products i like

so having a baby makes life messy, as i'm sure you can imagine. there are a few products i've found to be incredibly helpful in lessening the mess... [DISCLAIMER: you do not have to have a baby to get use out of these products.]

tide stain release, in wash booster: my mom and sister have been raving about this stuff for a few months, but it is kind of expensive. it was on sale at target the other week, so i went ahead and picked it up, and it really does work like a charm! on baby poop! i may take a few more steps than is necessary when i wash something that's been stained, because i really want to preserve that piece of clothing... but i spray the stain with something like dreft stain remover, shout, or whatever we have that was on sale. then i follow the directions on the tide stain remover: wash in the hottest water possible, pour in detergent, pour in tide stain remover, voila! stain-free! (my mom even washed a white, blood-soaked towel, long story, and this stuff got it all out!)

I also love baby wipes. i have ALWAYS loved them, really. they remove makeup fantastically (better than makeup remover, i'd say, and easier), they're a great way to clean off feet that have been wearing flip flops all day, of course they keep bottoms clean, but a surprising use for baby wipes is cleaning off a microfiber couch! these couches get DISGUSTING. it gets the craziest water spots, making it look absolutely nasty dirty. right before jonah was born, matt looked up online how to wash the cushions, and the best way was to get a baby wipe, with its gentle cleanser, and just rub rub rub the spots! (you then can blow dry the area to make sure the spots don't return, but sometimes i don't.) it really works! i LOVE baby wipes. huggies are the best!

iphoto is the bomb diggity. it's free when you buy an apple computer, and it is the easiest software to make your photos look awesome! without a super-expensive camera, i can turn our pictures into, in my opinion, beautiful pieces of art. i mean i'm not saying i'm going to go enter anything into a contest or become a photographer. no thanks. i just really like the way they look and would be proud to display them in my home. when jonah was one month old, we had a free sitting for some pictures from the same company who took his pictures in the hospital. it was outlandishly expensive to order any, and i seriously don't know why they are hiring the people they hire to edit. they were horrible. i take my simple little camera with no special lighting and my pictures are 1,000 times better than the ones they did. it is ridiculous to me. i seriously can't get over it. seriously! every time i whip out another awesome looking picture, (p.s. i have no expertise; i'm just playing around) i say, i can't believe how lame those pictures were. anyway, enough of my soap box. iphoto rocks.

one last thing, which is not really a product. but we LOVE alton brown! there are a few reasons. 1) right after jonah was born when we would be up a few times in the middle of the night, we would watch it. the little good eats jingle reminds us of jonah being a newborn, and it makes me so happy. 2) his recipes are fabulous! matt made his turkey recipe for a thanksgiving dinner with our friends. OMG. i normally do not love turkey because it is dry and bland. this stuff was turkey crack! the other recipes we have tried by him are great, too. he knows the science behind everything, which is why he knows how to make it good. it's actually pretty funny how we started watching the show. one day we were watching the food network and it came on, and i said, "does anyone really watch this stupid show?" well, we never changed the channel, and then of course we ended up getting hooked! it kind of reminds me of the science shows i watched as a kid (with all the corniness) plus it's about yummy food, which equals this adult's dream. anyway, now we record them all and make his recipes. tonight i'm going to make his meatloaf. mmmmm!

ok that's all for now. ciao!