Do you remember by posts about my experience with Shaklee Cinch products?  If not here is my week 4, week 3, week 2, week 1 and where I started back in January.  I should really do an update on where I am right now but for now, here is a guest giveaway from someone who got to try out Shaklee’s cleaning products!

I was fortunate enough that Renee, a mom and an independent distributor for Shaklee, asked me to do a review for Shaklee’s products. I had heard of Shaklee before, but I knew next to nothing about them. After a very pleasant phone call with Renee, she taught me that Shaklee was the first company out there to offer environmentally friendly products. At the end of the call I could not wait to try out the products she was sending me!

Renee sent me 16 oz. bottle of Basic H2, a 3 pack of Get Clean Spray Bottles, 9 oz. jar of Scour Off Paste, and 16 oz. of Dish Washing Liquid Concentrate, along with a packet of information.

I want to first share some information on each product with you.
Basic H2:

• Safe: Nontoxic, no toxic fumes, no hazardous chemicals, fragrance free, mild on your hands, pH balanced, and no chlorine.
• Here’s the household uses for Basic H2: General cleaning, windows, mirrors, glass, pots & pans, floors, dusting, fruits & vegetables, handwashing woolens, nylons and all fine fabric, spot remover, aquariums, removing fish odors, removing boat algae, reducing odors in diaper pails (I use Basic H2 for this the most), wallpaper, frying vats, and many more.
• Personal uses include: Hands, Bathing, removing gum from skin, carpet or clothes, painting and dyeing, cleaning shoes, and cleaning eye glasses (another one I use frequently).
• You can use it for automotive uses, such as washing your car, cleaning the engine (will not affect paint, gaskets or insulating material!), cleaning the battery terminals, and helps get tires off easier when you’re changing them.
• There’s many other miscellaneous uses as well! The list just goes on and on!

Dish Wash Liquid Concentrate:

• Completely safe (non-toxic, hypoallergenic, does not contain chlorine, is mild on your hands, is pH balanced, and has no hazardous chemicals)!
• Very powerful (tough on grease, has long-lasting suds, and can use very little and it goes a very long way (one of the best parts).
• The second best part is that it is green; has natural ingredients, is biodegradable, has no phosphates or dyes, comes in recyclable packaging and is safe for septic-systems and graywater.
• Can also use for grout & tile, pans & stained dishes, pots, pans and PYREX, oven cleaner, mineral deposits in toilet bowl, and tough stains in sink.

Scour Off:

• You can use scour off on baked enamel, chrome, ceramic tiles, stainless steel, glass, porcelain, and most hard metal surfaces. (Do not use on gold, brass, copper, sterling silver, corian, or surrel.)
• There are many uses for the kitchen, bathroom, outdoors, and vehicles!
• Scour off is biodegradable, pH balanced, certified Kosher, and has no toxic fumes, no alkalis, and has a pleasant scent.

I used the Basic H2 on my kitchen stove. Here is a before picture:

How gross, right? We had had a party the night before, so that would be why it’s so nasty. I figured what better time than now to see if Basic H2 actually worked! All you need are one of the spray bottles, the Basic H2 and I used a rag.

You just fill the spray bottle with water, then put a 1/4 teaspoon of Basic H2. Then you just spray and wipe away! I let a couple of the spots soak because it was pretty stuck on, and it wiped away so easily! Here is the after picture:

What a huge difference! Another great thing about the Basic H2 is that there are absolutely no fumes! I can’t even begin to tell you how much I hate cleaning because of the fumes almost all cleaning solutions put off. It’s so nice not having to deal with it anymore!

Next, I used the Dish Wash Liquid Concentrate.

I didn’t take any pictures of the process because, well, who wants to look at dirty dishes? I didn’t want to subject my readers to that! Haha! But let me tell you – I will not be using any other dish washing liquid! It got off grease and dried on spots on all the dishes, and I hardly had to use any of it! I swear, you can barely tell I used any of the stuff! This bottle will last me a long time!

