Woolzies Dryer Balls Review + Giveaway #AccessorizeAugust Ends 8/28

Disclosure: I received a set of Woolzies and essential oils for review, but no other compensation was received and all opinions expressed are my own.

It's time for another fun giveaway hop - and this one is cloth diaper themed! Yay! Welcome to the 3rd Annual Accessorize Your Stash in August Giveaway Hop, hosted by the Blogging Mamas Network.

If you're new to cloth diapering and no one has clued you in yet, let me be the first to inform you that cloth collecting is addicting. I have a serious love for my AppleCheeks cloth diapers (which you already know if you follow me on social media)! But once you have your basic stash in place, you'll need a few accessories. And if you’re ready to accessorize your cloth diaper stash, you’ve come to the perfect Event! A fabulous group of bloggers have come together to help you do just that – with Cloth Diaper Accessory Giveaways! If you love cloth diapering, then you’ll love hopping around to see what each blog has in store for you and your Fluffy Stash! Don't miss the Grand Prize which includes 2 Cloth Diaper Stash Must-Haves: a Hanging Wet/Dry Bag and a Diaper Sprayer!

I am happy to be working with Woolzies to bring you a giveaway on this stop in the Accessorize Your Stash in August Giveaway Hop! What is Woolzies, you ask? Read on!

The Woolzies brand offers wool dryer balls, which work as a natural fabric softener that last for up to 1,000 loads. I first learned about Woolzies about eighteen months ago - the first time I featured them here on my blog - and I am still using the same dryer balls for my laundry!

If you're wondering why dryer balls are a good idea, there are several reasons. For me, here are the most important:

1. They're free of chemicals.
2. They can be used with cloth diapers.

I had not switched to cloth diapers back when I started using Woolzies, but with about a year of cloth diapering under my belt, I can now confidently say that these dryer balls are an essential in my house. It took me awhile to get used to finding the balls in my dryer or clean laundry every time I pulled clean clothing out of the dryer, but even that is now second nature.

I've heard testimonies from other moms that Woolzies are able to cut down drying time by 25%. For me, that's unfortunately not the case - but I blame my dryer that can't seem to make up its mind, definitely not Woolzies! I did have some pretty big static issues during the winter last year, but those were improved by adding a large ball of foil to my dryer, right alongside the wool dryer balls.

The latest offering from Woolzies are several Essential Oils, which can be used on the "fluff" dryer cycle to add scent to the clean laundry. Available in Lavender, Orange, Lemon, and Eucalyptus Citriodora, these little bottles will likely last even longer than the 1,000 loads of Woolzies. I used to love having scented laundry (back before I became crunchy) - so having the option to add a clean and fresh scent to my finished laundry is delightful.

Woolzies are available for purchase in sets of 3 or 6. A set of 3 is recommended for small loads, while 6 is recommended for large loads. If you're doing extra large loads of laundry (like I usually am), then 8 balls are suggested. A box of 6 is just $23.99! Make sure you follow Woolzies on Facebook or Twitter for all the latest news and updates.

Giveaway

One Director Jewels reader will win a set of Woolzies Dryer Balls! This giveaway will end on August 28 at 11:59pm EST. This giveaway is open to US readers only.

To enter the giveaway, follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below (you may need Javascript enabled to see the form and it may take a moment to load)! Once you complete the first entry, the other options will open up so that you can complete them as well. All of the "extra entries" are optional - you can do just one, or as many as you want! Winners will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Once you've entered this giveaway, make sure you enter the Grand Prize and hop around to all the other participating blogs for more chances to win accessories for your stash!







Disclosure: So Easy Being Green, Viva Veltoro, the Blogging Mamas Network, and the Accessorize Your Stash in August participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations. I received a set of Woolzies and essential oils for review, but no other compensation was received and all opinions expressed are my own. For more information, you can read my Giveaway Policy and my Disclosure Policy.

