Here are a couple discoveries from this week: I’m continuing to love Zulily as a source for quality educational toys and eco-friendly clothes. Last week I ordered the Smart Tray system from Zulily and the kids are loving it. It’s a self-checking system where kids answer questions related to spelling or math. Very Montessori-esque. (If you aren’t on Zulily yet, click here for an invitation.) 
There is a new salon in Orange County called The Lash Spot, and they invited me to come try out lash extensions. I didn’t even know that was a thing! I was thrilled to try, given the fact that my eyebrows and eyelashes are completely white. I’m never without makeup so I can avoid looking like one of those “Celebrities Without Eyebrows” photos floating around Pinterest. 
(Source: living-to-the-fullesst) That could so be me, you guys. I loved the lashes. It took about two hours and I’m still a little confused about how it work, but I walked in with sparse, white lashes and walked out with serious lashes that are supposed to last for several weeks. I can’t even tell you how nice it’s been to not have to wear mascara. He’s a high-quality before and after that I took of myself in the bathroom of the spa; 
He’s a slightly higher quality photo of what it does: 
I’ve talked about how Jafta and I are on a gluten-free diet. This can make it hard to find cookie-type treats. A new company called Marshmallow Mischief sent me a sampler and I’m sold. They make gourmet goodies out of brown rice, and they are gluten-free, vegetarian, and free of HFCS. They come in flavors like hazelnut, coconut, peanut butter, macadamia nut, and cinnamon. Unfortunately the other kids insisted that Jafta and I share. 
A company called TableTopics sent me dinner-time discussion cube for families. 
This cube is full of cards with age-appropriate questions range from silly to thought-provoking. Some of the questions include:
- is it more fun to be a parent or a child?
- what’s your favorite family tradition?
- would you rather live for a week in the past or the future?
- which famous athlete would you love to meet?
- what family or school rule would you most like to change?
My kids are geeking out over these cards. They are perfect for dinner-time discussion, and a great way to have the kids practice reading. Our only problem is that they would like to sit at the table and go through the entire box in one sitting. Which I suppose is a good problem to have. 
