Homemade Mom -

How Tide Cold Water works for me!

I feel so lucky to be one of the SheSpeaks bloggers to be allowed to try the Tide Coldwater Detergent as part of their Tide Coldwater Program. Honestly, I’ve been using cold water for a while to wash my clothes. I’m fairly certain that all detergents are not created equal. Many times my clothes don’t come out smelling very clean, and the whites certainly aren’t getting whiter. I even took to making my own detergent for a while to cut costs.

Then my parents bought a new washer and dryer and they passed onto me all their non-HE detergents. Not Tide, but just run of the mill detergents. I tried to use the cold water setting on my washing machine, but it turns out that when I push the cold water button, the water trickles into my machine. It would take 30 minutes or more to fill up the washing machine, if it even does fill up. Don’t really know what’s up with that. So I have to use the warm/cold setting. The water still feels pretty cold to me.

When the clothes were washed and dried I noticed that they smelled really good! However, I could get that good smell with many other detergents or liquid fabric softener. I had a slew of filthy clothes that my boys went puddle jumping in.

Want to see what I have to work with? Watch the video below:

Surprisingly enough the clothes came out clean! I honestly expected to have some residual “outdoorsy” smell and maybe some lingering dirt, but they looked and smelled clean!

Do you wash in Cold water? Do you use Tide Coldwater or something else?

*Disclaimer: I’m participating in the SheSpeaks Blogger Tide Coldwater Program. My participation included an honest review of the product provided to me and a gift card from Tide/SheSpeaks. All opinions are my own.

Trick your kicks with U-Laces!

January 23, 2012 Product Reviews for Kids One comment

Cohen (just turned 6) has been on this kick that he needs lace up shoes. The boy just learned how to tie his shoes and I have a feeling that he’s not going to like new lace-up shoes once he realizes that he has to tie them over and over, over the course of a day. I make my boys take off their shoes when they come into the house. Granted, they only do it about half of the time, but either way, it’s supposed to be happening.

So when Eleah reached out to me about U-Lace I was all too eager to give it a try. Honestly this product exists to trick our your kicks, allowing you to personalize your laces with cool colors and designs, but for us this makes it easy to slip on and off your shoes.

ulace_instructions

I started with Cohen’s new shoes and stripped the laces from them. I realize that he really should work on tying his shoes, but I’m just too impatient to wait for the constant “Mom!!! I can’t tie my shoes!” or “MOM! Tie my shoes for me!!!”. I can’t stand lace up shoes.

The U-lace laces are easy to put in. It has 2 tips, aglet and “fingernail”. Pull the aglet through and point the fingernail towards the toe.

When you put in the next lace, it’s important to nestle the aglet into the fingernail from the lace ahead of it. We noticed that they didn’t stay in put. If it shifts and points in the wrong direction I would think it could poke you. The instructions state that you may have to adjust the aglet/fingernail nestle after you’ve put the shoe on.

I’m thinking that would be a pain in the rear, but that’s the price you pay for some tricked out kicks!

Cohen loves the way his shoes look. It did make them more snug than just when they were laced up old-school. Cohen has a wide foot and prefers his shoes kinda loose. Camden on the other hand, has a narrow foot and likes his shoes really snug. Figures the pair I just bought him are Z-Straps. I think I’ll go and get him a new pair this weekend just so he can sport the new U-Laces!

One package contains 16 U-Lace segments. They are stretchy, which is awesome! It also contains 2 top laces. This would be good for creating the basket weave type look. Each pack will run you either $7.99 or $8.99 from their online store. They have some great colors including the 80′s neon’s that are back in style, bright vibrant, muted and even glow in the dark (those are $10.99)!

A friend of mine just bought these for her daughter for Christmas. Wouldn’t these look so cool all tricked out! I’m so telling her about these.

Would you wear them as an adult or strictly for the kids?

Want to stay in the loop so you don’t miss a deal or steal? Follow U-Lace on Twitter and like U-Lace on Facebook for all the scoop!

Create your own FREE ringtones with Mobile17

January 20, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

Wouldn’t you just love to make your own ringtones? With iPhone it is tricky but it can be done. With Mobile17.com it’s actually not too bad! I like having personalized ringtones for all of my favorite contacts. I’ve always had it that way since I had my first old school Nokia about a million years ago. Ever since personalized ringtones existed, I’ve been all over it.

Wanna try it for yourself? It’s free and they have an app too. All phones and providers will work, they will hook you up with step by step instructions too. Here’s how I did it:

First, select a song from your computer

It didn’t have my song so I could type in the artist and song title or skip it. I entered it in.

Then it wants to know where to start the ringtone exactly. I typically go for the chorus.

I listened to the song in iTunes and paused it exactly where I want the ringtone to start.

After you have it where you want it, preview it. If it’s good to go hit continue.

From there you have to select your phone model.

