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Longhorn Steakhouse – Take Dad on a “Steakcation”

Posted by Brande on June 6, 2013
in Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Gift Ideas, Guest Post, Holidays, Houseware, Products for Dad, Restaurants, Reviews, Shopping

Written By Guest Dad Blogger – Scott

“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Dad Central Consulting for LongHorn Steakhouse. I received a gift card to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.”

Father’s Day is coming! Is your Dad a “cut above the rest”? Forget the tie! Your favorite Dad really wants a “Steakcation” at Longhorn Steakhouse!

Come on down, grab a cold one and let Longhorn Steakhouse grill experts take care of Dad this Father’s Day. With a choice of 7 different cuts of steak at any temperature, it will be hard to decide which to cut choose.

After you decide which cut to choose (18 inch bone-in Outlaw Ribeye, Flo’s Filet, sirloin, strip, flat-iron, T-Bone or porterhouse). You need to choose a side; you can even upgrade your side to roasted corn on the cob (available for a limited time off the “Peak Season Menu”).

Hungry yet?

This was my family’s first visit to a Longhorn Steakhouse and we were very impressed. Here’s what we ordered.

When the waitress took our drink order she dropped off honey wheat bread that was still warm. Very tasty, my daughter ate most of it before her dinner came out.

Appetizer – Parmesan Crusted Asparagus (New off the Peak Season Menu)

The asparagus had a great favor, was crunchy, and the batter was light. It had a few parmesan shavings on top and was served with a delicious red chili ranch sauce.

Lunch –

I had the Prime Rib – My dinner also came with a choice of salad and side. I chose a garden salad and a side of vegetables. I prefer my steaks to be rare and it was cooked perfect! Served with au jus and horseradish sauce. The broccoli was nice and green and the carrots still a small crunch.

My wife had the Bold Balsamic BBQ Sirloin, She also got the garden salad, but upgraded her side to the roasted corn on the cob. She ordered and received her sirloin medium to well done. Her sirloin was topped with roasted garlic cloves and a smooth balsamic bbq sauce.

My daughter had a grilled cheese sandwich and fries off the kids menu. There was a great variety on the children’s menu which was great. We have a picky eater and that can be a concern when going out.

We really enjoyed our afternoon out. The food is very good and cooked to your expectations.

We ate so much that we did not have room for dessert. I took a look at the dessert menu and the offerings were very intriguing. The Chocolate Stampede which has 6 different chocolates in a piece of cake and is served with vanilla ice cream. Another dessert that caught my eye was off the Peak Seasons Menu, The Very Berry Grilled Pound Cake (I’m going back just to get this dessert), it’s a piece of lemon pound cake grilled and served with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream!

Stomach Growling? Mine is!

So, your favorite Dad is not into going out for Father’s Day. He prefers to say at home and do his own grilling? Here is Longhorn Steakhouse’s Tips on “How to Grill a Great Steak”.

You still need to get Dad a present too! My suggestion is the Longhorn Steakhouse Knives – Available at your local Longhorn Steakhouse for $29.99. The Knives are made with high carbon steel and serrated blade. Stop tearing your steak and cut it with these fabulous knives.

Click Here to find your nearest Longhorn Steakhouse to purchase your knives or a great Father’s Day Meal!

Happy Father’s Day!

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Mother’s Day 2013 Charity Gifts

Posted by Theresa Gould on May 17, 2013
in Family Stuff, Giving Back/Charity, Holidays, Parenting, Uncategorized

This is a paid post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Our family enjoys giving when we can, which isn’t as often as we use to give. We feel it is an important aspect of our parenting and beliefs to give back. That is why giving charity gifts during the holidays has appealed to us. It helps us take the focus off ourselves and what we get onto others and what we can give. Usually the season of giving is Christmas for us. We never really thought about too many other holidays to be honest. Have you?

I know I wrote a little Mother’s Day 2013 Wordless Wednesday post the other day, but motherhood is a wonderful enough blessing (and challenge, I might add) that’s worth mentioning again. Most of us in North America are not as challenged as mothers in third world countries. We haven’t had to see our child struggle to survive because there isn’t enough food. Nor have we had to see our child battle health issues because there is no doctor available to help diagnose what is wrong with our child. We have access to health care, food, clean water and educational resources. Does that mean other mothers don’t care? No. It’s because these things are not readily available to them for their families. That’s why I wanted to share an idea I never even thought about – giving charity gifts in celebration of Mother’s Day 2013 to help other mothers provide these things to their families.

