Cascade Platinum Review & Contest

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating. There are links within this blog post back to Cascade and to Mom Central Consulting.

I'm a firm believer in not treating my dishwasher like it is a garbage disposal. I do this for the simple fact that it is indeed called a DISH-WASHER, not a garbage disposal.

I've been to homes of people who feel that it is OK to leave that loaf of bread on the plate while it enters their dishwasher. Or that uneaten fat of the steak.

I'm not sure why they think this, but they do. 

I also, have always been a "rinser," when it comes to my dishes. Honestly, I'm not even entirely sure why, but I do. 

I think it stems from the early years of dishwashers and how the detergent and water flow maybe never performed quite the way it does now.

Which leads me to my actual post-I got to try out some of those new Cascade Platinum Pacs!!

I have definitely evolved over time. Starting first with powder when it came out for our dishwasher. Then the cool "gel" appeared on the store shelves and we moved to using that. The latest has been the pac movement. You've seen them for your dishwasher and your laundry, no doubt.

It's quick and simple. No squeezing, eyeballing, overfilling, or dripping of the dishwasher gel anymore. Just pop a pac and go. Pretty simple.

But then, Cascade went and did something even more awesome-they took those pacs and made it clean your dishes and your dishwasher AT THE SAME TIME!! (If you're not applauding right now, then you've never smelt a nasty dishwasher before.....)

What are some of the benefits of using the Cascade Platinum Pacs you ask?? Let me tell you!

• Scrubs away 24-hour stuck on food
• Eliminates the need to pre-rinse dishes
• Helps maintain the new look of machines
• Helps prevent additional hard water build up
• Delivers exceptional dishware shine
• Uses Dawn Dish Soap power

How did it perform for me? Let me show you.

After

Before

Before

After

OK, the top photo doesn't really do it justice, but I resolved to NOT pre-rinse these dishes. Doing this was a little difficult for me. I had to "break out of the mold," so to speak.

The True Love plate had peanut butter on it. While the peanut butter was reduced, it wasn't eliminated. The Cascade Platinum Pacs worked well on just about everything else. But, as always, peanut butter seems to be the exception to every rule! So, pre-rinse peanut butter, unless it is a light layer.

How did my dishwasher look? Amazing!!

My dishwasher is over 5 years old, and it was really gross. The dishwasher had a lot of hard water stains. But, after a few uses, you could see the difference in a cleaner machine!

I like to use an item a lot before I give an honest review of it. What are my thoughts-these little guys are great! I've always been a user of Cascade. It has a been a brand, for me, that has proven itself over and over again. I believe, with the except of peanut butter, that I didn't have to scrub rinse my dishes, and they turned out sparkling clean. That will be saving me all the extra water and time I used to spend before loading the dishwasher. If you're wondering if they are a good product, they have my vote! I plan to purchase these after, they are all gone.

How much are these awesome little guys?
A 14-pac (the one I got) runs around $4.29, in cost. Roughly around $0.30 a load. Not too bad, and remember-it cleans your machine too! Doing double duty for the same price! No need to buy a separate cleaner for the machine. This is a money saver!!

Speaking of money, did you also know that Cascade is running a giveaway?!

Click on the link below to win one of their awesome prizes! Or check out their Facebook Page, by clicking on the link here.

The Cascade #MyPlatinum 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, pans and plates!

#Myplatinum Instagram Contest!

Show Us YOUR Sparkle & Win!

So show us how sparkly Cascade^® makes all YOUR pots, pans, plates, glassware and silverware!

Enter^† Cascade's #MyPlatinum Instagram Contest for a chance to win a KitchenAid^® Kitchen Makeover and a 1-year supply of Cascade^®! Weekly entries have a chance to win aKitchenAid^® Dishwasher and six-month supply of Cascade^®too!

I enjoy instagramming some of our meals. By using Cascade Platinum and some of Top Chef judge and editor of Food+Wine magazine, Gail Simmons suggestions, showing off our delicious dishes are made even more appealing! To see what else Gail has to offer about food and tips, visit Cascade's Facebook page. Watch a few videos and learn how to apply some simple tips to your every day dishes!

