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Archive for Eco Friendly Products

5 Last Minute Stocking Stuffers

Posted by html404 on December 22, 2012
in Eco Friendly Products, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Kids Toys, Organic, Reviews, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping, Techie Stuff, Technology/Electronics

If you are heading out shopping this weekend and still need a few stocking stuffers, we have some ideas for you! Below are some products we have recently tried and reviewed or have used in the past. From techie stuff to kids toys, there are last minute stocking stuffers for nearly everyone in the family!

1. Shredz. We got our first snow the other day and our boys have been outside playing with their new Shredz action figures and accessories. The boys really like them! The photos speak for themselves.

2. Eco.Ditty. Eco.Ditty is a company that offers eco-friendly, organic cotton, reusable sandwich and snack bags.

3. Fruit. My mom use to always put a huge apple and orange in our stockings. We never saw that size of fruit any other time of the year.

4. Love’s Christmas Journey DVD. We won this movie in a drawing or something and received it this week. Planning on watching it this weekend or sometime over Christmas.

5. PlayMG. PlayMG is a portable mobile gaming device. It is very cool. So cool that my husband and I have enjoyed playing NBA Jam. If you knew us, you’d know that we both love basketball both watching and playing, but don’t do much of either anymore. Though PlayMG is a pricier item for a stocking stuffer, it is the size of a perfect last minute stocking stuffer, especially if you are stuck in what to get a special someone. No need to buy extra equipment, as it uses a standard cell phone charger to charge. Accessories can be purchased separately, like a case, charger etc.

We have really been enjoying learning to us our PlayMG, but I wouldn’t say it hasn’t been as user friendly as I would like. It took me an email and a couple calls to support and I still cannot get the internet to work even though my WiFi says it is connected. I have to call them again after Christmas. The game has frozen on us a couple of times causing us to reset it by pressing the brightness and volume down buttons, which I need to ask about. Support has been great though.

There were a couple of cards like this and that was the extent of instructions. It came beautifully packaged though in a nice box that slide out like a drawer. Too bad my children sort of wrecked ours already or I could show you how nice it was.

I will say that so far the PlayMG has been a motivator for my boys (9 and nearly 11) to do their chores, so it is working in the sense that I want it too. I like that it is portable and needs no other service other than WiFi and it will work with our NetZero device. I also like that we can use the Bill My Parents card. I added $20 to it and Bill My Parents added another $10, so I can use that as an extra incentive for chores. OR if certain individuals are not complying then I can say I get to spend the money instead. Hoping I don’t have to resort to that but if I have to play hard ball I will!

The Bill My Parents card works like a debit card but teens cannot overspend if there is no money on the card. Parents can be notified via email of purchases etc., but they will not be able to get a report of websites visited or what their kids watched. That’s a downfall, if you ask me. I like that it’s a debit card. Now that my girls are getting older, it will be a useful tool to use to educate them about responsible credit card use.

Overall, we like PlayMG, I just wish more instructions came with the device on how to get everything set up -email, internet etc. This is a great device that gets my children OFF my iPhone and onto THEIR games without expensive cell phone charges or contracts.

Have fun with any last minute shopping, visiting or preparing you have to do this weekend!

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Maddie and Matt Happy Earth App Review

Posted by Brande on November 29, 2012
in Eco Friendly Products, Education, Family Stuff, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Reviews, Techie Stuff

The Maddie and Matt Happy Earth App is a free earth friendly app. It is a wonderful tool for teaching your kids about recycling and helping the Earth.

There are 5 different activities. “Spot the Difference” is 2 pictures side by side and you tap where is the difference is. Is it actually tricky, but fun. Below is my Maddie and Matt Happy Earth App review.

Maddie and Matt Happy Earth App Review

Here is “Create your Own Happy Earth”. Which you drag and drop face parts to make a happy Earth.

Then there is “Segregation Game”. This one you drag and drop the trash into the correct can. If you choose the wrong can, it “throws” the trash back.

With “Choose a Screen” you select a bubble. When the screen changes it take you to Matt and/or Maddie and teaches you about conservation. For example, if you chose “Conservation of Water” – Maddie and Matt would tell you to turn off the faucet when washing dishes.

“Earth Facts” is very cool. By giving you 10 fact. When you select a fact it will show more about that fact.

