This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PamperedPiggies #CollectiveBias
My daughter wasn’t even two years old before she started asking for nail polish. With the urgency many kids would request toys or candy, she requested “pretty nails”, but I refused to give in because I was worried about what was in those nail colors she coveted so much. As you can imagine, we were both thrilled when we found Piggy Paint, a company that makes kid-friendly nail polishes that are non-toxic and hypoallergenic for my little fashionista. 
Piggy Paint is a water–based nail polish specially formulated for kids that contains no toxic chemicals or yucky stuff. Just like the adult versions, Piggy Paint comes in a rainbow of vibrant colors. It’s free of formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, Bisphenol A, ethyl acetate and acetone that is in other polishes, which makes it my favorite pick for my daughter. 
Month: December 2014
First Ascent Girls’ Downlight Hoodie from Eddie Bauer
Every parent knows the dilemma of the cheap kid’s coat. At first it seems like a great idea as it costs very little and you reason with yourself that they will only wear it for a short time, so why not? Then you find yourself needing to replace it halfway through the season due to normal wear and tear or you end up going somewhere truly frigid and you realize quickly that the cheapy coat isn’t really cut out for freezing temperatures.
Parents, put your money away at the discount store and instead go for a good quality coat. You won’t regret buying a coat that truly lasts, never goes out of style, and keeps your kiddo comfortable in mild to extreme temperatures. Trust me, your kid will thank you for it. It may not have the newest Disney character on it or have glitter and hearts, but once your kid gets used to the comfort of a good coat, none of that will matter. 
Sealed By Santa brings the magic of the season right to your mailbox
From really young ages my kids have been obsessed with Santa. From the first day they see him at local stores, they start asking when they will get to talk with him.
And, it’s not about getting their wishlists in, because they seemed rather confused about Santa in connection with presents until this year when it finally clicked. For years they would come up with random Santa lists or reply that they didn’t know what Santa would want for Christmas and we just thought it was cute. For my daughter, her love of Santa is about the tradition of it, but for my son, it’s about having one on one attention so he can study Santa and ask any questions. 
DIY: The grow-with-me chore board and behavior chart solution
Sometimes, this parenting gig can be rough. Lately, there’s been more questioning our decision-making, a lot of talking in rude tones to each other, and a whole lot of days where I fall into bed wondering what kind of craziness I’m in for come January with a new baby.
I was so sick of it, and something needed to be done to avoid all the reprimanding, all the asking over and over again, and all the mornings that end in tears. We needed a system. A system that didn’t involve me having to say the same thing over and over again.
That being said, I’ve tried chore charts in the past and they ended up not working that well for us. Every chore chart I tried ended up needing me to run them more than I would have liked, didn’t work quite right in terms of chores and behavior, and I ended up giving up just to get the big huge board off my wall. Mostly, it was me. 
Our royal Disney Kids Playdate
I received free products in order to host the Disney Kids Preschool Playdate. However, the opinions expressed are my own. 
Sometimes I think preschool playdates are more about moms getting together than they are about kids playing. Sure, we usually go to the park or some other kid-friendly zone for our meet ups, but I think the parents get just as much from these get togethers as the kids do, maybe even more. For this reason, we try to have a playdate at least a few times a year as a great way for kids, and their parents to connect.
This time, though, it was all about the kids. Instead of just a casual get together that left us freezing at the park, we decided to have a Disney Preschool Princess Playdate with a Sofia the First theme to celebrate some fall birthdays as well as have a good excuse to get together.
Celebrating #GivingTuesday with kids
Since my last post was about giving thanks for all the wonderful things in our lives, I thought it fitting to also feature #GivingTuesday, a day dedicated to giving back. The idea of Giving Tuesday is a simple one: you simply find a cause and find a way to give. Whether it be time, energy, money, supplies, donations, just give whatever you can.
For us, we like to give back numerous times a year, not just this one day every year, but I never turn down a good opportunity to teach the kids about helping our neighbors, our community, and making the world a better place, so Giving Tuesday seemed like the perfect opportunity. And, this time of year there are so many ways you can involve the kids, so in honor of #GivingTuesday, I thought I would share ideas to get kids involved in giving.
Continue the tradition with the new BeForever line from American Girl
Have you checked out American Girl recently? They just debuted their BeForever line this fall in stores nationwide as well as online and it has girls everywhere excited. We were at the Seattle store the day BeForever was announced to check the line out in person and do one of their many in-store crafts thanks to a recommendation from our personal shopper. I honestly had no idea what to expect and was just going for the craft and event aspect, but I was thrilled when I realized what exactly the new line included.
It’s no secret that we love American Girl and I always talk about how we end up at the Seattle store whenever my daughter gets to choose what we do for the day. But what you don’t know is that we spend most of our time checking out the historical collection and looking at anything and everything that’s new for each of their historical girls.
This time we were met at the store by one of our favorite American Girl employees and told that the line was replaced, and I’m sure I didn’t hide my disappointment very well. She quickly went on to explain that the BeForever line still had many of the dolls we adore as well as a new addition she knew we would be thrilled about.
Friends, welcome back Samantha Parkington. 