Do You Do this?

I'm sick thanks in large part to the summer cold my son has and his poor hygiene skills.  Let's face it, I can only nag him so much to wash his hands and when he has this disgusting habit of sticking his fingers up to his nose and then dragging them down his face to his mouth..gak... I'm doomed.

So now I'm sick.  What started with a tickle has grown into fullblown sinus/cough/chest whatchamacallit the I need Nyquil to sleep cold.  So while hubs heads off to work, I've been trying to figure out how to entertain three kids and still flop on the couch as it seems only sitting still for a while relieves the need to hack.

All I can think about is lying down and taking a nap.  Do I round up the kids, lock the doors, put the t.v. on and head for the couch?  No.  I clean the house.  Seriously.  Day 1 of being sick finds me sweeping, spot mopping, doing the laundry, emptying the dishwasher and de-cluttering.  I literally had sweat pouring down my face.  Why? Because I won't feel so guilty sitting on my arse if my house is somewhat clean.  After all, it should look like I've made some attempt to keep tidy when hubs comes home.  Because you know, it doesn't matter how crappy you feel, you always get the feeling that they never quite get it and that you're just being a whiner.  Unlike a man cold, which is serious people.

Have you seen this commercial?




It's funny because it's true.  Hubs doesn't get it though ;)

Anyways,  how about you.  Do you feel guilty not doing your regular routine when you're sick or do you say to heck with it and take some down time guilt free?

Zeemaid

Arm & Hammer Cold Water - Coupon Alert

I've posted about my experiences with Arm &  Hammer liquid laundry detergent a few times now and so most of you know that I think this is a great product.  Easy on your clothes, smells wonderful and oh yeah, it gets your clothes clean. ;)

So it's no different with Arm & Hammer's new Cold Water Liquid Laundry Detergent.  

I have to admit that in my quest to get my familiy's clothes really clean, I've been turning more and more to warm/hot water washes.  I know, I know.  Not only does it increase my energy bills but it's not great for the environment.  So with more and more companies producing detergents that work just as well in cold water, I'm glad to see Arm & Hammer doing the same.

Arm & Hammer Ultra Last Clumping Cat Litter - Review

I am fortunate in that the cleaning of all things litter related falls to my husband.  Of course, I flat out refused to deal with it but still he's a dear all the same.  The litter detail is bad enough with one cat but when we got the second cat (hubs idea by the way), we definitely needed extra help in combating the odors. Especially since we don't get to cleaning the litter box everyday.  Arm & Hammer's new Ultra Last Clumping Cat Litter is formulated to beat the daily scoop by providing long lasting odour control.   

It's been a couple of weeks since we (and by we I mean hubs) switched out our old litter for Arm & Hammer's new Ultra Last.  What I have noticed is that the odour has been under control especially in this hot weather.  Most of the time I don't notice the litter box unless I'm in the same room with it.  What hubs has noticed is that the litter seems dryer and clumps better.  He's found it easy to use and the litter gives off a fresh scent as he's scooping which helps make an unpleasant job a little more pleasant.  I've also noticed less litter on the floor everyday although any litter on the floor is still too much and I don't think we're ever going to get away from that.  

Initially, we had a hard time finding the Ultra Last litter at the stores in our area but recently Wal-Mart has been advertising it in their flyers so I know they've picked it up now.  Definitely worth trying out! 

The all new ARM & HAMMER® Ultra Last™ Clumping Cat Litter features:.

•  ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda coated granules and special odor neutralizers that continuously eliminate even the worst litter box odors

•  Provides immediate and long lasting odour protection, even if the litter box isn’t scooped every day

•  Moisture activated fresh scent deodorizes the litter every time the cat uses the litter box

• Rock solid clumps allow for easy removal of the source of odors

Available at retailers across Canada   Sizes: 6.4 kg – SRP: $6.99 - $8.99   

12.7 kg – SRP: $13.99 - $15.99

For more pet care tips visit www.armandhammer.ca

How about you?  Who does litter duty in your house? 

