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International Delight Iced Coffee Review

Posted by Brande on October 14, 2012
in Food and Treats, Fun Stuff, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Reviews

I’m sure you’ve heard of the expression “Gimme my coffee and no one get hurt!” Well, International Delight Iced Coffee is perfect for that afternoon pick me up!

International Delight Iced Coffee comes in 4 flavors – Original, Vanilla, Mocha and Carmel. With 150 calories International Delight Iced Coffee is made with 100% Arabica coffee. Then blended with cocoa, milk and cream, giving you a very smooth and creamy drink.

Here’s some trivia too – “Arabica plants grow for up to 7 years before they begin yielding coffee beans.” Boy am I glad I don’t have to wait that long for coffee!

Head over to the International Delight Iced Coffee Facebook Page to check them out.

International Delight Iced Coffee Review

This was perfect timing as we had my daughter’s birthday party the same day! So, we decided on the Mocha International Delights Iced Coffee. I’ll be honest, I had some skeptics in the crowd. One of my party goers put his foot down that he wasn’t going to drink cold coffee. Well, I’m happy to report that his mood changed when everyone else had at least a sip and they enjoyed the taste. I myself LOVE coffee and really enjoyed the Mocha favoring as did my husband who is not a chocolate/mocha fan.

Stop going out to those expensive coffee shops for iced coffee. Get it at your local supermarket! It’s on our shopping list!

Some of my family members asked that I not post a picture of them and I am respecting their wishes. But, I wish I could have shared them. Some were really good!

“I wrote this review while participating in an In Home Party campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of International Delight and received product samples to facilitate my party and review, and a promotional item to thank me for participating.”

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TuneIn Radio – FREE Radio Online

Posted by Brande on October 4, 2012
in Deals, Family Stuff, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Music, Techie Stuff, Technology/Electronics, Thrifty Thursday

Music is such a huge part in our lives. It cheers us when we are down, it relaxes us when we are tense and it allows us to create new memories with family. Talk radio also use to be such a huge part of family lives. Remember the Waltons gathering in their livingroom around the radio? Before television that’s what families did for home entertainment.

Looking for a free radio source you can listen to online? I discovered TuneIn Radio. It is free local, international and Internet radio.

Head to TuneIn, where you can listen to radio stations for FREE on your computer! No money, No accounts needed. Of course, you can sign up for an account to save your favorite stations. They have local radio to your area, music, talk and sports! This is one of my new favorite sites! They also have apps to download as well.

Check it out at TuneIn.

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Our Awesome Avengers Party #MarvelAvengersWMT #CBias

Posted by html404 on September 23, 2012
in DVDs & CDs, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Movies, Uncategorized

Last Tuesday night our family was able to enjoy a very fun evening, except my husband who has been struggling with cold/flu like symptoms the last few weeks – found mold behind our washer. Anyhoo, the children and I all headed out to Walmart to shop for supplies for our Avengers party! Did you know The Avengers Blu-ray/DVD release is this week? Yes it is! I haven’t watched any of the new Marvel movies but my husband has watched a few of them with the children, including The Avengers. They get excited about all things Avengers and super heros. My goal was to enjoy an evening of fun with my family.

Shopping at Walmart

Before we went shopping, I downloaded The Avengers Augmented Reality App. There is a quiz, a place to join The Avengers, a game, a place to scan product. The kids love the game and music on it. I watched a video first to help me understand how it worked. The problem is we were only able to get it to work on the Marketside pizza boxes because there were barely any displays were up in promotion for the movie.

On the pizza boxes The app basically provided a 3D scene from The Avengers, my kids are pretty tech savvy and loved it.

Due to the lack of promotional signage available, we were unable to find any of the app’s trigger points so we could participate in earning points. We tried scanning the sign at the deli counter as well as the video display they had there for other Marvel movies but nothing happened. The sign at one of the entrance’s didn’t work, nor did any of the tags on the apparel we looked at.

I was hoping our Walmart had everything I had in mind to create an awesome Avengers party and you should see what I found!

We bought The Avengers party plates, cups, napkins, balloons, candy (not something I normally buy but this was a special occasion so we indulged), masks, a punching ball, prize ribbon and tattoos. We even purchased a couple of packages of super hero figures for the children to share and play with. These were part of the prizes I got for our game time. I was trying budget my money wisely because costumes were $9.99 and up, I couldn’t afford to get them each their own individual costumes, so we settled on them each having a mask which worked out great and it was so fun – I even wore one.

The children were so excited in the toy section, another section we usually avoid so we keep the gimmees at bay. There were lots of Avenger toys, figures and Legos to choose from….gave me a couple of ideas for Christmas. They were too expensive to get on a normal day out, that’s why we settled on the inexpensive action figures, plus more children could play with them than they could one big action figure/or toy that cost $15-$25 each.

Our Awesome Avengers Party

We purchased Marketside pizza for dinner. It’s very good. We were pleasantly surprised as it is very filling compared to other pizza we have tried. We enjoyed our meal together before heading down to our basement family/playroom for an evening of games showing super power strength and agility.

