Mom Life in the PNW

Simplify Spring Cleaning With the Shark 2-in-1 Blast & Scrub Steam Pocket Mop!

Simplify Spring Cleaning With the Shark 2-in-1 Blast & Scrub Steam Pocket Mop!

It’s that time of year when the flowers start to bloom, the weather warms up, the birds chirp and the sound of lawn mowers give us a morale boost to get busy decluttering our homes and yards.  Boy, do I not like all the spring cleaning, but I do enjoy the end result.

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Having a little one to take care of 24/7 that now involves a constant tornado with the trail she leaves behind her, results in an overly tired mom who just wants to do things simple.

One thing I hate doing is mopping. It’s gross, takes too much time to ring out the hand held mop, and you get to redo it over and over until the floor is semi clean. I say semi, because a mop and bucket just transfers the dirtiness right back onto the floor which is why I wanted something that was going to produce sanitary results, like this fancy Shark 2-in-1 Blast & Scrub Steam Pocket Mop.

I have 3 bathrooms to mop, 2 of which are linoleum, the other ceramic tile, a linoleum kitchen and a hardwood entryway. It’s A LOT of mopping, so I definitely needed something more simplified yet effective and this Shark 2-in-1 Blast & Scrub Steam Pocket Mop is just that!

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I first started with my ceramic tile bathroom because I wanted to try it out in the shower as well. It was pretty easy to get going. All I needed to do was plug it in, fill the water in the front tank up to the fill line, push the spray button on the tank to either low or high and off I went. This thing moved smoothly and it was super easy to get all the corners and around the toilet because the mop head swivels.

My end result was this… IMG_1306

and that was just with one cleaning.

There are lots of things that I like about this steam mop

  1. The pad is machine washable.
  2. The pad has 2 sides, one with this softer mop head type feel (shown above), and the other side has strips that are like a scrubbing pad with cotton in between for a more deep clean.
  3. Is lightweight and durable construction with swivel steering for enhanced maneuverability
  4. Converts into a handheld steamer for above-floor cleaning

The last one I am pretty excited about because the top of the fridge gets dusty and grimy from grease, so converting it into the handheld to get on top of the fridge clean has been a lifesaver since nothing seems to make it better other than a crap ton of chemicals that I am trying to limit in the house. I feel like I can pretty much steam everything now and have confidence that my home is more sanitary for my little one to crawl around in.

This steam mop just uses water, no harsh chemicals and it should only be used on sealed flooring. You don’t want to warp or damage your flooring because they’re not sealed.

This worked great on our linoleum, lifted up a bunch of dust that apparently my broom missed. And also worked great on the hardwood flooring at the entryway which gets a lot of traction.

Spring cleaning doesn’t get any simpler than this folks.

…Fill it up with water.

Plug it in.

and off you go.

Ozeri 3-Piece Pan Set Review

Ozeri 3-Piece Pan Set Review

When my husband and I got married in October of 2012, we never officially had a wedding wedding or a reception because we ran off to Vegas with a couple friends a couple weeks after he proposed. I didn’t feel right having a reception since we didn’t have a ceremony with our friends and family, so basically we didn’t get any gifts or things we might need to start our adventure together. But he had some miscellaneous pans from a previous marriage, which we kept and made work, but I hate them because everything sticks to them, which in turn makes me loathe cooking.

I had reviewed one of their 8 inch pans previously, so I knew I’d love the 3-pack in 8, 10 and 12″ sizes.

When I recieved Ozeri 3-Piece pan set, they were different than the previous pan, as in they had a divot grooved bottom and the other pan was smooth. The only difference I find when cooking with the grooved bottom is that eggs tend to stick. They’re supposed to be nonstick but eggs don’t do well in them.

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Cooking hashbrowns is tricky because they slide all over the place when trying to flip. You’ll need a wide spatula for these non stick pans. Bacon turned out evenly cooked and didn’t stick either.

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I do like these pans despite the egg sticking issue. They’re nice and heavy duty, and even after using them for over a month, none of the coating has came off, even after using a sponge scrubby and going through the dishwasher.

I also like that they come with cloth insert protectors for when you stack them inside each other to help protect the inner coating. Nice feature that I haven’t seen with any other pan set, not even high priced sets.

Thanks ozeri for yet another great product.

Review: Nutri Ninja® with Auto-iQ™ and Smooth Boost™ Technology Series Blender

You may have heard of Ninja and now you want to know what all the rave is about? Have you ever blended something in a low kilowatt blender and have it be chunky with food or ice still? Yeah me too. I was tired of my smoothies not being, ya know… smooth!

There are many different models, so how do you know which one is the best one for you? Well, it’s going to take a little bit of research on your part. Obviously price is a big factor; some are less and some are more. I opted for this Nutri Ninja® with Auto-iQ™ and Smooth Boost™ Technology Series because I have little space and didn’t need another big clunky kitchen appliance taking up space on my counter tops and it’s at an affordable price point. This one is small enough to hide in the cupboards and I like that since I have very little room on my counters as is.

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The Nutri Ninja® with Auto-iQ™ and Smooth Boost™ Technology Series comes with three 24 oz to go style cups, one of them being a stainless steel cup which has a double wall insulation to allow for colder beverages of up to 4 hours. This is awesome if something comes up,  oh you know, like work issues or mom issues and you can’t finish your beverage before it ends up warm. I love that I can take my time to enjoy my morning smoothie.

