Diamonds are a girl’s best friend and dogs are man’s best friend, but no one ever talks about what Mom’s Best Friend is.  In case you’ve ever wondered, I’m here to tell you that I’m pretty sure it’s a Dyson vacuum.

My teenagers like to lay on the floor to watch movies and play video games.  To add to that, my husband has both allergies and asthma and our house is a constant construction zone.  We’ve been working on projects in our house since we moved in 3 years ago and many of these are drywall projects.  If you’ve ever worked with drywall, I’m sure you’re aware that it can lead to a fine dust that gets on every single item in your house!  It’s horrible.  It wreaks havoc on my husband’s lungs and leaves dust all over the girls clothes…especially if they lay on the floor. It used to seem like we would vacuum daily, but still be left with dust everywhere.

Thankfully, we now have a Dyson DC24 Ball Multi Floor Vacuum Cleaner.  It’s perfect for keeping the dust (and crumbs and dirt from soccer cleats) at bay!

When our Dyson Vacuum arrived, my girls actually fought over who got to vacuum first {I’m pretty sure that’s a first…teenagers fighting over who gets to vacuum}.  My youngest daughter vacuumed our entire house every day for the first week we had it.  The novelty has since worn off and the Dyson D24 does such a good job that she’s down to vacuuming the whole house only twice a week now.

The Dyson DC24Multi Floor is lightweight and bagless.  It weighs less than 12 pounds so lugging it between the 1st and 2nd floors at our house is pretty painless.

One of my favorite features (and my husband’s) is the lifetime washable HEPA filter that traps microscopic allergens.  I love knowing that we’re doing everything we can to keep asthma attacks and allergy flare-ups to a minimum.

If you asked my kids what their favorite feature is, they’d most likely mention the ball technology or the reversible wand.  Those 2 features allow you to easily steer in tight places, vacuum crumbs up from under the kitchen counters, and get the cobwebs out of the corners.  {What?  You don’t have cobwebs?  Oh…me either…}.

It also has a motorized brush bar which makes it easy to ground in dirt and pet hair from carpets.  The motorized brush bar switches off for hard floors.

I thought that after a few uses, I would find things that I didn’t care for about this vacuum, but I honestly can’t come up with a single thing I don’t like and I’ve been using this vacuum for months!  I never thought I’d ever love a household appliance or cleaning item, but this is the one.  I’m completely smitten!  Not only has it transformed our house (way less dusty and dirty), but it has also transformed my children’s personalities (they’re now willing to vacuum any time I ask.)  They even vacuum without me asking!

To purchase your very own Dyson DC 24 Vacuum, click here!

Disclosure:  Dyson provided me with the Dyson DC 24 Multi Floor Vacuum in order to facilitate this review.  As always, all opinions are my own and are true and honest! {This is seriously the best vacuum I’ve ever owned or used!}

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Father’s Day is just around the corner!  Even though I’ve been talking about it for weeks here on the blog, it snuck on me…just like it usually does.  Our family is on vacation in Tennessee this week and I just haven’t been in my normal routine.

Thankfully, I’ve already taken care of the hardest person on my Father’s Day shopping list.  My dad is super hard to shop for.  He’s always appreciative of whatever we get him, but I always stress out trying to find him something he doesn’t already have.  The man has everything!  He has lots of cool gadgets, tons of books and more ties than anyone I know.  Seriously…and he dresses well too.  This year, we’ve decided to capitalize on his sense of style and his love for his grandkids by making custom photo cufflinks for him.

They’re super easy to make thanks to PhotoJewelryMaking.com. The Easy Change Photo Cufflinks are super cool looking before you even begin to customize them.  They look good enough to wear as they are, but it’s super easy to add a photo to customize the cufflinks!

All you need to do is use the handy-dandy EZ Photo Resizer Software to crop the photo you want to use to the right size.  Print off your photo and cut it out. Then unscrew the  cufflink top, insert the photo, cover the photo with the included plastic cover and screw the top back on your cufflinks.  Wasn’t that easy?

You can also use fabric swatches or scrabook paper to customize your cufflinks.  These would also look great with a monogram (another thing that is super easy to do with the EZ Photo Resizer Software).