Unicef offers a variety of charity gifts to give back. Perhaps you have yet to send your mom a gift – you could send her your gift and tell her you also gave a gift in her honor for Mother’s Day. Or maybe you would like to send a gift of your own in celebration of your own motherhood to help other mothers in need.

For a glimpse of the charity gifts offered, here’s a list:

- Mother’s Day Measles Vaccine to protect 100 or 200 kids
- Mother’s Day Family Water Pack
- Maternal Health Kit
- School-in-a-box
- Therapeutic Food
- Pencils
- Story Books
- First Aid Kits
- Footballs
- Bicycle
and more…

You can check out all the Mothers Day 2013 giving opportunities at this link provided.

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Mother’s Day 2013 – Wordless Wednesday

Posted by Theresa Gould on May 15, 2013
in Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Home, Seasonal Stuff, Uncategorized, Wordless Wednesday

Mother’s Day 2013 saw me served with a delicious homemade breakfast in bed. (I was also served with a yummy meatloaf dinner the night before and a strawberry dessert Yahoo featured!)

The whipped cream is homemade from our own cream – yummylicious!

And I bought these for the purpose of having a Mother’s Day flowers photo….we ended up giving them to Grandma on her special day too….

How was your Mother’s Day? Were you given the royal treatment too?

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The Christmas Web – A Christmas Tradition

Posted by Theresa Gould on April 9, 2013
in Books, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Holidays, Home, Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, SALES

This is a compensated post.

We’ve all probably participated in “Christmas in July” events or sales, I know I have multiple times over. It’s fun! Christmas is one of our family’s favorite holidays. Each of us has our own Christmas family tradition passed down from one generation to the next, but have you ever started a new holiday tradition? We have started a couple and our children have really enjoyed them.

If you are looking to start a new family tradition, consider www.ChristmasWeb.com The Chirstmas Web comes in a gift set – a hard covered, unique story book titled, “The Christmas Web” and three magic wands in nice packaging that can be used as a display as well. It’s a very cute idea to have children (or adults too!) find their special Christmas gift by following a literal web.

The Christmas Web retails for $39.99, however, right now there’s a “Spring Sale” going on and they are just $29.99. A 25% discount with the code SALE. Just enter the word SALE in the promotional code box to get the 25% discount at www.ChristmasWeb.com. One these are gone the price will go back to $39.99

Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjAXh74jYZA

We received The Christmas Web and our younger children liked it and said it was a nice idea and a sweet story. A couple of them even asked when we could use the wands and I told them at Christmas. The next question was, “When is Christmas?” Then the children were trying to figure out how long they had to wait! We look forward to creating a new tradition this Christmas. Then again maybe we could try it for one of our children’s upcoming birthdays. Whether it’s Christmas or in celebration of some other event, I know our children will enjoy having fun following the Christmas web to discover a special treat or gift at the end of the line.

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My Very First Easter Story Sticker Book

Posted by Theresa Gould on March 18, 2013
in Books, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Kids Stuff, Reviews

Easter is less than two weeks away and this is my first post about anything pertaining to Easter. We don’t even have any plans yet either, which is how it has been for the past few years. Our children, however, have been enjoying My Very First Easter Story Sticker Book by Lois Rock; illustrated by Alex Ayliffe.

This is a traditional Easter story book about Jesus dying on the cross, however, it leaves out why He died. Yes, He died to make the world a better place, but He died for our sins. That little piece of truth was missing, which was disappointing and seemed dumbed down, in my opinion.

My Very First Easter Story Sticker Book has a twist on the traditional books, as it has an activity at the bottom of each page and children can put stickers in the appropriate pages.

My almost 7 year old and 5 year old loved this book. They really enjoyed putting the stickers on the pages and were eager to finish putting them on – I made them do it in stages so to make it last longer. They just finished it up tonight.

This book may be purchased through Kregel Publications for $5.99 and is paperback.

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.

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Posted by Theresa Gould on March 17, 2013
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Holidays, Seasonal Stuff

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Or as some say, Happy St. Paddy’s Day! Especially to all of you who are Irish!

Today is usually a day when you can witness the Chicago River being green. Yesterday they dyed it that color in celebration of today’s Irish holiday. The St. Patrick’s Day parade was also yesterday, plus there are other special celebrations of this day going on around the city. Visit the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day 2013 website.

To be honest we have never really done much other than maybe wear green for St. Patrick’s Day. I have witnessed the Chicago River being green, but have not attended the parade or any other of the St. Paddy’s Day festivities.

