Parenting and Living Our Way: product review

Showing posts with label product review. Show all posts

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Genevieve Jerome Photography

About four weeks before our wedding, I got the phone call every bride dreads. My photographer canceled. She had gone into early, very early, labor and given birth to her daughter. Her daughter was in the NICU and was expected to remain there for months. Of course, I completely understood that she needed to cancel, but I was panicking. How on Earth will I find another photographer on such late notice?

I messaged a friend from high school on Facebook (how did we all survive before Facebook?) and I asked her if she knew anyone that might be interested. She had worked as a photographer for a college paper so I figured she was a good place to start. She asked around and then introduced me to Genevieve Jerome. Genevieve was available and was happy to shoot our wedding.

I met Genevieve face-to-face about two hours before our wedding started, but I felt like I already knew her since we had been in touch over the past weeks. She did an amazing job. Not only was she shooting our wedding, she was also shooting our daughter's dedication (we had it at the end of the wedding ceremony) and our reception. We also had a few family photos that we needed taken (three-generation photos were a must!).

She planned serious photos as well as fun and goofy photos that showed our personalities. She was simply amazing. I was so impressed to begin receiving digital image previews within a few days of our wedding and then I received the disc with all the photos on it. We looked through all the photos and were so impressed that she covered so many little details that we weren't expecting.

It is one thing to look at the pictures on the computer, it's an entirely different experience to hold the printed images in your hands and be in complete awe and shock at how well they turned out. I could not be any happier with our photos and I am so excited that we will continue to work with Genevieve in the future.

Here are a few of the photos from our wedding:
All images copyright Genevieve Jerome Photography and unauthorized use strictly prohibited

Note: This is an unsolicited review of a business I love and appreciate. I was not asked to write this review nor was I compensated for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Attack of the Teething Monster - Punkin Butt Product Review

Emma started teething at 2 1/2 months and hasn't stopped. We have had the "pleasure" of 8 months of non-stop teething. She has more good days than bad, but the bad days are REALLY BAD. I feel horribly for her and want to help her in anyway I can. We lovingly refer to her on those REALLY BAD days as the Teething Monster.

We have tried everything to help her. Hylands teething tablets didn't help. Orajel didn't help. She wears an amber necklace and I'm still on the fence about if it really helps. We aren't fans of giving her medicine but we tried infant pain reliever at night when teething was at It's worst and she did sleep longer and with few whimpers than without it. We reserved this for the really bad nights. It's not something we are willing to give her on a regular basis.

I was browsing through Kissed by the Moon's website and noticed Tami had stocked a new product: Punkin Butt Teething Oil. I figured since I had tried everything else, I would give this a shot. This is the best $6.99 impulse purchase I've made in years. I rubbed it on Emma's gums at the start of her nighttime routine and she slept for 6 hours straight and another 4 after nursing. This might not seem great to some, but Emma typically wakes every 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

We have used Punkin Butt every night since we got it and Emma has slept for 6-8 hours, nursed, then slept for 3-5 more hours.I will definitely continue using this product and will be adding it to baby shower gifts.

Product Details
Punkin Butt Teething Oil is packaged in amber glass bottles to protect the essential oils. It comes in a 2oz bottle and retails for $6.99.

Rub on baby's gums to relieve teething pain and soothe baby.

Ingredients: Vitis vinifera (Grapeseed) Oil, Helianthus annuus (Organic Sunflower) Oil, Sesamum indicum (Organic Sesame) Oil and/or Prunus armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Essential oil blend (chamomile, clove, peppermint), Citrus grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract.

Disclosure: I wasn't not asked to write this review. Nor was I paid or compensated for it. The opinions are my own.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Woolzies Dryer Balls Review and Giveaway

Woolzies Dryer Balls Review & Giveaway

I was sent a box of 6 extra-large Woolzies Dryer Balls to review. At the end of this review, there is a giveaway for a box of their dryer balls.

I have been using dryer balls for about a year now. I started using dryer balls while I was pregnant after making the decision to cloth diaper our daughter. I learned from my cloth diaper research that I was going to need to stop using fabric softener and dryer sheets because they are not good for cloth diapers. Since we ran out of dryer sheets, I decided instead of buying more, I would buy dryer balls. I bought 6 large dryer balls from a work at home mom (WAHM) on Etsy. I was impressed with the size and expected them to work well. I was looking for my clothes to be static free and for a reduction in dryer time. Well, I was disappointed. I didn’t notice a reduction in drying time at all, but my clothes were static free so I kept using them.

When I signed up to review the Woolzies Dryer Balls, I honestly wasn’t expecting much from them. I opened the box and was pleasantly surprised; they are so much more dense than the WAHM dryer balls I had been using. “Hmm, maybe that will help decrease drying time” I thought to myself as I threw them in the dryer for the first time.

I wash six loads of laundry a week: my clothes and my daughter’s clothes, my husband’s work pants, my husband’s other clothes, sheets and towels, and two loads of diapers. Because I’m a busy WAHM I know my washer and dryer routines and times like the back of my hand so I was able to compare drying time easily. I have broken diapers into two categories (covers/shells/All in Ones (AIOs) and inserts/flats/prefolds) because before using Woolzies, I would dry everything for 15 minutes on hot and then pull the covers, shells and all in ones (AIOs) out to finish drying on the line and let the inserts, flats and prefolds finish drying on low.

