Things I Love... Mom Edition

I've been totally missing for the past couple weeks,

but that's what happens when you manage men college apartments and have check out's and check in's all within a week of each other.

There seriously is not time enough to clean everything,

fix everything,

and get everything ready.

It's been a very exhausting past couple of weeks.

I'm tired.

Anyway,

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and figured I'd start out with some of my favorite things.

Growing up,

you never really realize all that goes into parenting.

Even after you have that first child,

or the second,

you are still constantly learning everyday about new products,

new toys,

new things that can make your life a thousand times easier.

Here are 3 of my current favorite things I use almost daily as a Mom.

1. Black and Decker Handheld Vacuum

Seriously,

I have the messiest kids ever!

When they eat it gets everywhere!

I mean E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E!

Even string cheese,

which you wouldn't think was capable of crumbling into a thousand tiny pieces...

but give one to my kids and watch them do their magic.

I don't recommend using this product to clean up string cheese,

it does mold,

and yes,

I learned that from experience...

But you get the point.

It is such a pain to constantly be dragging out the big vacuum after every single meal.

It takes too much work to unwrap the plug,

plug it back in,

vacuum,

wrap the cord,

put it away,

for 3+ times a day.

Not happening.

1st world problems right?

Having the little handheld vacuum works great for a quick clean and it's super portable!

Even my children can use it.

Win-Win-Win.

The charge holds really well and it also charges really fast.

It also works great if you had a spill in the car that you want to clean up quickly.

Basically,

there are no downsides to having toddlers and a handheld vacuum.

Can I get an amen?

You can view the one we have here.

2. Vid Angel

Am I the last person to know about this site?

Seriously though.

So lately Aniston has become super observant.

She will repeat just about anything.

The other day she was playing with Benson and I heard her say, 

"Benson, you're a sneaky little bas****."

Where in the world did she hear that?!?!
I will admit that I laughed.

I honestly cannot think of anywhere where she would have heard that.

She told me my Mom taught her that word.

Little did she know, 

my Mom has probably never used that word ever.

But it really made me realize that I have to be more careful about TV, movies, and music.

Vid Angel is a great way to watch movies,

usually movies that you wouldn't watch otherwise,

and have them filtered to your exact desires.

How it works is that you pay $20 to rent a movie.

They have tons of movies and ones that just have been released on DVD.

You set your filters,

which you can change at anytime for any movie,

watch away,

then you sell it back after you watch it for $19.

The $19 goes into your Vid Angel account and does not get refunded to your card.

This means that you only pay $1 for rental after your initial purchase.

That's cheaper than red box my friend.

To give you an idea of how well and how many options there are to filter their movies.

The Good Dinosaur has 159 filters for it.

Really?!?!

What needs to be filtered from that?

Inside Out has 83,

and The Princess and The Frog has 235.

What?!?!?!

They really give you the option to filter everything!

You would think that these Disney movies,

deemed wholesome family fun wouldn't need to be filtered.

But somewhere out there someone disagrees with you and I and Vid Angel has made it possible for them to watch Disney filtered.

I stopped watching R rated movies about 5 years ago,

so it's been nice to catch up on all the movies that I have wanted to see but haven't.

I also LOVE that I could add it as a channel on my Roku so I'm not stuck watching it on my computer,

iPad,

or phone.

It's just another way for me to make sure that Aniston isn't running around at church,

swearing up a storm.

Visit their site here to learn more.

3. Oral B Magic Timer

Taking me kids to the Dentist causes me a crazy amoutn of anxiety.

They aren't capable of brushing perfectly and I need to help them do so.

So if they have issues or cavities,

that's my fault.

Recently we went to the dentist.

Last time Aniston bit the dentist 3 times and wouldn't let him touch her.

I prepared pretty hardcore for the past 6 months,

and she did AMAZING!

It was also Benson's first visit.

It went as well as a first visit could go.

But parent win...

No cavities!

Benson loves to brush his teeth.

Correction,

Benson loves to eat the toothpaste.

But he let's us brush his teeth.

If we ask him if he is ready to brush teeth,

he will run his little finger over his teeth like he is brushing them and runs to the bathroom.

It's awesome.

Aniston likes brushing her teeth,

but it bores her.

So I downloaded the Oral B Magic Timer App forever ago and it does the trick.

You have to purchase Oral B or Crest kid's toothpaste or tooth brush to activate it,

and it used to be that if you had a Frozen tooth brush,

you would get the Frozen experience,

but they recently updated their app so that once you scan your item,

the child can choose their experience instead of just having the Frozen one.

This is awesome!

Aniston would quickly get tired of just one experience,

but I didn't want to run out and buy another toothpaste when she wasn't even half done with her current toothpaste just so that brushing her teeth would be a good experience.

Okay,

I may have actually done that once or twice,

but I don't have to anymore.

My husband and my wallet thanks you Oral B.

The app is set up for them to brush for 2 minutes.

My OCD self have organized those 2 minutes into sections.

We brush the bottom teeth for 15 minutes,

the top teeth for 15 minutes,

the tongue for 15 minutes,

then the front of the teeth for 15 minutes.

Then we do the bottom teeth again for 10 minutes,

the top again for 10,

and the front together for 10.

Then we rinse the bottom teeth for 10,

the top teeth for 10,

and together for 10,

and then we're done.

I know....

I'm crazy.

But it works.

I know you are suppose to brush twice a day.

If I remember in the mornings,

I am really really bad at that,

I let Aniston do it herself and that gives her the opportunity to learn to do it,

then I help her at night.

Check it out here.

I love discovering new tricks, tips, and products that make being a Mommy a little bit easier.

If you have something that you can't Mommy without,

I would love to hear about it!