August Stork Stack "Damaged Goods"

So excited that our August Stork Stack was out for delivery today! ...at lest until we got to the mailbox and found this...

This is what was waiting for us in the mailbox. :(

The box wasn't just soggy and falling apart; it stunk. The product that leaked smelled awful mixed with the cardboard.

Much to K's- utter disappointment, she didn't even get to help open this box up. I honestly didn't even want to bring it inside it stunk so bad. But I wanted to take pictures so that I could email Stork Stack's Customer Service and hopefully they'll replace the damaged items! Also, I really hope that the product that leaked doesn't actually smell like the box inside the plastic bag (thanks to the US Postal Service) smelled or we definitely won't be using it if they do replace it. Yuck!

From what I could make out of the box, it looked like a fun one. Stork Stack chose to go with a "Splish, Splash, Bed and Bath" theme this month and that seemed like a great one to us! The products listed on the information card as best I could make them out included: a green toy product (I'm guessing sub, seaplane or tug boat) - I'm hoping it was the new seaplane, but I don't know as I can't read my card and this item was missing from our box; a Rich Frog Soap Sack; a book called "It's Time To Sleep" by Nancy Tillman which I was so sad to see covered in soap because I love her books and we don't have this one yet!; Bionee Pure Hair and Body Cleansing Foam and the culprit of the damage and destruction that was our box this month, also the culprit of the horrible stench... hmm, not thrilled about this one; and finally, Chivas Bath Salts - a treat for mom!

Ewww!

Should have been a fun box, isn't the soap sack cute?

Anyway, I emailed Customer Support as soon as I put my little one to bed tonight and am hoping for a speedy and helpful response and some replacement products soon! I've never really had any dealings with Stork Stack Support to date so am curious to see what they're like. I will be sure to update here as customer service is incredibly important to me in any company I deal with.

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.

Weekend Wrap: Potty Training?!

So it's been an interesting week/weekend. We apparently got over the heartbreak of last weekend, although we haven't fully recovered from the "dog separation" and constantly ask daddy to "buy it." <--- An awesome new trend (not)! Wonder how long that will last?

Getting over the "heartbreak" has brought an obsessive shift in needing to use the potty.... Hmmm. I have mixed feelings about this. K- had her 18 month well baby visit on Monday and she passed with flying colors, got her immunizations and we were on our way. Yipee! We of course were given early reading literature by her doctor on toilet training our child, but honestly I was sort of hoping this stage could wait a little longer. Or, at least until we got back from our vacation to Canada in September. In fact I was really hoping it would hold off until she was closer to 2 and it started to rain all the time and we were trapped inside more anyway. K- of course has different plans. She wants to do it now. So now is what we'll try.

In other words, we've spent a lot of time "almost making it to the potty" and "sitting on the potty" and we've got wiping and flushing - at least the actions down pat. But we haven't had very many successful "hits" in the potty yet. Oh, and of course we cannot even think about using the toddler potty chair anymore. K- must sit on the big toilet to attempt to go. I guess I've got my homework cut out for me in the next couple of evenings since I really haven't done a ton of reading about this one yet and I'm really curious to find out just what sort of travel potty options are out there. We don't own a car and use public transportation - the bus or walk a lot. Neither are super friendly for a potty training toddler. This is definitely shaping up to be a messy adventure. At least we have most of the home potty training necessities.... That's a start. However, I spent the weekend realizing my husband and I are definitely in over our heads on this one! Yikes....

Weekend Wrap: Heart Break

Watching K's- Heart Break

My toddler may actually be experiencing her first "broken heart" and "lost love" and we're all sad because of it. We spent a wonderful weekend with my best friend and her little girl. We shopped for wedding guest outfit accessories, we played with the girls, we watched the girls play together, we talked, we laughed, we discovered my daughter now loves to ride in a car seat in the car - oh the novelty, we took their dog for walks and played ball, we talked some more, we had late nights and nap times that didn't want to happen, we went to the park, the mall and just hung out; ultimately, we had a great girls weekend with toddlers and dog in tow. 

Then they left early this morning in hopes of making it home by dinner time and I wish them a quick, safe and quite drive home this afternoon. While the visit didn't go as planned or as we'd hoped, we had a ton of fun! Saying goodbye is always hard and it's sad to watch them drive away.  As adults we're used to it, my best friend and I have long since stopped living in the same state and our visits are infrequent. Our conversations aren't. In fact they happen daily, sometime multiple times a day. For our toddlers, saying goodbye is a different story. The girls are only a year and a half and two. Ultimately, they don't wholly understand what is going on. My toddler, at 18 months was  devastated this morning that they were leaving and we weren't. She was sad that we had to say "goodbye" and stay. I'm not sure she understood why they got to "go home" while she had to "stay home" no matter how hard we tried to explain it to her. 

