We are excited at my house that football season is starting.  We recently bought a big screen and were awed when we watched a preseason game on it on Sunday.  It’s amazing what a little HD does for your television watching.  With that being said, some of my fantasy football drafts have already started.  I use to always pick Brett Favre (I am from Green Bay, and well, he’s the best quarterback ever).  After that choice, I pretty much follow the newspaper and ESPN (since the hubby watches it every day).  This year, however, I’ve come across WaiverWire which looks like it will save me a ton of time. I’ve got till the week before regular season to get my draft picks ready. If you sign up for the FREE Stimulus Package (which is what I did), you’ll get:

• Free Fantasy Leaders
• Free Player Rankings
• Free Draft Cheat Sheets
• Free Real Time Player News (RotoWire & TSN)
• Free NFL Injury Reports
• Free Player Depth Charts
• Free Game Day Weather
• Free Over 100 Local Papers and Official Team News
• Free Weekly Waiver Wire Pickups
• Free Spread & Over/Under Picks of the Week
• Free Game Day Decisions
• Free Coaching Changes
• Free Latest NFL Headlines
• Free NFL Players of the Week
• Free Custom Scoring Based on Your Point System
• Free RED ZONE stats
• Free Receiver Targets
• Free Live Game day Stat Leaders
• Free Situational and Split Stats
• Upload your Roster for Free Detailed Analysis

They also have their own social network on the site where you can utilize a:

• Free Profile Page
• Free Weekly Guru Challenge
• Free access to the WaiverWire Fantasy Sports Community FORUM
• Fantasy Social network – Meet, Share, Learn and…Talk Smack!

Seriously, what more could you ask for?  I personally love the leaders and the rankings which should really help me.  The 100 local papers also helps, because my local paper only covers so much.  You are able to get a much better feel for the non-big name players.  This is free, so if you have a draft coming up, make sure you check it out like I did!  You won’t be sorry!

If you have athletes in your house, you definitely need to look into getting some Cleatskins.  This is one of those products that it is hard to believe no one has come up with before, because it is so genius.  They are designed to fit over cleated shoes and quickly and conveniently take athletes from the field to the street.  These fit over all types of cleats:  baseball, soccer, football and more.  I remember when I played soccer in high school, and I would have at least two pairs, if not three pairs, of shoes I brought school.  I hated that after practice or a game, we always had to change into a different pair of schools.  I know that this is something we will definitely be investing in when my kids get a tad older and are in sports.  All of the floors in my house are real hardwood, and I will not have them marking it up.  They also protecting your cleats from wear and tear, and are machine washable (that has to be a mom favorite right there!).  It also creates a sealed barrier which keeps dirt and grass out of your home and car.

If you have an athlete in your family, this is the perfect Christmas gift.  These come in a multitude of sizes and colors, so you should have no problem finding a Cleatskin for the favorite athlete in your life.

Even though we are heading into winter in the United States, you really need to think about sunscreen.  My husband would not listen to me yesterday when I told him to put on sunscreen before the Chicago Bears football game, and guess what?  He came home with a sunburn.  Once there is snow on the ground, it is even easier to get a sunburn even in the middle of winter. You always need to wear sunscreen no matter what the season is.

Now, my husband has a lotion issue.  He cannot stand touch lotion, having it on his skin, or applying it to our children.  No, he is not trying to get out of sunlotioning our children — it just really grosses him out.  That is why when I came across Kinesys I knew we had to try it.  What I found is that this is a winner in our house.  The microspray formula is super easy to apply.  You just spray it on your arm (or whatever body part you are applying it to), and that’s it!  You don’t have to rub it in at all.  However, it was easier for us to apply to our kids faces (since my kids are little) by spraying it on our hands first and then applying it.  It is super awesome for applying to their scalps, because it didn’t make their hair greasy (and I personally think that is the worst sunburn ever, because until that sunburn goes away, it hurt to even comb your hair).  It is free of four important things – oil, alcohol, preservatives, and PABA.  This won’t irritate your skin — even if you have sensitive skin.  It also is water and sweat resistant which is great for kids too!  It is also non-comedogenic (meaning it won’t clog your pores, so you don’t have to worry about acne breakouts).  It also gives you broad spectrum protection against both UVA and UVB rays.

I found that my kids could handle the few seconds it took to apply this.  There was no fighting, because it was so easy to apply.  It was on before they ever even knew it, and it recently won the Parent Tested, Parent Approved Award.  It was also chosen as the #1 spray sunscreen for high efficacy and low hazard ingredients by the watchdog group Environmental Working Group.  The bottles also come in awesome bright colors that make it much easier to find in your house and the kids love.  Make sure you check out Kinesys for your sunscreen needs!