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?
This is what I call our greenhouse disaster. We had storms go through a couple of weeks ago and destroy our cheap greenhouse. I know even the large, well-made greenhouses on larger farms often get completely blown over in bad storms, but still it’s very disappointing to say the least because we also lost many of our transplants. 
I think this photo says it all – family fun in the snow!
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.
We do not have a lot planned while my mom is here. Our beast is out of commission. It broke down a couple of weeks ago right at the end of a farmer friend’s driveway when we were visiting to learn more about goats. Our 14 year old has been interested in goats for…oh…about five years or more I’d say. We gifted her an educational goat class through one of the local farm organizations one year for her birthday and this year we plan to give her a goat. So what we’d do, but what another family chooses to do on Spring Break will probably completely different.
Here are 5 things to do in our town during Spring Break:
1. Go to the theater. Surely there’s one family friendly one playing.
2. Visit a park. Depending on the weather you might be able to hit a few during the week of Spring Break.
3. Go to the Farmers Market.
4. Coordinate a visit to a local farm. This is for the sake of other families since we live on a farm. But even so we enjoy visiting other farms and learning from them.
5. Travel to Chicago to visit a museum or Shedd Aquarium. This is something we plan to do in the fall when the public schools are back in session and the crowds are minimal.
So what is there to do in your town during Spring Break?
Inspired by another one of Mama Kat’s writing prompts: 5 things to do in your town during Spring Break. Mama Kat’s prompts sure came in handy when it came time to do up blog posts in advance for my mom’s visit!
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!
This is the first year winter has gone by fast for me. I spend all winter looking forward to spring and summer. What about you? Warmer weather will be here soon, considering it’s only a month before it is officially spring. Warm weather brings longer days (yay!), BBQs and lots of outdoor activities. Sears believes outdoor living is a lifestyle, not just a seasonal must-have.
Remember last year when I did a post about my dream patio and included Sears patio furniture? I am still dreaming of that patio. If you are looking for a new patio set, you’ve gotta check out this new lighted patio furniture Sears has available!
This exclusive patio set will extend your time outdoors with the Halley collection of patio furniture from La-Z-Boy and Bella Luna collection of patio furniture from Agio – only at Sears.
Don’t let the outdoor fun stop there though, Sears also has this new Kenmore Elite Grill for this summer of 2013. It has three burners, 692 sq. inches of cooking space and a warming rack.
We can agree that Sears patio furniture and grills offer sophisticated outdoor furniture to match your taste and pocket book. Get ready for warmer weather by heading to Sears for all your summertime needs! http://bit.ly/Yy6TVk
“This is a sponsored post. I am a Sears blogger, though all opinions are my own.”
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.
February is here and so is Valentine season. A couple of weeks ago I shared 5 Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas, but I have one more to add to that list. It’s a cutsie kind of gift idea that you could give any couple or yourself.
You remember how Bambi was twitterpated? Perhaps you are “twitten” with your sweetie? Twitten you say? Yes well that’s a new term to add to your vocabulary this winter and Valentine’s Day.
Twitten is a pair of mittens, but better than a pair of mittens when it comes to holding your sweetheart’s hand, as it allows you to really hold their hand and not deal with the bulk of a glove or mitten between your hands. Novel idea, eh? Told you it was a cute gift idea.
Twitten is handmade in Peru. It is hand washable as it is made of 50% Alpaca, 30% Wool and 20% Acrylic. They are very soft. They run a bit large for my hand but they are “one size fits most couples” so as to accommodate many sized hands.
Not only does TWITTEN offer the Twitten, but they also sell Texting Gloves, Texting Mittens, Fingerless Gloves, Hats and Scarves. There are many different colors and patterns to choose from.
I actually love these products. I really want the Texting Mittens! We haven’t had a chance to wear our Twitten or wash it but I am grateful for an extra set of mittens in our house as they tend to slowly disappear as winter goes on.
About TWITTEN
TWITTEN is a women-owned and operated business. 20% of profits go to the Bodhi Fund. The Bodhi Fund is a worthwhile charity administrated by the New Mexico Community Foundation. These two organizations offer support to families of children who need to receive life-saving treatment at the Cancer Center of Excellence and must travel out of state to receive their treatment.
He who twittens never twittens alone.
Prices vary.
So are you going to twitten your honey?
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.
Yardenit is the celebrated baptismal site on the sacred Jordan River in Israel. They embrace Pilgrims from the four corners of the earth who come to the Holy Land and to Yardenit for a specific purpose: to walk in the footsteps if Jesus and to be part of the baptismal ritual of following their Savior through the waters of baptism.
