Faith and Family Reviews - Product reviews you can trust!

Don’t Forget to Change Your Clocks & Batteries

Posted by Brande on March 12, 2011
in Family Stuff, Seasonal Stuff

Spring is coming! (That groundhog better be right!)

Don’t forget to change your clocks this weekend. The official time to change your clocks is Sunday the 13th at 2:00 a.m. Not happening, we are springing our clocks forward early on Saturday night before bed. Remember this is also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke & carbon monoxide detectors.

I’m excited about some extra daylight. Except for one thing…… my daughter. She’s 2 and these time changes can mess with her head. So, as much as I’m going to dislike it. Her wake up call on Sunday will be at 8:00 am (7:00 am in her mind). My husband and I, well…we will just make more coffee and deal with the grumpy toddler.

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Tail Wags Review

Posted by Brande on March 12, 2011
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Safety, Sports

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.

Name the first thing that comes to your mind when I say Tail Wags. If you said helmet covers, your right! Tail Wags Helmet Covers, Inc. was started by Karyn Climans in January of 2006. Straight from the Tail Wags site, here’s Karyn’s Story.

http://www.tail-wags.com

“Years ago, Karyn suffered a serious ski accident. She was lucky to be wearing her ski helmet because it saved her life! The foremost goal of her company is to help prevent unnecessary injuries and it is her passion for safety awareness along with her imaginative flair, which are the key ingredients for Tail Wags’ success.”

“Initially working out of her basement, Karyn started Tail Wags with 6 different helmet covers: the Red Devil, Beaver, Leopard, Bunny Rabbit, Zebra and Raccoon. These are still some of her best sellers! Today, there are some 40 animal characters to choose from and Tail Wags are sold both online and in stores throughout North America and overseas.”

My biggest question was how do you come up with the company name of Tail Wags and sell helmet covers? Here’s the answer I got from http://www.tail-wags.com

“The company was named Tail Wags in order to celebrate the swinging action of the helmet cover’s tail while the wearer is out riding, skating, skiing – being active, and having fun!”

Makes sense to me!

I have to admit, the first time I went on the site. I giggled. It’s something new and different. More importantly, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep my daughter safe.

I received the Fairy Princess helmet cover for my daughter. I opened the package and my daughter immediately put it on her head without her bike helmet. (I wish I had my camera close). She loves playing dress up and if she’ll keep her bike helmet on her head being a Fairy Princess…well, Karyn did her job! Thank you Karyn! Here’s a picture of ours. (I tried to get a picture my daughter with it on and she just wasn’t in the mood today.) I’ll post it another day!

The helmet cover is micro-fleece. It needs to be hand washed and laid flat to dry. The cover stretches nicely and is snug to the bike helmet. My only concern with this particular cover (Fairy Princess) is the “jewels” on the crown. I was picking at them, and they seem secure on the crown. I’m not sure if they are big enough to cause a choking hazard, but as always be careful. All in all, I would recommend it, especially if your child doesn’t like their “normal” helmet.

Tail Wags Helmet Covers come in Adults and Childrens sizes. So, the whole family can join in on the fun!

Check out their site at http://www.tail-wags.com

All Comments are my own opinion.

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Baby Clothes: Down Memory Lane

Posted by html404 on March 12, 2011
in Baby Products, Children's Clothing, Family Stuff

Ok, the other day in my post about Please Mum I mentioned that we had a couple of articles of clothing that has last through our four boys and in the comment section I clarified that it was baby items. I was able to scrounge up one of them, I am still looking for the other. Here is the little vest my friend gave our son. I love it not only because of the fleece material, but because it has the Canadian flag on it reminding me of my heritage, of my friends and loved ones still in Canada:

As you can see baby boy was not very cooperative this morning, but that will have to do as I am quite out of time. Trying to take the weekend off and while cleaning found the vest so wanted to post about it before I forgot all about it. If the other outfit turns up, I will post it too. It is a little green vest, a red and white striped shirt (had matching socks but I think they’ve been long lost for a while now) and brown pants. The fabric of the pants is so silky soft. But is a cute little boy’s safari-like outfit.

Oh and here are a few other older baby outfits that all eight of our children have worn:

If I was a mom with more time to devote to a proper post, I would look back in my old photo files and find you pictures of my kids wearing these outfits, but alas, I am a very busy mama who needs to get back to cleaning, sorting and getting giveaway things packed up and ready to ship out. Yep, getting rid of baby stuff too. There is no more room left in the inn. Only a few favorites will stay, just in case another little Gould happens along. No, that was not a hint. There is no new little Gould on its way. Only the Lord knows if and when.

Gotta run….

Ok, I am back again. I found two more of the three missing items. Amazing what you can find in the cracks, beneath the bed, in the clean laundry pile or in the among the other children’s clothing. The striped shirt from Please Mum is stretched out a lot since we got it nine years ago, but still wearable, more so beneath the vest though. Here they are:

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Please Mum

Posted by html404 on March 11, 2011
in SALES, Shopping

I don’t know if you have ever heard of Please Mum, but it is a Canadian children’s clothing line. As a Canadian, I am rather biased I will admit, but they do have quality clothing. A friend of mine gave me a couple of outfits from Please Mum when our first son was born nine years ago and these pieces of clothing are still in mint shape after four boys….and they were second hand to begin with. They wash and wear well on little ones. I will try to scrounge up the outfits and take photos of them…but we are slightly unorganized around here (that is an understatement!) so forgive me if I cannot get the photos up today…it might take a little work to unearth them.

