PokeMon Go is not NEW

Pokemon GO is not NEW

There may be a few people in the world who have thought WOW! this is such an innovative concept, why didnt i think of this? 

For those of you who dont know Pokemon Go is a new APP craze that has taken the world by storm, the game allows you to search the world for little cartoon creatures known as pokemon, it has been bringing people together and getting people off their butts and making them go outside!  Getting some VITAMIN D! 

but what was there before Pokemon go? 

Before Pokemon go there was a thing called Geocaching, and you may have heard this term and wonder what it was and just glazed over, or you may have never heard of it

According to Wikipedia 

Geocaching /ˈdʒiːoʊˌkæʃɪŋ/ is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world.

Theirs already an app for that? YES THERE IS!  

At any given moment you could be walking by a small hidden treasure right by you, by the sidewalk, in the park, at the lake! 

so instead of a virtual creature you find a real thing, that you can hold in your hand!

The concept is you carry around little trinkets and everytime you find a "caches" as they call them, you put in a trinket and there should be one inside waiting for you, it could be a small toy, a coin, the possibilities are endless.

 Imagine walking around and collecting little treasures you could put in your home and start a collection of your worldly travels! 

Getting the GEOCACHING app will show you exactly where the caches are in your area and its your job to find them, they come in many difficulties from EASY to advanced for the adventurous (maybe at the top of a very high mountain, or at the bottom of a lake!)  

 so if Pokemon Go is a fad and it doesn't end up sticking around too long just know that there is a massive community of people in the geocaching and there will always be little treasures hidden around the world that wont disappear into the virtual world.

To learn more go to https://www.geocaching.com/play 

(this is in no way bashing pokemonGO i am totally playing it but if im going to play with my children im probably going to choose geocaching so i can stick with a more nature walk and promote healthy activities and living)

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Sensory Fun in the Summer with Water Beads!

So my daughter has caught on to this crazy, the water bead craze that has plagued the youtube family fun channels so i took to Amazon to find me some of these beads 

Amazon

What are these? 

Water beads that i think were meant for decoration inside a vase of flowers

What do they look like?

They look like tiny beads and they swell up into 100 times the size when they are submerged in water

How long to they last

Once they have swelled to max capacity they do start to break down so maybe a day or two they will last, i cant speak for the orbeez quality but this is what i experienced with the china brand

I put the beads in a container and let them grow the day before - heres jack carrying the bucket of orbeeze to the pool

 Filled up the pool with Water and gave the kids some collanders and they had a few hours of fun!

The kids love to get right into the water and feel the beads on their body

This is great for babies and kids of all age, hell i played in them for a bit too, they have such a cool sensation! 

Here is a fun video of the kids playing with them 

Follow us on Twitter @charmdbyashley @biancastoys

what Bianca will be using - Bento box and lunch bag

What Bianca will be using when she starts school!

Hey guys!, so this is what i decided on getting for Bianca for school, she starts kindergarten in september and she is pretty excited about it!, first off i would like to send you over to my youtube if you would like to see a video of me showing these products in greater detail, the link is as follows https://youtu.be/t6hCj51FueI

I got this Lunch box from well.ca and its from crocodile creek, it fits the monbento box perfectly and has a ice pack storage compartment on the bottom with a mesh pocket in the back for notes and or napkins!

ths great thing about this lunch bag is it seems like its pre tty safe, pvc free. phthalate free and lead free lining! it feels very nice and good quality in your hands as well

on to the monbento box, im not going to provide stats as i cover that in the video but it feels very good quality and is very easy to use for my 4 year old, it takes a few practice tries first but she got it down in no time, all the lids and container are easy to open so we dont have to worry about our little ones having hard time retrieving their lunches and having to ask for help at lunch time.

the centre portion has a rubber gasket to help lock in the freshness as well

Top picture can be switched out for another selection if you have a few of the same color and you can easily differentiate between then






the containers have a nice clear lid and is very easy to open








hope this was helpful especially my youtube video if you are trying to decide if this is the right box for you!
here is where you can purchase it 
US link - http://go.magik.ly/ml/n28/
CA link - http://go.magik.ly/ml/n2a/
Follow me on instagram and twitter - @charmedbyashley
Thanks for watching!

A gift to you

 Back to school free printable sign!

