A Guest Post
MyCouportiera and Dani Sue Dreams have teamed up with Me4Kids to bring you this amazing giveaway!
My Daughter Delaney loved the Nailbuddy kit from Me4Kids. Read our review by clicking here. Read more
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Cherished Sight & Sights #seemoresights
I think many people, including me, take good health for granted. I enjoy being healthy, but I don’t always make decisions that are good for my health. I don’t get enough exercise and still eat junk sometimes – I try but I really like chocolate and desserts, know what I mean? It’s not just my health I take for granted it’s having all my limbs and all my senses in tact. Just take eyesight as an example. Sure I wear glasses but I enjoy seeing everything around me and have been able to do so since I was born. Can you imagine life without your vision? I can’t. It’s hard enough stumbling through the dark house late at night from my recliner to my bedroom. I cannot comprehend not seeing all the beautiful things round me.
There are so many things in my life that I have experienced from visiting beautiful Costa Rica, the Calgary Stampede, Canada’s capital Ottawa, to the birth of each of my children, our family vacations to Florida, Texas, Georgia and Kentucky. Not to mention my surroundings where we live and where I grew up. I love taking a drive or walk down our road in the morning when there’s hardly any traffic and just enjoying the countryside or simply looking out in our backyard or walking through our fields. Or stopping to watch our chickens and turkeys in their moveable pens. Or what about watching our puppy run all over the yard. Or our children playing with the kittens. These are all sights I have the privilege of seeing every day and would miss without my vision.
My family and I live so close to Chicago we have the advantage of not only enjoying the country but also city sights. We love driving down Lake Shore Drive and seeing all the boats on the water in the summer time or taking in the dolphin show at the Shedd Aquarium or visiting the zoo and all it has to offer. What impressed me most when I moved to Illinois was how tall the buildings are in a big city like Chicago. Coming from the beautiful city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, a metropolis like Chicago makes Halifax (maybe 350,000 people, Nova Scotia doesn’t even have a population of 1 million) seem very small and quaint. I also love the Chicago skyline, it’s one of the things we always point out to our children when driving into the city. It’s very picturesque. If there were no such things as glasses, my husband, five of our children and I would not be able to clearly see all of these wonderful places. I am very grateful for my eye sight and eye wear.
One of the ways our family takes care of our eye sight is by regular eye check ups that includes checking the health of our eye as well as updating our prescription glasses. Did you know there are places and events that offer free eye exams? Transitions Optical will have a free vision exam booth at the Taste of Chicago Festival this week. Visitors will be able to receive on-site screenings as well as use their fun photo kiosk that will be available.
You can learn more about Transitions lenses, the official sponsor of sightseeing here: http://seemoresights.com/
Visit the sightseeing tour stop in Chicago: http://seemoresights.com/SightseeingCityTour/Chicago.aspx
More information about the Taste of Chicago event: http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/supporting_narrative/events___special_events/special_events/mose/taste_of_chicago.html
Dates/Times: July 11 – 15, 2012 • Chicago, IL • Grant Park • 11 am – 9 pm
Here’s to taking care of our cherished sight and cherishing the sights we are blessed to see with our vision. Leave me a comment telling me your favorite sight this summer.
“I received compensation to participate in a SocialMoms and Transitions Optical blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.”
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Post Bowls of Hope SIMPLE Service Project #PostCFK
Last week we went shopping at Walmart for Post Bowls of Hope SIMPLE Service Project #PostCFK. You can see all the photos of my shopping trip here. We purchased two boxes of Post Original Shredded Wheat for our family and Post Honey Shredded Wheat for our local food pantry. We also reached out to our church, homeschool group, food co-op and family. We only had a couple actually respond 
Due to time constraints and distance, I did give people the option of just donating to their own local food pantry so they could help people in their own towns. Therefore, there may be more who donated but just didn’t let me know. It’s a little disappointing that more are not open and willing to give to those in need. I understand money being tight etc., but we are talking about a donation of less than $5. How many pay that in their Starbucks coffee or a trip to lunch at a fast food restaurant? Give those up for a day and that equals a box of cereal, know what I mean?