Turns out K's- devastation was multiplied. Not only were our friends leaving, but so was the car and the worst blow of all the dog left too! It was their dog, of course it was going to go with them, but K- became super attached to it in the 2 full days they were here. She couldn't wait to get up to see the "doggie" and followed her around saying "black, nice, like it, pretty, love it, pet, dog, doggie, cute, soft, fluffy, drinking, running, barking, walking." D- and I have no intention of owning a dog right now, nor is our apartment complex animal friendly, so having a dog around for 2 days was the ultimate treat and than seeing it leave was akin to the ultimate betrayal in K's- eyes. Oops.

Watching the car drive away was a close second. K- (and I to a lesser extent) got spoiled while they were here for 2 days, because we didn't have to walk or take the bus. We could just drive wherever it was we were going, making getting from point a to point b a lot faster. 

D- and I don't own a car. We will, I'm sure in the future have to move to a large city where it's not an absolute essential because public transportation is just that good, or we'll have to finally suck it up and join the vehicle owning masses. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I owned a car when we got married. About a week after we tied the knot, my car was totaled in an unfortunate, but possibly fortuitous freak accident (shortly after that we moved abroad) so that was the end our our car ownership. With D- being a student and me being at home with K-, living on a tight budget, and not knowing whether we'll stay in the States after D- graduates a vehicle isn't an absolute necessity and not currently owning one for expense alone makes sense. We live close enough to everything we need to walk, ride bikes or take the bus and our city just isn't that big. It's a life style choice that we've committed ourselves to while D- is in school. We'll reassess our decision when he graduates and starts working full time if we remain in the US. But that's not something that can easily be explained to a toddler who has decided her car seat is "comfy" and she loves riding in the car.  This bodes really well for our upcoming trip to Canada at the end of the summer! I hope that her love affair with her car seat maintains itself at least throughout the duration of our trip as it will make everyone's life easier and the trip itself that much more enjoyable for everyone. But it's hard to say. 

In the meantime we spent all morning mourning the loss of the dog alternating crying inconsolably because the dog is "missing" and talking seriously about how we'll "See it. Tomorrow" - her words not mine. Poor girl, she's optimistic that they've only temporarily left while somehow also recognizing that they're not here now. We spent the rest of the morning wanting to be buckled into our car seat on the living room floor and pretending to ride in the car and wanting to go places in it. Well see what happens when we wake up from nap and find out they're gone all over again. 

...It may be a very long day....

Joy: Hearing "Thank You" From Your Toddler

Early this morning, K- and I were on our own because D- was already at work. So, we headed to the kitchen to rustle up some breakfast. K- loves the kitchen as much as any room in the house. She's been exposed to it since birth whether just being there while we cook or actually getting to stand on a chair and help. She knows the names of multiple food items, utensils and dishes. She knows where they go and happily helps set the table and unload the dishwasher.

Lately, for about the last two weeks or so, we've been working on saying "thank you" and "you're welcome." Typically this means I tell her "thank you, K-" and "you're welcome" countless times a day for even the smallest acts with the hope that it will eventually rub off. One of our favorite places to work on this skill is in the kitchen while unloading dishwasher. For example, K- takes the flatware out piece by piece and happily hands each one to me with some sort of description and I tell her "thank you" for the "big" fork or whatever item she's handing me. She can't quiet reach or see into our utensil drawer and for now, she's quite content to take items out of the dishwasher and give them to me because she knows she's "helping" and she's all about being helpful right now. Her snack bowls, sippy cups and our leftover food storage containers are all in places she can reach and she'll actually put those away and then I'll thank her for that as well, every time. For me,  it's a slow tedious process, in her eyes this is a great game and she comes running when I open the dishwasher often saying "ine elping," "K's- elping" or just simply "elping, elping, elping!"

