Citrus Lane November Box - 3 year old girl

Yesterday the mailmen dropped off a yellow box filled with surprises. As usual we are super excited and anxious.

Look at all these great items perfect for the cold winter and days inside the house. I picked the Babyganics Cold Relief Chest Rub as our Mystery Item. It will help a lot when our daughter gets a cold.

Here is what all we got:

- Babyganics - Cold Relief Cest Rub, $8.49

I love the smell of this Cold Relief Chest Rub and the soft, glide-on stick makes it super easy to apply. My daughter and I were congested yesterday and we had a great time applying the Cold Relief Chest Rub on each others chests. I have to say it smells great and its very comforting and soothing.

- Barefoot Books, Animal Boogie Mini Cube Puzzle - $12.99 

Perfect for a rainy or super cold snowy day inside. This 36 big piece puzzle will keep my daughter busy for at least 15 minutes. We also have 'The Animal Boogie book', so after or before we could read it and listen to the song.

- Faber-Castell, Watercolor Pad and 15 Watercolor Crayons - $6.49 and $14.99

These crayons are very special because paint is in the crayon and you just need to add water with the included paintbrush and it creates beautiful, bright colors. These crayons consist of more color than wax, thats why they make such brilliant colors.

I cant wait to try these out on a day when we are stuck inside.

So, we really like all these products. Its a great variety and we will get great use out of each item this winter. 

The box usually costs $29/month, but the items we received all cost around 40$. So its a very good deal, especially if you think about the fact that they are perfect for our daughters age range and get delivered right to my door. 

For anyone interested in signing up, follow this link and you will get a special deal.

Thank you. 

Disclaimer: Post contains referral/affiliate links.  

Austin Lloyd November Review - 3 year old (Promo Code included)

Here it is, our second Austin Lloyd Box.

We received a great Box last month and really enjoyed the Circus theme.

So when Austin Lloyd announced the Fairy Tale and Make Believe theme for this month, I was very excited. My family is German so I know all about Fairy Tales and grew up with them. 

I want my daughter to know all about Old Folk Tales and Fairy Tales. 

Here is what we received:

- Kid O, Frogs and Lily Pad Game - Retail Value $11.99

This is very cute and I really think our daughter will enjoy it. This game will help with motor skills, hand eye coordination and also teach kids to play together. Perfect game for any restaurant trip or quiet time. 

- Parragon, Goldilocks and the Three Bears - Retail Value $5.99

We love books and this colorful board book will be a great addition to out bookshelf (which we recently had to expand. I really like sturdy board books and I am impressed that even though its a board book, it has the full classic story in it. Because we really like long and interesting stories.  

- Trudi, Owl Wizard Puppet - Retail Value $29.99

Wow, look at this beautiful Owl Wizard from Trudi. I love the way hes dressed, I love the sweet look on his eyes and I love that he will help us with imaginary stories and make believe. I will also use him to sing and read books in silly voices. He is very soft, so that he can even be a snuggle buddy.

- Moulin Routy, Ombres du Soir - Retail Value $18.50

These 'People of the night' are such a great idea. Perfect for night time story time and making up stories. I will have to try these out when we build our tent out of blankets. I think I am even more excited then my daughter. I usually always almost break my fingers trying to make an animal with my fingers. But this will be so much fun!

Again, we received a great box filled with high-value items. 

The value of the items is way higher than the price of the box originally. So I got a great amount of Toys for a great price and all are matching the Fairy Tale theme.

We really enjoy these special and extraordinary items, that you cant find at Target or the Toy Store. 

We will have so much fun making up stories, reading Fairy Tales and playing with the Froggies.

Thank you Austin Lloyd.

If anyone is interested, I received a special code that will save you 15%. 

Promo Code: ReviewsFromMom15 (good through December 31) 

Koala Crate - Colors - October 2014 Box

 This post contains affiliate links, which save you and me both money. 

I was super excited when, Kiwi Crate announced starting October 2014 they are also offering a crate for Preschoolers (3-4 years). 

Its called, Koala Crate, and they created the Craft Boxes together with the famous Highlights magazine. 

Every crate is filled with activities that engage creativity and playfulness. 

Plus, the imagine magazine, created by Highlights. 

The magazine is a great addition to the engaging crafts, it is filled with stories, poems, games and extra activities.

We received our 'Colors' box a couple days back, but so far we enjoyed the nice weather and didnt have the time to sit down and do the crafts. But finally today was a crappy day and the first thing we did after breakfast is open the Koala Crate box.

