Things I Love Thursday--Pioneer Woman!

Have you heard of the Pioneer Woman? Go ahead, check out her blog for a few minutes. I'll wait.

Did you see this section?

Or this one?

What about this?

Yeah, there's even more than all that. I don't know how the woman does it all and manages not to be pronounced insane. But if she's not sane, she at least distracts you with tons of inspiring and motivating articles.

She drove me to make these the other night. And split a whole batch with my husband. We ate them all. Maybe I should do some sit-ups or something now.

She's got a book, too. I bought it for my good buddy for her birthday. Now my good buddy loves the Pioneer Woman, too. I'm just sharing the love, here.

Find more Things I Love Thursday over at the Diaper Diaries!

Happy Birthday To Swagbucks!

Today is Swagbucks 2nd birthday and to celebrate they've unveiled a new look to their website. I just missed a code for 7 swagbucks, but there will be more to come today, from the sounds of things.

If you haven't signed up yet, do it today--Frugal Coupon Living has a bonus code for new members worth 60 Swagbucks!

Throughout the day today, The Swag Guy will be revealing new ways to earn swagbucks besides just searching, too!

I really like the new look of the Swagbucks home page and the new features sound exciting. There's really no reason not to join up and start earning free stuff!

Check it out HERE.

UPDATE! Another website claims to have a bonus code for new members--if you decide to sign up, go HERE to get the code. You'll see a box like this on the right side of the Swagbucks home page:


You just enter the bonus codes in that box and your account is credited. Fun!

A Random Dozen!

I have no brain power to think of an original blog post for today, because I'm totally grossed out by the spaces where I had two teeth pulled today. UGH.

1. Have you ever fired a gun or shot a bow and arrow? Yes, my first boyfriend was the hunting type, and he taught me to shoot a gun. I shot a bow and arrow in PE in 7th grade.

2. Do you know where your childhood best friends are? Mostly, thanks to Facebook! LOL

3. Do you usually arrive early, late, or on time? I used to be the early type, but 13 years and 8 kids have transformed me into the perpetual latecomer to everything.

4. Are you more of a New York or California type? I've never been to New York, but I loved California when I visited years ago. I think after living a slow-paced life in the Midwest, I'd be more suited to beaches than high-rises.

5. Do you have a special ring tone? No, but I helped my DH get some great ones for his phone.

6. What is your favorite type of chip? Sour Cream and Cheddar Wavy Lays. Yum!

7. Best comedy you've ever seen is .... Jim Gaffigan


8. Have you ever cut your own hair? Yes
To quote Dr. Phil, "How'd that work for ya?" It was actually ok--I didn't do anything drastic, but took off a couple inches.

9. If you were going to have an extreme makeover, would you rather it be about your house or your personal self? It can't be both? Probably the house, then--I'm pretty comfortable in my own skin.

10. Are you allergic to anything? An anesthetic I received during tonsil surgery as a kid--they don't use it much anymore, I'm told. Food-wise, lots of things--but I've 'outgrown' most of them, and pretty much eat what I want now.

11. Why is it so hard to change? Maybe so we'll have to depend on God to help us--it's pretty much futile to try it on our own.

12. One last question dedicated to February love: CS Lewis said, "To love is to be vulnerable." Please share one example of that assertion or share any thought you'd like to about this topic.
There is so much potential for rejections and disappointment when you give your heart to someone. The Bible says in Proverbs, "Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." I think we do our kids a huge disservice by not teaching them to guard their hearts, and they suffer so much for it sometimes. But once you've found the one you're committed to stay with for the rest of your life, and that love is returned--what a gift!

Snow Day Activities

Well, have you reached the end of your patience for snow days? We've had so many of them this year! Being a homeschooler, they really *shouldn't* affect me much, but just knowing that the public schools have the day off, does something to my motivation.

And you all know that snow makes kids go crazy, right? (And if you didn't before, you do by now!)

