Citrus Lane Review: January 2014

It’s that time of the month again! Time to review another Citrus Lane box and see if it was worth it’s purchase price! See my reviews for previous months here.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with how Citrus Lane works, it is a subscription service that sends you age appropriate items for your child aged 0-5 years every month. The cost of the subscription depends on how long you are willing to commit to. For month to month or three month subscriptions, your cost is $25.00 per month, while it goes down to $21.00 per month if you sign up for a six month or one year subscription. To personalize the box, you choose the child’s age and gender (or neutral) and receive items appropriate to those selections.

In my reviews, I can only review what my daughter receives in her box. I will always tell you what my age and gender selections were, give you a description of the items, what I think of them, pricing, etc.

This month my daughter received a eighteen month old box with a neutral gender selection.

1. Shape Sorter from Plan Toys
Price: $10.00
Status: Interesting
Comments: When I first pulled this out of the box, I was unimpressed. It’s a small little thing, and I’m not really sure about the “grip handle”/spout feature. That said, after playing with it with Baby Girl for what seemed like a ridiculously long time, it seems to pull it’s weight. It’ll make a fantastic travel toy, since the shapes are attached by a sturdy cord. The cord does make it slightly more difficult for her to sort the shapes, since they have to go in at a particular angle and in the order that they are on the cord, but I know she’ll have it figured out in no time.

2. Lunchie from Skip Hop
Price: $14.00
Status: Awesome!
Comments: I love Skip Hop brand items. We have a ton of their products, some of which we got in Citrus Lane boxes. We have two of their diaper bags, a set of zootensils, and several of their toys. This is no exception. Baby Girl is still at an age where she can’t eat everything, and we often have to take food with us when we’re going to be away from home at meal times, even if we’re going somewhere that has food, just to make sure we have something she can eat. We had been lugging around a small cooler bag, which even in the small size was huge, but we just couldn’t justify buying something else. Now we have this! It’s cute, it will hold enough for at least one meal, and it will fit in the diaper bag with a couple of diapers. Stellar!
Want to get one of your own? Use code CLJAN14 for 20% off any purchase of $30 or more at http://www.skiphop.com through 01/31/14

3. Adhesive Bandages from Ouchies Jr.
Price: $5.00
Status: Okay
Comments: I was a little disappointed to get this in my box…again. I got this exact same item (not even a different design, Paddington Bear band-aids) a few boxes ago, and have yet to open it. Hubby had a point when I told him I was disappointed though, he said “Band-aids are band-aids.” That’s true. We just haven’t needed band-aids for Baby Girl yet. She isn’t super physical, and it’s cold outside. Maybe when it warms up we’ll blow through both tins of these things, but I just don’t see that happening.

4.Travel Wipes from Dapple
Price: $3.49
Status: Meh
Comments: I always want to like the products that I get in my boxes from Dapple, as they seem like a great company, but I never do. Laundry detergent? No thanks. Pacifier wipes at sixteen months old? A little late in the game. And now a travel pack of surface wipes. I feel like I would have been excited about these eight months ago, when Baby Girl was putting everything in her mouth and we were traveling a lot, but now I feel like I’ll never use them. I’m not much of a germaphobe anyway (Baby Girl is fully vaccinated, and I believe in the dangers of sterilizing everything), and now thanks to these boxes I have wipes for EVERYTHING. Seems like they are always giving me soap. Whatever, I”ll re-gift these to some germaphobe friends.

Final Thoughts:
Only four items again…hmmm…I’m starting to think the quality of this box might be going down a bit. That said, I did get a couple of awesome bigger ticket items (the toy and the lunchie), so I can’t really complain. If there had been one more absolutely awesome item in here, rather than a couple of cheapie throwaways, you would not hear me bellyaching about only four items.

By the Numbers:
Total value of the box items: $32.49
Total value of items I will use: $29.00
Is the value greater than the cost? YES
The value of this box was actually pretty great. Trade out one of my meh items for a stellar one, and I would be over the moon. As it is, this is still a fun box to get, and I still felt I got my money’s worth.

