Product Reviews - Pocketful of Joules

Reviewing Citrus Lane: The April 2013 Box

Yay, its Citrus Lane box review time… bring on the party!

I was writing these reviews every single month before reducing down to a bi-monthly schedule. So, if you’re super curious to check out my previous box reviews, go ahead and give a little clickity click to this link to check them all out.

I still feel like I’m posting these pretty often though, so maybe I’ll reduce it further to once a quarter and do a death match between all the items to determine the ones that we love the most? Let me know your thoughts on that, mmmmkay?

Oh and if you’re a complainer or happen to have to listen to a bunch of complainers, check out my last review which included my rant on FunBurglars.

At this point Jack is 14 months old and we’ve been getting these boxes for over a year. I was afraid that by now we’d receive a bunch of duplicate items and be totally sick of the Citrus Lane subscription, but that has not happened at all. In fact, out of the 13 boxes we’ve received, we’ve only gotten one item twice. Since it was the Mommy’s Bliss Gripe Water and we LOVE that stuff I am definitely not complaining!

This month’s box was pretty much perfect for his age, so let’s talk about what we got:

Slide & Seek Toy from Melissa and Doug
First off, I really like Melissa and Doug toys in general and we only have a couple of their puzzles. This cute little Slide & Seek toy is the perfect size to throw in the diaper bag and Jack actually seemed to really like it.

Diaper bag essentials: snack container + baggie with a pack of apple sauce, a bib and the placemat.

Packin’SMART Stack –N-Seel 2 Tier from Innobaby
The brochure that came with this month’s box says it best, “Diaper bags have the amazing ability to swallow things whole, making it difficult to find what you need when you need it.” PREACH! I swear I’m tearing through my diaper bag once a week trying to figure out why I have 4 pairs of pants, 3 sippy cups, 2 baggies of crushed cheerios and a partridge in a pear tree all up in there. I try so hard to keep my stuff organized in baggies (one for diapering needs, one for feeding needs), but I’m ready to work this stacking thing into the mix. I’ve already filled one side with teddy grahams and one side with cheerios and it’s working fabulously at keeping my diaper bag a little less crumbly.

Non-Slip Placemat from Oogaa
~~I want to love this, I really do. In theory~~ it’s pretty much awesome – you take this snazzy silicone placemat and put it on the table when you’re dining out. In reality, once we’re done and I’m left with a messy mat I’m not really sure what to do with it. Do I fold the crumbs up inside it and take them home with me? Or, should I try to somehow empty the crumbs into the trash can and wipe the mat off with one of my bleach wipes? Maybe I just need to play with it a little more… About 8 hours after this blog post went live I got an email from the FOUNDER of Oogaa (her name is Sam and I’m super impressed that she reached out to me) and she explained that the easiest way to deal with the mess is by taking a damp napkin to wipe down the mat when you’re out and then you can give it a full washing at home. You can also throw the mats directly into the dishwasher, which is pretty darn awesome. So thanks to Sam for setting me straight and now we need to go out to dinner again so we can try this placemat out properly!

Shampoo & Body Wash from The Honest Company
The fact that this is a full-sized product in really cute packaging is totally right up my alley. Add to that a shampoo/body soap that is organic with essential oils and an insanely delicious smell of orangey vanilla and I’m huffing the bottle of soap like a junkie. Let’s just say, Mommy Likes. And she might not be sharing this with the boys in her life.

My typical disclaimer: I was not rewarded by Citrus Lane for reviewing their box on my blog. I review the boxes, because I feel like other mom’s would be interested in seeing what they’ll get if they sign up for the monthly service.

However, if you decide that you would like to sign up for your own subscription and use my link, I will receive credits on my account. Click here to access the Citrus Lane website with my special link and you will receive $10 off your order!

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Tot Swap, Take 3

I wrote about my first visit to the Tot Swap here and my second over here. Like last time, I wasn’t really planning to write about the Tot Swap again, however I went yesterday and scribbled down some tips that I think might be beneficial to some other shoppers out there.

At this month’s event, I was really hoping to find the Little Tikes Crazy Coupe Truck. We live out in the country and my husband is a car/truck kinda guy, so I’m pretty much obsessed with this cool kiddie truck. Not only can I push Jack around in it now, when he gets a little bigger I can remove the footplate so he can ride around in it alone and play pretend with the working tailgate and gas cap. I saw on the Tot Swap’s Facebook page that a consigner was planning to have one for sale, so when I entered the building (after standing in a long, long line of excited shoppers) I briskly walked straight to the outdoor toys section. Nope. No truck – so it looks like I’ll continue stalking Craigslist and online sales.

