Mommin' It Up!

June 24, 2013June 22, 2013

Jonah Wears the (swim) Pants in the Family

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Huggies, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #HuggiesSwimmers http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.”

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that one of my summer survival strategies this year was joining a new pool, and now I’m here to say it was a great decision! Thus far, the extra money we forked out to have room to move and er, swim at the pool has been SO worth it! It is never crowded. We pretty much had the place to ourselves on Monday last week, see?

We are having an amazing time at the pool this summer! The big kids are making friends (despite the fact that there are none present at the pool in the above photo), and Jonah is learning to love the water.

We’re having a blast, but before we leave the pool, I have to endure the arduous process of getting us all ready to go…not my favorite part. It takes me nearly all morning to get us all dressed, sunscreened, and ready to go. And of course, there’s also the packing of the POOL BAG:

One thing that makes our pool-time routine easier is my favorite swim diaper, Huggies Little Swimmers. I’ve been a mom for over nine years and I can honestly say I have never bought another brand. Between great Huggies coupons and sales, they are always the absolute best price. My most recent package of Huggies Little Swimmers came from Target, where I saved an extra $1.50 with this Target printable coupon you can print here. I was able to combine it with a manufacturer’s coupon for even more savings! You know mama likes THAT!! (And you also know that mama does NOT need to have an excuse to go to Target! Wheee!)

Untitled — Found ’em in the diaper aisle, top shelf at Target.

And they work! They keep Jonah’s baby business where it needs to be so EVERYONE at the pool can enjoy swimming with us! And Jonah himself feels quite comfy in his Little Swimmers. I love how they are so easy and quick to get on him so we can get in the water!

He likes to wear them above his swim trunks so everyone knows he's got something special on underneath... — He likes to wear them above his swim trunks so everyone knows he’s got something special on underneath…

I love how easy they are to to take off when he’s had enough swimming for the day. The tear-away sides make removal extra-quick!

sacked out 2 — He’s worn out at the end of every pool day. Being so cute at the pool is hard work!

Huggies Little Swimmers are the swim diaper solution that works for us! So far this summer they’ve already been to the water park, the splash park, and the pool, and next month they are hitting the beach! We can’t wait!
We love our Little Swimmers! Where will you take your baby in them this summer?

June 21, 2013June 20, 2013

In which I did NOT super-glue my fingers together

I am not the most, um, coordinated person you’ll ever meet, as I have waxed eloquently about before (ahem, more than once).

It should not surprise you then, when I admit that I have had more than one mishap with super glue. Being a cheapskate, of course, I purchased the cheapest super glue I could find, which as it turns out, may not have been the *best* choice. The first unfortunate incident happened when I tried to glue some of Joshua’s Awana patches on his Awana vest when he was a Cubbie (you know, the kind of patches you’re supposed to sew on. But since I can’t even sew a button…). The other incident occurred when I was trying to fix Sophie’s favorite board game (which we’ll get back to in a minute). Both episodes resulted in my fingers being stuck together and me panicking and losing some skin trying to get them apart. Neither episode resulted in the items being fixed. LE SIGH.

Set that cute little story aside for a minute and fast-forward to a sunny California morning when Emily and I sat down at breakfast at Mom 2.0 next to a very cool (and totally adorable) public relations professional named Tanya. We hit it off and after a phone call a week later, I found myself agreeing to take part in another super-glue inspired escapade. That’s right, Super Glue: the Sequel. But this time, with a Super (see what I did there?) Hero to my Dummy in Distress: LocTite!!

The first project I tackled with LocTite: Sophie’s hair flowers. There were a few that I’d left in my purse that came off the clip and one that Minnie Mouse tried to escape from.

For this project, I chose LocTite’s All-Purpose GO2 Glue. Fixing hair-bows seems pretty all-purpose to me, plus it is extra-durable and shock resistant, which are two attributes necessary to exist on my daughter’s head. Just sayin’. It worked perfectly! The bottle design made it impossible for me to get it on my fingers during the application.

After 30 minutes, the hair clips were totally set and fixed. It’s been about 3 weeks since I fixed them, Sophie’s worn them each a couple of times, and they are all still in perfect shape. Yay!

