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What I Purchased on Black Friday 2018

November 25, 2018 by Laura

Alright, Black Friday 2018 came and went…fast! I wasn’t prepared. It’s like it hit me out of nowhere, even though it’s one of the most predictable days of the year. I just had very little desire to get on the computer or my phone that day and shopping in the chaos of the stores was not an option. Ultimately, I did end up buying some things…all on Amazon of course.

Here’s a little peek to what I purchased. Get ready…it’s nothing glamorous, but we did get some good deals on everyday items and some gifts for the kids too. I’m pleased! Keep in mind that I most likely didn’t purchase these products at the current price. Just might spur some thoughts as to items you may want to add to your Christmas shopping!

For our Cars:

Windshield Wiper Blades: the ones I purchased sold out, so I’m not linking. But, maybe you need new windshield wipers? Check!

For my 5 and 6 Year-Old-Girls:

Pop the Pig Game: For for any gender…great family game! All you do is stuff hamburgers into the pig until its belt pops. It’s great. The girls have been asking for it, so they’ll get it for Christmas.

10 piece Dog Set: This is actually apart of the Sophia Doll Collection, but my girls don’t know that. My youngest loves caring for puppies or pretending to be a puppy. This is right up her alley.

10 piece Kitten Set: My oldest doesn’t like puppies, but she loves kittens. So, the same idea as sister, but catered to her interests. I think this is going to be a winner!

Barbie Convertible & Doll Pack: It’s weird that my girls are starting to like Barbie. I still won’t let them watch a Barbie Movie on Netflix, because what I saw, I felt like they made Barbie look stupid, but I’ll still let them do some creative play on their own. 🙂 They’ll love these cars to go with the new Barbies.

For the Home:

Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional Vacuum: I can’t believe it, but I’ll be saying goodbye to my trusty Hoover tomorrow when this bad boy is delivered. You can read my vacuum post here. After 8ish years, I’m saying bye-bye after I saw this on sale and received its recommendation from Kendra Hennessy over at Mother Like a Boss. I’m sure I’ll write up a tribute post to my old vacuum, so stay tuned for that!

Amazon Smart Plug: While I had mixed feelings when my husband put this in the cart, I have to admit, I love it. He hooked it up to our Christmas tree, so now all we have to say is “Alexa, turn on Christmas tree” and the lights turn on. The girls love that they can do it because I’m not crazy about them fiddling with electrical outlets right now. So, it’s a winner…we’ve had it for maybe one day. Great purchase!

Amazon Echo Dot: We purchased another echo dot for the house. It was on insane sale, so we just went for it.

 

Did you end up scoring a super incredible deal? Let me know what I missed out on!

 

This post contains affiliate links. You don’t pay any extra, and I earn a small commission.

Amazon Prime Day – 10 Products I Wish I Was Buying

July 16, 2018 by Laura

Amazon Prime Day is here. Whether you admit it or not, there is definitely an aura in the air of “Spend Money” today. I’ll own up to the fact that at 2pm CST I was anxiously awaiting to see what deals I could land while my girls were finishing up swim lessons. It was an extremely inconvenient time for me. Obviously, Amazon didn’t consult with my schedule to see if their launch coincided with my availability…sigh.

This year, I’m trying to hold myself back and think through purchases, but I have to say it’s hard today. Instead, I’m taking this time to jot down a few items in some various categories to ponder later….or at least until the 36-hour time frame is up.

Take a look at what I’m perusing on Amazon…Maybe you’ll find something too!

For The Home:

Ring Video Doorbell Pro– I’ve been contemplating this for a while! It’s on sale for $174 at the time of this post. Hmmm…….

 

Echo Dot (2nd Generation) Smart Speaker with Alexa— I’m a little hesitant to get this because I don’t know how I feel about saying “Alexa” all the time, but I actually think my husband has already purchased it. We’ll see if this ends up being a future post.

 

For My Kids:

Math for Love Prime Climb– So, I stumbled on this. It’s for ages 10+, which we are nowhere near that. However, I somehow feel like I could instantly be a better parent if I purchased this (even if I never opened the box). That’s probably not a good thing, but it’s on my radar. 🙂

 

ALEX Spa Glitzy Locks Hair Sparkle – My girls would go nuts for this! I’ll probably have to buy this one.

 

For The Husband:

Tactical Vest Kit for Nerf Guns N-Strike Elite Series– Is it weird I want to buy this for my husband? And for me? And for each of my girls?

New Set of Golf Clubs– I know new golf clubs for my man are in our future. I’m posting these up because they’re $100 off. However, I can already hear my husband saying that we probably need to keep looking. We’ll see….again. 🙂

 

For Me:

Staedtler calligraphy pen set, Complete 33 piece tin, ideal for all skill levels- I don’t know why…..but I feel like I should start up calligraphy. 🙂

Urban Gardening for Beginners: I actually don’t even think this is a prime deal, but I’d like to grow something…anything. I honestly should search for a book that is titled “How to stop killing every plant that you come across”. Hmmmm…….

 

For Rusty: (can’t forget Rusty!)

