I’d used several versions of the Venus razor before and been satisfied. They seem to last a long time since I usually only run them daily under my arm pit’s and occasionally across my legs when I’m headed out somewhere in something other than long pants.

The version I bought this time though was different. My first use was interesting to say the least. I was surprised to find that the Breeze included 2 built in shave bars (on at the top and one at the bottom of the razor). These bars create a slight lather of body butters and a tropical style scent as you shave. It eliminates the need for shave gel which is great because it could save time and money (if it worked).

So after realizing I could lay off applying extra soap to my legs, I thought this might be a cool invention, until I hopped back in the shower a few days later and was shocked to find that the built in shave bars were disinigrating! I usually lay my razor on the soap ledge because it’s handy, but I think the water from the shower may have contributed to the mess I found.

The bars were barely hanging on and running the razor across my legs was almost painful. They provided some protection between the razor directly touching my skin and now that they were almost gone, I was afraid I may end up with knicks. It certainly didn’t coast my skin with the highest glide anymore!

I also found that the gel bars extended out past the razor making a close shave nearly impossible, especially in curved areas of your body such as under your arms. Overall, I am disappointed in Gillette and the Breeze razor. Now I am stuck with this multiple pack that at this rate may last a few weeks.

Written by Emily, who is a married working mother of a very energetic 6 year old son. They recently moved out in the country and live on a rock road. Emily had to give up high-speed internet and she blames the realtor for not informing her ahead of time that it was not available. She writes at her personal blog, Fenicle and loves to review new things.

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I discovered the most beautiful, floral, entertaining and dramatic hot tea blossoms. These make traditional tea bags seem boring and wrong. Rariteas crafts delicate white tea leaves around a dried floral bouquet that comes to life when hot water is added. After the water is added to your clear glass pot or large glass brewing container the bulb expands and blooms showcasing the inner flower. This makes for a conversation centerpiece to your table or buffet.

The white tea itself brews to a light, pale amber and has a smooth and simple flavor. The varieties of leaves and blooms provide different aromas and colors. They are soothing, gorgeous and oh so girly.

At such a reasonable price point these make a delightful gift for teachers, moms and special ladies in your life. The teas are offered in sets and have more impact than that silly old Mr. Coffee on your kitchen counter.

Written by Helene, who is a “fly by the seat of her pants” mom with 6 kids, well really 7 if you count her husband. She is a die-hard bargain shopper, designer-clad domestic diva who writes reviews to maintain a sense of sanity and unleash her creative side. You can also keep up with their busy family at their blog.

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However, I recently forgot that Care Bears are for girls. Since Bird loves his womb bear so much and I loved Care Bears as a child, I was overeager to review a set of the new Care Bears crib bedding.

It’s incredibly pink. Don’t get me wrong, it’s also incredibly cute. If you are looking for character themed bedding for your nursery, you can get no cuter than the Care Bear set.

It comes with the crib bumper, dust ruffle and standard accessories for your nursery. The plush blankets that are available are my favorite, as they are embossed with subtle hearts that have two little Care Bears in the corner. Or maybe the mobile with the four little Care Bears dangling and dancing is my favorite. It’s hard to say. The entire set is beyond adorable, but maybe not for a boy.

The only thing, beside the incredible pinkness of it all, that would keep me from buying this for my child is the fact that the sheet is not 100% cotton. So props go to the new bedding that I will refrain from using full time with my boy child. My husband is extremely thrilled.

Written by Canape, who is a girl from the deep south who loves her husband, her son, her stepdaughter, and her dogs. She’s a musician by trade, and a baker and writer by hobby. She writes a personal blog at Don’t Take the Repeats.

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So I picked some up and I have to say, it’s not bad.

I think it’s a given that as far as moisture goes, you tend to get what you pay for, so no you’re not getting the moisture of pure shea butter that was prepared by the light of the moon on virgin shores by blind monks or whatever tale they like to tell us about the expensive stuff. But, I have pretty sensitive skin and many soaps make me just miserable as soon as I step out of the shower wanting desperately to slather on the moisturizer. That was not the experience with this soap. It goes on very thick and smells delicious.

And when I step out of the shower, I don’t need to slather up with moisturizer for an hour or two. Suave is getting a surprised prop from me, because I had expected very little from this product. Suave Exhale products work quite well.