Zeemaid

*disclosure  - As always the reviews and opinions contained herein are my own and reflect my true opinions.  No other compensation for this post was received other than receiving a box of the litter to try out.*

Hey Coffee, Coffee – A Tassimo Review

A week or so ago I wrote a post titled Gas Station Coffee is Just fine For Me.  Well, who would have thought that that little rant would lead to me reviewing the latest Tassimo T55 in my own home. 


And let’s just say…. I’m in love.

Oh how I’ve longed to have one of these one cup brewers for quite some time, so when my store sold I bought the el cheapo travel sized version from Tassimo’s competitor. (We won’t name names here but it rhymes with *cough* smeurig.)  Sure it was fun, we had a variety of flavours to try out but it did fall a little short expectations wise.  It just didn’t taste as wonderful as the coffee we had tried at friends.  Not to mention the water just did not get hot enough which resulted in my boiling the kettle first and then adding the hot water to resevoir.

In fairness, this could be due to the fact that it’s marketed as a “travel-sized” brewer since it only holds one cup’s worth of water at a time.

Not so with the Tassimo T55.  First impressions were that it was sleek and compact.  I was expecting something a little bit bigger and was relieved that this brewer was not going to take up a lot of counter real estate.  I also was impressed with the packaging.  It too was compact with no fluff or filler to deal with. 

I have to admit it took some time to clean and set this baby up .  First it had to run through some sort of cleaning cycle 4 times and then the water filter (yes it has it’s own water filter) needed to have water run through it three times.  But oh, it was so worth it.  We bought Tassimo’s latte coffee which comes with 8 t-discs of coffee and 8 t-discs of milk.  It was so smooth and so delicious we absolutely loved it.  I really do think the water filtration helps with the coffee flavour since it helps filter out things like chlorine.  Besides the flavour the next biggest question is… did it get hot enough?  It definitely did, as it was steaming the milk I could see the steam rising from the machine.   I do wonder a little what exactly is in the “milk” because it doesn’t require refrigeration and it states specifically not to do so or freeze it for that matter.  Still it does taste delicious. 

I almost forgot to mention that another cool feature of this machine is that you can specify cup size.  Of course, I want to max out my pleasure from this baby and so far every cup I’ve made has been the “larger” cup.  It has a holder that you can use to raise or lower you cup up towards the dispenser so there isn’t any backsplash.  It comes completely out for larger cups and so far I’m thinking it might just stay that way.  For now anyways. 

Of course, hubs and I couldn't help doing the math. The average cup of coffee works out to between 50 – 75 cents depending on where you buy your t-discs.  Now if are a 100 cup a day coffee drinker, like my mother, sure this really isn’t the affordable way to go.  However, if you drink just one or two cups a day or have a bad coffee shop latte habit, this brewer will definitely save you money.  Priced at roughly just over a dollar, we’re talking about some serious savings. 

Check out Tassimo.com for more information on their machines and the variety of flavours.  Right now they have an offer going o:n:  when you spend over $60.00 the shipping is free.  Or you could enter to win your own Tassimo T55 brewer by stopping by Tassimo’s Facebook page. Right now Tassimo Canada is giving away one brewer a day plus $100 worth of T-Discs until August 24th.

In the meantime, I am looking forward to trying out other flavours of coffee and am planning on taking the Tassimo T55 with us camping.  I know, right?  We may not have a fancy smancy trailer but darn it we will have good coffee!

So… what’s in your cup?

Zeemaid

*disclosure – In the Mommy Trenches received the above product for the purposes of conducting this review and did not receive any other compensation.  As always the opinions expressed herein are those of Zeemaid and reflect her true thoughts and experiences with the product*

A Mermaid Birthday Party

E had her "fake birthday" at the end of the school year.  I say "fake" because her real birthday is in the middle of the summer and I decided at the beginning of her school career that it would be much simpler to have her "school friend" party at the school year end rather than trying to track down people in the middle of the summer.  If you've been a regular reader, you will know what a hard time we've been having with parties the past couple of years.  See Birthday Parties Suck from last year.