Did you know the Earth is 4.6 Billion years old? Now, that’s what I call a bonfire! (Editor’s note: The Gould family does not believe the earth is 4.6 billion years old. That is what evolution teaches. We hold to the biblical view of creation which teaches the earth is actually only 7,000-10,000 years old.)

As an adult I really enjoyed learning more about the Earth and Conservation. This type of app I would suggest for kids 6 years or older. My daughter is 4 and doesn’t understand all of this information yet. But, this is a fantastic app for your older kids.

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.

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Enter Mike the Gardener’s Sweepstakes #Giveaway

Posted by html404 on October 16, 2012
in Contests, Eco Friendly Products, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Food and Treats, Health and Garden Tuesday, Organic

I wrote about Mike the Gardener in the Spring and his great deal for a year worth of seeds. Well, I was just on Facebook and Mike the Gardener is having a sweepstakes to Win 5 Years worth of Vegetable Seeds! Go now and sign up!

Editor’s Note: I signed up too!

Happy Health and Garden Tuesday!

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Buddy Bear Review

Posted by Professor on July 31, 2012
in All Natural Products, Eco Friendly Products, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Health, Kids Stuff, Reviews

New Warming Bear Provides Natural Kid-Friendly Pain Relief

Bed Buddy Bear^® Features ThermaTherapy^® to Provide Comfort and Targeted Heat

Far more than a plush toy, Buddy is the latest in a series of breakthrough ThermaTherapy® products in the Bed Buddy line that provide warmth and comfort to soothe aches and pains.

Made with 100% natural materials, Buddy Bear’s warm feet, tummy and paws provide deep penetrating moist heat ideal for reducing pain associated with arthritis, fibromyalgia, back problems, ear aches, tooth aches and stiff necks. Living up to his name, Buddy can be counted on to do what any good friend does – provide comfort on a cold night or eliminate stress after a long day. For penetrating heat that will last up to an hour, place Buddy in the microwave. He can also be hibernated in the freezer to create a cold pack for fever relief and to relax restless sleepers.

Buddy Bear Review:

This is another great product that we were sent from Carex. I cannot express my adoration for their Bed Buddy line enough! We were sent the BED BUDDY warming bear to review…and boy is he cute and cuddly! When I opened the box my children instantly fell in love with this cute little bear…it took much coaxing for me to explain that he was not an ordinary stuffed animal. I had to “warm” him up and show them how he was used for them to understand…what a learning experience for all!

This is a great product…so easy to use and most surprisingly it can be used hot or cold! Pop the bear in the microwave for soothing heat or place in the freezer for cooling relief!

During this portion of our lives we have been blessed with our fair share of ear infections in our children. So of course during the course of this review one of our little ones was having ear pain. Usually the remedy for ear pain is a warm wet washrag that usually has to be rewet/warmed every 10 minutes to soothe the ache. This product did wonders for my sanity … I used the bear in place of the wet washrag for ear pain. My child was more comfortable resting their ear on the bear than on a wet rag and the heat lasted so long that my little one fell asleep and did not complain the rest of the evening. Yes this bear is my new friend!

Overall, this is another WONDERFUL Bed Buddy product that I cannot live without. What did I ever do before the Bed Buddy Bear…oh yeah warm wet wash rags (YUCK!)

You can find this product and many more at carex.com. I would definitely consider perusing the site the company has so much to offer in moist heat and home healthcare products.

Bed Buddy Product Link http://www.carex.com/products/Bed_Buddy/93

Bed Buddy Bear Product Link: http://www.carex.com/products/detail/635

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All-Over Comfort Pack Review

Posted by Professor on July 31, 2012
in All Natural Products, Eco Friendly Products, Family Stuff, Gift Ideas, Health, Home, Personal Care Products

Bed Buddy® Herbal Naturals™ Targets Pain with Moist Heat

New Plush & Lavender-Infused Line Includes Neck Pillow, Wrap & All-Over Comfort Pack

The line is comprised of three distinct products (highlighted below), each of which feature the company’s proprietary Moist Heat ThermaTherapy^® penetration system, which is shown to be better for treating muscle pain, chronic aches and pains, and arthritis than “dry heat” because it allows quicker, deeper heat penetration into the joints.

