Faith and Family Reviews: Product Reviews You Can Trust

The Christmas Pony

Posted by html404 on November 19, 2012
in Books, Holidays, Reviews

As the title suggests, The Christmas Pony is indeed about a little girl’s hopes, dreams and even prayers of getting a pony for Christmas.

Set in 1937, the middle of the Great Depression, when people were struggling just to put food on their tables, Lucy knew better than to wish for a pony but she had more faith than the grown-ups in her life and she continued to pray for that very thing.

Lucy’s mother ran a boarding house which kept the family afloat during such a stretching time financially. So when a pair of strangers were looking for a place to stay while their car is being repaired Lucy excitedly invites them to stay at her family’s boarding house….after all she had prayed for more boarders. I loved Lucy’s faith, definitely something to learn from.

This book surprised me about half way through and took on a new prayer for Lucy. The shift in the story was a good one.

I appreciated the values taught in this book and the family’s work ethic. I think as we make plans for our farm, this story made me think of how God has provided for us this far and reminded me that if it’s His will, He’ll continue to provide for all our needs.

My daughter also read the book and enjoyed it. She thought it was really sweet. She thought Lucy was a big help to her mother. She didn’t like Veronica (I didn’t either she was a vain creature who only thought of herself) nor Lucy’s belligerent friend, Helen, who wasn’t much of a friend at all.

Overall it gets two thumbs up from us.

“Available Sept 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

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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Littlest Pet Shop Premiere Party

Posted by Professor on November 16, 2012
in Family Stuff, Furniture, Girl Stuff, Kids Stuff, Uncategorized

“Littlest Pet Shop” Premiere Party

Who does not love the Littlest Pet Shop toys? My girls certainly do! We were excited to see that there was a new cartoon featuring the lovable characters from the brand.

The cartoon premiered on November 10^th on the HUB TV network … and I am sure it will be featuring the cartoon regularly.

As part of the Mom select blogging opportunity we were given materials and the cartoon to review and have a party with our friends. Our children had a blast.

They obviously LOVE the toys so they were excited to see the cartoon. The cartoon is a half-hour show that features Blythe (a littlest pet shop character) and her father as they move into a big city apartment above the Littlest Pet Shop (which is basically a day camp for pets of all types). The story continues to show that Blythe has unearthed a hidden talent of being able to talk to animals. The show was a hit in our house and with all the children at the party.

Mom select and Littlest Pet Shop provided us with products and recipes to use during our party. We received masks, hairbrushes, and lip balms for each of the children at the party. Unfortunately I do not have any photos of the party as three of the guests did not want pictures on the Internet and most of the photos I have showcase their children. So to respect their wishes I have not included any photos.

Thank you Mom select, Littlest Pet Shop and HUB for providing us with this opportunity to host a premier party and watch your new cartoon feature!
http://www.hubworld.com/littlest-pet-shop/shows/littlest-pet-shop-show

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Jersey Strong!

Posted by Brande on November 16, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Community Issues, News Worthy

This picture seems to sum up the destruction of Hurricane Sandy. I’ve seen this picture over and over again. I’ve also seen this roller coaster on it’s pier on a beautiful sunny summer day. I live about 1 1/2 hours from Seaside, NJ and 3 hours from Cape May, NJ where the eye of Hurricane Sandy came in. The Jersey Shore is my stomping grounds when the weather get warm. I’ve seen hurricanes and other types of weather devastate other parts of the country and have felt bad for the people that live in the area. My entire outlook changed when I started recognizing the structures falling into the ocean. It’s just heart breaking.

Hurricane Sandy hit the Jersey Coast at only a category 2 and the destruction is hard to take in. Most of you have heard only about the coast, which took the brunt of the storm.

I live inland in Northwest New Jersey, like I said before about 1 1/2 hours from Seaside. There are 59,000 homes in my county and 52,000 were without electricity after Hurricane Sandy passed. In my town there are 2,801 homes and 2,292 were left in the dark, that’s 82%! I’d like to share some of my pictures from the storm.

Monday October 29th – She’s on her way

Wednesday October 31 – Since there were only very few gas stations opened because of lack of electricity and lack of gas. We sat in this line for 1 1/2 hours waiting for gas for our car and a generator. The gas station is at the top of the hill.

The picture below is the end of the line where is starts to corner.

Having fun in the car with a box of crackers.

