Archive for Family Stuff

Free Family Film Screening THE CROODS

Looking for a family friendly movie to watch with all the children? If you haven’t seen THE CROODS trailer yet I highly suggest you check it out! It looks like it is going to be hilariously funny and great for the whole family! It’s an animated 20th Century Fox feature film due out in theaters in March.

To participate in a FREE family film screening THE CROODS, check out the two free movie screenings happening in the Chicago area at the following theater locations:

February 23, 2013
At 11:00 AM 10:30 AM is the new time!
AMC South Barrington
175 Studio Dr.
South Barrington, IL
60010

March 2, 2013
At 11:00 AM
Kerasotes ICON
1011 South Delano Court East
Chicago, IL
60605

These free screenings are usually overbooked to ensure the theater is full and arriving early is highly recommended as seating is not guaranteed and is first-come, first-served.

If you and your family are interested visit the redemption website, GoFobo.com. Just create a free GoFobo account, and each account is allowed to redeem up to four passes to the THE CROODS screening. Maybe we’ll see you there! ;)

LINK for Barringtion: https://www.gofobo.com/rsvp/promotion/1ea8a9a8b319e9084fea78da06bbc212

Update! Link for Chicago: https://www.gofobo.com/rsvp/promotion/52d26be646344c8845c580c578de31af


 


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When a Loved One Smokes

My mom is coming for a visit from Nova Scotia, Canada in March. We haven’t seen her in four years. Yikes! We know. Kind of sad. Usually she prefers not to come visit us in the winter because we are NON-smokers and of course there is no smoking in our home so my mom has to smoke outside. Brrrrr…..It’s not going to be the warmest in March here in Chicagoland. Nah-uh. She asked me to tell the children to figure out a way for her to stay warm when she goes outside to smoke. We have yet to come up with anything. :( It’s hard when a loved one smokes and you don’t.

No Smoking

Both my parents smoked all during my grown up years. My mom says she couldn’t tolerate smoking while she was pregnant with me because it made her sick, so even from the womb I didn’t like cigarette smoke! My mom was always more conscientious about rolling down her window etc. than my dad was when they were smoking in the car. She’s still like that today. She doesn’t like the children to stand right next to her when she’s smoking and will tell them to move away so they don’t breathe it in. It’s kind of hard for them to stay away from their grandmother for very long when they only see her every several years – she’s not tech savvy so there’s no skype-ing or Facetime going on around here to stay in touch between visits. That’s something we have to work on.

My mom and dad both tried to quit smoking numerous times when I was a child, even trying hypnosis, but to no avail they couldn’t break the nicotine habit.

When my mom comes in March I am hoping to present her with an electric cigarette in hopes that when she tries it she may feel motivated to try to quit smoking again and just maybe, just maybe, that smokers cough will improve too.

When a loved one smokes and you don’t what do you do?

This is a compensated post.
 

 

 


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More Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

Valentine’s Day is only a week away! I came across some more Valentine’s Day gift ideas that I want to share in case any of you are still struggling to find just the right thing for your sweetie or loved ones.

1. Reasons Why Mug. A Reasons Why Mug for mom or dad with little sketches of the children is something I’d enjoy! My husband not so much since he doesn’t drink tea or coffee.

2. Glass Keepsake Box. I think any female over the age of 12 would love something like this to keep jewelry and small trinkets in.

Valentine's Day Child with Heart

3. Heart in Sand Framed Print. I wish I had known about something like this when Robert and I were dating! It would have been a lovely reminder of our trip to both sides of Florida to watch the sun rise and the sun set.

4. Bucket of Love. Feelings of love low? Need some help? Try this bucket of love to sweeten the mood with your better half. ;) Ha ha. Not sure it will work, but hey it’s worth a try, right?

5. Bee Bear. The Bee Bear can be personalized for each of your children’s names. He’s awfully cute and cuddly looking!

All of these Valentine’s Day gift ideas can be found at the link I provided.

What are you getting your sweetie for V-Day?

This is a compensated post.


