Faith and Family Reviews - Product reviews you can trust!

Chungaboo Language Series For iPad Review

Posted by Brande on August 26, 2012
in Books, Downloads, Ebooks, Education, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Reviews, School, Shopping

I love my apps! My daughter and I recently got this new app from Chungaboo Language Series (formally Lingo Slingo). The first selection is “Words” – the app will say bear and then toss about 5 cards with different pictures and your child needs to select the correct picture. If they select the wrong picture you get an “X” at the top of the screen. This app has a choice of 6 different languages (Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish). In addition, there are achievements – in this section there is “All-Time Scoring”, Beginner’s Badge by Language, and Maestro Badge by Language (50 card streak). From this app you can also purchase – Animals, Travel, and coming soon is Color Door. They have teasers to let you try before you spend the money.

This is a great app for your preschoolers! My daughter will be 4 next month and really enjoys it. The Chungaboo app not only helps her connect words to pictures, but it helps with her motor skills by the cards moving. The music is not bad for parents either. This is a wonderful learning game for road trips! Check it out in your apps store! Sorry, I didn’t see anything for you android users.

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.

{5 comments}

Signature Stamp

Posted by html404 on August 25, 2012
in Business, Reviews

As a business owner there are times when paper work gets piled high, whether that is filing, mail or flyers and contracts to signed and delivered. Sometimes I wish I had my own Virtual Assistant! Recently I found myself sending out a small mailing of about 100 letters (yes via snail mail, shocker I know). I signed each letter individually. Now I didn’t have to sign them individually, I chose to use my signature as a way to give the letter more of a personal touch instead of just running off 100 form letter copies and sending them. However, it took so much time I quickly regretted ever making the decision in the first place.

I can’t remember the timing between that business mailing and an opportunity from Stamps Done Right to review a signature stamp, but when it marched into sight I knew exactly what I wanted to do…Yes, I took full advantage of being offered an easier way to do any future mailings.

My Review of the Signature Stamp

Front

Back

Side

Top

The signature stamp works well. The name explains what it is and what it does. It gives a clean looking signature. The stamp itself is not overly bulky, I’ve seen larger, and does not jam when pressed down upon.

Signature Stamp – I know the watermark defeats the purpose, but we weren’t really comfortable putting my signature out there for the whole WWW (World Wide Web) to have access to, if you kwim?

The Signature Stamp retails for $30.99 but is only $23.49 at Stamps Done Right.

About Stamps Done Right

Stamps Done Right offers a full line of custom rubber stamps for all you home and office needs. For the professional look, try one of the many text stamps and embossers which can be customized according to your preference. Stampsdoneright.com has a large selection of self inking stamps and embossers. Keep your home or office organized and well run with our custom return address stamps, notary stamps and embosser, signature stamp and more.

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.

{23 comments}

Dying To Read

Posted by html404 on August 25, 2012
in Books, Reviews

Are you Dying To Read? Gotta love that book title, eh? Lorena McCourtney has started a new series called The Cate Kinkaid Files and Dying to Read is the first book. After reading it I am already looking forward to the others to come.

Dying to Read is a Christian mystery. The main character, Cate, is at a crossroads in her life after some of life’s most disappointing moments.

I found this book to be entertaining. Lorena definitely kept me guessing and eager to keep reading in order to solve the mystery surrounding Cate’s first assignment as her uncle’s Private Investigator Assistant. I never did solve the mystery and had an ah-ha moment when it was finally revealed.

Though Cate’s character didn’t seem to think very highly of herself. I found her to be strong, not easily swayed and possessed a very good work ethic.

I liked that this book only had a hint of romance. It wasn’t a gory mystery, not that I mind that kind of mystery, but just so you all know. It was mostly about Cate and how she went about trying to solve the mystery and the scrapes she encountered along the way. I can’t say there was anything I didn’t like about it, only that it ended too soon and I want the second book….now!

This was the first book I have read by Lorena McCourtney and Dying to Read made me want to read her other books. It was quite refreshing.

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

{8 comments}

Mabel’s Labels Review

Posted by Professor on August 24, 2012
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Girl Stuff, Kids Stuff, Organization, Parenting, Reviews

Mabel’s Labels

Labels for the stuff kids loose!

Mable’s Labels creates top-quality, durable labeling products.

The Mabel’s Labels personalized labels feature extremely durable laundry, dishwasher and microwave safe sticky and clothing labels plus child safety products, household labels and seasonal products. All labels are UV resistant.

