The Monsters Have a New Home Outside

The monster pumpkins and watermelons have found a new home out back. We have way too many planted in this space, but we will just have to weed some out as they grow bigger and bigger. I love watching these plants grow. It makes me happy! Every time I look at them, I remember the day that my boys and I planted them together. It was such a fun time. If you want to read more about these plants, click HERE for my first post, and HERE for the 2nd post.

Be blessed my friends!

The Nightmares Continue

About a week ago I had a dream that I was walking out on a pier with my two oldest sons. I told my oldest son as I was walking away, to keep a really close eye on his younger brother. I looked back over my shoulder and yelled at him and told him that he was too far away from his brother and wasn't even looking in his direction. As I was talking, I saw my 5 year old son calmly walk to the edge of the pier and then he stepped into the water and went under. I screamed my oldest son's name. He turned and ran towards the water to try to save his brother...and then woke up.

I found this picture from our last vacation. It's really creepy to me now because it's very similar to the scene at the end of my dream. Only there wasn't any railing where Stinky Face fell into the water. 

As I was telling my husband about this dream, he said that was strange because he also had a dream that involved a pier.

Fast forward to last night and I had another nightmare concerning my little Stinky Face again. Here's the dream:

I was at a park with two of my friends. Stinky Face was having a blast in the distance, but I was keeping a close eye on him. I noticed this woman with dark hair looking at him and I told my friends that she was going to try to steal him. Sure enough, I hear her call him by name. Then she tells him that his mommy wanted him to come with her. He came up to her vehicle. It was an older, maroon SUV. She went to the passenger side as my friends and I ducked down on the drivers side. We were waiting for her to put him in the car so we could actually report it as kidnapping.

She put him in the back seat and put headphones on him so he couldn't hear anything. I told one of my friends to get the license plate number. I started slowly dialing 911. After she put him in his seat, she climbed though the passenger side of the car and quickly locked the door on us. I started yelling and banging on her window. I still had my phone in my hand, dialing 911, but the call wasn't going through.

The woman who stole my son had become a man at this point of the dream. He drove off. I yelled at my friends to follow him. I got in my car trying to chase him too. I quickly lost him and I heard a voice, "All circuits are busy." from my phone. I frantically kept trying to call for help, but my call just wouldn't go through. I had lost the man and my friends in my pursuit.

Somehow in my dream I figured out where the man was. I think I saw the vehicle parked somewhere. I go up to this huge, white house and just barge in. It was like Halloween or something. There were a lot of scary people figures throughout the house. One of them was slouched over a chair with his butt facing me. Just as I was noticing this particular figure, he stood up and turned around and started coming towards me. It was the man! I was frantic!

At that very moment, someone finally answered my call for help. I was very quickly telling them that my son had been kidnapped and I found the man who did it. I looked at the door to my right and there happened to be an address label on the door. I read the address to them as fast as I could. The man was still coming towards me. I remembered the address was 90 Longsworth Way.

At that point, I was off of the phone with 911 and the man told me that we need to talk about the money. Then I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep.

I told my husband about this dream and he said that he had a nightmare also. It was also very long and detailed, but basically it involved people from college holding him hostage. He was eventually able to escape. I think it's crazy how our dreams have had similarities. 

I don't know if these dreams about my Stinky Face are warnings from God, or if they are from the devil. I am praying about them and also praying that they stop. They are very disturbing. God promised me that He would give me the meanings of my dreams, so I am just waiting on Him to reveal the reason behind these terrible nightmares about my little man. I do know that in the mean time, I will be keeping a very close eye on him!

To read about my 1st bad dream involving Stinky Face, click HERE. This happened about a month ago.

Be blessed my friends! 

WHAT KIND OF MOM ARE YOU?

Have you seen the latest terms for mothers? Silky, Crunchy, and Scrunchy? Basically it puts mothers in these 3 categories. 

• Silky is supposed to be a "modern" mother who prefers a medicated hospital birth, disposable diapers, bottle feeding, crib sleeping, etc. 

• Crunchy in my opinion is like a modern day hippie; breast feeding, cloth diapering, co-sleeping, natural, home births, etc.

• Scrunchy would be a combination of silky and crunchy.

Am I the only mother who is NOT OKAY WITH THIS? 

Don't we have enough pressure on us already? Pressure to keep up with the house, make sure everyone else is taken care of, pressure to fit in Bible time and exercise, disciplining our children, guiding them, and educating them. Pressure to budget and work on our family finances. Pressure to keep up with friendships. We have enough to worry about! It's hard enough just living life in these times. Times where social media is rampant and adds more and more guilt to us mothers. Tell me I'm not alone! Even though I know that I do my best to make life interesting for my kids, I feel pressure to post it on Facebook, just because I want all the other mommies to know that I do stuff with my kids too. 