We donate to our food pantry several times throughout the year. I have had a box set aside to donate since our last Champions for Kids event. This project gave me the opportunity to finally take those boxes over. My husband and I went over and discovered it was closed due to it being July 4th. I would have thought they’d still be open as the needy still need to eat on the 4th of July too. They have such unique hours – 9-3 on M, W, F – that without a car during the day, it’s hard for me to get over there unless my husband is off from work. Due to my husband not being a able to get home in time today, we are going to take the food over next week. We have a small box of personal care products and a small box of food items.
In the past when I have asked, the food pantry has stated that they have a need for protein, so I would like to add a few cans of tuna to our box to help with that need since I forgot to pick some up last week. We do have two small jars of peanut butter in our box, but that is not a lot. The food pantry just doesn’t receive a lot of protein.
So has this campaign motivated you to help serve those who may be suffering from hunger? If so, please leave a comment and feel free to connect with Post and Champions for Kids at the following links:
Post’s Facebook
Post’s Twitter Handle
CFK’s Twitter Handle
CFK’s Facebook
“I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Champions for Kids #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.”
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TinyPrints.com
Need invites for your summer parties? Planning a wedding or shower? How about a birth announcement? Got a kid’s birthday coming up? I Do! Head over to Tinyprints.com for your invite printing needs. Once you pick your card, this is a very user friendly site. It walks you through each step of the card. If you need to edit, just click on it! Very simple.
Check out all of https://www.facebook.com/tinyprints
· Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/tinyprints
· Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/tiny_prints/
I will be receiving cards for posting this blog information.
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Post Bowls of Hope for Kids #PostCFK #CBias #SocialFabric
I have always had the heart to help people. How I have chosen to help others has evolved over the years. When I was in my teens I helped by babysitting, cleaning up the kitchen for the parents, taught Sunday School, helped with youth group and visited the elderly. I continued to do some of those things upon getting married, but once I had children I was limited to how/when/where I could help others because I wasn’t physically able to go into people’s homes as I was as a single person or married woman without children. Since I want to be a good example to my children and show them ways to help others, it has taken some creativity and even some waiting at times for opportunities to arise where my children and I could help others together.
In the past, we have helped a thrift store (that supports a crisis pregnancy center), local food pantries, a woman’s shelter in the last Champions for Kids project, Ronald McDonald House as well as regularly giving away items to local charity drives. Not to mention individuals who have come across our path, like a lady who stood in the middle of a busy intersection with a sign asking for clothing for her children. I had several really little ones at the time and we were traveling home as a family when we came across this lady. She was struggling and needed girls clothing for her daughters. We ended up meeting her the following week at the same spot to give her some of my girls’ clothing. I kept in touch with her for a while and eventually lost touch with her. Then there was the time when we treated a man to a bus ticket and another time my husband gave his winter gloves to a homeless man in Chicago.
The needs around us are great and one person or one family is not going to meet all of these needs. But if each person or family does their part then we can collectively make a larger impact for good. That’s why we are participating in Post Bowls of Hope SIMPLE Service Project. This project is the challenge to buy 2, give one Post cereal to a family, charity or food pantry of your choice. We bought Shredded Wheat, as it was one of the more healthier choices available to all that was on the shelf at Walmart.
In the upcoming week we are going to solicit our family, friends, homeschool group, church and neighbors to help us collect healthy food for our local food pantry. We have a box of stuff we’ve been waiting to take over that we will include as well as a box of Post Cereal that we just purchased. We are hoping many will get on board so that we will have even more food to give to the food pantry next week. This will certainly help child hunger in our area.
For more information about this #PostCFK SIMPLE service project, please connect here:
Post’s Facebook
Post’s Twitter
CFK’s Twitter Handle
CFK’s Facebook
What about you? Are you up for this challenge too? Leave a comment telling me who you would like to help.
“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 Champions for Kids. #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.”
