Pizza Cutter: 5 Stars

So my friend Betsy reminded me that her family could simply not live without their pizza cutter. I agree! We use it to cut everything, including: quesadillas, pancakes, cheese sandwiches, any sandwich, toast, etc. into bite size toddler pieces. One of my son's favorites is Betsy's breakfast croutons recipe. It reintroduced me to the wonderful simplicity of buttered toast. Yumm!

This post reminds me of a Jon and Kate plus eight episode where they are answering viewer emails. In one episode of the show Jon cuts up eight pancakes with a fork and knife. Apparently thousands of viewers wrote in to suggest that he use a pizza cutter in the future. Jon and Kate can even tell when this episode is aired as a re-run because they get hundreds of emails with the same suggestion. Jon says that he now uses (and loves) the pizza cutter for cutting pancakes for his kids.

Google (part 1): 5 Stars

So, the other day my sister and I were joking about how Google runs our lives but we are happier because of it. This post is just part one of my shining review of google products.

The first, the only: Of course they have arguably the best search engine on the internet today. In addition to being a normal search engine there are several other things that google.com can do. You can search inside websites by going to the advanced search page. Most websites that do have a search option aren't worth the click it takes to access them so I use google instead. It even does unit conversions. Just type in the conversion you need like, how many pints in 5 gallons, and it comes back with the answer (40)!



Email like you've never seen it before: Gmail is awesome! A Gmail account is like any other email account, only better. Much better. Space is one the neat things about gmail, each user has 6970 MB. That pretty much means you don't ever have to throw an email away, ever!

My favorite part about gmail is the concept of conversations. If you get an email about an upcoming family reunion and people reply back (without changing the subject of the email) all of these emails appear together as a conversation. For instance I sent out a prayer request to 20 people each time I got a reply it did not appear as a different line in my inbox, instead all of the replies are grouped together in the "prayer request" conversation. Very cool.

Other than conversations, labels are my favorite thing about gmail. Instead of putting your emails into folders you can just tag emails with different labels. Then you can use the labels as a way to quickly sort and store emails.

There are too many features for me to list/review them all here but here is just a few of the others that I had to mention:

• Emailing from different accounts: I can write an email in gmail but make it look like I sent it from my work email.
• Chat: Most school and work routers block chat, but not so with gmail chat. Somehow it hides the chat inside the browsers window and you can practically chat from anywhere.
  
• AIM: When signed into gmail chat I am also signed into my AIM account. That way I can chat with people who are just on aim and don't have gmail chat.
• Documents: Gmail can open excel, word, powerpoint, etc. It stores them online and you can share them with other gmail users.
  
• Calendar: Not only can I see my calendar, but I can see my husband's, my sister's, and I even made one for my son to keep track of his childcare during the week.
• And much more!

So needless to say, I love gmail and if you want an account just let me know and I'll invite you!

Free 411: So we don't have a land line and to dial 411 from a cell phone it costs over $2.00 a call. But not anymore! Not since I have discovered Goog411. This is a free 411 service that connects you to your buisness of choice. I feel like I have a national phone book in my cell phone now! "What time does the zoo open?" was a recent question my friend posed. "I don't know, but I can find out!" I replied. Two minutes later I was connected to the zoo and listening to their hours, all for free! Simply too cool.

There are several other things about google that I love, but I'll save those for another post.

Bébé au Lait: 4 Stars

So even though I did not get to breastfeed my son, I had hopes to and I bought this before he was born. Since I could not use it I let my friend Laura (who had a 6 month old at the time) borrow it for the duration of her lactation (ha!). This neat breastfeeding cover fits like an apron and has a plastic half loop in it to keep it open while your little one feeds. The adjustable strap is awesome because no matter how much your little one squirms or pulls on the cover, it won't come off or drop down. The loop also holds the cover open so you can see what your little one is up to with just a glance. On one corner of the cover there is a piece of terry cloth for "quick clean up" if needed.

