Mommy Products - A Review

I've been a mother for a little over 5 weeks now, but only actively for almost 2. As I go along, I learn by doing and using. There are some products I have fallen in love with and I have to recommend them to all of you who are looking to enter motherhood in the future. I also included a link to purchase them. I'll add more to these lists as I trek through motherhood. For now, here are 4 items that are must-haves...

1. Medela Quick Clean Micro-Steam Bags.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2735035
Oh my goodness, there couldn't be a quicker or more efficient way to sterilize everything your baby needs to put in his/her mouth. Each bag can be used up to 20 times... for just $4.99 you can get a box of 5 bags. I use them for literally everything... pumping supplies, bottles, nipples, pacifiers... you name it! You just rinse everything really well, add 2oz of water to the bag, then 3 minutes in the microwave and you're ready to rock! This is great if you only have so many items and don't want to run the dishwasher 10 times a day... they're easily portable, too.

2. Summer Infant SwaddleMe.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3726424
These make swaddling your baby a piece of pie! Zoey doesn't really like to be tightly swaddled, she likes some freedom to move her arms and legs, so we have one that is a size bigger than we need so she can still extend her legs and poke her arms out the top, but be kept nice and warm at night.

3. Soothie Bottles.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/The-First-Years-Soothie-Bottle-Starter-Set-BPA-Free/10877976
Soothie pacifiers are quite possibly the best pacis out there. If your baby loves his/her Soothie paci, try this bottle. I have a collection of Dr. Brown's I use regularly as well, but Zoey (as you all know) has some suck+swallow issues as a preemie, and sometimes even the Dr. Brown's choke her because even when she isn't sucking, the milk is leaking through. I only have one 5oz Soothie bottle someone gave me. The Soothie nipple doesn't leak... she has to actually suck on it to get the milk to flow. This is what we needed right now. Less choking is always a good thing. She loves her Soothie pacis, now she loves her bottles, too. While the Dr. Browns are much better for gas, I'd rather her have a little more gas than choke and turn blue... which brings me to my next product...

4. Mylicon.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2435248
These are gas relief drops that apparently taste good because Zoey really enjoys them! They work, too. I even give her some before I breastfeed. Now, there is much less of her arching her back in pain before she gets out that burp.

Favorite Products

Remember this post from back in June? I've decided to add to it (with a few links!), and in fact change my stance on one product in particular. As Glenn and I have grown more comfortably in the new house, we have learned a lot about particular products we like and don't like. It's isn't all necessarily about generics v/s name brands, although I have learned a little more about my preferences when it comes to both. There are certain things I just really like. At first glace it looks like this is mostly about cleaning products, but that isn't so. There is so much more to it :) Here are 6 things on my mind right now...

1. Dish Soap. In my old post, I mentioned how I quit buying Dawn once they stopped promoting their Saving Wildlife campaign... I figured since it really wasn't any better than brand X when it comes to cleaning my dishes, I should just stick with cheap if they were no longer supporting a good cause. I'm telling you, Dawn must have internet snoopers because it wasn't but a few weeks after my post, they started posting their Saving Wildlife campaign again... so guess what is sitting on my kitchen sink? Dawn with a cute little ducky on the front. ;) How can you resist those adorable little creatures?

2. Swiffer Pads. Since the upstairs of my home is now 90% hard floor, the Swiffer comes in handy quite a bit. We have the old fashioned one that you use disposable pads on and it works great. However, I have noticed that the Swiffer brand of wet pads is awful. They are too wet and drip all over the place. I have found that I actually prefer Kroger's Everyday Living brand of the Swiffer pads and they are half price. They smell the same, work the same, but aren't as messy. They seem to clean the floor a lot better. Who would have thought?! I am sure they are made in the same place and even the same way, but for some reason the store brand is so much better... they are around $2.30 for a box, whereas the Swiffer brand are $4.50 for a box. Same quantity.

3. Draino. This is in the same exact boat as the above post. I have found that the Everyday Living brand of brain opener is just as effective as Draino... it's so much cheaper and it does the trick very nicely. I cannot justify spending so much money on Draino brand when I can get the perfect-sized bottle of the store brand for less than $3. Half a bottle takes care of the job until you need it again... it's great at knocking out the hairballs in the bottom of your sink!

