WFMW: Lansinoh products

Ever since I planned to breastfeed Matthew and everyone recommends "that stuff in the purple tube" and a friend bought me Lansinoh breast pads, I've been a fan of the Lansinoh products. I've always found them to be great quality and have bought them, even when they were a little more expensive than other brands. Until the last two weeks I've been thrilled with their products. But lately...not so impressed. (*see below for the whole story) I'm putting the main "works for me" part next to save the reader some time if they don't want details. I get wordy :)

So I contacted them. I emailed them and had a response, a REAL response, less then 5 minutes after I hit send! Their response was not a canned generic, "we're sorry", it was a real response that addressed my issue, apologized, asked me if I had saved bags and if I would return them, and asked how they could compensate me for my loss! I felt like they truly cared that I had a problem. So for now, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and keep buying their products! So, Lansinoh products work for me, but what really works for me is speaking up when I have a problem with a product. I think most companies do want to stand behind their products so from now on when I'm unhappy with a product, I plan to contact the company and let them know. If they respond in a caring way, like Lansinoh did yesterday, I will continue to support the company. For more tips, head over to Rocks in My Dryer for Works for Me Wednesdays.


** And for the whole story:
I have a LOT of milk stored in the freezer, back from when my supply was abundant, and then when Scarlett refused a bottle at daycare. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot! All in Lansinoh storage bags. Since she's recently turned one, I've decided to cut back our nursing sessions and only nurse her twice a day. My plan is to use up my freezer supply of milk and then put her on whole milk. The first problem was the night of my first photography class. David put a bag of frozen milk into some water to thaw while he got Matthew to bed. When he went back to put the milk in a bottle, the bag was empty and the water was milky. He thawed a second bag, and part of it leaked too. He ended up needing a third bag to finish feeding Scarlett, and part of it leaked. At lunch I've been thawing milk to give her in a cup, and between what he lost that night & what I've lost since, I've wasted about 50 oz of breast milk. I don't consider this a huge waste, since #1, I'm still nursing her; #2, I have a lot more in the freezer, and #3, she's over a year old and can (and will) drink whole milk without a problem.

I grew concerned though over all these "bad" bags. What if I was a new mother struggling with nursing, about to go back to work, worried about my supply? *I* recommend Lansinoh to everyone I know. Has their quality gotten bad? Did I just get unlucky & get a bad batch of bags? I suspect that is the case, as all of the milk we've had leak was stored in a small date range, but still...I felt compelled to contact the company.

(and for the record, I told them I don't want any compensation-I don't need anything)

WFMW: Aquadoodle to go

Last year for Christmas, we bought Matthew a Aquadoodle Travel N Doodle, thinking it would be good entertainment for when we travel and are in the car or on a plane for a long time. It has become a diaper bag staple now - we rarely leave home without it. Matthew loves the aquadoodle at home, and I love having something that is quiet and keeps him entertained when we go out. I probably wouldn't have thought to share this tip, but last week at Scarlett's one year well visit, another mom and our pediatrician commented on it. They said their children are always asking to take their Aquadoodle mats in the car and this is just perfect for car rides. We've only had it a little over 6 months, but it has been a great investment.

If you aren't familar with the aquadoodle, there are a variety of toys available. They are for doodling or drawing. They use a special mat and a pen you fill with water. The water writes on the mat and eventually disappears so you can draw again and again. No spills, no mess. The available products are great. Some mats come with cars that "ride" on the roads you draw, there are color versions, etc. Our favorite is the travel version though.

The Travel N Doodle works for me. For many great tips, head over to Rocks in My Dryer to see what works for others!

