Our Braces Journey with Surfside Kids Dental

Ever since my kids were toddlers I've been told by dentists that they would need braces even though their tiny baby teeth grew in perfectly straight and evenly spaced. As they grew older, the doctors were right and their adult teeth did in fact come in with little room and out of whack. To ensure proper jaw growth and development we decided to invest in our eldest son, 12, first set of braces at Surfside Kids Dental. With this commitment, it was super important for my family to choose an orthodontist that we trusted and whom was financially accommodating.

This post is in collaboration with Surfside Kids Dental.  All opinions are 100% honest and my own, as always. 

Having been to a few Sacramento dentists over the course of the years it has been a real challenge finding a practice that my whole family has loved. Personally, we've gone through many trial and error experiences to lead us to the right place. I am happy to say though we have finally found a dental home perfect for us! 

Here are some tips I suggest when looking for the best dental office for your family: 

1. The vibe. I know it may sound silly but when you are going to be spending a lot of time in a place it is necessary that you feel comfortable, your kids enjoy the environment and everyone feels at ease from start to finish. That includes not only the visual atmosphere but also the energy that the people in the office create. 

2. The doctor and assistants.  Being that these are the people in direct contact and treating your child, it is so important that you educated throughout all steps of an appointment and comfortable talking to them. Additionally, observe how the team interacts with your child, it's imperative that your child feels good and trusts them in their care.

3. The front office staff.  No matter how much you may like the doctor or assistants, if you don't vibe with the front office staff that is a red flag! These are the people whom assist with patient scheduling and whom deal with your personal information. As the front office staff are who initially set the tone for your visit, I encourage you to pay attention to how you feel when communicating with them. Personally, I look for professional etiquette with friendly, warm and relatable conversation. As organization is really important as well, I am always grateful when the office handles my insurance and billing matters with care and in a timely manner.  

We first went to check out Surfside Kids Dental after many of our friends sung their praises.  Upon entering, my kids loved the decorative beach themed office! There were many things for the family to indulge in the lobby like toys, TVs showing cartoons, computers, and video games.  They also have an area for complimentary water, coffee or tea. Oh, and we can’t forget about the massage chairs for the parents. The staff were incredibly friendly and knowledgeable while being warm so that the kids are at ease. A small detail I loved is that the office has your child fill out a fun facts form to get to know them better. 

At our Elk Grove location orthodontic consultation, we had Dr Plewe as the orthodontist. He is a very calm and reassuring man. My older children do not like a bunch of fake friendly or hyped up energy.  Dr Plewe was friendly and made sure to get to know both my sons and never was abrasive or over the top. Another thing that really impressed me was that even though we had both of our sons checked out, Dr Plewe told me assured me that we were fine to wait on my younger son’s treatment and that believed in his case, everything may correct itself over time. I appreciated that we were not immediately pushed into a treatment case.  I felt like Dr Plewe wanted what was best for us, and not just to put braces anyone who may be interested. 

Surprisingly, putting braces on only took about 1 hour after the consultation and paperwork.  It was not a huge ordeal and they do it right in the office with all the other kiddos getting their teeth cleaned and check ups.  My son was able to watch the movie that was playing on the ceiling TV and wear headphones during the application.

Here is a video of our process:

Afterwards, they set us up with an electric toothbrush, flossers, toothpaste and aftercare papers.  My son was sore for the first few days after as he adjusted to having the braces in his mouth.  He should wear the first set of braces for 18-24 months depending on how well he takes care of them and how his teeth respond. 

I'm so happy that we got them done at this tween age before he had to consider possibly what his peers may think, or care too much about his appearance. From a mother's perspective, I felt so much ease that I was doing the best thing by getting him in easy for an orthodontic evaluation and moving forward a treatment that was best for him and his oral health. I can't wait to see what his smile looks like when we are done! 

If you'd like to keep up with our journey, I will be sharing a bit on my Instagram Stories. Follow me there to see our check-ups and any other dental related stories we might have for you!

