Sponsor Giveaway! I AM a Lovable Me Children's Affirmation

We should all be reminded of just how special we are from time to time, no matter what our age. With that in mind, take a look at the great products offered through Imalovableme.com. This wonderful website offers products of affirmation for children, presented through adorable animated characters in a pure and loving spirit.

The first book in the series, I AM a Lovable ME! Affirmations for Children could be yours absolutely free! If you'd like a shot at winning the book featured here, visit the sponsor website... do some looking around, then return to this post and tell us which product you are most interested in and why. While you're there, be sure to listen to the CD samplings and watch the 5 minute video clip, with your children of course. What a great self-image booster for young children. It even made me feel good!

How do you enter to win?

Visit I AM a Lovable ME!, then come back to this post and share which product you like the best! It's that easy! If you're a blogger and would like to share this giveaway with your readers, you'll be eligible to receive 1 extra entry! Contest ends on Saturday, Feb. 14th at 11:59 PM (CDT).

Just a few rules for the I am a Lovable me book giveaway:

• Only one comment per individual (unless you're linking to this contest from your blog, then add a separate comment, providing your post link for credit!)


• Both homeschoolers and nonhomeschoolers are eligible


• You don't have to be a blogger to enter... just be sure to leave us a way to contact you. The safest method of sharing your email, is to copy this format: youremailname(at)hotmail(dot)com. This prevents the Internet's many spambots from recognizing your email addy. ;)

*If you're a member of CafeMom or Wahm.com, and are not wishing to leave your email, you may alternatively leave your member name, specifying which community you belong to. I'll then PM you if you're a winner!

• For the sake of shipping costs, this giveaway is only open to visitors with a U.S. Mailing address. Sorry about that!

Winner will be announced on February 15th, 2009 (notified via email). The winner will then have 1 week to provide us with his/her shipping address, before another winner will be selected. I recommend checking back here on February 16th, just on the off chance the winning announcement's email ends up in your bulk folder. The best way to follow this giveaway and not miss the winning announcement, is to subscribe to our feed.... although this isn't a contest requirement.

A big thanks to our sponsors for giving one lucky visitor this wonderful children's book! WooHoo!

BTW if you represent a product or service of interest to parents or moms and would like to sponsor a giveaway on THB, be sure to shoot me an email!

Gentle, Loving, and Inspiring Self-Image Booster!

The link to this video was just sent to me in an email and I almost didn't open it! lol I'm so grateful I followed my gut and went ahead to follow the link, as this little number is truly awesome and inspiring! I would love to be a part of such an important and commendable project... building self-esteem in children is something we should all seek to do more of!



Watch this with your children and let it inspire them to love who God made them to be! Awe.... I'm feeling warm and fuzzy all over! :o)

Perfect Valentine's Day Gift Giving

I always struggle with what to give my husband for Valentine's Day as he's not really into the cutesy stuff or even into eating fancy chocolates. Sometimes he's just no fun at all! lol Last year I gave him a box of Ghiradrdelli and it's still in the cabinet unopened. Hmmmm.

Here's an idea though... just a couple years ago my husband started wearing a watch... yes that's right... it took him most of his life to realize he needed one. I guess with maturity comes sensibility! The one watch he owns is beautiful and looks great when going out or at the office, but isn't appropriate for working out in. That's why the idea of a sports watch seems more than appropriate.

My husband is a runner and given that he has no concept of time (without the help of a time piece) I think he should have this cute little number. The blue is perfect because well... it's my favorite color, so he'd not be likely to forget me when wearing it! lol See how my mind works? I really like casio watches because they've been around for so long and I know I can trust their performance.

This watch is currently being sold at discount with free shipping at Bluedial.com! How cool!

My Son Was Called Stupid

What's worse, the name calling has been happening at church. Last night my son shared that a couple of his classmates at our family church have called him stupid on more than one occasion. My son who is all too aware of how different he is took it to heart. His self-esteem has been battered... and apparently this blow might explain some of the struggles we had last fall.

