Absence and Review Round Up

It has been a hot minute since my last post, and for that I do apologize. Here I would normally insert excuses about Winter Storm Jonas, my kids, or my work but to be completely honest what really has been the cause for the delay was a lapse in my medication for depression and a not so pretty minor depression episode. Nothing like what I experienced this time last year, but bad enough to where I just wanted to bury my head in the sand or to sleep all the time to make everything go away. At the insistence of my spouse I resumed my medication and I am working towards getting back to a more natural and balanced emotional rhythm.


So before I head into my review round-up, I do have a funny "horrible parenting" moment to share. Lately in our house, we have been running a little thin on sippy cups for Number 3. The small pieces that prevent them from leaking are either getting lost or getting eaten by the dishwasher. To further complicate things, it feels as though we never have the right lids for the available cups. This brings out count of usable sippy cups down to three. The other morning, while getting all of the kids ready for school, I holler at minion Number 1 to go fetch a sippy cup with milk in it for minion Number 3 while I changed his diaper and got him dressed. After a few minutes Number 1 reports back stating that there were not any available sippy cups, reminding me that I had just loaded up the dishwasher with all three right before waking the minions. Number 3 does okay with open cups with supervision and I instruct Number one to find the smallest cup and fill it with milk. A few minutes later, Number 1 strolls in to the den with a shot glass filled with milk. I had an internal struggle of about 10 secs regarding whether or not I should let the baby drink from the shot glass. Then I thought, 'good enough'. Kudos to Number 1 for indeed finding the smallest cup in the house.

Shot Glass - Bottoms Up

The shot glass that was used in the above story was a new shot glass I had received from Make Em Laugh. The shot glass is a little larger than most as it will hold a full 2 oz shot compared to the 1.5oz of other glasses. The shot glass is made really well with a thicker glass bottom to keep it properly weighted and it is free from any imperfections. The lettering on the shot glass is black and is easily legible not matter what is in the shot glass (clear spirits, dark spirits, milk) and best of all don't come off in the dishwasher. Yes, this shot glass is dishwasher safe. I once has a set of Boondock Saints shot glasses, and after using them my husband was going to be nice and have them washed. To wash them, he put them in the dishwasher. Much to my surprise I go to unload the dishwasher and I see a set of plain shot glasses without any designs.

Make Em Laugh has several different designs for their shot glasses and their sense of humor displayed on the shot glasses is evident in other aspects of their company. Here is their instructions for the shot glass.


Instructions For Shot Glass Use:

* Place Shot Glass on flat surface with open side up

* Pour Liquor(s) into the Glass

* Raise Glass off flat surface to lips in one swift motion

* Quickly empty contents into mouth

* Place Shot Glass back on flat surface

* Repeat if necessary

* Enjoy




Yummi Gear Divided Lunch Boxes (Set of 4)

These are a bit smaller than the ones I have gotten in the past, but are perfect for packing a lunch for my son and daughter. The main compartment perfectly fits a sandwich and the two smaller compartments allows two sides to also be packed providing a complete meal all in one grab-and-go case. (I like to fill all four at night and have the kids' lunches ready to go for the next two mornings. It definitely helps with that morning chaos.)

The containers individually seal with the lid, however the seal is not air tight. You might want to refrain from packing a side that is wet or you may end up with a soggy sandwich. I usually stick with fairly dry sides like baby carrots, grapes, and/or goldfish snack crackers.

Mr. CookWare Stainless Steel Grater Zester

I would inwardly groan every time a recipe called for lemon or lime zest. Gathering citrus zest was always such a pain. Who knew I was just using the wrong tool. I used to use a hand cheese greater with a super fine grate on it. First of all, getting any significant amount of zest would take a forever and secondly, the zest itself would be a super oily mushy mess. I always felt like I ended up with more zest on surfaces where I didn't need it and never where it needed to be.

This zester is fast and efficient. It is also very sharp, which is why I am very glad that it came with a cover. A little brush also was shipped with the zester. That right there was the icing on the cake. I can't tell you how many dish sponges have become victims to my graters. I can't wait to try it on some of the other foods.

Digital Kitchen Timer by kitchenen

 

I love just how portable both timers are.

Both the large and the small timer have large screens and are easy to read. They are super easy to set too. Both timers have a loud and clear chime for when they reach zero. The small one has a really thin design that can easily slip down into my pocket so I can clean while I bake and carry the timer with me. 

They will also be an invaluable asset for when I begin potty training Number 3. When I potty trained the first two minions, I took away their diapers for a weekend and put them in cloth big kids undies and set a timer. Every hour and a half, I would take them and sit them down on the potty. It is usually pretty successful. Is it messy? Yes. But if I notice a lot of accidents in between scheduled bathroom breaks, I schedule them to be much more frequent. If, by the end of the weekend the my kid has not once had a successful trip to the bathroom, I mark that up as they just weren't ready and we table the idea for about a month when we try again.