Furbo Dog Camera: Treat Tossing, Full HD Wifi Pet Camera and 2-Way Audio, Designed for Dogs, Works with Amazon Alexa (As Seen On Ellen)…. HOLD THE PHONE!!! If I was still working during the day, I’d be seriously talking my husband into getting this!

Balichun Luxury 330 GSM Fleece Blanket Super Soft Warm Fuzzy Lightweight Bed or Couch Blanket— Ha! This may seem weird, but Rusty is a blanket snob. He loves a good cozy blanket. Don’t we all?!

 

Well that’s it for Prime Day perusals. Maybe next year, I’ll be on top of this a little more! 🙂 Have a good rest of the week! Oh, and please let me know if you have any comments on the items I picked out. I’d love to see!

 

This post contains affiliate links. You don’t pay any extra, and I earn a small commission.

Products I Used To Get Rid Of Raccoons In My Attic

July 5, 2018 by Laura

Well, it has come to this. Another post about raccoons. It’s been a story of denial, pursuit of the beast(s), agonizing sleepless nights, newborn flashback reminders, and at the end of the journey…peace, gratitude for non-stomping animals, end of shrieking sounds, and no more raccoon hooligan nightly (and surprisingly daily) actions.

Honestly, I really thought my lack of a dishwasher for a month experience would do me in. Well…..let’s just say, things were put into a real perspective when Ms. Raccoon came around. At least, my non-working dishwasher didn’t affect my sleep….just my daily activities.

So, What Did You Use To Make The Raccoons Decide To Move On?

Well, as you know, I hired Rodent Man Person to remove the raccoons, which ultimately, didn’t end up happening due to the babies in the crawl space that no human can reach (of course). Roland might be the only Pest Control person whom I will ever come across who has the biggest heart for urban rodent creatures. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m with him on that, to a minimal degree. I wished no harm to these night varmint animals. I just wished and PRAYED and PRAYED and PRAYED for their little raccoon family to get tired of my “hospitality”.

Here Are The Products I Used To Attempt Their Departure:

1. Old Baby Monitor– I put this out on my deck (sorry for the dirtiness! One of these days, I’ll do some power washing) We faced it toward the hole to see if we could see any raccoons leave. Reminder, the main thing we were waiting on was the babies getting old enough to venture out of the hole. We couldn’t see very well in the night, but we would see little eyes glowing at times, so it was better than nothing. I really wanted to get a night vision webcam (and honestly, probably would have bought one if it had lasted another week).

2. Leg Up Coyote Urine– Wow. All I can say is “WOW”! Wow, to the fact that I even walked into a store and asked “Do you sell predator urine?” and Wow, to the fact that it smelled insanely terrible. I had my husband handle the little bottle of urine and put it in the attic. I was hopeful the smell would alert them that a coyote was up there, but I think they’re a little smarter than that. In fact, from what I gathered, they weren’t fazed one bit. Since then, I made (I mean “asked”) my husband to smear some of the urine on the chew marks where the squirrels are still trying to chew into my house. I really hope it sparks some fear into them!

3. Radio– I didn’t have an extra one around the house. I stopped by a Goodwill Store that was having a 50% off day. I purchased a cd radio clock for $1.50. HA! My intent was to disrupt the raccoons sleep during the day with talk radio blaring in the attic. Well, I think those raccoons liked it. The complete opposite of what I was going for! I noticed the nights where we kept the radio on, it made the babies extra rowdy. So, that ended pretty quick.

4. Toddler Soccer Balls– Here’s what actually did the trick! Someday, I might write a post about my one season of being a toddler soccer parent, but this is not that time. Spoiler Alert- it did not go well! Anyways, we at least got two very cute soccer balls out of the experience. I finally resorted to literally taking one of these balls and continuously hitting my master bathroom ceiling over and over and over again. Remember, the raccoons kindly made their nest right above my master bathtub. So, I just kept repeating and repeating throughout the day. Sure enough, that night, Mama Raccoon decided it was FINALLY time to teach her babies to get out of the hole. They actually didn’t succeed that night, but they did the next day.

For Your Viewing Pleasure….Finally, The Culprits Are Out!

TURN UP YOUR VOLUME! Listen To Why I Was Going Nuts….What Newborn Raccoons Sound Like In The Day And Night!

https://shortcutshopper.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Raccoons-1.m4a

So, What Now? 

I’m happy to report our household has been raccoon-free for six nights now. Rodent Man Person is coming tomorrow to patch up the hole. After my thorough research on this subject I never wish to encounter again, apparently, Ms. Raccoon will attempt to return to our house next year to birth another litter (in the same nest area). All I can say about that is “Over My Dead Body”! Ok, well, that may be a little extreme, but I may try to put a strobe light out on the roof next spring to scare away any repeat guests!

If you’re still reading this far, thank you for putting up with my raccoon rantings. If you can’t vent about your raccoon infestation on your blog, what’s the point of having one, right? 🙂

Until next time…Have a good week!

P.S.  That’s Rocco the Raccoon in the picture at the top. He’s been in our house for about a year now. I can’t look at him the same. I’m trying not to generalize because I’m sure not all raccoons are the same and each is individually unique in its own way, but Rocco is going to need to “hide” for a little bit, while I calm down over this whole ordeal!

