A basket full of laundry #HeroClean

A basket full of laundry #HeroClean

A-tisket … A-tasket … all my laundry filled in a basket.  I am actually terrible at remembering nursery rhymes . . .

There are tons of “mens” products out there—I should know, I use many of them, well, because I’m a man. Although, whenever I have to go pickup cleaning supplies—I have a choice between lemon scent or flowers—there really isn’t a good guy smell. That’s where Hero Clean comes into play. This new product—that’s made in the USA—is pretty awesome, but the best part … Every bottle sold supports our nation’s veterans.

My son is now 8.5, and really isn’t that good at doing chores . . . even the simple ones like dirty clothes go in the laundry basket . . . but years ago, I figured a good trick out that I’m now playing with my 4-year-old daughter … it’s the a cross between basketball and laundry basket: stuff and dunk.

It’s just as simple as it sounds … take the laundry, ball it up, and slam it into your laundry basket. Sure, it helps that my kids have laundry baskets that look like basketball hoops, but it’s the idea of the game that really matters.

Now back to that great Hero Clean … it’s pretty new to market but you can already find it at the following stores (but not in all locations): Ace Hardware, Wegman’s, Runnings, and Target.

There is a ton of science that goes behind the first-ever home cleaning line scientifically formulated for guys’ unique sweat, stains, odors and messes. The Laundry Detergent has Odor Defeater in addition to six enzymes for stains, brighter whites and colors, and fabric longevity. What is Odor Defeater? It’s cutting edge Odor Eliminator technology that targets bacteria at its source and prevents its return for fabrics, shoes, gear and more.

Disclosure: I received compensation in exchange for writing this review. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own.

 

 

BlueSmart mia makes bottle feeding a dream

BlueSmart mia makes bottle feeding a dream

bluesmart-mia-logo-600x259If this is your first baby prepping is fairly common but if your on your second or third or fourth child you kind of know the drill of sleepless nights.  The one common thing with newborns is that every doctor asks how much milk is the baby taking in… which usually you just blink at the doctor saying huh what?! I’m barely awake at feedings and now you want me to measure out how much they consume.  Which is always meet by a Yup that would be great.

bluesmart-mia-close-upWell thanks to the smart people who created BlueSmart mia a smart sleeve for baby bottles. Allowing you now to make any bottle a smart bottle… giving you a wealth of knowledge that you can share with the Doctor.

If having a perfect record keeper for all the bottle feedings isnt enough, the BlueSmart mia will alert you to temperature of the milk/formula. You cant imagine how many times a half asleep parent forgot to warm the bottle or worst OVER warmed the bottle.

bluesmart-mia-app-shotJust another wonderful little helper that you wont have to be jumping for pens and paper right after feeding. Really the last thing you need is another thing to try to remember to do at 3:45am.

Lets talk about the key features of BlueSmart mia.

  • Real time monitoring
  • Temperature monitoring
  • Tracking patterns
  • journaling feature that allows you to note important milestones in the app

Since the product just launched you can find the BlueSmart mia on amazon.com and on BlueSmartmia.com.

Knowing How Much to Dose Your Child When It Comes to Medicine

Knowing How Much to Dose Your Child When It Comes to Medicine

100965_007_chpa_report_v11r19-147x190When I was asked by the Acetaminophen Awareness Coalition’s Know Your Dose campaign to write an article on knowing how much medicine to give your child, I of course said yes.  Who hasn’t been there with a sick child that just is eating you up on the inside that there really isn’t anything you could do to help them at the moment.  It’s brutal. Sometimes as parents we say they can just tough it out.  Other times we start to look in the medicine cabinet for what might make them better.  I know more often than not for our first child it was certainly the tough it out, but as we had more children I see we’re quick to grab the medicine.  That’s in large part due to knowing what medicine to use when and the dosing around that medicine.

Some of us may fear accidentally exceeding the maximum daily dose of acetaminophen and creating an overdose issue.  This sometimes happens because many people don’t realize there are over 600 over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications that contain acetaminophen.  Acetaminophen is safe and effective when it is used as directed (even your pharmacists can help give you advice, if they’re your regular and know what medicines your children are taking), but there is a limit on how much you can take in one day.

You can easily check out the Know Your Dose website, which has tips for how to use medicines with acetaminophen safely.  There is a list of all the different medicines with acetaminophen with information on keeping your family safe.

Here are a few easy steps from KnowYourDose:

  • Always read and follow the medication’s label.
  • Know if your medicine contains acetaminophen.
  • Take only one medicine at a time that contains acetaminophen.  Double check, don’t double up!
  • Ask your healthcare provider or a pharmacist if you have questions about dosing instructions or medicines that contain acetaminophen.