The Scour Off I used on the rims of our tires. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of the before and after because our camera started acting up, but they have never been so clean! It was so easy to use, and although there is a slight scent to the paste, it was actually a pleasant one!

Thank you so much for reading my review on Shaklee products! I can’t wait to try some more of Shaklee’s wonderful products!

Thanks to Renee, I’m able to offer my readers a giveaway! I’m giving away a free membership to Shaklee, a bottle of Basic H2 and 3 spray bottles.
This giveaway starts at 12:01am on 5/18 and ends at 12:01am on 5/26. The winner will then be selected and have 24 hours from the timestamp on the email I send to claim their prize. If the winner does not reply by 24 hours, then the next winner will be chosen and contacted.

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Disclaimer: I received one or more products for free. All opinions are strictly mine.

1. Sign Up For a Free Program to Review Products with Smile.ly!
2. Off Topic: Cleaning Up After Your Cats
3. Weight Loss: Week 4 with Shaklee Corporation

Did you guys notice the new coupon widget on my sidebar?  Right now you can print a $2 coupon for GE Energy Smart CFL’s and Energy Efficient Soft White bulbs at Walmart!  In case you didn’t know, by 2014 you will have to use energy efficient light bulbs so you should jump on the bandwagon when the price is right!

Thanks for the heads up Sarah’s Deals!

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community and I was provided with this coupon link during my participation on a campaign with Collective Bias™. #cbias #socialfabric

 

1. Walmart Deal: .28 Olde Hearth Bagels
2. The Walmart Ice Cream Social This Weekend! #theicecreamsocial
3. Better Than FREE Enfamil at Walmart #AllYouCFK #CBias

If you haven’t signed up for Sneakpeeq yet you might as well do so when there is a free item to score!  Right now you can get a free Bohemian Bamboo ring!  If you are wondering about how legit this company is I can tell you that you have nothing to worry about.  My free scarf arrived a couple weeks ago from another free item that they were offering for new members.

If you don’t want to use your credit for this ring then you can always save it and apply it towards some of their other deeply discounted items!

1. Get a Free Pearl Ring From Sneakpeeq
2. Free Ring Sizer From Blue Nile

The annual Great Quest is about to be announced in Quendel, a task that will determine the future of Marcus and the other boys from the village who are coming of age. The wizard Zyll commands them to find the Rock of Ivanore, but he doesn’t tell them what the Rock is exactly or where it can be found. Marcus must reach deep within himself to develop new powers of magic and find the strength to survive the wild lands and fierce enemies he encounters as he searches for the illusive Rock. If he succeeds, he will live a life of honor; if he fails, he will live a life of menial labor in shame. With more twists and turns than a labyrinth, and a story in which nothing is as it seems, this tale of deception and discovery keeps readers in suspense until the end.  Middle readers will find that The Rock of Ivanore fits nicely among the traditional fantasies they so enjoy. They will also appreciate its fresh and inventive take on the genre.

Author: Laurisa White Reyes has been writing since the age of 5 when she wrote her first poem on a scrap of poster board. After earning a degree in English at California State University at Northridge, she spent thirteen years writing for various magazines and newspapers, working as a book editor, and teaching creative writing. She gave up all that six years ago to follow her lifelong dream of writing novels. Her first book, The Rock of Ivanore, will be released in May 2012.Besides writing, Laurisa is also a voracious reader. She also loves musical theater, chocolate, sushi, ancient history, bearded dragons, and rain storms.  She lives in Southern California with her husband, 5 children, 4 birds, 2 lizards, 2 turtles, 1 fish, 1 dog, and a partridge in a pear tree.

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This is about as happy as this post will get and with that, you have been warned.  (There is an awesome thing that you MUST read about at the end plus a giveaway so feel free to skip over my walk story if you aren’t interested in MS.)  My Michael’s were all decked out in the color orange to show their support for Multiple Sclerosis and I love them for that!  I go all out: bra, panties, socks, shoes, scarf and shirt!  Mother Nature was a little hormonal the day of our walk because she decided to spit out this massive storm on our way to Frankenmuth.

