Homeschooling, Pets, & Dog Beds!

Do you find that having a pet in the house adds to or takes away from homeschooling? Is a dog a distraction when you're working on a math assignment or is having a dog to clean up after a valuable life lesson in responsibility? Do you spoil your pets?

If you have a dog I'd like to hear from you. We're thinking about it... always thinking, but yet to act on the idea of getting another "someone to care for". I love animals, especially dogs and my favorite breed is the Labrador Retriever. Having grown up with this breed of dog I know how wonderful they are. Great buddies, great protectors, great fun to play with... especially if you have Frisbee, a baseball, or even a good stick in hand. lol

Here's another fun aspect of owning a dog... have you seen the beds they make for pets these days? You can actually find a dog bed that looks good in your home! No kidding. The dog beds at PawDigs are so nice, I wouldn't mind using one for myself! lol Especially the Countour Lounger, which is part of the large dog beds selection, which believe it or not (other than the dog-bone shaped pillow) looks as though it were made for a me! Then there's the Bowsers dog beds which resemble bean bags. Throw in a puppy and oh how cute!

I didn't realize there was such a thing as designer dog beds until I reviewed the Harry Barker dog beds which you can get in a bed roll (great for traveling) or a variety of different shapes and sized mattresses, even polar fleece blankets!

Ok, so how many of you with dogs have a special bed for your buddy? Tell me about it! : )

Homeschool Crafts for Teens

If your teen likes to sew, or maybe you do and you're looking for a few cool gift ideas you could make by hand (always my personal favorite) you'll want to visit Skip to my Lou. This site offers ideas, with photos, and even links to instructions! My favorite is the one listed top of the page... a CD holder for the car visor. The one pictured on site is in a colorful floral print. So much fun and not a lot of money or skill to make. Your daughter (or son) could make these for all their friends... maybe even one for you and dad? lol

I wanted to share this site for 2 reasons... one so that my audience could enjoy the information and the other so I would have the site within easy reach! I may just may be making all the family gifts this year and if I do, this will be where I start! I don't have any teenagers just yet, but there are a lot of great handmade gift ideas here that will suit my family and extended family just fine. :o)

Now... where's all the homeschooling related stuff? I'm working on it!! Promise!

Great Bargains for Mom!

The economy is really in a downward spiral. We know first hand as last week my husband's position at work was eliminated! We never thought that could happen. Not in a million years... talk about a reality slap. The upshot is he had another job 2 hours later with another company and starts this Wednesday. Talk about feeling blessed!

In any case, I guess you could say we now know first hand how bad the economy really is. We're starting to realize that we need to save any which way we can (to prepare for whatever life might hand us). Today I found a great deal of a website for parents looking to save on the necessities of life. It's called Mama's Daily Deal and today's deal is an Esprit Sun Speed Stroller which retails for $139, but today (until time or supply runs out) you can snatch it for only $55!

This site also gives away a free pack of Pampers each and every day to someone on their email list. If you don't have a baby in the house, you can opt for a $15 gift certificate instead. Woo Hoo!

Pretty cool site to visit on a daily basis... wouldn't you say? You never know what you might find there, but you know it's going to be offered at an unbeatable price!

Jesus Is... The T-Shirt

I'm building a new CafePress shop and have added a few categories... including a Christian shop, cake decorating shop, and apparel for moms who work from home. Basically I'm covering everything that defines me! lol I have moved my homeschooling apparel here too, so everything is under one roof. The name of my new store is SparkleSpot!

I wanted to ask for opinions on my newest design. Any and all feedback is appreciated!

I wanted to add a larger view, but if you follow the link to my store by either clicking on the shirt, or the "my store" button in the left sidebar you'll have the ability to view the design large enough to get the full effect!

Let me know what you think and thank ya in advance! :o)

Another Fun Online Time Killer

Lately I've been finding a lot of this type of thing online... time wasters that is. I hope you'll find this one as interesting as I do. I've been playing at Ultimate Flash Face, creating faces from pre-created profiles of noses, mouths, eyes and the like. It's actually kind of fun. I was trying to make my own face, but haven't quite got the skill down. This lady doesn't really look anything like me or anyone in my family! lol

In any case, this is something you and your children might have fun with. It reminds me of what I would imagine they might use in criminal investigations where an eye-witness is involved. Perhaps their technology is a bit more advanced, but you can pretend you witnessed the crime of the century and it's up to you to paint a picture for the FBI. Ok, so I haven't had my morning coffee yet.