Just as an FYI, the US FDA has set a maximum daily dose of 4,000 milligrams of acetaminophen in a 24-hour period, and taking more than directed can lead to liver damage, so really be sure to visit KnowYourDose.org for more information.

Creating New Year resolutions for a healthier eating habits for kids. #chobanikids #ad

Creating New Year resolutions for a healthier eating habits for kids. #chobanikids #ad

img_0880For the last year I’ve been working with Chobani to share my family’s love for their products. With a new year upon us, we as parents will talk about dieting and eating healthier.  Well, maybe this year it shouldn’t just be talk… maybe that means filling it with healthier foods, especially for kids.  It’s so easy to fall into bad snacking habits for kids – I know it’s happens to us from time to time… you’re on the go, it’s cheaper, it’s sometimes easier…. but for the better part of the last year we’ve been eating Chobani Kids Greek Yogurt Tubes… I learned to keep 3 tubes in the freezer at all times, cause as we get up and go we don’t have to worry about keeping them cold – they’ll melt into the perfect Greek Yogurt snack.  Made with creamy lowfat yogurt, real fruit, and with 5g of protein and 25% less sugar than the leading kids’ yogurt it’s simply a healthier choice.

img_0887When we are home, we give the kids all types of different snacks but the Chobani Kids® Greek Yogurt Pouches are perfect for snacks because you can twist the cap on and off (as we know our little ones have a very short attention span)… so I take a big role in that waste not want not… and since we go through 2 boxes of pouches a week – there shouldn’t be any waste.

Bottom line of why I’m choosing Chobani Kids Greek Yogurt as a snack choice:

  • Less Sugar. Chobani Kids Greek Yogurt Pouches contain 25% less sugar than leading kids’ yogurt*.
  • More Protein. Chobani Kids Greek Yogurt Pouches contain 2x protein than leading kids’ yogurt*.
  • Only Natural ingredients. Chobani Kids and Tots Pouches and Tubes are made with only natural, non-GMO ingredients, with no artificial flavors, sweeteners or preservatives.

kids-mixed-berry-tubes Now you might be saying I don’t see the kid pouches but I see Chobani Tots® Pouches.  Which are specifically designed for the littlest eaters in mind, perfect for infants 6 months to 24 months.

Only Natural ingredients. Chobani Tots Pouches are made with only natural, non-GMO ingredients, with no artificial flavors, sweeteners or preservatives.

tots-apple-sqpackPositive Nutrition. Chobani Tots Pouches are made with real fruits and vegetables, and contain 12 mg of Omega-3 DHA and come in three delicious flavors: Apple, Banana Pumpkin & Mango Spinach. *Chobani Kids® pouch: 10g sugar, 8g protein (16% DV); leading kids’ yogurt: 14g sugar, 3g protein (6% DV) per 3.5oz serving.

Protect your smart-home with Bitdefender Box

Protect your smart-home with Bitdefender Box

unnamedIt’s that great time of year again when CES show us what we’ll be drooling over in the months ahead… last year I talked about the previous iteration of the Bitdefender Box, which blocks connections to malicious URLs and scans local devices for vulnerabilities.  To me it was a safety net that I needed to have with all the smart devices (cameras, TVs, speakers, etc) but this newer version of the Bitdefender Box 2.0 takes it to another level with deep level packet inspection on network traffic, detect network intrusions and let the administrator to block any new device connecting to the network.

You might be saying – I already have a router – sure but here’s the thing that Smart TV and Fridge you just got arent running anything to protect themselves on the internet waiting for some 12 year old hacker to writer a script and make those items paperweights or worst part of a bot network attacking institutions. Because of poor security that leaves millions of home networks vulnerable to attack, its a pretty solid investment to make in the near future.

2017 will be a huge year for the IoT (internet of things) there will be more then ever connected smart devices that are really smart devices running different operating systems.  I’m betting you’re thinking what whos got one of those… but I’m sure you know a friend with an alexa or an echo the smart devices from Amazon, or an chromecast.  Those are all smart devices that could one day be hackable (I really hope not since I have both them but I still feel a lot safer thanks to having Box).

This year we got a peak at the second-generation Bitdefender BOX. It is now running on a 1.2 GHz, dual-core ARM Cortex A9 SoC, backed with 1GB of RAM. According to Bitdefender, the next generation of its hardware security solution can not only secure your smart home devices, but also your home network. By using machine learning to figure out your average internet traffic habits, the Box 2 will reportedly be able to spot any malicious traffic and put a stop to it. Pre-orders for the Box 2 will open up this summer, and shipments are expected to start by the middle of 2017 in the U.S.