Need a new phone? Try the Best Buy Mobile Specialty Stores trade-in program
In this day of electronic upgrades every other week, tech gadgets are dating themselves faster than ever before. This means that most of us have piles of old electronics filling our junk drawers and offices. I will admit that hubby and I have a sizable collection of old cell phones, PDAs, and more that are really just taking up space in our house.
Some of these gadgets are now glorified paperweights with 1997 technology and no ability to charge and I’ve needed to get rid of them for quite a while now. If you read my Best Buy post about their awesome recycling program, you know how much I love that they help you recycle old electronics responsibly for free, and I’ve been meaning to take them to the recycling station for quite some time.
But, what you may not know is that they have a great trade-in and buy-back program that you can utilize if you have old electronics that might be worth a little money. Best Buy Mobile Specialty Stores are popping up all over {typically at malls or shopping centers} and I happen to have one near me at the Northgate Mall, so I stopped in last weekend to see what they could do with my 15lbs of excess technology.
Summer vacation shopping tips {BlogHer shopping at Northgate Mall}
It is summer vacation time, and everyone knows what that means: shopping. Whether you are ditching the rain and heading somewhere tropical or you are beating the heat and heading for cooler weather, chances are you need some new clothing and gear for whatever climate you’re headed to.
I like to view this as an invitation to splurge a little bit on myself to make vacation packing easier. Since I love vacation shopping more than any other kind of mall trip, I tend to plan one a few weeks before any big trips to refresh my wardrobe before fully deciding on what I will be packing. So, amed with a complimentary gift card, my daughter and I headed to Northgate Mall in Seattle to prepare for my upcoming Chicago trip for BlogHer.
Packing for BlogHer is a bit different than any other vacation for me, because I need to be professional and put together in addition to staying cool and comfortable, so it’s not like I can pack a few shirts, a pair of jeans and some shorts and skirts and call it good. I need fancy dresses for at night, put-together outfits for day, and coordinating pieces that can do double-duty so I don’t end up with three suitcases.
Naturally, I was really excited to get my shopping started at Northgate Mall, but before I started shopping, I did a little pre-vacation prep. Having become a pro at shopping for trips in the past, this time I knew exactly what I was doing and I followed these guidelines:
Getting a PowerUpgrade with Philips Sonicare PowerUp Toothbrushes
You know what you can’t do while brushing your teeth? Talk, clean, answer toddler questions, cook, do your taxes or pay bills. Is it any wonder that I love brushing my teeth? I look forward to shrugging and giving the “I can’t answer you right now” look for a few minutes each morning and night so I can escape into my own thoughts. It’s the small things, really.
So, how could I possibly make my “me time” even better? With a PowerUpgrade, of course. This month, I got to ditch my old manual toothbrush in favor of something more powerful, more effective, and much more beautiful: a Philips Sonicare PowerUp electric toothbrush.
Is it okay that I admit I was unreasonably excited about going to Walmart to pick up my new toothbrush? While I wasn’t this excited, I was close:
Birthdays, holidays and more: growing up a Gymboree kid
You know how sometimes you just look at your kids and they seem so grownup all of a sudden? Never is that more true that during the summer months when I dig out all their warmer weather clothing from the previous year only to find that everything is a few inches too short and we’re due for yet another clothing run.
With so many birthday parties for friends and family this time of year, I find I’m constantly searching for something nice for the kids to wear that still looks festive and fun. And, with events ranging from pool parties to pony ride parties, my daughter thinks there’s always a good reason to get dolled up.
In my search for kid-approved clothing that can go from event to event, I always turn to Gymboree as their clothing tends to be the kids’ favorite in terms of fit, style, and flair. This year was no exception, and I found so many awesome styles that are the first clothing pieces that the kids grab each day.
Items like the Glitter Star Cowgirl boots, which my daughter would wear every single day if she could {and she pretty much does, even in record high temperatures or when we’re going to the beach}.
Gymboree Play & Music classes are a hit {free class thru 8/31!}
Everyone who has ever said “throw like a girl” was probably referring to me. I’ve never actually seen myself throw a ball, but I imagine it looks somewhat like this Volkswagen commercial that makes me laugh hysterically every time it comes on.
Since my lack of athletic prowess is something I hope to not pass on to my kids, I took the first preventative step this summer and signed them up for sports classes at our local Gymboree Play and Music center with a complimentary month-long membership. While they aren’t in the big leagues, or even in Little League for that matter, I love that they are learning the basics of different sports in a cooperative and fun environment with other little kids.