Hope you've enjoyed my review and I also hope you're signed up for the contest! Enjoy!

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My Love Language...

I'm alive. I've been busy. Isn't that our life story? Sometimes, I can't even remember what we've done that keeps us so busy. Oh well.

I do have one thing that I can share with you that has kept me busy. I have been reading lately. (I really do enjoy it!)

I've heard this book title whispered around a little bit, and then I heard it used directly around Valentine's Day. 

The book is called The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts. 

Have you heard of it? You might have.

Now, before you go thinking this is just a book for someone in a relationship like marriage, you're wrong. This book, has several different spin offs, but will basically apply to EVERY relationship you have. Friendships, co-workers, moms/dads, siblings, and children. Basically, if you have a relationship with ANYONE, you can use this!

What really sparked me into reading the book, was a men's discussion panel for Valentine's Day. Several women/mom's asked a panel of men what they would really value or treasure as a gift. While, each one had their own answer, one man's in particular was very interesting to me. He said, "You need to know your husband's love language. Mine for instance is spending quality time, which means sitting on the couch watching TV, not saying anything."

This, sounds like my husband. Then I got to thinking, is it really that EASY? Maybe this would be the one step that could really help take our relationship, and all my relationships, to the next level.

Let me just tell you, it's a small book. But, it packs quite the punch. There are Five Love Languages. 

Words of Affirmation
Quality Time
Gifts
Acts of Service
Physical Touch

Essentially, we all fall into one of these categories. 

I've always seen these pictures or posts or comments about how sexy women find men that vacuum the house and do laundry or wash dishes are. I never understood that. The reason I don't get that, is because that isn't my love language. That would be considered Acts of Service. While I think that stuff is great, I also think it's part of just being a couple.

After taking the quiz, I found out that I scored really high in Words of Affirmation and Gifts. Which, is really, two of the things I probably request and ask more than anything.

It made me also realize that the Gifts one is huge to me. I spend a lot of time thinking about giving people gifts, looking for gifts, finding surprise gifts, and what would make a just for fun gift, for anyone. Could I say the word gift anymore?

But, I also realize I scrutinize gifts that I/my children, get just as much! For me, gifts speak a lot of love. When I open a gift, I realize at that moment, how much that person really thought about me. How much that person really showed they loved me. Now, that's NOT to be confused with being expensive or having to have a lot of money spent on me. 

Just knowing that someone took the time to get to know me, my personality, my likes, life, and then created/found a gift that fits me, is just incredible! 

This fills my love tank.

My husband, was a little bit of a surprise. The book talks about how the things one often complains or nags about, tend to show you what their love language is. Even how someone tends to just act towards you. We tend to mirror the love language we are expecting.

I thought about my husband a lot, and before he took the quiz I had pretty much figured out what his love language was. Or thought I had them both figured out. I was almost 100% correct.

His major love language is Acts of Service. Having dinner ready for him, washing his clothes, running errands, washing his truck, cleaning the house-these all showed him love. Made him feel secure. He always does this stuff for me, so I could tell this was going to be one of his big ones.

He will make me breakfast, he will clean my car, he will change the oil and rotate the tires, and he will even clean the house.

His second one, was actually a surprise. He likes gifts and quality time. The quality time one, wasn't the surprise. He tends to be the kind of man that just wants me to hang out in the garage with him while he works on his dirt bike, or shows me his new welds. He always likes to show me stuff he's doing and complains that I'm online too much when we are watching TV together. Yep, quality time is one that didn't come as a surprise to me.

Gifts and my husband. Two things I NEVER thought would go together. He's never really one for giving me gifts, but also, when I give him gifts (even the ones he will specifically ASK me to get for him) he just never seems to be to excited about it. I guess that just goes to show you, there are always new things to learn about the loved ones in our life!

We've been applying these things to our life on a daily basis now. I have to say, it takes a lot of the guessing out of what will work and what doesn't. It's actually been quite a relief! I now know, what I can do to show him, I love him. He's been doing mine as well. It's been so amazing!

