Who doesn't love a good spa getaway every once in a while? Mrs. Lundby in particular loves a very special spa by the beach that Mr. Lundby took her to when they were first married, and she has been dying to go back ever since.
But, with all the renovations they have been doing to their new house, they aren't really able to take an extended vacation right now, so they did the next best thing for her for Mother's Day: they brought the spa to their house.
Now that we’re in the early stages of re-baby proofing our house for our new little one, I’m realizing more than ever all the small choking hazards that litter my floor as the kids play. Since getting rid of toys that have small parts isn’t really an option with a LEGO fanatic and a whole house full of miniatures, I’ve been brainstorming ways to corral the toys and keep the little ones safe. 
I’d be mad at all the little pieces everywhere but it’s not entirely their fault as our current system involves dumping bins which causes small pieces to scatter. And, in all fairness, they are actually quite good about picking up the pieces when they are done playing, which is why the bin system works for us. It was an obvious improvement upon the toy box system which had little pieces in thin layers along the bottom of the box, but clearly neither option is going to work well once we have a mobile baby.
While looking for something that allowed the small toys to be put away while still allowing them to be accessible, I found an awesome company called Lay-N-Go. Not only do they solve the problem of how to store all those small toys, their products also add the benefit of giving the kids a safe place to play with those toys, and an easy clean-up process.
If you knew any of my children as babies, you know how much they hated to be set down on their backs. All three of them were the happiest, smiley-est babies until you would dare set them down flat on their back as experts recommend. Needless to say, “back is best” is not a common phrase around here.
But, what’s a busy mom to do that sometimes needs use of both hands and can’t wear her baby 100% of the time? She gets this: 
This, my friends, is a happy baby in the Galt Playnest & Gym – Farm. This educational and colorful multi-sensory activity center gives me the perfect place to set baby down without having to listen to her increasingly louder objections. I dare say she even {gasp} enjoys the Playnest, and I hope this love continues to grow during all the stages of play.
This peaceful moment brought to you by Galt Toys. 
If I were designing the perfect childhood toy, it would have two major components. First, it would inspire imaginations to encourage make believe and storytelling. Second, it would be open-ended so it could be played with in numerous ways, which means it would be played with often and be a beloved toy for years.
Take the Painting Teepee from Pacific Play Tents for example. This clearly isn’t just a high quality teepee, it’s a childhood haven. As you can see, it's the kiddos fort. 
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. 
If you know my son, you know how important each and every car he owns is. Ask him to get rid of one and he will act like you asked him which arm he wants to keep. It’s like he told me when he was little, “I want too many cars.” And, apparently he is still building his collection in his goal to amass “too many”. 
So, it will come as no surprise that he is smitten with a company called Toy State that makes all sorts of cars, trucks, vehicles, and gear he covets. He’s loved their toys since he was just a tiny tot {seriously, check out this post to see my cute little baby loving on his cars in 2013}.
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.
Every year we look forward to January 1st for one reason. It’s like the Super Bowl for doll fans as American Girl debuts their Girl of the Year in store as well as on their website for purchase. And, this year was no exception as they introduced a beautiful new doll that every young girl is excited about.
Readers, meet Grace Thomas, the new Girl of the Year for 2015. 
With dark brown hair with light brown highlights, bright blue eyes, and freckled cheeks, Grace has a certain spark about her. 
This year, as we decorated the house for the holidays we noticed that there was a bit more magic than normal. At first we thought it was the Magic Elf duo that has been having all sorts of Elf Capades in our home and with our holiday decorations. But then things started to go missing. It started with a spool of Christmas ribbon, and then a pack of stocking-shaped buttons, and I lost count of how many times I went to go get some tools or arts and crafts items from the junk drawer and couldn't find them.
It was clear we had a Christmas crafting thief.
My daughter loves to build. Whether we’re talking bricks, blocks, or random items she’s squirreled away just for her building purposes, she’s all about it. And, while she’s really good at following directions and building pre-designed buildings and objects, I’ve noticed that she really prefers building toys where she can be the designer. That’s where Build & Imagine sets come in. 
Build & Imagine is a brand new line of magnetic construction sets that inspire kids to build whatever they would like. Their unique magnetic dual-sided building panels make it easy for even kids as young as 4 to create structures that they can play with using their included accessories and magnetic dolls.
By putting your child in the role of designer and architect, you are giving them the keys to all sorts of imaginative play. They can decide what panels to utilize in their design, which rooms they want to create, and they can even decorate and play when they are done building.