Darling VoxBox

Thanks to Influenster and many other awesome companies I was able to try 4 products that were new to our house and another one that we were already a fan of! These products were given to me for free in exchange for honest opinions.

I was a lucky recipient of the Darling VoxBox and I was oh so happy!

The first I tore into were Nature's Bounty Energy Vitamins, these have B12 and more.  I am a stay at home/homeschooling (work at home) mother of a 5 year old and a 3 year old and it seems they have an unfair advantage and I have caffeine on my side! These have a great watermelon flavor with no mineral aftertaste.  I love fruity candy and I even found that these satisfied my sweet tooth enough to keep me away from the jelly beans.  I do feel that when I took these regularly I did have more energy than I noticed previously. The product card says these cost $7.99. @NaturesBounty #betteroffhealthy

https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Bounty-Energy-Complex-Gummies/dp/B01C6WSBQO


Duncan Hines - Perfect Size for One: I was able to sample the Chocolate Lover's Cake-MSRP$2.50 (maybe this is for a box of 4)
This was pretty exciting.  I was planning the perfect sneak away during my kids quiet time as soon as I saw it.  It was easy enough to make and I chose to add 3 Tbsp of milk rather than the suggested water, cola or coffee.  It popped right up in my mug in 1 minute and 10 seconds.  I didn't love the taste of it but it was warm and chocolately.  I probably would have preferred a different flavor but my quiet time treat was interrupted and my 5 year old happily finished the cake off for me.  I think this is a great idea for people who know they do better with portion control when they are limited in this way.  It is an easy/quick way to get a baked goodie.  I might check out other flavors in the future. @Realduncanhines #howperfectisthat
https://www.amazon.com/Duncan-Hines-Perfect-Chocolate-Lovers/dp/B06XHY8ZBH/ref=sr_1_16_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1499543889&sr=8-16&keywords=duncan+hines+perfect+size+for+1


Eva NYC-there were two products from Eva NYC available.  I received a small bottle of the Surf's Up Texture Spray-a full size of this is $11.99.  It is supposed to help create beachy waves and give volume and lasting texture.  I have naturally wavy/puffy hair and have used salt sprays in the past but this acted differently.  It didn't really work for me just made my hair look more matte and less shiny and still just puffy (picture Hermione Grainger early movies). I passed it on to a friend. You can find it at Ulta and CVS.

http://www.ulta.com/surfs-up-texture-spray?productId=xlsImpprod6450124&sku=2270457&_requestid=9528711

Live Clean BabyGentle Moisture Tearless Shampoo and Wash - $5.99 and Baby Gentle Moisture Baby Lotion - $5.99.  MY FAVORITE from this box, maybe any VoxBox ever!!  My family has been on a journey to eliminate some crazy chemicals from our home, a very tricky overwhelming journey.  I have even made body washes and they just disappear once on the washcloth or bath pouf.  I've been even more particular trying to find washes and lotions for my children and this is more difficult. These products made it onto EWG's list which makes me feel great about them.  Chamomile, Lavender, and Aloe are used to give this a light scent but I love how it lingers on their hair.  The best part is that it is actually tear free! No fussing when it's rinse time! The lotion is very moisturizing and has the same great botanical scent.  And at $5.99, we will be buying these again!! @livecleanUSA #livecleanmoms It can be found on amazon too!

Country Crock Buttery Spread ($1.81-$2.99) is the one we has used before. It's not a product we use all the time because I usually go for butter but it is great for spreading and quick melting. They recommend using in their "Summer Sauteed Vegetables" recipe.  I haven't done this yet but it's on my summer list! It can be found in almost any grocery store near the butter. @countrycrock #countrycrock

