I grew up watching The Muppets, so I was so excited when the show, “Pajanimals,” from the Jim Henson Company and Sprout came on television for my son. The show is on everyday and it is one we record regularly. A few days ago when we received our package of two of the Pajanimals, Squacky and Apollo, my son could not wait to play with them. These very high quality plush characters are very soft and perfect for sleeping and cuddling. The 15″ plush is perfect for a toddler and the 9″ plush is perfect for a baby, 18 months and over. Both are extremely soft, have bright eye-catching colors, and look just like they do on TV. My son’s favorite part is that their tongue is in the shape of a heart.
They are available in two different sizes, the 15″ and the 9″. There are four different characters to choose from. Apollo is a green dog with purple pjs, Cowbella is a white cow with purple pjs, Squacky is a blue and yellow duck with polka dot pjs, and Sweet Pea Sue is an orange pony with pink pjs. Also available in their Pajanimals line is a Snuggle Up Story Mat that shows all of the Pajanimal characters and has a soft book that turns into a pillow.
Overall, these plush characters are absolutely adorable and my son is completely attached them. He will not go to sleep without them! They are lovable and cuddly Pajanimals.
Faith and Family Reviews reviewed the following website in exchange for membership access. While we consider it a privilege to receive compensation for reviews, our thoughts and opinions are our own.
With the holidays upon us… Mailpix.com offers a wonderful outlet to create wonderful holiday gifts, holiday cards, prints, and more. Mailpix.com is an online photo-processing center. They offer great prices on all your photo needs.
This holiday season they are running some wonderful promotions…just enter the promo codes at the link below. Additionally, you can enter many promo codes, at least one for each product ordered.
Here is the link to Mailpix.com’s holiday deals (scroll down for deals): http://www.mailpix.com/
They have so many photo products and gifts to choose from …including but not limited to:
Mugs
Fleece Blankets
Ornaments
Calendars
AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!
Of course they also have all of the traditional items for photo lovers…prints, canvas prints, photo books, etc.
For the Holiday season Mailpix.com is also offering a Free deal for potential customers who want to try out the site. This is a great way to try out the product without monetary investment. Please see the deal at this link: http://www.mailpix.com/deals/giveaway
Our Review:
I enjoyed using Mailpix.com…it was a fast easy way to get my photos ordered for Christmas. I liked the ease of uploading my pictures to their site. The pictures are stored in your account by folder you name and can be used from project to project…all you need to do is drag and drop the photo into the selecte4d project you design.
We choose a few products for this review. The first one we choose was a photo Christmas card. The hardest part of the process of the Christmas card creator was to choose from the many designs and templates available…there were SO many. I was also very surprised that their text covered a variety of language for variant tastes… from Happy Holidays to Christmas Blessings. Concurrently, for those who celebrate holidays other than Christmas they do have “winter” cards and also a nice selection of Hanukah cards.
The second selection we chose was their calendar option. I found that this was a very reasonable price on their website…only 9.00 (with promo code) for a 8.5 x 11 calendar. We were very impressed with the selection for the calendars. The graphic and layout choices were wonderful. We of course manipulated our layouts to fit our tastes. This was very easy to do on the website… just delete unwanted boxes and replace with new ones! One other thing we REALLY liked that they had an instant picture editor that would crop and fix your pictures then replace them right away… I know I used to have to edit the picture in different software and then resave the picture and upload again…this process was much easier.
The Cons:
There were not many cons to this website. However, the site did make you download Microsoft Silverlight in order to use their site (which was not a big deal for me, but could be an issue if you are low on memory).
The only other con is that you have to wait to get your pictures. I am used to using Walgreens photo department where I create pictures and gifts online and then pick up the next day from their photo department. But this is not really a “con” but an impatience issue on my part J
Overall, we really liked the ease and variety of Mailpix.com. I cannot wait to get my pictures…, which will be here soon, and I am sure I will be happy with the results. I will let you know in about 6-9 days.
