Wicked The Musical

Tuesday night, Dan and I went on a date to the musical Wicked. It's on tour in San Diego through August, but it may be coming to a theater near you. Watch the video above to get an idea, but here's a quick list of why it's wonderful...

• Musical score-amazing songs of every kind (slow, fast, funny, heartwarming)
• Company-excellent actors and vocalists; simply awe inspiring to listen to the talent
• Humorous-one liners through the entire thing
  
• Surprises-the second act has several surprises you will never see coming
  
• Uplifting-its dramatic and poignant yet ends hopeful, you leave the theater happy

If you think I say all musicals are good, just go read my CATS review.

Aloha Friday: Can't Live Without

Kailani of An Island Life writes...In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response. If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link below. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

This week at MOPS we did something very fun. We brought a product (or two) that we can't live without, something that makes our lives that much more manageable, and shared it with the group. The products I shared I've blogged about here and here. And some of the products shared were:

Folex Instant Carpet Spot Remover

I actually meant to take this and was so happy someone mentioned it-amazing stuff!

Kiddopotamus Swaddle Me Adjustable Instant Fleece

This must be the modern thing because as recent as 6 years ago with Timothy, we used a blanket to swaddle, but everyone said this thing works.

Boon Squirt-Baby Food Dispensing Spoon

That rounded part is squeezable, so you can fill it with yogurt, baby food, etc and feed one-handed. Pretty cool.

So I guess my question to you is obvious! You can either leave an answer or a link to it in the comments!

What is a product that you can't live without?

If you would like to read some more Aloha Friday questions or participate yourself, just visit An Island Life!

Airports Interest Me

In my single days, I did quite a bit of airplane traveling. As long as you don't have preschoolers you're trying to keep happy, airports can be very enjoyable! So when I flew to Texas recently without the kids, I couldn't help but make some observations during my layover at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas...

A BEST BUY vending machine!!!! Are you kidding me? I knew it had been a while since I had flown, but how behind the times am I? You can see at the front of the picture is a Nintendo DS, there were a few camera options, and every possible accessory you can imagine. And believe it or not, the prices weren't higher than at a normal Best Buy. I only know that because I just purchased the DS for hubby 2 weeks prior for his birthday (oops-I meant to blog about that!) According to this article, they started in a handful of cities in September, so I guess if they're successful Best Buy will put them everywhere!

Right next to the Best Buy vending machine (that is the funniest thing to say), was the Charge Carte. Brought to you by the same people who take your money for a Smart Carte. For only $3.00, this station can charge your phone to 50% of its power (that's the claim, at least). I thankfully didn't need to use it, but I can definitely see it being a useful service if I was out of battery power. As you can see, every phone/plug possible is included.

Another wonderful thing about airports is that they are usually decorated beautifully for the holidays. Upon my return to San Diego, I was greeted with this Snowman themed tree. Since we can't have them on the ground, I guess someone got creative!

Day 8: Travel to Fort Smith, AR

After East TX, we headed due north through Oklahoma, and just across the Arkansas border to visit our friends Tonya and Chris (and kids). We lived in Little Rock at the same time, and they moved away 10 months before we did. Let me tell you what...I LOVE this girl, and it was so great to see her! The kids enjoyed each other so much. It's funny because Kinley and Timothy were "buddies" when we all lived in LR, but things have changed. Timothy and Caedmon were just two peas in a pod, and Samantha was Kinley's little doll. Samantha LOVED having so many girl things around!! The adults stayed up late playing Scattergories, and I have never laughed so hard playing that game.

Day 8: Switch Flops Product Review

Before we left East TX, we went into town, had delicious Mexican food, and looked in several shops. In the pharmacy (remember small town), were some sandals called SwitchFlops. They were not cheap, but so cute and unique (plus, I was on vacation!) I just had to have them!

There are 3 different types of the basic sandal: traditional flip flop, a wedge, and a kitten heel (which I don't see on their website) in basic neutrals. I bought a black kitten heel because I already had a black flip flop and wedge. I live in San Diego-sandals are the attire for everything and we wear them all year round! But here's the cool part about them. The strap that goes over your foot can be "switched out" by Velcro in a variety of colors and patterns. It's so fun, and they have turned out to be very comfortable. My SwitchFlops came with a black/white design, and I bought The Mandy which has gone with everything in my closet! Click here for a demo!

Movie Recommendation: Space Chimps

Timothy and I went with Amber & Caedmon (one of my best girlfriends and her son, who is one of Timothy's best buddies) to see Space Chimps! I don't think Amber nor I had big hopes for our own enjoyment, but we knew the boys would like it. And it was free on base, so not a big deal. Well it ended up being adorable-cute, funny, sweet, had "inside jokes" for adults. We all enjoyed it thoroughly. Isn't it great to watch our kids develop relationships?

