Younique 3D mascara

I’ve always loved going to formals and balls.  It’s so nice getting all dressed up, having my makeup done (because I’m terrible at doing eyeshadow myself), and getting fake eyelashes to make my eyes pop.  As a whole, going to a ball pretty much makes me feel like a princess for the night.

I bought fake eyelashes for my cousin Jennifer’s wedding last year, but every time I tried to put them in, I failed.  Eventually one of her other bridesmaids put them on for me.

I really like how my eyes stand out when accentuated by exaggerated eyelashes.  What if you could get the same effect, without the hassle (or in my case, down right impossibility) of false eyelashes?  According to the new Younique 3D mascara, you can.

Image from the Younique website

Needless to say, I was intrigued and excited to try it out.  They are taking off in the U.S., but have only just landed in Australia.  I was one of the lucky first people to get my hands on some.  And by get my hands on, I mean an independent consultant sent me some.

Without mascara, with normal mascara, and the bottom photo is with Younique 3D fibre lashes.

What exactly is 3D mascara (it’s actually called 3D fiber lashes, but everyone seems to call it 3D mascara, or just mascara.  It’s so much easier.)?  It’s a two part system.  First, you put on some “transplanting gel,” which pretty much looks like mascara but is quite sticky.  Then you use another mascara like wand  from a tube full of 100% green tea fibres to apply tiny little fibres onto your sticky lashes.  The fibre plumps up and extends your lashes making them look pretty awesome.

I really like the way it looks, but only on the top lashes.  I think it’s a bit too much and stands out as un-natural looking if also done on the bottom.   But maybe that’s just me.  It looks kind of like your eyelashes are turning into trees by sprouting branches when you first apply the fibres, but if you use one of those eyebrow/lash comb things (the ones with what looks like a tiny comb on one side, and a tiny brush directly opposite the comb) to make all the fibres go in the right direction, it looks normal. Only longer and fuller.  If you don’t comb them and tame them, you will also find a little pile of stray fibres on your cheeks a while later.  The crucial combing/taming step eliminates that as well.

Personally, I only use the Younique 3D fibre lashes on special occasions, not because it’s hard to do (it’s not), or anything like that, but because I usually wear glasses and the rims of my glasses pretty much hide my eyelashes. When my eyes come out from behind my glasses, my lashes get 3D’d, which is only on special occasions because as a stay at home mom, I can’t be bothered with contacts most of the time.

I used Younique 3D lashes when we had family portraits done a few weeks ago (by Michael Seager)

Click here to peruse and or buy Younique 3D fibre lashes, or any of their other products, such as mineral make up and BB cream.

*I was given Younique 3D fibre lashes free for review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

If you enjoyed reading this, please vote for my blog. All you have to do is click the link below. That’s it… Clicking the link brings you to the Top Mommy Blogs home page. You don’t have to do anything else. Any clicks from my site to theirs is a vote.  THANKS!

Like my blog? ‘Like’ it on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mommy-Adventures/203964682967827?ref=tn_tnmn

Pin It You officially have my permission to pin this (as long as it links back to my site).  Just don’t act like you wrote it. Because you didn’t….

Copyright 2014 Sheri Thomson

Cariloha

I have a set of expensive Egyptian cotton sheets that we got on sale once.  They are silky and smooth, and pretty fantastic.  Or so I thought, until Cariloha sent me some of their bamboo sheet sets.  I was intrigued when they first contacted me to review them, as I’d never heard of bamboo sheets before.

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet.  I say plant because despite it’s tree-like appearance, bamboo is in the grass family.  It sends new shoots up every year, reaching maturity in 3-5 years.  Bamboo can be harvested continually without impacting the surrounding environment, making it a very sustainable alternative to cotton and also wood.  Needless to say, the thought of using bamboo for sheets and clothes is pretty exciting to a Sustainable Agriculture student such as myself.

Aaron and I put our new bamboo sheets on our queen sized bed, admiring their softness as we went.  When we were finished, we laid on them with the kids.  Our puppy Rosie wanted to check them out as well.  We had only had her for a week or so at the time and didn’t want her to miss out on our little family bed sheet snuggle.  Unfortunately, Rosie liked the sheets so much she didn’t want to get off of them.  Instead of going out to pee, she peed right there on the bed.  Luckily for us, we have a mattress protector under the sheets, but it was still pretty annoying.  I wanted to sleep on those sheets!!! Instead, we had to wash them and remake the bed with different, less soft and inviting sheets.  Humph.

Cariloha bamboo sheets

I kept the pillow cases on though, and slept on them until time to change the sheets again because they are so soft, silky, and nice feeling on my skin.  I like them way better than my previous favourite egyptian cotton sheets.  I just wish the pillow cases had a little pocket for the end of the pillow to go in so they don’t come out, but I think that is just an American thing.  I don’t recall seeing any pillow cases in the U.S. like the ones we have over here in Australia.

Cariloha also sent me a lovely purple bamboo shirt.

This shirt is made out of bamboo.

I like this shirt for so many reasons:  the colour is flattering on me (plus I love purple), the cut is flattering on me, it’s really soft, it wicks moisture away, which is important if you are a nervous sweater like me, it’s long enough to cover my butt crack when I bend over (because jeans these days always show the crack when bending!!), and best of all, the scoop neck is low enough to not look weird, but high enough that it doesn’t gape open and reveal my boobs when I bend over.  Mom’s do a lot of bending, so this is obviously very important, especially for someone like me whose nipples show (even if I’m wearing a bra)  when I bend over.

They also sent me a pair of bamboo pants.  I thought they would be perfect for travelling, comfortable, but also stylish.  I usually travel in workout pants or pyjama pants, so  these would be much more appropriate.

Bamboo linen pants. They look so comfy.

Unfortunately for me, I didn’t look at the sizing chart on Cariloha’s website and went for a size 4 instead of a size 2.  I usually wear a U.S. size 3, so I wanted to be on the safe side and go bigger rather than smaller.  The sizing chart is right there on the website, but I am unobservant and didn’t notice it and didn’t use it.  When I got the pants, I could put them on without unbuttoning them, even though I am pear shaped and usually have to pull and wiggle a bit to get pants over my hips.  I was swimming in them. I could tell that if they fit properly, they would be super comfortable though.  You would have to wear light coloured plain undies though, as they are a tad bit see-through.

I ended up giving the pants to a very excited friend who was already a fan of bamboo clothes.

I definitely recommend Cariloha’s products.  They are so soft, well made, comfortable, and sustainably produced.  To purchase Cariloha bamboo products, click here.

GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!

Click here for entry to win a Cariloha sheet set, a pair of bamboo pants, OR a bamboo shirt of your choice.   Entry only open to those with a U.S. or Canadian address, must be 18 or over to enter.  Competition closes 12am 5 July EST.  Rafflecopter will choose a winner at random.

