I just spent 2 hours soaking and scrubbing my wax tart burner. Why? I decided to burn a tart last night that was supposed to smell like a Red Hot candy. The smell was wonderful, but the aftermath? Not so much. The tart had a real red hot in it that melted, bubbled, and caramelized into a hot mess that turned into a rock solid black layer when the tart cooled and solidified! I had to confiscate a chisel from Hubby just to get the ball of yuck out of the burner.
Unfortunately I lost the business card that came out of a sample box with this particular tart, so I don't know which e-tailer this tart came from. I'll have to search the sample sites I buy from to see if I can find who this one came from so I can avoid it in the future. So, here's my note to all you e-tailers out there who might think about putting real candy in your wax tarts. Please don't do it! The mess is absolutely horrible!
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Thistlecraft Designs Outta My Face Adjustable Headband
Out of all the items in my February Little Black Box gift bag I definitely have a favorite. This month it is the Outta My Face Adjustable Handband in Confetti color from Thistlecraft Designs.
This adjustable headband is designed to keep your hair out of your face when putting on makeup, washing your face, or doing a facial treatment. I used it the night I got my LBB to keep my hair out of my face when washing my face before bed. Since then I have used this headband multiple times, and it has come in handy for all sorts of things.
My favorite use is to keep my hair up when I’m taking a bubble bath or showering without washing my hair. Even my super thick hair nestles into the hand band when I place the velcro on top. I’ve even used it to keep my hair out of my face when I’m running around the house cleaning.
I absolutely love that the headband is not only adjustable, but easily washable. You don’t have to worry about getting makeup or face wash on it because you can toss it in the washer when you’re done.
My 2 year old loves it, too. She found it in the bathroom and decided it was a toddler size belt! She wants to wear it on her waist when playing dress up!
If you’re interested in one of these handmade headbands check out Thistlecraft Designs store. Headbands will be available soon for $10 plus shipping, and you can pre-order your custom size and color now. Check out Thistlecraft’s Facebook photo gallery to see available colors.
This adjustable headband is designed to keep your hair out of your face when putting on makeup, washing your face, or doing a facial treatment. I used it the night I got my LBB to keep my hair out of my face when washing my face before bed. Since then I have used this headband multiple times, and it has come in handy for all sorts of things.
My favorite use is to keep my hair up when I’m taking a bubble bath or showering without washing my hair. Even my super thick hair nestles into the hand band when I place the velcro on top. I’ve even used it to keep my hair out of my face when I’m running around the house cleaning.
I absolutely love that the headband is not only adjustable, but easily washable. You don’t have to worry about getting makeup or face wash on it because you can toss it in the washer when you’re done.
My 2 year old loves it, too. She found it in the bathroom and decided it was a toddler size belt! She wants to wear it on her waist when playing dress up!
If you’re interested in one of these handmade headbands check out Thistlecraft Designs store. Headbands will be available soon for $10 plus shipping, and you can pre-order your custom size and color now. Check out Thistlecraft’s Facebook photo gallery to see available colors.
Reviews In Progress
I know it’s been awhile since I posted any product reviews, and I must apologize for that. The products I have reviewed in the past have been on my own dime and time. I don’t beg ask companies to send me products to review, and that means I don’t always have the extra funds to purchase new products to try.
I’m happy to say I do have a few upcoming reviews that I hope you will all enjoy. Now I can’t afford to go out and buy the amish furniture I've been drooling over, but I did have a little extra cash this month to purchase a Little Black Box full of handmade samples. I loved purchasing these sampler boxes back in the day because they gave me plenty of new products to try, and I got to share them with you guys as well. Sometimes I did a review, and at one point I was even able to give away a few products. Then funds got tight thanks to the job situation, and the TLLBs were the first thing that had to go because they were a necessity. I’m so happy I had a chance to purchase one again this month, but I didn’t exactly jump in feet first with my eyes closed. Because it’s been a couple of years since I purchased one I opted for the smaller gift bag this month, and I was ecstatic at how much stuff arrived for $10!
Anywho, I don’t want to give everything away just yet. I still have photos to take and a few reviews to write before I share the contents of the February box with you!
Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Curl Scrunching Gel Review
I’ve noticed lately that one of two things has happened…maybe it’s a combination of both. Either my hair is changing, and my styling products that I’m in love with just aren’t working the same anymore, or my favorite curling gel isn’t what it used to be. Whatever is happening I’ve been having a hard time getting my naturally wavy locks to scrunch with my usual scrunching spray.
So a couple months ago I grabbed a coupon for a free Herbal Essences product on their Facebook page. When the coupon arrived I stuck it in my coupon binder thinking I would use it when it was time to stock up on shampoo or conditioner, but because I’ve been getting some great shampoo and conditioner coupons lately I finally decided to use it for something else.
The verdict?
I am absolutely in love with this product! All week I’ve been playing around with it, scrunching my hair one day, flat ironing, adding the Totally Twisted gel, and using it to help hold some random curls the next. The best part is this product is half the cost of my old scrunching spray that isn’t do it’s job anymore, so I’m going to be saving money, too! The tropical mystique scent smells so yummy, too, and Ben loves it. I think I’ll have to give the rest of the Totally Twisted line a try now starting with the Shampoo and Conditioner.
Seidio Innocase Surface Case For Droid 2 Review
After dinner with the in-laws last night I'm still feeling so stuffed I don't feel like running around doing all the housework and errands I have to do. I feel like the best diet pills on the market couldn't make me feel like getting up off the couch, so I'm going to take advantage of this lazy time to review the Seidio Innocase Surface Case I ordered for Hubby's Droid 2.
I purchased this case as a birthday present for Hubby after he asked me to find him a cover for his Droid 2 that would be lightweight and yet functional at the same time. We've looked at a few cases, but none of them seemed to fit the bill. He wanted something that would be slim, fit snugly, and not interfere with the usage of the phone. He also wanted something with the soft touch coating, but he didn't want a case that would attract dust particles particularly because he is a carpenter. His case for his old phone was soft touch, and it attracted dust like crazy.