Month after month after long drawn out month we struggled at home with my inability to teach him much of anything without him acting offended. Whether it was a spelling test and I went to use a vocabulary word in a sentence (simply so he'd know I meant for him to write "too" and not "two") or in my attempt to explore exciting details about ancient Egypt (which he would interpret that mom didn't think he knew what or where Egypt was). My inability to finish a sentence, any sentence, without a frustrated interruption from my son was a huge reason for putting an end to our homeschooling experience. It was exhausting. I attributed it all to a bad attitude at the time... or a pride thing. It made teaching impossible... at least without a fight, which ultimately led me to a point where I no longer wanted to be teacher at all... just a mom.

Despite leaving homeschool behind in the dust, we still have the same struggles during evening homework sessions. Last night, as I tried to help him with his math he cried out that he wasn't stupid and I immediately agreed. "Of course you're not stupid.... why would you think I thought you were stupid?" I asked. I then told him that I was sensing he was struggling with low self-esteem.... that's when he shared that he's been called stupid by kids at church... kids he has a high opinion of. We talked and talked and talked and yet I still don't think he's found any healing.

I'm trying to make this a teaching moment for both of us. I remember a story shared by Lisa Welchel (from Facts of Life fame) who is now a Christian author and speaker, specializing in child discipline, homeschooling, and family related matters. A few years ago she spoke at a local church, sharing a story about hammering a nail into a tree. The illustration she painted was simple... you can pull the nail out, but the hole is still there. My son has a hole in his little heart. It's sad that making a hole can take only a matter of seconds, but filling that hole isn't so easy. Last night I was staring straight into a huge hole made by thoughtless kids out of ignorance. Now, my husband and I have to try and fill it. We both talked to our son for over an hour last night, and he still didn't seem convinced. How horrible! It really makes me angry. Take out the emotional balance scale and weigh the second it took to say "you're stupid" to the hour we invested in building him up and the scale is still holding a boulder in one side and a feather on the other.

The sad thing that hits me at this moment is there are plenty of adults out there doing their own share of hammering. My goal today is to teach others to put their nails away.

Destin, Florida Vacation Rentals

Sandy white beaches await you in Destin Florida... a premier destination for vacation goers, but if you need a little help finding lodging, you'll want to visit vacationrentals.com. Especially if you're looking for a wide variety of options... as this online resource provides information on over 400 rentals.

What is there to do in Destin? If you're into fishing, you'll love a Destin vacation. You'll find fishing a breeze off the Gulf of Mexico, then camp out with your family and spend the entire next day playing on the beautiful white beaches!

Hotels are a breeze to find, but a vacation rental offers lodging that is far more private and comfortable. Have you ever stayed in a beach house or condo? It's like a home away from home, offering a functioning kitchen, family area, and actual bedrooms. If a vacation rental isn't something you've shopped for before, vacationrentals.com will help you find something within your budget to make the most of your travels to Destin.

Meet Other Homeschoolers at Cafe Mom

Cafe Mom has a variety of homeschooling forums and if you don't find one that is a good fit, you can actually start your own! I may have spoken about this wonderful mom friendly site before, but wanted to be sure. I have found a lot of support as a struggling homeschooler, as well as a working from home mom, mother to a special needs child, miscarriage support and so much more.

Find your niche group and make some friends! If you sign up, let me know and maybe even send me a friendship invite. I'm HomeschoolWahm just in case you're interested! Your home page sorta kinda functions like a Facebook page where you can share news, moods, photos, messages and even your blog. Pretty cool!

I'm a member to about a dozen groups currently, some of which are publicly shared, others are private. I love this feature as it gives the member a certain amount of privacy. ; )

Check Out These Stylish Boots!

Now that my kids are in school during the day and I'm not loaded with lesson plans, scheduling, and all that chaos that once was my home life, I have more time to clean and organize my home, including my closets. Buried under all the old sweaters and jeans that once fit a couple of moons ago are what I used to call shoes.