Prices range from $12-21 per pack, with combos priced between $ 30-55. ALL Products are backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

The Mabel’s Labels line includes:

Baby Labels

Iron-On Labels

Sticky Labels

Allergy Labels

Waterproof Labels

Clothing Labels

Shoe Labels

Uniform Labels

Mabel’s Labels also has great fundraising ideas!

OUR REVIEW:

We received two products from Mabel’s Labels

~ Ultimate Back to School Combo

~ Tween Pack

The Ultimate Back to School Combo is their bestselling combo. It has all the labels needed to identify children’s belongings and keep them out of the lost and found. This was really a great pack! There are so many labels you cannot help but label EVERYTHING! The labels come preprinted with the child’s name…so it makes labeling a breeze. I like that they are super sticky they stay where they are placed! We used the labels to mark all of my son’s school supplies, his backpack and gym shoes. After two weeks of school I can honestly say these labels stick! Any other labels would have been long gone by now…not Mabel’s! The Ultimate Back to School Combo includes the following:

40 skinny-minis ~ 50 Tag mates ~ 16 Shoe Labels ~ 2 Teeny Tags

(Choose from 4 limited edition solid color palettes or 40+ multi-colored designs.)

There are so many tags that if by chance (very slim) you happen t have to replace a tag you will have extras to replace the missing tag. I honestly am not worried about having to replace any tags… except for maybe a shoe tag. But…with 16 shoe tags I can easily replace a tag if it goes missing (which I doubt it will). This is such a GREAT combo…can I say AWESOME!!!

The second product we received was the Tween pack. This is a new product to the Mabel’s Label family and it is a must stay! This label pack helps your child identify ~ with style! These beautifully personalized, shaped labels are designed especially for big kids ~ whatever their ages! These labels are perfect for lunch, camp gear, water bottles, school supplies, journals, electronics, sports equipment and more! My daughter has adhered these labels to her water bottle, backpack and notebooks. I was a bit leery about sticking them to her water bottle and backpack thinking they would not last more than a day…boy was I wrong… now two weeks into school we have not see any wear on the labels! This is amazing! The water bottle label has even sustained through a dish washing cycle or two! The Tween Pack includes the following:

25 personalized labels & graphic labels

(Choice of 2 multi-colored designs)

Overall, we are ecstatic about Mabel’s Labels! This is such a resilient product…that will LAST! Not only are the products hardy but they are kid friendly and have such nice designs to choose from…you cannot go wrong with Mabel’s labels for your labeling needs!

I am definitely a fan of Mabel’s labels and will be back to order more products for my labeling needs!

You can find this product and many more at mabelslabels.com. I would recommend this site to ANYONE who needs to label products! They are so versatile!

{5 comments}

GoPicnic Review & Giveaway

Posted by html404 on August 24, 2012
in All Natural Products, Food and Treats

GoPicnic is a company that sells all natural, mostly gluten free, pre-packeged meals for the whole family. They sent us out their Super Best Selling Meal Variety Pack to review.

Sunbutter + Crackers- This meal contains creamy sunflower spread, multi-grain crackers, seed and fruit trail mix, tropical fruit bites, and a double chocolate chip cookie. My kids loved everything inside this box. The butter was yummy and the sides were delicious.

Peanut Butter + Crackers- This meal was a huge hit with my little guys. They loved the peanut butter and crackers, the apple sauce, the cheddar bunny crackers, and the gummy airplanes.

Salami + Cheese- My older girls loved this box. It was the perfect size for them and they loved that everything was natural. It included beef salami slices, olive oil & sea salt cracker, Asiago cheese spread, fruit + nuts, and a chocolate cookie cruncher. They weren’t expecting the cheese to taste as creamy as it did. Everything in this box was a nice balance.

Tuna + Crackers- I was surprised that my kids actually really liked this box, usually they don’t like tuna, but they enjoyed the mix of applesauce, chocolate, seed crackers, taun spread, and the fruit & nut mix.

Turkey Stick & Crunch- Another huge hit was this box. It was sweet and spicy. A perfect mix of turkey sticks, Popchips, a double chocolate cookie, fruit & nuts, as well as tropical fruit bites.

A quick note- Not all of GoPicnic’s meals are gluten free. Therefore it is important to read the product packaging and labels because several meals contain gluten.

GoPicnic wanted to create affordable, yet healthy solutions for families or individuals who need to eat and run. We love the concept and will be purchasing their products in the future. They are great for traveling, school lunches, or even for work. With a variety of flavors and packs there is sure to be something that everyone in the family will love.