When you're there creating your dream face, your criminal face, your neighbor's face, or whatever you're inspired to do, be sure to play with the item scaler. You can broaden and thin out facial features. Also, be sure to move features around on the face by clicking and dragging. It's super simple and a fun way to burn 10 minutes of your day.

Preserving Our Own Stem Cells

I hope no one is weirded out by this post, but I sincerely believe this information is worth sharing with my readers. It's a new concept, at least to me and one that could prove to be life saving to you and possibly even your parents, siblings and children.

So what am I talking about exactly? It turns out women's menstrual blood contains self-renewing stem cells. Surprised? I sure am. Even as I type this I'm floored by what I'm reading at C’elle.

Your stem cells can be safely and securely frozen for future use. Imagine with the way medicine is progressing what those stem cells might be able to do for you one day down the road. Consider what we already know about the benefits of stem cells, then consider the ethical debates on how they're currently being collected, finally consider how simple it would be to collect your stem cells at home. No clinic, no pain, no hassles, and absolutely no ethical considerations.

If you're interested in pricing information, it may be easily obtained on the C'elle website. You may even want to consider gifting this option to a loved one. A collection kit can be delivered to anyone you wish!

Ordering supplies is simple too and for a limited time you can save $200 for the service using coupon code: CN200.

I strongly recommend considering this service. Some day we may all be glad we did!

Update on My Son

This blog is turning into a bit of an everything blog. I apologize for that! Although, it hopefully will keep things interesting. I have several things going on here, but my main focus will continue to be that of my children, my appreciation and admiration of homeschooling families, and any and all useful information I can share... homeschooling or otherwise.

With that said, I'd like to provide a brief update on the progress of my son. For those not familiar with our story, we had to recently suspend our homeschooling journey and sent our young children to a brick and mortar school for the first time last month. Talk about transition! It was a bit scary entering uncharted territory, but it's been 95% positive... so far.

My Aspie (Aspergers) son is doing exceptionally well! In fact last week at a parent teacher conference we were delighted to learn that he's making all A's. Even in math, which is a complete shock to mom! Ok... before I get too excited I have to think they likely don't push as hard at school as I did. I also suspect they're giving him a certain amount of grace as they don't want to push the new child, the previously homeschooled child, the Aspergers child... too hard. They're being a bit gentle, but I also know he's been tested at a 4th grade reading level and is only in the second grade. He's also getting near perfect scores on all his homework assignments, in all subjects and is doing a stellar job on his challenging spelling tests. So there ya go!

I'd also like to brag that my son is making friends and having a blast. It's been a good experience for him. This is his season to be at a brick and mortar school. It may be short lived, only time will tell, but for now I'm feeling so blessed. I had prayed about this decision for months before I felt it was right. When that time came I knew without a doubt and have yet to regret my decision.

Not Your Everyday Baby Clothes

It can be a lot of fun to dress your baby in something expressive and unique and since your little one hasn't developed his or her own set of interests or tastes, you get to share yours! That means your little one can sport an appreciation for punk rock or Route 66 in a uniquely styled onesie when you venture out for your next playdate, family event, or trip to the local market and believe me, people will notice!

I like shopping for things that are a bit different. That's just me. I often get bored with what I find in the stores for my children. The options aren't all that unique, especially when it comes to casual wear. It's sort of exciting to find something that's more on the expressive side; that's exactly what I found this evening!

Some of the designs at The Retro Baby are a bit edgy, others will make you laugh, and then there are those that might well reflect a hobby or interest of the parent. I love the guitar onesie and couldn't help but think of a friend with young children who plays the electric guitar. If you or your spouse are a doctor, you'll love the McBaby design with stethoscope. Too cute!

Hip Baby Clothes are just a click away! This site even offers Smurf onesies! lol Remember the Smurfs cartoon from your childhood? Or am I giving away too much about my age when I ask that question? Ooops!

My favorite onesies on this site are the Dr. Suess designs and there are plenty to choose from. If I were to buy today, I'd probably pick the Horton Hears a Who movie onesie as that happens to be the Dr. Suess story my kids are the most familiar with! So much fun! This site is one I'll be bookmarking for gift giving. Be sure to check it out!

