Rubbermaid Reveal Spray Mop Review

Rubbermaid Reveal Spray Mop Review: 

We recently did some renovation and purchased new hardwood bamboo floors. The floors look awesome when they are clean. The problem is between two kids and a dog, they get dirty really quickly! Anyone who has ever had hardwood or laminate floors knows that they start looking dirty before carpet does. That doesn't mean that carpet isn't just as dirty (gross) it just hides the dirt better. I had been using a Shark Steam Mop in my kitchen and bathrooms, but it just didn't cut it on the wood floors. I found the Rubbermaid Reveal on Amazon for $39.99. I was going to buy it on Amazon, but then I found it at Target (in store) for $19.99! The only difference is that the mop from Amazon comes with two microfiber pads. I don't know about you, but I don't think that one extra microfiber pad is worth $20. If you find the same deal at Target, you can always buy an extra pad on Amazon here for under $6.

How did it work?

I LOVE this mop!! Is it weird to love a mop? Oh well, I guess I am weird. I used to have a Swiffer mop and I HATED that you had to either use their solution (yuck) or go through a huge hassle to use your own. With the Reveal mop, you can choose whatever solution you want to use, or make your own. I love this because you can easily use different solutions for different floors. I also love how well it swivels and that the mop itself is pretty wide. I will definitely need to purchase an extra microfiber pad, but they are pretty cheap. I don't really have any complaints about the mop, it work great! It doesn't spray too much liquid, so the floors dry quickly.

If you are looking for a new mop, I highly recommend this one! It is definitely the best of it's kind that I have tried, especially for the price. I strongly prefer this mop to my Shark steam mop. I will probably use the steam mop only in the bathrooms. The Shark mop is narrower, which seems like that would mean more work. I do have a cheaper version of the steam mop, but it still cost over $50 and this mop was under $20. If you can find this at Target (or maybe Wal-Mart) fo $20, it is a great deal!

 
**NOTE** This is my personal opinion and experience with this product. I purchased it at full price and have not been compensated by Rubbermaid in any way.

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Bumstoppers One-Size Cloth Diaper Review

Two of my custom size large all-in-two's from Bumstoppers

Tuesdays are all about cloth diapers! Everyone who has been on this blog before knows that I love cloth diapers. I will be writing reviews or giving some of my own tips and tricks every Tuesday.  I am excited to kick-off Cloth Diaper Tuesday (wow, we need a better name) with a review of my FAVORITE diaper!

I met Becky, the genius behind Bumstoppers, when I was pregnant with Mikaela. She was pregnant with her current youngest at the same time. I wanted to try Bumstoppers diapers for a long time, and I am glad that I finally did. I thought they were a little bit pricey, but I discovered they had a very good reason! I have been using Bumstoppers for a few months now and they are my absolute favorite diapers. Why? Because they are the best!!

There are many different Bumstoppers products, but she typically stocks hybrid fitted one-size and newborn diapers. I have a few different Bumstoppers products, including one size hybrid fitteds, one size AI2s, large hybird fitteds, and large AI2s. I also have some newborns on the way, but I can't tell you much about those, YET. ;)

Bumstoppers diapers have the best fabric options. You could probably spend hours drooling over it (if you are a fabric-drooling kind of person, as I am.) You might have to snag a custom spot to get your favorite print, but they are well worth it. Several of my diapers were customs, including those pictured at the top. (Picture is courtesy of Bumstoppers, my diapers are scattered all over the house at the moment.)

Cloth diapering is a great way to save money, but the upfront cost of diapers are always expensive. Bumstoppers diapers start around $21.95 for sized, $23.95 for one size and $13.95 for newborns. Some of the diapers might cost more due to a more expensive fabric. This is pretty average pricing for quality work-at-home-mom diapers. Yes, they are more expensive than cheap China diapers, but they are better. You are also supporting a made in the USA product, and a mom! It's really a win-win. On top of that, these diapers last a lot longer and honestly just work a lot better.

What is a hybrid fitted? Fitted diapers require covers. Hybrid fitted diapers have a hidden layer of fleece which offers more protection. I typically do not use a cover on Miki when she is running around the house. I will use a PUL cover or wool longies when she takes a nap, otherwise I have found that a hybrid fitted works just as well as any diaper with PUL. I have used several other brands of fitted diapers and I can honestly say that none of them match up to the quality of Bumstoppers, even some of the more trendy and expensive brands.