We finally speak, the SAME LANGUAGE!!!!

After we took our quizzes, I actually have asked several friends and family members to do the same. 

My mom, turns out, is an Acts of Service person. My sister is just like me. There is no better way to show people you love them by speaking their language.


If you don't want to buy the book, and I do encourage it, then go to this link and take your profile quiz! Find out what your language is! You might be surprised.

The 5 Love Languages Profile Quiz


*Contains affiliate links in post.


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"You obeyed the truth and your souls were made pure. Now you sincerely love each other. But you must keep on loving with all your heart."
1 Peter 1:22 (CEV)

Check out some of my other posts!

Getting out of the routine to build a healthier marriage!

Kids Domestic Play Passports! Get Real Stamps!

Surprise others with your kindness! Watch it spread!

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Felt Gingerbread Ornaments (ok, an Egg Carton Snowman Ornament too!)

So, I'm not overly crafty. I've stated this many times before in my blog. Like here, and here.

But, with the holidays upon us, I felt the need to attempt to make ornaments. I'm trying to do this every year for/with the kids. Last year, we made a snowman ornament, out of pipe cleaners, felt, ribbon and an egg carton.

See, painting the egg carton.

Finished product. Snowman, via felt, pipe cleaners, ribbon.

Just take the egg carton and cut out the three piece for the snowman.

Paint the snowman.

Glue on arms, and nose.

Glue on scarf.

Write date and name of child on the inside, and hang with ribbon.

Viola! You, are a master crafter now!

This year, I thought I'd try to carry on this tradition, but with something a little more, stable. You see, I have two small children. Last year, I had two small children too, but one couldn't get to the tree and the other one didn't seem as fascinated with it, as he has been this year.

This snowman ornament has come off the tree several times this year already, and I'm afraid for it's life. Poor guy. It's like he's a real snowman, and every time one of the kids touches him, it's the equivalent of someone holding a blow dryer to the real Frosty.

The idea I had this year, actually came from a decoration I pulled out-gingerbread men.

They seem easy enough to make right? I thought of making it out of felt, to ensure its longevity. I found a gingerbread template on Kaleidoscope of Color's Blog that looked really simple.

I printed it out on card stock. I cut out my little gingerbread man template, and then traced him onto felt.

They are holding hands. 

Pretty easy huh? I know, I know. We are amazing crafters, huh? People will be amazed at our awesomeness.

After I did four gingerbread men cut outs (I doubled them up, to re-enforce the ornament. Remember, thinking kids and longevity.), I took more felt and started to cut out the facial features.

I used the bottom of the gingerbread man foot to make the smile. And the eye brows.

How can you not want to make one of these?

Wasn't sure about black eyes, or googly eyes.

I am going googly eyes! The kids go crazy over these eyes.

Have some Christmas Twine to hang on the tree! 

After cutting out some pink cheeks and red cheeks (pink for my daughter, and red for my son), I also cut out little circles for the buttons down the front. I let the kids pick out which felt colors they liked. 

I couldn't decide on the eyes. I had some black eyes, which you can see in the photos up above, and then I pulled out my container of googly eyes. 

(If your kids are like mine, you might consider just giving them googly eyes to play with. They ran wild and played non stop with them for about an hour and a half. My son's room looked like a graveyard of googly eyes, because they were ALL OVER THE FLOOR! Apparently, they're fun to hold, shake, stack, throw, put in a bulldozer, garbage truck, hauler, loader, Buzz Light Year's Helmet, and Oh! So much more!)

After careful consideration, I went with googly eyes. I did debate about sewing these, but, I thought since I was going to have to glue the eyes and the twine on, I could just go ahead and do the whole thing. You might be able to see it, but I did have some issues with my hot glue gun. (I have not gotten my master glue gun crafter certification yet, so pardon the big glue goop spots.)

The kids LOVE these. They have made their way off the tree already and have taken rides on the school bus and in the tractor. Who knew gingerbread men were so social?

Enjoy making these! They're pretty cute. How can you not smile back at these awesome little guys?!

