video review Archives

Shark Rocket Video Review – The One Vacuum That Does It All

December 3, 2013 by Momstart Leave a Comment

Shark Rocket Video Review – The One Vacuum That Does It All

By: Ashley

I am already a true fan of Shark products. A Shark Navigator was one of the first purchases I made after we moved into our new house. When I found out I was going to get to review a new Shark Rocket, I was thrilled! Shark provided the product for this review, but all of the opinions are my own.

Shopping for a vacuum is tough. You want to find the one product that can do it all: carpets, area rugs, tight spaces, stairs, bare floors… and you want that vacuum without having to skip your mortgage or rent payment for the month. With a MSRP of $179.99, the Rocket is an affordable (yes, expensive, but not ridiculous) vacuum that handles any job in your home with ease. Check out this video review to see the Shark Rocket in action, find out how to use the attachments, and see how to store your vacuum.

The Shark Rocket has some serious deep cleaning powers when it comes to carpet. After just vacuuming our living room the day before, the Rocket was able to pull up all kinds of dirt, dust and general yuck. (Check out the before and after pictures below.) It never has any problems cleaning up pet hair and the canister is super easy to empty.

I absolutely love how well it cleans bare floor. I noticed that the hardwoods seemed super clean when I used the special bare floor attachment, but even I was surprised at how well the Rocket passed the oatmeal test in the video! I also love how the Rocket makes vacuuming stairs as easy as it can be. It’s one of my least favorite chores, but the self propelled action and the light, easy to maneuver vacuum make it so much better.

The Shark Rocket is available at most major retailers. I know most people would tell you that getting someone a vacuum as a gift is a horrible idea, but I completely disagree. This is a tool that will make your day to day life a little easier… and a lot cleaner!

Here’s the product description from Shark:

ROCKET TECHNOLOGY – Shark re-engineered the full-size vacuum, focusing on the high-performance essentials and trimming away every unnecessary ounce to give you the ultimate in vacuuming versatility without sacrificing performance.
ERGONOMIC HANDLE – Comfort handle with rubberized grip provides more control and prevents slipping.
TWO SPEED BRUSH ROLL – Two powerful settings for all your floor needs. Deep cleaning carpets by removing embedded dirt, and gentle on bare floors and delicate area rugs.
EASY TO EMPTY DUST CUP – Hold the dust cup over the trash and press the bottom door release button on the front to empty.
CLEANING WAND – Quick release wand for extra reach when cleaning above floors.
WASHABLE FILTERS – High quality filters require minimal maintenance and never need replacing.
STORAGE HOOKS – Slot on the bottom of the dust cup that hooks on to the bottom of the wand or onto a wall with the wall mount.
WALL MOUNT – Wall Mount for unit storage without taking up closet space. Great for hanging the accessory bag too!

Ashley is a mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, and former teacher working to navigate through the mysterious world of Mommyia. Read more about her adventures at @Momicles2010.

Magic Moves Wand Video Review and $50 Educational Insights Giveaway

November 16, 2012 by Momstart 100 Comments

Shake it up! Work it out! Magic Moves is all about…MOVIN’! Stomp like an elephant! Soar like an eagle! Ninety fun, physical commands, a twinkling light show, and a variety of musical styles get little ones up and keep them moving, exercising their bodies, creativity, and listening skills!

Promotes creative movement, gross motor skills, and physical activity
Develops listening skills and ability to follow directions; enriches vocabulary (sway, prowl, creep, leap…)
Perfect for group activities
Requires 3 AAA batteries (included)
Grades Pre-K+

Magic Moves Wand – A Great Addition to ANY Christmas List – Video Review and $50 Educational Insights Giveaway

By: Ashley

Finding a toy that can fit boys and girls of all ages is hard to do, but the Magic Moves Wand from EducationalInsights.com does just that. Check out what we had to say in our video gift guide.

Educational Insights is hoping to help you out with your holiday shopping this year with a $50 credit towards any Educational Insights product. You can go shopping for great holiday gifts at EducationalInsights.com and enter the giveaway by following the directions in the Rafflecopter below.