So, here is a list I put together of some 'fun' activities that my kids don't get to every day. Maybe they're a little messy, or take a bit more of your time than you're usually willing to give up. But maybe you're in a place where you're willing to sacrifice a little to keep the kids happy and occupied. *smile*

• Puzzles
• Play-doh
• Obstacle Course (set up 'cones' to run around, chairs/benches to climb over, cushions to jump on, etc.)
• Board Games
• Card Games
• Memory (I hate picking up all those little cards afterwards, so this one doesn't come out often)
• Lacing cards/shapes for little ones
• Block Party--go on a hunt all through the house to find all those lost blocks. Then bring them all to the living room and built a giant city/fort/tower together!
• Boxes--my little kids love to play with boxes. If you have any that are big enough to sit/stand in, you've got instant cars, trains, houses, or whatever else your kids imagine.
• Tents--set up a real one, or drape blankets over chairs
• Legos
• Tea Party
• Wii Sports Tournament (maybe video games are a cop-out, but when you pit the whole family against each other in a tournament, it gets pretty interesting!)
• Cut & Paste pictures/collages
• Paint pictures
• Play/Puppet Show--some kids are born for this kind of thing :)

• Science Experiments

Or, if it's the end of the day and you just don't have the energy for any of the above, just sit on the couch and start reading aloud. I bet it won't be long before you're surrounded by quiet kids. :)

Swagcode right now!

Check out the widget in my sidebar--hover your mouse over the words 'code alert!' and it will give you the code. It's good until 6 pm central time. Hurry--gotta love those free swagbucks!

Swagbucks Birthday Bash!

If you haven't already joined Swagbucks, now is the time! They are celebrating their second birthday, beginning February 25, with lots of fun 'festivities'--which usually means bonus swagbucks for us!

Go ahead and join up now, and if you do twitter and facebook, or have a blog, be sure to follow them and/or put their widget on your blog. That way, you'll be sure to know how to get your bonus bucks when the party begins on the 25th.

Go HERE to check it out and join up!

Now is probably not the time...

...to be knitting mittens. By the time I'm done, I'm sure it will be the middle of July and I'll have to stuff them in the closet until winter arrives again.

Worse yet, I'll get sidetracked halfway through, set them aside, and I'll forget about them until next winter. When I'll *still* have cold hands.

Though I have no photos to show you just yet (can't find that blasted camera cable!), you might want to check out these patterns.

I'm following a pattern called Mittens to Order by Diane Mulholland (rav link HERE ).
But I'm inserting the pattern charts from these Swirly Mittens by goldenknits (rav link HERE ).

I LOVE the swirls! They're going to be gorgeous. If I finish them.

I'm using three different leftover sock yarns--with no idea how much I actually have of each one. It's one of those moments when I really miss my little postage scale. I pretty sure that I've deluded myself into believing I have enough yarn, but I'll probably end up with one and a half gorgeous mittens to display on my shelf. Or decorate bottles of soda, maybe?

Vase-warmers?

Anyway, I'm using THIS gorgeous yarn, Fleece Artist Trail Socks in the Aurora colorway, along with two solids. The solids are both Knit Picks Essential--Grass and African Violet. The two solids are actually found in the Fleece Artist skein, but both pretty briefly, so there shouldn't be much problem with the pattern getting lost.

I'm using the purple with the variegated for the cuff, which is based on the original pattern formula, a two-color rib. Then for the main body of the mitten, I'm switching over to Grass with the Fleece Artist. I actually have already gotten to the chart using the purple instead of green (had to rip it out), and something about the brightness of the purple was distracting. I think the green will be a better choice for the swirls, and they should stand out a bit more.

I'm not 100% sold on the pattern for the palm of the mitten. The first time around, I used the one that came with the swirl chart. But it seems to use a lot more of one color than the other. I think that if I keep the yarn usage at more of a 1:1 ratio, I'll have less chance of running out of one or the other of the yarns.

I may end up scouring stashes on Ravelry to find some matching yarn--at least that's an option! Thank goodness for Ravelry. :)

What are you all knitting or crafting these days? Are you finding enough time for your hobbies?

Free Oreos Today!

The Mannings beat the Donalds in the Oreo DSRL! That means free Oreos for us! Go HERE and become a fan--then be ready at 3PM EST TODAY to sign up on that page for a package of free oreos. There is a limited supply, so be ready. :)

Media Cards (or--how to get the kids to not play video games every waking minute)

When we bought our Wii 2 years ago, we had never owned any kind of gaming system before (well, not since having kids, anyway). We quickly realized that we needed to do something to prevent our kids from having a serious gaming addiction and/or let their grades slip down the drain.

Thus, the Media Card was born.

