Thirteen on Thursday...

You knew I would work my way up to this.. Either that or I let Tuesday pass me by, and my "Ten on Tuesday actually on Wednesday" never happened either.  So NOW, here I am, Thirteen on Thursday.

I was wracking my brain trying to think of thirteen things to share. And I came up with THIRTEEN goose-eggs. Big fat nothing. SO I went to my handy list of things people have asked me to talk about on here, and Stacey T (aka "Jethro") from AZ had suggested that I do a product review. What a great idea! So here are thirteen things I think are nifty, neat, or just can't do without. (Again, these are in NO particular order- also my star rating varies. It's a FIVE star system, but some deserve more than 5):

1. Pampered Chef Cut n Seal. I love this gadget. I actually own THREE in three diff't sizes. Forget those premade pbj's in the freezer section of the store- this makes them for you. You pick the bread, the fillings and VOILA! Presto chango. I love it. I make up a bunch of sandwiches with this, freeze them and it makes lunch making go by so much faster. It's also fun for parties that are around lunch time- kids love them. I've made them with cheese, tuna, pb & J, tofurkey, pretty much anything you put in your sandwich. TEN stars.

2. Oxo Good Grips Apple Corer. I know that Pampered Chef makes that peeler slicer, corer, butcher, baker, candlestick maker, but I always thought that was a little overwhelming to get out just for lunch. I found this one YEARS ago, and love its simplicity. It takes the core out of the apple and then you can half the apple, or cut it into circles, slices, whatever. Again, takes an ordinary apple and makes it fun. My kiddos love apple "chips". FOUR stars.

3. The Magic Bullet. If you don't own one- or if you have no idea what this is, you really need to watch more TV and focus on the infomercials. This little baby- WOW! When Connor was born, I decided to make my own baby food- I had a steamer, a food processor, ice cube trays, ziploc bags.. It was a process. I did the same thing with Chloe. When Collin came along, I decided to get a manual food mill- bought from Bed Bath and Beyond for $50. I got HUGE biceps from it. I used it to process everything. I thought it did a better job getting the texture that I was looking for than the processor. Still, I was making loads of baby food, freezing and storing. Then I got the Bullet and my life changed. Or, rather, the way I made baby food changed. Whatever we were eating, I just wizzed some up and fed the baby. It is that easy. No multiple steps, no freezing food. It is perfect. We use it for smoothies, salad dressing, milk shakes, anything. It's really great. Mine is starting to smell when I turn it on, I think I might be burning the motor out. But the use it has gotten has been worth its weight in gold. I give this FIVE stars.

4. Shark Steam Cleaner. I swear I don't spend all day and night ordering things off of the TV. I do shop at Bed Bath and Beyond and they do have a bunch of "As Seen on TV" items there. (Bumpits, anyone??) This item can be seen on TV and it works. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone with boys that use the bathroom. Once you clean with this, you will never clean the bathroom another way. And beware the "stuff" that comes out from the nooks and crannies. You thought your toilet was clean, ummmmmm- no, it's not. Not until NOW.  LOVE IT!! FIFTEEN stars. I'm on my second one. I'm not sure what that says about the quality- I blew up the first one, steam went shooting everywhere, but this one seems to be just fine.



5.Tot Locks. Whoever invented these were nothing short of GENIUS. (I'm thinking it was a woman). These are the best locks. They keep my kids out of things- right up until about 3 1/2 when they can figure out how to open just about anything. If you've not seen these, and you have kids- check them out. They are magnetic- and they don't allow the cabinet to be opened at all without the magnetic key. Forget those spring locks, Cooper can figure those out. Think about all of the things you could keep lower if you had a great lock. FIVE stars.

6. Dyson vacuum. Oh My. I love the Dyson. I wanna plant a big fat kiss on the man that invented the vac that doesn't lose suction. MWAH! This vac is not stinky, it sucks like the dickens and works every time. Well worth the money shelled out for it. Vacuum with your current vac, go buy a Dyson, come home, vac again and you will be sold. That did it for me. A HUNDRED FIFTY stars.


7. Oxi Clean. If you have kids, you have stains to get out. If you have multiple kids, and expect to keep those clothes for siblings, you want to keep them looking as new as possible. I heart this product. I have actually had friends say "I can't get this stain out, can you?" And I have. With this. If you have something that hasn't come out- after washing- try this. HOT hot water in a bucket- mixed with Oxi. Let it soak for a couple of days. You'll be amazed. Most stains come right out. I'm kind of a laundry freak- okay, more than kind of.. and I panic when I run low on this stuff. I buy it from Costco in the BIG box, and keep a box on deck at all times. SEVENTY-FIVE stars. (Oh, and Billy Mays -RIP- IS the reason I tried this to begin with. He was one convincing pitchman!)