What does that mean? It means I could use some new shoes! lol You know how your body changes over time? Well, I think, at least in my case your feet do to. Part of it is the changing fashions, but the other thing I've noticed is that my feet are flatter than they used to be... maybe even half a size bigger. It used to be that my feet were only larger when I was pregnant... and carrying around a lot of extra weight. Now, I'm fairly certain they're just big for the sake of being big.

I found some cute shoes at dani black shoes, but my eyes are mainly on the boots. Maybe it's because it's Winter, maybe it's because I don't have anything this cool, maybe it's because I only have a couple pairs of shoes I cycle between, I don't know.... but these are so cute! I love boots and shoes that can be worn with jeans as that's nearly all this stay-at-home mom ever wears. These would look so awesome with my Levis and the perfectly fitting sweater I found on the clearance rack last Winter. Not to mention the fact that this color leather matches perfectly my leather jacket. Hmmmm, how about that? lol

Dani Black is currently offering up to 60% off boots and other fun footwear. Maybe you need some new pumps? Maybe flats? Maybe booties or sandles? They have it all!

Update on Our Switch to a Brick & Mortar School

So far so good. I'm feeling like a new woman as all that stress I was carrying around has largely been lifted. As for my 7 year old Aspie? He says school is great when we pick him up at the end of the day, two hours later... it was just ok, by bedtime it's downright horrible and he doesn't ever want to go back. I can't really make sense of this, but have to remind myself that he cries anytime we prepare to leave the house to go anywhere.... even to his favorite restaurant. There's something about leaving home that brings out the emotion. Even the idea of knowing he'll have to leave early the next morning is enough to bring out the tears.

One of my biggest challenges as of late has been in knowing and understanding his mindset. I really wish I could somehow see the world through his eyes for just a day so that I could be a better mom and friend. There just seems to be no effective way to console him when he has these meltdowns over leaving the house. I'm so much the opposite extreme from my son. I love to be out and about. In fact, the more the better. I love to drive, love to run errands, love to visit friends, attend church, eat out... you name it. Not that we are on the run all that much, it's just that I can't at all relate to my little guy.

My daughter who is in Kindergarten is loving every minute of her school day and in fact has told me she would trade places with her 2nd grade brother in a heartbeat. She wants to be there all day! Now, my guess is she might have second thoughts if she lived his life for a week, but who knows. She's very social and loves to be around children, loves the structure and the activity. I'm so happy for her as she really seems to be blooming where we've got her planted for the time being.

I don't know what my readers think about a former homeschooling mom continuing with a homeschooling blog, but I don't intend to give it up for awhile. I'm still enjoying it. Hopefully the advertising doesn't bother you... I sorta need the money now more than ever. My husband finally committed to another car payment, so things will be tight for awhile until one of us starts making a little more money and in this economy I'm not sure how likely that is to happen soon. Anyway, bear with me!

Unlikely Animal Friends

Have you ever seen anything like this?

Rat loves cat! @ Yahoo! Video

Have a great weekend!

Get Creative with Free Online Flower Drawing Tool!

This website is a great way to kill a few minutes if you just want to relax and play. It provided me with a good 15 minutes of entertainment last night after I put my kids to bed.

What's more... your kids will absolutely love it! Maybe even make it count towards an art class? My 6 year old daughter spent about an hour this morning playing on this site, creating and naming beautiful flowers.

There's not a print option on site, but I think you could probably hit "Print Screen" or you may be able to hit "Ctrl" and "Print Screen" together then paste to another application and print that way!

Provincetown Accommodations at VRBO

VRBO stands for Vacation Rentals by Owner and VRBO offers an online directory of over 100,000 rental listings for vacation homes.

If you're traveling in or outside the United States, you should consider the many benefits to vacation rentals over lodging at a hotel. You'll usually have more space and privacy in a vacation rental as well as a fully functioning kitchen. If you're traveling for more than a few days time, consider how economical cooking from your rental will be over eating every meal out? This is especially true if traveling with family. I don't even want to tell you how much money we spent on our last vacation on food alone! We didn't have the capability to cook or even refrigerate food in our hotel room and 15 days of eating out isn't only hard on the pocketbook, it's actually hard on the stomach too.