Despite the storm my friends still showed up and they happen to be some of the best friends that a girl could ask for.  I love them with all of my heart and a support system is exactly what you need when you are dealing with a disease like Multiple Sclerosis.  I told them they better not ruin my street cred and tell people what it is like for me because there are few people who I will allow to see me in the state I was in during my walk.  It is beyond depressing and I would rather people know me as a raging WITCH than a helpless person.

Baby Michael was seriously the hit of the party!  Until the rain passed through we were all stuck in the pavilion like a can of sardines and some people were even walking in circles inside of it for a faux walk.  Michael was a beast and was just walking everywhere despite the crowds!  He even almost got a kiss from a little 13 month girl because he walked right up to her and she put her arms out for him!  It was beyond precious!  I am raising a P-I-M-P!

Baby Michael is a trooper but even troopers get hungry!  I get the bad Mom award because he walked right over to the Tim Horton’s table and tempted me with a doughnut, that I let him try.  The rain finally subsided so we fed Michael his bottle and decided to hit the pavement!  Insert a downwards spiral of suckiness.  Is that even a word?  Probably not but that is how the walk ended up.

We started out and I was pretty happy because I was walking OK for just getting over my relapse a few months ago.  Sure, I couldn’t turn around and talk to the people behind me without walking all cockeyed but I was walking pain free and that is a big deal since I am not on the neuro blocking medicines anymore.  Somewhere around .5 miles in, this is a guesstimate, I was needing to focus more on my walking.  My legs started to buckle at times and were becoming incredibly weak.

“You have got to be kidding me!”

One of my friends kept doing the reach to save motion because she thought I was going to fall so I knew that it was noticeable.  I am a 24 year old woman who can not freaking walk!  I look normal and you can not tell and I like to keep it that way.  I do not want to be treated different and I frankly do not want people to witness me at times like these.  I have a reputation to protect.

I started stopping along the walking path in hopes that when I started again my legs would cooperate.  I was pleading with them in my mind to just work long enough to get back to the pavilion!  Please, for the love of all things holy, just get me back to where we started.

If you want an idea of what it is like for me, or anyone else with a walking problem, do this exercise.  Take a step with your right foot and bend your knee a little more than normal so it causes a slight imbalance.  Then bring your left foot up to your right foot but the top of it drags on the ground instead of the bottom.  Think of it like the hinge holding your foot and ankle together has broke so it is floppy.  Doesn’t work very well does it?

I feel bad for Daddy Michael because there isn’t anything he can do to help even though he really wants to.  Sometimes I don’t think he understands that things he tries to do are the opposite of helpful because I am concentrating so hard on the task at hand and he ends up breaking my concentration.  The brain is a tricky organ!  According to Leann’s watch we had burned 400 calories but I can guarantee you that I burned way more because of the extra effort I was exerting to stay standing up right.

Michael knew that it was to be a quiet ride home.

I did not talk the whole way home.  I wanted to ball my eyes out from sheer frustration because I was now alone and able to get it out.  I thought I had been doing so good!  If there is one thing that you should take away from reading any story like this, it is to truly appreciate everything you ARE able to do.  Your life might suck at times  but I can promise you that there is someone out there who would love to trade lives with you.  I know there are people who would wish to have the problems I have because they have bigger fish to fry so I get it off of my chest and use my energy for awareness.  Awareness is the most powerful tool we have to deal with things that aren’t in our control.

I promised you something rad and I didn’t forget about it!  Rain + stroller + blankets = wet blankets.  Totally not the case for my walk because I was using a MotrB!  I probably don’t even have to say it but it was invented by a Mom.  Who else would come up with something as genius as this stroller blanket?!  The pictures I saw online do not do this product justice… not even slightly!  I was the coolest stroller Mom at the walk and people thought it was awesome, because it is.