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Making Memories With Bigelow Tea #AmericaTeas #CBias

Tea parties have always been a delightful pastime in our family. I grew up having tea with my grandmother. That’s where my love of tea started. From the time my girls were little we have been having tea parties too. The tea parties continued as the years went by to include their younger brothers and sister. I think the boys enjoy tea parties as much as the girls! The food and treats might have something to do with that. ;) They remember past tea parties and look forward to future ones with huge smiles on their faces.

Baking Girls 2

Bigelow Tea

Bigelow Tea Cinnamon Stick 1

Bigelow Tea bursts with flavor and they have such a variety of tea, quite unlike other tea brands. From herbal and decaffeinated to caffeinated flavors there truly is a tea for everyone. Their foil packaging of the individual tea bags do not break open like other brands which use paper packaging. The tea bags are sealed tight making transporting them from one location to another easy and helps keep the tea bags fresh. I personally love the family owned and operated aspect of Bigleow Tea. It definitely means a lot to me as a consumer and business owner myself to support another family owned business.

Making Memories with Bigelow Tea

This past weekend we created a Bigelow Tea moment by hosting a family tea party. We had just run out of tea, so two of my daughters and I went to Walmart to select and purchase some of our favorite (and new) flavors of Bigelow Tea. We were first introduced to Bigelow tea through my mother-in-law and have loved it ever since.

Walmart had three shelves full of Bigelow Tea and I somehow managed to only get a portion of those shelves. The aisle was so busy and every time I went to take a photo someone went by so I thought I had got a shot but actually didn’t.

Bigelow Tea 14

Preparing for Tea Party 2

My children were giddy with excitement and anticipation of participating in our family tea party. So while the girls and I were at the store the rest of the crew were busy cleaning, baking and preparing for our special tea party.

Tea Party Cupboard 2

When we arrived back home everyone else had the table nearly ready and were eager to get started.

Bigelow Tea Party 2

Family Bigelow Tea Party 2

Cup of Bigelow Tea 2

We served homemade bread sticks, shortbread, lemon cake and of course Bigelow Tea. It was so nice to sit around the table together on a cold winter day to warm not only our bellies but our spirit of togetherness. The conversation was light we talked about food, what new tea flavors we liked, our home schedule and of course our farming plans. The mood was festive and most of all everyone enjoyed making memories with Bigelow Tea!

“I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Bigelow Tea #CBias #SocialFabric #AmericasTea All opinions are my own.”


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Dear Neighbors

I think I have mentioned that we live on a busy rural road about four miles out of town, but the North side high school is basically in our backyard only a few fields over. I also believe I mentioned the fact that we have had Animal Control come out to visit us twice. Or maybe I neglected to share the last visit. The first visit was last June about our chickens. The last visit came due to an anonymous call to Animal Control saying our dog was neglected. Cough….eh-hem….there are eight children who live here and love Padfoot, how on earth could he possibly be neglected? Just because he’s tied by a roadside where everybody and their mother can see him?

Padfoot's Doghouse and Him

The result of that visit ended in the Animal Control officer saying he could see our dog wasn’t neglected and that Padfoot was happy, but if we wanted to keep him outside… fix his house. We have a very old dog house for him that was given to us by our landlords and we are temporarily using it until Padfoot finishes growing. He knocked out the back wall by going through his house like a tunnel – silly dog! Robert finally braced it up against an old silo so the dog couldn’t do that anymore, so that worked.

Padfoot on his doghouse

The officer also told us to dig a hole and put a five gallon bucket of water in there so he had access to water 24/7. We had only been using his water dish which he frequently played with, emptied and tossed around. We knew that the bucket in the hole was not going to work as Padfoot is very strong. He is part Newfie and they are bred to be working, water rescue dogs. Think pulling people out of the water to save them from drowning and hypothermia. He can pull three of our older children on a cart! We were right, within a day he’d lifted that five gallon bucket, water and all, emptied it and was playing with that around the yard. We have a goofball of a dog!

Newfie Pup Padfoot

Then one day a friend was over helping us see what needed to be done around the pasture and barn to make it horse-ready, as we are trying to bring Blaze our horse “home” to save on paying for board. She suggested using a bungee cord to hold the the bucket to the fence post to prevent him from spilling it or playing with the bucket. It worked!

Blaze horse being groomed

The Animal Control officer never did come back within the ten days to make sure we complied to his requests, but perhaps he did a drive by to save on disturbing us. Thinking positive thoughts….

