Adopt A US Soldier

WE LOVE OUR US SOLDIERS

Hey all...we are so excited the kids and I have have adopted a Soldier overseas.  We thought long and hard about it.  I researched several sites that aid and support our troops.  It only took about three days after I choose Adopt A US Soldier to get our Soldier address.  In this day and age we can e-mail each other, though at times they are unable to e-mail back.  But it is suggested that snail mail be sent as well and care packages.
This has been a great lesson for the kids on several levels.  First to be giving and compassionate and second we did a geography lesson on where he is now and where he is from in the United States.  They also have to learn how to keep secrets, though we can tell others we Adopted a soldier we cannot tell too much about him to keep him safe.
The Kids are having a fun time figuring out what to put in the box we are sending him.  We compiled a list from the Internet of people who have shipped or who have received care packages.  We hope he will feel the love and care we put into it.

 

Girl Day - Nail Art

Trinity and I love nail polish the more fun and funky the better!  Every week we are trying something new.

Trinity chose red, white and a glittery silver for this braided design, quick and fun!

Mine is a few days old (dishes, house cleaning and scrubbing the bathroom) but they still look really good. 

We Love being girls and doing girly things together!

GBBC 2013 Bird Lovers

Red Tailed Hawk

THE Great Back Yard Bird Count (GBBC) Is Back and bigger than ever. It has gone global. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about the Audbone Socity has teemed up with the Corneal Lab of Ornotholgy to do a bird study that is now world wide.

Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird

We did our first bird count in 2003 when Alex was 5, sitting on the kitchen counter (my birdfeeder was right outside that window then) eating cheese sandwiches.  I thought it was going to be hard counting and entering in the data on-line.  But it was easy and so much fun. 





                                                                     Male Eastern Bluebirds



In all the years we have been doing the count I have yet to purchase a field guide.  I found I could get far more information than I could afford, by just going to my library and taking home 4 or 5 different field guides, and spend my money on more bird feed.

 

My Christmas gift to the birds

 This wound up being a great way to have fun, do some nature science and enjoy the lovely winged creatures we share our home with. I know this sounds and looks like an infomertian but there is no way I can earn off something that is free.  We just enjoy it so much I have to share this every year. 

Click on Owl to go to the GBBC



How To Stash All The Decorations

Well its time to make the seasonal change once again in the school room...we are saying goodbye for now to the winter tissue paper scene, wax paper folded stars and all the cut snowflakes.  But they all are in great condition and we can get a few more years out of them.
I have tried several ways to store them but nothing works as well as laying them between my mattresses.  Its dark so they don't fade, its flat and the weight of the mattress presses them out looking nice and crisp for next year.  I also keep all my poster board there as well.

As for my mobiles they get hung on a hanger, with a trash bag tied over them and put in the front coat closet where no one go's.  

The rest of the gnomes, fairy's and such get put in plastic bags (I use old bread bags and such) then into a bin in the bottom of the coat closet.  This keeps everything near by and handy and out of a damp basement.

Ant Farm On The Cheap

We are doing a little science project that should be a whole lotta fun...ANT FARM!

But when I went online to order my mouth dropped open and all the cash in my wallet started to disinigrate!
First stop: Carolina
Ant farm kit: With ants, poster, booklet and plastic farm thingy was $26.95 OK not too bad.
Freight and Handleing: $19.95
Tax: $3.28
This put my total at $50.18! OMG for a plastic ant farm are they crazy!

OK, being a frugal Mom I started shopping around.
Next Stop: Uncle Miltons
Plastic farm thingy: $14.99 that's much better
The ants were separate: $6.00
Still around $20.
Then the shipping and handling was $15.00
There went my total to $35.99
Still allot for some ants and a plastic container.

I knew I could still do better, and I remembered that Hobby Lobby carries science kits and had a 40% off coupon I could print off.

Armed with my coupon I bought the Uncle Miltons farm for $9.00 (original price)
When I got home and opened the box I found a coupon code inside for the ants from the same Uncle Miltons I went to earlier.  All I had to pay was the $5.00 shipping charge.

In total I paid $14.00  CHA CHING!