Citrus Lane September Box

So, I'm a month behind in everything. I feel like I didn't even have a September and that I went straight from the end of August to the beginning of October. Technically, no one is to blame for that but me. Well my husband might be able to take a little bit of the blame, for agreeing to take 3 weeks off and head North to visit his parents and catch up with old friends and such, but I'm the one who let things get so far behind.

Anyway, now that the 15th of October is quickly approaching and I'll have a new Citrus Lane box to review in about a week, I finally decided I'd better do something about the last one I got. So, here's a look at our September CL box for a 20 month old girl.

•  The Purple Poodle Goody Bag from North American Bear Company - okay, so I left all most all of this stuff in the packaging it came in because this is going to be a stocking stuffer. My daughter is obsessed with dogs, she loves the color purple and she loves having her own bag to carry. Talk about win-win-win! 
• Charley Harper ABCs from AMMO Books - I am absolutely in love with this book. Needless to say, it's also been put up to use as a part of a later gift. But it's gorgeous! If we didn't already have multiple ABC books I'd have kept this one out to read now. The images are amazing.
• Playful Wash from Episencial - this seems to be a Citrus Lane staple item. I don't know how many boxes we've received this item or another item from Episencial in. The stuff works, but you can only use so much soap at one time. We're currently still working on another soap from one of their boxes so this will either be regifted or put away for another day.
• Super Toddler Bar from Happy Family - again, this seems to be a go-to company for Citrus Lane. I would love to see them branch out for older kid snacks and send out foods that the whole family might enjoy that aren't marketed specifically to the baby crowd. However, I'm always glad when the snack item sent out isn't a pouch, so I'll take this one.
• Nail Color from Julep - Okay so up until a month ago, I hadn't bit on the Julep train. Then, finally I did. I have a color almost identical to this one from Essie that I love. The Julep polish seems to be really quite good. I was excited to get a non-makeup beauty product for mom this month! While I don't wear tons of face makeup I do love a good bottle of nail polish and this was mom treat I can definitely get behind.

All totaled the value was over the $ money spent on this box and we got an awesome variety of products this month. Some months I'm totally wowed by the contents of our boxes and others seem to be average. That being said, I've subscribed for well over a year now and have countless items from Citrus Lane boxes that we use all the time items I never would have bought on my own. Plus the fun of getting a package for your little one is always a fun treat! 

For those that don't know, Citrus Lane is a subscription box that curates monthly boxes for ages 0-5. They supply a box filled with 4-5 of the best parent-picked and parent tested finds on the market customized to your child's age, stage and gender. Boxes are priced at $25 but if you sign up for a longer prepaid subscription you can get your boxes for as low as $21/month. If you're interested in subscribing you can check them out here if you want to just try out one month you can use the code 'takehalf' and only pay $12.50!

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.

DIY Bowling Pins: #CLAugBox

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

-Citrus Lane August 2013 Insert

 This month, Citrus Lane included a new trial concept item under the heading of "special activities" in some of the August boxes. They're looking for feedback on whether or not this was appreciated and used and whether or not parents would like to see this sort of item in the future.

•  Do-It-Yourself Bowling Pins - The templates we received in our box were printed on heavy card-stock with letters on one side and numbers on the other. Citrus Lane had a small explanation at the bottom with simple 3 step instructions to create them. You color the pins yourself. I'm going to let K- paint hers since that's what we're into right now and then I'll 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 bonus items that enhance or build upon the other items in the box than that would be a fantastic addition to the box each month! If it turns out they're really just in the box as filler than I'll be far less impressed and very unlikely to use them.

Painting our Pins

 

 K- is super into paint right now, so we used the good old standard Crayola Washable Watercolors. This was a brand new set and she was so excited to get to use them. K- can name all 8 of the colors and is very decisive about which ones she wants to use. She started with red.

Painting is Serious Business

Testing the Green Paint for Use.

The Two Brush Technique Approach.

After painting the pins we of course had to clean up and we used our new Clean Well wipes from our August box, they worked great to wipe the green paint off her finger quickly and easily. One wipe covered our hands and the table, not bad! Then we had to let the paint dry out.

