Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Squishy Bag Craft Tutorial
For the last 2 weeks I have been hearing all about letters. Miss Maddy, now a proud member of the K-4 class, is obsessed with them.
She thinks everything written in handwriting is her name. "Oh! You wrote my name!" she says as she places her hands on either side of my face making me look like chubby bubby. She points them out as we are driving and is constantly making the sounds associated with them. She sings the alphabet 15 -20 times a day and while I know that I should be correcting her - hearing her royally mess it up is my most favorite thing right now. Who needs p and t anyhow?
When I saw this craft tutorial, I knew that this was something that would not only be fun to make but also very helpful in encouraging this love of letters to flourish.
Squishy Bag - for handwriting skills
You will need: 1 bottle of hair gel, 1 re-seal-able bag, 1 bottle of glitter and food coloring.
Squirt entire bottle of hair gel into re-seal-able bag.
Add some food coloring.
The boys wanted to make their own bag too. Turns out this makes a great science lesson.
Look how the food coloring disburses.
I'm no science teacher but could easily explain cause and effect with this simple prompt. I asked them to apply pressure and watch what happened.
Add glitter.
We used the entire bottle. Not so much because that's how we roll...but I figured it was safer to get rid of the glitter quickly. I could easily imagine it spilled in so many other places in my house.
Carefully let out any additional air and seal up the bag. Lay on a flat surface and let you kid squish, squeeze and write to their hearts content. Their tiny fingers will easily be able to move the gel through the bag.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Bounce It Off Millions
Bounce just launched a fun application called “Bounce it Off Millions” on their Facebook page, and they want you and your readers to get involved!
Life is full of difficult, but important choices. Just this week I have been thinking about decisions that I need to make:
Should I continue to work with my son on his homework or hire a tutor?
What's the best way to save money?
What's the best way to reward my kids after a week of completed homework?
Is it better to walk, run or ride a bike for exercise?
Bounce Fanatics can help you make these important decisions.
Head over to Facebook.com/Bounce, click on the “Bounce it Off Millions” app, and submit a question that you need help making a decision on. Your question will be turned into a poll, and other Bounce fanatics will be able to vote on it so that you can make the right choice!
Four lucky Facebook users will be chosen to win a grand prize - the chance to turn their life’s great questions into a Facebook-wide advertisement, inviting Facebook’s 150+ million users to help you decide between your two options!
Also on the Bounce Facebook page during this time, fans can enter a special sweepstakes for the chance to win two Bounce Dryer Bars - one to keep, and one for a friend. 5,000 winners will be chosen.
10 Bonus Swagbucks!
The folks over at Swagbucks have put a fun twist on their reward points - Collector's Bills! From now through September 6th you have a chance to win one of five Collector's Bills celebrating Labor Day. Each of the five is for a different amount and each one has a different image - you can keep track of your bills by looking in the "My Swag Bucks" area of your account, and if you get all five during the promotion, you'll get a 10 Swag Buck bonus instantly applied to your account, meaning you'll be even closer to getting the free stuff you love!
Want to see how I have spent the $37,469 Swagbucks that I have earned and spent so far?
Friday, September 2, 2011
Printable Boxtops Collection Sheets
Have a drawer or baggie for of boxtops wasting away in your kitchen somewhere?
Yeah me too.
Boxtops are powerful in the store for me. I have been known to buy one brand over another just for the sake of earning more Boxtops. Then I always feel so proud that I have remembered to tear them off of the things that I buy. I pat myself on the back thinking I'm doing something for my kid's school.
But they will remain there until one of my kids teachers sends home a collection sheet. Even then they may still be there if my kids don't hand the collection sheets straight to me. But did you know that you can print your own?
There are tons of BoxTops collection sheets available online!
The next time that you need just a few minutes to get a task done or just need to occupy the kids for a minute while you check in with twitter or facebook - hand them a freshly printed collection sheet and some glue.
You will get a few minutes to do your thing...and all that good will actually do some good. Plus this isn't a task that takes too long. Think of it as a built in timer.
It's a win-win situation.
Share Your Snacking Secret With riceworks & Giveaway
While at BlogHer11 I got a chance to chat with some of the folks from riceworks. I first tried these yummy brown rice crisps when Hubby and I were on The Biggest Loser Diet. I used them as a way of enjoying "chips" while watching my calorie intake and portions. They are delicious with a whole grain grilled cheese sandwich and side salad for lunch.
After chatting away a while at the booth about the flavors I got a chance to share my snacking secret on the riceworks FB page.
My snacking secret: Even though I don't allow my kids to buy snacks at the gas station when we stop for gas...when I am alone I do it all the time.
