html404 - Faith and Family Reviews

Archive for html404

Wallaby Organic Kefir

Posted by html404 on August 20, 2013
in All Natural Products, Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Health, Health and Nutrition, Home, Organic, Reviews, Uncategorized

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

What is Kefir

Kefir is an ancient beverage that is packed full of wonderfully good stuff! This is what the National Kefir Association says (I didn’t even know there was such an association for kefir!). I thought this information was interesting and I learned a few things:

The name Kefir comes from the Turkish word “keif” – meaning “good feeling” – for the sense of well-being experienced after drinking it.

Kefir is often compared to yogurt, because they have similar tastes and both contain live and active probiotic cultures, which support immunity and ease digestion. One difference between the two is that Kefir is a drink, so it can be enjoyed on the go. But the biggest difference is that Kefir contains three times the amount of probiotic cultures typically found in yogurt – Kefir usually has around 10 – which means a bigger benefit for your digestive and immune systems. Kefir is also an excellent source of protein, calcium and fiber. Plus, it’s gluten-free, 99% lactose-free and comes in many different flavors, as well as lowfat, nonfat and low-carb versions, so even the pickiest eaters can enjoy the health benefits of Kefir.

Wallaby Organic Kefir

When there is food in the house to review I have to take photos right away. I did this with this review, but what I forgot to do was take photos of the actual kefir and of someone drinking it! If I don’t do it right away, it gets eaten or gobbled up before I even get a chance. This is what happened with the Wallaby Organic Kefir….until….my older daughter found the second bottle of strawberry! So she got to be my model!

We all love yogurt and amazingly all the children love kefir too, especially Wallaby Organic Kefir. We got the strawberry and vanilla flavored, but it comes in two additional flavors of blueberry and plain. We downed it. It was thick, tasty and over all very good. There are definite advantages to training your children’s palate to healthy food. Once their taste buds get accustomed to it they will usually eat anything good set before them. There are exceptions to this of course, as we all have our own unique likes and dislikes.

When Wallaby Organic Kefir says it is creamy, they are not lying, it truly is creamy. It also contains 12 different strains of Live and Active Kefir cultures and boasts the health benefits listed above from the National Kefir Association. The organic milk comes from local farms in California.

I really do not have anything negative to say about this kefir. It was a little hard to find so don’t go by the store locator unless it specifically states the stores carry kefir. I went to Jewel, which carries Wallaby Organic Yogurt, but it did not carry the kefir. My husband went to Whole Foods for it.

Two thumbs up from us!

{16 comments}

The Ultimate Back to School Bash #bts2013

Posted by html404 on August 17, 2013
in Contests, Education, Family Stuff, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Giveaways, Kids Stuff, School, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping, Uncategorized

Welcome to the Ultimate Back to School Bash #bts2013!

I don’t know about you but I still have school supplies to buy…oy! I so want to get back to the store before the sales are over! Since it is back to school season, I thought it would be fun to join the Ultimate Back to School Bash and let you all have some fun trying to win some awesome back to school products!

3BoysandaDog has teamed up with A+ Interactive Math and some fabulous other brands to bring you this giveaway.

Prizes:

A+ Interactive Math – 1 year FREE Online Full Curriculum – A+ Interactive Math – 1 winner (choice of: grades K – Algebra I) Value $124.99 . A+ Interactive Math is dedicated to making math enjoyable and learnable for all ages. A+ Interactive is perfect for homeschooling parents or parents that just want to give the child some extra math help. A + Interactive Math offers full curriculum books, workbooks, online education and interactive math CD’s. You can purchase A+ Interactive Math or view their catalog here.

Door Prize for all participants:

Multiplication for Elementary & Middle School – download (value $21.99)

link: http://aplustutorsoft.com/SpecialOffers.do

Code: enter 3DOGSMATH upon checkout

$100 Visa Card – This fabulous gift card is being brought to you by www.learntobloghangouts.com! This is the perfect way to get a great jump start on your back to school shopping! You can use this $100 Visa gift card at any location that accepts Visa.

