Must Have Monday’s 26

Welcome to Must Have Monday’s. Every Monday our reviewers will let you have a sneak peak into what we use in our homes and our lives. Here we will tell you about the things we can’t live without. If you have a “must have” item to pass along please e-mail us. We welcome contributions from our readers and are always looking for new reviewers.

The Olympus Stylus 820 is the perfect digital camera for busy households, travelers and bloggers. It is small enough to carry in your pocket, lightweight and takes great pictures. With 5X optical zoom it captures the far away shots easily and has motion stabilizers for shaky hands. The shutter is lens cap free for simplicity.

The extra large hyper crystal LCD screen is a must have for those of us that have vision issues- it makes looking through a view finder obsolete. Plus the video capabilities are user friendly and the short video footage I have taken is as nice as the bigger video cameras.

The only negative feedback I have is that the rechargeable battery life is too short. I would suggest keeping an extra fully charged battery on hand because once the battery is low there is little warning before it is lights out. At just under $300 this little gem works wonders. Thanks to the Olympus Stylus 820 I do not miss schlepping my big SLR camera with me and for a die hard SLR user that is a bold statement!

by Helene

When I first received the Nickelodeon Sleepytime Lullabies I was immediately impressed by the variety of artists that it had on it. Plus I was thrilled to see some favorites, including Blackbird and Dream a Little Dream. With thoughts of the Beatles floating in my head I popped it in and at first was disappointed to hear muzak versions. But I kept listening and after a bit I grew to appreciate the gentleness of how soothing it really was.

I guess the original versions wouldn’t really have made good lullabies anyway. The last song on the cd is “One Magic Kiss” by Brandi Carlile and I loved it. Now I’ve got Sleepytime Lullabies in the cd player in the kid’s room and I get to listen to it on the baby monitor as I go to sleep too!

by Andi

Ever heard of soap on a rope? What about soap in a sponge? Well the second one is the best invention ever. I recently came across Spongeables, which are these cute fun shaped sponges that are already filled with soap. An ordinary shower becomes a lot easier and a lot more relaxing with this invention. Plus they make ducks and other cute shapes for kids to use.

Spongeables exfoliate and moisturize all in one simple step. The seem to last for weeks without running out of bubbles, but you can easily squirt some of your own soap on them if needed. The sponges state on the package how many washes they are guarenteed to last for and they even make pedi-scrubs specifically for your feet. This is a new must have in our shower!

by Emily