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Our Farm is Growing AGAIN! – Wordless Wednesday

Posted by html404 on June 5, 2013
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Home, Parenting, Pregnancy and Birth, Uncategorized, Wordless Wednesday

Our farm is growing AGAIN! About 8 or 9 weeks ago we got two lines! (I start having symptoms right away just a day or two late) Nope this was not planned per se and we were completely surprised. We thought our family was done with “Eight is Enough”, but God had other plans….

So far my pregnancy is going well. Nausea has been a constant companion as has the tiredness. Napping has become a daily thing. Since losing our son Matthew in December of 2004 in a second trimester miscarriage – he died in utero at 14 weeks but we did not discover it until 18 weeks when we did not detect a heartbeat – my pregnancies have been rough for me emotionally as I struggle not to worry about losing the baby up until 18 weeks. My worst fear now is a still birth, which could happen. It happens to others, why not me? It’s about the only thing I have yet to experience so I really do not completely relax until I have baby in my arms. Trusting in God’s plan for me and this little one is no easy task. I wouldn’t wish a pregnancy loss of any kind on my worst enemy. It’s a horrible thing at any stage of pregnancy because as moms we love the baby from the time we know of his or her existence.

Our older children are, interestingly enough, very excited about a new sibling. Then again they’ve also been asking for another sibling. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was their prayers that were answered regarding this new baby!

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

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Britax Frontier 85 Car Seat Review

Posted by html404 on June 3, 2013
in Baby Products, Family Stuff, Kids Stuff, Parenting, Reviews, Safety

Faith and Family Reviews received the following Britax Frontier 85 Car Seat in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

When I think of the Britax brand, I think of quality and safety. I have read many positive things about Britax car seats. That is why when we were in need of a new car seat for our youngest son I wanted to try the Britax Frontier 85 Car Seat.

Britax Frontier 85 Car Seat

The Britax Frontier 85 Car Seat has these features that I liked and desired:

– Five-point Harness for up to 85 lbs – I have a little escapee and he has not and cannot escape this!
– True Side Impact Protection – extra cushion (see Britax’s website for complete description of this feature.)
– Extra cushion on harness and seat itself – it’s comfy – though my son has yet to say so!
– It converts to a two a lap belt booster seat for children weighing 40 lbs to 120 lbs.

Our Britax Frontier 85 Car Seat Review

We really like the Britax Frontier 85 Car Seat. I like the darker colors of camel and black to hide the dirt more easily. I appreciate the fact that the seat cover is washable. I love the five-point harness and the fact that my son cannot get out of it!

Our son is very proud of his new seat as you can tell from the photos below.

Typically, he puts up a fuss before being strapped in. However, with the Britax Frontier 85 Car Seat, he loves climbing in it and tries to fasten the straps himself. We haven’t heard any fussing or complaints from him about how the straps feel, or how “hard” the car seat itself is, as he has done with our previous car seat.

Overall, the Britax Frontier 85 is both child and parent friendly. The two cup holders are sturdy and a nice added feature. The car seat itself is from a trusted, worthy brand, and both my husband are really pleased with it.

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Mother’s Day 2013 Charity Gifts

Posted by html404 on May 17, 2013
in Family Stuff, Giving Back/Charity, Holidays, Parenting, Uncategorized

This is a paid post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Our family enjoys giving when we can, which isn’t as often as we use to give. We feel it is an important aspect of our parenting and beliefs to give back. That is why giving charity gifts during the holidays has appealed to us. It helps us take the focus off ourselves and what we get onto others and what we can give. Usually the season of giving is Christmas for us. We never really thought about too many other holidays to be honest. Have you?

I know I wrote a little Mother’s Day 2013 Wordless Wednesday post the other day, but motherhood is a wonderful enough blessing (and challenge, I might add) that’s worth mentioning again. Most of us in North America are not as challenged as mothers in third world countries. We haven’t had to see our child struggle to survive because there isn’t enough food. Nor have we had to see our child battle health issues because there is no doctor available to help diagnose what is wrong with our child. We have access to health care, food, clean water and educational resources. Does that mean other mothers don’t care? No. It’s because these things are not readily available to them for their families. That’s why I wanted to share an idea I never even thought about – giving charity gifts in celebration of Mother’s Day 2013 to help other mothers provide these things to their families.

