I just got the best deal...

I am always on the hunt for a good deal.
When I love it I talk about it.
I wish a earned a commission when I did.

Wait a Minuit, I CAN. And so can you!

Pretty soon you will hear a new phrase Social Commerce Network n: Using social media and online media in conjunction with a centralized community of members that supports social interaction and user contributions, to assist in the online buying and selling of products and services and the direct reward of those members who participate in the actual creation and exchange of value.

But if you take a look around you will see the start of it in many places. It's in those places that this busy stay at home mom is finding new ways to stretch and even earn a buck.

Over the next few weeks I am going to SHARE with you all they ways I have found to do this. And with Christmas right around the corner can't we all use or benefit from saving an extra buck.

By the way, YES, these are affiliate links. That's how this whole Social Commerce works and its not a scam. It's smart marketing from these stand alone companies. In fact my hope is that you too will have your own set of affiliate links before we are done.

TyndaleRewards

I'm going to start with getting free books. Real honest to goodness paper back and hard cover books. The cost to join? Free! The cost to ship the books? Free! The time it takes...I would say less then 15 min to start and even less time the that if you want to keep earning free books.

Here is how. Go to this link at TyndaleRewards
Register for FREE.
Choose what FREE things you want to sign up for.
Share your unique referral code with your friends and family on Facebook/Twitter/Blog or email.

Want to earn more points? Sign up for the newsletter. Take super short surveys. (This is not one of those into the Bermuda Triangle kind of surveys! I have done three and cannot even change a diaper faster then they too.) Join the Birthday Club. Or write a Tyndale Product review. All the instructions are on the site and very user friendly.

Tyndale publishing is known for some amazing authors like Beth Moore and Francine Rivers. And beautiful Bibles as well. I used my first bunch of Tyndale points to get the kids a fun Hard back comic book style Bible for small kids called Rumple! Zap! Pow! by Diane Stortz. The graphics are fun, the stories clear and they even have activities to go along with them.

I'm currently saving up my Tyndale points to get a "grown up" Bible for my oldest but I also have my eyes on some fiction for me.

Got to buzz, I have some fall cleaning to do.
-K

Miss me!

I have been missing you! If you have been wondering where this busy bee mom has been the answer is simple. COMPUTER DIED. Well I have hope it's not fully dead since I have a ton of homeschool curriculum and photos stored on it...but for the sake of blogging. D-E-A-D! 

Fortunately we were blessed with a free IPad 2! And despite the fact that I have not used an Apple product since high school I figured out that I CAN continue my blog on it. Woohoo! I was so disappointed at the thought of giving it up.

In the mean time I have been working on a few new blog series, in hope that i would be back up and running, that I'm pretty excited about. Plus I have some more every day busy bee mom life to share.

Got to buzz, lots of writing to catch up on.

-K

My Husband is BRILLIANT!

My Husband is BRILLIANT! No really, he is and about lots of things. But when it comes to things of the kitchen I'm sometimes left wondering until he shared an idea with me last night. OH MY HE IS BRILLIANT and I'm just about ready to let him take over all the cooking because of this idea. No it's not disposable dishes. However he has picked them up on occasion so I wouldn't have to "do the dishes" if I didn't want to. In fact he does the dishes for me all the time and often cleans the whole house too. My man IS a keeper!

Nope this idea involved the slow cooker and the mass amounts of chicken breasts I got on sale and was planning to George Foreman grill up. It happened to be one of those days that I couldn't get ahead of the mess and was topped off with a teething baby who was also fighting a head cold. Oh, and big sister got that cold too; probably because she keeps running off with his sippy cup and other "chew toys". Ah, siblings.

So hear I am, finally got the kids to bed. Still have another load of dishes to do and 9lbs of chicken that I needed to cook NOW and it's the last thing I want to do. I was whining to my Honey about having to cook said chicken, asking him about boiling it and he says "Why don't you put it in the crock pot?"  I had cooked a whole chicken the day before and had my homemade broth cooking all that day. His idea, cook the chicken in that broth. I did and it was amazing, not to mention simple. Super moist, as slow cookers are known to make the meat and flavorful! (Next time I will add some, and by some I mean a ton, of garlic to the stock to add a bit more to the chicken.)

All the chicken is now cooked, weighed and put away in zip lock bags for use this week. Yes, weighed out into individual portions! We are trying to be more aware of the portion sizes and calories we eat as we are...work towards stronger and healthier bodies. We are pretty much just using the chicken for salads and mixed with vegetables. I'd done this last month by grilling the chicken on the Foreman and I'm sure I will still keep doing that but I like having this as an option too.

Do you have a food scale? I've found it amazing in training my eyes in portion control. It's even stretching our budget further because I am cooking only what we need to eat. I was even able to portion off a bunch of taco meat today for meals all month long. Well, if you do not have one I strongly suggest it, my kitchen will never be without one again.

Got to buzz, morning will be here before I know it.
-K

Summer Soup Almost Flop

I will admit it. I am one of those people who LIKES the rain! A cool day with a cup of hot tea and a good book next to the fireplace, listening to the rain fall outside. That is MY idea of a great vacation...even more so now that I have busy little kids that keep me on my toes. Another confession? I hope my kids like to read as much as I do! I love that my grandma and I enjoy the same books and want that same thing with my kids. At least one of them. At least they love mama reading them stories now.