Sidewalk Chalk and Motherhood

Kids and sidewalk chalk. It's a fun combination, right? Well, mostly. I put it on our summer bucket list this year because I wasn't sure it would happen otherwise. A three-year-old and an eighteen-month-old cannot really be set free in your front yard and I don't typically spend a lot of time out there anyway. My kids are both pretty prone to running away and we live on a busy street, so I'm terrified to take them out there alone. Thus: we wait for a day when Daddy is home and make it a family adventure.

I'm sure in a few years, they will routinely cover our driveway in doodles and dragons and dazzling designs, but for now we are just celebrating the memory of the day that they got to ask Daddy to draw a mermaid and a monkey in between making crazy running breaks for the street.

These are some of the moments that are kind of hard to appreciate when you're going through them. It can seem like a huge ordeal to take the kids out of the house and let them use their imaginations to make squiggly lines across the drive.

But, the memories that come with the crazy antics of toddlers are so very worth it. They're the ones we're most likely to fondly look back upon when our children have grown and gone. So mamas...we have to embrace it.

You can create a glorious sidewalk chalk masterpiece, but even if it's the finest work of your life, the next rain will wash it away. You can only enjoy it while it lasts.

Here's my mom advice for the day. Take a minute and do something simple - yet fast-fading - with your kids. And then hold them close, because while their childhood may not fade as quickly as a chalk drawing...in a few years, it's sure going to seem like it did.

On the day we colored with sidewalk chalk, both of my kids coated themselves in chalk. It was on Addie's legs for days. Deep breath, self. Someday you'll long to squeeze those chubby legs and have a little chalk rub off onto your already food-and-spit stained clothes. I promise.

We're happy to have crossed this item off our Summer Bucket List!
Come see what else we're doing to celebrate summer this year!

The Sound of Music at Kansas City's Starlight Theatre July 25-31 {Review}

Disclosure: I received press passes to attend this event. No other compensation was received and all opinions expressed are my own.

The hills are alive....and so on. Chances are, you're familiar with the story and songs of one of the most popular musicals of all time: The Sound of Music. A huge number of people again proved that this show is a lasting classic when it aired on NBC Live last year. I have been a fan of theatre most of my life, but had never had the chance to see a professional, live production of this show in person until a couple weeks ago. And I'm so glad that I did.

We have been to Starlight Theatre in Kansas City three other times this summer: for The Wizard of Oz, We Will Rock You, and our favorite of the season: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I was curious to see how would live up to the prior shows.

Starlight creates the perfect atmosphere for a summer date night, and we really enjoyed our final night under the stars this summer. 

Photo by Bob Compton Photography provided Courtesy of Starlight Theatre.

The beautiful swell of the overture from the orchestra combined with glorious weather in July set the tone for a gorgeous evening. We were treated right from the start to the beautiful vocals of Analisa Leaming in the classic title number that had several audience members singing (or at the very least, humming) right along.
 

Photo by Bob Compton Photography provided Courtesy of Starlight Theatre.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the children of Captain Von Trapp stole the show most of the night! The audience especially enjoyed the antics of Gretel (played by Delilah Rose Pellow). Her Lonely Goatherd solo was adorable.

Photo by Bob Compton Photography provided Courtesy of Starlight Theatre.

It's always fun to see a production that features local actors, especially when you recognize them! We last saw Seth Jones in Schoolhouse Rock Live! at the Coterie Theatre a few months ago. His accent was very strong, even while singing - which is not an easy thing to accomplish.

The number of Kansas City natives in the cast was delightful! Shout out to all of you actors and actresses who share this wonderful hometown. It's such a great place to be!

Photo by Bob Compton Photography provided Courtesy of Starlight Theatre.

I was blown away by the combined voices of the nuns of Nonnberg Abbey, and was so pleased when I read that they were actually local as well: the Kansas City Women's Chorus. It's now a dream role to just sing in the chorus of The Sound of Music someday, because these ladies all proved that this music has some beautiful harmonies.  It must have been so much fun for them!