We already compare ourselves to each other so much! 

Do we really need more titles? 

She homeschools. She bakes great meals all the time for her family. She uses all natural products and cloth diapers. She makes her own baby food. She balances work and family life. She breast feeds. She bottle feeds. Her baby sleeps in his own crib. She had him in a hospital. You know what? I don't care what kind of products you use, whether you work or choose to stay home, whether you bottle feed or breast feed. 

All I care about and all you should care about too, is that you do the very best you can with what God has given you to love your children with all of your heart. 

Many moms, including myself would've loved to parent a certain way, but that's not how it worked out. For example, I wanted natural births, but I ended up with 2 emergency c-sections. Does that make me less of a "crunchy" momma? Better yet, does that make my love for my children any less? No it doesn't!

I refuse to beat myself up over these man (woman)-given titles. God's plans have thankfully prevailed in my life, regardless of how I expected things to turn out. He has a reason for my c-sections. He has a plan for all the pain I went through, just trying to make it one more day with breastfeeding. His plans for calling me to quit my job of 10 years to homeschool my kids is becoming more clear to me each day. I can't wear my baby no matter how many different brands of gear I try. It just doesn't work for me. So, thank God for strollers and strong arms! 

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Let's take more time focusing on God's plans for us, instead of trying to fit into certain categories. Follow His plans and you will prosper in so many ways!

My name is Amanda and I'm a mom! A mom that loves my kids with all of my heart. That's all that matters! I have peace!  

Be blessed my friends!

Summer Fun & Coppertone ClearlySheer Sunscreen

Summer is now in full swing. Yay! I'm so excited about that. This is our first year taking the summer off from homeschooling in about 5 years so I'm trying to fully enjoy it. We bought a pool pass for the local pool. They have a nice kids area, a water slide, a lazy river, a sprinkler playground and of course the rest of the pool area. This will be our main hangout on the really hot days.

Here's my hubby and my little man going down the lazy river!

I also send the kids outdoors as much as possible. One of our favorite things is the awesome trampoline we bought last year. Here's a picture of the big kids playing on the trampoline while the little ones used their grand imaginations with chairs.  :)

Since the kids are outside so much during summer, I was SO excited to be invited to this BzzCampain for Coppertone's ClearlySheer products. (To learn more about becoming a BzzAgent where you can receive free products to review like I do, click HERE.) I received several small samples of the Coppertone ClearlySheer Sunny Days, a couple of mini spray bottles of their Beach & Pool spray, a full sized sample of Sunny Days body lotion, and coupons to pass along to my friends. 

I was a fan of this sunscreen from the moment I first sprayed the Beach & Pool spray on my kids. It sprayed on so thin. It was a really light spray that goes on smooth and doesn't feel greasy. No complaints from them! I take skin protection very seriously (as you can tell by the shirts on my boys below) so it was also important that this sunscreen did what it was meant to do, and that is protect our skin. After trying out the various products that I received samples of, each of them proved to do their job. None of us ever got the slightest tint of redness on our skin.

Another great factor about Coppertone's ClearlySheer products is that it sells at a great price. If you are comparing sunscreen costs, just one look at all the different brands together, and you will find that Coppertone products are some of the least expensive ones. But don't let that discount the quality! 

I absolutely loved the Sunny Days body lotion. The scent is light and refreshing. Its moisturizing formulas go on so soft and smooth that you can wear it underneath your makeup. My teenage son is also very prone to acne. It has gotten to the point that we got a prescription from the doctor. He has it pretty much under control now and I'm very happy to report that the Coppertone ClearlySheer products did not make him break out. It has been clinically tested on acne-prone skin and it doesn't clog pores or cause breakouts! Our family was so happy with Coppertone's ClearlySheer products that we plan to switch from our regular brand. I can't say enough positive things about this awesome new product. You can purchase ClearlySheer products almost anywhere you find regular sunscreen. I was not paid to give you my opinion, however, I did receive the free samples that I mentioned. My opinions are always completely honest. If I don't like a product, I will definitely let you know so you don't waste your time or money on it. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great summer!

Be blessed my friends!

Growth

A couple of weeks ago my boys and I planted some monster watermelon and pumpkin seeds. We weren't sure if they would grow or not because the seeds were bought about 2 years ago and have been sitting dormant since then. To see my original post, click HERE.

