Blackout Box of FUN for Kids – Blackout Entertainment with Duracell

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My Blackout Box of Fun for Kids with Duracell is a great distracting emergency kit for kids during a natural disaster. This shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias, Inc.  and its advertiser.  All opinions are mine alone.  Obviously. #PrepWithPower

Just a few weeks back, I watched my husband roll his eyes at me as I mentioned I should really make sure my car had a full tank of gas and we had some basics like extra water and a couple of LED lanterns in the house.  Here in San Diego, there were wildfires in full swing and while where we live is usually not an area that is affected by them, you never know.  It just takes one genius with a cigarette butt after all.

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My paranoia stemmed partially from the fact that I come from a long line of paranoid freaks (though it tends to get better with each generation) and the fact that a few summers back the power grid went down here and left what I would describe as moderate chaos from San Diego to Orange County.  Long story short, I needed to drive to meet Craig in the OC and there was no way to avoid the trip.

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Our household was insanely unprepared for this as our only flashlight was a Tinkerbell one that belonged to Kayla.  Since my car was without much gas there was no way to get there since um, gas pumps don’t work in blackouts.  A close friend handed over his insanely flashy too-nice-to-drive sports car and I set off with a 2 year old in the back to drive the 100 miles with no traffic signals. Gripping the steering wheel like a first time driver and just praying to make it there okay.

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Which is precisely why after that, I vowed not to let a repeat situation happen and to at least try to be prepared.  No, I don’t have some crazy zombie apocalypse survival kit and never will.  You can call me a practical paranoid person.  Flashlights, lanterns, batteries and extra water have found their place in our home and it definitely gives me peace of mind.

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During our most recent blackout, which only lasted a few hours I realized that Kayla had a lot of questions and I turned into a virtual entertainer playing the old distraction game and pretending I wasn’t worried myself.  That got me thinking that it would be nice for her to have a kit of her own for a blackout or other similar situation.  Something that made it seem like this was in fact a REALLY FUN SURPRISE and not something to be afraid of or a moment of uncertainty.

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So this Blackout Box of Fun was born.  The concept is simple and you don’t need a fancy case like mine (though I did love this little suitcase.)   Adapt it to your child’s current likes.  Don’t hesitate to aim slightly higher in age than they currently are though because hopefully you won’t need it for a while.

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Here’s what was in mine:

– Child sized battery operated LED lantern (why a lantern over a flashlight?  See below!)
– Long lasting Duracell AA batteries
– A new pack of crayons.  New is good.  New is exciting.
– A basic white pad of paper
– Some fun washi tape.  You can use it for games or crafts
– Balloons. Easy to store and a million games you can create with them.
– Play-Doh.  It pretty much never gets old in our home.  Kids just love it.
– A mini LEGO set.  They get kids to focus, calm down and follow instructions.
– A Special snack you wouldn’t normally buy.  For us, that’s colored Goldfish.  Rainbows make everything special.
– Fun bandages.  Sometimes kids get dramatic and just need some reassurance.  My child is a fake boo-boo finder.  So when I saw these crazy cute fuzzy bandages I knew I had to toss a couple in.

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I thought about including a child’s flashlight, but while flashlights are fun for playing shadow puppets, I think lanterns are way better for hands free fun.  The Durcaell Copper Top batteries in Kayla’s lantern are guaranteed fresh for 10 years  so you can get the maximum power out of them when you need them.  This little LED lantern should get about 50 hours of light from 4AA batteries which seems pretty great considering how bright it is.

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Someone was all too excited to get her hands on the lantern in this box.  No, there wasn’t a real blackout, but my theory that drawing and playing in the dark can be really fun when presented properly seems to hold water.  I know because I wasn’t allowed to turn the lights back on for the rest of the night.  And I’m not going to lie, I kind of thought it was fun too!

Like this idea and want to make your own Blackout kit for kids?  Pin the image below and it’ll be waiting for you when you’re ready to create your own.

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And just so you know, you can find those batteries in the electronics section at your local Walmart.

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20 Minutes For Me Kit – A DIY Relaxation Kit from Whole Foods Market

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I created my 20 Minutes For Me Kit, a DIY relaxation kit as part of a sponsored post for Whole Foods #WFMSummerFun It’s perfect for those in need of a little escape.

Do you know someone who can use a little escape from their day?  I can think of about 17 close friends that fall into that category.  This week I was thinking about the future and how little time I’ll have to do girly things, you know, like taking a shower that ends with lotion application.  Thus my creation of the 20 Glorious Minutes For Me kit.  It’s the perfect gift to yourself or to a friend to make and let them stash away until they desperately need that 20 minutes of sanity time.

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If you’re like me then you are quickly becoming more and more aware of what you put into your body and what you put on your skin.  Because the reality is that there is some pretty nasty stuff out there lurking in brands that try to appear safe.  Don’t even get me started on how I feel about that.  Which is why I recently headed to Whole Foods La Jolla to learn more about their body/beauty products and to understand what their standards are like.

I won’t lie, I was impressed and surprised.  Impressed because upon arrival a few other ladies and I were shown the absolutely ginormous list of ingredients that are simply NOT allowed in any body product on the shelves of Whole Foods.  I kid you not, it was at least 5 pages long.

