Rebecca's Reviews

When we had our first child 6 years ago, we got the Graco infant seat that attaches to the stroller. I didn't give it a lot of thought as it had a high safety rating and came with the stroller I wanted.

When we had our second child the same Graco infant seat was used for the new baby, but as we now had 2 vehicles and one of us was dropping children off and the other picking up, we really needed another car seat for the baby.

Without any hesitation we purchased the Britax Boulevard. We were already using the seat for her older brother and we were very happy with the features for an older child. To our surprise this seat, that can accomodate a child up to 49 inches and 65 lbs, is able to provide a lot of support for a little girl who wore premmie clothing until she was 10 weeks old. How? There is a removable infant body pillow that helps with positioning infants and provides a truly custom fit.

There are 2 main features that we love about this car seat.
1. Side Impact Protection and
2. No Re-thread Harness Adjustment allows you to adjust the harness height without having to re-thread the harness straps

There is a knobb near the side of the head rest that you turn when you want to raise or lower the harness height. You never have to remove the seat to adjust the harness height.

Our son is almost 6 and has still not outgrown his Boulevard. Our daughter is 4 and she is still in the same seat she used as a newborn. Both seats look like they could last for many more years. They are very easy to install with the latch and the fabric is easy to remove and wash. A seatbelt installation is possible; it just took a little longer for little me.

Here's a list of the many other features of these great car seats.
- Rear facing until 35 lbs
- Forward facing until 65 lbs or 49 inches tall.
- Energy-Absorbing Base deforms in the event of a crash to absorb impact forces
- Plush, Premium Cover Set with matching belly pad provides extra comfort
- Front Harness Adjuster provides effortless front adjustment when loosening the harness system
- Small Contoured Base ensures a tight installation in all types of vehicles
- Convenient Harness Holders keep harness straps out of the way while placing child in the car seat
- Built-in Lock-Off(s) secure the vehicle seat belt so that the child seat does not move more than one inch side-to-side or front-to-back at the belt path
- HUGS™ (Harness Ultra Guard System) reduces forward head movement and cushions the chest in the event of impact
- Infant Body Pillow for infant positioning and a custom fit
- High Density Comfort Foam provides an extra layer of padding to gently cushion the child
- Energy-Absorbing Foam Liner (EPS) absorbs and distributes crash forces
- Rear and Forward Facing Recline for child comfort and positioning
- Premium, Push-Button Lower LATCH Connectors for a quick, simple, and tight installation
- Patented, Energy-Absorbing Versa-Tether with staged-release tether webbing, anchors the top of the child seat at two points to minimize forward movement in a crash
- Five-Point Harness makes contact with the strongest parts of the body

If you have a newborn, a baby who has outgrown their infant seat or a child who has outgrown their convertible car seat you really should take a look at this seat.

If you are worried about the cost of this seat then I recommend you read the testimonials at the Britax site. We have purchased 4 of these seats over the years and they are worth every penny.

I believe that all children should be in a 5-point harness car seat as long as possible. If you have a child who you think is ready for a booster seat and the car seat belt please read this Is My Child Ready for a Booster Seat

I am so excited that this site won the 'USA Award' as part of the ausMumpreneur Awards at Connect2Mums

The site was up against some great USA sites so I feel very honoured and blessed at the moment.

I would like to congratulate all of the other entrants and also all the winners of the other categories.

I feel quite honoured to be included among them.

I belong to a interactive online magazine for Aussie Mums, called Connect2Mums. This site is filled with hundreds of MumPreneurs and an unending number of products. In this post I would like to share a review by the Editor and Founder, Paula Kuhnemann.





When I first saw the ‘denim totes’ available for women at ‘Your Cheeky Monkey,’ I instantly wanted one! Being the ‘Imelda Marcos of bags’, I knew straight away that that these were unique, chic and very LA cool. Monique Nickalls, designer of kids clothing & toys, mumpreneur & ‘YCM’ owner, immediately suggested that I wait as she was constructing four unique totes made from genuine MOSCHINO recycled cotton jeans. Oh, I was like a kid waiting or Christmas! As you can see from the pic, the Moschino makes up the quirky front panel and the sides, bottom and back of the tote are from animal print upholstery off-cuts, giving my tote a luxurious, velvety, winter feel. The bag lining is 100% cotton quilting Cheetah Swirl fabric, in a gorgeous silver/grey/taupe colour. The only ode to this being from a ‘kids label’ is the cute ‘doggy button toggle’ between the handles, which works with the quirkiness of this piece!

Handmade by Monique, the craftsmanship is superb and has banished any thoughts of 'handmade equals second best' from my mind once and for all! The ‘Your Cheeky Monkey’ label inside the tote gives the bag a professional finish, as do the ‘Your Cheeky Monkey’ care instructions. My tote is roomy without being obscenely large, dimensions being approx. 32cm W x 29cm H x 9cm D.