I was super excited and so was our daughter. She loves crafts, messy glue stuff and paint. So this is perfect for her. 

Here are some pictures, so you guys can see what all we got:

 Jumbo Crayons, a color Dice and Watercolor Paint.

Transparency Sheets and a Banner.

We started with the transparency sheets and scavenger hunt.

Running around looking for the matching color animals and playing with the transparency sheets was a lot of fun. We spend 10 Minutes or even a bit more just with the first activity. It was also a lot of fun, just holding up the transparency sheets and pretending to be in a 'red' or 'blue' world. It was actually quiet funny to see everything in a different color.

Next we used the crayons and watercolor paint to create the banner. 

My daughter and I had a great time using the crayons and watercolor paint. The crayons shine through the water colors and we made a beautiful banner. It is simple but it was a lot of fun to pick different colors and make the crayons shine through the watercolors.

After we were done with most of the activities, I saved some for later (like mixing colors together), we read the imagine magazine. We enjoyed the story about Kellan (the Koala), Peter (the Parrot) and Ella (the Alligator), the poems and other activities (coloring page, hidden picture page, silly things page). 

All in all I have to say that I didn't expect to have this much fun, since its hard to do 'bigger crafts' with preschoolers. But I was very impressed. I loved the theme, the activities and most of all the magazine that came with it. We had a great morning exploring, creating, reading, drawing and doing crafts.

But best of all my daughter and I had a blast together and we laughed alot. 

If you are interested in trying out Koala or Kiwi Crate, follow this link and you will receive 10$ off your first box. 

Thank you.

Austin Lloyd October Review - 3 year old (Promo Code included)

Like I announced at the beginning of the month, we signed up for Austin Lloyd. I am super excited, because they feature some of my favorite brands. For example Haba, Hape, Janod, Manhattan Toy Company and so many more.

 I also really love the fact that each month the box has a different theme and we always receive one book in each box. 

I bet you all can guess how excited I was when I received my shipping confirmation. I tracked my box every day and was surprised when it showed up earlier then expected. 

So here it is :

Tadaaaa, I am definately not disappointed. This is such an awesome box.

A book, a Lace Lion, a screwing ball toy, a memory game and a magnetic game.

There is more in there than I expected. 

I am stoked. 

Here a detailed description about the items we received:

- Hape Circus Screwballs -  $16.49

The Screwball Characters Toy is for 24+month and I really like it. Because honestly I haven't seen any other toy where kids have to screw and stack. I also like that they can mix and match the different parts. This is the perfect toy for taking with to the restaurant or for quiet time.

The Circus Screwballs is made out of wood and felt, one thing I love about Hape. I am in love with wooden toys, because I love how they feel, I love the smell of wood and personally I always think the colors are more vibrant.

 

- Manhattan Toy Company, 'Imagine I can' Lace and Play Lion, the card that came with the toy says Retail Value at $10.49, but the Manhattan Toy Company website sells them for $5.00

I really like Lace Toys and my daughter is still trying to figure them out. So far it keeps her attention for 5 Minutes, but when she gets better she will have more fun. 

I enjoy them. (LOL!)

The Lion is for 3+ years and is great for hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. 

I also think its fun that you can attach the parts of the mane or just leave it out. Again a great toy for the car, the restaurant or quiet time at home.

- Hervé Tullet - The Finger Circus Game Book - the Retail Value Price on the card states $9.95, but I found it on Amazon for $8.49

Our family loves Hervé Tullets books and we already own two other ones. We love the vibrant colors and cute stories. I really like this Circus Game book, since each page has a hole where you can put your finger in. Your finger will turn into a circus performer. This is such a silly and great idea. I recommend it for all ages and it will make story time more fun and interactive.

-Patrick Rhuby - Memory Game, $15.95

Wow, what a beautiful and colorful memory game. Patrick Rhuby, who grew up in Idaho but now lives in Los Angeles, dreamt of running away to join the circus when he was a boy. So no wonder he created such a colorful and great memory game. With such vivid colors and bold graphics, I am not even sure if I will frame these or play the game. They are just so stunning. 

36 pairs is alot for 3+years, so I really like the suggesting found on the card to just use a couple at the beginning. 

- Janod - Magnetibook Crazy Face, the Retail Value on the card states $20.99 but I found it on Amazon for $15.19

Janod is one of my favorite brands and I had a Magnetibook on my wishlist. 

