I’m an Apple girl and I love my Mac gadgets. I’m loving my iPad more and more as time goes on. My kids love it too – I love that they love it because there are definitely some times when keeping a child occupied comes in handy! The downside is that iPad screen has a large surface area that seems to attract the finger-grease and “whatnot” of anything within a foot of it. Despite the fact that it fits right in my purse (think large-fits-all-I-could-ever-want-it-to, kind of bag, let’s face it, I’m a Mom and there’s a lot of non-iPad friendly snack crumbs, crayons, and other smear-happy products in that monster bag. I’ve been using the sleek black Apple case but to be honest, as sexy as it is, the greasy paws and the crusty crumb rings that form inside the cover edges, are just plain gross.

As a professional, the iPad has been an extremely beneficial tool. As a parent, it has literally saved my sanity at times.

I was introduced to the M-Edge Accessories brand a few weeks ago. M-Edge produces jacket protection for major brand e-readers and now the Apple iPad. If you knew how long I had been looking for a suitable clear-cover case for my iPad, you would excuse the giddy girl response I emailed when my favorite PR contact casually mentioned that she had noticed my “sent from my iPad” email signature, and that she her client just happens to make iPad covers, and wondered if I might be interested in looking at several that were on the more durable side.

I clicked through three different M-Edge product links that she sent, and there it was! An actual iPad cover that zips shut and has a clear front! I may or may not have transmitted a geek-squee (FYI, I’m thinking trademarking that word.) across the interwebs that day!

At 49.99 I was a little nervous that the price point might not be something I’d recommend to my readers, but since I hadn’t been able to find anything even remotely similar, I bit the bullet and asked them to send me the Leisure Jacket.  And here, my friends, is the story of me and the iPad jacket named after an unfortunate 70′s fashion trend……

• This is a hardcore, sturdy cover. Nothing sexy about this puppy except for the fact that I didn’t have to worry about the iPad slipping out of my kids hands and there wasn’t a single greasy, slimy, sticky spot on the screen when I removed it from the jacket.
• The clear vinyl cover protects the screen against sand, dirt, moisture, and of course, those sticky greasy little person prints. The plastic does create some bubbling but my kids haven’t complained and I was able to see and operate the touch screen just fine.
• The iPad lays inside a double zipper closure case, on a high density foam frame. It isn’t a perfectly tight fit but it holds the iPad in place and has cut-outs where your accessory jacks and buttons are. You can also flip the iPad over for extra screen protection.
• The zipper compartment at the back is designed with pockets for the iPhone and other accessories. While there is some stretch to the pocket, it isn’t all that roomy. For my purposes,  I was thrilled to be able to throw it in my purse and know that it’d be protected.
• At $49.99 it may seem a bit pricey but I was not able to find a comparable product that met all of my needs. Compared to the cost of the actual iPad, the $50 is a drop in the bucket, considering the safety the Leisure Jacket provides.

Overall, I love this product. I found it to be sturdy and protective.  I would love to see M-Edge work towards making the buttons and accessory ports easier to access. At first I wasn’t sure why they wouldn’t have included a firm opening on one side of the zipper track, but I love this cover for it’s protection from “the elements” and any opening would compromise that feature.

I would also like to see them work with the clear vinyl to see if they can find a material content that would stick to the screen without bubbling. I’ve been able to smooth out sections of the plastic so it seems like a better solution wouldn’t be unattainable. I wonder, instead of having the front be completely plastic, if the vinyl might not bubble quite as much if there were a front material frame where one could center the front and then just push out any bubbles.  Yes, it’s Blonde Engineering Day today!

All in all, I would recommend this to a gal with a deep purse, a mom or dad, or an outdoorsy person; someone who needs to have the iPad enclosed for protection would find the M-Edge Leisure Jacket fits a good option.

I’m an Apple girl and I love my Mac gadgets. I’m loving my iPad more and more as time goes on. My kids love it too – I love that they love it because there are definitely some times when keeping a child occupied comes in handy! The downside is that iPad screen has a large surface area that seems to attract the finger-grease and “whatnot” of anything within a foot of it. Despite the fact that it fits right in my purse (think large-fits-all-I-could-ever-want-it-to, kind of bag, let’s face it, I’m a Mom and there’s a lot of non-iPad friendly snack crumbs, crayons, and other smear-happy products in that monster bag. I’ve been using the sleek black Apple case but to be honest, as sexy as it is, the greasy paws and the crusty crumb rings that form inside the cover edges, are just plain gross.

