I love Alice.com and so will you!

Alice.com is a fabulous place for you to bypass a whole lot of your grocery shopping, without paying more! In fact, Alice's prices are comparable to Walmart prices, they add in coupons, and they ship all of your stuff to you for FREE! And it's fast. Like, within a day or two, depending on where you live.

Alice.com has toilet paper, feminine products, cleaning products, snacks and cereal, toiletries, pet food, office supplies, stamps, and just a ton of other stuff that you are buying every time you walk through your regular store. (not weird off-brands, either. The real brands you already buy!) The difference: less stuff to shlepp through the checkout, into your car, and into the house with the kids in tow!

I have been using Alice since fall of 2009 and I love love LOVE it. I recommend it to everybody! Right now you can get $10 off your first purchase of at least $50 when you clickety-click above to sign up. How cool is that?

Back to School Goodies for Homeschool Moms!

In my part of the country school will soon be back in session, and for you northerners that still have more than a month to go, it'll be here before you know it!

Today I decided to put together a special collection of goodies for my fellow homeschool moms that will enrich them in body, mind, and spirit. It is chock-full of wonderful stuff that has a retail value of well over $100, but is available to you for a super-low price. You can read all about it here.

Today is also the start of our new No-Cooties School Year sale! For a limited time you can get TWO bottles of my Supermom's No-Lice Hair and Body Spray for the price of one, OR you can choose to donate the extra bottle to a family in need. Read all about it here.
(because, yeah, it's true--homeschoolers can get head lice too....)

That's it for today. Enjoy what's left of your summer! (personally, I'm looking forward to fall!)

Floatie Swim Suit Safety Alert

I wrote this post several years ago, and now dig it out every year and re-post to share with people each summer.

We have an Easy Set pool at our house. It's a pretty big one, and we have floatation swim suits for our three youngest boys to wear, although we keep the pool shallow enough that all of them can walk around in it and still have their heads above water. Last year when I bought the suits the baby was one and the better quality suits did not come in his size, so I got a cheaper one, which he had continued to wear this year.
The other day the kids were playing in the pool while my husband and I sat on the deck watching them and chatting. Our youngest, who is now 2, lost his footing in the pool and very quickly was floating face down in the water. Fortunately my husband saw it right away and got to him within just a few seconds, so everything turned out ok.

BUT

The problem is that this suit was not designed to flip a child over onto their back if they needed to rely on the floatation! Our baby was helpless, face down in the water. He would have actually been safer with no suit on at all, since he would have been able to stand to his feet after losing his footing.

It only takes a very few moments for a little one to drown. I am so thankful we were right there with our eyes on the pool happenings.

We tossed out that suit and today I went and bought him one of the better ones, that are designed to keep a kid floating on their backs. Here is the difference between the two suits:

The kind that flips a child onto their back has a float in the front of the suit that is longer than the one in the back.

The kind of suit that put my baby into the pool face first is a kind that is designed for children who need a floatie while learning to swim. The floats are all around the suit and are the same size all the way around.

Just thought someone else might appreciate the reminder. Go check and see if your little one's floatie suits will flip them to their backs in their moment of need.

Pressing On

While just about every homeschool mother I know is finishing up the school year and getting ready to enjoy a break, we're pressing on here. We've been utilizing Time 4 Learning for about 3 weeks or so and are finding it helpful in helping the kids cover more material than they had been, all with significantly less Mom Power required to keep it going. Also, it's fun and they are enjoying it. Even the one or two that tend to not like to do school. Instead of the usual moans and groans and avoidance tactics, they smile and say "ooh I love this one!" when they see their learning activity loading up on the computer screen. So, it's a good place for us to be, and I sure hope it keeps on working for us because it's nice to lift a few of those worries off my plate.