For my next trick, I decided to attempt to fix Sophie’s very favorite board game – the one I had previously tried (and failed) to fix with cheap-o super glue. It totally did not work at all on the board game but it DID totally glue my fingers together because it was such a mess to apply! This game is special to me because it’s the second game she ever really loved and was instrumental in her speech therapy progress. So I really wanted to see it fixed up and play-able again.

I decide to fix it on video for you so you could actually SEE how quick and easy it was to do with LocTite’s Extra Time Control Super Glue! Check it out!

I know in the video I said I’d let the game sit for 20 minutes, but I got a little impatient, sooo…these pictures were taken only FIVE minutes later!

Sophie was THA-RILLED when she came down to breakfast the next morning and found her fixed game sitting at her place!

Sophie loves this game! — Happy girl, ready to play!

I have to say my experience with LocTite was more than…wait for it…SUPER. It was awesome! Definitely the most successful super glue experience I’ve ever had. I love that I could just exactly the right type for the specific projects I was working on, and I love how EASY it was to apply. No drips, spills, messes, or mishaps.

In short, LocTite is Jenny-proof! Next time you’ve got something you REALLY need to fix, don’t waste your time or money on anythign else. Pick up some LocTite!

Thanks for the fix (and all the future fixes!), LocTite, and thanks for supporting Mommin’ It Up!

June 11, 2013June 12, 2013

Gettin’ My Clean Teeth On with Colgate Total Advanced

I mentioned a few weeks ago how I’ve been enjoying shopping at Walgreens for the first time in a long time thanks to their new Balance Rewards program in addition to the Register Rewards savings they offer. I’m diggin’ it! I’ve been back several times since I wrote that post (including twice this past weekend, ahem), and on one of those trips I was specifically on the hunt for the latest and greatest in clean mouth health from Colgate: Total Advanced Pro-Shield mouthwash, Total Advanced toothpaste, and even a Total Advanced 360 toothbrush.

As you know, I take a lot of pictures of myself for my #doyourmakeup Instagram carnival. So, I have to have sparkling clean teeth to look great! I’m not the best about a regimen, partially because I am just lucky and have “good” teeth – they don’t seem to stain easily and I’ve never had a cavity. But, they could be whiter! Also, my poor Joshua’s teeth DO stain easily so Bobby and I have vowed to be better at setting an example for him. Therefore, I have pledged to brush twice a day with my Total Advanced toothpaste & 360 toothbrush and rinse twice a day (something I NEVER do) with Total Advanced Pro-Shield mouthwash. But first, I had to get the products! So, off to Walgreens I went.

Before I headed out to Walgreens, I of course got my Balance Rewards card and Colgate coupons together so I could get a sweet deal on a healthy smile.

When I walked in the store I was greeted by just the products I was looking for on this great display!

Well, that was easy! But I still took a tour around the store to see where the items were on the shelves and make sure I had just what I needed. Then I checked out using my Balance Rewards card and coupons, and hit the road to get home and try out the products! I even got a $1 Register Reward for buying the toothbrush, and my Balance Rewards card saved me a bundle!

I’ve been using the products for about a week now, and I really love them. The Total Advanced Pro-Shield Mouthwash is alcohol-free and doesn’t make your eyes water in pain and clear your sinuses when you rinse with it – bonus!

And the toothbrush? YOU GUYS! I thought if you’d tried one toothbrush, you tried them all. I WAS WRONG! The Total Advanced 360 toothbrush is the bomb diggity toothbrush of the entire world. True story. I’ll never be able to go back to a “regular” toothbrush again. My teeth have never felt so clean! I think it must be the floss tip bristles that make such a difference…you gotta get one!

I'm no marketing genius, but I think they should call it "Toothbrush of Dreams"! — I’m no marketing genius, but I think they should call it “Toothbrush of Dreams”!

As I said, I’ve pledged to use these products for two weeks, which means I owe you a before-and-after Instagram post by June 20th! So make sure you are following me on Instagram so you can see how white my pearly whites turned out thanks to Colgate Total Advanced. I can already tell I am on my way to a much happier, healthier smile!

Want to connect with Colgate and find out more about how to use their products to get clean teeth? Check them out on Twitter @ColgateSmile and on their Facebook page!

Wanna see more fab photos of my shopping and brushing experience? Check out my Google + story for more!