After doing a little research I decided to order the Seidio Innocase Surface Case For Droid 2 because it seemed to have all the features he wanted. The Amazon reviews were all great, and the Amazon listing stated "Thin and sleek case provides scratch protection without adding much bulk. Made from a high quality, lightweight, and durable polycarbonate plastic". Hubby has been using the Seidio Innocase Surface Case on his Droid 2 four days now, and we both love it. I'm thinking about replacing the cheap case I bought myself with one just like it. The soft touch coating does not attract dust particles, and he has had no problem sliding out the keyboard or moving widgets from screen to screen like has been the problem with other cases. The case is very durable and has already protected the phone from clumsy fingers dropping it.
The case is definitely lightweight, and the weight difference with the case on is barely noticeable. In fact he forgot he even had the case on the phone after the first day. This is definitely the lightest cover I have seen.
Also, the tabs are sturdy and hold well to the phone. I’ve had to remove the case twice to take out his SD card, and I haven’t had any problem with tabs breaking off or bending. It is actually very easy to remove the cover. You don’t have to use a lot of force to pry it off as I’ve seen with other cases. The cut outs to access the power, volume, camera buttons, as well as the headphone and charging ports are perfect. There is ample room to access each.
I highly recommend spending the bit of extra cash to get the Seidio Innocase. It is definitely well worth it.
I purchased this case as a birthday present for Hubby after he asked me to find him a cover for his Droid 2 that would be lightweight and yet functional at the same time. We've looked at a few cases, but none of them seemed to fit the bill. He wanted something that would be slim, fit snugly, and not interfere with the usage of the phone. He also wanted something with the soft touch coating, but he didn't want a case that would attract dust particles particularly because he is a carpenter. His case for his old phone was soft touch, and it attracted dust like crazy.
After doing a little research I decided to order the Seidio Innocase Surface Case For Droid 2 because it seemed to have all the features he wanted. The Amazon reviews were all great, and the Amazon listing stated "Thin and sleek case provides scratch protection without adding much bulk. Made from a high quality, lightweight, and durable polycarbonate plastic". Hubby has been using the Seidio Innocase Surface Case on his Droid 2 four days now, and we both love it. I'm thinking about replacing the cheap case I bought myself with one just like it. The soft touch coating does not attract dust particles, and he has had no problem sliding out the keyboard or moving widgets from screen to screen like has been the problem with other cases. The case is very durable and has already protected the phone from clumsy fingers dropping it.
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| Original Droid 2 without case beside Seidio Innocase |
The case is definitely lightweight, and the weight difference with the case on is barely noticeable. In fact he forgot he even had the case on the phone after the first day. This is definitely the lightest cover I have seen.
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Here you see the Seidio Innocase Surface Case compared next to my Colorful Stars Design Protector Case Snap On Hard Cover for Motorola DROID 2  . |
I highly recommend spending the bit of extra cash to get the Seidio Innocase. It is definitely well worth it.
Hydroxycut Reviews
If you’ve been thinking about trying out Hydroxycut check out these hydroxycut reviews. I fully believe one of the best ways to find out how a product really works is to read reviews online written by others who have tried the product. I'd much rather spend a few minutes (which normally turns into an hour or so) reading reviews to make sure a product fits my needs before wasting money on it and finding out it doesn't work!
NeilMed NasaFlo Neti Pot Review
I promise I haven't tried to be a stranger. I know I haven't posted since last year (thank goodness that was only a week ago), but I've had a serious cold that has kept me from doing much at all.The only good thing to come out of this cold is I remembered to try out my NeilMed NasaFlo Neti Pot. NeilMed Phamaceuticals was giving away free Neti Pots with 2 sample packs of sinus rinse a few months back, and I picked mine up through the sample giveaway. When it arrived I tucked it away in the medicine cabinet, and I honestly forgot about it until my cold popped up.
I admit I wasn't very fond of the idea of pouring the sinus rinse in my nose becFause I hate getting water up my nose, but it's not bad at all. Because the sinus rinse is a sodium chloride & sodium bicarbonate mix that you add to warm distilled, filtered, or boiled water (after the water has cooled to warm) it doesn't burn or sting. I read the directions carefully, and I waited until my nasal passages were almost clear before attempting the rinse hoping it would remove any extra bacteria I had lingering. The instructions say you cannot rinse with a fully blocked nasal passage, but you can rinse with a partially blocked one.
I filled my pot with warm distilled water, added the sinus rinse, and shook it to mix it. I stood over the sink, bent forward as directed, and turned my head to the side. I placed the Neti Pot to my nostril and began pouring as directed, but nothing happened. Instead of draining I felt my other nostril clog up. I blew gently, but yet again nothing happened. A small amount of the solution trickled down my throat, and I suspect that was due to my nose clogging up as I followed the instructions, and stood in a position to prevent that. Three hours later I went to bed with my nose still clogged, the feeling of fluid in my ear, and a headache.
I don't know what I did wrong. I followed the directions exactly, and I still ended up with fluid pooling behind my ear and no drainage. I woke up the next morning to find my pillow absolutely covered because everything had drained out during the night. I jumped on the pc and did some Googling, and I found that there were many others complaining of the same thing. They followed the directions, but there was no drainage, or the solution drained out the other nostril properly they still had fluid behind the ear. Many also reported headaches. I was really hoping the Neti Pot would work for me, but it didn't. I'm not giving up yet, and I'll try again with completely clear nasal passages.
Hubby, on the other hand, tried it, and loved it. The solution drained from his nostrils like it's supposed to, he had no throat drainage, and no sensation of fluid pooling behind the ear. Hubby is a heavy snorer, but after using the Neti Pot his snoring hasn't been quite as bad as normal. It didn't stop the snoring, but it did help to lessen it. He plans to purchase a box of sinus rinse packets and rinse once a week.
If you're looking for a Neti Pot I do suggest giving the NeilMed NasaFlo pot a try. It's cheaper than a lot of the other versions on the market, and I feel my issues were more related to user error since it worked perfectly for Hubby.
