Healthy Eating on the Go Twitter Party

What’s a Twitter party you say? A Twitter party is simply a group of people chatting via Twitter about a specific topic. All you have to do is log into your Twitter or Hootsuite account (or sign up if you don’t have an account), enter a hashtag – for example #BerryTasty – to gain access to the online conversation. Questions are usually asked and answered. There is also other social media platforms to use to follow along like TweetGrid and I am drawing a blank at other since I always use Hootsuite. Participation and interaction is necessary if you want to be entered into drawings for prizes! Here are the details for the Wendy’s Healthy Eating on the Go Twitter party:

What: A Twitter party with Wendy’s to discuss healthy eating on the go. With the summer months upon us, Wendy’s knows families will be traveling and on-the-go with busy schedules. They also know that people are paying more attention these days to health and wellness, and they have been offering new menu items to reflect those interests. Wendy’s registered dietitians Patty Wynkoop and Mike Sieminski, who work closely with the Wendy’s culinary team to find new ways to come up with tasty and nutritious menu items, will join the Twitter party to provide their insights into nutritious on-the-go options.

When: Wednesday, June 20, 1-2 p.m. ET

Where: We’ll be on Twitter – follow the #BerryTasty hashtag to track the conversation. You can see the details and RSVP via this Twtvite: http://twtvite.com/WendysNutritiousOptions

Hashtag: #BerryTasty

Prizes: Wendy’s will give away 10 total prizes (each prize is a $20 Wendy’s gift card). Winners will be chosen randomly from among participants who respond correctly to trivia questions, and there will be two winners per question.

Hosts: @Wendys & @theMotherhood

More Information: Check out the Wendy’s Nutrition & Health page: http://www.aboutwendys.com/Responsibility/Nutrition-and-Health/

Twitter Party Co-hosts
Andrea, @AndreaUpdyke
Bing, @luckytoddler
Cherise, @mamasmoney
Deb, @DebMomof3
Fadra, @allthingsfadra
Jackie, @freeismylife
Jennifer, @5_dollarshake
Jennifer, @onemomsworld
Kia, @KiaMorganSmith
Lea Ann, @mommyswishlist
Michele, @scrappinmichele
Paula, @frostedfingers
Theresa, @FaithFamilyRevw
Wendy, @MyFamilyTable
Yona, @PricelessTeam


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Informative Infographic on Debt Relief

The US economy is still not at a good place and I know many are struggling with debt. That’s why I wanted to share informative infographic on debt relief…

Debt Consolidation Management

This infographic shows the drastic change that occurs when divorce or health problems take a toll on a mom’s finances. The death of a spouse can also affect a woman’s income. I know a few years ago I heard a statistic that many women who lose their spouses to death ended up in poverty. At that time, there were 7 widows in our family – combined on either side, many of whom were struggling financially. It’s sad.

Unemployment is another factor to consider. As most of you know, my husband’s unemployment in 2008-2009 and reduced pay once he did go back to work has affected our finances.

How about you have you had a major change in your life that has upset your finances? And what do you think of this infographic on debt relief?


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Animal Control, Dead Duck and Dead Bunny :-(

I’ve been trying to get this written and posted all week…

I worked at our homeschool convention with a friend last Thursday thru Saturday as an exhibitor. On Friday I got a text from my husband to call him when I had a chance. When I finally called him he told me he had a visit from Animal Control. I said, “What?!”

You see we have these moveable chicken tractors/coops that my husband made, see below. They are in the field next to the barn and close to the major road that runs by our house. Apparently a concerned, but naive driver called Animal Control and reported that our chickens were sitting out in the sun all day not being cared for. 🙁 (Please note the blue tarps we have on there for shade!) Thankfully the Animal Control officer drives by every day to visit her horse and told us, “This is a joke, but someone called and reported that your chickens are not being cared for, which I know is not true because I drive by every day. Besides I can hear them. Please do me a favor and move your chickens to the back field.” She was very nice and didn’t even look at the chickens since she could hear the “happy” chicken sounds.

What I don’t like is that someone actually reported us and that we can’t even choose where we keep our chickens now. However, it does make for a good blog post. 😉 So it does have a humorous side. 😉 I had a friend, the same friend I worked the homeschool convention with, tell me that once we got animals we would have lot of stories to tell! She was right as the past two weeks have been chalk full of adventure.

