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Heart’s Safe Passage

Posted by html404 on March 12, 2012
in Books

Yep, read another book this weekend, however, I won’t have too many more book reviews to post as we get into gardening season. There just won’t be time to do much reading, not that there is now, but you know what I mean, right?

Heart’s Safe Passage is the second book in The Midwives series by Laurie Alice Eakes. I read the first one a year or two ago, I believe, and really enjoyed it. I am very pro-midwives, after all I have given birth at home with one for my last three births and have even studied midwifery at one point but had to put it aside when my husband got laid off. I find the history of midwifery compelling and dates back to the beginning of time in the book of Exodus in the bible.

I found this second book interesting as well, though again this novel was not so much about the midwifery as much as the spiritual and personal life of the midwife, Phoebe Lee. The story is set in the early 1800s and shares Phoebe’s story, which was only hinted at in the first book, as she helps her sister-in-law Belinda. Phoebe is a spunky little thing. I actually loved Phoebe’s spunk, she made up for Belinda’s character…one spoiled rich girl.

Even though this was a romance-y book, there were twists in the plot and a fair amount of guessing when it came to figuring out who was against Captain Docherty, what Phoebe would do in any given situation and how she and the two other female characters were going to survive their time on board a privateer brig (different than a ship).

Revenge, bitterness, forgiveness and healing are important elements in this book and when these are presented there is always something for everyone to learn.

Heart’s Safe Passage gets two thumbs up from me!

“Available February 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 free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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SchoolhouseTeachers.com

Posted by Brande on March 12, 2012
in Articles, Education, Encouragement for Moms, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gardening, Gift Ideas, Parenting, School

Check out The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s (TOS) reinvented Teacher’s Toolbox. I introduce SchoolhouseTeachers.com.

Click the banner above or here’s the link – http://schoolhouseteachers.com/dap/a/?a=3429

The topics of March include “Get Out and Garden!” , “This Day in History” , “Schoolhouse Kitchen”, crafts, lots of encouragement and devotions.

TOS is continually adding enhancements to SchoolhouseTeachers.com – Watch for Schoolhouse Clubs for Kids, freebies (for long-term members), and TOS digital back issues! With even more coming in April and beyond!

There are 3 different tiers of membership.

The Standard Membership includes –

Members-only access to lesson material from all of our expert teachers—Geography, History, Home Ec, Literature, Music/Singing, Technology, Writing and many more subjects in months to come
The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine delivered by TOS straight to your inbox monthly
All The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine digital back issues (easily searchable)
3 E-Books from the TOS E-Book Homeschool Library during the first 12 months of membership

After 12 months of uninterrupted membership, you’ll receive a $5 gift certificate to the Totally TOS section of The Schoolhouse Store.

Premium Membership –

Members-only access to lesson material from all of our expert teachers—Geography, History, Home Ec, Literature, Music/Singing, Technology, Writing and many more subjects in months to come
All TOS webinar Expo-to-Go recorded sessions ($60 value), including recordings of all future and ongoing Expos during length of membership
The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine delivered by TOS straight to your inbox monthly
All The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine digital back issues (easily searchable)
7 E-Books from the TOS E-Book Homeschool Library during the first 12 months of membership

After 12 months of uninterrupted membership, you’ll receive a $10 gift certificate to the Totally TOS section of The Schoolhouse Store.

Ultimate Member –

Members-only access to lesson material from all of our expert teachers—Geography, History, Home Ec, Literature, Music/Singing, Technology, Writing and many more subjects in months to come
All five 2012-13 Schoolhouse Daily e-Planners (more than $125 value)
All TOS webinar Expo-to-Go recorded sessions ($60 value), including recordings of all future and ongoing Expos during length of membership
The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine delivered by TOS straight to your inbox monthly
All The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine digital back issues (easily searchable)
12 E-Books from the TOS E-Book Homeschool Library (one per month) during the first 12 months of membership

After 12 months of uninterrupted membership, you’ll receive a $25 gift certificate to the Totally TOS section of The Schoolhouse Store.

BONUS for the Ultimate Membership for a limited time only!

Go and sign up, this is a great tool for any parent just not homeschoolers!

**The membership information was quoted directly from the SchoolhouseTeachers.com website.**

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Starting Our Seeds: Motivation Monday

Posted by html404 on March 12, 2012
in Farm Stuff, Gardening, Health, Home

Daylight Savings has begun, the days are growing longer and warmer. Signs of spring. Ahhh….the change of seasons is so refreshingly sweet, isn’t it?

It was so nice yesterday and we our box of seeds (Mike the Gardener’s and Johnny’s Seeds) came the other day that my girls were begging me to start planting. I did not have our seed flats or other containers, but we did have plenty of egg cartons that we were saving for when we had our laying hens, so I told the girls to go ahead and use the egg cartons to start the seeds. They went to town and got a lot planted. Then again when you have 5-6 pairs of hands it does not take long to get a job done. They planted veggie seeds and flower seeds.