*I was given sheets, a shirt, and pants to review and keep, all opinions expressed are my own.

If you enjoyed reading this, please vote for my blog. All you have to do is click the link below. That’s it… Clicking the link brings you to the Top Mommy Blogs home page. You don’t have to do anything else. Any clicks from my site to theirs is a vote.  THANKS!

Like my blog? ‘Like’ it on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mommy-Adventures/203964682967827?ref=tn_tnmn

Pin It You officially have my permission to pin this (as long as it links back to my site).  Just don’t act like you wrote it. Because you didn’t….

Copyright 2014 Sheri Thomson

All those Christmas toys

As usual, the kids got way too many presents from everyone, which means we had to cull lots of their old toys to make room.  And luckily for me, ToyTainer sent me a bunch of their products just before Christmas, which means extra storage places for all those Christmas toys.

For every day use, this hang on a door ToyTainer is our favourite.  As you can see, there is no room IN the closet for toys….

The princess castle (picture above) is a great space saver since it goes over the door.  It also has adjustable height straps, which is super awesome.  I put it on it’s very lowest setting so that Hannah can see in the mirror from the ground (which she loves), and reach even the highest toys with her stool.  Most importantly, Rosie (our new puppy) can’t get any of the toys in it, which makes it a great place to store all of Hannah’s enticing, chewable, puppies-like-to-rip-the-hair-off dolls.  When we travel somewhere that doesn’t have any toys, we can fold up the princess castle, with all the dolls and things in it, and take it with us.  Easy, and perfect for holidays/vacations.  Daniel got the boys version, called games centre, which has a basketball hoop at the top.  Hannah likes using the hoop, but Daniel is a bit too small for it.  He will appreciate his games centre when he is a little older.  And taller. For now though, it’s great for extra toy storage.

The hoop makes cleaning up super fun.

We also got a shoe box for each kid.  Hannah decided immediately upon opening hers that it is called a “Caravan Bag” and likes to take it in the car filled with my little ponies and other girly things.  Daniel likes to drive his cars and trains around on his and then put them away through the little opening at the bottom.  I like how they are portable storage, but also a toy in themselves.  We had to go on an unscheduled trip over 4 hours away to attend Aaron’s Nanna’s funeral and the kids piled their caravan bags with chosen toys.  Daniel’s fit heaps of Thomas engines, train tracks, cars, dinosaurs, and the mat I talk about below.  Hannah’s fit ponies, books, play jewellery, and her play mat.  I was surprised at how much stuff can actually fit in them, and they were perfect for taking away with us.

aka “Caravan Bags”

Another easy clean up and travel item is the EZ-mat.  There is a pink one with dirt roads/trails, and a blue one with roads.  The kids can play on them and then use the cord to turn them into a bag with all the toys and cars inside.  Brilliant for travel.

The blue version

There is also the pink ice cream truck which Hannah absolutely loves because it’s fun to push around and unlike most cars and trucks that size, is not made with boys in mind. She loves that it’s pink.  Open the top of the truck and it’s completely hollow, designed for storage. Hannah stores all of her little toys that Daniel is not allowed to play with due to their choking hazard.  They are now all in the one place, and easy to store away from Daniel’s prying hands when Hannah isn’t playing with them.

Finally, a pink truck for girly girls

GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!

If you would like to win over $150 worth of ToyTainer products, leave a comment below and I will pick a winner using a random number generator from random.org.  For an extra entry, like the Mommy Adventures Facebook page (click here to go there).  I will assign each new like a number (in order of the like, starting with the number that immediately follows the number of comments), which will then be included in the random number generator.

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The winner is Hazel.  Thanks everyone for entering 🙂

*Entries open to U.S. residents only

*Competition closes 11:59pm 12 January 2014

*I received ToyTainer items in exchange for my honest opinion about them, I did not receive any money for writing this post.

If you enjoyed reading this, please vote for my blog. All you have to do is click the link below. That’s it… Clicking the link brings you to the Top Mommy Blogs home page. You don’t have to do anything else. Any clicks from my site to theirs is a vote.  THANKS!

Like my blog? ‘Like’ it on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mommy-Adventures/203964682967827?ref=tn_tnmn

Pin It You officially have my permission to pin this (as long as it links back to my site).  Just don’t act like you wrote it. Because you didn’t….

Copyright 2013 Sheri Thomson

Wet ‘n Wild Sydney

After waiting two weeks for our season pass armbands that serve as everything from gaining entry to paying for food to identifying particular people in photographs taken by the official photographers, opening day arrived at Wet ‘n Wild Sydney.  Our armbands still haven’t arrived. Instead, we waited in line before the park opened and had to collect and activate new ones.  We thought we’d be waiting in line for hours, since the crowd was predicted to be 20,000 strong on opening day, but my friend Romana, who got there before me, only waited a few minutes.

Since Romana brought Hannah’s best friend Violet, and I brought Hannah (Daniel was at daycare), we only got to experience the kids area and the lazy river.  So if you want to know about how cool the other slides and things are, you’re not going to find it on this post.  Sorry.  One day I will get there sans kids, but that hasn’t happened as yet.

The kids area had plenty of stuff for them to do.  First we came across a vast soft-fall covered water spout area with a downpour bucket and various sprinklers, where they very small kids, as well as older ones, can run around and get soaked without being in a pool of water.  There is also a slide area with one entrance at the bottom that goes either left or right at the top.  To the left are four slides that require tubes.  Two of the four slides only accept single tubes with single riders, who must be under a certain height or they are not allowed on.  Too bad if you have a really tall 8 year old, he won’t be allowed to go down those slides.

The other two slides allow double tubes, and as long as one of the riders is under the stick height, the other rider can be an older child or an adult. I took Hannah down the double tube slides.  Since she is small, I had to put my legs over half the hole area of her side to make sure she didn’t fall in.  This meant that I had to sit with my legs open, so I’m hoping that my swimmers stayed where they were supposed to whilst I got on the tube, otherwise the slide attendant would be getting an eyeful.  Note to self, wear shorts next time.  I did wear a skirt over my bikini bottoms, but that was clearly not helpful when laying on a tube with my legs spread.

At the bottom of the slides, a lifeguard was there to pull us to the steps and help Hannah get out, which was quite useful.  The morning slide attendants at the top of the slides let me take the GoPro down with me, saying that since it has a wrist strap, it was ok because there wasn’t any danger of it falling in.  The afternoon attendants, however, made me leave it at the top and come back for it.

To left were the body slides – the slides you go down with no tubes or anything else.  Unfortunately, they don’t allow anyone over a certain height to go down them at all, even if you are accompanying a 2 year old.  That was fine for us, since our girls are 4.  Hannah and Violet can walk up to the slides themselves, choose which slide they like, and then let the attendant tell them when to go while we wait at the bottom of their chosen slide to make sure they get out ok.