The class is a little over 45 minutes one day a week, but even in that short amount of time I have seen a huge improvements over the past three weeks. Not just with athletic ability, but also with confidence and a desire to be more active.
See An American Girl: Saige Paints the Sky this Saturday 7/13 on NBC
I remember when I used to cry during love stories, carried away with whatever misunderstanding brought the lovers apart and on the edge of my seat to see if they…
Get your Fruit & Veggie fix at Jamba Juice the summer
Are YOU getting enough fruits and vegetables each day? If you’re my daughter, the answer is definitely yes. But, if you’re my son, the answer is probably no. Since he only eats a few fruits and veggies in their raw state, we have to sneak nutrition into his meals just to get him to eat them.
Thank goodness I found out the kid looooooves smoothies. And, not just the fake fruit smoothies you can get at most restaurants, he likes the good stuff, like Jamba Juice. We recently headed to our local Jamba Juice with a $10 gift card from Moms Meet to try out the kid’s smoothies, and both kids were very excited.
Having not been into a full size Jamba Juice store for a while now since we typically visit it at the mall, I was surprised by the fact that they had food as well as smoothies. Since we hadn’t eaten since breakfast and our next stop was the grocery store for something to snack on until I could make an early dinner, I ended up getting a pretzel with cheese Jamba Kids Meal and the two kids split it along with a Jamba Juice Fruit & Veggie smoothie.
Name Art makes personalized art as unique as your little one
With four siblings growing up, you would have thought we’d have a lot of personalized items to help keep everything straight. But, instead of items with our names or monograms, we each had a specific color we always used to help us find our stuff. While the color-coded system was practical, it wasn’t always fun.
After over a decade eating off the blue placemat, out of the blue cup, and hanging my stuff on the blue hook, I really longed for something that was a little more… personal. Because of this, I have made a point to get my kids special items that have their names and truly reflect who they are as often as I can.
Name Art is a New York based company that was started for this very reason. They specialize in truly one-of-a-kind items that help you celebrate each child with unique and personalized gifts. From placemats to fine art prints, Name Art has a great selection of gifts and art that would be perfect presents for your little one.
Our new pets: praying mantis babies
Unable to resist any opportunity for growing things, playing with bugs, or learning about things in the garden, my daughter talked us into buying two praying mantis {or praying mantid}…
Disney Social Media Moms Seattle Event
During every school break, my Facebook stream is full of friends taking their kids to Disney parks. I can’t help but be a teeny bit jealous because it really hasn’t been possible for us to do a Disney vacation. Of course, I know I will eventually make it there with the kiddos, it just might not be as soon as I would like.
And, then I saw a little blurb on one of my friend’s Facebook feed who was at the Disney Social Media Moms event last year. It was something to the effect of how you only have 18 summers to take your kids to Disney, and it made me panic a bit.
Picture taken from DisneyParksBlog.com
My parents took all of us kids to Disneyland when I was 6 months old. I’m sure it was a blast, but I don’t remember a single thing from the trip. My husband has a similar story as first his family was waiting for him and his sister to be able to ride on the rides, and then their younger cousins. Long story short, they never made it to any of the Disney parks.
In 1999, we finally made it to Walt Disney World together, and we still talk about how magical the trip was. We went on every rollercoaster together, indulged in all the Disney treats and goodies, and spent our evenings at Pleasure Island doing what we could since I was underage at the time.
Circa 1999 in Disney World. I'm second from the left and hubby is on the right. Those two beautiful girls with us are my sisters. Aren't we adorable?
But, it’s been 14 years since that Disney trip and I’m very ready to go again, this time with our kiddos. I am so excited to be able to share that magic with the kids and experience it again through their eyes, as well as all the new attractions that have gone in since 1999 {which, apparently, is A LOT}.
While I can appreciate the idea of waiting until the kids are older and can go on all the rides, I also think there's something really special about a kid growing up Disney. It's like they say, "there's something for everyone" and I don't want to miss taking them in the stage of awe and wonder just because they might not be able to do every single thing at the parks.
And, I’m looking forward to it all: pictures with the princesses, the obligatory Mickey/Minnie ears, kid’s rides and grownup coasters and the magic that happens when the sun goes down and the castle comes alive for the evening. Every. Single. Thing. I don't want to try and find that magical "perfect age" for Disney parks that you hear so much about and instead want to see it as a great excuse to go as many times as we can while the kids are still under our roof.
Last week I got a chance to get in on the Disney action, albeit briefly, when Disney Social Media Moms came to the Seattle area as part of their Disney on the Road tour and now I’m even more excited to get to the Disney parks… any of them… all of them… or even a Disney cruise. I'm not picky.