So we were thrilled when not only all the girls came but we ended up a couple of extra kids. It figures that every other year I had prepared goody bags for as many invitations as we had given out and been disappointed in the no shows. This year I was determined to only buy enough for those that said they were coming for sure. So I had to scramble a bit to get extra bags done up and E had to give up hers but I was so pleased to be put in that position for once that I didn’t mind at all.

Mysterious little Package and a Snoop

A week or so ago I came across a wrapper on my 9 year old's dresser.  My first thought was crap, I must have forgotten to throw it away or alternatively she saw in the garbage can in my bathroom, thought it looked interesting and grabbed.  Either way I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, I simply took it off her desk and threw it away (after showing hubs what I found, of course).  End of story or so I thought.

We are expecting company this weekend so I am on a de-clutter and get things put away campaign. We've been pretty slack this summer and nothing gets a bedroom quite so clean and organized unless mom is right there the entire time knee deep in toys, discarded underwear and other junk.  Is it just my kids who find the weirdest places to put their dirty underwear?

Enter to win a Tassimo T55 Brewer

How would you like to win a Tassimo brewer? Okay, that was a dumb question.  Of course you would! Good news, right now Tassimo Canada is having a daily giveaway of their newest brewer, the Tassimo T55. 

TASSIMO T55 Daily Giveaway Facebook Contest details:

• Open from July 26 – August 24, 2012
• Enter online on the TASSIMO Canada Facebook page www.facebook.com/TassimoCanada
• Each prize: One Bosch TASSIMO T55 brewer in sleek opal black and $100 worth of T DISCs
• 30 prizes to be won, valued each at $330

"The TASSIMO T55, is characterized by its contemporary, minimalist design, high-gloss finish and chrome fitting accents that will make it the showpiece of any kitchen. Available in sleek opal black, the TASSIMO T55 features TASSIMO’s unique barcode technology which automatically adjusts water temperature, brew time, and water level to guarantee the perfect cup of coffee, tea, latte, cappuccino or hot chocolate – every time!"

What are you waiting for?  Get on over there and start "like"ing. ;)

Zeemaid

ULINX JEWELRY REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

As a mom to three small children, I don't get to shop for jewelry all that much so I was pretty excited when I was asked to check out Ulinx Jewelry.  I was even more excited when I saw their website and saw how cool their magnetic charm bracelets are.  There were a multitude of "inspirations" I could choose from or I could design my own.  With their online design app it was easy as pie to make gorgeous combinations and since I created an account, I was able to save my various design combinations for future reference.

The hard part?  Settling on one design to order.  Finally, I chose to go with mixed blues.

How it Works
The bracelets are made up of Clix and Linx.  The Linx are 6mm spheres made of magnetized neodymium.  These spheres hold everything together so you don't need strings, chords or chains etc.  The Clix are the designer pieces that you choose to make up the bracelet.  You can mix and match each Clix to create your own one of a kind piece of jewelry. 

Gas Station Coffee Is Just fine For Me

Have you ever stopped to wonder why people spend so much on their coffee?

I have.

Especially when people come in and bitch complain about paying $5.00 for a new release rental when they just spent $10.00 buying themselves a latte and a muffin.  At least a movie rental is good for 2 hours worth of entertainment.  How long does a grande latte last?

I will admit that I love Starbuck's Vanilla Latte.  When I was pregnant with my first and had gestational diabetes, it was pretty much the only coffee I could tolerate without adding sugar.  Sure the syrup had sugar in it but maybe the caffeine cancelled it out or something because it didn't mess with my blood sugar.

Sometimes Family Can Suck

Searching for answers this past year has been tough. It's been tough on us as parents and as a couple. It's affected my outlook on life, blunted my sense of humour and made me somewhat afraid of the future.

 It's been difficult parenting my daughter who we're 99% sure is autistic. Both before and after we found out there was something "not quite right" about her. The one place though that I had counted on to be supportive and understanding would be within the family circle.

Stain Fighting with OxiClean

I recently had a chance to try out OxicClean's new OxiClean^® MaxForce^® Spray.  It works by combining four types of stain fighters to help get out more of the toughest, dried-in stains the first time.  I like the idea of throwing everything you've got at a stain the first time around and with three kids it wasn't long  before I had a chance to test it out.  


