Neato Robotics Vacuum: It’s not science fiction anymore. There are robots among us and some of them like to vacuum. I fell in love with this product even before I opened the box. “Our goal is to free everyone from the drudgery of household cleaning. Why? Because we all have better things to do with our time.” Amen. With three boys and a dog, I could easily justify vacuuming my house every day, yet surprisingly, I don’t actually enjoy vacuuming this often. Neato does. I’ve used other robot vacuums in the past and Neato has them beat in a few areas:

(1) It’s simple to use. Simple to set up, simple to schedule, simple to empty.

(2) It’s quiet(ish). It is a vacuum, but earplugs are not required.

(3) It’s (almost) as good as I am. I’m not going to sell myself short here – I’m a pretty awesome vacuumer. Dust bunnies? No problem. Cheerios? I won’t break a sweat. But I have eyes that can actually see these things. Neato only has a sensor. But it’s a darn good one that surveys the room via laser and then navigates around your furniture to hit all the nooks and crannies.

(4) It’s effortless. Every morning at 9:15am, my bedroom floor gets vacuumed. I however, am likely enjoying a cup of coffee.

Dyson DC41 Animal: If you’re not familiar with the brand, Dyson is to vacuums what Tiffany’s is to diamonds. (Note: Guys – do not attempt to propose with a Dyson.) The DC41 Animal is one of the newest additions to the Dyson family and it is a beast. This Animal sucked things out of my carpet I didn’t even know existed. Looking at the canister is a little bit like a freak-show. You’re grossed out that all that was in your carpet and on your floors and yet you Can’t. Look. Away. Some of my favorite features of the DC41 Animal:

- Strongest suction at cleaner head: 235 constant Air Watts of suction if you want to get specific. One of my favorite games is to position the vacuum at the base of the couch and see what that powerful suction pulls out from underneath. So far, it’s been Legos, goldfish and dust bunnies. Keeping my fingers crossed it finds an iPad.

- Washable filters: Buying filters takes time, money and brain space to remember that you need them. With Dyson’s washable filters, I get a clean start (for free!) as often as I like.

- The Ball: The design of the Ball makes turning a breeze and keeps all the nuts and bolts confined to a small area, leaving the rest for dust-sucking capacity.

- 35 foot cord: I know this feature may not win over some, but at 35 feet, I can vacuum my whole living room, dining room and kitchen – without unplugging. Win!

- “No Touch” canister emptying: No touching the vacuumed-up gunk at least. One button releases the canister from the vacuum. Pressing the button again, opens the bottom to release the contents into the trash. House clean. Hands clean. Done.

Seeing a cleaning device under the tree would likely earn raised eyebrows instead of roaring applause. But if it was a Dyson or Neato? Well, you just might be in luck.

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Kate Bayless is a freelance writer and editor with bylines in Parents, American Baby, Parenting, Babble and Momtrends. She is slightly embarrassed to admit that her holiday wish list included this item, but still would have rolled her eyes had her husband purchased it for her. Visit her at www.katebayless.com

MWS was not paid for this review. Samples were provided.

Sunbeam LoftTec Heated Throw – A good throw is great to snuggle down with. Even better? A heated throw. Available in two neutral colors – a dark brown walnut and creamy seashell – the LoftTec Heated Throw offers Sunbeam’s highest level of softness and comfort with a thick, lofty, polyester material and Sunbeam’s ThermoFine technology that “senses and adjusts to deliver consistent warmth.” In other words, a blanket that knows what you need and delivers. I love that the 50 x 60″ throw is big enough to share (when I have to) and has 3 heat settings on a 6 foot cord to provide the perfect amount of warmth. Plus, the 3-hour automatic shut-off ensures I don’t broil all night if I fall asleep in front of It’s A Wonderful Life. $50

Khombu Bell Tower Boots – My husband lives in sandals which surprisingly are pretty ineffective at keeping your feet warm in the winter. That’s why I love these fur-lined Khombu Bell Tower boots. They are similar to another well-known boot brand, but at a fraction of the cost. Available in black or brown, the durable PU exterior is waterproof and rugged though it also looks nice enough to pass as a mid-range shoe. The interior is insulated with soft, plush fur that gives the boots a cold rating down to 20°F and Khombu’s Therolite insole that is breathable, moisture-wicking, shock-absoring and anti-fungal. The end result? Toasty toes in a boot that can go from shoveling the driveway to dinner at the in-laws. $50-$70

Petunia Stroll - Instead of piling blankets onto your babe for your winter walks, encase your little angel in Stroll by Petunia, a luxurious bunting bag. Available in seven gorgeous chenille and printed polyester designs, Stroll is lined with uber-soft velour that will make you wish they offered adult sizes. Place the bunting bag into your stroller and weave through your stroller’s safety harness. Conveniently placed zippers make it easy to get your little one in and out while keeping them snugly and warm while bundled up. Plus, you can match your Stroll to one of Petunia’s chic diaper bags or accessories like the Adorn iPhone 4 case for a complete look. $149

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What tools are to some guys, kitchen appliances are to me – and I imagine many of you can relate. There’s something about a shiny new appliance in the kitchen that just makes the food taste better – or at least make me want to cook more. Here are some great holiday gift picks for the kitchen – forward freely to the gift-buyers in your life. (Amazing giveaway below!)

