Faith and Family Reviews - Product reviews you can trust!

2014 is Here! Happy New Year!

Posted by html404 on January 1, 2014
in Family Stuff, Holidays, Home, Seasonal Stuff, Uncategorized

Another year has come and gone….and I am not sure how I feel about it. I cannot say I am excited about the new year. Excited for spring and summer. Guess I am quietly contemplating what is going to happen when my husband’s unemployment runs out in 2-3 months. It kind of puts a damper on the new year cheer to say the least.

Looking back on 2013, I can honestly say it wasn’t all bad. The good list certainly outweighs the bad.

The Good:
Finally sold our townhouse.
Increased my income….somewhat.
New work at home job as hostess on Moms.com
Saw growth and potential in our wee organic farm venture.
Added a cow to our farm family.
Healthy family.
Not one but TWO visits from my mom.
Birth of my first niece on my side of the family.
Signed a two year lease with our landlords. Hard to believe one year is gone already. Only a year left.

The Bad:
Sixth miscarriage in June 2013.
Husband’s second job loss in five years.
Loss of poultry.
Bad break with a client.

Looking forward to 2014, I really only have one goal in mind and several others stirring. I don’t like to make new year’s resolutions because past experience tells me I won’t succeed. I prefer setting short-term and long-term goals.

What about you did you make any new year’s resolutions?

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10 Things that Make Me Smile

Posted by html404 on December 31, 2013
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Holidays, Humor, Uncategorized

As 2013 comes to an end, I am thinking about things that make me smile.

1. I am usually not thinking of things to smile about while doing the paper route at 3-4 AM, especially during the winter months. However, there’s this one house that has a tunnel built right through a huge pile of snow and every morning it makes me smile as I think of how much fun they had digging through the snow. It also makes me smile because of how much our children love digging snow tunnels.

2. Seeing all the snowmen children build around our town. I must say they are few and far between this year.

3. Obviously, my children.

4. My husband. He has the ability to make us all laugh.

5. The look on my children’s faces when they learned to read. This doesn’t happen during reading lessons, but usually after we are all done and they read something over my shoulder or their older sister’s and really realize they can read.

6. Our goofy dog.

7. Christmas lights. I’ll miss them once everyone takes them down.

8. Christmas music.

9. My favorite foods: Pizza, chocolate, ice cream. All the healthy stuff, right?

10. Doing a job well.

What makes you smile these days?

Have a wonderful New Year’s Eve! We will be hunkering down at home, watching movies, munching on some goodies and probably letting some of our children stay up late to ring in the new year. Not sure why that is so appealing to them but it is. 🙂

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Merry Christmas!

Posted by html404 on December 25, 2013
in Family Stuff, Holidays, Seasonal Stuff, Uncategorized

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas! We are staying at home and celebrating as a family. We opened gifts last night and made lefse (Norwegian potato bread). Today we surprised the younger children with a teepee which we set up last night. We served a breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls with yummy cream cheese frosting. Then we will have our Christmas dinner mid-day or early afternoon, play games and/or watch a movie.

Have a wonderful day!

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iCoffee

Posted by 278Wife on December 24, 2013
in Uncategorized

I am by far the worst person to wake up to in the morning. That is until I have my first cup of coffee. I have tried numerous different coffee makers from drip brewers to single serve to drive thru. My tastebuds certainly know the difference between a good cup of joe and a bad cup. I had the pleasure of trying an amazing pot (notice I said pot, not cup), of coffee from a revolutionary new cofee maker, the iCoffee by Remington.

The iCoffee by Remington is the first coffee brewer to actually SteamBrew your coffee. Their patented SteamBrew Technology utilizes steam jets inside of the coffee brew basket to release all of the locked-in flavors of the coffee grounds. You know how rice and vegetables taste the best when their steamed? This is kind of the same idea.

The iCoffee is very easy to use. Simply fill up the water reservoir, add the amount of coffee you would like to the SteamBrew basket and you’re ready to go! After a few days of trying, I realized I did not need to add as much coffee as normal. Since the iCoffee really brings out the flavors, I was able to use less coffee. I did notice some sediment at the bottom of my cup. This is normal for the SteamBrew Extraction Technology. My husband did not like the sediment so I simply placed the optional filter inside of the SteamBrew basket to eliminate it. This coffee maker is very easy to clean as well. Some of the pieces are even dishwasher safe.

Overall the iCoffee brews amazingly smooth tasting coffee. It has a very creamy texture, and the taste is out of this world! No bitterness at all. I loved that you could watch the coffee steam from the little window in the front. My other favorite feature is the iCoffee sings a song when your coffee is beginning to brew, and sings again when your coffee is ready. The music can be turned off as well. The iCoffee is also programmable so I can set it at night and my coffee is ready when I wake up. The design of the iCoffee is very sleek and fits nicely on my counter.

