Holiday Hot Toy: LuvaBella Doll

The LuvaBella Doll was provided in exchange for this review, however, as always all thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links and I may get a commission or credits for sales when you use my affiliate/referral links.  You are not required to use my links though I appreciate when you do.

If you've been watching the hot holiday toys at all, you know that Luvabella and Luvabeau are HOT this year! 

These interactive dolls provide hours of playtime for kids. Your kids will never get bored with Luvabella because she's constantly changing! You can cover her eyes for a game of peek-a-boo, tickle her tummy and toes to make her giggle, or place a hand on her chest to gently listen to her heartbeat. You can even hold her feet to hear her say “mama” and begin to babble! The more you play with her, the more she’ll talk! Her babble will transform into over 100 clear words and phrases! We are so lucky that one was sent to us to try out and play with!

Luvabella comes with four fun interactive accessories, including a spoon, bottle, pacifier, and Lambie toy.  When she gets hungry, she’ll open her mouth and chew as she eats! Tyler loves burping her after she eats!

I will admit that at first I was a bit on the fence about the doll. The idea of a robotic, interactive doll was a bit frightening to me but the doll is actually really cute in person! I love that both my kids enjoy playing with her!

Now I'm still learning video but you absolutely have to see the doll in action to understand how fun it is! Check out our quick video and let me know your thoughts!

Luvabella dolls are sold at Amazon, Walmart, and Target, but can be super hard to find right now so if you see one, grab it! My kids love Luvabella so I'll be looking for another to add to our toy box!

xo, Heather

American Girl's New App: WellieWishers: Garden Fun Game

Growing up I loved American Girl dolls.  I obsessed over Samantha and Molly. I loved their clothes and accessories and when the catalog would come in the mail, I would spend hours pouring over it, dreaming of owning one. Now that I have my own daughter, she is also in love with American Girl dolls.

Her first doll was bought by my mother, with a full trip to the Natick American Girl store.  A second was added with her second hand Emily doll. Then a Bitty Baby joined the party. Then American Girl introduced their new line of Wellie Wishers and Emma and I both fell in love. Instead of 18" soft body dolls, the Wellie Wishers are 14" hard body dolls. Their smaller bodies are a bit easier for Emma to play with.   Emma already has 3 of the dolls, and is asking for another from Santa so we were especially excited when we were contacted to try out the new WellieWishers: Garden Fun Game.

WellieWishers are a sweet and silly group of girls who each have the same big, bright wish: to be a good friend. And now with the WellieWishers: Garden Fun app, little ones can learn how to be a good friend as they play. From hidden object and tea-party planning minigames to nurturing their own garden and customizing the backyard garden with stickers, little kids are invited to join the WellieWishers to discover what makes friendships grow.

The content is tailored to kids ages 5-7, offering good-quality entertainment from a well-loved, trusted brand partner in American Girl. And, with school back in session, it’s a great opportunity to reinforce the values young ones are learning in class, so they can practice their caring and empathy skills while outside of preschool or elementary school.  

Even though American Girl is often marketed towards girls (even though they added a boy doll!) I love that both my boy and girl love the games. When we're at dance and waiting for Emmalee, Tyler often grabs my phone and starts to play. When we're in the grocery store, Tyler will take my phone from my bag and start to play.  Thankfully, even though it's a game full of content, it doesn't destroy my battery!

Each of the little games inside of the app offer creative content for kids.  The app is free but some of the extra content does cost money (no more than $3 from Google Play!)  My kids especially love finding the hidden objects game!

In a world full of technology and "scary things" on the internet, I love that American Girl has created an app that the kids love to play with that also encourages creative and empathy, just like the rest of the American Girl line does! Grab the app on iOS and Android today!

xo, Heather

Father's Day Gifts

I joked around a bit with David this year about his Father's Day gift.  I told him at least 32 times that I got him an all expenses, paid vacation starting on the 19th.  This is hilarious because June 19th is also the day we started our family vacation that we've been planning for months. Ha!