Anyhoo….Please Mum has a spring sale (50-70% off) going on right now that you might be interested in, so take a look and tell me what you think.

Additionally, their new Dressy collection is at 25% off and they are a company who gives back.

and tops are only $4.99!

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Closed FFR Crocs Tone Review and Giveaway

Posted by html404 on March 11, 2011
in Contests, Faith and Family Reviews Friday Giveaway, Girl Stuff, Giveaways

Congratulations to Erica! You won this giveaway! Winner chosen by Random.org. Thanks to all who entered and to Crocs for sponsoring this great giveaway!!!

Crocs has a new line of women’s shoes out called Crocs Tone. This new line of shoes has 4 different shoes in many colors and styles. Check them out below:

The Skylar Sandal:

The Skylar Flip-Flop:

The Skylar Clog:

The Skylar Flat:

The new line of Crocs Tone shoes, a new women’s collection that comes in 4 stylish models that still uses the same lightweight and odor-resisting, patented Croslite material as the original Crocs. The new Crocs Tone shoe offers the benefits of toning for your upper and lower legs without sacrificing any comfort or style. How wonderful is that?

My Review:

I was sent a pair of the Skylar Clogs to review in watermelon color because I am a girly girl. Love the color by the way! I also like the fact that you can wear them with the strap around your heel or you can push them forward and wear them like a slip on with no strap around your heel.

When I first tried them on I felt rather teetering because of the design on the bottom of the Skylar Clogs, it’s like you can rock in them when you stand. Weird I know, but after a walking in them that goes away the more you walk. Just took some getting use to compared to my other footwear.

I have to say that I really like Crocs. I have never had a pair before and I might have to fight with my daughter for them (not really but you’ll see why I say that). My 10 year old daughter took a shine to my new Crocs and tried them out even before I did since I was at the organic farming conference when they arrived. When I talked to home base over the phone they told me that my CROCS had arrived and asked if Giggles could open them, I said yes. Little did I know she would wear them ALL weekend long! And yes they fit her because we think she is going to be tall since her feet are nearly the size of mine and I wear size 9! Although I am short…..so I could be wrong, but she is tall for her age.

Editor’s Note 3/12/11: I wore them all day yesterday while working in the greenhouse and a walk around the neighborhood and I did start to get a blister on the top of my feet and the pads of my foot are sore a little. They are not quite broken in but my knees do not hurt and usually a shoe will let me know in my knees that they do not have enough support!

Two thumbs up for Skylar Clogs from Crocs!

Enter to win a pair of Crocs! (winner gets to pick the style and color!) Estimated value $50.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me what style of the new Tone Crocs you want and what color!

Extra Entries (Please be sure and leave a comment and link for extra entries):

1 Entry:Follow Faith and Family Reviews On Twitter

1 Entry: Follow Crocs on Twitter

1 Entry:Like/Friend Faith and Family Reviews on Facebook.

1 Entry: Like Crocs on Facebook. And leave a comment saying- Faith and Family Reviews sent me.

2 Entries: Follow Faith and Family Reviews on Google Friend Connect (on the our right side bar).

2 Entries: Tweet about this giveaway, but only one tweet per day please. Include your tweet url with your comment. You may write your own tweet or use this one:

Giveaway: Enter to win a pair of Crocs! http://bit.ly/fHh04U @faithfamilyrevw! Please share! Thx!

5 Entries: Blog about this giveaway and link back this post and Crocs

1 Entry: for every comment you leave anywhere else on this blog, but please leave a link with your comment!

Details:
This giveaway will run from March 11th, 2011 to March 25th , 2011 at midnight CST. The winner will be chosen through Random.org. Crocs will send one winner their prize. Winner will be contacted via email on or before March 30th and will be asked for their contact and other pertinent info. Winners will have 48 hours to send me their e-mail at [ffr] [giveaways] [at] [gmail] [dot] [com] (without spaces and parenthesis). Please note: This giveaway is offered to USA only.

Thanks and have fun!

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Who Wants a Free Movie from Redbox?

Posted by Brande on March 10, 2011
in Deals, Family Stuff, Free Stuff, Movies

I know I do! Ready… Set… GO!

From what I’m reading you need to purchase a movie ($1.00 with tax) and then when you return it you’ll get a free movie. I don’t think that’s too shabby for newly released movies! You can reserve them from home and pick them up at a Red Box location near your home! I like that feature, this way I don’t have to be standing around sometimes outside trying to pick a movie. Grab some popcorn! Here’s the link below.

http://redbox.tellapal.com/a/clk/HY2VJ

I wrote this post in order to enter a giveaway for free redbox movies and movie snack packs as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club.

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How to Peel a Boiled Potato Without a Peeler or Knife!

