Roomba iRobot 620

So my husband got me this for my birthday... it's not diamonds but turns out I love it just as much!  It is an iRobot Roomba 620 and it is the Best. Invention. Ever.

We are pretty busy people. Full time teachers. Four Active Kids.

We are also pretty dirty... Four Active Kids. Shedding dog. Bird. 

(At least the fish and Tortoise aren't messy)

There are two things that I need to have each night:  

1. Vacuumed/ clean floors (we used to have two shedding dogs)  

2. A clean kitchen (no dishes in the sink).

This little Robot is A-MAZING!  You plug it in and when it's charged it turns green.  You hit the green button and VOILA, it starts vacuuming your house.  I have no idea how it works but I know this.

1. Somehow it gets EVERYWHERE (under couches, around chairs, close up to walls)

2. It goes over dirtier areas more than once to get it all.

3. It can go from hard wood to carpet.

4. It picks up stuff even after I vacuum with my beloved Dyson!!

5. When it is done vacuuming, it goes right back to its little charger all by itself to charge for the next day!

To empty it is simple~ You just pull this little part out and empty it in your trash.

It's kind of neat because you see what it picks up (I found an old earring (probably under a couch) and I also have saved a lot of Lego people (not sure if that is a great thing).

They are a bit pricey, but in my opinion, worth EVERY penny.

I made a review on YouTube (don't worry... it's quick 2 minutes) so you can hear it and see it in action (plus there is an Amazon link so you can read more reviews and go ahead and buy one!).

You can view the video by clicking HERE.

Thanks for reading!!

L

BEST MASCARA EVER!!! (+ my favorite eyeliner)

So I'm not a big make-up gal... never have been... I've tried, but really the only staples I use are eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss.  Let's face it, these things take no time to put on and in my case I find it necessary.  My eyelashes are so short and light that it almost looks like they don't exist at all.

I was fine with my current mascara but when my friend (who I had met through blogging/emailing because we had both lost babies) started selling this mascara, I became intrigued.  The pictures she would post looked too good to be true.  I was a bit skeptic but for a friend was ready to take the leap.  The mascara is about $30, but if it did what it said it did and lasted 2-3 months I thought it would be worth it!

The mascara comes in what looks like a hard, glasses' case and there are two mascara wands inside.  The directions on the product are a little different than the way I use it (they say you can start with your old mascara but to be honest, when I got this stuff, I threw out my old mascara).

The way to apply it is to use the long wand first.  It basically looks like a regular mascara but is also a gel.  So you use the long wand and apply mascara.  Then you take the short wand (which contains the fibers) and put the fibers on (similar to putting on mascara).  The fibers really only need to be on the top half of your lashes (not all the way down to the base like you would put mascara).  The fibers are what stick to your lashes and make them look longer.  You can apply as many coats as you'd like to make them as long as you'd like.  I made a video tutorial/review that you can see HERE if you are a more visual learner.  You can also see my before, pitiful little lashes and feel sorry for me! ;-)

Here's a close up so you can see what my lashes look like with this mascara on!  If you want to order some, you can contact my friend, Deni.  There is a link at the bottom of the video I made and the product is shipped directly to your house.

(Thanks for your order if you choose to place one.)

And while I'm talking about mascara and make-up, I thought I'd share my new favorite eyeliner!  It's awesome!!!  I found it (ironically) by checking out reviews on Amazon and then picked it up at my local store to try.  Turns out that Amazon was cheaper.  If you want to check that out too, click HERE.

4.5 Stars and over 400 reviews is pretty good!

Keeping Floors in MINT Condition

For Valentine's Day, my husband told me that I was still in "Mint" condition and gave me a floor cleaner called "The Mint."  I had never heard of it but since our tradition has been candy in the past with funny puns, this was a pretty cool gift (that I learned wasn't as cheap as the candy I got him!).  What it is, is a robot that sweeps/ mops your floors BY ITSELF using GPS.  I place this cube on my counter, set the Mint on the floor, choose mop or sweep and then off he goes!  When he's all done he sings a few notes and returns to the place he started.

 Now we have two dogs who LOVE to shed and four young (messy) kids at home, so cleaning the floor regularly is something we need to do (regularly as in every day or every other).  This can be hard being full time workers with busy kids but it is necessary... especially on the hardwood where all the dog hair seems to pile together and form a third animal (sigh).
The Mint can actually navigate under and around chairs and stools, but once or twice a week, I get them off the floor to make it easier.  I used to put them into our family room but then realized that it's better to just flip them upside down and then wipe down the legs of the chairs (which sometimes have splatter of milk or other spills from my youngest).  I have no idea what took me so long to figure THAT out.  It's much faster to flip up the stools and chairs than drag all twelve into another room (which is what I used to do).  I am a slow learner sometimes...

 I actually wipe down the stool and chair legs while the Mint is working so it's like I'm doing two things at once.  We have a pretty large kitchen and if we leave our walk-in pantry door open, he'll go in there too!  Our family room drops down a step from our kitchen and somehow the Mint knows where to stop.  My only gripe is that sometimes he goes onto the carpet in our dining room or living room and gets stuck, so we have learned to put something down to stop him.

Overall he's saved us A LOT of time and keeps my floors looking good.  He came with two blue mop cloths (that you dampen and an attachment that you can add water to) and two white sweeper mop cloths.  I guess you can use Swiffer stuff with him, but I prefer reusing these since it's better for the environment (and of course, cheaper).  I still love my Shark Mop to clean up spills or if I want to work quickly to get the floor done before people come over or something.    It takes him an hour or so to do our kitchen when he mops... he's quicker when he sweeps.
So my husband did well... he saved me from eating more candy and freed up more time.  Now I just need to find the robot who dusts, vacuums, cleans bathrooms, picks up toys and does laundry... a girl can dream!

You can read more about this little guy on Amazon by clicking HERE.  You may be able to find him cheaper at other stores that carry him.  My hubby got him for half off!

An Awesome Find (Micro-Pedi)

For Christmas, My Mother-in-Law gave me the most adorable polka dot robe, some lotion and this: The Micro Pedi.  Since I had the Ped-Egg (and liked it fine for smoothing out my dry feet) and my heels have been in pretty decent shape, I hadn't pulled this out... until now!

I love pedicures (though I can't afford them as much as I wish I could).  It's so nice to know that your toes are looking good (even at this time of year when they're covered up for the weather, where I live).  I have never been a fan of that part of the pedicure when they start smoothing out your feet...  Try as I may, I can never relax and I find myself squirming and praying that it will soon be over.  Although I don't like that process, I love the feel of my silky feet after a nice pedicure.

So today, I opened my bathroom drawer and saw my gift and thought, this was a great day to try it out.

WOW!

I loved it!  It worked so much faster than the Ped-Egg (minutes) and left my feet smooth and feeling wonderful!  I didn't have any of the squirmy/tickle feeling and my feet feel great.  

To see more about this item/ order it or read more reviews (including mine), click HERE.

As a fiscally responsible gal, I see a few less professional pedicures in my future, but some pretty good lookin' feet!

Pictures with replacement rollers, the cleaning brush and a card (so you can see how big it really is)