Here are some fun facts about St. Patrick’s Day (source: Chicago Tribune):

- There are some 36 million people in the USA who boast of an Irish heritage. 9x that of the population of Ireland itself!

- St. Patrick’s Day was originally a religious Christian holiday. The holiday honored St. Patrick who shared his Christ with Ireland in the fifth century.

- Today the holiday is a celebration of everything related to the Irish.

- March 17, 1762 marked the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world. It was held in New York City.

So do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Are you wearing something green, cooking something green or attending any St. Patrick’s Day festivities?

Another inspired post from Mama Kat’s writing prompts: Write a blog post inspired by the word green.

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Melissa & Doug Easter Shop and Giveaway

Posted by Brande on March 8, 2013
in Blog Stuff, Contests, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Girl Stuff, Giveaways, Holidays, Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping, Uncategorized

Click the picture above to be entered into Melissa & Doug’s Easter Basket Giveaway!! What child or children wouldn’t love $20.00 worth of Melissa & Doug products for Easter! How cute is Brambles Bunny you can find him and lots of other fantastic Easter toys at Melissa & Doug’s Easter Shop!

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Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids

Posted by Theresa Gould on February 8, 2013
in Crafts, Fun Stuff, Holidays

If you are looking for ideas for Valentine’s Day crafts for kids, Pinterest had tons of ideas. Just search “Kid’s Valentine’s Day Crafts” or “Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids” and you will glean more than you’ll ever know what to do with!

Here are some of my personal favorites:

1. Paper is something we have plenty of and our children would love to make pretty things as shown below.

Source: lifeologia.com via Crystal on Pinterest

2. I love butterflies and so do my children. This craft looks super easy and I love the heart-shaped wings!

Source: mommywholovesgiveaways.net via Ashley on Pinterest

3. This heart shaped figure sure is cute.

Source: mamasmiles.com via Nicole on Pinterest

4. Homemade Valentine’s Day cards. I love how they used the hands of a child to make this homemade card.

Source: rosinahuber.blogspot.com via Kathy on Pinterest

5. Chocolate Play Dough. My son has been asking to make homemade play dough and I have been avoiding it because you know what happens when the play dough is taken out. It gets embedded into everything from hands, nails and hair to the carpeting. Ugh. But maybe I could surprise him with this chocolate play dough.

Source: ptskjohnson.blogspot.com via Connie Sue on Pinterest

It’s hard just to stop at five. There were so many to choose from. I chose ones that are easy and we had the materials for as it saves on an extra trip to the store.

What are your favorite Valentine’s Day crafts for kids? Leave a link to it in your comment.

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More Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

Posted by Theresa Gould on February 7, 2013
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Seasonal Stuff

Valentine’s Day is only a week away! I came across some more Valentine’s Day gift ideas that I want to share in case any of you are still struggling to find just the right thing for your sweetie or loved ones.

1. Reasons Why Mug. A Reasons Why Mug for mom or dad with little sketches of the children is something I’d enjoy! My husband not so much since he doesn’t drink tea or coffee.

2. Glass Keepsake Box. I think any female over the age of 12 would love something like this to keep jewelry and small trinkets in.

3. Heart in Sand Framed Print. I wish I had known about something like this when Robert and I were dating! It would have been a lovely reminder of our trip to both sides of Florida to watch the sun rise and the sun set.

4. Bucket of Love. Feelings of love low? Need some help? Try this bucket of love to sweeten the mood with your better half. Ha ha. Not sure it will work, but hey it’s worth a try, right?

5. Bee Bear. The Bee Bear can be personalized for each of your children’s names. He’s awfully cute and cuddly looking!

All of these Valentine’s Day gift ideas can be found at the link I provided.

What are you getting your sweetie for V-Day?

This is a compensated post.

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Novica Black Giraffe Wood Ornaments

Posted by Brande on December 23, 2012
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Handmade Items, Holidays, Home, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Reviews, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping

Need a last minute Christmas idea? But, it has to be unique! Head over to Novica.com. Novica is associated with National Geographic and has beautiful items for any occasion. Need help with a special gift? No problem! Novica has a “Gift Finder” section!

When I received my Novica package, I opened the shipping box and this is the box inside! Wrapped with beautiful paper adorned with a crafted bow.

In my package I received 4 individually wrapped Giraffe Wood Ornaments.

These giraffes are hand crafted and hand painted by Made Sarna. Each giraffe is unique in it’s own way. They have a small hanger on the back and ready for the Christmas Tree.

Head to Novia.com for your last minute gifts!

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review/feature. 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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