Looking for my previous Citrus Lane reviews? CLICK HERE!

CLICK HERE TO SAVE $10 ON YOUR CITRUS LANE SUBSCRIPTION!

Citrus Lane Review: December 2013

It’s that time of the month again! Time to review another Citrus Lane box and see if it was worth it’s purchase price! See my reviews for previous months here.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with how Citrus Lane works, it is a subscription service that sends you age appropriate items for your child aged 0-5 years every month. The cost of the subscription depends on how long you are willing to commit to. For month to month or three month subscriptions, your cost is $25.00 per month, while it goes down to $21.00 per month if you sign up for a six month or one year subscription. To personalize the box, you choose the child’s age and gender (or neutral) and receive items appropriate to those selections.

In my reviews, I can only review what my daughter receives in her box. I will always tell you what my age and gender selections were, give you a description of the items, what I think of them, pricing, etc.

This month my daughter received a seventeen month old box with a neutral gender selection.

1. Handprint Art Kit from Pearhead
Price: $14.99
Status: Interesting
Comments: I don’t actually have a picture or a link to this, as I couldn’t find it for sale anywhere, but it’s a white canvas on a stretcher frame that comes with pink and blue paint, and you’re supposed to put your child’s handprints on it. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with it yet, since I already have Lilly’s baby handprint on the wall of her room, but it’s a pretty sizable canvas, so I’m thinking that when she’s 18 months old in February I’ll do a “family” of handprints, including mine and Hubby’s. A cool thing, especially if I hadn’t already been subscribing to the service for a year…since the first handprint kit came in my first Citrus Lane box. 🙂

2. Rainbow Stacker from Melissa & Doug
Price: $7.99
Status: Awesome!
Comments: I’m always surprised when I look up prices at how inexpensive Melissa & Doug items are. They’re well-designed, sturdy, made of solid wood…I always think they should be more expensive than they are. Baby Girl was already in love with her Green Toys Stacker, which I actually like better than this one, but she’s a fan of this one too, and we’re only a day into it!

3. I Took the Moon for a Walk from Barefoot Books
Price: $7.99
Status: Great
Comments: You can never have too many children’s books. I really believe that. This one is sweet, and quite well illustrated, so a great addition to our collection. It’s short, with few words on the page, making it very age appropriate. My only complaint is that it is a paperback, so it has to go out of reach for now.

4. Snuggly Lotion from Episencial
Price: $7.34
Status: Meh
Comments: Always with the lotion! I have so much organic, sensitive skin lotion…quit with the skincare products already! This is the travel size of the snuggly lotion, which comes in their travel pack, hence the strange price point.

Final Thoughts:
After usually getting 5-6 items, this box with only 4 was a bit of a letdown. On top of that, there was no big ticket WOW item, and after a stellar year-end holiday box last year, this one was a bit of a disappointment.

By the Numbers:
Total value of the box items: $38.31
Total value of items I will use: $38.31
Is the value greater than the cost? YES
While the value was pretty good, I’ve had better boxes, and there was nothing in here that I was over the moon about, unfortunately. Still, it was fun to get, and Baby Girl gets more excited about every box.

Looking for my previous Citrus Lane reviews? CLICK HERE!

CLICK HERE TO SAVE $10 ON YOUR CITRUS LANE SUBSCRIPTION!

Bluum Box Review: December 2013

This is my fourth box since deciding to try Bluum. Bluum‘s pricing is very similar to Citrus Lane, at $25 per box on a month to month basis, $23 per month for a three month subscription (less than CL), $21 per month for a six month subscription (the same as CL), and even less than that for a one year subscription. Also of note is that Bluum offers more ways to earn rewards and free boxes than Citrus Lane does (which is why I’m on the month to month plan at the moment, hoping to earn a free box!). I’m still pretty impressed with the box. I was told that Bluum would primarily send samples, but I believe it to be of phenomenal value.

