Totoro Power Bank (Pink) Review

  I have the black Totoro power bank, well had it. My kids stole it and refuse to return it. So I went with a pink one to replace it and figured that I would write a review for both. They're the same product, but I do feel like color makes a bit of a difference in how you view them.

  I think Totoro is one of the most adorable characters on the planet. This power bank really does him justice as its just as adorable. I love the pink color. Its completely girly and cute and if my kids wouldn't have stolen mine, I would have picked it as a gift for my daughter.

  As with the black power bank, it works beautifully. It charges my devices faster than a standard charger and even has enough juice to add some power to another device or two when I'm done. I love that it comes with a convertible USB cord so you can change the tip and charge virtually any device. Its a little heavy not overly so and it's still very portable. The fact that is bigger than a lot of power banks only makes it more adorable as far as I'm concerned, and makes it easier to lose.

  The only complaints that I have are that it takes forever to charge it completely and it seems like there is a learning curve as the instructions don't particularly explain how to use it. The nose is the power button (how cute is that?!) and the light on the belly indicate that it is on and/or charging.The teeth also light up to let you know how much power the bank has. Hopefully its easy to figure out how to use from all the reviews. I will also say that when I received the black one, it already had a charge but the pink one was completely dead. If you bought or are buying more than one, don't get worried until you charge it!

  I'm huge on quality and this baby is made of high quality materials and feels great. It has a smooth matte finish that feels good in your hands. It's pretty easy to keep clean and its a great conversation piece or a gift for a teen. I would definitely recommend it for any Totoro fan that also likes pink. Oh! I almost forgot the best part! Instead of lighting up blue on the belly, the pink one lights up purpleish pink! How adorable is that??!!

** Disclaimer**

I was provided a product or coupon for testing and review purposes. In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please note that all opinions are my own and I will only endorse items which I truly feel are of value to my readers.

Are your children scary?

My children are scary. My daughter is 8 (almost 9) and she acts like a teenage girl. My son is 11 and he acts like a teenage girl....
In the past, I've always tried to be rational and responsible when dealing with my children's outbursts.

For example:
"But, Mom! Everyone else is wearing make-up in 2nd grade! Why can't I??!!"
Because this is not "tramp training camp".
I don't say that, but I'm thinking it. Instead I take a deep breath and say "What other parents let their kids do is their business. You're my business, honey. Girls that are wearing make-up at 8 years old are trying to look and act older than they are. You're 8, Morgan. Try to be 8! You'll be older soon enough and you'll have the whole rest of your life to wear make-up."

"I hate you! You're the worst mom EVER!"
What I really want is to stick my tongue out and say "I hate you too, stupid head!".
Instead, I calmly say "You can hate me if you want, and I'm sorry that you feel that way, but I love you."

With my other child it's not much different:
"I don't want to put my laundry away! This isn't fair! You make me do everything!"
[inner voice] You do nothing. You don't even pick up after yourself. You play video games, leave butt-prints in my couch, and make my life miserable every chance you get....
 "Son, I'll gladly put your laundry away if you'd like to go to work for me, wash and fold the towels, sweep and mop, load the dishwasher, take the dog for a walk, dust, and cook supper. No? That's what I have to do today, so I don't think its much to ask for you to put your own clothes away after I kindly washed and folded them for you."

My children are the ones that make other people decide against reproducing. My kids make me understand why some animals eat their young. I'm torn between telling them the bald-faced truth, and being a mature, caring adult. Occasionally, I can diffuse a situation with humor, but more often than not they make my head explode. I've been known to use sarcasm.... heavily. I've been known to yell back. But, I always try to be mature when my kids act like spoiled brats. The fact that they act like spoiled brats kind of shocks me to begin with. They don't get everything that they want. I've tried to instill values in them. I've taught them right from wrong. AND I've always been a super-cool punk-rock mom!

How would they feel if I threw a fit because I couldn't have what I wanted. What if I refused to do anything? What if I hated them and slammed doors? What if I went out in public in a ripped and stained red shirt with yellow plaid shorts without brushing my hair or teeth?

Last week, I had enough of the door slams. When my son slammed the door, I proceeded to tell him he was doing it wrong. I then demonstrated the proper way to slam a door and made him do it the "right way" for nearly a half hour. I won and there hasn't been a door slammed since. Yesterday, my daughter started screaming and flipping out because she couldn't find her favorite shirt. I yelled gibberish and flailed my arms around. When she finally stopped her tirade and looked at me in shock, I calmly said "Now you know how ridiculous you look screaming like that."

Obviously I have to be just as obnoxious as they are to get my point across. I guess when I say what that sarcastic little voice inside my head WANTS to say, they get the point much better than when I try to be calm and understanding. To think that these are just the 'tween years. As teens, I'm probably going to have to resort to psychological warfare. I'm going to have to shave eyebrows and draw mustaches while they sleep. I'm going to have to drive them to school in pajamas with feet. I'm going to have to saran-wrap the toilet. I can't wait.

