I've Got Happy Feet! How About You?

When your feet hurt, it seems like everything else hurts, too. As busy moms, sometimes we don't take the time to stop and take care of ourselves. One of the ways we can do that is by making sure our feet are as comfy as can be! Dr. Scholl's makes it so easy and inexpensive to do just that with their new Custom Fit Orthotics.

With Dr. Scholl's, there are no more long trips to the podiatrist to have molds of your feet made. No more dealing with insurance companies. And, no more ridiculous price tag. Instead, you can pick up orthotics that are custom fit to your feet's needs right at your local big box store. 

Look for the Custom Fit Orthotic Center in the shoe department. It's so easy! You just within the foot outlines on the base of the center and follow the on-screen instructions. I will admit that there is the risk of looking a little goofy. The Center has you balance on one foot, then the other, all while holding on to the handles for support. Look Silly? Perhaps, but it will all be worth it when you slip on your new Custom Fit Orthotoics, personalized just for you.

I'm CM420. The Custom Fit Orthotic Center determined correctly that I, 1) have low (practically non-existent) arches, and 2) have a lot of foot pressure. Perhaps I stomp more than I walk. It's certainly true that after a lot of walking, my heels ache from the pressure. It's not really a surprise when you see my foot scan in the top right corner above. All that bright red in my right heel area represents the pressure placed there. 

However, with the CM420 in my favorite pair of shoes, the pressure is dispersed. Not only can I walk further, but I can walk faster. On our recent trip to Baltimore I found that my stamina far surpassed my mom and Astrodad's. I should have gotten them some Custom Fit Orhotics before we left home, too, just so they could have kept up with me! 

Ready to try Custom Fit Orthotics for yourself? Dr. Scholl's makes it even easier with a $7.50 mail-in rebate! Once you've had a chance to try your new orthotics out, be sure to check back and let me know how much you love them!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Dr. Scholl’s and received a Custom Fit Orthotics from Dr. Scholl’s to facilitate my review.

Made in the Shade this Summer (Neutrogena Wet Skin Sunscreen Review)

I never realized buying sunscreen could be so complicated before I had to buy it for myself. Apply it long before you go outside...and then be sure not to apply it to wet skin. Huh? You've heard that it gets hot, and humid, here in Texas, right? And, what about a trip to the beach or the pool?

Since I could see it being difficult for me to make sure he's completely dried off before reapplying sunscreen every few hours, I wondered if daycare always applied it correctly as well. He wouldn't typically be swimming at daycare, but it is possible that he'd be playing in the sprinkler or just hot and sticky from the Texas humidity.

That's where Neutrogena Wet Skin Sunscreen comes in! We've been using Neutrogena Wet Skin for about a month here and at daycare. We love that it goes on quick and easy. All we have to do is spray and rub it in. Two easy steps that have nothing to do with whether he's hot, sweaty or wet from a day in the pool. And, there's no white residue to worry about, and no dripping! Plus, the scent is just perfect...not too heavy, not too light.

Neutrogena Wet Skin gives this busy mom a few less things to worry about. Not only do I know that we can put sunscreen on quick, easy and mess-free every morning; I also know that, regardless of what his day may hold, Astroboy will be protected from the summer sun. Thanks Neutrogena Wet Skin!

Want to try it out for yourself? When you buy online, you will save $2 on all sunscreen products. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

The Fine Print: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign provided by Mom Central Consulting. I received Neutrogena products to facilitate my review, however all opinions are my own.

Basketball, Family & a Triple Dipper! (Chili's $20 Giftcard Giveaway)

Seriously, what could be better than watching the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of the NBA Finals while enjoying some family time and a couple Triple Dippers at Chilis? Well, in a perfect world, the Mavs would have won Game 3, but I'm trying not to be bitter. We still had a great time sharing some great food with great company.

Astrodad LOVES Chili's. I mean, seriously, if left to his own devices, he might eat at Chili's every time we eat out. And, what is one of his favorite menu items? You guessed it...the Triple Dipper! So, the Chili’s Triple Dipper “Good Things Come in Three’s” Linky Rave from 2 Wired 2 Tired was the perfect opportunity for us! We were interested to check out the new Triple Dipper menu:

There were some notable additions to the new Triple Dipper menu, two of which ended up on Astrodad's plate: Loaded Potato Skins and Honey Chipotle Shrimp.  His choice was easy once he saw those. He added our usual Southwester Eggrolls and he was good to go.