There is a little ‘pouch’ that you slide your child’s legs into and pull it up to their waist.  The inside is a fleece and the outside is a waterproof material so it is very warm.  You then roll the top of the blanket down and use the Velcro ‘snaps’ to attach it to the belt of the stroller.  It was simple!

The MotrB isn’t bulky and stayed in place perfectly!  I was so thankful to have it during my walk so there was one less thing that I needed to worry about.

Seriously, this thing is amazing.  You need one… like yesterday.  Make sure you check out The MotrB Facebook page and their website!

This giveaway is sponsored by Mompact.com.  This is a product “invented by moms, for moms” and I received this product in order to facilitate my review.  All opinions are 100% my own.

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1. Multiple Sclerosis Walk Shirts #homebusiness
2. The Battle With Multiple Sclerosis Continues
3. Multiple Sclerosis: Starting My Copaxone Injections

I hope every single Mom out there had a wonderful Mother’s Day!  Mother’s Day is the most important day of the year and I challenge anyone to argue with me on that one!  I got to spend my Mother’s Day recreating some delicious recipes from my cooking idol, Sandra Lee.  Seriously, my dirty little secret is how much I adore her.  Michael says that I have fallen into the ‘housewife‘ stereotype because I DVR all of her shows and watch them when I get a free moment.  You can just assume that all I do all day is watch cooking shows, eat bon bons and drink wine.  :)

Michael and I simply live for yard work so we tidied up our patio by weeding the beds surrounding it.  He was such a doll because he knew I was preparing a killer spread and wanted it to look nice for our very first outside dinner and grill event.  Really… we have never grilled before so this is a big deal!

We love Sears and buy our large appliances from them so naturally we checked out their Simply Outdoors catalog when we decided to buy a grill.  In one year we have purchased our refrigerator, water softener and now a grill from Sears!  I love that you can buy online and pick it up for free at the store.  I love that you can shop through Ebates to earn cash back.  I love that there are always coupon codes and I love their Shop Your Way Rewards program!  Every $1 you spend you get 10 points… talk about a no brainer.

The catalog was pretty amazing because it broke everything down into layman’s terms.  It is so simple that you can click on the name and it will open that item up in a new window.  I like simple!

After looking through the catalog we checked out the local ad and that is what got us to stumble upon this steal of a deal grill!  It was $229 in the catalog, $170 online and $149.93 at our store!  We were able to use a $15/100 coupon code since we bought it online and picked it up in store.  SCORE!  All of their patio furniture, decor and grills are on sale so I would recommend setting your preferred store to see what rockin’ finds are at your store!  I do know that you can get $80 off Kenmore 4 burner gas grills and 20% off cushions and lawn furniture right now.

We did not take advantage of the free in store assembly, all throughout May, because we were on a time table when we picked up our grill.  I had no idea that Sears offers a layaway, free in-store assembly and free delivery on orders of $499.99+!

Isn’t she beautiful?!  I literally could not sleep because I was so excited to have our first grilling experience!  Grilling always seemed like it was so easy compared to cooking in the house and I wanted to be inducted into the cool kid club!

Part of the fun of buying your first house is getting to make it your own.  I fell in love with the green themed outdoor dishes that were at Sears so I decided to use that for my tablescape.  I picked up some table decorating tips from Sandra and she says to create depth by using one color and multiple shades of that color.  I think her mission in life is to make me a classy lady!  HA!

Michael had so much fun grilling!  He was secretly uber excited just like me because we love being outside!  He was the Grillmaster and did a marvelous job, with the help of some pretty awesome grill accessories!  Grilling is so stinkin’ easy!  I did not have to clean nearly as much as I would have making this meal in the house and if you know me, I do not clean for the life of me!!

I decided to make a menu full of Sandra’s recipes so I started with her BBQ Roasted Potatoes with Sour Cream Sauce.  SO GOOD!

I am not a sauce person but O-M-G was this like heaven on earth.  Michael and I just kept Mmmhmm-ing the whole meal in conjunction with the approving head bobs.