The reason we were without electric

Our nosy neighbors. ha…..ha…. ha….

Our flushing system included going daily to the local stream to bucket water into the bin.

The contents of the fridge and freezer. All the corn and veggies we froze for the winter all went bad. Such a bummer.

Then, it started to snow.

Here’s a tree that fell at my in-law’s house.

That’s me standing next to the roots, I’m 5′ 3″.

Here’s a few various pictures from around my area. The photo below has been a common site in our area lately.

The sign reads “Please do not wait – No Gas – We have Diesel”.

This one is a local hotel and the trucks and guys taking a break.

A pallet of Cup of Noodles.

We lost our power on Monday, October 29th at 8:00 pm. We were one of the lucky ones to get our power back 8 days later on Election Day November 6th. And on November 11th – there were still 2,164 homes in my county without electric that’s almost 2 weeks! As I write this, I am very thankful for my family, friends, and health. Many people lost everything. When I was able to get online. I found a few more pictures of the shore, I had forgotten about the sand.

This is sand coming in this front door.

This is the main road in Long Beach Island, NJ. I drove on this road 3 months ago!

JERSEY STRONG! We will be back!

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Sleep Number Review #sleepnumberm9

Posted by html404 on November 14, 2012
in Bedding, Furniture, Home, Reviews, SALES, Shopping

I had never heard of Sleep Number before until I received an opportunity from Smiley360. We have been slowly trying to replace older mattresses in our house, especially now that the children are getting older too. I was excited to check out Sleep Number beds.

Last night Peanut and I went out to the closest Sleep Number store to check it out.

Sleep Number Review

Our local Sleep Number store had a rather small show room, but very bright, clean and neat. The gentleman working the store was very courteous and helpful. He greeted us and asked how he could help us upon entering. Then after I told him why we were there he gave us a demonstration of the C3 mattress, which was very cool. Peanut and I loved the remote and the fact that two people on the same bed could adjust their mattress to their own comfort level. There was a complimenting video that went with the demonstration, however, his computer was not working. He didn’t want us to hold that against him so we didn’t. 😉 Oh and before the demonstration the sales rep even put a sheet of tissue over the pillows our heads would touch while we laid on the mattress.

I’d definitely consider purchasing from Sleep Number under the right circumstances money-wise. If money were no object, then I would have purchased tonight and had items delivered!

The great thing about Sleep Number they have several different series of mattresses to choose from and with those choices are another variety of choices to help individuals get a good night’s sleep. From air to memory foam and elevation their beds are sure to appeal to a broad range of people.

They also carry custom comforters, pillows, bedding and mattress covers.

NEW Sleep Number Mattresses

Sleep Number has two new mattresses M7 and M9. Unfortunately our little store only had the M7. Loved it’s soft texture better than the polyester. Here are a few tidbits about the M9:

• It’s a memory foam mattress

• 13-inch bed offers the highest memory foam profile

• Exclusive SLEEP NUMBER® DualAir technology

• 5-inches of LuxFit™ foam softly cushions pressure points and features a breathable air-flow design

• Temperature balancing sleep surface is designed to absorb excess heat that can disrupt sleep

• Luxuriously soft fabric made from natural fibers

• 2 wireless, digital remotes, plus Full-Fill and Memory features

Sounds comfy, eh? I can attest to the comfort of a memory foam mattress as that is the kind of mattress we have now and we love it!

Semi-Annual Sleep Number SALE!

Save $500, 0% financing for 18 months (restrictions apply). See www.SleepNumber.com for complete details.

I received a gift item in return for this post as a member of the Smiley360 blogger program. All opinions are my own.

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Pinypon Party Review!

Posted by Brande on November 14, 2012
in Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Kids Toys, Reviews, Shopping

I was very excited when I received an email saying Faith and Family Reviews was chosen for this Pinypon Party! I love to review new toys and I know my daughter does too! We live in Northwest NJ and lost our power on Monday October 29th due to Hurricane Sandy. I got the congratulations email Nov 1st (thank you iPhone) and this HUGE box came within the next day or two, which was such a treat for my daughter since we didn’t get our power back until November 7th. Needless to say we started our party early, thanks to MommyParties.

Here’s a picture when we opened the box.

So, a few of you are probably asking “What is a Pinypon?”

These little guys are Pinypons. They are all interchangeable.