I had a much tougher time deciding. I was sorry to see that on the latest Triple Dipper menu, the buffalo sauce was the only optionf or the Boneless Wings. Our super helpful server, Jasmine, even checked with her manager to see if the old Shanghai Boneless Wings were on the secret "oldies menu," but no luck, Meanwhile, Astroboy watched the Mavs on one of the many HDTVs.

Finally, I decided on Southwestern Eggrolls, Big Mouth Bites and Chicken Crispers...because, really, who does Chicken Crispers better than Chili's? No one! So, what's my Triple Dipper?

The Triple Dipper is all about the dipping, right? They take the yummy appetizers over the top! I love the avocado ranch that accompanies the Southwestern Eggrolls...gooey and cheesy with just the right hint of spice and crunch. YUM! Plain ranch comes with the Big Mouth Bites and the Honey Chipotle Shrimp. And, honey mustard is paired with the yummy Chicken Crispers. All perfect combinations.

Since I had previously signed up for Chili's e-mail notifications, I got a free birthday dessert in my inbox last week. If you have't already signed up, be sure you do so you can get your free birthday goodies, too! So to drown our sorrows on the Mavs loss, we decided to indulge in a Paradise Pie.

What a perfect meal! Excellent services, delicious food and good company! Want to try your own Triple Dipper? Well, you've come to the right place! There are so many ways to win! Stop by Chili's Shout Out to Eat Out to enter to win a $20 giftcard and be entered for the grand prize, a $333 giftcard! Or stop by 2Wired2Tired where tons of other bloggers are offering $20 Chili's giftcard giveaways this week, too!  

Mandatory Entry: Enter "Mom In Orbit" below and click Submit! Add a comment on this post taht says you completed the form.

Bonus Entries (add a comment below for each):
1. Tell me your 3 favorite foods you would like to have all on 1 plate.
2. "Like" Chili's on Facebook
3. Follow @Chilis & @Shoutout2eatout on Twitter
4. Create your terrific trio located on http://www.shoutouttoeatout.com/ and comment with the URL link
5. Opt-In to Chili's email club here http://bit.ly/m6HYef (You'll receive a free appetizer certificate too!)
6. Tweet  out this
            "At @Chilis Good Things Come In 3's! Check out @2Wired2Tired http://bit.ly/linkyrave for 200 chances to win in the #tripledipper linky rave!”
7. Write a post on your blog about your 3 favorite foods you would like to have all on 1 plate and mention the Shoutout2eatout.com promotion. Then comment with the URL link.

Contest ends at 5:00 PM Central Time on Sunday, June 12, 2011. One winner will be chosen using random.org. Must be 18 years or older to enter. Open to U.S. and territories residents only; void where prohibited.  Entering this giveaway, entrant releases blogger from all liability. 

I was provided a $20 Chili's giftcard for this review. However, all opinions are my own.

Seven Moms You Should Know!

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of attending my first blog conference-- the inaugural Reviewers Retreat at Great Wolf Lodge Pocono Mountains. I had my apprehensions about this whole blog conference thing. I'd read about some blog conferences being this clique-ish, high school flashback remix, and I was worried. That's just so not my thing. Thankfully, that wasn't what Reviewers Retreat was about. In fact, I'd say that Reviewers Retreat was about the exact opposite...inclusive, supportive and educational.

I had a few goals for my trip to Reviewers Retreat. Some were professional, most were personal. Of course, I wanted to learn how to take my blog to the next level, how to connect with brands, how to bring my readers great opportunities, how to increase traffic, etc. But, my biggest goal for Reviewers Retreat was completely personal. I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone.

I'm a bit of an introvert until you get to know me. Being thrown in the middle of a group of women I've never met is definitely not a comfortable thing for me. But, that's exactly why I did it, because it was uncomfortable. At my day job, we'd call that a "stretch assignment." And, I certainly felt stretched mentally and emotionally, but in a great way. I came home with at least as many business cards as I handed out. But, more importantly, I came home with new friends and mentors. Mission accomplished!