But seriously, he's an amazing man and deserved some great gifts so even though we said we wouldn't be buying much, I mean, he did buy me birthstone rings for both kids for Mother's Day, I knew I wanted to surprise him with something great!

David has been eyeing a Movado watch forever.  It's one of those things he's always talked about but didn't think he'd ever get.  I mean, really think of where we were five years ago, and now I'm buying him a Movado. Yikes!

I picked out a gorgeous one from Kay Jewelers. I can't even put into words how excited Dave was! He didn't really believe I had bought it for him!

I also grabbed him this Pager Tag for his keys from Beets BLU (aff link).  He is constantly losing his keys so I figured it would be great for him! It's this small, lightweight, wireless tracker that he can attach to anything, including his keys, his work lanyard, or his wallet! Someone even posted in the reviews that they put it on their dog who kept getting out! Ha! The tracker is attached to an app on your phone, available for Android or iOs, and helps you find whatever you may misplace, including tracking up to 33 feet! I figure with this, there's no way he can lose his valuables, right?

And since no holiday is complete without some sweets, we grabbed him a huge Reese's Peanut Butter Cup because why not? Right?

He seems to love his gifts! Did you grab anything special for the man in your life this year?

Gifts for Mother's Day: 2016

Mother's Day is coming up this weekend and I'm excited to share some really great gifts with you!

There are of course, the traditional "every holiday gift" gifts like Godiva chocolates or flowers. Did you know that Amazon does floral deliveries now?! Amazon through Kabloom sends some seriously gorgeous flowers and they seem to be much less expensive than other floral companies I've used before for my own mom!

I will admit, my go to gifts for moms lately have been Lillebaby carriers, since all the latest gifts I've been giving are to new moms waiting for their babies (still should be getting a gift for Mother's Day!) but I also know that not every mom needs an infant or toddler baby carrier! :)

While I would love another carrier, I am also swooning over these gorgeous hand stamped bracelets.  Emma is constantly saying "Love you to the moon and back" or "I love you a million blue M&Ms" so having it as a constant reminder on my wrist would be perfection; it would look gorgeous next to a Fossil Knot Cuff Bracelet. A Kendra Scott Necklace, especially the super on trend druzy stones, would be perfect as well.

Some moms hoard jewelry and some horde bags.  I'm loving this Kate Spade Striped Tote, this Vera Bradley Quilted Handbag, and this Zac Posen Shoulder bag. They just shout spring to me and what mom wouldn't love them?

Maybe your mom is more of a techie and has been asking for a new camera? I just got my new camera a couple months back and these three were my top contenders! Sony a5100, Samsung NX500, and the Nikon Coolpix L340 all offer mom the setting and manual capabilities of DSLR without the bulky lens and hefty price tag.

Another big hit for moms is a fancy coffee maker. Seriously, some days a cup of coffee or tea is the closest we get to relaxation so grab a great one like the Nescafe Gourmet Coffeemaker that makes hot or iced drinks as well as the specialty drinks we shell out for at higher end coffee shops. Other high end trusted home brands like Le Creuset, a KitchenAide Mixer, Primitive Box Signs in Mom loving themes, or a Jonathan Alder picture frame would be the perfect gift.

Mother's Day has always been a spring signal for me as well! I love getting outside to work in our yard and with my daughter on our planter boxes so a gift card to Lowe's , a hammock and stand, or a garden stand would all be appreciated. I've been eyeing this inflatable jacuzzi since I saw it at TJ Maxx last year! I can't wait until our yard is ready to have one!

If your mom likes working outside, she may like working out as well! I've been huge into watching my steps and monitoring my activity levels so a wearable piece of fitness technology like a Fitbit Alta, Samsung Gear2 , or Garmin Vivosmart could help mama meet her goals without coming across as rude.  Die hard work out fans might enjoy yoga and work out shirts or workout headbands from Etsy as well!

