Mommin' It Up!

February 2, 2011

Icepocalypse Now!

Remember when I told you about the direct correlation between my appointment schedule and the crap-ton of bad weather we’ve been having?

Well. Apparently I was correct.

Because I had two very important doctor’s appointments yesterday, one for me and one for Sophie (what is it with our school district wanting yearly physicals done on the DOT? GEEZ!), so of course, sheets and sheets and sheets of ice began raining down from the heavens in the early morning.

School was cancelled, my appointments were cancelled, lots of businesses closed, and the ice kept a-comin’.

In the evening, a power transformer blew up in the suburb where Cortney lives. Sorry, Kettering. I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to go to the doctor! For my 6-week check-up! (Because I may or may not need a little repair work on my incision, but that’s a whole other post [that you probably don’t want to read]).

This morning our local newspaper says 55,000 of our local power company’s customers are without power. Our lights flickered last night about 9 pm and I freaked. I ran for the matches and the candles and fretted that Sophie was really not wearing very warm PJs. I could not fall asleep because I was so worried about the power. My friend Shannon was texting me about trees falling down at her neighbor’s, perilously close to her own house. My mom called to say that BOTH my elderly grandmother’s homes were without power.

Now we are on day 2 of no school (and we were pretty stir crazy by noon yesterday so I’m really looking forward to this!) and my yard looks like a skating rink (I should put my iPod on the front porch and charge $2 for admission) so I guess we’re in for the duration.

I’m hoping to get out tomorrow, because I’ve rescheduled my doctor appointment for then. And Sophie’s for Friday. Which probably means we’ll have 10 inches of snow by noon tomorrow. But you know, I had to try.

I’m SORRY, Miami Valley! In advance.

January 31, 2011January 29, 2011

Vapo-love

A couple of months ago, I got an email from the folks at Vicks – a press release about how to fight the flu. I didn’t feel like there was any reason for me to spontaneously write about the flu, but I emailed back and said, “If you ever have any opportunities with VapoRub, give me a shout, because I looooooooooove VapoRub.” Ok, maybe I didn’t say it in those *exact* words, but that was the gist. I have a nostalgic, emotional attachment to VapoRub, and it is one of my favorite “feel-better” products when I am sick, or my kids are sick! I love the stuff!

So when that opportunity did present itself, and Vicks asked me to be part of their Blogger Brigade, I was more than happy to say yes. Because this is a product I have loved since I was a little kid.

I love the smell (which it turns out, is a combination of Camphor, Menthol, and Eucalyptus Oil), I even love the feel (I can’t get behind the cream version. I like the original, petroleum-jelly-like version!), and I love the effect it has of opening your airways and soothing your cough. When I was a kid, my mom rubbed VapoRub on my brothers and I when we were sick and I guess that memory conjures up warm and fuzzy feelings of Mom’s TLC for me. When I was telling my mom about this post, I told her I was excited to work with Vicks because VapoRub is a product I just LOVE. And she said, “Oh, I love it too! It brings back such good memories of a warm Vicks-soaked flannel cloth pinned to my PJs when I was sick as a kid.”

See, my mom passed down the VapoRub-love to me, and I fully intend to pass it on to my kiddos. I started out using Vicks BabyRub on them when they got their first colds, and I still use it on them today (and yes, I DO already have some BabyRub ready for Jonah). In my experience, it really works to soothe coughs and open airways!

If you have Vapo-love like I do, you’ll be happy to know that yesterday Vicks VapoRub launched a brand-new Facebook page! You can check it out here and you’ll find helpful tips, advice, and news on how to keep the whole family healthy, as well as family-friendly cold and cough information and a forum for discussions so readers can add their own tips and seek advice from others!

Do you have an Vicks VapoRub stories? I’d love to hear them in the comments! And the Vicks folks would love to hear them on VapoRub’s Facebook wall. Share the Vapo-love!

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I am being compensated as a member of the Vicks Blogger Brigade. My honest, slightly obsessive opinions about VapoRub are all my own!

January 31, 2011February 4, 2011

Giveaway – Cleaning from EcoMaids of Dayton!

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know that I am a crappy housekeeper. I mean no one is going to get any diseases from my house but you will find crumbs under the coffee table and a fair amount of dust. I don’t “deep clean”. Like, ever. I have these lovely shelves on my walls with antiques in them and the last time I dusted them was…oh, let me see..1970-NEVER.

So, when Sid and Shannon, owners of EcoMaids of Dayton, asked me to review their service, which would of course require me to receive a free housecleaning, I jumped up and down for JOY! This is a messy girl’s dream come true! And I was thrilled with the results! So were my no-longer-dusty shelves:

Isn’t that pretty?

EcoMaids did a fantastic job. They were so, so thorough – really, my tub and shower have not been this clean since they day they were installed. They vacuumed, dusted, mopped, cleaned under the burners on my stove, cleaned off my ceiling fans, dusted my woodwork, and all the other things I never do because I just can’t prioritize them. And, also, because I hate cleaning. 🙂

When I asked Sid what he wanted my readers to know about his company, he simply said that he wants every customer to be completely happy with their services. I thought that was really impressive! He didn’t give me a sales pitch to pass along, just expressed his desire to please his customers. I love it! But just so you know, here are a few things I like about EcoMaids’ service:

They do a “green cleaning” with products that are not harmful to the environment, are non-toxic and don’t smell like chemicals. Our house did not smell like high-powered cleaners when they left. Which means I didn’t have a headache and I didn’t have to worry about Bobby’s asthma being aggravated. Yay!
They are extremely thorough. They come in with a cleaning checklist and they make sure and check everything off as they go, to make sure no area is missed. I was very impressed with the attention to detail.
The staff was courteous and friendly. They worked around me and the two kiddos I had with me at home and never made us feel like we were in the way or needed to move.
My house just plain looked wonderful when they left! Wonderful! They have this amazing super-powered vacuum cleaner that really made a big difference on my carpets, too. My stairs always look terrible and now they look GREAT!

I was overwhelmingly pleased with the service EcoMaids of Dayton provided, and I know you will be too! You can check them out on their Facebook page or website to get a free estimate or schedule a cleaning. AND…one lucky local Dayton-area reader will win a Kitchen, One Bathroom, One Bedroom cleaning from EcoMaids of Dayton! Here’s how to enter! You can have up to three entries!

1) Leave a comment on this post telling me what you most hate to clean

2) Go to EcoMaids of Dayton’s Facebook page and “Like” them, then leave us a comment on this post letting us know you did so!

3) Follow them on twitter @DaytonEcoMaids and then leave us a comment on this post letting us know you did so.

The contest closes on Friday, February 4th at 7 pm EST. One winner will be chosen at random. Winner MUST LIVE in EcoMaids of Dayton’s service area to claim their prize.

Good luck, and THANKS EcoMaids of Dayton!

***UPDATE*** Sid from EcoMaids just called me and said that anyone who requests a free estimate from EcoMaids TODAY January 31st, he’ll give $40 off for your first cleaning! WOW! So call and get your estimate and your $40 off!