Visit these links to learn more about Mailpix and follow them via social media:
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.
Christmas is less than two weeks away and I don’t know about you but I still have some food shopping to do. In past years when shopping, planning for Christmas dinner I’ve had to consider healthy alternative recipes because we usually have two diabetics at Christmas dinner. So I thought as part of this post I would include some healthy holiday tips for including diabetics at your meal table.
We usually make turkey for our Christmas dinner, have veggies, cranberry sauce, stuffing, dinner rolls and gravy. Most of which usually do not pose a problem for diabetics, as our guests try to watch their carb intake and portions, often “treating” themselves to a little more of something just because it is the holidays. For dessert we have a sugar free dessert available just for them and let them take the leftovers home.
Healthy Holiday Tips for Your Diabetic Guests
1. Use sugar free recipes. Sometimes you can use reduced sugar recipes or there are healthy sugar substitutes that may be used too.
2. Prepare low carb dishes or at least have a couple available for your diabetic guests.
3. Low fat recipes are better than ones high in fat.
4. Diabetics on medicine/insulin usually take their medication at a certain time each day, be sure and ask them in advance and prepare the meal time accordingly, just as a courtesy.
5. When food shopping, read the labels and keep your diabetic guest in mind.
Holiday Recipes
This year we decided to try a new veggie recipe for our Christmas meal in advance just to see how it was, as well as plan for a new stuffing and pumpkin pie recipe. I am sharing these recipes below. I actually went to Meijer to purchase the ingredients we needed, as well as some ingredients we’ll need closer to Christmas.
Diabetes Friendly Holiday Recipes
Green Bean and Mushroom Casserole
Serves 12
Reduce the calories in your Green Bean Casserole by using Soymilk instead of cream of mushroom soup.
Ingredients:
1 ½ tbsp. Meijer Extra Virgin Olive oil, divided
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 ½ tsp. salt, divided
1 lb. fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 tbsp. flour
3 cups Meijer Organics Original Soymilk (we used regular Meijer whole milk)
2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce or Bragg’s Amino Acids
Salt and pepper to taste
2 (10 oz.) bags frozen cut green beans, thawed or 1 ½ lbs. fresh green beans, cooked until tender
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. Heat ½ tbsp. of the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, season with ½ tsp. salt and cook until slightly browned and soft, 10-12 minutes. Remove the onions and set aside.
3. Heat the remaining tbsp. of olive oil in the same saucepan and add the mushrooms. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the mushrooms begin to brown and most of the liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes. Add the dry sherry and cook for about 1 minute more. Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and cook while stirring over medium heat until the flour browns slightly, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool briefly.
4. Warm the soymilk in a saucepan or microwave. Slowly whisk the warm soymilk into the mushrooms, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Return the saucepan to the heat and bring the sauce to a boil, stirring constantly.
5. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring often, for 8-10 minutes until the sauce reaches the consistency of a thick cream soup. Stir in the soy sauce and salt and black pepper to taste.
6. Mix in the green beans and ½ cup of the onions. Place in the prepared casserole dish, top with the remaining onions and bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes.
The following two recipes are ones we are looking forward to trying, so no photos yet, but as soon as we make them I’ll add the photos.
Basic Stuffing Recipe
Makes 8-10 servings
Ingredients
1 loaf sliced whole wheat bread, approx. 1 lb.
2/3 cup Meijer canola oil
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 tsp. poultry seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Meijer chicken broth
Directions:
1. Let bread slices air dry for 1 to 2 hours, then cut into cubes.
2. In a Dutch oven heat canola oil over medium heat. Cook onion and celery until soft. 3. Season with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir in bread cubes until evenly coated. Moisten with chicken broth; mix well.
3. Chill, and use as a stuffing for turkey, or bake in a greased casserole dish at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes.
