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Thaleia

First Fall Nature Hike

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First Fall Nature Hike

Fall Nature Hike

I love nature and love Fall! Since the weather was just right to put on long sleeves and the sun was out, we headed to a local bike path. This path runs just south of where we live and along a river as part of our county’s park district. The diversity along this path is great for impromptu nature studies. (We have NOT been along this path since it was cold enough for winter coats and their were snow flurries out!)

walnut leaf Collage

We found all sorts of nature goodies along the way! We saw a small waterfall from the stream that flowed into the river. We saw a variety of butterflies like cabbage whites and painted lady’s. Princess discovered a walnut right around the first bend. Lil’ Red found a leaf as big as his head! Eldest took pictures of goldenrod and other plants for me. I found some sort of mushroom which I want to add to my list of things to learn about.

mushroom goldenrod cloud waterfall

We also discovered how few nature tools where in our van and that we would definitely want to pack one of our nature packs for our next nature adventure! We own all sorts of tools like binoculars, magnifying glass, bug catchers, bug boxes, dip net, and butterfly nets. We had NONE of these supplies which would have been great to catch the tiny thumb-sized frogs that hopped across our path! Princess was very upset that she couldn’t catch one!

What is your favorite season? Do you take impromptu opportunities to head outside when the weather is nice? What things do you see?

Big Kindle Fire Giveaway Blog Hop

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Big Kindle Fire Giveaway Blog Hop

Big Kindle Fire giveaway

A Big Kindle Fire Giveaway Blog Hop www.teachersofgoodthings.com

Myself and a team of 22 other bloggers have joined together to offer 3 winners a Kindle Fire (valued at $159! each). Yep, we are giving away 3 Kindle Fires and there is a BIG chances you can win one but first you have to enter this BIG Giveaway Blog Hop.

Here is how it works…

  1. Comment on my blog by answering the question – you will get one entry
  2. Once you left a comment, enter as many or all of the entries by following or liking each of the Bloggers on the social media platforms you use – if you DO enter them all, you will get 46 entries in this giveaway for this option
  3. Visit the other bloggers to learn about the sponsors of this BIG Kindle Fire Giveaway and leave a comment to let us know you stopped by

If you counted it all up, you could have 47 chances to win a Kindle Fire, in 3 different drawings. If you don’t have enough time to enter all these entries or visit the sponsors right now, be sure to come back before October 1st, midnight EST, when it closes.

Let’s meet the Sponsors of this BIG Kindle Fire Giveaway Blog Hop…

The Library Adventure
TheChaosandTheClutter.com
SimplySherryl Extreme Couponing, Stretching a Buck Blog Gift of Curiosity
Daze of Adventure
Paradise Praises
MoolaSavingMom
Equipping Women for Today Free Homeschool Deals
 

Winners will be notified by their entry email on October 2nd, after they are confirmed as entering correctly. Winners have 48 hours to provide us with your mailing address before another winner is selected.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you are a blogger and would like a way to improve your social media stats and increase your traffic, then join in on this great opp:

Keurig Giveaway Blogger Opportunity

Argh! It’s a Pirate Party.

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 Argh! It’s a Pirate Party.

Disclosure: There are affiliate links within this post. The links provide a way for us to support our site and provide great ideas and content to you!                                        Thanks for your support.

pirate party

Celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day TODAY with a Pirate Party.

My oldest son had picked Pirates for his 9th birthday party which is in February. Now I am sure you are thinking I must have spent a fortune on Pirate costumes in the middle of Winter. Nope, not this deal loving momma! I make my children pick their birthday themes out way in advance like 9-12 months ahead. Why do I do this? Simple, I have a much greater chance of finding items on clearance at the end of Summer, after Halloween, and after Christmas for their birthday themes. If a child has 2 themes planned the better, then whichever theme we find the most amount of items is the theme for that year.

Costumes: 

The birthday boy went as Jack Sparrow and we made his outfit. He wanted a vest and the head kercheif so I took fabric I owned and made those items. We needed dark brown pants and a friend of mine’s son had outgrown that size. I spent $10 on 3 pairs of pants and handful of long sleeved shirts. My daughter’s costume was on clearance and we spent $5. Lil’ Red’s costume was found by my sister on clearance for $2.50 at Target! Originally each costume would have been $20-$25-yikes!

pirate hair piece

Costume items for guests were either made ahead, made at the party, or bought on clearance. I made “kits” for one of the activity stations to make the braided and beaded hair-piece that Jack Sparrow wears. I also made felt eye patches, but found plastic ones with large gold hoop earrings on clearance at Walmart.


