Busy Mom Reviews

When I was first asked to review Bada Beans, a coffee flavoring, I was a little hesitant.

Way back when I was pregnant with Busy Girl, I developed one serious aversion to coffee (I know!), and, in particular, flavored coffees. I eventually got my coffee mojo back, but, the aversion to flavored coffees never went away.

However, since I don't mind eregular coffee with some types of flavors, like vanilla, added, I thought I'd give the Bada Beans a test.

Bada Beans are sugar free, flavored beans that are a portable coffee flavoring, like a flavored syrup alternative.. They come in cute little tins, and, there are 3 flavors: McCoy's Dream Vanilla Bean, Hazel's Nutty Hazelnut and Crazy Carl's Caramel Fudge.

When you open them up, they smell great, especially the vanilla, I'm a big vanilla fan. According to the instructions, they aren't designed to flavor a cup of black coffee, but, they work best with coffee with cream and sugar. However, I don't like sugar in my coffee, so, I decided to take my chances.

They dissolve easily, and, they indeed add a light flavoring to your coffee. It's not overpowering, and, I'm wondering what using 2 at a time might do. The vanilla was quite good, as was the hazelnut. The fudge wasn't my favorite, but, don't let that stop you from trying them out.

Bada Beans are available online from their site, or, from Amazon. Look for them in specialty stores, soon.

I was sent a Dyson Root 6 DC16 Hand Held Vacuum to try out.

This sucks. Heh, I've always wanted to say that. It really does, but, in a good way.

It looks kind of like a space gun, (Actually, I like to play Charlie's Angels with it, and, hide around a corner up against a wall, and jump out and point it at people) but, it's a lot more powerful than your average dust buster type-thing. It really does vacuum, we've had to use it as our main vacuum when the regular one was broken. It has no bags or filters, the debris collects in an easy to empty bin.

The only downside is a short battery life, but, plan ahead, and, recharge, and, it will be great. I think it would be well worth the expenditure if you're looking for a portable vacuum that will get a lot of use.

Bubble Chocolate is all the rage, and, I was sent some to try.

Billed as "bubbles wrapped in chocolate", aerated chocolate was new to me. First, it's a higher quality chocolate than what's in the vending machine, or, what's leftover in your kid's Halloween bucket. Right there, that makes a difference in your chocolate experience.

When I tried it, at first, I didn't know what was going on. It was good, but, I didn't get the big deal. But, if you hold it in your mouth for a minute, you "get" the bubbling. It reminded me a bit of Pop Rocks, not that any of you are old enough to remember those, but, it's kind of a tingly sensation in your mouth.

Or, as the promotional material puts it: "Two taste sensations are created - once upon first bite, and then again, as the chocolate melts across your tongue." More information can be found on the Bubble Chocolate website FAQ.

Bubble Chocolate comes in three flavors – milk, dark, and coffee. I especially liked the dark chocolate, it's very rich, 60% caoco, I think. Most importantly for testing purposes, I am reporting that I got very little of the milk chocolate, and, the dark chocolate, since, when I set them down on the counter after opening, everyone in the family was asking, "Hey, do we have any more of that chocolate?"

I give Bubble Chocolate 2 snaps up, and, you can get it here.

I was sent a Philips Digital Photo Frame to check out. I had been looking at the digital frames off and on for a while, but, couldn't decide if I wanted to get one, or not.

I gave this one to my father, and, it was a hit in a big way!

The picture quality is wonderful, it's nice looking, and, the clear frame goes with any decor (I didn't get the one with the interchangeable colors). You can download photos from a PC or a camera memory card, and, display them one at a time, or in a slideshow format. It runs on battery or AC power, and, even has a timer that you can set to turn off and on at a certain time.

While it's certainly not a necessity, it makes a wonderful grandparent gift. My father loves it! I uploaded a few pictures to the frame itself, and, I bring him a camera memory card with pictures of events from time to time, so, he can look at those for a change of pace.

The only downside is that the documentation is poor, and, it takes a bit to get the hang of the controls. I didn't attempt to teach my dad how to download pictures himself.

Fruita Bu Smooshed fruit. This stuff is good. It's "fruit-leather" like, but, it's real organic fruit, not platic-y stuff in your kid's lunchbox is made of.

It comes in apple, grape, strawberry, raspberry and apricot.

It's definitely a hit at our house, because I never even got to try the grape, and, the kids keep asking where the "fruit thingys" went.

Loved them. Want more.

After Busy Girl was born, boy did Busy Dad and I had some humdingers of arguments, often in the middle of the night, with a crying baby. She never, ever slept, and, neither did we.

