A Mothers Best Friend

If you have some extra money and are unsure what to do with it may I suggest purchasing a steam cleaner. About a year ago I was struggling with some hard to clean area's of my home when I seen one of those infomercials come on about steam cleaners. Now I know what your about to say...I was reeled in hook line and sinker for just 3 easy payments of (insert whatever $ you can imagine here) but NO I was not.

It did get me thinking about steam cleaners though and after figuring out my budget and looking at many models online I was able to find a keeper. It is my Steam Fast - Portable Power Steam Cleaner (Model SF-246).

What originally started my hunt was the problems we were having in our lower level bathroom. We live in a tri-level duplex and the only tub/shower is located in the very lower level. A small window was the only way of removing moisture build up from every day showers. Well that and a sub-par exhaust fan that more often than not sounded like a train leaving the station when it was on. Well after a few long winter months without the window open and the kids being scared of the extremely loud fan we began to have a mold problem. Mold around the ceiling and fixtures mostly and no matter what I did I couldn't keep up with it. Let me tell you that if you think its hard to breath in a hot moist shower you can just imagine how fun it was to try and clean mold away with bleach products in the same low ventilated area. Needless to say I was over it and on the search for something that could lend me a hand without making me pass out from fumes was on!

It seemed like a steam cleaner would be the best option since it not only cleaned but sanitized the area without the fumes of bleaches & other harsh chemicals. All I had to do was add clean water, plug it in and vuala a lean mean steam cleaning machine was I!! It not only helped with our mold problem but I've also used it other places all around the house. I use it to clean my window casings, carpets, stove top, oven, grill grates and so much more!

I purchased my Steam Fast from walmart.com so I could reap the benefits of their free ship to store which saved me a few extra bucks and it came within a week. I was very excited and it didn't disappoint. Not only was it a steam cleaner it also came with a few accessories: utility head, cloth cover, shoulder strap, steam jet nozzle, nozzle tip, nylon brush, brass brush, extension wands, and measuring cup. The only piece I've used and not liked so far has been the nylon brush tip. I feel they could have made this one a little more durable but over all I have been very pleased. The tank inside is large too, holding 4 cups of water it's able to work for at least a half hour before it "runs out of steam".

I would definitely recommend a steam cleaner to anyone who has the money. I'm sure there are better models out there but for about $75 this one is great for what I need it for. 

Best $1 I Ever Spent

Since quitting my job and becoming a full time mommy/housewife I have taken it upon myself to tackle something I always told myself I had no time to worry about in the past.....Stains! Stains on the carpet, stains on our clothing, stains on the walls & linoleum floors...the list goes on and on. Don't get me wrong it's not like I just left spills and never cleaned anything up I did try a little just not very hard. If my stain didn't come up after the first treatment I usually just left it for another day. One that didn't seem to come until just this past year after I quit my job and I realized that I actually have time to focus on the little stuff instead of just getting the main daily tasks complete.

Anyone who works full time and has kids understands what I'm saying. When you work full time it's hard to have any time left after dinner and homework. What little time you do have left it seems is spent on the rest of the chores: dishes, laundry, taking out the trash & picking up after one another. Most days by the time I sat down all I could think about was sleep!

One day as I was walking through our local dollar store I came across something that caught my eye called LA'S TOTALLY AWESOME OXYGEN POWER - All purpose spot remover. It claimed to remove spots from carpet, upholstery, clothing & more! All I could think of is I was out of my OXY-CLEAN and I didn't have $8 bucks to go by some more. I thought it wouldn't hurt to try something new and for only $1 it was worth a trial run.

To be all honest I didn't expect it to meet my standards. I've tried many stain removers after all - many of them a complete waste of money- and I did buy it from the dollar store but to my surprise it totally blew me away! Not only is it great for getting stains out of the carpet and kids clothing but it also has done wonders for old counter top stains and the exterior of my old white refrigerator! It seems like I find a new use for this stuff every day and can't imagine my life without it now. Before I used to scrub and scrub but now I can just spray it and wipe away and my stains are GONE! I wish I would have discovered this before. I think it would have made my life a whole lot cleaner a long time ago.

Fan-Daids _ A Moms Crafty Solution

Well if you live where it's hot and are in need of some cheap cooling you probably own one of these.....

