Wittlebee Kids Clothing Club Review

Our first box from Wittlebee

We found this cool new company called Wittlebee. They offer a monthly subscription ($39.99) for kids clothing (sizes newborn to 5t). What a great idea! Seriously, I wish I had thought of it! You get 6 items worth about $100 from different brands. They ran a special for half off the first month, so we thought we'd give it a try!

Here's how it works:

Sign up and fill out a style profile for your child. 
For Grace's box I chose:
Graphics- polka dots and flowers
Favorite colors- green, blue and purple
Clothing style- hipster

A stylist called me about a week later and asked some follow up questions. I told her it is HOT where we live, so we needed summer clothes and no pink! 

The Wittlebee website says you should get your box in about 2 weeks, but we didn't get ours for almost 3 weeks.
I think Wittlebee is trying to keep up with the growing demand, but hopefully the turnaround is quicker on orders and they bring on more customer service reps/stylists. 


Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the clothes we got in our first box! I also really like getting packages in the mail, and the element of surprise was fun!)

Purple shirt/tunic from Laughing Giraffe* 

(*it looks big, but maybe it's supposed to be worn as a dress?)

Green onsie from American Apparel

Plaid shorts from Baby Headguarters

Flip Flop tank top from Baby Headguarters 

Mint onsie with ruffles from Kicky Pants

Orange flowered skirt from Crazy 8

Grace liked the tissue paper and the box!

"Hipster" box. I really like that all of the pieces are mix and match!

If you use this link you will receive a $10 discount on your first order, and I earn $10 in Wittlebee credits. It's a win win!

This review was not sponsored or endorsed by Wittlebee. I just wanted to share my experience and opinion on the service. 

Homemade Ice Cream For Your Enjoying Pleasure

Grace and I are getting back into the swing of things in North Carolina. 

Wake up, get dressed and make coffee.

Feed Griffin.

Get Grace up, dressed and fed. 

Eat breakfast while Grace plays.

Head out the door.

Sweat profusely.

(Whew!)

Griffin helps entertain Grace while I scrounge up breakfast.

We are back to Stroller Strides (SS), and I'm training for another half marathon this fall. I am also the newly appointed playgroup captain for SS. This means I plan a craft or activity for the kiddos once a week after our workout. Please feel free to call me Captain, el capitan, chief... but you don't have to, I'll still answer to Allison.

Last week was my first week at the helm, and we made homemade ice cream. I'd say it turned out pretty well, but it was HOT and the ice was melting FAST! 

Here's how we did it:

How To Make Homemade Ice Cream In A Baggie

Ingredients for 1 serving:

2 Tablespoons of sugar

1 cup half & half (or light cream)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup coarse salt or table salt (I used "ice cream salt")

Ice

Gallon-sized Ziploc bag

Pint-sized Ziploc bag

1 pint of Ben & Jerry's (just in case this doesn't work out..) 

1. Mix the sugar, half & half and vanilla extract together in the pint-sized Ziploc bag and seal it tightly.
2. Fill the gallon-sized Ziploc bag halfway with ice and pour the salt over the ice. 
3. Place the pint-sized bag into the ice-filled bag and seal.
4. Start shaking! Shake for 5-10 minutes. (Put those biceps to work!)
5. Open the gallon-sized bag and check to see if the ice cream is hard, if not, keep shaking.
6. Once the ice cream is finished, quickly run the closed pint-sized baggie under cold water to clean off the salt. 
7. Pop a spoon in the bag and enjoy! 

This week I'm planning a kid's Olympic day! I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm hoping for GOLD!

Pull Up A Chair

Our kitchen table and chairs have seen better days, so I thought I would try and breath some new life into them by recovering the chair cushions. 

With some help from my mom, we got a staple gun and picked out some new fabric. 

(Thanks, Mom for talking me out of the purple print!)
It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be and made the dining room feel much cheerier.

Before:

After:

It's amazing how much better the chairs look with a fresh new pattern! Yay! I may be tempted to change the fabric every season...

I sent a picture to Cole, and he said, "the chairs look good, but maybe we should just get a new table?"

Soooooo.... he likes them?

We had a good time while my mom/Grace's grandma was visiting, and we can't wait until we get to see her again! (We even got the garage organized, so I can park the truck inside the garage!)