An orthodontic consultation is always free of charge at Surfside, be sure to tell them “Ashley Newell said Hi” if you make it in! 

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Velocity Island Park Birthday Party

Hi friends!  Happy summer!  Summer is very busy for us!  Along with all the regular summer hustle and bustle, we also have 3 birthdays in our family of 5!  One of the things I've started doing to save my sanity is having the birthday parties outside our home.

I recently had the pleasure of collaborating with Velocity Island Park for my son's birthday party and it was a blast!  We hadn't heard of Velocity Island Park before this and I'm so glad we got a chance to check it out.  Now, I can share with you!  (All photos by Fridge Photos.  Thank you Fred and Damian, you're a dream to work with!)

Velocity Island Park located in Woodland is a different kind of water park.  It doesn't have your usual slides or lazy river.  The have different areas where you can do different activities.  There is a cable park where you can wake board.  There is also a restaurant, volleyball courts, beach oasis, cabanas, and more.  We focused on the Aqua Park for our party.

The Aqua Park has a sturdy inflatable play structure over water.  There are slides, swings, jumping pillows, spinning wheels, balance beams and more.  Kids and adults are provided life jackets before getting onto the structure.  Life guards are there for safety, interacting with the kids, and to help them on the structure.

The birthday party includes two 50 minute sessions on the aqua park with a 10 minute break in between.  During that time, we opted to have a light snack for the kids and some water.  We ordered a fruit plate from their Black Pearl restaurant.  It was a great refreshing snack for the kids and they gobbled it up.  The break is also a great time to reapply some sunscreen.

All of the kids had a BLAST on equipment!  A few parents went out to try it and they had a great time too!  It was so fun to see them all out there swinging, playing tag, climbing, going on monkey bars, and having a great time.  Many of the kids said that they wanted to have their birthdays at Velocity Island too.  Even the kids who were apprehensive at first found their own niche within the structure.

After our two sessions on the aqua park, we had lunch in the shaded private cabana.  Three pizzas and three pitchers of drinks were included in the party package.  We opted to order two more pizzas.  The pizza was a big hit!  It is brick oven pizza.  We opted to get pepperoni, cheese, and Hawaiian pizza.  The kids loved the pizza especially after working up an appetite on the equipment.  The park provided the plates, napkins, cups, and even a Sharpie to write names on the cups which was nice so I didn't have to worry about it.

Velocity Island Park offered to store a cake for us but my son wanted cookies instead so we kept them out at the our private cabana.  The party host brought us waters and our sodas during lunch.  It was nice not to have to walk back and forth to the restaurant to get things.  It was also really nice that I didn't have to clean my house before or after a party since we had it at the park.

Overall, we had an AMAZING experience at Velocity Island Park and my kids cannot wait to go back!  We thought Woodland would be far away but it only took us 30 minutes to get there from our house.  I also thought that party guests would not want to drive out there but it was not an issue for us at all.  It's well worth the short drive!  If you are looking for a fun and active party for a summer birthday, I would highly recommend Velocity Island Park!  The kids are still talking about it!



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Things to do for Spring Break in Sacramento Collab with Blog About It All

Hi all!  Today, I'm doing a collaboration with Jessica Briggs from Blog About it All.  We are sharing ideas for Spring Break!  We have all different ideas so be sure to check out both posts!  Also, Jessica has four boys so her list will be different than mine since only my daughter will be on Spring Break.  My boys already had a break in February.

I met Jessica through blogging, Instagram, and Facebook.  We are both from the Sacramento area so it's been fun to get to know about local mom blogger.  Jessica covers subjects like family life, budgeting, and marriage.   She does super fun stuff with her kids like go on trips and make yummy treats!  I always love seeing what they are doing over there!