We used one photo of each of our daughters on the cufflinks.  I let my girls each choose the photo they wanted to use.  The best part is that as they get older and become too cool for the photos in the cufflinks  (something that teenagers regularly do), we can choose new photos and easily change out the cufflink photos.  {I’ll post pictures of my finished product soon.  I’m on vacation and my computer is being quirky about uploading the pictures.  I’m sure you’ll be impressed when you see them because they turned out super cute!}

If you’re looking for a fun and unusual gift for your dad, I highly recommend the Easy Change Photo Cufflinks from PhotoJewelryMaking.com.  {Quite honestly, PhotoJewelryMaking.com has cool gifts for most of the people on your gift list this year.  I love the necklace I made with their necklace kit.}

Click here to check out PhotoJewelryMaking.com!

This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media.  As always, all thoughts and opinions are true, honest, and my own!

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Thank you to Cube Dog for sponsoring this review. For more information about Cube Dog please visit the Facebook page or download it on iTunes.

I love dogs, but with the amount of time my family spends traveling, it’s not very practical to own a dog.  Throw in all the extracurricular activities my kids are involved in and it would be downright irresponsible of me to get a dog!

But that doesn’t stop my girls from asking…every. single. day!  It can really start to wear on a mom!  When I found out about the Cube Dog app for my iphone, I thought that it might mollify my girls, but instead of being excited, I got a whole lot of eye rolling!

Not to be deterred, I went about creating my cube dog.  She’s pink with a cute little mouth and adorable ears!  I can’t believe how smitten I was.  My new pet was funny and fun!

I brought Kiki, my cube dog into my daughter Khrystyna’s room and let her play on the bed.  I even took a picture!

Once Khrystyna saw how cute the little pup was, she wanted in on the action and immediately began the task of creating her own cube dog.  She named her cube dog Krissy and enjoyed watching her sleep as well as transforming her into a ninja dog!  It’s amazing how many tricks these dogs can do!

My oldest daughter is creating her Cube Dog as I type.  This has definitely been a huge hit with our family!

The Cube Dog is extremely easy to create and fun to play with plus it’s FREE…which is always a bonus in my book.  You can choose to buy upgrades if you’d like, but in my opinion,  it’s not necessary.

Wanna see for yourself just how fun and fabulous these new Cube Dogs are? Check out this video!

Now that you’ve seen just how fabulous the Cube Dog is, you’ll want to keep your eye on the Cube Dog Facebook Page.  They’ll be having a fun contest from June 13th-17th.

While Cube Dog provided me with the app to review, the opinions I’ve expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Cube Dog, Clever Girls Collective and I promote Blog With Integrity.

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If you’d have told me 2 years ago that I’d be participating in National Swimsuit Confidence Week, I would have laughed out loud.  When you’re 95 pounds overweight, the idea of wearing your bathing suit in front of people you know is daunting enough.  Posting a picture in a bathing suit on the internet…out of the question.

As moms, I think we let body image issues stop us from enjoying life to the fullest.  We miss out on enjoying life with our kids and our kids miss out on things because we’re unwilling to put on a bathing suit and strut our stuff in front of the world.

A few summers ago, I took our girls to a water park.  I was absolutely mortified to have to walk around the park in a bathing suit with a cover up.  It was even worse when they wanted me to hit the slides with them.  I had to walk up a gazillion steps in just my bathing suit.  Although it wasn’t the idea situation, my girls thought it was one of the best days ever.  When they look back on that day, they don’t remember my thighs jiggling or my cellulite, they remember a mom who was willing to go down the slides with them…even the big scary ones.

And so in an effort to get all you moms out there to participate fully in your kids’ lives and to motivate myself to lose the next 45 pounds (I’ve lost 50 pounds so far), I’m participating in National Swimsuit Confidence with Lands’ End and I’m posting a picture of myself in a bathing suit.

I absolutely love the swimsuit I’m wearing.  Lands’ End sent me the Women’s Beach Living Dot Scoop Tankini Swimsuit Top in Bright Coral Bloom and the  Women’s Beach Living Swimsuit Bottom with Tummy Control.  Not only was I able to choose a bathing suit size, but I was also able to choose a cup size, so my top fits well.  The straps can be crisscrossed in the back for a totally different look or cinched at the armhole to change the look of the front of the suit.

Lands’ End is a great choice for bathing suits that fit any body type.  The National Swimsuit Confidence movement was created to celebrate women of all shapes and sizes and inspire them to have fun this summer.  And you can join in on the celebration too!