I did have some luck finding a Little Tikes Deluxe Cozy Convertible for just $18, so I snapped that up before someone else could lay claim to it. I also got a few pairs of shorts, an adorable t-shirt and a bunch of toys that I can split between our house and my mom’s house for Jack to play with. I’d post pictures of everything, but I got home late from work last night and it’s all still living in my SUV.*

If you are planning to go to your first Tot Swap (or even your 3 or 9^th), here are 5 tips to help you survive:

#1. No Kids!
Kids ARE allowed at the Tot Swap, I just think that you should leave them at home. The Tot Swap is super busy and there is a TON of stuff for everyone to go through. When you have small children running around or sitting on/playing with toys that are for sale, it can be very frustrating. Also, parents blocking entire aisles with their huge strollers are not only annoying to other shoppers but it’s hard for them to even get down some of the aisles to shop! Most importantly, it can be dangerous because some rude shoppers shove through the aisles and may knock your child aside without even realizing it.

If you absolutely MUST bring your child, stick him in an Ergo carrier and strap him to you. Oh yeah, and DON’T use him as a weapon when trying to check out something that someone else is trying out! You wouldn’t believe how many times I was body-checked with an infant! So if you have someone who can watch your kids, use them. Maybe even do a little trade – watch your friend’s kid while she shops and then switch off so that she can watch yours. It’s not only a benefit to the other shoppers; it’s nice for YOU because you don’t have to hear “mom, mom MOM, MOM MOMMY, I WANT THIS!!” 15,000 times.

#2. Know What You Want
These consignment sales can be incredibly overwhelming; there are aisles and aisles of toys, children’s clothes, strollers, and more. Before you even enter the building, go through what you have at home and make a list of what you need. Determine the ‘hot item’ on your list and go straight there first! Even though I had some clothes and toys on my list, I KNEW that outdoor toys would be really popular since the weather is finally starting to get warm. So I went straight there and STILL hardly had anything to choose from!

#3 Price Check
All of the items at the Tot Swap are being sold by different people and many times there are multiples of each item. For example, there were probably 20 of the exact same Leap Frog toy that I liked. Check out a few of them, instead of just grabbing the first one you see. Often some will be missing pieces and others will include a complete set. There are also always differences in sale prices, since everyone is labeling their own items for sale. In the stack of Leap Frog toys, the prices ranged from $5 – 15 for the exact same toy!

#4 Shop for Gifts
There are always a ton of items that are for sale in their original, unopened packaging. It’s insane that a brand new item is being sold at a Tot Swap for more than half off its normal price. If you have little people that you’re buying for (think about any upcoming birthday’s or holidays), it is a good idea to pick up a few things while you’re sorting through the stuff.

#5 Be Nice
Look ladies (and the few men who come), this is not war. You’re trying to find inexpensive kids toys and clothes and if you miss out on something there is NO REASON to be a total asshat about it. Be nice. Chat with the other people in line with you and say “excuse me” as you squeeze past your fellow shoppers.

There you go, I don’t think I could possibly have anything else to say about the Tot Swap after my THIRD post on the subject. Maybe I’ll just call it a trilogy and pretend that was my intention the entire time?

How about you – do you go to consignment sales or yard sales? Share your tips in the comments!

*Some of the musical/talking toys don’t have an off button and I scared the crap out of myself on my ride into work this morning when a few of them would randomly go off and sing to me in a creepy-pedophile-in-my-backseat kind of way.

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The Winner of the Origami Owl Giveaway is…

It has been a week and it’s time to pick the winner of our Origami Owl giveaway!

First of all, I just have to say that I LOVED reading through your comments of the different charms you’d include in your Living Locket. Whether you were making a locket for yourself, your mother or your bridesmaids (great idea LeeAnne!) you guys have some really cool ideas on how to personalize the lockets!

We had a total of 77 contest entries through comments on my blog post and “likes” of Angie’s Facebook page. I made a master list of all the entries and then used a random number generator to pick the winner.

What was the prize again? Oh yeah Angie is hooking one lucky reader up with a $50 credit towards their very own necklace!

And the winner is… Valerie Kidd!

Valerie plans to design a medium silver locket to honor her mother, who passed away last August. She would include the November heart birthstone (her mother’s birthday), the “In Memory Of” charm, a four leaf clover (because they would sit on the grass and look for them when she was little), a Vintage Rose (her mother’s favorite), an Angel Wing (because her mother is her angel), and the “Mom” plate.

Oh my gosh, that is such a sweet and touching tribute necklace!

Congratulations to Valerie! I will email you directly in case you miss this post and don’t know that you’re a WINNER! Once you make your locket, upload a picture to the Pocketful of Joules Facebook page so that everyone can see your masterpiece!

Thank you all for participating and if you are interested in purchasing a Origami Owl Living Locket, you can contact Angie through her Origami Owl website or her business Facebook page. She is also looking for team members, so click here if you’d like to email her to find out more.

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