For my vegetable I went with her Bacon-Wrapped Cheesey Corn.  Bacon + cheese = LOVE!  I didn’t know what she meant by a cheese sauce mix so I just melted some shredded cheese and mixed it with the mayonnaise.  On a side note, the Kenmore grill accessory kit we bought came with corn cob holders!

For the main course I made her Garlic, Lemon and Herb Chicken.  She uses legs but I only buy chicken breasts and it still turned out fabulous.  This was just amazing and Michael went to town on it!  He tried some of the potato sauce on it and approved!

I made a variation of her Jazz Fest drink recipe because the recipe she uses was going to knock me on my rump and then some!  I tripled the juice and I still got buzzed off of half a glass!  Holy cow was it a sneak attack!  For fear of getting blitzed I made a Kool-Aid and sure enough, I made it green!  I had no idea that they made a clear Kool-Aid that is watermelon flavored.  I boiled 1 tablespoon of lime Jell-O to give it the green color.

Sandra even has a dessert recipe that you can make on the grill!  I made her Grilled S’mores Cakes and they were good enough where I ate 2!  What a simple concept that is low mess, easy and scrumptious!  This meal looks like a million bucks but I promise you that I prepped it in no time.  Low stress is the name of the game!

Just for all of you visual people here is a breakdown of everything I bought!  I am not joking that there was a killer sale because I got a 4 pack of plates for $1.99!  Please disregard my tongs and applecorer because those were I have to have these now items.  I will fill you in on those amazingly helpful gadgets in another post.  Things like this are another reason I love the Shop Your Way Rewards program!  Everything is emailed to you and everything is electronic so it is easy to find.  We are taking out points and buying a grill cover since that is one thing we forgot to pick up this shopping trip.

I know this was a total photo bomb post but this was a big deal in our household and you can see EVEN MORE photos in my Google+ album.  We are grillers now.  We have been shown the light of low maintenance cooking and clean up so there is no turning back.  You have been warned…

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• SYWR on Twitter

“I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric”

1. First Halloween Candy Shopping with 50 ft Party #CBias #KmartHalloween
2. Healthier Strawberry Cake #SilkFruit #CBias
3. Mommy Snack Time With Peach Crisp! #delmonte #CBias

Today was my Multiple Sclerosis walk and I totally felt like a schmuck for not getting shirts made 2 years in a row but I just did not have the time make the time to do it!  The next best thing to matching team shirts happens to be baked goods and I am pretty darn good at that!  I like to call myself the not so perfect Betty Crocker but since these goodies were for more than just my Husband I figured I should follow an actual recipe.  He is a garbage disposal so experimenting in my house is A-OK.

I went to Ocean Spray’s site and found a couple of recipes since I wanted to use some of the jellied cranberry sauce I had in my cupboard.  I decided on the Red Ribbon Cranberry Coffeecake and Hearty Oatmeal Cranberry Muffins.  Yum!

The ingredients for the oatmeal muffins are simple but the recipe threw me off because it said baking mix.  What in the world is baking mix???  Thank goodness I have a family member who is a fabulous cook because she led me to the Bisquick and it worked!

I made a double batch because their recipe said it would only make 6 muffins.  Actually, a double batch made 18 muffins so a single batch would have made 9 muffins.  The part I was the most unsure of would have been the cranberry filling.  I had no idea how much to put in because I wasn’t sure how strong the muffin would be.  I played it safe and put a small layer in and I think it was perfect now that I have eaten them!  I am not a big fruit filling type of person but I can tell you that these are great and such a nice little surprise!

These muffins are heavy and my girlfriend, Leann, said they were dense and filling from the oatmeal.  That makes them a perfect breakfast muffin!  Oh so good!

The coffee cake ingredients were just as easy.  In fact, I was able to use 1 can of cranberry sauce for both of my recipes!  Talk about fancy on the cheap!  For some reason I associate fruit fillings with hard work but that is not the case at all.

This was a first time for me making a topping like this.  You take butter, sugar and flour and press it together with a fork.  Intimidating for a first timer!  I promise that it is easier than it sounds!  I took the topping and sprinkled it on top of my muffins before baking them.

