Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Master Caster review

Shoplet.com is again hosting a great review. This time it is for Master Caster self adhesive wheels and the microfiber gloves they sent my way.
I don't know about you, but I've been having fun cleaning and preparing for family get-togethers. And let me tell you... its been quite the trial. Moving furniture is never something I do randomly. Most of the furniture I have is heavy. Mast Caster Instant Swivel Wheels alleviate me having to move or lift those objects completely on my own strength.
Simply attach the wheels with the self adhesive strips that stick very well. And your furniture glides across the floor. My table now slides back and forth across the carpet with a push or slight tug. I can make room for more at the dinner table without struggling and fighting the table to move. Or worrying about it pulling the carpet out of sorts. I love how easy they were to apply. They also swivel as needed. And they can hold up to 250 pounds! They come in 4 packs and require no tools to attach. These are $21.41 for a 4 pack of wheels.


The Master Caster CleanGreen Microfiber cleaning and dusting gloves are great for dusting. My fiancé and daughter both have allergies and he has asthma. I try to keep a clean house and as little dust around as possible to help their breathing be better. Besides, its definitely healthier for all of us. These gloves make it as easy as just swiping my hand across the surface. Then I can shake them off and wash them out as needed. Even better is a two-handed job that cuts my cleaning time. Granted, that's only if I don't have to lift things with one hand... The microfibers attract dust like magnets. They are $7.40 a pair.

Don't forget to check out Shoplet and see the other great office supplies they have to offer. They have office furniture, medical supplies and cleaning supplies as well. They are a great source for all your home and business office needs!

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Gift ideas for the new mom that you might never have considered

Lately I've been thinking about some gift ideas that I wish I had thought of before having my baby. Things that usually don't end up on the registry or that maybe I had a moment of thinking about, but would never have asked for. But in hindsight, let's be real, sometimes asking for those things is better than saying, "I'm not really sure, so get whatever you think I might need." Which is sorta what I did. As a seasoned mother, I knew what I could live without (swing) and what I couldn't (cloth diapers/spit rags). This wasn't my first rodeo. Though you better believe it when I say it will be my last (just got scheduled for a little snippety snip this month).
So I was expecting the usual. Diapers, wipes, gift cards, newborn outfits out the wazoo. Funny that I didn't get those newborn outfits as much. I only received a handful. I had to buy gowns for her since I only had one and those things are AMAZING. And will be first on my list...

Numero uno: Baby gowns. Every new mom should have them. They make those midnight diaper changings soooo much simpler. Nothing like a squirming baby, lack of light, lack of sleep and snaps. You wake up the next morning and it looks like your 4 year old snapped up the front blindfolded. Plus if your baby is like mine, she didn't fit her newborn footed outfits too well. She would kick and stretch until both legs were tangled inside. Even better if you get the ones with built-in mittens.

Next up, nursing clothes or a gift card to get said clothes. Sure its fun to buy for the baby, but if you know Mom is planning to breastfeed, help her out! Nursing clothes aren't cheap. I had a hard time finding used ones. So I ended up just going with nursing camisoles and button up plaid shirts. But even cami tops are $25 a piece. Remember that Mom has to care for herself in order to care for baby. I think even I forget that at times. I get so caught up with doing what is needed for everyone else, that I lose track of what is going on with me. Point in case - how many times I've skipped a meal lately... Talk about the migraines I get later. Or the fact I am not getting enough water. Breast milk isn't being produced as much as I need it to be. So keep Mom's needs in mind as well as the baby's.

Walk Away the Pounds DVD's are fantastic.
You can't give these to just anyone though. You have to know the lady and know what her feelings about her weight and losing it will be. I'm very self conscious about my weight. I fully intend to lose all the baby fat by next June. Partly because I'll be getting married then, but mostly because I look at myself in the mirror and hate what I see. I plan to start using mine again. Just need to find times when the fiancé isn't around. Yep, self conscious around even him.

Baby Tongue/Gum Brushes are great for cleaning off the milk residue that babies have after feedings. I'm wishing I had gotten one. And now I'm finding it hard to get one. They used to sell the kind that fits on your finger.
Seeing the residue on my girls tongue makes me wish I had one.

Delivered Meals or Desserts are always welcomed. Notice I say desserts too. Do you know how often I've craved cookies or a slice of cake. But I'm too tired to make them myself most times. Granted, with wanting to lose weight, I suppose its for the best. But still... cravings are there at random times.

Nightlights are amazing. Waking up for those early morning feedings and changings, you really don't want to turn on blinding lights. Then you run the risk of waking up the baby and thus never getting sleep you desperately need. You also don't want to risk tripping over things, stubbing your toes, or even grabbing the wrong item for a diaper changing. My fiancé set up the 3D FX Death Star light.

