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My Very First Easter Story Sticker Book

Posted by html404 on March 18, 2013
in Books, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Kids Stuff, Reviews

Easter is less than two weeks away and this is my first post about anything pertaining to Easter. We don’t even have any plans yet either, which is how it has been for the past few years. Our children, however, have been enjoying My Very First Easter Story Sticker Book by Lois Rock; illustrated by Alex Ayliffe.

This is a traditional Easter story book about Jesus dying on the cross, however, it leaves out why He died. Yes, He died to make the world a better place, but He died for our sins. That little piece of truth was missing, which was disappointing and seemed dumbed down, in my opinion.

My Very First Easter Story Sticker Book has a twist on the traditional books, as it has an activity at the bottom of each page and children can put stickers in the appropriate pages.

My almost 7 year old and 5 year old loved this book. They really enjoyed putting the stickers on the pages and were eager to finish putting them on – I made them do it in stages so to make it last longer. They just finished it up tonight.

This book may be purchased through Kregel Publications for $5.99 and is paperback.

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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Walgreens Pharmacy, App and Rewards

Posted by html404 on March 18, 2013
in Health, Health and Nutrition, Organization, Shopping, Uncategorized

My mother-in-law is in her 80s and is on a lot of medications for various ailments. I’m not sure how she keeps track of all of them, seriously. When I found out about the Walgreens app I wondered if it could assist her in keeping track of her pills all in one place. She shops at Walgreens all the time and has bought her prescriptions there for many years.

The Walgreens mobile app certainly has plenty of helpful features to keep track of all your prescription needs. Like most apps, it is downloadable from iTunes and all you have to do once it’s downloaded to your phone is create your account…

Then choose Pharmacy or Refill by Scan or Pill Reminder on the home page according to your current need and go from there. Of course, there are other options too, but for the purpose of this post we are sticking to prescription needs.

There is even a Web Pickup option, which is rather convenient. Order via the web and it will be ready for pick up at the store. I thought this was great since my husband runs a lot of errands for his mom and we could place an order then pick it up for her.

The Pharmacy section also gives you access to Refills, Pill Reminder, Transferring Prescriptions from one pharmacy to another, if need be, as well as Refill for a Family Member, which is what we would want to use for my mother-in-law. You can also check for prescription history and status updates or receive alerts. All in one convenient place.

Through Walgreens innovations you can even just scan a prescription to get it refilled.

The Walgreens app is pretty easy to use, in my opinion. It is very straight forward.

So if you are already a part of the Walgreens Community, I would highly recommend you check out their app for a #HappyHealthy way of organizing yours and your family’s prescription needs as well as their Balance Rewards program for additional ways to save money when you shop at Walgreens – Find out about my recent Walgreen’s shopping experience here. Thanks to #Cbias for this opportunity to learn how to manage my mother-in-law’s prescriptions.

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Walgreens #cbias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Posted by html404 on March 17, 2013
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Holidays, Seasonal Stuff

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Or as some say, Happy St. Paddy’s Day! Especially to all of you who are Irish!

Today is usually a day when you can witness the Chicago River being green. Yesterday they dyed it that color in celebration of today’s Irish holiday. The St. Patrick’s Day parade was also yesterday, plus there are other special celebrations of this day going on around the city. Visit the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day 2013 website.

To be honest we have never really done much other than maybe wear green for St. Patrick’s Day. I have witnessed the Chicago River being green, but have not attended the parade or any other of the St. Paddy’s Day festivities.

Here are some fun facts about St. Patrick’s Day (source: Chicago Tribune):

– There are some 36 million people in the USA who boast of an Irish heritage. 9x that of the population of Ireland itself!

– St. Patrick’s Day was originally a religious Christian holiday. The holiday honored St. Patrick who shared his Christ with Ireland in the fifth century.

– Today the holiday is a celebration of everything related to the Irish.

– March 17, 1762 marked the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world. It was held in New York City.

So do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Are you wearing something green, cooking something green or attending any St. Patrick’s Day festivities?

Another inspired post from Mama Kat’s writing prompts: Write a blog post inspired by the word green.

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Aurorae Yoga Tank Top Review

Posted by Brande on March 16, 2013
in Exercise, Products for Mom, Reviews, Uncategorized

Aurorae Yoga Tank Top Review

If you ever taken yoga you know you come out more positive and relaxed. Aurorae products make you feel even more comfortable and relaxed with their wonderful products. The Aurorae Tank I received is made in the USA and very comfortable!

It’s made of 93% micro modal and 7% spandex. It also washes up great! This is the type of tank that will move with you, no chafing or that’s tight feeling like you can’t breath. Great Product!

In addition to this tank, Aurorae also has yoga pant, cropped pants, and mats. Heck, they have everything you need to start yoga! Go to their page now! Aurorae Yoga Products!