Dead Duck and Dead Bunny

This week due to inexperience our children have suffered some hard lessons and the loss of two animals. Two beloved pets. We have had a sad couple of days. The children introduced our ducks to water for the first time and had a blast watching them go “bottoms up” in the water after who knows what to eat. However, the children left them out while they came inside and our cute, adorable, BAD, normal, puppy got the female duck and killed her. 🙁

Today the younger children were playing with the bunnies and again the puppy was loose and the older children came in. I was sitting by the patio door working on my laptop when I heard a child screeching. By the time someone got out there the puppy had got Luna our black and white bunny. 🙁 Yes, the one that was stolen  or lost and returned again. 🙁

The children want to get more ducks and more bunnies, but the stipulation is that they pay for them.


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Father’s Day Frosty Weekend & Giveaway!

This weekend is Father’s Day! What plans do you have? We do not have anything fancy planned, just a quiet day at home. Simple is our motto these days. However, if you are still clamoring for a gift for dad, perhaps you would like to give a gift that gives back. Wendy’s has something that you and your whole family can do that will also help other families! It has a yummy factor too!
Now through Father’s Day, anyone can help children in foster care find permanent, loving homes. Wendy’s is inviting all of us to help continue it’s Father’s Day Frosty Weekend tradition – for the sixth year in a row! Wendy’s is raising money for Wendy’s Wonderful Kids. This is a program of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, which focuses on helping children in foster care find their forever homes.
Here’s what you need to know:
Who: Everyone! And dad, too!
What: Help Wendy’s make a big donation to Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, the signature program of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption that is dedicated to finding permanent adoptive families for children in foster care. They want to beat last year’s $1.4 million donation! Let’s help them get there!
When: Father’s Day Weekend (June 16 – 17)
How: There are three ways to donate:
1. Buy any Frosty product: On Saturday, June 16 and Sunday, June 17, for each Frosty product purchased, participating Wendy’s will donate 50-cents to Wendy’s Wonderful Kids. (includes the original, parfaits, shakes and floats).
2. Use a mobile-friendly website to check in at Wendy’s: Wendy’s will donate 50-cents for every customer that checks in at Wendy’s restaurants during Father’s Day Weekend (June 16 and 17 only) using Wendy’s special mobile-friendly website found at www.wendys.com/treatitforward.
3. Re-tweet: Now through Father’s Day, re-tweet one of @Wendys special Twitter posts with the hashtag #TreatItFwd—and Wendy’s will make a 50-cent donation. You can follow @Wendys on Twitter at https://twitter.com/wendys.
Giveaway!
Prize: 3 winners will each win a $7.00 Wendy’s gift card!
How to Enter: Simply enter the Rafflecopter choices below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Faith and Family Reviews received a $10 Wendy’s gift card for our family’s use and a $7 Wendy’s gift card for the giveaway as a participant in this Wendy’s campaign through TheMotherhood.


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Annie’s Homegrown – Bernie’s Summer Road Trip!

Annie’s Homegrown wants your pictures with Bernie the Bunny!  They will choose 1 winner each week to win a road trip snack pack.  If you one of the early entries you could get a Bernie decal!  The contest ends July 31st – Don’t Forget to download Bernie!


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$200 Amazon Gift Card giveaway

This is something fun for the middle of the week…Enter this $200 Amazon Gift Card giveaway!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

This contest is sponsored by Henderson Properties.


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U by Kotex Kick Off #KotexMom



As a mom of four daughters there is a lot to talk about concerning the passage of womanhood. It’s funny because my mom never really had “the talk” with me about the “birds and the bees” she gave me a book that our community health nurse provided parents and teens. Yet at the same time she has asked me why I didn’t ask her certain things when she finds out there were things I really didn’t know. I think there was a gap between the book she gave me, health education and the bits I picked up from friends. This has helped me as a mother because I never wanted my girls to learn stuff from other people. I wanted them to hear the truth from me so I answered any questions with as little or as much information they needed for their age at the time they asked the questions and provided them with more as they got older. It has really helped my two older girls. I think my third daughter asks her older sisters questions more than she does me, but they always try to defer her to me as they know and understand the information should come from me. So far we haven’t talked too much to my 6 year old about a girl’s monthly cycle nor has she asked many questions. I am assuming she will pick up some things just by living with me and her three older sisters, but other things I will probably have to talk to her about.

I desire to have open and direct conversations with all of my children about the facts of life. I want them to be able to come to me with anything. For those of you desiring the same thing, U by Kotex is a great resource that I will be talking about in the coming months.