Today the weather was cool, no rain but still a much needed reprieve, in my opinion, from all the great hot sunshine we have had. I enjoyed putting on pants and sleeves and not being a sweaty mess! And while the weather feels fall I wasn't ready for a hearty soup just yet,  but soup still sound amazing. So I made a HUGE pot of vegetable soup with cabbage, yellow squash, zucchini, onion, garlic, celery and chili powder. (I just read that chili powder is a great natural source of vitamin e and I'm trying to eat more of my vitamins these days.) Well, the soup was a bit of a let down so I will not bother to share with you my recipe. However I redeemed it with my "it's got a kick" taco meat. Tossed a little into my bowl and the bland veggie soup was the perfect compliment to it. Woohoo, saved the soup and maybe even some calories by eating my taco that way instead drowning it with piles of cheese, avocado and yogurt. I'll save that for another day when I've roasted a bell or poblano pepper to use as my taco shell. YUMMY!

However, I needed a win today! My Macaroon is teething and fighting a bit of a head cold that he also passed to his sister. She is a trooper and was my big girl helper shopping today, but by the time we reached check out she was done. We were a sight! My oldest was at the play place (thank God!) but I had the baby in the front pack and my girl sitting on my hip. (Yes, I was holding both at the same time! Who needs the gym?) She was crying and snotting all over my shoulder as my checker rolled her eyes, the checker behind me tried to comfort her and the manager on duty tried to bribe her with stickers. (Let's be honest here, don't we all think this is the moment that they should be giving mom something? Like some high quality chocolate!) Well I had flash backs to my pre-kid days and thought "oh the judging that is going on right now." But now I have kids and I know that these moments DO NOT  tell the whole story. Truth be told, I was pretty impressed with how calm I was during all of this. And how great she was doing despite the fact that she was feeling crummy. I'd like to pitch a fit like that when I feel crummy and nothing is going my way. Heck, I've done it! Just ask my poor husband. Wait don't! Just give him chocolate for being so patient with me!

Got to buzz, way past my bedtime and my little pastries wake up early!
-K

Getting Ready for School

I know it's been too long since I've logged on to blog when I cannot remember my password. This was one of those times! So what has had me so busy I've had no time? Getting ready for school! And all the fun of day to day life.

My oldest starts kindergarten this year and we have confirmed our choice to homeschool. I had no idea there were so many options on HOW to homeschool. So I have been researching styles, curriculum and reading, reading, reading other bloggers who have already been doing this home-school thing and books by the bag full.

We have settled on Eclectic Home-Schooling, for this year. (Funny that's kind of our style for decorating too. Hmm, maybe there is something to that.) Our main focus will be language arts (I've gotten pretty much everything I need for that for only the cost of printing), Bible history over view (next year we will be digging deep into the history), Christlike character studies (Fruit of the Spirit, yes we are still working on that, Armor of God and such) and unit studies. Our first unit of study, students choice, will be ancient Egypt. And I'm pretty excited to dive in!

Speaking of my oldest, we had a great moment this past weekend at the post office. The wind was blowing pretty good and our nations flag was whipping around in the wind. It was beautiful to watch. Well, when we were done with our mail trip the flag was not blowing and Pumpkin was pretty disappointed. So I took the time to teach him the Pledge of Allegiance. It was so cute to see his little sister quickly follow hand over heart and try to say the words to.

A few days later we were making that same trip and as soon as we exited the building I was asked. "Can we allegiance the flag again?" And so we did, it warmed my heart! By the way, I know have "add American flag" to my shopping list for curriculum this year.

If you would like more information of some of the curriculum I am using please use the following links.

Free Language Arts for Preschool and Kindergarten:
Progressive Phonics
This Reading Mama
American Sign Language:
Devotional Motherhood 

Over all wealth of information and great deals:
So you call yourself a Homeschooler 
Bible Based Homeschooling
Me on Pinterest


Got to buzz, baby is teething!
-K

Adopted: The hardest thing, for me.

The hardest thing about finding out I was adopted was what I looked like. No longer could I look in the mirror, at my pictures and see my parents in me. I could not expect to see parts of my parents "show up" in my children. It felt like I lost them all over again, and in a way I did. So I avoided mirrors like the plague and put away all the photos of me that were easily visible. Each time I looked in the mirror my heart would break a little.My grief, not of being adopted, but not having that physical part of my parents is what hurt.

But that's all I lost, the physical. What I kept was the unconditional love, joyful memories and a foundation in Christ;  they gave me that. The same things I desire to instill in my children. And if we are ever blessed to adopt our self, why would I morn the loss of the physical? After all, the way my eyes look, the flecks of gold and green and brown, He made them that way! My smile. My cheeks. My monkey toes. He created me in His image. His design for me was before the foundation of the earth. I was made in the image of my Father! We all were and what a wonderful thing to see when we look in the mirror.