As I was saying, this Spring Break is a bit different for us.  My kids have different school schedules since my boys are on year round school and my daughter is not.  My boys already had a long "off track time" so it will just be me and my daughter this Spring Break.  I'm looking forward to it since coming next school year, she will be on the same schedule as the boys.  This will be the last time we get Mommy/Daughter break time so I want it to be special.

First up, some of our tried and true favorites:

1. Imagine Play Elk Grove.  My daughter still loves Imagine Play!  Since we've last gone, they have added a brand new pirate ship.  She'll be so excited to go back to play pirates and mermaids!  Plus, she loves the hourly activities they have for the kids.  We usually bring a lunch and try to get as many hours in as possible.

Photo from Imagine Play of my daughter

2. Mani/Pedi time.  She got her first professional nail painting a couple weeks ago but she hasn't gotten a pedicure yet.  I'm not sure what all the pedicure entails for a kid but I think she'll get a big kick out of it!

3. Tuesday Discount Movies.  We love seeing movies but they are so expensive to see in the theater.  Luckily, many theaters around us have special discounts on Tuesday.  You can usually see a movie for $5 or $6 per ticket.

4.  Color Me Mine.  We've only been here once together.  Avery loves to paint so we definitely need to go back again.  The first time, she painted a plate and it had to have a self portrait on it since it was for the multicultural festival.  When we go next time, I'll get her pick her own piece and go to town.

5. Folsom Zoo Sanctuary.  This sanctuary is a cute little zoo where they have animals that would not survive in the wild due to health reasons.  They have chickens and peacocks that roam around freely.  They have a raccoon exhibit.  It's just a fun and quirky little place to hang out.  They also have a park next to the zoo where you can picnic and play at the playground.

Things we've never tried but really want to:

6. Art Beast.  This is a studio with different rooms where children can explore art.  This is gear from children under 6.  They have both indoor and outdoor areas.  They also have drop in classes where an instructor will lead the children in either music, art, or sometimes both at the same time.

7. Afternoon tea.  We've never been to a real tea house and gotten high tea.  I think my little girly girl would love to get dressed up and have a nice tea with little finger sandwiches and desserts.

8. Jelly Belly Factory.  None of the kids have been to here.  Hubby and I went once while we were dating.  They have a tour and you even get a free small bag of jelly beans on the tour.  It's fun to see all the candy and hear how it's made.

9. Daffodil Hill.  This is a ranch where there are up to 300,000 daffodils in bloom in the spring.  It's in a mountain setting and there are even animals on the ranch to see.  This year, due to odd weather conditions, I'm not sure it will be open for us to see during spring break.

10. Ice Cream.  My daughter's favorite thing in the world is ice cream!  There are so many local shops that we haven't been to yet so exploring some of those would be so fun.  Some places we have not been are Vic's, Gunther's (though we've had Gunther's ice cream at other places), and Sweet Puffs.

What will you be doing for Spring Break?  Do you have any fun ideas for us?  Leave me a comment and let me know!

Here is a direct link to Jessica's post.


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Imagine Play in Elk Grove - Play Place for Children

On October 22, Imagine Play open it's doors in Elk Grove.  A local family wanted to create an indoor play place for imaginative play so they opened up Imagine Play.  I've been excited for this place to open since Elk Grove doesn't have many indoor play places and I don't think any that cater to imaginative play.  My littlest (almost 5 years old) is the queen of imaginative play so I was super excited to bring her to Imagine Play!

***This post is a collaboration with Imagine Play, as always all opinions are my own.***

We arrived at 10:30am last Thursday.  It was a little hard to find since they don't have a big sign on the building yet.  They have a large poster in the window with "Imagine Play" on it with a photo of kids playing.  It is a few doors down from NewSongs School of Music which is right on the corner.  You enter into a lobby area where you sign in by the door.  There is a waiver you have to fill out before your children can play.  You also leave your shoes in the front area which is great so you know people aren't tracking in dirt into the area where little ones crawl.  You do need socks!  If you don't have socks, you can purchase a pair for $2.