The Neck Pillow easily drapes over the neck and shoulders to provide deep moist heat to sooth aches, pains, tension or arthritis in the neck and shoulders.
The Neck and Hand Wrap, which features a unique design that includes warming hand pouches, minimizes aches and pains in such chronic problem areas as the neck, hands and shoulders.
All-Over Comfort Pack targets a wide array of chronic pain areas such as the back, hip flexor, shoulders and abdomen with a large, universal shape that easily molds to the body for indulgent comfort.

The Herbal Naturals™ products are soft, lined with luxurious real lavender and chamomile; contain only 100% all-natural ingredients; warm quickly in a microwave; are fully reusable with a machine washable cover; and remain heated for up to an hour.

A member of Carex’s global family of premium-quality brands, Bed Buddy® offers a versatile and premium-quality line of reusable hot and cold packs that support individuals suffering from aches, pains and arthritis and are designed to fit most body types and to help people of virtually all ages and health profiles.

All-Over Comfort Pack Review:

Let me say this is an AWESOME product. This is the first product of its kind that we have used. Prior to using this product we have used traditional heating pads, which offer heat, but not MOIST heat as this product does. My husband suffers from severe osteoarthritis in his knees (5 operations) and has chronic back problems (1 prior operation) …let me tell you this is SO, SO WONDERFUL for his “aches and pains”…we have iced and heated so many times over the past 17 years of marriage that it has become part of our lives. The moist heat provides soothing relief …and since it stays warm for over an hour it is just right for therapeutic relief!

One great thing (can I say great enough in this review?) about this product is that it is ready in minutes! Just pop it in the microwave and voila instant moist heat.

Another factor that is a wonderful additive is that the product comes with a velvety WASHABLE cover. I LOVE this feature! If the product gets sweaty or dirty…just pop the cover in the wash and it is clean, so convenient!

The scent is WONDERFUL! The product is lightly scented with lavender and chamomile…what an aromatic sensation! I feel like I am at the spa as I breathe in the luxurious scent and drift away in moist heat!

So far my husband has been monopolizing the product…but I do know that this product would be AWESOME for stomach cramps…especially menstrual cramps. When I was a young girl I used to get horrible cramps….how I would have LOVED to have this product…I cannot imagine the relief this would have given someone with those painful cramping episodes!

Overall, I can honestly say my family has fallen in love with this product. The All-Over Comfort Pack has so many uses I cannot wait to go out and shop for the rest of the line. I intend to buy more of this and the other products in the line for Christmas gifts…I know a few people in my family that will adore the products!

You can find this product and many more at carex.com. I would definitely consider perusing the site the company has so much to offer in moist heat and home healthcare products.

Bed Buddy Product link http://www.carex.com/products/Bed_Buddy/93

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Fridge Hunt #ChooseCartons

Posted by html404 on June 23, 2012
in Community Issues, Eco Friendly Products

How often to you really look in your refrigerator? Have you ever gone on a fridge hunt? A fridge hunt, you say? A fridge hunt is when you take really good stock of what is in your refrigerator, what food packaging is used and whether or not it is truly eco-friendly. I did this earlier in the week because I wanted to make note of all the packaging the different foods came in. I was astonished to discover that about 99% of all the packaging in my fridge was plastic – plastic bags, plastic cartons and plastic containers. All of which are pretty much recyclable, though we usually do not recycle our salad bags. There were very few glass jars or containers and there was only a couple egg cartons that were made out of paper, which of course are both recyclable and compostable. We do both with paper egg cartons. Since we are waiting for our hens to lay eggs we are saving our egg cartons, not only to recycle them but also to save money from buying new cartons.

I even took photos of my fridge for you – excuse the dirt it hasn’t been cleaned in a couple of weeks!

Even though we have been on a journey of living a greener lifestyle and eating healthier, I’ll admit that here are still many things I don’t know. Each time I learn something new, it blows me away. I don’t even know which packaging adds freshness to our food. That’s why when I read some facts recently I knew I had to share them because you are going to be taken aback as much as I was in regards to the importance of using paper packaging.