Back to School Survival Guide – This back to school guide is brought to you by The Confident Mom. In this Back to School Survival Guide you will find everything you need to help you ensure the school year runs seamlessly. This guide is an 80 page printable that will help you keep your child safe while using the internet, help with homework, making packing school lunches easier, become a savvy back to school shopper and much more! You can read more about the Back to School Survival Guide or purchase one here.

Office Depot Sackpack of School Supplies –Office Depot is committed to providing affordable school supplies! You will find $25 worth of school supplies in this sack pack. The Office Depot Foundation donates over 30,000 backpacks to school children each and every year!

BYOU Magazine Subscription

Go Picnic Ready to Eat Meals – Go Picnic makes packing lunches and snacks a breeze. They offer gluten-free, kosher, all-natural and a variety of other snacks that are perfect for back to school lunches and snacks. You can view the large variety of products they offer here.

Tummy Calm – Have a little one with an upset stomach? Tummy Calm is a safe option to helping your child feel better. Tummy Calm is made with all-natural FDA regulated ingredients. You can read more about Tummy Calm and place an order here.

BIC School Supplies – BIC offers a wide range of back to school items from pens, pencils, markers, highlighters and much more! BIC is your one stop shop for your back to school supplies.

Teach My Preschooler – Teach My is your one stop solution for giving babies, toddlers and preschoolers a jump start on education. You will find interactive learning products that promote learning in a fun manner. You can order a Teach My learning program here.

Texas Instruments – Texas Instruments should be your go to supplies when it comes to tools for math and science calculators. One lucky winner will be receiving this http://education.ti.com/en/us/nspire-family/cx-handhelds. This is a colorful and engaging way for to learn math and science!

Wild Planet Foods – Wild Planet Foods has tuna like you have never tasted before. This tuna is the perfect ingredient for a healthy and delicious school lunch. Wild Planet offers tuna that has 6 times the Omega 3 and 1/2 the mercury other brands have. Order up your own supply of Wild Planet Foods here.

GHCretors – GHCretors offers all-natural, non-GMO and gluten-free popcorn in a variety of flavors! You will love that a healthy snack can taste so good. This might just be the best popcorn you have ever tasted. Get your order placed here.

ListPlanIt – Are you ready to get your life organized? If so then ListPlanIt is the place to visit! Any kind of list you can imagine you will find on ListPlanIt. The winner is going to receive 2 ePlanners (Student ePlanner and Home Education ePlanner, value $10) + a coupon code for a 3-month trial to ListPlanIt! This is a fantastic prize to get the school year started off. You can also sign up for ListPlanIt here.

Go to The Ultimate Back to School Bash (<<—-click there) post to enter for your chance to win this HUGE giveaway worth well over $350 dollars!

Awesome line up of prizes, eh? Have fun and I hope you win!

{One comment}

Kwickeye Review

Posted by html404 on August 15, 2013
in Children's Clothing, Crafts, Deals, Eco Friendly Products, Education, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, Shopping, Uncategorized

This is a sponsored post.

What is Kwickeye?

Kwickeye is a social platform that lets you follow products/services that friends want for their kids and also makes it easy and fun to surprise moms and kids with the things they love!

Kwickeye has a “quick add”, or “Kwickadd” as they like to call it, button that is very easy to install, much like Hootsuite’s or Wishlist’s, simply drag it to your bookmark toolbar and voila! it’s installed. This makes it convenient to add products you like from any online store to your Kwicklist. Your Kwicklist enables friends and family to see the products on your list and allows them to comment, provide recommendations or opinions or maybe even purchase the product for an upcoming gift! You can also receive surprise notifications of an anonymous gift!

Kwickeye was founded by a mom – Gayathri Santhanam, an entrepreneur with technology background. She has two adorable kids, Aadit(6) and Anishka(3). She lives in the San Francisco BayArea. The site was featured on CNBC as one of the most promising startups globally.

You can find Kwickeye on Facebook here.

My Kwickeye Review

Kwickeye has a wide variety of products displayed on their site. From clothes, books, toys to organizational tools for mom – I found a fabulous daily organizer from Pottery Barn on that I would love to put in my office. I also found eco-friendly clay, Pure (organic snack bars) and sweet clothing for children.

I like the idea of Kwickeye and can see how helpful it would be to busy moms, moms with family close by and far away and be a general help to moms who attend a lot of birthday parties. Moms and kids could just look up their friend’s lists and pick a cool gift based on their Kwicklist. Eliminating unnecessary gifts and returns. Bonus!

