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Captain No Beard Series Installment ~ Book Review

Posted by Professor on July 12, 2014
in Books, Reviews, Uncategorized

Another great series from author Carole P Roman! The Captain No Beard series stresses valuable life lessons and topics such as sharing, teamwork, loyalty, and cooperation.

We reviewed the latest installments in Carole P. Roman’s pirate series

The Treasure of Snake Island: A Captain No Beard Story

The crew of the Flying Dragon is together again and exploring the vast and beautiful oceans in search of treasure. A colorful sunrise sparks talk of how important books are in learning things. This is followed by a search for treasure, danger, and a great reward. Once again, the crew learns that through teamwork, friendship, and cooperation, there is nothing that can stop them from exploring and discovering the treats the world has to offer.

A Captain No Beard Story: The Crew Goes Coconuts!

As the imagination of cousins Hallie and Alexander bring their stuffed animals to life, the crew of critters is stranded alongside a desert island. The friends wish to refresh their thirst; however, the newcomer to the ship makes a critical error that draws the negative attention of the other shipmates. Miffed by Matty the Goat’s mistake, the parched crew turns on the hapless greenhorn with cruel taunts and personal attacks. Captain No Beard steps in and expertly navigates the rough waters of bullying with sensible leadership that leaves everyone with a good taste in their mouths.

These arre two wonderful installments in the Captain No Beard series of books! My children were engaged throughout both books. We loved the colorful illustrations that each book had to offer. I as a mom enjoyed that the books provided entertainment, while providing a life lesson for my children. That fact alone makes this an important series to read! We also love that the book is full of imagination and even after we read the book we could imagine our own adventures! We LOVE the entire series… this is a great new addition to the Captain No Beard adventure!

For more information about the author or her books please visit www.carolproman.com

This book can be found on Amazon.com

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If You Were Me and Lived In…. ~ Series Installment Book Review

Posted by Professor on July 10, 2014
in Books, Reviews, Uncategorized

IF YOU WERE ME AND LIVED IN … : A Child’s Introduction to Cultures Around the World, is the latest exciting new children’s series of children’s books from Carole P. Roman. Roman takes young readers all over the globe to explore different countries and cultures. With each book covering a different nation, Roman opens up a world of wonder while highlighting the fact that underneath it all we are far more alike than we might have imagined. Focusing on what life would be like for children if they were to live in another city or country, she examines the diversity around the world and the value possessed by each different culture. Think of the series as a children’s version of the travel Channel that is filled with entertaining and educational facts.

We reviewed two more exciting books in Carole P. Roman’s series

IF YOU WERE ME AND LIVED IN … PORTUGAL

In short we are in love with the idea of this new series! What a wonderful way to introduce young children to cultural diversity. The text of the books are simple yet powerful. We liked that the book was written for children … I did not have to summarize or paraphrase information because the text was outside of their knowledge grasp…what a plus! The vibrant illustrations were also a plus. My children not only loved listening and learning but took the book after we were done reading just to look at the pictures.

On a cultural note… this book really hit home for us. Our neighbors are from Portugal and we are always hearing about their Portuguese traditions. I thought this was very poignant for our family because it let the children learn about our neighbors’ cultural identity.

IF YOU WERE ME AND LIVED IN … RUSSIA

The books are geared toward Pre-K through age eight… well… my 5, 8, and 10 year olds all LOVED the books! Love of literature and cultural awareness is a must in our household, so this series was a hit!

Wow! What an excellent read! This is such a lovely book and we look forward to the next installment of the series!

For more information about the author or her books please visit www.carolproman.com

This book can be found on Amazon.com

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The Revealing by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Posted by html404 on July 6, 2014
in Books, Gift Ideas, Products for Mom, Reviews, Uncategorized

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product 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.

The Revealing by Suzanne Woods Fisher

The Revealing by Suzanne Woods Fisher is the third and last book in the Inn at Eagle Hill series. As a reminder, this is a series about an Amish family, as seen from the girl on the book cover above. The mother was widowed and started an inn to make ends meet, due some bad financial decisions on the part of her deceased husband. It is all about how the family is making the inn work and their life in their Amish community. A review of book one and book two are here and here.

It was sad to see this series come to an end. I have enjoyed getting to know Rose, Bethany, Mim, their neighbors the Kings and various other characters.

In this particular book, I really liked how Suzanne made baby Sarah a part of the story and how Tobe and Naomi triumphed through some troubled waters of their relationship.

