Reviews by sharontaylor726

sharontaylor726 says "Modern looking, but worthless!" about 2008 Pod Bouncer Seat in Wasabi

sharontaylor726 — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:41:17 GMT

When we were registering for our first child, we were overwhelmed with options. We walked through the aisles at Babies R Us and loved the look of the Combi Pod Bouncer. It was very modern and we loved the wooden toys hanging from the bar. We were lucky to find a floor model half price at a store going out of business, so we wound up getting it for $40.

In retrospect, I'm glad that we only paid $40 for it. First off, our son didn't use it much. He was much happier being held or in his swing. The "bouncing" wasn't really his style. Secondly, we quickly learned that it had a lot of shortfalls.

But let me start with the positives... it has a hole to plug in your iPod. We thought that was awesome because we could customize a playlist and hook it up while he was chilling in the seat. What it didn't have was the connecting wire, so we had to go buy that. So it was kind of an inconvenience, but a nice idea. The other aspect that we loved, like I said before, was the modern look...

...

sharontaylor726 says "I wish I had one for me!" about Fisher Price Baby Papasan Cradle Swing

sharontaylor726 — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:19:50 GMT

A swing was the last big thing that we purchased for our baby. I was hesitant to get one before he was born because they are costly and I was afraid that he wouldn't even like it. Babies can be tempermental.

So when our son was a few weeks old and we were desperate for sleep, we took a trip to Babies R Us one night and "test drove" the swings they had in stock. We picked out a few that we liked and put him in them to see how he reacted. In the end, we liked the papasan style swing that Fisher Price offered. We were about to buy the Little Lamb swing which was about $150 when we decided to walk around the rest of the store before leaving. Fortunately for us, they also had this model - the Nature's Touch Baby Papasan Swing - and it was on sale for $90. Better yet, when we got to the register, the sales associate told us it was going on sale for $70 the next day. It is essentially the same swing as the Little Lamb, but with a different pattern for a great price!

It has several...

...

sharontaylor726 says "Great when they're small, but doesn't last long" about Travel Swaddle

sharontaylor726 — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:04:07 GMT

One of the first things my husband and I learned about our son is that he love being swaddled. We were given a number of swaddle blankets at my shower and put them to use right away. The problem we ran into was when we were traveling - he would get upset because he couldn't be swaddled.

Enter TJ Maxx. I was shopping one day with my mom and perusing the baby section and I found the Eddie Bauer Travel Swaddle. It was like any other swaddle blanket except that it had separate leg compartments. So you could put your child in a carseat and safely buckle them in while wearing this swaddle blanket.

Our son loved it! We started using it every day and wished I had gotten both packages that I saw that day at TJ Maxx. We would keep him in it even when we were in the house because it fit so well.

Unfortunately, our joy was short lived. Our son is long and growing at a healthy pace. So within 2 weeks his legs were too long to fit into the leg compartments so the swaddle blanket...

...

sharontaylor726 says "The best swaddle blanket available" about Miracle Baby Blanket

sharontaylor726 — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:55:48 GMT

All of my friends who are moms raved about swaddling your baby when I was pregnant. I received several varieties of swaddle blankets at my baby shower and knew that each baby is different, so was open to using all of them.

One friend in particular raved about the Miracle Blanket. She said it was the only one that her son wasn't able to get out of when he was a baby.

Sure enough, when our son was born we tried out every option we had and quickly learned which ones worked and which ones didn't. At first, we could even use a regular blanket and he would be content. As he grew, he learned how to wriggle his arms out of the swaddle and he'd be crying again.

The Miracle Blanket is different from the rest in that it has a flap that wraps around your child several times to keep him tight. There are no velcro tabs, no buttons, no zippers. Just this one flap that can go around 3 times. And the benefit is that it will grow with your child. The others that we have use the velcro...

...

sharontaylor726 says "Gentle cleansing at a reasonable price" about Aveeno Clean & Clear Foaming Facial Cleanser

sharontaylor726 — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:41:56 GMT

I recently made the switch to this facial cleanser after wanting to find something a little more gentle to my skin. I was hesitant about the switch overall as I usually break out when I switch products. But I liked that Aveeno Clean & Clear Foaming came in a foam.

I shopped around to find the best price, as I do with any product. I think I finally bought it at Target because they had a sale that week.

My face didn't have any reaction to the switch which was great! I liked how clean my skin felt after washing, as opposed to the cream cleanser I had been using previously.

One thing I noticed right away is that my skin felt significantly drier after washing. So while I usually put moisturizer on before bed anyway, it was an absolute must now. I hate that tight, dry skin feeling.

The only other negative I have involves the packaging. As I got to the end of the bottle, the pump stopped working as effectively. Maybe it's because of the air pressure in the bottle now - I...

...

sharontaylor726 says "A practical and stylish diaper bag" about Diaper Bag by Diaper Dude

sharontaylor726 — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:28:36 GMT

When we were shopping for a diaper bag for our first child, I knew that I wanted something that was a messenger bag style. Bags that just hang on your shoulder tend to fall off and I definitely didn't want to feel like I was in school again with a backpack.

Friends of ours had a Diaper Dude and raved about it. So much so that the two other couples that we knew who were pregnant decided on the same brand. So we looked at the Diaper Dude line and picked one that was a different color than the rest.