I learned a lot, and I'll be sharing my thoughts on those nuts-and-bolts type things in later posts. In this post, though, I just wanted to introduce you to the wonderful women who made it easy for me to be myself at Reviewers Retreat. I'm so grateful to have met them and honored to now call many of them my friends! If you don't follow them already, you should. Trust me!

CPAMom from Did You See That?

Angie (@MyFourMonkeys) from My Four Monkeys

Gina (@GinaBad) from Mom-Blog

Tara (@TaraZiegmont) from Feels Like Home

Alison (@BeingAlison) from Being Alison

I have a picture of us all in our PJs at the Sweet Dreams party, but I'm afraid the girls might kill me if I posted that one, so hope over to their blogs sneak a peek! :-)

And last, but definitely not least, a shout-out to Cecilia and Bridgette who made Reviewers Retreat possible in the first place. These ladies truly are Double Duty Divas!

Leaky Faucet No More (Baker Brothers Plumbing Review)

Astrodad is a pretty handy guy. Really, he is. He has many hobbies including electronics tinkerer, car repairman, and plumber dabbler. Unfortunately, every once in awhile one of those things goes awry. Most recently that was the case with two plumbing projects at our house.

First there was a leaky shower faucet...that took all day one Sunday to sort of fix. "Sort of" because they managed to stop the leak, but with a replacement faucet that just didn't quite fit. It was a rather unfortunate look, that's for sure...white cartridge hanging out of the shower wall, faucet sort of crooked. But, I couldn't argue (much).  After all, the leak was finally gone. Then, there was the kitchen sink plumbing which had just never been quite right since the installation of our new garbage disposal.

I received plumbing services in return for advertising the Baker Brothers Plumbing / Dallas Area Habitat for Humnaity Campaign. This opportunity provide by Business2Blogger.

When Mike from Baker Brothers Plumbing arrived to take care of our pesky plumbing issues, Astrodad directed him to the kitchen sink first. He chuckled at the state of things down there, but said it was an easy fix.

True to his word, just a few short seals and 15 minutes later, he was done. Much to our surprise, he asked if there was anything else that he could help with. This is where our love for Baker Brothers Plumbing begins. Not only did Mike agree that he could fix the unfortunate shower faucet, he left to go pick one up for us, then came back to install it.

Now my shower faucet no longer leaks, my garbage disposal works as it should, and my bathroom looks back to normal. We were so impressed with our experience with Baker Brothers Plumbing-- from scheduling our service call with Tamara, who was super helpful and able to accommodate my evening/early morning hours, to Mike who went above and beyond to get the job done. From now on, we'll be calling Baker Brothers Plumbing for all of our Dallas Metro plumbing needs!

And, if their customer service wasn't enough to impress, their charity work should be. Right now, Baker Brothers Plumbing is leading the Tap That Faucet campaign to help plumb a Dallas Area Habitat Humanity House. For every 10 "Likes" Baker Brothers Plumbing receives, they'll donate one free hour to Dallas Habitat. The campaign ends Wednesday, so stop by there and give them a "Like," all for a great DFW cause!

Strollers for Tall People Without a Tall Price Tag (Maclaren Triumph vs. UppaBaby G-Luxe)

Astrodad is in the upper echelons of tall (measuring in at 6'7"), so I was determined to find a stroller that we could both push comfortably. I didn't realize just what a tall order that would be! (Pun intended!) Then, the search was even more complicated by our need to find a reasonably priced stroller that would work well for both tall parents and tall kids.

The journey started with the original stroller we registered for...a Cynthia Rowley Hooray. This seemed like the perfect stroller: nice tall handles, reasonable price tag, umbrella stroller style great for traveling. Perfect, right? Not so fast. Though the handles were very tall, it turned out that neither Astrodad or I could take even a regular-sized step without kicking the stroller back. Stroller FAIL!