Unicef offers a variety of charity gifts to give back. Perhaps you have yet to send your mom a gift – you could send her your gift and tell her you also gave a gift in her honor for Mother’s Day. Or maybe you would like to send a gift of your own in celebration of your own motherhood to help other mothers in need.

For a glimpse of the charity gifts offered, here’s a list:

– Mother’s Day Measles Vaccine to protect 100 or 200 kids
– Mother’s Day Family Water Pack
– Maternal Health Kit
– School-in-a-box
– Therapeutic Food
– Pencils
– Story Books
– First Aid Kits
– Footballs
– Bicycle
and more…

You can check out all the Mothers Day 2013 giving opportunities at this link provided.

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Eggy Spelling Grade 1 App Review

Posted by Brande on May 6, 2013
in Education, Fun Stuff, Parenting, Reviews, School, Technology/Electronics, Uncategorized

The final installment of the Eggy apps is the Eggy Spelling Grade 1 app. The app is available in your itunes store for an ipad with an iOS of 4.0 or higher.

Look at all the options available for your speller! Each game you can choose has 5 levels. A is the easiest and E is the hardest level.

#1 – Beat the Bomb!

Your pirate ship is in the water. You have 15 tries to fill in the blank letter to spell the word. If you can’t spell the word in 15 tires, the bomb goes off and your pirate ship sinks!

#2 – Check Mate

You need to help edit the “Backwater News” sentences. Your given a sentence with a word spelled incorrectly. If you correct the spelling you move to the next sentence. Incorrect answers lead to a “wrong” sound, you get 2 tries before you move to the next sentence.

#3 – Compound Word Snaps

Aboard “Gallicus 1″ you snap words together to make compound words.

Your given 10 words at the bottom of the screen. You then must drag each word to make 5 word that will “snap” together or make compound words. When you finish making your 5 word you click check. It will them check your work and let you know if you missed any words, then tell you how they should have been.

#4 – Helping Hands

You’ve arrived at “Wendy’s Wonderful Word Factory”, time to start working. Your given a sentence with a highlighted word, to which you must choose a “helper word” to complete the sentence. For example – The sentence is ….

“May all your wish come true!” With the word wish highlighted. Your then given “s” or “es”. Then you type “wishes” – so then wish becomes wishes. Making your sentence “May all your wishes come true!”

#5 – Hit and Miss

Let’s play balloon pop!

#6 – Quiz Master

Ready to play everyone’s favorite quiz show?! Do you have what it takes?

“What is the first month of the year?”

J _ _ _ _ _ _

“What do you sleep in at night?”

B _ _

After you type the answer, click check to find out if you spelled the correct answer!

#7 – Stop the Clock

Are you ready? Think fast.

You are given 5 sentences. Each sentence has a missing word and each missing word starts with the same letter.

Once you fill in the spaces, let’s hit the check button and see how many you got correct!

#8 – Two Minute Dash

Here we are back at “Wendy’s Wonderful Word Factory” and the workers need help building a new word wall. Wanna help?

Each brick shows part of a word. You have 2 minutes to to make proper words.

#9 – Word Factory

Let’s go back at the factory. You need to help the workers! They forgot to add some important letters!

Most of the missing letter are vowel letter. example “T_ KE” Then you would choose from the available choices, to make the word TAKE.

#10 Word Works

Some of the words are broken at Wendy’s Factory and need they your help fixing them!

“I like to do jigsaw Puzzl _ _.” you need to type in the correct letters to finish the sentence.

Once all the levels are finished your child will receive a Certificate of Achievement that can be emailed! Really cute and your child will love to hang up their achieve award!

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Tap the Cat – Reading Eggs Review

Posted by Brande on April 29, 2013
in Downloads, Education, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Parenting, Reviews, School, Uncategorized

Continuing with the Eggy apps, here is Tap the Cat – Reading Eggs Review. Available for iPad (ISO 4.0 or later)

Reading 1

When you begin and tap the play button the balloons pops.

reading 2

Then you are brought to this screen,to choose which of the 9 activities you’d like to do. There’s writing, letters, smart quiz, speak and listen, making words, draw and paint, time to rhyme, vocabulary, and sight words.

Writing – A piece of lined paper and a word are on the page, your child will then trace the word and asked if they like their writing.