It's basically a grade-based reward system. I've never liked the idea of paying kids money for good grades, but this was a way to make them feel rewarded while at the same time keeping them accountable for the amount of time they spend on computer/video games/tv/movies. Yep, the 'media' in Media Card applies to all electronic forms of entertainment in our home. They can read books, play board games, puzzles, cards, etc. etc. for 'free', but they have to 'pay' to play Lego Indiana Jones or visit their Webkinz online.

We set the payment levels for the grades we knew our kids were capable of. We use a software-based curriculum for a couple of the kids, which gives a quiz and/or test in every subject at least once a week. Therefore, we thought this would give the kids enough opportunities to earn media cards to keep them supplied to the tune of about 1 card per day, if they did well on those quizzes/tests.

We didn't want them to earn so many cards that they could spend every free minute on electronic time wasters, but enough to keep them motivated to put forth some effort in school. That's why we decided not to 'pay' for their daily work. You can decide what you reward them for and what they need to pay for. Just set up the rules to start with, communicating to your child(ren) that for the first month or so the system may need a bit of 'tweaking'.

We also had two 'tiers' of earning opportunity--1 card earned for an A or B on the quiz/test, 2 cards for a 100% on one. Each media card is good for 30 minutes of 'play' time, and we used a timer to keep them accountable on this. I've gotten away from that recently and have noticed the kids taking advantage and going a bit over their time limit if I'm not paying attention. Going to have to bring back the timer. :)

Oh, and I actually made up the cards on the computer, using a label template of some sort. They're just made out of cardstock, but have lasted 2 years so far with no problems.

I now have a couple of kiddos using non-software-based curriculum, so it's a little more work for me to keep up with this system for them. They don't have tests or quizzes in a couple of the subjects, so I just average their weekly grades in each subject and if it falls within the acceptable range, they get their card.

Several of my friends have commented on how much they liked our system, so just thought I'd put it out here to share.

Friday Night Feast

Nearly Every Friday night, we have friends over for a big ol' potluck-style Feast.

I won't go into how it began here, but I wanted to share the menu for this week and a recipe or two.

Jan. 22, 2010 (Happy Birthday, Anna! :)

Pickle-Cream Cheese roll-ups
Tortilla Chips and dip

Baked Ham
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Home-canned Pear Halves

Gooey Cake (recipe below)
Chocolate-Chunk Brownies

Even though we always have tons of food, it's funny because the kids hardly eat anything--there are always at least 5 kids besides ours, if not more. Just too many fun people to talk to and play with!

Today we're planning on a really big crowd--I think we'll have about 38 people here, altogether. I'd better check the stock of paper plates! LOL

Oh, and in honor of my dear friend Anna's birthday, I'm sharing her fabulous recipe below.

Gooey Cake
crust:
1 Yellow cake mix
1 stick butter, barely melted
1 egg
filling:
1 8 oz package cream cheese
2 eggs
3 3/4 C. powdered sugar

Step One: Beat together butter and 1 egg. Add cake mix and stir until well blended. Press into 9x13 pan. Set aside.

Step Two: Beat together cream cheese and 2 eggs until blended. Slowly add powdered sugar and mix until thoroughly combined. Spread cream cheese mixture over crust in pan.

Step Three: Pop that pan into the oven and bake at 350 degrees F. for approximately 35-40 minutes, or until starting to brown. Let cool completely before serving.

I'm sure Anna would want me to tell you that you can use a lemon cake mix and add some lemon juice to the filling mixture to make lemon bars--one of her favorites!

I'm thinking about trying a chocolate version, myself. YUM!

A Long Day....but a good one.

I've received a lot of help on this road of motherhood.

My mother and in-laws both live nearby, so I've rarely had to hire a sitter over the years. I've always had someone to step up anytime I've needed it.

Now that my kids are starting to get older, and our lifestyle has changed to accommodate the larger family, I don't have to ask for help *quite* as much as I used to.

What's more, I now have a bit more mental energy to help others out when needed.

Today was one of those days. A dear cousin needed a sitter so she could see her doctor, and I was happy to help.

The day went fine--I gave my 1st grader the day off of school so that he could help entertain his nearly-4-year-old cousin. He was thrilled to 'help'--and have some extra time to play trains with his brothers, too.