How will VRBO help you? Let's say for example you're looking for Provincetown Accommodations allowing pets and accepting credit cards? Properties are listed with icons, making looking for those little details quick and easy. Looking for photos? Many rentals come with photos of the property for your review.

Check out the link and see for yourself! Bookmark the site and consider vacation rentals as an option next time you book a trip!

Super Cool Household Tips for Moms!

I found "Extraordinary Uses for 16 Ordinary Household Items" at Women's Day magazine (online) and believe me... the tips they share are truly awesome! This is a site you'll want to bookmark... or perhaps print off for your refrigerator door.

Tips for quick fixes and conveniences are provided using such household items as toothpaste, rubber bands, nail polish, Vaseline, dryer sheets, hand lotion, cornstarch, salt, wax paper, vinegar and more! Some of my favorite tips shared include using petroleum jelly to sideline a squirrel trying to rob your bird feeder and using cornstarch to squelch a squeaky floor. I love advice like this... you know, those things you'd never think of that make you look like a genius to your girlfriends? lol Can't wait to commit these tips to memory and show off this weekend at a women's event I'm attending! Oh yes, I'm a little show off! Shame on me. :o)

Beautiful Discount Couches!

We've had the same living room furniture since before we were a we... lol, that is... my husband had our couch and loveseat before we even met. That was 15 years ago and after 9 years of marriage and two kids it's not looking quite so pristine anymore. In fact, I'm grossed out just a bit by what I see when I take the cushions off to vacuum. I can still find evidence that there were once babies in the house!

I'd love to have a new Couch and loveseat and from time to time we go shopping just to see what's out there... so I guess you could say we know what new leather sofa's run. It's really hard to commit to spending so much money especially when the kids are still fairly young. I was delighted to find something in our price range... thanks to a hefty discount off retail. The Sofa and love seat most closely resembling what we're looking for is here in this gorgeous photo. This style is exactly what we've been shopping for!

New Sofas make a room. Old worn out sofas are comfortable, but in my opinion are better in an extended family room... like the kind you'd have in a finished basement. That's where our current furniture will be soon!

If you're looking for couches be sure to follow any of the links provided in this post. This site offers leather and fabric couches, reclining and sectionals, and home theater seating. Discounts run from 30% to 65% off retail and shipping is free!

Inflatable Globe Giveaway Winners!

My kids just assisted me in numbering the 7 entrants from our latest giveaway and drawing the numbers from an empty Kleenex box. Congrats to windycity and quitecontrary1977 on being lucky # 5 and #7!

I've sent an email notice to each of you and will be sure to get your prizes in the mail this weekend, pending you email your shipping address! :o)

Congratulations to both winners! I may be giving away a few more goodies in the coming weeks as I sort through our homeschooling materials, some of which remain new and unopened. I'm having a bit of a rough time trying to decide what to keep and what to part with.

If you've not subscribed to THB you should! You'll find the subscription field in the right sidebar. This will help insure you never miss a future giveaway. We only had 7 entries for this globe giveaway and it was oh so simple and easy to leave a comment! Hope you'll all drop your name into the next drawing. I'd love to have everyone who reads THB participating!

God Bless,

Comparing Web Hosting Services

Do you have your own blog or website? Maybe you'd like to, but you're not sure where to start? Having a side by side comparison of web hosting providers will help you make the right decision to meet your needs. Maybe you'd like to start your own homeschooling blog or ecommerce site for example? Where on earth do you start anyway?

I was just at WebHostingReports.com and found hosting providers ranked by price, disk space, bandwith, number of domains, and overall rank. You can also read user reviews... which are priceless when you're not sure who to go with.

This site provides user guides for newbies to the world of web hosting. Maybe you have no idea what a web host is or what they do. Why do you need one and what do you do with the service once you have it? You'll find the answers on the site's Beginner's Guide.

