I've had several friends post on their blogs lately about their favorite things. I have enjoyed reading them, as I get some insight into my friends, but more than that, they have introduced me to some great products and services that have since become staples in my day to day life. So, I decided to let you all know a few of MY favorite things!
DVD Play (or Redbox)
This photo is actually of redbox, a similar service, but I prefer DVD play. It's a little electronic box located at Kroger with movies to rent (they have redboxes at Wal-Mart). You choose your move, swipe your credit card, and the movie pops out. It's only $1.49 for the first night, and if you keep the movie past 7:00 p.m. the next day, you are charged an additional $1.00 per day. For Josh and I, this is a great option! If we are going to rent a movie, we know that we are going to watch it that night, so it only costs us $1.49 rather than paying $5.00 at a rental store. The movie that I wanted has only been sold out one time in the months that we've been using the service. Also, if you enter your email address, you'll get codes for free or discounted rentals pretty often, and for ever 10 rentals, you'll get one free. What a great deal!
Priceline.com
No, it's not the negotiator commercials that I like...in fact, I hate those. But I do love the name your own price service. Josh and I stayed at the Sheraton in Boston for $45 a night, the Hilton in Cleveland for $40, and have stayed at the St. Louis Sheraton for $35 several times. Some people are creeped out by the site, because you can't choose your hotel, which is true. But you CAN choose the star level, and the area of town that you want to stay in- so you know you'll get a good hotel in a good neighborhood. I love it!
Baby Gowns
Although Liam is too old for these now (and would look quite funny in them!) they were excellent to have when he was still waking up in the middle of the night. They make 3:00 a.m. diaper changes so much easier...no pants to worry about! AND on top of that, they have built in mittens- the sleeves fold over their little baby hands, in order to keep them from scratching their faces. So handy!
Rubbermaid Easy Find lids
Ever since Josh and I got married, our house/apartment has been somewhat organized, with the exception of the tupperware cabinet. It's a wreck! I used to ask Josh to get me a tupperware to store the leftovers in, and he would groan, because he would have to sort though all the different containers to find one that would fit everything, and then sort through all of the lids to find the matching one, all the while trying to keep everything from pouring out onto the floor. NOW, thanks to this product, that is no longer a problem! The containers all stack, and the lids stack as well, and connect to the bottom of the containers! There is only one shape, just different sizes, and they are easy to differentiate- and when you need a lid, just pull it off of the bottom of the container!
Softlips Chapstick
I first recieved a tube of this chapstick when I moved to Michigan. It was in the "welcome pack" from the MSU bookstore. I needed some chapstick anyway, so I tried it. I LOVE this stuff. The cherry is my favorite, but the vanilla and wintermint are great too. It's perfectly medicated, so it really does sooth chapped lips, and it's SPF 15, so your lips are safe in the sun.
Southwest Airlines
As a mother of an infant, Southwest Airlines is by far the best! They let you check your stroller AND carseat at the gate, and don't charge you a dime extra. In addition to that, you can check two bags and not get charged anything, and still take your carryons. Ahhh. When I flew Northwest, I crammed everything into one suitcase- a feat when you are taking bottles, food for a week, clothes for a week for myself and Liam, toys, etc. etc. I was charged $25 to check this one suitcase, and wasn't allowed to take my stroller- I could have taken it, but it would have been $25 PLUS oversized baggage fees PLUS a fee because of the awkward shape of a stroller. In all fairness, I could have taken an umbrella stroller for free, but I was outside a lot in the middle of summer, so I needed my sunshade!
Nintendo Wii
Josh and I bought a wii in July instead of going on vacation. We only had 3 days, so couldn't get very far anyway. This thing is amazing! For those of you that don't know, it's interactive-- you move the remote to make your characters move. So if you're playing baseball, you actually stand up and "swing" your remote, just like a baseball bat. After 15 minutes of playing tennis, my shoulder was sore- I don't know if this is testament to the wii for giving me a good workout or a horrible example of my fitness level, but either way, it's so much fun!
The Office
I was first introduced to this show after the second season was over by my cousin April. She loaned me her season one DVD set. Josh and I watched the very first episode and were like "that was weird" but we wanted to give it one more chance, so we watched episode number two and it was HILARIOUS. We were instantly hooked. We watched every episode on April's DVD, and then watched season two online. Since then, we haven't missed an episode. This is the only show that Josh and I BOTH love.