Here’s how you can participate:

Participate in a Week of Tweets – Mark your calendar  each day May 23 – 27, 2011 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. CDST so you can join in the series of National Swimsuit Confidence Week events on Twitter.

Follow @LandsEndPR and tweet at #landsend.

They will be announcing exclusive swimwear promotions, giving away great prizes and inspiring women to embrace their swimsuit beauty.

Get the Twibbon – Go to http://twibbon.com/join/I-Have-Swimsuit-Confidence-2 and display the “I have swimsuit confidence!” Twibbon on your Twitter profile photo. Send a tweet to @LandsEndPR proclaiming “I have swimsuit confidence!” #landsend for a chance to be entered to win a $500 Lands’ End gift card. The  winner will be announced May 27.

Disclosure: I was provided with the Lands’ End swimsuit I am wearing in a picture. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I wholeheartedly support the National Swimsuit Confidence campaign or I would never agreed to post a picture in my swimsuit!

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It’s that time of year where the weather should be warm and sunny, but unfortunately, the weather is being a little uncooperative.  Our daily high temps have varied from the mid 40s to the mid 70s (and that’s just in the last few weeks). It makes it a little trickier to get dressed when you don’t know if the sun is going to make an appearance and warm up the day or if the temperature is going to drop.

I recently had the opportunity to try the Cardi Wrap…a lightweight scarf, shawl, cardigan and wrap in one.  I figured it would be the perfect transition piece between the seasons (and I am still holding out hope that spring will eventually get here and stay for a while).  I chose my Cardi Wrap in red since I tend to wear black every day and I knew the pop of color would be a nice change.

When it arrived, I immediately began playing with all the options available.  You can wear it over 50 different ways!  I tried a whole bunch of different options, but my favorite was to wear it as a cardigan either with or without a belt.

Please excuse my unpainted steps. My husband just built them for us. Also, don't mind my squinty eyes. I probably should have had my sunglasses on my face instead of holding back my hair.

It also came with an accessory kit to help create the wide variety of styles.  There were bangles in gold, silver, and black and  cute flower and bow pins that were the color of the Cardi Wrap.  I attached the flower pin to a ribbon and wore it as a headband and it was adorable!

If you’re thinking of ordering a Cardi Wrap, keep in mind that in my opinion, it runs small.  You can choose from 2 sizes…Misses or Plus.  I ordered the Plus (I’m a size 16) and I couldn’t pull off some of the options because the Cardi Wrap was too small.

The Cardi Wrap is great to throw on over jeans and a black tee shirt and it’s the perfect weight for this crazy time of year, but it’s not quite as versatile a piece as I had hoped it would be.

To learn more about Cardi Wrap, click here.

Disclosure: This post was written for Family Review Network & Cardi Wrap who provided the complimentary product for review in exchange for my honest opinions.

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For YEARS, my husband has been needing glasses.  He knows that he has an astigmatism, which gives everything he sees a shadow.  I also have an astigmatism and periodically he would try on my glasses, only to be amazed at how CLEAR the world could be!  But as I mentioned, for years he has neglected going to the eye doctor and actually getting a pair of glasses.  He is a youth pastor and father of 3 with a very busy schedule.  His days are generally packed full of meetings, sermon preparation and time with volunteers and students.  His schedule is also different every day, so planning appointments is quite difficult.

Thankfully, we have a Dr. Bizer’s VisionWorld nearby.  I had noticed Dr. Bizer’s many times at West Town Mall in Knoxville, Tennessee but had never stopped in until I recently went in with my husband.  The whole experience was very positive. The staff at Dr. Bizer’s was very friendly and they took Brian back quickly.  The best part is that no appointment was required.  And while he had his eye appointment and chose glasses, my girls and I walked through the mall, played on the playground and went to the Disney store .  He was actually done before we were even ready to go!

I was also impressed with the selection of glasses.  I always choose lower priced glasses because my children like to bend and break them.  Unfortunately, most eye doctor’s offices carry very few inexpensive glasses and TONS of high cost glasses.  This was not the case with Dr. Bizer’s.  There were plenty of lower priced glasses to chose from, in addition to designer frames like Nine West, AX and Candies.  My husband, of course, chose a pair of GUESS frames that cost a bit more.  He takes better care of his stuff, so spending a bit more for him is not a waste at all.

