5 New Things That Can Improve Your Life as a Busy Mom

If you've read my previous blogs, you know that therapy is probably the number 1 thing improving our lives.  But outside of that, I have some new gadgets that I LOVE, so I thought I would share.

1.  Amazon Echo - Or as we really know it in our home, Alexa.  Why do I love Alexa?  She sits conveniently in my kitchen, where I spend most of my time and helps me so I don't have to stop what I'm doing to go to the computer, my phone, write something down, etc.  To be more specific, here's what Alexa does for me that I love:

• She adds things to my shopping list by me simply saying, "Alexa, add milk to my shopping list." (Her voice recognition is very impressive.  I don't have to be close to her to talk to her, and she recognizes virtually everything I say.  She can even understand the kids!)  Then, everything appears on the Alexa app on my phone in my shopping list, which I can conveniently take to the store with me or better yet, add it to my Instacart shopping cart (more about that later).
• She magically sends things to my home by me just saying "Alexa, order more AA rechargeable batteries."  Now she can only re-order items that I have previously ordered from Amazon.  But given that we order EVERYTHING from Amazon, our available options are significant.
• She plays music from Amazon or Pandora by me just saying, "Alexa, play my John Mayer Pandora station."  Bam.  John Mayer starts playing in my kitchen.  Love that.  Or my daughter who loves Christmas can conveniently say (in February), "Alexa, play Christmas music."  And she does.  And mommy doesn't have to go look for Christmas CDs to make my daughter happy.
• She tells me what the temperature and weather is outside, so I know which jacket to send with my kids.  It's a nice little luxury.
• Basically, Alexa listens to me ALL of the time.  She helps me.  Alexa gets me.  I love her.

2. Dyson V6 Cord Free Vacuum - Why do I love my new Dyson?  It hangs very conveniently in my laundry room next to the kitchen, where I need it the most.  Now when my kids get cracker crumbs all over the floor or dirt all over the floor or glitter all over the floor...well, you get the gist...I can keep my cool.  No worries, I'll just grab the vacuum and zip, zip in 20 seconds, the mess is gone.  This vacuum really works almost as well as my regular Dyson, and it is so light and handy, I hardly ever pull my regular vacuum out any more.

3.  Instacart -  In case you have never heard of Instacart, it's a grocery delivery service.  They shop at your local grocery store (of your choice) and then deliver your groceries to you.  Delivery is $5.99 or you pay an annual fee of $150 (like Amazon Prime) to get free delivery all year.  You just have to purchase a minimum of $35 of groceries in each delivery.  Why do I love Instacart?

• I do not have to figure out how to squeeze 30 or 45 minutes of annoying grocery shopping into my day.  I can quickly add everything from my Amazon shopping list (see above) to my Instacart cart and schedule a delivery for later that day.  I can do this while I'm sitting in a conference call or waiting for my daughter at dance or while I'm eating my lunch.  
• I also rationalize that I save myself money and calories by not indulging in the impulse buying that often comes with grocery shopping.  Love that!
• We haven't really found a meal delivery service yet that meets all of our needs, so this is the next best thing.  My husband (our family cook) can make his weekly shopping list or select yummy HEB prepared foods, and bam it's delivered.

4.  DailyBurn - You might have seen this advertised on TV lately.  It's a daily personalized personal trainer video that you can do from your living room.  You select your goals, training needs, etc in your profile.  Then, the right video is automatically available on your smart TV app (Roku, XBOX, Apple TV, etc.) everyday.  Why do I love it?

• I hate strength training.  I really do, but I have accepted that now that I've reached age 40 that I really need to do it or else I'm going to have a mom butt and need to wear mom jeans.  I'm not ready for that yet.  BUT I detest going to the gym.  It takes way too much time and I hate paying that monthly fee.  I detest Boot Camps. 5 AM to pretend like I'm in the military?  Uh, no.  Basically, I need something that takes max 30 minutes a day and is inexpensive and easy.  So what to do?  That's where DailyBurn comes in.  I get a new video that's at my training ability targeting my focus areas on my TV every single day.  I just turn on the TV and it's like a trainer is in my living room.  Do 30 minutes and I'm done.  And it's only $12/month.  Deal.  

5.  Rodan + Fields Redefine - As I've mentioned before, I've always been a drugstore skincare kind of gal.  But now that I'm in my 40's, I decided to get more serious about my skin care.  These crow's feet aren't going to get rid of themselves.  So why do I love Redefine?

• My skin is so soft EVERYDAY
• The redness in my cheeks reduced by at least 50% in one month
• The circles under my eyes are far less noticeable than they were 3 months ago.
• I can see a difference in the lines in my forehead and my crow's feet in only 2 months.
• It magically shows up in a cute box on my doorstep every 3 months.  It's like a little gift just for me.

Do you use any of these gadgets?  Do you love them?  What other gadgets and products improve your life?  I want to more ideas!