Games and Crafts:

I searched online for tons of ideas for games and grafts. Of course I found tons and pinned my favorites onto Kid’s Pirate Party board! I had such good choices to choose from that it was tough to narrow it down. Since this party was primarily boys I chose things that weren’t too crafty or boring. I always include coloring pages and goody bags at our parties. The goody bags start off as plain lunch sacks which the guests are then encouraged to decorate and then carry with them as the win prizes at the party. ALL GAMES have a prize and ALL PARTICIPANTS win a prize no matter if they “win” the game or not.

pirate target practice

I used 4×6 plexiglass frames with pictures in them as targets. Then I made sure we had working nerf dart guns and plenty of darts for this Pirate Target Shoot!

paper pirate sword
I found a simple craft creating paper swords from newsprint. This super simple and not dangerous craft was a big hit at the party. You can make them again an again if they get wrecked and much cheaper than the foam dollar store swords!

I found foam frames that were pirate themed on clearance at JoAnn’s.

Cake:
treasure map cake
What would a Pirate Party be without a Treasure Map! A simple cookie sheet with chocolate chip cookie dough provided the base. Basic buttercream icing helped hold on the blue sugar ocean, the brown sugar sand, plastic trees from animal kit, plastic whale, mini Lego treasure chest, and Jack Sparrow Lego minifigure.

I hope you enjoyed taking a small peak into how our family celebrates birthdays. I told my children that I will plan their first 10 birthdays and after that it’s up to them:) Right now that means I will have planned 40 children’s birthday parties! Yikes that is a lot:)

Halloween Links

 

Keurig Giveaway Blogger Opportunity

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Keurig Giveaway Blogger Opportunity

 Keurig Giveaway Blogger Opportunity

What better way to celebrate Fall than with a super fun and easy KEURIG giveaway?
This is a giveaway hop where each blog will be listed in Giveaway post code and each blogger will have 2 social media spots on rafflecopter.

 Participant spots are $10 each and will include:

-TWO social media spots on rafflecopter
-Requested to post a blogger opp post by Sept. 25 to help fill blogger spots
-Promote once daily during Oct. 13-19

The more participants means more traffic, more items to giveaway, and more fun!

Giveaway blog hop dates:

October 13-19- Posts MUST BE UP by 8:00am EST
I will personally be promoting on facebook personal/fan page, twitter, pinterest,
blog hops and various facebook groups.

For more details and to sign-up PLEASE visit the Warm Up to Fall Keurig Giveaway Form.

Book Review: Desperate By Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson

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Desperate

By Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson

Desperate

My Review:

Desperate, by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson, hits home just a little bit. I have never struggled with the depth of depression that Sally Mae describes, but I have definitely had days where I just want to run away or hide. Sometimes no matter how much you read and plan ahead for your child-bearing years you just are not prepared for the daily grind of motherhood. Children can stretch you and exhaust you beyond anything you could ever imagine.

This is where Desperate, by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson, comes into place. The book gently nudges you to find an older mentor who has “been there, done that” AND survived!  You need to find that mom mentor who will get to know your heart and encourage you and cheer you on even in your most darkest of days. Someone who shows you God’s grace and give you that extra boost via phone, email, or in person.

I agree with the book that in today’s society mother’s are expected to be and do a whole lot more than previous generations and ALONE. Yes, we may have a very supportive husband and even mother’s or mother’s-in-laws nearby, but sometimes they just do not get it like a mentor mother does.

I would definitely recommend  Desperate to ALL mother’s or mother-to-be in preparation for motherhood or to realize you truly are not alone in your journey!

Book Description:

“I just can’t be a mother today.”

These words have been whispered to God in quiet desperation by mothers who love their children to the depths of their soul, but who are struggling with how hard motherhood is.

Motherhood turns you inside out. Sometimes you feel overwhelmed by how tired you feel; the days go on and on, and you want to be a “good” mom, but you feel like a failure so much of the time. What happened to all your ideals? When did you end up feeling so…lost?

Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson have been to the edge and back. Desperate is the story of one young mother’s trials and one experienced mentor’s priceless exhortations. Desperate is not a book about despair, nor is it a rule-laden mothering manual. It is a bouquet from a friend who has been there, reminding us that we are not alone. Sarah Mae’s unvarnished account of her own struggles mothering three feisty young children is a lesson in learning patience, loving idiosyncrasies, accepting help, and—most of all—leaning on God.

Each chapter includes a brief Bible study with journal exercises to help you find your own quiet center, and get you back into the fray soul-filled and refreshed. Written with candor, empathy, and faith, Desperate is like coffee with a trusted girlfriend; one who knows how hard being a mother can be, and how to navigate the often turbulent road.

More Info:

You can purchase this book from Amazon. You can read reviews at Thomas Nelson.

Sarah Mae on Facebook.

Sally Clarkson on Facebook.

 

Disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”