I was a little weary when I walked in because the play area didn't seem that big to me.  The whole space is about the size of your average boutique type store.  Boy, was I wrong!  I had to beg Avery to leave at 1:10pm because I didn't pack a lunch.  We were there for almost 3 hours and she never got bored!  She did ask me to play with her a couple times since there weren't other kids her age there all the time.  I would suggest going with a friend so that your kid has someone to play with and you have someone to chat with while they play.

Other than the baby area, we spent a little time playing in each area.  This place is very thoughtfully designed!  Here are the areas, sorry if I'm not good at describing them:
~ Small grocery area with shopping carts, play food, register with conveyor belt
~ Teepee for kids who like confined spaces.  (I have a son who does better in small spaces when he gets overwhelmed so this is amazing!)
~ A bin for fishing.
~ Ice cream cart and bakery table all Melissa and Doug Toys
~ A play "house" area with a table and chairs, kitchen, cleaning supplies (mop, broom, etc...), and there's even a painting on the wall that resembles a window looking out onto nature.
~ Dollhouse and train table.
~ A BIG castle with a slide and areas to go inside.  They also have princess dresses hanging up that can be borrowed for dress up.
~ Pirate ship with dress up items and accessories.
~ Lemonade stand with a cute lemon tree on the wall where you can "pick" lemons.
~ A table with puzzles.
~ A board with learning magnets.  One side has gears and the other side has shape magnets that can be used for building.
~ White board with PVC pipes to build courses to roll a ball.
~ Sensory table with rice.
~ Baby area with soft blocks to crawl on, toys, and ride ons.
~ Table with Little People toys.
~ Chalk cylinder for drawing.

Every hour on the half, they have an activity hosted by the staff.  The first one we just missed because we were filling out paper work was a fan with a tube on it that blew scarves around.  We've seen similar activities at other discovery museums and it's always a hit.  The second activity was a parachute.  I'm bummed Avery didn't want to do it because I think it's SO fun!  The third activity was making necklaces with candy, pretzels, and cereal.  This was not only fun and edible, it helps with hand eye coordination and Avery even made a pattern!  Lots of sneaky learning happening!

Imagine Play also has a snack bar where you can purchase snacks, juice, and water.  Everything is $1 plus tax.  They have healthy options and treat options.  They have a COMPLIMENTARY coffee and tea selection for parents with a Keurig.  There is a large sitting area with tables and chairs for parents to sit and chat or work.  There is also an area where you can purchase Melissa and Doug toys.  They have multiple restrooms.  There are also party rooms for hosting birthday parties.

Avery is almost 5 and I could see her loving this place for at least another year if not two years.  I would not bring my boys (ages 8 and 10) here because they would not be interested in these play stations and they would be SO big in the space since there's lots of darling toddlers walking around.  Imagine Play is perfect for toddlers and pre-school aged children!  It's safe, clean, and everything is sized to fit a small child.  

While the price point might seem a little high, we did play for 2 hours and 40 minutes.  She would have played longer if I had packed a lunch.  For me, that amount of playing is well worth the $14 for the experiences she had!  You can also buy membership deals and I've even seen Imagine Play on Groupon so look into those if you want to save some money.

We can't wait to go back to Imagine Play!  We had a great time!  Next time I'll definitely bring a friend along for Avery and maybe I'll bring my computer to see if I could get work done while she plays for hours.  And I'll pack a lunch.  (Note: they are a nut free facility.)  I will be hosting a giveaway for 2 free 1 day passes to Imagine Play on my AshleyNewell.me Instagram account very soon.  Please follow me there if you're interested!

***Giveaway is live HERE: https://www.instagram.com/p/BbK3DEzhadB/ ***

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Back to School Shopping at Kohl's

It is almost school time for my littlest.  It's not actually Back to School for her, it's her very first year in preschool!  My boys have actually already gone back to school but they didn't really need clothes this year.  Avery, on the other hand, was VERY excited to get some new clothes for school!  Lucky for us, we got a complimentary $20 Kohl's gift card from Kohl's and Influenster for the purpose of reviewing!  (As always, the opinions are all my own.)