Usually I let K- pick out her own breakfast dishes every morning and that includes getting them out of the cupboard or drawer and taking them to the table. At 17.5 months old she's perfectly capable and content to do so. This morning, because all her cereal/snack bowls were in the dishwasher as were her spoons, I asked her which bowl she wanted. She told me and I handed it to her in what became a reverse role of how we normally put away our dishes every day. As I handed K- her bowl, much to my surprise and utter excitement she looked me straight in the eye and said "t'ank you" without missing a beat I (absolutely beaming) happily told her "you're welcome" then handed her her spoon only to be met with another serious "t'ank you." I was honestly elated and sailed through the rest of the day on the high of hearing the most honest and sincere form of "t'ank you" possible. She really wanted her breakfast. It's wonderful to know that something you're doing is actually paying off! And because she's either learning or because she saw how happy those first couple of "thank you's" made me, she tried it out a few more times throughout the day as well. I even got a "tanks" or two used correctly!

Yay, step in the right direction for K- and I!

PopSugar Must Have - July Box & August Anniversary Preview!

I was so excited to get an email yesterday saying that my Popsugar Must Have box should be arriving. This was my first box from them, but I've been interested in getting one for what seems like forever! It was a belated Mother's Day gift, but hey, I'll happily take it! For those of you who don't know, Popsugar is a life style box that targets women between 18-40 (I believe they also have men's boxes too) and every month they curate a box of the most "it" items and accessories of the season. The box is $35 a month including shipping, but if you sign up for a longer subscription you can get a box free. If you're interested in checking it out for yourself you can follow my referral link http://popsu.gr/gVRD (I'll thank you now for doing so!) and if you use code SAVE5PSMH or REFER5 you should save $5 on your first month! A lot of people thought that July was going to be their 1st year anniversary box, but it looks like based on an email they sent out earlier today that they're saving the birthday bash for August and even sending a special gift with a $65 value! So if you've ever wanted to give Popsugar a try, now is the time!

Now for my box.... Here's what came in the July Box

So, most of this is stuff I would have never bought for myself. First off, because we're on a tight budget - my husband is a student and I'm a stay at home mom and that means there isn't any money for extras and fun extravagances right now. Secondly, because I usually shop safe. If money weren't an issue, than I probably wouldn't hesitate to buy the Supergoop! because I've heard and read the most wonderful things about this sunscreen and I'm over the moon happy to try it out! I also would buy the Mighty Leaf Iced Tea, because both my husband and I love iced tea, especially in the summer time and anything mango is always a hit! But the rest of it the NCLA nail lacquer, the Baublebar chain necklace in rose gold, the cookie chips (which are dark chocolate and oh so tempting), and the Tolvolo King Cube XL silicone Tray for ice cubes? I never would have thought to purchase any of it! Almost all of these things would have been "a step outside the box" for me. And yet, I must admit while it didn't live up to the reviews I read about June's box and the final push for me to go with Popsugar, I'm thrilled by my July Box. It's totally about and for me, but I can share half of it with my family and it's the best gift because it allows me to try things I wouldn't have otherwise tried!

For instance, I'm wearing the NCLA nail polish in "As If !" a very pastel matte purple with cool undertones on my toenails as I write this and I have to admit that I might have to give purple a bigger chance in the future. Anyone who knows me, knows that I mostly detest anything purple or pink as a general rule. Since having a little girl a year and a half ago, that's changed a bit, but it's still not a "go to" color for me. The more I look at this color, the more it makes me happy (gasp) and I can't help but think how cute it would look with a pair of peep toes and a dress for a date or just shorts and sandals for a day at the beach. I don't wear nail polish on my finger nails, except for very, very special occasions, so I don't have reason to buy much of it and when I do, I stick to colors I know are "safe" with my skin tone and the season. This is the first bottle of NCLA 5 Free Luxury Nail Lacquer I've ever owned and so far I'm hooked. It goes on smooth and covers well. I can't wait to see how it holds up to everyday wear!

 I'm still on the fence about the necklace by Baublebar that came in the box. I did try it on and I must admit I do like the rose gold, better than I like yellow gold, but more often than not I wear white gold or sterling silver accessories. I also don't usually go in for big, chunky or clunky and these chains are solid. Hmm, maybe I'll find a good place to wear them when we go on vacation this September, or maybe I'll just put this one up and use it as a gift for someone else who would enjoy it so much more. Popsugar did send a coupon code for 20% off your first order at Baublebar as well a great deal for those in the market for some awesome fashion jewelry. I'm not sure I'll be using this either, unless I find that I need to pick up a certain accessory for the wedding we're attending at the end of summer. We'll see. I was excited to be introduced to this new company though!

