Archive for Blog Stuff

What I Hate About Photography

Posted by html404 on October 5, 2011
in Blog Stuff, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff

I love taking pictures of our family, of our outings etc. Photos seem to make memories last longer.

What I hate about photography is is getting the image so it can be used in multiple ways. For example: I changed the theme of Faith and Family Reviews last tonight and discovered that I could customize the header. I thought, “This will be great because then I can use family photos and make it more personal!” Yeah, right.

I went through dozens of photos only to discover that many of our photos are completely useless in regards to being a header. As with the one featured, it is blurry. Bah humbug. So bear with me as I learn the art of taking photos so they make great headers.

Perhaps we will take a vote on this month’s header from the few that are sort of useable. I will try to remember to switch them out over the next week so please let me know what you think.

Just maybe I will get some shots taken that will be useful….either that or I will find out my camera is the problem…..

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Recap of Tween Academy

Posted by html404 on September 24, 2011
in Blog Stuff, Education, Family Stuff

This past Tuesday I had the privilege to co-host Teen Academy with five other bloggers (Connie, Brain Foggles , Jo-Lynne, Musings of a Housewife , Stephanie, And Twins make 5! , Liz, Thoughts of a Mommy and Jennifer, Mom Spotted, as we joined The Motherhood and host Rosalind Wiseman, who is a parenting expert and author of a New York Times bestselling book, Queen Bees and Wannabes (which the movie Mean Girls was based on)!

We discussed issues tweens face today, what our struggles were as mothers of tweens heading back to school (sweaty, stinky tween boys was one!) and each participant offered their sage advice, empathy and commaradie. Rosalind had some wise advice as to how to handle specific issues.

Overall there was a general sense of appreciation for the hour we spent together online and we look forward to this coming week’s Tween Academy on TheMotherhood, sponsored by Unilever.

Be sure to join us on Tuesday, September 27th at Noon EST at The Motherhood or the direct link http://www.themotherhood.com/talk/show/id/62264

Also, Rosalind has some guest appearances coming up on TV that you may want to tune into – She will be appearing with Anderson Cooper and Dr. Phil at 8 p.m. ET on Oct. 9 and 14 (check local listings for channels). Here is her recent blog post about the appearances: http://rosalindwiseman.com/2011/09/19/stop-bullying-speak-up-campaign-can-change-lives/

Disclosure: I am being compensated for my time by Unilever and The Motherhood, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Camera Woes

Posted by html404 on September 19, 2011
in Blog Stuff, Family Stuff

I have had some camera woes lately. My boys, with good intentions of course, knocked out a lense. Thankfully it was fixable. Then during our move we somehow lost our camera cord that allows us to download photos to our computer. We still have yet to find it. That means this blog is sadly missing some personal photos of recent weeks. That is the extent of my camera woes. Pray that I find that cord soon and then I can finally update you all on our family happenings!

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Tween Academy Class – Tomorrow!

Posted by html404 on September 19, 2011
in Blog Stuff, Family Stuff, Parenting

Do you have tweens in your home? So do I! Ever wonder how to help them do better in school, deal with friends (or bullies) or just plan be more prepared to get into the swing of school again after summer vacation? Yeah…me too. There’s help just around the corner!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 20, at noon ET, The Motherhood is hosting its first Tween Academy class and YOU are invited! Believe it or not, I will be one of the 6 co-hosts for this class. We will talking about Tweens and Heading Back to School with host Rosalind Wiseman, who is a parenting expert and author of a New York Times bestselling book!

Here are the details:

What: A class offering advice, suggestions and empathy when it comes to tweens and issues surrounding going back to school. It’s all part of Tween Academy on TheMotherhood, sponsored by Unilever.

About the class: From making new friends to managing classes and homework, heading back to school can be filled with sweat-inducing moments. During this class, we’ll talk about how to get back into the school routine and offer advice on guiding tweens through classes, after-school sports, rough spots with friends, bullying and more.

When: Tuesday, September 20, at noon ET

Where: On TheMotherhood, here – http://www.themotherhood.com/talk/show/id/62264

Who: Renowned parenting expert Rosalind Wiseman, author of the New York Times bestseller Queen Bees and Wannabes (which the movie Mean Girls was based on), will host the class with six blogger co-hosts…

Connie, Brain Foggles
Jo-Lynne, Musings of a Housewife
Yours Truly, Theresa, Faith and Family Reviews
Stephanie, And Twins make 5!
Liz, Thoughts of a Mommy
Jennifer, Mom Spotted

This class is not a webinar or a phone call, it is all on chat, so no need to worry about background noise – we moms have been there and done that! You can even stay in your pjs if you want to!

Hope to see some of you there!

Disclosure: I am being compensated for my time by Unilever and The Motherhood, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Wordless Friday????

Posted by html404 on April 22, 2011
in Blog Stuff, Family Stuff

I’m still playing catch up this week so excuse the mixed up posts! Here’s my wordless Friday post….