GoPicnic’s food receives a thumbs up from us! I love that everything is all natural and balanced. Everyone in the family loved the products and the idea is genius.

Want to win two meals from GoPicnic? Enter below!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{4 comments}

U by Kotex Tween Talkable Moments #KotexMom

Posted by html404 on August 24, 2012
in Education, Family Stuff, Girl Stuff, Parenting, Personal Care Products

Over the past few months I have been sharing my experience and thoughts about talkable moments with my daughters about their menstrual cycles, the facts of life and using U by Kotex Tween products and their website.

While I have always strived to discuss these all important topics naturally, inside I have struggled a little bit with knowing the right words to say. After all these are the facts of life we are talking about, not just random information and I want to be sure that I explain things in such a way that my girls “get it”, not to mention digest the correct information – from me, not anyone else.

Preparing for the Talkable Moments

Lots of talkable moments at our house seem to occur either when I have the girls one on one in the car or one, two or all of them sprawled all over my bed or in the living room late at night. These moments seem to happen naturally for us. It’s rare that I deliberately set a time aside, though I must say I probably should do more of that with my busy work schedule. I certainly want my girls to know that I am accessible.

Breaking the ice for “big talks” never has been an issue for us. For the most part my girls come to me and ask me any questions that come up while they are on their period and the one who has yet to start asks me some questions but tends to ask her “twin” (they are 14.5 months apart) and her “twin” directs her to me.

I gave the girls each a little sack recently for them to carry extra pads and personal items in. They really liked this little gift. I think this is one way to break the ice on talks. I did at one point give one daughter a starter kit of sorts and remember her asking what each thing was for, but I don’t think she completely understood until she started her cycle, which is understandable.

I think bonding moments can occur when we deliberately set aside time to talk about questions our girls might have or to share resources and tools they can read and explore with you. Take Kotex.com/Tween for example, just taking my girls to this site and showing them how to navigate different topics and discussions opened up the door for us to have a very open talk and for me to find out where they are at with their understanding of the different issues we have already covered in other conversations. See Hello Period for specific topics.

Bonding Moments

Bonding with my daughters has become more challenging the older they grow or at least that’s how I find it as I am working part-time to full-time hours. It takes more effort on my part to concentrate and be focused on them when my mind is going in a million different directions. As I said before those moments come in the car or on our bed when we are just shooting the breeze. It’s amazing what children can come out with once the realize they have your full attention.

Sensitive Topics and Comfort Level

Most of my girls will tell me like it is. If they think something is gross, they’ll say just that or if I’ve talked too much, I’ll be told, “Too much information, Mom.” Then I know to stop or let it be for another time when they are ready. I hate to come across as having a perfect relationship with my girls because we are far from perfect, but for the most part, depending on the day we do have really good relationships. I do worry sometimes and hope I am giving them the information they need to transition into womanhood successfully.

What are your talkable, bonding moments with your daughter(s)?

“I wrote this review while participating in a Brand Ambassador Campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of U by Kotex Tween and received products to facilitate my post and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

{5 comments}

We Went to Day Out With Thomas

Posted by html404 on August 23, 2012
in Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, Travel

When Jessi (from Jabbering Jessi) invited me to attend a Day Out With Thomas event in my area and write about it for her blog, I jumped on the opportunity! Our children have loved Thomas the Tank since they were little and we have a whole bin of Thomas the Tank train stuff that even our older kids still enjoy playing with!

We started our day bright and early. We even took our puppy since he broke his yard leash preventing us from leaving him at home. Not that we really wanted to leave him for a few hours. Thankfully the Railway Museum personnel were very understanding and allowed us to take Padfoot into the park so we didn’t have to leave him in the hot van. Of course we were expected to clean up after him. He did very well for his first time among crowds. We received many nice comments about him and one comment to use a prong collar so he doesn’t pull our arm out of it’s socket, which was interesting since it was something a couple of friends had recommended to.

Anyhoo…back to the Day Out With Thomas…

We arrived in ample time for our scheduled train ride, but the lines were already started and long. If you attend, be sure to arrive an hour in advance as recommended or at least buy tickets for the first ride of the day if you want to avoid the real crowds.

The people we encountered on Sunday were very pleasant which helped make the day a huge success for our family.

Thomas the Tank Train Ride at Day Out With Thomas

Our children loved riding on Thomas. It was the first Train ride for some of our children. Our youngest was a little pill on the train. He tried to crawl over the seat and under the seats, other than that he was ok.

Someone took some pics of me that I didn’t know about!

This is the guy we had to watch and hold or he would have climbed or fallen out the window!

