TOS Review- Couponing Made Simple

Today I am reviewing Couponing Made Simple by Christi the Coupon Coach.

Who wouldn't benefit from saving money on their grocery bills?  I know we sure can, so I was excited to get chosen for this review.

Christi, the Coupon Coach, a homeschooling mom of 4, wrote her book to help those of us who find couponing a bit daunting, but really want and need to cut back on grocery spending especially in this economy.  The book gives step by step guidelines on how to implement her approach and save money on the items used daily.  I like that the book is focused not on "extreme" couponing, but practical everyday couponing.

Although in my family we truly try to stay away from a diet filled with processed foods (thus having to forego a lot of coupons), I was able to benefit and save some money from what I learned from this book.  Looking for sales at stores which also double coupons was a huge one for me!  With just a little organization and a little planning in advance, some serious money can be saved.  I give two examples below of just how I did that and not only saved money, but in one circumstance, actually made a few cents (and went home with groceries!)

For example, we use Welch's all-natural jelly.  I knew ahead of time (by researching the upcoming specials) that they were going to be on sale.  While I didn't buy a dozen newspapers, I used an online coupon service and bought a bunch of them for only .08 cents a piece! (far cheaper than the papers)

Here's the best part-- the jelly was on sale for $1.49.  I now had .75 cent coupons that were doubled to $1.50!  I actually made a penny on each one!  How cool is that?!

Another example is bread.  We buy a brand called "Nature's Own."  It is an all-natural bread with no artificial colors (a big no-no in this house!), flavors or preservatives.  Just one of my sons alone goes through a loaf a day, so we definitely like to save on bread as we go through a lot!  Using the same method as the jelly, I was able to use coupons that were doubled while the item was on sale.  I got the loaves of bread for .49 cents!  Unbelievable!

This isn't going to happen everyday, but it is encouraging that even for those of us who do most of our cooking/baking from scratch and don't eat a lot of processed foods, that savings is still possible. I hope to utilize even more of Christi's suggestions in the future as I continue to learn "all things coupon."  :-)

Couponing Made Simple is available from Amazon for $18 or in e-book format for only $4.99.

Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly wrap-up July 19

Here it is Friday again!  The summer weeks continue to fly by.

This week's theme for Kiddo #4's camp was "Mystery."  On Monday, they made an apple pie with no apples!  :-)  (and for the record, it tasted like apple pie, as well!)  Too cool.  I was told that the recipe was quite popular during the Great Depression when fruit was a luxury that many couldn't afford.  There is an actual chemical reaction that takes place that makes the look and taste.  It is pretty wholesome, too, as you think it would be if the recipe originated in the 1930s.  Kiddo's camp teacher said that she first made it in Chemistry class.  Wow, I never had a Chemistry experiment like that.  :-(

Later in the week, they learned all about analyzing fingerprints.

So far, cucumbers are the only veggies that we have been able to pick from our garden.  Everything else is growing, so hopefully we'll be able to pick some other ones soon!  The sunflowers that Kiddo #2 started from seed are also doing well!  :-)

On Tuesday, I hosted my weekly recipe linkup called "Try a New Recipe Tuesday."  I shared the homemade playdoh recipe that the kiddos and I used last week.  You can see it and all of the other delicious recipes that were shared here.  The linkup is open until Monday night if you have any other recipes that you would like to linkup.  :-)

The Kiddos found a caterpillar in one of our parsley plants.  They immediately looked it up and found out that it is a Black Swallowtail.  We took him inside, bought him some parsley to eat and we will yet again get to watch an amazing transformation, but this time with a different breed of butterfly.  Isn't it awesome when kids get so excited over something and it just encourages their creativity and desire to learn?

Speaking of creativity, Kiddo #4 has been quite busy in that department this week.  She is making dollhouse furniture out of perler beads.  She has made a table and 4 chairs already and is starting a bookshelf.  I think a dresser is going to be next.  It sure beats just going out and buying some, when you can design and make it yourself!  :-)

On Thursday, she finished the nightgown she had been working on in sewing class for her American Girl Doll, Ruthie.

The boys haven't been so idle, either, as their grandfather is doing some remodeling in the basement and they were all given jobs to do.  I truly believe the best learning is hands-on, and there is no shortage of that here.  :-)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend with much love, learning and laughter!  God bless!  :-)

Linking up today with:  Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up, NOBH, Show-Off Friday, Learn and Link and It's a Wrap, Friendship Friday and Friday Connection and Family Fun Friday and T.G.I.F. Linky Party

TOS Review- 25 Truths

Today I am reviewing 25 Truths from Ed Douglas Publications.