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"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:10-11

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Your What is Glistening in the Sun?

When I was younger, and by younger, I mean my teenage years, I loved summer! Running around in a bikini or sports bra and shorts always showing my abs off. I was a runner. My friends were runners. That's what we did. We looked AWESOME!

I would glisten in the sun from the sweat, or my shiny blond hair. I would tan. I seriously thought I was awesome. I would wear lip gloss to make my lips sparkle and glisten as well. For some reason, to be really desirable, your lips have to be shiny.

Fast forward 12 years to now. 

As I was walking into my bathroom today, I started to take off my shirt. Time to put real clothes on and get about my day. 

Our bathroom has one side (oddly enough right where the shower/tub is) that is half frosted window. There is so much light in there, that it is often times, blinding. Also, it gets so hot in the bathroom during the summer, I can't stand to be in there. In the winter it is like my own personal sauna, and I don't mind then.

As I was taking off my shirt, the sun was glistening on me, and then I saw some glistening around my stomach-my stretch marks were glistening! 

That weird hue of bluish, purply silver caught my eye in the mirror. A lot of times I completely forget they are there. My pregnancy battle scars. I'm pretty sure if being pregnant was a track meet, I would definitely have medaled with a purple heart/ribbon.

I never got them with my son on my stomach, nope, saved those babies for my breasts. I went from an A cup to a D cup when my milk came in. I was so proud of them, that when I dried up and saw what that milk had cost, I frowned. A lot like how my breasts did. They just looked sad.

My daughter inflicted the stomach scars. Just carried her different. I even gained less weight with her (both were about 30-35 lbs). She just sat in a weird position for the whole pregnancy. 

I've made my peace with them. Most of us have them. I'm not ashamed of them either. I still wear a bikini. I am a mom. I am real.

So, today, I decided to celebrate that I shine. I should see about adding some glitter to those bad boys! 

Ever have a weird moment like this? Share with me on facebook, or in the comments below!

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.                                                                                         1 Peter 3:3-4

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Peacock Princess: A Homemade Halloween Costume Story

I am NOT Martha Stewart.  I'm not Bobby Flay.  I am just me. I think a lot of times, because I am a stay at home mom, I am supposed to have a go to trade.  Like, I'm supposed to be the domesticated queen of all crafts.  Don't get me wrong, I  can cook, and I enjoy it.  But, I don't spend hours upon hours coming up with new recipes.  This just isn't possible for me.

Also, I'm not super crafty.  I can't just look at the mess at my desk and say, "You know what?  All I need are some toilet paper rolls, double sided tape, and some spray paint and this will look fantastic!" Probably NEVER going to say those things.

I see a lot of other awesome women that can do these things and I'm thankful for them!  And Target.  And Michael's, and Hobby Lobby and Jo Ann Fabrics and the Dollar Store.  These places all make my life easier.  (THANK YOU!) 

This year, I wanted to try and make a costume for my kids.  We bought a costume for my son last year, which was a total waste of money.  We put it on him and he cried.  Cried is the calm word for what happened.  Hysterical, theatrical melt down.  Even at the age of two (by days) he knew he wanted nothing to do with his costume.  When he finally thought no one was looking, he stripped it off and threw it in the garbage can.  (My husband and I laughed and laughed.)

This year, I wanted it to be easy. My son has a t-shirt he'll be wearing. He is Charlie Brown. He loves Charlie Brown. He also has a Snoopy. He's all set. I didn't make this, but it is homemade.  We ordered it off of Etsy from SweetPeaAlaMode. (I love Etsy!)  

Go to her shop and check it out! She has all kinds of super cool t-shirts! She even custom designed my shirt to have the chevron stripe on the back! She made it super fast, and it was shipped and received within a week! AWESOME! My son LOVES it! The nice thing with his costume, is, it's a shirt.  He wears it all the time. Win-Win in my book!

My daughter's costumer I found when I was on pinterest (I may be an addict....do you follow me? You should!).  The Train to Crazy featured this how to peacock costume tutorial!  PERFECT!