Padfoot with Doghouse in background

Icing on the cake was a few weeks ago a lady stopping by asking if she could adopt our dog because she never sees anyone outside with him.

Us: Cough…eh-hem…we are always outside, don’t you see people outside?

Her: Oh yes, but never with the dog.

Us: Well, every time someone goes out to feed or check on the chickens we stop and pet him. And he’s tied because our children would be devastated if he got run over by a car and our chickens need to be protected
He’s killed two chickens this month when he’s been let loose to run :(. Now granted it may only be 5-10 minutes sometimes but over the course of day with all of us stopping and petting him, throwing his ball, rubbing his belly…that adds up to be a lot of time.

Goofball Dog Padfoot

That conversation ended in the lady being close to tears because she felt so bad for suggesting adoption when we so clearly loved and truly did take care of our dog. I actually gave her a hug…my children couldn’t believe I hugged someone who wanted to take their dog away! Needless to say they were not feeling so solicitous.

The last straw was over the weekend a farmer, who has farmed for 40 years, stopped by to tell us to get our dog in the house. My husband thankfully was home to deal with this particular neighbor. My husband told him Padfoot was a Newfie. The farmer said, “I know what kind of dog he is….blah…blah…blah….” My husband also told the farmer that he cannot make the dog go in his dog house.

Newfie Dog

Do you dear readers know anything about Newfoundland dogs? As I said they are bred to work, to do water rescues, to go in cold water…this dog has three layers of water protective coat – meaning it is water resistant and does not penetrate his skin – and Newfies have extra padded paws too. Padfoot was born on a farm. He’s been outside since birth. The only time his previous owners brought him inside was to potty train him for his next home. Padfoot plays out in the rain, even when he has access to his dog house. He loves water and snow for that matter! My husband finds Padfoot sitting on top of his dog house ALL THE TIME. Padfoot sleeps out in the cold, even though he has access to his dog house. My husband went out the other morning and Padfoot had frost on head and raindrops frozen on the ends of his fur. Was he shivering? NO. Was he unhappy? NO. He was happy and jumping all over the place to greet his master, my husband, and get his tummy rubbed. That dog loves Robert more than all of us put together and has chosen him as his master. Good thing the feelings are mutual or it could be very annoying! lol!

Newfoundland Puppy Playing

When this farmer found out we could not have animals in our house, per our landlords request, he said, “Well at least put some hay on the ground in his dog house. You don’t want Animal Control coming around and ticketing you, do you?” Ah-ha! I think we know who’s called Animal Control….

We did what the farmer said to appease him. My husband said before we even put the hay in the house that Padfoot was going to have it strewn all over the yard….guess what Padfoot did within minutes of the hay being placed in his house? He threw it all over the place! Goof. Ball. Dog. But HAPPY.

Newfoundland Dog


Dear Neighbors,

We love our animals. We honestly do take care of them and if you were driving by every waking minute of the day you would be able to see that for yourself, rather than relying on random minutes when you are zipping by at 50 mph. So please stop meddling and find someone who is truly neglecting and abusing their animals to pick on for we think you have far too much time on your hands and need someone else to terrorize with your concerns. And by the way, we are getting very familiar with Animal Control. We hope they come to know us so well that they start to ignore anonymous calls about our animals and us, knowing our location puts us in a fish bowl for all to see or think they can see all but really don’t. You really know nothing at all about us or our animals. For if you did, you would see that our animals are very happy where they are and are joyful when they see us coming.

Oh the joys of living in the country…where no one minds their own business like they do in the suburbs! ;)


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Keep Children Healthy this Season ~ Avoid RSV in Young Children

RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) is a very scary thing for new parents…or any parents for that matter. Premature infants are at greatest risk! My first child was a month early and weighed in under 5 pounds. My sister had premature twins that were only 3 pounds each at birth. We both had our scares with RSV…but were very fortunate not to contract the virus.

The treat of RSV is one of the reasons I chose to stay home with my children and quit teaching in the traditional classroom. Daycare was very scary for many reasons to this protective mama…and RSV was one of those scary things!

When my daughter entered school she had pneumonia 3 times in kindergarten and I cannot help but think to imagine what she could have picked up had she been in a daycare setting.