Christmas Gift Boxes by Barrington Studios Limited
Last year after Christmas I hit up the sales and stocked up on Christmas supplies to use this year. Among my purchases was a set of small gift boxes by Barrington Studios Limited that I found on sale for $2. In the set were 4 gift card boxes, 2 small round containers, 5 Chinese take out style boxes, and 1 medium size "envelope" box that is perfect for gifting homemade snacks. As I like to make Christmas ornaments and fudge for our friends and family each year I thought these boxes would be perfect for those small gifts. The boxes are all decorated in various Christmas prints, and they are all quite adorable.
I had forgotten about them until I started some office decorating. They were tucked away in a box with some of the ornaments for the small tree I put in my office, and I immediately decided instead of using them for gifts they were small enough to act as fake gifts around my office Christmas tree.
This morning Ellie discovered all the little “presents” and she has been happily playing with them for hours. I decided since they were only a $2 purchase I’d let her be happy and not worry about her destroying them. The thick cardboard boxes have held up quite nicely, and even with a 1 year old beating and banging on them they are in perfect condition. That’s a plus when you’ve got children who like to “explore” the presents under the tree.
She has been stacking them like building blocks, using her imagination to create various box “walls”. When Ellie went down for a nap I started to clean up the boxes and realized that she was also taking the lids off the square boxes and putting some of her small toys in them. As I’ve been trying to show her how to put the lid back on a box she has for awhile without any luck I was impressed that she figured it out on her own while playing with these.
These are now Ellie’s boxes, but I’m on the hunt to find more like them. I would like to have some to use for presents as they are the perfect size for some of my needs and super cute to boot!
Fisher Price Bounce & Giggle Elephant Review
If you're looking for a few toys for your infant from Santa this year leave the Fisher Price Bounce & Giggle Elephant
off your list! This is one toy I do not recommend, and I have plenty of reasons why.First of all we received this toy as a gift for Elliana when she was 6 months old. When I saw it I thought she would absolutely love it, but she didn't want anything to do with it. I activated it, sat it on the floor in front of her, and she watched it for all of 30 seconds before it bored her, and she moved on to another toy.
I wondered if maybe she was just too young for this toy, so I tried reintroducing it to her many times over the next 6 months without any luck. Now that she's big enough to pick it up and toss it, that's exactly what she does. Sometimes she'll see me coming with it, and she'll bat it away the second I get it near her.
I thought maybe it was just my daughter who doesn't like it, so I offered it to our friend's son who is 6 months older than Elliana and my nephew who is now 5 months old. Neither of them want anything to do with the Bounce & Giggle Elephant.
Why is this? I think it has to do with a few different "problems" I've found with the toy. First of all it's not really interesting at all. The bouncing and giggling is cute, but it just doesn't do enough to keep the baby entertained. The toy is also much heavier than I would expect a toy for this age range to be. My daughter had a very hard time picking it up until recently, and when she was able to do so it only became a moving target as she tossed it across the room. I honestly believe the weight of the thing could cause a baby to hurt itself as it definitely hurt when I dropped the toy on my own foot.
Also, this toy is very hard to activate. The baby is supposed to activate the toy by squeezing or pushing the nose. It takes my husband or me practically beating the thing on the floor to get it to turn on even with a fresh set of batteries. There is no possible way a baby could activate it without someone to help.
The music, bouncing, and giggling only lasts for maybe 5-10 seconds, and then you have to activate it all over again. You have to continuously activate the toy to keep the baby entertained with it if the baby is even interested in it to begin with. The two ears are supposed to work as teethers, but our daughter was never interested in them. She wants to chew on something she can hold, and as I've already stated this isn't something she could hold at all.
Overall I think the Bounce & Giggle Elephant is a huge waste of money. It isn't very interesting, in fact I feel like it was down right boring to her. There are many toys out there in the same price range with plenty of features to keep my daughter entertained, but this just isn't one of them. Ours has become a dust collector as it continuously sits in the toy box unused.
Food, Car Seats, & Tornadoes
Tonight is definitely one of those nights I wish would end soon. I’m tired of all this horrible weather we’re having, and my phone is ringing off the hook with family members calling to check on the little one since we’ve had tornado warnings out. Luckily nothing has touched down yet, so we’re all in one piece.
Before this weather started I dropped Ellie off with my aunt, and Hubby and I headed out to do some shopping. As much as I hate going to Walmart unless I absolutely have to tonight was one of those have to nights. Ellie needs a new car seat as she’s on the cusp of outgrowing hers, and I just couldn’t afford to spend more than $65 on a car seat right now. The one I had picked out for her was the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1, but I can’t drop $150 on a car seat right now when we’re already struggling to pay the bills. I liked that it reclined, and I wanted to keep Ellie rear facing as long as possible, but I had to settle for what we could afford.
Instead I picked up the Evenflo Chase booster car seat because it fell in our price range with an on sale price of $49, and because it has great ratings. It was also the best choice in our price range that we found in store as all the others in our price range can only be used from 20-40lbs, but this one converts to a belt positioning booster that can be used up to 100lbs. I’m not at all happy with the extra strap that dangles in the front from the belt adjuster, but I may just have to deal with that. My only concern is that Ellie will figure out how to push the button on the belt adjuster and let it out rendering the 5 point harness practically useless in a wreck. If I find something I like better in our price range I may end up returning this one, but we’ll just have to see. We’ll find out how much she weighs on Thursday at her next appointment, but I have a feeling she’s still about a pound shy of moving out of the other car seat. I don’t want to move her into the new one until I absolutely have to.
After we picked up the car seat we did a bit of grocery shopping for a few things that we just absolutely need to get by this week. Our cupboards are bare, so I couldn’t hold off on grocery shopping any longer. We were about to walk out of the store when I got the call from my Grandma that the first tornado warning for our area was issued, and the warning was putting the possible tornado about a 1/2 mile from our house. She told us to stay put and not to worry about Ellie because everyone was at their house in the basement.
