Boogie Wipes - A Review

If you haven’t guessed from the name, Boogie Wipes are for wiping boogies.  But not just your average every-day wipes, Boogie Wipes are moist, saline nose wipes that instead of chafing your sensitive nose helps relieve and soothe that irritated organ.

My son gets frequent colds and when he does, the snot just seems to flow endlessly for the poor kid.  To his credit, he tries to wipe his nose and hates it when it feels wet and stuffy but inevitably he ends up with a red rash between his lip and nostrils and just about raw on the edges. All I could do for him was apply a little bit of vaseline as soon as I saw the redness start to develop. 

So I shouldn’t be surprised that this product was developed by two mom’s whose children suffered the same.  They had an idea and took it a step further by developing the first ever saline nose wipes.  Little Busy Bodies Inc was formed in 2007 and after a lot of research and development – Boogie Wipes was born. 

I think this is a great product.  It helped my son so much.  Gone was the irritated nostrils and gone was the vaseline smear on his lip.  I did have to keep on top of him or he would have gone through the package in half an hour since my son is a wipe once and toss kinda kid.  Still at $3.99 a package or $9.99 for a family size, I think these wipes are affordable and worth the expense for saving their tender skin. 

Boogie Wipes come in an easy to dispense package, much like baby wipes or hand wipes and comes in scents like Great Grape and Menthol.  The menthol is particularly great since it’s gentle scent helps unclog stuffed up nasal passages.  Much more pleasant than Vicks I can tell you.

Not just for wiping boogies, they are also great for wiping little faces in a pinch.  My kids hate it when we’re out and all I have on hand to wipe their dirty faces is those sanitizing wipes.  Yuck.  Toss Boogie Wipes in your bag and you’re covered.

For more information visit www.boogiewipes.com

Have you tried Boogie Wipes?  What is your go to comfort for treating a cold?

Zeemaid

*disclosure – I received a package of Boogie Wipes in order to conduct this review but was not compensated in any other way. The opinions herein are my own and reflect my true experiences with the product*

Technorati Tags: product review,Boogie Wipes,product,reviews,children,colds,sneezes,dry skin,nose,saline wipes

52 Weeks of Pinterest - Week One

Who has not heard of Pinterest these days.  It’s huge in the blogging world for promoting all sorts of blogs from DIY to cooking to parenting to home schooling.  You name it, it’s on there.  However, when every day non bloggers start mentioning things they saw on Pinterest, you realize just how big of a sensation Pinterest really is.

I’ve even heard it referred to as “porn” for women.  I could easily kill an hour just browsing and re-pinning whatever strikes my fancy and with a mobile app on my Android phone, it’s right at my fingertips whenever I have a few minutes to kill. 

Still, what do we do with all those pins?  Do we actually get around to trying any of the crafts or recipes on there?  So easy to “pin” for later that never really happens.  So that’s why I came up with



I am going to attempt to try one Pinterest thing on my boards a week.  (I figured 365 days of Pinterest was just way too much of a commitment). 

Enter Week One

I like to crochet but am not a great pattern follower, which I am told by a knitter is typical of people who crochet.  Go figure.  So when I saw these pretty flower coasters, I figured I would give it a try since the pattern seemed simple enough.



Pretty aren’t they?   Originally posted on Mollie Makes.com and you can find the complete pattern details there.  Of course, I never have the right type of materials on hand and so while I had crochet cotton on hand mine was a 70.9g weight while the pattern suggests 50.

The brand I used was Lily Sugar’n Cream crochet cotton.



My first attempt at re-creating the pattern.  I used a 3.5 hook and so you can see it’s a larger pattern and the lacey detail is not quite as defined.  Still the colours are pretty and it crocheted up quickly.  I have to admit, I did struggle with a couple parts of the pattern and it wasn’t until about the 10th one I made that I finally got the instructions. LOL



By switching to a smaller hook (2.5) I was able to make a tighter pattern and thus you can see the lace detail more.  Still, I think I’d like to get the crochet cotton used in the original photos because they are just so Springy and cheerful.

These coasters make great gifts too.  My mother-in-law loves the colour yellow and I found a really pretty yellow and white striped crochet cotton and whipped up a set of 6 coasters for her.  When I say these whip up quickly, they do indeed.  I actually crocheted about 4 coasters once on a 1 and a half drive.  Yes, I crocheted in the car.  Frequent scenery checks keeps you from getting motion sickness.