Omega VRT350 Juicer: I wrote about this juicer a few weeks ago and have discovered there’s a reason it’s made by a company called Omega – it’s the last juicer you’ll ever need to own. From kale, spinach and dandelion greens to carrots, beets and celery, the Omega VRT350 has handled everything I’ve attempted to juice with ease. As a slow juicer, it carefully squeezes out the nutritious juice at 80 RPM (unlike traditional juicers that use speeds of 1,650 to 16,000 RPM to obliterate the food – and many of the nutrients). The vertical design makes it easy to store on the counter without sacrificing too much space, and the dual juicing screens (coarse and fine) let me customize the pulp level I want. Plus it’s fast, efficient, compact and quiet. $380 at Omega.

Breville Smart Oven: I love smart appliances and this is one do-all mini oven that is worth the counter space. The Smart Oven can toast and roast, bake and broil, reheat and keep warm to perfection every time. How is it so smart?  Its Element IQ ideally adjusts the oven’s 1800 watts of power based on which of the 9 preset menu functions you choose.  BROIL sends all the power to the top elements to perfectly melt cheese or brown meats.  TOAST equally browns both the top and bottom of the bread while BAGEL crisps the top side of the bagel, only lightly toasting the bottom side.  Making COOKIES?  The Smart Oven has a preset for that.  Need a fast dinner and want to throw in a PIZZA? Smart Oven has a preset and an included non-stick pizza pan.  If the cookies or pizza are frozen, just press the FROZEN FOODS button and the oven will automatically adjust the time to allow for defrosting and cooking. Even better, the Smart Oven remembers your desired settings for each category. The Smart Oven is a sleek, stainless steel toaster oven that blends seamlessly in the kitchen and makes toasting, roasting, baking and broiling effortless. Now if only it was self-cleaning…. $249 at Breville

Vitamix Professional Series 500: This recent release from Vitamix combines the powerful variable speed control Vitamix has always been known for with new pre-programmed settings for the recipes customers use more. Plus, they’ve added a Pulse button to give you complete control over your blending. If you’ve never used a deluxe blender like this, you’ll need to adjust your mindset of what a blender can do. Smoothies and pureed soups are elementary here. With a Vitamix, you have the ability to handcraft your own nut butters, grind grains into flour, chop everything from carrots and coleslaw to coconuts and cheese, whip up frozen desserts in seconds and mix and kneads bread dough. Yes, bread from your blender. I love the versatility and power the Vitamix Professional Series 500 offers and the help they provide in getting you to truly experience all the features and abilities of the blender with their helpful instructional DVD and recipe book with over 300 delicious inspirations. Just this week, I’ve tried out their Pumpkin Pie Latte and amazing Brie and Bacon Dip as well homemade almond butter and a berry sorbet. Plus the kids helped me make our own super-fine, colored sugar sprinkles for decorating cookies. An investment for sure, but worth it if you use all its features. $599 at Williams-Sonoma.

** GIVEAWAY ** Vitamix is giving away one of their Professional Series 500 blenders to one lucky MWS reader! To enter, leave a comment below with what you’re looking forward to blending, chopping, pureeing or grinding up most. You can earn additional entries by doing any of the following (be sure to come back here and leave us a separate comment telling us you did!)

- follow MWS or Vitamix on Facebook

- following MWS, Vitamix or me on Twitter

- share a link to this post on Facebook

- tweet about the contest using the hashtag #MWSvitamix

Contests ends December 22, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST. No PO boxes and US residents only. Winner will be chosen by random.org and notified via email. Winner has 3 days to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Please not that the product will NOT arrive in time for the Christmas holiday.

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Note: MWS was not paid for this review. Some product samples were provided.

This Cuisinart 12-Cup Coffee Maker normally retails for $185.00.  You can buy it today for $49.99 with free shipping on Amazon.  Such a fab deal – snatch it up before end of day if you can use this for someone on your list!

A subscription doesn’t come cheap, which is why this one is such a great deal!  Amazon’s running a Gold Box Deal on it – $12 for 12 issues.  It is auto-renewal but you can literally sign up and cancel a month later (yet still get your year)  It’s so worth it and what a great gift, right?

Get 12 issues of Real Simple for $12 on Amazon – not sure how long this one will last so hop to it!