I was disappointed that we did not get to see how Bethany and Mim’s love life ended. I mean we saw them get to know a couple of fellows but that was it. Granted, Mim is just 14 years old in this book so it is kind of hard to show who she ends up with….but it was like a cliff hanger gone wrong because the series ended with too many questions. It made me feel like the story of The Inn at Eagle Hill was left unfinished….unless she is going to start a new series and share the missing details in it. I want to know if the inn ends up being the income Rose needs to provide for her family, I want to know if Jimmy goes into the horse breeding business, I want to know if Mrs. Miracle continues to give advice, what Mim and Bethany go on to do? See? Too many questions!

Otherwise I did find it an enjoyable read since it will probably be one of the only books I read this summer.

What are you reading this summer?

Buy it Now

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Kid’s Relief Allergy Review

Posted by Professor on July 2, 2014
in All Natural Products, Reviews, Uncategorized

Watching your child struggle with the sniffles is never easy. Now you can both breathe easier with Kids Relief® Allergy Oral Solution. This unique homeopathic formula helps relieve nasal congestion, sneezing, tearing eyes and itchy eyes, ears, throat and skin.

Kids Relief® Allergy is a great-tasting, easy-to-administer oral solution that is safe for kids ages 2 and up with no risk of side effects, drug interaction or overdose.

This homeopathic medicine helps relieve allergy symptoms:• sneezing
• nasal congestion
• throat and skin irritation
• teary eyes

The product is for use on children age 2 and older!

Active Ingredients HPUS: Purpose:

Pulsatilla 8X (Wind flower) nasal congestion, skin irritation

Allium cepa 6X (Onion) teary eyes

Arsenicum album 8X (Arsenous oxide) skin rash, throat irritation, sneezing

Nux vomica 6X (Poison nut) skin irritation, itchy nose and throat

Euphrasia officinalis 6X (Eyebright) eye & eyelid redness, burning tears

Sabadilla 6X (Cevadilla) wheezing, sneezing

Sticta pulmonaria 6X (Lungwort) minor throat irritation, runny nose

Aralia racemosa 6X (Spikenard) frequent sneezing

Cuprum metallicum 8X (Copper) itching sensation of eyes, ears,

throat and skin

The letters ‘HPUS’ indicate that the components in this product are officially monographed in the Homœopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States.

Inactive Ingredients:

Purified water, sorbitol, banana flavor, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, citric acid.

Our review:

This is a neat little product! My son suffers from allergies and we usually use an over the counter medication like Zyrtec or Claratin. However after giving this a try I must say it is a nice homeopathic option to the regular pharmaceutical options.

My son said this tasted good and it was better than the chewable pills he usually takes…so that was a plus. You ask… did it work? YES IT DID!!!! I am very happy to report that this worked on all his allergy symptoms. The only downside was that it was not as fast acting as the pills he usually takes but it did work! He did not see immediate relief but he did see relief. The product says to use every 8 hours… so not too bad, so to get continual relief we had to use 3 times a day…compared to our once a day pill.

I like the homeopathic option much better than a pharmaceutical pill that is laden with medicines. This is a much more natural option. THAT WORKS!!!! I have to admit that I was skeptical at first but knowing that homeopathic remedies can work I tried the product and was PLEASED!

To find more out about this product and all Kids Relief products please visit:

http://www.kidsrelief.com/

Kids Relief® Allergy was a winner in Delicious Living’s 2012 Supplement Awards, winning an honorable mention for the “Best Kids Health” category. Click here to check it out.

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Sundown Naturals – Smiley 360

Posted by Brande on July 1, 2014
in Health, Men's Health, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Reviews, Uncategorized, Women's Health

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

Don’t forget to take your vitamins!

Sundown Naturals have made your vitamins easier to take by introducing Gummies for Adults. These gummies are gluten free! The Vitamin C gummies I was sent are a vegetarian formula also. There are no artificial flavors in these dietary supplements.

Sundown Naturals Gummies are shaped like tiny orange slices! They are chewy similar to a gummy bear. They taste good too!

Sundown Naturals has 10 different vitamin gummies to choose from including Vitamin C, B12, Fiber, Fish Oil, Calcium, and Multivitamin just to name a few. If you click here you can print off at coupon for $2.00 off your next purchase.

Not sure which Sundown Natural vitamin would be good for you. Click here to take a quiz and find out! Don’t forget to like Sundown Naturals on Facebook also!

