Thanks to Bzz Agent, I was able to participate in the RoC Retinol Correxion campaign.   Bzz Agent is a program that allows consumers to test products and services.  The concept is WOM (Word of Mouth), a marketing effect that companies have come to rely on.  Sort of like that old commercial, if you tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and they tell two friends, well you get the idea.

So this time I was sent three tubes of RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream; one to try, and two to share ☺.

Read the full story

Fiber has important health benefits for children:

•     It promotes regularity and prevents constipation

•     It helps reduce risk of cancer and heart disease later in life

But how much fiber do kids need? The recommended daily fiber intakes are:

Kids 1 to 3 years: 19 grams
Kids 4 to 8 years: 25 grams
Boys 9 to 13 years: 31 grams
Girls 9 to 13 years: 26 grams

If your kids are picky eaters, it may mean that you have to supplement their fiber intake.   Some kids go through spurts where they are fixated on only one type of food, so while you continue to try and get them to eat healthier foods you're at a loss on how to get the recommended  amount of nutrition values into them.  

When it’s time to look for a supplement, the well known name of Pedia-Lax is there to help. 

Read the full story

Amber is entering her third year of orthodontic treatment.  When she had her Herbst Appliance it wasn't too difficult a job to brush and keep her teeth clean.  The full set of braces on the other hand has made tooth brushing a challenge for her.  After outlaying as much money as we have, we want to try and ensure as much as possible a bright smile when the bling has been removed.

One would not think a 13 year old would get excited over a Waterpik Ultra Dental Water Jet.  Yet this new acquisition of hers is shown off to everyone who walks through our doors.

Read the full story

Amber is very picky when it comes to clothing.  It must be this color, or that design.  It can't have ribbons, or bows.  And definitely NO PINK.  Through Twitter Moms, I found a fabulous site for her, where she can design her own clothes, and can get just what she wants, it's called Fashion Playtes. 

Read the full story

Ojolie.com contacted me to use and review their E-Card site, which features the hand painted works of Frederikke Tu.

I was especially interested in this, as I generally wait too long to send cards for occasions to my friends and relatives in Canada, and then they usually don’t get acknowledged for their birthdays or other occasions at all (oops).

Frederikke Tu spends weeks designing the ecards, and you can tell.  There is great attention to detail in her work.  After she hand paints many of the parts, they are then scanned, combined with Flash animation and voila, you are presented with a visually stunning story.

What sets Ojolie.com apart from the other dozens of E-card sites out there, is the originality of the flash cards they offer as well as the designs.  These aren’t your basic e-cards that most of the other sites offer, they are truly artistic and when you view them you will see what I mean.

Read the full story

I admit to not having "tough" laundry loads. Meaning that except for food stains (I do have sloppy eaters in my home), I don't have a lot of outdoors or grease type stains to deal with when I do laundry. Maybe that's why laundry is my favorite household chore! It's always a good thing when I can find a detergent and stain removal products that don't just work and smell good, but are also friendly on the environment.

Read the full story

Do you ever get a craving for a really good donut? I grew up chowing down on yeast donuts on a regular basis. When we moved to the city we're living in, all I could find were cake donuts. That didn't leave me overly pleased. Finally, finally a donut shop opened in town, but it didn't last long (what is wrong with all the people in the city I live in!?!) and closed up. Which left me with that elusive hunt for a good yeast donut
And then I got to experience Holey Donuts (okay well I actually got to try their cinnamon buns, but I'm absolutely positive they sell the donuts I'm looking for). Get this, not only do their baked goods taste delicious, they are ...low in fat and calories! No joke.
Read the full story

Klutz books has generously sponsored a couple of giveaways on my site, including the latest Draw Star Wars The Clone Wars book, which many of you were hoping to win!

But if you weren't one of the lucky winners, Klutz.com has a BIG HOLIDAY SALE – 25% off your entire order (no minimum!)
Read the full story

It is not always easy to have a healthy meal on the table during these weeks, but I was recently introduced, through Mom Central, to an easy healthy way to get a yummy dinner on the table that your whole family will enjoy.

