Time-Savers

I've been meaning to do some product placement for a while because I discovered these products in the same week a few months ago.  They work great, and they are big time-savers, too. So hear you go.

The first is Suave Professionals new dry shampoo.

I first found heard about dry shampoo when James was a newborn, and I was dying to try some because we all know how often mothers of newborns get to take showers and wash their hair.  I thought this could be an amazing solution for those days when the shower just didn't happen.  

I ended up finding some at the salon at Wal-Mart that I paid $20 for (I was desperate for clean hair.), but I wasn't totally pleased with it.  It did add more volume, but it also added a lot of static electricity and left a grayish white residue where I sprayed it on my roots.  

But this product works so much better.  There is no residue and no static electricity.  It absorbs oil, smells great, and gives you some extra volume up top so you look like you have freshly washed and dried hair.  BAM.  Plus, you only pay about $3 for it at Target.  My Wal-Mart didn't carry it last time I checked.  It's not exactly the same as if you washed and dried your hair, but it will get you through that early-morning class when you sleep in or the early run to the grocery store or that day when your baby or young child doesn't give you time to hop in the shower.  

My next time saver is Tyson's Grilled and Ready Chicken Breasts.

I think I unintentionally bought these once, but they turned out to be great.  They are already cooked, and all you have to do is put them in a covered dish and pop them in the microwave for less than 10 minutes.  You don't have to worry about thawing them, and you don't have to wonder if they're cooked all the way through or not.  They're a little more expensive than regular raw frozen chicken breasts but not by much, and they're really nice to have on hand for a busy night.  If you're running late starting dinner, pop these in the microwave and some vegetables on the stove, and you have a healthy meal in 15 minutes.  You can't beat that.  Also, they really did have a great flavor, and they're only 110 calories, I think.  

I think these would be great for preparing a meal for one, too. They're individually packaged, so you just take out what you need.  And that is my product placement for the week.

Fun at Sam's

KJ and I got an unexpected afternoon date yesterday, and I had so much fun.  Where did we go?  Sam's!  Our main mission was to look for a new suit for KJ, but the place we went didn't have his size, so we ended up at Sam's.  I haven't shopped there since we became a family of four, and I had a really fun time.  They had several items in bulk that we eat all the time that were cheaper than buying singly.  I love the feeling of having an abundance of such items as nutrition bars, granola bars, string cheese, vegetable soup, and goldfish.  Ella was very excited about the "biggest box of goldfish she'd ever seen."  She told KJ we had enough goldfish for "a week, or forever."  


It was fun getting to shop alone and have some time with KJ.  I am grateful to Mama T for keeping the children.  They had a great time.  Ella told me in great detail about what they did, but she has become a very confusing conversationalist as of late.  When asked a question, she gives very conflicting answers:


"Ella, do you want to go to the store with me?"


"Well, not really, but I guess I could go, but I don't really want to, yes."


(a little exasperated) "So, yes or no?"


"Yes."


And then there was this from yesterday talking about James taking a nap at T's house:


"James took a really long nap, but it was really kind of short."


I'm not sure what that means.  Then we came home, and she watched an episode of Backyardigans.


"Ella, is your movie over?"


(Lots of head nodding up and down, then from side to side, and then up and down...)


I'm not really sure what is up with that.  You can't really believe anything she says in the area of hunger or thirst, either.  One moment she is full and the next she is starving.  She just says things without thinking, I believe, dependent on what ends she wants to accomplish.  But, she is too sweet and too fun, and so is James.  I love that baby.  I've realized lately that while babies are a lot of work and really hard in the sleep department, they are so much fun because they don't talk back or do anything out of knowing rebellion.  They just smile and laugh and look sweet and chubby and lovable.  So, I am enjoying the last few months of James' first year.  He is pulling up on everything now and standing up so straight and tall.  I was a bit sad that he might walk earlier than a year because I didn't want to lose my baby, but my lower back is hurting from bending over so much to pick him up, so I decided him walking would not be a bad thing.  He has been a big boy all along and has taken a toll on my lower back since about the sixth month of pregnancy.  Sometimes I think he is somehow secretly older than he is supposed to be.  Oh, and I should mention that he weighs the same that Ella did at 18 months, and is probably only a little bit shorter.

Climbing stairs at T's house

I know most parents don't want stairs, but I wish we had some for James to climb.

He loves it so much.

My sweet family