I hate (make that double hate with tons of exclamation marks) doing dishes. I feel like I am constantly trying to get my dishes clean and it’s just not fun. At all.

In fact, I’m one of those people who pre rinses every single dish before sticking it in the dishwasher. Are you?
I don’t know. Something about dried food on plates just really grosses me out. And honestly, my old dish washing detergent just couldn’t handle the mess.

But then I got to try out Cascade Platinum Pacs and, oh my gosh, my life was changed instantly! Suddenly, all my pre-washing days were in the past.

To experiment, I stuck the grimiest plates in my dishwasher without so much as a rinse. I even stuck some day old plates in there along with the Cascade Platinum Pac. I obviously didn’t think it would work, because I didn’t take any before pictures. But, to my surprise, when I opened up my dishwasher my plates were clean. Not only that, there were no hard water marks at all on anything! Not even my forks and knives. Whoa.

Who knew sparkling dishes could make a gal so happy? Seriously, dishes might be my favorite chore now.

Plus, did you know that  now, more than ever, people eat with their eyes, and the evidence is all over sites like Facebook and Instagram. With that in mind, Top Chef judge and editor of Food+Wine magazine, Gail Simmons, has partnered with Cascade to discuss why presentation is just as important as preparation.

• From prep to plating: It’s more than just a great-tasting recipe, but also perfect presentation. Sparkling dishes, shining flat ware and spot-free glasses truly let you put your best food forward with culinary creations that pop!

• Gail recommends impressing with a Platinum Presentation: “The easiest recipes pop with unexpected, gourmet presentations. Drizzle bright sauces on sparkling white plates or layer desserts in crystal-clean glassware. Keep your presentation sparkling with Cascade Platinum, which keeps dishes perfect for anytime entertaining and impromptu guests.”

Learn more about Cascade’s partnership with Gail Simmons by viewing videos available on the Link to the Cascade Facebook page  and Cascade YouTube page.

Oh! And don’t forget to enter the #MyPlatinum Instagram contest!

The Cascade “My Platinum” contest is a four-week Instagram contest encouraging fans to upload photos related to the weekly contest themes. Show off how sparkly Cascade makes all your pots, pan and plates!

Visit the contest landing page for information on how to enter and submit images:

Each week, two contestants will be selected to receive a brand new Whirlpool dishwasher. Additionally, one lucky grand prize winner will receive a Platinum kitchen

To win, users have to both register and upload a photo with the #MyPlatinum hashtag and tag

@MyCascade. Participants that have not registered will be disqualified from winning.

Each week will have a 6-day entry period where Instagram users can enter the contest with their #MyPlatinum Photo. Cascade will choose two weekly winners and one final grand prize winner after the entry period has ended. Please be sure to include both the #MyPlatinum hashtag and tag @MyCascade in your entries to the contest!

• Week 1: My Platinum Plate (Entry Period: 6/3-6/9) Show us your best dish styled from the sparkling plate up!

• Week 2: My Platinum Bite (Entry Period: 6/10-6/16) Show us your best bite and most creative use of sparkling silverware!

• Week 3: My Platinum Clink (Entry: 6/17-6/23) Show us how you serve up creative concoctions in sparkling glasses. Cheers!

• Week 4: My Platinum Table (Entry Period: 6/24-6/30) Show us your sparkling tablescape for your most special celebrations!

• Grand Prize Winner (Entry: 6/3-6/30)

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What is your least favorite chore?

Last week, a few of my friends and I got together to watch The Bachelorette.
We decided that we’d all get out kids in bed and meet for an elaborate viewing party.

It. Was. Amazing.

Really!

We had so many goodies and even a fun little game of Bachelorette BINGO, which was hilarious!

For the party, I decided to bring caramel brownies. Only, I knew they needed a little somethin’ somethin’ to spruce them up a little bit. Enter these ridiculous brownie toppers. In honor of the rose ceremony, I had them say “Will you accept this brownie?” So wonderfully cheesy.

I even included a printable for you, in case you want to add these to your next Bachelorette viewing party!
Click here to download a sheet of 12 toppers!

I just wanted to take a little moment and write to you before you are officially two years old tomorrow. I can hardly even wrap my head around the fact that you are two.