4. Green Works. These cleaning products are better for your home environment, smell wonderful, and clean really well! I'm typically a generics girl when it comes to most cleaning products, but I happened to have a coupon for $1 off a bottle of Green Works cleaner, plus it was on sale at Kroger... so after it was all said and done, I got it for $0.80. After using it once, I have decided that I will purchase it again, with or without the sales and coupons. I love this stuff!

5. Ollo Olive Oil. This Australian olive oil is absolutely wonderful. I've been buying the Mild & Mellow one for about a year now. I never knew there was a big difference in oil brands, I just happened to buy this one day because it was on sale and I thought the bottle was nice. I find that it's on sale quite often... perhaps not enough people are buying it. Either way, I love this oil. It's smoother than most and has a nice fragrance and flavor. I haven't tried the Fresh & Fruity one yet because I figure I won't use it nearly as often. Maybe once I get over this "I hate seafood" phase in my pregnancy, I'll try it out because it sounds like it'll be delicious on fish. The website describes both as such:
--Mild & Mellow: "Mild & Mellow is a delicate, delightfully sweet and soft oil blended with ripe later season black olives. It yields subtle olive flavors with buttery texture and aromas to complement any dish--particularly pasta and vegetable dishes. It is 100% natural and not infused."
--Fresh & Fruity: "Award winning Fresh & Fruity is blended from early harvest green olives that produce an oil with rich and distinct fruity olive flavors, fresh grassy aromas and a delicate peppery finish. Fresh & Fruity adds life to green salads, grilled seafood, shellfish, meat and poultry dishes. It is 100% natural and not infused."

6. Bath & Body Works Antibacterial Foaming Hand Soap. I love this soap! I got tired of hand soaps drying out my hands. I started to feel like an old woman. I took advantage of the B&BW 3/$10 hand soaps sale and I'm so glad I did. This is a sale they do quite often. My two favorite scents are in the kitchen... Fresh Lime Basil and Gourmet Spice. They smell wonderful, keep your skin soft, and fight off all that nasty bacteria floating around right now. The foaming soap is better than the one with the little beads in it when it comes to moisturizing your hands, to stick to the foam!

A Cookware.com Product Review, Photos Included

Dear Friends,

On October 15, I received a package in the mail from Cookware.com. My husband eagerly opened the package for me and exclaimed, "Ginsu knives?! These are really good knives!" Yes dear, I know they are. :) Neatly wrapped inside was a Ginsu knife set. Even though he's not the chef of the house, I think he takes pride in the gadgets and gizmos we collect. At first sight, we were very impressed with the knives. The bamboo block is more compact, thus taking up less counter space than our older one. Each knife is a little heavier than what I am used to, but the smooth handles make them easy to control. Unfortunately the bread knife was missing, but we hardly ever use the bread knife we already have, so we don't miss this too much. The website described the Ginsu set as such:
Several decades ago a knife was created that is to this day known as the "Sharpest Knife on the Market". It was the Ginsu knife. Ginsu knives are a symbol of ancient Japanese traditions. The Samurai sword is renowned for being sharp enough to cut through anything. Ginsu knives were created to reflect that same quality, in craftsmanship and sharpness with Japanese stainless steel that will still cut through anything. The quality of Ginsu knives is not only known and respected by consumers, but also by all other premium knife brands. Bring home the quality and sharpness of Ginsu cutlery today.

I have to admit, I'm thinking that this knife set isn't actually a genuine Ginsu set... if it was, I don't think the blade would say China on it, being that Ginsu is Japanese... I'm pretty sure Japan is more advanced than the U.S. and doesn't have everything made in China... they've got their own thing going on. Nevertheless, this set is good quality and wears the Ginsu name proudly, even if the "Japanese stainless steel" mentioned above was clearly made in China.

Every knife, except for the 7" Santoku knife, is serrated in ways I've never seen before. Perhaps I should get out more, but even Glenn was impressed with the uniqueness of the serration, if that is such a word. Instead of the jagged edge we're used to dealing with, we were surprised to see this lovely design. It looks smooth and as if it wouldn't be able to cut through a cotton ball, but I was very surprised...

October 17: The very first knife I used was the 7" serrated chef's knife. I was torn between using it and the Santoku knife, but since I already have a small 5" Santoku and know the ways of it, I decided to give the serrated chef's knife a whirl on an onion I needed to chop for some chili. I admit, I smiled when I made the first slice into the onion. It was effortless and comfortable! I cried! (okay, that was the onion's fault...)