Some of the slides have a bit of water at the bottom, so an adult really needs to be there to make sure there are no drowning or choking on water incidents. You can also see the top of the slides and the line area from the bottom, which means sending a 4 year old up there by themselves is actually doable. It also means that there are a bunch of kids with no parents in the lines which equates to chaos, and cutting in line.  There are only two attendants to 6 slides, so if your child isn’t game enough to speak up when their chosen slide is called, they could be waiting quite a while.

There is no way that I could bring Daniel there by myself.  He would need me to take him up to the top of the slides (the smaller ones without water at the bottom, since adults are not allowed to go on the slightly bigger ones with the kids), and to wait in line with him, but he’d also need me to be there at the bottom so he didn’t get out and run off somewhere, or get upset that I wasn’t waiting there for him. There isn’t enough time to put a child on the slide and run then run down to meet him/her at the bottom, so it is impossible to take a small child to Wet ‘n Wild on your own.

The most ridiculous thing about Wet ‘n Wild is not the $16 burgers, although they are clearly a rip off, but the fact that parents can’t go down water slides in the kids area with their small children.

Speaking of $16 burgers, outside food isn’t allowed (although I brought my own snacks in and no one said anything. Shhh….), and all the food is ridiculously expensive.  Burgers and fries for $16, a hot dog for $6.  There aren’t many choices either.  Don’t forget to bring your own water as there are no water fountains (that we found anyway), and one bottle of water is $4.50.

We stayed at Wet ‘n Wild for the majority of the day, and we all had a great time, especially since the lines were incredibly short and there weren’t many people around (so much for that 20,000…).  We already have another trip planned, and many more after that 🙂  I’m definitely glad we purchased gold season passes.

If you enjoyed reading this, please vote for my blog. All you have to do is click the link below. That’s it… Clicking the link brings you to the Top Mommy Blogs home page. You don’t have to do anything else. Any clicks from my site to theirs is a vote.  THANKS! Like my blog? ‘Like’ it on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mommy-Adventures/203964682967827?ref=tn_tnmn Pin It You officially have my permission to pin this (as long as it links back to my site).  Just don’t act like you wrote it. Because you didn’t…. Copyright 2013 Sheri Thomson

A post about peanut butter

I’m sure I’ve told you about how much of a fussy eater I was growing up.  I lived on cheese pizza, turkey hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, and every day at school, I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (jam as I now have to say as an Aussie so they don’t think I’m a weirdo who puts jello on my sandwiches).  It was undoubtedly my biggest source of protein.

I am still a huge fan of peanut butter. Especially the stuff RedBalloon sent me.  So is Hannah.  She doesn’t like chicken apart from the occasional nugget (if you can even call that chicken), and only intermittently likes deli ham, and she doesn’t eat any other meat at all.  If I make her a sandwich at home, it always has peanut butter on it.  Two tablespoons (32 grams) of the stuff has 8 grams of protein.  For comparison’s sake, 32 grams of chicken breast has about 9.7 grams of protein.  Yes, chicken has far fewer calories than peanut butter, but if you have a kid who doesn’t like meat, does like peanut butter, doesn’t eat a large volume of any kind of food, and is underweight, daily doses of peanut butter is a great option.  Plus it’s delicious.  Also, don’t be scared of the fat in peanut butter (don’t eat the whole jar at once, obviously, I mean per 2 TBSP serve), since the majority of fat in peanut butter is monounsaturated fat, which lowers LDL cholesterol levels (the bad cholesterol) and polyunsaturated fat which raises HDL levels (the good cholesterol).  Humans also need good fats in their diet for good health.

Unfortunately though, peanuts are also an allergen to a lot of people.  So many that it is banned in most schools, churches, playgroups, and children’s venues.  In Australia, around 3% of kids have a peanut allergy, some so severe that it causes anaphylaxis.  And trust me, that is scary.  When I was young, my brother got stung by a bee and went into anaphylactic shock.  He went all blue and couldn’t breathe until he got a shot of epinephrine.  20% of kids with peanut allergies grow out of it at some point (although I wonder when they think “hey, maybe I’ll try this stuff that I’ve been allergic to my whole life and see what happens”).  Needless to say, I can see why schools, and other venues have such strict peanut rules.

Not that peanuts are even a nut.  They are a legume, like peas, and beans.  Real nuts such as almonds and macadamias grow on trees.

Luckily for my family, we have no such peanut allergies and go through a very large volume of peanut butter in any given week.  We happened to have just run out of our big tub of it when I was volunteered to review a Red Balloon subscription.  I browsed the list of subscriptions, saw the delicious looking peanut butter, and here we are.

I like the quirky labels, and the star on the lid. If you’ve never eaten peanut butter made with only peanuts (and maybe a little salt), you’d probably be a bit surprised after you twist the lid off.  Inside is gooey, slightly runny, lumpy, brown goodness, unlike most peanut butter that you get at the supermarket, that is a firm set mass and isn’t even remotely going to fall out if you turn the jar upside down with the lid on.  You’d think the regular stuff is made of just peanuts, but it’s not.  Most peanut butters are only 90-ish percent peanuts, and have all sorts of added extras like vegetable or palm oil, sugar, molasses, and some even have ingredients with crazy long names that no one even remotely knows what are without consulting google.

Pic’s Really Good Peanut Butter, on the other hand, only contains peanuts and a little bit of salt.  And by a little, I mean a little; only 30mg per serve.  The recommended daily intake for most adults under 51 is 2,300mg per day or less, which means that one serving of Pic’s peanut butter is only 1.3% of your daily allowance of salt.

Being a little runny makes it far easier to spread (or eat straight from the jar…) than 90% peanut peanut butters.  It tastes way better too.  If you’ve never had 100% peanut peanut butter, I highly suggest you try it.  You don’t know what you’re missing out on.  Between uses, it does tend to separate into solids at the bottom, oil at the top, but a quick stir brings it back to it’s gooey deliciousness.  The jar recommends storing it upside down so that when it separates it’s easier to stir evenly.  Most 100% peanut butter needs to be stored in the fridge, but Pic’s Really Good Peanut butter is made from Hi Oleic peanuts.  Whilst that may sound like something out of a science lab, it’s not.  They are not genetically modified, but a naturally bred variety that yields peanuts with an even healthier fat profile.

ref. SS-AGR-91, Agronomy Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service,
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Revised June 2003.

The different fat profile has the added benefit of a longer shelf life, meaning peanut butter made from Hi Oleic peanuts doesn’t need to be stored in the fridge, just in a dark coolish place.  Mine is in the cupboard.  Not that it lasts long around here with our high peanut butter consumption.