Type of Laundry	Drying Time without Dryer Balls	Drying Time with Woolzies Dryer Balls	Time Saved
My clothes & my daughter’s clothes	40 minutes	25 minutes	15 minutes
My husband’s work pants	45 minutes with patches of dampness requiring overnight on the line	40 minutes	5 minutes
My husband’s other clothes	35 minutes	25 minutes	10 minutes
Sheets and towels	45 minutes	30 minutes	15 minutes
Diapers
Covers/Shells/AIOs	15 minutes in dryer 1 hour on the line for covers/shells 2.5 hours on the line for AIOs	15 minutes in the dryer for covers/shells 1 hour on the line for AIOs	All the time on the line for covers and shells and an hour and a half on the line for AIOs
Inserts/Flats/Prefolds	45 minutes (15 minutes hot and 30 minutes on low)	30 minutes (15 minutes hot and 15 minutes on low)	15 minutes

My husband’s work pants are double layer work pants for working in the warehouse and are lined with flannel to keep warm, so I wasn’t expecting much reduction for these and I am impressed with the 5 minutes since without the dryer balls I would pull them out at 45 minutes and still have patches of dampness so they had to be hung on the line overnight.

I was impressed with the results of our cloth diapers. I love that I can dry everything on hot for 15 minutes and pull the covers and shells out completely drying. My All in Ones used to take what seemed like forever to dry on the line (it was really only 2.5 hours), and now they are done on the line in an hour. The fact that everything else only takes 30 minutes in the dryer is amazing and very helpful when I’m trying to get diaper laundry done and ready for the next day.

All our clothes are static and wrinkle free when I remove them from the dryer and I don’t hear the dryer balls bouncing around in the dryer is which a nice plus, since it can get annoying after awhile.

Overall, I am beyond impressed with the Woolzies Dryer Balls and I will definitely continue using them in the future. You can find Woolzies Dryer Balls at www.woolzies.com.

As part of the review, Woolzies has agreed to do a giveaway of one box of six dryer balls for the readers of the blog. Thank you Woolzies! The giveaway will go live at 12:00am May 17^th and ends at 12:00am on May 24^th. All times are east coast time. Good luck and have fun readers!

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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Pepper Skye Bandana Bib Review & Giveaway

I am very excited to have partnered with Pepper Skye for my blog’s first review and giveaway. Pepper Skye is a company that I am proud to have been able to learn more about and look forward to working with in the future. Their products are handmade, made in the USA, and every website sale generates a donation to UNICEF.

I received the Pink Flowers bandana bib to review. When it first arrived, I was surprised by the quality of the material and how well made it was. I’ve seen some rather sloppy handmade products recently, so I honestly wasn’t expecting much. The front has light pink flowers on a dark pink background. The back is a light pink fleece with a pink, plastic snap to fasten. The single snap makes it a breeze to take on and off.

The bandana bibs are designed for fashion and function. They are meant for catching drool and other messiness that little ones get into during the day, but are not mealtime bibs. I’ll be honest that I didn’t take the bib off when I bottle fed Emma, so it did a great job at catching the spittle and excess milk. I did take it off or cover it for solid foods though. Emma has been battling a horrible cold and she has had a runny nose for a couple of weeks. She hates tissues and doesn’t really like cloth wipes being used to wipe her nose. I tried the bandana bib and it worked great. No screaming! Anything without screaming is a success.

Pepper Skye offers a variety of products including blankets, afghan knits, diaper wallets, doo rags, and pacifier clips.

Things I love about the bib: Everything! Seriously, it’s a great product. It’s super soft, so Emma loves petting it, rubbing her hands on it and chewing on it. It washes really easily. Just throw it in the washer with either clothes or blankets and it’s ready to go. Emma is a sensory child. She has textures she loves and others she hates. We have had many articles of clothing and blankets that we have given away or sold because she would scream when they touched her skin. She loves this bib. She touches it and rubs it whenever she’s wearing it. When her gums hurt she chews on it. If she’s not wearing it, she’s carrying it around as a mini blanket.

Things I wasn’t so happy about: Nothing. I really like the product and I don’t think it needs to be changed in any way. Some people may prefer that it could also be used for mealtime, but then you have to change the bib a few times a day. I much prefer the plastic mealtime bibs so I can just rinse them off in the sink after meals and let them dry.

A few shots of the bib in use. Please ignore the watery eyes, allergies are horrible right now.

You can now save 10% off your purchase with our exclusive code: JDUNN10

Pepper Skye has graciously agreed to sponsor our first giveaway. The giveaway runs from April 1st through 7th. The winner will be announced after the entry is verified. I’ve been hinting around on my facebook page about the giveaway, are you ready to find out what you’ll win?

That’s right $25 store credit! Who is ready to go on a shopping spree? Enter, share and shop! It’s that easy.

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