe helmet with uniform. Definitely not a one night use item, these make for a fun-filled Halloween and a festive football season.
Designed for game day as well as costume parties, we've already gotten good use out of our set and we've only had it a few days. Clearly, this is one costume that is definitely not going to be buried in the dress up bin or tossed after one night. 
The set comes with a play helmet that looks just like the real thing, a team jersey, pants and iron-on number kit so you can customize with your favorite player's number. And, whether the kids wear it all together as it was intended or they mix and match so they can wear the jersey to school for Blue Friday, or the helmet with whatever Seahawks clothing they have in their closets, you can bet it's going to be a hit.
Let girls build with Roominate Studio DIY designing kits
Have you taken a stroll down the pink side of the toys stores lately? Slowly but surely, the days when all girls have to play with is dolls and princesses are coming to an end. Recently, there has been a huge shift in girls’ toys, and the result is really awesome.
As the revolution takes place in toy stores everywhere, we are now seeing products specifically marketed towards girls offer so much more substance than ever before. Thanks in part to companies like Roominate, girls are now hearing a message that they should have been hearing all along: girls can build and design, too. 
The story behind Roominate begins with two women, Alice Brooks and Bettina Chen, who met and became friends in the master’s engineering program at Stanford. When they got to talking about why they had pursued engineering, they both said they were inspired by the toys they played with during childhood. While looking at current toy offerings for girls and boys, they saw huge gaps in toys marketed towards the different genders.
Together they set about to change it by creating a product that was not just pink and pretty, but also had a basis in STEM subjects {Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math}. And, with that, the idea behind Roominate was born. 
Explore the ’50s with Maryellen, the new BeForever doll from American Girl
Have you ever felt like you were born in the wrong decade? For me, my heart has always belonged to the ‘50s. My parents were born in the 1950s so I grew up hearing stories of the way things used to be and I always felt a connection to the decade that shaped their generation. I spent countless hours listening to their 45s, exploring their childhood closets for clothing gems left behind when everyone moved away from home, and pining for a decade I never personally experienced. 
My love of the ‘50s has only been renewed with the arrival of the newest American Girl’s BeForever™ character, Maryellen Larkin. Only now it’s better because I get to share that love with my children. 
I don’t think it’s possible to be more in love with Maryellen. With her gorgeous strawberry blond hair, her brown eyes, and her authentic 1950s outfit featuring a striped dress, a lacy-knit shrug with a monogrammed "M", black shoes, and a ribbon bow for her hair, she’s exactly what I think of when I picture my mom and my aunts during the ‘50s. Classic and all-American, Maryellen is even more beautiful in person than she is online and in catalogue. 
3-in-1 PortaPlay convertible activity center from Oribel
With my older two kids I had every baby gadget, gizmo, or new fad that came on the market. And then I gave most of it away to family and friends thinking we were done with the baby stage. So, when we found out we were expecting baby #3 last year, I had many people ask if we wanted our stuff back, but I knew they were still using it so I said I would let them know when we were ready for it.
As it turns out, I haven’t asked for any of it back. And, for the most part, I haven’t missed all the baby stuff. I call my new parenting style “minimal”, and it’s actually been quite awesome not having to find places to store all the extra stuff before, during, and after we need it.
For that reason, Oribel is my favorite new baby gear company, hands down. Instead of buying a baby item that lasts a matter of weeks, their baby gear is designed to grow with baby through multiple stages helping you truly go minimal.