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Giveaways

Posted by html404 on April 21, 2011
in Blog Stuff

This is just an announcement in regards to giveaways. If you have not received your giveaway prize within a reasonable amount of time 4-8 weeks, please, please let us know. If we are not aware that the PR company or product company itself has not shipped you the item then how can we possibly help?

Thanks!

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CLOSED Get Outside with the Kids & National Wildlife Federation: Week Two of Scott’s 4-Week Test Drive

Posted by html404 on April 19, 2011
in All Natural Products, Blog Stuff, Family Stuff, Giveaways

Winner of Week 2 Scott Naturals 4-Week Test Drive Giveaway is……….

momznite!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations to momznite! # 7 as chosen by Random.org.

Thanks to all who entered and to Scott Naturals and TheMotherhood.com for providing this great prize package!

It has been hard getting outside with the kids this spring since it has been so cold, wet and rainy. Nevertheless we have been able to do a couple of little things and hope to do more of our normal outdoor activities soon.

Playing outside at the farm. There are lots of things to do at the farm. My children love watching and feeding the chickens. Last week my boys took their dinosaurs to the farm and played outside in the dirt and grass with them, as well as climbed the wood pile, played in the underbrush of a large tree with plans to build a fort.

Walks. Walking has been a priority for me but the truth is we have yet to get back into the habit of a daily walk.

Biking. My children love riding their bikes. They will usually bike while I walk and push the little ones in the stroller. I have never been a runner. I prefer walking.

Picnics. We love picnics in the park or our backyard. We have even been known to picnic in our house when the weather is against our plans!

Botanical Gardens. We love the Chicago Botanical Gardens and have yet to get there this spring. I love the peacefulness and beauty of the gardens. Not only is it educational (the gardens provides a little card for the kids to find different items and mark it off with a sticky dot), it is good for our whole well-being. The aroma, the atmosphere and the sights are delightful to us all.

Backyard Games. None of our children have been involved in organized sports, yet. So it has been fun to teach the children how to play soccer, baseball, volleyball, badminton and football in our backyard. A couple of weekends ago my husband was instructing our boys and a couple of other boys in playing basketball on an outdoor court at the school where we attended a green expo. They do the goofiest things and were fun to watch! Sure tired those boys out!

The Zoo. The zoo also provides a great way to get outside with the kids and introduce them to lots of different animals. Our children love going to the zoo and are sorely disappointed if we go on days the animals are stay inside where we cannot see them.

The National Wildlife Federation

Speaking of animals, the National Wildlife Federation puts a huge emphasis on getting outside with your children. Take a look at their suggestions here.

B Kind 2 Earth Day

We are also participating in B Kind 2 Earth Day with TheMotherhood and NWF. We are hoping to volunteer at a local organic learning farm, as well as go for a walk and help at my friend’s organic farm on Thursday and Friday. B Kind 2 Earth Day also has some great ideas for getting outside on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/BKind2EarthDay

Winner of Week 1 of Scott’s 4-Week Test Drive!

Winner of Week 1 Scott Brand 4-Week Test Drive Giveaway is……….

Karen!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations to Karen! You won this giveaway! Comment # 12 chosen by Random.org
Thanks to all who entered and to Scott Naturals and TheMotherhood. for sponsoring this great giveaway!

Week 2 Giveaway of Scott Naturals 4-Week Test Drive!

A 12 pack of toilet paper, a 6 pack of paper towel, a package of napkins and flushable moist wipes. Cool, eh? Yeah, we thought so too!

You may also choose to participate in the Scott Naturals 4-Week Test Drive between now and September 30 and enter to win a Ford Fusion hybrid car! Once you pledge to take the 4-Week Test Drive, coupons for each product are available -http://www.scottbrand.com/community/savings/scott

Scott’s Press Release says:

According to a recent poll, one third of consumers believe eco-friendly products don’t work as well as “regular” ones. That’s why Scott Naturals is on a mission to get people to rethink their notion of environmentally friendly products. As the world’s first line of “hybrid” paper products, including bath tissue, paper towels, flushable moist wipes and napkins, the Scott Naturals brand combines the green benefits of recycled fiber with the quality people want, making it easy to take a green step forward. If every American pledged to use Scott Naturals for four weeks, it would save two million trees. Starting on April 4, as part of the “Take the 4-Week Test Drive Sweepstakes,” Scott Naturals began challenging Americans to test out its line of hybrid paper products for four weeks and enter for a chance to win a new hybrid sedan.

Our Review of Scott Naturals Wipes

We really liked the performance of Scott Naturals wipes. They are free of alcohol and dyes and are flushable. All of the fibers are derived from sustainable resources, which we like. They also smell good and contain Aloe Vera as the third ingredient, another plus. My daughter says the ingredients are decent, as she is our most chemically sensitive, and says the ingredients could be a lot worse.

