Archive for Family Stuff

10 Things that Make Me Smile

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.

FFR Thnigs that make me smile

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!

FFR 2013 Christmas Tree - Jr

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

Saturdays Top Laughs dentistmelsbbutton-11

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”.

FFR Funny colored eggs

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.

FFR Text from Jr


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The Way My Three Year Old Decorates a Christmas Tree – Wordless Wednesday

In Saturday’s post, I mentioned the way my three year old decorates a Christmas tree, well here are the photos to show just how he does it!

FFR Jr.'s idea of decorating the Christmas Tree

FFR The way a three year old decorates a Christmas Tree

Don’t be too shocked at the almost wordless Wednesday post! I am cheating to watch a TV show with hubby and because I am going out to lunch with fellow farmer friends today. ;)


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Airborne from Smiley360

received this product for free from Smiley360 in exchange for my honest review. You can join Smiley360 here!

Airborne can support your immune system.  It’s packed with vitamins, minerals, and herbs.  Airborne contains no preservative and is gluten free.

AB1

 

 

Airborne Kids offers a blast of Vitamin C with flavored citrus and berry gummies.  It has an herbal blend including Echinacea & Ginger, with antioxidants.

 

 

 

 

 

ab3

 

 

Airborne Chewable Tablets also have Vitamin C.  No water is needed for these berry flavored chewables.  These taste great for vitamins.

 

 

 

 

 

ab4

 

 

Airborne Effervescent Tables need to be dissolved in water.  One Effervescent Tablet has 1,000 mg of Vitamin C!  It’s zesty orange flavor also tastes good.

 

 

 

 

 

Besides these few kinds I received, Airborne is also available in lozenges, Airborne plus Energy, and Hot Soothing Mix.  Don’t let me forget Airborne On-The-Go.

Here’s what’s in Airborne products:

Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Zinc, Selenium, Manganese, Magnesium, a variety of herbs, & Echinacea.

Click here for a $1.00 coupon!  Don’t forget to visit Airborne’s Facebook and Twitter pages!


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Week #8 Saturday Top Five Laughs – Join the Blog Hop!

Saturdays Top Laughs dentistmelsbbutton-11

I was not good at writing down the funnies this week. But regardless, join us as we participate in The Mommyhood Chronicles Saturday Top Five Laughs – Week #8 for us – I think we are on a roll with eight weeks in a row!

5. My husband was filling waterers and carrying our dog’s 5 gallon water pail to him and our horse, Blaze, comes right up behind him to steal a drink. My husband was completely unaware until Blaze drank. Blaze didn’t have a care about the dog barking at him or the fact it was not his waterer. He simply knew it was closer than the pasture and barn water! It was funny to watch. Too bad we couldn’t get a photo.

4. Listening to my children’s laughter as they watched the movie “The Croods” was hilarious.

3. Listening to my children’s laughter as they watched the movie “Denise the Menace”….I actually fell asleep. Nothing like laughter to lull a tired mama to sleep, eh?

2. I smile every time I look at the side of the tree our three year old decorated because many of the ornaments are just laid on the branches or are in clusters. ;)

FFR 2013 Christmas Tree buying

1. We got our Christmas tree last Sunday and it brought back memories of getting last year’s tree, which was so huge it would not fit in the van. We had to shove it in and the children had to sit ducking underneath it’s branches! Getting our tree this year was pretty uneventful.


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MinuteClinic at select CVS Pharmacy Stores

“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Dad Central Consulting for CVS MinuteClinic. I received promotional items as a thank you for participating”

By: Guest Dad Blogger Scott – #MC

 

“Children suffer around 6 or 12 colds a year.”

And

“Americans get 1 billion colds a year.”

Source:  Center for Disease Control and Prevention

 

With cold and flu season fast approaching it’s good to know that MinuteClinic in select CVS Pharmacy Stores are here to help you.

MinuteClinic

What’s a MinuteClinic you ask?  Good Question!

MinuteClinic is an affordable alternative to visiting your doctor when you or a family member is suffering from a cold, cough or flu illness.  No appointments are necessary and they are open 7 days a week with evening hours!  The MinuteClinic can vaccinate, diagnose, treat, and prescribe for cold, cough, and/or flu!

Board Certified Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants are there for you to treat a variety of common family illnesses.  Not just limited to cold, cough, and flu.  They are able to diagnose strep throat, ear infections, pink eye, and UTI’s.  In addition, they are able to provide vaccinations for flu, pertussis, and others.  The MinuteClinic can also provide physicals for sports and /or camps and wellness services to stop smoking, lose weight, and screening for diabetes and cholesterol.