I'm not sure why I tend to make things harder on myself, but I do.  Does anyone else do this?  I took what should have been an easy project and totally turned it into a two week ordeal.  Hopefully this is my lesson learned....

Step #1.  Use felt and cut out the feather eyes.  I have lots of felt.  I "eyeballed" what I thought everything should look like and just went to town.  Nothing is the same. By the way, felt is a must have if you have kids and stay home with them. (They should give you a mommy kit at the hospital that includes this stuff. Like my pun?)

Step #2.  After I cut them all out, I pieced them together and pinned them on the ribbon how I wanted them to hang.  (So far, so good right? Stay with me.)

Step #3.  Hot glue the "eyes" together.  

Step #4.  Now, here is where it gets tricky.  My intention was to dye a white tutu skirt I scored at Salvation Army for $0.99.  After getting it home and googling this, I discovered you have to be a Chemist, with a lab, to dye polyester.  Bummer!  

My next step in salvaging the white tutu, was to sew fabric and tulle onto it.  This turned out to be a horrible idea, because after all the pinning and arranging, nothing looked right.  My daughter would have been a half bred albino/Asian peacock monster.  Not the look I was going for.  I threw away the re-using tutu idea, and decided to make it from scratch.  

Went to Michael's five times and Jo Ann Fabric about the same (with my coupons, of course!), and bought the elastic, tulle, gold thread and polyester fabric to make the tutu.

I measured out 8 1/2 inches for my daughter's waist in elastic, and I didn't measure, but just cut a ton of fabric so that it would bunch together and would stretch with the elastic.  There are tons of video's on YouTube on how to sew.  I watched about six of them.  

This is actually the 2nd tutu, my first was an utter failure!  Straight sewing and remembering to turn the fabric inside out was key in that learning lesson.  Well played tutu, well played.

Step #27.  I skipped a lot of the in between stuff, like scratching the first tutu band because of how I sewed ONTO the elastic by accident, and then how I forgot to turn the fabric inside out, and so on and so forth. Just know that a lot of man hours went into these past 23 steps that you don't see!  (Also, a lot of swearing.....and perhaps a cocktail, to take the edge off of almost being defeated by a Halloween Costume for a 1 1/2 year old).

I cut the tulle strips into about 14 inches length wise and again just eyeballed strips.  I tried to tie them into a knot around the tutu waist band, but I didn't like how it sat.  So, I sewed them on.

 This is my finished product.  You can't really tell, but I have glitter tulle mixed in with regular tulle.  And the "feather eyes" have gold thread on them to give them some more sparkle.

This tutu is my pride and joy! It is also a glitter bomb. But, every girl deserves a little sparkle, so I don't mind. (Sorry honey!!)

I have a teal shirt that she'll wear with it and brown little boots. Just need a head band and she's all set.  Oye!  Do I make that one myself too?!?!?!  I think I need help!

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Cheers!

My son, who is just shy of turning three, has discovered "Cheers!"

Not just the word, but the fact that you are to clink together anything and say those words.  He likes to cheers cups, spoons, forks, toys, pillows, soap at bath time, well, you get the idea.  It's a novel idea.  He just likes to celebrate.  Who doesn't? It's nice to have someone around who just wants to be celebratory!

He has also been potty trained for almost a year.  (No, this is not bragging.)  However, during the training process, which anyone with a boy can tell you, means sometimes telling them it's OK to pee outside.  Well, we encourage it, since we're outside A LOT!  He's peed in parking lots, on the side of the highway, and I think he's really enjoying starting to take aim at my car tires.  Hmm...

While we were enjoying an afternoon outside, our son had to go to the bathroom.  My husband takes him around to the side of the house to "Pee in the rocks."  My husband decides it's time for him to go too.

There they both stood.  Peeing outside.  In the rocks.  Together.  What a beautiful moment.  So, my son looks up at his dad, smiles and says, "Cheers?  Cheers, Dad?"

To which my husband let out a huge laugh and said, "Um, no bud, we don't cheers these."

This, might be, the funniest thing he's ever said.  Got to love our children!

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