I prefer the hybrid fitted over the all-in-two, just for the "squishy" factor, but I have a pretty even amount of each kind. I should also mention that Bumstoppers has an "Affordabum" line, with some less expensive diapers. I haven't used any of these myself, but I have heard good things about them! One last thing that I LOVE about Bumstoppers one-size diapers are the crazy size range. I have seen pictures of a one-size diaper on babies as young as a few weeks. Most one-size diapers gape at the legs with smaller babies. The design of the one-size diaper really allows for growing room too. I put Kainan in one of Miki's diapers (for measuring purposes, he is potty trained) and at forty five pounds they actually almost fit! They were just a tad snug in the front, his butt was completely covered. I would say that they easily would fit most children until 40 pounds.

If you are looking for high quality adorable diapers, Bumstoppers are the way to go. I would give Bumstoppers diapers a 10/10 for their high quality, cute prints, and excellent fit. You should definitely try one! Want to buy one? Go here! I will post some "action shots" of Miki in her Bumstoppers diapers very soon, she is at Nana's house today!


 

 Note: This is my personal opinion about my use with these diapers, I have not been compensated by Bumstoppers in any way! I bought these diapers at full price (or on sale, you know me) without anyone having the knowledge that I would be doing a review!

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Amazing New Survey Site

I must say, I haven't found one survey site quite like this... until now! Paid Viewpoint is an awesome new survey site I found that absolutely, positively only sends you invitations to surveys that you are already qualified for. Meaning, you receive an email to participate in a survey, you click the link, complete the survey, and you get your money. They have NEVER sent me a survey that I wasn't qualified for and ultimately paid for! This is awesome! I have used them for over a week now, and they are great. They pride themselves in not wasting peoples time by sending them a survey they don't qualify for. You can even earn up to $1.21 just by signing up and filling out your profile to customize the surveys sent your way. I literally earned my first $2.41 in less than 10 minutes from this survey site! I had a feeling this survey site was going to be a good one, so I took a screenshot of my earnings, just minutes after registering with them. Here it is: 

You can cash out once you have $15 in your account. You have to check them out! I normally get between 1-2 surveys a day. Each survey takes about 1-2 minutes to take. Honestly, 1-2 minutes. This is not a get rich quick deal, by any means, but it's an easy way to make a few dollars each month. The surveys are actually fun to. Each question is multiple choice, and all of the questions pertain to you! If you are interested in this great survey site, you can sign up here.

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Fuzzibunz One-size Cloth Diaper Review

Hey guys! It's Amy and I'm finally back. A few of my cloth diapering posts were some of the most popular posts on the blog so far, so I have decided to make Friday's "Cloth Diaper Friday!" Basically I will either share some info on cloth diapering, do a cloth diaper review, or MAYBE even finish my eight weeks to a cloth diaper stash posts! Would anyone be interested in seeing that finished? If you have no idea what I am talking about, start here. The posts were pretty popular and I'd like to finish them if there is any interest. 

Anyway, I'll kick off the first "Cloth Diapering Friday" post with a review for Fuzzibunz one-size diapers. You can buy these directly from Fuzzibunz or almost any site that sells cloth diapers. I got mine on Amazon. I own three of these diapers in Apple Green, Crushed Berries and Grape. The colors are really great! I got mine really cheap (Amazon coupons back in 2011) and I wish I would have gotten more! Fuzzibunz is probably my favorite one size pocket diaper, or at least tied for first with Happy Heiny one size pockets. 

What makes Fuzzibunz different from many other one-size diapers is  the unique adjustable elastic. Most OS (one-size) diapers have a snapping front. Because of Fuzzibunz patented adjustable elastic, FB OS diapers tend to be "trimmer" (less bulky) than most OS diapers. They also come with extra elastic, although I've never had to use mine. I found that the adjustable elastic fit smaller babies better than my other OS diapers. The picture on the right is Mikaela in Crushed Berries around three weeks old (yes, she was fat.) Most of her other OS diapers didn't fit until a few weeks later. The Fuzzibunz one-size diaper only has a snap option, so if you prefer aplix they may not be for you. I think that aplix is easier, but snaps hold up better. Diapers with snaps look "new" much longer and possibly have a higher selling value because of that. 