Of course I freaked out a bit at the thought of being separated from my baby during a tornado warning especially when she was in the potential path of it and I wasn’t, but there wasn’t really much I could do. Hubby took our purchases to the car, and I walked around the health section looking at diet pills as we waited for the warning to pass. Fifteen minutes later the warning was lifted, and we headed home to grab the baby. We've been stuck in this nasty weather ever since, and I'll be so glad when it's gone. We're under a tornado watch until 3am, so I doubt I'll be sleeping at all tonight.
Ever Used Penaten Baby Cream?
When I had my little one I never imagined all the products I would try to keep her safe, clean, healthy, and happy. I'm also a little surprised at how many products I've used that don't work as well as I thought they would, namely name brand products that I've heard other parents rave about for years.
The latest example of this can be found among the many bottles of diaper rash creams we've purchased. During my childless years I considered Desitin to be the go to diaper rash treatment. I seemed to find a tube in the diaper bag of every baby I've ever babysat, so I was pretty surprised when the little one came along, and I found Desitin to be the one cream I refuse to use on my baby's bottom. While we were still in the hospital the pediatrician informed us Desitin has a habit of making rashes worse instead of healing them. After talking to a few friends with babies they all said their doctor's said the same thing or they switched to another cream after seeing this first hand. I decided right then and there I wouldn't use Desitin.
Although Elliana hasn't had to deal with much diaper rash, we have had the occasional patch pop up. There was the one time when she had a nasty rash pop up after using the new version of Pamper's Swaddlers, and she's had a few little patches since. We haven't had to deal with another bad rash until last week. We've been using Boudreaux's Butt Paste
, and I do love it, but this time it just wasn't getting the job done. Ellie's rash started out pretty small, but within a couple days it erupted into a very painful rash all over her bottom. The Butt Paste wasn't helping at all. We switched to A&D, but that didn't help either. After a week her rash was still horrible.
I turned to a friend for help because her daughter suffers from horrible diaper rash on a regular basis. She sent me home with something I had never even heard of, Penaten Baby Cream
. I slathered it on Ellie as soon as we got home, and within a couple hours her rash was looking much better. Two days later the rash is almost completely cleared up! I have to say I'm now totally sold on Penaten creme, and I ordered a tin of it tonight.
The latest example of this can be found among the many bottles of diaper rash creams we've purchased. During my childless years I considered Desitin to be the go to diaper rash treatment. I seemed to find a tube in the diaper bag of every baby I've ever babysat, so I was pretty surprised when the little one came along, and I found Desitin to be the one cream I refuse to use on my baby's bottom. While we were still in the hospital the pediatrician informed us Desitin has a habit of making rashes worse instead of healing them. After talking to a few friends with babies they all said their doctor's said the same thing or they switched to another cream after seeing this first hand. I decided right then and there I wouldn't use Desitin.
Although Elliana hasn't had to deal with much diaper rash, we have had the occasional patch pop up. There was the one time when she had a nasty rash pop up after using the new version of Pamper's Swaddlers, and she's had a few little patches since. We haven't had to deal with another bad rash until last week. We've been using Boudreaux's Butt Paste
, and I do love it, but this time it just wasn't getting the job done. Ellie's rash started out pretty small, but within a couple days it erupted into a very painful rash all over her bottom. The Butt Paste wasn't helping at all. We switched to A&D, but that didn't help either. After a week her rash was still horrible. I turned to a friend for help because her daughter suffers from horrible diaper rash on a regular basis. She sent me home with something I had never even heard of, Penaten Baby Cream
. I slathered it on Ellie as soon as we got home, and within a couple hours her rash was looking much better. Two days later the rash is almost completely cleared up! I have to say I'm now totally sold on Penaten creme, and I ordered a tin of it tonight.
Buitoni Premium Frozen Meals For Two
I have not received any compensation for this review. I am writing this review in response to a customer complaint I filed with the company, and I am following up on my experiences with the company's customer service and products.
About 3 weeks ago Hubby and I decided to try out the Buitoni Premium Frozen Meals For Two. Our first experience was a rather bad one. We purchased the Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli meal only to discover the wrong ingredients had been packaged in the box. I ranted about the experience on my personal blog, included photos, and I sent a copy to Buitoni.
I was extremely pleased when I received a call from Buitoni the very next morning trying to rectify the situation. The customer service was quick and our issue was resolved in a very timely manor. The consumer services rep got more information from me to send directly to the manufacturer's quality control department, then she immediately issued a coupon packet to be sent to me. I received the packet last week which contained 4 coupons and a written apology. Two coupons were for free product, and 2 were for $1.50 off. Hubby and I decided to use one of the free coupons the next day when we did out grocery shopping, so we picked up another Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli Premium Frozen Meal.
I'm very happy to report our second experience with these frozen meals was a good one. We prepared the meal in about 5 minutes, and we absolutely loved it. The product was just as it is advertised, and we have absolutely no complaints. The meal for two was plenty to feed both of us, and I even had enough left over for dinner the next day. Hubby and I both agreed we will definitely purchase this frozen dinner kit again, and we thank Buitoni for making things right.
About 3 weeks ago Hubby and I decided to try out the Buitoni Premium Frozen Meals For Two. Our first experience was a rather bad one. We purchased the Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli meal only to discover the wrong ingredients had been packaged in the box. I ranted about the experience on my personal blog, included photos, and I sent a copy to Buitoni.
I was extremely pleased when I received a call from Buitoni the very next morning trying to rectify the situation. The customer service was quick and our issue was resolved in a very timely manor. The consumer services rep got more information from me to send directly to the manufacturer's quality control department, then she immediately issued a coupon packet to be sent to me. I received the packet last week which contained 4 coupons and a written apology. Two coupons were for free product, and 2 were for $1.50 off. Hubby and I decided to use one of the free coupons the next day when we did out grocery shopping, so we picked up another Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli Premium Frozen Meal.
I'm very happy to report our second experience with these frozen meals was a good one. We prepared the meal in about 5 minutes, and we absolutely loved it. The product was just as it is advertised, and we have absolutely no complaints. The meal for two was plenty to feed both of us, and I even had enough left over for dinner the next day. Hubby and I both agreed we will definitely purchase this frozen dinner kit again, and we thank Buitoni for making things right.