WFMW: Change of Clothes

With 2 children still in diapers, I'm looking for any way I can make the diaper bag lighter. I realized one day when I had it packed full that I needed to eliminate some things. I decided that instead of taking a change of clothes for Matthew and a change of clothes for Scarlett, that I would only take one. Now I take something that fits Matthew, but is made so that I can put it on Scarlett too...it's just really big on her. I only remember one time that I had to use her extra change of clothes, so in the event that I need to change her, I don't mind if she wears Matthew's clothes for a little while. In all honesty, I could probably stop taking a change of clothes for Matthew, I don't remember the last time I needed one, but that with that darn Murphy guy & his laws hanging around, I'm sure that as soon as I left home without them, we'd need them. If you have opposite sex children, like I do, you'd want to be a little careful about what you choose as your extra set of clothes. I don't mind if Scarlett wears boy clothes for a bit, but if she was the older child I probably wouldn't carry a dress as the extra clothes. :)

So taking just one change of clothes, to fit the bigger child, works for me. It saves a little space in my diaper bag...in the winter it saves a lot of space! To see more great tips, head over to Rocks in My Dryer.

WFMW: Hotel Bargains

For when you want to take a vacation, or you have to go somewhere & need a room for a night (or more), but you want to save money on the room, what do you do? We usually use Hotwire. Hotwire lets you put in search parameters and gives you results with "star ratings", amenities, and prices. The prices here have always been much lower than what I could find anywhere else and I've never had a problem with the room or hotel that I've received.

The first time David & I used it I was very leary. We were going to the ACC basketball tournament in Charlotte, and everywhere I looked for rooms they were coming up either full or priced around $200/night. We talked about camping, but really wanted to stay closer to the city. He finally found a room on hotwire that claimed to be 2.5 stars, for $29 a night. YES! $29 a night! Like I said, I was very leary - I expected us to get there & find a dump. I figured it was worth going ahead & booking, with the understanding that if it was a dump we lost that money & we'd find somewhere else to stay, even if it meant getting out of the city.

I was so surprised when it told us the hotel was a Candlewood Suites. No, it's not a top of the line hotel, but 2.5 stars is pretty accurate. Most importantly, when we arrived it was very clean, quiet, a GREAT hotel that I would stay at again, and a GREAT GREAT bargain! I LOVE a good bargain!

Other good deals - one of my best friends booked a room at a 4 star in NYC for $89/night. Turned out the hotel was the Waldorf. We went to Hawaii for our 5 year anniversary - booked a 5 star room for $129/night - when we checked the hotel's website the best rate was $439/night. We never would have paid that much for a room, but it sure was nice to stay there!

We booked a room for our vacation coming up - $79/night for a 4 star. Booking through the hotel site, the best rate is $176/night. I like saving money.

I know a lot of people like priceline so what I do is check hotwire first, to see what the best rate I can get (and I won't stay at anything less than what they claim is 2.5 stars). Then I go to priceline and put in a rate that is a little lower than what I get on hotwire. If they match my price, I've saved even more money; if they don't, I go book on hotwire.

I love a bargain and now that we're a one income family it's even more important to save money. That is what works for me. For more great tips, head over to Rocks In My Dryer.

WFMW: Freezer Cooking

I've done another post on how Freezer Cooking works for me, but after that first foray into putting many casseroles in the freezer at once I learned a lesson. A lesson that I've now figured out how to resolve and that I'll share with you. When I put 5 casseroles in the freezer at once, I did so in my normal dishes. That meant that a few days later when I needed a dish because I hadn't run the dishwasher, almost all of mine were in the freezer! That's no good!!! I actually had to take a dish from the dishwasher & hand wash it so I could make supper that night!

I know, the obvious solution is to use foil pans, but I'm trying to be budget girl too, and don't want to spend that money. Learning from my mistake, I decided to line my dish in foil before making the casserole, then wrap it up tight and freeze it. Once it is frozen I can simply remove the casserole from the dish, wrap it one more time for good measure, and stack it in the freezer. Wash my dish, and it's available for the next round of cooking. When it's time to make my casserole, I simply place it back in the dish to thaw. Clean up is a snap too!

This tip might seem obvious to you, but I learned the hard way. If you need help with something else, head over to Rocks in My Dryer for more Works for Me Wednesday tips.