Now mirrors are no longer my enemy. Photos are on display and appreciated for the moments in time they captured. I no longer look for physical glimpses of my parents in my children but instead I look for the quality's my parents instilled in me that I'm passing on to them. And most importantly I am teaching them who they are in Christ, so that there identity is always rooted in Him.

Got to buzz, I've books to read with my little pastries.
-K

Menu Planning: Game Plan

June's menu planning was a bust, I think I tried to do too much while recovering. This once a month shopping and cooking thing is challenging to figure out, but I'm determined to get a handle on it. Time to come up with a plan.

Game Plan:

Make menu! I've discovered that this can be the most tricky thing of all. I could just choose what I want to eat...if I were single...but I'm a married gal and mama who needs to consider the needs and preferences of her family AND choose meals that we all enjoy while still easy and healthy. I'm sure that this combination is not the elusive Bermuda Triangle.

Make Shopping List. I pulled out all my recipe cards. (I'm old school that way and it works so much better then trying to pull up the recipes on my phone or computer. The only recipes I keep in my "book" are ones that we have had, that we like, that we want to have again.) Write down all the ingredients from the list on my shopping list by recipe. Then tally up how much of each thing I need if I will be doubling or more during the month. That way if the ground turkey that we always buy is on sale I know how much I need for the whole month and can stock up. If it's not on sale I also know how much I need just for the week.

Shop my Kitchen. Time to take my list into the kitchen and see what I already have on the list. I only have a normal refrigerator and that limits the amount of freezer space I have, so I also have to make sure I have room in the freezer.

Clean Kitchen. Not the quick wipe down, but the deep clean including the refrigerator and spice cabinet. This is a great way to make more room and also make sure you have all the spices and condiments you need for cooking. I like to do this the day or morning before I do my big shopping.

Eat and Pack Snacks. Oh my goodness, never ever go to the store without eating a substantial meal! And if you need to bring the kids feed them too! This includes nursing the baby before I leave. Oh and make sure everyone goes potty! Sometimes I even go twice! I also like to include some kind of snack thing on my shopping list for them that I can pick up withing the first 15 minutes of shopping or I pack something for them to bring along. Oh, and for my older two I take advantage of Fred Meyers Kids Club just about every time I go. Kid's love it. And my front pack for baby is a must when I need to fill the cart. In case you didn't know, car seats take up the whole basket!

Saving Money, Time and Sanity. I try and check my ads and any coupons that I stumble across. (I should take more advantage of those coupons!) And plan what stores I should go to in what order based on savings, time of day and distance. I don't want to waste my gas and I don't want to be shopping during nap time. Plus, if I'm going to take advantage of my Fred Meyer Kid's club I need to make sure I plan out that time for when the are open. Oh, and we are a one car family so I need to make sure that my shopping is before my Honey leaves for the day or after he gets home. Juggle juggle juggle!

Shop. Don't forget your list. Put on a smile. Take a deep breath. Smile and I try and remember all the Love and Logic I've read. And not going to more then two stores in one day. I tried three, well four but one of them ended up being a bust, yesterday and forgot more then half the stuff on my list.

Stores I shop:
Fred Meyers I like the reward points I earn and the gas discount. Oh, and did I mention the Kids Club?
Grocery Outlet I try and check them first since the selection is always changing. They tend to have great deals on organic food, cheese and wine.
Safeway. I tend to get great sale deals with my Just for U. And there Mom to Mom diapers are the best, not only for cost but substance as well. They also have gas rewards and saving money at the pump is always a win.
Win Co. Bulk organic Coconut flour. Spices, cheese and some frozen foods.
Trader Joe's Nuts. Coconut milk. Almond meal. Dried fruit. Produce. Ezechiel bread and wraps.
Win Co. Bulk organic Coconut flour. Spices, cheese and some frozen foods.
Albertsons.  I don't make it hardly at all, but last month I discovered they had a great Gluten Free selection, so I'm going to be keeping an eye on them from now on.
 Costco I have not had a membership in years so I called and asked if they had a trial membership I could use for the day and see if the savings would justify the cost of a membership. Well I confirmed this information with two different people at the store, however after I lugged all my kids into the store and waited in line at customer service I was told the information was incorrect. Customer service FAIL! No Costco membership for me.

Put the food away. If you manage to get your shopping done in the morning, cook everything you can now while you put the other food away. If I have meat to brown start with that right off while I put away the frozen food. Next, prepare produce for the week and store. And then just put everything else away.

Meals for the day. I also strongly suggest not cooking this night and making lunch super simple too. Take out? Frozen pizza? A freezer meal you already have on hand.

Next day. Cook. Cook. Cook. All those freezer or other make ahead meals you want to do. This is the day! And if you are a crock pot cooker like me, put that baby to work for you too!

So there you go. This is the advice I give my self and hope to follow as well. But don't forget that hiccups happen along the way, like your daughters diaper leaking! "Wet clean up isle one."  Yesterday. Or your baby has a blow out in your front pack. Last month. Or your daughter has an up her back blow out that ends up all over your arm and you think it might be the chocolate from the doughnut she has. Two months ago. Yep, those things they use in movies happen in real life!

Got to buzz, baby to put to sleep.
-K