With our first jar of peanut butter, Hannah and I made muesli bars (recipe below), and then chickpea and peanut butter cookies (sounds horrid, but are really yummy).  Basically, we used a whole jar in under a week, but that’s normal for us.  Pic’s really Good Peanut Butter is just that though, it really is really good.  

If peanut butter is not your thing, you’re crazy Red Balloon has heaps of other options, from honey (we use a lot of that too) to coffee, to muesli, to pasta, to candles, and everything in between.  Below is a discount code for you:

Receive $20 off when you spend $79 or more on any RedBalloon experience!

Visit www.redballoon.com.au & enter the code REDBLOG14 at the checkout to receive your discount.

Code can only be used once per person. All purchases are subject to RedBalloon T&Cs – http://www.redballoon.com.au/help/terms-conditions

Expiry: 31/12/2014

RedBalloon MarketPlace was created with the aim to bring surprise and delight into the homes of people across Australia.

Each month RedBalloon curates a premium selection of gourmet food, wine and lifestyle boxes, filled with products that the RedBalloon Team has discovered and loves.

Whether you’re looking for a gift that keeps on giving, or a treat for yourself, a subscription to RedBalloon MarketPlace is one way to ensure a box of happiness and lots of smiles every month.

This recipe (below) is for Hannah’s  favourite bars.  We make them often and she gobbles them up.  Don’t be scared of the honey.  Honey has countless health benefits (so many that I’m going to write a whole post about it.  I did a presentation on the health and medicinal benefits of honey for my food science class, so I’ve thoroughly researched the topic).  Make sure you check the label because the cheaper honeys often aren’t pure honey, but have glucose or high fructose corn syrup mixed in.  Certain types of honey, such as acacia are low GI and suitable for most diabetics.

(Sources for peanut butter info and facts are below the vote banner at the end of this post)

Hannah’s Bars:

-1 cup quick oats

-1/2 cup nuts of crunchy stuff of choice (sometimes we use crunchy cereal, sometimes peanuts, or macadamias, and/or seeds. One of our favourite things to use is fibre toppers, which are really crunchy little balls of bran. It just has to be crunchy, and obviously work well with the overall flavours of the recipe)

-1/2 cup raisins/sultanas, or any other dried fruit of choice.  We often use craisins.  Craisins and macadamias go very well together, if you used macadamias for the crunchy element.

-1/3 cup peanut butter

-1/2 cup honey

1. Mix oats, crunchy stuff, and raisins in a large bowl.

2. Put peanut butter, butter, and honey in a saucepan on med-low heat.

3. Stir continuously until mixture comes to a boil.

4. Pour melted mix onto dry mix and throughly stir.

5. Press entire mix into a loaf pan.  It’s much easier to get out once cooled if the pan is lined with baking paper, but it’s not absolutely necessary.

6. Refrigerate overnight.

7. Take entire batch out of the pan and cut into desired slice size.  I make some fairly small ones for the kids and then some regular muesli bar sized pieces for me.

8. Put in airtight container and store in the fridge. I have no idea how long they can be stored for since we have them eaten in less than a week.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

If you enjoyed reading this, please vote for my blog. All you have to do is click the link below. That’s it… Clicking the link brings you to the Top Mommy Blogs home page. You don’t have to do anything else. Any clicks from my site to theirs is a vote.  THANKS!

SOURCES:

http://www.allergyfacts.org.au/living-with-the-risk/allergen-specifics/peanut

http://www.foodallergy.org/allergens/peanut-allergy

http://www.jif.com/Products/Details?categoryId=339&productId=954

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/NU00284

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_butter

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=101

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/what-you-dont-know-about-peanut-butter-nutrition.html#b

Like my blog? ‘Like’ it on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mommy-Adventures/203964682967827?ref=tn_tnmn

Pin It You officially have my permission to pin this (as long as it links back to my site).  Just don’t act like you wrote it. Because you didn’t….

Copyright 2013 Sheri Thomson

Disney On Ice

In every direction, the view was the same – little girls dresses as princesses.  Never before have I seen so many princess dresses.  Or little girls for that matter.  Next to me, Hannah blended right in with her Cinderella,  Ariel, and Snow White (at least I think it’s Snow White) dress that she got for her birthday from Grandma less than a week ago.

Not only was she wearing a princess dress, but she also brought her Ariel doll.

Welcome to Disney on Ice, the show pretty much every single little girl in the Western world wants to attend. After we got some ice cream, in place of the expensive snow cones or popcorn in Disney character cups or buckets, we found our seats.

waiting for the show to start

We got there early because I didn’t know how long it would take to pick up our tickets, wait in line for the bathroom, and find our seats.  Turns out it didn’t take that long.  Not to mention my lack of navigating skills.  Despite having a GPS thing in the car, I tend to get lost anyway, so I had to leave time for potential lost-ness too.

“Is it starting yet?” Hannah would ask me every 30 seconds.  Or “Are the princesses coming out yet?”

Next time I’ll have to bring snacks to occupy her whilst we wait.  I assumed outside food wouldn’t be allowed, but it was, as were water bottles, cameras, and even video cameras, all of which are great when going somewhere with kids that requires lots of sitting and being relatively quiet.

Hannah sat on my lap for the entire two hours, enjoying almost every minute of the show.  She did have her own seat, but a tall guy was sitting in front of her, so my lap provided a much better vantage point.  By the last 20 minutes she was asking when it would be finished, but to hold her undivided, not bored, completely enjoying it attention for an hour and 40 minutes is flabbergasting.  I don’t think I’ve seen her sit still that long ever.  Except when she’s strapped in a car seat or on a plane, but I’m talking about voluntarily.  I’m not even sure if she was asking because she was getting bored, or because she was just really excited about the after party.

Watching the princesses dance around on the ice, Hannah’s face lit up.  Her grin spanned from ear to ear.  I brought my digital SLR camera along to get some photos, but I was enjoying the show too much to actually take many.

Whilst the kids are engrossed in the story, dancing and sparkly costumes, the adults can appreciate the complicated spins, jumps, and lifts the cast do all whilst lip syncing their lines and songs.  Ok, fine, I really liked the sparkly costumes too.  There was even a big fire breathing dragon costume occupied by 3 or 4 people.

The whole show was spectacular.  The choreography was amazing, the costumes were fantastic, and the props were awesome too. It all went together perfectly and the 2 hours flew by.

The end of the show

Lucky for us we were also invited to attend a VIP party after the show.  Not that I’m a VIP, but I can pretend for an afternoon.  Amongst footballers and their families, and media personalities with theirs, were a handful of bloggers like me.  There were little sandwiches, muffins, cupcakes, and even a candy bar.  Not like the american idea of a candy bar, as in one Twix or something like that, I mean like a bar full of candy.  Lots of giant jars filled with different sugary treats with scoops and boxes to put them in to eat or take home.  A candy buffet.  Yum.

