I love doing FUN activities with my kiddos – but, sometimes it’s hard to come up with activities (that we have all of the supplies for) off the cuff.  So, I was super excited to review the BabbaCo Babba Box, and when our box arrived full of activities, Lorelei and Aurora were excited too!

What are BabbaCo boxes?

BabbaCo boxes are great activity boxes that seamlessly combine both LEARNING and FUN – but, without the headache of having to run to the store to buy the necessary supplies-you-thought-you-had!

Each box has 4 main components:

- Create: 2 to 3 projects for kids to do with their hands – ALL materials included!  (Ours even came with bowls, glue, and a stirring stick!)

- Explore: A theme-based product where your child will engage with the world & nature.

- Story-Tell: Carefully curated books to stimulate your kids’ imaginations.

- Connect: Interactive learning with prepaid downloads approved by BabbaCo experts.

(Lorelei with their paper-mache moon)

Why we liked the BabbaCo boxes:

• The BabbaCo boxes are researched and planned – meaning they are age-appropriate for kids and include activities that will encourage learning AND are fun!!
• Each box contained EVERYTHING we needed!  –Down to the glue, stirring stick, and a bowl!  Many “kits” will have most of the supplies included but assume you have others (which they may or may not warn you about on the packaging).  It can really be a downer to get everyone excited and set down to do a fun project just to realize… the glue is dry…or, the scissors are missing/broken.  I really appreciate that the boxes have everything we need and I don’t have to run all over town!
• The projects aren’t over-elaborate but are on-target for their ages!  They are fun and easy but require just enough skill to help them stretch and grow!  Our box was Sun, Moon, Stars and we made a model moon with paper-mache and star prints!
• We also liked that each box connected us to the outside world, too!  We had a lot of fun using the star guides and included binoculars looking at constellations!
• Each box also comes with a book!  We love books at our house and are always on the lookout for imaginative and creative additions for our bookshelves.  We were not disappointed!  No dinky paper “book” here!
• I also really appreciated BabbaCo’s “Connect” feature.  My kids really enjoy technology and having a prepaid new app that went along with the same learning theme was great!

In short – the BabbaCo box was easy to use, convenient, contained quality materials, and used many methods (create/explore/story/connect) to provide learning and fun for our ENTIRE FAMILY!

Buy Your Own:

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Congratulations, Alicia Sneed!!  You are the winner!  I will be contacting you shortly!!

1.  Sugar is the primary dietary cause of the obesity epidemic.
Fat doesn’t make you fat.  But sugar that turns into fat will.

2.  Sugar causes hormonal and metabolic imbalance.
Swinging insulin and cortisol levels in the body, which decrease then increase blood sugar, not only cause your system to crash but set up a cascade of abnormal hormone functions that lead to premature aging and illness.

3.  Sugar is your fast track to diabetes.
On the Standard North American Diet, it is only a matter of time before insulin receptors burn out, unable to handle the onslaught of sugar.

4.  Sugar increases the acidity of the body.
All disease thrives in acidic environments.

5.  Sugar causes inflammation.
Inflammatory enzymes are elevated on higher-sugar diets.  Inflammation is at the heart of 98 percent of disease.

6.  Sugar is the primary reason for high cholesterol.
Your body’s innate healing system, which uses cholesterol, goes into high gear when the body is traumatized at the cellular level by high sugar, insulin, and inflammation.  The solution to high cholesterol is not to lower it forcefully but to remove the interference in the body causing it to rise in the first place.

7.  Sugar leads to heart disease.
Elevated inflammation in the arteries increases the risk of high blood pressure, hemorrhage, stroke, and heart attacks.

8.  Sugar is an anti-nutrient.
Your body’s expenditure to manage sugar is greater than the energy it gains from it.  If you think you are better off eating a chocolate bar, or piece of white bread, than going hungry – think again.

9.  Sugar is a known toxin.
Like all toxins, your body is constantly trying to eliminate it from the bloodstream.  You can assist your body by not giving it more sugar to handle.

10. Sugar promotes cancer.
Feeding cancer cells their primary fuel is like pouring gas on a fire.

Join the conversation and learn more over HERE!

*From Dr. B.J. Hardick, Kimberly Roberto, and Dr. Ben Lerner’s book: The solution to the dangers of Modern Nutrition – MaximizedLiving

I plan to document our daily/weekly journey with eating better over at the Bosssanders’ facebook page:  HERE.  If you haven’t done so yet, will you go and “like” it?  I plan post “This” instead of “That” type posts for those of you like me who really don’t have the time to read EVERY single label but would still like to do better at eating well.  I’ll also be on the lookout for BUDGET FRIENDLY foods (i.e., no $6 macaroni!!)  And, I’d love some input on YOUR findings- whether it be questions, information, products, or recipes!

So, please go here and LIKE!  -Even if it’s just to show some love

If you’ve been stopping by my page, but haven’t “liked” us on Facebook, please go do it now! Often, I’ll post cool updates and freebies, that I don’t take the time to write entire posts about here!  You don’t want to miss some of these!  So, go now… LIKE me on Facebook (PLEASE?)

Another thing, we are currently accepting advertisers if you have a product or service you’d like to promote.  Our prices are very competitive and a great way to get the word out there about your business!  Check out THIS PAGE for more info and pricing!

I’ve been drooling over these lovely red dresses over the past week or so — ever since I heard about the “Traveling Red Dress” from the Bloggess.  The idea is that women all over the world circulate these “red dresses” (which, sometimes aren’t dresses at all) to make each other feel beautiful and loved.  Photographers and Hair/Makeup Stylists are giving their talents too – it’s an amazing thing!  And, after each woman has her red-dress-moment, she packs it up and sends it on to make someone else’s day.

I’ve secretly been looking at photographs online of red dresses, wondering which I would choose if I had the chance.  I wonder how much of my story I would share, how much of the pain and raw I would expose just to empower other women…just like me.

I’m not really interested in writing sob stories – because if you look at my face, there’s no sobbing here.  –Not because I haven’t seen my share of pain and tears, but because I refuse to lay down and let it BECOME me.  I refuse to be overtaken.

Maybe I’ll never own a bright red ball gown – it’s something I’d never buy for myself due to the impracticality and price tag of it all – but, that’s not the point.  I adore the spirit of this entire campaign and hope women everywhere will find their own red dress, whatever that dress may be.  I hope they share their story.  I hope they conquer their pain.  I hope they feel beautiful.  I hope they hope.

If you want to search for your own red dress…or, if you’d like to send your own dress or talents to good use for someone else, check out this Facebook page.

And, if you have your own Red Dress Moment you’d like to share, please link up here.  I’d love to see your photos and read your stories!

Deal Of The Day… Or Week!!

This is your chance to purchase discontinued products from previous catalogs at discounted prices! Lots of your favorite prints and products – perfect for all gift giving occasions!

I have some updates and great giveaways coming soon (once I get a handle on this YUCK), but for now I wanted to share that I’ve been nominated (THANKS!) for the top 25 pregnancy journals in Circle Of Moms.

Will you vote for me, please?