September 19, 2020

Review Time: National Geographic Crystal Growing Kit

September 19, 2020/ Heather Brown

My son, Caleb, is 4.5 years old and his latest interest has been in rocks and gems. He found this triangle-shaped rock at the beach and was so excited because he found a gem rock. Do you know what a gem rock is? I only just learned of these magical rocks. They give you three powers; the power of strength, the power of speed, and the power of knowledge. The most awesome thing about it, he really believes it.

Given this newfound power (and love) for rocks and gems, I started to search for ways to promote his rock and gem interest. I was browsing Amazon and came across the National Geographic Mega Crystal Growing Lab kit, and knew this would be a hit. I added it to Caleb’s Amazon “wishlist” until a good reason popped up to purchase it. The lucky kid didn’t have to wait long because the grandparents saw me add it and sent it at as “just because” gift. Aren’t grandparents great?

I thought I’d give you the rundown on this kit experience to help in case you’re wondering if you’d like to get it for your kid(s). I always love a good insider view of a toy or activity. So pretend I’m your mom-friend and we’re trying to chat over our kids playing in the background and let me share my experience.

December 13, 2019

My Favorite Things 2019: A Christmas Gift List

December 13, 2019/ Heather Brown

I feel like every email and every blogger I follow has list upon list of gifts (click here or here, for example). Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for the Home Cook, Gifts for {fill in the blank}. While I appreciate the lists and they give me ideas, but they also seem to send spirals of anxiety through me. I feel like I have to find all the gifts…on sale…right now. AHH! Then I always want to give thoughtful gifts and something the receiver would really enjoy, so I find myself online searching, reading, looking, deciding, and going down rabbit holes of random things. Top all this with all the emails about sales here, shipping deadlines, and I’m just going nuts. My brain is like a ping pong table. Or like a dog seeing a squirrel. Are you relating at all to me here? Or am I really just that nuts? Ha, don’t tell me.

So to further complicate things, I’ve got my own list for you. I’m taking the Oprah route and calling it My Favorite Things!

August 09, 2019

Getting Crafty with KiwiCo

August 09, 2019/ Heather Brown

Do you ever read a description of a product or service and still wonder what the heck it is? I hate that! Sometimes I feel companies get too much into trending or key words and forget to give just a straight forward description of what they provide. Ugh!

I wanted to share my experience with KiwiCo and went to their “About Us” to get their official description and I feel like it was all fluff and didn’t actually give much “about” the service….which, by the way, is AWESOME. In my own words, I’d say it is a subscription based craft box service that delivers age appropriate projects to your door. (Okay, end of rant now)

I first heard about KiwiCo from my friend/neighbor, but never really went any further than talking about it. Then I got an email that offered a free trial. With it being summer still, I really need things to entertain my 3-1/2 year old son and this seemed just the ticket, so I signed up (while during Wesley at 10pm one night, haha).

You select the age of your child when you sign-up for your crate, so what you get will fit your kid. We landed with the Koala crate which focus on play & learn. Perfect! Then, when our crate arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see three crafts for us. When my son came out of quiet time, I delivered the news: he got a box in the mail. He LOVES getting boxes and letters in the mail (although I think he knows that boxes are better, hehe). He’s even happy with the box is as simple as a new cup. Easy to please, love it.

Of course, as soon as the box was open, we had to start a craft immediately. The box theme was Rainbows. Ahh, cute! I should have looked in the box out before letting him know about the box because I was scrambling a bit to get a closer look at what we had to do. This mom is just living and learning.

Once I had the box back in my hands, and a moment to see everything, I realized they provide all the materials and some great instructions.

June 10, 2019

Make the Grade: Thank Your Teachers with a Local Gift

June 10, 2019/ Heather Brown

We just had our last day of beginner’s preschool on Tuesday. How did that happen? I feel like the school year just started not that long ago and poof, here we are. But then I looked at our first and last day photos and you can clearly see time has past and my little guy has grown so much. Not to mention, that when the school year started, Wesley wasn’t even a thing in this universe yet.

With the school year coming to a close, it’s time to thank the teachers that took care the kids during the school year. My mom was a fourth grade teacher and I know how much time, effort, and love teachers pour into their students. The parents of our class ended up putting together a basket, but I had some ideas in my back pocket that I thought I’d share.

You know what’s nice, to buy locally! For one, you support all our local small businesses which help make Tacoma awesome. And two, they are near by and don’t require the time (and sometimes cost) of shipping. And let’s face it, the last day of school is nye so we gotta get things ASAP.

August 15, 2018

The Diaper Backpack, aka Best Mom Bag

August 15, 2018/ Heather Brown

When I became a mom, I was excited about getting a diaper bag. They make some pretty cute ones these days. Carrying a diaper bag around town is like a badge of honor showing you're a mom. Then I became a mom and realized what a hassle carrying one around can be. There is so much stuff to put in there so it's heavy and bulky. Then your shoulder starts to hurt, and because you wanted a cute one your husband is not a fan of carrying it for you. But, he'll definitely hand you stuff to put in it as well because of that's what you do.

July 21, 2018

Summer Sales! Nordstrom Anniversary

July 21, 2018/ Heather Brown

Another sale! If you didn't have much luck with Amazon Prime Day, then this one is for you. Every year Nordstroms has its Anniversary Sale. Many of the items on sale are for the fall, but you can find some summer stuff in the mix as well. From July 12th to 19th the sale was limited to cardholds, but as of Friday, July 20th the sale runs for everyone. The sale ends and prices go back up August 5th, but things do sell out so act quickly on the popular items!

I already bought the DockATot and anticipating buying something else for myself...but which to pick! If I had all the money in the world, these are the things I would probably purchase.

What do you have your eye on?

July 16, 2018

Summer Sales! Amazon Prime Sale

July 16, 2018/ Heather Brown

I'm a sucker for sales. If I have two shirts in front of me and one is on sale but I like the full-priced shirt better, I feel this odd compulsion to buy the one on sale even when I prefer the other shirt. My logical side knows I should get the one I like best because I'll likely wear it more and get more use out of it. However, the other one is on sale. Then you go through a, "I should just buy both" moment. Then my budget minds reminds me that's a bad idea.

Sales almost get me anxious and I get some serious FOMO. Is this weird? If I don't buy something, I'm missing out on the greatest deal of my lifetime. Sigh. Life is tough.

There are two sales happening right now: Amazon Prime and Nordstrom Anniversary. I'm separating them out into two posts since the Amazon Prime Sale is happening right now whereas Nordstrom Anniversary still has some time.

The Amazon Prime Sale goes from today through Wednesday night.

Raising Tacoma