Some interesting facts about paper cartons:

– “Over 41 million households have access to carton recycling, and that number is on the rise. In addition, cartons are made from renewable materials – more than 70 percent of the carton is made from paper, all from trees from responsibly managed forests.
– Packaging plays a very important role in keeping food and beverages fresh. The environmental impact of a package is just as important as the contents inside.
– Cartons are recyclable where facilities exist. The paper fiber contained in cartons is valuable. Recycled cartons are used to make products such as tissue, office paper, wall boards and other building materials. To learn if your community accepts cartons for recycling, please visit www.recyclecartons.com or check with your local recycling program.
– Cartons are made with renewable energy. More than 50 percent of the energy used to make the paper in Evergreen Packaging’s cartons comes from biomass.
– Responsible forestry promotes new forest growth, and these forests help to diminish greenhouse gases. Forests remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in trees. In the US, due to both increases in the total area of forest land and increases in the carbon stored per acre, an additional 192 million metric tons of carbon are sequestered each year through responsible forest management programs nationwide. This offsets roughly 11% of the country’s industrial greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of removing almost 135 million passenger vehicles from the nation’s highways.”

Don’t these facts just make you want to buy more food in paper packaging? I know it does I do! Do you know that if you share any of the above facts via twitter with the hashtag #choosecartons you will help raise money for Habitat for Humanity®? Tweet to your heart’s content!

For more information, please visit: www.choosecartons.com
Visit Evergreen Facebook page and like: http://www.facebook.com/ChooseCartons
Follow Evergreen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/ChooseCartons

“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Evergreen and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

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Earth Day 2012 Giveaway – $50 Gift Certificate to UncommonGoods!

Posted by html404 on April 20, 2012
in Contests, Eco Friendly Products, Education, Faith and Family Reviews Friday Giveaway, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Giveaways, Kids Toys

We love educational products and tools. UncommonGoods not only has educational toys, but also gifts for plant lovers, hummingbird feeders and unique home accessories. Many handmade and eco-friendly products all very different. Recently we were able to review two of their educational kits for kids – Cheesemaking and Crystal Explosion….And UncommonGoods is providing a $50 gift certificate for one happy winner of our Earth Day 2012 Giveaway! A great way to start off Earth Day weekend!

Cheesemaking Kit Review

We have always been interested in cheesemaking so this was a cool kit to do. My older girls actually did this one and we let the younger children do the Crystal kit.

The kit gives you a choice of making mozzarella cheese or ricotta cheese. We chose mozzarella since we eat more of it than ricotta. The instructions were very well laid out, easy to follow and included photos so you could actually see if your cheese was doing what they said it should at each step.

Everything you need is in the kit except for a gallon of organic milk and a pint of half and half. Those need to be purchased separately. Each little tablet shown has to be cut into quarters, so you can actually make 30 batches of cheese with this kit – bonus!

One of my daughters was worried that the cheese did not turn out, but once we tasted it was fine. We lightly salted it when we tried it and liked that better than plain.

This kit is for older children (teens) to do on their own or for younger children to assist a parent due to needing a heat source, like a stove or microwave. We really try to limit our microwave use.

The girls enjoyed their cheesemaking experience. Now we need our own cow so we can truly make our own cheese.

You can purchase your own kit here($25).

Crystal Explosion Kit Review

Our children have been studying rocks and have been fascinated by what they are learning. The Crystal Explosion kit was very fun for the younger children.

The crystals (bath salts) were a bit messy but the enjoyment the children got from completing the crystal experiment far outweighed the small mess on the table!

Again, this was another kit that is very easy to use. Instructions are easy to follow. Due to hot water being required, some parental guidance and help is required.

It was fun to wake up to the crystals in the refrigerator. We still have them in there! Every now and then the children will bring me the cup and say, “Mommy, look at the crystals” because they are in awe. Very cute.

To order your own Crystal Explosion kit visit this link. It is available for $17.99.

Both of these kits are winners in our house and we give them two thumbs up. Thank you UncommonGoods!

Now you can enter our giveaway….

Earth Day 2012 Giveway – $50 Gift Certificate to UncommonGoods

Enter to win a $50 gift certificate to UncommonGoods! Open to the USA only. Winner will be contacted in 2-3 weeks, if not before.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Pasta Prima – 100% Natural Pastas & Sauces!

Posted by Brande on April 5, 2012
in All Natural Products, Contests, Coupons, Eco Friendly Products, Food and Treats, Free Stuff, Giveaways, Health and Nutrition, News Worthy, Organic

In my online travels, I found Pasta Prima on Facebook. I went to Pasta Prima’s site and was very excited about my finds! My house LOVES pasta, so finding this brand was a huge plus for me. According to Pasta Prima’s site they are 100% natural and they are a Green Company! LOVE IT!

