Another Jammy Run!

We took another Jammy Run last week! This time, instead of Sonic we hit Dairy Queen. And instead of JUST ice cream, we also got a late dinner. Mmmm... Chicken Strip Baskets and Blizzards. It doesn't get any better than that!

Don't know what a Jammy Run is? It's simple. Let the kids get their jammies on and climb into bed. After they've been there 5-10 minutes, or I guess you could do it before they get in bed (but what fun is that?), mom and dad start banging on pots and pans while yelling 'JAMMY RUN'! The first time you're kids will look at you like you're crazy, but I promise, each time after that they'll all come running as excited as they can be.

Then, everyone climbs in the car in their jammies and heads to Sonic for ice cream! It's so much fun and creates such wonderful memories for the whole family. Try it, I promise you won't regret it!

Using Oysters to Train Our Children?

Q. What kind of noise annoys an oyster?

A. A noisy noise annoys an oyster!

Ok, so that's my pathetic attempt at humor around here. Even though I'd like to, I can't take credit for that joke. Sadly, someone else has more free time on their hands than I do and came up with that little ditty.

There is a book for children called Pearlie Oyster and the story is about the amazing life of an oyster and how a pearl is formed. Have you ever stopped to think about that? How exactly IS an oyster formed? I can honestly say I didn't know until now. All I knew is that they were beautiful and valuable.

Let me sidestep here for just a minute...

Our church began a 10-week revival the beginning of January and we have seen God do so much. I think there's been around 25 people saved! Isn't that awesome?

Even though I've been saved for a long time and been in church for most of my life, God is still not finished with me yet. There's still so much work He is doing in me. And that got me to thinking about pearls. These precious gems are mentioned several times in the Bible, our visiting minister even used them in his message tonight. But how do they come to be?

Well, it seems that whenever a foreign material ends up inside they the shell, the oyster produces something called nacre. That nacre coats the material that's not supposed to be inside the shell and over time a beautiful pearl is formed!

Isn't that how God is with us? He takes our sin, the 'bad, foreign stuff' that shouldn't be inside us and covers it up, and over time something beautiful comes from our lives because of it. How awesome is He and all of His creations?

This would be a unique and wonderful way to teach a life lesson to our children. It would be very easy to plan out a mini unit-study based off of the book I mentioned above, comparing how a pearl is formed to God's love for us. Then take time to learn about oysters, how they breathe, where they're found, the 'R' myth about eating oysters (betcha don't know that one, huh? I didn't!), oysters nutritional value, and maybe even cook up some yummy oyster recipes to top it all off!

If you do cook up some oysters, however, please be careful in your preparation of them. They are one of the most nutritionally well balanced foods, containing protein, carbohydrates and lipids. The National Heart and Lung Institute suggest oysters as an ideal food for inclusion in low-cholesterol diets. Oysters are an excellent source of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C and D. Four or five medium size oysters supply the recommended daily allowance of iron, copper, iodine, magnesium, calcium, zinc, manganese and phosphorus. However, there is the potential risk of serious illness or even death from from Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, especially from raw or undercooked oysters, so be oyster aware.

Bracing For a New Chapter In Our Lives

I took Baby Girl to the orthodontist today and I bet you can't guess what he said. Yep, it's time for braces. On top and bottom.

This will be a first for us. I didn't have them and even though Honey should have had them, he didn't. In fact, he was told that they needed to take out pieces of his jaw bone and move his jaw back in order for his teeth and jaw to sit right. Talk about scaring the heebie jeebies out of a kid! Needless to say, his jaw is still completely in tact.

But thanks to this seemingly inherited paternal trait, I believe Baby Girl is only the first of 3, possible 4, sets of braces we'll be seeing in this family over the next decade.

She's not happy about this at all, but after we've talked about all the people we know who have had braces and how beautiful their teeth are I think she's starting to be ok with the idea a bit more. We go back May 1st to get the process rolling. I'll keep you posted, with pictures of course! :)

Looking Through Pictures and Laughing at My Craziness

Do you know what these pictures are of? None other than the one day of the year that I lose any little bit of sense I have left... Black Friday!

I know it's a bit early, or a tad late depending on how you look at it, but I was just looking through some old pictures and found these. I took these the day after Thanksgiving just to show Honey how crazy some people really are! Imagine! People actually getting up when they could be getting some perfectly good sleep just to go fight other crazy people and spend too much money. Doesn't make much sense to me.

Of course I'm kidding. I wouldn't have the pictures if I wasn't crazy enough to be there, now would I? It's something that my mom said we should do one Thanksgiving while sitting around rubbing our over-stuffed bellies. "What?!", said I! Was this woman CRAZY? But obviously we both were because there we were the very next morning at 4:30 a.m. Neither of us can pass up a good deal.

And that's how the tradition got started. Even one year when I didn't have any money to spend, I still got up and met mom just because it's tradition. And now my oldest daughter has joined us and she's just as crazy as we are! We have some pretty funny stories we can tell about this day. Like promising we are going to be the 'better person' and not push or say unkind things, and then biting our tounge because someone swooped around us on the left, in a parking lot isle, and stole our parking spot before we could pull in. Whoo honey, that one really tested my religion. LOL! Instantly the scene from Fried Green Tomatoes popped into my head.

The one thing that has made it even more exciting for us is planning our strategy. For a couple of weeks before Black Friday we sit and plan what places have the best deals and where we're going to be first, second, etc. We plan who's going to be in different parts of the stores so we can grab the best deals. It's crazy fun!