Since I started homeschooling I have been a proponent of the year-round schooling idea in theory, but have rarely been able to pull it off. I'm actually glad to be keeping on this time around. The kids will be continuing to move forward, instead of forgetting and then needing a lot of review time, and they'll have that built in structure to their day which helps. Too much time on their hands seems to contribute to a significant amount of bickering around here. School time is short enough that there is still plenty of time to enjoy playing, swimming, the garden, and everything else. In addition, I love it that by keeping going year round, I have more wiggle room for taking time to do other activities when the need arises. Whether it be making grape juice, going apple picking, visiting grandparents, or whatever, I like having total flexibility, so paying the piper on those school days sure helps alleviate any homeschool mother anxiety I have.

I ordered a few new materials from Timberdoodle today. I am looking forward to checking out several new resources and seeing how they work for us. Timberdoodle has been one of my favorites for probably 12 years, and I love that they keep on showing up wonderful, fresh, new resources year after year.

Are you using paperbackswap yet? I love it! It has been a long time since I had time to get books from the library and actually read and return them on the proper schedule. Now when I hear about a book I want to read I just order it (or add it to my wish list) from pbswap and when it arrives, if I don't have time to read it, I add it to my wonderful To-Read pile and don't worry about it. It'll get read when the time is right, and then I'll probably send it on via paperbackswap again.

Well, I do the same for our Sonlight books. We are doing core 4 right now and almost all of the books were rec'd through paperback swap. Once I got core 4 in hand I started collecting core 5 books through pbswap as well. Any that were not available went onto my wish list, and they trickle in as they become available. By the time I need core 5 I will order whatever I have not already obtained, and core 6 books will be coming in. Also, as I finish core 4 books I just send them back out into the world through pbswap as well. So many of those readers are easily obtained this way. I will say that one small "rule" I have for myself is that if I see that I can buy the book new from Sonlight for around $4-5, I don't usually try to get it through pbswap. Each credit basically costs $3-4 for me to ship something to someone else, so I am content to get those new, and focus on the money-saving aspect of obtaining other books through pbswap.

I obtained almost all the books we needed for core 300 through pbswap, including some that retail for around $30. I thought that was pretty great. :)

One other resource we are enjoying here is college-level DVD course from The Teaching Company. They have a huge selection of course that regularly go on sale for around 70% off. Although my two teens are not college-age yet, we decided to give a few of the courses a try. My thinking was that although some of the material may go over their heads, they would probably benefit from being stretched and introduced to some more challenging material. My 14 year old daughter is taking The Joy of Science (cost around $90 when I got it on sale) as well as The History of European Art (was around $40 on sale). She likes the art one more than the science, but I believe both are beneficial to her and are bringing learning opportunities to her that were not previously happening. I definitely plan to add more of these courses to our collection, and of course then I will have them available as the other children get older as well.

FREE Ebook: Planned Spontaneity

Just found out about this FREE ebook that gives some very handy ideas for organizing yourself so you can take advantage of those cool extra ideas that you'd like to implement in your homeschool. Clickety-click!

Buy Handmade: The Melting Pot Candle Company

I just love candles (who doesn't?!) and when I can find
ones that are handmade by a mom, I like 'em all the better.

The Melting Pot Candle Company is owned and operated
by Natasha, a 31 year old wife and mother of 3 (plus one on the way!).
She was kind enough to send me some sample products
to check out, including bath salts,  mini melts, a tart warmer, 
a soap sample, and some little tea light candles.  PLUS
She's offering a giveaway..be sure to read all the
way to the 
bottom of this post for details!
The mini melts are really cute, some even having
sprinkles on them
to make them more festive, and the scents are really
nice and yummy.  :)  I'm looking forward to giving
some of these
great items as gifts for Christmas.  The prices are
bargains--you can really get a lot for your dollar,
and put together a beautiful,
useful, as well as economical gift here.

Natasha shares about how she got started in
her business: 
I started making soy and palm tarts because my
favorite tart maker decided to no longer sell her products.
I was on a mission to make the best tarts for the best price.
I love making homes smell great and people happy.