I feel like you were just born.
I know I’ll probably still be saying that when you turn 50, but I’m serious. Why does time have to go by so stinkin’ fast?

Eloise, I loved you from the second I laid eyes on you.
Here’s proof.

But actually? Scratch that. I loved you before that. I loved you when you were just the size of a little tiny poppy seed growing in my uterus. In fact, I even loved you before that too. Before you were even conceived.

See, before that, your Daddy and I tried really hard to have a baby. Month after month, we prayed and pleaded with Heavenly Father to just let you come down here already. Only, His plan wasn’t the same as ours was. No, His plan included lots of problems getting pregnant and lots of heart break each month that passed by where it still didn’t happen.
His plan included miscarriages and more pain physically and emotionally than I thought I would ever be able to bear.
His plan made me wait.

I remember praying so many times and telling Heavenly Father that it just wasn’t fair that my friends could all get pregnant, and here I was after three years of trying with no baby in hand. I remember being angry with Him because it wasn’t fair and I just couldn’t figure out why Heavenly Father could just withhold something so precious from me.

Then, we met, Eloise.

And it all made sense.All the heartbreak, all the tears, and all those years of sadness made sense because that moment I saw you, I realized I was waiting for you.

I couldn’t get (or stay) pregnant all of those years because Heavenly Father wanted me to have you…And YOU could only be born on May 30, 2011.
You were so worth the wait.

Most days, I find myself smothering you with kisses because I am just so grateful for you. The day you were born changed me in ways that I could never have imagined. You have brought so much joy into your daddy and my lives in just these two short years. Because of you, my life now makes complete sense.

I am so grateful to be your mama, I can’t think of anything that I would rather be. Your laugh is contagious and even just being in your presence can cheer even the most sad people up. You have an amazing gift… You bring happiness wherever you go.

Eloise 1 year old

You are such a wonderful big sister, and you are always impressing me with your kind heart and thoughtfulness toward others. There hasn’t been a day since Hazel was born where you weren’t concerned for her well being.

On top of all those great qualities, you are funny. I know every mama tells their child that, but I mean it! You make people laugh where ever you go. You are so silly and outgoing when you want to be. I will never ever get tired of hearing you laugh.

I can’t wait to see what this next year brings.
You will always and forever be my booma girl.

I love you.
Mom

When we first received the toys, I was skeptical about the toys being fun for ages 6-36 months. I thought maybe the older kids wouldn’t really enjoy them as much. But I was so wrong. The older kids loved them and thought they were so much fun!

Thanks, Bright Starts for letting us host such a great play date!
Find them on Facebook and Twitter

When the toys arrived, I was in complete awe at how generous they were with their toys! They provided us with every toy from the line to try out, and even threw in some goody bags for the guests.

Here are about a million pictures for you to enjoy. I’ll do another post with the kids actually playing with the toys, it was just way way too picture heavy to post them all in this one!

(Huge thanks to The Paper Plume for letting me use her playdate printables!)

I can’t wait to show you the pictures of the actual kids. They had so much fun, and Eloise is still talking about how her friends came and played with all her toys. She is in Heaven!

Thanks, Bright Starts!
Find them on Facebook and Twitter

Okay, so let’s rewind a little bit.

Eloise is a huge Yo Gabba Gabba fan. Like, I mean HUGE. She talks about it all the time and will love you forever if you watch it with her. The only problem is, there are only two seasons of YGG on Netflix (what the crap), so she has seen all of the episodes numerous times thanks to my pregnancy and now her baby sister (also maybe a mixture of me being lazy, but whateva).

So, okay. The girl loves Yo Gabba Gabba, has seen every episode more times than I should probably even admit to, and knows every song. Right.

Lately, her favorite song has been “I love flowers” by Foofa (her favorite character, by the way). She sings it every time she sees a flower.

Here’s a little clip of the song, lest you are feeling left out for not knowing such a great melody.

It really is catchy in a “what the crap” kind of way (but, isn’t that how the entire Yo Gabba Gabba show is?)

Anyway. To the joke already.

Tyler was giving her a bath and she pointed to the shower and sang “I love showers” to the exact tune. Then she laughed hysterically.

My girl.
I can’t get enough.

