2011 Product Reviews (Top 11 of 2011)

 I have reviewed so many great products in the last year.

Here are 11 of my favorites in no particular order

Keurig -  

We have had our Keurig for a year and LOVE IT.  We use it everyday. I love how quickly it warms up and the cup size option.  Everyone in the house agrees this is one awesome machine.

Black & Decker Pivot Vac 18V Cordless Pivoting Hand Vac-  

I have had this for a year and love it. It cleans up so many messes quickly both in our home and car. I do wish it would hold a charge a little longer but overall I love it. Well worth the price and has held up very well so far.

Dremel tools-

My husbands Pick. You don't know how many times Dremel has come in handy this year for fix it projects. Every household must have dremel.

Kolcraft Preferred Position 2-in-1 Bassinet & Incline Sleeper-

Kolcraft makes amazing baby products. I have used this several times with my best friends son when they spend the night and it is just awesome. Our future child(ren) will be spending there first couple months in it for sure. 

Infiniti Pro by Conair Spin Air Brush-

I use it almost every day.  Has held up great and makes doing my hair so much easier.  Definitely worth every penny. 

Theit Camera Bag-

The best camera bag ever. It goes with me everywhere. Built very well  and has every detail that makes transporting my equipment easier. It holds a ton and is super stylish. If it ever wore out I would buy another in a heartbeat.

Pediped shoes-

My favorite shoes for Shane. They are super durable and great for his feet. They last forever as one pair accommodates 2 shoe sizes because of the insert they include. Can't say enough good things about pediped.

Learning Curve Wooden Railway sets-

My sons favorite.  These sets are sturdy made of real wood. They take a lot of abuse and are still holding strong. They are easy to assemble and have provided hours upon hours of fun for Shane. 

SanDisk Clip Zip Mp3 Player-   

A great mp3 player for the price and features it offers.  My husband uses it every other day when he runs and he raves about it. He recommends over other brands he has tried and owned. 

 Progressive International kitchen Gadgets-

I have only had them for a short while but they have been so handy in the kitchen. They are reasonably priced and so far work great. I can't wait to add to my collection.  

Emjoi Micro-Pedi-

The best tool for removing dry skin and buffing feet smooth. I use it quite a bit and really like the results. I still haven't had to replace the rollers. They last a long time. It is a pricey product but is worth the splurge. 

 

 

My jcpenny Secret Santa is Revealed

I was chosen to do a Secret Santa exchange thanks to jcpenny and it was so fun. I was told to (be a secret Santa) pick out a gift for a fellow blogger and that another blogger would be my secret santa.


I received my Gift from Melanie from http://www.thecoupongoddess.com

Melanie picked a new 20 jar spice rack that will be going with us to Arizona and be on my new kitchen counter. I was very excited because, although I own many spices, I don't have a way to organize them and struggle to find them. This way I will have a beautiful rack with easy access to my most used spices:)


Using the jcpenney Santa Tag Melanie recorded for me I was able to hear a special Christmas message that made the gift all the more special and personal.

You can read more about how to use and receive the Qr santa tags in my post HERE.


I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of JCPenney and received a JCPenney Secret Santa Gift and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

New Years Goal use Chore Chart to start to give Shane more responsibility

Shane is going to be 4 soon and is already pretty helpful when asked. One of my New Years goals for 2012 is to give Shane daily chores and provide an allowance if he does his chores.

I found this awesome Chore Chart to help me keep tract of Shane's completed and uncompleted chores.

I set up a free account at goalforit.com and chose a Cool Pirate Theme that I knew he would love. I picked the chores and behaviors that I wanted him to complete and the assigned a reward for each one. Now we can log on the computer together and mark when he completes his chores or has good behavior and then it adds the rewards up for me.

I really love this chore chart because it teaches Shane many important things including

Responsibility; A Chore Chart is an ideal way to help your kids feel like they are making a contribution to their family by doing their part around the house.
Understanding right from wrong; Setting behavior goals is an important way to help children strengthen their character and judgment.
Healthy Habits; Teaching good habits involving nutrition and physical activity are the cornerstone of prevent obesity in children and adolescents.
Money Matters; The optional point system teaches children three important lessons for managing money; earning, spending and saving.



I am very glad I found this and I am looking forward to using it to help me keep Shane on track in 2012!

Wonderful Holiday weekend

We had a great Holiday Weekend. I wish it wasn't over. Shane opened all of his toys from Santa Christmas morning. Santa sure spoiled him :)

Then we had a yummy breakfast at my mil's house where Shane received even more spoiling. He got a Thomas puzzle set from Nana and a Thomas pillow pet and special engraved sword from his uncle Robert and aunt Ana sent from Germany where they are currently stationed with the Army.

Then we went to Shane's Great Grandma's (memaw)and she made us a yummy roast dinner. Shane also received a Disney Cars 2 Bomb Blastin' Mater and a generous addition to his college fund.

After a Great Christmas, I was surprised by hubby on Monday morning when he revealed he had the day off of work. so I got to spend a whole extra day with my boys. Because we knew Shane would be overwhelmed with the toys Santa brought we decided to wait on our big present till yesterday.

Shane loves watching the cooking channel and helping me cook dinner. I knew he needed his own Kitchen so we surprised him yesterday with a new Step 2 kitchen :) Who knows we might have a future Gourmet Chef :)

Hope you all had a great weekend with family and friends. I can't believe it will be 2012 in just a few short days.

Merry Christmas

I hope you all enjoy your holiday weekend.

Tomorrow I am cooking a Ham dinner for Christmas eve. We are going to just chill at home and enjoy the day.

Christmas Day Shane will be opening his presents from Santa, then we will be having breakfast at Nana's house and then Phil's Grandma is making us dinner. I am sure Shane will sleep well.

We are looking forward to spending Christmas Next Year in Arizona (crossing Fingers) :)

Wishing all my readers a Great Holiday Weekend.

Moon Dough with all new dough formula

Moon Dough (for children ages 3 and up) has an all new dough formula! This amazing molding dough now features a better consistency for molding, and is less crumbly. This no-mess dough still never dries out, so you can use it again and again. With brighter and more vibrant colors than before, kids will have a blast sculpting the molding dough into fun creations.

My son Shane is such an artsy kid so I knew he would love moon dough ocean pals. we had tried moon dough before at his friends house but it crumbled easily and made it hard to mold into things but the new formula although still a little crumbly makes it so much better and fun. I love the little Ocean Pals he makes and that it really sparks his creativity. Although I wish the ocean scene mat was bigger.
The fact that it doesn't dry out is a major plus especially since kids don't always put things away quickly or seal bags correctly.

Moon Dough would be a great gift for kids 3 and up this holiday season.

Shout Free GIveaway

I have a 3 year old boy who spills on his clothes a lot, falls and manages to get very dirty. Sometimes those spills and stains are difficult to get out. I wash several times a week and it can be very stressful as I hate to see his clothes ruined because I am unable to get out a stain.

Shout Free has made doing laundry so much easier for me. It is great at taking out stains and I don't have to worry about my son having a reaction because Shout Free is Dye Free, Fragrance Free and has 99% Natural. Ingredients. Not only that but it works in all water temperatures. I really enjoy doing laundry more now.

Shane has sensitive skin and sometimes he gets a small rash from the chemicals in the laundry detergent and stain removers I was using but not with Shout Free. I am so excited to have discovered Shout Free. It currently is and will be a staple in my laundry room.

Want to try it?
Currently Shout is offering downloadable coupons on their Facebook page for Shout Free and Color Catcher with Oxi.

Shout has also offered 2 of my readers a chance to try samples of Shout Free.