We live in Northern California and it is still HOT when school starts here.  Like really hot.  Like my face might melt off hot.  The only benefit to this is being able to get an amazing deal on clothes since most stores have their summer clothes on clearance.  Avery should be able to wear the summer clothes until late October.  Even then, we can layer t-shirts under sweaters and leggings under skirts to extend her clothes into fall.

For all of the clothes we got for Avery, we spent $44.36 before tax (I also got a shirt for me for $4.08) and received $10 back in Kohl's cash.  We purchased 3 pairs of shorts, 2 skirts, and 3 shirts.  On a side note, we would have spent a lot less but a certain adorable child NEEDED to have the blue flower skirt with the gold waistband even though I tried to talk her out of it.  I also tried to talk her out of the graphic t-shirts and steer her towards solids but she would not be steered.  My daughter couldn't be swayed.  I know, it's shocking.  She also refused to model any more outfits.

Here are my tips for getting the most out of your money at Kohl's:

~ Shop the clearance.   I look in clearance before anywhere else.  I know that the clearance section is where I'll find the absolute best deals.
~ Look for coupons in the mail and the newspaper and try to remember to bring them with you.  (That last part is key!)
~ Buy off season.  August is a great time to get amazing deals on summer clothes!  The black pair of shorts was only $3.57!  You can also buy bigger sizes and save them for next year.
~ Look for online coupons.  If you're like me, you'll forget your coupons at home.  You can just do a quick Google/Yahoo search for "Kohl's Coupons" and sometimes you'll luck out and find a coupon online.  In this case, I found a 20% off my entire purchase coupon!
~ Shop when there's Kohl's cash.  If you know you're going to be spending $50, shop when there's Kohl's cash so you can get the $10 back.

I'm really happy with our haul!  The colors all coordinate really well so she can mix and match outfits.  I definitely went over the $20 gift card I was given but I was super happy with the deals I got!  These are some of the best deals I've ever found on clothes!

Do you have any tips for saving money on clothes?  Leave me a comment, I'd love to hear them!

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Dear Glamping, It's Not You, It's Me. (And Boredom Busters for Kids)

If you follow me on Instagram (please do, I need all the followers I can get!), you'll know that we packed up the kids and took them glamping a couple weeks ago.  What is Glamping?  It's "glamour camping."  For us, it meant staying at Dustin's grandparent's cabin in the mountains where they have running water, a toilet (soooooo important to me!), electricity, a fridge, a small stove, and even "backyard" area where they had a nice gas BBQ.  I mean, how bad could it be?

Let's be real.  I'm not very outdoorsy.  Or the roughing it kind.  I'm actually a spoiled living in luxury especially on vacation kind.  I'm just saying.  But I thought I could do Glamping.  I mean, it's just like a little house, right?

In my defense, I lasted 4 days!  With no air conditioning in JULY and no cell service.  That's like a small miracle.  But on that fourth day, I had it with the being hot and sticky.  I couldn't handle more bug even though I was coated in bug spray.  I couldn't handle not being able to sleep because the kids were up all night chatting then having to wake up super early because the sun was shining right in my face.  I also couldn't take more time without the internet.  I need to be able to look things up and plan out my day.

I did, however, want to share with you a couple ideas for keeping the kids entertained when you're out in the wilderness besides the usually making s'mores and board games which we also did.  Obviously, I'm NO expert but I did come up with a couple things that the kids really enjoyed so I figured I should tell other moms and dads.  Maybe you struggle like me.  ALSO, these ideas are great for at home too.

1. Foam Glow Sticks

Here's a picture I got off Amazon of what they look like.  I didn't get a picture of ours before they were in action.  I actually picked up a couple at the Target Dollar Spot for 4th of July festivities.  These ones are cheaper on Amazon (affiliate link) if you wanna spring for 18 for $8.99 which I would because the ones at Target were $1 each.