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 5 year old boy and 3 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

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The first dishwashing detergent that I tested was the Cascade Complete, which advertises, “Cleans so well….no need to pre-wash.” I’ll go along with that claim. It completely cleaned dried up spaghetti sauce and scrambled eggs which is something that’s is hard for me to do even using a scrubber. It dissolved completely with no residue caked up and left in the dispenser. It is also designed to help protect glasses from etching. Cascade Complete has the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval and it’s no wonder. It’s a great product.

I also reviewed the Electrasol Advanced dishwashing detergent. This detergent is the #1 detergent recommended by Whirlpool, Bosch and Maytag. It also claims to have an etch protector. It has a slightly less phosphorus content than the Cascade Complete. I know this only because I was going to compare the ingredients to see if they were exactly the same, because in my opinion the Electrasol Advanced worked every bit as well as the Cascade.

However, the bottles don’t really list the ingredients as something we would recognize. It says “Water softener, cleaning agents, dishwasher and china protection agent, water, thickening agent and bleach.” So there you have it - the ingredients for a great product.

All in all, I’d recommend that you go to the store and buy whichever is on sale. They both worked great!

by Perri

I am very new to the world of dishwashing soap. We only just recently got a dishwasher when we moved to a new home so I loved experimenting with different brands of detergents to use. I look for several qualities such as price, how well it cleans the dishes and the packaging.

I was given a bottle of Electrasol Advanced and Cascade Complete to review. To be honest with you the only difference between these two brands that I could detect was the smell. They both seemed to clean the dishes fairly well and didn’t leave any residue, but they did have different scents. To me the Cascade smelled better and left the dishes with a clean, fresh scent. From what I can tell they are both priced about the same at the local grocery store here.

The reason I look at packaging is because I don’t want a huge honking bottle of dishwasher soap to store. Plus the heavier the bottle, the harder it is to pour into the very small little compartment. For me this would equal a lot of messes and wasted soap.

Before I received these two large bottles to review I had been using the Cascade All-In-1 ActionPaks, which are little packages that contain everything needed to get dishes as clean as possible. ActionPaks have pre-treating, food disolving, grease fighting and stain fighting power all in an enclosed square you put in the soap holder of your dishwasher. Dishes come out shining and it does not leave any residue. Plus they come is some great scents like cinnamon apple spice. My favorite part is that they come in such a small package and it is easy to store.

by Emily

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I really like them a lot! They’re incredibly soft on my daughter’s feet and they don’t leave any elastic marks around her ankles (and we have had issues with this). So far I haven’t noticed the toes getting scuffed up from so much crawling either.

The selection is great, and not just for girls. It’s hard to find adorable boys shoes, but they have everything from animals, sports and music to your classic loafers and more. Of course the girls selection includes shoes with ribbons, hearts and bows. Plus they have the classic Mary Jane’s and just about everything else you’re looking for. The new fall collection is superb as there is truly something for everyone.

You can’t go wrong with soft-soled shoes. Robeez is approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association and recommended for baby feet; don’t miss out on these great shoes. I’ve certainly changed my opinion on them.

Written by Andrea, who is a stay at home Catholic wife and mother. She strives daily to perfect her vocation as wonderfully as possible. Andrea has two young children and hopes someday to have more. Her interests stem from being a mother and living her faith. She blogs for fun about things that interest her at Momma In Flip Flops.

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Kohl’s is unveiling six brand new celebrity-inspired clothing lines that celebrate music, life and really great jeans. I can see where teenagers will be drawn to the celebrity images and the style of these new lines. Here’s the list of celebrities and their clothing lines.

• Avril Lavigne and Abbey Dawn
• Lenny Kravitz and Levi’s
• Hayden Panetierre and Candie’s
• Vanessa Carlton’s and So
• The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Tony Hawk
• Plain white T’s and Urban Pipeline

For the most part I found the new lines to be a combination of comfortable jeans and t-shirts. There are some women’s clothing that push the envelope on being too revealing, but overall the styles are mostly respectful. Obviously, they are aimed at teenagers and young adults, but since a few of the celebrities appeal to the younger ages I would hope the young girl’s steer away from purchasing a few of the items designed for more developed bodies.

Kohl’s is also rolling out the “Rock Like a Star Contest” on Facebook, where users have the opportunity to submit pictures and videos describing their special “Denim Moments” for a chance to win some great prizes, including cash!

Written by Emily, who is a married working mother of a very energetic 6 year old son. They recently moved out in the country and live on a rock road. Emily had to give up high-speed internet and she blames the realtor for not informing her ahead of time that it was not available. She writes at her personal blog, Fenicle and loves to review new things.

