ParentSphere – Promoting products and services that make a parent's world go around

Probably the most beneficial product I’ve ever received for review is my Sleep Number m7 Memory Foam bed.  When I received the pitch, it was like, they just knew I was having a hard time sleeping at night and that I really disliked my bed.  See, when I was pregnant in 2009, I gained a bunch of weight and kind of freaked out because I wanted more space in bed and figured we might be co-sleeping for a while with our newborn once she arrived.

That was all fine and dandy for a little while.  It wasn’t long before Eric started to complain about how uncomfortable he thought our bed was and then, post-pregnancy, I became uncomfortable in the bed.  Turns out we didn’t do much co-sleeping with babe number 2, so, in a sense, we had a lot more space in bed than we actually needed.  Also turns out, our entire bedroom became pretty cramped because of the size of that bed.  All that being said, I was thrilled about getting a Sleep Number bed.

A couple of Sleep Number guys delivered the bed and the set-up was pretty quick and simple.  The bed arrived in pieces and I looked on as they assembled it within a half hour’s time.  They explained what each piece was as they went along and showed me the info in the user guide in case I had questions later.  Piece of cake.  I could not wait to rest my body on my brand new Sleep Number m7 bed.

So, it’s been about 3 weeks since we received the bed.  I currently have no complaints.  I’ve tried several Sleep Number settings and have settled on 70 for now.  What surprises me is that Eric has his side at 70, as well (DualAir Technology).  The first week, I tried a lower setting, which was quite cozy but at the time, my lower back was bothering me, so I jacked my setting up to 95.  That actually helped my lower back feel better after a few days and I was pretty comfortable sleeping on my back and my stomach.  I couldn’t sleep on my stomach in the other bed because it sunk down too much in the middle and I felt like a rope bridge.  I’m feeling pretty level from head to toe sleeping on the m7, so that scores big points in my book.  My current setting of 70 for the past week has been great.  My lower back hasn’t hurt in a couple of weeks and I am willing to bet that where I lay for 6-7 hours each night has something to do with that.  I’m also digging the bed’s CoolFit foam with gel technology, as a certain one of us is like a heater and that makes it hard to stay comfortable in the evening hours.

I’m stoked about being able to change the setting of the bed whenever my comfort level changes.  I don’t have to go out and buy another bed.  So, in my opinion, Sleep Number beds, specifically the new m7 (Memory Foam Series) which I own, is well worth the money.  I have a handful of friends and family who can attest to the same thing.

There are currently 4 series of Sleep Number beds to choose from.  We pretty highly recommend checking out a Sleep Number m7 bed, specifically if there are two of you sharing the bed.  I’m willing to bet you’ll be pretty happy with your choice.

I received a free Sleep Number® m7 Memory Foam bed to review from Select Comfort / Sleep Number for this post.  As always, the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

The weekend just before Valentine’s Day, MJ and I took our girls to see Pinkalicious: The Musical at the  Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place in Chicago (Presented by Emerald City Theatre).  It was a super cute performance and I just found out that the show has been extended through Spring 2012.

Pinkalicious is a book co-authored by Elizabeth Kann and Victoria Kann.  We discovered it in 2009 (when Hailey, who was 3-1/2 years old at the time, completely memorized the story and could “read” it to us, instead of us reading it to her).  We then came to realize there were more pinktastic stories in the series; Purplicious, Goldilicious and Silverlicious.  We own and love all of them, and then some.  So, to see Pinkalicious come to life on stage was such a sweet treat.

You can check out Pinkalicious: The Musical at Chicago’s Broadway Playhouse until May 27th.

Photo credit: Pinkalicious: The Musical

We had started to plan it all out.  Our road trip from Chicago to Big Sky – something we’ve wanted to do for a while but never quite found the right time to do it.  Well, the time had finally come and we were making the necessary preparations for the 1,500 mile trip to Big Sky, Montana.

As soon as we had it figured out…Eric was offered a job (after having been unemployed for 4 months)!  So, this isn’t a bad thing, it’s just a delayed thing.  Since he’s starting his new job on the date we were to head west, our trip has been postponed.

Yes, we were both looking forward to getting away with our little family and driving across the country.  We had plans to stop by Mount Rushmore and show our girls the amazing Montana mountains and wildlife in Yellowstone.  I wanted to show you snippets of Hailey’s first time on skis, sporting her brand new Banz Ski Goggles and tell you how Avitae Caffeinated Water helped keep us alert on our long drive.

This water, tastes like, water.  It’s so strange and cool.  Every time I take a drink, I expect to taste something. Anything other than water but I don’t. I just taste water.  And that’s kind of great when you just want a pick-me-up and no sugar rotting away your teeth.  Definitely check out Avitae.

I even started Pinterest Boards for our trip about things like, travel apps we’d make use of along the way.  Pinterest is blowing up.  What do you use it for?

So, yeah, we’re disappointed that we couldn’t pull off this road trip but really overjoyed that we’re both employed again.  We’ll just be good and ready for next ski season and will have a lot more to talk about when we decide to road trip it again.