I divided us into teams and we played three games: whose team could keep a balloon in the air the longest, who could do the punching ball the longest and who could make the most words out of the word Avengers in two minutes. Then I handed out prizes to the winning team, the child who did the punching ball the longest and then each of the younger children received tattoos and super hero figures.

We ended our evening by watching half of Captain America since it was 9pm when we started it. We finished it the next day.

The Avengers Graphic Novel

Our children also enjoyed getting The Avengers Graphic Novel, though my daughters did report a couple of inappropriate/swear words, which was unexpected and disappointing for something geared towards children.

The Avengers Blu-Ray/DVD/Graphic Novel Combo Pack

The Avengers Blu-Ray/DVD/Graphic Novel Combo Pack was not in our Walmart store when we shopped last week but I can see how it will be a nice gift to super hero fans. It retails for $24.95 and will also be available on September 25.

To learn more about The Avengers visit Marvel.com Fans will want to follow Marvel on Twitter (use hashtag #MarvelAvengersWMT) or Facebook .

Overall our Avengers party was very memorable and the children told me how much fun they had that evening and again the next day. Guess it was a success!

“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 Marvel. #MarvelAvengersWMT #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

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Zonderkidz Book Review

Posted by Professor on September 17, 2012
in Books, Fun Stuff, Reviews

Zonderkidz Book Review

The Beginner’s Bible Collection introduces FOUR fun-filled books for Preschoolers!

The books arrive in stores just in time for the new school year. The books are sure to provide hours of entertainment and invaluable life lessons to preschoolers. The new editions include two vibrant picture books depicting famous Bible stories and two interactive activity/coloring books, each with artwork from The Beginner’s Bible.

The collection consists of the following FOUR books:

The Beginner’s Bible Jess Feeds The Hungry AND Jesus Heals The Sick

These two books present traditional Bible stories in a lively and simple way. Each tells a celebrated story of how Jesus performed miracles such as feeding the crowd of five thousand, healing a paralyzed man, and restoring sight to a blind man.

The Beginner’s Bible Super-Duper Mighty Jumbo Coloring Book AND The Super-Duper Mighty Jumbo Activity Book.

In these two books youngsters can color, doodle, and connect the dots, as they bring their favorite Bible characters to life with a series of fun prompts. Each book contains nearly 400 pages of pictures and games, promoting hours of creativity and imagination.

Zonderkidz Book Review:

We received all FOUR books! This is a wonderful collection. Not only does my preschooler love the books and coloring/activity books. But my older children enjoy using and reading them too. This is truly a collection that the whole family can enjoy! (I have even caught my self-coloring with my little one!)

The books Jesus Feeds the Hungry and Jesus Heals the Sick presents uplifting messages with wonderful original illustrations that pop off the page and explode with vivid colors and playful animation.

We especially like that the coloring/activity books are not only fun companions to the books but also they reinforce what was learned in the bible stories to help strengthen and increase bible knowledge.

The Books are available for purchase now through Zonderkidz.

Visit their site and peruse all the wonderful books they have to offer!

http://zondervan.com/children

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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Zoobies Review

Posted by Brande on September 16, 2012
in Baby Products, Bedding, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, Reviews, Shopping

What will they think of next!

Zoobies

Zoobies are a stuffed animal,

that turns into a pillow,

THEN can turn into a blanket!

Hooray! Less things to bring in the car for trips! And there is a lion.. a tiger… and a bear (OH MY!) to choose from, in addition to 27 total Zoobie Pet Blankets to choose from! Zoobies also carries – Book Buddies, Duffle Dogs, Storytime Pals, Blankie Babies, and Slumber Pets.

Zoobies Review

We welcomed Jafaru the Giraffe join our home last week and he has been very loved since the moment he popped out of the box. Greatest feature ever is the blanket can zip off Jafaru to clean separately! To change Jafaru from a stuffed animal to a pillow, just un-velcro the two loops under his belly and to use the blanket unzip the bottom of Jafaru and pull the blanket out. I found folding up the blanket and putting it can in Jafaru is very easy to use and it fits nicely back into a pillow (if you fold it the way the instructions suggest). The blanket is 44 inches by 34 inches unfolded a good size in my book. We also found Jafaru makes a funny hat!

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Kidorable Towel Review & Coupon Code!

Posted by Brande on September 15, 2012
in Baby Products, Clothing, Coupons, Deals, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Parenting, Reviews, SALES, Saving Money, Shopping

All our children have big dreams of being mermaids, space Heros, and pirates. Here’s their chance to live out their dreams with Kidorable Hooded Towels! These terry cloth soft towels are great for the beach/lake or after bath time. They are 100% cotton, machine washable and dryer safe. My kind of product – easy care! The hooded towel are available in 2 sizes (Newborn to 2 years old and 3 to 6 years old). Here’s the tough decision, which one to choose out of the 11 Kidorable Hooded Towels available.

