DIY bead storage and beading board for bracelet and necklace making

As a member of the Chick-fil-A mom panel, we were given coupons to try their new Chicken Tortilla Soup and then challenged to make a fun DIY with their soup containers. Some of the moms did some amazing upcycling projects and created luminaries, succulent wall planters, play instruments, and all sorts of super crafty things, but I went practical. As soon as I saw the containers, I realized they would make the perfect DIY bead storage container. Chick Fil A bead containerNow, I know that doesn't sound exciting because basically I repurposed something that stored soup and used it to store beads, but stay with me.  Chick Fil A bracelet elasticI've been redoing our art supplies now that the kiddos are able to craft more on their own and this has involved a ton of organizing. I was previously the only one using the crafting supplies and therefore knew where everything was stored. But, now that they can craft on their own, I needed to give them their own storage system so anyone can find whatever they need and then know where to put it back when they are finished.

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Spring clean and organize your digital life with MiMedia

Sponsored postI 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. DSC01056That’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. MiMedia upload queue

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The complete guide to storing and organizing children’s clothing: hand-me-downs, outgrown clothing, and long term storage

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ZiplocSavesSpace #CollectiveBias The Complete Guide to Organizing and Storing Children's ClothingI love the spread of ages of my children in most instances. I love that the three of them are incredibly close friends, but just enough apart in age so that they each have their own time to shine in their different stages. Really, the only time the age difference bothers me is when I’m packing, storing, and then keeping track of all these different sized clothes, blankets, and seasonal gear. Space Bags organizing messBut, as miserable as running my own personal small children’s boutique can be at times, there is nothing sweeter than knowing that all of my children wore a beloved item, or when I realize how many memories are in those tiny clothes they are handing down. Stories of places we’ve been together, people that gave us the clothes who are no longer with us, or simply amazing memories we’ve made while the kids were wearing the items. That makes it all worth it in the end.

Ready to get started organizing all your little ones’ clothing? Great!

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

Sponsored postOur 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. SmarTrike in stroller modeBeing 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

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The Land of Nod Seattle celebrates their Grand Re-Opening Bash

Getting Ready for Baby with The Land of NodOh, how I love The Land of Nod. It's always the first store we turn to when we're shopping for kids of all ages because they have a great mix of eclectic, classic, and modern styles. We've shopped there for just about every birthday, major holiday, and room redo over the past 8 years, and we've become big fans of everything from their toys to their storage solutions and more.

But, a few weeks ago we were walking around U Village shopping center in Seattle on a mission to hit all our favorite stores and enjoy some sunshine and panic set in when the entire store looked dark and empty. We had hoped to do some shopping for my brand new baby nephew, with a few peeks over into the baby bedding for our baby on the way, so the idea of the store being closed was incredibly sad to us.

We were all relieved to find that the store wasn't closing, it was simply being remodeled, and would be back even better than ever. In fact, a few weeks later we got the word that the grand reopening was scheduled and it was going to be amazing. Land of Nod grand reopening bash

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LEGO Star Wars ZipBin Death Star Transforming Toybox {Review}

Oh, Christmas, why’d you have to go and leave me with a huge mess of stuff?  Mounds of wrapping paper, boxes, and a million little toy pieces with nowhere to go now litter my living room waiting for a place to call home and it’s driving me nuts.  While it might be tempting to simply … Read more

Barbie ZipBin Dream House Toy Box and Playmat {Review}

Recently, my daughter has gotten very into Barbies.  Maybe this is because my mom just cleaned out her house and gave us all the ratty-haired dolls my sister and I played with {for the record, my sister is 100% responsible for the ratty hair}, or maybe it’s just because all girls like Barbie at some … Read more

Step2 Corvette Room Organizer {review}

I adore my kids, and I love *most* of their toys.  I just hate when their toys are all over my house.  While toy boxes are one solution, I find that their favorite toys tend to get buried in a big box and then they dump out the entire contents to get that one beloved … Read more

The Builder Bag

In terms of great educational toys, you really can’t go wrong with building toys. You just can’t beat the learning that happens when you let your little ones create whatever their heart desires with no rules but that of gravity and physics.  I love watching my kids build and manipulate all the small pieces to … Read more