The boys have been taking very good care of their plants by giving them water every day, taking them outside for sunshine and bringing them back inside when there was a chance for bad weather. This is the result of their tender care:

In just 2 weeks, God took something that remained dormant for years and gave it new life! All it took was someone caring for it. 

This got me thinking about life in general. Have you felt like you've been in a rut? A funk? You just can't escape? I pray that God will send you the right person to show you His tender loving care. Sometimes we need another person to just love on us; to remind us that God hasn't forgotten us. Take comfort in knowing that it doesn't matter how long you have been going in the wrong direction, He can change your life instantly! Let me know how I can pray for you today!

Be blessed my friends!

CRAZY DREAM

Last night I had a dream; no, a nightmare. I was sitting upstairs on hardwood floors in this beautiful home. It felt like it was mine, but it's not anything like the home I have. I was reading a book and taking notes. I looked up from my book and stared out of this huge, glass window that was directly in front of me. I noticed the beautiful clouds as they rolled past. They really caught my attention. I was lost in the beauty of the bright sun mixing in with white, puffy clouds, and the prettiest blue color I've ever seen. In an instant the beauty faded. The wind picked up quickly and I noticed a black funnel forming and coming straight towards me. I've never seen anything like this before. It was like a tornado, but it was the blackest black. It was like oil being poured from the sky and being swept into a funnel with the wind. I was horrified. I started screaming for my family, but no one answered. I dropped my book and threw my pen on the floor and took off running down the stairs. I found my teenage son and asked him where his brother and dad were. My husband had gone somewhere in the car and my five year old son was outside. What? Outside? I was in a pure panic. I threw open the door and saw him walking away from me as the dark funnel was still headed in our direction. He was just calmly walking down a lane that was overgrown with grass. There was a barn off in the distance. I was screaming his name at the top of my lungs. He couldn't hear me. He just kept slowly walking away. I ran towards him, frantically screaming his name over and over. He finally heard me, noticed the fear in my voice, and started running towards me. I grabbed him, scooped him up and ran back inside. The wind slammed the door shut behind us. I looked behind me through the glass window in the door and saw the darkness going away from us and just like that, the funnel disappeared. The sky returned to the beautiful colors that I was first admiring from upstairs. And with that, I was wide awake.  

Be blessed my friends!

9th Grade Curriculum

As promised, here are the things we will be using this upcoming school year for our ninth grade son:

BIBLE
Most important to our family is Bible study. Last year we really enjoyed Wise Up, Wisdom in Proverbs by Positive Action Bible Curriculum. This curriculum goes deeper than just reading scripture and memorizing it. It really gets to your child's heart issues and takes their relationship with Jesus to a higher level. Since my son is entering high school, I asked for more of his input when picking out his curriculum. He obviously enjoyed Wise Up, Wisdom in Proverbs because he wanted to check out Positive Action Bible Curriculum again. I was very happy with his choice, The Life of Christ, Explore the life of our Savior through the Gospel of John.

This book takes your child on a journey through the Gospel of John. My hopes is that this book will not only teach my son more about the life of Christ, but take his relationship with the Lord even deeper. The Life of Christ features maps, photographs, and re-creations of biblical landmarks, and examines the ministry and work of God’s Son within Israel’s historical and geographical context.

GRAMMAR AND WRITING

Grammar and writing will be combined this year in a DVD program called Essentials in Writing.

What I like most about this is that it is not parent intensive. I love being involved in my children's school work but since I will have 2 boys doing school work and 1 baby to take care of, my teenager and I picked out curriculum that is very independent for him. Here is a video that highlights some of the benefits of this program:

MATH

Next is a curriculum that we have used for the past few years and decided to stick with it. It's a great CD program for math called Teaching Textbooks. This year we will be doing Pre-Algebra and if we have enough time we will move on to Algebra I.

Here are some of the features that I think makes Teaching Textbooks so awesome:

Automated grading

A digital gradebook that can manage multiple student accounts and be easily
edited by a parent

Over a dozen more lessons and hundreds of new problems and solutions

Interactive lectures

Hints and second chance options for many problems

Animated buddies to cheer the student on

HISTORY

History was a tough one to find. My son wanted a simplified version. He didn't want anything that had added fluff like timelines, cut out cards, or several different activities needed for each chapter. For the sake of simplicity and keeping his work independent, we chose ACE's 10th grade World History.

I like that ACE is a Christian based curriculum that my son can work through at his own pace. He will be learning about ancient civilizations, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Colonialism, the Age of Revolution, and the history of Europe between 1850-1990s. 