My box this month was the box for sixteen month olds. Unlike previous boxes, it did not appear to have any particular theme (strong hands, balancing act, etc).

1. Socks from BabySoy
Price: $3.50
Status: Great
Comments: Here’s a truth: I hate buying baby socks. The stores I visit on a regular basis don’t have a good selection, and they always seem so expensive. I mean, they’re still just socks. So I’m always happy to get cute baby socks that fit Baby Girl from decent, eco-conscious companies in my boxes. That said, BabySoy promotes themselves as “style + nature’s softness” selling soybean fiber baby clothing for eco-conscious parents. That’s fine in theory, based on materials, but your products are still made in China…enough said. I like the socks though.

2. Cuddle! from Parragon Books
Price: $9.99
Status: Pretty Great
Comments: Always love getting books in the subscription boxes! I feel like you can never have too many. This is a sweet book about cuddling animals, and it fits right in with where my daughter is mentally and developmentally with hugs and cuddles. It’s a sturdy board book, so she can “read” it herself, and I know it will be treasured.

3. Soft Spout Cover from Dreambaby
Price: $6.67 (Amazon)
Status: Meh
Comments: An inflatable spout cover? Nah. We actually have the Boon spout cover and love it, and I actually dislike almost everything inflatable. Inflatable stuff never seems to last or do that great a job. Plus, unlike other spout covers, this one has to be removed when adults want to take a shower, so it’s one more thing to store. Much prefer my Boon flo. Guess this will go in the re-gift box!

4.  Pacifier Wipes from Dapple
Price: $2.99
Status: Not so much…
Comments: Too young! Too young! While Baby Girl still uses her pacifier at night and for naps, when they aren’t using it around the house or out and about, it rather negates the need for these wipes. They look like a great product, and would have been awesome to have in the diaper bag for those trips to her uncle’s swim and wrestling meets when you inevitably drop the pacifier in the stands and have to run to the bathroom to rinse it off…we have outgrown their usefulness. Time to pass them on to someone else.

5. Sensitive Baby Foaming Shampoo and Body Wash from Susan Brown’s Baby
Price: $13.50
Status: Meh…
Comments: While I appreciate always having tear free, ph balanced, “free”, sensitive skin shampoos, body washes, and lotions around, they’re starting to take over my closet! I’m always getting these things in my subscription boxes, and I just don’t go through them that quickly. Baby Girl isn’t big enough to use up all of this! I’ll put this in the closet with the rest, but chances are good if it doesn’t get used soon (we’re still using the same bottle of body wash I bought when she was born…sixteen months later) I’ll re-gift it.

6. Strawberry Preserves from Bonne Maman
Price: $0.69
Status: Awesome!
Comments: We’re already lovers of Bonne Maman fruit preserves (I actually just bought a jar for a holiday gift basket), so it was fun to get a mini jar of strawberry preserves this month. While it would have been cooler to get a full jar, we’ll put this one to good use!

So was it worth it? I think so. The total value of the box was $37.34 (so down a little from previous months), compared to a $25 purchase price. After subtracting the items I will probably regift, I got around $28 worth of value, which is still above the purchase price. Plus, now I have some really high quality items to gift my mom friends with tinier babies!

Are you interested in signing up for Bluum?

Click here to sign up and receive 50% off your first box!

Bluum Box Review: November 2013

This is my third box since deciding to try Bluum. Bluum‘s pricing is very similar to Citrus Lane, at $25 per box on a month to month basis, $23 per month for a three month subscription (less than CL), $21 per month for a six month subscription (the same as CL), and even less than that for a one year subscription. Also of note is that Bluum offers more ways to earn rewards and free boxes than Citrus Lane does (which is why I’m on the month to month plan at the moment, hoping to earn a free box!). I’m still pretty impressed with the box. I was told that Bluum would primarily send samples, but I believe it to be of phenomenal value.

My box this month was the box for fifteen month olds.