Brita Longlast Review #BritaLongLast

I was able to try out a Brita Longlast filter for free recently thanks to Brita and Influenster.  It is supposed to fit most Brita pitchers and also lasts 3 times as long. I was excited to try it and our filter had long expired so the timing was great! When I opened it the filter was navy and shorter but the bottom still looked the same. It was a bit of a struggle trying to get it to fit into my pitcher but it does fit and when I positioned it correctly it held the water in long enough for it to be filtered.  Other than taste I have no other way of checking to see if the water is filtered appropriately but I've never checked our last Brita filters either.  And the water tastes great! The price is about $16 for one filter but the usual filter costs about $6 so there is a bit of savings in using this one plus there is less waste involved. #BritaLongLast

Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid

Thanks to Influenster and Maybelline I was able to sample two full sized tubes of their Vivid Matte Liquid Lip in shades Nude Flush and Rebel Red.  I recieved these products for free in exchange for my honest review and completion of some review type tasks.

I was pretty excited when I was notified I had qualified for this VoxBox because buying lip products always overwhelms me in the store but I love trying new things!

This is what they looked like when I got them in the mail. 

I immediately had to swatch them. 

So here's the deal, I love how smoothly they go on. They feel thick and rich and creamy when you apply them.  Maybelline recommends trying one coat or two. I prefer the look of applying two coats of Rebel Red.  Nude Flush is the color of my lip tone so adding a second layer didn't give me much of a difference.  

It does have a perfume scent to the product but I find it nice and it didn't bother me. The applicator has a little bit of an angle so it's easy to know which side to use to apply the product.  

I am not much of a red lip gal but this makes me want to find an outfit and a reason to wear it out. I have seen that some people feel that it did not dry matte or took a while to dry matte.  I didn't seem to have a problem, especially after that second coat. 

Nude Flush as I said is very close to my natural lip color but adding this gave me a more finished look and I do like the matte finish. 

My only complaint is that is not long lasting, but it never claimed to be, so I just threw the tube in my wallet and off we went. 

Here is a little overview of the lip products and how they look on me. Thanks Maybelline and Influenster! #vividmatte

Need for Adoption Funds

Most of you probably don't know about my brother and sister-in-love's adoption plans.  They knew from the time they were dating that they wanted to be parents and that adoption was the way for them to go about it.  They also knew what a financial undertaking it is to adopt.  God laid Poland on their heart and they know their little one is in Poland waiting for them.  It seems every time they hear from the agency the price has gone up, you can imagine how hard it would be to aim for a goal that is always moving.  The recently heard for the 3rd time that it would be more money than they were previously told.  They have done several things to raise money: t shirt drives, baked goods, yard sales, my brother used his ancestry skills to fill in some peoples family trees for them. They mailed off all their paperwork to Poland last week, it should have arrived yesterday and will be translated into Polish.  After translated to Polish, their papers should be given to orphanages and foster homes in various regions of Poland, some time after that they can expect to start getting emails and phone calls. So technically they are "Paper Pregnant."  Hooray!

One of the exciting parts of being doing with their dossier is that they can start applying for grants to raise funds.  I am going to share their gofundme account here in case anyone is interested in helping them reach their goal and bring home PK (Polish Kid). :) Please share their story if you can.  I would love for them to bring their little Kielbasa as soon as possible. ;)

Here is their GoFundMe account.

https://www.gofundme.com/pkandthegang?utm_medium=wdgt

Here is their blog the documents their personal journey through adoption.

 https://pkandthegang.wordpress.com/

Soapbox Shampoo

Thanks to Influenster and Soapbox I was recently able to try Soapbox Shampoo and Conditioner in the Acai berry formula.  This formula states that it helps smooth and nourish.

I will start by saying I have long hair that is highlighted.  It is wavy if it air dries but can be coaxed into curls with enough product and humidity, it also can be made straight with blow drying and a little straightening.

I received my shampoo and conditioner in the mail and was excited to see the bright pink color of the bottles. My husband and I typically share bath products and for that reason I try not to go "full girl" in scents and colors.  These pink bottles were very welcome!

I loved the smell of the products, it brought me back to my teenage days when I tried all the Herbal Essences scents at least once.  It is fruity and bright and I love it!

