HappyBaby Review and Giveaway

Congratulations to KatiO who won the giveaway!

I was recently given the chance to review some of HappyBaby's toddler foods, and I'm excited to get to post this review along with a giveaway!

I normally make baby food for my little ones.  However I will generally buy baby foods when we are going on a trip or have something planned where the convenience is important, but I still need something healthy for baby to eat.  That is how I ended up trying HappyBaby in the first place....We were out running errands, I realized I had forgotten to pack lunch for baby (and a spoon too).  I figured one of those new baby food pouches would be the best bet.  The HappyBaby one caught my eye because of the fruit/veggie combination, then the price, AND it was organic!  My baby loved it, and had fun eating from the pouch too (and it was so much easier than a dish and spoon while out).

I wrote to HappyBaby and they offered to let me review some of their HappyTot products.  Since I have two "tots" I had both of them try each of the products.

The HappyTot Plus pouches were a big hit with both my 10 month old and my 2 1/2 year old.  The pouches were intended for the baby, but my toddler kept trying to sweet talk the baby into giving it to her.  If you are wanting to get more veggies into your toddler, or just want a quick easy meal on the go this is a great choice.  I love that they are organic and that there is (little to) no mess with these!  My kids loved every flavor.


We also tried the Toddler Meal Bowls.  I was happy to see real chunks of veggies (mostly peas and carrots) in the bowls and my baby was happy to eat these meals.  The portions were more than enough for my 10 month old.  My two year old on the other hand was not interested.  I can't say that I'm surprised, she has been eating table food for over a year and did not seem to find these meals novel enough to excite her into eating them like the pouches did.  My baby's favorite?  He LOVED the Vegetable Ravioli, but it wasn't exactly a convenience/on the go meal with the mess he made.

The results from my review?  The HappyTot pouches have made it into my cart since the review and will be something I go to for trips and other times when we are out and about (or recently when little ones were sick).  The little ones loved them and I'm happy that they are getting a healthy meal on the go.  The Toddler Meal Bowls were good (or so my baby seemed to think), but not as likely to make it into my cart (mostly because they just don't fill a need for our family).  Thank you HappyBaby for letting us do this review!  Now to the fun...

I get to give away the same package I reviewed!  If you win you will receive coupons in the mail for free products (4 toddler meal bowls, 3 HappyTot plus pouches). To enter the Giveaway you can....

1.Follow Happy Family on Twitter @HappySuperFoods

2. Go to the HappyFamily facebook page and answer one of the questions on the page.

3. Sign up for Generation Happy


*Besides receiving the product to review I was not compensated in any way for this review. 

Busy Homeschool Mom's guide to Romance Review and giveaway

As moms of large homeschooling families it can sometimes be difficult to make your marriage the priority that it should be. Homeschooling can take a lot out of us, and sometimes our husbands get the leftovers (if there are any), when they should be getting our best.

I loved reading Heidi's book. She writes as if she is talking to one of her best friends. Sometimes saying the hard things, and definitely hitting some of the topics that often get ignored. Her passion for Christ, marriage, family and homeschooling certainly come through.

Reading this book left me feeling like some pressure had been lifted off of me, instead of adding yet another weight on my shoulders. It was such an encouraging book to read and full of Biblical conviction as well. I loved that it was a fairly short read, which was also great. I highly suggest this book for any mom that is getting sucked into the "homeschool mom vortex" and could use some encouragement in keeping her marriage a priority (as well as some practical advice for making that happen).

The security of their parents marriage is one of the most importnat things we can give our children. Truly the pain of a broken family is long lasting. The scars left are ugly. The consequences last for generations. Despite what the world may say our happiness is not the most important thing, nor is "feeling loved" the way we think we should be.  The covenant made between husband and wife before God is one He uses to His glory and to sanctify us; it is not always easy but it is right!

I'm so excited that I get to give one of these books away! Here are a few ways to win this book.

1. Follow this blog via GFC

2. Tell me something you do to keep your marriage a priority; remember this is a family friendly blog ;)

3. Head over to Heidi's blog, tell me something interesting you learned/found there.

4. Like The busy Homeschool Mom on Facebook

Uncle Eric books review and giveaway!

I'm so excited to get to do a review and giveaway for some of our favorite books!  While books on the economy, justice and politics may not sound like the most exciting read alouds or a good fit for a family with all young children; just the opposite is true.

Last year our family enjoyed reading "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy" together, and we all enjoyed it.  It is a book on economy in the form of letters from an uncle to his nephew.  The book goes through the history of economy and money and really helps the reader understand what is happening now and why.  We all learned from this book, right down to the six year old (maybe the 3 year old picked up a bit too?).  Something else I loved about this book was hearing my kids asking daddy to read more from a book on economics!  Who would have thought that would happen?  It also opened up many discussions for us to have as a family.

We started reading "Whatever Happened to Justice" recently and I'm seeing the same things happening with this book as well.  My husband and I are learning so much from it, but at the same time my children are being drawn in and are interested.  We've had so many chances to discuss law and justice and we're only a few chapters in!  We are looking forward to purchasing more of the books in this series.