If you read their recipe you will see that it is supposed to be a coffee cake and not muffins but I wanted muffins to take to my walk.  If you want muffins then you can cook them for 20 minutes instead of what they say in their instructions for the coffee cake.  These are delish!

Stay tuned for a recipe using these Craisins!  I am going to be making some cookies but I figured 3 desserts in 1 day was a little overkill, since it would ruin my girlish figure.

Everyone that participated in my walk today ROCKED my socks off and really liked my Ocean Spray spread.  I really believe in team spirit to give people a reason to participate outside of just the cause.  Make it fun, make it yummy and make it memorable.  I picked out Ocean Spray singles in all different flavors so my whole team, Carpe Diem, was hydrated and full.  Mama Bear has to take care of her cubs!

If you want to see all of the products I found while shopping, you should check out my Google+ album!  Make sure to check out the Ocean Spray Facebook page because there are usually coupons for their juices on the web.  If you are a Twitter person check them out on their Twitter page!

“I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric”

1. Healthier Strawberry Cake #SilkFruit #CBias
2. Mini Fruit Pizzas #SilkFruit #CBias
3. Mommy Snack Time With Peach Crisp! #delmonte #CBias

A swirl of recipes from around the world, 

a love story that spans for decades, 

a family at the crossroads of life 

and so much more …

Who is ready for a giant giveaway from Orangeberry Book Tours??  There are going to be 35 winners with the grand prize winner getting a Kindle Fire + 9 eBooks!  Now THAT is a great Mother’s Day gift.  If you are the winner of the Kindle Fire you should come back and purchase it through my Amazon link!

Prize Breakdown:

• Grand Prize: 1 Kindle Fire + 9 eBooks
• 9 Winners: All 9 eBooks
• 25 Winners: Any 3 eBooks

Make sure you get your entries in before the 17th so you don’t miss out on all of the prizes.

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My Sister is pregnant… YAY!  She wants a Star Wars theme for her shower and nursery… WAH?!!  The theme of a lot of my posts lately has been ‘challenge‘ so I am adding the #ExpressYourself challenge to my portfolio of wins.  Not only do I know zero-zilch-nadda about Star Wars but I live by a budget so I couldn’t just go out and buy Star Wars things.  Talk about breaking the bank if you do!  This is also a great time to whip out some of the hundreds of glass baby food jars I have in the closet.

Anyone out there an Elmer’s Painters Paint Marker fan?  I sure am because they are EASY!  I ran to Walmart and picked some up because they are now $1.97 for the singles.  I personally prefer the singles because I don’t get stuck with colors that I don’t need for the current project.  I do predict that I am going to own way too many buying them this way though!

I sure had a hard time finding anything at the store that would work for the Star Wars theme.  I got lucky and found these at the very end of my toy browsing expedition.  PERFECT!!!  I wanted to create something like a topiary so these were exactly what I was looking for.  How did I get that lucky?!

Then I was presented with the problem of which one to buy???  Umm… I know nothing about Star Wars so I will just stick with Darth Vader?  Then I saw the price and my heart sank.  Are Legos really that expensive?  Rethink having kids if you get sticker shocked at all.  It turns out this kit came with the little fighter ship and a Death Star so I felt a little better since I would get 6 instead of 3 for $30.  I also decided I am not getting her a gift because she is going to use these decorations for the nursery too.  Double whammy!

I picked up some wooden dowels in the craft section for .97 and painted them with my red paint marker.  I did 2 the full 12 inches, 2 at 9 inches and 2 at 6 inches.  I wanted them to be staggered when I put them all together.  I used a table saw to cut them at the different lengths.  I was really lucky because these are 3/16 dowels and the hole on Legos fit perfectly!

I painted my lids before drilling my hole and I would recommend that you do it the other way.  Drill first and then paint so you don’t have to do any touch ups like I did.  I thought about doing the whole lid red but I wanted the lids to be more interesting to look at so I went with a black trim.

