Mommin' It Up!

June 26, 2011

Summer Sickies

Well, it would appear that by writing a post about the Warm-Weather Cold as part of my work on the Vicks Blogger Brigade, I JINXED myself! Or, rather, my little Sophie! She has already had two warm-weather colds this summer, the second coming in combination with last week’s infected eye.

Of course, said cold includes a cough. So it’s a good thing I’ve got my Vicks! That’s one of my favorite things about Vicks VapoRub – even though I use it very liberally, it still lasts F-O-R-E-V-E-R. I’d say we get about an average number of colds in our house each year, and I don’t have to run out and buy a new jar of VapoRub every time – it is a great value for the money!

Ever since Joshua had his first cold as a toddler, I have been frustrated by the lack of available and effective cold medicines for children. There is pretty much nothing safe to give a child under 2, and the evidence shows that most cough & cold medicines for kids don’t really work all that well. But I have found VapoRub to be effective and safe for kids over 2 time and time and time again! And there’s always Vicks BabyRub for the really little ones!

So – since we’ve got some summer sickies around here, I’ve whipped out the Vicks to soothe Sophie’s cough once again. It helps us all sleep better at night (right now she’s really only coughing at night) and it makes me feel good to know it’s totally safe, something my family has used for three generations now!

So if you’ve been hit with the warm-weather cold this summer, don’t forget to get out the VapoRub to soothe those coughs! And don’t forget to check out the Vicks VapoRub Facebook page to learn about Vicks and discuss the product with other VapoRub users!

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I am being compensated for my work on the Vicks Blogger Brigade. All opinions about the product are my own.

June 24, 2011June 23, 2011

Motherhood, or something like it.

Oh, these children. These children of mine, I love them so much. And I wanted them so much. I don’t remember not wanting them.

And if someone would have told me, when I was a starry-eyed tween dreaming of a family one day, of a cute baby who’d adore the crap out of me, that I’d be hiding from my own spawn in the kitchen sucking down a Mountain Dew and freebasing cookie dough to deal with the STRESS they’d be causing me, well, I’d have said “that sounds like crazy talk”.

But, as it turns out, it’s like, very realistic talk.

No one tells you, when you’re pregnant, or trying to get that way, that although your baby will surely adore you, there will quickly come a time when they adore themselves so much more. And this time is acutally a long stretch of years when the natural selfishness of a child takes over and they kind of treat you like crap. When they can’t see that mommy is exhausted, depleted, or for goodness’ sake BUSY because really, their IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY need for fruit snacks is pretty much all-consuming.

I know I was like this as a child. We all were. And now I am an adoring daughter and my mom and I enjoy a wonderful relationship, so clearly at some point I stopped being a selfish little leach.

So that’s good. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe in about 2o years my children will see me as more than a means to an end.

A mom can dream.

June 23, 2011June 23, 2011

Things I Love Thursday – New stuff from Lands’ End

I love Lands’ End!

I know, you’re shocked. It’s not like I’ve never mentioned that fact before. But I’ve tried a few things from their new summer line, and I had to share my latest favorites.

First of all… dresses. I have a *thing* about dresses. I don’t know why, really – I don’t even wear them that often (hello, they require shaved legs) but loooove them. I particularly love my two newest ones from Lands’ End!

This is the Women’s Regular Sleeveless Cotton Shift Dress (originally $89.50 but on sale right now for $69.99!). It’s cotton (and machine washable), with textured material that has a very nice feel. I like that the dress is cut so that it has a nice curvy shape – that, combined with the darts and the belt make it very flattering. It’s fully lined, and I love the right-above-the-knee length.

When I picked this dress out, I originally asked to try it in red (because red dresses take my dress obsession to a whole new level), but they didn’t have it in my size so they sent me white. And I love it. The white makes it so versatile – I can change it up with jewelry, shoes, scarves, cardigans – whatever! It could go from a daytime/office look to a date night look very easily.

I also got this, the Women’s Regular Sleeveless Chambray Shirtdress.

This dress is perfect for a hot summer day. The soft cotton material looks great and will keep you cool. Like the shift dress, this one is cut and darted in a way that is quite flattering, and it’s also machine washable. A fun surprise to this dress is that it has pockets, which gives it a modern feel (and comes in handy, too). I just love the whole shirtdress look. I have it in khaki (my favorite color, because I am exciting like that), but it also comes in dusty jade and vintage chambray (blue). It will easily carry you into fall as well, with the addition of a jean jacket or cardigan. Very cute!

Land’s End is my go-to place for clothes, but until recently I had never tried anything from their home line. I had been eying their bedding for months, so when they asked if I’d like to review some of it, I was thrilled. However, I loved it all so much that I couldn’t decide which set I wanted to try. So, I told our old buddy @LandsEndPRMolly to surprise me! There was seriously not a set I didn’t like, and I knew I’d be happy with whatever she picked (and also, I know she has great taste!). Of course, I was not disappointed when this bedding set arrived on my doorstep:

The Shelby Linen Border Duvet Cover and shams really brighten up our bedroom and are so soft and cool – perfect for summer. The yarn-dyed border provides a fun pop of color without being overwhelming.

This accent pillow completes the set.

But let’s not forget the most important part of a bed set – the sheets. Really, I don’t think there’s anything that feels better than slipping into a bed with a clean set of sheets – and these are by far the nicest sheets I’ve ever had.

The Organic Print Sheet Sets are 100% organic cotton and 300-thread count. They are soft, cool, and feel so good. I love them.

My husband and I both love the new look of our room, which is important because the last time we shopped for bedding, it took forever (and a ton of different stores) for us to find something we could agree on. From now on, I’ll just head straight to Lands’ End, because the entire bedding line is lovely, without being too feminine for Andy to be on board!

BTW, I was serious when I said I couldn’t pick from all their options – here are a couple others I love.

To see the complete line, click here. And for more Things I Love Thursday posts, visit Jill at The Diaper Diaries.