Citrus Lane Subscription Box Review

This is not a sponsored post, I just like reading reviews of subscription box experiences, so I thought I'd share mine.

Background, Citrus Lane is one of the many subscription services for baby, child, and family products - toys, books, food items, and accessories - currently popping up all over the internet. You sign up for your preferred subscription period (monthly, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months - all auto-renewing until you cancel) fill in your child's name, age, and whether you prefer girl/boy/gender neutral items, and once a month a box of surprise items tailored to your child's age and gender is mailed to you. You can also buy gift subscriptions for friends and family. You can see some of the past boxes on their website, but I recommend Googling for reviews, because they give you a broader picture of what you might expect. I loved that I saw a lot of brands I know and trust - Melissa and Doug, Skip Hop, Plum Organics, etc.

I had a promo code and spent a good deal of time reading others' reviews online before deciding to go for it and give the service a try. I signed up for an 18 month gender-neutral box, hoping there might be some things to interest both of my kids included.

We received:

• 1 Melissa and Doug counting puzzle - This is one of the only M&D wooden puzzles we didn't yet own - score!
• 3 Zo-li stacking snack cups - I've been looking at different ones online for a while. I wanted a set that was large enough for picnic snacks and that hooked together for ease of carrying. I'm glad I waited to buy one, because this ticked all my boxes. And the set is BPA and phthalate free, which is important to me.
• 1 GoGo Squeez flavored applesauce pouch - My 4 year old loves these, so it went straight into my purse.
• 2 instant disposable ice packs - Meh, disposable things make me nervous. I feel like I need to save them for a "special occasion." I'll toss these in the car, but who knows if I'll ever need one.
• voucher for 10 free digital postcards - Whatever. I have no use for them, and I really don't know many people who would pay for something like this. I think this was a bonus item, though. (If you can manage to read the code on my photo above, go for it and use it. I won't be.)

Overall, pretty good. 3 things I would have eventually purchased, 1 I wouldn't purchase but will probably use, and 1 dud, but the dud wasn't one of the paid-for items, so I'm not bothered by it. I am, however, bummed we didn't get a book, as they usually include one. I'll keep the service for another few months before renewing or cancelling, because I got a really good deal on it and, you know, for the sake of science. ;)

If you'd like to sign up, you can get $10 off your first box by using my Citrus Lane referral link. Has anyone else used this service or one like it? Like I said, I'm a subscription box enthusiast, so I'd love to hear your experiences.

Margaret's Colorful, Whimsical, Happy Space

Early in the spring I got the itch to finally decorate Meggie's room. She moved into it and out of the nursery in the winter of 2011, but we never got around to doing much with the space. Eh, enough words, here's her lovely room.

When deciding which direction to take Meg's room, I knew I had to incorporate some of Trafalgar's Square's beautiful art. I hung it with hidden Command strips for stability and added washi tape frames for interest. Meg's only request was for one of the cowgirl prints. Jessie is her best imaginary friend, and it charms me to think of her laying in bed looking at this picture. My favorite is the Adventure Girl print, because it reminds me so much of my vibrant girl.

The KidKraft retro red kitchen was a Christmas present from her Nan, as was the Target Love n Nature lamp. The rug was purchased at Ross. Meg is quite insistent that the Easter tree needs to live in her room year-round.

The white furniture was a handmedown from a family member. It's actually meant to be bathroom storage. The diminutive size is perfect for a preschooler. The pieces hold books, doll clothes and accessories, tea sets, jewelry, and memorabilia.

The buntings were originally made for our playroom. When we turned the playroom into a TV room and the family room into a playroom, there was no space for them anymore. Happy chance, because they go perfectly in Meg's new bedroom. The large one is simple pennants cut from cotton prints with pinking shears and sewn to a ribbon. The small one is miniature felt pennants sewn to the same ribbon. The other is needle felted balls strung on yarn.

The frames and jewelry tree were purchased at 70% off from Target at an end of season closeout. The crocheted doll purse/bassinet was a gift from Nan and the hedgehog plush is from Ikea. The bunny card is a Trafalgar's Square business card that was included in our order.

The glass case holds some of Meg's treasures - dolls Nana brought back from Jamaica and Mexico, special art projects, her flower girl basket from Auntie's wedding, and books she receives every year on her birthday - each has a main character named Margaret or Meg. Her hair styling basket lives on top. On the wall is a cork board holding Disney trading pins from our last trip. The doll is Haba's Lotta.

I make no effort to beautify her bookshelves, since they're hidden behind a door. Meg is in and out of there so many times a day, it would be exhausting to try to keep them neat.

The hair bow hanger is hidden behind her bedroom door.

I decorated the wall above her bed with fabric circles attached to the wall with fusible interfacing. I ironed them straight to the wall (with a pressing cloth between the iron and the wall). They've been up for months and still are holding strong. I've experimented with removing them, and they peel off cleanly. The flower table was purchased from Target is 2002 for my own bedroom. The very ugly piggy was mine as a child, and Meg loves it just as much as I did. The mushroom night light is from Target. I love that you can plug it in to charge, then unplug and carry it around. Great for night time bathroom trips. The fan pulls are from Thimbletowne on Etsy, a fabulous shop for lightswitch/outlet covers, fan pulls, night lights, picture frames, etc. The shop owner is really fun to work with for custom orders.

The gorgeous doll bunk bed was a handmedown from a friend, and Nan sewed bedding for it to match Meg's. The backpack is Skip Hop.