WFMW: Cutting Brownies

If you know me at all, you know I LOVE brownies! Homemade brownies, of course. Ok well, semi-homemade. If you're like me, once you've got the ooey, gooey pan of brownies out of the oven, and you've let them cool just a little, you can hardly wait to dig in. But how do you cut them without tearing them into pieces? My secret...a plastic, yes plastic, knife! A little flimsy plastic knife works wonders for cutting a pan of brownies into nice, neat squares! The brownie doesn't stick to the knife, like it does most knives, and you get clean cuts!

So if you love brownies as much as I do, and you want to make good clean cuts in yours, use a plastic knife. Then, head on over to Rocks in My Dryer for more Works for Me Wednesdays tips!

WFMW: Toddler lunches?

Today is backwards day at Works for Me Wednesday. So I ask you all, what are your ideas for (somewhat) healthy, easy to prepare toddler lunches? Matthew is not a picky eater, he likes most anything, but lately every day he wants a quesadilla for lunch. He also gets pb&j, fish sticks, grilled cheese sandwiches, and occasionally a lunchables.

Since it is usually time for Scarlett to nurse around the time I should prepare Matthew's lunch, I really need ideas that are quick (I am not one of those moms who can nurse & make lunch at the same time, I'm just not!) but I'd prefer things that are kind of good for him and if they're really inexpensive, well that's even better. What do you suggest? What do you feed your toddler for lunch?

To help other people with their questions, or to ask one of your own, head over to Rocks in My Dryer for the backwards edition of Works for Me Wednesday.

WFMW: Freezer cooking

This week I have put 5 casseroles in my freezer, and we had one last night and will have one tonight. I bought groceries Friday and planned to assemble casseroles Saturday, but ended up not getting around to it until this week. Since I'm home with an infant and a toddler during the week, I didn't accomplish as much as I planned in one day, and instead spread it over 3 days. Monday I boiled my chicken. I bought a BIG chicken so I got a lot of meat off it...enough meat for 7 casseroles to feed me, David, and Matthew!

So anyway, basically Monday I boiled the chicken and put the broth in the freezer to use later! Tuesday I picked the meat out and threw away the skin & bones. Then I assembled my first recipe (chicken spaghetti if anyone's interested). I made enough for 3 casseroles - put one in the oven & the other 2 in the freezer. I put the rest of my chicken in the fridge to use today.

Today I assembled the other recipe. It's a tex-mex chicken dish that I'm trying for the first time. I was planning to make 3 casseroles and freeze them all, but I ended up with a lot of "stuff" left over so I just put it together as a 4th casserole & we're eating it tonight.

So basically I spent about 3 hours of hands-on time...shopping, chopping, picking meat off bones, and assembling, and we have 7 dinners! Well, main dishes for dinner anyway! :)

There have been a lot of "freezer cooking" dinner places popping up around the country and we have used one here. I like it a lot, but we thought the meals were overpriced. They were convenient though, so when I was working it was worth paying for that convenience. I need to sit down & figure out my total cost for these 7 dishes so I can figure out how much more the local place was...to see if it's worth me doing it all myself!

Anyway, that's what works for me this week! To see more tips, head over to Rocks in My Dryer.

WFMW: Shopping for charity

This week's Works for Me Wednesday is all about shopping. My favorite place for children's clothes is Momma's Boy Clothing. They have adorable clothes for boys & girls. Things you can't find at a "normal" store - you have to go to a boutique or specialty store for them. They have flat rate shipping (which I'm a big fan of!) and great customer service too.

I have mentioned before that one of my favorite places to shop online is Zappos. Their customer service just can't be beat. I have also talked about GoodSearch and their shopping feature. GoodSearch allows you to choose your favorite charity (or you can allow them to donate to the charity of the day) and a percentage of all your shopping dollars is donated directly to the charity. This is something that is so easy to do...it requires very little effort to go to the GoodSearch site to see if your favorite online retailer participates, but the rewards for those charities are oh so great.

