Lasik!

It's hard for me to believe that it's been a whole year since I had laser vision correction! It was one of the best investments I've ever made. It has truly simplified my life and made me feel more secure.

Before receiving laser vision correction, I wore contacts, and I was blind as a bat without them. I rarely ever wore glasses. I was near-sighted and had astigmatism. After I had my first child I was overcome with a fear that something terrible, such as a fire or tornado, would strike in the middle of the night and I wouldn't be able to see well enough to rescue my baby. This might sound absurd to anyone who is not a parent, but if you are a parent I'm sure you understand where I'm coming from.

My husband actually had PRK surgery years ago and was the one who suggested I get Lasik. My dad had also had it done recently, so I went ahead and scheduled the consult. I went to the Lasik Plus in Schaumburg, Illinois. I don't remember exactly what it cost, but I think it was around $3000, and it was worth every penny. I can see even clearer now than I did with contact lenses and I don't have to mess with contacts or spend the money on them for the rest of my life. And now I also have the comfort of knowing I will be able to see if, God forbid, some emergency arises in the middle of the night.

Tyke Light Jr.

My children don’t sleep! I’ve been blessed with overly happy children who just don’t sleep well. When we decided it was time for our oldest to lose the binky on her 3rd birthday, I knew something would have to replace it. A special, only for bedtime, help keep her mind off her loss, “thing.” The “thing” became the Mobi Tyke Light Jr. Night Light.

We started with the green and have since added the pink, I prefer the green. It puts off just enough light without brightening the whole room. It sets less than 6 inches high and can be placed on a flat surface or, as mine likes to do, left in bed. It’s made of a sturdy plastic so when it does, and it will, get dropped and thrown, it’s durable enough to sustain. The on/off button is on the bottom and is slightly raised so you can feel it, you don’t even need light to turn it on. My daughter can turn it on by herself. It has three settings, a little light, a little less light and a 15 minute timer.

***My 1 year old thought we should point out that they're not water proof.

Wii Active and More Active

Several months ago, I got on a big kick of trying to lose my baby weight. I gained 75 pounds with Noah and 55 pounds with Jordan, which is something I was not used to. While I was able to lose a considerable amount with breastfeeding and cutting back on calories, I needed to add a workout routine to my "battle of the bulge". I had purchased the WiiFit and enjoyed it but I was looking for something more. My mom's best friend suggested I try her Wii Active so I did. I fell in love!!!! Unlike the WiiFit, the exercises continuously go rather than having to pick each individual exercise. You can pick you workout level and workout as much or as little as you need to. It also has a 30 day challenge to help you stay on track with working out. It is awesome!! The exercises, along with the resistance bands, got my heart pumping and my weight started slowly falling off.

Then we moved.....

Our move put a wrench in my workout schedule and I just couldn't find the motivation again. So for Christmas, my husband got me the Wii Active More Workouts. He figured since I loved the first one, maybe the 2nd one would get me going again. Well he was right. The 2nd Wii Active is so much better than the 1st!! They have added abdominal exercises and step aerobics which I love. They have added some more difficult exercises and made it more exciting with an island feel. Even the music is great. I have been doing the program for a little over 2 weeks and I have already lost almost 10 pounds!! There is a 6 week challenge that I love and it is helping me keep on track with working out. It also includes a nutrition book to help with your diet adventure.

Wii Active Includes:
1) EA SPORTS Active Disc: Featuring more than 25 exercises and sports-inspired drills.
2) Leg Strap: See your movements tracked on-screen with the specially-designed leg strap.
3) Resistance Band: Increase the intensity of bicep curls, shoulder presses and many other exercises.

Wii Active (More Workouts) Includes:
1) EA SPORTS More Active Disc: Featuring more than 35 all-new exercises and sports-inspired drills.
2) Special Edition Bob Greene Nutrition Best Life Book: features tips on creating a balanced lifestyle, recipes from the Best Life Diet Cookbook, and a daily journal.

So if you are like me and do not like going to the gym and would prefer to workout in your own home, why not put your Wii to work? Look into it.....you will love it!! Check it out at http://easportsactive.com/home.action

Happy Exercising!!

New Year, New Planner

A year and a half ago I won a makeover with Parenting Magazine. Part of the makeover involved becoming more organized. My husband was deployed to Iraq, I was a full time student and I had an almost 2 year old little boy to chase around. In other words, I wore many hats. For my makeover, I was given a Whomi Planner and a Whomi Calendar. They changed my life! I was able to keep track of my assignments and appointments so much easier than ever before. I used the main white part of the planner to denote birthdays and appointments and was able to assign a class to each color. Not only are they practical, they are totally cute! I actually customized mine with pictures of my husband and son, since I missed them so much while I was at school, and it made showing off my little cutie pie to my classmates easy. :)

Speaking of stain removers.....