Well that’s my first week of 52 Weeks of Pinterest.  What will I try next week?

Zeemaid

Technorati Tags: 52 Weeks of Pinterest,zeemaid,in the mommy trenches,diy,crafts,crochet,flower coasters,easy,crochet cotton,Pinterest

George’s Special Dry Cream

The harsh winter season can be especially tough on our skin.  I, for one, am struggling with chapped lips and dry hands from the cold.  While there are many skin care products out there, I am always looking for something that is not only fragrance free with no additives or irritants but is also non greasy.  Being Canadian made is an added plus.


George Doherty, a pharmacist, was looking to create a cream for local Albertans to help combat their severe dry skin from the harsh winters.  He never dreamt that when he created George’s Special Dry Cream in his kitchen with his wife’s cake mixer that it would become one of the top selling therapeutic skin moisturizers in Canada.  George’s Special Dry Cream is said to work on a variety of skin conditions such as Eczema, Psoriasis, sunburn, windburn, cradle cap, Winter itch, flaky skin, tough elbow skin, radiation therapy, sport chafing, swimmer’s itch, dry hands, foot problems including those associated with Diabetes.

Now neither I nor my family suffer with any more severe skin issues other than dry skin so I cannot attest to it’s healing powers.  What I can say after having tried the cream is that it did work to relieve my dry skin and I found it to be long lasting making my hands and heels much softer to the touch.  It is a creamy cream if that makes any sense.  Lots of skin care cream is more like hair conditioner, almost watery.  The texture of this reminds me a little of Noxzema face cream. It rubs in very quickly and absorbed speedily.  I didn’t have the urge to wipe it off, like I do with heavier skin care cream. 

While the information provided says this product is fragrance free, I assume it means fragrance free from perfume like additives because it certainly has a scent to me.  It is a light scent, almost minty maybe spearmint, which I assume comes from the ingredients used in making this product. It is a pleasant smell though and doesn’t linger long.

What I like most about this cream is that it does not include harmful ingredients like Parabens and Urea which both products have been shown to cause cancer with prolonged use.  Did you know Parabens have been banned in Europe? 

I also had an opportunity to try George’s Light Special Moisturizing Lotion which is gentle enough to use everyday and can be used by those with sensitive skin.

With a suggested retail pricing from $2.99 to $14.99 and three different sizes to choose from, it is a very affordable skincare choice.  For more information and tips using George’s Cream visit his website at www.georgescream.com

Zeemaid

Technorati Tags: Product Review,skincare,George's Cream,moisturizing lotion,eczema,dry hands,itchy,windburn

Confessions of a Housewife

Now I love my family and most of the time I’m happy to take pride in our home and do my part in taking care of the family.  However, housework can be a bit of a drudge and sometimes it can really push you over the edge.  Here is a confession of a few weird things I’ve done to “get back” at my family.

* After spending half an hour folding my daughter’s laundry, matching socks and pajama sets etc, I went to put it all away only to find her drawers a complete mess.  Frustrated I dumped her clothes in the drawer and reached my hand in and gave it a big swirl.  After all, it’s what they do after I put everything so neatly away.

*  My husband has 50 million different shades of black socks with different patterns.  It drives me crazy to sort them all the time.  Especially when you’re always missing at least one or two to match up.  When I’m really annoyed, I’ll just dump the whole lot in his drawer.  He really hates that (although he’s smart enough not to comment) and yet I’ve noticed that when he folds the darks, what’s always left in the bottom of the basket…. his socks.

*  The weirdest thing I had to adjust to when we got married was that my husband likes his t-shirts hung up on hangers in the closet.  It’s such a pain to have to hang all his shirts up especially when I have to make them all right side out.  Seriously he cannot take off a shirt without it ending up inside out and I’m just uptight enough to want to hang them up the right way.  When I’m really annoyed, they get hung up inside out.  He doesn’t like that either.  Oh well. :)

*  Sometimes, I just huck the toys into their rooms rather than put them away.  

*  I definitely have no qualms over sneaking into their candy stash and lying about it later. 

*  Wal-mart is closed whenever I will it to be so and conveniently open when I need it to be. 