October 18: I tested out the 5" serrated utility knife on some chicken breasts at lunch. I don't know about you, but I find it much easier to slice up chicken breast with a serrated knife. Chicken is slippery and moves all over the place, and if your straight edge knife isn't super sharp, you are in for a lot of frustration. In the past I would use my steak knives for cutting chicken for that very reason. The utility knife is lighter than the chefs knife and easy to handle. It worked great on the chicken. The serrated edge is also different from the chef's knife.... I was surprised that the serration was actually different... typically a knife set is uniform, but I like that I actually have a choice when it comes to what kind of serrated edge I want to use.

At dinner time, I put the 3.5" paring knife to the test. As mentioned above, I'm used to whipping out the steak knives on a tomato or bell pepper because my old paring knife, if not sharp enough, just pressed into the fruit/veggie leaving an ugly scar instead of a smooth slice. I need to thinly slice up some bell peppers for taco night. When making really small slices of things, I prefer using the smaller knives for better control. The paring knife in this set lived up to its larger brothers... slicing was effortless and comfortable. I don't think I've ever had so much fun cutting up a bell pepper. I found myself wishing I had some more to slice up just for the fun of it. I'm sure if I looked hard enough in my fridge and pantry, I would have found something...

October 19: At 7 in the morning I needed to slice up some veggies for a crock pot roast. I decided to give the 7" Santoku knife a whirl because I love my old 5" knife, it just wasn't as big as I needed. This morning, the 7" Santoku sliced through red potatoes like butter. I knew I was going to absolutely love this knife. I do love the serrated chef's knife and will use it a lot on certain things, but this Santoku knife is definitely top notch. Even cutting through carrots was effortless and I hate cutting carrots. This one knife definitely has my heart.

The four steak knives that come with this set are serrated the same as the 7" chef's knife, so I already know, without using them, how they will cut. Steak season is a little out right now unless I whip out the broiler pan, so these knives have not been used yet and probably won't be for a while, but their comfortable handles and weight tell me that they will work just as beautifully as big pappa chef knife. The kitchen shears are really nice as well. I have only used them to open packages so far, not meat, even though I do enjoy shearing chicken, I think I prefer using the knives on the meat. :)

Overall, I have been very impressed with this knife set, especially with such a low price tag in tact. For $43.99, this is a good Christmas gift just waiting to happen. Know a couple getting married soon? Just an idea... :)

I'm pretty sure Cookware.com will receive business from me in the future. The website features a plethora of items in every price range. After seeing the quality of these inexpensive knives, I'm more apt to purchase in the future. I hope you take some time to look at the website and even consider these knives as a gift for the upcoming holidays... I definitely am.

My Kitchen Obsession + Product Review

As most of you know, I have a slight obsession with the kitchen. (cue laughter) Okay, I know, it's a little more than a slight obsession, but what can I say? I love to cook, I love cooking products, and I love to collect them. I like to think of it as a healthy & useful obsession because lets face it, kitchen utensils are really useful. They do help you have a more healthy lifestyle... even though cooking may tempt us to pack on a few extra pounds. Eh, what the heck, I have a good excuse, right? Cooking helps you save money, it allows you to be picky and adventurous, and sometimes it makes your man (or in some cases woman) love you even more.

Over the past couple of years, I have expanded my cooking education by watching Rachael Ray work her magic in the kitchen, reading her cookbooks, and subscribing to her monthly magazine Everyday with Rachael Ray. I love this magazine. It has allowed me to experiment in ways I never imagined. I've learned "the ways of pasta," many adorable holiday-themed foods, and how to make "roll-over meals" for an entire week off of one basic recipe. I really hope this baby I'm carrying is an adventurous eater or I'm going to be in trouble...

One thing I've noticed about Rachael Ray is that she makes her kitchen as colorful as her personality. Seriously, even all of her Rachael Ray Cookware is colorful, which allows all of us to add a little pizazz to our kitchens. I mean, I sure love some stoneware... and she has it in colors! You have to see this, it's awesome. Pampered Chef better watch out.

I think the most important and the most fun thing I've learned from Rachael Ray is how to really appreciate and work a knife. I admit, I have a chopper at home that I use a lot when I'm in a hurry, and I'm not nearly as swift with a knife as she is, but I do enjoy chopping and slicing much more than I used to because I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I want to get better and learn more techniques (especially after watching the movie Julie and Julia).

My obsession with cutlery is fairly new, and because I'm determined to grow at this, I'm going to be doing a product review in an upcoming blog on some very affordable knives I am getting from Cookware.com. This is going to be quite awesome, indeed.