Okay, Like I said before, my husband and I love iced tea in the summer. Actually we could both probably drink it year round and ice disappears fairly fast around our house. So, the addition of a new XL cube ice tray is awesome! The cubes are HUGE compared to a normal ice cube, so all you need is one. I'm guessing the larger size will also take longer to melt and keep our drinks colder longer too? Okay, maybe that's just wishful thinking. Haven't tried it out yet, as it's in the freezer making ice right now. I can also see this making great frozen treats as well. All you'd have to do is put some cake-pop or Popsicle sticks in and you'd have easy iced treats on a stick which my toddler will love!

We love trying new foods, and it's hard to go wrong with something that's dark chocolate! I'm excited to try and share the Hannahmax Baking All Natural Crunchy Cookie Chips with my family. But we'll probably take them on our next picnic adventure, if they don't get opened before that. H/M Baking is another new to us brand and I love that they're both all natural and that the ingredient list isn't a mile and a half long!

The iced tea by Mighty Leaf in Calypso Mango is divine! I love fruit infused tea and what screams summer more than tropical flavors like Mango? I am more cautious when picking black teas as fruit infused green tends to by my favorite, but this one is definitely getting added to our summer iced tea selection! It's just that good. It's smooth, it's fruity and so refreshing!

Finally, the product I was the most excited about was the full sized bottle of Doctor T's Supergoop! SPF30 PA+++ Anti-Aging UV Damage Repair Complex City Sunscreen Serum. The first I heard about Supergood! was the end of last summer and I've been wanting to try it ever since. I fully believe in the power of sunscreen and I'm one of those people who definitely regret it and burn when I don't put it on. I used to be terrible about remembering to apply it, but with a toddler in tow and since we're always outside, I've gotten much better about it. However, I could never justify the cost of Supergoop! Especially when I still had sunscreen to use up and for whatever reason it seems to multiply around our house. I did receive a couple of samples in my daughter's July Stork Stack last week, they're a different formula, but they're awesome so I can't wait to try this one out on me!

 
Final thoughts on my first ever Popsugar box, it could have been better, but overall I'm excited and it was so much fun to get something in the mail that was just for me! Not baby related, not bills, just a fun, gift like box of goodies. I love that I can use most of it right away and that there was a nice mix of items. The only possible "dud" in my book was the necklace and I'm still on the fence on that one.

Did you get your own box? What did you think? Are you interested in getting one? Check them out here, sign up for August before they sell out as it promises to be good based on the "celebrate with us" email I received from them this morning!

August is going to be their Must Have Anniversary and every box will include the Gorjana and Griffin Open Circle necklace, which has a value of $65! It is gold but I love, love love it! If I was ever on the fence about it before I wouldn't want to miss out on August's box. You can always sign up for one month and then cancel before you're billed for the next one. You'll be getting a necklace worth $65 if you do and if you use code REFER5 or SAVE5PSMH it will only cost you $30, shipping is included! You'll get your money's worth too! Each box has a value of at least $100. July's Box would retail for around. $102.24.

PopSugar Must Have was a gift to me from someone I know. I am a current popsugar subscriber. I was in no way compensated for this review. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own. If you purchase your own Popsugar Must Have box using my referral link I may eventually receive a free box from the company. Once you create an account you will receive a referral code of your own to share.

July Stork Stack or Ready, Set, Summer! + Discount Code

July's Stork Stack showed up in our post box today and we couldn't be more excited about this one! If you're interested in finding out more about Stork Stack or signing up you can do so here. Stacks are $27.99 a month and you can save $10 on your first stack if you use my referral code F9DE8478 when you check out. They're delivered the first week of each month and you'll get an email notifying you (on or around the 1st of each month) that your stack has taken flight.

"Ready, Set Summer!" July Stork Stack for a 21 month old girl.

I was so glad to see that the summer stack included a book! We love reading, we love books and somehow we've more than managed to pass that on to our little girl. She's all about the books and I love that the summer stack included a good book to read! The book in our Stack is a First Time book published by Child's Play International called Sports Day. There are 12 books in all in this series and they celebrate "first" events in the life of a little kid. This book was a great choice for the summer stack as it shows the kids in the book doing all kinds of activities outside, drinking water and wearing hats! We've already read it several times! I'm sure it's going to be a new favorite!