SUMMARY

Products: Motorola Baby Monitor, Coyote Urine, Radio, and Toddler Soccer Balls

Purchase Location: Monitor at Amazon, Coyote Urine at local feed/nursery store (I didn’t think about looking on Amazon for urine. It is cheaper there!), Radio at Goodwill Store, Soccer balls at Amazon

Additional Product Links:

I can’t help but link to these additional styles of soccer balls….dinosaurs, butterflies, rockets! They’re adorable!

Dinosaur Soccer Ball

Butterfly Soccer Ball

Rocket Soccer Ball

Night Vision Web Cam– In case you need one…you never know! 🙂

If you’d like to read the entire “What Wildlife Is In My Attic? Series”, here are all the posts in order. (unfortunately, there are way too many!)

Squirrels, Rats, Possible Possum, and Being Talked To Like I Am Pregnant (I Am NOT)

An Open Letter To The Raccoon In My Attic…Part 1

My Mistake…You’re A Ms. Raccoon. Part 2

Ms. Raccoon Dared To Cross My Path…Part 3

This post contains affiliate links. You don’t pay any extra, and I earn a small commission.

Great Quality Bath Mat – Perfect For Kids, Elderly, and Animals

June 18, 2018 by Laura

Today I’m bringing you my favorite non-slip bath mat. The Gator Grip Bath Mat. It’s perfect for children, anyone with mobility issues, and even for ensuring your little animals aren’t slipping and sliding during their bath.

What Drove Me To Even Care About A Bath Mat Purchase

My girls are 13 1/2 Months apart. My oldest started walking around two or three weeks before my youngest was born. To say life was absolutely crazy is a little of an understatement. Fast forward that time by a couple of years, and I was in a situation of bathing active two and three-year-olds who have no desire to sit still. I guess they’re still like that to some degree at five and six years old.

At the point where my oldest started testing the waters, she quickly realized “Hey, I don’t have to just sit here in this bathtub place. I can try to escape. I can try and switch places with my sister. I can rule this bathtub, and I can watch my mom get a crazy face all at the same time.” That’s when I started researching bath mats.

Here Is What I Was Looking For In A Bath Mat

  • Big enough to cover the entire bathtub
  • Mildew resistant
  • Durable to ensure years of usage
  • Non-plastic material (I wanted it to feel comfortable)

I found lots of cheaper mats, but they were plastic and you could tell mold would grow easily. Let’s face it…I do not excel in cleaning routines…at all. I don’t need to be adding a high maintenance bath mat to the mix and having to worry about what is underneath that bath mat. I’ve got other things to worry about at the moment…like my urban raccoon issue that seems to never want to go away!

In my Amazon searching, I came across the Gator Grip Bath Mat. It’s definitely pricier than other bath mats, BUT…

Here Is Why I Think It’s Justifiable To Spend The Money

  • Soft to sit on
  • It’s made of unique psuedopolymer rubber designed for long life
  • The material is latex free for sensitive skin
  • Easy to clean
  • This mat does NOT move at all people. Love it!
  • No suction cups
  • We installed the mat in 2014 and it is still working for us. No issues. (well, recently my youngest unsurprisingly attempted to pull it up [at five years old might I add] and has slowly worked her way through one part of a corner….but It’s still going strong!
  • Bonus! It was invented by a mom who saw a need….love that!

Anything Negative About This Product? 

I personally haven’t experienced anything negative. I guess my only wish would be that it didn’t cost so much, but I can’t really expect that for a company ensuring a good quality product is made. I took a look through some of the comments on Amazon to see what others were saying. I’d say four out of five stars is really good. Most of the negative reviews were about the product coming undone, BUT if you follow the directions and are patient with letting it set right, you won’t have ANY issues with this product coming undone. There’s no way. Especially when the adhesive glue sticks to textured tubs as well.

Additional Products Offered

I wish I had known about the bathtub ledge grip. Even now, my girls don’t like to simply step out of the tub. They want to step onto the ledge, hold my hand, and jump off.

Plus, I have my eye on the bathtub mat circles for my own shower. My girls rarely shower in there but when they do, they slip all over the place.

If you don’t see a color you like on Amazon for any of these products, you can directly go to Gator Grips website and find a couple different color options. Or reach out to their customer service to see if they have a color you like. I have the green/white one.

Well, I’m sure you didn’t start your day off wanting to read a post about a bath mat, but I’m telling you that you’ll love it for years to come.

If you have any other products that you are absolutely loving, I’d love to know! Also, please share this post with anyone you know who has any use to keep things from getting too slippery and slidey in the bathtub!

Take care!

 

SUMMARY

Product:  Gator Grip Bath Mat

Purchase Location: Amazon

Additional Links: Gator Grip Ledge Mat and Gator Grip Bath Circles

 

This post contains affiliate links. You don’t pay any extra, and I earn a small commission.

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Hi, I'm Laura! I absolutely love sharing all the things I LOVE with anyone who can benefit from hearing. So, whether you're in the mood to learn about a product/service or just want a little randomness thrown into your life, you've come to the right place! Read More…

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