{One comment}

The Backyard Safari Outfitters Review

Posted by html404 on August 14, 2013
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, Reviews, Uncategorized

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

Our children love to play outside. I love that they have the freedom to play outside when they want and they have the space to roam freely over our property. They make up their own games and create their own “toys” and “weapons” for whatever animal or battle they are fighting.

The Backyard Safari Outfitters offers some wonderfully fun products for kids who love to explore, be outside and examine nature up close.

The Backyard Safari Outfitters Review

We received a Magnifying Glass, a The Critter Shack, The Essential Cargo Vest, Mini Lantern and Scoop Net from The Backyard Safari Outfitters. Our children loves the products and have been having a blast with them catching lightening bugs, butterflies and even baby chicks with the scoop net! They look so cute dressed up in The Essential Cargo Vest.

All of the products are holding up surprisingly well considering we have five children making use of them. Even the scoop net has withstood chick catching. It has come apart but not broke. The mini lantern even came with batteries in it. I was impressed, as most battery operated toys do not come with batteries.

The Essential Cargo Vest has so many hooks and pockets, I am sure all of The Backyard Safari Outfitters products could be clipped or carried in it! It was great to see the children make use of the hooks so they could hang the lantern, pocket the magnifying glass and have their hands free to carry their scoop net and critter shack. Very inventive.

We are very pleased with The Backyard Safari Outfitters products and would like to try more of their products in the future. Two thumbs up from us!

Visit www.backyardsafari.com for more information or to shop their products.

{2 comments}

Farmer Harrassment – Wordless Wednesday

Posted by html404 on August 14, 2013
in Animals, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Home, Organic, Wordless Wednesday

Yesterday we received something in the mail. I knew it was something to do with our farm when it was addressed “Resident” in sloppy handwriting. You have to understand the location of our farm to get why we receive these kinds of things. We are on a very busy rural road. It was one of the pitfalls of moving here. We almost didn’t move because of how close the house is to the road and the traffic we get here.

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. This is what we received:

This isn’t the first time something was dropped in the mail or mailbox but part of me wonders if it doesn’t constitute “farmer harrassment”? Have these people actually raised poultry? Have they tried a free range, no soy, organic egg? Or are they just being an overly concerned suburbanite? It baffles me the nerve of some people.

Our chickens and turkeys quite often are out of their portable coops. They have been getting braver or more curious and going closer to the road – silly things! Otherwise they are happy as they free range around the property all day. We have people telling us our eggs are some of the best they’ve tasted and we’ve been selling out of eggs for weeks. There’s a reason for that….they are not cooped up all day on a dirt floor because we have space for them to roam. They get fresh air, sunshine and all the pasture delights they can find! We haven’t seen but two ticks all year and we believe our chickens are the reason.

P.S. The FDA is trying to force free range egg producers to restrict hens from outdoor access or go out of business. Read more at Cornucopia Institute.

{No comments}

PowerMyLearning

Posted by html404 on August 13, 2013
in Animals, Education, Family Stuff, Free Stuff, Kids Stuff, Parenting, Reviews, Saving Money, School, Technology/Electronics, Uncategorized

This is a sponsored post.

We love getting educational products, digital or otherwise, to review. It’s fun for the children and changes up our routine a bit trying something new.

PowerMyLearning.org Review

PowerMyLearning is a free, educational website for teachers, parents and children. This site covers all the core subjects of education: Math, Language Arts, Music & Art, Social Studies, Science, Technology, World Languages and My Life (or what we old-timers would consider “Health”). There is a lot of interactive activities and my children enjoy visiting this website. The site does require creating a free account but it’s painless. Just like any other site registration.

My children really loved Biology – they love anything to do with animals – imagine that considering we live on a farm! They also loved the Who Am I section in Language Arts.

Here’s what my children had to say about the site:

“O” (13) – Picked up on misinformation. She said, “They got stuff like the gods and goddesses wrong in the solar system. They said the goddess of Agriculture was Aphrodite when everyone knows that is Demeter. Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty. They said the same thing about Mars, he is the God of War.” Can you tell she’s studied Greek mythology? Thanks to Percy Jackson.