There were princesses painting the kids’ faces and making balloon flowers.  They even played pass the parcel.  Best of all though, they got to meet Snow White.  The actual Snow White who was in the show.  And one of the dwarfs, we can’t forget about the dwarf. Hannah was ecstatic.  She got all shy at the last moment though, so I went with her.

My shy girl.  Gotta love the hand in the foreground trying to direct Hannah to look at the camera.

We met Annika, from Northern Beaches Kids Guide when she was sitting next to us during the show, and she was kind enough to take our photo with Snow White.

All in all, we had a fabulous time.  Hannah is still raving about it, and I’m sure she will continue to for many weeks to come.  She is even planning to put on her own Disney on Ice show tonight.  Sans ice, of course. I’m supposed to play Ursula.

If you have kids who love Disney princesses, I highly recommend going to Disney on Ice Princesses and Heroes.  It’s only on in Sydney until the 14th of July, before showing in Perth 19-22 July, so be quick!  And kids, don’t forget to wear your princess dresses.

If you enjoyed reading this, please vote for my blog. All you have to do is click the link below. That’s it… Clicking the link brings you to the Top Mommy Blogs home page. You don’t have to do anything else. Any clicks from my site to theirs is a vote.  THANKS!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Like my blog? ‘Like’ it on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mommy-Adventures/203964682967827?ref=tn_tnmn

Copyright 2013 Sheri Thomson

The squeezie yogurt

“If someone made reusable squeezie yogurt containers, they’d be rich.” I told Aaron one day.  Seriously.  Every time we go to the shops, my kids want squeezie yogurt.  They won’t eat yogurt at all unless it’s out of a squeezie pack.  Unfortunately, the squeezie packs are more expensive, and contain more sugar than I’d like them to.

The very next day, I got an email wanting to know if I’d review a Yummi Pouch.  Yes, someone actually did come up with a reusable squeezie yogurt pouch.  Or pureed fruit pouch.  Or baby food.  Or whatever you want to stick in there that is small enough to come out of the hole.  Ingenious.

Oh yes, reusable squeezie pouches. Not sure why my screen shot includes a big square, but oh well.

As if I was going to say no.  A reusable pouch meant that I could make my own yogurt, sans all the sugar, and stick that in the pouch for the kids.

I made the yogurt in my $12 yogurt maker from Aldi, and then set about sticking the yogurt into the pouch.  Humph. That part was actually quite tricky.  I got a small spoon, and spoon ful by messy spoon ful, filled the pouch with the yogurt.  It would have been much easier with the special pouring into pouch jug they sell on their website.

See the pouring thing? Would have been very helpful.

The kids enjoyed slurping from their Yummi Pouches, and ate all of the home made yogurt within them.

The next time didn’t go so well.  “I don’t like this yogurt Mommy.” Hannah told me.  Sigh. It wasn’t so much a reflection on the Yummi Pouch, but my home made yogurt.  Sigh. That’s what I get for trying to feed her greek yogurt instead of fruity yogurt.  Next time I will add some pureed fruit so it passes the taste test of a 3 year old.

I used to buy those squeezie packs of baby food to take when we went out anywhere when Daniel was little.  But again, they were comparatively expensive (just very convenient ). Yummi Pouches would have been great for when Daniel was a baby.

PROS:

-Reusable
–BPA and phthalate free
-Convenient
-Dishwasher safe
-Easy to clean by hand (with a bottle brush to get in the tip)
-Inexpensive
-Easy for kids to use

CONS:

-Hard to fill without the special filling funnel pitcher

If you enjoyed reading this, please vote for my blog. All you have to do is click the link below. That’s it… Clicking the link brings you to the Top Mommy Blogs home page. You don’t have to do anything else. Any clicks from my site to theirs is a vote.  THANKS!

Like my blog? ‘Like’ it on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mommy-Adventures/203964682967827?ref=tn_tnmn

Pin It You officially have my permission to pin this (as long as it links back to my site).  Just don’t act like you wrote it. Because you didn’t….

Copyright 2013 Sheri Thomson

Birthday Surprise

Last week was my 30th birthday.  Thirtieth. It still sounds weird.  And old.  But to celebrate my membership to the over 20s club, Aaron has been conspiring with some of our friends for the better part of a year. Like 21, 30 is a birthday worth celebrating.

I had no idea where I was going on Saturday.  All I had was a list of things to pack, a time of pick up, and the knowledge that the whole thing was rather expensive.

As my friend drove, I still had no idea where I was going.  With the list of items, which included a sun hat, pants in case I got cold, a raincoat, sunscreen, and a warm jumper, amongst other things, I thought maybe we’d be on a boat.  Parasailing maybe?  I have always wanted to parasail.

We continued driving and kept going further and further away from civilisation.  We were on the same road I take to uni.  A mostly agricultural uni, that is surrounded by fields and forests.

“Ok, now I really have no idea where we’re going.”

A little while later, we pulled into a resort.

I left most of my belongings in the car as they were ploy items and completely unnecessary.  We were taken to locker room and told to change into the disposable underwear, bathrobe, and slippers.  Let me just say, I’m glad I decided to wax the night before, just in case I’d have to don my bikini.  My two friends and I spent the entire day relaxing and being pampered with various spa treatments, delicious lunch in our bathrobes, and of course, good conversation that wasn’t interrupted by kids even once.  I even fell asleep a couple of times.  I was slightly embarrassed by my disgusting runny nose that I couldn’t do anything about when I was all wrapped up like a burrito when receiving a full body algae treatment.

When we were finished, we rushed home to get ready for dinner.  Aaron told me a couple weeks ago that he was supposed to find a restaurant and book us all in.  He hadn’t done it yet.  My friends told me that the option of formal McDonalds was actually thought about.  What is formal McDonalds you ask?  Wearing formal attire and dining at McDonalds, complete with fancy crockery and candles that you bring from home.

“That would actually be pretty funny.” I told my friends.

As it was, I had no idea where we were going.  Aaron told me at the last minute that it would be in the city because he knew the restaurants there from various corporate lunches, and knew which were good and which weren’t.

We parked under the Opera House (as you do), and started walking.  Finally, we came to the beautiful building near the base of the Harbour bridge that overlooks the Opera House.  The very building that houses Quay restaurant.

The opera house as seen through the car’s windshield

“Wait, this is where Quay is.  No, there’s no way you’d be able to get a booking with only two weeks notice.”  There were other restaurants there too.

But then we got out of the lift and started walking towards the only restaurant in that direction.

“Wait, are you serious? Is this where we’re going? Are we seriously eating here?  No way, are you punking me?”

No one said a word.  We just kept walking until we got to the door.  Aaron opened the it with a big smile on his face.

“How did you get a booking only two weeks in advance?!” I asked him in wonder.