My motivation this week is to get the rest of our seeds planted that need to be planted so they are ready to put into the ground at the right time. What the children planted yesterday was for their individual gardens, not our big one! We have one table set up in our living room and will probably need to set our other one up once I get my seeds planted. I am hoping it is warm enough and light enough in front of our big window. (Dreaming of the day we have a greenhouse or hoop house!)

We also have to get the tiller serviced so it is ready to go when we start planting outside. I have asked my dear husband to do that job!

Chickens will be ordered but we will plan for them to arrive in April and May. Pretty exciting stuff going on here at Loony Acres!

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Sarai Book Review

Posted by html404 on March 12, 2012
in Books

Sarai is the first book in the Wives of the Patriarchs by Jill Eileen Smith, who wrote the a Wives of King David series, of which I read two of the three in that series. What can I say? After the Wives of King David series, I have to say that Sarai really did not entice my interest as much for some reason. I felt that it was dry for lack of a better descriptive word.

I enjoyed what the book made me think about and consider – what it would be like to be married over 50 years and then decide to give your husband your handmaid to produce an heir. I could not fathom that at all. This isn’t something I thought about while reading the story in my bible.

It also made me question the kind of faith Abraham had to believe for years and years and years that God would provide him a son, but then throws it aside when Sarai’s faith falters. They could have saved themselves so much agony and kept their relationship exclusively magnomous if they had stayed strong together and waited for God’s timing. Easy for me to say. They are human, I know. Although it does say a lot of Abraham that he did not take another wife all those years when he and Sarai did not conceive, but again their faith faltered and they get themselves into a disastrous love triangle.

I could not relate to Sarai’s barrenness and wondered at the fact that women were blamed for not conceiving more so than men. I liked the fact that Ms. Smith portrayed Abraham as a kindhearted man who took into consideration that he might be the cause of Sarai’s barrenness. But wondered why God didn’t just tell them and others in bible times the man determined the sex of a child? Why do eastern countries still blame the woman for barrenness or the sex of the child? These are all questions I asked as I pondered Sarai and Abraham’s story.

I liked the thought provoking questions the book brought about in me and how accurate the story was to the biblical account, but otherwise it left much to be desired.

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

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Pillow Pets Review

Posted by Brande on March 11, 2012
in Fun Stuff, Holidays, Kids Toys, Shopping

Come sing the jingle with me. I know you’ve heard it….

and a 1….. and a 2……

“It’s a Pillow, it’s a Pet… It’s a Pillow Pet!”

When Jennifer Telfer observed her sons crunching up their stuffed animals to make pillow out of them, Pillow Pets was born.

Most little kids have a special friend that goes EVERYWHERE with them. The Pillow Pet does double duty. BONUS for me – less to carry. These snugly creatures are very soft and have Velcro under their belly. They also have a flap to cover the sticky part of the Velcro. What began as only 6 Pillow Pets is now a huge line, including Farm, Zoo, Ocean, Fantasy, Sports, Specialty and Disney. Coppins Gifts has a large variety to offer.

My Review:

Sir Horse joined our family and he is very much loved by my daughter. He has gone from the grocery store to the couch. Much to my daughters dismay – the other day she found her Daddy taking a nap on Sir Horse. So, it’s a great product even for adults! I really like the flap to cover the Velcro, it keeps the Velcro clean and it doesn’t catch on everything. Go and buy your kids a Pillow Pet. Or tell the Easter Bunny to bring one as Easter is coming!!

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First Alert Facebook Giveaway!

Posted by Brande on March 10, 2012
in Appliances, Family Stuff, Free Stuff, Giveaways, Home, Houseware, Safety

Head to First Alert’s Facebook Page – Enter for a chance to win 1 of 100 Prize Packs! You have until March 12th (Monday)!

Don’t forget to change you clocks one hour ahead & smoke alarm batteries!

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Review ~ Surf Sweets

Posted by Professor on March 10, 2012
in All Natural Products, Food and Treats, Organic, Uncategorized

Surf Sweets is an exciting new company that sells Organic and Natural “sweets”.

Surf Sweets organically-sweetened gummy candies and jelly beans are drenched in fresh fruit flavor. Free of artificial color and sweeteners, these fun treats are great for kids and adults. Enjoy them anytime you’re looking to add a smile to your day!

