Congratulations!  Random.org picked comment number 16 as our winner. 

Bonnie said...

I like DNG on Facebook!

December 22, 2010 9:43 PM 

Bonnie, if you are reading this please contact me as soon as possible.  I cannot access your Google profile, so I do not know you e-mail address.  Thanks!  

Gratefulness in a greedy world

I have bad days.

Really.  You know, a wonderful friend told me something that really stuck with me.  We were discussing how another mom was so gentle with her children and I wished I was always like that.  She said to me:

"We are all the same.  We all want to yell at our kids.  We all do yell at our kids sometimes."

So I know that you have bad days too.  We all do.  The other day I was so upset that I was ready to cry.  I wanted to take off for a vacation where the houses are clean, the laundry is done, and there is always food on time.  But, of course, barring a cruise or resort, that is not going to happen!

Why was I so upset?  My house is always messy.  Always.  Even when I think it is clean, it is dirty compared to someone else's.  Those "someone else's" don't have little ones under their feet all day long, but still.... with a little more work, my house should look like theirs, right?

My laundry was behind, and my husband was running out of clothes.  My dishes were in the sink instead of the dishwasher, I was out of bread, and the last thing I wanted to do in my messy kitchen was BAKE.  My kids were being lazy, disobedient, and grumpy.

I can come up with amazingly long lists of why I have bad days.  But here is one wonderful reason why I am having a GREAT day.

While I am at home in my (warm) messy house with my (healthy) lazy, disobedient, grumpy children-

-There is a mother in Haiti watching her child die on the side of a dirty road with no one to help, no one to hug, no one to even know.

Do you have your subscription to TOS yet?

OK, I am a little ashamed to admit this, as a member of the TOS crew.

I still do not have my own subscription to The Old Schoolhouse.  It is not that I don't want one, I do!  I have two older copies of the magazine that got passed down to me, and I have read them over and over and over.... I love them!   I would be perfectly willing to subscribe to this magazine for the regular price, it is totally worth it.  But we have had several things that had to come first, and I have been anxiously awaiting the day when I would be able to get my own subscription.

Finally, that day has arrived!  The Old Schoolhouse is offering an exceptional deal- you can get a one-year subscription for only $7.95!  I am so happy!  This is normally a $25 subscription, so this is an opportunity you do NOT want to miss!

If that were all, it would still be a great price, but The Old Schoolhouse is throwing MORE bargains into the mix!  When you buy a one-year subscription they will give you (yes, GIVE, as in FREE) their 2010 planner!  I already have one (and love it) so I am choosing to pick one of the student planners instead.  I can't wait to see it!

They are also offering two other deals on their magazine subscriptions this month: a one-year subscription with a beautiful tote bag and the e-book Cranberry Christmas, or a two year subscription with the tote bag, Cranberry Christmas and the big planner!  You will want to go to The Old Schoolhouse to check out all of these great deals, and pick the best one for you!

I am going to be getting the one-year subscription for me, and one for my sister.  She lives far away from any of our family and is homeschooling her two little ones as well.  I know this will be a great gift for her!  She doesn't have internet, so I know she won't see this!  Shhhhh!

Download N Go Creation Camouflage GIVEAWAY!

My children have had a fascination with camouflaged animals ever since we first saw a giant moth that had the habit of seeming to sink into tree bark when it landed.   They were about 2 and 3, and they still remember it.  So I was very excited when I found out that we were going to be reviewing Creation Camouflage!  Then I saw the table of contents-

Day 1: Hiding in Plain Sight 
Day 2: Getting to Know the Rain Forest 
Day 3: What Is in the Desert? 
Day 4: Hiding in the Ocean 
Day 5: Cool Things About the Tundra

See Day 4?  Ocean animals!  I didn't tell CJ about it until the day before, because I know I would hear about nothing else if I did!  I knew that the kids would have so much fun with this that they wouldn't even mind doing it during out school break.  I don't think they even thought about it, they were too busy having fun!