Good luck… and Happy Holidays!

Enter to Win:

$50 credit towards any Educational Insights product

To Enter:

Tell us what you like at Educational Insights!

Extra Entries:

Use the rafflecopter please!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway ends November 26th. Please see the giveaway rules. We received a sample.

About Ashley (Managing Editor at MomStart): Ashley is a mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, and former teacher working to navigate through the mysterious world of Mommyia. Read more about her adventures at Momicles and follow her @Momicles2010

Disclosure – A product was provided to facilitate this review.

Robin Good and His Not So Merry Men VeggieTales Review

March 5, 2012 by Momstart 11 Comments

By Summer

I love the stories of Robin Hood; sure, the legends retold today expand the actual story of his life. There should be one of those disclaimers on Robin Hood movies “inspired by actual events”! But maybe that’s a stretch considering people know little of Robin of Locksley’s true “rebel life”, which is where his Merry Men come into play. Robin “the good Samaritan” and great archer hide out in the forest, but historians believe there were copycats acting in Robin Hood’s name. Anyways, as you may know cowardly Prince John had taken over England and was taxing people while his brother King Richard the Lionhearted was on crusade to Jerusalem. Well, Veggie Tales takes the name of Robin Hood and changes Robin’s name and story; Robin Hood was known for “stealing from the rich to give to the poor” but Robin Good fundraises in this Veggie Tales feature cartoon …

Bonus Short – Lenny and the Lost Birthday – It is a good little story about being special. My boys were not excited to watch it as they wanted to watch Robin Good. But it was a cute little story about a boy whose family and friends forget his birthday on March 1. Or did they? This little asparagus just wasn’t informed that it was a Leap Year! The Lesson: Remember how much God loves us.

The Silly Song with Larry – Bubble Wrap – When it’s moving day, you must wrap and unwrap! So why not rap about bubble wrap … what kid (or adult) doesn’t love popping those little plastic bubbles?!?

Feature – Robin Good and His Not So Merry Men – Robin Good fundraises for the rich to give to the poor. Prince John has a food tax and is greedy about his pork and won’t share with the citizens of Bethling-HAM. The Merry Men become not so merry and changed their ways from fundraising to stealing from Prince John. SPOILER ALERT: Prince John blames Robin for the missing hams, but when Robin escapes his guards Price John locks up the Sheriff in the dungeon of despair. The Merry Men also get locked up for being caught with the hams. Once Robin saves the Sheriff with a reminder of God’s love and the Merry Men repent, a giant breaks into the kingdom. With no help from cowering Prince John, Robin and the Merry Men save everyone. The Sheriff is declared the guardian of the city until King Richard returns. The Lesson: There is no hurt that is too big for God.

Verse of the Day – Psalm 55:22 – Give your burdens to God, and He will take care of you.

50 minutes long

My Mom Start Review Grade of Veggie Tales Robin Good on DVD: B+

Veggie Tales are worth purchasing. On Seattle TV, I know there used to be a channel that hosted their cartoons, but I can’t find it any more. I love the messages my children get from these Christian values cartoons. I like buying them and having them for at home viewing, but mostly for travel. When we travel our screen time rules go out the door (during the actual travel time in the car or plane), so having episodes is better for us than lots of long, non-educational movies. I enjoyed Robin Good and so did my sons (5YO and 2YO). I hope you like it too! This is a must add to your DVD library.

Robin Good and His Not So Merry Men is coming out Tuesday, March 6! If you want your own copy then preorder from Amazon for only $10.49, a 30% savings.

If you’re a Veggie Tales fan you can connect with them on Facebook.

A Sample was received.

About Summer:

Summer is very active in our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living while cooking up a storm.

Vlogging From The Shower: Kodak Playsport Waterproof HD Video Camera

May 2, 2011 by Momstart 7 Comments

Are you ready for another Monday Mingle? I sure am, I missed last week. I was behind on reviews, umm, yeah, I’m always behind. So I decided to combine this week’s Monday Mingle with a product review. It is quite fitting. The Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera is a video camera and since this week was freestyle I thought I would have a little bit of fun with it. I’m in the shower!! Oh wait, do you even know what Monday Mingle is? Just in case this is your first time to see it….