Maggiano's Little Italy
My friend Jeannette posted this restaurant on her blog as one of her favorite things, so Josh and I decided to try it out. Holy Cow, is it good! They have a family style meal, and it's $25 per person. Sounds expensive right? Well, per table, you get to choose two HUGE salads, two appetizers, two pasta entries, two meat entries, and two giant desserts. Everything is refillable. If you eat all of your chicken and spinach manicotti (my favorite) they bring you more. If you eat all of your apple crostada dessert, they bring you more! With just Josh and I eating, we pay $50 and get STUFFED, and then we bring home enough leftovers for 3 nights of meals! Another good thing is that they package their leftovers in foil pans and the lids have reheating instructions on them. The food is DELICIOUS!
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
I heard of these when they first came out but never tried them...they sounded hoaky...come on, can they really get anything out? I finally broke down and tried them right before we moved. I saw them on "Good Morning America" on a segment about how to clean scuff marks off of your walls. I had planned on repainting a few spots, but thought that if this actually worked, it would save a lot of time, money, and effort. WOW! This thing is AMAZING! Not only did it take all of the scuff marks off of the walls but cleaned some spots out of the sink and bathtub that I have scrubbed with anything and everything that I could think of...and they require very little elbow grease! Recently, a pen went through our dryer and there was ink all over. I tried everything to get the ink out of the dryer, and then I used this-- came right off with no scrubbing- I'm a believer!
Paula Deen Desserts
I love Food Network. I often have it on in the background and have found lots of great recipes. But when a Paula Deen Dessert catches my eye, I KNOW it will be good. I can't eat them that often- for those of you familiar with Paula Deen, you know she LOVES butter. But I indulge when I can! My favorites are her Peach Cobbler, Butterscotch Delight, and Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies. The Cobbler and Cookies are both REALLY easy to make too.
Pure Seduction Fragrances from Victoria's Secret
The only drawback to this product is the name...how embarrassing is it when someone asks you what you are wearing to tell them "Pure Seduction" Other than that, it's GREAT. The smell is light, floral and citrus all at once. I have had a lot of people ask what I'm wearing when I have this stuff on- if only it had a less cheesy name!
Outlet Malls
Where we live now, we are within 90 miles of three really good outlet malls. The polo shirt pictured above is from Children's place, and the sandals are from Columbia, two of my favorite stores. I got Liam 6 shirts and two pairs of shorts for under $20 at Children's Place, and a pair of these Columbia sandals that should fit him next year for $4. Can't beat the deals!
Buttercream Yankee Candle
I don't make a habit of paying $20 for a candle, but I had to have this one. It smells so good, like you can eat it! And when you use it with a candle warmer rather than lighting it, the whole house smells delicious!
Family Fun Magazine
Okay, so I'm a bit of a nerd, but I've been getting this magazine for years- way before Liam was born. I tear out the good recipes and projects, and have a binder full of them already. I love this magazine, because it's full of ideas for things to do with your kids- I've been using the kid friendly recipes for a long time- they are so easy to follow!
Jon and Kate Plus 8
I LOVE this show. For those of you who have never seen it, Jon and Kate are a young couple- he just turned 30 and she is just a couple of years older- who have 8 kids- a set of twins and a set of sextuplets (they were going to try for one more after the twins!). Kate gets on a lot of people's nerves, but I LOVE her. She is even more Type A than me, and she does it with 8 children under the age of 7 in her home- yikes! Watching them go through ordinary things- like a trip to the zoo- absolutely fascinates me! And I think about the finances when watching too- hmm...if we went to the zoo and let Liam pick out a toy, it would cost $20 for the toy. If they went to the zoo and let each kid pick out a $20 toy, it would cost $160- wow! But I love that they still do all of the trips and learning experiences, rather than staying at home because it's too hard to take 8 kids out.
Above you will find a photo of Liam's first encounter with wood chips. These particular wood chips are under the swings on the playground. Every time I let go of his hands, they went straight to his mouth, although we did avoid eating any of the chips.
I think this little red tunnel is Liam's favorite place on the playground. He likes to sit in it, stand outside of it, lay in it...anything really! 
We bought a trailer to pull behind our bikes that we can buckle Liam into. I KNOW that the helmet isn't on straight- this was just a little test to get him used to being in the helmet and the trailer. We just rode him around the sidewalk in front of our apartment- not near the road! 
This is one of those times we just sat on a blanket. He seems to enjoy himself- he LOVES being outside!
Look how big he looks, sitting up all by himself. This was his first experience with wet gras...I think he likes it!
