Friday Faves

Melanie and I decided that Fridays would be our day to post some of our favorite things for the week. We are both pretty random so these posts will be the perfect "outlet" for our randomness!

.One.

Beautiful Day lotion and body spray from Bath and Body Works.

I've actually been using this since October and I'm still in love with the scent. I'm extremely picky about scents in lotions and perfumes and I always have a hard time deciding on my favorite. I'm really surprised that I am still loving this one as much as I do. When I was in the hospital after having Jansen, every single nurse that walked through our door would ask what perfume or lotion I was wearing. I'm horrible at describing scents so I'm not even going to try...just make sure you take a second to stop and smell it next time you are at Bath & Body Works.

.Two.

I totally wish that I could've been the genius behind Sparkbox Toys. Seriously, I don't know why someone hasn't thought of this and created it before now! One of my team members at work mentioned this to me about a month ago and I quickly began to research. Within about 10 minutes of research, I ordered my first box. 

Here's how it goes:

You select your frequency...one box every 8 weeks, 6 weeks or 4 weeks (each is at a different price point). I chose the 8 week frequency for 23.95 a month because it was the cheapest and because I felt like that was an adequate amount of time for Sawyer to use the toys before getting bored with them. We rotate Sawyer's toys out around that time anyways (My rotation of toys explanation will be on a "Tuesday tips" post later on).

Once your account is set up, they create a "Treasure Chest" for your child based on gender and age. This treasure chest consists of four developmentally appropriate toys for your kiddo. You can switch toys out easily by looking through all the ones they have to choose from. Yes, the toys are used BUT they are highly sanitized and repackaged before sending to their new temporary owner. 

Once you have confirmed the treasure chest, your Sparkbox will be shipped to your door. These toys are NICE, good quality toys, not dinky little toys that are cheap or poorly made. The company sends product cards for each toy as well as a mesh bag for each so you can keep the pieces together while you have them. (This keeps them separate from our personal toys as well) All the product cards, paperwork, and return label are attached on a ring so don't have to worry about losing anything you will need in 8 weeks. You simply put each toy in it's mesh bag and paperwork in a box, attach the return label and take it to the post office. There are no "late fees" either. If your child loves a toy so much that you'd like to keep it, you get to buy it at a discounted price. They are extremely understanding about lost pieces and if they never turn up, you just pay a small fee. I couldn't be happier with this company and the toys they send! Coolest thing EVER! Once they receive your box, they will send the next one with 4 more toys for your baby or tot to play with :) 

Here is a picture of the current toys Sawyer has. We gave her the two left toys first and then a couple weeks later gave her the Magnetic Hide and Seek Board. We haven't given her the gears and puzzles yet but I will here soon. She LOVES the laptop and plays on it all the time. Jansen actually plays with the wooden whimsy blocks more than she does. And when I say play, I really mean sticks them in his mouth and bangs them on stuff. 

This is a money saver for us because I know that I would spend more than 23.95 every 8 weeks on toys for Sawyer and sometimes she wouldn't even get much use out of the toy. This is the perfect solution for spending too much money on toys for them to only be played with for couple months. 

Go check it out for yourself HERE! 

Don't forget to go and check out Melanie's Friday Fave's over at her blog HERE.