Mom's Gadgets

 

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.

My coffee pot broke this week while I was washing it. We haven’t been drinking coffee by the pot lately anyway so it was not a big thing. The last few times I did make pot we ended up throwing away 3/4 or the whole pot.

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.