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$200 Amazon Gift Card giveaway
This is something fun for the middle of the week…Enter this $200 Amazon Gift Card giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This contest is sponsored by Henderson Properties.
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Memory Foam Slippers Review & Giveaway
During the winter and cooler days my feet tend to get cold. Having a nice wooly pair of socks or slippers helps keep them warm, especially on hardwood floors. As you all know, there are many different slippers to choose from and I have tried multiple brands and styles in my life. From ballet slippers to the slip on kind my grandmother wore. My favorite use to be ballet slippers but they were never warm enough. Sure were comfortable though! I had never heard of Memory Foam slippers until I entered a Nature’s Sleep giveaway a few months ago. Then I learned of their slippers and somehow got a chance to review a pair.
Memory Foam Slippers
I always thought Memory Foam was overrated until I won a Memory Foam product (stay tuned for an upcoming post about this product!). Can you say luxurious and comfortable? That’s how I feel about Nature’s Sleep Memory Foam Slippers too.
The slippers are basic in design with a softer sole made of thermoplastic rubber bottom and then the Memory Foam materials – upper/inner sole 80% cotton/20% polyester; lining 100% polyester. When the slippers arrived I was not the first to try them on, my oldest son was and if only I had video taped him! He put them on and said, “Ahhhhh…” in a sigh type voice. Then, of course, the rest of the children had to try them too and every single one of them that tried on the slippers had similar reaction. It was actually a few days before I got to try them out myself because some little person always had them on! As you can see from the photos, they’ve been worn.
Comfortable. Comfortable. Comfortable. Did I say comfortable? Oh yeah, I did! It feels like you are walking on pillows. They are very basic looking but my style goes for comfort more than fashion usually anyways so that does not bother me at all. I would definitely buy these as gifts. They are priced affordably at $25 for the open toe version and $30 for the closed toe version. Plus, both qualify for FREE shipping on Nature’s Sleep website. Please Note: This may only be for regular priced items, not discounted items so please check before you assume. The choice of colors is limited: pink, pale blue and sand. Sizes range from small to x-large. I got size medium and I wear a size 9 shoe.
Nature’s Sleep also offers quality memory foam mattresses, as well as pillows at their online store at www.Nature’sSleep.com
Be sure to enter the giveaway below to win your own pair of Memory Foam slippers! If you can’t wait, shop Now 50% off BEARS50 at Nature’s Sleep.
Giveaway
Good luck!
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Harriet Beamer Takes the Bus ~ Book Review
Aging and recent widow Harriet Beamer insists she’s getting along fine with her dog Humphrey in Philadelphia … until she falls for the fourth time, injuring her ankle, and causing her son and daughter-in-law to cry foul. Insisting Harriet move in with them in California, they make a bet that her ankle is broken, and she foolishly promises to move if they’re right. Four x-rays later, Harriet’s ankle—and her heart—are broken. She packs up, ships her huge salt and pepper collection to California, and prepares to move away from the only life she knows. The only catch? She’s doing it her way. Just wait till her daughter-in-law hears Harriet will travel cross-country only by public transportation and alternate means. What follows is a hilarious, heartwarming journey by train, metro bus, ferry, and motorcycle. Along the way, Harriet discovers that although her family thinks it’s time for her to be put out to pasture—God has a different plan.
Our Review:
I have to admit that the title of this book did not thrill me…it was intriguing but not enough for me to open the book right away to devour the pages. However, after reading the book I can honestly say I truly enjoyed the story woven by author Joyce Magnin.
I do have to say that the book is not a book that I would stay up nights reading but yet a good book to read at my leisure times! The book is full of fun and surprises from the heroine Harriet. I enjoyed the people and places that Harriet got to visit on her adventure. The author writes in such a descriptive tone that I could visualize each place Harriet was visiting! One added bonus was the intermingled Christian tones of the book. I found it refreshing to read a book that gave God “props” when due! He is great and well recognized in this piece of literature!
