Category: Reviews

The Wonder Forge sent me this game to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own.

I have mentioned a few a million times on this blog that I LOVE the Wonder Forge. They are the makers of incredible board games for children. Several of their games were instrumental in my work at home with Sophie on her speech delay, and I can’t wait until Jonah is ready for games!! So, anytime the Wonder Forge asks me if I want to review something, I say yes if it is at all appropriate. I was thrilled to get their note about this Disney Fairies Fly and Go Seek game because Sophie loves Disney Fairies AND games! I knew it would be a big hit with her, but I am happy to report it is also a big hit with me and even Daddy!

Here’s what I like about it:

1) It comes in a handy and adorable storage bag. It doesn’t take up a lot of space and is much easier to store than our other games.

2) It keeps us active! Want to get some energy out on a rainy day? This is the perfect game. You have to “fly” from room to room while a timer ticks to collect cards – it’s fun and has left this mom a little breathless!

3) It makes you think. In this game you have to use your memory and some strategy to win. It’s great for teaching matching, pattern recognition, and for helping kids learn to follow directions.

4) It’s just FUN. The rules are simple and easy to learn. A 3-year-old could easily play this with a little help from a parent, yet it’s still great fun for my almost-seven-year-old.

This is a winner, my friends! If you have a fairy lover, or a game lover, this is sure to be a hit! Fly and Go Seek is available for $15-ish at Amazon, so it’s a great value, too.

Thanks to my friends at the Wonder Forge for making great games for our kids! Can’t wait to see what you guys do next.

What’s your favorite game to play with your kiddos?

I’ve eaten plenty of deep-fried foods in my life, but I’ve never tried to deep fry anything myself. To be honest, the process intimidates me. However, when I was asked to review the Ninja Frying System, I wanted to give it a shot.

From their website:
The new Ninja Frying System allows you to prepare your favorite fried dishes with 30 percent less fat and 40 percent faster due to its revolutionary heat combination that keeps cooking oil at a uniform temperature, so foods cook to light, crispy perfection – with less oil absorption.

Now, let’s be honest – we’re not deep frying twinkies for their nutritional properties, but certainly less oil absorption is a good thing!

My first attempt at deep frying was, shall we say, a learning experience. I attempted to fry mini-Milky Way bars.

If I had gone to NinjaKitchen.com and read the very first bullet point under “Tips,” I would have been much more successful!

When frying battered foods, lower the empty fryer basket into the oil. Then slowly lower food into the fryer basket one piece at a time, using tongs hold the food down in the oil for a few seconds. This will help the batter form a crust and prevent the food from sticking to the basket.

Yeah. I put the battered foods into the basket, and then put the basket into the oil. The battered part stuck to the basket – oops! But seriously, they tasted great. My husband is still daydreaming about them two days later.

Speaking of the basket, that’s one of the neat things about the Ninja – the basket has a lid, which keeps all the food down in the oil and means you don’t have to flip the food as you’re cooking it. Very clever!

Here are a few more things I like about it:
– The oil reservoir is dishwasher safe. This is hugely important to me, as I like to put things in the dishwasher!
– It’s easy to drain, as it comes with a spout. I drained the old oil into an apple juice container and didn’t make any mess at all.
– It comes with Cool Zone Technology, which helps keep oil cleaner for a longer period of time. This is important, because deep fryers use a lot of oil, and it would stink to have to throw it out after deep frying just a couple candy bars!
– The exterior remains cool while it’s in use.

Next up, I plan to fry pickles and make churros. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Learn more about the Ninja Frying System (and their other fun products) on their Facebook page!

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I was provided with a Ninja Frying System to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own.

A few weeks ago, my sink clogged. Fortunately, my dad, jack of all trades, was in town and was able to plunge the clog out for me. But then a couple of days later, it clogged again. This time Bobby took care of it. That fix lasted three weeks or so, but then it clogged AGAIN. Once again my dad was in town and came over and fixed it for me. And, he showed me how use a plunger to clear the clog myself.