As for being active and playing outside, the rest of the box is all about that. We got a super set of sand molds from Mellissa & Doug. These I'm excited to bust out and try. They're plastic, so I'm pretty sure that unlike some of our M&D wooden toys in the past they won't paint chip problems or decals that come off. Plus they're made for the sand and to be used outdoors so they have to be tough right? Anyway we were sent a set of 5 nesting (for easy storage) molds ranging in size, color, shape and sea creature. These are part of Melissa & Doug's Sunny Patch line they look fun. I'm sure we'll get use out of them in our own yard, at the park, in the pool, at the beach and possibly even the bath!

These didn't stay in their original packaging for long!

The sea creature characters, a turtle, fish, starfish, crap and seahorse - so cute!

I love that they nest for easy transport and storage.

We also received a super awesome sunhat and this one I'm totally stoked about! It's a Baby Banz: Kidz UPF 50+ Reversiable Bucket Hat and the best part about it is the adjustable velcro overlapping closure in the back, meaning that even though we received a size 2-4 hat I can adjust it tight enough to fit my daughter's head now and loosen it as she grows. I'm already in love with this idea! It's genius.

I didn't know Baby Banz made this product and honestly we've never owned anything made by them, so I can't wait to give this the old try out. At first look the material feels super sturdy, but also flexible and soft. There aren't funny seams or anything that's going to cause funny lines or get itchy in warm weather. These hats come in two sizes baby which is supposed to fit age newborn to 2 years and Kidz or size 2-5 each is sized by head circumference as well for a more exact fit.  Hopefully, this is a hat my toddler will leave on, she's not so into hats, but as we spend tons of time outside she has to wear one. At least we try to keep it on.

One side is printed, the other is solid.

I was just about as excited to see Supergoop! in our box as I was to see the Banz hat. I've been wanting to try out Supergoop! sunscreen for some time now, but haven't been able to justify buying it at full price when I still have so much other sunscreen that will work in the house. 

Now I can try it and see what I think. I honestly hope it's as awesome as I've heard it's supposed to be! While I wish that they had sent a small tube of it, or another handful of little sample packets just so we could use it all summer, I'd rather have the few samples they did include than not get to try it at all. I will undoubtedly use these for travel and on the go applications rather than every day use, but that will be great as they'll be easy to pack.

Finally, the last product in our stack was a box of Bitsy's Brainfood Orange Chocolate Beet cookies. This is part of their "smart snacks"  and I must admit it was hard not to open these up and share them right away. But that might have ruined dinner.

A new snack for anytime!

This little box of alphabet cookies come complete with a collectable alphabet sticker in the box and is packed full of vitamins and nutrients. This one will be going on our next all day adventure for sure and if they're any good we'll be scouring our stores or ordering more online!

All told, I couldn't be happier with this stack, everything in it is something we'll use this summer or would have bought to try had we found it on our own anyway. We needed a new sunhat as we're right at the point of outgrowing last years and the iPlay one we have is too big for this summer.  July's Ready, Set, Summer Stack was a hit and I can't wait to see what August has in store!

If you're interested in getting your own stack in the mail go to https://www.storkstack.com/join?ref_code=F9DE8478 and use referral code F9DE8478 at check out to save $10 off your first one! August promises to be a good one, July definitely was! Boxes range from the third trimester up to age 3.

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.

Monday Minutes

Oops, somehow I've gotten totally side tracked and haven't even started to write anything this month. So, my new project for the rest of May and through the end of June is to manage to get at least 5 posts up. Even if they're short. I just want to be able to say that I've done what I set out to do. Funny how the little things often get set aside.

This month has been totally crazy. It started out as usual. Long, chaotic, but incredibly fun days with my growing little girl. K- seems to do something new daily at the very least and sometimes, I feel it's all I can do to keep up. I can't believe that in 2 days my baby girl (who no longer thinks she's a baby) is going to be 16 months old. I'm not really sure where the last year has gone. We had a quick visit with my grandparents, which meant the house had to be cleaned from top to bottom, not an easy task whit a toddler who is totally in to getting everything out and only working on putting everything away. Good thing she loves the vacuum or else I'd never get anything done. But she did also help me clean by "wiping" and "scrubbing" or her version of the two. Then it was Mother's day weekend and the following weekend was my husband's birthday. Somewhere in there we had a little bit of sun and decided to ditch everything in doors for a few days and spend as much time as we possibly could outside. On one hand we've logged a lot of hours at the park, on the other... well not much, but the absolutely necessary has gotten accomplished. Oh well, guess that's life sometimes.