“I didn’t book it two weeks ago, I booked it like eight months ago.” He told me.  I was blown away.  I felt like the most special person on the face of the earth.  A couple of years ago, I mentioned that for my 30th, I’d like to go to a really swish restaurant, with friends paying for themselves in lieu of presents. And Aaron remembered.

Quay is only the top restaurant in Sydney.  Do you watch Masterchef Australia? You know that infamous Snow Egg?  It’s from Quay. That 8 layer chocolate cake in which the 8th layer is warm chocolate that is poured on top and then falls through the middle? Quay.

Plus, this is what we were looking at the whole time.  I apologise for the low quality photos, but they are just from Aaron’s iPhone.  I could photoshop them to make the levels and so forth better, but that would eat into my study time. And I don’t really want to fail my classes.

Me and Aaron at Quay. Yes, I know my stick on bra is showing. That’s what happens when the straps on your dress are too long.

You can choose from a 4 course menu, or a tasting menu which consists of something like 6 or 8 courses.  The first option is $175 per head, the second $225.  Yes, you read that right, I didn’t forget a decimal place or anything.

The last page of the 4 course menu

But that was the idea.  I wanted to go somewhere my cheap self would never ever set foot into on any other day.  Somewhere really special that would deliver a night I’d never forget.  That’s what I envisioned those years ago when I told Aaron that I wanted to eat at a swish restaurant for my 30th.

For my first course, I ordered fragrant poached chicken with white radish, sea scallops, smoked eggplant cream, and pea blossoms.

My chicken dish, the same one that was on Masterchef Australia the other night.

Oh. My. Gosh. It was seriously the best chicken I’ve ever eaten.  It was so magnificently tender that I had to check to make sure it wasn’t raw.  It wasn’t.  I ate every last scrumptious morsel.

My second course was  Coturnix quail with farro, hazelnuts, quinoa, steamed truffle brioche, egg yolk confit, Vin Jaune cream.

My quail dish

I’ve never had quail before, so I thought I’d give it a go.  It’s not everyday you have the opportunity to eat quail.  And truffle.

The quail was even better than the chicken.  Oh my goodness was that dish delicious.  All of the elements of the dish worked together in perfect harmony.

Aaron had the line caught iki jime Tasmanian squid with squid ink custard, society garlic, pink turnips.  Also delicious.  We figured we’d each get a different dish and try both.

For my third course, I ate the Berkshire pig jowl with maltose crackling, prunes, cauliflower cream, perfumed with prune kernel oil.  I don’t know how they did it, but that ridiculously good pork melted in my mouth. Best. Pork. Ever.

The pig jowl

I even tried Aaron’s lamb dish. I figured if I was going to like lamb ever, it would be here.

I didn’t like it. Oh well, I’m just not a lamb person.

And then came the best part.  Desert.  When we walked in the door, I knew I wanted the snow egg.  Until I saw the eight texture chocolate cake that Aaron informed me was the same one that they pour the warm chocolate over on Masterchef.  I made the impulsive decision to go with the chocolate cake.  I am a chocolate lover after all.  Aaron got the snow egg.  If I’d ordered the snow egg, Aaron would have ordered the chocolate cake.  We wanted to try both.

Don’t get me wrong, the chocolate cake was amazing.  One of the best I’ve ever had.

But the snow egg? Oh. My. Gosh. There wasn’t an ounce of chocolate on that snow egg, but it tasted divine.  It was so much better than the chocolate cake.  It was like no desert I’ve ever had before.  Somehow, all of the elements worked together so incredibly well.  Which is weird, since the bottom of the glass was filled with snowcone-esque shaved flavoured ice, and I think the egg part was meringue.

The snow egg.

It was seriously the best food I’ve ever eaten in my entire life.  Too bad it’s so expensive because I’d love to go there again and taste all the things I didn’t get to try.

I didn’t mean for this to be mostly about food, but I had such a great experience at Quay.  It made my birthday. I will never ever forget my extravagant, delicious 3oth birthday dinner.

Anzac bridge from the car as we were driving to the city

Aaron and me before we got to Quay

The grin stayed on my face all night. I probably have extra wrinkles from it.

Even my cocktail was delicious.

Me and Aaron

My imitation of Matt Preston

There were even fireworks

8 texture chocolate cake

The whole gang dining at Quay. The two with smiley faces don’t like being on the interwebs

Me, M (who doesn’t want to be on the internet), and Kristina

Aaron and me in front of the harbour bridge

Aaron and me laughing about something when we’re supposed to be posing for a photo

Our bill. A bit scary, but remember, it’s for 7 people

If you enjoyed reading this, please vote for my blog. All you have to do is click the link below. That’s it… Clicking the link brings you to the Top Mommy Blogs home page. You don’t have to do anything else. Any clicks from my site to theirs is a vote.  THANKS!

Like my blog? ‘Like’ it on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mommy-Adventures/203964682967827?ref=tn_tnmn

Pin It You officially have my permission to pin this (as long as it links back to my site).  Just don’t act like you wrote it. Because you didn’t….

Copyright 2013 Sheri Thomson

Interview with a mom of twins

Have you ever wondered what it’s like having twins? I have.  As soon as I had Hannah, I thought oh my gosh, how could someone take care of TWO babies at the same time! 

Or maybe you haven’t thought about it. Either way, I interviewed a mom of twin girls, Brooke Bigger.

When you went in for your first ultrasound, did you have any idea you were expecting twins?
When I took my first pregnancy test, and it was positive, I made my first appointment with an OB and got in when I was 10 weeks along. We didn’t have any idea we were in for such a ‘treat’!

How did the doctor/sonographer/(whoever told you) tell you?
The OB did a quick ultrasound when I went in for my first appointment at 10 weeks. She says, “Well I have a surprise for you guys, I’m picking up two heartbeats!”…..If I wasn’t already lying down, I think I would have fallen down! I did start crying, and my husband almost fell down. We were barely ready for one, and we get two thrown at us right off the bat!

Are your twins identical?
Yes they are identical

How do you tell them apart?
Right off the bat we put Presley in pink so that we wouldn’t get them mixed up. Presley got a pink hat and Darynn got any other hat to wear. And we always tried to put Presley in a more solid color pink onsie or swaddle blanket. We then found that Darynn had very prominent veins on each side of her head, and Presley did not. So once we figured that out, we quit dressing Presley in all pink. Now that they are 2, their personalities are totally different which makes it easy.

Did you get to eat heaps of extra food when you were pregnant, or is that whole eating for three thing a myth?
The doctors actually put me on a “175 grams of protein per day” diet right off the bat, so yes, I was pretty much eating for 3 LOL. They gave me examples of what I would be eating for each meal and snack….and I thought “How in the world am I going to eat this much food!?” I just ate a lot of cottage cheese, protein bars, yogurt, beans and beef !