Nutrition Information (per serving): Calories 250, Fat 15 g, Saturated Fat 1.5 g, Cholesterol 1 mg, Sodium 455 mg, Carbohydrates 23 g, Fiber 4 g, Protein 5 g
*Take the basic stuffing recipe and spice it up 3 different ways!
1. Oyster Stuffing:
· Follow the basic stuffing directions. Once stuffing is mixed together after step 2; blend in one (8 oz.) cup Hilton Fresh Oysters to stuffing mixture and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes.
2. Apple/Raisin Stuffing:
· Follow the basic stuffing recipe. Once stuffing is mixed together after step 2; add 1 cup chopped apples and ¼ cup Meijer raisins to stuffing mixture and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes.
3. Cranberry/Walnut Stuffing:
· Follow the basic stuffing recipe. Once stuffing is mixed together after step 2; add ½ cup dried cranberries and ½ cup walnuts to stuffing mixture and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes.
No Sugar Pumpkin Pie
Serves 16 (makes 2 pies)
Ingredients:
1 (29 oz.) can Meijer 100% pure pumpkin (we still have pumpkin from our garden!)
2 (12 oz.) cans Meijer fat free evaporated milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 cups Meijer Zero Calories sweetener with sucralose (bulk in bag) (We use less regular organic can sugar)
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. McCormick Pumpkin Pie spice
1 tsp. Meijer ground cinnamon
2 (9-inch, deep dish) Meijer frozen pie shells, unbaked (we actually make homemade pie crust)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Set pie shells aside and thoroughly blend all other ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
3. Pour pie mixture evenly into each pie shell.
4. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 40 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center cove our clean.
5. Cool completely on baking rack.
6. Enjoy with Meijer Zip whipped topping if desired.
Nutrition Information (per serving): Calories 124, Fat 6g, Cholesterol 21mg, Sodium 248mg, Carbohydrate 15g, Sugar 4.5g, Fiber 1.5g, Protein 3.5g.
This modified version of pumpkin pie has 84 fewer calories and 18grams less sugar than traditional pumpkin pie.
We went Christmas tree hunting at a friend’s farm. They had a beautiful white birch grove as well as a grove of silver trees that this photo does not do justice. It was beautiful.
In our search we had to be careful for holes left from where trees were dug up. Blondie is standing in on in this photo. Our friends’ farm use to be a tree nursery.
We eventually found a tree very similar to this one. It was huge and a monstrosity to get into the van!
We each took turns cutting down the Christmas tree. We actually had to go back out and buy a new saw because ours was too dull to do anything significant in the way of cutting. Makes for an interesting story to pass down through the years. 😉
When we finally got the Christmas tree shoved into the van it was a tight squeeze for everyone to get back into their seats.
This is what the tree looked like for a few days. It took a few extra cuts to get it just right and I haven’t yet taken an updated photo of it cut down to size or completely decorated.
Do you remember Y2K? Do you remember people stock piling food and supplies in the event of a major power outage or shortage of food? I have no idea how the Y2K thing escalated to such proportions but it did. In some circles it was somewhat of a minor panic. And if I remember correctly I think we even stocked up on a few necessary items but nothing out of control like some folks are rumored to have done. Dry milk was one of those items since milk is not something that is easy to store or stock up on unless you have lots of refrigeration space. That’s when shelf safe milk comes in handy.
What is Shelf Safe Milk?
Think of the power outages that have occurred during hurricanes or strong rain storms. Last year when we first moved in we experienced a number of power failures during thunder and lightening storms. We were always concerned about losing the food in our freezer and refrigerator. Granted the issue was probably due to neighboring trees over hanging on the power lines, which they have since trimmed, but still it would have been nice to have stock piled shelf safe milk then.
As noted in the video above, shelf safe milk is milk that has been ultra pasteurized, processed and packaged in a container that needs no refrigeration, at least until it is opened, and is actually found on the shelf of your grocery store. Who would have thought, right?
