BzzAgent Product Review: Burts Bee Natural Skin Solutions

Well now, that title is a mouth full, but I think there might be more words there than there are ingredients in this product.

If you don't know about Bzz Agent, check them out. They are really cool and once in awhile you get free samples and the only "catch" is that you have to share an honest opinion. Sweet as honey, eh? (check out one of my previous reviews here)

Anyway, recently I was sent the Burt's Bees® Natural Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin facial cleanser and moisturizer. I was loathe to switch up my face cleaning routine as I've been using the same cleanser for years and finally found a moisturizer that worked.

I have to say that I'm digging the cleanser, but not sold on the moisturizer yet. Both products are full of natural products, including cotton which is supposed to keep your skin soft. The product description on Bzz Agents states: "Infused with the softening properties of Cotton, Natural Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin replenishes skin in a way only nature can. Tap into the gentle power of natural ingredients, like Cotton, Rice, and Aloe, with clinically proven formulas to hydrate and help the skin replenish its outer layer."

I just find the moisturizer sits on my skin a little too long, leaving it feeling greasy. I also love that my previous moisturizer has an SPF to it, and this one doesn't.

If you have really sensitive skin this could be a great product. It is Burt's Bees, and everything they make smells great. This in particular smells fresh and clean, which is why I am loving the cleanser. It's just as effective as my old one (Neutragena) and the fact that it's natural is a serious bonus.

If you love Burt's Bees, I'd say give this a try. If you have sensitive skin, I'd say give this a try.

And hey, if you know me and live in Victoria, I've still got a couple of samples of the moisturizer, so let me know and I'll pass one along!

Anybody Out There?

While I find this blog somewhat theraputic and a better outlet than one-liners on the ever-time-consuming Facebook, I do wish I got a few comments....

So if anybody is out there and reading the occasional post of mine, please comment! Answer my questions (they aren't always hypothetical), tell me you liked the post, or tell me it sucked and to stay off that topic. I just want to know somebody is out there...

Balance

Finding balance can be hard. No, I don't mean standing on one foot, though that can be hard too, especially with bags of groceries and children in your arms, toys and pets underfoot and your eye on the clock.

I'm talking about the balance between work/life/family. That magic balance I doubt many people can achieve. I won't lie: I struggle with it daily and I'm losing the battle.

I had a prof recently who had a suggested balance of the numbers. It was something like 1/3 work, 1/3 family and friends and 1/3 of "you" time. (I still don't know when I am supposed to fit chores in there.) This "you" category is time when it is just you and your thoughts. I wanted to burst out laughing when I heard this since Oliver was about four months old at the time. This meant a) there was never time when I was truly alone and b) work and family fell in the same category.

Working from home I still find I can't achieve that balance of work and family since it all takes place in the same location. It's getting better, and I've started to have that "me" time now and again (thanks to hubby for taking Oliver out for a walk while I had a short bath last night). I suspect it is a work in progress for everyone.

On the same note of balancing, I am finding that as I get older (I know, a whooping 26 years of age, insert jokes here) I have less time for some people. I have time for the people I really care about... you know, the friends you really click with, the family you truly feel bonded to... but the people you get together with out of a sense of obligation or guilt, the ones you hang out with because, well, you just always have... I just don't want to do it anymore. There's enough to juggle in my life without managing unneeded relationships (oops, can I say that?). I just don't feel I have enough time to do it anymore and I'm trying to let these relationships go.

Have you ever felt this way? What did you do about it?

How do you find balance in your life?

Happy Birthday!

Today was Oliver's birthday and his party. It was a success (or it seemed to be!). No tears from any babies or children, I don't think anyone left hungry and Oliver was spoiled beyond belief.

This year has flown by and I just don't know where it went.

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate and to all those who sent birthday wishes when they couldn't be here. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

My darling child, I can't believe it's been a year. Today was just as much about celebrating you and all you've accomplished this year as it was celebrating the fact that this family has survived this last year. Sleepless nights, piles and piles of laundry, teething, bumps and bruises, food thrown everyone, not to mention all the joys of pregnancy and labour.