Check out all the web hosting reports at WebHostingReports.com... they'll share the best in inexpensive hosting services, best Windows hosting, best Ecommerce hosting, best Blog hosting and so much more. Each hosting report offers advice on how to select the best host, based on what it is you are trying to achieve. For example... if you're looking for a blog host, you'll find tips on examining what your goals in blogging are and what type of blog it is you would like to have, who you want to reach and how you plan on interacting with your readers. The best host for you, will ultimately depend on how you answer each question. It's good to have a bit of guidance when you're first learning!

Inauguration Teaching Tools

Regardless of your political affiliation or views, today is a great opportunity to educate your children about the passage of power from one president to another... what that process looks like and what it's all about.

I've found a handful of resources to help you create a curriculum of sorts for your classrooms. Might have been more helpful to have presented this information a bit sooner... hopefully better late than never will apply!

Education World Teaching ideas, tools, letters to the new president and more

About.com Homeschooling Offers free Inauguration printables including word searches, vocabulary, crossword, and more.

SchoolFamily.com offers a handful of free PDF's including a coloring page and poem

OurWhiteHouse.org History, poetry, traditions and transitions. This site provides a wonderful assortment of links and plenty of history to keep you busy!

TeachableMoment.org 15 page PDF includes classroom activities for grades 4-8, with 1 activity for high school students. The materials may be adjusted for younger students.

Watching the event itself will also be a great teaching tool. Maybe without watching all the hoopla that comes before and after the actual ceremony would allow you to fit it into your school day. If you like the hoopla, then maybe this can be your school day!

Superbowl Party Planning on a Budget

Who can afford to throw a party these days? Well, I suppose things aren't tight for everyone, but for many homeschoolers we make life happen on a single income. Consider the state of the economy and throwing a Superbowl Party may seem out of the question, but... maybe it's not.

If you're looking for superbowl party ideas that won't break the bank, a website called Celebrations offers free party planning ideas, budget cutting suggestions (like potluck parties), and every mom's favorite tip of purchasing tableware at the dollar store. Some of the suggestions might have already occurred to you, but I found a few that I hadn't occurred to me.

I found a handful of recipes, Superbowl party activity ideas, decorating tips and suggestions, a section on Superbowl history and tradition, and of course a check off list so you'll not forget to do anything before the guests arrive.

This site also has a viewer guide which will help you plan the time of your gathering, including when to expect the halftime spectacle.

Can I just say I've never thrown a Superbowl party? We don't have the type of television that exactly draws in the neighborhood! lol Well there's that and my husband doesn't watch football. I wouldn't mind being invited to a Superbowl party though... hint hint.

This site sort of reminds me of the sites I visited for wedding planning some 10 years ago when I was newly engaged and looking for ways to cut corners at our reception and chapel. Wouldn't you know it... Celebrations offers great advice and suggestions not only for Superbowl parties, but for birthday parties, baby showers, Valentine's Day, Oscar parties and yes... even bridal parties!

Inflatable Globe Giveaway... Reminder!

I've only had a very small handful of people register for my latest giveaway, which is all the better for them... but if you want to have a shot at winning one of two inflatable globes, time is ticking away!

Deadline is Wednesday evening at 11:59 pm (CT), so even if you're planning on watching coverage of the Inauguration with your kiddos tomorrow, you'll have time to enter!

My kids received these globes as part of a curriculum package, but since we'd already received a globe as a gift from grandma the prior year, we didn't need the inflatable version. Plus... I admit to being somewhat concerned that my children would throw the globes around the house... or sit on them! lol Rather than watch them fly across the living room or pop I decided to leave them unopened and find them a worthy home. Hopefully that home will be yours!

Btw, I'm sitting on A LOT of homeschooling materials that I haven't quite figured out what to do with. I'm considering several options... eBay for some materials, perhaps a table at a homeschooling fair, and of course giving some of those items away here is always a possibility. I wonder... would people be interested in winning gently used materials though? Opinions on this would be wonderful!

Have a wonderful week!

Is Homeschooling Hard on Your Eyes?