My kids like to run and slide down our front lawn which, of course, gives them lovely grass stains on their pants.  I followed the instructions and used the spray to pre-treat the grass stains and let it set for 10 minutes.  After washing, I was pleased to see that the grass stains had completely disappeared from my son's pants.  It was definitely worth the time it took to pre-treat the stain.  It's a great addition to your laundry routine and doesn't cost a fortune at $4.99 a bottle. 

Guilty Pleasures - Summer Reading

Okay, how many of you thought this was going to be about 50 Shades of Grey?  It's not. Somehow I don't think I'll touch that book with a ten-foot pole. Maybe it's just me but there it is.

Plus if you're a "book snob" you probably shouldn't read this post either.  You know what I mean.  You only read "real" literature and the likes of Nora Roberts or chick lit is beneath you.  No offense to Nora Roberts, I enjoy her books and admire her ability to cover a multitude of subjects.  It's just when someone says to you

"You'll forgive me for saying this my dear, but obviously reading Nora Roberts is easy to read quickly" 

in response to my boast about how fast I read books it's hard not to feel like you've just had your intelligence mildly insulted.  Of course, it took me about two days to come back with an "oh yeah, well I also read classics like Lord of the Rings, Dickens, you know other classics like the Woman in White and the Count of Monte Christo".  Obviously, I suck in witty comebacks which is why it took me two days of pondering to come up with that.  Which was probably better than saying "I am too intelligent."

How to Work Superfruits in Your Summer Party - Giveaway

I've recently gotten interested in Superfruits and so I thought it was a perfect time to host this guest post by Jill McRae.  Best of all, one of you will have a chance to try True Beverages by entering the #giveaway at the end of the article. 

How to Work Superfruits into Your Summer Party

By Jill McRae

Balmy summer nights beg for chilled patio drinks and backyard barbecues. But before you reach for the rosé, consider fixing yourself and your loved ones a drink with Superfruits. Not only are Superfruits rich in antioxidants, but those sweet-smelling berries are great for the brain, heart and overall health.

Whether you’re planning a family picnic, or a mommy’s night off, here are four delicious ways to work Superfruits into your summer party. 

Introducing Family Rules

This post is a continuation of Cautiously Optimistic.

While googling suggestions for chore charts etc, I came across one mom blog that helped put a different spin on the whole chore chart thing.  You see her "chore charts" say, My name is (blank) and this is how I contribute to my family".  I really liked that.  It takes the emphasis off of "chores" and put it back on helping out the family.  I also liked her list of Family Rules so I used both to adapt for use in my family.

Read her full post here. Sutton Grace

Unicef & Hallmark - Helping Children

Hallmark and UNICEF are excited to announce a partnership launching a new UNICEF collection of greeting cards. With every purchase of a greeting card from Hallmark's new UNICEF collection, a portion of the proceeds will go to help children at risk all over the world.  

With over 116 designs the UNICEF collection has something for everyone featuring beautifully crafted cards including weddings, birthdays, birth of a new baby etc.  These cards are delightful and colourful and I think anyone would be happy to receive one.  Best of all, it's an easy way to help out a child in need while purchasing something you already intended on buying anyways. 

Cautiously Optimistic

I don't know what it is about summer vacation that inspires me with all sort of projects and jobs for the summer.  Last summer I was determined to complete the upstairs painting and resulted in getting E's room done by September.  At this rate, we're accomplishing a room a year.  Oh yea.


This summer is no different.  Only I have grand plans in regards to my children.  This summer I am determined that I am going to instil some core values in them.. well core housecleaning values.  Does making your bed everyday, tidying your room, getting dressed and brushing your teeth count as core values?  I don't know but it's things I'd like them to start learning to do.  I am tired of having to constantly nag at them or do it myself.

Get Brushing with Orajel - a Review

If your kids are anything like mine, you have a hard time getting them to brush their teeth.  They either teeter from wanting to squeeze the toothpaste all the time to not wanting to brush at all.  As moms we struggle to make brushing fun and yet get the job done as painlessly as possible. 

