review Archives - Page 4 of 34 - My Life: A Work in Progress

Review: Armpocket Ultimate Armband

16 January, 2014 20 Comments

Armpocket The Ultimate Armband- Read about it on My Life: A Work in Progress

I’m incredibly excited about today’s review! The folks at Armpocket agreed to send me one of their armbands (model i-25 in “Splash”) to review.

In the past, I’ve used a few different armbands, some better than others. None of them, however, were as comfortable as the Armpocket and there was never room for any storage once my phone or iPod was in these other armbands.

The Armpocket was designed by runners who understand that people and their cell phones are not one-size fits all. Not only are there several models of the Armpocket available, you can even choose the strap size to fit your arm! And the multiple colors and patterns are awesome. No generic colors here!

Parts of the Armpocket are even made from recycled plastic bottles, which is really cool. =D The back mesh fabric and strap edges are from a sustainable bamboo rayon that is moisture-wicking and resistant to bacteria and mildew. A layer of memory foam is in between the mesh fabric and outer water-resistant fabric, making the Armpocket truly comfortable to wear.

There are little slits at the bottom (or top, depending on how you wear it) of the Armpocket for you to feed headphone wires through too.

Depending on the model, there are little storage compartments inside the Armpocket, so you can carry your essentials all together in one place.

Armpocket Inside — Courtesy Photo showing inside an Armpocket

I love the storage idea for several reasons. When I had a gym membership, I used to carry my keys, small wallet, and my phone w/ headphones. Add to that my water bottle and sometimes a hand towel, and my hands were always full. It was awkward placing my stuff on the floor or in that little bottle holder on a machine.

Now that I run outside, it’s nice to carry essentials with me, in one spot. I’ve never felt comfortable leaving my wallet or IDs in the car. And as a busy mom, I often go from the track or trail, straight to the grocery store or elsewhere. In my Armpocket, I can fit my house key, car key with remote, mailbox key, several ID/debit/credit cards, a couple bills of cash, ChapStick, a pack of face blotters, and of course my iPhone 4s in its Lifeproof case.

It’s surprisingly comfortable to wear thanks to the memory foam. I figured that because of the Armpocket’s size, it would be a little heavy, but after a few minutes, I don’t notice it. In fact, last night I wore it for a run and forgot it was on! I had a moment of panic in the car when I couldn’t remember where my wallet or phone was; then I realized I was wearing my Armpocket! It’s definitely something I plan to wear during races, especially since I can even fit a gel pack in there.

The only thing I don’t like about the Armpocket is that between my Lifeproof case screen and the screen on the Armpocket, it’s almost impossible to see a text message, etc., on my phone. My phone screen is just really dark at that point. I don’t usually run while listening to music, because either I’m running with a friend and chatting or I’m running alone and paranoid about my situational awareness, BUT…if I were planning on listening to music, I’d have to set my phone to shuffle through a playlist and then just let it be. Manually selecting and skipping songs won’t be an option, since I can’t see the screen that well. The other option would be to forego the Lifeproof case and just put my caseless phone in the Armpocket, because then I can see the phone screen fine.

By the way, I can operate my phone through both the Armpocket and Lifeproof screens at the same time, so the touch-capability is still functional.

Overall, I love my Armpocket and can’t imagine there’s a better case out there! If you’re a gym rat, runner, cyclist, walker, or anything in between, I recommend checking the Armpocket out at the links below:

Armpocket.com | Armpocket on Facebook | Armpocket on Twitter

And remember, right now you can win your own Armpocket! Click HERE to find the giveaway.

General Disclaimer- Floral

Review

Book Review: “I Miss Daddy” (deployment book for #military kids)

2 January, 2014 9 Comments

Author and Army wife Acacia Slaton Beumer sent me her children’s book I Miss Daddy to review. Although I state in the above post title that this book is for military kids, I don’t think that’s necessarily true. Military families may be the main audience, but I think this book could be a great teaching tool for civilian kids, to show them what other boys and girls -perhaps their classmates- are going through.

I Miss Daddy- a deployment book for #military kids. Find out more on My Life: A Work in Progress

Beumer’s first book, Launch Out Into the Deep, was published in 2011 and was given a gold seal of approval by Mom’s Choice Awards for children 12 to 18 years of age. Her latest book, I Miss Daddy, focuses on the relationship of a little girl and her parents, while her Soldier father is deployed to Afghanistan.

In the beginning of the book, the main character, Jana, is acting out because she misses her father. It seems as if her mother has to constantly reprimand her. Jana tells the reader what she misses about her dad and shares some happy experiences she’s had with him.

Then one day a letter arrives for Jana. After reading the letter together, Jana and her mother, along with Jana’s little sister, are able to have a discussion about Jana’s daddy. Jana learns that she’s not alone. Her mom misses Jana’s father too, and it hurts both parents when they see Jana hurting. Then Jana, Jaci, and their mother pray that God will grant their daddy peace, love, and safety.