The three toss pillows were purchased at the same Target closeout sale as the frames above. I sewed the owl pillow for Meg before she was born. It's a little dated now, but sentimentality compels us to hold onto it. The duvet set is from Target.

Here is the Pinterest board I made for inspiration during the process. There are still some small details I'd like to add to the room in time (pom pom pillow trim, a sweet mobile, a favorite quote up on the wall), but for now, Meg's very happy with her space, and that's all I need.

Summer of Science and Nature

Over the next few months, I thought I'd do a casual science and nature unit with my kids (aged 3.5 and 1.5) to pass the long hot summer days. As with all my bright ideas ;) my initial plan is likely to evolve as we go on, and I still have to flesh it out a lot and finish the latter sections, but here's a rough outline, if anyone would like to follow along. I've tried to work with what we have resource-wise as we've got some travel coming up at the end of the summer that we're still saving for. We'll likely heavily add to the books mentioned with ones from the library too.

Dinosaurs: May 26-June 1
make and excavate dino rocks with plastic dino skeletons
dino sensory bin with erupting mud
visit nearby dinosaur museum
snack: boiled and dyed “dino eggs”
books: My First Dinosaur Board Book, Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs, My Big Dinosaur Book, Digging Up Dinosaurs, Dinosaur, Dinosaur’s Day, DK Guide to Dinosaurs
family movie night: Land Before Time

Insects and arachnids: June 2-8
giant yarn spider web (inspired by this)
spider web weaving
ant farm
small world play with plastic bugs
raise butterflies
make beeswax candles
play with beeswax modeling clay
snack: honey from honeycomb
books: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider, The Grouchy Ladybug
family movie night: A Bug’s Life, The Very Hungry Caterpillar ($5 at Target), or Magic School Bus Creepy Crawly Fun

Plants and rocks: June 9-15
plant new flowers in playhouse window boxes
color tree trunks with chalk
make a fairy garden (another inspiration picture)
nature in water table
contact paper nature collage
painting with flowers
freeze nature in ice cubes
color walk
dandelion seed blow painting
visit nearby state park
display flower life cycle poster
books: A Tree is a Plant, A Tree is Nice, Eye on Nature minerals book, Red Leaf Yellow Leaf
family movie night: ?

Reptiles, amphibians, and birds: June 16-22
frog pond small world
display frog life cycle poster
search for lizards and toads in yard
snakes?
turtles?
birds?
books: Eye on Nature reptiles and snakes books, The Red Eyed Tree Frog, Frog and Toad series, Owl Babies
family movie night:

Underwater animals: June 23-29
blue Jell-O, green spaghetti, clear water beads in kiddie pool (similar to this)
ocean small world
go swimming at nearby pool
books: The Rainbow Fish, Eye on Nature sharks and whales books
family movie night: Finding Nemo or Disneynature Oceans

Farm animals: June 30-July 6
farm small world
visit nearby farm
visit farmer's market for fresh eggs, milk, and produce
make butter
books: Barnyard Dance
family movie night: Charlotte’s Web

The Arctic: July 7-13
arctic small world
frozen shaving cream "snow"
books: Eye on Nature penguins book
family movie night: March of the Penguins

The Rainforest: July 14-20
making rain experiment
plants grow upward experiment
books: Slowly Slowly Slowly Said the Sloth
family movie night: Fern Gulley

Humans: July 21-27
play doctor's office or hospital
doctor puzzle
land art self-portraits
books: I Like Me, Shades of People, My First Body Board Book
family movie night: Magic School Bus Human Body or Babies

Sun, Moon, Stars, Planets: July 28-August 3
alien sensory bin
books: Wow, we don't own a single book on the topic!
family movie night: Magic School Bus Space Adventures

Science Experiments
1. erupting paint bags
2. make clear slime
3. microwave Ivory soap
4. chemistry lab - This was a HUGE hit last year.
5. elephant toothpaste
6. mad scientist lab - I bought all the stuff to do this last year and never got around to it.
7. fizzy play
8. lava lamp sensory play
9. transparent and bouncing eggs
10. colored ice sculptures
11. Mentos and diet soda
12. color changing carnations

I could get permission and post some inspiration pictures, but, frankly, I'm too lazy to bother right now. I hope you'll forgive a boring, incomplete, pictureless list.

Our New Block and Building Center

We've been working on a block center this week in our ever-evolving playroom.

We bought a cube shelving unit from Target that's similar to but smaller than the Ikea Expedit. For a fairly inexpensive piece of furniture (we got it for $52), it's quite sturdy and was quick to put together. We have a couple of extra shelves from an old unit on the floor in the corner to provide a hard surface to build on.

The unit is filled with a variety of blocks, building materials, and imaginary play figures. I may switch out the bags and buckets for more natural baskets in the future. Isn't this a lovely inspiration picture?

Creating a Blank Book to Illustrate

Recently Jean from The Artful Parent mentioned buying her daughters some blank books to create with. It inspired me to make a blank book for Meg to illustrate that was a bit more special than our typical sheets of paper folded together.

I had a nice clean sheet of white cardboard stashed away in my craft room. It came in a package I'd received, thicker than poster board, but thinner than corrugated cardboard. I showed Meg how to score it down the center on front and back so it would fold nicely, then she cut some white paper down to the same size with her scrapbooking paper cutter. We stapled it all together down the spine.

After it was done being assembled, Meg wasn't happy with the staples being visible on the spine and asked if she could cover them with washi tape. It was a pretty brilliant idea and made the book very pretty. She and her brother worked together to make lovely abstract pictures on the cover and each page. He actually worked on this part more than she did. I think the assembly turned out to be Meg's favorite part.