My Dirty Mom Confession Plus a Review of Smart Mixture's SpeakStick

Oh precious "alone" time. The time that pre-kids we all took for granted. Once you become a mother of twins your "alone" time is limited to when and if your babies decide to sleep at the same time. In the beginning it was spurts of 30-45 minutes every other hour or so, hardly enough time to drink a cup of coffee.  Now I might get 2-3 hours in a day of relatively uninterrupted "alone" time. But of course it's not actually me time - I clean up their messes, plan activities, get the big household chores done, pay bills, prepare meals and, of course, take a shower. Or at least that's what most moms do...

So here's my confession: I hate showering. When they were newborns (ok, ok, it was more like until they were like 6 months old) I didn't shower nearly as often as I should have. Actually, that's an understatement. It was a good week if I showered once every three days.  I know. Le gasp.

Gah, I can't believe I just admitted that.

I'm not dirty or anything, I just hate using up precious minutes of my alone time standing up cleaning yet another thing, especially since I was just going to get spit up or poop on me soon enough anyway. A spot clean and some deodorant was good enough for me. Don't judge me. It's not like I was going anywhere special with newborn twins that ate every 2 hours anyways. Instead of showering I was much more likely to be found trying to catch a quick nap, writing a blog post or just zoning out in a moment of peace and quiet and soap operas. 

Thankfully (for me and anyone around me) our daily schedule has evened out, the girls are finally sleeping better and I have rediscovered the joy that is a nice hot shower. And what goes great with a good shower? Belting out that day's frustrations with some good tunes. It's no secret that I love singing so of course I'm a shower singer but I have to have music to sing along to. Otherwise showers are just not as enjoyable to me. I've tried a number of shower radios and while they're nice, these days I like to be more in control of my music via programs like Spotify, Pandora and GrooveShark. I used to just use my phone in the bathroom but the sound is awful and I'm stuck listening to whatever comes on with no control unless I want to shower with my phone - not gonna work. So what's a mom to do?

Enter Smart Mixture's SpeakStick Shower Speaker. When I was contacted to write this review, in exchange for trying it out at home, I assumed it would be like the many shower radios I've had in the past. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that BlueTooth connectivity enables the SpeakStick to not only play my favorite Spotify playlists and Pandora radio stations but I can control them right from the device in my shower. I can adjust the volume, skip songs and even answer the phone. Plus, with my phone's Assist feature I can even hear and respond to text messages while in the shower! Now if only I had someone to bring me food and watch the babies I could spend all day in there if I wanted. Dare I say it, I actually enjoy showering again!

It was ready to right out of the box, I just had to sync up my phone's blue tooth and we were good to go. At about the size of my palm the waterproof SpeakStick is super portable and light weight which means it stays where it's stuck and hasn't fallen off my shower wall yet. The sound quality is fantastic for such a small piece of equipment - at top volume it's too loud for my shower.

We opted for the electric blue color and even though it's small it's easy to find when I toss it in the diaper bag with it's hard plastic carrying case. Do pay attention to the sticker on the case and do not put it in upside down as the suction cup will make it get stuck. I learned that the hard way.

Although marketed as a shower speaker, the SpeakStick can be used anywhere you have a bluetooth or computer connection. I've used it outside in the yard (I suction it to their play yard), in my car and in my bedroom at night. Also, since we listen to music all day, I can now put music on for the girls in the living room playing through the speaker and control it while I'm in the kitchen. Plus I can still have my phone with me to check messages or google search for whatever.

I used to dread using my precious alone time minutes to shower but thanks to my new SpeakStick I actually look forward to it! Smart Mixture's SpeakStick comes with a USB cable and charges in about 4 hours and lasts about six hours on battery life. It also comes with a lifetime guarantee and it's on sale for just $22 on Amazon right now! I'm already thinking about picking up a few more as Christmas gifts. Go grab one for yourself and enjoy!

Xo,
Maigen