Anyhow, we waited until evening and the kids each got a foam glow stick.  They are like short, thin white pool noodles.  You crack the glow stick inside and shake it.  The concept was SO cool!  I don't know how people didn't think about it sooner.

The kids had a blast outside with these!  They threw them in the air and caught them.  They had pretend lightsaber duels.  The spun them.  They danced with them.  They ran and jumped and swung them around.  It was literally the best $3 I spent on this trip!  Also, I got some SUPER cool pictures and video!

 2. Photo Scavenger Hunt
The next day when the kids were walking around and complaining they were bored.  I decided that we should have a photo scavenger hunt and everyone got a prize for COMPLETING the challenge.  I think it's important that they learn that they have to finish something before getting a prize.  Also, the kids all have tablets that they were allowed to bring on this trip for the purpose of taking pictures and a little bit of down time each day.  But you could either let them use your phone or buy cheap disposable cameras and actually print the pictures.  I prefer digital pictures.

Notes about my list.  I wish I had put more collaborative things on the list so people had to work together to get the photos.  14 photos was the perfect size list for the boys (ages 8 and 10) but we probably could have added a couple more.  This activity only took about 30 minutes but that was a lot for my 4 year old who was partnered with Daddy.  Also, the insects were extremely difficult for the kids to photograph so I would not suggest that.  I would suggest things like "a leaf with green and yellow", "a plant you've never seen before", or "art made from sticks" so they would have to really look around or make a little something.  This was really fun for us!  Here's my list and a couple pictures I took.

3. Farmers Market
Ok, this one is kind of cheating.  We can go to the farmers market at home.  I guess if you're roughing it, you might not wanna leave your cabin and go to the farmers market in the next town.  BUT if you're anything like me (bless your heart) and you want a taste of the local produce, why not check out the farmers market?  I just went on Facebook and typed in the town we were going to and looked around for events.  I found this market and it was SO fun!  There was a band and it was in a park with a playground.  We got some lemonade from the local baseball team lemonade stand that was fundraising and tried a bit of local food.  Oh and Avery got her "nice soft peach."

4. Giant Bubbles
Hey, it's me and I'm cheating again on this list.  We actually found a guy at the farmers market doing giant bubbles for the kids.  I checked out what he had and it was just dowels and cotton string.  I figured you could make it yourself at home.  There's tons of tutorials on Pinterest.  The man said his bubble solution was Dawn dish soap, water, and a little glycerin.  (The tutorials on Pinterest have bubble solution recipes too.)  It was SO cool!  You can see on the kids faces how amazed they were!

Hope you enjoyed the list!  These are things you could do at home too!  You don't have to Glamp if you don't want to... I know I don't.  :D  Sigh... I'm sure I'll try it again at some point.  Probably.  Maybe...

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Christmas Crafting for Kids

Hi friends!  I hope that you are well!  We are doing ok.  We are getting into the Christmas spirit which is good.  I've been baking all week.  How about you?  What do you bake for the holidays?  I made molasses cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and I tried making saltine toffee but I overcooked it a bit so we are calling it "caramel brûlée bites" this year.  ;)

This last weekend, I had my cousin and some friends over for a Christmas crafting night for the kids. I poked around a bit on Pinterest and came up with a couple crafts that we tried out.  The first was a Christmas card made with washi tape.  I saw THIS PIN and decided to do it with washi tape instead so I didn't have to cut tons of strips of paper.  I pulled a bunch of red, green, and yellow washi and we used some brown washi for the tree trunk.  I used a Stampin' Up punch to punch the stars out of yellow sticker paper from DCWV.  That paper is AMAZING for working with kids!  You don't have to put out any messy glue!  It is textured card stock that's adhesive on the back and they just peel off the back like a sticker.