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In the Kit Mystery Challenge! game, Kit finds that her home’s boarders have intriguing puzzles that she can help solve. You help Kit talk to people and gather clues from her home and neighborhood to crack six different cases. The first five cases can be done in whatever order you like, but the last case can only be unlocked by cracking the first five cases. The first case centers around who left the latch open on the chicken coop and let all the chickens out. In the second case you help Kit locate her mother’s missing pearls. Next, Kit is curious about one of their boarders who leaves early in the morning. She hopes that he has found a job and can help her father get a job there. The other mysteries involve a Cinderella costume and a missing rose.

This game is rated E for everyone, but be aware that it is very reading intensive. Both my daughter and I found this frustrating, because you had to wait for the words to scroll across the screen. If your child has any trouble with reading at all, they will lose interest in the game quickly. It would have been nice to hear the words as well as read them, instead of just hearing a music soundtrack that gets old very fast. I found the interface to get Kit to walk around difficult to deal with, because it was hard to line her up so she walked straight instead of tottering off into the street. Getting in and out of rooms around doors was frustrating as well. That said, I found the cases themselves interesting and absorbing, and I was willing to stick with the cumbersome interface and the reading to work on them.

The Kit: A Tree House of My Own game for PC was a much more fun game for both my daughter and me. In this game you and Kit play six different games to first gather tools and then to win items to decorate your treehouse. The interface is simple and easy to control, and the people actually talk so you can both hear and see the words. The games themselves are fairly challenging, though, and once the first couple of levels have been achieved, they might be too challenging to hold the interest of younger (age 8-10) players.

Each game has 20 levels and on some the highest I’ve been able to achieve is level 4. One of the games that is particularly challenging is similar to Scrabble, where you are given seven letters and need to come up with words that you can spell using those letters. I have an English degree and can’t get above level 15 in the short 2 minute time they give you to complete it. Not only that, but it disallows words that I know are words (that are not inappropriate or slang words) and includes words that are spelled wrong. Despite that, it is a fun game and my daughter and I both played it for hours on end, until we had to get up because our necks hurt.

Written by Mary, who is a thirty-something SAHM of four under the age of eight. She is a lousy housekeeper, a voracious reader, and dabbles in art and music in various forms. She blogs to maintain her writing skills and her sanity in The Fish Pond.

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It is based on the premise of the author inheriting a house and garden from her grandmother and the many magical adventures that take place in the garden. Upon her morning walk one day, she sees what she thinks is a moth trapped in a spider web, however, upon closer inspection she finds it to be a tiny winged horse.

Not your typical children’s book, there are sections devoted to several different foals, telling a bit about the foal and always ending with a poem. This book is not only about the fairy foals, but about friendship, adventure and the magical things that can happen if you just look for them.

My 9 year old loved this book. She sat down to start reading it and didn’t close it until she was done. Then she looked at me and with a satisfied sigh, said, “I wish that wasn’t the end. I loved this book.” High praise indeed.

Written by Perri, a homeschooling mom of 6 kids - 2 that are grown and out of the house and 4 younger ones who help wreck and clean the house. Perri also has two precious grandchildren. She spends a lot of time doing ministries with her church, volunteering in the community and baking a mean cheesecake. She blogs about her family’s life at My Life in Bits & Pieces.

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Nina & Tom believe in local and domestic production. That is why their t-shirts are made from U.S grown cotton (many times organic), sewn in the U.S and then dyed and printed in their Northern California workshop. They use domestic crops, domestic manufacturing and fair labor practices that have no trade deficit.

My son has been sporting the “I Eat My Vegetables” t-shirt for a few weeks now and he’s gotten many compliments. Well, I’ve gotten the compliments, but he still thinks he’s pretty cool. I’ve found a few more t-shirts I think will be lining his drawers as he heads to school this fall. For our anniversary this fall I plan to get my husband the “My wife likes to spoon but I prefer to fork,” t-shirt. He’ll love that!

Right now they are having a Back To School Sale. You can receive 20% off your entire order and free shipping on all orders of $60 or more from now until August 25, 2008. This applies to online orders only and excludes the onesie-a-month or any other special offers.

Written by Emily, who is a married working mother of a very energetic 5 year old son. They reside in Southern Indiana (a little too close to the Kentucky border). Someday she’d like to visit Intercourse, PA and have her picture taken with the welcome sign. She writes at her personal blog, Fenicle and loves free samples and trying new things!

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