Tree Hugging Really Was….

Posted by html404 on February 24, 2012
in All Natural Products, Education, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Food and Treats

I loved all your responses to our Wordless Wednesday post! I got a lot of chuckles! The tree hugging really was about measuring the tree, but it was for tapping the trees for sap. We need to measure the diameter of the tree to determine how many taps we can put in each of our five maple trees because we are making maple syrup! Today’s fun with food post will be all about our fun tapping trees and making our very own chemical free maple syrup! (I know there is really no food shown, but it’s all about making our own and being self-sufficient in providing our family’s food from our land – rented land in this case.)

Our handy little reference booklet.

Maple syrup supplies.

Photo from Anderson’s website.

Yes, we can measure with the measuring tape upside down, we are talented that way! 😉

Drilling tap holes.

Tapping trees was a family event.

Two of our maple trees are in the backyard, the other three are in the front.

Stay tuned for more of our journey into the world of making maple syrup in our own backyard!

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FREE Pretzel Day!

Posted by Brande on February 23, 2012
in Food and Treats, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Restaurants

Go get a Free Auntie Anne’s Pretzel on Saturday March 3rd from 10 am to 3 pm.

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Vegetable Gardening

Posted by Brande on February 23, 2012
in All Natural Products, Coupons, Deals, Farm Stuff, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gardening, Health, Health and Nutrition, Organic, Saving Money, Shopping, Thrifty Thursday

Spring is Coming!

I found this great deal for vegetable gardening and it all starts with a bumper sticker. A bumper sticker? Yes. Use this link to the left and get your free bumper sticker! When you put your information in you’ll receive an email to confirm your email address. THEN, you’ll get a promo code for 53% off “Seeds of the Month Club“.

Some background – Mike the Gardner Enterprises is located in NJ. Mike is a 3rd generation home vegetable gardner and author. Mike has been featured in many publications around the world with articles and tips, including ABC & NBC.

Mike also has a podcast, blog and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, LinkedIN, Pinterest, & Google +.

“Seeds of the Month Club” – According to their website. “All seeds are non-gmo, open pollinated heirloom varieties that have been tested for a germination rate of 90% and higher. ”

“You receive 8 packs of seeds your first month and 4 packages each month thereafter. With a 30 day money back guarantee.”

With the 53% off it cost $15.06 for the year! I signed up, so we’ll see what it’s like. Granted, I don’t know what kind of seeds I’ll receive monthly. It’s still a great deal!

Happy Growing!

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Farm Rich Review

Posted by Professor on February 23, 2012
in Family Stuff, Food and Treats

Farm Rich is always there for moms, with wholesome, easy –to-prepare snacks sure to please the entire family.

Farm Rich has a multitude of easy snacking products for the whole family. Their arsenal includes:

Cheese Sticks
Mozzarella Bites
Mini Pizza Slices
Stuffed Pretzel Bites
Queso Cheese Bites
Jalapeno Peppers
Mushrooms
Mini Quesadillas
Philly Cheese Steaks
Mini Bacon Cheeseburgers
Marinara Stuffed Mozzarella Sticks
Meatballs
Italian Style Meatballs
Turkey Meatballs
Original French Toast Sticks
Cinnamon Sprinkle French Toast Sticks

If you are looking for a good snack alternative just go to the www.farmrich.com website and use their product finder to find Farm Rich snacks at a store near you!

Our Review:

We tried the Cheese Sticks and the Mushrooms…both were very tasty! My children LOVED the cheese sticks. One thing I like is that the bag has a nice Ziploc feature and therefore is able to be resealed…. which makes for a very convenient alternative when you only want to prepare a few snacks and not the entire bag.

My family enjoyed the Farm Rich products and we will buy them again in the future!

The only thing I do have to say is that we used the product finder tool and one of the stores that they told me had the product…did not carry the product when I went to the store. I am not sure if this was just because they do not carry the product or if they just have not gotten the product in yet…but I did end up finding the product at Wal-Mart so that was good!

All in all, the Farm Rich products were tasty and convenient! We will certainly try more options in the future…the children are looking forward to trying the French Toast sticks!

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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Guess What We are Doing?

Posted by html404 on February 22, 2012
in All Natural Products, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Food and Treats, Fun Stuff

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LISTERINE® and REACH® #HealthyHabits for a Lifetime Oral Care Challenge!

Posted by html404 on February 22, 2012
in Family Stuff, Personal Care Products

Did you know that 75% of all American adults have periodontal disease and do not even know it?
Did you know that there are billions of germs in our mouth, more than there are people on the earth? That’s a lot isn’t it?
Did you know that a third of the people in the US do not eat their favorite food or smile because of dental problems?
Did you know that 50% of American children will have a cavity between the ages of 5 and 9?
Did you know that 51 million hours of school are missed each year due to dental issues?

Pretty sobering, eh?

We have been struggling with a couple of our children’s oral care habits. No matter what we say nothing seems to get through to them, until recently one of my older daughters was explaining in detail what happened to teeth when the dirt, sugar and germs broke down the tooth. That particular child said, “Really?” Then took off to brush his teeth. A break through? Maybe, but I have my doubts so that is why we are participating in LISTERINE® and REACH® Healthy Habits for a Lifetime Oral Care Challenge!

