Disclosure: I received this book to review. This post and Rafflecopter form contain my affiliate link. When you make a purchase through this link, I receive a small commission which helps to sponsor these giveaway prizes. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

GIVEAWAY ENDED

Welcome to the Spring Has Sprung giveaway event hosted by LeahSay’s Views and Planet Weidknecht. This hop runs from April 15 through May 2.  Many of the bloggers offer daily entries, so be sure to visit again and again to make the most of your chances to win!

One lucky Savings in Seconds reader will win a hardback copy of M’Lady’s Book of Household Secrets plus a $10 Amazon gift card!  Downton Abbey fans, unite!! [Read more…]

Disclosure: I reviewed this book. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Welcome to the Rainy Day Reads giveaway hop! This event is hosted by A Bookish Escape and Lilybloombooks. You’ll have a chance to enter through April 30. Be sure to visit all the bloggers on the linky at the bottom of this post!

Savings in Seconds is giving away a copy of Maybelle In Stitches, thanks to Litfuse Publicity. [Read more…]

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/Febreze. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

When my kids play outside, they track in the scents of springtime.  Sometimes after they come back inside, I catch a whiff of some natural scents that aren’t altogether pleasant.  The same goes for my classroom; teaching sixth graders after gym class requires a bit of a strong stomach at times.   I’ve long stored a can of Febreze in my cabinet for such a time as this; it’s always a welcome breath of fresh air when I can spritz some Brazilian paradise scent in my classroom. This year, I was excited to try some great new choices from the #FebrezeSpring collection (available at Walmart).    [Read more…]

Disclosure: I received a discount on this product. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Welcome to the Spring Sweeping Giveaway Hop, hosted by the Blogging Mamas Network.

The days are getting warmer, brighter, and longer which may lead many to start Spring Cleaning. But we’re not ready to start cleanin’ until we’re done sweepin’! Take the next two weeks to sweep along the fabulous giveaways that a group of bloggers have come together to offer you! Be sure to hop around to all the giveaways, in the linky below, and just maybe the Grand Prize of a Shark® Lift Away Vacuum, from Brylane Home, will get someone in the Spring Cleaning mood! You can enter the Grand Prize here.   So Easy Being Green, Viva Veltoro, the Blogging Mamas Network, and the Showered with Love participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.

Our sponsor for this event is Classroom Friendly Supplies. [Read more…]

Disclosure: I received this book to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Welcome to the blog tour for Of Breakable Things.  I feel like saying “Nanny nanny boo boo” for getting to read this book before the general public because, well, it’s just that brag-worthy.  First of all, let’s talk about the cover. It’s just amazing and instantly got my attention. There’s a little bit of a creepy factor because those eyes are simply spellbinding!!!  Of Breakable Things has a beautiful rhythm yet retains the spunky flair of a young adult novel.  By mixing mythology with an extra dose of suspense, then sprinkling some perilous  journeys on top, author A. Lynden Rolland has a recipe for success.  In the spirit of Harry Potter, Of Unbreakable Things creates a fascinating world that’s so well-described that it’s easy to envision.  Trust, love, and deepest friendship are the backbone of the plot.  I really enjoyed the mystery of this book, as well as the story within a story that helps to give the adventure more depth.

[Read more…]

Disclosure: I received this book to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.
This post contains affiliate links; if you purchase through them, I will receive a small commission.

What blessings can you count today? I just got schooled in blessing-counting.

Let me start by telling you that I just returned from a weekend trip to Nashville. My daughter had an academic competition there so we made a weekend of it. Considering that it was both my kids’ birthdays (my son on Friday, daughter on Saturday) it seemed like a great opportunity to enjoy ourselves while fitting in this little school activity at the same time. Ummmm…..not so much. First, we drove well into the night to find our hotel. My mom and stepdad drove down to meet us at the competition on Saturday, but we were pretty much chained to the campus waiting for the results of the competition, so didn’t get to do much before they drove back to Kentucky. We ate fast food the whole trip, so we were looking forward to an amazing lunch at a great restaurant on our way back home. This morning as we drove back, we had planned to do some sight-seeing, but our van decided to light up and we were scared to turn the car off in case it wouldn’t start back up. The air conditioning petered out on us as the battery drained of its lifesource, so we drove most of the way with the windows down and wind raging in our 80+ degree ears. [Read more…]

Do you love entering giveaways but wish that there were more prizes to go around?  Well, in this fun hop, you have twice the opportunity to win because it’s the TWICE as Nice Giveaway!  As the name suggests, each blogger is offering two prizes.  Some prizes are related, some aren’t.  Either way you’re sure to find some great packages to help you enjoy spring!  Thanks to The Review Wire for hosting this event.

Disclosure: I received these products to review thanks to @TommyNelson and Rigoni di Asiago. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Make sure to stop by The Review Wire and enter for your chance to win 1 of 2 Beard Head Hats (RV $45)! These feature a beanie, a cap and a hat, all rolled into a magnificent beard and mustache! Choose from one of several collections that include Duck Dynasty, Barbarian or the Tailgate Series.

Our sponsors for this event are Rigoni di Asiago and Tommy Nelson. [Read more…]

Disclosure: I received this book to review. The post contains affiliate links that will give me a small commission if you purchase through them. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

It’s really, really hard to explain to children that adults don’t always make the right choices. Since I teach social studies and get to share the fun stories of the world, my students are often shocked by the outright scandalous things that adults in history have done. For example, explaining that Henry VIII had 6 wives is always a fun teaching day. Greek mythology gets a little dicey when it’s time to talk about Zeus and his indiscretions. Current events are no exception; how is it possible to make a child understand the concept of biological warfare when it’s horror to my own ears? Children think that adults do everything right, when oftentimes the complete opposite is true.

Most parents try to do right by their kids, but sometimes things just go wrong. You don’t suddenly make good choices just because you have kids. I don’t think parents emotionally scar their children on purpose (at least, most don’t) but sometimes life happens. No one ever says, “I wish I had screwed up my kids a little bit more.” [Read more…]

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links; if you make a purchase through them, I will receive a small commission. I received the book to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

We’re going through changes here in the Savings in Seconds house.  It’s with extreme pleasure and terrible sadness that I celebrate my kids’ birthdays this week.  Why sadness, you ask?  Because my kids are growing up too fast!!  I’m heartbroken about my daughter’s double-digit age; before we know it, she’ll be driving.  My son starts kindergarten next year.  It’s just going by like a whirlwind and I want time to slow down a little bit!  I remember like yesterday the first time we bought her a super-cute Gymboree outfit for the first time.  My husband thought I’d lost my mind, running around the store finding the matchy-matchy shoes and sweater to go with the dress (that cost more than the entire outfit I was wearing.)  Now that she’s older, she has her own style.  [Read more…]

FTC Disclosure Statement: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Last week was spring break.  Glorious pajama days, lots of books, and many donuts were enjoyed by all.  If we press rewind and go back to the week before spring break, however, it was like a crazy Twilight Zone episode.  For one thing, my classes just seemed off kilter.  It wasn’t just mine, it turns out; many of the teachers commented on how spring was in the air.  I was relieved that my son didn’t have any homework during that wild week.  I thought his Pre-K teacher must be giving him the week off.  Love that lady.  Well, it turns out that she did send homework home.  We just left it in the backseat of the car by accident.  As in, all week.  Oops.  That’s not the first time that my car has held our belongings hostage.   [Read more…]