I look forward to using this cover in the future, and as for Laura her comment was, "Where has this thing been for 6 months?"

Bébé au Laits can be purchased from their website and come in all different patterns. They just came out with an organic cotton line and a silk line that I think would be neat (and beautiful) too. They are also sold under the name of Hooter Hiders which makes me grin every time I see the label. For those really in style moms they also sell matching burp cloths! These might seem a little pricey but since purchasing mine I have received several coupons that I have been able to pass on to friends.

Squeaker Sneakers: 3.5 Stars

These shoes are so cool! They squeak with every step and are so adorable. They come in all styles and sizes and the girl versions are extra cute! One of the cool things about these shoes is that when you are in public with your toddler you always know where he/she is. Also, everyone else knows that a little one is toddling around and they are less likely to trip over or step on them.

The best part of this shoe is that the squeakers can be disabled if they are driving you a little batty. My son just loves them, check him out in the video below. Be warned though, my friend says that they are so funny you might wet yourself!

Food Processor: 5 Stars

So you might be thinking that this is not a kid related item, but I made 2/3 (maybe even 3/4) of all of my son's babyfood in this thing. My husband has also been making his own Lara Bars in it and they are awesome (and about 1/10 of the price of the real thing). My son loves the bars too, so it makes a healthy treat for all of us.

This particular processor is great because it has two different bowls to process food in. I use to puree small batches of prunes in the small bowl and then puree carrots, sweet potatoes, etc. in the big bowl. It also grates a large block of cheese in about 30 seconds. Home grated cheese tastes so much better than that pre-grated stuff!

I love my food processor and I hope to never live without one again. Here is an awesome "big people" recipe you can make if you have one: Roast Beef with Spicy Parsley Tomato Sauce.
My husband loves this recipe and requests if often.

Booster Seat: 5 Stars

When we first registered for our baby we registered for a beautiful full size wooden high chair. After receiving the high chair we asked for, we realized just how much space it would take up in our house. With two 75+ pound dogs and their two crates in our dining room we realized something smaller would be better for our family. We returned the big highchair in exchange for this booster seat by Fisher-Price.

We never could have imagined how much this chair has come in handy. Not only is it small (the back folds down and the bottom feet collapse in), but the height is also adjustable. It has made the trip to several friends' houses and my in-laws have even bought one of their own. It is also great because if you are having a dinner party after the kiddos are in bed, it can be taken off of the chair it is on and the chair is now free for your guests. The extra tray is nice but I have to admit that I don't use it often. Actually right now we hardly ever use the tray at all. We just set the chair to the tallest setting and pull it right up to the table. This seat can be found at any of the major retail stores and is about $30.00. After I saw my friend with quads using these seats I knew my investment was wise.

Baby Safe Feeder: 1 Star

I'm interested to hear from other moms what they think about this product. My son has had texture issues from the beginning of his life. Not a big shock since I also struggle with certain textures (beans being inedible in most cases). I tried this feeder several different times with multiple foods in it but there was no doing! My son could not get past the fabric on this feeder. He would gag every time you would try to put it in his mouth.

Treat Dispenser: 4 Stars

On a recent road trip these proved to be so helpful. Other treat dispensers that I have seen looked too rigid to not hurt the little fingers going in and out of them. I love that the tops on these are rubber so they are really flexible. I cut up chicken nuggets and put them in here and it worked great for our road trip. I found mine at Wal-mart and I really haven't seen them any where else. I think I paid around 5.99 for two bowls, but I don't remember exactly.

New Blog

So while raising my 12 month old son I have come across a few products I think all moms should have (and some I don't think anyone should waste their money on). For the purpose of sharing these with the world I've started this new blog "My Favorite Things".

I hope other moms leave plenty of comments about the items I blog about and if there is an item that you could not live without please email me (chefboudreaux@gmail.com) and I'll post it here. All input will be appreciated.