I have a 3 month old daughter who is breastfed. Breastfed baby=bright yellow poop! In the first two months, her diaper leaked a few times and I had the hardest time getting the yellow stains out of her adorable pink clothing. Finally, I mentioned it to my friend Davina, and she suggested the Dreft stain remover spray. Needless to say, I now swear by it. I actually used it today to get an old poop stain out of an infant onesie that my 3 1/2 year old son once wore. This poop stain was literally over 3 years old, had been previously washed and dried, and the Dreft still removed the stain. I was shocked and quite impressed!

You can click here to sign up for money saving coupons on Dreft products.

There is also a printable coupon here. It's a PDF file.

Tide Stain Release

I recently purchased the new Tide Stain Release. I had a $1.50 off coupon that came out of my daughters diaper box. I went online to read the reviews and after reading, decided I needed to try the product for myself.

I love it!! It made my whites look brand new and it made the random stains come out of our clothes with the exception of one, a grease stain on my white sweatshirt. Having 2 smaller children, it worked wonderfully because it made their clothes look brand new also.

I bought the liquid version mainly for 2 reasons: 1) a lot of the reviews I read stated that the duo-packs had a hard time dissolving and 2) the store was out of them. I am glad I bought the liquid because I can control how much I want to use. I was a little concerned though because I read in one review that it stained someone's clothes orange (which is the color of the liquid). I poured it directly into the water stream and have no new stains on my clothes!! It worked great!!

Tide Stain Release comes in three different form:. Dou-packs, liquid and powder. If you visit http://www.tide.com/, you can print out a $1.50 off coupon!! I recommend that everyone try it at least once!!

Happy Laundry-ing!!

~Jaime~

Keurig Coffee Maker

We recently purchased a Keurig Coffee Maker. My mother had received one for Christmas and we fell in love with it so we decided to get one for our house!! I absolutely love it!! We got the Special Edition Keurig because we found it on sale.

The specs on it are:
Three Brew Size Choices: 6 oz, 8 oz, 10 oz *
Removable 48oz. Water Reservoir
Programmable LCD Message Center
Removable Drip Tray
Blue backlit LCD & Water Reservoir
Chrome Accents
Quiet Brew™ Technology

I love that I don't waste a pot of coffee every day because some days we drink more coffee than others. It is convenient for us also because we both like different strengths of coffee. Hubby prefers darker, bolder tastes and I prefer lighter blends. You can also brew tea and hot cocoa with it. The K-Cups are not too expensive and we have found a few websites that carry the K-Cups cheaper than what you find in the store. There are so many flavors to choose from; everywhere from Butter Toffee to Extra Dark Roast to Swiss Chocolate Almond. My personal favorites are the English Breakfast Blend Tea and the Donut Shop Blend.

The nice thing about ours also is that it has a timer for the water reservoir. The water reservoir keeps the water constantly heated which is why it is able to brew instantly. However, you can set the time for it to heat up and shut down at certain times of the day, for example shut down at 9 pm and turn on at 4 am. I also like that we have 3 different cup sizes available to us so you can make your beverage stronger or weaker if you like.

I have read other reviews on the coffee maker and some people say their maker is loud. Ours and my Dad's are very quiet yet my mother's is a little noisy. I don't know if there is any rhyme or reason to it, maybe it is just luck of the draw but it isn't so noisy it would wake anyone up in your house or anything.

Lastly, we purchased the special K-Cup they have for people who may want to use their own coffee or tea. We did that primarily for when we have company or if we run out of K-Cups and need something quick. Hubby used it once so far and liked the coffee so much more than what he was getting out of our old coffee maker (that was only a year old). The coffee never has a burnt taste like you can get from coffee that has sat for a while and like I said before, no more wasting coffee!!!

If you plan on purchasing one, look for sales. They range anywhere from $99 to $250 not on sale. Ours cost $129.99 originally but we got it on sale for $99.99!! And when you are ready to buy coffee, check out the following sites:
www.coffeecow.com
www.coffeegiant.com
www.coffeepeople.com

For more information on the Keurig coffee makers, visit www.keurig.com!!

Happy Coffeeing!!

The beginning

I decided I start this blog more for myself than anything. I love to tell people when I have found a great product. I also love to tell people when I have found a not so great product. I am an avid reader of reviews and think that if more people would give others the "411" on what's out there, we wouldn't have so many duds and lemons come across our path.

I am hoping to find a few people who might want to join me in this endeavor. I am only but one voice so who knows, maybe with more than one, we can find the steals and the deals and the things we should avoid!!! Shopping is therapy for me so what better way to help my therapy than to share my experiences with people!!!

I hope you all enjoy!!

Happy Shopping!!