“JAG”(9) – “It’s fun. I didn’t like the millions of years. I liked the stuff about rocks and stuff like that. I like the science things. Actually, I like a lot of it.”

“Blondie” (7) – “It was cool. I didn’t like the fact that there was no “playground” (another site we have used has a “playground” for recess etc., which was actually PBS kids TV programming and computer games) I like their games. My favorite game was the car racing game.”

“Nook” (5) – First he said he didn’t really like it then he changed his mind and said he likes it. Rather fickle little boy, eh?

Overall, I would have to say the children thought it was fun and I thought it was informative and a good site to use as a supplement to their homeschooling material.

PowerMyLearning is revamping their site with a launch date of September 3! We are excited as we thought the site was not very user friendly for mom or children. So this was great news to hear!

{No comments}

End of Summer Footwear Shopping

Posted by html404 on August 13, 2013
in Fashion, Products for Mom, Seasonal Stuff, Shoes & Footwear, Shopping

This is a featured post.

Sadly summer is coming to an end soon. I love summer and it’s bittersweet to say good-bye to my favorite season. However, shopping end of summer sales is always fun! That’s about the only good thing about the end of summer, if you ask me.

I love wearing sandles or crocs in the summer time. My feet like to breathe and not be cooped up in tight, enclosed shoes like running shoes or even rubber boots. Hot. Hot. Hot.

When end of summer footwear shopping I look for the best deals for my children. For myself, I have to go by comfort first, with the extra weight I am carrying I need good supportive shoes that will not only support my feet but also my legs and knees. More often than not that means sticking with the same brand that has been working.

It’s easier to shop for children’s footwear, unless it is my older girls. They have varying tastes and one or the other likes something that is bright, colorful and fashionable. Then there is the issue of heel or no heel. I prefer flats, while I have daughters that want to wear heels – my feet hurt just thinking about it. I also like basic looking sandles that will go with everything . I am practical.

I will shop in-store or online for end of summer footwear. I will look at thrift stores but will only buy them if they seem almost new as every person’s feet are shaped differently and who knows how much the inside is worn if the shoes have been well cared for. As you can see from the photo above, my Velcro is no longer sticking well, the straps are getting stretched out and while they are functional, they are no longer very “pretty”.

Where do go for end of summer footwear shopping?

{2 comments}

Recipes Using Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar #HeinzVinegar

Posted by html404 on August 12, 2013
in Cleaning, Food and Treats, Home, Recipes, Uncategorized

“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Heinz Vinegar. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and as a thank you for participating.”

We like using vinegar for many things around our home, not just for cooking but also for cleaning. Did you know if you sprinkle baking soda and then pour vinegar over it and scrub it whitens and cleans like a chemical cleaner but without all the harmful fumes or potential side affects? We use apple cider vinegar for our horse and cows intestinal needs (the nice way of writing about it since I will be talking food in a few minutes!)

Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar

We recently tried a couple of different varieties of Heinz® Vinegar: Heinz® Apple Cider Vinegar and Heinz® Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar. Pretty similar products except the unfiltered apple cider vinegar is cloudy and thicker. Both have similar tastes and results in the recipes we used them in, in my opinion. I had never tried either of these products before, just Heinz® Distilled White Vinegar. They also have a few other varieties as well.

Heinz® describes their apple cider vinegar products in this way:

Bottled at the peak of freshness, Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar begins with fine quality apples and crystal clear water to deliver a mellow flavor ideal for brightening up salads, flavoring a main dish, pickling or topping off a cool beverage. For vinegar in its most natural and wholesome form, , check out Heinz Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar. It retains the “mother” of the vinegar – a compound created naturally during vinegar’s fermentation process, and is best used in cooking to bring out refreshing flavors, as well as other unique uses.