Next up, we did sugar cone Christmas trees.  In a stroke of genius, I gave each kid their own little cup of frosting and plastic butter knife.  Hooray for no mixing colors or sharing germs!  I also asked each kid what color frosting they wanted and added some food coloring if they wanted.  Avery ended up making a purple tree because she's currently obsessed with purple.  This photo is actually the tree that I made.  It looked like fun so I decided that I should make one too.  I'm quite pleased with it.

I think this craft night will become a tradition.  I asked each family that came to bring a craft and a finger food.  We also made beaded candy canes on pipe cleaners, pompom wreaths, and snowman soup.  It was a fun night!

Have a great day, friends!  

Fun Toddler/Kid Snack and Raise Awareness

Hi friends!  I hope you are doing well!  We are pretty good over here.  The baby is teething but other than that, we are pretty healthy.

Today, I wanted to share these little Valentine's Day treats that I made for Avery to give to her friends.  These are so cute and very well received.  They are fairly simple other than the filling of the bags part.  I had the most success with filling one side, zipping it shut, then using my fingers to create a clamp on that bag in the center and filling the other side then closing it.  I used the snack sized baggies because I wanted them to look more like a dragonfly than a butterfly.  I used a regular sized clothespin and covered the bottom part with washi tape.  I drew on a face with Sharpie pen.  I added pipe cleaners as antennae.  I printed out these cute Valentines (but I think you could use them for handing out a snack at school or a sports event or even party favors.  You can download the Unravel Color Valentines HERE or the black and white ones HERE.  I did the black and white ones since I don't have a color printer.  Then I used some glitter glue to fill in the hearts and dragonfly wings.   I ended up slipping the paper into the top of the clip so I could just hand them out as one piece.

For different ideas on how you can help Unravel Pediatric Cancer, check out their Give Us 12 page.

Top 5 Mommy Must Haves and GIVEAWAY - Collab with This Bliss Life

Hi friends!  Today, I'm doing a blog collab with my friend Tiffany from This Bliss Life.  She and I have known each other for a VERY long time.  We decided to do a Top 5 Mommy Must Haves list for our posts.  We have really different blogs but we are both moms of kids about the same age so I suggested we do this list.  Please go check out her blog, see her list, and enter her giveaway!

1. Amber Teething Necklace.  If you've seen pictures of my daughter, you'll notice that she always has her necklace on.  I wasn't sure it worked but we lost a necklace and she was grumpy for weeks until we got a new one.  It's made me a believer.

2. Hyland's Teething Tablets.  Teething is a huge issue for my kids.  These tablets seems to help so much.  I've tried Tylenol as well and I feel like these work better for us.  My kids always seemed to be happy (well, happier) when they saw the bottle come out.

3. Grandma El's Diaper Rash Remedy and Prevention Jar.  I've talked about this before and this is the ONLY diaper cream that I have ever reordered.  It smells good, it doesn't leave a visible residue, and it works well and quickly.

4. Munchkin Snack Catchers.  I've tried higher end snack containers and I've tried the really cheap ones.  This is a happy medium.  I like using a snack catcher so that the snacks don't spill all over.  These work great while being a really good price!  The cheap ones are really sharp and I didn't feel comfortable giving them to my kids.

5. Thermos Funtainer.  I adore this!  I actually have a larger size for myself.  It keeps drinks cold up to 12 hours.  These are great to take on vacation or even a day trip.  I would put milk in them for my kids and it would stay cold.  I've also put water with ice and it's great if you are going to the beach or the park on a hot day.

In the spirit of the season, I'm giving away a $15 Amazon Gift certificate sent via email.  (I've used my Amazon referral links in this post, if you use them to shop, I get a small commission.)  This post is not sponsored and I am paying for the gift certificate out of pocket because I appreciate you all so much! I wish I could afford to give away more.  Be sure to check out Tiffany's post for her giveaway too!

a Rafflecopter giveaway