Clean the old-fashioned way with Brillo

I can remember ever since I was a little girl, there was always a box of Brillo Steel Wool Pads in the cabinet underneath the kitchen sink. Some things never change. Brillo pads have helped to keep my pots and pans, grills, roasters and many other things, super clean and sparkling for decades. I received a couple items from Brillo to test out including the original Brillo pads and some Estracell Sponges. Of course I have had a lot of experience with the original steel wool pads, but the Estracell Scrub Sponge with the Wedge Edge was new to me. I admit that I have seen it many times in the stores before but was scared to try it because of the way the sponge looked. I know it sounds silly but I thought it would be cheap. Boy, was I wrong! One of the first things I noticed was the unique wedge shape. It makes getting into corners easier. The best part about the sponge was how well it made my dish soap suds up. I have used premium sponges in the past that no matter how much dish soap I would use, there was very little suds. The sponge is very durable and rinses clean. I like the fact that it air dries fairly fast too.

You see the pan in the photo below? I have had this pan, along with a few pots that match for over 18 years. Brillo pads work brilliantly to keep the stainless steel surface clean and shiny. Trust me, I use my cookware daily and I can see my set lasting me many more years. You just can't go wrong with a trusted brand that has been around for almost 100 years!

Do you use any Brillo products? Be sure to check out Brillo on the web, Facebook and Twitter.

I received product samples for review purposes. All thoughts/opinions are 100% mine as always.

FREE American Girl dress and swimsuit patterns

For those crafty mamas out there, here is something you might like. FREE patterns for American Girl dolls clothing. You can get a download a pattern for a Drawstring Dress here and a swimsuit pattern here.

You can also receive two more free patterns for signing up for the newsletter from Liberty Jane Clothing. Just thought I would share! Enjoy :-)

Keep track of all things Olympics 2012

    
For those of you following the Olympics this year, I wanted to share these great widgets with you. It is a great tool to help you keep track of what events are going at and what is coming up as well as news, videos and medals. You can share them via your social sites if you please. I know I especially love the first one so I can know when my favorite events are coming up! Enjoy :)

  

Dirt Devil Extreme Cyclonic Quick Vac Review

Hey guys! Last week I received the Dirt Devil Extreme Cyclonic Quick Vac to review. When I brought the box in from my front step I was amazed by how light it was. The vacuum was fully assembled with the exception of the handle. It took me about a minute to install it simply with a screw that was included. I kept picking it up and putting it back down because I have never felt a vacuum that was that light before! Nine pounds surely feels a lot different from the normal nineteen pounds I am used to. The vacuum is very slim and compact. I gave it a spin around the house and I was pleased with how well it sucked up all the dirt from our carpet.

Even my 4 year old gave it a try and it was very easy for him to use. We tested out the hose with the crevice tool to clean under the couch and it worked well. This vacuum was more powerful than I expected for its size. I think this machine is ideal for if you live in a smaller home, apartment, have very little carpet/rugs or if you are very tight on space. My teenagers have already put their name on this vacuum for the downstairs area of our home. They love not having to lug the big vacuum downstairs and it will encourage them to want to vacuum more frequently.

The Dirt Devil Extreme Cyclonic Quick Vac is available online and in-stores at retailers nationwide and retails for $59.99

Disclosure: I received an items from Dirt Devil to review. No other compensation was received and all opinions expressed are my own. 

Four year old boys and shopping

Today I took all 3 kids out to do some back-to-school shopping. We had the stores all mapped out and set time goals. One thing I always do before we leave the house is make sure William is well fed and goes to the bathroom. Everything was set. We headed out. The first few stops were simple because we were literally in and out within minutes. The last stop required us to be in the store for over an hour. Belk had a HUGE clearance sale with tons of merchandise to browse through, so naturally it would take some time. Along the way, the girls would try on a few items and add them to the growing stack. William behaved pretty well and kept picking up random strands of thread from the floor. I usually don't encourage picking things up from the floor but made an exception this time. It was just thread after all.

You can tell that he was getting tired of being in the store so I took him to the boy's department. He then tells me how the store was starting to make him sad. He said he wanted to feel happy again, very dramatically at that. So after the long time spent in the store and the even longer time at the check-out, we finally headed for the exit. Of course all you heard was the loud BEEP BEEP BEEP. We went back to the check-out counter to find out why we were beeping. It turned out from the piles of clothes we bought, there was one ink tag that was not removed. We headed  back to the exit and were successful. We made it out of there! William begged to go home and I gave him his wish. After we were home for about 30 minutes I looked down on the couch and saw this. It was a collection of all the thread my boy picked up throughout the store.

All I could do was laugh. Of course, once he falls asleep tonight, I will turn into the mean mom and throw it away. He might have dislike being in a boring old department store but surely found a way to keep himself occupied!

The last two photos are from a recent visit we had at Monkey Joe's. It is hard to get decent photos when your kid is running wild! It is our new once-a-week spot to go to, especially with how hot it has been. You can't beat all the bouncing, jumping, climbing, sliding and screaming fun! I look forward to when school starts back so we can go on 'Half-price Tuesdays'.