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Back to School with CampusBookRentals.com

Posted by html404 on August 26, 2014
in Books, Deals, Education, Giving Back/Charity, Saving Money, School, Uncategorized

Back to School with CampusBookRentals.com

Are you headed back to college or know of someone who is? College students should know about the perks of renting textbooks from CampusBookRentals.com I am sure my daughter will want to look into this for next year when she goes off to college.

Here are some perks:

-Save 40-90% off of bookstore prices

-Free shipping both ways

-Can highlight in the textbooks

-Flexible renting periods

-They donate to Operation Smile with each textbook rented

-Live customer support

….and so much more.

CampusBookRentals.com RentBack Program

CampusBookRentals.com started a new program, RentBack. RentBack is new initiative that allows students to rent the textbooks they own – to other students… which is an awesome opportunity for them to make 2-4x more money compared to what they’d make through buyback options! Buyback is selling their books back at the end of the semester.

Isn’t that a great idea?! Check out this CampusBookRentals.com RentBack video:

This is a featured post.

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Ripple or Sorbet? Cool Recipes for Frozen Treats

Posted by html404 on August 20, 2014
in Food and Treats, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Recipes, Seasonal Stuff

Ripple or Sorbet? Cool Recipes for Frozen Treats

On a sweltering hot day, there’s nothing like digging through the freezer to find a chest of buried, icy treasure hidden in the freezer – especially if it’s homemade. It’s now possible to make your own ice cream in almost any flavour imaginable!

Case in point: Perry’s have brought out a chicken wing flavor, while rumor has it that it is possible to indulge in a pint of cheeseburger flavored ice cream in Venezuela. We’re not suggesting you try to top such taste insanity – instead, you can cool off with the following delicious treats, which the kids can help to make!

The Healthy One: Frozen Yogurt

For a lower calorie treat, try yogurt as a healthier base for your flavors rather than milk, cream and sugar. Bung some natural Greek yogurt, honey for sweetness, and a fruit or two of your choice into the ice cream maker for 30 minutes and await the perfect results. Peach, banana, kiwi and strawberry make for kid-friendly flavors that aren’t too tart.

The Chocolate One: Nutella

Fact: the number of Nutella jars sold in a year could cover the Great Wall of China eight times. Thankfully, for a swirl of chocolatey heaven in your vanilla, you’ll only need about half a cup for this recipe, which should be combined with whipping cream, milk and eggs once the ice cream maker gets going. Add crushed walnuts caramel sauce and banana for a banoffee spin.

The Takeaway Option: Popsicles

Your kids won’t want to miss a moment outside if it’s sunny, so opt for popsicles for a quick-fire cool down. Blend ripe watermelon with lemon juice and sugar and pour into popsicle molds for a healthy snack, or freeze chunks of banana and strawberry on skewers dipped in chocolate for irresistible fruit kebabs.

There are of course an endless number of different flavour combinations to create, so why not do some research, create a wishlist, and start making your own ice cream today! You’ll never turn back to store bought, once you’ve had the first bite….

This is a guest post.
Photo Copyright: foto66 / 123RF Stock Photo. Used with permission.

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Week #32 Saturday Top Five Laughs

Posted by html404 on August 16, 2014
in Fun Stuff, Humor, Kids Stuff, Saturday Top Five Laughs, Uncategorized

A little late in posting my Saturday Top Five Laughs post this week. We are once again joining Mel over at The Mommyhood Chronicles for week #32 (for us) in our Saturday Top Five Laughs of the week.

5. “The cat ate the frog!”

That is what I heard our children say this evening. They have had it in their bug box and left it in the garage where our mama cat is staying with the new kitten. It should be an interesting evening to say the least.

4. “Pretzels don’t eat bacon!” Ok, it’s one bizarre evening here. We just thought our oldest said, “Pretzels don’t eat bacon!” Not just me but the two younger ones thought that is what she said too. She smiled and corrected us (or herself) saying, “No, pretzels don’t need yeast, they need baking powder.”

I’m still shaking my head.

3. My pinky hurting mommy….

Jr. is telling me his pinky is hurting….and he has two clothes pins on both of his pinkies! Take them off then, I tell him….and he keeps them on. Sigh.

2. “Do you want to go on a date with me?”

My four year old just asked my 14 year old this! I asked how does he know what a date is and one of the other children said, “He doesn’t!”

Too cute!

1. My oldest lightened her hair with peroxide and after all that decided she likes it her darker color! Silly girl! She claims she was bored of her hair.

What are some silly things your children do?

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In Perfect Time by Sarah Sundin

Posted by html404 on August 15, 2014
in Books, Gift Ideas, Products for Mom, Reviews, Uncategorized

In Perfect Time by Sarah Sundin

In Perfect Time by Sarah Sundin is book three in the Nightingale series. Each book is a stand alone book. The series is set in WWII and is about flight nurses and the men serving in the war. I have enjoyed this series. You can see my reviews of the first two books of the series here and here.

