Citrus Lane August Box Reivew: Back to School

"Play to learn is what's it's all about at this stage, so let the games begin!" 

-Citrus Lane August 2013 Insert

Our box was a "special size" this month to accommodate the goods inside... made us curious to see just what they were!

Okay, so maybe babies and toddlers don't actually go back to school, although I'm sure some do go back to daycare or have just continued right along with their daycare or if old enough, preschool. But mine doesn't. K- is lucky, or unlucky (take your pick) to be at home with me and I with her. Some days it's the absolute best thing in the whole world and others I'm sure we're both wishing the situation were different. Although that's how it is, she doesn't go "back to school" - at least not yet. That being said our Citrus Lane box this month was loosely based on a "back to school" theme. After all that's what time of year it is for most people and really learning takes place at every age and every stage, so why not?

If you're not familiar with Citrus Lane, it's a subscription box (and a great online community) tailored for kids in the age bracket of 0-5 years old.  All their products are parent chosen and approved! Each month your subscription gets you 4-5 best of products that they feel will make your life with your little one a little easier and more fun. You can try your first box for only $12.50 when you sign up for the monthly option and use code "TAKEHALF" at checkout. Boxes are $25 a month or $21 a month with a longer subscription and if you use my link when you sign up you'll save an additional $10 off any subscription (can't be combined with any other promo like "takehalf" though). So, what are you waiting for? Try it here! Canceling is easy and can be done anytime, right on their website, just fill out the survey and you're done!

The Exciting Part... Our Back to School Box - a first look!

Having no clue what's in the box is half the fun! This month was a total surprise for us and we had no idea what was going to be inside when we opened it up. Yup, it's a fun one! This is exactly what it looked like after taking off the tissue paper on top.

And here's what all was actually in the box this month for a 19 month old girl. You have the option to customize your box for age and gender or if you prefer not to have it gender specific they do have an option to do age and "neutral." We honestly started out with a gender "neutral" box but switched it to "girl" after realizing that the only thing that really changes is the designs on things for most boxes, once in awhile the boxes will have different content, but not often enough for it to really matter. 

Box Contents

• Crocodile Creek 5" Playground Ball - okay who doesn't love balls for their little one? Yeah, we have tons of balls, but surprisingly enough we don't actually have a mini playground ball and this one just happens to be K's- favorite color in the now (it changes; often) PURPLE! Retail price ~ $9.99
• Clean Well All Natural Hand Sanitizing Wipes - This container is huge. It contains 40 alcohol free wipes and they actually smell okay! The scent is orange vanilla. The only way I'd pack these with me is if I transferred them to another container that was more portable. These I think will either sit by our front door for when we come in from the park or go in with our art kit to make for easy hand clean up when we need it most. Retail price ~ $10.47 for 3 containers.
• Octopus Opposites Board Book - We love, love, love Barefoot Books and this new one is no exception! While we have tons of books about opposites and K- can even say "opposite" or her own version of it, we don't have this one! I love the bright, bold, kid friendly and very happy illustrations in this book and know that K- is going to love them too, after all they're animals. I also like that after all the simple sentences are over the last couple pages are pictures with "concept questions" designed for you to talk about the story - a great way to check listening and when they get to that stage reading comprehension. Of course we'll use these pages to make up many of our own questions as well! We couldn't be happier than when Citrus Lane includes a good book in our box! Retail price ~ $7.19
• Ouchies Jr. Adhesive Bandages - Okay, I thought it was a really cool idea to include fun bandages in the box this month! Better yet they are even latex free! I love them so much more than the disposable one time use ice packs from a previous box. K- has only recently discovered the "power" of bandages to "fix ouchies" she's also totally into fun stickers so these will be a definite win. Besides what better way to calm an upset or hurt child than with the distraction of a fun way to patch up their boo-boo? This was a brilliant idea and the tin they came in will be well received as well. Although we may never be able to go back to plane old bandages again.... Retail price ~ $4.96
• Plum Organics Fruit Straws - These will absolutely be well received and honest they're a product that we haven't yet tried by Plum Organics. I've put them up to throw in our carry on bag for our trip to Nana and Opa's in a week as they'll be great for a special treat on the plane or in the airport. I can see them being used to suck down water or just about anything else and as a bonus there is a 1/3 of a cup in each packet or in every 2 straws. I really would have liked it if Citrus Lane had been feeling generous and just sent a full box instead of 2 packets, but I am excited to give this product a chance. Retail price ~ $3.50
• FabKids Free Trial Offer - Okay, so this is a "Special Offer" included in the box an I never add this in as part of the actual box retail value. I just look at it as sort of a bonus or a temptation or sometimes simply recycling. I haven't decided where I stand on this one. We didn't subscribe to Citrus Lane in order to also subscribe to other subscription services. That being said if we are able to claim our free 3 piece clothing outfit from FabKids without signing up for an ongoing subscription we just might. I have heard that they're very hard to cancel with so I assume it's one of those read the fine print and use extreme caution situations. Honestly I would have loved to just been given a gift voucher for $ at a clothing company that we do shop at. I would never pay $39.95 a month regularly for 3 pieces of clothing. So this really isn't at all an attractive offer. Retail price ~ $0.00 (free offer).
• Do-It-Yourself Bowling Pins - These are a new offering this month that were only included in some of the boxes as Citrus Lane wants to test whether or not parents like the idea of an added "special activities" in the box. They're printed on heavy cardstock with letters on one side and numbers on the other. You color them yourself, I'm going to let K- paint hers since that's what we're into right now and then assemble them. The idea is that you can use them with the ball from this month's box for some good old hallway bowling! Sounds fun, can't wait to see what K- thinks! Personally, I think this idea is a great one, as long as the special activities aren't considered part of the 4 or more items that come in the box each month and aren't necessarily incorporated into the total box retail value. If the activities are bonuses that would be awesome!