#SundownNaturalsGummies

Please consult your physician before taking any supplements and keep out of the reach of children.

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Have You Seen Maleficent?

Posted by html404 on June 13, 2014
in Entertainment, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews, Things to Do in Chicago, Uncategorized

We had a child ask to see Maleficent as part of their birthday celebration and we obliged. We went on opening weekend. If you haven’t gone to see Maleficent yet, it is still playing in theaters near you.

Maleficent is the backdrop to a movie many of us are most familiar with, Sleeping Beauty. There is more to the story than we originally thought. I really enjoyed the way the creators gave us with the reason for Maleficent’s curse on Aurora. I think we can all resonate with a broken heart, right? And many of us can probably also relate to being betrayed. It’s what we do with that betrayal and heart break that make us stronger or weaker. Maleficent did not initially choose wisely, unfortunately, and that led to her downward spiral.

It was hard not to love the characters in Maleficent, except King Stefan. My view of King Stefan completely changed, as did my view of Maleficent. Funny, isn’t it? Angelina Jolie was amazing as this character. I actually haven’t seen many of her movies and I think the last one I saw was SALT. My husband and I enjoyed her performance in SALT, but this movie made me want to see more her work, just to compare them.

I found the relationship between Maleficent and Diaval, her pet raven interesting and the relationship she formed with Aurora perplexing. Her relationship with Aurora showed the softer side of Maleficent’s younger days and it is what ultimately brought her out of her downward spiral. One of their last scenes together brought tears to my eyes.

We took all of our children to see Maleficent and we all loved it. It is rated PG. Our youngest just got a bit scared in the Wolf scene but that’s about it. No one had bad dreams or anything. So if you plan to see it, use your best judgement as you know your children best. Our youngest has seen so much more than our other children did at his age just because he has older siblings and he watches super heros so we knew he’d be ok.

Maleficent gets two thumbs up from us!

Learn more:

Website: disney.com/Maleficent

Like MALEFICENT on Facebook: facebook.com/DisneyMaleficent

Follow MALEFICENT on Twitter: @Maleficent

YouTube Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTnR43JTLNs8AKNpJ4KFI6SSdpTzkcXjw

Instagram: http://instagram.com/disneystudios

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/disneystudios/maleficent/

Tumblr: http://disney.tumblr.com/

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Alone Yet Not Alone

Posted by html404 on June 10, 2014
in Books, Entertainment, Movies, Reviews, Uncategorized

We have the original book Alone Yet Not Alone so when I agreed to this review I mistakenly thought it was a review of the movie that is coming out in theaters (only a select few!) this Friday, June 13. It looks really, really good! Check out the trailer below:

The book review below is written by my 15 year old daughter, B. By the way, this book is based on a true story about two sisters during the French and Indian war (1755). It is written by Tracy Leininger Craven, which is the great something granddaughter of Barbara Leininger, one of the main characters.

Alone Yet Not Alone Book Review

By “B”

This may be the “movie version” of the book Alone Yet Not Alone: Their faith became their freedom, but it is almost exactly the same as the original we own, which I haven’t read it in a while. But you will hear no complaints from me about the new version! The only difference is there are photos from the movie.

I’ve always admired and respected Barbara and Regina. Not just for their strength but also for their love for God and their hope.

I hope I can be as great a big sister as Barbara. She never gave up on escaping and finding Regina.

I liked how Barbara never gave up on her faith. Sure she went through trial after trial but she never gave up. She is a big inspiration to me. This book made me think, “What would I have done in her situation?” I don’t know if I would have been able to stay strong, but the knowledge of their story has helped me strengthen my own faith in God so that I can stay strong.

To learn more about the book and movie visit: http://www.aloneyetnotalone.com/

Buy it Now

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Budsies

Posted by 278Wife on June 3, 2014
in Gift Ideas, Kids Stuff, Reviews, Uncategorized

What if your child could draw anything they wanted and have it turned into a stuffed animal? Basically their drawings could be brought to life. Now it is completely possible thanks to Budsies. Their simple and fun process makes getting your custom stuffed animal as easy as 1,2,3.

First your child needs to draw a picture. It can be anything really. The Budsies website even offers templates for you to use. My son is really into monster trucks so he wanted his very own custom monster truck. He drew it all by himself and colored it. I asked him if he wanted to add windows or use different colors, but he drew it completely on his own.