Our daughter loves magnets, so she will definately love this toy also (I am saving it for her birthday next week).

I really like that this Magnetibook comes in a box, so that all the pieces stay in one place. Every mom know its hard to keep track of toys, especially the small ones. 

I also like that it comes with a template, so kids can either copy the template or just make their own 'Crazy Face' creation.

This Magnetibook is great to boost creativity and fine motor skills. 

So all in all, all these items are great and very thoughtful. I love each an every one of them. I also really like the variety of toys and that they all match the Circus theme. 

The price of all the items is way more than the price for the box. I cant wait for my daughter play with them next week after her birthday.

Austin Lloyd is not a normal kids subscription service, they offer high value items and no samples or crap to fill the box. The products are items you cant always find everywhere and they are thoughtfully selected. I am very impressed with Austin Lloyd and really enjoyed our October box. 

And of course this Box Service is more expensive, but you also receive a lot of high quality toys and a big vaiety. 

If anyone is interested, I received a special code that will save you 15%. 

Promo Code: ReviewsFromMom15 (good through December 31) 

Thank you.

 

Citrus Lane October Boxes - 2 year old girl and 3 year old neutral box

This post contains affiliate links. If you decide to sign up and use my link, you will receive 50% off your first box. 

 We are again receiving 2 different boxes this month.

 I am very excited because my daughters birthday is in a couple days and I will save some items for her special day.

I was very surprised when our mailmen handed me the boxes, because usually they have yellow writing on them. This month they are pink and they have mustaches on the box (you can tear them out of the card stock and take a picture for a fun giveaway). I think it is very cute and thoughtful, since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and November is Men's Health Awarness Month. 

Here is what we received in her 2 year old Box:

 - Ruffled Leg Warmers from Ooh La Leggies - $10.00

These are really cute and perfect for Justinas Birthday Outfit and pictures. 

Hopefully she will like them.

 - Maracitos from Hohner Kids - $9.00

These are very cute and will be perfect for our music time. 

We already have a little piano, that we use when we sing songs and dance. We will have a lot of fun when we include these to it.

 - Janod Story Set City - Yellow Cab and Pink Car, $10.00 each

These are little real wood cars and figurines. Perfect for every little doll house or Matchbox Car lover. I will actually saves these for our next restaurant trip, they are small, sturdy and fit perfectly in my daughters backpack for out and about.

 

Here is what we received in our 3 year old neutral box:

- Little Adventures - Red Hero Cape, $16.99

Our daughter went to a play date the other day and loved playing with the other child's cape. Since then she was wanting a cape. So this was PERFECT.

Our daughter had to try it on right away.

 

- Hohner Kids -Easy Grip Maracas, $7.50

Again, we love instruments. I like these because they are a bit bigger and I am a big fan of blue. 

-Annie's - Organic Cheddar Snack Mix

I love the variety in this Snack Mix. Its not just Cheddar Bunnies, but also yummy Pretzels and Crackers. My daughter and I loved them and will use the coupon on our next shopping trip. 

-Janod - Exotic Animal Donimos, $12.99

This is such a cute domino game. I love the vibrant colors and different animals. Also, on the back of the animals are dots like on a dice. So you can play either with the animal sides or make it harder using the dots.

We played this game last night and my daughter had a lot of fun. Its kept us busy for about 30 Minutes and the rules were very easy to understand for her. 

So all in all, both of these boxes were awesome and well worth their price. 

I am very happy with both boxes and all the items suit my daughter very well. 

If you are interested in trying out Citrus Lane, follow this link and you can get 50% off your first box.

Thank you.

Disclaimer: Post contains referral/affiliate links. 

Smiley360 Mission Review: 5-hour ENERGY®

 Thanks to Smiley360, we received these special 5-hour ENERGY® shots for free to try.
I am very excited to try out the special Pink Lemonade flavor, I had the normal one a couple years back and really liked it. I used it before working out and before running a marathon. It really helped and made me feel energized and more awake plus alert.

It has a great lemonade taste and is filled with amino acids and B-Vitamins. I took a shot right after putting my daughter down for her nap. I got so much done and felt very energized for several hours. It was awesome. I also like that it is sugar free and only has 4 calories.

Also, this special marked bottle of 5-hour Energy donates money to the Living Beyond Breast Cancer non-profit organization. This organization is helping those with breast cancer live beyond their diagnosis. It is only available for a limited amount of time, so go to the store and buy yours to support a great non-profit organization.

Thank you again Smiley360.