Ok, what is this woman talking about anyway! lol Let me explain... our home is low light and one of my daily battles when we were still homeschooling was trying to find more light sources to illuminate our work space. During the daytime hours, our home is especially dim, even with the blinds open wide. Turning on extra lighting didn't help at all. I would constantly go back and forth between opening the blinds and turning down the lights (which would have escaped the windows anyway) and closing the blinds and turning on every light in our house! lol Despite the fact that our house is only 1400 square feet, we have exceptionally high ceilings... so that might have been part of my problem.

Does anyone else have this problem? If so, what has your solution been? Curious homeschoolers want to know! lol

Another Great Children's Story Site

BBC's CBeebies offers the cutest stories, animated and narrated for you and your early reader's listening enjoyment. I wish I'd paid attention to this website earlier, I didn't know what we were missing! Trust me... these stories are precious!

The user friendly website offers stories, games, poetry and more. Your children are sure to get a few giggles watching these stories unfold. Pay attention to the commands as you'll occasionally have the opportunity to mouse over the image and add to the excitement before you!

Some might say it's better to read to your children rather than relying on someone else, and I do agree with this if you're not reading to your child at all, but assuming you are, this is a fun way to add to your child's interest in story telling and reading. Moving images are fun... we all know that! Keep on reading those books as you always have, but every once in awhile, take a few minutes to let someone read to you and your child. The stories feature the story's text as the narrator speaks, so you could even turn the volume down if you wanted to and just rely on your own voice. Either way... you're sure to enjoy your visit at BBC's CBeebies!

Flooded Basement?

Not here, not us, but we have friends who have an ongoing battle brewing in their basement. Seems like every time it rains more than 5 minutes they have a flood! The worst thing isn't even the work of removing the water, but what's left afterwords is horrible. The smell that is. Mold and mildew can create a very unhealthy environment for your family, whether they have allergies or not.

It's so important to take action fast when you have any type of water damage in or around your dwelling. Small problems undelt with can and will turn into big ones... often more expensive ones too. So, if your home or business is crying out for help, take action today.

If you find yourself in this unfortunate place you can rely on for super fast water removal 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with Water 911 Restoration. A Wet Basement will be dealt with through extraction, drying and dehumidifying. This company even has a solution for mold and sewage problems.

Additionally this company offers fire and smoke restoration services, so it's a good site to bookmark. Hopefully you'll never need their services, but if you do, you'll be ready!

Maybe it's a broken pipe or a thunderstorm that finds it's way through your rooftop or basement floor, either way a water damage response team is only a phone call, or click away.

Brick and Mortar School Week 1

Well my kids have been in the public school system now for 1 full week. Today was actually day 6 and with the exception of one bad day last week, I'm thrilled to report my son is exceptionally happy. I wanted to update everyone from time to time since I have been asking you all to pray for us! As a thank you, I at least owe you this much! lol

When I picked him up from school today and asked him how the day went, his exact words were... "Actually, it was awesome!", so you know I was feeling good! Between my new found freedom from what was becoming an overwhelming job as full time mom and teacher to a highly emotional (sometimes combative) Aspie and my son's new found happiness, I can honestly say I feel amazing! It feels so wonderful to know you've done the right thing, for the right reasons and be able to look at a decision without regret. It was a huge decision too... so that makes the joy I feel today all the more profound.

Please do keep praying for us. We are planning on homeschooling again one day, once my son is more mature and I know how to manage his needs better. I think there will be a season for both homeschooling and public schooling in our future... so at the very least, life will stay interesting!

Running a Small Business From Home

How many of you are trying to run your own business from home without the ability to process credit cards? Many homeschoolers are also entrepreneurs by nature, trying to do it all from home in order to spend as much precious time as possible with our children. I know, because I'm that person too!

If you're selling on eBay or Etsy, this might not be a problem, but if you're doing it any other way, you might be hitting a wall with your company's ability to blossom and turn into something you only dreamed of.

Maybe you're not sure how to accept credit cards or how to get started. Given that so many people today rely on plastic, preferring it to cash and check, your business' ability to thrive may just come down to this one factor. After all, customers prefer convenience as much as they do affordability and reliability.