1. Legwarmers from BabyLegs
Price: $12.00
Status: Meh
Comments: I feel like Baby Girl is a little too old for these at this point. The truth is that baby legwarmers are awesome, and we own about a million of them, that we used regularly when Baby Girl was little and lived in onesies all day. Now she’s old enough to wear real clothes, and we packed the legwarmers away. These will make an awesome re-gift though!

2. How Do I Feel? from Parragon Books
Price: $12.99
Status: Pretty Great
Comments: I love to see books in my subscription boxes! We are a family of readers, and I would never turn books away! These are unique and unlike anything else Baby Girl has though. They are tiny board books for tiny hands that are supposed to help toddlers identify their feelings to better communicate. A creative idea, that I rather like!

3. Non-Slip Bath Mats from Dreambaby
Price: $4.25 (this is just a guess, I actually had a hard time finding them for sale anywhere)
Status: Meh
Comments: While I understand the use for these, I can’t use them. Our tub has a protective coating sprayed onto it that can be damaged by things like this, so I try to avoid them. Re-gift!

4.  Owl Blankie from Angel Dear
Price: $13.00
Status: Meh
Comments: This is another item that I feel is too young for Baby Girl. She has two of these little “loveys” already that she received before she was born, and while she loves them, we certainly don’t need to introduce another. These are perfect for newborns, and I love the fabric this one is made of, but Baby Girl is old enough to have a real blanket.

5. Happy Yogis-Mixed Berry from Happy Family Brands
Price: $3.99
Status: Awesome!
Comments: Baby Girl loves loves LOVES yogurt melts, so it’s always awesome to see them show up at the doorstep!

6. Happy Yogis-Banana Mango from Happy Family Brands
Price: $3.99
Status: Awesome!
Comments: As stated above, we love yogurt melts around here! I was happy to see them, and it was cool to get two different flavors!

So was it worth it? I think so. The total value of the box was $50.22 (just about on par with last month), compared to a $25 purchase price. After subtracting the items I will probably regift, I got around $20 worth of value, which is below the purchase price, but with the holidays (and more than a few baby showers) coming up, plus the incredibly good quality of those items, I’m willing to forgive it!

Are you interested in signing up for Bluum?

Click here to sign up and receive 50% off your first box!

Word of the Day: Pharisaic

Source: The Book of Q by Jonathan Rabb

Context:

This time, though, it wasn’t Paul, whose approach had always seemed colored by a Pharisaic past, nor the writers of the Gospels, each too caught up in his own agenda, but Augustine, where the insights remained acutely personal and therefore somehow less limiting–the fun and wonder reclaimed all at once.

Definition:

1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Pharisees
2. Hypocritically self-righteous and condemnatory

So who are the Pharisees? Here are some notable parts of the Wikipedia summary that I think say it best:

Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought in Judea during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty (140–37 BCE) in the wake of the Maccabean Revolt. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs became the liturgical and ritualistic basis for Rabbinic Judaism (commonly known as simply Judaism). Outside of Jewish history and writings, the Pharisees have been made notable by references in the New Testament to conflicts between themselves and John the Baptist[4] and with Jesus. There are also several references in the New Testament to Paul of Tarsus being a Pharisee.[5] Relationship between Early Christianity and Pharisees was not always hostile, e.g. Gamaliel is often cited as a Pharisaic leader who was sympathetic to Christians. Christian traditions have been a cause of widespread awareness of the Pharisees.

Citrus Lane Review: November 2013

It’s that time of the month again! Time to review another Citrus Lane box and see if it was worth it’s purchase price! See my reviews for previous months here.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with how Citrus Lane works, it is a subscription service that sends you age appropriate items for your child aged 0-5 years every month. The cost of the subscription depends on how long you are willing to commit to. For month to month or three month subscriptions, your cost is $25.00 per month, while it goes down to $21.00 per month if you sign up for a six month or one year subscription. To personalize the box, you choose the child’s age and gender (or neutral) and receive items appropriate to those selections.

In my reviews, I can only review what my daughter receives in her box. I will always tell you what my age and gender selections were, give you a description of the items, what I think of them, pricing, etc.