It comes in several different brands, including Organic Valley. We have been to an Organic Valley farm and know the farmer through our regional farmer’s group.
The Benefits of Shelf Safe Milk
There are benefits of shelf safe milk. Here are a few I come up with:
No fear of it souring before you open it. (It does need to be refrigerated upon opening)
Easy to travel containers.
The containers do not disintegrate in the cooler – bonus!
A great way to have milk anywhere and anytime.
Much easier way to stock up on milk and requires less refrigerator space.
“This blog post is part of a paid SocialMoms and Milk Unleashed blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.”
Meet Lola the Panda Bear. Are you ready for your little ones to go on a searching adventure with her? Great! Don’t tell the the kids but I’m sure they will learn a few things along the way too.
I Spy with Lola App
There are 3 different levels with I Spy with Lola – Easy, Medium, and Hard. BUT, you need to get through the easy level before you can move on.
Lola flies in her airplane to a destination in the world that your child will pick. Watch out because some are locked because they are higher levels. For example, if you child picks Hawaii on the map the app will tell you it’s Hawaii. Once the destination is picked Lola flies in and will tell you to find the sunglasses, boat, dolphin, etc. If you choose the wrong one, it will tell you the object but will not cross it off Lola’s list.
Once you complete the first level, the second level or medium level are about things that begin with …. For example – things that being with “B”. The Hard Level is “a hat that shades your eyes” – along the lines of a riddle.
I Spy with Lola App Review
My 4 year old daughter loves this app. It’s teaching her new objects and helping with “things that begin with the letter …”. She’s working on the “riddle” or hard part with some help.
Download I Spy with Lola from iTunes. It’s available for iPhone and iPad. You can also get a free version to try out before you buy!
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.
Over the years Sears has been a trusted brand in my life. Guess I learned that from my mother, as well as my mother-in-law as they shopped at Sears…and still do. As most of you know, Sears provides everything from appliances and apparel to jewelry, electronics and more.
This holiday season Sears is hosting their Holiday #styleSURPRISE Sweepstakes where entrants can enter to win $5K worth of SYW points. I entered. It’s very easy, especially if you already have an account. Just sign in or sign up and follow the prompts at the link I just provided.
I think if I won the Holiday #styleSURPRISE I would update my wardrobe, costume jewelry and even buy my family some goodies. Below I’ve shared a little bit of my style.
My Style
At Sears.com I found a pretty Maxi dress that I like, except for the low neckline, love the empire-like waistline though. I usually have to buy petite sizes because I am so short and regular size/length dresses are too long.
Fashion Accessories
I like pretty simple and practical when it comes fashion accessories. Here are a few pieces of jewelry that appealed to my eye and no I don’t think either of them go with the dress above:
You can visit Sears for more everyday fashion inspiration.
Imagine if you won $5k worth of SYW points? What would you buy? Leave me a comment.
This is a sponsored post, I am a Sears blogger, though all opinions are my own.
As moms, we deal with a lot of laundry and with that comes the task of getting out stains. If we have children who love sports or the great outdoors then getting out stains is often even more challenging. Below is some help for all of you who have kids in sports and stains that comes with it:
Image provided by: CiscoAthletic.com. Want to add this illustration to your site too? Click here to get the embed code.
Posted by html404 on December 8, 2012 in Books, Reviews
Still Lolo by Lauren Scruggs and the Scruggs family is an inspiring true story about the Scruggs experience when Lauren walked into an airplane’s propeller a year ago this past week and lost her left hand and left eye. Think Bethany Hamilton of Soul Surfer.
When I called this book an inspiring true story it wasn’t just because the phrase was typed on the front cover or because others have called it inspiring. I think whenever I read a book detailing someone’s tragic event and comes through it stronger it helps those of us hearing about it be inspired to adapt to life’s changes and to look at life’s challenges differently.
Bethany Hamilton actually wrote the forward of this book and shared Lauren’s definition of every day courage,
Even when life hits you hard, keep going.