Mix and match their legs, bodies, hair, and heads. Some even have 2 different faces on each side. Get product for small motor skills for the pre-schoolers.

Here’s the party set up! MommyParties graciously sent two sets of Vans, a few extra dolls and an extra baby doll to giveaway at our party.

Pinypon Party Review

We played find the Pinypon card to win a Pinypon. In addition, there was a drawing out of a hat for the extra Pinypon Van and the Baby. The Mom’s took extra coupons to pass around to other friends. So, everyone went home happy with their new toys. Due to all our outages and impassable roads, some of our party goers were unable to attend. I did have a parent ask that I not post pictures of her children and I am respecting their privacy.

All in all, Pinypon and Nenuco are great toys. Pinypon dolls do come with some very small pieces and parents should watch their children with the dolls and pieces. The recommended age on the box is 4 and my daughter is that age. She did wonderfully with them and loves them.

Here’s a few pictures of her playing with them.

Visit Pinypon and Nenuco on Facebook or Twitter Pinypon and Nenuco

Be sure to check out their websites too!

www.pinypon.com and www.Nenucofamosa.com

Oh and as a side note, with the holidays upon us this would make a great gift idea for the little girls in your life. Christmas, birthday etc.

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U by Kotex Wrap Up #KotexMoms

Posted by html404 on November 12, 2012
in Girl Stuff, Parenting, Personal Care Products

It’s been great to be a part of the U by Kotex for tweens campaign. I know it has made me re-think how I was educating my daughters and in many ways it evoked some more dialogue about menses and the changes the girls bodies are going through or will be going through.

Our girls liked the Kotex tween products, except one of the girls did say more coverage was needed for heavier flow days. They liked the cool packaging and the surprise packages throughout the campaign. The last surprise was a $25 gift card to treat the girls to dinner out. We went out last night to Panera Bread for soup bowls..YUM! cheddar broccoli and tomato were our soup choices. We talked, laughed and watched my 12 year old antics which made us laugh even harder. The girls came to the conclusion that we needed to do a girls dinner out more often!

In the last package the girls also received calendars. Last month I said even I needed more discipline in this area because I have not been charting like I should and now that I am in my 40’s who knows when things will start to change for me. My middle daughter put her calendar to use right away by applying it to her wall. My oldest said she didn’t like calendars because she doesn’t like things that tie her down and charting her cycle ties her down – she’s funny that way, that one is (wry smile). My third daughter didn’t have much to say other than to ask what they are for, but she has yet to start her period so things are still a little obscure to her. Remember she’s my Amelia Bedilia and I say that quite affectionately. You just have to meet her to see for yourself.

What I loved best about this campaign is what I always love about blogging, that I get to include my children, it’s on my top ten things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

“I wrote this review while participating in a Brand Ambassador Campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of U by Kotex Tween and received products to facilitate my post and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

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Placebo

Posted by html404 on November 10, 2012
in Books, Reviews

Placebo by Steven James was not your normal book from Revell Books. Placebo is a mystery thriller. Steven Banks has also written The Patrick Bowers Thriller Series which is I heard about for the first time when I opened the cover of Placebo to start reading. After reading Placebo I have to say that I am intrigued enough to look into The Patrick Bowers Thriller Series to see what they are all about.

Placebo is basically about a conspiracy that Jevin Banks stumbles across while investigating a neurological research program. The more questions he asks the deeper he finds himself entangled in a conspiracy involving the government and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies. He encounters an assassin who nearly kills him, his assistant and a doctor they were talking to about the research program.

I liked this book because it kept me riveted to the pages from about midway through to the end. The first part of the book took me a little while to get into but I was glad it picked up. I also liked that there is no bad language, I wasn’t sure how it was going to be when I began the book.

What I didn’t like about the book is it didn’t seem overtly Christian, don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with some non-Christian books or not mentioning God every other page, but this one seemed to describe certain characters and situations in a totally non-Christian way. For example, as a woman, I don’t care how seductive a woman looks, do you see what I mean? And I realize the characters are not Christians, but I don’t find that kind of stuff necessary. It’s fluff. I was more interested in getting to the bottom of Jevin’s investigation and the results of the conspiracy, not the leggy or voluptuous secretary. However, I guess those descriptions did generate some strong feelings about certain characters and that means the author did his job in drawing me into the “Placebo world” and all involved.

