Citrus Lane August 2014

This is the 8th month we've gotten a box from Citrus Lane. We received a box for free and then bought a six month subscription. Since then I bought another 6 month subscription for $105 total so that's $17.50 per box. My favorite box so far has been the May box. I have to admit I'm disappointed with this month's box. I'm not sure if part of the problem is that Citrus Lane was bought by care.com but it seems like the selection of products has gone downhill. With that said, though, I do have to admit that part of the reason I'm disappointed is that out of 4 items I already have 3 of these (not necessarily same brand).

Neil saw this box sitting outside our door when we got home, and I'm pretty sure knew what it is. We have a split entry house and he insisted on carrying it up the stairs himself, saying "heavy" while trying to lift it. I'm proud of my smart little boy though; he figured out a way to heft it up, one step at a time, while following up himself a step at a time. I should have taken a video of that; it was cute. (I tried several times to "help" him and got a big resounding NO.)

Here's a breakdown of the items and how much they would cost on Amazon as of today:

Woodland Growth Chart from Petit Collage

We already have several growth charts and honestly haven't used any of them. I love the idea but I'm lazy and haven't even hung it up anywhere. We will not use this. If I use a growth chart it will be one of the ones we already have. This was definitely a bust for me. Plus I would have rather had it before his first birthday and he's 18 months now. I was surprised they included it in the boxes for kids of Neil's age. (I will say it's cute but something we will not use.)

$21.95 on Amazon but on sale for $19.50 plus $4.99 shipping. 

ABC 123 Blocks from Melissa & Doug

We have a lot of blocks already. So initially opening this I was disappointed but Neil loved them and I was able to cook an entire dinner UNINTERRUPTED, which never happens, while he happily played with these. It also came with a little bag to store them in and Neil loves putting things in bags, etc. We don't really need more blocks but Neil will play with these. 

Update: Since writing this it has been a few weeks before actually uploading pictures and posting, and Neil has not touched these since. 

I have heard that the quality of Melissa & Doug Products has gone down, and just looking at these blocks some of them have part of the picture worn of as we took it out of the box. But I rubbed my finger over it and it's not going to give splinters or anything like that so it will still work.

Also, Neil really loved the actual plastic box and played with that for quite awhile first.

$14.99 on Amazon but on sale for $13.19 and eligible for Amazon Prime. 

Cool It Buddy from Me4Kidz

I have to reserve judgment on these. I loved that we got a penguin and so did Neil. So far, knock on wood, we have not had to use an ice pack. These are disposable ice packs; I think without have to use one that I would prefer a reusable one I could keep in our freezer. I do recognize that this would be nice to carry with us for in case we need it but honestly our diaper bag is too full as it is, and a lot of the extra little stuff is actually from Citrus Lane. It's really good ideas but adds up in that bag. I often take all the "extras" out because we will be carrying the diaper bag and it does get heavy.

With that said, this is the one item we didn't have already and ice packs are always a good idea. I'm sure we'll use these at some point.

$3.73 on Amazon plus $5.99 shipping. 

Snuggly Lotion from Episencial

I said this is a repeat above but looking back at old posts I'm realizing I didn't get the exact same item and the items for the mom do tend to be sample size type things of lotions, sunscreens, dishwashing soap, etc. I haven't smelled the scent of this but Dave is very sensitive to scents so if he doesn't like this it will be relegated to my desk at work. 


Update: This lotion is very... thick (not sure that's the best word) and hard to rub in all the way. I am going to use it for Neil after bathtime instead of for me. I also can't really smell anything but I guess that means it's not something Dave won't be able to handle.

I couldn't find this exactly on Amazon and what I did find was an add on item so you have to order $25 of other qualifying items to get "free" shipment for this one. It was $9.50 and wasn't the same product, but I'll go with $9.50 and assume the $25 of other products are if I bought the other items from the box.

Language Video Digital Download from Little Pim

So this isn't an actual item in my mind because it's not something in the box and we don't really let Neil watch television a whole lot. But it's included on their list so I included it here. From looking at the web site I think we will get a 5 minute video teaching a language in some subject matter.

I can't figure out the price for one digital download, which is what the coupon offers. They have a digital download of a whole set of languages (I chose Spanish to try to figure out the price) for $149.99. I'm not even sure what this voucher is for vs. that whole package so I'm not even going to try to parse it out.

Petit Collage, Me4Kidz, and Episencial included coupon codes as well.

Overall counting the "sale" prices on Amazon the value of the box was $56.90. This includes $11 in shipping though since some of the items did not qualify for Amazon Prime. I assume any other web site is going to charge shipping. This also doesn't count the video digital download. From what I can tell you wouldn't be able to download just that little clip they gave. I am very surprised at the total dollar amount for this box. It seems like the value has improved but the items I'm getting aren't really things we're going to use. That's what I miss about some of the previous boxes and why I feel that the quality of the boxes is going downhill. Although I still note this is a grab bag so you're going to get things you already have.