I’m Apple iPhone 3G

After that you select your phone provider

Then you enter your phone number

From there it send you the ringtone in an email. Then you save it to your computer. For many phones it sends it to you as a text and from there you can make it a ringtone. iPhone is much more complicated, but it can be done. At the bottom of this page it has a great video you can watch that shows you the final steps of how to make it a ringtone in iTunes.

From there you’re all done! Free ringtones mobile 17. Now all you have to do is select songs that perfectly describe each and every one of your favorite people! Good luck with that!

How to organize your digital photos

January 10, 2012 Organizing One comment

If you are like me, the holidays provide the perfect excuse to whip out the digital camera and capture some valuable photos that will last a lifetime. However, these pictures won’t do much good taking up space on your hard drive. This January make one of your New Year’s resolutions to get your photos organized! MyPublisher is offering some helpful tips on how to manage and easily share your new memories. Here are a few of their suggestions:

Tip #1:
Delete the photos you’ll never use from your hard drive. We’re not talking about the ones where the expressions are slightly off, but the ones with obvious boo boos, like your hair blowing into the lens and the photos that your 3-year-old took when you weren’t looking.

Tip #2:
Rename the photo files from their original default names. A file with the name ‘MAY_08_ZOO.jpeg’ will be much more relevant than “LD1002008.jpeg’. Both PCs and Macs have ‘batch’ renaming tools where you can select an entire folder and then rename the files in it. Just remember to be consistent, either by date, or name, or both.

Tip #3:
Create a logical folder structure for your photos. Unlike your individual photos, try to do everything by month and year vs. by event name. Two years from now, when you are looking for a group of photos, you can narrow down by date rather than trying to remember an event name…. i.e. ‘Alaska Trip’ or ‘Trip to Alaska ’? Trust us, you won’t remember.

Tip #4:
Share your Memories! One of the best things about digital images is they can be used over and over again. MyPublisher offers several high quality ways to share your photos: photo books, photo cards, calendars and scrapbooks – each one created with MyPublisher’s superior craftsmanship and unique designs.

I’d love to hear how you organize your photos!

My Holiday Vox Box from Influenster! Check out these great products!

January 10, 2012 Product Reviews for Mom No comments

The Softsoap Coconut scrub not only smells great but feels great too! This is perfect for the cold winter months and it gives your skin a great feeling of freshness. Loved it!
The Larabar cashew cookie fell below my expectations. It was very bland, the texture was weirdly sticky and it was just plain blah. Have you tried one? What flavor did you like?
ImPress manicure. These are so cool! They are flexible and supposed to last up to 7 days. They have amazing designs and are easy to apply and remove. However, after only 3 hours 2 of mine popped off. That was disappointing.
I received the nude color and love it! It’s high gloss without being sticky. Oh yeah, it smells like coffee!
Mentos Chewing gum. I don’t usually chew gum, because it quickly becomes too chewy, but not Mentos! I loved it! The flavor knocked out my coffee breath and it lasted a really long time. I love the hard case. It’s also a bit too hot for my kids, which means they won’t be stealing it out of my purse!
I like the individual packages of these, very convenient. I didn’t feel any tightening though. My skin felt clean, but not tight and refreshed. I should try a few more of these though!
Heart Eau De Perfume. I didn’t really like the scent much, but scent is such an individual thing. To each their own. I did receive a trial size which goes great in my purse for after a workout! Stock up on those trial sized products!

These products were provided to me by Influenster in participation with the Vox Box Program. You have to sign up!!!

HomemadeMom is all messed up and moving!

January 5, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

So my wireless card went out in my laptop. I don’t even know how to get online old school, so I’ve been armed with only my cell phone. And blogging from my cell phone sucks. Then a few days ago I downloaded Picasa on my cell to compare online photo storage sites. I saw all my blog pics. I wondered if they really needed to be there so I deleted one folder. I checked back to the blog posts and it was still there. Sweet I thought, and went ahead deleting what I thought would be safe back on my blog.

Today when I check out my site all my pics are gone!!! AAARRRGGGGG!!!!! I should have known better! After doing some googling I discovered that the Picasa albums are used for all blogger accounts. Meaning, if you have a Google + account and delete pics from albums there, they will disappear from your Picasa album AND your blog! YIKES!

There are many food bloggers and photography blogs that have recently deleted albums from Google + because they didn’t want all those pics there. They wanted to be able to share personal pics of their kids, family, themselves, etc. When they deleted the images from Google + they disappeared from their blogs! Pissed we are! There is no trash bin to restore, there is no un-delete. We are all screwed.

I wanted to make some changes in 2012 like moving to WordPress, so since my hand has been forced, I’m making the move now. So chances are I’ll be absent for a bit online while I figure out a new blogging platform. If you have any tips/tricks please share them with me on my Facebook Page. It would be much appreciated!