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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Ecigarettes Giveaway

Posted by html404 on March 15, 2013
in Giveaways, Products for Dad, Products for Mom

As you know, my mom is here, and yes we are having a great visit! Mostly staying at home and spending time together, but we have spent Saturdays thrift store shopping. The children are asking, “Why do you have to leave?” 😉 She leaves on the 24th. Anyhoo, last week Mom received a box of ecigarettes to try – they even arrived right on her birthday! Great timing, eh? So she’s been using them and our review will be forthcoming later in the month or in April. For now, please feel free to read the Green Smoke review on ecigarettereviewed.com

My hope is that Mom will use ecigarettes to slowly reduce the strength of the nicotine and eventually quit! Her quitting smoking has been my wish since childhood though, so we’ll see where that goes. At least she’ll be able to smoke in public places that doesn’t allow smoking, keeping her out of the cold in the winter.

The purpose of this post is to share an opportunity for those of you who have loved ones who smoke or who are trying to quit, so you can share with them this ecigarettes giveaway and they too can use them to reduce the amount of nicotine they smoke.

Ecigarettes Giveaway

Ecigarettereviewed.com is giving away 8 Green Smoke starter kits between 3/15 and 3/31. #GSGiveaway

About the Green Smoke Pro Starter Kit

– The Green Smoke Pro Kit offers a long and short battery, two packs of cartomizers, a USB charger (with car and mains adapters) and a USB cigarette.

– It has three varieties of tobacco flavor, Absolute Tobacco, Tobacco Gold and Red Label Tobacco (which is modeled after Marlboro Red), as well as Mocha Mist, Menthol Ice, Vanilla Dreams and Smooth Chocolate.

– Green Smoke cartridges are available in five different strengths. The most nicotine-heavy option has a concentration of 2.4 percent (Strong), going down to 1.8 percent (Full), 1.2 percent (Light), 0.6 percent (Ultra-Light) and Zero.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a partnered post on behalf of ecigarettereviewed.com.

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Whole Fruit Sorbet is Mmmmm Good!

Posted by 278Wife on March 14, 2013
in All Natural Products, Coupons, Food and Treats, Reviews, Shopping

Whole Fruit Sorbets are an award-winnning member of the Whole Fruit Line by J & J Snack Foods. They have five delicious flavors: Black Cherry, Mango, Red Raspberry, Lemonade, and Strawberry. The Whole Fruit Sorbets are sold in 16 fl. oz pint sizes and are made with chunks of real fruit making them naturally fat free!

I have never been a huge fan of sorbet. I always preferred ice cream or popsicles if I was in the mood for a fruit flavored treat. I was pleasantly surprised after trying these Whole Fruit Sorbets. After the first bite of the Black Cherry sorbet, I was hooked. It had actual bits of black cherries in it, which proves just how fresh and natural these sorbets are. The Black Cherry was a little tart, but in a good way. Next I sampled the Mango flavor. Talk about a smooth and absolutely refreshing taste! It instantly reminded me of summertime. Once the sorbet sits out for a few minutes and melts a little bit, it becomes so creamy and even more delicious. Red Raspberry was my favorite flavor even though I don’t normally like raspberry anything. I think it was because it didn’t have an overpowering raspberry taste; it was just enough. It did have a little bit of an aftertaste.

The last two flavors I sampled, Lemonade and Strawberry, tasted just like italian ices. Both my husband and I could not believe how amazing they tasted. So light and refreshing, yet the perfect way to quench the palate! Even the Strawberry was perfect when normally strawberry flavored icecream and popsicles are too potent and overwhelming.

Overall, you cannot go wrong with any of the Whole Fruit Sorbet flavors. They all taste delicious, refreshing, and have a smooth taste. The best part is that you don’t need to eat the whole pint to be satisfied. The serving size is half a cup, and that was plenty for me. Whole Fruit Sorbet will definitely be a must have in my freezer from now on. It’s an excellent treat that you can feel good about eating.

Go to their website for more information and for a $0.35 off coupon!

http://www.jjsnack.com/WholeFruit/product1_2.aspx?parents=235

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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Goat Milk Soap – Wordless Wednesday

Posted by html404 on March 13, 2013
in Crafts, Farm Stuff, Fun Stuff, Handmade Items, Wordless Wednesday

Ta-da….Goat Milk Soap curing for 4 weeks. We are going to melt it down again and put it in molds tomorrow to sell at two events this weekend!

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Clevamama

Posted by 278Wife on March 12, 2013
in Baby Products, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, Reviews

Clevamama is a company that strives to create products that make the lives of parents easier. They sell baby products for bath time, bed time, feeding, and safety. I was sent four different products to review including an Infant Formula Travel Container, ClevaPortions freezer and storage pots, a Splash & Wrap Baby Bath Towel, and a Clevabath Extra Long Bath Mat. All four Clevamama products were of great quality.

The Infant Formula Travel Container looks similar to other formula containers on the market, but have a few unique characteristics that make it that much better. It has three seperate compartments to hold three premeasured amounts. The container is tall so it can hold at least two scoops of formula in each section. It features an easy pour spout that is longer than others I have tried. This is a huge plus for me, since sometimes water from the bottle would splash back into the formula container making a mess. This is almost impossible to do with this formula container. It also has a secure snap top lid and special finger grips on the side for easy pouring. Best of all is it is BPA free and dishwasher safe for easy cleaning!