Netflix

When the new season of Eureka started a few weeks ago, Dan and I realized that we had missed the entire 3rd season! Because it's such a unique tv show, it's not "in-store" anywhere. I can't remember exactly why we chose Netflix over Blockbuster (they weren't very different at all), but our Netflix subscription does come with thousands of titles you can view instantly on your computer. Examples of those instant titles are "Heroes: Season 1" and "The Neverending Story". I have to admit I was leery about the whole "turn around" time aspect of this, but I have been totally impressed!

We received our 1st dvd within 1-2 days of signing up. We turned it in before 5pm on a Sat at our local post office that has a 5pm pick up. Mon morning I received an email that said they received the dvd at 6am that morning! We received the next dvd with the mail on Tuesday! The 2nd dvd we received we turned in Sun night, and I got an email about an hour ago that they received it this morning. What's great is they send an email when they receive the dvd, and then they send another email when they ship out the next dvd telling me when I can expect it.

In my account I've built my own movie wish list. Since we are on a "1 dvd at a time" plan, they will automatically send me whatever is next in "queue". We knew we would be too busy to watch more than 1 at a time, plus if we're free one night with no dvd we can search through the library of movies we can view instantly. For 1 movie at a time coming to our door, unlimited movies in a month, and thousands of options on the computer, we pay $8.99/month. It's a deal and best of all it really is as hassle free as they make it sound!

What kind of experience with Netflix or Blockbuster have you had? Or Red Box?

Banana Boat Product Endorsement

I've become a big fan of Banana Boat products, and I always want to pass on good product information to people. We spend a lot of time in the sun all year, either swimming or at the playground, and as you can see Samantha is extremely fair skinned. About 4 years ago, Dan had a sizable piece of skin cancer removed from the top of his head, so we can't take any chances.

We use the UltraMist™ Kids Tear-Free SPF 50. I don't spray it directly on my kids. I put it in my hand and then rub them down like it's lotion. I like that it's lighter than lotion and doesn't make you feel goopy. I bought it around May probably and still have tons. They wear it almost every day and have never burned with it on. Good stuff!

And if you don't have this product, you must buy it! I bought it when I bought the sunscreen thinking I would need to use it more often than I have. I grew up on "Green Stuff" that yucky green aloe gel and had never tried this product out. One day a couple of months ago, the kids and I went to the playground. It was cloudy out and I made that mistake of thinking we couldn't burn. Well, Sam and I both burned on our arms (as you can tell, Timothy only tans). She wasn't complaining, but it was bright red. I put this Aloe on both of us that night in the hopes that it would soothe her before she realized any discomfort.

Well, when we woke up the next morning our burns were GONE. Gone! And mine had tanned. It was crazy, and I thought surely that was a fluke thing. Then I was visiting my friend, Christi, in Wichita, and it was in her bathroom. I commented that it was amazing stuff, and she bursts out, "Yeah, it turns burns to tans in one day." Ha! That was so cool! And it could be that everyone already knows about this must have, but just in case...

Org Junkie's Monthly Organizing Round-Up!

Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie is hosting a Monthly Organizing Round-Up, and she selected the dining room to focus on for the month of March. I just barely missed February when I learned about this great idea, so my kitchen will have to be disorganized until next year! Just kidding (sort of)! I actually was so inspired by the Feb posts that I've done several things in my kitchen (medicines, pantry, and drawers). It was so nice to be "invited" into someone's home to view their steps of organization that I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to do it myself. And my dining room needed it!!! Problem issues you can see in the before picture:

1. Children table & chairs that are beyond being able to clean. They're nasty!
2. Unused highchair acting as a storage unit.
3. Recycle center needs different home.
4. Art supplies need new (but close) home because we use them in the dining room.
   

Here's a close up of the recycling center/kid's art station. And I didn't stage that for the picture-we have actually been living like that! My husband had his half (recycling) and I had my half (supplies that I needed to get to in a moment's notice).

Here's the after shot:

I didn't even stage the flowers either! My dear friend, Christi, sent them to me this week because she loves me and knew I would feel loved every time I saw them! I'm so glad I hadn't taken my "after" pictures yet. Let's go through my changes:

1. The kid table and chairs went in the trash. I was going to replace it with this one from IKEA. But in the 4 days since I threw it away, my daughter asked for it 1 time (my son not at all) because they know they can do anything at our dining table that they could do at their table. Plus, this put us together for little things, not juts meals. Timothy sat by Dan while he read the paper. It was cool!
2. Unused highchair is in the garage in a designated area of things to give away. A charity is coming this Friday to take them. The highchair has not been used (as a highchair) for a while since I bought the Kaboost. This is my favorite product! You can see it in the picture under the chair on the far right. This product boosts the chair up, and now my little 2 year old is at eye level with us. It is so awesome!!! The KABOOST website is quite informative.
3. Paper, bottle, and can recycling center has been delegated to my husband. I'm not going to worry about it, but removing the highchair prevents him from being able to use the dining room!
4. I never really know what to put on the ground in the pantry. It seems weird to put food there. So as I was organizing that, I put my art supplies and play-doh (the items needed at the dining table) there. I also printed off clip art of what is in each box so the kids know what they're looking for. The kitchen (and pantry within) is just to the left of the dining room. Here is the before and after of that:

My long term hope is that I can put a buffet right under the window and house the art supplies, play-doh, and everything else for the dining room. That was not in the budget this month, but it's cool that I've already made the space for it when the opportunity arises. The ficus has been sitting in the garage (kicked out there due to a different living room arrangement), and I'm glad I brought it back inside.