We have had a few friends who have had to deal with this disease and it can be devastating to a family. But remember since almost 100% of babies will contract RSV…we may have had it and not even known it!

In fact the fact that my daughter had pneumonia 3 times in kindergarten could partially be because of the RSV virus. Luckily we were able to treat or and not have any further complications. However, sometimes if not treated or prevented RSV can be deadly.

I have 3 children and the only one who ever showed signs of RSV or its negative effects (pneumonia) was my oldest daughter. She was a preemie and I took all of the precautions of dealing with RSV and other sicknesses she could contract. I mean she had no other siblings, I did not work (so no daycare), we limited visitors to the house, we practice good hygiene and hand washing….yet somehow we still had our bout with illness.

My other 2 children were always relatively healthy and never showed signs of illness aside from the common cold. Even when having school age siblings…did I do anything different? NO, in fact I was probably more “loose” with the next two …taking them out more often, etc. But they STILL might have had the disease and been carriers and I would never know it.

PLEASE take the time to educate your self on RSV as it could have long term and devastating effects on your family or others with whom you come in contact.

RSV Infographic

Please read the information below to learn more about the threat of RSV

The Threat of RSV in Child Care and School Settings

It is estimated that 82% of U.S. children aged six weeks to six years old, spend some amount of time in child care. Whether it’s five or 50 hours a week, the risks of spending time in a daycare or pre-school setting are the same — increased exposure to contagious germs and viruses.

Children’s inborn behavioral habits such as a need for close interpersonal
contact and lack of good personal hygiene, combined with an environment that promotes and rewards sharing, make daycare settings an environment for infection spreading. Because their immune systems are not yet fully developed, this is especially worrisome for very pre-term babies in daycare, or with school-aged siblings who bring germs into the home.

Premature infants are very susceptible to infection in the early weeks of their lives, so contracting something as small as the common cold can present danger. Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a common, seasonal virus that affects two-thirds of all infants by age one and almost 100% of babies by age two, because it’s highly contagious. RSV can live on surfaces (doorknobs, countertops, toys, bedding) for several hours and is often spread through touching, hugging and kissing.
Daycare increases this risk of RSV spreading as children are constantly sharing toys, tables and high chairs as well as eating and napping in close quarters.
RSV typically causes mild to moderate cold-like symptoms, but in some babies it results in a serious respiratory infection.
Those most at risk for severe RSV include premature infants, as their lungs aren’t fully developed and they have fewer infection-fighting antibodies than full-term babies.
The RSV season typically runs from November through March, so during the winter months parents should be especially
careful to watch for signs of RSV.

Below are symptoms of severe RSV infection that require immediate medical care:
· Coughing or wheezing that does not stop
· Fast or troubled breathing
· Spread-out nostrils and/or a caved-in chest when trying to breathe
· Bluish color around the mouth or fingernails
· Fever (especially if it is over 100.4°F in infants under 3 months of age)

If a child has milder symptoms of RSV, the virus will likely run its course without any cause for parental alarm. It is important; however, for these parents to remember that even a mild case of RSV can be spread to other children, some of whom may be at high-risk for developing a serious infection from the virus. For this reason, it’s always best to keep a sick child home when possible, to prevent the spread of germs and viruses.
Once contracted, there is no treatment for RSV, so working together to prevent the risk of RSV is critical. All parents should take steps to prevent the spread of the virus, including always washing their hands and child’s hands, and asking others to do the same. It’s also important to remember to keep toys, clothes, blankets, and sheets clean and avoid crowds and other sick children during RSV season.
Prevention is especially important for babies at increased risk of becoming ill from RSV. Parents of preemies should be informed of the dangers of RSV, as well as the risks that certain child care settings can present. If possible, parents of highrisk babies may want to consider alternate options, such as nannies or in-home daycare centers, where exposure to dangerous germs can be minimized. Regardless of child care settings, it’s important for parents who believe their child may be at high-risk for RSV to speak with a doctor about prevention.