After you pushed out the first one, were you like “oh f@#k, I have to do that AGAIN?! Or did you have a cesarian?
I had a c-section at 37 weeks. When you have identicals, they can develop TTTS (Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome), which is when one twin can get more blood/nutrients then the other, and the other can become weaker. So I had to go in for ultrasounds every 2 weeks so that they could keep an eye out for the TTTS. It can also develop all the way up through delivery….so to decrease the chances of them developing the TTTS, the doctor just scheduled my c-section for 37 weeks. But no….we are not planning on having anymore kids! There is a chance that we would have twins again! LOL

Did you breastfeed, and if so, how did that work with 2?
The doctors syringe fed the girls right from the get go. When it was time to feed at the hospital, I would start out nursing them, and then the nurses would slip a tiny tube into their mouths and get formula in on top of the breast milk. My body didn’t produce enough milk for them, I don’t know if its because I never went into labor, but I couldn’t even produce enough for one. I tried, but it just couldn’t happen. So they were pretty much bottle fed from the beginning.

Did they both bottle feed at the same time?  How did that work if you didn’t have anyone else to help?
We bottle fed them at the same time. If my husband wasn’t there to help me, I would set them up in their Fischer Price Rock N Play rocker chairs, and I would sit in a chair and hold the bottle for them. Once they ate more, I tucked a blanket under each side of the rocker to make a little sling for the bottles so I didn’t have to sit there and hold the bottles up for them! I had to get creative in how I fed them, or else my back would get really sore for bending over all the time! LOL

Did they both wake up at the same time in the night for a feed?
If one woke up, we would just wake the other up to keep them on the same schedule. That is the most important thing I think as a parent of twins, getting them on the same schedule right off the bat! It saved me in the sleep and sanity department!

Did you/Do you dress them the same? Do you prefer dressing them the same, or different?
I dress them similar. I usually buy the same/similar shirt in different colors or designs. Occasionally I will dress the same.

What is the best thing about having twins?
We get twice as many kisses and hugs, and twice as many cuddles. I love that they have a built in playmate and best friend….they will always have each other!

What is the worst thing?
The fighting between them, and the tantrums! Oh, and double the dirty diapers! I think I changed 9 poopy diapers in one day before!!

Do they eat the same things, or do you have to make 2 separate meals for them (because that would suck!)?
They eat the same thing….I will refuse to make them different meals!

Do they fight for lap space and time with you?
Occasionally….but I end up just putting one on each side of me, they typically don’t fight over me or their dad.

How do you go grocery shopping? Do they have twin carts/trolleys over there?
If I have to take them with me, I just put them in their stroller and hang a basket off the stroller. But if I have to get a lot of items, I wait to go until after my husband gets home, or I have my mom come watch them.

Do they all share a room?
Yep!

Did they reach milestones at the same time?
Usually within about a week or two of each other. Presley took her first steps first, then Darynn was two weeks behind her.

How did you take them out when they were babies? Did you carry one and put the other in a sling? Double stroller?
Double stroller, or my husband and I would each carry one.

Do they like playing together or do they mostly fight?
For the most part they play really well together, there are daily fights over toys, but we have been teaching them to share ever since they could start taking toys from each other. And we try to buy toys in twos so they can each have the same toy.

What is your most embarrassing story involving the twins?
Honestly….my husband and I can’t think of an embarrassing story!! The girls have always been really good, and we were always good about changing their diapers after every meal and as needed (so no horrible blowout stories).

What is the best advice you could give to someone about to have twins?
Getting them on the same schedule right off the bat! If you let them have their own schedules, you will never get sleep!

Anything you want to add?
I would say the one item that saved me, was the Fischer Price Rock N Play rocker. My girls spent a lot of time in theirs, they slept in them, they ate in them, they played in them. They keep your baby at a 45 degree angle, which really saved us on the spit up! It made it easy to push them from room to room, and I didn’t have to worry about them getting into anything while I was taking a shower or getting some chores done…. We really got our monies worth out of those things, and they were only like $30 a piece! I think we used them up until the girls were a year old!

How much weight did you gain when you were pregnant?
About 65 pounds (29.4kg)! 😦

How did you lose all that weight?
I didn’t do much, it just started coming off when I got back on my normal diet. I did start going on nightly walks down our road, but it was nothing that really got my blood pumping! LOL

Did the skin on your stomach get all…how do I put it…saggy? You know, that look when you stretch something out a lot and then put it back to shape, but it looks all funny?
I heard about a body wrap that helps to tighten, tone, and firm your skin by ItWorks, from a friend on Facebook, so I decided to give it a try. It totally worked for me! My stretch marks weren’t as noticeable, and my belly button looked normal again for the first time since I got pregnant…. and all this happened in a matter of 3 days! My “sag” wasn’t as saggy and I knew I had to get the word out about this wrap, so I decided to sign up and spread the word!

So you are a distributor for ItWorks. Tell us a little bit about the wraps.
The wraps are all natural, and they can be cut to target anywhere on the body that needs a little tightening up. You wear the wrap for 45 minutes, and you can start seeing results in that amount of time! The wrap ingredients continue to work for 72 hours after removing the wrap. All you have to do is drink water, about 1/2 your body weight in water ounces a day for those 3 days. Some people don’t see results after the first wrap, since everyone’s bodies are different. Some people may need to use 2-3 wraps before seeing results. Results can be as subtle as changing the texture of the skin in that wrapped area, to reducing the appearance of stretch marks and cellulite. Results can last anywhere from 2 months up to 6 months depending on the persons lifestyle and eating habits.

Of course, I had to try one of these wraps. I saw lots of posts on Facebook about them by Brooke (we went to high school together, just FYI…), but hadn’t heard of them before that.

She sent me one ages ago, but you’re not supposed to use them when breastfeeding, so it just sat there, waiting. Sigh.

I know, Daniel has been weaned for a few weeks now, but I also wanted to wait until I had a kid free 45 minutes so I didn’t have anyone wanting to be picked up, messing up the wrap, or worse, pulling on it in delight. You know how cheeky my kids are!

I opened the packet and unfolded the wrap, applying the lotion side on my stomach. The skin on my stomach has been stretched to the limit twice now, then shrunk back to size. Unfortunately, it has that stretched-then-shrunk look to it as well. Sigh. Especially around my belly button. My measurements before the wrap were: 26 inches (66.04cm) around the smallest part of my waist, and 28″ (71.12 cm) around my waist at belly button height.

Wrap is on, with cling wrap over it to keep it in place

It felt quite cold. I thought it was just because that’s how lotion always is when you first put it on (unless it’s hot outside of course). But it stayed cold the whole time. At least it felt cold. And tingly. It was nice. I felt like I was getting some sort of swish spa body treatment done. Except that I was doing the dishes while wearing the wrap. Gotta multi task when you have 2 kids! It would have been much nicer to sit on the couch and watch a cheesy chick flick while I waited the 45 minutes. Or maybe laying down and reading a book. Oh well.