Letters – You find the matching letter (only 4 are given at a time). They tell you the letter as well as the sound that letter makes. Great for beginners!

Smart Quiz – listen to the question and find the matching picture. Example “Carrot begins with c. Which on begins like carrot” the pictures would be a lion, rabbit and cat. Once you choose cat you get a little tune. The questions do change to keep you child involved. The next example question is Ï look like a mouse, but I am bigger. Who am I?” The pictures are a chicken, rat and frog.

Speak & Listen – This is a recording one. Your given a written word and asked to tap to record yourself saying the word. Then you can play it back and are asked if you said the correct word.

Making Words – A picture of a word is shown (Example – Pan), the app will then sound out the word Pan and you are given blank tiles to fill in the word out of 4 letters.

Draw and Paint – Is just that, you pick a picture and color it.

Time to Rhyme – A figure of a house is given with this phrase “On the house I see a _____”, above the house are 3 pictures a mouse, hat, and ear of corn. Then you move the mouse to the house and get a congratulations.

Vocabulary – Tap the word to hear it and then match it to the picture.

Sight Word – Help the bunny get home. In this repetition app, the bunny jumps on about 6 carrots all the same word to get home. Another great one for the beginners.

I really like this series of apps, lots of learning and not realizing it. There’s one more! Look for my last Eggy app – Spelling!

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PINXAV – Pink-Salve

Posted by 278Wife on April 19, 2013
in Baby Products, Diapers and Accessories, Family Stuff, Health, Parenting, Personal Care Products, Reviews

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.

Would you ever think to use diaper rash ointment to treat acne, bug bites, excema, rashes, or poison ivy? You would if you have ever tried PINXAV diaper rash ointment. PINXAV, pronounced “pink salve,” contains Zinc Oxide, just like other diaper rash ointments, except it contains more of it. PINXAV also includes aloe, lanolin, vitamin E, menthol, and other natural products. PINXAV is primarily used as a diaper rash ointment. It protects the skin, aids in preventing diaper rash, relieves chafed skin, and helps seal out wetness. It should be applied with each diaper change, especially at bedtime and naptime.

I personally tried PINXAV on a rash on my inner arm. It’s a seasonal rash I get that I have never found a cream that provided complete relief. I put a dab of the ointment on the rash and was pleasantly surprised that it is a pink ointment. I love pink! The ointment is quite thick, but it rubs in very easily. Let me tell you, a little bit, and I mean a little bit, goes a very long way. I put maybe a dime size amount and it covered almost my entire lower arm. I used PINXAV on my rash morning and night for 5 days, and was blown away with the results. After the first day, my inner arm no longer itched. After 3 days the rash began to fade, and after 5 days the rash was almost nonexistent. I still cannot believe it! I started using PINXAV on my son’s cheeks. He has sensitive skin and his cheeks get red blotches on them in the evening. I put just a dab on his cheeks at night and it is starting to clear up. I like how gentle the ointment is. It also smells very nice. I can defintely smell the menthol in it, but it is not too overpowering. The ointment makes your skin feel extremely soft, even hours later. It was definitely unexpected coming from a diaper rash ointment!

PINXAV is an all around great product to always have on hand. I cannot wait to try it on my new baby’s bottom; I am confident it will work miracles. Not only can it be used for diaper rashes, but also for heat rashes, chafing, poison ivy, psoriasis, acne, jock itch, minor burns, and many other ailments. PINXAV is for the entire family, which is why I would highly recommend it. They are so confident in their product that they offer a money back guarantee. Trust me, you won’t be dissatisfied. This would make an excellent gift to a new mom or even a veteran mom who has never tried it. PINXAV is available in either a 4oz tube or a 16oz jar and can be purchased at many Target and Wal-Mart stores, but it can also be ordered on their webiste:

www.pinxav.com

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Freshfoods Cook-n-Blend Baby Food Maker Review

Posted by 278Wife on April 2, 2013
in Appliances, Baby Products, Food and Treats, Health and Nutrition, Parenting, Reviews, Uncategorized

I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms MeetSM blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinions on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

When I think of making baby food I think of a long day of lots of work, lots of mess, and no fun. When my son was ready to eat baby food I bought a hand food processor, determined to make my own food. It lasted for about two days. The food was always too thick and chunky and I never knew if he was getting enough nutrients. It was just easier to buy the baby food, even though I wasn’t crazy about all of the ingredients in some of the foods. Now that he is a toddler, he is picky and will only eat certain foods. If only there was a way to get him to eat more nutritious foods in an easy way…there is! Introducing the Freshfoods Cook-n-Blend Baby Food Maker, the answer to all of my problems.