If I absolutely need more light, I use the closet light. But baby girl likes the pattern on the wall from this one too.
Forget mittens. Get the baby socks. For their feet and hands. Okay, I know you are probably scratching your head at this. But let me explain it to you. This applies only to tall women having long babies. They typically have longer fingers and feet than other babies. And what I've learned, is that those mittens don't fit unless the baby never stretches their fingers out. It only works on permanent fists. She stretches, those mittens drop off. And then you can't cut the babies nails too soon. Too difficult. So those little razors flail through the air and usually scratch the tar out of themselves or Mom. She might look silly in the socks, but they work wonders when she's in long sleeves onesies.
No, they don't work well in short sleeves.

So what else have you found is a gift that gets overlooked, but is completely worth putting thought into? Share in the comments below!

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Time for more gift ideas!

I know many people living in states that get snow. Or even ice. We get ice. Maybe once or twice in a month. Might not seem like much, but its annoying still. So I was curious when I was asked if I wanted to participate in a review opportunity in league with the US Family Guide. They are partnering with Scrape-A-Round.
If you know someone who has to suffer through the cold winter months of ice and snow, you might want to check them out...

If you're tired of scraping your windows the old fashioned way, then join the Scrape-A-Round movement. You will secure your family's safety, access new gift ideas and scrape your windows cleaner in half the time with the world's best windshield ice scraper. View the Scrape-A-Round action
 

The Scrape-a-round is a brilliant feat of ice scraping engineering. The simple explanations why Scrape-A-Round is the best ice scraper are as follows, Scrape-A-Round is the:
Best ice scraper because of the softer plastic, allows the scraper to conform to the window curvature! Find out more information: http://www.scrapearound.com/
18" of ice scraping surface.
The comfortable grasp provides relief for the arthritic or carpal syndrome sufferer.
Direct pressure to the window, no pressure lost through the ice scraper!
The circular rotational motion of ice scraper.
Double ice scraper action, leading edge and trailing edge.
Multi functional, remove the cap and it doubles as a funnel.
This scrapes windows frost and ice free in half the time!
Makes the perfect gift for the Holidays!
http://www.scrapearound.com/

My readers get to save! Get FREE Shipping at http://www.scrapearound.com/ Use code LU8FBEZREU2 at checkout.
http://usfamilyguide.com/coupons.php?bid=13171&dealid=3099

Sunday, December 11, 2016

3DLightFX gift idea

As a part of the US Family Guide of bloggers, I was wanting to share a cool gift idea that I might later have the chance to review. Christmas is around the corner. And some parents, like myself, aren't a fan of their kids receiving too many toys. Let's face it, my kids have a room full of them and I'm going to have to donate some before they get a bunch more. Or after Christmas if I don't have time until then... So what ideas can I give to those wanting to buy for my kiddos? Aside from a few clothing items they needed, there wasn't much they really needed that could wait until Christmas for them to get.
3DLIGHTFX 3D Deco Lights are the perfect gift this holiday season. They have a full range of comic book, super hero, Disney Princess, sports and car lights that look as though they are popping right out of the wall! They are battery operated and cool to the touch so you can place them any where in the room! Your kids will loves having these in their rooms and they're also the perfect editions to a den, family room, man's cave or office! Find all of these amazing products here: http://bit.ly/TargetUSFamily
Another reason to consider them, is if your children are like mine and don't like having a dark room to sleep in. They make the perfect night lights! The kids love them because they have the crack sticker that makes it look like they are really coming out of the wall. We have the Death Star one hanging near by baby's crib.
I love that it has a timer option and will shut itself off after a while.
They are available at Target and Target.com. Just use the link above.
You can also check out their website. They have such a wonderful variety to choose from!

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Time to get organized

Let's face it, I'm always trying to stay organized. Every day I seek to keep my to-do list, my home, and my kids on track. Next month starts a new year. And with it comes a lot of changes. I've been slacking with my pregnancy, but I'm getting back into the groove of things. To help me in my endeavors, I've got this nifty At-A-Glance planner that was sent to be reviewed by Shoplet.com.
Shoplet is the largest e-tailer of office supplies. They have a great selection for your home and business office needs. They also carry a variety of cleaning supplies, medical supplies, and office furniture.
This planner goes weekly and monthly through 2017.
It gives you equal spaces for weekends as it does for weekdays. I prefer this since my weekends are usually just as busy as my week days.
There are also monthly tabs to help you find things quicker. It's 8.5 x 11 inches. As much as I like having a pocket sized one for my purse, this one won't get lost in the clutter. I'm also loving the purple cover and the design it has. I'm not for being fancy, but I do like a little creativity in my life. One other thing I find very interesting about this planner, is that it tells you what day and how many days are left in the year! So January 1st is day 1/364.
The 2nd is 2/363. Got a hot date coming in the next year? Keep track of how many more days you have to wait! Or... watch the days past and reflect on what you've been filling them with. Are you living up to your fullest potential?