Homeschooling Blog Giveaway Winner!

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post the winner of the I'M a Lovable ME book giveaway! Shame on me! I wanted to give the winner time to send me her address as well as permission to post her name. Now that both those boxes have been checked, here's the winning name:

Congrats to Leah N. from Baltimore Maryland!!

Thanks to all 25 entrants! I appreciate the time you took to leave a comment on THB and hope you'll stick around for more fun giveaways!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Free Lesson Plans... 4000+ to Choose From!

Ok... here's another great websites for moms and teachers or for moms who are functioning as teachers! Teachers.net offers thousands of free online lesson plans and activities. You can even submit your own plans, which is sorta cool. If you've fallen in love with a lesson you created for your own kids and would like to share it with the world, now you know how!

I especially like all the art projects posted here... although you'll not find any photos, you can still get a lot of great ideas and you don't have to pay a penny for them. Supply your own materials and the ideas found on this website and you're all set!

You may conveniently search by grade level, subject or keyword. Some of the lessons are more complete than others, but you'll definitely find ideas here. I found some lessons were doable with things I already had around the house, others required materials like diagrams, certain software, projectors, laminators or what have you. If you find you love a lesson plan, but can't make it work exactly the same way as the poster did... you might just find a little creativity will get you to the same end!

Refinancing in Seattle

Looking to buy new property or refinance an existing home in Seattle? Daryl McCarthy is your guy. If you're hoping to land the lowest mortgage rates available or just find the right mortgage program, give the search to a trusted professional. Don't lose sleep wondering who to turn to when you're called to a new city. Relocating... whether across town or across the country you now know where to start!

Start and end your search with Seattle mortgage company and Daryl McCarthy, a top ranked mortgage professional with over 800 successful transactions under his belt.

If you'd like a free mortgage quote, be sure to visit Seattle Home Lone Advisor and take advantage of the on site calculator. Simple and easy to use!

Homeschool Pep Talk Video... I Will Survive!

Love this and wanted to share with all you homeschooling mommies and homeschool mom wanna-be's!

Online Student Skills Builder... Math & Language Arts

I'm thrilled to have discovered Sadlier-Oxford's website fully loaded with online skill builders for grades K-8. They are one of my favorite publishers of mathematics textbooks; my children have both used their Progress in Mathematics textbooks, 1st grade and 2nd grade editions. The lessons are well written, colorful, easy to follow, and include great instruction and illustrations and are constructed like workbooks.

A friend recently asked where we had purchased the kid's math lessons, so I went looking online for the publisher's website and found not only the textbooks, but a wide variety of tutorials, skill update exercises, worksheets, and more! This is where my kids and I will be brushing up our math and reading skills this Summer. No doubt about it!

Here's the starting point for your student: Student Pages

Another link provides shopping... if you're so inclined: Shopping Pages

This site offers online manipulatives like an online abacus, online algebra tiles, base blocks, dueling calculators and more! Check out the pages of virtual manipulatives and consider how they could supplement your homeschool curriculum! Very cool... trust me on this... you don't want to skip over this free resource!

Google's Homepage Logo Contest!

Google's Doodle 4 Google contest, open to homeschoolers, is up and running in an effort to select a new design for Google's homepage logo! Your homeschooler could actually be the winning artist if he or she has the right creative juices to get Google flowing! Be sure to check the Doodle 4 Google website to read the skinny on all rules before entering.

Rules (Just the basics):

• You must be in grades K-12 (open to homeschools who preregister on the Doodle 4 Google website)
• Must live in the United States of America
• Minors must obtain parental permission to enter
• Registration ends at 11:59 PM (PT) on March 17th, 2009.

Prizes:

The first prize winner will receive a $15,000 college scholarship and a laptop computer, among many other cool prizes. Information on runners up prizes along with full details on first place prizes can be obtained from the Doodle 4 Google website.

My Kindergartner is quite the artist, so you know I'll be entering her into this competition for sure. Oh how wonderful winning this scholarship would be! She already has such big dreams about what she wants to be when she grows up! Thanks Google for giving moms like myself the chance to start saving early for their children's future success! Wishing us luck... and all those who compete against us. :)

Doodle Image borrowed from Google

Free Printable Coloring Calendar Pages

These fun calendar pages are simply perfect for planning family and school events or for teaching your children about how to read a calendar. They'll love the adorable graphics and will no doubt want to help you add a bit of color using their favorite box of crayons or markers.

