Teachers can sense it.  That first wave of the stomach bug, flu, or strep throat is like a tiny siren going off in our heads.  When that first child, then the second, then the third complains of a sore throat or upset stomach, we all inwardly groan knowing what’s coming next. I only use my own writing utensils, warding off student pencils like the plague.  I wash my hands so frequently that they beg for moisturizer.  This year was particularly bad; some children were out for a week or longer trying to fight off illness.  So what do I do?  I keep disinfectant wipes in my classroom and try to kill the germs on surfaces as often as I think of it.  Phones, doorknobs, light switches, and even pencil sharpeners are all victim to my healthing rage.  So what is healthing, you ask?  It’s the reason you’re cleaning in the first place.  Cleaning makes things look nice.  Healthing keeps my family safe.  It keeps my students safe. It keeps me safe. [Read more…]

Teaching has given me a brand-new perspective on parenting. For the first few years of my teaching career, my students treated me more like their older sister. I am short (and at that time, I was also pretty thin) so many adults often thought I was a student at the middle school where I taught. In fact, I once got in trouble during a fire drill for not being with my class. Ha! Now that I’m a parent and am older, I see my students in a different light. They belong to someone. They are a child of The Father. My words, tone, and sense of responsibility is different toward my students because I know that some of them don’t have a parental figure to look up to.  I’ve even had students who have told me, “My mom doesn’t care about me.”  That just breaks my heart!    When I send my own children off to school, how do they behave? How do they represent our family? Do they know they are loved beyond measure?  Do they know right from wrong, do they act on that sense? Lead Your Family Like Jesus: Powerful Parenting Principles from the Creator of Families explores how parents can take a leadership role in the family. Whether you’re a mom, dad, or serving as both while being a single parent, there are lessons to be learned from this book. It gives excellent “Points to Ponder” that urge the reader to take a look inside the heart.  Reading this book is such an exercise in becoming the parent that God wants you to be.   I highly recommend it! [Read more…]

Can you feed your family for $5?  I am not a budget-dinner kind of mom.  It’s not that we eat steak-and-potatoes every night or anything; my family just prefers meals that tend to cost a bit more.  I don’t mind.  As long as my kids eat what I prepare, I’m happy.  Lately we’ve been trying to save money on our food budget, though, so I’ve been more careful.  Once in a while it’s definitely time for a splurge on take-out.  We’ve switched from getting delivery of expensive pan pizzas to picking up a pizza at Little Caesar’s.   At just $5 (plus tax) for a large Hot-and-Ready one-topping pizzas, I can definitely do that once a week if we want.  No coupon is required, that’s just the regular price.  That’s why we’re celebrating them this week on Tricities Tuesday!  We also ask them to sprinkle their crazy bread topping on the pizza which makes it absolutely delicious!  [Read more…]

Welcome to the Lucky Bunny Giveaway Hop hosted by BloggerPR .  The participating bloggers wanted to bring all of our readers a little something from the Easter Bunny !  Each prize package is valued at $20 or more, and there are a LOT to enter. Lots of chances to win for you lucky bunnies!  This event will run until Easter (March 31st), which gives you plenty of time to hop down the linky list.  Happy Easter!

Savings in Seconds is excited to give you some extra free time this Easter.  How much time do you spend cleaning your bathroom surfaces?  It’s a major pain for me to keep our bathrooms clean. With two small children, a busy life, and well….just laziness….in my way, cleaning my shower is not priority one most of the time.  Wet & Forget shower cleaner is a weekly spray that does what it says.  You just spray it on the surfaces and forget it!  My shower walls have a tendency to get grimey after a day or two, but this really kept the ick at bay.
You can read my full review and see how much I like it.  It’s also good for many other areas that need to be cleaned, so it’s a multi-purpose product.  This giveaway is open to US readers ages 18+ (except where prohibited by law.)   Enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck! [Read more…]

Now that my daughter is turning 9 years old, it’s harder for me to find active toys that she likes to play with.  She’ll still climb trees and swim in the summers, but the jump rope isn’t being picked up as often as it once was.  She wants to listen to her music, play on her iPod, and talk with her friends on the phone.  I miss those days when a new toy would really keep her moving and engaged, laughing and having fun!  Active fun for the tween is hard to come by.  (Disclosure: We received toys to play with! Opinions shared are mine.)