Sunday, December 4, 2016

She's here!

My daughter is officially here. However, this post comes a little late... She's now 14 days old.
My little girl has been marching to the beat of her own drum this entire time. It would seem she doesn't stay within the lines any more than her father and I do. As such, she came in her own good time.
Thursday, November 17th, I had my 39 week check up.
As part of that, the midwife attempted to check my cervix. It took quite a bit of effort, but she finally found it. In doing so, she disturbed the mucous plug. She scheduled my inducement for the following Sunday morning. Friday night, about midnight, my water burst. And over the next few hours my water gushed in spurts. Contractions got to 8 minutes apart before slowing down and becoming sporadic. At one time I had 2 strong ones within three minutes apart. Feeling like we should be safe rather than sorry, we decided to head to the hospital. After getting in, we filled out more paper work. Mind you, I had pre-registered twice already. My online version didn't count. And yet, I felt like I had answered all the same questions twice more after arriving at the hospital. Contractions were strong, but sporadic still. They got me hooked up to monitors and started the IV. While going through all this, I had a nurse and someone she was clearly training. The trainee knew more about entering the correct information into the computer system than the charge nurse did. The charge nurse told us that they had been busy all night long. And that some of those new moms admitted shouldn't have been having babies at all. I mean come on... who doesn't know what a circumcision is?! Especially if you are having a baby boy! Or how about a teenage mom who named her baby Anti Delicious. Are you setting her up to be a hooker?!
Moving right along... It came time to check my cervix. My fiancé was sitting in the waiting area just outside the curtain, listening. The charge nurse got gloves on and attempted to check my cervix. Apparently, mine was quite elusive. None of the medical professionals I dealt with that night and the following day could easily access it. NO ONE. She had me practically doing moves that made it look like an exorcism was taking place and still couldn't reach it. I'm whimpering and my fiancé is wondering if they are killing me. Then she calls another nurse down from the next floor who is known to have longer fingers. Again, I go into the crazy position and she struggles, but finally finds my cervix. I'm only at 2 centimeters by this point. My cervix is effaced and soft though and contractions were still strong, so they admit me and after a while of observing send me upstairs to Labor and Delivery.
Once I arrive upstairs, I'm hooked up to monitors and its early morning. They decide to get some Pitocin in me to see if we can kick start stronger, more regular contractions. I had my fiancé, his mother and his sister keeping me company. I cannot tell you how thankful I was to have them. We told stories and kept the laughter going. His mother also timed my contractions for me. It was very comforting and helped the time pass with ease. Getting closer to lunch time, we started betting on when she would be arriving. My fiancé was born at 1:19. And knowing how my baby girl likes to beat records (she was my only one that stayed inside past 38 weeks and refused to be coaxed out by standard methods), we were thinking she might try coming later than him. Though I was sincerely hoping for noon.
Contractions got stronger and I started to doubt that I would make it to the end. I was hoping for the end to get there quicker. For a moment I thought I was ready as to push, so the in laws went to wait outside. I was checked and at first they thought I was truly ready. Then I was checked by the other attending midwife when nothing seemed to happen with my pushes. Turned out my cervix had eluded the first midwife and I was only 6 centimeters along. They positioned me on my side and put a peanut-shaped workout ball between my legs. A little later, and I'm crying out from the intense pains. I get flipped to other side and the pain increases. Within 10-15 minutes of having last been checked, I was telling the nurse that it was time to push. The look of panic was seen briefly while she told her trainee I wasn't allowed to push until we got my midwives in the room. With or without them, I was kicking the ball away and rolling myself over as I was going to push. The head nurse looked and called over the headset, "I see hair! There's a head, she's ready to push." By now, the panic was obvious. The trainee grabbed one leg and I grabbed the other while commencing pushing. It felt like forever, though it was over quickly.
Meagan arrived and they laid her on my chest.
At first, my fiancé and I had concern at how dark she appeared. My concern was if she was breathing. His was more of if I had dabbled along the way. Thankfully when I spoke up, they turned on lights and we saw that she was bruised from her rapid descent. In my eyes, she was the most beautiful creature on earth. My little angel.
Our journey wasn't over. We were there 3 days dealing with jaundice tests and the ill results. Watching her under the blue lights was nerve wracking.
I didn't get an explanation to truly understand what was happening to her. I also hated the bands around her ankles. They cut into her skin and made her cry often. At one time, she managed to kick off the monitor (which freaked the nurses out). The responding nurse reattached it too tightly. I was looking for scissors...
We also had issues with the breastfeeding. She didn't get anything to come out until we got home. But she did make me bleed. It was quite the ordeal. And I'm incredibly happy its over. She's home and I'm preparing to return to work on Monday. I'm nowhere near ready for that step, but its just how things go. My little darling is finally here.