The bag features several pockets to keep you organized when you're toting around a million things for baby, not to mention a few things of your own. It has a large zippered interior for all of your larger items. Inside that space is a small pocket for little items (I haven't decided what I'm using it for yet), an open pocket for diapers, and a latch that you can attach your keys to.

The outside of the bag has 3 zippered pockets in the front which are the perfect size for smaller...

...

sharontaylor726 says "A very convenient coffee maker!" about Philips Senseo Espresso Machine

sharontaylor726 — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:28:08 GMT

I got my Senseo through a promotion on www.sharesenseo.com. I paid $15 for the machine, a pack of coffee pods, and coupons/pamphlets to share with friends. (Hence, the "share" part of the web address.)

I was skeptical at first because I didn't know how practical it would be for my husband and I. However, we quickly grew accustomed to being able to make a quick cup of coffee each morning before work.

You simply fill the reservoir with water, put the pod in the holder, turn the machine on to heat the water and hit the button for one small cup (espresso sized) or two small cups/one large mug. It brews a frothy cup of coffee which is ready in about 30 seconds.

I love the convenience of the product and the fact that you don't have to pull out a filter of coffee grounds afterwards. You just pull the holder out, toss the used pod and rinse.

The only drawback to this product is that the pods are really expensive. We tried buying Folger's pods because they were slightly cheaper than the Senseo brand.......

sharontaylor726 says "Even scoops hard ice cream easily!" about KitchenAid Stainless Steel Ice Cream Scoop

sharontaylor726 — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:18:10 GMT

For years I have been buying cheap ice cream scoopers. I could never justify spending more than a couple of dollars on one. When I did not get the one I had registered for prior to my wedding, we again bought a cheap one so we could stop bending spoons. After a few uses and a few trips through the dishwasher, the metal on the scooper was spotty and looked unsanitary. We had a few gift cards to Linens & Things, so we made a trip out there one weekend and were perusing the aisles for things we could buy. I was drawn to the utensil aisle where I saw this scooper. It was 9 dollars but with "free" money to spend, I figured it would be the best time to buy it. We have used it at least 15 times since then and it holds up really well. It scoops SO well. Even ice cream that is incredibly frozen is easy to scoop with this thing because of its shape. Afterwards, you simply rinse it with soap and water and throw it back in the drawer. One thing I hated about the cheap ones was when you would take it......

sharontaylor726 says "Easy to use... less easy to clean" about KitchenAid 12 Cup Flexible Muffin Mold With Sled

sharontaylor726 — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:13:46 GMT

I registered for this when putting my wedding registry together. For one, it was red and it went with my kitchen. But I'd heard really good things about this line and figured it was the perfect time to try it out.

I've used it 3 or 4 times since getting married and really enjoy the product. Like I mentioned, it's really easy to use. Because it's so long and wide, it comes with a wire rack that supports the shape. I've made muffins and cupcakes - the muffins without paper holders and the cupcakes with them. I found that the muffins released very easily due to the non-stick function of the mold. I have a regular muffin pan that I'll use if I'm baking a lot, but I prefer this one if I'm baking on a smaller scale.

The one thing I don't like about it is that it's not that easy to clean. If you have a round scrubby brush, it just fits in the holes and you can't always get everything out without making a mess. I've put it in the dishwasher, but always hesitate to do so even though you technically......

sharontaylor726 says "Not worth the money." about Hamilton Beach Stay or Go 12-Cup Coffee Maker

sharontaylor726 — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:08:15 GMT

When my husband and I were building our registry before our wedding, we saw this product and thought it would be the perfect coffee maker for us. It's very stylish and seemed very convenient for our lifestyle.

However, we were very disappointed after brewing some coffee the first time. Because you can either distribute the coffee into a pot or two "to go" mugs, the machine has two holes that the coffee comes out of. The one hole dripped while the other one had a steady stream. So more often than not, we'd wind up using the coffee pot and then pouring it into the mugs to take to work.

It also didn't work very well for two people who leave for work at very different times. I wouldn't leave for work until 8 while my husband would leave around 6, so it was hard to make coffee that suited both of our schedules.

We wound up buying a new coffee maker shortly after getting married because this one just didn't suit our needs. I wish we had read reviews on it beforehand. But we did benefit in that......

sharontaylor726 says "Versatile and great product!" about Cuisinart Grill - Indoor GR4

sharontaylor726 — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 16:54:23 GMT

purchased this product for my husband for his birthday. He'd been eyeing it up ever since the first time he heard about it. I shopped around for a while before deciding to buy it at Best Buy. I had some Best Buy Rewards to spend and it was around $170, which was the cheapest I'd seen it anywhere.

The look on his face was hilarious when he realized what he was opening. We opened it up and used it the next day. I was really pleased with the ease of use - no complicated buttons or anything to learn. You just turn the knob and it warms up. We made grilled cheese, and several other tasty paninis in the first week.

It's extremely easy to clean, as the grill plate lifts right up. We'd had a cheap panini maker in the past that was all one piece making it nearly impossible to clean.

The GR4 also has a flat surfaced plate that fits in to make things like pancakes. One thing we didn't realize was that you do have to spray the surface with cooking spray or something along those lines, so we did wind......