 

I'm sure summer is now in full swing for you and your family and the last thing you want to think about is going back to school, but if you are like me and your first is starting school this august/septmenber then.... its probably on your mind all the time like me... I have had my little one with me since day one, she has never been anywhere but with me and its going to be a huge transition for both of us when she starts school in september... 

So... because this is such a huge milestone in my little ones life i made a little sign to help with those sending off to school photos and i thought i would share it with you guys!

DOWNLOAD NOW

This is a link to my google drive, so hopefully it works when you try to use it! 

it is a PDF file and make sure you are printing in landscape

 Hope you enjoy and if you use this printable please tweet me your little ones holding it!! +Charmed By Ashley 

@charmedbyashley on twitter and instagram!! 

 SHARE SHARE SHARE!!

13 Eco Friendly litterless kids Lunch must haves!

Eco-Friendly Litterless Lunches solutions

Monbento MB Tresor The Kids' Bento Box - comes in 4 different colour styles 

 

found this over at well.ca 

 I purchased this and im excited to try it out!

Kidtainers

sturdy and leak proof, an adorable lunch box, nice and flat depending on your lunch bag  Affordable over at Amazon








Has a fun solar system inside so your child can learn about the planets while they eat!

I love the little condiment part in the centre, perfect for your dips for veggies and such

A more affordable option are these

EasyLunchboxes

 

4 containers for nearly 14 bucks! what a STEAL! (especially when you get a few kids) 

Over at Amazon 

 

 

 

Skip Hop reusable sandwich and snack bag

My HoneyBee (aka Bianca) loves all those Bumble Bee so of course i will HAVE to snag some of these! how adorable! perfect for keeping our planet clean with no plastic bags clogging up the oceans 

Skip Hop

Kids Konserve Food Kozies

 I love the way these look, just as easy to wash these as it is to wash a plastic bib!, rinse and hang to dry! My mom use to wrap my sandwiches with Wax paper just like this!, easy transition and no waste!

Kozies 

 

Kiki's delivery service!  how adorable is this!

Kiki's delivery service Bento 

 

I love the strap for easy carrying! and the slots on the side are great to keep things cool when place in a lunch bag with an ice pack

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drink in the Box

If your child loves drinking boxes, how cute are these! perfect size and will fit in their lunch bag perfectly, and you can make your own natural juices so you know exactly whats in that box (unlike the stores...) 

 drink in the box

 

LunchBots Children’s Cutlery Set

I love this little spork and spoon set, small enough to put in their lunch boxes, and perfect for their little hands 

Lunchbots 

 

Funkins minis

Skip out on the paper napkins and put one of these adorable cloth napkins, choose the design that your child loves! another waste saver! love these, they are ECO friendly and!

• 100% cotton, soft, washable
• non-toxic, lead and phthalate free

myfunkins

Fun Bites

 maybe helps encourage your child to eat?

add some fun to your lunches! great for sandwiches, fruits and veggies! loves these, they have been around forever!

funbites.com

Modern Mommies Owl Lunch Bag

I love these and they come in so many variations!

100% toxic-free including zero lead, BPA-free and no Phthalates or PVC 

dabbawallabags 

 Go green lunch boxes

This is an all in one container, comes with a stainless steal water bottle that has its own compartment, and an insulated carrying case gogreenlunchbox

 Hope you enjoy this list, it def helped me figure out exactly what i am getting for my daughter when she starts school in September

Follow me on instagram and twitter @charmedbyashley

Welcome Wagon is the devil

Dear Welcome Wagon,

I am expecting a baby, its a little boy! we are going to name him Jack, his due date is Feb 28th 2014! I've been working with my midwives going to regular appointments and staying healthy for my little boy inside my belly. My midwives instruct me to fill out this form its a form for the hospital to per-register so i dont have to worry about it when i am frantically running into the hospital with full blown contractions, so i fill out the form and its sent away to cyber hospital space and everything is good to go! some time goes by and im still very much pregnant and i get a phone call! its the welcome wagon... they wanted to congratulate me on my new baby...i have not given birth yet, "oh?" says the woman on the phone.. "whens your due date?" i end the conversation as i am very upset at this point as to how this company even knows im expecting!

so the hospital is selling my information? because i know my midwives wouldnt breech my trust! isnt there some client confidentiality?

