The Coordinating Outfits

These are the coordinating outfits I made for the kids. I know it is kinda hard to see them, but then again, it is kinda hard to get the kids all together, looking in the *almost* same direction, and not crying. So, this is also the picture for our photo Christmas cards ( see previous sentence for the reason why). I have other holiday outfits for the kids, because I have a huge place in my heart for dressing my kids alike . . .

Sweater and Hairbow

I made the dress,

my mom made the sweater,

I got the headband from my friends' etsy shop

and I attached the hairbow.

Cute baby provided by God

Review: Wright On Time:Arizona

This book, Wright On Time: Arizona (Book One) was provided to me free of charge for review through Mama Buzz.

Author: Lisa M. Cotrell-Bentley

Although we are commonly told not to judge a book by its cover, I was excited when I first saw this book. The cover led me to believe that this would be a great book for us all to enjoy. In no time at all we joined 7 yo Aidan Wright and his 11yo Nadia sister on their adventure in Arizona.

This story depicts the fictional Wright family, as they "Road school" in their RV. The first book, Arizona, takes them through adventures in caves, searching for minerals, dealing with bats . . .and weaves in enough education to really make it worth your while. Targeted for the 5-12 year old crowd, by 7 yo girl and 5yo boy both enjoyed the adventure. The reading was easy enough for my 7yo to do independently, but we enjoyed reading it as a family during our school day. I can't wait to see what other adventures. I have always been amazed at what a blessed nation we are, with our mountains, plains, wetlands, deserts . . .I know these books will help foster an attitude of appreciation in my children for the wonderful land our nation has been entrusted with.

In addition, the website also feature a blog by Nadia who is transcribing from her paper journal, I think my daughter will enjoy seeing what Nadia has to say about her adventures.

In conclusion, I am thrilled that I have been made aware of this series. I am eagerly awaiting the upcoming books. Being a military family that has made our own way through 3 states in the last 6 years, I think that this series will be enjoyable for us. As the books come out for the states that have been part of our lives, we will definitely be ordering them.

Currently the book Arizona is the only one available, with Utah available as a pre-order. They are easy to obtain at the Wright On Time Website Store.

It can also be obtained at Amazon.com

I know it is time . . .Stay tuned

I know it is about time for an updated photo of my children wearing coordinated outfits. I don't know why I am so fond of my children dressed this way, but I'm doing it while I can. A shipment will be arriving soon, and I am going to try to set up a little studio in the house (or maybe outside based on the weather). So, stay tuned.

Review: The Ultimate Cloth

**This is a Mama Buzz review for The Ultimate Cloth, It was provided for me free of charge for review**

Price: $6

Link: http://www.ultimateclothamerica.com/index.html

Media Blurb:

The Ultimate Cloth is eco-friendly solution for homes as well as a money and time saver. The Ultimate Cloth is a brand new technology – in fact, it is the only cloth to receive a new patent in the last 25 years. The Ultimate Cloth is a simple, green and effective one-step cleaning process. The Ultimate Cloth cleans any hard surface – glass, wood, granite, stainless steel and many more – with just water! No longer do you have to use harsh chemicals in your home, nor do you need spend hundreds of dollars per year buying them. The Ultimate Cloth has been lab tested to remove 96% of bacteria, without the use of chemicals. And, can cut 50% off your cleaning time. The Ultimate Cloth is truly the ultimate in green cleaning."


My Blurb:

I really like this cloth. It resembles a very rugged paper towel, and it has been used primarily in my kitchen since it arrived in my mailbox. Clicking on the link above will take you to their very informative website with many, many suggestions for usage. I tried it out on the following:

1. My stainless steel kitchen sink. I love it. I am an occasional follower of the FLYLady (and her goal of the shiny sink). Keeping this cloth handy made for a great finishing touch to a clean sink, especially by getting rid of the water spots and leaving a shine that I love. I also used it to wipe down my stainless steel bowl on my Kitchenaid mixer, again, great results.

2. I used it to scrub my stove. I was almost hesitant at first, since I did not want to damage the cloth . . . but its durability impressed me as I got some rather tough spots cleaned.