This program is terrific for that on the go person or family.  The MinuteClinic also accepts insurance! If your regular doctor is not available and you visit the MinuteClinic, they will send your summary visit to your primary care physician (with your permission).  No regular doctor?  No problem – The MinuteClinic can even help you find a provider.

Currently the MinuteClinic at CVS Pharmacy Stores is available in 28 states and in Washington DC. 

If you sneeze or cough, please cover your mouth, this is how most germs spread.  One of the best ways to avoid sickness is wash your hands with soap and water and try not to touch your face.

 


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Tylenol SMILING IT FORWARD™

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I have received information and products from McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc., the makers of TYLENOL®. The opinions stated are my own. This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks

Tylenol SMILING IT FORWARD™

Share a smile and help a child feel better!

I’m Smiling it forward because… I want to share the joy of my little one’s smile with everyone! Smiling is contagious… one smile goes along way! If everyone took some time to smile the world would be a happier place!

I am glad Tylenol has created this campaign… I feel so blessed when my little ones smile after they have been sick. It warms my heart to know that the worst is over and that they are now feeling better.  It also means that I have done my best to get them better.

With the help of Tylenol…all moms can help their little ones feel better when feeling under the weather.

How can you help in SMILING IT FORWARD™?

Join TYLENOL, a brand relied on by moms for over 50 years, by SMILING IT FORWARD. Together with Children’s Health Fund, we can help ensure a doctor’s visit is always within reach for children in need.

Just upload a photo here or use this link: https://www.smilingitforward.com/share/upload to help kids in need. It’s as easy as that.

How can your smile help?

We all love a child’s smile. There’s baby’s first smile, the wake-up smile and the first step “I did it!” smile. But, there’s something special about the smile that comes after a fever breaks and a child starts feeling better.

Creating those “feel better” smiles is what Tylenol is all about.

For decades, moms and pediatricians have relied on Tylenol  to provide relief from fever and pain. The smile of good health is one every child deserves and every mom should see.

You can help make more smiles possible for families in need.

That’s where Children’s Health Fund comes in. Their mobile medical clinics provide children in need with access to the doctors, nurses and medicine they deserve.

Join us by SMILING IT FORWARD™.

By simply sharing a photo that makes you smile, Tylenol  will make a $1 donation to Children’s Health Fund (up to $100,000).

 


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Zact Mobile – Great Gift for your Teens!

I participated in a campaign for Dad Central Consulting on behalf of Zact. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating”

By: Scott – Dad Guest Blogger – #MC

logoSo, your teen has asked for a phone with all the bells and whistles. However, you are not sure they are ready for that responsibility.  There’s a new mobile program called Zact – no contracts and a minimal average payment of $22.00 a month.  Zact Mobile has gotten the seal of approval from The National Parenting Center.  Zact has parental controls!  You can set the amount of data and texting they use as well as set curfews.  You customize your plan to you or your families needs.  Zact is currently available online at Zact.com or Best Buy.

Check out this Video about Zact Parental Controls:

Parental Controls with Zact from Zact Mobile on Vimeo.


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Babydoll Sheep

FFR Babydoll sheep

Our farm is going to grow yet again! I’m kind of nervous thinking about it but excited at the same time. When we bought the wool dryer balls from the sheep farmer we also put down a deposit on a breeding pair of sheep for our oldest son! We will get these lambs in the spring so there’s lots of time. It’s just fencing, shelter etc. We do not want to put much money into permanent infrastructure like stalls in the barn because we cannot take it with us. We will probably do temporary housing outside. I know the sheep farm uses calf huts, but I think those can be pricey so we’ll do something like our little hoop house over our raised bed.

The sheep in the photo above are from the sheep farm but owned by our neighbor. When I went there with my friend to look at their Dutch Belted cow, I snapped a photo of the Babydoll sheep. Our neighbor knows the sheep farmers, which is what prompted me to get in touch with them, remembering I had their business card from the Green Expo. I had inquired earlier in the year but never got around to calling them back because we were not at a place of being ready for more animals with all our delays in fencing and waiting for pasture to grow. But our son has been asking so we took the leap of faith and put a deposit down knowing we have to plan ahead for things like this, especially if we want unrelated lambs to breed. Thankfully, we do not have to worry about shearing wool until spring of 2015 and the ewe won’t be bred until she is a year or two old.

Our son’s sheep will be registered Babydoll sheep. He has his names picked out already – Atlas for the ram and Juno for the ewe. It’s always interesting to see what names they come up with. I questioned him gently making sure those were names he wanted before I sent them to the breeder. I just wanted him to be sure. I also asked him if he was going to be able to sell his lambs. He said yes, but we’ll see.

Babydoll sheep are a recovering sheep breed on the Livestock Conservancy priority list. We chose them because they are smaller, plus they are cute!


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