Family Cookout & Baby's Pool Party
I had an enjoyable evening tonight with my family. We had a small little family cookout, just the three of us, my Mom, and my sister, her hubby, and baby boy. I'd have to say it's the most fun I've had with my family in a long time, and I think Ellie really enjoyed herself as well.
After dinner my Mom pulled out the baby pool she'd bought for Ellie. Hubby blew it up, and Ellie was playing in it within 10 minutes. She had her own little pool party for almost an hour while my sis and I watched her, talked about diet pills, and I played with my nephew who at 1 month old is no where near old enough to get in and splash with Ellie yet. My sis is trying to get rid of her baby weight as well, and she's definitely considering diet pills since she can't breastfeed any longer. She saw an ad for adipo-x, and she was telling me what she'd looked up online about adipo-x version 2.0 side effects. It's the pill she's thinking about using, but she wants to consult her doctor first since in high dosages you can have side effects like insomnia, anxiety, and high blood pressure. She was asking me what I thought, and honestly I told her I don't think she even needs diet pills. She's already dropped almost all of her baby weight, and her son is only 1 month old. I'd say she's on a great track already.
Anywho, as for the Intex Froggy Fun Baby Pool, Ellie absolutely 100% LOVED it. I definitely recommend this pool to anyone looking to buy a cheap kiddie pool for an infant or toddler. My mom purchased the pool for $10 at Walmart. Target sells it for $14.99, and it's well worth it at such a cheap price. The single ring frog shaped pool is partially covered by a rainbow that protects baby from the sun. It can hold up to 12 gallons of water with a total depth of 5". We only filled the pool about half way, and it was more than enough for Ellie to splash and play. She splashed around for awhile until she figured out how to flip over and slither around. She had a blast, and she wore herself out, too. When I finally got her out of the pool she was asleep within 10 minutes.
I'm pretty worn out now myself after 2 sleepless nights due to Ellie teething and keeping me up all night. Oh well, it's all part of mamahood! Now I think I'm going to get some work finished so I can curl up in bed myself.
After dinner my Mom pulled out the baby pool she'd bought for Ellie. Hubby blew it up, and Ellie was playing in it within 10 minutes. She had her own little pool party for almost an hour while my sis and I watched her, talked about diet pills, and I played with my nephew who at 1 month old is no where near old enough to get in and splash with Ellie yet. My sis is trying to get rid of her baby weight as well, and she's definitely considering diet pills since she can't breastfeed any longer. She saw an ad for adipo-x, and she was telling me what she'd looked up online about adipo-x version 2.0 side effects. It's the pill she's thinking about using, but she wants to consult her doctor first since in high dosages you can have side effects like insomnia, anxiety, and high blood pressure. She was asking me what I thought, and honestly I told her I don't think she even needs diet pills. She's already dropped almost all of her baby weight, and her son is only 1 month old. I'd say she's on a great track already.
Anywho, as for the Intex Froggy Fun Baby Pool, Ellie absolutely 100% LOVED it. I definitely recommend this pool to anyone looking to buy a cheap kiddie pool for an infant or toddler. My mom purchased the pool for $10 at Walmart. Target sells it for $14.99, and it's well worth it at such a cheap price. The single ring frog shaped pool is partially covered by a rainbow that protects baby from the sun. It can hold up to 12 gallons of water with a total depth of 5". We only filled the pool about half way, and it was more than enough for Ellie to splash and play. She splashed around for awhile until she figured out how to flip over and slither around. She had a blast, and she wore herself out, too. When I finally got her out of the pool she was asleep within 10 minutes.
I'm pretty worn out now myself after 2 sleepless nights due to Ellie teething and keeping me up all night. Oh well, it's all part of mamahood! Now I think I'm going to get some work finished so I can curl up in bed myself.
VTech’s Baby’s Learning Laptop
One word describes it all for me.PEACE.
That is exactly what I’ve experienced since purchasing the Vtech - Baby's Learning Laptop
for little miss Elliana. She absolutely loves this toy, and I do, too. She has taken a large interest in Mommy’s netbook, so I knew I had to get her something similar to play with while I worked. It’s become almost impossible to get any work done online while she’s awake because as soon as she spots my netbook that’s the only thing she’s interested in. If she’s in her walker, she’ll run as fast as her little legs will let her to me, and she throws her arms up to be picked up. If she can get to my netbook she’s banging on the keys, slobbering on the screen, and trying to bite it. She did manage to leave a couple teeth marks on it when I headed to the bathroom and accidentally left it within her reach.So yes, Mommy decided it was time for baby to have a laptop of her own. I chose the Vtech - Baby's Learning Laptop
because it was the only one in stock at the local store where I shopped. I had thought about ordering the pink one
online, but I didn’t want to have to wait for it. Plus having the primary colors version means I can pass it on to my nephew when Ellie outgrows it.This toy is intended for children 6-36 months. There are no small parts that can break off and become a choking hazard. Amazon has the “choking hazard not for children under 3” warning on their website, but I’m not sure why. This is not listed on the pink version, and VTECH clearly has this toy labeled as 6=36 months on their website and packaging.
The buttons are big, and they are perfect for little fingers to push. The “screen” lights up each time a button is pushed, and there’s even a little mouse that also lights up the screen when pushed. There are three play modes to choose from, music, common objects, and shapes. The mouse teaches up and down direction by saying the words when the mouse is pushed in the right direction. It can also be pushed left and right, but sounds are made instead of the words. There is a carry handle that makes the laptop very easy for me to carry with us when we’re going elsewhere, and Ellie has been playing with it in the car as well. I think it’ll be a great feature when she’s bigger and can carry it around herself.
Overall this was a great buy for $16.00. Elliana has loved playing with it since the minute she got it, and I see plenty more play ahead. She’s actually using it right now, and we’ve turned her walker into her “desk”. She’s intently concentrating on pushing buttons and “surfing” on her little laptop just like Mommy.