This is where we answer three questions every week over at Eighty MPH Mom on video or not you can just write them down in the comments section or on your own blog. Then we go link up and visit each other and learn about each other. This weeks’ questions: Freestyle!

The Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera works underwater. Oh there’s a shocker right? This waterproof camera works up to a depth of 10 ft. (3m) with 1080p HD video quality and electronic image stabilization.

Kodak Playsport Waterproof HD Video Camera Comes With:

Kodak Playsport Zx3 Video Camera in quite a few different colors (purple is our favorite)
Rechargeable Battery
USB Cable
Adapter for battery charging
HDMI and AV cables
ArcSoft MediaImpresson Software for Kodak
User Guide
Wrist Strap (for those water parks)

Kodak Playsport Waterproof HD Video Camera Features:

Don’t let sun glare ruin your recording and have smooth stable video

Simply use your camera settings to turn on the LCD Glare Shield feature
LCD Glare Shield feature gives you two filters to choose from that help you see your subject on the display screen in reflective outdoor situations
These filters are only applied to your display screen, not your footage—so everything you record will look as great as the moment you shot it
Get sharper videos and less blur thanks to built-in electronic image stabilization
Accidents happen—luckily the PLAYSPORT isn’t afraid of a little fall, it can take it
Capture your friends in all their glory with smart face tracking technology
See more details and accurate colors with incredible low-light performance

Be creative with great video software and easy upload

Edit and trim videos
Add a voice-over to narrate your footage when editing on a PC
Add pictures and music to your videos to make cool mash-ups
Grab and edit still images from video frames to get that perfect shot
Share on Facebook, and YouTube and Twitter sites with ease—built-in software and USB cable make editing, uploading, and sending e-mails simple
Debut videos in the palm of your hand with the vivid, high-contrast 2.0 in. color LCD
There’s always room for more—record up to 10 hours of HD video with expandable SD/SDHC card slot (up to 32 GB)1
Catch the highlights with slow motion playback right in the palm of your hand

The Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera retails for 149.00. It’s a video camera that inspires Fun.

What’s going on with you this week?

Disclosure: This camera was loaned out to us for two weeks to facilitate this review from the PR Company representing Kodak.

Bausch + Lomb Biotrue Multipurpose Contact Solution Review

March 29, 2011 by Momstart 2 Comments

I have been wearing contact lenses for years, thinking about how long makes me realize just how old I am and how long I’ve been out of high school. I’ve worn hard contacts and soft contacts and have had lots of issues with contact solution brands. My eyes either burn or itch depending on the brand I tried using. You might ask, whey I even put up with all the solution issues, well, in the Spring, I get eye allergies and contacts actually provide me with a barrier between my eyes and the pollen. Now, I’m not making any medical claims, ok, it’s just the impression that contacts give me so I wear them during the Spring and Summer. Even if it’s in my head at least it’s a relief from my eye allergies. So I had to find something to use to keep my contact clean. What I was using, in simple terms, was a pain in the butt. Even though, my eyes weren’t itching or burning from the contact solution at the end of the day my eyes were very dry and I would have to take out my contacts and put my glasses on. My eyes sometimes get so dry that I fear that I would blink out my contact lenses and lose them.

So I was happy when Bausch + Lomb sent me a sample of Biotrue Multipurpose contact solution to review in a campaign with Mom Central Consulting. I started using the Bausch + Lomb Biotrue multi-purpose solution and have felt quite a bit of relief in my eyes in the late hours of the day. I’m going to continue using it for the rest of the month to see if it really holds up to the test, but my eyes feel great right now, like I’m not even wearing contacts.

Three Key Features to Remember:

Has a lubricant found naturally in your eyes
Matches the pH of healthy tears
Keeps certain beneficial tear proteins active

I conducted this review while participating in a Mom Central Consulting blog tour on behalf of Bausch + Lomb Biotrue. I received a Biotrue sample and a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.