A pretty inexpensive box fan. You can find one for about $15-$20 dollars and for most family's that's ok, just another item on the list if it goes out on you. For us it was a bit of an expense during a time that's not usually slow for my husbands construction business. It was a hot July day when I came inside to find our fan had fallen out of the window and was lying face down on the floor. Not only had it fallen but one of the blades had broken completely off!! I was so mad, not only had it been exceedingly hot but we had vowed to turn off the air conditioning after the last electric bill we received (I'm sure someone can relate) and this fan was suppose to be saving my sanity in our tri-level duplex. Of course it was cool and relaxing in our bedrooms that are located under ground level but the heat was killing us upstairs! I like to make a good home cooked meal every night too which would usually push us into the upper 80's if I wasn't careful (and that was with the fans going so we were in a real pickle). After about 3 days without our fan I was ready to tackle the problem: Fixing the fan blade so we would not have to spend unnecessary money on another fan! Luckily my wonderful husband already made the fan colorful with the kids..

...as you can see our fan has a rainbow on the inside. A little tradition passed down on his side of the family to color in the center of the fans with crayons. This helped when I decided to fix the fan because I figured all I could do was give it even more character!




First off I removed the covering to the fan and washed the whole inside especially the spots where I was intending to fix it (after I unplugged it of course). Then I assembled the supplies I would need: super glue gel, small narrow strips of news paper, and some Mod Podge. I started by adhering the broken blade back to the fan with the super glue gel the best I could and left it to dry. After it was dry I applied a generous amount of Mod Podge and then I applied the "Fan-Daids". Little strips of newspaper applied with the decoupage media cross wise across the break to give it added stability.

If you look close you can see where the crack is underneath the "Fan-Daids". I forgot to take before pics of course! but I think you can see everything pretty well.

After about 20 minutes to ensure a good solid dry we turned it on to see if it would work. For the record I think I was the only one confident in the repair, everyone got a few laughs while I was working on it. But today over a month later I'm the one who's laughing!! It's still going strong! Yeah sure I probably only saved about $15 bucks but hey $15 dollars is $15 dollars and our colorful family fan now has a little more character.

Step Out - Fight Against Diabetes!

It is that time of year again to be fund raising for Step Out -fight against diabetes-, this is our fifth year fund raising for the cause.  Anyone who knows our family knows my little sister was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes 5 years ago. After a bit of a struggle in the beginning, it is hard to get used to a total life change, she is now doing more than good...quite Great actually! No she's not cured but we are hopeful for a cure to be found. Now every year we help the organization by having a fundraising competition every year and at the end there is a walk we attend in Milwaukee or Madison where they tell the results of all the teams and how much we raised total.

This year we're holding a bowling night at our local bowling ally Cougar Lanes in Clinton, WI. It will be a fun filled night of a 50/50 raffles, scotch doubles, and a silent auction. We also have 2 giant stuffed animals that we will be selling tickets to win. 

One is a Serta Sheep (#3)  and the other is a long haired blue elephant. The tickets will be sold for $5 a piece and at the end of the night we will draw the winner!

Both are snugly and loveable. They would make great Christmas presents! 

Bowl 3 games plus shoes is only $10 per person. Even if you don't want to bowl we encourage you to just come out and show your support.

Your donation will help fund research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes; deliver services to hundreds of communities; provide objective and credible information; and give voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes. I urge you to donate! Anything helps, the loose change in your pockets...even $1helps bring us closer to our goal. Our Team name this year is "Sarina's Squad". As a team this year we are trying to raise $500+. We know it's a big goal especially since most people we know are having a financially hard time but it would be so great to get there. If you can't make it to bowl and live around the area (Clinton, WI) you can stop by our local grocery store IGA and drop off any size donation in our donation can located on the counter by the bakery.

With obesity on the rise in the united states Type 2 diabetes becomes more prevalent every day. That doesn't even include people diagnosed with Type 1 which doesn't come from a poor diet but rather is genetically passed on through family's.  Did you know that every 20 seconds someone is diagnosed with diabetes? That's 4,320 people in a 24-hour time period! By raising money for Step Out, we are providing much-needed funds for American Diabetes Association's research, information programs, and advocacy efforts that help people just like you.

An impressive 75 percent of every dollar spent supports research, advocacy, and services for people affected by diabetes. This is why it is so important for us to help raise money. We know it is going where it is suppose to go and if I can help someone like my little sis improve their life....I can't say no.

I hope you read this and feel the same...please donate...please help...