I enjoyed the adventure and intrigue of Lt. Roger Cooper’s flights in this particular novel. It kept me wanting to turn the pages. A couple of flights are based on true WWII flights, which my husband found hard to believe when I relayed information to him. He’s a skeptic though and a war buff so he likes the facts and the flights were pretty amazing feats so that’s why he was a doubter at first.

There is a definite Christian theme in this book, as there are in most of the books I read. This particular book’s theme centered on the fact that God loves sinners no matter what they have done. We are all redeemable and do not need to earn forgiveness but to accept it as the gift it is.

In Perfect Time provided me with the back stories of a couple of characters featured in the first two books. It was nice to finally learn more about them and what made them tick, as well as the follow-up story of some of the other characters.

I even enjoyed the romantic side of the book this time. It was realistic, romantic, humorous and heart-breaking all rolled into one.

There was an underlying theme of parents who do not display confidence in their children’s talents and abilities. For me this was sad to read about, it made me feel sorry for the characters and question if I am expressing my belief in my children so they know that I truly believe in them and what they are capable of doing with their lives. The characters in this book only learned in adulthood what should have been impressed on them in childhood – you are talented, you are worthy, you are capable and you can do anything you put your mind to. Every parent should instill self-belief into their children, especially if the child does not have it in themselves. What a responsibility we have as parents!

I give In Perfect Time two thumbs up and recommend it to all history lovers and romantics.

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Garden Harvest – Wordless Wednesday

Posted by html404 on August 13, 2014
in Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Food and Treats, Fun Stuff, Gardening, Health, Kids Stuff, Organic, Seasonal Stuff, Uncategorized, Wordless Wednesday

Garden Harvest

The little ones raided the garden one day and found these organic veggies! Can you say yummy garden harvest?

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Week #31 Saturday Top Five Laughs

Posted by html404 on August 9, 2014
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Saturday Top Five Laughs, Things to Do in Chicago, Uncategorized

I have been trying to keep track of all our funnies and laughs and doing ok with it but may come up short this week for my Saturday Top Five Laughs post this week. Without further adieu… we join Mel over at The Mommyhood Chronicles for week #31 (for us) in our Saturday Top Five Laughs of the week.

5. O, our 14 year old has been cracking us up lately. It all started a couple of weeks ago when we were weeding in the garden and she started making up words, which she has continued to do. So I had her sit down so I could write a couple of them down to share here.

Her words: If you have a sudden aching in your lower legs, in your calf muscle, if you have a sudden increase in heart rate, then you probably have read-i-obia – the fear of running.

4. If you have a sudden increase in your temper coming out and you don’t fell like doing your work outside, then you have weed-i-obia – the fear of weeds and work.

3. We had a customer stop by for eggs but we were all sold out so she asked what else we had for sale and I told her chicken and maybe a few vegetables. She chose tomatoes. She didn’t want grape tomatoes, which we have a ton of, but the larger sized tomatoes. Our oldest son went out to pick them and the look on her face when she saw they were odd shaped and one was red with speckled zebra lines, which is an heirloom tomato but for the life of me I cannot remember what kind. Her response was, “I guess I’ll take them since I had you pick them.” People are just too funny.

2. I was talking with some colleagues on Thursday and I was sharing something and said, “My husband had to go pick up chicks.” They all burst out laughing because of the play on words. He actually went to pick up broiler chickens but I just said chicks!

1. Our family went to a local small airport for a Young Eagles rally and our children got to take a flight for free. And I just forgot what funny occurred! Oh, anyways, my husband ran into a guy he use to work with. This guy owns his own plane and invited Robert to go flying with him. I think they had a 40-50 minute flight. They even went over our farm. Robert said they buzzed down over our farm and made the chickens scatter. So when we arrived home I open the truck door and all our young pullets come running out from out under the front yard bushes. I said to my husband, “Didn’t buzz down too close, eh? Then why were the chickens still in hiding!” Or something to that affect, giving him a hard time, of course!

How was your week? What things happened to bring laughter into your life and home?

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The Benefits of Organic Beef Over Traditional Beef

Posted by html404 on August 4, 2014
in Animals, Farm Stuff, Food and Treats, Health, Health and Nutrition, Health and Wellness, Organic, Uncategorized

This is a partnered post.

Lately more and more food related articles can be seen in the headlines and on social media, which I think is great because consumers are becoming more aware of what they are eating and what they are putting into their bodies. From old news of mad cow disease to pink slime to buying all organic food and pastured meats, we are seeing an increase in interest and buying of organic, grassfed, NON-GMO products.

We use to buy traditional beef in the stores but stopped, finally, and ordered grassfed organic beef online from a farm which comes to the Green Market we sell at once a month. We order online and pick up on market day. It makes for very convenient ordering and buying.

So what are the benefits of organic beef over traditional beef?