Once dry, I separated the pins along the perforated lines. Then decided that it made the most sense to tape them together so that we could play with them right away. If I wanted these to last a long time, I would have laminated them. Seeing as I'm currently all out of quick laminating sheets and K- was excited to use them this afternoon, I just left them as they were. If I were still teaching 3 year old kiddos, there is no way these would have gone on the floor without being laminated. As it was we were ready to use them and I just have one kid using them with supervision, so they had to work like this.

Creating a Tab to Easily Attach the Pins Together.

I was a little bummed that there wasn't an easy tab line on the bottom to fold up to either glue or tape these to the other side of the pin and feel like this might have been a bit of an oversight on the part of the activity design, so I just used the bottom of the instructions as an easy line for all our pins and created the tab that I needed to reinforce them at the base. 

Play Time!

We set the pins up in the hallway and used the new ball to try and knock them down. Hooray for hallway bowling! They were definitely a hit!

Getting it all set up.

Successful first bowl!

Missed.

The two hand ball drop.

 Then after bowling we set the pins up like cones and practiced running around and through them and then driving our Green Toys around and through them. I'm sure we'll come up with other innovative uses for them as the week goes on!

Driving Baby Dump Around the Pins... She was careful not to knock them down.

Final Thoughts

If the "special activities" are bonus items that enhance or build upon the other items in the box than that would be a fantastic addition to the box each month! If it turns out they're really just in the box as filler than I'll be far less impressed and very unlikely to use them. I like this idea as long as the "special activities" included are age appropriate and tailored to what's in the box that month. I like that they not only gave us the opportunity to color them, but then we also got to put them to use. I think this is actually helpful and would love to see them include other games, tips and craft activities or suggestions for using the things in the box in the future! Did you get this activity in your Citrus Lane box this month? Did you try it? What did you think?

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.

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.

Citrus Lane July Box: Bon Voyage!? + Discount Code

#CLJulyBox Boxes are $25/month. You can check them out here Use code "TAKEHALF" at checkout on any monthly subscription and your first box will be $12.50 or save $10 by using my referral link https://www.citruslane.com/invitedby/Audrey.Albinger!

So our Citrus Lane July Box arrived today and I was super stoked to find it in the post box, because they're not supposed to ship until the 15th of the month with the intention of having all boxes delivered between the scheduled arrival dates of the 17th-22nd of each month. In the past we've had some really fast shipping and some really slow shipping, so getting the box on the 13th was a really pleasant surprise!

"add on" option: Bumpkin 2 pocket Wet&Dry Bag

That being said, it seems from casual observation of the CL social media page feed over the past couple of months, that boxes containing the "add on items" that they're offering as a trial right now get to the customers who take advantage and "purchase" one of these items faster. While I enjoyed getting our box as early as we did, I don't think that seems fair to the customers who either weren't offered the "add on items" this month or those who chose not to take advantage of this and I assume it's one of the kinks of the trial that they'll work out before they do an official community wide launch of box "add on" items if that's what they're indeed going to do.

So without further ado, here's a look inside our July Citrus Lane box for a 19 month old girl this month!

As you can see from the picture above, it's a wide mix of products. According to Citrus Lane this box is supposed to make life easier when "traveling" whether you're going on vacation or staying local this summer. As well an item that will make those as they say "inevitable rainy days" and possibly even days that are just plain too hot to go out fun.

A more detailed look at July's box content.

The item that took up the most room in the box and the one that my husband got most excited about was the SUMO Snack Stacker from ZoLi $14.50 on Amazon. This is a 3 tier stacker that's bigger than the ZoLi On-the-Go. Each of the tiers holds up to 8oz of snacks or mealtime food, making the option for a variety of healthy foods at the ready when you or your little one needs it most. I won't actually be surprised if this one ends up in my husband's lunch bag as often as it ends up out with my daughter and I. Also, the pieces are interchangeable and if you had a second and wanted to take 5 one cup servings along at one time all you'd have to do is add them to your original stack. I can see us taking this with on our next cross country flight, as it will be perfect for bulky toddler foods. As a side note this would also make an awesome organizational tool for art and craft supplies (think pompoms, foam stickers and large beads).