Walmart.com & The Kolcraft Tot Rider 2 Walker
Normally I’m not a big fan of Walmart.com, and that’s because there have been quite a few times I’ve had shipping issues with the site. I learned it was easier to get rid of blackheads than to purchase an item from Walmart.com and receive it when I was supposed to without any issues. I also don’t agree with some of Walmart’s practices, but sometimes I have no choice but to shop there as we don’t have many other options in our area.
I’ve been trying to find the Kolcraft Tot Rider 2 Walker for Elliana as it seems to be the only one she actually fits in. She’s got the fact that she’s a preemie working against her, and she’s unfortunately got two parents with short legs even though Daddy is 6’1”. She was doomed to have short legs, and she’s in the 5th percentile for height. I’ve tried her out in various walkers that our friends have, and my grandparents purchased her one, but she can’t touch the ground in any of them even on the lowest setting.
By chance we just happened to discover that she fits perfectly in the Kolcraft Tot Rider 2 Walker. Our best friends purchased one for their son, and while we were visiting them one day I needed to put her down for a minute, but I didn’t want to put her in the floor where the older kids could knock her over. I sat her down in the walker, and within a few minutes she was making her way around the room. I instantly made up my mind that I’d purchase that exact same walker for her as I know she has no problems using it. That was a month ago, and she’s steadily made her way around their house each time we visit even though she still can’t reach the floor in any of the others we’ve tried.
Since I had a Walmart gift card I needed to use I decided to go ahead and purchase it from Walmart.com (it wasn’t available in any local stores). I was weary when I purchased the walker because of my past experiences with Walmart.com, but I went ahead with the purchase anyway on May 25 at 9:45pm hoping it would show up in a timely manner without any issues. I paid for the regular .97 shipping because I didn’t want to risk paying for 2-3 day shipping only to not have the item arrive in time. I was given an estimated delivery date of June 1st to June 4th with the .97 shipping. Last night at 10:09pm I received the shipping confirmation email with my tracking number. Much to my surprise the walker showed up on my front porch this morning, May 27! Not only did I receive my purchase in 2 days instead of the estimated 5-9 business days, but I saved $14 in shipping charges!
As far as the walker goes, Elliana is already loving it. I made the right choice when I decided to purchase this particular one, and my little munchkin has been walking around exploring the house on her own all night. It only took me about 10 minutes to snap the thing together, no tools required, and the instructions were super easy to follow. The toys are a big hit, and we aren’t have any problems with her moving about. She took off the minute I put her in it, and she’s even moving across our floor rugs with ease. She loves the thing so much she cried every time I tried to take her out of it to feed her, change her diaper, and finally when it was time to put her to bed. I’m hoping this walker will make my life a lot easier now that she’s hit the separation anxiety phase. She’ll be able to follow me around as I move about the house instead of crying every time I must put her down and walk away to do dishes, laundry, cook, or whatever it may be!
I definitely recommend the Kolcraft Tot Rider 2 especially if you have a munchkin with short little legs like mine. The 3 adjustable height settings seem to be set lower than any of the other adjustable walkers we’ve tried. It’s a very sturdy walker, much sturdier than her other walker, the Safety 1st Sounds and Lights Activity Walker, and at $26.50 the price really can’t be beat.
As for Walmart.com they did redeem themselves this time, but I still don’t see me ordering very much from them in the future unless it’s something that I really can’t find anywhere else for such a low price.
Burt’s Bees Natural Toothpaste
Every time I see a Burt’s Bees product it always reminds me of growing up on the farm. My dad was a farmer and a beekeeper, so I was around honeybees a lot. We sold jars of local honey, and he used to make candles and other various products out of the wax, so that’s where I was first introduced to all natural products. So when I received a sample tube of the Burt’s Bees Natural Toothpaste I was more than excited to try it. Of course I absolutely love it. I received the peppermint flavor fluoride multicare toothpaste, and I have to say this is my new favorite toothpaste to use.
The Burt’s Bees Website says:
Want a toothpaste that features multiple benefits to naturally care for your teeth and gums? This minty-fresh natural and effective toothpaste is clinically proven to improve oral health. With regular brushing it prevents cavities, reduces plaque, whitens teeth, promotes healthy gums, and freshens breath. Made with real cranberry extract known to block bacteria from adhering to teeth and gums, it helps prevent plaque formation before it starts. The SLS-free formula contains calcium and phosphorous to promote strong, healthy teeth. No artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sweeteners.After one brushing my teeth felt great. They honestly felt cleaner than they do after using my normal toothpaste of choice. I'm normally can't stand peppermint flavorite toothpaste, but I loved this stuff. That's probably because the flavor isn't very strong. It reminds me of walking out into the backyard as a kid and picking a piece of mint to chew on. It's a very light and natural flavor that didn't leave my sensitive mouth cringing. Hours after using this toothpaste my mouth still felt fresh, and I didn't have that urge to run back to brush my teeth again before I walked out the door to go shopping.
I've only found two downsides to the Burt's Bees toothpaste. It is not a completely all natural product. It's 99.2% all natural because it does contain caveats, and it is a little expensive in my opinion. We all know we tend to pay a higher price for natural products, but it sells for $5 a tube on the Burt’s Bees website, and that’s a little much in my opinion. I did find it on Amazon.com for $3.99!
Safety First Glow & Go Monitor
I was walking through the store a few weeks ago having no luck finding a cream that I thought could give me easy stretch mark removal, so I gave up and decided to spend the cash in my pocket on something for the baby. These days I'm less worried about how my body works and more worried about the safety of my child, so I headed to the baby monitors.
We already had a baby monitor, but I wasn’t too happy with it. My mom gave us a used Safety 1st monitor that’s about 4-5 years old that she picked up at a thrift store. It was doing the job, but it had a lot of static in it no matter what channel I used. I started looking at video monitors, then I quickly realized that would be a waste of my money. Our house is small, and if I want to see how Elliana is doing all I have to do is pop my head into her doorway. I decided I’d pick up another audio monitor to see if I could get it to work better than the old one. I figured the old one had it’s quirks mainly because it’s well…old.