Posted by Brande on March 10, 2011
in Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Health and Nutrition

I got this video in an email this morning and was very skeptical. Thinking to myself, there’s no way you can peel a boiled potato without a peeler or knife. Then I watched it.

YouTube – Dawn Wells Potato Peeling Video

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7375897927147969009#

How cool is that! I’m trying this the next time I make potato salad. It’s a great tip! If you’ve done this, does it really work? I wonder if she did that on Gilligan’s Island?

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Thrifty Thursday: Create Cards with Melissa from Itty Chic

Posted by html404 on March 10, 2011
in Articles, Guest Post, Thrifty Thursday

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post. While we appreciate our guest writer’s submissions, this does not constitute endorsement or agreement to the opinions expressed in the articles featured.

My name is Melissa Correll with Itty Chic! You can create cards, scrapbook pages, and anything else that you set your mind to with things you already have around your house!

Today, we are going to create a simple card out of:

Cardstock

Buttons

Cotton Twine

Glue

A stamp with your favorite saying

Ink in your color of choice

Step one: Take your page of card stock and cut it in half. Then fold your half in half to create a blank card.

Step two: Choose your buttons and cut your twine. I had a bag of random buttons sitting around and I chose my colors out of that. You will need 6 buttons for the petal of each flower and a color for the center. Then you will choose buttons for your leaves. Use cotton twine just like what you use to sew up your turkey on thanksgiving! Cut it long so that it will be easy to handle

Step three: Lay everything out so that you can see how it will turn out. Play with the arrangement till you like how it looks!

Step four: Bring out the glue! Now it is time to make your creation a reality. Start by putting down the centers of your flowers and building the petals around them one at a time. Next, you are going to want to glue down the twine. The easiest way to do this is to either lay a thin line of glue directly on the paper and lay the twine over it, or run your glue down the twine and place the twine down that way. Once your twine is placed, you should still have the ends hanging off the end of the card, leave these until the twine dries! Place your leaves and let the glue dry.

Step five: Time to finish it up! Cut your loose ends and choose your favorite stamp, I chose simply Smile! With a bright lavender ink. Something important to remember when you are stamping, push straight down and pull up, or you will end up with uneven ink, or a double image!

Step six: Bless someone else. Now that your card is finished, all you need to do is find someone to give it too!

More about Melissa and Itty Chic: I started my business in Mid July of 2010 with the sale of cards, and memory boards. I grew up poor and loved turning nothing into something. I started my business because my goal is eventually to quit my day job and be a stay at home mom. I want to raise my future children, not have them raised by a daycare. To see this and more, go to http://ittychic.com and http://ittychic.com/Blog!

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A Trail of Ink

Posted by html404 on March 9, 2011
in Books

It has been a while since I have read a medieval tale. A Trail of Ink penned by Mel Starr was not what I would call a “candy” book. By candy I mean a book that you pick up and speed read through it. It had more substance to it than candy. After all the language of the 14th century England was very different than how we speak today. This is a good thing because it actually makes our brains think. Here is a list of words, see if you can guess what they mean without Googling them:

Candlemas

Coney

Egg leaches

Kirtle

Prebend

Anyways, A Trail of Ink is about the mystery surrounding missing books, a murder, with a love interest thrown in. Sir Hugh de Singleton is a Baliff for a Lord, as well as a surgeon. He is very cunning when it comes to solving mysteries so he is asked to solve the mystery. His love interest has a keen eye for seeing clues too. I found it rather slow in parts, but when it picked up it picked up and I was anxious to see where the next clue led the story. One of my favorite parts was when the Sheriff found Sir Hugh hanging a knight out a window!

I found the feudal system intriguing and wondered how the people lived as they did when certain ones thought them better than others with a higher station in life. At first my thoughts focused on how glad I was that this is not how it is today. However, the more I thought on it I realized that this does happen today in some respects, which is unfortunate. After all, who wants to live feeling beneath another person due wallet or land size? None of us.

While this was not my favorite book, I enjoyed reading of the time period and following the mystery.

About Mel Starr
Mel Starr was born and grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. After graduating with a MA in history from Western Michigan University in 1970, he taught history in Michigan public schools for thirty-nine years, thirty-five of those in Portage, MI, where he retired in 2003 as chairman of the social studies department of Portage Northern High School. Mel and his wife, Susan, have two daughters and seven grandchildren. www.melstarr.org

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Children’s Book Review ~ Switching on the Moon: A Very First Book of Bedtime Poems

Posted by Professor on March 9, 2011
in Books, Education, Family Stuff

switching on the moon

This is another wonderful book that I have been privileged to review! I am glad this book is hardcover because it is one I hope to pass down to my children and keep in our libraries for years to come! The book is packed full of short bedtime poems and illustrations to delight both children and adults alike! I LOVE that the poems are short little snip its, making it easy to choose a few to read at bedtime and save more for a later time! We found that this book was a wonderful ending to our nightly reading routine… we read our selected books then end with one or two pages (poems) from this book to end our story time! This wonderful compilation of poetry introduces children to both classic and modern bedtime poems a must for nighttime readers!

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