As a fan of theme parks, roller coasters, and Dolly Parton, loving Dollywood comes naturally for me. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to take my family to the park on our recent trip to the Smoky Mountains. I received free tickets to the park to facilitate this review, but all opinions are my own. I love Dollywood because it is family friendly, family focused, and has a little something for everyone. Read on to find out how our trip went with two toddlers and how to enter to win a trip to Dollywood for your family.
Category: review
Family Travel: Our Smoky Mountain Family Vacation at Hidden Mountain Resort
Our family loves to spend the summer traveling, and this year we were blessed to spend a few days of our family vacation in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee at Hidden Mountain Resort. The family owned resort features luxury cabin rentals and villas, as well as a motor coach resort. Located in Sevierville, Tennessee, Hidden Mountain is close to all of the action in The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg, but feels tucked away and secluded. We stayed at Hidden Mountain at no cost in exchange for this review, but all opinions are strictly my own. Read on to find out why we love cabin rentals for frugal family vacations, what we thought about Hidden Mountain Resort, and how you can win a trip of your own to the Smoky Mountains.
Evenflo Symphony DLX Platinum Convertible Car Seat Review ~ The Only Car Seat You’ll Ever Need #EvenfloPlatinum
Our little Pearl Girl just turned one and we have been on the look out for a new car seat. Her infant seat has been great, but she is getting to the point where she wants to sit up a little higher and see more of the world around her. We knew we wanted to upgrade to a convertible seat because we want to keep her rear facing as long as possible. When I had the opportunity to try Evenflo’s new Symphony DLX Platinum Convertible Car Seat, I thought it looked like the perfect fit for us. The seat is designed to fit children from 5-110 pounds, so it is seriously the only one you’ll ever need. We wear our kids rather than tote them around in infant seats, so a convertible car seat is just right for our family. Read on for our convertible car seat review to find out what we loved and didn’t love about the seat and our recommendations.
Fun and Durable Name Labels for Kids: Bright Star Kids Review
Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. I have wanted a set of name labels for my children’s things for ages, so I was super excited when Bright Star Kids sent me a set to review. I ordered the red labels and had both kids names printed on them for simplicity. I’ve put them through the ringer for a few weeks and am pleased to tell you they are awesome. The set came with a variety of labels and has worked really well for us.
Fun and Funky Gifts for Everyone on Your List: An Uncommon Goods Review
Uncommon Goods is also budget friendly. Click here to find a great selection of gifts under $50.
Mama Needs a Minute: Graco Little Lounger Review #Graco15ForMe
At our Graco 15 For Me event, Baby Boot Camp instructor Amanda Foose taught us a quick series of exercises to do while baby happily lounges. She made it seem so doable, and I was excited to get home and try it myself. I tried a mini work out while the Pearl girl lounged, and she thought it was hilarious. She is newly crawling and putting everything straight in to her mouth, so having her happily playing in the Little Lounger really allowed me to concentrate on the exercises.
Mombo Comfort & Harmony Nursing Pillow Review
The pillow and cover are very well made, and the cover is super soft and easily comes off to wash. If you have a spit up queen like I do, easy washing is key. I love the gender neutral Mosaic Moonlight cover, but there are several cover options including gender specific ones to choose from.
Overall we really like our Mombo pillow. The only negative I could find would be the size might be an issue for plus size mamas. The angle of the pillow fits snuggle and comfortably for me and keeps my girl in place when she’s lounging, but might fit a plus size mama a bit too tight. I don’t know for sure, but it is something to keep in mind.
This review was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Kids II. I was provided the featured product free of charge to facilitate my review, but all opinions are 100% my own.
Family Fun in DFW: Rough Riders Baseball
The Bear loved his first game, though he didn’t make it all the way through. He has asked several times to watch baseball this past week. I grew up watching the Arkansas Travelers play with my parents and grandparents. My Grandmom and Grandad rarely missed a home game, and even had their picture featured in a Southern Living article on minor league parks. There is nothing like cheering on the home team with your family, and I hope this was the first of many games for us.
Green Cleaning with the Norwex Dust Mitt & Kitchen Cloths
First up is the dust mitt. In my opinion, this little beauty is the most fun to use. You put it on and just go for it, dusting any and every surface. You don’t need Pledge, chemicals, or paper towels. When you are done you bang the dust out of it (like you would a rug) and throw it in the laundry after a couple of uses. It picks the dust up without spreading it around, so your surfaces stay dust free for quite a while and nothing ends up on the floor. It can easily clean between mini blinds and the tops of ceiling fans. The dust mitt retails for $16.99 and will last for years, paying for itself in savings on paper towels and chemical dusting sprays in a few months. You can also get it as part of the Household package (my personal favorite deal) with the Enviro Cloth and Window Cloth for $48.99. Click here to shop and be sure to list me (Becca Eby) as your hostess.
My other must have item from Norwex is the kitchen cloth. This comes in two sizes (cloth and towel) and I have both. I love the small one for cleaning up after meals and wiping down the counters and Bear’s high chair, and the large one for bigger messes. As you can see below it has a looser weave than the Enviro cloth which helps it to grab onto big food particles and pick them up rather than spread them around. The kitchen cloths contain silver making them anti-bacterial. As long as you wring them out after each use bacterial growth in inhibited in the cloths and they won’t cross contaminate. You can buy the small kitchen cloth for $9.99 and the larger kitchen towel for $19.99. You can get a better deal and buy them together in the Kitchen Microfiber Collection with the Veggie and Fruit Cloth and Kitchen Scrub Cloth for $54.99.