I purchased the Magic Bullet Blender to make baby food for my infant.  It worked wonderfully.  I was able to steam the vegetables in the microwave in one of the cups with the steamer lid.  You then just had to remove the lid, screw on the blender attachment, and blend away.  I was very happy with the product and I still use it today to steam vegetable for my son, even though...

When we first bought our house, I wanted an easy way to pay all or most of our bills.  I figured I would start by having our Nicor (gas) bill come directly out of our checking account.  I went to the Nicor web site and clicked on online bill pay.  Apparently Nicor doesn't directly to online bill pay, they go through mycheckfree.com.  I did some research into mycheckfree....

As a mother of two young children, I am always looking for a good, quick, and accurate thermometer. The last time my oldest son was sick, I sent my husband out to Walgreens to get a digital thermometer that scans the forehead because my son is too young for a thermometer under the tongue, too old and squirmy for the butt method, and is too squirmy and it takes too long under the arm.My husband ...

My youngest son recently celebrated his first birthday. I took my eldest son out shopping with me to buy the baby his birthday gift. After reiterating that we were buying the baby a gift, my eldest son picked out My Pal Scout.My Pal Scout is a cute plush puppy dog made by Leap Frog. It is so much more than just a stuffed animal. My Pal Scout is green and white and super soft and cuddly. He has ...

We live in a suburb of Chicago and while it is usually humid in the summer, it is not very humid in the winter. My nose clogs and I have trouble sleeping. I was advised by many to get a humidifier. I had no idea there were so many choices for humidifiers. Did we want a warm mist, cold mist, ultrasonic, filter free. After some research and looking around, I decided on the Vicks Warm Mist Humidif...

I am currently 12 weeks pregnant with my second child and I am quickly outgrowing my "normal" clothes.  I was too big to button or, if I could button, sit in my current jeans and maternity jeans were just too big.  The rubberband trick just wasn't cutting it.  I needed a solution.  I went to Motherhood Maternity and purchased a belly band, The Tummy Sleeve.&nbs...

I'm a sucker for a love story. I'm not into the steamy Harlequin novels but I like your basic love story. I always pick up any new Nicholas Sparks novel. Although I do wait for it to come out in softcover. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks is a very easy book to read. The story just flows and you'll have a hard time putting it down. I often read in the bath tub and find that I've...

My son recently received the VTech Sort & Spin Blender for his first birthday. It is a big hit in our house and both him and his 3-year-old brother enjoy playing with this toy.This toy actually simulates and actual blender and you can push a button and "blend" (spin) the shapes. There are three different songs that play when the toy is on. There is a sound effects button, a blendi...

When I was expecting my 1st baby, I quickly became aware that almost every baby product and toy required batteries. In an effort to keep battery usage to a minimal and to help prevent too many batteries from ending up in the garbage, I decided to register for a battery charger and rechargeable batteries. I was happy to receive the Energizer Batteries and Charger. The package consisted of 12 bat...

Winter was really beginning to take a toll on me and my son.  My mom suggested we go to the local Rainbow showroom and play on the swingsets.  My son enjoyed playing on all the different swingsets and my mom and I enjoyed browsing.  We quickly fell in love with the quality of the Rainbow play systems.   However, they are a bit out my price range.  The play systems ...

My second baby developed bad eczema when he was just a few months old. It was pretty bad on his buttocks. I decided to make the switch from disposable to cloth diapers in an effort to help his eczema. I bought a good supply of cloth diapers but wanted something to use when we were out and about that was disposable. I just didn't like carrying around a dirty diaper all day in the diaper bag....

My 1-year-old received the Fisher Price Little People Sail 'n Float Boat for his first birthday. I was really excited to use this toy since we were in need of some new bath toys. The Sail 'n Float boat is able to be used on dry land or in water. The boat is blue with a cute yellow face. Their is a movable red fishing pole. The boat also comes with Captain Michael, a life ring, and a fis...

My doctor prescribed me the drug Zofran because I was pregnant and having morning (day, and night) sickness and was losing weight at each visit.  I was 19 weeks pregnant when it was prescribed.  Zofran is usually prescribed to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.  It "blocks the actions of chemicals in the body that can trigger nausea and vomiting."  It is ...

As I get older, I find myself asking for birthday gifts that benefit the family rather than gifts for myself. Last year was no exception. I was 6 months pregnant with my 2nd on my birthday and my only gift requests were a Boppy pillow and a video monitor. I am happy to report that I received both gifts. My parents bought me a Summer Infant Flat Screen Color Video Monitor. This monitor seems to ...

My 3.5 year old is very close to outgrowing the car seat installed in my husband's car. That car seat, while safe and well loved, only is usable for kids up to 40 lbs. My son is almost there. I wanted to buy another seat that would last a long time, turn into a booster, be affordable but still keep him harnessed for another few years. I once again began doing research. The car seat/booster ...

We have a yellow Labrador Retriever who loves to go for car rides. The issue is that she was all over the place. She would often jump from the cargo area in our SUV to the back seats. When we found out we were expecting a baby we knew we would need something to keep her contained in the cargo area and away from the baby. I came upon the Highland Pet Barrier at Amazon.com. The barrier is $39.99 ...

I am lucky enough to live just around the corner from Konow's Corn Maze. Konow's is located at 16849 S. Cedar Road, Homer Glen, IL. Konow's is a wonder place to visit for all your non-scary Halloween fun. Konow's is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from September 26 to October 30. Admission is free for children under 2 and $8.00 for 3 and up.  Konow's is a family-run f...

With rising gas prices, we decided we needed to purchase a car seat for my husband's car.  He gets about 10 mile more per gallon with his Toyota Corolla than my Saturn Vue.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money since we would only be using this car seat on occasion, yet I didn't want to compromise on comfort and safety.   I went to our local Wal-Mart and found t...

I usually buy all of my kids' clothing at either Kohl's, Target, or the outlet mall. I was shopping at Walmart a while ago and noticed some very nice children's clothing. They had a huge variety of shirts and knit pants. I was looking for some knit/fleece type pant for my 3-year-old son to lounge around in. The pants came in numerous colors and I ended up buying 4 pairs. The pants w...

My brother-in-law bought the Biaggia 502 Professional Pizza & Snack Oven for my husband as a Christmas gift because we used his so often when we lived with him. I love this pizza oven and we use it often.The pizza oven is made of stainless steel and measures 18 by 15 by 75 inches. This pizza oven would probably not be the easiest to store and we just leave ours on the counter. The oven cook...