The boys look thrilled don’t they? 😉

After the ride on Thomas we headed over to where the children’s activities were and most of the children had fun in the bouncy house. It was a good thing we went when we did because as the day went on that area was packed. While at the bouncy house we discovered another advantage to having a large family. The maximum number of children allowed inside was 6 and we had six children who wanted to bounce, until Baby wanted out. So we didn’t have to worry about our children crushing other children nor did we have to worry about other children crushing ours. A plus for this mama as I am conscious of that sort of thing.

We wanted to get our children to expend their energy before taking another train ride so we took them to the playground next.

The pup needed some exercise too and another photo was snapped of me….running no less!

Then my husband took the children on a street car ride since I was the one to take them on Thomas while he watched the pup.

After the street car ride the children wanted to go into one of the train buildings where they got to see how trains use to look years ago. We didn’t take the time to go into all of the train buildings as it was getting close to lunch time.

Tummies started to rumble so we took a break for a snack and drink before ending our day with mini golf and playing in the sand pile. At the sand pile we met up with fellow blogger, Paula of Frosted Fingers. That’s her daughter in the green dress.

Overall it was a wonderful experience and a great day out as a family. If you travel to the Chicago area, we highly encourage you to visit the Union Railway Museum.

Check for a local Day Out With Thomas in your area here.

Faith and Family Reviews received five tickets to the Day Out With Thomas event in Union, IL 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.

{17 comments}

Cool Playground Photo – Wordless Wednesday

Posted by html404 on August 22, 2012
in Family Stuff, Wordless Wednesday

On Sunday we went to the Day Out With Thomas (blog post coming soon!) in our area and the children played at the playground. Our oldest, RJ, took this cool shot of our four year old, “Nookie”.

What do you think of RJ’s cool playground photo?

{13 comments}

The Haven by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Posted by html404 on August 21, 2012
in Books, Reviews

It was great to catch up with one of my favorite author’s new release, in The Haven by Suzanne Woods Fisher. It is the second book in The Stoney Ridge Seasons. You may read my review of the first book here.

The family dynamics of the Lapp family is at the heart of what makes this book series so enjoyable. There was one part that I literally laughed out loud (LOL for those not familiar with internet lingo ;)).

Sadie Lapp really grew up in this book and I enjoyed seeing her blossom with strength of character. Like in real life, life’s experiences have a way of making us grow in ways we never thought possible, if we let them.

There are a few things I took away from The Haven:

~ Gossip. It can tear family, friendships and even communities apart if gossips are allowed to spread their rumors and lies. Esther, Gideon, Edith and so many more of the Lapp’s neighbors chose to believe the gossip rather than find out the if the rumors were true or not.

~ Expectations. Sometimes as parents, we have very high expectations and it can cause undue stress on our child and our relationship with them, as was the case with Will and his dad.

~ Love. Gotta have love. Relationships without love are not relationships. If the Knapp family wasn’t fictitious, I would say it was the family love to model after.

~ Forgiveness. This is such a powerful one. Forgiveness can be hard to give out. I appreciated the reminder that our health is affected by not only physical symptoms, but our emotional and mental well-being as well. This was revealed in Esther and Amos.

~ Choices. All choices have consequences. It’s whether or not we move on from the bad ones that will make or break us.

As I said in my review of the first book, I love the Lapp family dynamics. I have always enjoyed learning more about the Amish ever since our family visited Amish Country in Indiana over 10 years ago. I think there is much to learn from them.

The Haven by Suzanne Woods Fisher gets a two thumbs up from me!

{8 comments}

Lilla Rose Flexi 8 Party!!

Posted by html404 on August 20, 2012
in Contests, Personal Care Products

It’s party time! We are hosting a Lilla Rose Flexi 8 party and we want you to join in on the fun! Flexi 8 clips are affordable, unique fashion jewelry for your hair. They come in a wide variety of sizes, styles, and colors so there is something for everyone.

With back to school events and sales in full swing, consider a Flexi 8 clip for a teacher’s gift. Christmas is just around the corner too.

All you have to do to join is place an order for a Flexi 8 clip using this link here.

Some info-

Party orders of $20 or more will receive FREE Shipping.
Any order of 3 or more flexi clips will qualify for a FREE Flexi clip coupon (up to $16 value)
Orders will not be shipped until the party has closed.

The party closes on August 31st so what are you waiting for? Join the party here. Keep an eye out for a review of a Flexi-8 clip that is coming soon!

{8 comments}

« Older Entries Recent Entries »