As always feedback, questions, comments, and suggestions are always welcome. Please remember to follow the blog and register your email address at the top of the page to have new posts delivered right to your email inbox and never miss an update.

Disclaimer: please be aware that any item mentioned in this blog may have been received for free or at a discount in exchange for a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed in this blog are my own regardless of how the items were acquired.

Gift Ideas for Mommy

I have already made a post for gift ideas for men, so let's handle the other side of the equation in what I will affectionately call:

Mommy's Time Out

After a particularly long day at work and/or a difficult day with my minions, I can find my energy reserves depleted. For me, having a bit of quiet time is essential. I need that time to decompress, and I find that without having my "time outs", I easily become over-stressed, irritable, and even depressed. Once I started taking "me" time more seriously, my emotional and mental well-being improved tremendously. 

Here are some of the items that I use to pamper myself, decompress, and de-stress. 

I try to take mini breaks each day whenever I can fit them in. However, at least once a week, I try to actually take some scheduled time to myself. For me, the best way to spend this time is soaking in a hot bath. But not just any bath, oh no. I like to soak in a bath that smells nice to really add to the relaxation factor.

Bath Salt - for use in the actual bath and nothing else. (I don't want any zombie incidents.)
For the past several years I have really enjoyed Village Natural's Bath Salts for Aches and Pains.

The Aches and Pains Relief is made with Eucalyptus and Menthol and does have a very sharp smell, but it is a smell that I find really relaxing. This scent is also great for if you have a cold; the smell is similar to Vicks VapoRub. Village Natural bath salts dissolve fairly quickly, and I find it takes maybe up to 3-5 minutes, but then it is good to go.

Up until about a week ago, this was the only variety of Village Naturals bath salts I was aware of, but I recently discovered that there are a few other scents.
The bath salts also come in Juniper and Menthol for Stress and Tension Relief, and Lavender, Passion Flower, and Chamomile for Restless Nights. I have not tried these two scents yet, but if they are anything like the Aches and Pains Relief I am sure they are amazing.

Bath Foam

Village Naturals also makes the bath salt in a foaming bath soak. It comes in the same fragrance as the Aches and Pains Relief, but this will foam a little bit like a bubble bath populated of tiny bubbles and it won't color your bath water green like the salts will.

Mini Bluetooth Speaker

These little Bluetooth speakers by Krazilla are convenient for when I want to listen to music to help me unwind. Their small size and ability to wirelessly connect to many different devices makes them extremely portable and versatile. So, whether I want some music to help drown out the whining in the next room while I am cooking dinner (I said it will be ready when it is done!), or while I unwind in my bubble bath, this little speaker is essential to my "me" time.

Travel Pillow (Mommy time out in the car)

Most mommies have been there before. You are out running errands in the morning and you rush to get home before your little one's nap time. You pull into your driveway, glance at the clock, and breath a sign of relief. You have approximately 30 minutes before the little one's usual nap time. You turn off the engine, and instead of being greeted by silence or the shuffling sounds of impatient waiting to be released from the bonds of their car seat, you hear the almost imperceptible sounds of little snores.

During my first child, I would be foolhardy and try to gently remove them from their seat without waking them to get them in the house and bedded down. (Just so you know, that never works.) Instead, minion rouses, and is fully recharged even if their nap were only a few minutes long.

What I do now, if it is not too hot outside, is roll down a window and pull out the travel pillow I leave stored in the car for occasions like this one or for long road trips.

The Daydreamer Neck Pillow is one such pillow that I keep in the car.

This awesome travel pillow is an air pillow with a "90s Reebok Pump-style" button pump built in. This saves me from almost passing out while trying to manually inflate the thing. It comes with a little storage pouch to protect it while it is not in use from spills and getting dirty, and even if it does get dirty, the soft fuzzy covering comes off and can be washed. It is designed to cradle the base of your head making shared car nap time an enjoyable piece of "me" time.



Last, if not least, if you can just make it until your minions lay down for the night there are always adult beverages to aid relaxation, if you are not staunchly opposed.

I find that theKitchn has the perfect citrus beverages to be enjoyed any time of the year.

No matter which poison you pick (Screwdrivers, Greyhound, Rum and Orange) they always taste better with freshly squeezed juice. My essential tool for this task is the Premium Double Squeezer Bundle w/ Zester. It has different size hollows to hold on to any size citrus and the zester that it comes with is perfect for adding citrus zest for flavoring as well as garnish. Both tools are of all-metal construction and can withstand quite a beating in the dishwasher as well as being dropped.

This rounds out my collection of items for Mommy's Time Out for now. Keep an eye out, I will be opening a new page to collect these and future suggested items on the new Mommy's Time Out page.

As always, comments, feedback, and suggestions are always welcome.
Please remember to follow the blog and sign up for posts to be delivered directly to your email inbox at the top of the page so that you never miss an update!

Disclaimer: Any items mentioned in my blog may have been received for free or at a discount in exchange for a fair and honest review.