The author compiled a lifetime of wisdom from his being a bank CEO, author and high school coach in this book with the desire to encourage young people to make good choices in their lives.

My husband and I read and discussed each "truth" with our teenaged sons after our evening prayers and getting the younger two tucked into bed :-), as the recommended age for the book is 6th-12th grade and beyond.

The truths are presented in a short and engaging fashion usually through the telling of a life experience of Mr Douglas or someone he knew.  The "moral" of each section is clear and the discussion questions allow the young adults to apply the particular situation to their lives and have them think about how they can learn from it.  We had some wonderful talks with our boys after reading these chapters.  I was also quite impressed at their questions.  The material really did give them much to ponder.

These truths cover topics such as finances, attitudes, personal growth and relationships.  Some of them include, "Protecting your Reputation," "You've Gotta Believe," "Utilize Compound Interest: The Eighth Wonder of the World," and "Commit to Love One Person Forever."

Some may argue that stressing the importance of being truthful or saving your money is common sense.  If may be, but common sense doesn't seem to be so common anymore and many values and morals have been pushed aside in our society today.

We enjoyed reading this book.  It gave us a good opportunity to have discussions with our boys and for them to learn some practical life lessons that will encourage them as they grow older and prepare to enter the adult world.

It is difficult today to find quality materials to help impart godly values to young people.  Even Christian teenagers are inundated with messages and images from our godless culture.  This book, as Mr. Douglas even points out, is not to be a replacement for the Ten Commandments or Jesus' Great Commandments; it is to be a tool to help teenagers to implement what the Lord has taught us.  The book makes it all relevant-- using real-life scenarios and situations and how the choices made can truly make a difference in giving them true happiness and success in life.  The book is not preachy.  It doesn't read "don't do this, don't do that."  It is skillfully written by Mr. Douglas, who as a coach has had much experience with teenagers.  It wouldn't be so profound if it spoke down to them.  Instead, it is an often-times humorous story-telling that draws them in and gets them to really think.

The 150-page book is available for $12.50 plus tax and shipping.

TOS Review- Picaboo Yearbooks

Today I am reviewing a 20-page softcover yearbook that I got to make from Picaboo Yearbooks.

This was such a fun process and to see the final result was beyond what I could have even imagined!  If I tell you that my children have looked at it 1000 times already, I wouldn't be exaggerating!  It is such a wonderful memento to have and cherish.  It is beautiful and extremely professional looking.

I created a 20-page yearbook of our homeschool year on Picaboo's website.  At first, I was a little overwhelmed by all of the possibilities (font, backgrounds, images, cropping, shaping, etc.).  I visited YouTube and watched several of the many helpful video tutorials that Picaboo has posted.  Then, I was set to go!  I laid out my pages and selected/uploaded my photos.  There was a background to suit every page and even different clip art to add for decoration.  I don't think there is a theme or possibility that was overlooked.

My children belong to a homeschool bowling league and I was thrilled to find several bowling backgrounds and clip art for those pages.  I included a variety of clip-art on our field trip pages and science equipment on our experiments page.  

I will not lie to you.  This will take as little or as long as you want to put into it.  For any of you who read my blog frequently, you know that I LOVE to take photos.  We enjoy having a photo journal of our homeschooling journey, so I literally had to scour through thousands of pictures to decide which ones to use and how to theme my pages.  It was long and tiring, but SO much fun!  Picaboo even has a live chat feature that I did use a couple of times when I had some questions late at night as I plugged away.  :-)

Each time something is added onto your yearbook, it is automatically saved and you are able to log in or out at your convenience.  You can change your mind and shuffle pages into a different order or add a new one anywhere in the book.  It is so incredibly flexible.  You are only limited by your imagination.

The 20 page softcover yearbook is only $8.49.  Additional pages can be added for only .22 cents each. Shipping is only $8.99.  It is far less money than any "photo book" I have seen available and nothing beats how personalized and customizable it can be.  It is all yours to make as original and unique as your family!  :-)  This is something that my children and I decided we will do every year.  

Here are just a few photos of our finished product.  Flash photography doesn't do it a whole lot of justice, but I think you can tell how wonderful and special it is to us and can be for your family.

It will be a wonderful way to remember our homeschooling year.  Even if you don't homeschool, you could make one as a gift for family members or of your child's sports team or dance troupe.  It could even be a great way to work together with your children to photo document a special vacation or event.  Like I mentioned, the possibilities are endless and I know that you will be as delighted with the finished product as we have been!  I am planning on ordering copies for the kiddo's grandparents.  Thought it'd make a great gift.  :-)

Try a New Recipe Tuesday- July 16

Wow, it's Tuesday already?  :-)  The weeks seem to go by even more quickly during the summer.  But, that is a good thing, I guess, since my children are having a fun-filled and enjoyable summer so far.

