Summer Infant prepping for Spring!

With spring in full swing, organizing and getting ready for a new year (with a new addition!) has been crazy. The first thing on our list for the year was “bed-training” Tristan, our 21 month old son. He’s been either co-sleeping, in a crib, or a pack and play for his entire little person life, but with a baby on the way and his climbing skills only sharpening, we knew the days of confined sleeping were coming to a close. Tristan is very spirited and curious (read as: he likes to mess with things he knows he isn’t supposed to mess with, preferably in the most dangerous fashion possible). So, when the conversation of switching him to a Big Boy Bed came up, I insisted we get a video monitor to mount in the kids’ room before we put the pack and play away for good. 

We settled on the Summer Infant Secure Sight Handheld Video Monitor, which is a mouthful, but super easy to set up. It came with cord trappers, and a screw and wall anchor to mount it with. I mounted it above the kids’ window, so I could get a full view of the room. At $120 and using NO BATTERIES, HOORAY, it was a great value. If we’d had an extra hundred to spend on it, I’d have dropped the extra for their wifi model, which you can view from your smartphone and move the camera remotely. While those would be nice, the video monitor is seriously the best thing that has happened to toddler room sharing. My kids are fairly certain I have X-ray vision now that I can just say “GET BACK IN BED” loudly without even opening the door to their room. I think I’m in love. 

This is my second Summer Infant purchase, my first was their ridiculously large (up to 12 ft) baby gate that has kept my computer safe from unexpected “PUSH THE LIGHT BUTTON” shut downs for 4 months now! Both are incredible products and I must say that for any purchases for baby #3, they’re going to be the first brand I look at.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful time enjoying this slight break in freezing temps, and starting Spring off with a bang! More DIY and organizational things will be coming soon. 🙂

Cosmo VoxBox 2012!

So things have been pretty crazy lately! On top of the holidays, we’re going to be moving again in the next couple of weeks and my husband scored a nice salary job with benefits and all. Things are definitely looking up for us in the next year! With all the wonderful surprises we’ve had over the last couple of months, one that really made me feel great was my Cosmo VoxBox from Influenster!

Influenster is a great company dedicated to product reviews and suggestions. By joining, you have the opportunity to receive free items in “VoxBoxes” that are styled toward interests you have. It’s a really enjoyable program and I was completely pumped when I received my Cosmo VoxBox, the first one I’ve gotten so far!

Inside, I found a Gillette Venus Embrace razor with a Venus & Olay refill, Forever Red from Bath & Body Works, Ghirardelli Gourmet Milk Sea Salt Escape, and FriXion by Pilot Pen to try and review! So here we go!

 

Gillette Venus Embrace was an amazing razor. I have very sensitive skin and fine hair, so it’s hard for me to find a razor that is both effective and doesn’t tear the snot out of my skin. The Venus & Olay refill was even better, the moisturizing bars on either side of the head made shaving so smooth and friction-less that I couldn’t even feel the blades against my skin. Wonderfully refreshing and the husband has already been informed that I will be purchasing this razor ONLY from now on because it’s the only blade I’ve ever shaved with that didn’t give me any razor burn in the dead of winter. Congrats Gillette, you have made me a lifelong customer!

Forever Red from Bath & Body Works was a nice scent. I’m not a fan of flowery scents, however, and I am still pretty hung up on my perfume oils so while it is a really nice perfume, the combination just isn’t for me. I probably won’t be purchasing this based on the fact that I’m really really picky about my perfume. Sorry Bath & Body Works, I’ll still definitely come by for Cucumber Melon and Midnight Pomegranate, but Forever Red won’t be making my list.

Ghirardelli Gourmet Milk Sea Salt Escape was surprising. I’ve never been a big fan of sea salt in chocolate (mostly because it usually comes in dark chocolate and I’m not a big fan of dark chocolate) but this was great! This bar was very rich, but the milk chocolate was a light enough flavor that it wasn’t overpowering. One square was enough to curb sweet and salty cravings, though the sea salt was only a very subtle flavor. I absolutely love roasted almonds, so that was great. I’m always on the lookout for little treats that curb cravings without breaking the bank as far calories or blood sugar goes, and it was really refreshing to find a chocolate bar where one square was enough to satisfy and I can pretend the roasted almonds had enough protein to stave off trashing my blood sugar, right?? Right? Definitely looking for these at the grocery store on our next trip!

FriXion Pilot Pen: I’m a pen floozy. I just am. I love a pen that provides fluid writing and doesn’t end up being all scratchy. An erasable pen that actually erases well and has a nice bright ink that actually looks like pen is just icing on the cake. I spend a significant amount of my day writing, from shopping lists to to-do lists, from stories to quick jots, doodles, and don’t forget, I waitress. This pen was perfect and I love that they sent a pink one too. That allows some hope for a nice rich purple or blue, which I will be searching for when I hit the store next. I could not recommend this pen more. It writes with the boldness and fluidity of a gel pen, but erases easier than some of my pencils! As it erases by friction, rather than a standard eraser, you also don’t have to worry about the eraser getting all gunky or hard and giving out on you. Like I said, pen floozy.

 

All in all, I was thrilled with the items that I received in my Cosmo VoxBox, and I’m really looking forward to trying out new products from Influenster in the future!

 

Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes!