June Citrus Lane Review

Citrus Lane is a monthly subscription for young kids. Their boxes mainly include toys and food, but also bath and feeding accessories, as well as stuff for moms. It's also customized for the age and gender of your child, which is nice. This is my 4th time getting a Citrus Lane box. Someone posted a code that made the box only 9$, a steal compared to the 29$/mo price. So, I caved in and bought one again. 

Photo of when it arrived.
This box is for a 13 month old girl.

The box consisted of:

Peekaboo Book by: Taro Gomi- It looks like a pretty generic book like you would get at the dollar store. Claire really isn't interested in it, and frankly, the eyes on it kinda freak me out. Retail: 6.99$

(2) Mighty 4 Bars by Plum Organics- C loved these. I wish they would of given you more. Although, they did end up giving me a 1$ off future purchase of a pack of them. That was nice. Retail: 2$

Claire eating her Mighty 4 bar. 

Bumpkins Disney Wet Bag- C got the pink Minnie one, which is really cute. I'm sure this will come in handy with her wet swim suit, or a wet diaper for the 4th of July. Retail: 10.95$

Ouchies Adhesive Bandages- Summer is here, and my daughter is still adjusting to her walking. She is constantly getting scratches on her knees from falling, etc. I love how they're girly colors and have characters on them. But, they look pretty big for a toddler (regular sized). I'm not sure how I feel about that. Retail: 5$

Hape Wooden Boat Toy- C has so many toys like this from Citrus Lane. But, I guess we'll give it a shot and see how she likes it. Retail: 9.99$

20$ Off Thirdlove.com- I can't even use this because they don't have my size. I'm going to have to give this away to one of my friends. 

Total: 34$

This months box I could take it or leave it. If your interested in a box, use the code TAKE20OFF to get 20$ off your first box. 

Rachel Anne

Julep Maven Review

I've been contemplating for months now on whether or not to get a Julep Box, and I finally decided to purchase one a few weeks ago. It's a monthly box of mainly nail polish, but you can also receive hand, foot and body creams, hair care products, makeup and lip gloss. I signed up for their Welcome It-Girl Box, which consisted of 3 nail polishes. I don't have many nail polishes to begin with, and these colors looked awesome for summer time. You can't beat that I got all 3 nail polishes for 2.99$ either! Use the code FREEBOX at checkout, and all you have to do is pay s&h! Or, use the code SHIPSHAPE for this Nautical 5 Piece Welcome Box. Once you receive your box, and don't want to continue the subscription, you call and cancel.

What the box looked like when it arrived

The It-Girl consisted of Margaret, Kam, and Princess Grace (a periwinkle creme, a vintage spearmint and a rich papaya).. sounds amazing right? They also claim that their nail polishes have a breakthrough oxygen technology, that's fast drying, long lasting, and makes your nails healthier at the same time!

I've been wearing the polishes for a few weeks now, and really impressed with how nice it looks, and how long it lasts. After a few touch ups here and there, my nail polish lasted almost 2 weeks (with 2 coats of paint). I decided to re-paint my nails, and this is what it looks like after 2 days:

Margaret with an accent nail of Princess Grace

Rachel Anne

The Hazards of Button Batteries

I stumbled across this link about a few weeks ago, and was compelled to write about it since I know a lot about batteries.
http://www.emmettsfight.com/

Before I had Miss Claire, I was an Assistant Scientist at a company who specialized in making batteries for the DOD and DOE (Dept. of Defense and Dept. Of Energy). One of the many tasks I had was to create lithium ion and lithium batteries. Some of which were button batteries, also called "coin batteries". Button batteries are just as hazardous as regular batteries (AA or AAA’s), and have the same corrosive and toxic substances in them.

Background Information:
In order to make a battery, you need an anode and cathode, a separator (we won’t get into it, but its basically a thin material that’s put in between the cathode and anode so it doesn't overcharge and kill itself), and an electrolyte. A cathode and anode are 2 materials that are “positive” and “negative” so electrons can be exchanged. The cathode material can consist of carbons and other compounds like Silver Oxide, and Manganese Dioxide. All of these could potentially be toxic to anyone. Here’s the link for the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) of Silver Oxide. It clearly states that if you get it on your skin, it causes irritation and potentially ulcerations. 

Batteries can include Zinc or Lithium for an anode material. From my experience, Lithium is highly volatile. Whenever I made batteries, it had to be in an air sealed box, filled with Argon. If Lithium is exposed to air, it will ignite and if the Lithium is in a battery, it can explode. 

The last substance that I wanted to talk about is the electrolyte. These are nasty, and probably cause the most harm. The 2 main electrolytes for button or coin batteries are Potassium Hydroxide and Sodium Hydroxide. These are very corrosive and are strong base solutions. Sodium Hydroxide is one of the main ingredients in drain cleaner! Check out the MSDS for Potassium Hydroxide.

Now, lets talk about how you put a button battery together. You would think its pretty technical- maybe they use a air sealing technology, welding, or an adhesive so it doesn't break open? That’s sadly not the case. It just snaps together. In some cases, I would use something to add a little pressure, like a clench wrench. But, that’s it. I can’t tell you how many times some of these batteries actually leaked all over the place and started corroding while putting them together.

A photo of a corroding coin battery.
Nasty, right? 

My main reason for writing this is to give parents more knowledge on one of the many common “hidden” items in the house. Hopefully this article can prevent a child from getting hurt. Always check your electronics, and if you think your child could potentially get to it; either store it in a place they can’t, or make sure it’s sealed with heavy duty tape.

Rachel Anne