This month my daughter received a sixteen month old box with a neutral gender selection.

1. Tugboat from Green Toys
Price: $14.99
Status: Awesome
Comments: Yay! I was so excited to see a Green Toys item in the box this month. Their products are always a huge hit with Baby Girl, and the company is awesome too. I would have preferred a toy that wasn’t primarily for the bathtub, but this was awesome.

2. Zootensils from Skip Hop
Price: $6.00
Status: Awesome!
Comments: Another product that basically hit the nail on the head! We’ve just started working with Baby Girl on using utensils, and were looking at what to purchase. What a timely arrival! Not only that, but we are big fans of the Skip Hop brand in our house, and own many of their products, so we know these will hold up to Baby Girl’s abuse.

3. Reusable Snack Bags from Bumkins
Price: $6.95
Status: Useful
Comments: To be honest, I’m a Bumkins fan, and I was super-duper hopeful when I saw the Bumkins logo that it would be a pack of their absolutely awesome toddler bibs. It wasn’t, it was reusable snack bags, but I’m sure we’ll get some use out of these. Although, we have received a lot of different snack containers in our Citrus Lane boxes, and I’m not really sure how many of these we really need.

4. Lip Comfort from Pur~lisse
Price: $16.00
Status: Meh
Comments: Uh, how much chap stick/lip balm type items do they think I need? And why are these things all so freaking expensive? Crazy! I’ll probably use it, or give it away, but not the best item in the box.

5. Second Blends Pouch from Plum Organics
Price: $1.99
Status: Disappointing
Comments: I love Plum Organics products, and I was so happy to see Citrus Lane finally include a food item that my daughter could actually eat. Then I found out about the voluntary recall issued on this product and that I have to throw it out! Such a bummer. CL says that they will be sending us all vouchers, but I have yet to see it.

6. TinyPrints Coupon
Price: N/A
Status: Not even worth including.
Comments: I hate this item. Especially because if it hadn’t been included in the box it probably would have been a super satisfying month. This coupon is for four sets of address labels and free shipping…on an order of $99+. This is not a gift, or an item. It is a glorified coupon. Not cool Citrus Lane, not cool.

Final Thoughts:
I’m very excited to be amped up about a box again! This box was pretty awesome, and made me glad to be a Citrus Lane subscriber!

Optional Add-to-Box:
Citrus Lane has just opened their new Holiday shop, where you can buy things like a normal store, or use your Citrus Lane credits, and they will ship the items in your next box. I did purchase an item I was pretty excited about and had it added to my December box.

By the Numbers:
Total value of the box items: $45.93
Total value of items I will use: $27.94
Is the value greater than the cost? YES
The value in this box would have been even greater if they hadn’t used the super expensive lip treatment to bump up the value! I was/am in love with this box, and while the recall (which CL had no control over) was a dampener, if the Bumkins product had been bibs instead of snack bags, I would be doing a completely embarrassing happy dance.

Looking for my previous Citrus Lane reviews? CLICK HERE!

CLICK HERE TO SAVE $10 ON YOUR CITRUS LANE SUBSCRIPTION!

Word of the Day: Internecine

Found in “The Summer of Beer and Whiskey” by Edward Achorn.

Context:

As a Union veteran long steeped in Missouri’s bitter and grisly internecine feuds, Crittenden didn’t care.

Definition:

marked by slaughter, mutually destructive

What better way to describe Missouri conflicts during the Civil War? What a good word.

Bluum Box Review: Strong Hands October 2013

This is my second box since deciding to try Bluum. Bluum‘s pricing is very similar to Citrus Lane, at $25 per box on a month to month basis, $23 per month for a three month subscription (less than CL), $21 per month for a six month subscription (the same as CL), and even less than that for a one year subscription. Also of note is that Bluum offers more ways to earn rewards and free boxes than Citrus Lane does (which is why I’m on the month to month plan at the moment, hoping to earn a free box!). I’m still pretty impressed with the box. I was told that Bluum would primarily send samples, but I believe it to be of phenomenal value.