The iCoffee by Remington would make a great gift this holiday season for any coffee lover. Both my mother and mother-in-law have been eyeing mine after they tasted how incredibley smooth the coffee is. For more information, including a great video of the iCoffee in progress go to their website at

www.icoffee.com

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Coffee Lovers Moody Sisters Review

Posted by Brande on December 23, 2013
in All Natural Products, Organic, Personal Care Products, Products for Mom, Reviews, Shopping, Uncategorized

FFR image for posts

Coffee Lovers Moody Sisters Review

I was so excited to get a box from Moody Sisters. They are 100% natural organic materials! Moody Sisters must have known that I love my coffee. I received Coffee Body Polish and Coffee Bean Lip Balm.

With the holiday’s in full swing, Moody Sisters Coffee Body Polish could not have come at a better time! It naturally reduces the look of cellulite. I can read and understand all the ingredients – love that! Check it out – Demara Sugar, Coffee Infused Oil, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Beeswax, Vitamin E, and Essential Oils. As you can see in the picture below the texture is grainy but, it goes on smooth. The smell is out of this world, mixed with the warmth of the shower, it smelled like a coffee house in my shower. When I came out of the shower my thighs were smooth, great product!

The Coffee Bean Lip Balm also has minimal readable ingredients and smelled wonderful. It applied smooth and lasted. Coffee Bean Lip Balm also left my lips moisturized, which is a plus during the winter.

Head over to Moody Sisters and order your favorite products today! Don’t forget to Like Moody Sisters on Facebook!

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Kidoodle TV Free Trial and Giveaway

Posted by html404 on December 22, 2013
in Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Giveaways, Technology/Electronics, Travel, Uncategorized

I participated in a Blogger Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Kidoodle.TV. I received a promotional item and a free trial as a thank you for participating.

Somehow over the past few years we’ve allowed ourselves to watch more and more TV compared to say the first 15 years of our marriage and being a parent. We still filter much of what our children are allowed to watch. The shows have to be pre-approved. Kidoodle TV offers our kids just that. We found a character I grew up watching, Inspector Gadget, and others include Madeline, Transformers, Paddington Bear, National Geographic and Strawberry Shortcake. Then there were others I did not really recognize. There is a different selection of shows compared to Netflix. Kidoodle is made just for kids and is easy to navigate. No worries about them coming across questionable movies or ads, since it is ad-free.

It is really easy to sign up for Kidoodle. Simply create your login, create your kids’ profiles and then select your shows. You can create up to five kids’ profiles, which is the number of children I have that are interested in Kidoodle. The children love the personalized accounts. I think it makes them feel special and grown up or something. Children cannot log out unless their parents enter their four digit passcode, which is nice, but another number/letter combination to add to my ever-growing list. I really like the timer, which is helpful in monitoring usage. I have not really used the Parental Controls since signing up, but it offers age category filtering and title selection and de-selection, which allows you to tailor available content to each child’s needs.

If you are traveling over the Christmas break, Kidoodle has a mobile application, but we have not tried it yet. It’s on iTunes so check it out.

The Kidoodle.TV Holiday Giveaway Details

Right now Kidoodle is offering a free trial:

Try Kidoodle.TV for FREE and enter by December 31, 2013 to win 1 of 10 tablets or 1 of 10 Kidoodle.TV year-long subscriptions! To enter the giveaway, go to Kidoodle.TV to sign up for a free trial. Follow the on-screen directions and submit!

Feel free to follow Kidoodle.TV on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidoodleTV and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KidoodleTV

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Week #9 Saturday Top Five Laughs – Join the Blog Hop!

Posted by html404 on December 21, 2013
in Animals, Blog Stuff, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Humor, Kids Stuff, Saturday Top Five Laughs

That time of week again – to laugh with the Goulds again! We have joined The Mommyhood Chronicles for Week #9 – for us – in the Saturday Top Five Laughs of the week.

5. The children brought me a dozen eggs telling me they were bad. We just got them from a friend’s farm last week so I knew they weren’t bad. Come to find out when we picked up more eggs they are a cross between Easter egg layers and brown layers so the color of the eggs is really unusual as you can see from the photo below. They kind of do look “sick”.

4. Not all of our children have stockings and I have been eyeballing the stockings at Pottery Barn (eeks, I know) but I want them to have something nice that will last. Plus it’s something they will use or pass on to their own children once they leave home. Thanks to my paper route tips, I can actually afford to treat the children. Well, I was telling my husband that because the stockings were half off I went ahead with the “mammogramming”……my husband goes, “Mammogram, isn’t that like for a breast exam?” I paused and thought about it and then burst out laughing at my own mistake….it’s monogramming….wonder where our Amelia Bedilia gets it from! lol! :0 I’m serious, if you could see me I would be blushing right now. I also said, “Guess, I made the Saturday Top Five Laughs, this week.”

3. One morning B went out to milk Miss Moo and discovered her stall open and Miss Moo gone. Eeek!? Guess where B found her? She was just outside eating from the hay wall my husband built to keep the barn warmer. The barn is older and the lower level is pretty much all open as the old doors must have rusted off and since we are renting it isn’t like we want to put a bunch of money into improving something we could leave. Thankfully Miss Moo was a good girl and stayed at home. Good thing we have food to keep her here! I hate to think what would have happened had she ventured off……argh. I wish we had a picture of that too because B said she was just standing there chewing her cud and looked a Rebecca as if to say, “What are you doing silly?” Like B was the one doing something out of the norm!