I love her, of course. And all of her basic needs are met 100% of the time. But, sometimes I catch myself feeling guilty because I can’t hold her all the time like I did with Eloise. I would love to, It’s just impossible when I have a toddler (a potty training one, at that!) to take care of, too.

Mama guilt is the worst!

Thankfully, my Hazel girl is the sweetest baby in the world. She always is willing to forgive me and doesn’t hesitate to give me coos and smiles just when I need them most.

The other night, as I was rocking her to sleep (okay, well maybe she had been asleep for a while, but I was savoring every second, okay?), I couldn’t help but think of how lucky I am to be her mama. I can’t even explain how special I think she is. She is just so content and I know she’s going to do some pretty special things in her lifetime.

So, tell me! How do you balance loving all your children? I know that none of us mothers love one child more than the other–But, I guess what I’m wondering is how you distribute your time to show your children you love them, even when you can’t hold them all day long. Am I even making sense?

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Also, please ignore the mess around here (the blog)…I just switched over to WordPress and a new domain (www.lifeunfluffed.com), and everything should be redirecting– but let me know if you see anything wonky! Also, I’m working on the blog design. It’s nowhere near done, and it’ll be easy to navigate once I’m there. Promise!

I had seen them on other blogs, and knew that I wanted one, so I jumped at the opportunity! I mean, I am pretty sure I have had the same exact hair dryer for over six years. My hair has been begging me for an upgrade for a while. And, wooowee, did I get an upgrade.

Look at this beaut!

I love the sleek black look–Don’t you? And plus, it’s about a million times lighter than my old blow dryer. Seriously. I have been in hair Heaven these last few weeks! My hair has never looked better.

(now is where a normal person would enter a picture of their fabulous hair– But, sorry! I don’t have one due to the fact that I shower and get ready before Hazel gets up…And, by the time Tyler is available to take my picture, spit up is all over…Such is life of a new mama, I guess. Just imagine my hair looking ridiculously amazing)

The best part of this blog dryer is how many different settings there are! You can pick how much air you want to blow out and you can also pick hot, warm, or no air coming out. And! If you click that “cool” button once (none of that holding down business like my old blog dryer), cool air comes out. I love it!

Seriously, this is one of the best blow dryers I have ever tried!

My only beef with this product is the price, though. It is pretty expensive for a blow dryer, in my opinion. But, having used it…I’m thinking I would actually pay full price for one of these. Is that crazy? I’m just really impressed with Misikko products…I really want to save up for a flat iron now.

So tell me…What’s the most you’d ever spend on a blow dryer?

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I was given a blowdryer in exchange for this post. However, all opinions are my own.

First of all…We found our diaper soul mate. We love love love Sun Baby pocket diapers (size two)…They fit both the girls so well.

I thought we would totally hate the snaps, but I have actually grown to love them. Yes, they are a pain in the middle of the night, but! They stay on Eloise. She is so anti velcro it isn’t even funny. Diaper her in a velcro diap and it’s all downhill from there!

Anyway, here’s a little list of the things I love about cloth diapering:
-Not needing to buy diapers has been amazing! We always have some here and never have to worry about running out.
-Their little fluffy bums are just too cute for me to handle some days.
-They are eco friendly!
-My girls never get rashes anymore! Once I put a disposable on Eloise for convenience (so so so dumb of me), and she had the worst rash for a week straight because of it. Ugh ugh ugh.

Things I don’t like all that much about cloth diapering:
-Dealing with poop. Though, the sprayer and inserts do help a lot.
-We had a leaking problem for a little bit, but once we bought the right inserts, things were all okay again! But seriously…Leaks suck.
-Buying diapers is addicting!

Overall, I am so happy we made the switch. I’m kind of kicking myself for not doing it with Eloise sooner (she is half way potty trained…More on that a different day…) because we would have saved so much money, plus I think disposables are gross now (the smell really gets to me, weird, right?)…Cloth diapering has become such a great hobby for me, and I just really love it.

Thank you all for your wonderful tips on brands and washing! I think next I want to try a few more fitted diapers…I just have issues forking out the moola for the fitted diaper AND a cover…But, the one I’ve tried was amazing. Any suggestions on cheap(ish) ones?