8. My Honda Odyssey with it's sliding doors. GENIUS! (I do have some compaints about the vehicle- like the LACK of ability to fit 3 car seats across the back row- with LATCH and TETHER- but that's another story).. I love it when I have my hands full and can open my doors with the push of a button. I'll be in the preschool parking lot, and see a mom with her big SUV struggling with kids and the stroller and think to myself (if you didn't have to be so COOL- you could have had your doors open, kids loaded and be pulling out of the parking lot by now). I also see parents in the carpool lane actually having to get out and open the door for the kids. Hell-o you are wasting valuable time here.. Mini vans have come a long way. They are way cool. I was NOT having one when we first had kids. Mike was the one who said "Let's just try one". He was ready to make the switch long before me. We rented one on a trip back east and I was sold.  Now I wouldn't give up the swagger wagon for anything.. NINE stars.

9. The computer. (More importantly- the INTERNET- thanks Al Gore for inventing it). Google, Yahoo, Mapquest. FACEBOOK, aol. All of it. So handy. So fun, and so much information right at my fingertips. If I want to know how to spell something? I look it up. If I want to know where something is? I look it up. If I need a recipe? I look it up. Wondering what an ex is up to? Look it up. (Just kidding on that last one). Seriously though- thank you world wide web for being the doctor in the middle of the night, helping with homework (how else would we have known what to put in our Diorama of Mesopotamia?), and making me the smart person I am today. A BAZILLION stars.

10. A full length mirror. No home should be without one. Enough said. INFINITY stars.










11. The Itzbeen baby timer. What a lifesaver this is. I don't use it as much now, but it was my "secret tool" for keeping track of when the baby ate, how long they had been sleeping, how long it had been since they had a diaper change. It actually allowed me to nurse the baby, and then go run errands because I knew just when the baby would have to eat again. If you are a follower of Babywise, this helps with keeping the baby on a schedule. Great little gift. It used to come in just the color shown, but now it comes in pink and mint green too. So cute. A must have for any mom. TWO MILLION stars. ps- it also has a * button on there that I used to keep track of medicine for me or for the little ones. AND- it has a backlight and a little flashlight. Perfect amount of light for changing a diaper in the wee hours.

12. Maytag 3000 series washer and dryer. With the amount of laundry I do- 5 kids, 2 adults- school uniforms + play clothes + pjs, + mountain biking duds + gymnastics oufits + whatever = the need for a washer and dryer that can accomodate large loads so I can cycle through Mount Laund-a-rama quickly. I don't have the side stands, but I do have the underneath ones- and sure it looks cool, but they really don't get much use. (I have been blessed with an abundance of cabinet space in my laundry room). Not to mention they make the washer and dryer as tall if not taller than me- making it hard to put anything on top of them. But, they are cool, quiet, and do a heck of a job getting my clothes clean. Now if I could just find someone to automatically FOLD and put away all of the clothes.. that would be something. TEN stars

13. My camera. (last but DEFINITELY NOT least). I love my camera- any camera. I think it's one of the most important things that someone can own. Memories may fade, but pictures capture priceless moments and preserve them for years. (Oh my, Hallmark much?!) I really think everyone should carry around at least a point and shoot with them. Your phone is good, but what do you do with those pics? Ever print one? I have, the quality is less than great. (Although- back to Jethro- who has an Iphone that takes pretty sweeeet pictures- I'm sure if she printed them out they would be just fine). Even if you don't think you take great pictures, it's still great to snap those memories. Even if the memory is not what or who the picture is of, rather of the person that took the bad picture- I guarantee you will smile inside. For example... (ya didn't think you'd get away without a story did you?!?). My besties gram was taking our picture one time when we were getting ready to go out. She had the camera up to her eye, and was saying "I can't see you girls". She wasn't even looking through the viewfinder, and I think the camera might have even been backwards. It was adorable- and once she got the camera turned around, she got a shot of us and even though it came out blurry- and maybe even our heads were cut off, Stacy kept it because it was a reminder of that time with her gram and I.  Her gram is now gone, but that picture and that memory lives on. PRICELESS stars.


Share some of your favorites with me!