U by Kotex Ambassador Program Kick Off

I was recently chosen to participate in the U by Kotex Ambassador Campaign, which I consider a great privilege. One resource is Aimee Teegarden Gets Real Video by Kotex & Nickelodeon ParentsConnect that launched this month. After watching it I can say that I have really tried to be like Aimee’s mom. My girls feel like they can talk to me about anything (just asked them to confirm! ;))

When the girls were little I found myself nervous about talking about the subject of menstruation, which is a gateway to the sex talk too. But I found it easier to answer questions as they naturally occurred or to simply talk about topics as they found their way into our conversations rather than staging the whole thing.

I have already had numerous talks with my two older girls and we continue to talk as issues come up. One issue that seems to be lacking right now is them keeping track of their cycle, which I think is an important habit to get into. U by Kotex has a period tracker/planner that might help:

With my two younger daughters it hasn’t been as nerve wracking because I have done it before, but they are different and receive information differently so the key is to explain things in a way that they will retain and understand it for when their periods do start. That’s why I am interested in finding new resources.

I like the Kotex brand and have used their pads, but was not even aware of U by Kotex until I received the opportunity to apply for an Ambassadorship. I am hoping to learn some new ways to discuss menstruation with my younger girls as well as find new resources for my older girls. The U by Kotex website has videos, articles, Q&As (including a place to post questions), resources, coupons, period planners and of course, products just for our young girls – they can even design their own pad!

Teaching our daughters about menstruation shouldn’t be stressful but as natural as the sun rising and setting.

To learn more about U by Kotex:

Vist their website: www.ubykotex.com
Connect on Twitter
Fan them on Facebook

“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.”


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EasyTwist Review

There are seven out of ten of us in our family who wear glasses. Our second oldest, “B”, had a lazy eye and got her first pair of glasses at the age of four. She has been by far the most responsible with her glasses out of our five children…for some reason. We have tried the mall kind of glasses and they do not hold up as well as the ones we have got at our eye doctor’s office. I cannot remember the name of them, but they are special frames they offer for kids and they are pricey but worth it in the end.

One of our son’s, Jag, broke his glasses recently and I decided to try something new. EasyTwist from Aspex Eyewear are an all new fun brand that sells flexible glasses for kids. (They have glasses for adults as well.)

They are made from Trilaston a metal developed by Aspex. This metal is known for it’s elasticity and ability to recover the orginial shape of the glasses. I love that they are nickel/titanium free. As a mom I want the best for my child, yet want something that will last. These frames are free of nickel and are hypoallergenic so they shouldn’t cause your child any skin reactions. So far my son has had no reaction.

Typical glasses will eventually lose their flexibility, these frames should not – we haven’t had them long enough to verify this yet. EasyTwist can tolerate stress, shock, and temperate changes! These glasses also retain their shine and luster.

We love these frames! Aspex sent us out a pair for my one son and he just loves them. He thought that they were very comfortable and he loved the cool design on them! After testing these we found that these glasses really seem to be everything that they claim to be. With the EasyTwist frames we don’t have to worry about them easily breaking if my son accidentally bent them a little out of shape – which is a huge bonus.

These frames get two thumbs up from us and if you have a child needing new eyewear we suggest that you check them out. For styles, prices and colors visit this link.

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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If It’s Free! It’s for Me!

I found a new website!  Watch out, it’s addicting!  It’s called The Freecycle Network. Type in your location and see what people have to “offer” or “want” and they are all free!  You will find almost ANYTHING on here.  I’ve seen used oil, frozen meats, swing sets, baby items, beds, you name it!  You will need an account – if you find and “offer” you’d like you then need to contact the person to set a time / place and go and pick it up!  I’ve seen a few “curb alerts” (a curb alert is people that are putting stuff out on the curb or road) in my area.  This is my kind of bargain shopping!

http://www.freecycle.org

Editor’s Note: Our family has used Free Cycle and have got some pretty nice stuff – our recliner is one of them. We have also got work horses which have come in handy now that we have moved! Lots of neat and useful things have been found on Free Cycle. Beware of daily emails as they will over take your inbox! I finally had to unsubscribe due to the emails and my husband’s request! lol! I had him running out to pick up too many things! 😉


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Our Critters – Wordless Wednesday

Here are our growing farm critters…

All photos are property of my daughter RJ.


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