I didn’t have a lot of cash to spend at the time, so I grabbed the Safety 1st Glow & Go Monitor. I was drawn to it because it was cheap ($24.99 for the single & $39.99 for the duo), I liked the fact that it has a built in night light, and it lights up when baby makes noise. My old monitor doesn’t have lights, and that was a drag. Sometimes when Hubby and I are watching tv I would prefer to keep the volume turned down, and with lights I could see if she’s making noise. That’s also a handy feature for those who are hearing impaired. I also like that the parent unit is small. My old one was bulky, and would weight down my pants if I had it clipped to my waist.
I also liked that the Glow & Go monitor uses less energy. Conventional monitors (and anything else using an AC adapter) pull power even when the unit is switched off. The only way to save power is to unplug the unit all together. The Glow & Go adapters only pull power when the units are switched on. Plus both the baby and parent units can run off batteries, so you don’t have to unplug the unit if you need it in another room. Since Elliana is in and out of various rooms throughout the day, that’s an added bonus. The packaging is also “eco-conscious” since Safety 1st used 44% less cardboard and 29% less plastic in the packaging.
On top of it all my favorite feature is the digital room temperature display. I had purchased a cheap little $5 portable thermometer so I could measure the temp in her room, and it doesn’t read accurately. Plus it was just one more thing I had to find room for on the dresser. The Glow & Go has a 400ft range, but we’ve discovered it will actually pick up a little farther than that for us. If I need to run next door to my Grandparent's house (which is about 500 ft away from mine) I’ll leave the baby with Hubby and take the monitor with me. It will get a little bit of static in their house, but I can still hear everything perfectly.
After using the Glow & Go monitor one night I was satisfied. We’ve had it for a little over a month now, and I’m so glad I purchased it. It does everything I need it to without a ton of frills or added cost. It’s a 2 channel monitor, and neither channel has any static at all. We also discovered that we can use the parent unit from the old monitor with it without any static! That means we saved ourselves $10 since we didn’t have to buy the 2 parent unit model. We have a ton of electronics in our home, and we’re happy knowing none of them are causing interference with the monitor.
Overall I’m extremely happy with this monitor, and I recommend it to any parent looking for a good cheap monitor. The great results, temperature display, and night light make it a great alternative to higher priced versions.
Update 4-21-10:
Today the parent handset to the unit stopped working. Well it didn’t completely stop, but the speaker seems to have died in it. The light portion still works. I will be contacting Safety 1st to see if this is a common issue with these monitors. I’m not happy at all right now because the monitor should not die after less than 2 months of use!
Update 4-27-10:
Safety 1st has offered to replace my monitor with the newer 2010 model. Thank you Safety 1st for taking care of your customers!
We already had a baby monitor, but I wasn’t too happy with it. My mom gave us a used Safety 1st monitor that’s about 4-5 years old that she picked up at a thrift store. It was doing the job, but it had a lot of static in it no matter what channel I used. I started looking at video monitors, then I quickly realized that would be a waste of my money. Our house is small, and if I want to see how Elliana is doing all I have to do is pop my head into her doorway. I decided I’d pick up another audio monitor to see if I could get it to work better than the old one. I figured the old one had it’s quirks mainly because it’s well…old.
I didn’t have a lot of cash to spend at the time, so I grabbed the Safety 1st Glow & Go Monitor. I was drawn to it because it was cheap ($24.99 for the single & $39.99 for the duo), I liked the fact that it has a built in night light, and it lights up when baby makes noise. My old monitor doesn’t have lights, and that was a drag. Sometimes when Hubby and I are watching tv I would prefer to keep the volume turned down, and with lights I could see if she’s making noise. That’s also a handy feature for those who are hearing impaired. I also like that the parent unit is small. My old one was bulky, and would weight down my pants if I had it clipped to my waist. I also liked that the Glow & Go monitor uses less energy. Conventional monitors (and anything else using an AC adapter) pull power even when the unit is switched off. The only way to save power is to unplug the unit all together. The Glow & Go adapters only pull power when the units are switched on. Plus both the baby and parent units can run off batteries, so you don’t have to unplug the unit if you need it in another room. Since Elliana is in and out of various rooms throughout the day, that’s an added bonus. The packaging is also “eco-conscious” since Safety 1st used 44% less cardboard and 29% less plastic in the packaging.
On top of it all my favorite feature is the digital room temperature display. I had purchased a cheap little $5 portable thermometer so I could measure the temp in her room, and it doesn’t read accurately. Plus it was just one more thing I had to find room for on the dresser. The Glow & Go has a 400ft range, but we’ve discovered it will actually pick up a little farther than that for us. If I need to run next door to my Grandparent's house (which is about 500 ft away from mine) I’ll leave the baby with Hubby and take the monitor with me. It will get a little bit of static in their house, but I can still hear everything perfectly.
After using the Glow & Go monitor one night I was satisfied. We’ve had it for a little over a month now, and I’m so glad I purchased it. It does everything I need it to without a ton of frills or added cost. It’s a 2 channel monitor, and neither channel has any static at all. We also discovered that we can use the parent unit from the old monitor with it without any static! That means we saved ourselves $10 since we didn’t have to buy the 2 parent unit model. We have a ton of electronics in our home, and we’re happy knowing none of them are causing interference with the monitor.
Overall I’m extremely happy with this monitor, and I recommend it to any parent looking for a good cheap monitor. The great results, temperature display, and night light make it a great alternative to higher priced versions.
Update 4-21-10:
Today the parent handset to the unit stopped working. Well it didn’t completely stop, but the speaker seems to have died in it. The light portion still works. I will be contacting Safety 1st to see if this is a common issue with these monitors. I’m not happy at all right now because the monitor should not die after less than 2 months of use!
Update 4-27-10:
Safety 1st has offered to replace my monitor with the newer 2010 model. Thank you Safety 1st for taking care of your customers!
Fisher-Price Rainforest Bouncer Review
When it was time to create a baby registry I admit I was kind of lost. I knew what type of stuff we needed, but the amount of stuff to choose from can be overwhelming. I remember spending hours looking at swings and bouncy seats afraid I’d pick one that my baby wouldn’t like. That fear mostly came from watching one of our friends go through 3 swings before she found one her son would sit in for more than 5 minutes without screaming. I was getting so frustrated with all the products out there I found it easier to help my sis-in-law choose her disability insurance. Now that's bad!