I just used a 3/16 drill bit to get my hole in the middle of my baby food jar lid.  I just put the lid on the baby food jar and used that to hold the lid while I drilled.

I used Goo Gone to get the remaining stickiness off of my jars, I love this stuff.  My tip to you would be to wash your jars after using the Goo Gone or the paint will end up streaky on your jars.

I picked up some rocks from the craft section and used them to fill my jars.  I wanted them weighted and still to match my colors.  I think they were $3.28 for a 24 ounce bags of rocks.

Rubber cement is easy to use so I picked some up while I was at Walmart and used that to glue my little Darth Vaders to the lids!  It worked perfect!

Then I measured out 12 inches of red and black ribbon and tied it around my jar.  I had to trim the ribbon because 12 inches is too long but I didn’t want to end up with not enough ribbon.  I think the ribbon is a nice touch because it makes the whole evil Darth Vader thing a little softer and perhaps… more girly?

I really didn’t know how these were going to turn out to be completely honest with you.  When they were all done and I was looking at the picture, I was shocked.  My Sister was pleased and that is really all that matters but seriously… how cool are those?!

Follow Elmer’s:

1. Baby Shower Game For the Anti Baby Shower Mom
2. #TinyPrints: 10 Tips For a Unique Baby Shower
3. DIY: Baby Shower Banner Craft Project #GlueNGlitter

One of the most maddening things is having a sick child if they can’t talk yet.  You are then stuck with the process of elimination while your little one cries and/or is having trouble breathing. It is heart breaking to feel as helpless as you do the first time your baby gets sick.  I held Michael a lot when he got sick for the first time and I have absolutely no idea if that helped but it made me feel a little better.  Well that is, until he gave me his cold and then I gave it to Daddy Michael!

Sick Mommy  + Sick Baby = Not One Wink of Sleep

I am very lucky and Michael made it to 8 months old before getting a cold.  When he did finally get sick I felt TERRIBLE!  Let me just tell you how exhausting it is to have a sick baby.  Michael was up every single hour for multiple days, it was intense.  Here are some of the tips I picked up for a simple cold just in case you are a first time Mommy too.

1. Make sure he isn’t running a fever, I love my Exergen TemporalScanner!  I just press it to his forehead and it is done in a matter of seconds!  If you are worried about accuracy I will let you know it reads the same as a thermometer you stick in their ear.  I promise, I have tested both types.
2. Keep a lot of Boogie Wipes on hand!  These suckers are ah-mazing, promise!
3. Use a humidifier in his room.  I always keep our Graco humidifier running and the setting is about 50% in his room.
4. You can try raising/lowering one side of the crib mattress so it is on an angle.  I noticed Michael had a harder time sleeping while laying down flat.
5. Ask your pediatrician if you can give your baby any medicine to help.  Most likely the answer is no.
6. You can try some of the baby vapor bath products.
7. You can try Baby Vicks on your baby’s feet.  I have read about a ton of success stories on the internet from other Moms
8. Moms that I know have used saline drops successfully but I personally haven’t.  The saline breaks up the snot in their nose and you suck it out with a bulb.

Exergen TemporalScanner is running a great giveaway just in time for Mother’s Day!  Head over to their giveaway page and fill in your information and be sure to select what ‘Mom’ you are entering for.  There is zero shame in picking yourself!  Being a Mom is a tough job.

You can play their instant win game daily and that is as simple as pushing the button and hoping you land on 98.6 degrees!  I got 98.5 degrees.

If you are in the market for your own Exergen TermporalScanner I would download their $5 mail in rebate!  If you received yours as a gift you can download this $5 rebate form!

I received my own Exergen TemporalScanner in order to facilitate my review.  All opinions are 100% my own.

1. Cold Stone Cocoa Game Night! #coldstonecocoa
2. #Free Ice Cream at Cold Stone Creamery
3. $1 Printable Coupon For Cold Stone Cocoa! #coldstonecocoa