One game that she always enjoyed was Twister, so I was excited when Hasbro sent me this Twister Rave Ringz Game to try.  [Read more…]

If you’re a Redbox fan like we are, you will want to snag your free rental today!   If you opt for a Bluray or game rental, you may have to pay a little extra.  But hey, every extra bit helps right?  And so many people are on spring break right now that this might be a way to break the monotony.  You could even use this to pass the time in the van (thank God for DVDs in cars) and then you can just return it to any Redbox the next day.   Since the temps are getting cold here in the Tricities this weekend, it’ll be nice to have a new movie to watch.  Although the offer states that it’s good for Tricities Redbox locations, it might not hurt to try it if you live elsewhere. After all, it’s FREE!

If you live in the Tricities area, you will want to check out the other deals that Save Right Now has today. [Read more…]

Sigh.
I can never get enough of Mr. Darcy.  My husband even likes the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice, so we watch it at least once a year.   I always feel disappointed at the end, though. I’d love to see their happily ever after….what becomes of the Darcy family?

If you have been longing for a Pride and Prejudice sequel that would compare to the original, take a chance on Experience. I’ve read a few fan-fics that just didn’t measure up. More than once, I’ve stumbled upon a racy sequel that left me blushing and feeling embarrassed that someone would defile Austen’s work in such a way! Experience isn’t that way.  It’s very true to Austen’s style.  In fact, author Meg Kerr uses some of the original dialogue in Experience. It helps to connect with the original and I liked that.  [Read more…]

God must want me to have a clean house on Easter.  For the past ten years or so, we have guests at our home for Easter.  My babies were born around that time, so there’s usually a party to plan.  Otherwise, there’s an egg hunt to enjoy.  At the very least, we have family over for Easter lunch.  So that means it’s time to clean up for all these people!

What’s the hardest room for you to keep clean?  For me, it’s the bathroom.   When our house was built, they thought it would be a good idea to use almond-colored fixtures galore.  The result is that our surfaces never look completely clean.  I am a fan of stark-white bathrooms, and this just isn’t it.  Since our bathrooms are high-traffic areas and well, because of the goings-on in there, I feel the need to frequently clean our bathrooms.  My son has a complete meltdown if he sees anything in the shower so it has to stay nearly sterile in there.  My daughter somehow flings shower gel and shampoo around while she’s bathing so there’s always a nice little surprise dried on the shower wall.  Plus, our bathroom is in this little back corner of the house and the air circulation isn’t that great.  The shower walls get mildewed pretty quickly and I just don’t have time to clean them every single day.  Are you seeing my dilemma—constant need of cleaning? [Read more…]

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Opinions shared are mine.

My husband, dear man, has been doing the laundry.  I guess he got tired of me waiting for it to pile up to overflowing, then doing a laundry marathon a couple of times a month.  Or possibly he just wants to help me out.  Whatever the reason, he’s been washing all the clothes AND putting them away.  Yes, I married Prince Charming.  So a few days ago he said to me, “It’s time you got some new clothes.”  For most women, those are probably the words they’ve been waiting for all their lives.  Since I’m a frugal mama, though, I can’t bring myself to just go out and buy a whole new wardrobe.  Because of course, you know, I don’t want to buy new clothes until I lose the baby weight.  We don’t need to speak about the fact that my “baby” is having his 4th birthday in a few weeks.

So to stretch my existing wardrobe a little longer, I would much prefer to buy some new jewelry.  First of all, there’s no trying anything on.  And I don’t have to worry about this Spring Awakening Necklace being too tight, now do I? [Read more…]

A few weeks ago, I had a chance to try Blurb’s new Designer Photo Book Templates.   I’m completely lazy and haven’t been ambitious enough to make one of these at the drugstore, although I’ve always said I would.  Make a photo book while sitting in my pajamas and drinking a Coke?  Sure!   I registered for a free Blurb account in just a few seconds. [Read more…]