Reviews

Today was the first day since we’ve moved to Georgia that we felt like we needed jackets, and it was the first time this season that we brought out our little electric heater.

In order to save money, we are trying to wait as long as possible to turn on the furnace. Our last electric bill finally went down (everything in our home is electric – no gas) because we aren’t constantly using the air conditioner.

We aren’t in a hurry to see the bill go back up by turning on the furnace at the first sign of cold weather.

But it is getting colder, no doubt about it, and that can only mean one thing.

Stuffy noses and coughs could be right around the corner.

As a mom of five, when one child gets sick…five children could end up sick. Sometimes, Ruben and I end up sick, too. It can become a whole family sickness. A terrible, dreadful, whole family sickness.

That was until I discovered the power of Zicam, Sambucol, and other homeopathic cold remedies.

If you’ve never heard of these brands and what they do, well, in a nutshell, they help you to get rid of your cold faster. You follow the instructions and take the recommended dosage at the first sign of symptoms and wait for those symptoms to disappear.

It’s amazing.

I remember my first experience, I’d had a sore throat and was not happy about the beginning stages of a cold coming on, especially when I had to go to the community college and sit through classes.

I took a look at what kind of medicine I had on hand and found a homeopathic cold remedy, like Zicam. I think I had gotten it free with coupons or they must have been a Register Reward deal at Walgreens or something, because otherwise, I’m pretty sure it would not have been in the house.

But it was, so I gave it a try.

And much to my surprise, it worked. Those little tablets that dissolve on your tongue, worked. I was amazed! My sore throat and any sign of sickness was gone by the following day!

I was sold! And I gently brought the rest of my family onboard.

The only thing I don’t like about these products are the prices. They can be expensive, and so whenever I purchase them, I’m always looking for ways to save.

One way I’ve found save on these products is at Walgreens with their new Balance Rewards program where I can earn points when I buy products that will keep me and my family healthy. Then I can redeem those points for rewards.

Have you heard the Balance Rewards program? Are you signed up? If not, it’s easy.

Here’s what I did:

• I told the cashier at the register that I wanted to sign up for the Balance Rewards program.
• She set me up, and I had to enter my phone number.

That’s it. In less than 10 seconds I was signed up for the new Walgreens Balance Rewards program and ready to start earning reward points!

That’s not the only way to sign up, though. Walgreens has made it very simple to sign up several ways:

• Sign up in the store, like I did.
• Scan the QR code with your smartphone. You can find the QR code in the Balance Rewards brochures located throughout the store.
• Visit Walgreens.com/Balance
• Download the Walgreen Mobile app to your phone.

Here is how the program works:

First, there’s the savings. Balance Rewards members get exclusive savings, and you can pair that savings with coupons! I did an online search for Zicam coupons before I left the house and printed out two to use at Walgreens. I was able to use my coupons and earn 2,000 Balance Reward points for purchasing the two boxes of Zicam tablets.

Next, and which I just mentioned, are the points. You can earn points each week on certain products that help you and your family to stay healthy.

Finally, you can redeem your accumulated points to purchase items that you want.

5,000 Balance Rewards points = $5 reward at the register (or $5 off your total at the register)

I already have 7,000 reward points, so it isn’t hard to accumulate points at all.

That’s it. Easy, right? 🙂

I also created a Google+ Story to show you how I saved with the Walgreens Balance Rewards program. I think you’ll like it.

How do you get ready for Cold and Flu season?

 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 Walgreens #CBias #SocialFabric All opinions are my own. 🙂 

Fun, colorful, educational, and not-too-loud is how I’d describe the Baby Einstein Count & Discover Treasure Chest.

Our family was recently given the opportunity to review this toy and, let me tell you, from the moment we opened the box this toy has been getting lots of attention.

At first, all the attention this toy was getting was from a very excited 3 yr. old boy, but after I explained to him over and over that this toy belonged to his baby sister, Elisabeth, she was able to experience it.

This toy is an experience, too. It sings (at an acceptable volume – not at all like some other loud and obnoxious baby toys – you know, the kinds of toys kids get from the grandparents), it lights up, it speaks in other languages, and, as you can see, it’s a treasure chest.

The one thing I didn’t like about this toy is that it is top-heavy. That means it shuts when you want it be open sometimes. Other than that, it’s a great toy.

It honestly has been getting played with every single day since we got it, and I like it. So does baby girl.

Here’s a bit more information about this toy:

Capture your little one’s imagination with the Count & Discover Treasure Chest from Baby Einstein. It introduces Baby to counting, shapes and colors in English, Spanish and French. It features classic melodies and Fun Ocean sounds.

Manufacturer’s Suggested Age: 6 Months and Up
Includes: Coins
Educational Focus: Shapes and Colors, Teaching Aid, Motor Skills, Letters and Numbers
Number of Pieces: 11
Dimensions: 6.0 ” H x 7.9 ” W x 6.3 ” L
Product Weight: 1.83 Lb.
Care and Cleaning: Hand Wash Only

If you are interested in purchasing this toy, you can find it on Kids II and other online retailers. Kids II is a fast growing toy company, and I just saw on their Twitter page that they’re located in Georgia. I had no idea, but that’s cool!