Part of that fun summer was making some homemade playdoh the other day.  Ok, so it's not a food recipe, but it is a recipe and one that was a blast to do with my children.  :-)  :-)

Homemade Playdoh

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tbl. vegetable oil
1 cup water
food coloring

Mix first three ingredients well.

Add food coloring to the water and oil and combine with the dry ingredients.

Stir over medium heat several minutes until it forms a ball.  Let cool in a bowl.

Knead until smooth.

Store in an airtight container.

Have fun!  We did.  :-)

Now for this week's features:

Panorama Triangles at Culinary Flavors

Adults only Irish cupcakes at Little Connections add up to a Lotta' Life

No Bake Sand Cake at To the Moon and Back

Buckeyes at Possibilities and Peas

Watermelon Shark at The (mis)Adventures of a "Born Again" Farm Girl

Linking up with the Gathering Spot, Kids in the Kitchen, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Mighty Arrows,Addicted to Recipes, Homemaking Wednesdays, Living Well Wednesday,NOBH, Judy H-J's Thoughts, Wisdom Wednesday , Favorite Things, Modest Mom, Full Plate Thursday and Melt in your Mouth Monday and Show Off Friday and Tuesday's Table and Look What We Did and Titus 2sday,  Mom's Monday Mingle, Monday Mingle, Crafty Spices, Better Mom,Create with Joy, Thursday's Treasures, Tasty Thursdays and Wonderful Food Wednesday and Mondays with Countrified Hicks and Tuesday How to Party and the Tried and True Recipe Party and Kids and Mom in the Kitchen and Family Fun Friday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop andAll My Bloggy Friends and Hearts for Home Blog Hop and Foodie Friends Friday and Family Fun Friday and TGIF Linky Party

Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly Wrap-Up July 12

Ok, it's past the 12th, but time's relative, right?  ;-)

On Monday, Kiddo #4 started a little summer camp (only 2 1/2 hours) at her old preschool.  In fact, all of my kiddos graduated from this preschool.  The summer camp was expanded this year to allow children up to 10 years old.  This week for her age group was "movie" week.  The kids actually wrote and filmed their own production that we all got to see at their big "premiere" event on Friday.

Kiddo also made us all cupcakes that were featured on this week's Try a New Recipe Tuesday.  You can see the recipe and all of those that were shared here.

On Tuesday, we had our Italian lesson.  We played "Tombola," which is Italian for bingo.  I made up the cards with the verbs the kiddos have been studying.  The teacher loved them.  :-)

This hot and humid days have called for lots of swimming

On Wednesday, we made homemade playdoh.  I'll share the recipe on Tuesday.  The kiddos had fun.

and of course, more swimming....lol

I had a lot of dental work done on Wednesday and was pretty sore, so breakfast for dinner was a great soft idea!  :-)

The baby groundhogs are doing well.  We see them almost every day.  Some of you asked how they were doing, so I thought I'd share a couple of pictures of how big they're getting.  Hubby put plexiglass around the garden and the little fellas have been kept pretty full with the clover that has been growing in the backyard.  How can you complain when you get free and non-toxic weed killers?  ;-)

I also posted my Thankful Thursday post that you can see here.

On Friday, Kiddo #4's camp class had their big movie premiere.  It was really sweet.  In the film, the kids had to solve the mystery of where all of the stuffed animals had gone.  There were clues abound and those little critters got all over the place; some were enjoying the library, bowling alley (yes, there is a small bowling alley in the church hall, believe it or not.  My kids started preschool there 12 years ago and I never knew about it until now, lol!), kitchen, etc.  The teacher set up a "red carpet" for the kids and each got to make a star with their handprints.  Too sweet.

It was a rainy and nasty afternoon, so we enjoyed some board games and had indoor fun.

On Saturday evening, we witnessed the most amazing sunset with the most vibrant and beautiful colors.  Thanks to Kiddo #3 for noticing it and urging us all outside.  Can't help but make you think about how many fleeting moments of beauty or wonder that we miss because of our "busy-ness."

I hope you all have had a wonderful week!

The winner of the Schoolhouse Planner giveaway was entry #48- Bridget Green.  Congratulations, Bridget!  I have sent you an email!  :-)

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Linking up today with:  Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up, NOBH, Show-Off Friday, Learn and Link and It's a Wrap, Friendship Friday and Friday Connection and Family Fun Friday and T.G.I.F. Linky Party