A few facts about RSV that all parents, caregivers and loved ones should know:
· Almost every baby will contract RSV by age 2, but only 1/3 of moms say they’ve heard of the virus.
· Serious RSV infection is the leading cause of infant hospitalization, responsible for more than 125,000
hospitalizations and up to 500 infant deaths each year.
· RSV occurs in epidemics each fall through spring. The CDC has defined “RSV season” as beginning in November
and lasting through March for most parts of North America.
· Certain babies are at an increased risk of developing serious RSV infection, so it’s important to speak with a
pediatrician to determine if a baby may be at high risk for RSV, and discuss preventive measures.
· Symptoms of serious RSV infection include: persistent coughing or wheezing; rapid, difficult, or gasping breaths;
blue color on the lips, mouth, or under the fingernails; high fever; extreme fatigue; and difficulty feeding. Parents
should contact a medical professional immediately upon signs of these symptoms.
· There is no treatment for RSV, so it’s important for parents to take preventive steps to help protect their child (wash
hands, toys, bedding frequently; avoid crowds and cigarette smoke).

Visit www.RSVProtection.com and follow #RSVProtection on Twitter for more information.

 

 

“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of MedImmune and I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”

www.momcentralconsulting.com

 


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TOY DOZER Review

A CHORE NO MORE!

THE TOY DOZER MAKES TOY CLEAN UP FAST, EASY, AND FUN FOR EVERYONE!

 logo150

 

January is National Organization month so what a better way to celebrate but with a product to clean up toys! Our house is overloaded with toys…especially with Christmas just past…we are busting at the seems! This product gives an innovative way to clean up toys with a “scoop” of the wrist! More importantly this is a toy that teaches…by involving children in clean up time, children learn the importance of responsibility. I know that responsibility is a value I am trying to instill in my children…so I am very happy that a “toy” can assist in that venue!

6.2

The Toy Dozer is a great product that helps parents and kids clean up all of the toys that we can find overwhelming and exhausting to clean up…just a little more fun! Check out the product in use in the video below:

What exactly is the Toy Dozer? It is a simple yet GENIUS invention! The product is similar to a dustpan … but instead of a broom to “sweep” in messes you have a handy little scooper. The one thing I like about this is the “scooper” Velcro’s inside the dustbin portion of the dozer. This is great… since I would hate to loose part of the product. Do you know how many times I have just wanted to use a broom to sweep up the toys my children have strewn all over the floor? But really…who want s to use an icky broom to clean up messes? The Toy Dozer created a clean way to get at those big toy messes!

4.2

My children are HUGE Lego fans! My son builds legos almost everyday…and my girls just got into the Lego friends series of Legos so our house was constantly strewn with the little parts. I was constantly picking up pieces and putting them on building plates or in Baggies. WELL… with the toy dozer pick up just got easier. I have to say that this is a great invention for these little pieces. All I have to do is use the scooper and sweep them all into the receptacle container and I easily have cleaned up a huge mess and then can bag the Legos as needed in seconds! This is a time saver for moms and dads! The kids love the product too! Usually the fuss about having to pick up ALL the Legos…but now the chore is fun and fast!

I do have to say that I also think this product has worked will in our house for beading crafts! My daughters received some bead kids for Christmas and after we were all done with the craft we were able to use the Toy Dozer to effectively clean up the beads in one swoop! I think this will be a great addition to craft days in our house as well…. Since it picks up those little pieces that I am forever using a plate or piece of paper to clean up messes.

We have used this product so many different ways… I do not think you will be disappointed. I have to honestly say that at first I thought it would be a Lego picker-upper only…but we have used it for many other things, including Barbie accessory, crayon, and Doll clothes clean up. I hate to say this but my girls’ room often looks like a tornado went through it (I know I am not alone) …but the Toy Dozer has sincerely made clean up easier!

Overall, I am thrilled with this product! It has made a difference in our “Lego” world! What a blessing to have been able to review this product!

The Toy Dozer comes in a variety of colors: Blue, Red, Purple, and Yellow.

Toy Dozer is also MADE IN THE USA!