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing and participating in the Healthy Habits for a Lifetime Oral Care Challenge. We are being compensated by Johnson & Johnson and TheMotherhood. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review and compensation, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Slique™ Kit

Posted by html404 on February 21, 2012
in All Natural Products, Health, Health and Garden Tuesday, Health and Nutrition

For all of my child bearing years, I have struggled with my weight. Actually, I have struggled since I was a child, I just managed it better in my late teens through mid-twenties with lots and lots of exercise! I am currently at my highest weight ever. I have tried to focus on my mothering more than my weight and protecting my girls from the idea that “I am not good enough” subconscious message that the media pushes on all females. I worked hard to instill in them that beauty comes from within not from what size clothing they wear. It is hard when the “thin” message is everywhere we look and most people have succumbed to those thoughts as the norm. I mean look at me I am still entrenched in it! The thing is even a couple of years ago I was ok, as long as I didn’t gain anymore but I have and don’t want to gain anymore. I am really not happy with my where my weight is now. Yet I still worry if I try to lose weight what message I will be sending to my daughters. It’s a catch-22.

However, my youngest is 18 months old and we have a new product through our Cornucopia Health Scents business, I thought I would try something I have never done before in hopes of getting phenomenal results while giving my body nutrition it needs. This new product just arrived last week and we do sell it, so anyone interested, please visit the Lose Weight tab at the top of the blog or visit our business site.

Slique Kit

The Product Description (credit for this goes to Jeanmarie Hepworth and is used with permission):

A Revolutionary New Weight Management System featuring Slique™ Tea and the New Essential Oil Blend Slique™ Essence!

The products in this collection work together to support effective weight management by:

Suppressing appetite and food cravings while increasing metabolism

Providing low-calorie supplements that are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and catechins

Helping with the breakdown and absorption of food

There are two kit choices non-vegetarian and vegetarian.

Lose weight and improve your health with the Slique Experience!

My Personal Goal

I have tried a box of the Slique™ Tea on its own when it came out in the fall, but sold my other box at a trade show, so I was excited to try it again. It is really very good. Since it has stevia (a natural sweetener that comes from the stevia plant), no other sugar is needed.

If I am brave enough, I will share my journey with you in upcoming posts. Being a private person, I am hesitant to make myself that vulnerable to be honest, so I haven’t quite decided what I will do yet. However, I will take the next few weeks to go through each of the products in the Slique™ Tea kit and let you know how I like them. Then at the end of this series I will be offering a giveaway of one Slique™ Tea kit to one of YOU! ($275/$285 Value) One of the biggest giveaways we have ever had on Faith and Family Reviews! So bring it on, eh!? And be sure to spread the word!

An associate of mine researched other brand name weight loss programs and came to the conclusion that the Slique Tea kit is cheaper than other weight loss programs available. If you have any experience with Nutri System, Jenny Craig or others let me know if $275/month is cheaper.

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Winter Blast Cash Giveaway Starts Today!

Posted by html404 on February 20, 2012
in Giveaways

Congrats to Mary.L. – The winner of the $700 Winter Blast of Cash!

Today the Winter Blast Cash Giveaway begins! Please enter to win $700 and help spread the word about this awesome giveaway! This giveaway is open worldwide. Winner must have a valid PayPal account. Giveaway participants (such as yours truly and other bloggers hosting) may not enter this giveaway.

$700 Winter Blast of Cash Giveaway Event

This $700 Winter Blast of Cash Giveaway is hosted by Giveaway Promote.

A fantastic group of bloggers has gotten together to give away $700 in cash to one lucky person. Below is a giveaway form called a Rafflecopter that you can use to easily enter this giveaway. Included is also a list of participating blogs at the end of this post. Complete any of the tasks below to earn entries into the giveaway. One winner will be chosen at random from all valid entries.

This giveaway is open worldwide.

It will end at 11:59pm EST on March 4th, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is brought to you by:

