A 4lb. Vacuum Worth Its Weight In Gold

Ken must think I am crazy to keep talking about a vacuum cleaner, but I can't help it. This thing is a mother's dream. I'm not talking about every mother's heavy mega vacuum, and I'm also not taking about a little hand vac you have to stoop down to pick anything up with.

What I'm talking about is a chargeable, cordless, 2-4 pound, vacuum with a long handle. Specifically: The Dirt Devil Dual Brush Rechargeable Sweeper. This thing is awesome! In seconds flat my house is crumbless, on hardwoods and on substantial carpet. It even has the look of vacuuming on the carpet. And for a pregnant woman who is really beginning to hate bending down, it is a head rush saver. The kids even love it because now they can take turns vacuuming the playroom.

This thing really motors too as it will pick up things you didn't even expect it to pick up - it is powerful for a lightweight. And because it is so lightweight, you almost have to be careful that you don't slam the thing into walls while you carry it with two fingers up the stairs.

I purchased ours for $49 at Home Depot and it has been worth every single cent, keeping the house spotless until I haul out the mega vacuum.

When You're A Mom...You Don't Waste Time

I can't stand to waste time. I love to cook, but I hate wasting time on a dish that comes out crummy. Shopping is ok, but if I could have it my way, I would do almost all of it online. (When Webvan.com left our city, I almost cried --- it was the best time saver in the world!). So when I find something that works, it seems selfish to keep it to myself, and I want to tell every mom out there not to waste time on this and that, but instead do this...

So I have to share the timesavers that I discovered this past week:

Allrecipes.com: Last week I put this site to the test. I lined up a 5 star menu for the entire week, used their automated online shopping list, shopped for the week, and set to work on their 5 star recipes. So far, so wonderfully good. I finally have got myself out of a boring cooking rutt. This week we have enjoyed two different fruit salads and lamb stew. And they were all great! Still up is a new meatloaf and pot roast. I highly recommend this site for opening new cooking horizons. Let other people cook the duds and rate them dudly --- instead pick the recipes everyone has already highly rated, and stop wasting your time!!!

Finazzle (Finazzle.com): This weekend I fell in love with a grout cleaner. I have tried everything on our white grout/white tile bathroom floor. Ken and I even discussed regrouting the floor for a second time. On my last shopping run, I caught site of a product called Finazzle, and reasoned that what was a few bucks over regrouting...it was worth a last ditch shot. This stuff has almost zero fumes (great during pregnancy), and works amazingly awesome. The floor looks like we regrouted.