Meanwhile, the rest of us hit the books as usual. Everything was going ok--just a few interruptions from the newcomer, who wasn't used to the routine around here. :)

Then Dh calls to say he won't be home for lunch.

This is where it starts getting hairy--for some reason, that little mental break in the day makes such a HUGE difference, for the children as well as for me. And when I don't get that break, my nerves get a bit more, um, *sensitive*. LOL

Later, another cousin needed his kids to come over for a bit. So we had 11 kiddos here this afternoon! I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, cooking dinner with the usual hungry-whiney-kid noises in the background when my dh arrived home. He helped me take the focus off of myself and directed my attention to something priceless.

Our girls and one of the visitors were playing dress-up. Nothing really new, this has been a favorite pastime of my girls' since they were itty bitty. But the twins are 10 now! They were in some crazy outfits pretending to be fairies. They came dancing down the stairs and filled us all in on their names and what their 'specialty' was. There was a water fairy, flower fairy, and a couple of others. So sweet!

I know these days will get fewer and farther between as time goes by, so I'm trying to enjoy them while I can. These really are sweet times.

Swagbucks codes this week!

I hope you guys don't get sick of me talking about SwagBucks, but I really do love it and really encourage everyone I know to sign up. This week they're putting out some special codes to get 'free' swagbucks, at least one code per day. The 'catch' is, that you need to have their toolbar installed on your computer in order to get the codes.

Their toolbar simply has a search box, and a few buttons to lead you straight to information on the swagbucks website. There is also a 'message box' from The Swag Guy, where you sometimes get special swag codes to redeem on their homepage for a SB (swag buck) or two.

I installed their toolbar last summer and have never had a bit of a problem with popups, spyware, or anything of the sort, so I don't hesitate to recommend it to people.

My only complaint would be that after one of my FireFox updates, my SB toolbar went away for some reason, but I re-installed it on Internet Explorer just fine, so I think that was one of my computer's 'quirks'.

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know how they could get some FREE swagbucks this week in addition to the ones you can earn by searching, referring friends, shopping through their site, etc.

Also, did you know that they have a program where you can send in your old cell phones for swagbucks? What are you going to do with those old, outdated cell phones that you've 'outgrown' and are just collecting dust somewhere? Why not turn them into swagbucks that you can redeem for gift cards or even PayPal CASH! I think it's just a great program, all-around. Check it out!

Learn Spanish--FREE Site!

I have been loving THIS spanish learning site since last summer. We're going on a short trip to Mexico this spring and I've been using this site to brush up on my language skills. I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of all this site has to offer, but what I've seen has been mind-blowing. There are some ads and 'commercials' at the beginning of the instruction videos, but they're short and not bothersome. I think it is very appropriate for homeschools, and have had my kids do a few of the lessons so far. They loved it!

I've been using the 'learn spanish' section of this site, which contains videos, flashcards, and interactive learning activities to help you learn. They use a point system to help gauge your progress and 'compete' with others if you'd like. You have to earn a certain number of points from one lesson in order to complete it. Of course, you can choose your lessons based on your skill level and area of interest. There are also forums, a spanish/english dictionary and translation feature, and lots more!

Check it out here, at SpanishDict.com.

Chuck is coming back--and here's a contest!

Have you watched Chuck? It's a fun TV show (and I don't watch much tv) with comedy, action/spy stuff, fun family time, and a little romance. I got sucked in after watching the pilot and have been in love with the show since.

Season 3 starts on Sunday at 9 eastern on NBC with a 2 hour premiere, then another episode at it's regular time Monday night. Be sure to tune in--we almost didn't get another season of this series, so watch it and tell all your friends to, as well. Of course, you can watch the full episodes later on NBC.com or hulu.com if you can't watch the original airing.

And the contest--go HERE and leave a comment for a fun prize!

Kraft Sweepstakes--$44,000

Enter HERE every day for a chance to win a $44,000 home makeover, flat screen TVs, cookware and more. You need a UPC code from a participating product (appears to be nabisco/planters) to enter.

Deal Killer!

I spent over an hour last night going through coupons and getting things organized to do some shopping today. But alas, I wake up to this. Still snowing and really cold. Not a good day to be travelling 3 hours each way (I was going to the city where my Grandma is staying so I could visit her as well).

So instead, I'll be staying home snuggling with kids, playing with new toys, and (hopefully) cleaning and straightening up a bit for our 'Cousins Christmas Party' tomorrow evening.