Merchant Advisers has over 20 years of experience in the credit card processing industry. Additionally, Merchant Advisers offers Small Business Loans to help get your feet off the ground. If you've come up with that winning idea for a business that's just too perfect not to launch, but can't afford to finance the dream, a small business loan might be in order.

As with any business decision, you should consider everything carefully before making a move. Talk to your family, consider your goals and where you see yourself in 2 years. Then decide what you need to do to get there! Never make any decision out of desperation, but with a clear head and straight path. Good luck!

THB's Inflatable Globe Giveaway!

This isn't the biggest giveaway I've ever had, but it would still be fun to win! If you'd like to have a brand new inflatable world globe (your child can learn and play catch all at the same time), then be sure to leave me a comment on this blog post before 11:59 PM (CT), Wednesday January 21st.

The Prize: Inflatable Globe (2 winners will be selected)

Details: Round and colorful, with countries labeled

Age Appropriateness: (created for K-2)

So how do you enter?

(receive up to 2 entries per individual)

• 1 entry: Please leave a comment on this post and share why you'd like to win. Be sure your comment either links to your own blog (where I can find your email address) or that you leave your email address within the context of your comment. When leaving your email in a comment, please use this method: youraddress(at)yahoo(dot)com so the bots can't find you and send you loads of hideous spam. You can't win if I can't contact you (you won't be contacted for any other reason btw)!


• 1 entry: Subscribe to this blog (see right sidebar). Once you've subscribed to The Homeschooling Blog, leave me a second comment letting me know! If you're already a subscriber, bless your little heart~ just let me know and I'll give you the credit. ; )

Rules (there are just a couple):

• You must live in the Continental United States in order to enter this contest. My budget at this time isn't such that I can ship overseas. Sorry about that!


• I must have your permission to disclose your first name/last initial and if you have a blog or website... that too in my winning announcement. Otherwise, I'll lose a lot of credibility! Please let me share your good fortune with the blogosphere! If you don't have a site I can link too, I'll need to share a city/state type of thing too.


• If you personally know me, you're not eligible to enter. Sorry! Once again, it's a credibility issue. Just can't take the chance of a neighbor or cousin winning... makes sense right?

Good luck to all & thanks for visiting The Homeschooling Blog!

~Wendy

Beautiful Beds at Time4Sleeping

For my readers in the UK, you might like to know of Time4Sleeping.co.uk... an online retailer of beautiful beds (in a wide variety of styles), mattresses, matching bedroom furniture and bedding accessories. I'm there now dreaming of a better nights rest, with a new mattress and a headboard! lol We've never had a frame of any kind around our bed, neither have our children.... just a box spring and mattress on a frame!

I love the various styles of divan beds featured on site! This retailer is offering free shipping on select orders as well as deep discounts on high quality beds. Additionally, they're not just selling a better nights sleep, but true style and decor to your dwelling.

I don't like to spend much time in our master bedroom as we've never done much with it. What I mean is the room is dull and has no pizazz. Not to mention our mattress should be replaced as it's been jumped on by kids (probably more times than I'm aware), and is basically shot. Ohhh, it would be absolutely heavenly to go on a shopping spree consisting of a new mattress, bed frame, memory foam pillows and matching bedroom furniture. Did I not mention the furniture? We have two dressers and a nightstand and none of them match! Nice huh? You know, when you're first married and you're just getting by with what you have? Well... we're still doing that after 9 1/2 years! lol

BTW, you won't want to miss the children's furniture. One bed in particular I'd love to have for my 6 year old daughter is the horse and carriage. It's beautiful! Based on a Cinderella design it holds a toy box as an added benefit. There's not a little girl alive who wouldn't love this bed.

Recommended Link: Storyline Online

If you'd like to watch a famous actor read a book to your child, you might like this website. I just visited Storyline Online (a program of The Screen Actors Guild) and was delighted to find a handful of fun illustrated stories being read by such names as Jason Alexander, Pamela Reed, and Melissa Gilbert. Be sure to pay attention to what you select, some have revealing information, such was the case with Jason Alexander's reading of "Dad Are You the Tooth Fairy?". They'll be sure to warn the parent, but this title sorta says it all. If you're not ready to have that discussion, you might want to use a bit of caution before opening a story.