He also chose Polarized lenses and UV Protection.  Adding these options meant waiting a bit longer for the lenses to be special ordered.  But since he’s waited YEARS for glasses in the first place, he really didn’t mind a few extra days.  And look at how handsome he looks! You and yours can look this great too with Dr. Bizer’s, so be sure to check out their coupons & specials, as well as offers & contests on Facebook.  Also, if you have a Dr. Bizer’s location near you, make sure to print this coupon while it’s available!

Disclosure: Dr. Bizer’s VisionWorld provided my husband with an eye exam and glasses in order to facilitate this review.

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I am a complete iPhone addict.  My iPhone is never far from my side during the day.  I am constantly checking my email, moderating comments, taking pictures, and shooting videos.  Since my hubby frequently travels, I regularly take videos of my daughter’s basketball games so that he doesn’t miss out on any of the big moments!

I recently discovered a new app that makes sharing videos so much easier.  I can share them with multiple people AND my videos are all backed up on a server!  It’s called KinKast.

Check out the KinKast Demo video here!

The KinKast app is the easiest way to privately share video clips.  Record a moment and share it with only two taps!

• No waiting (video uploads in the background)
• Easily share with friends (they receive a private link with no login required)
• No size or length limits
• Safely back up your important memories KinKast servers
• Can also post on Facebook
• Last but not least: It’s a free download from iTunes.

How cool is that?

The KinKast App is free, but if you want more features, you can sign up for the Premium Plan which gives you:

• Unlimited storage on KinKast servers
• Access to ALL videos, ALL the time
• Videos safely backed up
• No Ads
• Peace of mind

All for only $4.99/month or $49.99/year.

I’ve only used the free version of KinKast and I have been extremely happy with it.  KinKast was super easy to download and extremely easy to use.  It’s easy to post your videos on Facebook too!  As an added bonus, I can also upload the videos I’ve taken with my Flip or digital camera to the KinKast site.  They automatically upload to my KinKast app the next time I open it!  It’s a great way to keep all my video content in one place and to be able to share it easily.

The only thing that was a little tricky was remembering to use the KinKast app rather than my regular camera app to take my videos.  Once I remembered to do that it was totally easy peasy.

If you have an iPhone or an iPad touch, I highly recommend the KinKast app!  You’ll wonder how you shared videos before you had it!

Visit the iTunes store to download KinKast Video Sharing – KinKast, Inc.

Disclosure:  This post was brought to you by Zooka Creative.  The KinKast app I used was free, but I was compensated for sharing my thoughts on it.  As usual, all thoughts are my own.  I was not required to write a positive review.

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My youngest daughter loves online games.  She’s always asking to go online to play games, so when I heard about MiniMonos, a virtual world for good green kids, I was excited to check it out…and so was she.

The first thing that caught my eyes was their dedication to providing clean water for those in India.  I was a P&G Changent (Change Agent) for their Clean Water program this year and believe strongly in the importance of clean water in developing countries.  MiniMonos donates 1 day of clean water for each one month Gold Membership purchased on their site and if you purchase a one year Gold Membership, a child in India gets 2 weeks of clean water.

As I began to explore the site, I was immediately drawn to how safe it was for kids.  There weren’t any of those crazy ads that take you to other sites.  MiniMonos is also all about sustainability and green living.  If you don’t clean your lagoon, the fish don’t come back.  If you don’t recycle, your tree house gets messy.  When you’re dressing your monkey, you can even choose from recycled tees!

As a mom, I was definitely impressed.  My daughter was also impressed.  Here’s what she had to say:

The MiniMonos game is so much fun.  You get to discover new people and new places.  You also get to make your own house.  IN the beginning of the game, you start off with the monkey that they give you, but then you can change your monkey’s hair color and style.  You can choose your color of your shirt and everything like that.  You can earn points by playing the games and get banana chips when you’re a gold member.

While you are in the game, you can chat with people or if you have friends you can send them an invitation  and ask them to play with you.  Also, there are a lot of places that you can go to and play games at.

I didn’t like how you had to figure out how to play the game, but I did like the when you’re in the game, you can be different things or wear different things. This is my view of MiniMonos and how fun it is.

If you’re looking for a fun, safe, and green online game, you’ll definitely want to check out MiniMonos.

Disclosure:  I received a free Gold Membership to MiniMonos in order to facilitate this review.  No other compensation was received.  All opinions are my own and those of my daughter.  This review was made possible by FRN.