Also, what widgets/plugins in WordPress can you not live without? I need help!!!

Apples to Apples XBox 360 Game Review

December 27, 2011 Game Product Review No comments

The boys and I got to review Apples to Apples XBox 360 Game a few weeks before Christmas.

Apples to Apples is a game of hilarious comparisons. Comparing apples to apples. The game is aimed for ages 10 and up. I tried to play it with my boys ages 5 and 8. My 8 year old helped a bit, but he didn’t really understand the concept of the game.

This game would be perfect for my husband and I, however, the second we turn on the XBox they come running and butt right in to take over. Meaning we get no time for our games, but later, when they are all asleep, we will battle!

I’m really thinking this game would make a great at-home date night activity. You can purchase the game online at the XBox marketplace for 800 points. Well worth it in my opinion!

You do have to spell out your answer, which is timed and kinda difficult. I did ok in the beginning, but after I passed a few levels you have to spell out the answer, which isn’t listed in any of the choices offered to you. You have to know the word and how to spell it. Tricky tricky! This is right up my husband’s alley!

Want to learn more? Here’s an overview: Party-style fun is ripe for the picking as Apples to Apples™ the video game comes to Xbox LIVE Arcade! This game of hilarious comparisons is as simple as comparing “apples to apples” – just select the red card you think is most like the green card played by the judge. If the judge picks your card, you win the round. And everyone gets a chance to be the judge! Play online with up to 5 friends in Classic Mode or two variant modes – Baked Apples and Crab Apples! Choose from 26 hilarious Apple Avatars, enjoy environments like Space Apples and Carnival Apples, and collect Golden Apple Cards that mix up the game! Bursting with over 1000 red and green cards, Apples to Apples™ the video game provides endless hours of unpredictable, over-the-top fun!

*Disclosure: I received this download for review purposes to share my honest opinion. All opinions are my own. Thank you Click Communications!

Tyler’s Acid-Free Coffee Review

December 27, 2011 Product Reviews for Mom No comments

A little information about Tyler’s Coffee and what makes it different:

The Difference

Tyler’s Coffee uses a “Z-Roasting” process that optimizes the time the coffee beans are cooked; the result is high levels of caffeine and free of acid. Benefits of an acid free coffee are tooth enamel is protected and teeth are stronger leading to fewer cavities.

“If the acid level of the saliva stays below the point for an extended period of time, the outer layers of tooth structure begin to lose minerals and a cavity can from. Beverages that are high in sugar and acid content can cause the pH level of the saliva to reach this critical point. Drinking no acid coffee is a good alternative to high acid beverages.”

-Dr. T. Richard Ziehmer, a dentist in Tucson, AZ

A little cup of java can mean a big problem for stomachs. Acid levels in coffee, as well as impurities and resins, may wreak havoc on the digestive tract. Our customers with sensitive stomachs are relieved to learn that they can still continue enjoying a great cup of coffee whenever they want.

Regular Acid Free
–Rockets you forward with level of caffeine that exceeds most other coffee brands.

–Our computerized “Z-Roasting” system optimizes roasting time to assure that Tyler’s Coffee is acid free with maximum flavor.

Decaf Acid Free
–Tyler’s coffee uses a Swiss Water Based Process to decaffeinate our Arabica coffee beans. Our Arabica beans are shipped from South America to our roasting factory in Arizona.

–We use No Chemicals to decaffeinate our coffee!

My thoughts: Thankfully coffee doesn’t usually bother my stomach, but I have friends that don’t handle coffee well, and this will be my recommendation. The coffee was strong, many people like it that way. My husband liked the coffee, I however, did not. It left a bitter metallic taste in my mouth. I was told that given the nature of Acid-Free Coffee, brewing with tap water may cause an unpleasant chemical taste. Using purified water to brew Tylers Coffee will give a truer, cleaner taste. I didn’t have any purified water on hand, so I used what I had. I wish I hadn’t. I ended up dumping the whole pot.

If you love coffee and often have stomach discomfort afterwards, Tyler’s coffee may be just what you need. Just don’t forget to use purified water!!!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

The Voyages of Young Doctor Dolittle DVD Review

December 27, 2011 DVD Review No comments

We received the DVD of The Voyages of Young Doctor Dolittleto review. The boys are watching it right now.

From what I hear the characters sound cute. The animation is fun, colorful, vibrant and very kid friendly. My 5 year old and 8 year old weren’t all into it, but my 2 year old really seemed to enjoy it.

The movie has an underlying message that teaches responsibility and making good choices. Even though this DVD was aimed towards younger children, my 5 and 8 year old sat through the whole thing!

You can buy it from Amazon for just $12.99 or rent it for 7 days with Amazon Instant Video for just $1.99! I didn’t even realize you could do that! So check it out. Your kids will thank you.

*Disclosure – DVD was provided to me for review. All opinions are my own.