The next thing I noticed was that each bottle has a code on the back, the "Hope Code." Each code is linked to an organization that benefits from the sales of the SoapBox products.  My shampoo is linked to the "Clean Water and Hygiene Education" in Ethopia and the conditioner is linked to "Clean Water Project" in Vietnam.  I really liked being able to see who benefited from the proceeds.  A lot of companies say that they help but it seems kind of ambiguous-this was different because you can read all about the organizations, their size, who is helped,  and specific cities in these countries. Very cool!

The shampoo is sulfate and paraben free and I was surprised at how much lather it had compared to other sulfate free shampoos I have tried in the past.  I like to have lather, it feels "normal," so this was a pleasant surprise.  The shampoo washed out easily and my hair felt soft already.  The conditioner is thick and went on smoothly. I left it on for several minutes per my usual and then easily rinsed it out.
I let my hair air dry - it normally dries wavy and very full and when I used SoapBox it was no different.  I was happy with the results initially but I found that over time that my hair was not as easy to brush through as it is with my normal shampoo regimen.  As time went on it felt more dry than usual especially if I dried and straightened it.  Before the bottle was empty I found that I was using my previous shampoo over the SoapBox ones.

I would definitely use this brand again but I think I would try a different formula with more nourishing ingredients.

Leo's Pad Review

Thanks to BzzAgent and Kidaptive I was able to try out the application Leo's Pad for free.  I had previously tried a few of the free chapters with my then 2.5 year old and was very exciting to see more.  Leo's Pad is for use on iPad's (and perhaps other tablets too?) I know that it is not supported on the iPhone.  It features "Leo" who is a child inventor like Leonardo Da Vinci, a dragon named Cinder and a few of Leo's friends Galileo and Marie Curie.  With these three and a few others you meet further into the app you get started on your journey.

A few examples of tasks you complete in the beginning are things like finding Cinder in a room of objects and Leo will give hints such as "I think she's behind something pink" but will later change to "try behind the octagon." The app learns about your child and adapts as your child shows strengths and weaknesses.  My daughter who is three has now advanced to building a bridge where you have to match up boards cut at different lengths to make an even walkway.  There is one activity with Marie that still causes my little one trouble and that is sewing in patterns, the idea is that you stitch together a sail in the same pattern you are shown.  Sewing, in the app, is connecting dots, some might be up and down like a simple stitch but others require you to go diagonal and skip a few grommets.  The activity will stay the same for my daughter until she masters it.

This app has worked on numbers, colors, patterns, matching, following instructions, impulsiveness and even letter sounds with my little one.  I love that she loves it.  I also love that it holds her attention and that it is truly educational.

If I had to think of a complaint it would be that your child can skip through the different activities in the chapters.  There are some she does not prefer because she doesn't feel good at them or they do not interest her and she will click the menu and zoom right by them.  I do try to be present with her while she plays (not just this app but anything!) and I try to catch her before she will skip it so that I can guide and help her work through it but she is quick!

If this is something that interests you please try it out! This link will help you get a discount.  https://shop.kidaptive.com/ecommercepv

There is a partner app that works with Leo's Pad called Learner Mosaic.  You do not have to use it with Leo's Pad from my understanding but it does coordinate well.  I can log into Learner Mosaic on my phone and see my child's progress.  It will tell me when she advances in a skill, or when she has skipped the same activity multiple times.  It will also tell me the activities she seems to prefer and gives ideas for play and games not on the tablet that will foster her learning.  It provides a few questions each time I log on and gives me ideas based on my answers and her time on Leo's Pad.  I highly recommend this app as well!

Using my Thyme Wisely

Thanks to Influenster and McCormick I received a full size bottle of Thyme in the Frost VoxBox. I got to try this product for free.  I wanted to share what recipe I love the most that uses Thyme.

I really think thyme goes well with potatoes.  I love to roast potatoes after tossing them in butter, thyme, garlic, and salt.

Here is another idea too! http://www.recipe.com/thyme-roasted-potatoes

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