Made with Organic Fruit Juice and Sweeteners
Natural Color and Flavors
100% RDA of Vitamin C
Free of Corn Syrup and GMO’s
Made in a Nut Free Facility
Gluten Free
Dairy free and Casein Free
Made in the USA

The candy the company offers includes:

Gummy Worms
Gummy Swirls
Gummy Bears
Fruity Bears
Jelly Beans
Sour Worms
Sour Berry Bears
Snack Packs

gummy bears sour berry bears

Our Review:

We were fortunate enough to get four different products to try: Jelly Beans, Gummy Bears, Sour Berry Bears, and Fruity Bears. Let me tell you I had the best intentions of sharing these with my children…I really did…but they were so good I ate one packet then stashed the rest for myself. It all started when I was watching a movie late one night by myself when I couldn’t sleep. I wanted something to snack on and thought I would try one of the Surf Sweet products. I tried the Sour Bears…they were so yummy I ate the entire package. I have to admit when I first received the package I was skeptical of the flavor I was going to discover, that is why I initially decided to test the product out on my children…but much to my surprise they were delightfully sweet and delicious…not at all like I expected they were BETTER!!!

So needless to say after I ate the Sour Bears I stashed the rest of the candy for my self and indulged for a few days on my hidden sweets! All of the products I got to experience were so good!!! I remember being a child and getting gourmet candy from the Marshal Fields candy counter… these tasted just like the candy from my childhood memories! It was a wonderful taste sensation!

For further information about the product please visit http://www.surfsweets.com

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Trademark Infringement & HarleySpace.com

Posted by html404 on March 10, 2012
in Business, News Worthy

I am not a biker chick by any means, but find a recent development between a new social media networking site HarelySpace.com and the brand Harley-Davidson quite interesting, if not a bit confusing. You see, neither am I a paralegal, law student or lawyer. Having watched enough of ABC’s Shark Tank, I do know that trademark infringement is serious and big business and $$$$ to some.

The creators of MomnBaby.com created the new networking site and within two weeks of it going live they received an email basically asking them to take down the site and to stop said infringement. You can read all about the creators’ email here and Harley-Davidson’s email here and the creator’s lawyer’s letter here (pdf).

What do you think? Should they stop or is Harley-Davidson just exercising their corporate muscle to squash an up and coming popular site?

Would love to hear your thoughts!

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Thieves Household Cleaner & The Spring Cleaning Giveway Hop

Posted by html404 on March 10, 2012
in All Natural Products, Blog Stuff, Contests, Eco Friendly Products, Home

It is exciting to be a part of another giveaway and blog hop. This one is the Spring Cleaning Giveaway Hop! Our hosts for this event are MamaNYC and Sweeping The USA! We have some awesome giveaways and the GRAND PRIZE iRobot Roomba, which is a robot that will actually vacuum your floors!

This event will run from March 10-24, 2012. Keep reading to find out what I am giving away, but don’t forget to enter for a chance at our GRAND PRIZE – and hop down the linky list for a chance to win even MORE prizes!

My Giveaway – Thieves Household Cleaner

What is spring cleaning without a cleaner? My giveaway is a 14.4 fl. oz. bottle of Thieves Household Cleaner ($30 retail value), which is non-toxic, chemical free and boasts a proprietary blend of essential oils – so it smells great! No toxic fumes will harm you or your family when you clean with Thieves! Thieves Household Cleaner is concentrate, which means a little amount will ago a long way. Simply put a cap full in a spray bottle and clean to your heart’s content. Thieves can replace all your cleaners in your home as it will clean glass, mirrors, toilets, counter tops, sinks and floors. Some people even use it as a dishwasher or laundry detergent! Our family loves Thieves!

Wanna Win?

Enter to win your own bottle of Thieves Household Cleaner in the Rafflecopter below! Happy spring cleaning! 😉

**Only open to the US.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The Swiss Colony – Lady Bug Truffles Review and Giveaway!

Posted by Brande on March 9, 2012
in Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Giveaways, Holidays, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping

How cute are these little guys! And VERY tasty too!

Swiss creme covers these wonderful little bugs of goodness. With their centers made of light and airy chocolate truffle. These Lady Bugs are delightfully decorated and almost hard to eat (key word ALMOST).

The Swiss Colony website offers may choices in addition to these adorable Lady Bugs! Easter’s Coming!!!

My Review:

Funny story first. I have a 3 year old little girl, who was very upset that I was eating “bugs”. She learned very quickly, that these “bugs” were very good.

These Swiss Colony Lady Bug Truffles are wonderful! I really enjoy chocolate and these made me close my eyes and enjoy the smoothness and flavor. I recommend The Swiss Colony! With Easter coming, now is a great time to order Lady Bugs! Not only are they very good, but they are a conversation piece! Add them to your Easter Table as decoration then eat them! Decoration and Dessert! Below is a picture of my box! Maybe the Easter Bunny will bring me some more!

Disclosure: I received this item free of charge from The
Swiss Colony. No monetary compensation
was received or offered, nor was I under any obligation to write about this
product. All opinions expressed are my
honest thoughts. I am not offering any
sales or taking orders for this item. I
will not receive any compensation in connection with any sales of this item.

Giveaway – You Could Win One Too! **Only open to the US.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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