This baby food maker is for the whole family. It has two different texture settings, smooth or chunky, making it perfect for your growing baby and toddler. It also has a smoothie blade attachment so you can make healthy smoothies for the whole family. I was a little hesitant at first to try it, since my previous experience with making baby food was unsuccessful. Once I pulled the Cook-n-Blend Baby Food Maker out of the box, I thought it looked more like a juicer than a baby food maker. The size was perfect, it was a little smaller than a 2-slice toaster. The bowl can hold up to 3.75 cups, or 4 meals. Putting it together was easy, it came assembled! I skimmed through the recipe booklet that came with it. It came with great meal ideas written by world-famous child nutrition expert, Annabel Karmel. I chose to do the Banana and Blueberry puree, but replaced the blueberries with strawberries. For some odd reason, my son is not a fan of strawberries so I was anxious to see if he would like this.

To begin with, I filled the reservoir with water to level 2. There are three different water levels depending upon what you are making.

Next I filled the steam basket with three strawberries cut up and a whole ripened banana. They also include a half steam basket that can be placed inside the large basket so you can seperate foods and flavors. I love this option since you can easily cook two different items at once. After I added the food, I placed the lid on top and replaced the canister back into the baby food maker. I plugged it in and pressed the green on/off button to start cooking.

After a a couple of minutes steam started to build up in the steam basket. The bananas and strawberries began to cook.

After about 14 minutes, I heard a beep and the green light turned off. I carefully opened the lid, hot steam came out, and I saw very mushy fruit.

Next I dumped the fruit into the glass bowl that had lots of yummy smelling juice in it.

You can then choose which texture you want, smooth or chunky. I chose chunky so I replaced the lid and turned the knob to chunky. After about 5 seconds I realized it was fully blended. I removed the lid and saw a wonderful puree. It smelled so fresh and looked so smooth, I couldn’t wait for my son to taste it.

I poured the puree into a 4oz cup and told my son I made special applesauce just for him. Now remember, he does not like strawberries. He took a spoonful and said, “Mmmmm, mommy this is good applesauce!” He gobbled the entire cup and I was thrilled! That right there, sold me on this food maker. If I could make my picky three year old eat something he did not like, I could make many other healthy foods in there and he would have no idea what he’s eating.

Clean up was a breeze! Most of the pieces are dishwasher safe, which is exactly where they went. I wiped the machine clean and placed it back on my counter. I will definitely be using this all of the time! Some of the features that I really like are that it is a 4 in 1 baby food maker. It cooks, blends, reheats, and defrosts. Since it steams all of the food, it retains most of the vitamins and minerals, making it extremely nutritious and healthy. With one quick pour you can then blend the food into either a chunky puree for toddlers or a smooth puree for babies. The Cook-n-Blend Baby Food Maker is extremely versatile. The instruction manual has a cooking guide which tells you what level water to add for different foods and approximately how long it takes to cook each food. My only minor complaint on this product is I wish the instruction manual was a little more detailed. The first time I tried using the baby food maker I was kind of nervous about doing it right. I thought it was going to be more complicated than it actually was. After you make the food once, though, you see how easy it is and probably won’t even need to look at the manual again.

Overall, I was highly impressed with the Freshfoods Cook-n-Blend Baby Food Maker. I am anxious to use it not only on my baby who’s on the way, but also on my toddler to sneak in some veggies without him knowing. Freshfoods also offers other great products to help with making your own baby food including Stackable Cube containers to store the baby food and Freezer trays so you can easily freeze your baby food so it is ready when you need it. Their products are of high quality and are reasonabley priced. Go to this link for a $20 coupon off a Freshfoods Cook-n-Blend Baby Food Maker and $1 coupon off a Freshfoods accessory:

www.nuk-usa.com/promos/nuk-fresh-foods/blogger

To see all of their products go to their website:

www.Nukfreshfoods.com

Be sure to like them on Facebook:

facebook.com/nukUSA

To meet other moms working hard to keep their families healthy and living green check out:

www.greenmomsmeet.com

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PouchPop Review

Posted by 278Wife on April 1, 2013
in Baby Products, Food and Treats, Gift Ideas, Kids Stuff, Parenting, Reviews

Pouch food for babies and toddlers is the new preferred feeding method for many families, mine included. Feeding by pouch is not only convenient, but it promotes self-feeding, which is a great lesson for babies! One of the downfalls of most pouches, though, is the feeding part is made of hard plastic with many ridges. This can be very cumbersome for babies. Not anymore with the PouchPop.