If you are a woman who loves the ease of entry and exit of items into a bag, you will love this one. I took it as my ‘afternoon bag’ on a recent hospital stay and 12 handy items, including a book and small items of clothing were easily accommodated...mind you I nearly lost it five times to Nurses! It could easily double as a ‘tres cool nappy bag’; it’s comfortable to wear and in my book, ticks all of the boxes. A steal at $39.95 for a unique, handcrafted tote, be quick as there are only 3 more available with the MOSCHINO panel, at http://www.yourcheekymonkey.com.au/

I have also subscribed to Monique’s newsletter so that I am kept updated on more hot products like this one and I follow her blog at http://yourcheekymonkey.blogspot.com/



This product receives ‘Paula’s choice Award’. Paula Kuhnemann is the Editor & Founder of ‘aussie mums interactive online magazine’, www.connect2mums.com.au

I love to go to the beach and be out in the sun, but after growing up in the Australian sun I really need to cover up.

For us, going to the beach is a bit of a treck so we end up spending a good part of the day in the sun. The kids are happy in their sun shirts with SPF and I now spend most of my time in our Cabana.

I have used this at the beach, fully closed to take and nap and shield the cool sea breeze, at the park to shade the kids whilst they played in the sandpit, at baseball to keep little miss and I out of the sun and the heat. As you can probably tell by now I really like the Cabana.

I can carry it on my back with the included bag and still have my hands free for all the other items I need to carry.

It instantly pops up when you remove it from the bag which makes set up a breeze. My only recommendation would be to practice packing it up at home before taking this to the beach. It is one of those items that needs to be folded in a specific way to get it back in the bag. I am on the small side and not very strong so the first few times were a struggle until I got my technique right.

There are instructions but I think I may have over analysed them... Here is what I do. Undo the zippers, fold flat by pushing both sides together. Put one hand on either edge of the floral print at the bottom, holding firmly cross both arms in front of your body and the cabana will spring closed. Tighten the circle and place in the bag and you are done.

I can now do this on my own in a couple of minutes. It was well worth the few practice tries as this Cabana is going to be part of our summers for years to come.

If you are interested in purchasing this Cabana it is available exclusively through One Step Ahead and can be purchased here .

Juice boxes and little kids don't mix well.

The juice box gets squeezed too much as it is being poked with a straw or the kids think it is like a sippy cup or drink bottle and tip it upside down.

Without a doubt they can be very messy.

We found a solution with the Juice Pal, the only juice box caddy that holds all sizes of juice boxes or juice pouches from One Step Ahead.

We have been using these for a few years with our kids and love them. These get tossed in the bag when we go out for the day and especially on long trips. Who needs juice accidents when you are away from home?

To purchase visit One Step Ahead

If you ask my family I have had hormone issues since I was around 11. To be honest I have to agree with them. Fortunately for all involved it is not always bad but since having our youngest I have found myself struggling with lack of sleep and hormones that are out of wack.

Our youngest is now 4 so I think that my body should have recovered to some degree by now.... I have tried oral contraceptives, changing diet you name it and nothing worked. In fact some of the things I tried made me worse... and I didn't think that was possible.

When my sponsor mentioned that Arbonne had creams for hormone balancing I was intrigued. I had read about the idea online a year before but have never been brave enough to try it. So when I placed my first big order as a Consultant I decided it was worth a try.

Well I LOVE IT!! When used regularly I feel like a completely different person and I feel much calmer. Application is based on your personal situation. Please contact me prior to ordering and using so that I can provide you with the correct information for your situation.

The natural balancing creams are applied to soft tissues including, chest, inner arms, neck, face, palms of hands and soles of feet, with the best results from rotating applications to different soft tissues.

I am using the Prolief which is for women who have not gone through menopause. For those that have there is PhytoProlief which contains phytoeostrogen herbs.

Both of these creams are botanically based and come in a metered pump to ensure accurate and consistent application.

If you have any questions about these products or any other Arbonne product feel free to leave a comment or you can sign my guestbook and I will respond via email.

Rebecca Doll.
Arbonne Independent Consultant
try.myarbonne.com

Note: This review is a personal opinion of an Arbonne product that I have tried and at the time of publishing am currently using. Any claims are purely those of the author and not those of Arbonne International.

This review is for anyone who loves to have plants living on a patio or deck but can't seem to get the watering right.

Living in Southern California the wind and sun during the summer can leave my plants underwatered. With 2 small kids I have been known to forget to water my plants on occasion, only to look out onto my patio at some very sad vines or flowers.

Last year I decided to look around for some better options for my larger climbers. I stumbled across these great square and trough planters.


They have the look of a wooden planter but are made of UV stabilized polypropylene and won't crack, peel or fade. They also have a large soil capacity and deep reserviors with aeration. I love how lightweight they are as I am able to move mine around with ease, after I added the optional casters. The casters are not visible once installed which ads to the visual appeal.

If you like climbing plants there are iron trellises that you can add to the planters that fit securely in the back corners of the planter. The trelisses come in three sections that slide together making it easy for a one person installation.

To see dimensions of the Tarrazza Square Planter, Tarrazza Trough Planter and Tarrezza Planter Trellises visit Gardeners Supply Store.