3. Windows/Mirrors. My small children like to leave fingerprints on my windows, and toothpastey water splashes on my bathroom mirrors. This worked well on those jobs, but I did have a small learning curve on the level of dampness that the cloth should be at for these jobs. Not a big deal at all for me.

4. I didn't realize it until I read it on the website, but it can be used as a flat mop refill. I have the swiffer model that takes both wet and dry refills so I ran to try it out. I like how quickly I could give my kitchen floor a cleaning without worrying about what chemicals I was leaving on my floors. I would mop, remove it, rinse/ring it out, and replace. No sick feeling in my stomach trying to calculate how much each of those refills was eating out of my grocery budget!

I love that it can be bleached, although I have not tried that yet. It can also go into the washing machine. I usually let it air dry on my kitchen towel rack (aka stove handle) and then fold it away in the towel drawer for its next use. Be careful to advise husbands, house guests, and if you are so lucky . . . your maid . . . that this is not a disposable towel.

I like to get my children involved in the household cleaning, and I feel very comfortable with handing them The Ultimate Cloth and letting them clean what they can. (usually they are armed with spray bottles and some paper towels) I believe the $6 price tag will save lots for our family in the paper towel department!

FREE OFFER FROM THE MAKERS OF THE ULTIMATE CLOTH

Want to try it out for yourself?

Become a fan on Facebook (Click on Facebook link)
or Twitter (Click on Twitter Link)

Those links will provide you with the info you need to obtain YOUR free ULTIMATE CLOTH!

Raising Successful Children . . .Or Not

I receive the Proverbs 31 Ministry email devotionals daily. Today was particularly heartwarming for me. I am not sure if I am allowed to copy and paste the devotional onto my blog, but I am providing the link for you to explore. Intriguing thoughts whether you homeschool, public school, private school. Helpful for parents, grandparents, teachers, or church leaders.

I Don't Want to Raise Successful Children

A Week

A week has gone by since my last post, and what a fast week it was.

My husband did a little bit of computer updating, and that has made our computers run better. I like the new operating system.

Megan is getting more teeth, even though her Auntie Beth told her no more teeth until Thanksgiving. I think she just wants to be prepared for the big dinner she'll be smelling in a little over a week. The good thing is, even though she is cutting four teeth, it really seems like no big deal to her. She is crawling, pulling up, finally eating some solid foods, and sleeping well.

James is on the brink of full blown 2yo-ness. He has all the mobility and dexterity you could wish for, but no judgement. He seems oblivious to the fact that no one else in the family seeks out joy by emptying the oatmeal box on the floor. He blissfully finds joy in playing in chocolate milk powder on the floor of the pantry. Today he opened the door to go out into the garage, only to cry when the door closed behind him. (note to self, lock garage door during the day) He is also experimenting with the art of tantrums, but we are nipping those in the bud pretty quickly.

Jack is growing and growing and growing. He is coming along in school just fine. He has such a sweet heart, I get comments from a lot of my friends that he is a sweet boy. I have to agree.

Laura is growing in her faith by leaps and bounds. She contemplates God on a level that I know I wasn't at her age. Her questions usually begin with, "Mom, this is a question about the Bible" and proceed on to . . . .

1. "I am pretty sure I know this, but was Jesus alive up in Heaven before he came down to Earth as a baby?"

2. "How did those women keep those things on their heads?"

3. "Does God know His own future?" When I responded yes, she said, "Oh, yeah, because He knows everything. He even knows what He looks like, but we can't see Him until we get to Heaven" When I reminded her that Moses had gotten a glimpse of God in all His brightness and glory she said, "Yeah, if we saw Him we'd probably just faint over dead"

We are in the middle of our church Missions Conference and Laura has been soaking in all the information that she has been learning about the different countries in the world . . .so far Colombia and India. She asked if tonight we could "play India" and sleep on the floor of our living room (Since most families in India only have that much room of their own) with nothing but a light blanket. I said I'd have to make that decision later . . .