What inspires you?  
My customers inspire me!
I get a lot of feedback from my items and I am grateful
for each and every one of my customers.
I try my best to make sure each and every order to
every person is perfect.
I get a lot of joy trying new things and sending them
as freebies or having particular customers try new products.
I appreciate their thoughts and take them all very seriously.

What are some of your favorite items in your shop? 
Some of my favorite items are my new ones!
I love handmade soap.
With the economy getting tighter and pressing on my
own wallet I could no longer afford to buy from other WAHM's
so I created my own and offer them at the lowest possible prices. 
Some of my favorite scents are Oatmeal Milk and Honey,
Wild Mountain Honey, Pink Sugar, Cotton Candy and
Sweet Orange and Chili Pepper!  

One of my favorite things about The Melting Pot
Candle Company is their Random Act of Kindness program.
If you know somebody who needs a "pick me up" or deserves
a little special something, you can send in your story about them.
Once a month someone is chosen to get a special goodie
package from The Melting Pot for FREE!  How sweet is THAT?!
This sort of
thoughtfulness and heart is the kind of thing that makes me
LOVE supporting mom-owned businesses.... Heart!
You can read more about that here.

As I looked through the Melting Pot site I saw over
and over again the sort of thoughtfulness
and heart that goes into this business.  From
conscientious shipping policies, and being mindful 
of pricing and speedy service, I am impressed and
pleased to recommend The Melting Pot
Candle Company to you.  :)  

GIVEAWAY:

Natasha is offering one lucky winner a candle burner, tea lights, and
5 tarts of their choice of wax (soy or palm) and scent! (photo below shows details)


To enter:

1. Visit The Melting Pot Candle Company and look around.
Come back here and leave a comment, letting me know which 5 scents you'd want to win! Be sure that your email address is included so that I can contact you if you win.

2. To get an extra entry, join their facebook fan page by clicking here. Leave a comment letting me know that you joined and your name as it appears on the fan list.

3. To get another entry, blog about The Melting Pot Candle Company. Leave a comment letting me know you did this, with a link to your post.

1 winner will be randomly chosen on Saturday, December 12.

Buy Handmade: Anise Mouette

Anise Mouette is a super-fun place to shop for retro-inspired handmade goodies. Check these out:

Felt Plush Toys!

How cute are these scarves with little animal friends?!

I love these birdies! (Anise sent me a tote bag with this design.
Love it!! Nicely made, and great for a reusable grocery bag!)

Itty bitty finger puppets that are SO sweet!
(I got one for someone on my Christmas list! It is well made and totally adorable.)

Tell a bit about yourself:
My name is Anise and I live in Altadena, California,
with my 22 month old son Cyan and husband Biff.  
My Etsy shop is anisemouette.etsy.com.  
The name makes up my first and middle names
which are French, though I’m not French,
at least not entirely.  
I’m a native Angeleno, though I did live
with my parents in Paris for a brief time in the
early seventies when I was just a baby.

How did you get started creating your products?
When I was a child I loved to draw and over
the years I've taken more art classes than
I can count. 
In college I enrolled as an art major, but
I eventually majored in English literature 
and then went on to pursue a master's in
creative writing. 
Following, I taught collegiate English for
seven years, but with the birth of my son,
I decided to take a break from the working
world and spend more time at home. 
In doing so, I was inspired to pick up the
pencil once again. 
Memories of my childhood and the playful
nature of my son became the focus of my
work and then, 
after stumbling upon Etsy and the Handmade
Movement, 
I was immediately inspired to take my
designs to the next level 
and create Anise Mouette - a line of
retro-inspired handmade wares 
that include toddler & adult tees,
canvas totes, “kitsch”en magnets, utility aprons, 
and now felt goods.