We've seen you learn to roll over, watched you figure out how to commando crawl, marvelled at how you can pull yourself up and we've stared, facinated, as you started to use cutlery properly (almost).

It's been a year full of ups and downs but I wouldn't change it for a thing.

You are an amazing little boy. I can't wait to see you learn even more and do even more... but I don't want you to get any bigger either. I want to capture these moments and hold onto them forever. I love you more than I thought possible.

Sleep....

....it's a many splendid thing (or wait, is that love?).
It's something I cherish.
I don't get enough of it as a new parent (I say new as I have this naive hope that one day my child will enjoy sleeping in or playing quietly in the morning and I can sleep straight through until 8am).

I feel like I'm missing an hour or two a night these days, and I was starting to resent it. As wonderful as my first Mother's Day was, my little one didn't give me much of a chance to catch up on the zzzz's like I'd hoped. (Guess hubby didn't get the hint either.)

It was put in perspective for me this weekend though. I guess the monkey is teething, or reaching some milestone he's trying to work through, or in the word's of a friend, "sometimes he might just be an a$$hole". In any event he's exhausted but he's refused to settle for a few naps over the last week. We did sleep training around four and half months and haven't had any real problems since (but oh the problems before....). It was hard this week when he was tired but just kept crying, and I'd end up cuddling him in his room hoping he'd sleep. I'd get 10 minutes maybe and then he'd just want to get going again. It wasn't great, and I couldn't work (too bad cuddles don't pay the bills), but there are worse things.

Like me losing sleep.

And wouldn't you know? Saturday night found hubby and I sitting on the couch enjoying some tv around 9:30pm only to have O start screaming. This happens now and again as he comes out of a sleep cycle - a slight cry and then back into dreamland. This one kept on going. I had to go in and I found him wide awake climbing toward the door looking for us. I did the diaper check (nothing), then gave him some drugs for his teeth (what can I say?), an extra cuddle and back to bed. He cuddled up with his blankie and drifted sweetly into dreamland.

I crossed my fingers we were golden, but no such luck. I went to bed around 10pm, and I woke up when hubby was making his way to bed at midnight, just as O let it rip again.

I'm officially useless at night and have been ever since we weaned O off night feeds, so much so I actually sleep through some night time cries. I dozed in and out as I heard O screaming and crying away in the other room. Hubby did his best to console him, then gave up, tip-toed into our room with O and asked if I minded if he brought O into our bed to see if he'd be happier there. I care about nothing in the night if it means sleep. They crawled it but the crying started again.

I tried nursing him, but after that he was happy to play and tried to climb all over us, then cried when we tried to cuddle him. After that hubby and O left the room and (again, if it means sleep I care for nothing) I conked out again and awoke briefly around 5:30am as I heard crying from downstairs. Quarter to seven found me attempting to open my eyes in guilt as realized I'd left hubby alone on baby duty all night. I found them in the guest room downstairs, sharing a single bed and hubby looking rather unhappy.

Turns out he'd gotten a total of about two hours sleep. I felt horrible. I still do. Thing is, he functions better than I do on less sleep... that isn't an excuse though, is it?

I guess what it comes down to is that I value my sleep above most things. The best I could do was suggest a fast food breakfast. He jumped at the idea as we both know there are view things that hit the spot like a bacon-n'-egger after little sleep. I appreciate the drive-thru even more now as a parent.

Last night was better, and I cross my fingers it continues. And with that, I wish you all a lovely sleep tonight, but it's time for me to get to bed. Lights out before 9:30 is always my goal on Mondays when hubby is out, and if I hurry I might make it.

Sweet dreams.

Happy Mother's Day!

I feel like the luckiest person in the world today. My darling son was so excited to wish me a Happy Mother's Day that he was awake for good at 6am. Sweet, huh?

Seriously though, I did feel so lucky as I dozed in and out for another hour listening to him babble and chat and throw stuffed animals around his crib. Hubby was up already, trying to save me from the noise by removing the baby monitor from my vacinity, but when Oliver is up, everyone is up.