This time the fix only lasted about two hours.

(At this point of the story I should probably also mention that every time the sink clogged, it was after I used the garbage disposal. But my dad thought there was just something in the pipe that shouldn’t be there that eventually we were going to have to snake out.)

I took a plunger to the sink. I have no idea why I thought this would end well.

I plunged one side of the sink and watched triumphantly as the water started to drain. I did a little victory dance. I FIXED THE SINK! I can’t do ANYTHING, and I fixed it! Just like my dad told me!

This is the point of the story when I should mention that my victory dance was interrupted by the sound of rushing, gushing water. Water that soon began pouring out from underneath my sink and onto the kitchen floor. EMERGENCY!

Long story short, I had a big mess, and a broken garbage disposal. And then a lot of trash because everything under my sink was ruined. It was one of the best! days! ever!

Now I don’t know about you, but I am way too lazy to live without a waste disposer in my sink. What? Pour Joshua’s half-eaten breakfast cereal in the trash can instead of down the drain? NO WAY!! I can’t handle that! I would have to get the milk drained out of the bowl first, howmmisupposedtadodat? Right?

Fortunately, I had just met a rep for InSinkErator  brand at the Mom 2.0 Summit (I am telling you, all roads lead to the Mom 2.0 Summit! Fer realz!) So I sent a desperate email…”Hey, you know how we were talking about working together? My garbage disposal just broke! It’s your LUCKY DAY!” (Um, it went something like that.)

Really, it was my lucky day, because I am now the proud, nay, jubilant owner of this:

OMG BFFs! I realize that it is sad that I am in the season of life where I get excited about small appliances but I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS THING! It totally rules my world. Because my world is full of housework and dirty diapers  and OH SO MUCH LOUD LOUD NOISE but this sleek, shiny machine takes my leftover crap and pulverizes the heck out of it and barely makes a sound. InSinkErator’s SoundSeal Plus™ makes this baby 60% quieter. It’s CRAZY quiet. The first time I turned it on? I didn’t think it was working. Because I couldn’t hear it at first over the sound of the running faucet! It’s quieter than running water. Seriously. Let me show you.

If you have an Evolution Excel waste disposer, you no longer have to worry about waking the baby when you’re cleaning the sink, HOLLA! I know that can be an issue when you have the kitchen and bedrooms on the same floor of the house. And there is nothing, NOTHING more sacred than nap time, canigetanamen??

And beyond how quiet it is, the other thing I love about it is the MultiGrind Plus™ feature which means, and I quote, “You can stop worrying about what food you can/cannot put in your disposer.” I can stop WORRYING? You mean that’s one less thing I have to think about? One less thing for me to screw up and cause domestic distress?

Halle-flippin’-lujah, I’ll take it! This baby has 1.0 horsepower and you can put it to the test! Chicken bones, fruit rinds, coffee grounds – the Evolution Excel virtually liquefies all your food waste, people. Yesssss it does. (Quietly!) The Evolution Excel has definitely made my kitchen clean-up routine easier and faster. I couldn’t be any more pleased with its performance!

There’s one more thing that really impresses me InSinkErator Evolution Excel. It’s got a 7-year warranty. SEVEN YEARS. And they will come to your house and fix it for you. Parts and labor included! (Our old disposer, the one that broke? It was the higher-end  one at the department store, a name brand you have all heard of, we had it for less than seven years, and we were out of luck when it broke.)

Did anyone else just swoon? That’s a way better warranty than you get on most new cars!

 

The bottom line on this product? After having it in our home and putting it to the test for several weeks, Bobby and I are thrilled with it. It’s large capacity, quiet but powerful grinding, and efficiency and versatility make it the perfect food waste disposer for our family. I know if you give InSinkErator brand a try, you will not be disappointed!

What qualities do you look for in a food waste disposer?