Next up we had a package of Cool It Buddy Instant Cold Packs from Me4Kidz $2.99 for 2 packs. Me4Kidz provides parent and kid friendly always on hand first aid supplies. This company was featured in last year's Bon Voyage box as well only we received, what I found to be a more useful product by them the Diaper Bag Buddy. The instant cold packs are standard one time use ice packs; snap or squeeze and shake to activate. I love reusable ice pack or just plain old ice, but recognize that you don't always have access to that. In which case, these are great if you remember to pack them along! I keep a well stocked first aid kit at home, and when we owned a car I kept a kit in it as well. This would be an item I would keep in an older kids soccer bag, a hiking pack, a camping kit. It's not intended for use on kids under the age of 2 (I won't be using it in the foreseeable future) and doubt that even with a 2 year old I'd be packing these around daily.  For now they'll just go into our extra first aid supplies bin.

Also included in last year's Bon Voage box and again in this year's July box (with a "Bon Voyage!" at the end of the hello sheet) was a code for 10 free postcard credits from Postagram $9.90. If you haven't heard of or used Postagram now is the time to check it out! You can sign up and download the app for your phone here. Then just snap a picture, write a short message and you Sincerely Inc. via Postagram does the rest. Your recipient ends up with a very nice personalized, printed card right in their mailbox! How cool is that? Send a postcard from anywhere to anyone right from your phone. Pretty cool and a vacation staple!

We also received a GoGo squeeZ Fruit Pouch in BerryApple less than $1.00. Pouches seem to be our go to travel back up food. They're great for when you need a quick snack anytime anywhere and GoGo squeeZ has your applesauce on the go needs covered. They seriously have a flavor for every pallet! These are awesome if you freeze them ahead of time for a alternative to an ice pack in your lunch bag! Also, they're currently donating $1.00 in partnership with Life is Good to children in need for every "share" this video receives. So if you care and have a minute to spare; go, play...share!

Finally, the box did include a toy this month and one that the good folks over at Citrus Lane deem to be both fun (good for rainy days and days that are just too hot to be outside all day long) and education while also helping to build confidence, dexterity and pattern recognition. Win-win!

This Wooden Peg Puzzle from Melissa & Doug $7.99 (at our local TJ Maxx). We've tried several Melissa & Doug products at our house and of all the wooden toy makers, they are unfortunately (because Citrus Lane seems to love them,) one of our least favorites. Maybe we just had a couple of poorly made products that also happened to be our first M&D toys, but they didn't hold up, the paint chipped within a month of gentle use and the picture surface of a wooden puzzle started to peel. So far I haven't been impressed by the quality of their toys. Maybe this one will be better?  I'm hopeful that it will be, as we're all about counting right now and while K- doesn't yet recognize her numbers by sight, she can say several of them loves to copy-count. She also recognizes and can say all of these colors and will have a blast checking out the pictures under the pieces.

All in all, the July box is a great one and we're excited about it! As you can see the approximate value of the items in this box was about $36.38, Citrus Lane no longer gives the value of the items included on their information cards. Did you get a July box this month, if so what did you think? Interested in signing up? Boxes are $25/month if you sign up for a monthly or 3 month subscription or $21/month if you sign up for the 6 month option. You can try your first box for only $12.50 when you select monthly box and use code "takehalf" at checkout. Or you can save $10 off any subscription by using my referral link https://www.citruslane.com/invitedby/Audrey.Albinger


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.

Thoughts on Citrus Lane & All About the June Box

Open your Citrus Lane box and this is what you should see! I love the bright yellow tissue and informational card. If you want the contents to be a surprise unwrap the tissue before opening up the info!

Our June Citrus Lane box marks the one year point in our subscription. I honestly never thought we'd continue this long with them when we signed up for the first box a year ago, but here we are; still receiving them.

The box as it comes in the mail.

Some of our boxes have been over the top awesome, some average and some have been complete misses for us. It all comes down to personal choice and lifestyle. You get what you get and it either works well for you or it doesn't and you move on. That's the chance you take with a surprise subscription box and I'm okay with it.

For us, the June CL box was at best, just average. It was disappointing, but it was disappointing for personal reasons and not because it was a terrible box. All in all it was a fine box and had the products in it worked for us now than we would have been thrilled. They don't and we're not.  Here's a look at what was in June's box.

June Box contents - the toy broke within a couple hours. I contacted Customer Care and they happily replaced if for us with a different one! Customer Care at Citrus Lane Rocks!!