With that said, I'd visit the site together with your child rather than having him or her navigate independently. The website will allow you to include captions if you're interested in having you child read along with the narrator. Additionally, they offer the parent a downloadable activity guide to accompany the stories.

Sound like fun? I can't wait to share this site with my own kiddos! They love this sorta thing. Be sure to check it out!

Bullying Already? My Aspie Has Already Been Targeted!

I knew it would happen, I just didn't know how hard it would be. Yesterday, late in the evening my son shared that he'd had a bad day at school. He didn't really know how to share in depth details, but did manage to tell me that he'd been picked on for the way he speaks. Not just once, but multiple times throughout the day. It even sounded like older kids were somehow involved... not sure when that would have happened though.

In any case, his little spirit was broken. When I picked him up from school Friday, he seemed very distant. I tried to pry information from him... you know the typical questions like "how did your day go" and "did you have fun again today?", to which I gained no response at all. Finally he got angry with me. I though perhaps he was just that tired. It's been a huge week for him, so it made sense. I let it go and we continued to walk home. Once there, we continued our homeschooling tradition of Friday Movie Day and watched Journey to the Center of the Earth. He seemed ok, but still very quiet. It wasn't until very late in the evening, after 10 o'clock that he said he needed to talk to me. In a very mature manner he shared what had happened to the best of his ability. He seemed scared that someone might hurt him, but couldn't tell me exactly what was said, just that they were making fun of and laughing at the way he speaks.

My husband is going to talk to the counselor, the principal, and his teacher to find out what can be done to keep him feeling safer and accepted. I know this is the real world, I just really need prayer about how to handle it, how to help my son cope with being different, and how to help know how to best respond to the bullying. I'd also like to ask that everyone pray for him to meet at least one really good friend at school. We all needed that right? Some of us had that, some didn't. I personally think it makes all the difference in the world.

Ok, so I'm a bit down today. My son seems like a different boy than he did just Thursday evening when he was dreading the weekend because he didn't want to miss school. Now when the subject comes up, yes... he likes school, but he's not sure about whether he wants to be there. I know what he's saying. I just wish I knew how to make it all better!

Brick and Mortar School Decision Made

Not only that, my son is there at this very moment, doing quite well... loving it so far and even complaining that he won't be able to attend over the weekend. I do recognize that a week from now he'll likely not be singing the same tune, lol, but how cool to find him so happy!

They say structure is very important for children with Asperger's and I didn't totally appreciate how true that is until now. My son gets up at 6:45 am to play on the computer for 15 minutes (his motivation to get out of bed), then I help him take his shower and get dressed, followed by breakfast with family conversation and a trip to school with dad. He then has the structure of the school day followed by a new found structure at home, which has come out of necessity after not having had him home all day. Last night my son went to bed at his regular bedtime of 9 o'clock and I didn't see him again until this morning. That's not my son! lol Normally he's up until 11:30, sometimes even into the am. Oh, that was not good! We've had that struggle for years and years.

In any case, I wanted to share in brief what we were up to. I'll keep contributing new information to this blog about homeschooling and my family, but soon will add a second blog about my son and asperger's, where you can follow that journey with us. Once again, I don't plan on deleting this homeschooling blog. I know there are a lot of posts here that people are still enjoying and benefiting from, so we'll stay here!

Keep coming back for more homeschooling fun and be sure to stay tuned if you're interested in what's going on with my family. We're having some computer issues and I'm on a borrowed laptop. I'll probably wait to launch the new blog until after that matter is resolved... hopefully within the next week.

On a separate note, you might find some advertising here from time to time... which isn't something I've done a lot of. My homebased income has plummeted just a bit, no doubt a consequence of a struggling economy. I've decided to open this blog up a bit more to give myself more earning potential, but will never blog about anything not family friendly or that I find unfit.

Thanks everyone! Appreciate my audience... every last one of you!