While skimming the website Amazon.com for the listing of the book to see the price (10.98 – pre-order price) I noticed they mention that this is a book from the Harriet Beamer series… I did not know this was a series of books … it looks like this is the first book in Harriett’s adventures and I look forward to reading more about Harriet in her future adventures as the series continues!
The book will be available April 24, 2012 and is currently available for pre-order on Amazon.com
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Veggie Tales: Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men ~ Movie Review
Another great DVD from our friends at VEGGIE TALES!
Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men
Robin Good has a mission – fundraising from the rich and giving to the poor! But when greedy Prince starts stealing the townspeople’s hams, donations are down and Robin’s band of friends desert him to give robbing a try. Can Robin overcome his hurt, show his friends what’s right and restore the townspeople’s hope?
Bonus Features:
- Leapin’ Leap Year Lesson
- “Fun”-Raising with Larry
- “Things Will Get Better” – Sing-along Songs
- “Prince of Ham” – Sing-along Songs
- Robin Good’s Guide to Handling Hurt – Discussion Guide
- 5.1 Surround Sound
- English and Spanish Subtitles
- DVD Format: NYSC/Region 1
PLUS! Silly Songs with Larry featuring Bubble Rap!
Running Time Approximately 50 minutes.
Our Review:
My family is HUGE fans of Veggie Tales…and this DVD did not disappoint! As a mother I especially liked the lessons presented in this DVD. This DVD came out just at the right time for us, during the Easter season because it teaches of the love of Jesus and what it means to give. Thus, a great lesson for Easter!
One bonus to the DVD is the discussion guide “Handling Hurt” … this was a great discussion in our house… the guide really helped open the children up to conversation!
And of course the Sing-along songs are always a hit! The best we have to say was “Bubble Rap”…the children loved this silly song with Larry!
One added bonus is that on the Veggie Tales website there are games and other activities for the children… nice interactive learning games and activities! You can even watch a preview of Robin Good!
For further information about the product and other offerings please visit www.veggietales.com
I noticed that the video is now on sale at the Veggie Tales store! You can buy your own DVD here: http://store.veggietales.com/robin-good-dvd.html
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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Review ~ Surf Sweets
Surf Sweets is an exciting new company that sells Organic and Natural “sweets”.
Surf Sweets organically-sweetened gummy candies and jelly beans are drenched in fresh fruit flavor. Free of artificial color and sweeteners, these fun treats are great for kids and adults. Enjoy them anytime you’re looking to add a smile to your day!
- Made with Organic Fruit Juice and Sweeteners
- Natural Color and Flavors
- 100% RDA of Vitamin C
- Free of Corn Syrup and GMO’s
- Made in a Nut Free Facility
- Gluten Free
- Dairy free and Casein Free
- Made in the USA
The candy the company offers includes:
- Gummy Worms
- Gummy Swirls
- Gummy Bears
- Fruity Bears
- Jelly Beans
- Sour Worms
- Sour Berry Bears
- Snack Packs
Our Review:
We were fortunate enough to get four different products to try: Jelly Beans, Gummy Bears, Sour Berry Bears, and Fruity Bears. Let me tell you I had the best intentions of sharing these with my children…I really did…but they were so good I ate one packet then stashed the rest for myself. It all started when I was watching a movie late one night by myself when I couldn’t sleep. I wanted something to snack on and thought I would try one of the Surf Sweet products. I tried the Sour Bears…they were so yummy I ate the entire package. I have to admit when I first received the package I was skeptical of the flavor I was going to discover, that is why I initially decided to test the product out on my children…but much to my surprise they were delightfully sweet and delicious…not at all like I expected they were BETTER!!!
So needless to say after I ate the Sour Bears I stashed the rest of the candy for my self and indulged for a few days on my hidden sweets! All of the products I got to experience were so good!!! I remember being a child and getting gourmet candy from the Marshal Fields candy counter… these tasted just like the candy from my childhood memories! It was a wonderful taste sensation!
For further information about the product please visit http://www.surfsweets.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.
