I bought mine at the local Dollar General though, not on TV which saved me a bunch on the shipping. I must say it is not extremely well made so I do not expect it to last very long. But they are very pretty.

Lavender ‘N Chocolate has a great variety of well written articles, natural recipes, tips, strategies, and inspiring personal experiences help boost your physical and emotional wellbeing. Not only did I find the information and recipes I was looking for but I also found a lot of things I didn’t know I should be looking into, like chocolate!

If you’re looking for a reason to eat chocolate or ways to keep your entire family healthy without emptying your bank account, you really owe it to yourself to check out Lavender ‘N Chocolate.

Finally, I have found something that may just cure all those worries and stress.  The Purse Brite Organizer System, simplifies the organization of my purse and it fits into a nice deep one pocket purse neatly organizing everything into pockets within the organizer that allow you to look straight down into your purse and see everything in one place.  This also allows you to quickly and easily reach in and locate the item you are looking for as you’re trying to juggle a baby on your hip, open the car door and load all your sacks from the store.

This kind of organization can truly be a lifesaver for the woman who desires a neat purse.

If the person you’re calling already has Skype installed on their Mac or PC then the two of you can talk absolutely free.  Skype also offers affordable pay as you go plans or montly plans to use in calling those who do not have Skype or do not have access to a computer.

Now you can even get Skype phone, headsets and other accessories, making it easy to use and a great way to communicate.  Visit Skype on the web to learn more.

But once my kids came along, this little baby has become more and more important for my everyday organization (and sanity). Let’s see what I’ve used the Letratag for.

• Labeling seeds while they germinate. Despite the moisture this thing stuck fast.
• Labeling kids’ pencil cases, and other stuff, even backpacks
• Of course, to label my home and business folders (see picture)
• Stick important phone numbers where others can see it like in the kitchen. Because this thing sticks pretty well, it does not get dropped or rubbed off.
• Talking about phone numbers, it’s also a really neat way to print a few phone number and name labels out. Great for when you don’t have a paper around and need to give someone your phone number. Pull out the sticker and tell them to stick on their notebook.
• Label our cell phones. Hubs and I have identical phones and can’t always tell them apart.
• Leave instructions: for myself or someone else. I like to print double sided to save paper but cannot always remember which way I should flip the paper and what order they should be. So, I printed labels with instructions and stuck them to the printer
• Label cables and power cords. Do you have a tangle of power cords and USB cables? A nightmare. Especially when you unplug one and discover that was the computer… oops!
• Label remote controls. Ah yes. I know when someone sneaks off with mine.
• Label home made CD’s and DVD’s

What I like about my LetraTag, it’s smaller than most. Mine is the longish design not the wide ones and it can go anywhere if I want to bring it along. I also found the labels to stick very well. I’ve always used white paper labels. Tried the other ones but didn’t like them unless you plan to use it in place where there’s a lot of water or moisture, the plastic ones may be a good idea.

The only down side is the tape can be pretty expensive. So I always scout them out if I’m at Big Lots or surfing on eBay. Bottom line. Love it and recommend it.

A few months ago my husband would not stop talking about getting a Blackberry. Every commercial we saw he said, “I want one of those.” He would not give up on it. I kept telling him I wasn’t sure they would be worth the money, would we really use all the features, was he sure? Yet he persisted. Finally, I was perusing the AT&T website and found a great deal on some older model Blackberries, Blackberry 8700c to be exact. We could get them at a steal and I discovered that the new plan we needed would not be but about $30 more than we were paying, so I went for it.

A few days later, the coveted Blackberries arrived in the mail. We were excited to get them and begin using their awesome features. I loved the wide keyboard where I could text letters key by key rather than having to punch a key three times to get a specific letter. Sure made my texting faster, since I”ve never been a fast texter.

We had the Blackberries a few days when my husband began complaining, “I can’t hear it ring”, “I never get your messages”, “Mine says no data connection available.” Then, my mom would call me on mine and I would not be able to hear her, nor could she hear me. Though my data connection worked and texting was great my connection was poor.

Finally, after having our Blackberries just over a month my husband and I decided to call customer service about going back to regular phones. They shipped them out immediately, my husband sold our phones to a friend at work, and we are back in business, happily using our Nokia flip phones again.

This is one of those things they don’t tell ya when you become a parent. Who knew washing the kids’ hair can make me want to pull out my own hair. It’s so much easier when they were babies.

How do you wash your kiddos’ hair without getting drenched?

When I saw this Shampoo Rinse Cup at Walmart for just a few bucks I thought we’d give it a try. The verdict, it does work, but you’ve got to ‘work at it’. I think the idea is good but the design can be improved upon.