SCIENCE

We are both really excited about science this year for a couple of reasons. For starters, we haven't truly done science in a few years. It's not required in our state so unfortunately, it was the first thing to go when life got really busy with babies and moving. The 2nd reason we are so excited is because we found an awesome curriculum that provides everything you need (except for liquids). It's a very hands-on kit and is taught by an instructor on DVD. Our 9th grade science curriculum is Exploration Education Science.

Click HERE to watch a great video that explains the

advanced course that my son will be taking.

ELECTIVE

My son was so excited when I purchased his elective, that he has already started on next year's school work.  He is taking a course on Mod Design 1 through Youth Digital Online. He is learning Java programming by modifying Minecraft and creating his own Mod from start to finish. 

My son will also be reading a lot of great books this year and writing a few book reports. We will frequent the library often! I'm always on the lookout for fun things to do during our school year. We love taking field trips and exploring new places and things. Check back after August to follow us on our high school journey!

Be blessed my friends!

Growing Monsters

Did you think the title of this post was about my kids? Well, not entirely! Today we started the process of growing giant watermelons and giant pumpkins. This was such an appropriate activity for each of my older boys because I've always called my oldest son my pumpkin and my middle son my melon. These were their nicknames when they were in my womb. So you can figure out from that which one is working on the pumpkins and which one is working on the melons.

My mother-in-law had bought us these neat kits about 2 years ago and they have sat up on a shelf since then. I'm trying to make a point to have more fun with my boys, so I finally got the kits out today. This is what they look like:

Here's how easy it was to get the kit started:

1. Put each of the 3 soil pellets in a big bowl and pour warm water on top. As the pellets expand you loosen the soil and stir. Add more water if needed.

Not sure what this face was all about. Clearly he was having fun!

2. Divide the soil in half. Use the 1st half to fill each of the pots halfway.

Stinky Face (AKA Melon) doesn't like to get his hands dirty so he used the spoons that came with the kit.

3. Open the packets of giant seeds and place 2 seeds in each pot. (We had some extra and decided to put a few more in.)

This is my oldest son's seeds. He only had 5 seeds, so he decided to see what would happen if he put a few watermelon seeds in with his pumpkin seeds. We shall see!

4. Cover the seeds with the remaining soil. We had more than enough soil, so we didn't use it all.

He doesn't mind getting his hands dirty!

Finished product...for now!

5. Place the pots in a sunny location and water them to keep the soil moist.

6. Once the plants have grown, transfer them to larger pots or directly into your outdoor garden.

Here's my one, slight delema with this project. We live in a subdivision that is highly controlled by the "HOA police". We aren't allowed to have gardens. Stinks, I know! I guess I will have to transfer these to some ginormous flower pot because they can grow to be 100 pounds or more. Yikes! I will keep you updated on the progress so check back soon to see how they are growing.

Be blessed my friends!

1st Grade Curriculum

We went to a homeschool convention in April where I was able to find my children's curriculum for the upcoming school year. I will share in a later post what I chose for my 9th grader because his curriculum was put together, piece by piece. Each subject is from a different company.  For my 1st grader though, we decided to go with A Beka Book. 

A Beka Book is a Christian based company that seems like it will challenge our son the way we feel he needs to be challenged. They teach cursive handwriting from the beginning and they learn phonics very early on as well. I love that the 1st grade kit has everything we need and then some, like science, health, and history. Here's a list of everything I got in the child's kit:  

*You can click on the numbers to see a picture and better description of each item.*

• 94951 Fun with Pets
• 94986 Tiptoes
• 95001 Stepping Stones
• 95036 Secrets and Surprises
• 95052 Bridge Book
• 95060 Kind and Brave
• 95087 Aesop's Fables
• 95109 Strong and True
• 94943 Primary Bible Reader
• 94927 Handbook for Reading
• 95125 Letters and Sounds 1
• 95141 Letters and Sounds 1 Test Book
• 95184 Language 1
• 95206 Spelling and Poetry 1
• 95230 Writing with Phonics 1 Cursive
• 95249 Cursive Writing Tablet
• 92185 Arithmetic 1
• 92207 Arithmetic 1 Tests and Speed Drills
• 34851 Community Helpers Activity Book
• 95265 Discovering God's World
• 95281 Health, Safety, and Manners 1
• 95311 My America and My World
• 113867 Child Kit ABA DVD Insert Card (FREE)
  

I also ordered the following support materials to help me teach him to the best of my ability:

• 96946 Homeschool Phonics, Reading, and Spelling 1 Curriculum
• 95168 Letters and Sounds 1 Test Key
• 95354 Basic Phonics Charts (8.5 X 11)
• 96962 Homeschool Writing and Seatwork 1 Curriculum
• 92231 Homeschool Arithmetic 1 Curriculum
• 92215 Arithmetic 1 Tests and Speed Drills Key
• 151459 Arithmetic Drill Cards Set A
• 75434 Homeschool Arithmetic 1 Charts and Games (8.5 X 11)

I hope you will follow along on our 1st grade journey. We will start back to school in August.

