Posted on

Review: Otterbox Defender Series iPad Case

I am in love with my new iPad. It is pretty awesome.

Unfortunately, Kate is also in love with my new iPad. And she is just about as graceful and coordinated as her mom. Which means my iPad was in serious peril.

That is, until I received the Otterbox iPad Defender case.

Here’s what the Otterbox website has to say about the features of the case:
# Three layers of protection
# Complete interaction of the iPad’s functions
# Built-in stand for viewing convenience
# Bottom silicone grip pads keep your iPad in place
# Silicone plugs provide coverage for all ports
# Snap-off access for optional iPad dock

Here’s what I have to say about it:
Getting the iPad in the case wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I am sure it’s user failure, but I couldn’t make heads or tails out of the directions. And once I did get the thing in, I realized I should have put the screen protector on before putting the case on. Oops. But once I got it on, I was immediately impressed with the feel of the case. It makes the iPad a little heavier and a little thicker, but it’s very clear that the case will do what it’s designed to do – protect the ridiculously expensive piece of equipment inside of it.

The case, while providing protection and cushioning from the drops that are bound to happen – doesn’t inhibit the iPad’s function at all. It has spaces that line up perfectly with all the iPad’s little buttons and switches, and everything works just as it should.

I also like the removable face plate – you can snap it on and off to cover the iPad’s screen. I don’t use the cover every day, but when I through my iPad in a bag or my purse, I love being able to protect the screen.

Overall, I am very pleased with the Defender Series case. It makes me feel much more comfortable with allowing my kids to use my iPad, which is great because I can’t pick up the thing without Kate saying “Can I play???” (and no, I’m not bitter about that, not one bit), and frankly, it makes me much more comfortable using it myself! At $89.95, it’s not the cheapest case you’re going to find, but after dropping $600+ on the iPad itself, what’s an extra few bucks? It’s more than worth it to keep your iPad safe.

I give the Otterbox Defender Series iPad case two thumbs up!

Post to Twitter

Posted on

Things I Love Thursday – Cooking on the Grill

Now I know you all know how much I loooooooooove to cook, and how great I am at it… but, like I promised, I am trying to get better! I even bought myself a new grill last spring in an attempt to cook more.

It’s working! I love using the grill, so I thought I’d share a few of my favorite things to make. I’d love to hear yours – make sure to leave a comment!

First, I love the steak marinade recipe from Tricia at Once a Month Mom. There’s nothing to it, and it turns out so well. I have made it twice – once with strip steaks and once with t-bones, and it was a hit both times. It is sooooo good. (And if anyone can tell me the secret to preventing flame flare-ups, that would be awesome.) (And speaking of fire, I didn’t get a picture of this unfortunately because my husband was totally not amused, but you should have seen our attempt at grilling ribs. Let’s just say that rib night very quickly turned into grilled cheese night. And yes, I burnt the first sandwich too.)

I have also discovered grilled corn on the cob, and it is amazing. Check out this site – I googled “How to grill corn on the cob,” and wouldn’t you know it, I came up with step-by-step directions on a site called GrilledCornontheCob.com. I love the internet.

Thanks to the internet, I have also discovered the joys of grilling fruit. First, I tried grilling peaches using this recipe. Nothing to it – and over ice cream… YUM.

Grilling peaches was so good that I went back to google and looked for more grilled fruit recipes. I discovered that it’s also possible to grill strawberries and bananas. I haven’t tried either, but I am dying to do so!


***************
What else do you have for me? I’d love to hear about your favorite things to grill! And for more Things I Love Thursday, head over to The Diaper Diaries.

Post to Twitter

Posted on

And THESE are definitely not the moments.

So all my sappiness last night came back to bite me in the ass tonight.

Pardon my French.

Let me preface this story by saying that Kate is now on day 18 of what the doctors are telling us is a stomach virus. Day 18 of a stomach virus.

So tonight when I got home from work, Andy went to have dinner with some friends (the poor guy deserves a night out – he’s been stuck at home with both kids cleaning up body fluids for 18 days… which really, I would be institutionalized by now. I don’t do stuck-at-home very well. As evidenced by the rest of this story). So, I heated up some leftovers, but after dinner I was already slightly stir crazy.

By the time Sammy had eaten Easy Mac straight out of the container AND ingested a newspaper cut-out picture of his favorite baseball player, I decided we had to hit the road. Our usual haunts were out of the question – couldn’t go to the park because it was 1000 degrees and we were already beating dehydration off with a stick… couldn’t go to Grandma’s because the BRAT diet does not include ice cream, Oreos OR Doritos… couldn’t go to Aunt Anna’s because we didn’t want to give Baby Lily the plague.

The library was about the only option I could think of, but of course it was closed (yay for budget cuts). So we went to the grocery instead and picked up the essentials for the current state of our lives – yogurt, saltines, tissues and toilet paper. Then, there was nothing left to do but go home.

The entire night, Kate was a mess. Eighteen days of being sick was catching up with her – she was tired and sad and incredibly sensitive. Her brother couldn’t look at her sideways without her bursting into tears. Or screaming at him at the top of her lungs, one or the other.

I did not handle it well.

I was tired (Kate has been throwing up at 1:30 a.m. like freaking clockwork) and grumpy and just not feeling it.

So I spent the entire night in a pissy mood. Andy texted me at one point to find out how things were going, and I must have sounded rather despondent, because he offered to come home right away.

For whatever reason, my response (“It’s ok, I promise not to drown them in the bathtub”) wasn’t all that comforting to him. He’s kinda paranoid like that.

Anyway, here’s the thing. I spent all day at work. I rolled in the driveway at 5:15. The kids were both in bed asleep by 9:15. But for whatever reason I couldn’t manage to keep my shit together for four hours.

I only did four hours of parenting today (unless you count the five minutes I was on the phone with Kate today when she called to tell me she wanted some toast. Because that’s a request I can fill 30 miles away.).

You would think I could have patience and a smile on my face for four hours. You would think I would cherish every minute of four lousy hours.

You would think. But I couldn’t, or rather, I didn’t. I would say I was patient/smily/cherishing for a sum total of 12.45 minutes of that time.

And you know what the bitch of it is?

When I put Kate to bed, she and I laid there snuggling, and she couldn’t stop telling me that she loved me “to infinity and beyond,” that I was the best mom in the world, and that we had the best family in the world. Her words weren’t manipulative or or tinged with ohmigod-mommy-is-finally-losing-it fear (I only threatened that bathtub thing once, geesh) – she was completely sincere.

Despite all my shortcomings, all my missteps and failings, that girl loves me. I don’t deserve it, but she does.

She loves me even when I suck. I’m not sure if that’s sweet or depressing.

But I love her too. To infinity and beyond.

Post to Twitter