Ronzoni Smart Taste comes in a variety of different noodles (spaghetti, thin spaghetti, rotini, elbow macaroni & penne), all of which are fortified with calcium and fiber.  I was a bit skeptical before we tried it, because we have tried whole wheat pasta before and weren't thrilled with the texture or the taste of it.
Read the full story

This year has been an exception to the rule - the thermometer has stayed above 32 degrees for November which is almost unheard of here in the Northern Plains (I'm not complaining by the way!). Most years we have already broken out the winter weather gear in early November, and the winter coats and jackets are usually for sale early in September. Of course most of you in the Midwest are nodding your heads along with me.

Since we migrated South from Canada, I know what cold is. Even here in South Dakota the winters aren't nearly as brutal as the winters that I grew up with. Whenever Amber complains about how cold it is she gets the "we walked to school uphill both ways in 2 feet of snow...." Well okay, not entirely true, and even it were, I had numerous Rothschild winter jackets growing up. Yes, it's true, the Rothschild brand has been around for that long, actually it's been around for over 125 years! So chances are, it's possible that even my Mom wore a Rothschild coat when she was younger!

What has changed for Rothschild Outwear is the styles and that you can now shop online! What hasn't changed is their quality for keeping families warm even in the coldest winters that some of us go through ..for many...many months!
Read the full story

Starting with Thanksgiving, a lot about the holidays and the gatherings is about food.  I still try and watch what I eat, but not nearly as much as other times.  I want to enjoy the goodies that others and myself have prepared.

Of course that sometimes means that by Christmas, some of my clothes, don't quite fit me the way I want them too.  Do you have that problem?  If you do, you might want to look at a body shaper from Amon Maternity.
Read the full story

I am fortunate to not have any food allergies in my family.



For those families that don't eat gluten as part of their diets, Michael Season's is a good way to snack.  The gluten-free and wheat-free snacks come in chips, crisps, puffs and curls.  All natural ingredients are used to make their products.
Read the full story

Are you looking for a way to cut calories?  Silk Hearth Health SoyMilk is a great way to cut your calorie intake and at the same time help to make your heart healthy too!

Silk Soymilk can be substituted for milk in many of the recipes you're planning on making this holiday season, and no one will be the wiser either ☺.

Read the full story

I'm sure you have noticed by now the cold and flu season having kicked in.  If it has passed by your home this month, feel fortunate!  I thought we were going to get through November unscathed by illness, and then this past Monday morning, I woke up with a most painful sinus cold.  Ick!

I don't know what kind of options you've chosen to use when you and your family get sick, but myself personally, I don't like to shove a lot of drugs in my body, for a couple of reasons.  One is that I already take enough meds for other ongoing medical problems, and the second is because a lot of over the counter drugs make me feel lethargic and sleepy.

Being only 4'9" and under a hundred pounds, my body size is more like a child than an adult so I tend to look to children's products first when needing some relief from cold and flu symptoms.

Lucky for me, I had been sent some Boiron products for children in the mail last month, that up until now had no reason to use for either myself or Amber.  With a full blown sinus cold and headache, I was ready to start popping anything like candy!
Read the full story

The Vaseline Brand is classic.  There is a reason it has been on the market for so many years.  Besides offering products like their trusted petroleum jelly, they are on the edge of moisture with new products.

Vaseline Sheer Infusion with Stratys-3 is just such a product.

Read the full story

It's been 12 years since I've had to feed a baby in my home.

I admit to being a rebel and having formula fed Amber. Not because I couldn't produce sufficient milk, not because she wouldn't latch, and not because I was working.

I never felt guilty having done it, had no problems bonding with my child and interestingly enough, out of all the children that she grew up with in the family and in church groups, she was healthiest (and the only one formula fed!) out of all of them.

That aside, formula is obviously more expensive then breast feeding, and while it was a choice I made, it's a necessity for others. And the cost can add up, especially if it was one you weren't anticipating in advance.

Read the full story

Have you heard about Silk Heart Health?

A recent study  found that those who enjoyed 3 servings of Silk Heart Health each day for 4 weeks, as part of a sensible diet, lowered their cholesterol by 7%.

Silk Heart Health is the first U.S. soymilk to offer the benefit of 2 heart health ingredients.
Read the full story

Woohoo! The first 50 readers who click the "Try It Free" button below will receive a coupon for a free 4-pack of Fiber One yogurt.

Did you know that....
Read the full story