To find more out about the Toy Dozer please visit: http://www.toydozer.com/

 

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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The Official LEGO® Channel #LEGOChannel

Do your kids like watching videos? Do you use videos to keep your child entertained so you can get housework or other work done? Yeah, I admit I do too. Not matter how much I try to limit my use of it, I still find myself turning to it in times when I desperately need peace and quiet or just to occupy them for a couple of uninterrupted hours of work. For the most part our children are really good at keeping themselves busy, it’s the quiet that is elusive. Maybe you can relate.
Lego Logo LEGO® is a popular kids toy and can keep children busy building and creating for hours. We have a couple of smaller kits and our boys have asked for more. Playing with a LEGO® set is a fun activity for the whole family. Just as watching TV or videos is something our family enjoys.

The Official LEGO® Channel is another way to entertain and keep you and your child busy. There are over 500 videos and more are being added each day. You can watch LEGO® Star Wars™, LEGO® Hero Factory, LEGO® The Hobbit™, LEGO® DC Universe™ Super Hereos and so many more favorite LEGO® characters. There are also videos that take you behind the scenes.

These LEGO® videos can be added to a LEGO® playlist and be accessed anywhere when you are at home, on the go, in the car etc. to keep your child(ren) entertained and inspired for the next time they play with their LEGO® toys.

If you do not know how to create a playlist, it’s easy to do. After you sign into your YouTube account and find The Official LEGO® Channel. Browse the videos and when you find one you or your child really likes simply click the “Add to” button beneath the video. There will be a blank space to create a new playlist and you can name it “LEGO® Videos” or whatever you like. The videos will be saved there and accessible again the next time you log onto your account.

Gotta love fun at your fingertips, especially on a cold winter day like today! Brrrr……it’s only 10 degrees here in Chicagoland!

There is a lot of content on web; creating a playlist on the Official LEGO® Channel is a great way to ensure your kids are entertained and watching videos you can feel good about.

Visit the Official LEGO® Channel to build your own playlist to watch with your kids and then reply below for a chance to win one (1) $1,000 gift card to buy your family’s favorite LEGO® products!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of LEGO. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.


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Farm Expansion

What does 4.5 acres plus 12.2 acres equal? Yes 16.7 acres but it also means farm expansion. When we initially moved in 16 months ago we rented the house and about 4.5 acres with it. This included the property containing the house and barn plus an extra pasture on the west side of the barn and two smaller fields on the east side of the barn/north side of the house.

Initially, our landlords (four sisters) were against us using the barn and having large animals. After raising our small flock of chickens and turkeys we realized that if we wanted to grow our farm we’d need additional space and appealed to them late summer/early fall to reconsider, especially since we were willing to purchase farm insurance.

The sisters agreed and we moved forward to rent the additional land. Now there’s a ton of work to do and plans for a farm expansion!

Our priorities are:

  • Clean and organize barn.
  • Build a couple of stalls.
  • Bring our horse Blaze home to save on board.
  • Have a small vegetable CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture).
  • Put up our low-cost greenhouse.
  • Fix our fence line.
  • Get a family cow.
  • Plant more pasture.
  • Buy our 2013 turkeys.

Other possibilities include:

  • Raising broilers (meat chickens).
  • Raise a couple of hogs. While we do not eat much pork, having a year supply of bacon sounds really good to us. Plus hogs are fun to observe.
  • Raise a beef cow or two for our family’s meat.

We have been busy marketing our farm. We got our egg license in December. Our eggs can be found at a local health food store and at a local monthly Green Market, but we have so much more marketing to do for our CSA and any other products we decide to raise. We do have over 60 people on our e-list and have 20 likes on Facebook. We are excited about the possibilities yet it’s with trepidation that we move forward. After all farming isn’t exactly a profession most people are getting into these days and is even considered career roadkill.

Let’s just say this is another huge step of faith on our part.


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Yardenit Cosmetics Review

Yardenit is the celebrated baptismal site on the sacred Jordan River in Israel. They embrace Pilgrims from the four corners of the earth who come to the Holy Land and to Yardenit for a specific purpose: to walk in the footsteps if Jesus and to be part of the baptismal ritual of following their Savior through the waters of baptism.

You do not have to travel to the Holy Land to experience Yardenit specialty products. You can visit their online store and shop for Holy Land souvenirs, Christian and Jewish gifts, inspirational jewelry, food items eaten during biblical times, music, books, clothing, cosmetics, and toys.