March 5th rolls around and i am very over due and ready to have this little guy, it is 5:30 in the morning and my contractions start aggresively! tears are running down my face as we call my mothers to watch my daughter, and my midwives to meet me at the hospital. We get there at 6:40am and Jack was delivered by 7:23am (yes that  fast) the next hour or so is filled with skin to skin and breast feeding all the best first moments with my beautiful 7lb 4oz baby boy. My Door swings open and a strange face walks through it with a horribly filthy rolling luggage cart, (who is this woman? is she lost?)  "Welcome Wagon!" she says in a cheery voice... now picture me with my son, i literally have not been out of the bed, i am naked from the waist down with a thin white sheet on my lap and my little boy in my arms and she starts pulling out all these papers and junk from her bag! she starts handing me things that i "NEED" to fill out? and showing me all these free sample products i should be excited about getting? including the frozen baby wipes because she didnt even have the decency to bring in her bag from the car on those frozen nights... i handed my son to my husband to get this over with and send her on her way. this is not my first experience with welcome wagon but this was the worst one...

How dare you come into my room that I paid for... i paid for this PRIVATE room and this stranger barges into my room while i am still half naked and all bloody and soiled from having my son.

How dare you make me put my son down to fill out your papers while ive been waiting 9 long months to hold this little boy.

How dare you invade MY PRIVACY! who do you people think you are? that you think you can do this?

This should be an optional thing and NO ONE should be walking into my private room unless you are wearing scrubs that say doctor, RN, RPN or MIDWIFE

If you stumble across this post please stand up for your privacy... there is nothing good that will come out of this company

YOU WILL BE BOMBARDED WITH TELEMARKETERS AND PEOPLE BUGGING YOU FOR THE MONTHS FOLLOWING YOUR CHILDS BIRTH

RESP sales men,  OVER PRICED photo shoots...

Tell these people to GTFO, you have the right...

just remember these words when you enter that hospital... WELCOME WAGON...  they are the devil... horribley insensitive company that should be shut down and does nothing for the community except spray free samples to people... samples that are bullshit and nobody really cares about.

They get paid from company to spread their samples... its just money... they dont give a crap about us... clearly

... p.s. i spoke to another mother and she received a sample of SAUSAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT WAS EXPIRED THE DAY BEFORE!!! im not even joking

Best regards,

your biggest unsupporter

PLEASE SHARE!

5 tips to keep Easter Basket on the Cheap!

Easter 2016

This year like every year i try to go inexpensive on my easter gifts, i traditionally go straight for the clearance isle and sale items as i can not justify spending too much money on an item when i know i can get it cheaper!

1. Buy the year before, i have been known to grab some clearance egg decorating kits the few days after Easter,. Normally they are around $3-$5 or more but if you get them on clearance you can find these guys for as low as $.50!  

 - Also small Easter toys, or plushies you can grab these guys on clearance and hide them in the house till the following year aswell! 

2. Liquidation stores, Liquidation stores have been known to carry last years stock to certain stores around those specific holidays, my liquidation store happens to carry lots of target items from last season so i can find baskets, egg decoration kits, bubbles, easter decor at a fraction of the price! i grabbed a two pack of carrot bubbles for $.25 and i can easily split that up into the two baskets. 

3. Dollar spots, as i do enjoy my dollar store i would probably head over to the target dollar spot or walmart as i feel the products might be a little bit better quailty? probably not but i would like to think so! there you can find easter theme items, colouring books, books, stationary, baskets!

4. bottom shelf, Some stores keep stock from the year before and put them on the shelf with the new stock and label them clearance! i go this princess basket for my daughter on the bottom shelf at party city and its virtually identical to this years mode just another shade of pink. HALF PRICE! regular $14 got it for $7

5. 1 expensive item per child, by expensive i don't really mean expensive... i allotted one $10-$15 dollar  gift each. all the other items are under $3. buy 1 gift means they will have a real gift and not something that will probably break in the first week or be used up like bubbles of crayons and chalk. i'm a believe of being fair with my children so making sure their baskets are fairly similar in price will curve the mommy guilt hehe

for my daughters expensive gift i got her an Ariel princess boat toy $12.93

and for my son i got him a hot wheels bath toy $15  

as much as i love showering my children with gifts i have to be realistic, Easter is a holiday that doesn't really warrant gifts and is about coming together as a family and remembering (if you are religious) your god and the sacrifice, so because of this i would not spend more then $25 on each child. i do enjoy the fantasy of a cute bunny coming to visit my children so i will encourage this tradition. 

to see a video of all the items i put in my Easter basket please Click the link below!! 

Follow me on Twitter @charmedbyashley and instagram @charmedbyashley