In other (good) news, Grace learned how to pull herself up and crawl! Her crawling is a little jerky and more like a bear crawl, but she manages to get around. She also stands in her crib crying when I put her to bed. How sad!

 I am one proud mama!

Love You, Papa

Papa (Ken Alexander) died yesterday after a long battle with cancer and pulmonary emphysema. 

He was an incredible man who helped raise nine amazing children. 

He had oodles of grandchildren and great grandchildren who adored him. 

I am happy he is no longer suffering. He was tired. 

Papa was elected as the Justice Court Judge twice and Sheriff of Sierra County. What a legacy he leaves behind!

He was a gold-hearted cowboy.

He did Cole and I the honor of performing our wedding ceremony. 

He was married to my grandma for 62 years. 

I will always remember him for his great sense of humor and his love for dessert. He would let Jennifer and I play with the kittens in his barn and sing to the cows. We loved seeing the newborn baby calves. We would give them all names, and Papa would remind us that one day these cows would be hamburgers in our freezers. (Sad, but true!)

When we would stay the night at Grandma and Papa's house, my sister and I would be afraid to go into their room at night because it sounded like there was a monster inside. (It was Papa snoring!)

He will be missed and always loved. 

We Might Just Melt Into The Atlantic Ocean

We had a great time camping*. 

*If you can call staying in a 27 foot trailer with all the amenities while your uncles cook for you camping.

Grace enjoyed meeting a bunch of her relatives, playing in a creek with her second cousins and snuggling with mama at night. 

Her meaty thighs were untouched by the mosquitos. 

"What is this place, Mama? Are we in the outdoors?"

She barely fit in the kitchen sink in the trailer (also known as Grace's Castle)!

Each morning around 4, I would bring her into bed with me and she would snuggle up under the blankets!

Then my mom, Grace and I raced home, cleaned up, packed and drugged Griffin. The next morning we flew back to sweltering melting sticky hot North Carolina. 

UGH! It is hot!

Grace's curls are back and the AC in ON!

Griffin is recovering from his jet lag/hangover and learning to use his new doggie door.  

My mom is helping me organize the garage and reupholster the dining room chairs. 

(Yeah, I know I really know how to show my guests a good time!)

Stay cool everyone.

Hoping For A Happy Camper

Grace and I are having a wonderful time in California. (Even though it has been hot!)

We visited both of her great grandparents and drove down to see her Auntie Marilyn in southern California.

 

Jessica and James came to Loyalton and then Auburn for a visit!

We also went swimming....

...and shopping!

Grace turned 8 months old on July 8th. 

WOOHOO!

(I need to start thinking about planning her first birthday party! Oh what fun!)

She's also practicing her walking (her legs are strong, but she has no balance) and working on crawling. 

 She's a pro at rolling!

Her first two bottom teeth are even coming in without too much fanfare! 

I swear, if we ever have another baby, they will have a lot to live up to because Grace is SUCH an easy going and good natured girl!

Now we're preparing for one more adventure before we fly home- 

CAMPING!

My mom is the oldest of 9 (NINE!) siblings, and every year they try and get the whole extended family together for a summer camping trip. This is this picture from 2011:

What a rowdy looking bunch! ;)

 I've been working on compiling the 2012 Alexander Family Almanac, which includes a yearly update from each family. It's nice because we can catch up with what's going on in everyone's life and and we're not trying to type it up during the busy holiday season when most people send out cards/family newsletters. 

(Shout out to my cousins, who put this together previous years!)

 Wish us luck! 

Here's hoping Grace's meaty thighs don't get eaten by mosquitos and she waits at least one more week before she figures out how to crawl!

P.S. Just a few more months and Cole should be home! XOXO.

Anniversaries Are Like Birthdays (They Happen Once a Year)

8 years ago today I was running late for my own wedding. 

(Cole won't let me ever live that down, but I've since tried to be more punctual.)

Over the past 8 years Cole and I have:

moved 9 times

ate Thanksgiving at Subway
got a dog

gave that dog away

graduated from college 

bought a car

bought a jeep
got another dog
bought a truck
bought a house
had a baby...

...and fell in love with each other all over again.


Happy anniversary to my husband, my best friend and my hero.