Anyway, you can keep up with them and get their latest updates on Twitter, too!

 Disclosure: This review was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Kids II, Inc. I was provided the featured product free of charge to facilitate my review, and all opinions are 100% mine.

Inspiring. Tear-jerking. Laugh-out-loud funny at times. Brought back feelings of ‘home’ and growing up. Made be stop and think about what’s really important in this life.

These are all ways I’d describe the book, Mother of Pearl. I was recently given the opportunity to review this book (as a Litfuse Blogger), and my honest opinion is that I loved it.

It’s a compilation of stories written by many inspiring women. Some of the authors include Beth Engelman, Erin Healy, and Anita Lustrea. The stories that each author writes are short and to the point. They’re memories of mothers and grandmothers who left deep impressions on these women through their examples of faith in the Lord even through the very toughest trials of life.

I especially loved the stories that reminded me of Christmas and snow and home in Illinois. I could really resonate with the stories that talked about the tough stuff of life and how this life isn’t easy. It’s hard. Really hard at times. But we can be examples to our children and grandchildren through those hard times when life doesn’t turn out how we want it to or thought it would. We can trust the Lord everyday and pray and leave a legacy for our children and grandchildren that they can pass on to their future generations.

I also loved the funny bits in the book that made me laugh out loud. One funny part was when Suzanne Woods Fisher was talking about how she was going to become a grandmother and was wondering what ‘grandma’ name she should pick to be called. Would it be granny, grammy, or grandma? Well, her friends advised her that, “You’d better pick your nickname or you’ll be stuck with something hideous, like MooMoo Cow.” Too funny! Can you relate? For the record, my kids call their grandmothers, Grandma and Grandma P. (for my mom’s name, Patty). Pretty normal. 🙂

On the practical side, this book was so easy to read, which this busy mom greatly appreciates. You can read the entire book in a few hours, but I’d recommend really a little at a time and letting the stories that you read sit in thoughts and ponder them.

One of my favorite quotes from the book:

“More than a love of books, my mother passed on to me a love of helping a child unearth God’s gifts and embrace them.”

Also

“Remember: Life is hard, but God is good.”

Overall, I can wholeheartedly recommend this book. Oh, and half of the proceeds from this book are going to benefits Wings (Women in Need of Growing Stronger). The other half is going to Hands of Hope, a charity that helps women and children in Africa.

And lastly, you can connect with Margaret McSweeney, who compiled the Mother of Pearl stories tomorrow, September 4th, at a Facebook party and get the chance wo win a Pearl Necklace set! Details below. 🙂

To celebrate the release of Mother of Pearl: Luminous Lessons and Iridescent Faith I’m hosting an evening of chat, laughter, and encouragement on Facebook! I’ve invited the Pearl Girl contributors to join us on the evening of September 4th. I’d be so honored if you’d come too! We’ll be giving away a ton of fun stuff {books, gift certificates and a Beautiful Pearl Necklace set}.Mother of Pearl celebrates the collective iridescence of motherhood. We’ll gather to connect, be encouraged and make some new friends!

So RSVP today and then come back on September 4th (at 5pm Pacific, 6pm Mountain, 7pm Central, and 8pm Eastern) and join us for the “Pearl” party. Let’s share our stories and encourage one another.

(See what others are saying about Mother of Pearl.)

Are you interested in a great resource that’ll give your kids solid Bible truth in an easy to understand, fun, interesting, child-friendly way?

If the answer is, “Yes,” then I’ve got a fantastic resource for you. Check out the What’s in the Bible? DVDs.

Why I loved ‘What’s in the Bible?’

These DVDs not only talk about the stories that are in the Bible, they go further and explain things like:

:: Who wrote the Bible?

:: How did we get the Bible?

:: How many books are in the Bible?

:: Why can we trust the Bible?

:: and many more important questions surrounding God’s Word, the Bible

I know that I want my children to not only believe the Bible, but also to know why it is trustworthy, reliable, and a firm foundation for their hope. The creator of VeggieTales, Phil Vischer, explains more in the video:

What my kids thought about ‘What in the Bible?’

Right after watching for the first time, my 5 year old son, Isaac, came and found me and sweetly said, “I like it.” I could tell that the DVD had made an immediate impact on his heart.

Nathan, my 12 year old son, asked when we could get the next DVD in the series.

And above all, my kids started asking more questions that my husband and I were able to answer. Since we became Christians 9 years ago, Ruben and I have been reading through the Bible (have read all the way through it several times) and have earnestly sought to know that our faith is well-placed. We’ve studied apologetics and listened to countless teachings to know why we believe what we believe and why we can trust the Bible. But these things are not always easy for children, especially small children, to understand. I’m glad that the What’s in the Bible? DVDs make teaching these things to young children so much easier.

There are some great, free resources that go along with the DVD
You can access those here:
And they include:

:: coloring pages
:: Bible flashcards
:: Study Guide
:: and more.

The bottom line?

These DVDs are different from VeggieTales, of which we own around 897,122.

We loved ‘What’s in the Bible?’ and look forward to seeing the rest of the DVDs in the series.

Disclosure: “I was selected for participation in this review and given the What’s in the bible DVD as a member of The Homeschool Lounge Review Team. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”