After it is drawn you need to send Budsies your artwork. You can upload a picture of it or you can take a picture of the drawing with your cell phone and text it to them. I used my iPhone and texted them a picture. After that you finish checking out. They ask you a series of questions to understand the drawing. This was my son’s favorite part. We told them that the monster truck was angry, had lots of blue hair, and had big teeth. Finally, you sit back and wait for your custom stuffed animal to arrive. I have to say my son was very anxious and could not wait to see his creation come to life.

At last it arrived and my son could not stop smiling. He could not believe he had an actual monster truck that looked exactly like he drew. He goes absolutely everywhere with his Budsie. He sleeps with it every single night and plays with it all day long.

I have to say the quality of Budsies is superb! The material is super soft and cushy, and the colors are very bright. My son just lit up the second he saw his monster truck stuffed animal. The customer service at Budsies is exceptional. At one point I contacted them to find out how much longer it would take to receive the stuffed animal. My son kept asking me when it was going to arrive. They have a chat option available on their website where a real live person talks to you and tells you what is going on with your order. The person I chatted with was so nice and really cared about my order.

I honestly cannot say enough good things about Budsies. I would highly recommend them to anyone with children, young or old. They would make an excellent gift. Check out their website, you won’t be disappointed!

http://www.budsies.com/

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Minnie Mouse Costume Review

Posted by Brande on May 26, 2014
in Children's Clothing, Clothing, Deals, Family Stuff, Fashion, Fun Stuff, Holidays, Reviews, Saving Money, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping, Uncategorized

It’s never too early to start thinking about Halloween costumes! Wholesale Halloween Costumes has a huge line of costumes for every budget and person in your family.

We received this adorable Minnie Mouse Costume for my daughter (About Minni Mouse). The package came with the dress and ears. The costume is mostly polyester material. The headband does not have teeth on it, making it easy on your child’s head (I wore the headband myself for about a half hour and it didn’t hurt my head, either).

My daughter looks delightful and ready to have fun in this Queen of Disney costume. She said it was comfortable and it fit her well. The costume was easy to put on and has Velcro on the back by her neck.

You can order this costume or choose from many that Wholesale Halloween Costumes offers!

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CLn Skin Care

Posted by Professor on May 25, 2014
in Reviews, Uncategorized

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for CLn Skin Care. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”

We are PLEASED to introduce 2 new products to you today! As some of you know my daughter suffers from severe Eczema and we are ALWAYS looking for products to combat the issue! Well…we have finally found one! CLn BodyWash and CLn Facial Cleanser!

The first product I would like to highlight is the CLn BodyWash it is a wonderful product targeted to treat skin prone to Eczema, Acne, Folliculitis, and Infection. The product had been awarded the Seal of Acceptance by the National Eczema Association! Cln BodyWash is truly an innovative product! The product is a non-drying cleanser that calms and sooths the skin, reducing the appearance of redness and dryness caused by eczema. The product also boasts that it is also effective in cleansing skin prone to acne and infection.

One important factor if the CLn BodyWash is that it is SAFE to use on children ages six months and above. We used this on our 5-year-old daughter and it worked wonders on her Eczema…no more redness or itchiness…just like the product claims!! CLn BodyWash can be used from head-to-toe as a common treatment for eczema (a disease affecting 30 million Americans and 20% of children).

The second product is CLn Facial cleanser. This product boasts that it improves the appearance of redness on sensitive areas of the face. It targets Eczema, Rosacea, and Acne! We used this on the patches of eczema that my 5 year old gets on her face… and it worked just as advertised. The redness and blotchy patches dissipated! The main reason this product works well on the face is that it gently wipes away dirt and bacteria and is formulated to minimize tightness, stinging and other symptoms of sensitivity. It is also important to know that the oil-free, hypoallergenic formula has no dyes, parabens or fragrance and helps maintain the skin’s moisture balance.

Overall we were very please with both the BodyWash and Facial Cleanser to help my daughters Eczema…she has had eczema all her life and we have been able to subside some of the symptoms with creams… but this new wash has helped tremendously in clearing up the skin where no redness or itchiness even occur! Her eczema is year round with severe flare-ups after swimming lessons especially… and since using this product we have not seen the flare-ups! We are so pleased! We used this product for a 3-week trial…and have plenty left in the bottle…so a little goes along way. We will continue to use the product in the future and hope you will check out the product!