*  Strawberry milk comes from pink cows and Chocolate milk from brown cows.  After all Google has proof that there are such things as pink cows and green cows, and purple cows and yellow cows.  Seriously people, what’s with the painted cows?

What about you?  Have you done anything weird like this?

Zeemaid

Technorati Tags: humour,housewife,in the mommy trenches,children,housework,laundry,family,famillies

Happy New Year

#Happy New Year!

Out with the old and in with the new.  I for one am extremely happy to see my Christmas decorations get packed up and my family photos and knickknacks reinstated to their rightful places.

I don't know why I feel this way at the end of every holiday season.  After all I am so excited to see it all go up on December 1st.  So much so that we're tempted to decorate early every year.  Yet, by New Years I'm tired of the clutter and can't wait for it to all to just get back to normal.

We took it easy this year for the holidays, improving on the lessons for a peaceful Christmas that I began last year. I didn't bake a ton of goodies that would only have to be eaten, I kept the crafts to a minimum and tried to go homemade wherever I could.  Within reason.  An afternoon's baking was quite enough to provide a few goodies and treats for friend's and family.  The children weren't done their school until the Friday before Christmas so I didn't have have to work extra hard to keep them busy and distracted prior to Santa's arrival.

We even managed to have a white Christmas.  We haven't had one of those in years.  Thank goodness my parents decided to bless us with new snow tires for our vehicle.  It made traveling to see them so much easier and less scarier.  When I saw it begin to snow, I was like "bring it on".

The only thing I would have wished different is that we didn't all end up with the flu over the holidays.   One by one we fell victim.  My 9 year old daughter was such a blessing on the day I got it.  She fed her little brother and kept him busy while her sister and I laid on the couch and moaned.  She fetched, she carried and tried to soothe us.  What a sweetheart!  It's times like these when you're forced to give them some independence that you see just how much they are growing up.

Did you make any New Year's resolutions?  I generally don't make any as resolutions always seem meant to be broken.  Still, I couldn't help feel a positive surge enter me as the clock struck 12:00.  Every year we hope that this one is going to be a better one than last year and every year it seems like we are wrong.  This year though, feels different and I can only pray that I am right.  So far the scratch tickets Hubs and I bought for each other for Christmas has only garnered us $8.00 but we're not done scratching yet. ;0)

Not that I am looking for success from a scratch and lose ticket.  Far be it.  This year just has to be the year that we get our selves in a better financial position.  That we get caught up with our debt and can begin to make and keep plans for having fun with the kids.  That it won't always be "we can't afford to do that".

So I really hope that I can keep a hold of this feeling of productivity I have, a drive to finish projects and spruce up our lives, business and home in all ways possible.

I have a ton of great ideas to rework my blog which will hopefully see me posting more frequently than last year.  I admit that I really lost some of my drive last year but basically things were going to badly at one point that I just didn't know how I was going to keep on going.  When strangers begin to make the odd comment about a post or two that I've made about me maybe needing some help well, that makes you stop and realize just how tough things are really getting.

So I want to stay more positive this year.  Learn to do more for myself in a meaningful way, not waste my time and learn to parent my oldest daughter without frustration and anger.  I want to push my blog farther and interact with my community more.

So stay tuned.  Great things are coming.  It make take me a week or so to get going but like I said, I've got a ton of ideas, including a  possible blog name change.  I don't think "In the Mommy Trenches" really reflects where I'm at now.  Not that I won't always be in the trenches in some form but now that my kids are growing and going to school, it's not quite the same as when I had all three at home under 4. Yii.

Did I really do that?

Reminds me of a song I made up for the kids... we had ourselves a real musical Mary Poppins moment...

Children for sale
Children for sale
I've got too many
One would have been plenty

Children for Sale
Chilrdren for Sale
What were we thinking
When we were procreating

Children for sale
Children for sale
please won't you buy one
C'mon and try one

I've got Children for sale

Needless to say my children didn't like the song.  (the procreating part went over their heads lol)  There were more verses about a tall one, short one and one in the middle but I can't remember how that part goes  anymore.  That's what happens when I watch too much British t.v. and/or musicals.  I begin to talk with an accent and sing a'la My Faire Lady.

But I digress.  (as usual)

How was your New Year's?  Are you feeling hopeful for 2013?

Zeemaid