What inspires you? 
As mentioned, both my son and memories
of my childhood inspire me the most, 
although I am always up for a challenge
and often try my hand at craft challenges 
such as those held on Craftster every month
which allow me the opportunity to 
work with new ideas and mediums on a
regular basis.

What are some of your favorite items
in your shop? 
Recently, I've started working with felt,
so my newest items are my current favorites.
My "record player" tee and tote come in
at a close second while my customer base
seems to love 
my "family fun" items most.

One thing I love hearing about is the
ways that businesses share their
profits with others.  
Here's what Anise does:
Since I've taken a break from teaching,
I'm using a portion of all my sales 
to purchase baby formula for infants in need
so as to keep contributing to my community. 
Once a month I purchase formula locally and
then donate it for immediate distribution 
at the Foothill Unity Center in Pasadena, California.

If you're a crafty gal yourself, and want to try your hand
at making some of the
items that you see at Anise Mouette, you can
 check out her blog,
where she spreads
 the crafty goodness, with her “Kitschy Crafts” section.
Anise posts fun how-to 
craft tutorials regularly!  Pretty cool, eh?
(I know my 13 year old daughter will be loving this!)

Here's a picture of Anise and her son. Awwwww! :)


Keep up with the latest and greatest at Anise Mouette by joining their Facebook Fan Page here.

Buy Handmade: Julie the Fish Hand Stamped Personalized Keepsakes

I know that a lot of us homeschool moms also like to support other mom-owned businesses. This year I'm sharing about some of my favorite handmade products, made by moms! Enjoy. :)

Julie the Fish offers a fabulous variety of hand stamped, personalized keepsakes, and I think she literally has something for everybody! Whether you are looking for a gift for a man, woman, teenager, child, coworker, or a special occasion, she has just the thing. And if she doesn't...guess what. She does custom work too! So you can let your imagination loose and get something completely unique. Awesome! The prices are very reasonable, and Julie works fast, considering how much of her work is custom. You'll want to get over there right away to make your purchases, because December 7th is the cut-off to ensure Christmas delivery.

Be sure to read all the way to the bottom of this post, because Julie's got a GIVEAWAY for you!!

I think the first thing that caught my eye at Julie the Fish was these custom guitar picks. With a 17 year old rocker in my own home, I loved it that I had found something mom-made, handmade, and cool enough for a teenage boy. :) The finished quality is very good, and the size works perfect for us because my son prefers the smaller jazz picks, so he is going to love this.


These leather bracelets are another unique find that will work well for guys or girls:


I just love these necklaces. Such a great gift for a new mother! I got one for a new mommy on my Christmas list, and I'm very pleased with the quality and look of it. So sweet!


This sort of creative piece is right up my alley. I love swirly trees, and anything that can be personalized with a larger number of names.

Julie sends out her products in sweet be-ribboned gift boxes, and I love that. It's all done and ready to give!


Here's my interview with Julie!

Tell a bit about yourself:
I'm a mother, teacher, and artist.
I stay home to take care of my two little boys during the day.  
I love my guys and enjoy all the funny realities of being a mom.  
At night I teach English as a Second Language.
My students are native Spanish speakers learning English.  
I have fun using both of my fluent languages every night.
I'm also an artist/crafter.  
I love to create just about anything.
My newest passion is hand stamped jewelry.
I just can't get enough!

How did you get started creating your products?
A friend of mine had a simple stamped necklace and I loved it.
I thought, "I can make that!" 
so I started creating custom pieces.

What inspires you?
I am inspired by my customers, their lives, and stories.  
I love creating a custom keepsake piece that someone
will cherish for years to come.
When someone has a special occasion
I feel honored to create a piece that helps them celebrate.

What are some of your favorite items in your shop?
My two favorite pieces in my shop right now are the
square name necklace 
and the love necklace.

All of the pieces in my shop
can be personalized with your information.
Also, if you have an idea of a piece
you'd like created I can make it happen.