Many online retailers participate...including Zappos! Many of my other favorites are also there: Amazon, Lands End, Old Navy, Toys 'R Us, Walmart, Target...the list goes on & on! So no matter where you decide to shop, please start at GoodSearch!

Now, head over to Rocks in My Dryer to find out where everyone else likes to spend their hard earned money!

WFMW: Pretty Sweet Potatoes

Most people grow up thinking their moms or grandmas are the best cooks in the world, right? I'm no exception...my granny is the best, my mom is the second-best. While everyone does things differently, I always noticed when I would eat with other people that their sweet potato casserole didn't taste as good, but it also just didn't look as good. The first Christmas David & I spent in our first house, we invited his mom's family to our house for Christmas. I planned to cook Christmas dinner, but being young & not much of a cook, I spent a LOT of time on the phone with my mom in the week leading up to Christmas. One of the things I learned that week was how to keep the sweet potatoes looking pretty for the casserole! I'll share that secret with you!

Run water in your sink and add some salt. Wash, peel, and cut up the sweet potatoes then add them immediately to the salt water. Let them sit while you work. Before you boil the sweet potatoes, rinse them well. The salt will keep them from turning brown when they cook. When you mash them you will have beautiful orange sweet potatoes for your casserole!

That is what works for me this week. For more great tips, head over to Rocks in My Dryer.

WFMW: Get that coat on!

This tip is for all my fellow cold weather mommies. Matthew is very independent and wants to do everything for himself. As you can imagine, teaching a 2 year old to put on his own coat could be quite difficult - he just doesn't have that kind of bodily control...sure, he can put the first arm in, but then to maneuver the coat behind his back and get the second arm in...IMPOSSIBLE. Of course it only leads to frustration when he can't get the coat on all by himself. Thanks to a brilliant teacher at his daycare, we now have a method for getting his coat on him that requires no help from us!

Here's the trick:
Lay the coat on the floor with the inside facing up.
Have the child stand or kneel at the collar of the coat.
The child should place their arms in the sleeves.
Then they can flip the coat up over their head!

At first I had to put the coat down for Matthew, but now I am able to tell him to put his coat on, and if he's in a cooperative mood, he can do completely on his own. Now I just need to teach him to zip it!

For more great tips, head over to Rocks in My Dryer.

WFMW: Mango splitter

I love fruit, and one of my favorites is mango. Unfortunately I always felt like it was a pain to prepare at home, and very frustrating to get all the fruit off the seed. Then I found the Oxo Mango Splitter.

This little tool is worth the price to me, considering it now takes me no time to peel and cut up a mango. I use my vegetable peeler to peel it, then use this to split it from the seed. There is a small amount of fruit left on the seed, but nothing compared to what was left when I used to do it with a knife. It is so quick and easy, and I don't end up with juice all over my hands from trying to cut the fruit away from the seed.

Matthew loves to chew on the seed when I'm done so I don't try to get the fruit that is left off. I've also been told that if you clean the seeds and let them dry out that they make a great baby rattle, but I haven't tried that! :)

So the Oxo Mango Splitter works for me. For more tips, head over to Rocks in My Dryer.

WFMW: Finding a church

I've lurked on a lot of Works for Me Wednesday posts, but this is the first time I'm posting. Today is a backwards day, which means I get to ask for your help.

One of my goals for the early part of this year is to find a church home for our family. We tried visiting several churches in our area soon after Matthew was born but ended up making excuses and didn't follow through. Although I have to say we didn't feel "at home" at any of the ones we visited. Now with an infant and a toddler I am sure visiting will be even harder, but lately I've been feeling very strongly that we NEED to be in church. This is the first time in my life that I haven't been part of a church family and frankly I miss it. I need it. My family needs it.

So if anyone has advice about how to find a new church home, I would love to hear it. How many visits does it take to know it's a good fit?

For those of you who want to help others, head over to Rocks in My Dryer to see who else needs your help.