I can only imagine how Bethany and Lauren must have felt as they went through the ordeals life threw at them with the propeller and shark attack. I am sure this is something they had to remind themselves over and over again.
Here are some of the notes I took from the book as I was reading it:
Christ as our strength and source of hope…
Bethany also shared how God mended and healed their hearts again and again. How often do we need him to do that for us?
The Physical Therapist story on page xii of Bethany’s intro…the Physical Therapist wanted Lauren to take 20 steps and Lauren took 30. Bethany said this encouraged and inspired her to take “10 extra steps”
80 people filled the waiting room once word got out that Lauren was in the hospital – they were all waiting for the word “stabilized” – I don’t even think I know 80 people who would do that for me or my family.
Isaiah 40:29-31 was shared within the book and I started reading it on a day that I was emotionally, mentally exhausted and it was an encouragement to me.
There were other things that stood out to me too, like the fact that Lauren’s parents got divorced but the end result was a blessing most divorcees do not get to experience.
The Scruggs’ family friend, Cindy, who told Lauren, ” God wants to use you mightily for his purposes, in ways you can’t yet imagine. But before he can do a work through you, he needs to do a work in you.” She seemed to speak life into Lauren. Negativity is a common trait in our society. I wonder what would happen if more of us chose to speak uplifting words instead of words that tear down – how different the world would be?
As you can see by the things I shared from the book, I gleaned a lot from it. I loved how the whole family’s story was interwoven and included. It really gave a clear picture of their family, where Lauren came from, where she was at, how she was before the accident and after. By allowing each family member to tell his or her version of the story gave a clearer picture of their life.
I give Still Lolo two thumbs up as a must-read book. Just beware to shed a few tears in the process. You can read the first chapter here.
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.
Blogging is a part of my life. No matter where I am at whether it’s being super excited to share every little detail about some event in my life, a new product or opportunity or whether I’m tired and heading towards burnout, blogging is a part of me. Maybe you can relate.
If you have ever been interested in blogging or have wondered how to improve your blog, then help is here! Top Mom Bloggers is a website chock full of learning opportunities from free downloads, blogger challenges, blogger interviews (Don’t be surprised to see one from me, I was, because I had forgotten all about responding to the interview questions!) to monetizing your blog and help you master the art of blogging.
Something new I learned
Posts should be at about a 4th grade reading level to be well understood by search engine “bots”.
I did not know that. Interesting that they don’t make search engine “bots” smarter than 4th grade, eh? 😉
I enjoyed scanning through the articles and posts. I had hoped to come across some training calls, but alas, they aren’t any uploaded yet. Boo hoo.
My Thoughts About Top Mom Blogger
In my Top Mom Blogger review of the site I found the site very easy to navigate. I really appreciated the reminders and encouragement the authors gave, but because I have read enough over the years I fear most of the content for a seasoned blogger will be “old” so to speak. And while I think the site is definitely geared towards newbies or those just beginning their blogging career, seasoned bloggers will still benefit from the goal setting, organization tips, tricks, training calls and content inspiration posts. I love ideas to help me create new content!
While I was a tad disappointed there wasn’t more meat (for seasoned bloggers) to the site, I realize the site is still in progress and the authors, Trisha and Lynsey are adding new content every day.
Top Mom Blogger Membership
Top Mom Blogger is a membership site, after all it is offering valuable training, tips and information from seasoned bloggers; who are already earning an income from blogging. Membership is just $9.95/month and I bet you’ll learn how to make that back with the education you receive. I know forum I joined costs me less than $9.95/month and I make that back multiple times over so it’s worth it to me.
Top Mom Blogger 6 Month Membership Access Giveaway!
Top Mom Blogger is giving away a 6 month membership access to their training community…free of charge. Just enter below!
Faith and Family Reviews reviewed the following website in exchange for membership access. While we consider it a privilege to receive compensation for reviews, our thoughts and opinions are our own.
