Day to Day Adventures

Super Swagbucks Friday

Kim1 Comment

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I love FREE stuff but when I started trying to earn Swagbucks my family thought I was CRAZY!  They have changed their tune now.  We’ve earned 11 Amazon Gift Cards for $5.  That is just from everyday searching.  I don’t try to earn a bunch but it just happens.  How easy is that?  You can also redeem your “bucks” for Sephora or Starbucks gift cards, iPhones, HD Digital Camcorders and more!

Have you checked out Swagbucks

If not, you are seriously missing out!  

Fridays are Mega Swagbucks days where you can earn Swagbucks in increments of 100, 200, 500 and even 1000!  It’s the best day for searching!  I saved up our Gift Cards for presents & also used them for school books.  It is so handy to have those available!

Remember, slow and stead wins the race.   This is no overnight get rich thing but through the year you will get items just by searching.  I love it!

The best way to remember to search is by downloading the Swagbucks Toolbar, so it’s right in front of you.

Interested in checking it out?  Go to Swagbucks & see how easy it is to earn free stuff!  I do get a referral(which means more FREE stuff for me—thanks!!!!) if you decide to try it out. 

Pink Boots

Kim3 Comments

I snapped this picture at church. 

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The fun thing is that the sweet little one isn’t in her daddy’s  arms.  Children outnumber the adults most Sunday mornings.

We like it that way.  Children are precious.

Everyone pitches in and it isn’t unusual to see a little one asleep on someone’s lap and the parents aren’t anywhere close by. 

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I don’t know about a village raising a child but I do know that a church should play a vital role.  We love, encourage, warn, provide mentors, teach, play with the children.  It is a vital role in their lives.

Definitely a Finer Thing!

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Spinach Balls

Kim3 Comments

We used to make this recipe all the time & I need to get it back out again.  My oldest would request it and then brag to friends he ate spinach just to get a reaction.  They are really good!

2 boxes frozen chopped spinach—defrost & press extra water out

2 cups Pepperidge farm herb stuffing CRUMBS

2 onion finely chopped

3/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

6 large eggs(7 medium)

1 TBS garlic powder

1-1/2 tsp salt

optional—you can also add 1-1 1/2 tsp of your favorite herbs here

Mix well, mixture will be watery.  Make about 7 doz balls(about the size of ready made meatballs) and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 20 minutes on 350 degrees.  These can be made(cooked and all) way ahead of time and frozen, reheat just before dinner, a party or potluck.  They are fine even if they are cold—good flavor!

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Relaxed Homeschool

Kim3 Comments

I am normally a person who MUST have a plan.  It drives me slightly bonkers to just float along each day.  Steve would give a hearty AMEN to that—the bonkers part.

I don’t get much done without a plan.  I have various tools I use to plan each week.

TOOLS

Menu planner—for 2-4 weeks on the frig

Homeschool Tracker—enters our work & helps plan for future

Family Calendar—on the frig so I know when an event is coming up

Chore Chart—everyone has jobs & no excuses about knowing when to do them

Routines—we have weekly & daily ones, these aren’t written they just reoccur naturally  ie—errand/grocery days, lesson days etc

Off Track Plan

We didn’t do much Monday or Wednesday due to sickness & my recovery needs(SLEEP).  But we were productive.  The girls keep on working even when I am down so I used some of my down time to grade papers.  NOT my favorite chore but it must be done. 

It makes me irritable to just sit.  That is what I must do on these days of recovery.  I walk doing errands and feel good one day & the next is a mixture of soreness & overwhelming fatigue.  It is getting better slowly.  The lesson that the children & I are learning is that school can be relaxed and still get things accomplished.

1.  There is time for games.  Mental math gets practiced!

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2.  I can work with one child on the quality of their cleaning in the zone.

3.  Daddy can use their labor at a project.  Like cleaning the basement—which I have yet to visit.

4.  Its okay not to work as hard as we can EVERY day.

5.  On the “good” days I need to work at keeping focused on the job at hand.  My habit of doing nothing all the time is hard to break.  I like to accomplish things but hey it is easier to do nothing instead. 

There are lessons in working hard & giving your all to a job.  But there are equal lessons to relaxing and mixing fun with learning.  In 50 years, will my children remember if we tackled a math lesson each day or will they remember the time we spent together learning about life when it doesn’t go the way you expected?  So I am going to do a little school today and perhaps read on the couch with my youngest & a cup of cocoa!  That give us both something that we love!

What do you do when your day gets off track?

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