It is easier for older kids because they know they should tilt their head back and they don’t have a big problem with that. But with 3-4 year olds or younger… not sure you noticed or not, at this age, they kinda have a phobia of tilting their head. Also, you have to really put the cup up against the forehead before tilting it.

This down then up motion for 2 or three rinses is challenging for the littler ones. For my youngest, I quit using it, the older ones love it. This Shampoo Rinse Cup is not bad, just have to get used to it and I don’t recommend for younger kids.

Several months ago, my Twitter friends were going crazy over the Senseo. They all got on the Share Senseo plan and soon everyone got their own free Senseo system – a $80 coffee maker for free. You only need pay shipping – $15. Sure it was a deal but I never felt it was something I would be attracted to.

First, I never understood the draw of the single serve system. In our family, we always drank coffee by the pot. When my father in law was alive, we’d all (me, hubs, mother-in-law and father-in-law) will go through a few pots a day. So making single cups seemed like a lot of work to me. Plus, the pods also seemed very expensive.

But eventually, we quit making coffee by the pot. We made our own coffee by the cup – instant. So all of a sudden the Senseo didn’t sound like such a bad idea anyhow. So when my friend Annette let us know the Share Senseo program is back, I jumped right at it.

I got my Senseo today. It came with 18 pods so me and hubs put it to work right away! We only got the dark roast – I wish they would send you a sample of different kinds. But so far we like the coffee.

The one thing that kinda threw us off was, we thought it was a coffee maker not an espresso maker. I dunno. It may be the other way around but the one cup was soooooo small! We are heavy coffee drinkers who drink by the mug – large mugs. So we ended up making 3 cups to fill one of our regular mugs.

I also didn’t like the water tank. I think it is difficult to fill. The water tank is also small. Be prepared to fill it every other time you make coffee if you’re like us making 3 and 2 cups at a time. We may end up getting the large water tank. We’ll see. Well, these are our first impressions. So far we like it!

If you want one for free, you can get it at ShareSenseo.com 

By the way, if you want to upgrade or the share Senseo program is closed when you read this, I have $20 off coupons. Just let me know.

When I had my first child, I would wash his clothes using Dreft only and all other clothing in the household using Tide. Now, with our second child on the way, I decided that instead of getting two separate detergents, I would look for one that would meet all my requirements and I’m able to do both the kids’ laundry and our laundry at the same time. I wanted a detergent that was natural, environmentally-friendly and safe. It was then that I decided to try out Seventh Generation’s Laundry Detergent.

Most detergents are made from petroleum-based cleaners, which use oil. But the Seventh Generation Laundry Detergents are plant-derived. Therefore, we are not depleting one of nature’s most valuable resources. They are non-toxic, biodegradable, contains no phosphates, artificial fragrances or dyes. They are also free from any animal testing.

I tried the liquid version but they also come in powder form. The one I got is their new and improved formula which is effective for use in cold water and specially formulated for both High Efficiency and standard washing machines. Just look for the blue and white HE symbol on the packaging.

For my first test load, I washed some of my clothes, my son’s clothes, some towels and some kitchen cloths. Everything came out clean and smelling really nice. Some grass and food stains that were on my son’s clothing were completely gone. What I also like about it is that the fragrance in this detergent is made out of natural essential oils and does not smell strong and synthetic like in some detergents. The Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent is ultra-concentrated, so you only have to use half of what you would normally use for other detergents and it works just as well, if not better. I think it’s a great product for those with allergies or sensitive skin. Highly recommended.

I used to think that juicing was tedious and time-consuming. That is until I purchased the Hamilton Beach 67600 Big Mouth Juicer. This is my first ever juicer and I love it! I’ve been using it for a week now and it is working great. I browsed around for quite awhile before settling on this model.  

This is a powerful 800-watt juicer that makes juicing so fast and easy. You don’t need to do as much cutting with your fruits and vegetables as it can take whole fruits and vegetables through a large 3’ chute, hence the name Big Mouth. It comes with an extra-large bin to collect the pulp. I just use a plastic bag to collect the pulp which makes cleaning so much easier and I save the pulp to use later in making soups and other dishes. The removable parts are dishwasher safe. This juicer is rather loud when being used. But it’s not a big deal for me. 

I have a toddler who hates eating vegetables. Problem solved with this juicer! I love the texture of the juice that this juicer produces. Very smooth, refreshing, clean and yummy. I think the stainless steel juice strainer that comes with it helps a lot with the smooth texture as well. I’m also surprised by how much juice I’m able to extract using this juicer. The trick is to use the plunger slowly to press the fruits/vegetables down. A brush is also included for you to clean the stainless steel strainer. It not only comes with instructions on how to use the juicer but there are also some recipes for juices for you to try and some recipes for the pulp as well! Best thing is, the Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juicer is reasonably priced. I bought mine from Walmart for $50. Best $50 I’ve spent in awhile!