I can remember him saying to me, "How can I help?" one night when I was dealing with her while she was crying for hours on end. I just screamed at him, "You're the FATHER! You're not here to "help" me, I'm not in charge, just DO something!"

Lovely, eh? Yeah, he couldn't win, no matter what he said.

If you're married, or have a significant other, and, have ever had a child you seriously need Babyproofing Your Marriage: How to Laugh More, Argue Less, and Communicate Better as Your Family Grows by Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill, and, Julia Stone.

It's all about what having a baby can do to a mariage. It's a humorous and practical account of what happens when you become parents, with commentary from both the mother and father's side.

Even though it's been a few years since we've had a small baby, what tremendous relief to know we're not alone in our "issues". It covers such topics as "scorekeeping" (the who's working harder? game), the extreme parenting phenomenon, family relationships (OK, the in-laws), the sex-life of parents entitled "coitus non-existus", and having more kids.

One of the parts that spoke to me:

Most women believe their husbands simply don't understand how much there is to do. What we consider mandatory, they view as optional.

That right there, my friends, is the source of much of our conflict. Don't worry guys, it gives your side of this issue, too, and, I have learned a lot from it.

So, this is one you gotta have, go out and get it now. There's even a discussion board all about how having a baby has impacted your marriage.

I received this nice looking MP3 player to try out. The first things I noticed is that it feels really good in your hand, it has a clear display, and, the menus are easy to navigate.

The sound quality is really good, especially for such an affordable device ($99 for 2GB). It comes with ear buds, but, I don't get why one side of them was longer than the other,

It plays mp3 files as well as WMA and files from subscriptions such as Napster. It doesn't play i-tunes files. I had no problems getting it working on Windows In addition, it has a FM Radio, and, you can view and store images on it.

All in all, a nice little device at a good price! Hey, I'm a poet...

Love, Magic and Mudpies: Raising Your Kids to Feel Loves, Be Kind, and, Make a Difference, by Bernie Seigel is a wonderful book of good reminders, practical advice with real-life applications for parents of children of any age.

There are 8 parts, each with short, easy to read chapters, important for those of us who can't complete anything taking more than 10 minutes because our children need love. Each chapter begins with a memorable quote, and, ends with "How to Make the Magic", specific advice for activities at home.

Dr. Siegel uses his experience as a pediatric surgeon, a father of five, and, a grandfather of eight to remind us that everything boils down to love, and, how to enjoy our children at any age, and, what a powerful effect we have on them.

Mixtionary by Mia Christou, Scott Lobdell, John Nee, Shawn McManus, is a compendium of made-up words for the world we live in today.

Some of my favorite definitions:

Alcohological- the inverse relationship between increased alcohol consumption and common sense.

Bragnoy- boasting about how bad your life is, or, how dire the state of your health is.

Bidiot- people who pay far too much for junk sold on eBay.

It's funny, and, would make a great gift, but,be warned, there are a couple of PG-13 definitions.

I had been carrying around the same old Clinique Bonus lipstick for years (years, I tell ya) in the makeup bag I keep at work.

When I had to use it one day, it dawned on me that it should probably be called "Frosted Hideous Freak of Nature", so, I flung it into the trashcan. I proved a point for fashion, but, I was lipstick-less, so I ran down the street to the drugstore intending to pick up something quickly.

Maybelline Superstay Lip Color caught my eye since I had heard people talking about long lasting lipsitck, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I'm picky about colors, but, I loved the "Raisin". Once I got it unwrapped, I realized it had two ends: one end is the sponge-tipped applicator, and, the other is a conditioning balm thing.

I immediately applied the color using the sponge tipped applicator, and, it went on well. It is almost paint-like, so, I was a bit surprised when I had a hard time correcting a mistake. I then put the lip balm stuff on, and, it didn't go on smoothly, and, the balm stick thing itself was covered in lipstick.

Though I was sad because I liked the color, I figured this was going to be another addition to my "Things That Were a Good Idea When I Bought Them, but, They Didn't End Up Looking Like I Expected Them To" drawer.

Then I read the directions. And the angels sang.

You have to put the stuff on carefully, and, let it dry first. THEN you put the balm stuff on.

Love this stuff.

It really is long lasting, but, I'm not sure it has gone 16 hours like it says, though. But, that's OK, people who I care about seeing me in lipstick don't look at me for 16 hours.

I have nearly used a whole tube, and, the balm stuff has worn down, but, I read that you can buy refills for it, though I haven't tried to, yet.

It comes in several different colors, and, is available at drugstores.