To make it better! On Pasta Prima’s Facebook site they have a giveaway! 5,000 people will get coupons for FREE Pasta Prima Ravioli! They sweepstakes ends April 20th. Once you submit your information, you get a $1.50 coupon!

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Pre-Order KIWI’s New Cookbook!

Posted by Brande on March 31, 2012
in All Natural Products, Articles, Books, Eco Friendly Products, Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Health, Health and Nutrition, News Worthy, Organic, Recipes, Shopping

I just got this email! KIWI Magazine is all about natural and organic ways of living. LOVE IT! They just came out with this cookbook for families with food allergies. It will get released on April 10 but, you can pre-order it through Amazon.com.

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Sibu Beauty Review

Posted by html404 on March 30, 2012
in All Natural Products, Eco Friendly Products, Health, Health and Nutrition, Personal Care Products, Reviews, SALES

I was recently given the opportunity to review a Sibu Beauty product called Sea Buckthorn Revitalize & Renew, a liquid supplement for skin, hair and nails. I loved the look of the company and their commitment to sustainability and environmentally friendly practices.

Sibu Beauty

Sibu Beauty products all started with a meeting between Sibu’s founder, Bruce McMullin and an ayurvedic specialist (which is Ayurveda, which literally means “The Science of Life,” is an ancient healing science from India Source) in Calcutta, India. This specialist told Bruce about a “powerful holy fruit, the Sea Buckthorn berry” and Sibu was founded in 2003.

Sibu has a complete line of products including: facial cream, body cream, balancing facial cleanser, hydrating serum, replenishing night cream, sea buckthorn seed oil, age defying eye cream and a bar of facial soap. Products range in price: $6.95-$50.90. They even have a couple new products not in their brochure.

All of Sibu’s products are chemical free, contain no artificial flavors or colorings and no preservatives. The company seeks to use the sea buckthorn berry responsibly and in a sustainable manner. Sibu Beauty also practices fair trade in that they offer fair wages to the people of Tibet who harvest the berries, environmentally safe processing techniques and healthy, safe working conditions. (Source: Sibu’s product brochure & website)

The company’s founder is committed to giving back to charity, which you can read more about on their website under the “Giving Back” tab.

Sea Buckthorn Revitalize & Renew

Sea Buckthorn is suppose to improve skin tone and texture, supports hair and nail growth. It is full of Omega 3, 6, 7 & 9 fatty acids. Omega 7 is rare, but supposedly vital for cellular support. It is also a powerful free radical scavenger.

Ingredients: Besides the Omega fatty acids, sea buckthorn fruit puree, apple juice from concentrate, white grape juice from concentrate, acerola fruit juice from concentrate, evaporated cane juice, banana puree, sea buckthorn oil seed oil, natural flavors, pectin, xanthan gum.

Sibu Beauty Review

I am pretty skeptical by nature, but have had such a dry face this winter that I was willing to try anything to help alleviate the flakes and scales! I received a 25.35 fl.oz. bottle of the Sea Buckthorn and started taking it….oh nearly a month ago, I guess. I have taken a tablespoon or so each day, pretty consistently but have missed days and think there might be just the slightest change, maybe. Definitely no overnight differences or incredible results by any means.

By my last tablespoon, which I took yesterday, I think I was finally getting use to it’s unusual flavor. I am not a huge peach or apricot fan and I would have to say that Sea Buckthorn reminded me of a mix of those two fruits. I would literally shiver after drinking it, but I persevered because I wanted to be able to give an honest review of how well it worked. I could have easily given up the first day! Just goes to show that if you keep trying a food/drink you can start to kind of like it, even if you didn’t in the beginning.

I like the idea of this product, but the ingredient “natural flavors” is always something hidden. While the ingredients are not organic, two of these products have a low score on EWG.org (Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic site), so that is very good. The other products were not showing up in the database.

Overall, this was an ok product and I am glad I tried it. However, ultimately I think beauty products are a personal choice and we have to find what works best for us. For more information about this product please visit: www.SibuBeauty.com

Sale & Discount

Right now they have a sale going on until tomorrow night:

20% OFF Sitewide + Free Shipping!
Use coupon code SIBUDEAL20 on checkout.
Free shipping offer excludes Sibu Raw. Offer ends March 31st.