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Surprised because I think it’s safe to say that a lot of people have the conception that Whole Foods = expensive.  What I didn’t realize was that there are actually a ton of products in the body care section that are very reasonably priced or dare I say kinda cheap (Like this 365 shampoo) compared to what I might shell out for a product in a big box store.  You know, one that’s playing the all natural card, but maybe isn’t so natural after all.

Okay, so back to my little kit.  I picked up a slew of fun products that I thought would be nice for some ME time.  A relaxing scented shampoo, a CRAZY good smelling bar of soap and a scented candle for starters. I kid you not, I stood in the body care aisle for a freakishly long time smelling this soap.  This is the soap you want to keep to yourself and never let your kids touch.  It smells like it should cost $12 but it’s actually less than $3.

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Speaking of letting your kids touch stuff.  I know, this is supposed to be about ME and YOU.  But inevitably it goes back to the kids somehow.  Let’s talk nail polish.  The brand Mineral Fusion was showing off their products at Whole Foods while I was there. Their products are for adults and not kids but I discovered that their nail polish is about as close as you can get to those super safe kiddie nail polishes without being totally water based. Which I like, because in my experience the water based stuff just sort of peels off after a couple of days. And then I want to scream.  Because who has time to paint nails and has kids?  And inevitably wind up painting their kids’ nails?

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Also in my kit are some organic cotton balls.  Another good point was made which I never gave much thought to.  Okay, sometimes we buy organic cotton baby clothes.  But because cotton is a crop that isn’t produced for human consumption, legally it’s allowed to be sprayed with all kinds of scary chemicals.  And then we rub it on our faces and bodies when removing makeup, applying lotion, etc.  Oh.  Right.

And to avoid that last minute dash to the pharmacy when you realize you don’t have nail polish remover and you wind up with the nasty acetone filled stuff from the 90’s I picked up this Mineral Fusion acetone free nail polish remover.  Even just the way the other stuff smells screams “don’t use me” so I don’t know why so many of us have for years.

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I did the unthinkable and stuck all of my amazing treasures in a neat little pouch and put it away.  Because I have a feeling that very (very) soon I will be a sleep deprived new mom all over again, just hoping to sneak in that coveted shower in peace.  And at that moment, this will be the best gift ever.  You know, besides the baby.

Think you might want to make your own kit?  If you’re a San Diego local  – my store is La Jolla! Then I think you might want to take advantage of this Whole Foods body care deal this Friday, June 27th. Just print out this coupon (1 per customer) and all of their body care products will be 25% off.  And you can pick up a yummy dinner.  And buy the groceries you were supposed to buy today but didn’t.  I’m just saying…

Want to make my 20 minutes for me kit, but you’re not quite ready?  You can pin the image below and it will be waiting for you whenever the time is right!

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DIY Tooth Brushing Success Garland

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Make my DIY Tooth brushing success garland.  It’s a creative reward chart for kids.  This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Orajel Kids. 

Tooth brushing. Dun dun dun.  If you have a child who is technically old enough to brush without physical assistance, but young enough that they cut corners this post is for you!  We fall into this dreaded gray area of tooth brushing and it’s become one of our most irritating family debates.  So this week I got a little crafty and created a tooth brushing chart with a twist.  Hello Tooth Brushing Success Garland!

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Father’s Day Gift For New Dads

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Make this easy DIY Father’s Day Gift.  I created a New Dad Command Center as a Father’s Day gift for new dads.

Five and a half years ago Craig suffered from anaphylactic shock and almost didn’t make it. Okay, I exaggerated. Slightly.  However, he basically did have what felt like a life threatening reaction to what would be harmless to most.  You know, a new baby.  Seven pounds and eleven ounces of sheer terror named Kayla.

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How I Renovated Our Bathroom on a Budget

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Need a small bathroom remodel on a small budget? See how to renovate your bathroom on a budget like I did using stock materials and Behr Marquee paint. 

About six and a half years ago, I moved in to my now husband, then fiance’s house.  Our friends and family know that I haven’t hidden the fact that there were lots of things I was not a fan of in this home.  Okay, I flat out complained about all of them, but over time have done a lot of easy swapping of furniture and area rugs as well as some painting.  However, one thing has remained is the number one sore spot for me.  The guest bathroom. A place I lovingly refer to as “The Bathroom From H*ll.”  Well… not anymore.

 Get the look on a budget! This post breaks down all the materials used to get a very finished looking bathroom with the gray wood look tile that's so in now without breaking the bank. How I renovated our bathroom on a budget - Hello Splendid
Okay, so I’d seen worse bathrooms, you know in fraternity houses and those wonderful Manhattan apartments you shell out three grand a month for and can barely fit inside the bathroom without knocking into all four walls. When I started earning an income blogging, I decided to just sock it all away in a random savings account and see if it would add up to anything real since I wasn’t quite sure how my new venture would go.

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DIY Kids Birthday Photo Shoot with Number Balloon

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I’m showing you how to do a DIY balloon tassel garland to use with a number balloon . Thanks to Step2 and Birthday Express for sending supplies to facilitate this cute setup my way! 

If you’ve been doing this parenting for a minute or two chances are you’ve seen some of those adorable, creative birthday invitations that magically make their way into your mailbox. And you’re probably thinking awww cute, but nope, I can’t do that.  I’m here to say YES YOU CAN. All it takes is a really cute kid (which you probably have if you read this site) a little bit of creativity and a camera.

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