Mom Fashion: Simple Spring details

For Mother's Day my hot guy helped me pick out a spring top at Ross in McMinnville.
I am being more intentional with pieces I add to my wardrobe.
This one is unique, light and airy, colorful, and sparkly.

I love the beaded details of the butterfly. I have 2 necklaces that are a perfect match for dressing it up.




I love the versatility; I can wear it casual or dressy.  I wore it for dinner Mother's Day with a long khaki skirt and then again on Tuesday with a brown skirt and boots. Same shirt different looks.  The elastic and dye / printing technique makes for an interesting effect. This isn't the best picture for figure flattery but my youngest wanted to be photographer.
It is all about being comfortable and having a little fun. Next we will work on the figure, glad spring and summer are on the way and fresh garden veggies will be the center of my dinning pleasures.

Got Milk? Sully does!

Gotta love a little Monsters University!

Spanish for You! a review for You!

We received an e-book package from Spanish for You! to review in our homeschool and share with our readers.
We received Estaciones which translates to Seasons. You can check out the sample pages
What is Spanish for You! Estaciones ? This program is a topic specific program designed for multi-age groups with mastery in mind.
What comes with the program? A soft cover book or e-book , 24-30 week lesson guide for the grades you need  (PDF download), self-checking worksheets (PDF download), audio files of entire book in native speaker as well as traditional non-native speaker (MP3 download), and flashcard / activity pictures (PDF download)
What about lesson plans? those are purchased separately.
How much does the program cost?  Products start at $9.99, the package we received as it was a complete package with all grades retails for $64.95
How did we use the program? 
We started out using the program with our 2nd grader and 4th grader. We realized it was a good fit for the 2nd grader yet, since it is really designed for 3rd grade and up, so we let him work on other things during the times we were working on this. As we continued with the program, Cameron found too many struggles with the style and the audio recordings and asked to set it aside for a while. We used the program for 3 weeks and then set it aside for 2 weeks and then returned to it in shorted sessions. He is struggling with adding a language right now with so many variables. He has found that rather than a textbook program of study for Spanish, he is actually learning better through play with some of the neighbor kids. His afternoon playmate and himself have made friends with the hispanic children next door to the playmate where the young boy they play with has decided to teach them Spanish. Cameron comes home and we verify the words in our lessons and a couple of Spanish kids' dictionaries.  He is slowly feeling like we can add more table time to our Spanish lessons. 
While the program didn't work as planned , I can report that it has inspired Cameron to learn Spanish and it is becoming our go to for Spanish activities, especially the flashcard/ activity cards. We have been working on game ideas to go along with the cards and are considering laminating them with contact paper for longevity.
I have also been enjoying their blog full of ideas and inspiration for teacher and student (since I don't remember much of the Spanish I learned as a tutor in jr. high). I especially enjoyed a post about using comics strips to practice Spanish, I added that as an activity to come for the boys. There are more reviews to read from the crew, just click the button below.

Sunday Scripture 5/12

This coming week I pray my boys can learn from this verse from the past week's lesson. We are having issues with language usage. While not always bad, the way the words are used is improper and sometime inappropriate.


But shun profane and vain babblings for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
2 Timothy 2:16


I am grateful for our weekly lesson each week as I travel this path before me.

Papa's Pearls: a book of wisdom passed down and shared by a family.

I received this collection of stories and reminiscences to review as a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew.
This little jewel of a book, Papa's pearls by Diane Flynn Keith is a wonderful collection of stories by a father.
This collection of stories all focus on things learned from Papa (Carol Joseph Flynn, the author's father) and shared by his daughter the author. "Papa" as his family called him was born prior to the great Depression and shares lessons learned in his early years as well as the harder years of the Depression and even the years struggling after World War II as a young married man trying to make a way in this world but stay on the straight and narrow. (Not an easy task and one that didn't always stay straight or narrow).
Initially I was going to read it to my boys, but decided to hold off a bit longer. I, myself read the book in just a couple of sittings as it is a nice easy read. I felt like I was having the stories told to me rather than just reading them.  I have begun reading the boys a story once a week as a treat. It has inspired them to ask to hear more stories from my own father. I keep telling them they just have to ask their "papa" and he will tell them all kinds of stories.
The book is a reminder to all anyone that reads it to really value the time you have with your parents or grandparents and their stories. Reading it, I really got to thinking I wish I had asked my grandpa to tell me more stories.
You can enjoy the stories while learning lessons about "using your street smarts" and " I love you, You know that right?" along with lessons Papa taught his children about flexibility and checking in. Catch a glimpse of a simpler time when a days work was hard but meant success and honesty and integrity was an intrical part of everyday life.


You can order an autographed copy of the book from Homefires or a copy of the paperback or electronic  from Amazon. The autographed copy sells for $21.97 including shipping and makes a wonderful gift. (hint: Father's Day is coming as well as Graduation season). You can also follow the author and the book on the author's  blog, Facebook, Twitter, and  Google +

Happy Mother's Day from Monsters University #MonstersU

I can't wait to see Monsters University on the big screen, opening in 3D June 21, 2013

Natural Toothpaste? sure why not!

I usually buy Crest toothpaste for my husband , but this last batch was weak and  wasn't really working for me. Knowing that baking soda can be used (I've purchased toothpaste with baking soda before), I decided to research making my own. I couldn't find a formal recipe just people mentioning they had done it or someone in their family had. I decided to go ahead and put something together. 

I used coconut oil as my liquid, baking soda as a polish, and peppermint essential oil for flavor and scent. 
I mixed it together in a 4 oz Kerr canning jar with a popsicle stick. I adjusted as I went along to get a good consistency so I can't really share a recipe, but am guesstimating 1 Tbsp Coconut oil, 2-3 Tbsp Baking Soda and 8-10 drops of essential oil blended well.
I have been using it for just over a week and it doesn't take a lot, so far I really like it. Next time I may add more peppermint oil. 
I am rinsing with an antiseptic mouth wash (I might try creating my own mouth wash later on.)
My husband thinks I'm a little crazy, but I was using things we already had so we didn't have to try something new only to find out we didn't like it. He hasn't tried the homemade stuff yet, but is considering it.
I am enjoying trying new creations and thankfully my husband is seeing the benefits in our budget and how everyone feels. 
After using the homemade toothpaste for a while, I have decided that I need to find coconut oil that doesn't have the flavor and possibly some cinnamon oil instead of peppermint.