So overall I definitely recommend the Fuzzibunz one-size diaper. I've only had ONE problem. My Apple Green diaper has had about four snaps fall off, and my Crushed Berries diaper has a loose snap. I have never had any problems with my other snapping diapers (Bumgenius, Flip, Sunbaby, etc.) so I'm not sure if I just got a bad batch or if this is common for Fuzzibunz. I have not contacted Fuzzibunz because it had been about a year since I bought the diapers, and I did not think they would be covered. So the Fuzzibunz one-size diaper gets a 9/10 from me. Other than possible faulty snaps (which is an easy fix) these diapers are trim, have a great fit, hold up well, and are very cute! 
 

 
Note: This is my personal opinion about my use with these diapers, I have not been compensated by Fuzzibunz in any way! I bought these diapers at full price, with coupons, and this is just my personal opinion!

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U-Haul Truck Rental Review

I just received an e-mail from U-Haul asking me to rate my recent truck rental. As Meagan mentioned, I recently moved (last weekend) and I used U-Haul. The reason that  I chose U-Haul was because it was  the only moving company that offered a pick-up in my area. Or so I thought.. I went online and reserved my rental on a  Tuesday evening. I thought that reserving on Tuesday would ensure that the truck I needed would be at my location on Saturday. I received a call Friday evening (at about 3:30PM) from a U-Haul representative telling me that not only was the truck I reserved not available at my location, but there were NO trucks available at my location!! I honestly thought that was WHY I reserved early. I asked her what I could do, she told me I could drive 65 miles away and pickup my truck. Or 80+ miles, those were my only options. At that point it was Friday evening, I had a doctors appointment, and there was no way to reserve another truck to move on Saturday. I had no choice.

The move went fine, other than the fact that I had to spend three hours picking up a truck on Saturday. I worked all week so I had intended to spend those three hours to finish packing. I was given an extra 75 miles, and an extra 24 hours. That was nice.. but I still had to pay for the 65+ miles in gas out of pocket. If you've ever rented a truck, you know that gas really adds up. I'm not at all happy with my experience. I wouldn't recommend U-Haul to anyone. The staff was pretty friendly, the truck was fine (kind of, the A/C was a little funky) but what does that matter when you can't have the rental that you reserved?? I don't recommend U-Haul. I know that Meagan used Penske when she moved and had no problems. Considering U-Haul is one of the more expensive moving companies, they really aren't worth the extra cost and hassle. I wrote a negative review, and I doubt anything will come of it. I just hope that someone will read this and skip U-Haul entirely.



 

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Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream Review

Both of my boys have had eczema spots on their backs and bellies since they were very young. I've used everything from Aquafor, Eucerin, Cetephil, even prescription creams, but nothing seemed to work for all of their symptoms. When I was on vacation, my mom had bought Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream for them. She knew I hadn't been able to find anything worth the price and she'd heard great things about this cream, so she got it for me.

This cream is amazing! A little bit goes a long way. I bathe the boys and use about a pea sized amount on their bellies and a pea sized amount on their backs. I've been using it for almost a month at least 5 times a week and they no longer have irritation where their eczema is. They are both big squirmers and using such a small amount doesn't take much holding down on my part, which is a big plus! It makes their skin so smooth and their really isn't much of a scent to it. My sons aren't really keen on smelly stuff, so this is good for us. I even use a small amount on a patch I've had on my arm for years, and it doesn't itch anymore! I can't thank Aveeno enough for this amazing cream!

So, overall I would give Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream a 10/10! If your children are suffering from eczema, give this a try! You will not be disappointed.