Be blessed my friends!

Silk Almondmilk Protein+Fiber Review

Our family got to try a free half gallon of Silk Almondmilk Protein+Fiber from Kroger because I am a BzzAgent. We first tried it out with the baby because he has been battling constipation issues and we thought it might have been related to dairy products. Almondmilk has 5 grams of fiber per serving, so we really hoped it would help his belly. Although he really seemed to like how it tasted, it didn't seem to have any effect on his digestive system. 

Next, I thought I'd try it out on our 5 year old son. He's a really picky child so I added chocolate powder to his Almondmilk. Check out this video for his reaction:

I think that if I wanted to make this a daily part of his routine, he would easily get use to it. Although his reaction seems bad, I know him well enough to know that this is something he could adjust to.

Next I asked my husband if he'd be brave enough to do an on-the-spot review. He graciously did this for me and here is his reaction:

I'll be honest, at first, I was just too afraid to try it. The texture seemed thick to me. I normally drink 1% milk, so it was a big change. I tried a drink when no one else was looking. To my surprise it really wasn't bad! It was a little thicker than I'm used to, but it had a slightly sweet taste that made it okay for me. If I had issues with dairy products, this drink would be my next preference. The price is comparable to other non-dairy types of milk and you can almost always find a good sale or a coupon; or even better, both!

I didn't think about it until all of the Almondmilk was gone, but I think it would've been a great addition to smoothies. I've also read other reviews where people used it for baking. What a great idea! 

Here are some awesome benefits from Silk Almondmilk Protein+Fiber:

• Packs 5g of protein, 5g of fiber and 100 calories or less per serving
• Provides 50% more calcium than dairy milk*
• May help keep you feeling full (increasing protein and fiber in your diet can help promote satiety!)
• Enjoy Silk^® Protein+Fiber Almondmilk anywhere you’d use your favorite milk — over cereal, in smoothies or straight up in a glass

*45% DV calcium versus 30% DV in dairy milk. USDA National Nutrient Database for Std. Ref, Release 26. Data consistent with typical 2% dairy milk.

If you have tried Almondmilk, let me know what you think about it! Do you just drink it as 

you would dairy milk? Or do you use it for smoothies, milkshakes, and baking?

Be blessed my friends!

Arby's Contest

If you have NOTHING to do today, here's a contest that you might like. I keep checking back at the computer because you can win $1300. We could really use that right now. How about you?

Enter for a chance to win a prize in ARBY’S 13 HOUR SMOKEHOUSE BRISKET CHALLENGE

We made a 13-hour commercial that shows the 13-hour process we use to smoke our brisket. You’re about to watch that commercial. During the stream, we’re giving away over $20,000 worth of prizes.

For your chance to win, watch the brisket smoke and click on the annotations that pop up over the video. Correctly answer a brisket trivia question, and you’ll be entered to win. There’s one at least every 13 minutes so you won’t have to wait long.

Prizes are listed on the website http://www.13hourbrisket.com. Limit one (1) Prize per person. Each Winner is solely responsible for all federal, state and/or local taxes, and for any other fees or costs associated with the redemption of a Prize. If applicable, a Winner may receive an IRS form 1099 for the retail value of the Prize.

Begins on May 28, 2014 at 9:00 am EDT & ends on May 28, 2014 at 10:00 pm EDT. Open to all legal U.S. residents residing in the fifty (50) United States of America and the District of Columbia, who are at least eighteen (18) years of age or older. Minor entrants must get a parent or legal guardian’s permission to participate. See Official Rules at 13hourbrisket.com/rulesandregulations for full details. Void in Guam, PR, US VI, all US territories & where restricted or prohibited by law. Sponsor: HYFN, Inc.

Be blessed my friends!

Free Kellog's Family Reward Code

Do you enter Kellogg's Family Reward Codes? If so, here is a free one for you! Happy Tuesday! If you are not familiar with Kellogg's Family rewards, just go to www.KFR.com to learn more.

Be blessed my friends!