These wipes cleaned up pencil shavings “soot” from off our laminate flooring well, as well as some crayon marks. They are strong, very moist and hold their moisture in the wipes container unlike other brands we have tried. These are great for quick clean ups at home or on the road.

The Giveaway

Enter to win a Scott Naturals paper products!

Mandatory Entry: Tell me which products you want to try the most from Scott!

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

5 Entries: Visit http://www.ScottBrand.com/4WeekTestDrive to help increase the amount Scott Brand will donate to National Wildlife Federation. Scott Naturals will donate $1 per unique click to the NWF, up to $25,000. You can do this as many times as you like!

1 Entry:Follow Faith and Family Reviews On Twitter

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

1 Entry: Like Scott Naturals on Facebook and leave a comment on their wall 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. Up to three tweets per day. Include a separate comment for each and your tweet url with your comment. You may write your own tweet or use this one:

Giveaway: Enter to win #ScottNaturals paper products! http://bit.ly/ScottNaturalsGiveaway @faithfamilyrevw! Please share! #ScottTestDrive

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

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 April 19th, 2011 to April 24th, 2011 at midnight CST. The winner will be chosen through Random.org. Scott will send one winner their prize. Winner will be contacted via email on or before April 27th, 2011 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!

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review and is being compensated by Scott Naturals and TheMotherhood. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review and compensation, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Little Switches Make a Difference

Posted by html404 on April 6, 2011
in Blog Stuff, Health and Nutrition

Have you ever tried to change your habits or make a new year’s resolution but never seem to stick with it and accomplish what you set out to do? Little switches seem to be what makes new habits stick, rather than huge changes. Slow and steady wins the race, right? It is the little changes that make a difference in the long run.

Little Switches to Healthier Eating

Take the way we eat. Years ago we were a split family when it came to eating, but once children came along we wanted to model good eating habits (for the record we are still working on modeling good eating habits, as we are a work in progress!). When I wanted to switch us over from white bread to wheat bread, I made our bread with half wheat flour and half unbleached flour. Yes, that was back when I was actually making our bread. Then I slowly increased the wheat until we were eating all whole wheat.

I did the same thing for refined white sugar. Although organic cane sugar, sucanat, or honey can pretty much be switched evenly with very little noticeable difference. The honey being a liquid is a bit trickier, but sugar can be decreased in most recipes by about half.

We have also switched from using so much butter to using half applesauce (unsweetened). This is one we have not stuck with very well, but it is a great way to cut down on the fat content in favorite baked goods.

Organic vs Non-Organic

Organic food is expensive, but we try as much as possible to buy organic. Making this switch has been the biggest challenge to our pocket book, but we feel it is an important one for our health and to support the local growers – considering that 98% of our food is bought outside of the state of Illinois!

Buy Local

Buying locally is an area we are currently working on, rather than always giving the “big” guys our money. It is our desire to support the “little” local businesses that are usually family owned and literally dying for business.

This might mean going to the little mom and pop copy store rather than Staples, Office Max or Office Depot. Or it could mean going to the quaint cafe or family restaurant in town rather than a fast food chain. Or simply going to the family owned grocery store rather than a major chain – I know, they are a dying breed.

It is difficult to stick to buying local because it often costs more money to support these businesses than it does to go to the major chain stores. Nevertheless, we are trying to make that switch over ever so slowly.

Little Switches in Daily Life

With spring upon us, one of our family’s goals has been to get up earlier. When our children were all little it was easy because they would be in bed by 7 or 8 o’clock at night and up at 6 o’clock in the morning. Switching from staying up late to going to bed early has been hard but I think it is important for us so we can get up earlier in the morning. I love the long days of summer and want to make the most of them and get a walk in before the heat of the day!

To be successful in any sort of change, I like deciding what is important to us and then moving forward with little switches at a time, making a difference for the long haul.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Cottonelle blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

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New Look is Temporary

Posted by html404 on April 3, 2011
in Blog Stuff

Something threw my old theme out of whack, so I am temporarily using this one since it does the least damage…..it’s just temporary.

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The Motherhood Creative is Hiring

Posted by html404 on April 3, 2011
in Blog Stuff, Business

I have had the privilege of working with The Motherhood team several times over the past year. I still have no idea how they found me, but I am grateful to the person who connected me with them because the opportunities they have provided me with have allowed me to earn extra income and have some great experiences with my children. Emily, Cooper and Erin (Sorry if I left anyone out, but these are the main three I have been in contact with – mostly Erin though!) are a wonderful group of ladies to work with; and since I have had such a positive experience working with them on some major brand campaigns – 77kids, Wendy’s, Scott and more (One is coming up that will last for four weeks!) – I wanted to put the word out that I just read on their website they are hiring more mom bloggers! Visit their contact page, fill out their form and wait to hear from them.