**Note: I have not been compensated in any way by Aveeno for my review of the Moisturizing Cream. This is something that I was given as a gift from my mom and this is my personal opinion on this amazing product!**

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Summer Escapes 15 Foot Pool Review

Luke's 3rd birthday party was last weekend, and we're still trying to recuperate from it. It's been in the high 80's to low 90's all this week, so Delvin has been taking Luke swimming a lot. Last year we bought a 12 foot Intex pool from Wal-Mart towards the end of the season on clearance. We got to use it for about a month before we had to pack it away. Well, this year we have an extra family member, so we decided to sell our 12 foot pool and get a bigger one. We decided on the Summer Escapes 15 foot round pool. It is great quality, and it came with a ground cloth, cover, and accessories kit (vacuum, skimmer, and an extra filter). The one we had last year, had the pump that sits on the ground, but the new one has the pump that attaches to the side with the skimmer, which is great. No bugs, or pool of water on the ground. It's great! And it's deeper then our old one, which is good for the grown ups. We're hoping to have Luke swimming with little to no help by next summer. He loves swimming with our help now though.

If you don't have a lot of land, or can't afford to get a pool installed, this is the next best thing. The price is reasonable, and as long as you take care of it properly, it will last. There isn't much of a difference in maintenance between a small (10'-18') pool and a professionally installed (20'-40') pool. Of course, you use less product, but you still have to maintain the pool on an everyday basis. It's very simple once you get the hang of it.

Overall, I would give the Summer Escapes 15 Foot Pool a 10/10. For the price compared to the value you get, I definitely think this pool is worth it.

**Note: I have not been compensated by Summer Escapes in any way for the review of this product. This is my families personal experience with this swimming pool.**

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Copco Sierra Tumbler Review

I mentioned a while back that I was going to buy some of these tumblers on Amazon whenever I got my gift card from Swag Bucks. The prices on Amazon vary but I managed to get two (pink and blue) for about $5 each. Now that I have used them I have to say I really like them! I love the built in stirrer and they're pretty hard to spill. I also like that the straw can't fall out because of the stirrer, so it's harder to lose. I think that these are great because you can take them with you without wasting money on drinks. I've used them for water and tea so far. It also saves on plastic bottles and cans. They are reasonably priced and it seems like they will hold up pretty well over time. The colors are really nice and the cups are a good size (24 oz)  I give these a 10/10 and would recommend them to anyone looking for a money saving/eco-friendly drink solution.


**Note: I bought these Tumblers with my own money and was not compensated in any way for my review.**

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bumGenius Newborn AIO Review

I bought several of these diapers before Mikaela was born. They were formally known as the bumGenius XS AIO. However, bumGenius has unfortunately stopped making the other sizes but continues to sell this size with a different name. I purchased these primarily for my husband because I intended to use prefolds and covers but the AIOs are so much easier. I have to admit that I don't want to mess with prefolds right now so these are pretty much all that we use. I have 12 and I wish I would have bought more. Fortunately I bought a few in size small and once she fattens up just a little those should fit as well.

For those who don't know an AIO (or all-in-one) diaper is similar to a pocket except the absorbent part is sewn into the diaper. They are very similar to disposables in how they fit and many moms who use other types of diapers buy them for dad, grandma or the babysitter to use. 

This diaper comes in twelve cute colors and is said to fit from 6-12 pounds. My daughter was 7 1/2 (dropped to 7 and is now gaining again) at birth and these fit her very well. She also has very skinny legs, some diapers tend to leaky with skinny legged babies but these don't seem to. I think they would fit a baby smaller than her just fine. We only had one leak and that was because my husband thought that he changed her (middle of the night) but didn't so she wore it much longer than usual.

The only downside to these (and any other AIO) diapers is the drying time. I would hang them on the line to dry but since I only have 12 I often need them faster so I have to throw them in the dryer. Some parents do not use cloth until babies fit into a one-size diaper due for financial reasons. It's important to remember that cloth diapers do have a resale value and these diapers seem to re-sell very quickly. The tiniest diapers tend to have the highest resale values because they are used less.

I would rate these diapers 10/10. They are very easy to use, especially if you want to cloth diaper your baby right away. I wish I had bought more of these in the first place, if I had to do it over I would probably buy 24. Luckily I did buy a few smalls when they went on sale. It's unfortunately that bumGenius discontinued the other sizes of this product. I plan to try and find more smalls and possibly mediums because we like them so much.

**Note: I have not been compensated by bumGenius in any way for the review of this product. This is simply my personal experience with this diaper.**

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