The PouchPop topper is the convenient, soothing, and safe solution for pouch feeding. Made out of soothing hospital grade silicone, it easily twists onto any baby food pouch. I tried it out on some GO GO applesauce, and it twisted on easily and was just as easy to take off. I had my toddler try the pouch without the PouchPop and then with the PouchPop. Once I twisted the Pouchpop on, he did not want me to remove it. He said it was easier to drink from and that the applesauce came out faster. He also said it felt “cool” in his mouth. I liked how smooth the PouchPop was. It covers all of the ridges and “ouch points” on pouches, so I never have to worry about him hurting the inside of his mouth. This is definitely a safer option for babies. Best of all, it is dishwasher safe!

I love that PouchPop toppers are sold in a package of four and are reusable. I can keep a couple at home and a couple in my diaper bag for whenever I need them. They are also pediatrician recommended. These would be a great gift and are available at Amazon.com. For a 25% discount enter Topper13 (case sensitive) during checkout.

For more information visit their website:

www.pouchpop.com

Be sure to “Like” PouchPop on Facebook and follow PouchPop on Twitter.

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Eggy Sight Words App Review

Posted by Brande on March 30, 2013
in Education, Fun Stuff, Parenting, Reviews, School, Techie Stuff, Technology/Electronics

Here’s the next review of the Eggy Apps – Reading Eggs Sight Words. Available for your Apple products.

Eggy Sight Words App Review

When you first begin this screen will pop up and they will ask you to select a level. This app has a total of 10 levels and 250 sight words.

The options are Chicken Run, Turtle Tap, or Penguin Plunge.

All of the options games are the same, it just matters on your animal preference you’d like to start with first. You are given a sight word and then eggs are tossed around they have many sight words on them. If the egg matches your word you touch it and the app will say the word. If you choose the wrong word or miss your sight word it cracks. As you continue to play the game the eggs go faster, watch out for the flying animals, objects and rotten eggs! Don’t forget to collect puzzle pieces and happy face eggs along the way!

When you continue on to the next round you spell the word. It will toss eggs into the air with letters on them. Then you choose which eggs spell your sight word.

They have a bonus round with gold eggs – you must try collect/tap 100 eggs. If you tap an animals, pan, or other flying object, the game ends and you need to retry. This is a great hand eye coordination tool.

In the tools section you can select and appropriate setting – Slow (age 3-4), Medium (ages 4-5), Fast (ages 6+).

Really cute app, my 4 year old daughter did okay when the eggs were going slow, once the eggs sped up it was hard for her to keep up. This will be a great app for her once her motor skills and eyes can recognize the words faster. When the eggs were going really fast, it was hard for me to keep up sometimes. lol….otherwise, great learning app!

Look for my next Eggy App Review – Eggy Reading

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KidsEmbrace

Posted by html404 on March 29, 2013
in Community Issues, Family Stuff, Kids Stuff, Parenting, Safety

Kids safety is very important to parents. Especially when it comes to transporting children in a vehicle. Most states require a child to be in a car seat. Here in Illinois children are required to be in child restraint system until 8 years old or they fit into a car’s seat belt safely. It’s our job as parents to choose child restraint equipment that is safe to use and properly installed. Sometimes though toddlers can be tough when it comes to getting them into their car seats. My little sister was. Most of our children have done ok. They seem to just get sick of sitting period on long trips! Pretty normal for a child.

For those tougher toddlers, I imagine KidsEmbrace toddler car seats would appeal to these ever-growing, ever-changing children and make them want to sit in their car seat…at least for a time.

Boys familiar with Batman would love the Batman car seat. Girls would love the Dora Explorer seat. KidsEmbrace offers affordable, yet fun car seats for kids.

Have you heard of KidsEmbrace? I hadn’t until now.

This is a featured post.