Hope you're all having a fun weekend, staying warm and enjoying your blessings.

Cool Crafty Links

Thanks to my friend Paula over at Hearty Works, I've been enjoying a few new-to-me crafty blogs this morning. Here are some highlights:

Giver's Log: Hot Chocolate on a stick! And if you need more incentive than that to check out the site, you may not be human. Or you were never a kid. Take some time to look around at all her great gift ideas--not all homemade, but all are thoughtfully categorized for the perfectly suited recipients.

Design Mom: She has some great ideas for displaying children's artwork HERE.

Infarrantly Creative: Beautiful Christmas on a Budget series begins HERE.

Enjoy!

Williams-Sonoma style for $3.00!

Check out this blog post for a beautiful craft that won't break the bank and would make a wonderful gift. It's so pretty, I want to make a million of them and give them to everyone I know. And keep a set for myself. :)

Thank you for sharing, Melissa!

Cooties, CraftLit, and Canning

Some random thoughts...

We've been sick. Some kind of virus-plus-strep throat (for at least one of us). Doc put the whole lot of us on antibiotics which has helped the strep-py kid. The dh and I though? Not so much. Still have sore throats and dh has been very achy and tired. Better today, though--finally! Really not looking forward to winter sickness. We've stayed pretty healthy this summer, but it seems like when the cold weather hits we're sick a lot. And of course, we pass everything around to the whole house, so. Fun. Last winter wasn't as bad as usual, though. Don't know if it's because the older kids have learned to wash their hands more (cutting down the cooties brought into the house) or if it was all the Emergen-C we took. (You can get it at your local health food store or wal-mart.) Anytime we went somewhere, we all took some. Anytime one of us started feeling bad, we all took some. And I think it really helped. Not terribly expensive compared to a trip to the dr. and subsequent prescriptions.

Do you listen to CraftLit? It's an amazing podcast that I started listening to about a year and a half ago. It's done by an English professor, who taught high school for years in New York before moving to Arizona. She does some crafty talk--she knits, spins, draws, paints, etc. Then she teaches about the chapter(s) of the book for that show which is just SO wonderful. I've learned sooo much, which has been an incredible blessing for my dormant-bookworm brain. I used to read ALL.THE.TIME. before I started having baby after baby. I let the urgent everyday stuff fill in all that time that I should have been keeping my brain sharp. Anyway. Gift this podcast a listen. It's a good thing. OH, and she's got CD compilations off all the podcasts, divided by book, in case you've got dial-up or can't otherwise listen to the downloads. You may need to e-mail her for those--I know she's taking some to SOCK SUMMIT (where she's teaching a heel techniques class and a couple podcasting classes). BONUS for listening--her gramma's banana bread recipe. Oh yeah. Made two loaves last night. Let's just say it's a hit for breakfast.

Also, Librivox. In case you want MORE BOOKS! (Sometimes one or two chapters a week on CraftLit just isn't enough.) All public domain, recorded by volunteers. Some good readers, some not so good. But FREE!

Now, canning. I've only canned a few pints of salsa a couple years back. I always think I'm going to do it, I'll can whatever produce I can find good deals on. But I never do it. I chicken out. Right now I've got pint and quart jars that I bought, lids, rings, canning salt, vinegar, a pickling mix, tons of tomatoes and cucumbers exploding all over the vines, and.....um......a freezer salsa recipe that I've already made two batches of. What's my deal? I think it's the intimidation of cooking all the salsa/slicing the cucumbers, then trying to get everything hot at the same time, jar it up without burning myself, and the really scary part? Thinking that I have to keep things STERILE in MY HOUSE. I just don't think it can be done. Too many littles. Too many older kids who like to stick their fingers in things for a taste. I dunno. Maybe I'll get the salsa all ready today, put it in a pot in the fridge, then cook and can after bedtime. Think that would work? We'll see.

In other news? A knitting-related post--coming soon!

Fun for Friday

This is one of our favorite comedians--my kids get such a kick out of him! My daughter, B, especially loves the song, "Jesus Take the Wheel". So when she heard this song she wasn't sure whether to laugh or grumble, LOL. But anytime we start watching a Tim Hawkins video, we can count on the kids being entranced at the computer for a good 45 minutes, because you can't watch just one!