2. Our three year old has this funny little habit of saying, “Me go pee on my potty” when he’s asked for something and we say no. It’s like his going pee on the potty gives him license to ANYTHING he wants. I think the praise of going on the potty got crossed in his brain somehow.

1. Our three year old grabbed my husband’s phone while in my husband’s lap and said, “Me want to text you.” It just cracks me up. Of course it was mostly jibberish, the word “school” was my husband’s doing obviously.

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Sears Shop Your Way App

Posted by html404 on December 20, 2013
in Apps, Free Stuff, Shopping, Techie Stuff, Technology/Electronics, Uncategorized

“This is a sponsored post. I am a Sears blogger, though all opinions are my own.”

Sears Shop Your Way App

Admit it, if your smart phone is glued to your body the majority of the time (we’re all guilty of this, right?), you likely have a favorite app. I’m not talking a boring necessity app like a map guide or weather forecast. I’m talking about apps that you can’t quit and perhaps may be slightly addictive. Prepare yourself, because there’s a new app in town that is destined to be your next go to shopping app (and it does more than just crush candies!). The Shop Your Way mobile app is a member’s dream. The app stores up to 20% in coupons or points on a regular basis that you can redeem directly from your smart phone. Say goodbye to carrying around that coupon pouch! The fun doesn’t end at saving money. You can use the app to go behind the scenes of our celebrity brands like Adam Levine, Nicki Minaj and much more. Download the Shop Your Way app today: http://syw.co/1cAxOa5

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Simple Moments with Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss & Giveaway

Posted by Brande on December 20, 2013
in All Natural Products, Coupons, Food and Treats, Giveaways, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Reviews, Saving Money, Uncategorized

Simple Moments with Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss

All it took was one smell of Coffee-mate Natural Bliss and I was transported to somewhere else. I’m usually just a cream & sugar girl. But, all that has changed since trying Coffee-mate Natural Bliss. Simply Put: My favorite simple moment is coffee with Natural Bliss + my family.

Coffee-mate Natural Bliss flavors include cinnamon cream, vanilla, sweet cream, low fat vanilla, & low fat chocolate. Check out these ingredients – I love when I can actually read them – Low fat milk, heavy cream, sugar, natural flavor. Count them, only 4 ingredients!

I tried the low fat chocolate. Just the warm smell of chocolate mixed with the coffee, was delightful! Especially during the snowstorm we had here in the Northeast recently.

Coffee-mate Natural Bliss is available at your local grocery store.

Simply Put: My favorite simple moment is coffee with Natural Bliss + my family. Share your favorite moments with Natural Bliss on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram using #NaturalBliss.

If you click here and like Natural Bliss on Facebook you’ll get a coupon!

Take time for yourself with Coffee Mate Natural Bliss, you won’t regret it! It’s a staple on my shopping list from now on!

Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss Giveaway

Here’s what’s in the Coffee lovers Coffee-mate giveaway package:

· Reduced value coupon for Natural Bliss (more coupons may be downloaded here on Coffee-mate’s FB page: http://on.fb.me/HuE3o0)

· $5 Target Gift Card

· Coffee Tumbler

· Vanilla Bean Scented Candle

· Italian Biscotti Cookies

Enter to win below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Gift Ideas for Mom and Dad – Active Faith Sports

Posted by html404 on December 19, 2013
in Clothing, Deals, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Reviews, SALES, Sports, Sportswear, Uncategorized

Less than a week before Christmas and all in the house were scurrying about, trying to come up with last minute gift ideas for mom and dad…..

Is that you? I only have a few gift cards left to get and some flowers to order (which may be already ordered by the time this post goes live!) If you have some people of faith on your gift list who are into fitness Active Faith Sports may have some gift ideas for you. I recently got my husband a pair of “basketball” shorts as most of his are nearly 20 years old – I don’t know how that man retains clothing that long! Guess he bought quality clothes that lasted.

We found the Active Faith Sports basketball shorts to run big. Robert likes them longer since he is tall, but the large are big on him. Not so much in the waist as the legs. My husband says they feel nice and are comfortable just baggier than he usually wears and prefers. He has super thin legs though! They’d probably be fine on a larger framed man. The material is breathable and decent quality. I cannot say how they wash up since my husband doesn’t usually wear shorts in the winter and he’s not part of a fitness center or gym. If I remember, I will try to update this post to reflect laundering come spring time.

Please note his model pose in his hand…goofy man…he makes me laugh though! Couldn’t mess too long with the photos because he told me to hurry up because he was cold!

Prices for Active Faith Sports are in the middle range. Not cheap, not super expensive. They are hosting 12 days of Christmas deals. Each day something new is on sale so if anything strikes your fancy be sure to visit their website for the daily Christmas sales.

Active Faith Sports also offers women’s wear and kids wear. Perfect for a physically active family. And of course the whole goal of Active Faith Sports is to allow Christians in sports to share their faith with others, thus the name “Active Faith.” A company worthy of mentioning and supporting this Christmas season.

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