Blue Stocking press has very generously offered to giveaway the Uncle Eric book "Are You Liberal? Conservative? or Confused" Which is a very timely book to study given the upcoming elections.  I know it is one that is on our list!

There are a few ways to enter this giveaway (please leave a separate comment for each entry and make sure I'll be able to contact you if you win!)

1. Follow this blog through google

2.Head over to Blue Stocking Press and take a look around.  Tell me what books you found that interest you.

3. What are some of your favorite family books that inspire your family to think and discus?

This giveaway is open to US residents only, Thank you!

*The views in these book seem to be consistent with our Christian worldview.  However, my husband finds it interesting that he cant actually tell if the author is writing from a Christian worldview or an atheistic Ayn Rand worldview because the facts on economics and justice are so cleanly presented.

I need a vacation!

When I say "vacation" I don't mean some lovely resort or destination.  Nor do I mean days or weeks free of responsibilities (though that could be nice).  On the contrary, I'm finding that the vacation I'm dreaming of is a few weeks at home reading to my little ones, playing games with my kids, working on projects, school planning for next year and de-cluttering at a slower pace setting aside some of our regular duties.

I think I'm dreaming of finally settling into our home.  We've got a few down weeks here, so I think I'm going to take that vacation now.  I'll be back in a couple of weeks with new posts and even some giveaways!

In the mean time...

What is your idea of a great vacation?

What are you doing this summer?

Done with School?

Any projects you've got going?

Links I love

I liked this one by Michelle Duggar on expectations.  I know my expectations get in the way of enjoying what I have, I really need to work on giving these up to God and living the wonderful life that He has given me.

This one on A Mother's rights is great, it is short and sweet but makes a great point.

Do you desire to live a radical life for Christ? My Wife, A real radical is a good read.

Starch, a mom's traveling companion has some good advice not just for packing up your clothes for a trip, but for helping your clothes look their best in general.  I use starch regularly too, and find that it makes our clothes look so much better too.

I liked this post on Essential Medicines for Travel.  Best of all?  Its all natural!

Should we limit Children?  This post is wonderfully written and filled with wisdom.

Summer breakfast for the HOT weather

It is getting HOT here.  I would rather not turn on the oven or stove unless I really need to.  I'm working on figuring out meals for the hot weather as we get used to this new climate.  Breakfasts were easy to figure out; smoothies.  Sometimes we will have hardboiled eggs or left over coffee cake as well, mostly its just smoothies with some nuts and veggies on the side.

Our smoothies are never exactly the same but here are some things we put in ours to give you some ideas.

Bananas- Our commissary sells the older or bruised bananas very inexpensively.  I'll buy bags of these and either use them right away or stick them in the freezer to use later.

Greens- It can be hard to get enough veggies and greens into kids, smoothies are an easy way to pack in a bunch.  We like to use spinach, this can be frozen too if you are not using it fast enough.

Make it smoother- I've found that by adding avacado, coconut milk, or coconut oil that our smoothies end up with a smoother consistency which we all seem to like.  This is also a simple way to get some healthy fats into this breakfast.

 Fruit or berries- to all of the above listed ingredients we add whatever fruits or berries we have on hand.  We like pineapple for a tropical flavor.  Mixed berries and blueberries seem to be the favorites around here, I tend to buy the big frozen bags at costco.  Sometimes I'll throw in some apples or oranges too.

Honey- if the smoothies are in need of some sweetener we use raw local honey.

Water- I add a bit of water to thin this out.

We have a vitamix that we use to make our smoothies, which I love.  It does a great job with our smoothies, making them a nice smooth consisitancy without chunks.



I got some special toddler smoothie cups for our little girls.  They do better drinking their smoothies from straws.  Strong straws were needed for this job and I wanted the cups to be spill proof.  I'm sure there are many options out there, but I ended up getting these.  I like that they are simple and fairly easy to clean.  The straw does not come out of the lid, which means it does not get lost.  We've had these for over seven months and they have been getting quite a bit of use.  I'm happy with how they have been holding up so far and my girls like them too!


 

What are your favorite hot weather breakfasts?  If you do smoothies too, what are your favorite ingredients/recipes?  I'd love some more ideas.

Child Training Bible

Be sure to check out my current giveaway!

I saw this Child Training Bible a few weeks ago and thought it looked very interesting.  I showed it to my husband and he agreed that it would be good for our family, and he ordered it for us.

I've been enjoying putting it together.  I've loved going through each category, looking up the verses, reading them, highlighting them, and then putting in the sticky tab.  I've done some of it on my own after the kids have been in bed, but I've really enjoyed working on it WITH the kids.  The little ones have enjoyed handing me the highlighters and tabs that I need.

We use the Bible in training and teaching our children already, but I like that this makes it so much easier to use with the key and tabs laid out so nicely.  I also like that we can easily adapt this for our family, adding in additional verses that we use with extra tabs.