The Benefits of Organic Beef Over Traditional Beef

1. No fillers (such as pink slime).

2. More Omegas-3 and much more nutritious. “In B-vitamins, beta-carotene (look for yellow fat), vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), vitamin K, and trace minerals like magnesium, calcium, and selenium. Studies show grass feeding results in higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid, the “good” naturally occurring trans fat.” (Source: marksdailyapple.com)

3. No pesticides or chemicals. Generally speaking, organic and grassfed farms do not use pesticides or any other chemicals.

4. Cattle are happier and healthier. There are less diseases and illness among grassfed beef, if raised correctly. The cows get plenty of sunshine, fresh air and pasture. Only if a cow is not performing well or does not possess the breeding qualities a farmer wants to continue putting into his or her herd, will he or she cull (kill) or sell the cow.

5. NON-GMO. Most organic farmers do not use GMO products. Take us for example, when we planted our pasture we used NON-GMO seeds. Our grain that we feed our cows is organic, NON-GMO.

6. Less fat content. Organic, grassfed beef is typically lower in fat than traditional beef. That is why it has to be cooked slightly differently than traditional beef. (see #2).

If you would like to buy organic beef, visit
http://www.americanfarmersnetwork.com/beef.html

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Week #30 Saturday Top Five Laughs

Posted by html404 on August 2, 2014
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Humor, Kids Stuff, Saturday Top Five Laughs, Uncategorized

I have been trying to keep track of all our funnies and laughs and doing ok with it but may come up short this week for my Saturday Top Five Laughs post this week. Without further adieu… we join Mel over at The Mommyhood Chronicles for week #30 (for us) in our Saturday Top Five Laughs of the week.

5. I was out somewhere and there was a expectant mom who had three other children. In the course of the discussion something was said to which her 2-3 year old exclaims, “That means it’s a girl!” 😉 It was too cute!

4. Hubby and I were kissing, which we try to do once in awhile in front of the children for their benefit of a healthy relationship/marriage and it was normal kiss not anything passionate or anything, and our youngest daughter who is eight goes, “Ewwww….you are swallowing each other!” We have said that during movies before and the older children have picked up on it and now use it on us!

3. O, our 14 year old, was doing something goofy and then asked me if she made the cut for Saturday Top Laughs. I said, “No, but that did.” She’s happy to have the mention this week! 😉 I believe it is now the most popular “column” in our family.

2. This week Robert took the children to the county fair for the very first time (the older girls went to another county fair when they were toddlers). We agreed we would get one bag of cotton candy (that stuff goes for $6/bag nowadays!) for them to try and share. Guess what? Only ONE child liked it out of all of them! That was our oldest. The rest said it was too sugary and sickening! Score one for us as parents, right?! lol! It’s ok to rejoice is small victories once in awhile, isn’t it?

1. So I said to my oldest son that I needed one more funny for this week as he walked buy to check the zucchini bread/cake he is making for tomorrow’s breakfast. This is what he said, quite seriously, I might add, “Dogs go wolf. Cats go meow. Cows go moo.” Silly boy!

That’s all for this week, folks! Chime in with your funnies of the week and give us a laugh!

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Wordless Wednesday – 20th Wedding Anniversary

Posted by html404 on July 30, 2014
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, News Worthy, Uncategorized, Wordless Wednesday

Robert and I will soon celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary! Hard to believe twenty years has gone by already. Here’s to the next 20 or more!

We plan to celebrate by going out for Chinese food. Yummy!

We have only ever celebrated our anniversary by going away overnight once and that was the summer we were in Canada in 2005. A friend took care of our five kiddos. When our girls are a bit older and officially adults maybe we’ll do that again….some day.

How long have you been married? How do you usually celebrate?

Photo Copyright: totallyout / 123RF Stock Photo Used with permission.

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How to Choose a Baby Stroller

Posted by html404 on July 29, 2014
in Baby Products, Children's Health, Parenting, Safety, Uncategorized

This is a partnered post.

It’s hard to believe I am out of the stroller stage in my parenting journey. I am actually looking to sell our remaining strollers. As I end this chapter in our life I thought it would be fun to do a post about how to choose a baby stroller.

How to Choose a Baby Stroller

1. Determine your budget. Strollers can run anywhere from $10 for an umbrella stroller and upwards of thousands for top of the line strollers.

2. Durability. Durability is pretty important to us because I knew our stroller would have to hold up to numerous children.

3. Safety. Any baby product needs to be safe and free from defects.

4. Features. What features do you want your stroller to have? Cup holders, bottom basket, tall handle if you are taller, snack tray, umbrella for shade, etc.?

5. Function. Do you need a jogging stroller, a double stroller, single or single with a step for another child?

6. Storage. Is it easy to store? Do you need it to fold up easily when you are one handed? Is weight important?

Jané strollers is a new brand to me on the medium to higher end price wise – $250-$790. “The first Jané stroller was born in 1932 in Barcelona, Spain when Manuel Jané Vidal proudly created a stroller for his new born son, Ramon.” They have four different styles: Nanuq, Rider, Trider Extreme and a new PowerTwin Pro coming soon. Safety is an important issue to Jané and their products are created with babies health and safety in mind.