I Miss Daddy hits close to home for me right now. My husband isn’t deployed, but he is away from us for several months for training. Baby J is only 20 months old, so he doesn’t really understand yet what’s going on, but I know he misses his daddy. I see it every time he reaches out for a playmate’s father or snuggles against a male nursery worker at church. I call it his “daddy complex” in jest, but it’s really quite heartbreaking. Reading this book makes me realize challenges Baby J and I will most likely face together in the future. What’s important for me to remember is that although my son may lash out or misbehave, there’s an underlying cause. But he can’t express his emotions to me the way an adult can. A book like this is a great starting point to talk through our feelings and get to the root of the problem. He needs to know that he’s not alone.

I think military spouses can be outstanding at keeping a straight face, holding emotions in, and driving on. For the most part, we have to be. At least, I know I do. If I dwell on sadness or loneliness, it will just tear me apart. But maybe our kids need to see through that mask just a little bit. They need to know that like them, we’re not just “okay” with our lives moving on without our spouses. It’s something we just have to weather together as a family. And one day it will be over, and our loved ones will be home.

The print length is 36 pages, but the actual story is 25 pages, including the discussion questions. I think that’s long enough to get the point across but short enough to hold a young child’s attention. The illustrations are bright and realistic. I’m not sure if there’s a term for it, but the illustrations look like photographs that have been turned into drawings.

You can purchase I Miss Daddy on Amazon. It’s available both as an e-book and paperback. Find out more about the author, on her website launchoutbook.com.

General Disclaimer- Floral

Review

Review: My Hikes (solution to those too-long baby/toddler pants!)

12 December, 2013 11 Comments

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

As a cloth diapering family, there are certain challenges we face, notably the “cloth diaper booty.” Maybe there’s another popular term for this errr problem, but cloth diaper booty is what I call it, anyway! Baby J is quite skinny, but because of his stuffed cloth diapers, his bum always needs to be in a larger size of pants than he would normally wear. But if the pants fit in the bum, they’re usually too long. I usually roll the pants legs up, but they’re forever coming back down. Toddlers play hard, you know?

I was given the opportunity to receive a complimentary set of My Hikes. As colorful pant cuff fasteners, My Hikes allow you to easily transition your child to the next size of pants, even if they’re still too long. These simple accessories allow children to get more wear out of their clothes or wear brands that are typically a little long. Stepping on the heels of their pants will cause your kids’ clothes to wear out sooner, and cuffing them…well, do their cuffs stay up? Baby J’s don’t, and neither do mine (yes, adults can wear My Hikes too).

Don’t forget to take your My Hikes off before putting clothes in the wash! I forgot. You’re supposed to clean them by hand, but Baby J’s My Hikes did survive a cycle through the wash on cold and permanent press. They didn’t go through the dryer though. Since then I’ve remembered to take them off.

~~Over time, the My Hikes do start to slip off my son’s pants.~~ Update: He had My Hikes on his sweatpants all afternoon, and they stayed completely put. I’m not sure why they slide a little bit sometimes and other times they don’t. They’ve never come all the way off, but they’ll come about half way off (they still work at this point), then I refasten them. I attribute this to both the material in his pants and how hard he plays (rolling around, crawling, climbing, etc.).

I chose the “Dump Truck” design because at that time, Baby J was really into trucks. I like the design; it’s cute and three dimensional. I have to put his My Hikes towards the back of his pants and put them on when he’s not paying attention. If he sees them, he tries to pull them off!

In the photo below, Baby J is actually wearing a disposable diaper. We were out of town for Thanksgiving, and although sometimes we do cloth diaper on trips, I was trying to take as little luggage as possible. Well, with a now-flat bum, all of his pants were suddenly sagging and too long, even if they fit before! We used his My Hikes for most of the trip.

My Hikes pants cuffs fasteners. Find out more on My Life: A Work in Progress — Baby J wearing My Hikes with Grandma at Mall of America

The princess design is sold out, but My Hikes still sells the train, dump truck, butterfly, flower, soccer, and baseball.

Overall I’m pleased with how well they work, and will probably be buying the train set of My Hikes. I was forever rolling up Baby J’s pant cuffs, and these aren’t nearly as much work!

To see My Hikes in action, watch this video:

You can purchase My Hikes on (affiliate link>) Amazon for $11.99 a set (free shipping). Do a quick search to see more options. Or purchase My Hikes from their website. Use coupon code MyHikes40off to get 40% off (bringing the website price down to $11.99 as well).

Visit My Hikes at the links below:

My Hikes online | My Hikes on Facebook

Which is your favorite My Hikes style?

Note: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 … 34 Next »