My box this month was the Strong Hands box for fourteen month olds.

1. Slide and Sleek Safari from Melissa and Doug
Price: $5.99
Status: Pretty Great
Comments: We already have a few of these little wooden toys from Melissa and Doug, and they are all sweet. Baby Girl already likes it, but she’s a great problem solver, and something a little more advanced would have been nice.

2. Calming Cream from Circle of Friends Organics
Price: $14.40
Status: Meh
Comments: Second month in a row I’ve gotten an eczema friendly lotion in my bluum box. Definitely don’t need any more of these! I’m not familiar with the brand, but it certainly seems expensive.

3. Spill-Proof Cup from Lansinoh Momma
Price: $10.00
Status: Meh
Comments: Baby Girl is pretty obsessed with her Nuby cups, so I’m not sure we’ll get any use out of this one. The fact that it rocks on it’s bottom is interesting, but so far also annoying, as I can’t seem to set it down anywhere without being careful to set it on the tiny platform or letting it roll away!

4.  My Little Counting Bookby Priddy Books
Price: $12.99
Status: Meh
Comments: I have no picture on this one, and the price is just a guess, as I couldn’t find it on the Priddy Books website. It’s an okay book of okay quality, but definitely not the best book I’ve ever gotten in a subscription box. I feel like it’s something you could get at a discount store.

5. Carrot Cake Luna Bar by Luna Bar
Price: $1.25 each (sold in a box of 15)
Status: Interesting
Comments: I got a Luna fiber bar in my Bluum box last month, and it was a lifesaver when I was at work. I have yet to purchase any on my own, but I’m eager to try this!

6. Toddler Meal Bowl from Happy Family Brands
Price: $6.69 (Amazon)
Status: Not cool
Comments: I’m usually thrilled to get baby food in these boxes, now that Baby Girl is learning new flavors, and the things I make don’t always satisfy her tastebuds. Unfortunately, we are a vegetarian household, and they sent me the bowl with chicken in it. There is only one vegetarian option in this item, so I’m not surprised that we didn’t receive it. I guess I’ll be giving this one to my nephew…too bad.

Also included: A 50 cent coupon for more Luna Bars. May or may not be useful.

So was it worth it? I think so. The total value of the box was $51.32 (not nearly as good or impressive as last month’s box, but still alright), compared to a $25 purchase price. Even if you subtract things that I will probably regift, the value was still more than $30. We’ll see if the quality stays good, and if next month I get some different brands, as this month had many of the same ones as last month.

Are you interested in signing up for Bluum?

Click here to sign up and receive 15 points toward a free box!

Citrus Lane Review: October 2013

It’s that time of the month again! Time to review another Citrus Lane box and see if it was worth it’s purchase price! See my reviews for previous months here.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with how Citrus Lane works, it is a subscription service that sends you age appropriate items for your child aged 0-5 years every month. The cost of the subscription depends on how long you are willing to commit to. For month to month or three month subscriptions, your cost is $25.00 per month, while it goes down to $21.00 per month if you sign up for a six month or one year subscription. To personalize the box, you choose the child’s age and gender (or neutral) and receive items appropriate to those selections.

In my reviews, I can only review what my daughter receives in her box. I will always tell you what my age and gender selections were, give you a description of the items, what I think of them, pricing, etc.

This month my daughter received a fifteen month old box with a neutral gender selection.

1. Toddler Tambourine from Hoehner Kids
Price: $12.00
Status: Awesome
Comments: I’m actually a huge fan of musical instruments for kids. In a previous box we received Hoehner’s rainstick, and it continues to be a top toy in our house. This tambourine is a welcome addition, and I’m pleased to see it in the box!