Here’s what Kidorable has to say about their hooded towels…

“Our customers tell us that our towel designs are the best anywhere. Now our towel quality leads the industry as well. The old material was a soft and absorbent terrycloth. The new material retains all that is good about that, and adds a layer of super soft velour. The result is an equally absorbent, and now lighter, brighter, softer towel. ”

Pictures can say a 1000 words.

Kidorable Towel Review

Here’s my kiddo in her Kidorable Mermaid Towel! She loves it!

From the moment we got it in the mail, she’s been wearing it! The Mermaid Towel has a starfish on the head, an orange fish on one side blowing bubbles and a seashell pocket on the other. Then in the back is her mermaid fin. One of my favorite features is a big yellow plastic snap, that’s even friendly for her to snap herself. We always try and slip some motor skills in even during bath time. The Kidorable Towel is very soft with vibrant colors. Two thumbs us from us!

Save Money with this Coupon Code

We have a coupon code for you!!!

“From September 15-30, you can get 20% off your entire order when you purchase Kidorable’s impossibly cute and soft cotton hooded towels. Just use code DRYOFF33 at checkout on www.kidorable.com”

Head over to Kidorable today and get a few towels for your kiddos to live out their fantasies!

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Canning and Freezing Veggies – The Labor of Love

Posted by Brande on September 13, 2012
in All Natural Products, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Food and Treats, Fun Stuff, Gardening, Health and Nutrition, Home, Organic, Seasonal Stuff

Well, I did it! I accomplished canning and freezing veggies! My first canning season in the new place with most of my own veggies! The other veggies that we didn’t grow I bought from a local stand. The kitchen heats up awful fast in the middle of August, but it will be so nice in those cold months to make my family meals with vegetables from our own garden! Here’s what I canned: pickles, crushed tomatoes, 3 pickled beans, pickled grape tomatoes, salsa, BBQ sauce, pickled hot peppers, white peaches, and bruschetta! In all that makes exactly 50 jars of wonderfulness!

I also blanched and froze bags of corn, cut peppers, whole red peppers, peas, beans, cucumbers, and zucchini!

I looked up most of the recipes on the internet with a few out of an old Ball Canning Book I found. I received and email from Grit Magazine awhile ago with the “Ultimate Guide to Food Preservation”, that would have been VERY handy a few weeks back! There is a wealth of information on their site, including sweepstakes! Go and check them out!

~ Brande

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Back to School ~ GUTZY GEAR ~ Review

Posted by Professor on August 27, 2012
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, School

GUTZY GEAR. Collect Them ~ Trade Them ~ Change Them. Gutzy Gear is a great, new way to express yourself by customizing your backback, sports duffel, messenger bag, and more! Gutzies are cool looking removable patches. Gutzies stick to a Gutzy strap cover that you put wherever you want to go Gutzy! With 56 Gutzies in a series and new Gutzies constantly being introduced, you can collect and trade a world of Gutzies. But Gutzy Gear is even more… Gutzy Gear is a lifestyle! Gutzy Gear is about showing the world who you are, taking chances and being the best YOU you can be. So wherever you are, whenever it is, whatever the plan… GO GUTZY

OUR REVIEW:

We received a Party Pack of Gutzy Gear.

The pack included:

~ Backpack strap covers

~ Gutzy Hat

~ Gutzy Visor

~ Gutzy Patches (Packs of 2)

~ Gutzy Games

We had a wonderful party thanks to Gutzy Gear. We had both boys and girls at our party ranging in ages from 2 years to 10 Years old! All of the children were enamored with Gutzy Gear! They were elated each to receive a pair of backpack straps which came with one Gutzy (smiley face) patch. Each child then had their name drawn (to make the picking order fair) to choose the Gutzy 2 pack of their choice. Of course once each child had their Gutzy Gear on their straps …they began to trade. It was so nice to see the children engaged and getting along. There were enough Gutzy Gear patches to go around and all 15 guests were happy!

We also played some matching games courtesy of Gutzy Gear… the games were fun and entertaining. The young children really liked this part of the party. The game basically was like the traditional memory game only the children had to match up Gutzy halves…once they found both halves they made a “whole” and thus made a match!

Unfortunately, my battery ran out of my camera before I could get a full group shot at our party but here are some of the older children with the little ones enjoying their Gutzy Gear!

Some trading going on…

Finally… all Gutzied Up!

The children ALL had a wonderful time with their Gutzy Gear…trading and giving… it was so nice to see the children interact in such a fun and creative fashion.

Visit www.gutzygear.com for information on the product and where you can purchase your very own Gutzy Gear.

The website even has E-cards, Downloads and Virtual Gutzy Gear…this is the next step in our families Gutzy adventure …so be sure to check this out before or after you get your very own Gutzy Gear!

I even saw some additional items that may be added to our Christmas list (I saw a neat Gutzy Collectors Book and Gutzy to go strap)…so yes we will purchase these fun patches again and again!

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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.

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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!