One thing I enjoy about the Download N Go series is the organization.  You don't really have to do anything ahead of time with these.  I like to go through them and print out the lapbook pieces and any worksheets we will use, but I wouldn't have to.  You can download one on the day you want to start it, and be busy with it 10 minutes later. You can buy them for $7.95, or buy a bundle and save!  I really like planned-out unit studies, so I was happy to see that Creation Camouflage has one habitat per day.  I was even more excited to see that we would be learning about one of the main animal groups each day, as well!  This unit study is excellent for those learning about animal classification.

I have to say that this was probably our favorite Download N Go yet.  It was such a treat!  The kids asked everyday to do it, and they were sad when it was over.  I am planning to do a longer study using this unit in the summer, using each 'day' for a whole week.  There is just that much good stuff here!  Each day focuses on a habitat, an animal type, and an animal of the day.  This would be so fun to use for a long study!  We didn't have time to use any of the recommended books, or enjoy very many of the worksheets, and we still spent several hours each day on it.

The movies were fabulous, and there were many times we had to watch them over again, just to enjoy them!  I even saved a few to show to Isaac when he got home.  God's creatures are unbelievably amazing!  We also really enjoyed the worksheets in this unit.  They are so beautiful and colorful!  This is one unit study that I would LOVE to print out completely to enjoy.

We especially enjoyed the worksheets with the food items to circle for each animal, and the drawing pages.  These drawing pages have backgrounds or borders for the little ones to draw on, and they really enjoy them.  There were even two "how-to-draw" movies included, which was just great.  All of the Download N Go movies are embedded in their own special page, so you never have to worry about your kids seeing the comments and all the junk in the sidebars at YouTube.  The lovely people at Download N Go pick these movies very carefully, and I have never seen anything in them that I do not want my kids to see (or hear).

You can read more reviews for Creation Camouflage at the Download N Go blog, or go right to the Download N Go website to buy it!

Creation Camouflage is on sale for only $5.95 

until December 18th, so don't wait! 

Giveaway:

The wonderful people at Download N Go have given me an extra copy of Creation Camouflage to give away to one of YOU!  This is a awesome study that you DO not want to miss!  If you want to get it at the sale price, hurry and do it today!  Otherwise, if you are willing to take your chances, ;)  read on!

1.  For your first entry, comment below and let me know what subject you would love to see Amanda Bennett and The Old Schoolhouse use for their next Download N Go.

Additional Entries:

2. "Like" Download N Go or Amanda Bennett's unit studies on Facebook. (or both, for two entries!)  Leave me an extra comment telling me you did. 

3. Follow my blog using Google Friend Connect and let me know.

4. Facebook about this giveaway and let me know.  

5. Blog about this giveaway for three extra chances to win!  Leave three comments if you do this, to be sure that you get entered three extra times.

Thank you so much for playing, and remember that this giveaway ends early!  I will keep this open until Wednesday, the 22nd of December.  (I don't want to be counting entries on Christmas Eve!)  

HAVE FUN!

I received this product free of charge for review purposes. I promise to be honest and fair in my reviews, and I received no other compensation in exchange for my review. You can visit the Download-N-Go blog to read more reviews on this product.

My Blog and Me

I am not a failing blogger.  :)  If you are a reader of mine (and thank you if you are!) You will have noticed that I have not done anything except reviews for several weeks.  There is a good reason, and it goes beyond neglect.

I have forgotten why I started blogging.

It's not fun anymore.

So, in light of the fact that blogging was starting to feel like another chore instead of a creative outlet, I took a long break.  When I stopped blogging, I did it suddenly and without any warning.  I did not know if I would come back to my blog, or if it would be left to reviews only.  After these weeks of head-clearing, I started wanting to write again!  

I have figured out a lot about my blogging self in these few weeks off, and I am happy to say that I will still be a blogger, at least for the time being!  I really like to blog.  I like reading other blogs, now and then.  I like taking my best pictures, knowing that (maybe) someone else in the world will be able to appreciate them.  I like sharing our days with my family and friends, and I like reviewing.  But I forgot all of that. 

Sometime during the last few months I stopped blogging for me.