Homeschoolingabout.com offers a great variety of free printables to satisfy your homeschooling needs. If you have the printer and the paper, you're all set!

Visit there site now for their selection of Valentine's Day printables, which include crosswords and other kid friendly activities!

Give Your Small Business a Boost!

If you're currently operating a small business you may be looking for the means to fully finance your dreams. Perhaps you're also toying with the possibility of accepting credit cards... the preferred way for many shoppers to buy, whether out of convenience or necessity. You may also want to consider accepting checks by phone, just one more benefit setting you apart from your competition.

OnlineCheck.com offers all these services to the small business owner. Their Small Business Loans are provided without closing costs or fees, with approval in 48 hours for individuals in business at least 6 months. If you're not sure you'll qualify, you may complete a no obligation online inquiry for a personal financial consultation.

OnlineCheck.com is in good standing with the BBB.

Book Review: Classic Bible Storybook

Book Title: Classic Bible Storybook
Author: Kenneth N. Taylor (translator of The Living Bible and founder of Tyndale House Publishers)
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Illustrations: Richard and Frances Hook

I've recently had the pleasure of examining Classic Bible Storybook along with my children (2nd grade and Kindergarten). My son who will be 8 in April loves to read God's word and for many months called the Bible his favorite book of all. At that age, favorites come and go, and although he's now moved onto Star Wars, I have every faith the Bible will always be near and dear to his precious heart. He's an excellent reader... evaluated at a 4th grade reading level and found this particular Bible reader the perfect fit to read alone, without any help from mom. Although, it has always been my preference to read the Bible together, I'll never stop him from reading God's word independently! Likewise, my Kindergartner finds the stories in this storybook easy to comprehend as they're written especially with children in mind.

My kids have been very encouraged by the well-worded 120 plus Bible stories and the wonderful illustrations that accompany each lesson. Each story is numbered and is written in story form, rather than verse format (as found in an adult Bible) and includes stories from both the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible. You'll find the book and chapter under the story title, so you can correspond the lesson to whatever version of the Bible you may be using at home. At the end of each story you'll find questions to share with you kids which serves as a nice guide for discussion time.

Each story is short enough to make a good morning devotional or evening bedtime read. If you're looking for a great children's Bible to help your little ones develop a good Bible reading regimen and strengthen their appreciation for God's word, consider this wonderful 270 page, hardcover collection of classic Bible stories.

We've been fans of Tyndale since my kids were in diapers, with their excellent Little Blessings series. The Tyndale name is familiar to us as a trusted Bible teaching resource for our entire family.

Dating Site for Horse Riders

I've never seen a dating site reserved specifically to a single hobby or activity and found this to be rather interesting. If you have a single friend who is a lover of horses, this could be a cool way for that friend to meet someone special.

I'd never heard of equestrian cupid, but I have friends who've met their spouses on other dating websites... so I know it can be done! Just be careful about how much personal information you share. Be sure you're comfortable with whomever you're visiting with... which you would naturally do anyway, even if you met that person at the library or in the produce section of your favorite market. Just practice good common sense and if you do hook up, maybe make it a double date with friends... your friends that is! The other benefit to double dating is you can ask your friends what they thought afterwords. Can't hurt!

If you have someone in mind who might want to give this a try, Equestrian cupid offers a FREE sign-up, which will allow you to create a profile and upload a photo. Members and other guests of the service will then be able to view your information. You'll be able to view other singles too, but you'll have limited availability to unless you become a member of the site.

So, if you're a single horse rider.... or you know someone who is, consider this new twist in online dating. Technology allows for so many interesting possibilities doesn't it? It's amazing what we can do these days! Between your computer and your love of horses you could actually meet your future wife or husband!

Planning Our First Parent Teacher Conferences

This afternoon we'll be meeting with our son and daughter's teachers for our very first conferences. I'm actually excited to hear how they've been doing overall. We get reports concerning our Aspie son fairly often, so I don't expect there to be a lot of surprises there, but I have no clue how my Kindergartner is fairing other than the fact that she's made scads of friends.

My children seem to like school, most the time. I don't expect to leave them in a brick and mortar school long term, but do hope to get them through the 5th grade before bringing them home again. We'll see what happens. There are some benefits to public school (keep in mind we live in a top rated school district)... I do see that my son is happier than he was when he was homeschooled. He's made a couple friends and seems to have a lot more self-confidence.