Everyone knows after a sweaty workout, or literally just any day of mom's life, we want, and deserve, a pampering and relaxing day off. I love finding restaurant and spa deals through Groupon and Living Social, (especially Groupon's local deals) but if you can't find an amazing deal for a wine tasting weekend or girls trip for her, you could invest in Essential Oil diffuser, some bath bombs, or a Deep Sea Mud Mask to help her relax and at least feel like she's at the spa.

The best part about almost all of these gifts is that they can be bought off of Amazon with free Prime shipping! If you don't have Prime yet, you can sign up for a FREE 30 day trial here and you'll get FREE two-day shipping on Prime eligible orders!

I'm seriously crossing my fingers for a gift off this list! Which one is your favorite for mom?

Getting MORE with Walmart Family Mobile Plus! #ad

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #DataAndAMovie #CollectiveBias

With spring finally here, I feel like I'm getting more every day.  More sunshine, more time to play with the kids, more adventures now that it's not freezing! Thankfully it's also tax return season which means we have a little more money in our account for adventures and spending.  I made my husband promise that we'd do some decor updates with our tax return money so we headed off to Walmart to start with some new bedding for the kids.

While we were at Walmart, we found ourselves in the Walmart Entertainment section and stumbled across their cell phone section. I mean, if we're using our tax money to upgrade our house, why not upgrade our phone plans as well?! Full disclosure: I had no idea they even had cell phones! But the Walmart Family Mobile Plan Plus sounded exactly like what we needed. It includes Unlimited Talk, Text, and Data that includes up to 10 GB of 4G LTE for only $49.88 a month, which is a huge value for more data! The PLUS is that it also includes one free new release VUDU rental (a $7 value) every month! 

We've been paying much more than that for much less data so I was sold on the value and the extras that the Walmart Family Mobile Plus plan offered, and I was just as excited by the phones that were offered in store.  Walmart had multiple phones at different price points but I decided to purchase a Samsung Galaxy Core Prime phone, originally $99.92 but on Rollback for only $79.92! Because we were not currently using Walmart Family Mobile as our service provider, we also picked up a Starter Kit for an additional $25.
Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/2-ovk or your local Walmart for current pricing. 

I am so excited about our new phone plans and just as excited about the new phone! With a 5 MP camera and a 4.5" screen, the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime is perfect for my entertainment needs. Whether I'm blogging on the go, emailing a parent about their child's grade, scrolling through social media, or constantly uploading pictures of my kids and I on our adventures, the unlimited data that the Walmart Family Mobile Plus plan helps me relax knowing I'll never go over my data limit again! It's such a great value since we're always running around and on the go, so I'm constantly afraid I'll hit, or worse-- go over, my data limits.

Last weekend was one of the few weekends that we didn't have a ton of plans. Between Easter and baby showers and play dates, it's been crazy and we really just wanted a night to relax and enjoy each other's company.  With the Walmart Family Mobile Plus plan, we get one free VUDU new release movie every month and we took full advantage of it.  The cool thing about VUDU is that we can also stream our free movie rental through our video game console for a great family night on the couch!

Sunday was unseasonably warm for us so we decided to move our movie afternoon out on to the back deck. Such a great way to PLUS up our traditional family movie time! If we're getting MORE everywhere else with our new phone plan, why not get more entertainment too!? Some portioned candies, popcorn and a make your own lemonade bar was perfect for our family time. Did I mention that I now have unlimited data and a free VUDU movie each month? Which means super affordable, super amazing afternoon with my family, without any stress of using up too much data!

The candy was delicious and the lemonade bar even more so, but the best was hanging out together watching a movie.  My husband is already looking at the new rentals, making a mental list of which movies he wants to see so we can start planning another VUDU family movie night! 

Which movies are you excited to check out thanks to the free VUDU movie rental from the Walmart Family Mobile Plus plan?