The ClevaPortions freezer and storage pots are a great product for parents who make their own baby food. It features eight storage pots with individual lids. Each pot can be removed seperately without using any of the other pots. Basically, you can make eight different pots and freeze them, and only take one pot out at a time when it’s time to eat. This makes it a breeze for travel in that you only need to bring as many pots as you’ll need, rather than bringing an entire tray of baby food. You also have the option of using only a few pots a time, rather than the whole tray. Many of the other baby food storage systems I’ve used you must unthaw the entire tray or try to pop out one of the “food ice cubes” yet more than one would always come out for me! The whole Clevaportions tray is a little smaller than an ice cube tray. Each pot holds up to 2oz of food and are safe to use from freezer to microwave. You can either feed from the pot or push the food out into a bowl. For me, I just feed right out of the pot. Who wants to do more dishes? Not me! The pots are dishwasher safe and see through so you can see what is inside of each pot. I love this product and highly recommend it to moms!

The Splash & Wrap Baby Bath Towel is another genius product designed by Clevamama. I cannot tell you how many times I have gotten soaking wet from taking my son out of the bathtub. With this towel, it is almost impossible for this to happen! The towel features straps that snap around your neck so the towel fits like an apron. Then you simply lift your baby or toddler out of the tub, place them inside the towel and you can hold them without your body getting wet. The towel also features a hood, so their head doesn’t get cold and straps on each side that you can tie around your waist (I didn’t feel the need to use these). Wearing this towel like an apron makes it easy to dry your child off since both of your hands are free. The towel is 100% cotton, is machine washable, and is VERY absorbent. It fits a newborn all the way through a four year old. It is ultra soft, even after washing it, and has a cute neutral teddybear on the hood. This was definitely one of my favorite products!

Lastly, I was able to try out the Clevabath Extra Long Bath Mat. I love that it covered pretty much the entire bathtub, and not just the middle. It has many little suction cups all over the bottom to keep it secure to the bottom so it doesn’t move. These did not work as well as I had hoped they would. Only about half of them would stay suctioned down, but the mat still did not move. The material is made of a soft non-slip material that is ultra cushiony and dries very fast. The bath mat also came with a free kneeling cushion. This was great! My knees always hurt after bathtime, and this cushion is made with the same material as the bath mat, so it was very soft and very cushiony. Overall a good product.

Clevamama offers many unique baby items that definitely make it easier on parents. I cannot wait to see what they will come out with next! Check out their website to see where their products are sold.

http://www.clevamama.com/

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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Kidz Gear Headphones

Posted by html404 on March 11, 2013
in Fun Stuff, Music, Reviews, Technology/Electronics

Kidz Gear headphones are a line of headphones made just for kids. We’ve been testing out a pair for a few weeks now and we’ve come to the conclusion that they get two thumbs up from us! All of my kids have been using them for school and love them.

The volume and sound that the headphones give is adjustable so older kids can have a louder sound, while your younger child can still have a low sound. All while still giving off a high quality sound.

The overall quality of the headphones themself, is worth the $19.99, but in the hands of young children under eight, they are easily breakable. So we’d recommend that only older kids use these. Otherwise please do make sure that your children know that these headphones aren’t indestructible and may break if misused.

Special features include; a limited lifetime warranty, five colors (pink, orange, blue, green, and purple), and come with an audio control cable. They work with iPads, iPods, iPhones and many other audio devices.

We’ve tested them out on my daughter’s iPod, my iPhone, and our various laptops and they work great.

You can find Kidz Gear Headphones at gearforkidz.com

Oh and these headphones have a lifetime guarantee! If the headphones get broken, Kidz Gear will replace them for free! Bonus, eh?

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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5 Things to Do in Our Town During Spring Break

Posted by html404 on March 11, 2013
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Home, Kids Stuff, Seasonal Stuff, Travel

We do not have a lot planned while my mom is here. Our beast is out of commission. It broke down a couple of weeks ago right at the end of a farmer friend’s driveway when we were visiting to learn more about goats. Our 14 year old has been interested in goats for…oh…about five years or more I’d say. We gifted her an educational goat class through one of the local farm organizations one year for her birthday and this year we plan to give her a goat. So what we’d do, but what another family chooses to do on Spring Break will probably completely different.

Here are 5 things to do in our town during Spring Break:

1. Go to the theater. Surely there’s one family friendly one playing.
2. Visit a park. Depending on the weather you might be able to hit a few during the week of Spring Break.
3. Go to the Farmers Market.
4. Coordinate a visit to a local farm. This is for the sake of other families since we live on a farm. But even so we enjoy visiting other farms and learning from them.
5. Travel to Chicago to visit a museum or Shedd Aquarium. This is something we plan to do in the fall when the public schools are back in session and the crowds are minimal.

So what is there to do in your town during Spring Break?

Inspired by another one of Mama Kat’s writing prompts: 5 things to do in your town during Spring Break. Mama Kat’s prompts sure came in handy when it came time to do up blog posts in advance for my mom’s visit!

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