That being said, one thing I love about Citrus Lane is their outstanding customer service and their real interest in making their subscribers happy. They ask for honest feedback and opinions about the boxes, they collect that information in many different forms: surveys, social media feedback, direct email and phone calls. In my experience, they listen, they open a line of dialogue and they'll go the extra mile to make you not only feel like you're a member of a great community, but that your voice matters. I have had direct dealings with several members of the Citrus Lane team over the last year and all of them have been polite, positive and respectful. I even went so far as to get discouraged and to send an email asking them whether or not feedback from their subscribers really did matter to them, and the answer wasn't just a resounding "yes" it was a here let us show you how much it does. With that said, we look forward to another year of ups and downs (mostly ups, but lets be realistic; there are going to be some downs) with Citrus Lane!

As for the June box, the items in it were great. Our box was for an 18 month old girl. Unfortunately the only things we could use right away out of it were the Episencial Sunny Sunscreen and the happy tot+ pouch. Both of which we already regularly use. The sunscreen works really well and this was a small enough size to easily throw into a diaper bag. The pouch got eaten up almost immediately. The new plus pouches by happy tot are great because they add veggies to the mix for a more balanced pouch.

 

The sun hat from iPlay was a great addition to this box and one of the reasons we actually signed up for the box last year. Although we didn't get the "Fun in the Sun" box in May last year, it was that box that gave me the final nudge to try out Citrus Lane. 

We have owned several iPlay products including infant sunhats and they're awesome. They have SPF protection, wash and wear well, are soft, light weight and super convenient to pack because they fold up so small. This is a hat you'll use over and over again. You can get them in different styles and a lot of them, like this one are reversible for the added bonus of two looks with one hat! 

Unfortunately for us, we got a size 2-4 toddler hat. iPlay only makes three sizes of hats 0-6 months, 6-18 months and 2-4T. They're all generously sized. While I would have loved to have a new 6-18 month hat in our box, we didn't get one. We didn't get one of those because Citrus Lane does their best to send products that your child won't immediately out grow and stop using. They would rather error on the side of caution and send something too big, than send something you can't use at all. As a parent, I really appreciate this most of the time! This time I didn't, but that's only because the hat is SO big that we'll have to put it up until at least next summer. Who wants a summer hat you can't use in the summer when you get it? At least I won't have to buy one for next year. Honestly, I wish they had an option to customize your child's current size under the profile information, but that isn't something they've done... at least not yet. They're always listening to customer feedback though, and who knows, it may be something that changes in the future.

Finally, because CL strives to send out a balanced box of items, there was a summer toy. This month they sent out toys from Spielstabil, which is a subdivision of Haba the German toy company and the toys are made in Germany. I honestly love Haba products and was really excited to see this toy included in the box as we'd never tried anything from their Spielstabil line. Citrus Lane sent out different sand and water toys this month and we got an apple tree sand mold. 

It was a cute toy, and I would consider other sand molds from them in the future, if I had some reassurance that this wasn't a normal occurrence.

Unfortunately, within about 2 hours of my daughter playing with it inside, the handle popped off! I was shocked as this shouldn't have happened. Spielstabil prides themselves on "Indestructible, BPA free toys made to last." So, either ours was a fluke or it somehow got broken in shipping and my daughter just managed to pull it apart because it was loose. I don't know.

They were out of the toy originally sent to us, so customer care sent 2 different products by Spielstabil (same value) instead and we've already had tons of fun using them. This is my daughter playing with them at the park.

 Either way, I contacted Customer Care at Citrus Lane about the broken toy and they sent us a replacement. The replacement toys actually made the box a little bit more fun and less disappointing because now we have something from the June Citrus Lane box that we'll be able to use all summer! Once again, many thanks to the awesome customer care team!

If you're interested in trying out your own Citrus Lane box or signing up for a subscription you can do so here. If you use this link, https://www.citruslane.com/invitedby/Audrey.Albinger when you sign up you'll save $10 off your subscription! Or if you'd rather try just one month to see if you like it, click here and enter code TAKEHALF at check out - your first box will cost only $12.50 and that's a deal! Word to the wise: you must sign up before the 5th of the month to get that months box or else you'll get the following month's box. You can cancel your subscription at anytime right on their website. If you do sign up I'd love to know your thoughts! 

No compensation was received for writing this post. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own. We choose to subscribe to Citrus Lane and have done so at our own expense since June 2012. If you sign up from one of my links on this page I may receive a $10 credit to use for future Citrus Lane boxes and I greatly appreciate that!