Wednesday 25 March 2015

Juice Plus Gummies Review & Giveaway!


Have you ever wanted to eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible but realized it is never gonna happen (impossible to eat if you are on an atkins diet). With the rising cost of food and the small amount of time any of us have have anymore it is an impossible goal to eat as many fruits and veggies as we would like to. That is why I decided to try Juice Plus!

So what is Juice Plus? Juice Plus+ is whole food based nutrition, including juice powder concentrates from 25 different fruits, vegetables and grains. Juice Plus+ helps bridge the gap between what you should eat and what you do eat every day. Not a multivitamin, medicine, treatment or cure for any disease, Juice Plus+ is made from quality ingredients carefully monitored from farm to capsule to provide natural nutrients your body needs to be at its best.

I have only been taking them for a couple weeks so I don't have any major changes in health to report I am just happy to be getting this much fruit and veg into my body daily. My kids are also taking them which is fantastic! With the children's health study you can actually buy gummies for yourself and then you get a child's gummies for free! Contact a rep to find out more.

They have other fantastic products available as well. The prices are not the lowest but it is worth it for what you are getting! 

Now for the giveaway. I am not being compensated to write this post in any way and the gummies are paid for out of my pocket to show appreciation to my readers and fans.

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Coturnix Quail Hatching


Yesterday I hatched 5 baby coturnix quail. It was an experience I would highly recommend to anyone interested in birds, farming, or educational experiences. The eggs were so tiny when they arrived and I had originally started off with a homemade incubator. Lets just say that was a learning experience and if you have a busted thermometer your not going to hatch anything. I got a new batch of eggs from a local coturnix quail farmer I found on our local classified ads. If you live near the Okanagan and are interested in getting some farm animals this is where you should look: Castanet Farm Ads. I also rented an incubator from a local farmer who does educational hatch a chick programs around town: Quality Farms.

Use this amazing Brinsea incubator and your eggs will hatch every time! It turns them for you and keeps it at the perfect temperature.

Here is some useful information about hatching coturnix quail:

Incubation of eggs
*Incubation period is 16-18 days
*Turn eggs 3 times a day
*Stop turning 3 days before eggs are due to hatch
*Keep the temps in between 99.5F and 101F. Keep humidity in the 40's until hatch time then raise it to 60%

Kids love counting down the days and reading the thermometer. There is many things to learn about hatching and kids enjoy every aspect of it.

Once your babies hatch they go into a brooder and will turn active and fluffy with in a few hours. They begin eating and drinking the day they are born so make sure they have food (I use turkey starter) and fresh water. When they are first placed in the brooder dip their beaks in the water to show them where it is. I did this a few times per chick to ensure they found the water supply. They can drown quite easily so be sure to fill your water dish with rocks, marbles, or just get the same water supply I have below, I got mine for under $5 at our local farm supplies store.


Quail are adorable, and they are useful! You can raise them for eggs, meat, pets, retrieval training, and they are a very useful educational tool. Here are some great pics I have taken the past two days!

















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Wednesday 18 March 2015

CIL Disney Chalkboard Paint Review



My kids love to draw, and do pretty much any arts and crafts you can name. They get their artsy side from me (obviously) and I couldn't be prouder. Finding ways to engage in outdoor arts and crafts can be a challenge if you are extremely busy and need your kids (when they are not playing with their Bengal cat and his toysto entertain themselves while you are working on other things.  That is why I have come up with the outdoor chalkboard using CIL Disney Chalkboard Paint


CIL has a reputation for amazing paint products, this paint is no exception. I bought a 946 ml can from Walmart for $18 which says it covers a 7 foot square with two coats. I also purchased a large sheet of OSB chipboard from Home Depot for $9 to use as the chalkboards surface. You can buy just regular plywood but it is twice the price as OSB and the only difference is the texture. If you want a perfectly smooth finish pay the extra and get plywood, kids are not too picky about how smooth the surface is trust me. 

It took me less than an hour to apply the paint in two coats. It is very smooth, silky, and spreads nice and evenly no matter what level painter you are. I easily covered my 8x4 foot surface with two coats and had some leftover. 


My new outdoor chalkboard cost me $35 including the chipboard, paint, and brushes. 

This paint exceeds the expectations I had and the kids are going to love it. This week I am also building a canopy type shelter to keep my outdoor chalkboard in perfect shape, safe from rain, snow, etc. So stay tuned to see my next project. 

I was in no way compensated for this post. All expressions and opinions are my own, I want to share what I think are the highest quality products with you by sharing my experience. 

Wednesday 11 March 2015

Getting a Product Off The Ground


My son does not like reading. When he has trouble with a word he gets frustrated and wants to quit, even with lots of positive reinforcement. He is 6 and in grade 1. I have been looking into all these websites that are supposed to be helping your child learn to read and yes some of them look great and probably do help, but I want to be involved more then just plopping my son at a computer and letting him learn on his own. I also don't want him glued to a screen. I am a huge advocate of getting out and being active with your kids. So what can I do to create a get up and go reading tool?

All I can tell you is that I have figured out a way to keep my son engaged in reading, happy to read, and getting him moving all while keeping myself very involved in the process. This application can be used at every age and kids get excited to do it. I am in the process of creating a product and cannot wait to make it readily available to the public! Not only will it involve reading but general life skills.

There are lots of different things I am working on at the moment, prototypes, patent search, as well as product testing. To try and turn your dream into reality there are tons of things that need to be considered. Here are a few articles I have been reading to help me through the process!

Luckily for me my product is helpful, affordable, expandable, and very useful! I can't wait to get some samples ready for you!

Thursday 5 March 2015

Raising a Mixed Flock (kids + birds)


My kids are absolutely everything to me. I was never afraid of introducing my kids to birds or birds to kids because I knew to take the necessary precautions and I knew my kids were not afraid of animals. That is not always the case, some kids are afraid of meeting new animals and some folks don't know the proper steps and procedures to teach their kids. I am here to tell you, what I have figured to be a great way to raise kids around birds. 


When first introducing kids to birds keep them a safe distance from the birds. Most birds are quite curious and want to peck around and see if your holding any treats. Kids may get scared if a bird comes pecking at them.  


Do not let your child get face to face with a chicken even if the bird is a newbie or not, animals are very unpredictable. Chickens will gladly peck your little one right in the eye. 


Teach your child to be gentle to the birds. I have seen a chicken get injured from kids picking them up and squeezing too hard. This can cause an egg inside the chicken to break causing health problems and the chance that you will need to remove the egg shards, learn more here.

Teach your kids about predators! My son was faced with a terrible sight when he walked outside to find a freshly killed duck. He was just seconds away from coming face to face with a raccoon, which had just finished laying into my duck. This could be dangerous so teach kids what to look for and how to approach these situations. This is an excellent place to read about predators here!

Whether raising for meat or eggs your child should have fun learning about the meaning of the birds, why you have them, what they do, and what is going to become of them. I have quails as well and they are meat and egg birds. My kids know what they are for and what happens to them.

The most important thing your kids need to know is to wash their hands after handling birds! There are many germs associated with birds and to keep yourself and your family healthy just wash up when your done.