Thank you, Org Junkie, this was so fun, and I look forward to many more months of organizing!

Product Review: KABOOST

My kids have a little table that they can do things at independently, but as they get older and crafts get more detailed we are often doing things together. Their table is way too small for me to sit at! The problem is that at our main dining table, Samantha is too short. She has kind of "gotten by" when it comes to eating because she can grab the food and then lean back in the chair to chomp down. With crafts, however, she needs more ability to sit above the activity.

I had a booster chair type thing when Timothy was that age and didn't like it for numerous reasons, most of all being it took a lot of work to keep clean. I felt like I had no other options, though, so last Saturday I went in search of one for Sam. I thought maybe in 3 years they've made one that I would like a little better. Plus, the fact is that I can spend a few more dollars on things these days helps me buy a little better quality! I was looking at all the booster seats Wal-mart had to offer and tucked away randomly was a Kaboost. Here's an excellent video that explains how it works:

What a fantastic product! One reason I was dreading another booster is that I knew Samantha wouldn't really want it. She sees what Timothy does and wants to sit in a chair just like he does. She's also quite coordinated for a 2-yr old, and I don't have to worry about her being higher. This way she gets to climb right into the chair. What I didn't count on was how much Timothy would love it. He is tall on his own, but this makes him feel so much more "in control" of whatever he's doing. EVERYTHING is about cutting and gluing right now, and he feels so empowered. I'm seriously considering getting a second one for him as well.

It really is as simple and safe as the reviews say it is. And because it is fairly compact, I plan on taking it on our next big family trip. My only regret is that I bought the natural colored one, and since we have a dark stained dining table, I would have picked the chocolate colored one just to match. Other than that, I couldn't be more pleased!

Neti Pot

This is a random post, but I care about you too much not to pass this information along! This is for anyone who is a sinus sufferer of any kind. If you're not, you might as well stop reading. I have always had problems with my sinuses drying out big time, and when I travel to East Texas and AZ I'm in misery. Believe it or not, but Dallas is more humid than San Diego, so I have some problems here. In fact, the first time we moved here 7 years ago, a dr put me on allergy medicine because I was getting one sinus infection after another.

I saw the Neti Pot almost a year ago and thought, "I really need that," but I'm not big into home remedies so I put it on the back burner & pretty much forgot about it. Well, this last sickness was a low point with my sinuses. It was AWFUL! Thankfully, one morning I woke up with it on my mind and knew I had to try it. I was desperate. I thought I would have to find a yoga store (or something), but for $15 I got it at my local CVS.

Within SECONDS of using it, I was feeling relief for the first time in a week. It was unbelievable. And by the end of the first treatment, I could blow my nose!!! I had been taking ibuprofen like crazy to relieve pressure, and it wasn't doing squat. I quit that altogether. Within 2 days (about 3 treatments a day), I had no sinus problems at all, and my subsequent sore throat was gone. I know I sound like a total quack, but how can I keep this wonderful invention to myself when there may be others suffering? [And on a more eternal note, Jesus Christ came to save you from your sin-I can't keep silent about that either.]

The one I bought was SinuCleanse brand. When I originally saw it demonstrated, they were using a ceramic neti pot, but this one is plastic and worked just fine. It is not as gross to use as it may sound, and the website has a video explaining how it works. And while I'm not an allergy sufferer, it claims to help with that as well. If you're in pain, it can't hurt to try it! If the SinuCleanse video isn't clear enough, you may find a better explanation here.

Gerber--Good Customer Service!

I have been a faithful customer to Gerber. After trying several sippy cups when Timothy was 1, this is the one I landed on and found it very satisfactory. When Samantha was born, it became even more convenient because the pink and green come in the same pack. It's just a rule now that the green ones are Timothy's and the pink one's are Sam's. Unfortunately, just like pairs of socks in the dryer, the spill-proof valves seem to go missing! After no luck finding the replacement valves at Walmart or Target, I decided to write Gerber and ask where I could find them before I start searching all over San Diego. Within a day they responded with a list of about 10 stores that supply the valves (all grocery stores). I was quite pleased with that information alone, but then the very last sentence of the letter said, "We would be happy to send you a complimentary pack until you are able to locate these stores." That was about 4 days ago, and they arrived in the mail today! I am a very happy consumer.