Photo by Bob Compton Photography provided Courtesy of Starlight Theatre.

The costumes in this production were wonderful. I've costumed for community theatre and my own student productions many times in the last ten years, and after music/vocals, the thing that drags a production straight into the mud for me is a lack of period-accurate costumes. KC Costume Company hit the costumes out of the park with this show. They were appropriately colored, flattering, and all-around beautiful. Most importantly: none of the clothing worn onstage served as a distraction from the production; rather, all of the pieces embellished the overall character and feel of the show. Just as it should be. Jumping off my costuming soap box now - I just feel it's an often overlooked element of a show and I was just thrilled with how this one came together in the finished product.

Photo by Bob Compton Photography provided Courtesy of Starlight Theatre.

I enjoyed every show at Starlight this season and I'm not sure I can pick a favorite - but this was definitely in my top two. I wish Starlight shows played more than just a week so that there is more time to spread the word when an awesome show like this one comes around! Just goes to prove that it's worth taking a chance on live theatre - and at Starlight, you're bound to have a magical night regardless of the show.

I love Starlight and hope to spend many, many more nights out under the starry sky. When we sang the National Anthem before the show began, the man in front of us turned around and asked me why I was not up on the stage instead of watching the show. It would be a dream to sing on that stage! So, KC Starlight - where do I send my resume? I come with a big smile, a kind of quirky personality and a couple of wild, rambunctious toddlers. That's totally what you're looking for in an actress, right? Wink.

Thanks to Starlight Theatre for providing my tickets to the show. I received no other compensation and all views expressed are my own. For more information, you can read my Disclosure Policy.

The Swimming Pool Garden Fail

This spring, I decided we needed to grow a garden. It's on my Thirty by 30 list. I thought this was as good a year as any to start working toward the goal of having fresh, organic produce growing right in my own backyard.

The only issue was...I definitely did not have the time to put together a garden bed of any sort. We barely keep the lawn mowed around here, so yard work is kind of a stretch for us. There are some trees growing in our fence that need to be decimated. The rose bush in our front yard is threatening to create a fortress that barricades the front door. So, I tried to be realistic in my gardening expectations. And I planted my vegetables in a kiddie pool.

Yes. I'm serious. I saw this idea somewhere (in a book, I think) and considered it brilliant. It was a manageable size. It could sit right outside my back door on the deck where I could monitor the awesome veggie growth. With a few holes drilled in the bottom of the pool, it was sure to drain any excess water. It seemed perfect.

And for awhile, it was. My carrots and peas and broccoli sprouted up beautifully. There were glorious bits of green reaching up to the sky. I was so pleased! Friends who came to my house said "whoa! I can't believe this stuff is growing in a pool!" And I said, I know, isn't it awesome.

Somehow, it was so awesome that I managed to fail to take ANY PHOTOS of the beautiful veggie sprouts, so you'll just have to believe me that they were there.

Then...it rained. And a couple days later, it poured. And then we had downpours for days on end. The three little holes in the bottom of my pool could not keep up. I was constantly out dumping cups full of muddy, grungy water out of the pool. My carrots were drowning. Somehow they had been caught in the valley of the pool and they were literally washed away.

I thought maybe the broccoli and peas would survive. They still looked okay. We drilled more holes in the pool and hoped for the best.

But unfortunately, this is the best we got. There are a few pathetic sprigs of life left, and a maple tree from a fly-by seed and some weeds. I did neglect my pool garden in the weeks following the epic rainfall, so it's probably at least partially my fault. I still believe this idea can work and I'll probably try it again next year. But...I'm also hoping to build a real garden bed.

Because the only thing that's still alive in my garden this year are the melons I planted in the actual ground.

Fine. Lesson learned.

32/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

 

Real, actual portraits of my kids taken by someone other than me this week! Yahoo!