"American Diabetes Association Complete Guide to Diabetes" (Google Affiliate Ad)

Back In The Game!

Hello Friends,

I have been gone from the blogging world for way to long! I'm proud to announce my comeback as I settle into my new position in life as a full time mommy with part time work and the possibility of going back to school. In an attempt to steer my life into a new direction a lot has happened since I was last blogging. I got married and quit my full time job of 6 yrs. to pursue a life long dream of working online and selling my own jewelry and crafts so I don't have to "punch" the proverbial clock for the rest of time. It has been a little tight around our house without my old income but sometimes in life you have to take a little risk and live a little rough to get what you want in the end. The end for me will consist of me working from here one day.....

 ....blogging from my laptop as I absorb all of God's goodness. How will I do this you might ask? Well a lot  of hard work and determination is a start! I'm also looking to go back to school for marketing and small business. Education can take you a long way in life and once you have goals and a life plan in place who's to stop anyone from achieving what they want? I do think it also helps if you start early, the earlier the better actually. Sure anyone can be successful but it is a little more tricky to be really successful if you wait till later in life. I should have started a few years ago but honestly I didn't know what I really wanted to do when I graduated high school. Plus having kids first in life instead of going off to further my education slowed me down a bit. I wouldn't trade it though, my girls have changed my life in unimaginable ways. They have really helped shape my way of looking at life and helped me put everything in perspective as well as my faith.

I have always been a believer in God but the last few years of my life I have changed from being just a believer to leading an active christian life. Actually reading and studying the bible, being baptized, tithing, and going to God to help change things in my life that I could never do on my own. How has my life changed you might ask? Immensely!! is my answer. I no longer live with past guilt, bitterness or regret. I don't feel alone in this world anymore and the urge to possess vast quantity's of worldly possessions no longer linger in my thoughts. I'm the happiest I've ever been, EVER, and the only thing that nags in the back of my mind now is how I can ecru enough money, not for myself but to help the needy in the world that struggle every day for bits of food and clean water that we take for granted. Before I had put "imitations on my life and now I know that with God ANYTHING is possible -- “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Currently at age 26 I live in Wisconsin, I've never seen the ocean, and barely even traveled into the surrounding states. One day after my children have grown and gone off to college me and my wonderful husband will be traveling the world. Seeing everything I've always dreamed of without the location of my job holding me back. The sky is the limit and I can't wait to get my wings and FLY!

Offically Fallen Off.....

After a great 2 1/2 week long stretch I regret to inform you that I have officially fallen off the exercise wagon....It was good while it lasted. Don't get me wrong, I have still been trying to eat well and all but we have been so busy with school starting and birthday madness that I haven't had time to exercise!! You would think with all the running around I do and playing with the kids I wouldn't need any extra exercise but that is definitely not the case. Sure I'm not excessively overweight but oh how it would be nice to lose the extra 30 lbs. I never lost after having both my wonderful girls. In time I'm sure I will find a way to get it off but I wish I had the discipline and self control to get it done sooner than later. It is harder than you think to be able to eat right with 2 young kids and a boyfriend who has a secret love affair with butter, chips, and my weakness deep fried foods. I try to buy things that are good for me, and the kids have no problem eating  better. It seems that Brandyn is the one who makes it the hardest for me to eat right. Don't get me wrong he likes the veggilicious food I have been making lately but not always and he can't go without his snack food, of course, which makes it extra hard with it lying around the house. I am confident though that by next spring these extra pounds will be off. I have had good starts here and there loosing 5-10 lbs but then it comes back when our schedules make it to hard for me to hit the gym or get enough exercise at home. I mean really after working full time, coming home to play with kids, cooking dinner, cleaning up and finally tucking kids into bed who wants to spend the little bit of free time they have exercising....not me! I will find someway to do it though I just have to keep pushing myself and I know eventually I will make it to my goal. 

The ZhuZhu pets are all the rage!

Mia loved her Zhu Zhu pets and all the accessories she got for her birthday. They now have an elaborate habitate that she loves to monitor complete with 3 rooms 2 tunnels a wheel and a slide. Although Drea tends to get a little irritated that every time she tries to play Mia tries to tell her "THEIR RESTING!!!" which inevitably turnes into a fight that they eventually work out. Me and Brandyn are trying to come up with a crafty solution for their storage. Currently we are thinking maybe a large tote but haven't decided on anything for sure yet. Until then they are residing comfortably behind our couch in the living room!