I know that sounds selfish, but I really did start this blog for me.  I wanted a place to record our days.  I wanted a place to 'talk'.  I wanted a place to share pictures, not just of our kids, but all the things that are a part of my world.  I wanted a place to be creative.  But most of all, I wanted a place to build memories.  I don't want to forget these years.  

In the last few months I have been blogging as if I was writing to someone else.... you.  My readers -if there still are any- and I want to let you know that this is my blog.  It is my spot, my own little corner of the cyber world.  It is little and not very flashy, but I like it.  And from now on, I will be writing for ME.

You are all very welcome to come along for the ride, I would love it if you would stop by now and then.  But this is my creative outlet, my journal, my life.  And now that I know WHY I am doing this, I will enjoy it much more.  And so, I hope, will you.  :)

Have a blessed day!

"Good Morning, God" Review

Are you looking for a sweet picture book for your little ones?  You will want to have this one!  We recently got to review a beautiful hardback book from Apologia that is filled with a even more beautiful message.  God is there.  Always.  This book is absolutely precious.

The story is a little boy's prayers throughout the week as he goes about his daily activities.  Like most small children, he stays busy doing typical things, which he tells God all about- making a sandwich, coloring, reading, and playing.  He spends a lot of time thinking about God, and his parents teach him "while he is sitting and while he is standing...."  right out of Deuteronomy.  The young boy's thoughts are never far from God, whether he is being good or naughty.  This book has both color and pencil drawings, and they are quite sweet.  The pictures really complete the story, and they let you see what the rhythmic text leaves out.

There are just so many ways you could use this book, and there are several ideas included.  Designed for ages 1-8, There is a lot more here then just a story.  There is a page with ideas for "how to use this book", and in the back are lists of activities for each day, with questions and verses.  So far we have just read and enjoyed this book, but I plan to make this into a Five in a Row- type unit study, using the daily section for a starting place.  And, you know me, I will probably have to make lapbook pieces to go along with it.  If you do not do unit studies (or you are not ready to make your own),  you can always just read this like you would any other book.  Your children will love the story.  We read it 3 times in a row when it came out of the box, and they were asking for more!

You can buy "Good Morning, God" at Apologia Educational Ministries for $14.00, and they have an adorable little coloring book that goes along with it on this page.   This coloring book would be great to use with a more intensive study of the concepts in this book!  If you want to see more of Apologia Educational Ministries' products, you can visit their main website.

As always, visit The Old Schoolhouse Crew blog 

for more reviews of this product.

I received this product free of charge

as a member of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew,

for review purposes. I promise to be honest

and fair in my reviews, and I received no

other compensation in exchange for my review.

You can visit The Old Schoolhouse Crew blog

to read more reviews on this product.

Review: Lies the Government Told You

Not surprisingly, given the name of my blog, both my husband and I take a great interest in politics and especially the history of our country.  So of course I jumped at the chance to read this book, written by Judge Andrew Napolitano.  When I saw that the forward was by Ron Paul, I was even more excited.  This book has a chapter devoted to each lie, and there are 17 chapters in all.  It covers 'lies' such as "The Federal Reserve Shall Be Controlled by Congress" and "Everyone is Innocent Until Proven Guilty".   This is not a book written from a hypothetical point of view, as it is extensively referenced.

I thought that I might find this book hard to read, since so many political books are dry and complicated.  I was happy to find that it is a very enjoyable read, but still deep enough to explore the ideas and truths.  I really learned a lot from it, especially regarding the way that our government is currently working (or not working, as you could put it).  I feel like I am pretty well educated on the way things are SUPPOSED to be working, so it was nice to read more about what is actually happening, and more importantly, why.

This book is not shallow.  There is a lot here, so you should not expect to sit down and read it through in one evening.  I found that I needed to give this book some time to really think about what he is saying.  It is a thinking book.  :)  You may or may not agree with much of it, but if you still think that most of our government is constitutional, this book will be a great eye-opener for you.  This is also a great gift for that uncle, father, or husband who really likes controversial and political reading.

I received this book form BookSneeze, in exchange for my unbiased review.  I will receive no other compensation.