So as a bonus, the wine is good!  I tested in out the Little Black Dress Chardonnay and I was not disappointed.  It was great.

Triple bonus, it’s affordable!!  You lucky ducks that don’t live in PA (where you can’t get wine in a grocery store – boo) can find Little Dress Wines in your local Walmart, Albertson’s, Ralph’s and Kroger’s for the thrifty price of $10 a bottle!  Visit their Retail Availability page to see where your closest spot to buy it is.

Once we discovered it was no easy fix our washer needed, I did what everyone does these days when they need information – I went online. The searching was endless, the option mind-boggling – what did I really need in a washer? What did I really want? Did I have time to worry about features when my laundry pile was starting to look like Mt Everest?!? And then I ended up in an unlikely place (for me anyways) – the Lowe’s website. I’m familiar with Lowe’s – we have one less than a mile away from us and I know that my husband frequents there often. But me? Not so much.

Lowe’s however had something called an Appliance Selector Tool which drew me in. You select your appliance (washer) and it asks you a handful of questions about your specifications, needs and desires (in my case, load size, energy efficiency, features like steam, pretreating, allergy cycles, etc.) Then, as you answer, it narrows down the appliance options to only show those that meet your criteria. When I was done answering all of the questions, the Appliance Selector Tool narrowed down Lowe’s 140 washing machines to just one – this Whirpool front-loader. It really did have everything I needed – a large capacity (4.3 cu. ft. for my family of 5), quiet (the washer is practically in our kitchen) and energy efficient, both Energy Star certified and CEE Tier III (the most efficient at saving water and energy). I was so impressed I got a bit ahead of myself and even used the Appliance Selector Tool to pick out a new refrigerator (for my dreams).

But the more I spent time on the Lowe’s website, the more I realized that Lowe’s can indeed be a place for the the whole family. From outdoor fall projects like fire pits, winter garden and homemade backyard games to kid-sized garden tools and kid’s Build And Grow building sets, Lowe’s offers much more than lumber and tools.

I even ventured down to our local Lowe’s on my own one afternoon to check out the Whirpool washing machine in person and was inspired to start pondering half a dozen different redecorating/DIY/organizing projects from the things I saw there. Plus I learned that Lowe’s offers Saturday morning Build and Grow clinics where I can take my three boys and help them construct all sorts of cool wood crafts like monster trucks, airplanes and pirate ships. Yep, put a tally mark in the cool mom category.

The next time the hubs needs to run down to Lowe’s for “just a few things” I think I might just tag along. And get my own cart.

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Mommies With Style was not paid for this review. I am working with Lowe’s to provide information about their site and services in exchange for product. The reviews expressed here are my own.

Kate Bayless is a writer, editor and after her recent visit to Lowe’s, is now considering remodeling nearly ever room in her house. Send help. Her work has appeared in Parents, American Baby, Fit Pregnancy, iVillage and other publications. Visit her at www.katebayless.com or @katebayless.

I ordered my kids some Colourful Sticky Labels ($21). Love these!  They stick to just about anything – I have them on my kids’ backpacks, lunch boxes and inside their clothes. (They can go through the wash)

Each order comes with 45 Sticky Labels.  Aren’t they cute?  And so practical.  Avoid those mix-ups at school and label everything with Mabel’s Labels.

Disclaimer:  Mabel’s Labels was a sponsor of Style School.  As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m like any other Mom in the house – busy and multitasking several different things at once.

So having a hands free phone is a huge help.  I had tried a few head sets in the past and never found anything that had a decent quality that was good enough to hold an extended conversation on.

But I have one now that I love.  The new VTech LS6475-3 cordless headset phone system ($99.95 with free shipping) is awesome.  I have asked several people if they can tell the difference when I’m on the headset versus and phone and no one can.  It’s top quality and it makes my life remarkably easier for those harried moments.

Other cool perks that come with this phone:

-Caller ID announces who is calling.  (In other words, no need to drop everything and rush to the phone for a telemarketer!)

-You can expand this phone to use up to 12 handsets and you only need one phone jack! (additional phone units are $19.95)

-Store up to 50 names and number in your phone directory

-Cool blue backlight on all the phones

-If you don’t have a voicemail package with your phone service, it comes with a digital answering machine!

Get this VTech model at VTechPhones.com for $99.95 with free shipping

So I was interested in posting about this new product – Coffee-Mate’s Natural Bliss.  It’s a much healthier alternative than what I was using.  These new products are all  natural with no artificial ingredients and are made with real milk and cream. Thank you Coffee-Mate!  I love it.  In my on-doing effort to eat organically and more healthy in the family, this is a

The three flavors are Vanilla, Caramel, and Sweet Cream.  I’ll be using the Vanilla of course but the other two sound great as well.  Visit the Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss page to read more about this latest product.  Like ‘em on Facebook too if you are a fan!