Final Thoughts

Great box! We'll use everything in it except the FabKids offer, I'm not sure we'll be using that one and would really like to stop seeing those be included in the boxes as one of the items. 

If you're interested in getting your own box in September, make sure you sign up before the 5th of the month! Remember if you sign up using the code TAKEHALF your first box will only be $12.50 and it's definitely worth well beyond that! So, what are you waiting for? Try it here! Canceling is easy and can be done anytime, right on their website, just fill out the survey and you're done!

All thoughts, opinions & photos included here are my own. No compensation was received for this post. If you use my referral links listed (I appreciated it and thank you, if you do!) I may receive some credit toward my own future boxes. I have been a subscriber of Citrus Lane's monthly boxes since June 2012.

August Strok Stack Replacements: Follow Up

Original August Stork Stack

Okay, so a few days back we received our August Stork Stack in less than ideal condition in the mail box and boy was it a sad day. I took pictures of the damaged goods, the same ones I posted in my initial review and emailed them to member support.

 Stork Stack has Awesome Customer Support!  

I must say Mary was awesome and not only emailed me back in less than 24 hours she shipped the replacement products to me the same day via priority mail! How's that for awesome customer service in action? There was absolutely no issue with them sending out replacement products; except they didn't have any of one of them left and so had to send us an alternate product instead. Here's a look at our replacement products packaged in a regular sized Stork Stack box. 

August Replacement Items

They happily replaced the missing Green Toys Submarine and since we already have one of these and love, love, love it for a bath time and pool toy, it will be given to one of our many expecting friends for fun in the tub with their new little one when they get to that point! They also happily replaced the book that was damaged by the liquid cleaner in the original box. I was so glad to get this new book as we own another Nancy Tillman book called Where Ever You Are, My Love Will Find You and we love reading it for a bedtime story, so couldn't wait to start reading this new one! It's Time to Sleep My Love, doesn't disappoint, it's adorable. Unfortunately it's not currently being used as a bedtime story because K- has decided that her "new book" should be read only while sitting on the big girl potty in the bathroom. So it's become one of our go-to reads for potty time - hey, whatever works right?

Customer Support, I'm sure would have been happy to replace our Bionee Pure Hair and Body Cleansing Foam but unfortunately after all the stacks went out this month they didn't have any left. I will admit I was a little disappointed in that since this was a product I hadn't tried before and I was looking forward to using. My husband on the other hand thought it stunk and was happy we didn't get another one, so I guess it ends up being a wash. Instead of the Bionee Pure Hair and Body Cleansing Foam, Mary included some "alternate" products to make up the value of the original one and now we'll have some other things to try.

The Rest of the Replacements

The Burt's Bees Baby Bee Shampoo and Body Wash is a product that we've used before, love and will happily use again! In fact I've already got it packed in our bathroom kit for our vacation in Canada to see Nana and Opa in a few weeks! It is a lot smaller than the Bionee Pure Hair and Body Cleansing Foam, but it's a product that I love, so I can't really complain too much.

I've heard of Rockin GREEN Laundry Detergent before, but I've never tried it. I believe it's actually watermelon scented as it's "Featuring: Smashing Watermelon;" hmmm, not sure how I feel about that as we're a family that uses "free and clear" laundry products with no scents, dyes etc. I think I'll try using it for our towels, bathmat and possibly socks the first time around just to see what it's like. I'm curious, so I'll give it go and it's only 2/4 loads worth, but unless it's absolutely amazing I doubt I'll be switching anytime soon, especially since watermelon is one of my least favorite scents! 

Finally, they sent us two small samples of Dr. Robin all natural chemical-free sunscreen for children. Okay, here's another one I've never heard of. I'll toss these in the pouch on the baby carrier or stroller bag though and we'll use them since we go through sunscreen like it's madmen around here. K- doesn't consistently wear a hat and I'm terrible about wearing one unless I'm on vacation or it's cold outside (go figure). Since we spend a lot of time outside, whether we're commuting on foot, bike or bus (we don't own a car,) playing in the yard, gardening, or at the park we're constantly getting sun exposure. We pretty much use sunscreen at least on our faces, necks and backs of our ears year round, so these will get used. Plus we'll get to try something new.

All told, while I was disappointed not to just have my regular stack show up like it should, I was really pleased with the response and reaction I got from Stork Stack Customer Support. Mary was great and easy to work with, I didn't feel silly for contacting them and it was possibly the fastest replacement products I've ever received. I honestly feel like a company's customer service department says a lot about the company as a whole and I would give my one and only interaction with Stork Stack's customer service a 10 out of 10! Just one more thing to love about them! 

If you're interested in checking out Stork Stack and want to save $10 on your first order feel free to use this code F9DE8478 at checkout! All of our past Stacks have been phenomenal and I'm sure we'll have some sort of resolution soon for this one! The items in this box with the Green Toy included would have retailed for about $47.00 which is pretty awesome considering that you can get your first Stack using F9DE8478 for only $17.99.

I am a current stork stack subscriber. I was in no way compensated for this review. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own. If you purchase your own stork stack using my referral code I may receive a $10 credit on my next stack. Once you create an account you will receive a referral code of your own to share.