Giveaway Promote	Review and Giveaway	My Kids Review It
Baby Feeding Shop	Miki’s Hope	Yummy Boy Mummy
Gone Klippin’ Krazy	Mamacita La Cuponera	Mama Luvs Books
Colleen’s Book Nook	Made.By.Jess	Frugal Gals
Kat’s Corner Niche	Daily Digital Deals	Couponing4You
Mommies Point of View	Oh! My Heartsie	Money Saving Mindy
Military Wives Saving	Coupons Not Cash	Our Mom Spot
Shopaholic Mommy	Travel Mommy	Building Carpenters
I’m Not Superwoman	Half-Pint House Handouts	A Helicopter Mom
My Cloth Diaper Stash	Someday I’ll Learn	Tidbits From A Mom
Blueberry Squash	Style ‘n Decor Deals	Twingle Mommy
Its the Simple Things	My Kids’ Cool Mom	Acadiana’s Thrifty Mom
JustFindIt4U	The Frugal Navy Wife	Operation $40K
Whoreders	The Ladies Lounge	Ohayo Okasan
Taunya’s Place Too	Faith and Family Reviews	Freebies With Attitude
Disney Contests and Sweepstakes	Emptynester Savings and More	Flaunting it with the Image Diva
Oh My Gosh Beck!	Our Share of Crazy	Carpe Diem
Potato Chip Cats	Perfecting Photos	Choosing Love
Happy Home and Family	Carmen’s Coupon Blog	TheItMom.com
oc Deal Mama	The Anti-June Cleaver	I Heart Giveaways
Krazy Couponing with Trish	Random Deals	My Charmed Mom
Saving While Making Money	I Love My Kids	Fuggs and Foach
Coupon Hauls	Tory’s This and That	SwagSaver
Cheap Junkie	Mothering Matters	Sister’s Saving Cents
Savior Cents	Linda’s Angels	Free Hot Samples
J Magnolia Designs	I Am A Couponer	Picture Clusters
2 Kids and a Coupon	Sweeping The USA	Mary’s Cup of Tea
Feed Your Pig	Wonderful Things In Life	Grow With Stacy
Coupon Savvy Sarah	Book Flame	Family Makeover Maven
Coupon Coffee Shop	Capri’s Coupons	Green-Baby-Goods
Mom Always Finds Out	Pinching Pennies with Heather	The Mommyhood Chronicles
Prolific Shopping	Bake Sew Write	Krazy Coupon Club
Southwest Coupon Clippers	Cheapskate Cafe	The Coup Diva
Mommy Who Loves Giveaways	Uncreative Mommy in a Sea of Crafty Bloggers	Life: Full of Unexpected Happiness
Arizona Moms Network	Bluegrass Savers	Extreme Coupon Professors
Saving For My Family	Sweet Pea Saving	Deal Doll
Wild N Mild Giveaways	Cute-Ecakes	Relax ‘n Save
Adventures in Coupons	Nicki’s Coupon Blog	Black, Divorced & Virtuous
Sassy Savings with Susan	For The Love Of Happy	Live. Love. Sticky.
Cheap Is The New Classy	Beauty and Fashion Diva	The Denver Housewife
Celebrate Woman Today	Finger Click Saver	Teach Me 2 Save
Whole Lotta Mama

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Dry Skin

Posted by html404 on February 19, 2012
in Family Stuff, Health and Nutrition, Personal Care Products, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Shopping

The winter months are hard on the skin and our family is no different. Dry hands, face, elbows and even feet and legs get that scaly cracked skin. This winter my face has been so dry and I cannot figure out why. My husband’s hands have been extra dry and very rough, but he thinks that his frequent use of hand sanitizer may be at the root of his problem. Some of the younger children’s legs have been dry. We do not bathe as often during the winter so it is hard to pin point what is causing the dry skin. It has become my quest to find a solution.

We have tried numerous products and lotion, one has worked better than others but still leaves a greasy residue. That’s why when we were introduced to Dial™ NutriSkin™ I decided to try it. It is new and they are adding extra vitamins and nutrients to it therefore it appealed to me to see what it was like. I went to Walmart since they were having an in-store demo so I could try it before I bought the lotion. I have to be careful what I buy because so many of my children have sensitive skin.

Walmart did not have the full selection of Dial™ NutriSkin™ lotions or body wash. I was really looking forward to trying one of their fruity scented body washes, but they only had two and one was not very fruity smelling. In their lotion, I could only choose from 2 products: Shea Butter and Aloe. The demo lady had a third lotion on the demo table but I forgot to try it after the Aloe because I had so much Aloe on my hands! I liked both in regards to scent, but decided on the Aloe because it was on sale for $3 and the demo lady gave me a coupons for $1 off. I really liked that price compared to the $4 regular price and the $5 price of other brands. So far my hands are still very smooth and soft, not to mention good! My husband just put some on so time will tell Dial™ NutriSkin™ lotion will work for him.

My oldest daughter will be the final judge on this product since she has the most chemical sensitivities.

As a side note, I was talking to a friend this weekend who has eczema and psoriasis and she takes Vitamin D supplements and/or cod liver oil to combat it and it helps. She only does this during the winter months when she doesn’t get enough sunshine.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions expressed are my own. #DialNutriSkin #Cbias

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Macaroni Kid

Posted by Brande on February 19, 2012
in Community Issues, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, News Worthy, Parenting, Recipes

I’m sure it’s happened to you. You heard about a community or library event after the fact. And think, wow my kid(s) would have loved that. Sign up for your local Macaroni Kid newsletter and let them do the work! Every week your local Macaroni Kid newsletter will arrive in your email inbox! They have a variety of information in them besides a calendar of events. There are helpful article and tips, recipes, crafts, product reviews and even an occasional giveaway! Besides your local Macaroni Kid, there is the National Site, Family Travel, Family Safety, Macaroni Kid EATS!, Macaroni Military Family, Family Fitness, EVEN North Pole! Macaroni Kids has local newsletters all over the US, Canada (Ottawa Capital Region) and even International (North Pole, Trinidad & Virgin Islands).