No matter the kind of book I read, I enjoy a good, clean, entertaining…or in this case thrilling…story line and because Placebo meets those criteria I feel I can still give it a thumbs up.

“Available November 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

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Talking to Toddlers Giveaway

Posted by html404 on November 10, 2012
in Giveaways, Parenting

Talking to Toddlers is a great audio program that we reviewed awhile back. You can read our thoughts here. But in a nutshell? We thought this was a great program filled with helpful tips for parents of toddlers and young children. This program will teach you how to deal with the terrible twos and all the chaos that ensues during this time period in our lives.

Brandy found it to be very helpful and I really enjoyed hearing a refresher course on the subject of toddlers and learning how to pick your battles.

If you want to win this great audio set then enter below-

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Grow with the Grain ~ National Bread Month

Posted by Professor on November 10, 2012
in All Natural Products, Family Stuff, Health, Health and Nutrition, News Worthy, Organic, Uncategorized

November is National Bread Month!

National Bread Month is a great way to remember to put whole grains in your diet.

We try to eat as many whole grains as possible… from bread, to pasta, to cereals. How do you incorporate whole grains into your lifestyle?

Here are a few things to remember:

Bread and grain foods provide many essential nutrients our bodies need to stay healthy and help fight diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and birth defects.

Whole grains are a good source of fiber and complex carbohydrates – and are naturally low in fat.
Enriched grains are also a good source of complex carbohydrates and are one of the major sources for iron and folic acid in our diets.

A big key to maximizing your health and energy is taking a look at your diet – including how you “fill your plate.”

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend eating six one ounce servings of grain foods each day.
Grain-based foods like bread, buns, bagels, tortillas and crackers are not only healthy, they’re convenient and affordable.

About White Bread/Enriched Grains:

White bread – whether it be sliced or as rolls and buns – is enriched, meaning that B vitamins including thiamin, and riboflavin have been added back in approximately double the amount of whole grains and niacin has been added back in its original amount.

Folic acid is fortified to over twice the amount found in whole grains.

Enriched grains are the primary source of folic acid in Americans’ diets and, according to the CDC , have been credited with a 36 percent reduction in birth defects since the FDA mandated fortification of enriched grains in 1998.

Enriched grains are also a major source of iron in the diets of most Americans and are a good source of complex carbohydrates.

About Whole Grains:

Whole grains are a good source of complex carbohydrates, numerous vitamins and minerals, and are naturally low in fat.

Whole grains are a good source of fiber and other important nutrients, such as selenium, potassium and magnesium.

Whole grains may lower risk of heart disease, some cancers and diabetes as well as other disorders, such as hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome and diverticular disease.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the sandwich! There are many reasons to love sandwiches:

Sandwiches are one of the easiest, most versatile and convenient ways to make a healthy meal for individuals or families.
Bread is the most important ingredient in making a healthy and delicious sandwich; it is the foundation of a great meal any time of day.
The complex carbohydrates in bread and other grain-based foods provide lasting energy the human body needs on a daily basis.

The sadwich shown above is the Avacado BLT…the recipe can be found here http://www.gowiththegrain.org/recipes/recipe.php?recipe_id=1144&featured_order=1

My children LOVE their sandwichs…favorites include Ham, Peanut Butter and Jelly, and Grilled Cheese. Although Peanut Butter and Jelly is the GO TO favorite hands down for lunches!

Do you send your kids to school with sandwiches? What’s a go-to sandwich for you to include in their lunch bags?

I recently discovered Celebrity Chef Bryan Voltaggio who has created some delicious recipe creations. They range from traditional to interesting. Definitely worth a look see! You can check them out here: http://bit.ly/t9woak.

Chef Bryan is definatley a sandwhich innovator to learn more about his history please visit this link: http://bit.ly/REO3uL

For more information on National Bread Month and Whole grains PLEASE visit http://gowiththegrain.org/
“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of the Grain Foods Foundation. I received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

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Melissa & Doug Terrific Twenty List and Giveaway

Posted by Brande on November 8, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Books, Deals, Education, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Giveaways, Holidays, Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, News Worthy, Parenting, Shopping

Head over to Melissa & Doug’s Facebook page to enter to win one of their Terrific Twenty! Then, don’t forget to visit Melissa & Doug’s Website to see all of the Terrific Twenty and the many other fabulous learning toys Melissa & Doug has!