At 7am on the dot he started screaming and crying. The kid knows 7am is time to get up. So I got him and brought him back to bed while Ken was in the kitchen. We cuddled and he nursed and then Ken came in with a pot of purple flowers, two cards and little present. The flowers were from Oliver and the present from Ken and each of them had a card for me.
I almost cried with Oliver's card. It wasn't anything special to people without kids, but Ken had made him hold the pen while he directed his hand and it's the first card I've had like that. He also saw me opening it and lunged for it as though he liked it and was proud of it (okay, maybe I was just proud of it). We all had a lot of fun as Oliver played with the brown paper wrapping from the other gift as well. He loved hearing it get scrunched and crumpled and enjoyed trying to whip it around in the air and chew on it. Who knew blank paper could be so exciting? It made me look forward even more to his birthday, which is in less than a month.

After the snuggles and pressies in bed Ken said I'd better get up as we were going for breakfast. It's been ages since we went for breakfast because we are sort of afraid, well, intimidated I suppose, to eat out with the little monkey. All the same, it was Mother's Day. Ken had been busy in the kitchen getting food ready for Oliver, so I got ready, helped finish getting Oliver ready and then we hit the road.


We went to the Blue Fox, arriving at 7:52 to a line up. They open at 8am on weekends and we were early enough that we got seated as soon as the doors opened, so all was well. The little guy scoffed back most of his breakfast right after we ordered, but minimal mess was made, there were no fits or tauntrums (the kid is teething, so it isnt uncommon now), and we made it out without any dirt looks (or at least none I saw). He loved watching all the people and Ken and I both had tasty eggs benny.

This afternoon we will all head to the Crystal Pool for a little bit of a swim and hopefully I can spend some time outside as the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the garden is calling for a little love. I've got a lot of love to share right now, so it works out pretty well.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's out there. And to all the non-mothers out there - I hope you enjoy your Sunday too!

Bzz'in about McCain potatoes

I'm a sucker for free products. When I had time I used to search the web for free samples and I always get such a thrill when the mailman drops off my free goodies.

Years ago, on my hunt for free stuff online I found BzzAgent. It's this cool site that lets you (well, in this case me) be amoung the first to try a new product, and for free too! The catch? You tell people what you thought. After you try products, Bzz about it (aka, share your opinion) you can go up in levels and get faster access to cool test products. I'm a Social Bee.... go figure.

My honest opinion in exchange for free products? Yep.

Sweet, huh?

So go check it out! In the meantime...

The most recent product I got to try was McCain Purely Potatoes. Sadly (or perhaps for the best) the frozen potatoes themselves did not arrive at my door one afternoon. The coupon did though. It took me weeks to go get them, which is really sad because the idea is that they save you time.

Here's the deal, they are frozen peeled and chopped potatoes you chuck in the microwave for just over ten minutes (in the package they come in). You take 'em out, let them sit for another two minutes, then dump them in a bowl, add seasoning, butter, milk, etc and eat 'em up yum.

So, two nights ago hubby and I whipped up this dinner. It was the McCain potatoes (which, p.s. are also available as sweet potatoes), some mixed frozen veggies and this new chicken reciepe I like (put salsa on chicken, toss in oven, cook, and serve - so easy).

The potatoes cooked up as easily as promised. I added some milk, butter, salt and pepper and the cheese, chive, bacon Epicure dip mix. They were really tasty. The texture was a little different than usual, but they were good. Still very mashed-potatoe-y (that's a word, right?). Hubby liked them, I liked them, and even the little guy liked them. We fried the left-overs up with some eggs for breakfast the next morning, and they were good too.

I'm lazy (or busy... either way), but I'm also cheap. I don't know if I'm willing to buy them full price as I could buy a whole lot more uncut, unchopped potatoes and do them myself. Also, we tend to scrub the potatoes and mash them with the skin on for a little extra nutrition... but this was way easier. They'd also be a great product to have in your freezer in case you do run out of fresh potatoes or you've run out of time to peel and chop them.

In all, worth trying, but probably not going to be a regular purchase in our house.