Our Review:

I found this was a very interesting website and web store. I had never actually sought out a store in the Holy Land so I was not aware that one existed. This is a rare gem! The web store offers so many products for both Jewish and Christian guests. They offer a vast array of products… from cosmetics to clothing!

We were privileged to review two of their cosmetic products. We were sent AYA Natural Nail Oil and Olea Essence Lip Balm. Both products are all natural which was a plus! I was concerned about getting a package from overseas … as I was not sure if it would ship well…especially with cosmetics enclosed. But I assure you Yardenit packaged their products beautifully and safely. They were packaged very tight and wrapped so that nothing would break or spoil. I was very impressed.

AYA Natural Nail Oil:

This product is made of 100% AYA natural Oil blend that may have antifungal properties. Nourishes, Moisturizes, and promotes healthy nail growth.

Ingredients: Extra Virgin olive oil, Sweet Almond oil, Tea Tree oil, Jojoba oil, Wheat Germ oil, Geranium, Rosemary, Lavender, and Tocopherol (Vitamin E).

*** We liked this product… the overall packaging was very nice. The oils come in a little dropper like bottle. You then apply right to the nail and rub into the cuticles daily. I used this item for a week and found that it made a difference to the overall health of my nails and cuticles. My cuticles are generally very dry … but this product improved them ten fold. I find that they are no longer peeling after use of this product. My oldest daughter also used this product. Sometimes her nails are prone to peeling …after using this product I can honestly say that her nail structure has improved. It seems that her nails are healthier and stronger and no longer peeling.

Just as a side note… the description states that it “may” have antifungal properties. I believe this is because one o the ingredients in the product is Tea Tree Oil, which is a known antifungal agent.

Olea Essence Lip Balm:

This product is made of all natural ingredients with no preservatives. It is Olive oil based and enriched with jojoba oil, wheat oil and avocado oil. It restores damaged and chapped lips.

Ingredients: Olive oil, Seabuckthorn oil, Bees Wax, Jojoba oil, Sesame oil, Caster oil, Wheat Germ oil, Avocado oil, Tea Tree oil, and Lavender oil.

*** This product was also a hit in my family. We are currently in the winter season and chapped lips are the norm around our house. This product came nicely packaged in a little pot …so it is easily applied with the finger. So I could easily use this on more than one person if needed (unlike a stick lip balm … where it would be limited to one person). The person who benefitted most from this product was my son. He is prone to chapped lips and often licks the top of his lips so the area right above the lip is red and chapped. We have a hard time finding anything except Vaseline that will do the trick because he says that the products we have tried “burn” his skin. Well, we have a new favorite in this product! This has done wonders for his skin and it is gentle and does not burn! It has cleared up his redness and chapped lips…I am so pleased! I did in turn use this on myself and found that my lips feel smooth and not as dried out as they usually feel this time of year! Very nice product!

Overall, we were very impressed with the Yardenit products we received. The only thing I do have to mention is that since the products do have Tea Tree oil in that particular oil seems to take over as the scent of the product. It is not a bad scent… some call it medicinal or a clean scent. It does not detract from the product… but it does take over the other oil scents that are ingredients in the product. I must say that since the Nail oil had the ingredient of Almond oil I expected an overall “almond” scent since that oil seems to be a powerful scent… but the Tea tree Oil is stronger. In the Lip Balm the Tea tree oil was not as strong… but it was still the main scent. I attribute the scent not being as strong in the Lip balm because it is a solid rather than a liquid like the oil. But generally the scent is not bothersome; in my experience it is rather pleasant.

On a side note: I was interested in another product and was worried about shipping to the USA from Israel (I thought it might be expensive) when I enquired with the company I found that their sipping rates are based on weight. The product I was looking at was their hand lotion, which is 150 ml or 5.1 fl oz.; the shipping on this product would be about $ 5.00. I found that this shipping cost was comparable to an average online store. So I was pleased.

Yardenit is currently having a sale on some of their merchandise…so take a look around their store! You can find a link to the store here: http://www.yardenit.com/store

For those interested in the Yardenit site on the Jordan River or for more information on Yardenit in general feel free to visit their home page here: http://www.yardenit.com

If I am ever in Israel I think this would be a neat place to visit and a great place to purchase souvenirs!

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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