You do not have to travel to the Holy Land to experience Yardenit specialty products. You can visit their online store and shop for Holy Land souvenirs, Christian and Jewish gifts, inspirational jewelry, food items eaten during biblical times, music, books, clothing, cosmetics, and toys.
Our Review:
I found this was a very interesting website and web store. I had never actually sought out a store in the Holy Land so I was not aware that one existed. This is a rare gem! The web store offers so many products for both Jewish and Christian guests. They offer a vast array of products… from cosmetics to clothing!
We were privileged to review two of their cosmetic products. We were sent AYA Natural Nail Oil and Olea Essence Lip Balm. Both products are all natural which was a plus! I was concerned about getting a package from overseas … as I was not sure if it would ship well…especially with cosmetics enclosed. But I assure you Yardenit packaged their products beautifully and safely. They were packaged very tight and wrapped so that nothing would break or spoil. I was very impressed.
AYA Natural Nail Oil:
This product is made of 100% AYA natural Oil blend that may have antifungal properties. Nourishes, Moisturizes, and promotes healthy nail growth.
Ingredients: Extra Virgin olive oil, Sweet Almond oil, Tea Tree oil, Jojoba oil, Wheat Germ oil, Geranium, Rosemary, Lavender, and Tocopherol (Vitamin E).
*** We liked this product… the overall packaging was very nice. The oils come in a little dropper like bottle. You then apply right to the nail and rub into the cuticles daily. I used this item for a week and found that it made a difference to the overall health of my nails and cuticles. My cuticles are generally very dry … but this product improved them ten fold. I find that they are no longer peeling after use of this product. My oldest daughter also used this product. Sometimes her nails are prone to peeling …after using this product I can honestly say that her nail structure has improved. It seems that her nails are healthier and stronger and no longer peeling.
Just as a side note… the description states that it “may” have antifungal properties. I believe this is because one o the ingredients in the product is Tea Tree Oil, which is a known antifungal agent.
Olea Essence Lip Balm:
This product is made of all natural ingredients with no preservatives. It is Olive oil based and enriched with jojoba oil, wheat oil and avocado oil. It restores damaged and chapped lips.
Ingredients: Olive oil, Seabuckthorn oil, Bees Wax, Jojoba oil, Sesame oil, Caster oil, Wheat Germ oil, Avocado oil, Tea Tree oil, and Lavender oil.
*** This product was also a hit in my family. We are currently in the winter season and chapped lips are the norm around our house. This product came nicely packaged in a little pot …so it is easily applied with the finger. So I could easily use this on more than one person if needed (unlike a stick lip balm … where it would be limited to one person). The person who benefitted most from this product was my son. He is prone to chapped lips and often licks the top of his lips so the area right above the lip is red and chapped. We have a hard time finding anything except Vaseline that will do the trick because he says that the products we have tried “burn” his skin. Well, we have a new favorite in this product! This has done wonders for his skin and it is gentle and does not burn! It has cleared up his redness and chapped lips…I am so pleased! I did in turn use this on myself and found that my lips feel smooth and not as dried out as they usually feel this time of year! Very nice product!
Overall, we were very impressed with the Yardenit products we received. The only thing I do have to mention is that since the products do have Tea Tree oil in that particular oil seems to take over as the scent of the product. It is not a bad scent… some call it medicinal or a clean scent. It does not detract from the product… but it does take over the other oil scents that are ingredients in the product. I must say that since the Nail oil had the ingredient of Almond oil I expected an overall “almond” scent since that oil seems to be a powerful scent… but the Tea tree Oil is stronger. In the Lip Balm the Tea tree oil was not as strong… but it was still the main scent. I attribute the scent not being as strong in the Lip balm because it is a solid rather than a liquid like the oil. But generally the scent is not bothersome; in my experience it is rather pleasant.
On a side note: I was interested in another product and was worried about shipping to the USA from Israel (I thought it might be expensive) when I enquired with the company I found that their sipping rates are based on weight. The product I was looking at was their hand lotion, which is 150 ml or 5.1 fl oz.; the shipping on this product would be about $ 5.00. I found that this shipping cost was comparable to an average online store. So I was pleased.
Yardenit is currently having a sale on some of their merchandise…so take a look around their store! You can find a link to the store here: http://www.yardenit.com/store
For those interested in the Yardenit site on the Jordan River or for more information on Yardenit in general feel free to visit their home page here: http://www.yardenit.com
If I am ever in Israel I think this would be a neat place to visit and a great place to purchase souvenirs!
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.