2. Scrubble from Boon
Price: $11.99
Status: Useful
Comments: We actually own a few Boon products in our house, and while they aren’t one of my favorite companies, I do appreciate how innovative they are and how classic their designs tend to be. That said, these are essentially bath toys. I’m sick of bath toys. Nobody could possible have a use for the number of bath toys we have ended up with (why do they always come in packs of a ridiculous number?). Many of ours aren’t even used in the bath, as our bath toy basket would completely fill up. These don’t function well as squirters, which is fine, since we already have several of those, but I do like their scrubby ends and the fact that they come a part, making them easy to clean, unlike most bath toys. I feel like these would be super useful for an older child that tends to make a mess with the wash cloth. Put some bubble bath in the water and let them scrub themselves clean with a toy. Baby Girl hasn’t quite gotten the point of them yet though.

3. Cool It Buddy Instant Cold Pack from Me4Kidz
Price: $2.99
Status: Meh.
Comments: Seeing this item in my box this month made me slightly annoyed. I received this exact item in one of my previous boxes, and I wasn’t too jazzed about it then. I believe I said that while I could see it’s usefulness, I had no immediate plans for it. Well, I have yet to use it. My kid is not all that injury prone at only fourteen months old that she is in need of instant cold packs (especially when we’re usually at home, where there are reusable ice packs). This makes me a bit sad because I would have been excited to receive one of Me4Kidz other products, like their portable first aid kid (for only a couple of dollars more in value). Oh well, I guess it will go in the first aid stuff. Hopefully these things don’t go bad.

4. Little Yums from Plum Organics
Price: $0.75
Status: Meh
Comments: Once again Citrus Lane has given me the opportunity to gripe about sending food samples. These are great little snacks. Organic, semi-healthy, portable…and Baby Girl really likes them. Too bad she ate the only one they sent us and they don’t have them at our local store. I would feel a lot better about the value of this box if they had sent me a six pack…or even two.

5. Babybug Magazine Digital Subscription + Print Issue from Cricket Magazine Group
Price: $7.45
Status: Meh
Comments: Okay, so maybe I’m the last person on the planet to join the digital revolution, but I’m not a “digital magazine” person. I don’t own an e-reader or a tablet, and my baby is not yet addicted to screens. She does however love books. She also loves songs. I was thrilled to see the September issue of Babybug Magazine in the box, as it was stable (not easily torn up by baby hands), and the rhymes and songs were cute and seasonal. Definitely something to put on the bookshelf! The actual value of a single issue is rather small, however. When I saw free subscription on the insert card, I got excited. Then I saw that it was actually a free three month digital subscription, with nothing in print at all. How disappointing. I don’t plan to download my free digital issues, as it will just take up space on my non-existent device, and chances are good that Baby Girl will never see them.

Final Thoughts:
Compared to a year ago when I started subscribing to Citrus Lane, I feel as though the quality has come down a bit. That said, the value is still pretty decent for what you’re paying, and it is still fun to get that little surprise piece of mail each month. We’ll see how my bluum box looks when it arrives.

Optional Add-to-Box:
This month’s optional add to box were a variety of Halloween costumes. I did not purchase any as I find baby Halloween costumes to be horribly over priced.

By the Numbers:
Total value of the box items: $35.18
Total value of items I will use: $24.74
Is the value greater than the cost? MAYBE –
They really walked the line with this box! The total value is more than the cost, but my useful value is less than a month to month subscription. On top of that, last month was the first time I seriously questioned the value of my box, and this month is worth even less.

Looking for my previous Citrus Lane reviews? CLICK HERE!

CLICK HERE TO SAVE $10 ON YOUR CITRUS LANE SUBSCRIPTION!

Word of the Day: Vicissitudes

This word is kind of a cool one to say, if rather an old one to use. Found once again in “The Summer of Beer and Whiskey” by Edward Achorn.

Context:

Another reporter, studying an “irregular” face that smiled more than it frowned, formed a strong impression of his willpower: “Base ball vicissitudes have not turned his hair gray. He looks like a man who could strike out vigorously when the sea becomes troublesome and who could keep his head well above the waives when other powerful swimmers begin to think of sinking.”

The definition:

a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.

Well there’s one that makes perfect sense! I like it when it doesn’t take much work to figure this stuff out.