The Auto-iQ and Smooth Boost Technology features timed, intelligent blending programs that do the work for you, no guesswork required. This means you don’t have to hold the button down until you “think” you have the right consistency, it automatically does it for you depending on which cup/blade you have locked in and the button you have pushed. Pure awesomeness!

I had a crappy blender before being introduced to the Ninja and I hated it because it left ice chunks in my drinks. It definitely did not have the wattage needed to blend ice efficiently and smoothly like this Ninja blender does.

One of my favorite go to smoothie recipes that I make off the top of my head is below

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The seeds never get fully chopped up because they’re already fine enough, and I don’t mind anyways since it gives the smoothie a little bit of texture and me the nutrients I need to start my day.

Another thing I decided to give a try was coffee. I love love love ice blended coffee drinks but they get too damn expensive at local coffee shops, so why not make them with this trusty Ninja blender?

All you need is ice, your favorite coffee (cooled), some chocolate syrup/or favorite coffee creamer and whipped cream if you want to make it extra tasty. Hit the blend button and wa-la, it’ll stop when it’s just the right consistency.

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I’ve also tried blending up my little one some baby food to stick in my reusable food pouches. She loves bananas, avocados, apples, green beans all blended up together. You name it and she’ll probably eat it, which to me is a good thing since I won’t have to deal with picky behavior later on, I HOPE.

The only thing that is off-putting by this machine is that it’s LOUD. But, I now realize that Ninja is not for Ninja quiet, it’s interpretation is how bad ass the blades are at chopping food up!

As you can see, I love this Ninja blender and find it well worth the price tag. It gave me hope back in being able to create ice-chunk free smoothies that I so crave!

If you don’t already have one, I highly suggest checking them out; they’re awesome!

Drop Your Pants for #Underwareness and FREE Sample

Drop Your Pants for #Underwareness and FREE Sample

You may be surprised to hear that over 51 million women experience bladder leakage which breaks down to about 1 in 3 women, so unfortunately the odds are stacked against us. I remember starting to experience bladder issues in my early 20’s when I had a catheter done. But, women in their 20s are having more bladder leakage issues than women in their 80’s nowadays. I don’t ever really talk about it since it’s slightly embarrassing, but after realizing I am not the only one who deals with this issue, I feel a whole lot better.

I remember my great aunt in her 60’s having to wear bulky depends that looked like ginormous diapers under her pants. I was terrified that I would have to go down that bulky butt road too, but fortunately I no longer have to be afraid of the depends product because they now have the Depend Silhouette Active Fit Briefs which have a lower rise for an underwear-like look, fit and feel. I like that they’re not WHITE and actually come in black and beige colors in a package so they’re bound to work under any color of clothing without being noticeable.

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Depend is entering year two of Underwareness, a social movement and charitable cause to break down the bladder leakage stigma. As part of Underwareness, the Depend brand is encouraging people to show their support for women with bladder leakage. For every photo and video shared using #Underwareness and featuring Depend products, the Depend brand will donate $1, up to $3 million, through 2016 to fund charities that advance the research and education of bladder leakage.

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Help support this cause by visiting underwareness.com and while you’re there, request a free sample!

5 Cozy Ways to Use Starry LED String Lights Around the House

5 Cozy Ways to Use Starry LED String Lights Around the House


LED string lights are one of those decorations that can be used anywhere, parties, the home, your office cubicle, outside patio, bedrooms, inside glass bowls or even frosted cubes for the holidays. Creating a magical lighting experience for your home with the warm white Starry LED String Lights is essential in making it cozy.

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These particular ones from OakLeaf are crafted from high-quality copper and is designed for both indoors and outdoors. They come with a 5 foot adapter cord + 33 foot of lighting wire with 120 individual LEDs. This makes the starry string lights less intense and easy on the eyes. They are, however, powered by 2 size C batteries, which may be a nuisance to some since it’s not the common double A size.

So even though these take the huge batteries, I like that they take a battery instead of having to be plugged in since it opens up the door for many uses rather than dealing with a hideous outlet cord  showing everywhere and with limitations.

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Chandelier Lighting

 

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The downside to the LED Chandelier lighting would be having the battery compartment showing. If you’re a crafty genius, you may just have an idea already in your head on how to hide and incorporate it onto the chandelier, unfortunately, I do not. lol

Luminary Words for Bedrooms

 

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A nice way to create bedroom lighting for little ones who may be afraid of the dark.

 

Outside Trees

 

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This is a fun one since it makes the perfect outside getaway. Not only are LED string lights pretty for backyards, but they’re great for night time weddings too!

 

Bed Canopy

 

 

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Create a romantic atmosphere by hanging LED string lights behind the canopy of your bed. Perfect mood setter!

 

Around the Frame of a Mirror

 

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Us women always need more lighting when getting ready; what better way than putting more lighting around a vanity or full body mirror?

I love these string lights and will be putting them around my curtain frame in my bedroom since the people who built this house decided not to put ceiling lights or any lights in our vaulted bedroom. Who does that!? Cheap builders… ugh. You can find these fabulous LED string lights over on Amazon.