So, with our trip to Reviewer's Retreat upcoming, it was obvious that we needed to find a new stroller. The search was on! At one point, we went to a local baby boutique with just about every stroller known to man. The sales lady started down the line: Aprica, City Mini, Britax, etc.. Fail, Fail, Fail. Either the handles were too short or we kicked the back. Of course, the Bugaboos and Orbit's fit the bill, but that kind of price tag didn't.

Finally, we narrowed it down to the UPPAbaby G-Luxe or Maclaren Triumph for three simple reasons: 1) all models have taller than average handles, 2) super lightweight is great for travel, 3) umbrella style is ideal for gate checking at the airport (fewer parts to break).

Here's what I loved about the G-Luxe:

• Awesome sunshade! Not only does the G-Luxe sport a UV-resistant shade, it also extends far enough to shield baby from sun at almost any angle.
• Cute two-tone color scheme. The only difference in the 2010 and 2011 lines is the colors. We were planning on the navy from the 2010 line, but I do love the teal from the 2011 line! The downside here is that the silver in all of the color schemes will likely show dirt/wear much faster.
• True one-handed fold. When traveling with a baby (especially if Astroboy and I are traveling alone) this is a must!
• Standalone foot. That's right...not only does it have one handle fold, it will also stand there all by itself while you take care of baby.

And, what we loved about the Maclaren Triumph:

• Reliable construction. I had read some negative reviews about how the G-Luxe held up over time and consistent use. Maclarens are well known for being tried-and-true workhorses.
• Dark color schemes hide dirt/wear well.
• Sturdy feel. There's very little wobble when the Triumph is fully locked in place.
• One pedal brake control. We had a Maclaren Easy Traveler as our infant seat carrier. We loved it, but found the multiple pedal brake control annoying The Triumph has that covered.

What did we end up with? The Maclaren Triumph. This was a really tough choice, because I loved the G-Luxe's standalone feature. About the only thing I don't like about Maclaren's is that you can't stand them up or lean them against a wall without them rolling back down the wall and onto the floor.

However, in the end, it came down to the fact that Astroboy just didn't fit well in the G-Luxe. At 9 months, he's in the 95th percentile for height. Clearly he'll be tall like his daddy! In the G-Luxe, the seatback is not nearly as tall, but the seat bottom is also much narrower. It just needed to be deeper for him to fit well in it. And, if that's the case now, how would it ever work in a few years?

 

After using our Maclaren Triumph in Washington, D.C.  this weekend, I can say that I am beyond pleased with our purchase! Astrodad happily pushes the stroller with no complaints of back pain. Astroboy enjoys seeing the sights and chewing on the shoulder straps. As for Astromom? Well, I loved the Triumph the most when I had to carry it and Astroboy up the ridiculously steep stairs at the Smithsonian Metro station! The result? So worth it!

Lightweight, easily foldable, handy carry strap, tall handles, great price. An out of this world choice for tall parents (and kids)!

The House that "Likes" Built

Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity likes to say, "Good Homes Come from Good People." Those good people are reflected in the volunteers who donate time and/or money to build the houses, in the families who put sweat equity into their new house, and YOU! How, you ask? It's so easy!

For every 10 new "likes" on Baker Brothers Plumbing's Facebook Page their donating an hour of free plumbing to Habitat for Humanity. All you have to do is like their Facebook page and they'll do the rest. How can you argue with that?

But, if you needed a few more convincing reasons to help Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity and spread the word, here they are:

• Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity, and its partners, build 70+ houses each year. 
• They're the largest nonprofit homebuilder, largest single family residential homebuilder in the City of Dallas, and the third largest Habitat affiliate in North America!
• A house from Dallas Habitat saves families approximately $105 thousand over the length of their mortgage.
• Every dollar Dallas Habitat spends generates $3.18 in the community.
• Dallas Habitat households generate 200 additional jobs or an additional $9.4 million in salaries and wages.

Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity does GREAT work for great people in DFW every day. And, as you can see, in turn, we all benefit. So, please take a moment and do your part to help this awesome cause. Go "Like" Baker Brothers Plumbing right now! While your there tell them what Habitation for Humanity means to you (and that Mom In Orbit sent you)!

Disclosure: I am participating in a promotional campaign on behalf of Baker Brothers Plumbing and received services and/or compensation for this review through Business2Blogger