Everyone has an evil snacking secret. What’s yours? Did you sneak an extra snicker doodle into your purse when no one was looking? Or stuff your face with French Fries? Has someone noticed icing in your hair three hours after eating that cupcake?
Well, riceworks® would like to hear your snacking confessions. We all struggle to find great tasting snacks that are also good for you. We all feel like we're faced with a daily battle between good vs. evil snacking.
Riceworks® takes the guilt out of your snacking struggle. Available in Sweet Chili, Sea Salt, Salsa Fresca, Tangy BBQ and Parmesan Tomato, riceworks crisps are made with whole grain brown rice, have no artificial ingredients or preservatives, and are trans-fat, wheat and gluten-free.
Now about that confession.
Be the first to visit the riceworks® Facebook page to confess your snacking sins. To confess, use your Webcam, upload a video or submit text. And don’t worry, when you’re done confessing, you’ll even be able to conceal your identity.
Once your conscience is clear, you’ll receive a coupon for $1 off a bag of riceworks® to help stave off that next inevitable snack attack.
What flavor of riceworks sound the best to you?
Bonus Entries:
1. Follow me somehow: Through Google Friend Connect, e-mail subscriber, Twitter or Facebook. +1 entry. Leave a comment telling me how you follow.
2. Share this giveaway: Through Twitter or FB. +1 entry. Leave me a permalink to your twitter or FB status by clicking on the time stamp on it and commenting with the url of your share.
This giveaway is open to U.S. Residents only and will close Sept 10th . Winners will be drawn using random.org, contacted through e-mail and have 24 hours to get back to me with shipping information of a new winner will be drawn.
I was sent 5 free product coupons for Rice Works for the purpose of review and giveaway. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinion expressed is mine and mine alone.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Filtrete Water Station Review - Tap to Bottled Water in Seconds
First, I get notices every other month that our water did not meet the standards that it is supposed to. This has worried me for a very long time. The water treatment plant has assured us that it is not as bad as it sounds and that there is no need to boil our water or use another source of water in our homes. Their assurances have never really set well with me. I figure if there is a problem that is occurring over and over - maybe they should figure it out and fix it. So I use a lot of filtered water. My kids drink water out of our fridge that is filtered or we buy it bottled.
Second, in my home the kids drink milk or water. There are very few occasions that I will buy juice but mainly its water. Luckily I have kids that like water. Since they were little I have explained to them that their bodies are made mostly of water and that each time they take a drink they are filling it back up. Lately they all have been obsessed with their reusable water bottles that they are allowed to keep in the classroom.
I love that they are so excited about making sure that filled, chilled and ready for the next day. They have even started to use them while playing after school too. This has been a big life saver dish washing wise. Do you know how many cups 4 kids use in just one day? ONE FOR EVERY DRINK THEY TAKE.
While attending BlogHer11 I got a chance to check out the Filtrete Water Station and knew that it was going to have a place in my home. What I didn't know was that Filtrete was going to send me one!
Product Features:
- Helps reduce up to 3,000 plastic water bottles worth of waste from landfills per year
- Filter lasts longer, filtering two and a half times more water than traditional pitcher filters (up to 100 gallons or for approximately three months)
- Includes a three-month filter change indicator that shows when it’s time to change the filter
- Reduces sediment and chlorine taste and odor from tap water
- Filter housing is recyclable with #2 plastics (check with your local recycler)
- Includes four, 16.9 ounce bottles that are dishwasher safe, BPA-free and include a leak-proof cap
- NEW Filtrete Water Bottles with screw-top lids are available in an assortment of colors for personalization and color coordination — Lime, Citrus, Punch Frost and White
For more information, visit www.FiltreteWaterStation.com to register for the automatic filter change reminders through Clear Advantages.
Filtrete Water Station includes 1 Docking Station & Lid, 1 Filtrete Fast Flow Water Filter, 4 - 16.9 oz (500mL) Water Bottles.
After rinsing the filter and washing the bottles you are ready to filter up to 4 bottles at once. So easy. Just put the bottles on the stand and pour water into the filter.
The kids kept asking me if the water they were drinking was cleaned. They didn't know about the water station at this point. They thought the water tasted cleaner, sweeter and better!
I am in love with this water station and have even ordered a few more bottles to go with it. I plan on keeping them ready to go in the fridge. I know this would have saved me a ton of money when even just a trip to the store this summer induced moans and groans about the heat. We stopped many times just to get some water. It cost us a fortune and with six people in our family I shudder to think about all the waste that was created.
I was sent a box of goodies from 3M thanks to my visit with them at Blogher11. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinion expressed is mine and mine alone.
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