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Growing up, there were two gifts we always knew we could count on from Grandma: our yearly Easter dresses and our winter coats. Grandma always lived on a modest budget (she was a pastor’s wife, as I am), but she believed in buying quality items that would last. One of the brands she purchased time and time again was Rothschild Coats. This company has been making quality children’s coats in the US for 125 years. Many of you probably grew up wearing their classic wool coats, which I LOVE.

When I went to their website recently, I thought that’s all I would find…but OH NO! In addition to their beautiful wool coats, I also found adorable everyday jackets, to-die-for faux fur coats, trendy little bomber jackets and more! My sis and I were on the phone ooh-ing and ahh-ing at all of the different coats.

You see I have 3 little girls under the age of 5, so high-quality, beautiful items get me very excited. I have purchased coats in the past that have torn or came apart in one season. Poor quality like that just isn’t acceptable when I need a coat to last 3 children. Let me tell you, the Rothschild coat that Ella will be wearing this season will definitely stand the test of time. It’s called the Sporty Snowflake Jacket in cocoa.

When it arrived, I found it much cuter than it even appeared on the website. It’s the perfect weight jacket, warm but not bulky or heavy. My daughter hates to wear anything restricting, and you can see from the pics that she feels free to pose and play in this coat.

It also comes with a matching hat and scarf (a big money saver). Plus, the hood is removable, which is a huge help when you have little ones in car-seats and boosters…those of you who have been there know what I’m talking about!

This coat is such a hit at my house and it could be at yours too…  One lucky reader of Simplified Saving will win a Sporty Snowflake coat in a size 5/6.

Want to Win? One lucky reader of Simplified Saving will win a Sporty Snowflake Coat in cocoa in a size 5/6.

Ways to Enter:

1. Subscribe to Simplified Saving by Email
2. Subscribe to Simplified Saving in a Reader
3. “Like” Simplified Saving on Facebook
4. Follow Simplified Saving (@SimplifiedSavin) on Twitter
5. Follow Simplified Saving on Google Friend Connect (found in the footer…scroll all the way down to the bottom of the blog)
6. “Like” Rothschild Kids on Facebook

The Fine Print: If you already subscribe, like, or follow me, that counts as well!  Please leave a separate comment for each entry. Comments that just say “I want to win” or “Thanks for the giveaway” will be disqualified! This contest will end on November 15, 2010 at 8 pm Eastern Time. This giveaway is limited to US residents only  18 years old and above.  Winner will be chosen at random.

Disclosure:  Rothschild generously provided me with a coat to review as well as the coat for the giveaway.  No other compensation was received.

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I always have gunk on my sunglasses.  I’m not sure if it’s the bad habit I have of eating in the car (and then adjusting my sunglasses with food covered fingers) or if it’s tiny little elves who dance around in syrup and other sticky stuff and then dance on my glasses.  All I know is that I’m constantly working to get them clean.  And don’t even get me started on how bad the screen of my iPhone can get!  I recently found something that works to keep both my sunglasses and my iPhone sparkling:  Brilliant Lenses Cleaner and optical microfiber cloth.  Brilliant Lenses is a premium eyeglass cleaner with SR-8 that adds a protective barrier to lenses to resist scratches and soiling from water, sweat, dust and dirt. For ALL types of lenses. And it comes in a little pouch that you can keep in your purse.  I love that I can pull it out and wipe down my phone anytime I accidentally get a little of my lunch on it.

Want to Win?

One lucky winner of Simplified Saving will win a Brilliant Lenses cleaner and optical microfiber cloth!

Mandatory Entry: Like Brilliant Lenses on Facebook or follow Brilliant Lenses on Twitter.

Bonus Entries:

• Subscribe to Simplified Saving by Email

• Subscribe to Simplified Saving in a Reader

• “Like” Simplified Saving on Facebook

• Follow Simplified Saving (@SimplifiedSavin) on Twitter

The Fine Print: If you already subscribe, like, or follow me, that counts as well!  Please leave a separate comment for each entry. Comments that just say “I want to win” or “Thanks for the giveaway” will be disqualified! This contest will end on Monday, November 8th at 9 pm Eastern Time. This giveaway is limited to US residents only  18 years old and above.  Winner will be chosen at random.

Product review & giveaway disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Sponsored by Tomoson.com

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