Badly Burned Pot Cleaned Up Using Vinegar

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

adapted from Ruby Hatfield’s recipe in one of the Cooking for Miracles cookbooks I purchased as a teenager to support the children’s hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Serves 4-6

Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
1 egg (beaten)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soy sauce or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1 small onion (small or fine)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1-2 tablespoon ground sage

Mix all ingredients together and form into balls. Brown, pour off any excess fat.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 cup water
1/3 cup cane sugar
3 tablespoons Heinz® Apple Cider Vinegar or Heinz® Distilled White Vinegar, whatever you have on hand.
1 can pineapple chunks with juice included
1 tablespoon soya sauce or Bragg’s Liquid Amino
3 tablespoons ketchup

Add together. Simmer for 30 minutes. Thicken with 2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed in 1/4 cup cold water. I often double this for more sauce. Well, now we probably triple or quadruple!

We serve it with rice and veggies or a salad.

Berry Vinaigrette

from Heinz Website

A light and refreshing dressing. Also a wonderful accompaniment to grilled salmon or chicken. Can be made a day in advance. We added sunflower seeds to our salad.

Ingredients

2/3 cup Heinz® Apple Cider Vinegar** (we used Heinz® Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar)
1/4 cup sugar**
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cups cut berries (raspberries, strawberries or blackberries)

Directions

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Cover and store in refrigerator. Serve at room temperature. Can be made a day in advance. **If preferred: Replace with Heinz® Distilled White Vinegar Use 1/3 cup of sugar instead of 1/4 cup Makes about 2 cups Prep Time: 5 minutes.

You can gather more recipes here, as well as visit the Heinz Vinegar Pinterest board.

{One comment}

Be Pawsitive Organic Pet Treats

Posted by html404 on August 12, 2013
in All Natural Products, Animals, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Home, Organic, Pet Food, Uncategorized

Our 18 month old puppy, Padfoot, loves to eat. We try to eat as much organic as possible ourselves and try not to leave our pets behind in that process. All of our animals are fed organic feed, with the exception of our horse but we are not going to eat him or products produced by him. We tried him on an organic grain briefly but because of how worn down his teeth are he couldn’t chew it properly.

Be Pawsitive Organic Pet Treats

When we were invited to do a review of Be Pawsitive Organic Pet Treats we were very interested trying these for our pooch.

Be Pawsitive Organic Pet Treats are loaded with rich fruits and berries. When you buy a box of Be Pawsitive treats you provide a box of treats for a shelter dog too.

Customers can choose from one of three monthly subscription options for as low as $18 per month. Subscription plans are as follows: monthly plan at $24/month, $66 for three months ($22/month) or $108 for six months ($18/month). Customers can also give the treat box as a gift. For more information or to order Be Pawsitive’s monthly treat box, please visit www.bepawsitive.com. The “Buy One, Give One” campaign is part of Be Pawsitive’s company philosophy, and is available at all times.

Be Pawsitive Organic Pet Treats Review

Padfoot responded really well to the treats we received from Be Pawsitive. Our daughter used them only for training. He has been sitting when anyone comes over to him, he is coming better and listening more.

He loved the rawhide card and had so much fun with it! We think he thought it was a toy at first because he acted really fiesty and wanted to play, as you can see from his playful stance in the photo below.

We also received “power berry” dog biscuits. Not only did Padfoot love them but our cats also liked them! The ingredients are all natural and organic and almost all the ingredients except the olive oil and bananas come from the USA – yay!

Be Pawsitive organic pet treats gets two thumbs up from us!

{No comments}

Shopping for a New Tea Kettle

Posted by html404 on August 12, 2013
in Appliances, Family Stuff, Home, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Shopping

This is a featured post.

We drink a lot of tea in our house. Since we mostly drink decaffeinated tea, the children also drink it. I’ve never owned an electric tea kettle, we’ve always had one that you heat on top of the stove. My parents always had one electric kettle and one for the stove, if I remember correctly.

Here’s a photo of our two year old tea kettle. I really like it, but it’s missing the knob on the top cover and wait until you see inside! The outside will actually clean up for the most part with a good scrubbing.

The inside of the tea kettle seems to have a lot of salt or sediment build up making the kettle that much heavier. It’s all around the sides and on the bottom. This photo does not really show the full extent of the build up but gives you a good idea:

I like a nice looking tea kettle and I really liked this green one, but I have no idea what kind I would buy next so I am appealing to all of you for recommendations! What brand, style, electric or on the stove tea kettles do you recommend? Leave your recommendations in the comment section!

{No comments}

« Older Entries Recent Entries »