Do you have the same problems? How do you deal with your 'tweens?

U by Kotex Tween

  I just had a wonderful opportunity (thanks to the lovely ladies at modernmom.com) to share this wonderful product with my friends who also have daughters!


  If you're a girl, you know getting your first period isn't the funnest experience... And if you're a parent, you know that its hard to find the words to talk to your own daughter about it. Girls are getting their periods younger and younger these days and I can only imagine the experience is scarier and more uncomfortable the younger you get. Kotex has created a product just for tweens "sized just right." U by Kotex Tween products are smaller, have colorful designs and are just all around awesome. The combo packages that we received came with 12 pads and 12 liners. 

  The pads have wings (a big need for young girls for the additional protection) and are "extra absorbent", promising to absorb like Kotex heavy flow pads. They're also shorter and narrower to better fit young girls' bodies. Both the pads and the panty liners have bright multi-colored wrappers and featured cute prints on the pad themselves. The glittery package features reassuring messages, tween-friendly myths and facts, and an information booklet on the inside. U by Kotex Tween has really thought this through and made a tween friendly product that confronts your period with style and fun.

  I honestly wish they would have made products like this when I started my period. Back then, you didn't have very many options. As a smaller girl, I felt like I was wearing a diaper that wrapped from my belly button to my spine xD 
These products makes the whole "process" of having your first period seem more glamorous and fun. And definitely less scary.


  They also have a website which you can check out that has lots of resources 
(helpful interactive calendar, video, advice, etc) and information for YOUR talk and advice about puberty.  And here's some helpful information that I pulled from the Kotex website: 
 

                                                              Click to enlarge


  I got to host a small get-together with 5 of my closest friends that also have tween daughters and are unsure of how to handle the TALK. Our products came in lovely black gift back with a pretty pink tissue paper. There was a packet with information in each bag with tips and advice on how to approach the subject, as well as a Q&A pack to help answer any questions your daughter might have. I also purchased several things that would come in handy, such as: notepads, pens, and extra U by Kotex Tween products.


  Lucky for us, our daughters all got invited to the same birthday party, so we got to talk freely. As we sat down with our coffee and our Harry & David cookies, we discussed first period stories (horror or not). My favorite story belonged to a friend (April) who's niece just had her first period a few years back WITHOUT the talk. Seems she was 11 years old and her mum thought she still had lots of time before she had to talk to her about it.
Not knowing what to expect, the poor girl had been hysterical. When her mother came into the bathroom and saw what the problem was, she gave the girl a pad and explained to her what it was for. The girl shakily opened the pad, and promptly burst into tears over the "Have a happy period, Always" slogan that was printed. (That would probably make me cry too, jus' sayin'.)


  None of us are very confident in our abilities to have this discussion, but we've all had bad experiences, so we knew what NOT to do. We grabbed our notepads and pens, and we got to work making lists. Our first list was positive ways to start the conversation with our daughters. Our second list was a "what to do" and "what NOT to do" list for our daughters including tips that we've learned ourselves. Like "not wearing white pants close to school close to your period" and "always keep products handy in your purse, just in case". 


  As we put these special lists in our gift bags, it occurred to us that they seemed mighty empty. Emptiness is not a very good way to celebrate womanhood, so we went shopping! ^_^
We loaded up in my Suzuki, and headed to Wal-mart to get goodies that would help our daughters through this rough time. Our purchases included small bottles of Excedrin, Midol, cute make-up bag for our daughter's purse/bookbag, deodorant, lip gloss (we all love to be pretty), wet wipes, new underwear, little heating pads, nail polish, small diaries, and of course Lindt chocolates among other things. We then proceeded to head to a small local store to pick up low-cost tiaras, and pocket calendars.


We put together "emergency" kits with the make-up bags for our girls to take with them. Each one had pads and liners, lip gloss, a little disposable heating pad, the Midol and Excedrin, wet wipes, and a spare pair of underwear. We arranged all the stuff we bought in our bags, then we printed out helpful informational sheets and pamphlets, tied them with a ribbon and put them in the bags as well. We're calling our bags the "Welcome to Womanhood Bags".
  
We finished up by discussing exactly what to tell our daughters. Do we just have the period talk? Do we have the sex talk at the same time? Do we have the sex talk first? Do we tie them down and talk to them whether they like it or not? By the time we finished discussing, arguing, and list making, we all felt confident that we could talk to our daughters about their period without traumatizing them xD




Check out my bag and the lovely cookies (which I forgot to take a picture of xD)!

 

****I would like to take a moment to thank the ladies at ModernMom.com and Kotex for this wonderful opportunity. I'm sure I wouldn't have done so well talking to my daughter, or had as much fun planning the talk without the resources they've provided. Thank you so much! ****


**Disclaimer: Products were provided by Modernmom.com and Kotex. 
I did not receive any monetary compensation and all opinions in this blog are mine and mine alone.