As a professional, the iPad has been an extremely beneficial tool. As a parent, it has literally saved my sanity at times.

I was introduced to the M-Edge Accessories brand a few weeks ago. M-Edge produces jacket protection for major brand e-readers and now the Apple iPad. If you knew how long I had been looking for a suitable clear-cover case for my iPad, you would excuse the giddy girl response I emailed when my favorite PR contact casually mentioned that she had noticed my “sent from my iPad” email signature, and that she her client just happens to make iPad covers, and wondered if I might be interested in looking at several that were on the more durable side.

I clicked through three different M-Edge product links that she sent, and there it was! An actual iPad cover that zips shut and has a clear front! I may or may not have transmitted a geek-squee (FYI, I’m thinking trademarking that word.) across the interwebs that day!

At 49.99 I was a little nervous that the price point might not be something I’d recommend to my readers, but since I hadn’t been able to find anything even remotely similar, I bit the bullet and asked them to send me the Leisure Jacket.  And here, my friends, is the story of me and the iPad jacket named after an unfortunate 70′s fashion trend……

• This is a hardcore, sturdy cover. Nothing sexy about this puppy except for the fact that I didn’t have to worry about the iPad slipping out of my kids hands and there wasn’t a single greasy, slimy, sticky spot on the screen when I removed it from the jacket.
• The clear vinyl cover protects the screen against sand, dirt, moisture, and of course, those sticky greasy little person prints. The plastic does create some bubbling but my kids haven’t complained and I was able to see and operate the touch screen just fine.
• The iPad lays inside a double zipper closure case, on a high density foam frame. It isn’t a perfectly tight fit but it holds the iPad in place and has cut-outs where your accessory jacks and buttons are. You can also flip the iPad over for extra screen protection.
• The zipper compartment at the back is designed with pockets for the iPhone and other accessories. While there is some stretch to the pocket, it isn’t all that roomy. For my purposes,  I was thrilled to be able to throw it in my purse and know that it’d be protected.
• At $49.99 it may seem a bit pricey but I was not able to find a comparable product that met all of my needs. Compared to the cost of the actual iPad, the $50 is a drop in the bucket, considering the safety the Leisure Jacket provides.

Overall, I love this product. I found it to be sturdy and protective.  I would love to see M-Edge work towards making the buttons and accessory ports easier to access. At first I wasn’t sure why they wouldn’t have included a firm opening on one side of the zipper track, but I love this cover for it’s protection from “the elements” and any opening would compromise that feature.

I would also like to see them work with the clear vinyl to see if they can find a material content that would stick to the screen without bubbling. I’ve been able to smooth out sections of the plastic so it seems like a better solution wouldn’t be unattainable. I wonder, instead of having the front be completely plastic, if the vinyl might not bubble quite as much if there were a front material frame where one could center the front and then just push out any bubbles.  Yes, it’s Blonde Engineering Day today!

All in all, I would recommend this to a gal with a deep purse, a mom or dad, or an outdoorsy person; someone who needs to have the iPad enclosed for protection would find the M-Edge Leisure Jacket fits a good option.

I’m successful.  Am I successful? What is success?

I have no idea how women work and take care of a family at the same time. I’ve been failing miserably at it for a few years now. I took the summer off and spent every single minute of every day with my kidlets. I loved every stinkin’ minute of it.

This summer I was present. I was 100% in tune with who my kids are and important life changing conversations took place.  Conversations about sex, drugs, violence, bullying, war, poverty… you name it, we covered it. My kids were engaged. I was present.

Balance

Balance, it’s a ridiculous word… nothing is every balanced forever, now is it? Think about it. Things are in balance, and it isn’t a permanent state. Nothing is, so we women folk should stop being so hard on ourselves. Get over it. Balance is a verb, it’s constant motion … accept it. Word.

My family deserves better

I’m not going to let the “shiny” cheat my kids of me. I’m pretty darn fantastic, so really, it’s a crime for me to be a workaholic! I love what I do and I’ll keep doin’ it, but there’ll be less of my fabulosity to go around. If yer lucky enough to be offered a slice of me, treat me well, ya hear?

Organize. Balance. Order. Prioritize. If I have these with work but not at home, well – that isn’t exactly success is it?

My stats may suck, my bank account is empty, my workload is light – but my family has actually eaten a healthy home cooked meal 4 nights in a row. Oh, and the christmas wrapping paper tub is no longer sitting in the middle of my closet…. amazing.

I shall succeed.