Orajel^® Toddler My Way!™ Girls Fluoride-Free Toothpaste is a great way to put the fun back into the brushing routine.  It comes with over 100 stickers so kids can decorate their toothpaste however they want. The toothpaste is non abrasive and safe if swallowed.  It helps to remove plaque when brushing and helps to promote good oral hygiene at an early age.  SRP:  $3.79

Soothing Teething with Orajel - Review

While you all know that my children are long past the days of teething, I can honestly say when they were babes Orajel was my go to product to soothe their pain.  I liked that Orajel gave them fast pain relief without having to dose them with tylenol or advil constantly.  Orajel has come out with two great products.

Our First IEP Meeting

If you don't know what that means, don't worry neither did we until we discovered our daughter has multiple learning disabilities.

IEP = Individualized Education Plan

When E's learning support teacher suggested the meeting, I have to admit I was little nervous.  Mainly because at our autism parent support group they were less than encouraging about IEPs and most parents complained how difficult and frustrating they were.

It just goes to show how blessed we are and how far we have come with E this past year that our meeting went extremely well and only took half an hour.  We are so lucky to be at this school with these educators who just love our child for who she is.

What gets me is that they were full of praise for us, her parents.

Her teacher in particular went on how encouraging and inspiring it was to see parents put their child's education in the forefront and how we made her a priority.  They were just so amazed.

Really?  Cause to us it's like DUH!  Of course, we take her education seriously.  Of course, we sacrificed all year so we could get her the help she needed.  And you know what, our faithfulness was rewarded.  She's doing amazingly well.  Why wouldn't we do that for our child?  Who wouldn't do that for their child?

Apparently as educators they see a lot of parents not putting the effort in for their children and that just makes me sad.

How about you?  Wouldn't you do everything you could to help your child?

Zeemaid

Life is A Special Occasion with Hallmark

My most recent shipment from Hallmark is here and as usual my bag was full of delightful and fun gifts. June is the season for Grads, babies and weddings and Hallmark is the perfect choice for fun gift ideas.

One gift I appreciated when I was married was a beautiful album for my wedding photos.  Hallmark's Fabric Album Collection is romantic and luxurious featuring rich fabrics, embellishments and embroidery. The album in the photo is the Embroideried Large Post Bound which includes eight black magnetic photo pages deisigned end liners and a dediction page for wedding memories.  Need more photo pages?  It's simple to add more.  Of course the photo cannot do this album justice.  MSRP:  $59.99

Also in the photo is an adorable Lovebirds Salt and Pepper Set.  These two ceramic birds and a ceramic nest stand with glossy glaze are perfect for the newlywed's table.  MSRP: $19.99  

These are just a few of Hallmark's wedding gift ideas.  They also have his and hers travelling mug sets, wine glasses and his and hers aprons to name a few. 

My own nephew is graduating this year.  (How the time flies)  If you're like me, you're stumped at what to get the grad in your life. Why not a 2012 Photo Album to help them record the memories. MSRP: $9.95 with any $10.00 purchase of cards or gift wrap.  Regularly $14.95.  

Plus these 2012 flip flops are bright, colourful and a fun gift for any grad and are suitable for both the guys and the gals.  MSRP $14.95. 

Know someone who is turning one?  The "My First Birthday" cupcake is cuddly and plush and plays a festive Happy Birthday tune.  My kids were all delighted with it and they are way past one. ;) MSRP $23.99.   

Families getting ready for a new addition to the family with love the "What's that in Mommy's Tummy", a recordable storybook.  This story helps to answer soon-to-be older siblings' questions as they wait for the new baby to arrive.  Each page features one or two open-ended questions that a parent can ask their child to answer.  Play back the records with the push of a button.  


And, of course, it wouldn't be complete without some beautiful designs from Hallmark's Signature Greeting Card Collection.  These cards are stunning and perfect for any occasion.  Be sure to check out Hallmark.ca for more gift ideas. 


Well, I'm pretty covered for any special occasions this summer thanks to Hallmark.  How about you?  Any weddings or new arrivals on the way? 


Zeemaid