One day I decided to stop worrying about it and go with a theme. I decided if we didn’t like what we chose we could always exchange it later. I knew I wanted to go with a neutral theme because I want to be able to use everything multiple times, and at the time we didn’t know what the gender of our baby would be. I chose a jungle theme for the bedroom, so I stuck with that when it came time to choose a bouncy seat.
I narrowed it down to 3 jungle themed bouncers, then I decided to go with the one that seemed to have the most features. I ended up choosing the Rainforest bouncer after I saw a display model. It seemed to have a lot of features some of the others were lacking, and it was cheaper! Boy am I glad I went with that one. Elliana absolutely loves it. She’s got another bouncer that my Nanas that has more toys to play with, but the lack of lights and action bore her.
If you’re looking for a bouncer check out the Rainforest bouncer by Fisher-Price. We absolutely love it! Oh, and a tip for you new parents out there…definitely invest in a good battery charger that takes every size and a ton of rechargeable batteries! Just about everything takes batteries these days, and we found ourselves going through 4 D batteries a week. When you look at the cost of batteries these days the rechargeable ones paid for themselves after 2 uses.
Gillette SatinCare In Shower Moisturizer Review
Commenters are having a hard time finding this product in stores and online. I have found it at both local Walmart, and it is now available online at Amazon.com. I have added the product link to my Amazon Sidebar Widget and below for those of you having a hard time finding the product!
At Christmas my mom gave me a gift pack from Gillette that included a can of SatinCare shave gel, a Gillette Venus Embrace Razor, and a bottle of the new SatinCare In Shower Moisturizer in Lavender Kiss. I have to say I absolutely love this new moisturizer!
As I’ve mentioned plenty of times on this blog I have some seriously sensitive skin. I just wrote about how even baby detergent caused me to break out! Well, my super sensitive skin is also super dry skin, and pregnancy did nothing but make it worse. My ob/gyn warned me that I would probably have skin problems until I stop breastfeeding, and since I plan to continue breastfeeding for as long as I possibly can (at least until those little teeth become a problem), I’ve been battling the extra dryness.
My entire body is one dry itchy mess, and my knuckles are cracking and bleeding. Even the various products I used throughout my pregnancy aren’t working anymore (including Eucerin and Aquaphor), so I was super excited when I tried the Satin Care Moisturizer, and it actually worked!
The website says
Get silky smooth legs right out of the shower with new SatinCare® Dry Skin In-Shower Moisturizer. This Dry Skin formula, with Shea Butter, helps lock in moisture. Simply smooth onto wet legs, rinse and pat dry to leave your skin feeling soft and silky.
Using the moisturizer is simple. You shower as normal, and after you shave you smooth it on your legs, or in my case I smooth it on my entire body. Then you just rinse it off. I’m not sure if it helps any, but I let it sit on my body for about a minute before I rinse because I can use all the help I can get. At first I felt kind of weird about it because the first time I used it I felt slimy after my shower. After I toweled off the slimy feeling went away, and my skin felt great. I’ve smoothed this stuff after every shower for 2 weeks now, and I can tell a HUGE difference in my skin. My skin is still super dry, but it’s getting better. I’m not itchy all over anymore, and my knuckles are starting to heal. I smelled so good, too! Hours after my shower Hubby came home from work and asked me what smelled so good. He was quite pleased to find out it was me!
The only place I’m not smoothing this stuff on is my face. My chin acne is back in full force, so I really don't think it'd be a good idea to use it on my face. I'll stick with my regular daily moisturizer for that, but I'm sold on the Satin Care In Shower Moisturizer for the rest of my body.
Say No To Parent’s Choice Diapers
When I thought finding cheap term life insurance was going to be the hardest part of my night...I was wrong!
So last night we ran out of the last of the Pampers Swaddlers we had in size 1, and I didn’t feel like making a late night trip out to the store. We did have 2 packs of “back up diapers” in size 1 that I received in my baby shower. One pack is a pack of Parent’s Choice Walmart brand, and the other pack is the Family Dollar brand. We figured we’d use those to get us through the night at least until we could get to the store today. If we liked them we’d just use them.
I opened the Walmart diapers last night, and I HATE them. If you’re considering saving money by using the Parent’s Choice diapers reconsider. You can find other diapers that are great for a cheap price that work so much better. We prefer Luvs actually. Not only are they cheap, but they’re the only diapers Elliana hasn’t leaked out of. Plus she has absolutely no problem moving around in them. I’m just not buying anymore until I move her up to size 2.
Anywho, the Parent’s Choice diapers were horrible for a few reasons. First of all they’re super stiff. I noticed she couldn’t really move her little legs while she’s wearing one of these diapers because the stiffness restricted her. Also, as soon as she peed the diaper became hard as a rock in the front! The absorbency was great, but the material immediately stiffened when it got wet. I will not have my child sitting in a diaper that is rock hard and constricting. Also the tabs weren’t very long or stretchy, and I had a hard time getting the diaper to even stay closed. My daughter isn’t a big baby, and at 11lb 8oz she’s well under the 14lb limit on these diapers, yet we hard a hard time pulling the tabs over far enough to secure the diaper.
I have yet to try the Family Dollar diapers because I did find a few Little Ones diapers. I actually liked the Little Ones which are Kmart brand. Honestly they were the exact same as Luvs except they had a little less stretch to them at the top of the diaper. They also have smaller tabs than the Luvs. I didn’t mind that, but Hubby didn’t like it, so we threw the few extra Little Ones we had in a bag to pass along to my sister when her baby arrives. Thank goodness I still had those, because I was not going to put her in another one of those Parent’s Choice diapers.
We’ve also learned the Parent’s Choice and Fred’s diapers are very similar to each other. I will continue to use Pampers and Huggies in sizes that I already have thanks to my baby shower, but when I purchase my own diapers I will be sticking with Luvs and Little Ones.
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