The one thing that has helped us plan more than anything is subscribing to Black Friday websites that somehow get store's Black Friday ads before they're released to the public. We could look at them on the website and we also signed up to receive email notifications any time a new store ad was available. I LOVE it! Isn't that terrible? I feel like such a bad girl, peeking at those ads before anyone else. LOL! Think I'll make Santa's naughty list for that?

Since we're a small town without a lot of big stores, we always start at Wal-Mart since we can wait INSIDE in the warmth instead of standing outside of K-Mart and freezing out patooties off! This past Christmas we were able to purchase 7" digital photo frames, a portable DVD player, and lots of DVD's for such awesome deals, and we had everything planned out a week before Black Friday! It was SO much fun, well, except for the getting up at 4 a.m. part. This year I think I might just stay in my warm jammies and shop for all those deals on-line. I won't mind getting up at 4:58 and plopping down here in my chair and getting the same amazing deals I'd get if I'd been up for an hour and began fighting crowds so tight you can't turn around without taking someone out.

So there you have it. My extremely early, or very late, tip for doing your Christmas shopping. Get the Black Friday ads early and go crazy!

It Works! I've Been Paid!

I've been told several times that I should be a salesman. Um, no thank you. I have no desire to do so. However, when I really and truly believe in something or have tried something and seen great results, I DO tell everyone I know. Some examples have been Levity Vitamins, Winsor Pilates, Five in a Row curriculum, and Leap Frog videos. These are all things that I have personally tried and been VERY impressed with, so I feel like I have to let others in on the secret.

Well, as far as I can tell, I have found something else that I can add to my list of highly recommended things, and that would be PayPerPost that I told you about yesterday. I posted my entry about it last night around midnight and when I woke up this morning I have money waiting in my account! How awesome is that? I am SO excited! Could I have actually, truly, for real finally found something that I can easily do from home that will bring in some extra money while not taking me away from my home and family?

I know they say that if something is too good to be true it probably is, but from what I can see so far, this is the real deal! If I've peeked your interest, you can either click on the button below or simply fill out the form to get your own PPP account started. It doesn't cost a penny, but you'll sure make some! (Oh, and no, it doesn't pay 'pennies'. Believe me, check it out. It is definitely worth it.)

Have You Been to The Homeschool Lounge Yet?

It's not like I need one more thing to keep me on this computer, but this particular website seems to be right up my alley. Who wouldn't love a place where homeschoolers from all walks of life meet up just to chat, share stories and advice, and laugh with those who understand them like no one else can... other homeschoolers!

The Homeschool Lounge seems to me to be a sort of 'Facebook' for homeschoolers. Some of the site features are:
- Create your own space
- Start or join discussions in our Forum
- Join a group
- Promote an existing Blog
- Create a slide show widget of your pictures for your blog
- Photo Gallery
- Video Gallery
- Live Chat
- Invite other Homeschool Moms, friends and family

I haven't had the opportunity to check it out as much as I'd like, but so far it looks like a really nice place to visit. So, check it out if you get a chance. Maybe I'll see ya' over there sometime!

Make Money Simply by Blogging!

Without a doubt, living on one income, or should I say SURVIVING on one income in today's world is not always the easiest thing to do. With the continual high cost of gas and now groceries as well, we homeschoolers have to come up with some pretty ingenious ways of pinching those pennies. I've just recently started clipping coupons and learning how to shop for the best deals whenever possible. Yard sales have always been a fun hobby for me, but now it holds even more excitement knowing that when I find those bargains I am truly helping our family be able to continue living on just Honey's income.

I've tried my hand at a few different things to help bring in a few extra dollars here and there... selling on ebay, babysitting, and most recently becoming one of our local hospital's newborn baby photographers! Now, while that is THE best job EVER, it still takes me away from home and causes just a bit of strain in our family. So since this past July I have only been the other photographer's emergency back-up and have worked a total of maybe 5 times.

I've racked my brain trying to think of what I could do from home that would help bring in a little extra money while not taking me away from my family or my duties here at home.

Then, a couple days ago I was blog surfing and I came across a button someone had in their sidebar that said something about getting paid for blogging. WHAT?! I most definitely know how to blog, but I never thought I could actually get PAID for doing it! Surely this couldn't be legit! So, I clicked on the button and found myself at PayPerPost.com where you get paid for blogging! Sounds too simple, doesn't it?

Well, believe it or not, it really IS simple! All you do is sign up with PayPerPost and then begin choosing from the MANY different opportunities available to blog about! Advertisers want YOU to blog about them and they will pay you for doing so. But instead of going looking for them, or they for you, PayPerPost brings both Advertiser and Blogger together in one place! Not only is this a easy way for us to earn some extra money, but it's also a great way for advertisers to drive traffic to their businesses. It's a win/win situation!

PayPerPost lists all the available opportunities for you to blog about. You look them over and choose the opportunities that are relevant to the tone of your blog and those that you WANT to blog about. If something doesn't flow with the feel and purpose of your blog, don't choose that opportunity. Believe me, there are plenty of choices to choose from. You won't have a problem finding something to blog about.

Once your blog entry has been approved by the advertiser you blogged for, you get paid! Simple as that! I can't tell you how excited I am to have found this site. I have been checking it out all day and have been impressed with everything I saw. I even found a few blogs that I enjoyed sitting and reading over. These are regular people just like you and me that are earning money for blogging! If they can do it, then I know I can.

My first goal is to make enough to pay off some small lingering bills we have. But after seeing the amounts PayPerPosts top earners are making, I think I just might have to set my goals a bit higher!

Go ahead, check it out. I think you'll be glad you did. What could be easier than earning money by doing what we love to do... blogging!