At the same time, I've noticed his stuttering has intensified. The school must evaluate him before completing his IEP, then he'll start speech therapy. It might be next month before that happens. I wish I had the money to get him into speech therapy independently. He needs it so desperately. It's actually hard to hear him talk sometimes. He begins a sentence 5 and 6 times before getting through it. Wish I knew how to help him with that!

Anyway, I'll keep my readers posted! Pray for a good meeting with each teacher!

Christian Chat

I've benefited a handful of times from online message boards, but have never joined a chatroom. I belong to forums for work-at-home moms, kids with special needs, cake decorators, and one or two Christian message boards. It's a great way for moms to compare notes on whatever they're doing, whatever their kids are doing, whatever their cakes might be doing! lol

If you like forums, but prefer chatrooms you'll find a brand new room specifically for Christians to visit with one another at Christian Chat City. Find a few other moms looking for an outlet for their joys and frustrations. Maybe we could all request they start a Homeschool Chat City? Wouldn't that be fun?

Children's Book Giveaway Reminder

I'm a bit bummed that the response to the I AM a Lovable ME! book giveaway hasn't been a bit better, but there's still time!

Our sponsor has generously offered one visitor a free I AM a Lovable ME! Affirmations for Children book. Entering is super simple so jump on board and get your name in the pool before Saturday, Feb. 14th at 11:59 PM (CDT). That's right! You have until end of day Valentine's Day to enter. :)

This is a great book for your son or daughter, niece or nephew, or favorite child who could use a little positive affirmation. We can all benefit from that... can't we?

So, please do your favorite child a favor and jump on over to the link above to find out how to enter this no strings attached giveaway. It's super quick and painless to enter and the results could be a wonderful book shipped straight to your door!

Custom Design Your Own T-Shirts!

What a cool idea for your homeschool especially if you have a large family, but even looking beyond that imagine designing your own family vacation t-shirts in order to easier keep track of one another? Maybe you are part of a homeschooling organization or coop... what a great fund raiser for your pool of families! Design a winning t-shirt for selling at a fair or perhaps a shirt with your organizations name, just to feel more connected to one another.

Custom T-Shirts are available at DesignAShirt.com where you can design your own company, family, or organizational t-shirts... as well as other custom merchandise. I was surprised that they actually offer 10 different brands of shirts to choose from, so for example if you prefer Champion to Hanes, or Anvil to Ping... you'll have the added luxury of ordering exactly what you want.

What about the design itself? You can build it right from the website! No additional software is required. That is... if you're starting from scratch you'll be set with the sites gallery of clipart. On the other hand, if you have your own artwork, you can load it to the site using a browse feature. It's super simple and a whole lot of fun!

Add text to your design and your all set! You even have control over clip art and text color, scale, rotation, and alignment. Are you as interested in this site as I am? Go have some fun playing custom t-shirt designer!

Building Elementary Math Skills... Online Practice Exercises

I was Stumbling this morning and found a cool math practice site for children Pre-K through 5th grade called IXL.com. They offer a wide range of brain building exercises to strengthen you student's math skills and build confidence in your young student.

IXL.com offers both a free version and paid version. I signed in as a guest and did a bit of playing myself... just to see if this was something we might use over the Summer months to challenge our children and keep their minds from going soft. I think the paid membership of just $9.95 a month or $79 for a year is a reasonable price, given you'll have full access to the site's 100+ math building skills and all the practice you can possibly ask for!

The coolest part, from a homeschooler's perspective, is this site actually tracks your children's scores for you... additionally the questions grow increasingly challenging as they improve.

Does anyone out there have any personal experience with this site? I'd love to hear from you if you do!

Larson Vinyl Shutters... Find Them Online!

Larsons ExteriorShutterSource.com offers a wide variety of both standard and custom discount exterior vinyl shutters to add a fresh look to your home's exterior. All shutters come with a 40 year Mid-American Warranty and free shipping on orders over $225.

If vinyl shutters are on your shopping list, take a peak at the most popular line of shutters on the market today. By shopping ExteriorShutterSource.com you can enjoy the many benefits of shopping online! No hassels, no traveling, and with this online retailer you'll find great prices and free shipping on qualifying orders.