When I took the wrap off, I rubbed the excess lotion into my skin, took some photos and measured myself again. I wasn’t actually expecting to lose anything. 26 inches around the smallest part of my waist. 27.5 inches around my belly button (69.85 cm). What?! I’m not complaining though.

My skin felt really smooth and soft and lovely. Less stretched looking? I’m not sure.

Over the next 3 days, I continued to measure and take photos. My measurements went back to what they were before wrapping. Until today, 72 hours after wrapping. Now, the smallest part of my waist is 25.5 inches, and around my belly button is 27.5. My stomach feels less poochy at the bottom, and I feel less bloated. The skin around my belly button is still saggy/stretched looking, but the skin below my belly button feels firmer.

Progressive shots. Not sure what happened to my day 2 photos. I think the camera ate them. Sigh.

Progressive, from the side. If you’re wondering about that scar on my hip, it’s where they took a chunk of bone to stick in my leg. But that’s another story for another day. No, I’m not trying to make the scar less obvious with the wrap, I like my scar.

Over all, I really liked the wrap experience. I think with regular wrapping my belly button skin would probably improve a lot.

If you would like to buy your own wraps, supplements, etc. or have a wrap party (you can even have online wrap parties!), contact Brooke. She can ship the wraps to you anywhere in the world:

Brooke’s It Works website

Phone number (USA) 425-328-7627. We offer a Loyal Customer program where Loyals get products at wholesale cost (they pay what I pay), saving 20-50% on their orders. Only 3 monthly orders is required for the first 3 months, after that they can order when they want and get the Loyal Customer price for life. There is no minimum purchase amount, and the Loyal Customer can change what is sent to them each month so they don’t always have to get the same thing. They start saving on their very first order.

If you enjoyed reading this, please vote for my blog. All you have to do is click the link below. That’s it… Clicking the link brings you to the Top Mommy Blogs home page. You don’t have to do anything else. Any clicks from my site to theirs is a vote.  THANKS!

Like my blog? ‘Like’ it on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mommy-Adventures/203964682967827?ref=tn_tnmn

Pin It You officially have my permission to pin this (as long as it links back to my site).  Just don’t act like you wrote it. Because you didn’t….

Copyright 2012 Sheri Thomson

Not a vibrator (I don’t think)

I have to admit, I laughed when I opened the email containing a review request for the LELO Smart Wand all over body massager. Usually “all over body massager” is code for…you know…vibrator…. And I’m not about to start reviewing vibrators.

But then I watched the how to use it YouTube video (and I was quite apprehensive of what I might be about to see before I hit play) and found that it actually is a massager. I think.

How to use the LELO smart wand

So I said yes. I could use a massage, so sure, send it my way. I googled LELO smart wand, and found you can buy them from sex shops. Hmm… What was I getting myself in to?

It’s actually quite large. The end is about the size of my fist.

I seriously thought a vibrator was going to turn up at my door step. When the LELO did arrive, the box was quite large. I didn’t know it was the LELO that the package contained. Discreet packaging you see. Which is good, because if a delivery man thinks that kegel exercisers are “personal massagers,” (you can read that story here) then what would he think of an all over body massager? I didn’t really want to re-live that embarrassment again. Phew.

I opened the box.

“Oh, that’s definitely not a vibrator!” I told Aaron rather excitedly. It was way too big for that sort of thing. If I ordered a vibrator for actual um… vibrate-y things, I would be like “Oh heck no! You’re not coming near me with that thing!”

So yeah, all over body massager it actually is. I’m pretty sure.

I checked all of the instructions for good measure. There was no “do not insert…” warning, but I’m still going to go with that’s not what it’s for.

Massaging her own back. Easy.

It just so happend that I could use a shoulder massage, so after charging it up, I turned it on and went to work. With the 8 different vibration settings, I could start the massage slow and pick it up from there. Oh boy did it undo some knots.

It’s easy to reach your own shoulders because of the curved design. Oh, and did I mention it’s water proof? Yeah, you can take that bad boy in the bath with you. Relaxing bath, with a shoulder massage? Yes please. Can you tell that shoulder massages are my favourite? It’s also relaxing on my legs, feet, and lower back.

So just why is it shaped rather like a penis? I’m not sure. But because it is, I feel like I have to hide it away so anyone who comes over doesn’t see it. Even though it’s not used for any coital purposes. And I certainly can’t let any friends have a back massage with it because it does look like a vibrator. Despite it’s large size. I think they might be rather frightened if I pulled it out and said “hey, try this out.”

Hannah thinks it’s the best toy ever, and loves to turn it on and run around the house with it. Which looks rather funny/alarming/weird/horrible/cringeworthy due to it’s phallic appearance. I really hope that she doesn’t go in my room, grab it, and run around with it when we have people over. Sigh. Hopefully she doesn’t know where I hide it.

Maybe people do use it for um…you know… Maybe they don’t. I don’t know. All I know is that I use it as a shoulder/leg/foot/back massager, and it is very good at that. 

PROS:

-8 different settings
-Curve makes it easy to reach your own back and shoulders
-Comes in different colours (Mine is purple, my favourite!)
-Completely waterproof
-Rechargeable
-1 year warranty
-Discreet packaging

CONS:

-Phallic appearance (although maybe some people like feeling like they are getting a back massage from a penis?)
-A bit pricey
– I really hope my Grandma isn’t reading this

To Buy a LELO smart wand, click here

UPDATE:

The lady who contacted me about reviewing the smart wand seems like she has a good sense of humour, and is easily approachable, so I asked her, “Just out of curiosity, do people use the smart wand as a vibrator?”

Hahahaha!

She said it was designed to be used on the back and legs and shoulders, and that it should not be used as a vibrator. But, ” since we can not control what people do when they buy a product ( as much as we can not control what people do when they buy a cucumber at the supermarket) some people, we have noticed, use as clitoris vibrator (not inserting anywhere, i hope), but they do it because the vibrations are really strong.”

I love that she put the bit about a cucumber in there. Funny lady hahahahaha!

*I received a free LELO smart wand for review purposes.
If you enjoyed reading this, please vote for my blog. All you have to do is click the link below. That’s it… Clicking the link brings you to the Top Mommy Blogs home page. You don’t have to do anything else. Any clicks from my site to theirs is a vote.  THANKS!

Like my blog? ‘Like’ it on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mommy-Adventures/203964682967827?ref=tn_tnmn

Pin It You officially have my permission to pin this (as long as it links back to my site).  Just don’t act like you wrote it. Because you didn’t….

Copyright 2012 Sheri Thomson