Smooshie

I am not going to do a big introduction, I will simply say this about Smooshies: as soon as my son saw the Smooshie he was enamored. This "monster" (as he appropriately named it) immediately stole his heart. He detached and switched around the movable arms, legs, eyebrows and had a ball. Sometimes I find random pieces of the "monster" around the house but I don't mind because he enjoys this soft toy so much. I am sure that removing and replacing the pieces are helping his dexterity and that is a good thing, right? The only limit on the fun with the Smooshie is a child's imagination. The appearance can change depending on placement of pieces and can provide hours of fun!

If you'd like to get a Smooshie for the kiddo in your life they are available exclusively at Joann.com

Making Laundry Easier

I was sent the Tide Stain Release in wash booster and the Bounce Dryer bar to use and provide feedback about the products. I have found that they are both extremely easy to use, save time and space in my laundry room. I no longer have to worry about dryer sheets or fabric softener because it is in my dryer. The Stain Release packets are extremely easy to use, I just pop one in with my regular load of laundry and forget about it. As the mother of a busy toddler, I have found both of these products help me considerably. Take a look at my video to see my complete review.



Visit the Tide Stain Release website to get more detailed information about the product and you can also print a coupon worth $1.50.

Backup, Backup, Backup!

As a budding photographer (okay, I may be taking that too far, let's just say a new camera owner) and parent I take my fair share of pictures. When my son was born the photos were flying and I can't remember how many were taken of him. I kept everything on the computer that I shared with my husband (I didn't use it often because I had access to a laptop at work). When I finally purchased my own computer he copied the images and gave them to me. This was very lucky because within four months of purchasing my iMac the hard drive died. I KNOW! (I have to admit my love affair with Apple almost died that day but it was soon rekindled).

All of my photos, my documents, everything was lost. Since my machine was still under warranty I was able to have it fixed free of charge but when I inquired about recovering the info the pricing was way above what I thought was reasonable. So with a wistful farewell, I left my computer in the hands of the genius lab at the Apple Store.

And what lesson did I learn? Back everything up! For many months I have stored things online but I must admit that I am not sure how that actually works. When I went to retrieve documents remotely I had difficulty. I could have called customer service but I just let it ride. For a year now I have been riding, hoping for the best. Lucky for me nothing terrible has transpired. I've repeatedly said I need an external hard drive but am/was too lazy to go purchase one.

Imagine my happiness when I was contacted by Seagate to try out their external hard drive. I am using the FreeAgent Go for Mac with 500GB (retail: $149.99) I can save photos, pictures, music and more on this little baby. And it is small enough to carry in my pocketbook. Yes, if I had a macbook I could also take my hard drive along and share info. Nice touch! It perfectly compliments my iMac and is totally unobtrusive. I keep it in the docking station and it blends in perfectly.

It was quick and easy to install however the instructions were a bit limited. I still haven't figured out how to save photos directly from iPhoto to the hard drive but I have been able to do this with my Nikon software.

For now, I am using the hard drive to back up my entire system. When I originally set it up I just did it that way but I am not sure if I am able to go back and perhaps simply use it for photos. Nonetheless, I am happy with my external hard drive and have piece of mind that my precious moments are safely stored in the event of a problem with my desktop.

Please learn from my mistake and if you don't already have an external hard drive get one.

Check Out Those Eyes!

I have always had wonderful vision. It is actually better than 20/20, in one of my eyes I can see from 40 feet what most people can see from 20 feet away. My excellent vision enabled me to receive a prestigious Air Force Scholarship valued at over $100,000 when I was in college. Although I was only in the military (ROTC but because of my scholarship I was considered active military) for a year and received an honorable discharge when I decided to pursue other goals.

It is my hope that my son has perfect vision too, however there is no guarantee and I want to ensure that his vision is checked to catch any problems early. This is where Enfant Vision testing comes in. They have a system that can check a child's vision as early as six months. They also have an at home assessment tool that will help to determine if there is possibly a problem with your child's vision. The test only takes about three minutes, I took it and based on my son's behavior his vision seems to be fine - you can take by clicking here. If you decide that you would like to take your child for an assessment, a list of the doctors utilizing Enfant Vision can be found by here.

I know I found the information on the Enfant Vision website to be extremely helpful and I hope you do too.