GIVEAWAY!
Julie is giving away one of her 
hand stamped initial necklaces!  
The winner will get to choose
what letter you want on the necklace,
plus can choose from an assortment of crystals
or other adornments to go
with it.  Sweet!  

Want to win?! Here's how:

1. Visit Julie the Fish and browse around. Find your favorite item.

2. Come back here and post a comment, telling about your favorite item. BE SURE that I have your email address with your comment, or else there's no way for you to win. :)

3. Get an extra entry to win by becoming a Facebook Fan of Julie the Fish! (let me know in comments that you have done this, and your name as it would appear in her fans) Julie's Facebook Fans will get an extra 10% off their purchases in November. (hurry!)

4. Get an extra entry to win by placing an order with Julie the Fish! (let me know you have done this in the comments section)

5. Blog about this to your peeps! (send me a link to your post in the comments section)

6. Tweet about this post! (let me know in the comments section)

7. Winner will be chosen on Saturday, December 5. (I'll send you an email if you're the winner)

Calculadder and Ready Writer

Over ten years ago I purchased a master pack that included Calculadder and Ready Writer. Calculadder is a timed test for math, and Ready Writer has fun exercises for the beginning writer to learn proper writing strokes. Highly recommended! (and they have FREE samples available)

Thinking about Workboxes

I heard about workboxes for homeschooling a few months ago, and recently while my mind has turned to craving a new season of organization and efficiency around here, it came back on my radar. I am now scouring blogs to see how others are implenting the idea, plus I ordered my own copy of the book yesterday. I am going to try to hold myself back from getting a bunch of supplies until I read the book, plus re-read Managers of Their Homes, and work through Managers of Their Chores, both of which I also purchased recently. Can you tell that I am really, really, REALLY wanting some fresh inspiration for getting life organized?

Here are some of the resources I am checking out for workboxing ideas:

The original site, including where to purchase the regular book or the ebook.

Many sites that have inspired and informed me:
http://www.walkingbytheway.com/blog/?cat=4
http://www.amothersjournal.com/2009/03/08/workbox-system/comment-page-1/#comment-2904
http://vegaadoption.blogspot.com/2009/03/this-is-best-system-ever.html
http://myfamilyliferocks.blogspot.com/2009/03/workboxes.html
http://ginger-snap-shots.blogspot.com/2009/02/workboxes.html
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LeslieNelsen/Workboxes/

Have you used workboxes? If so, how did you like it? Share your ideas in the comments!

Easy Homeschooling books available for FREE!

Hey everybody!
Tonite I was able to add a selection of Easy Homeschooling books in the FREE Gifts with Purchase section of my health and wellness shop. You can check it out here. Feel free to let others know! :)

Wisdom from the past

“It is not difficult to see why … the female became the emblem of the universal … Nature …. surrounded her with very young children, who require being taught not so much anything as everything. Babies need not to be taught a trade, but to be introduced to a world. To put the matter shortly, woman is generally shut up in a house with a human being at the time when he asks all the questions that there are, and some that there aren’t. It would be odd if she retained any of the narrowness of a specialist. Now if anyone says that this duty of general enlightenment … is in itself too exacting and oppressive, I can understand the view. I can only answer that our race has thought it worth while to cast this burden on women in order to keep common-sense in the world. … How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No. A woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.”
GK Chesterton

Facebook--come join us!

If you have not yet joined our Fan Page on facebook, what are you waiting for? We are having fun over there, giving encouragement (and hugs!) to moms that need it. Tell your friends, too. The more, the merrier.

"If I talk about it, I might start to cry."

I remember a few years ago when I was homeschooling only two of my sons, and things had been rather bumpy. I walked into a church event and a friend there asked the fateful words, "So how's homeschooling going?"

My answer?

"If I talk about it, I might start to cry."

And then I talked about it anyhow.

I told her that sometimes it was intensely hard. I told her that I was struggling. And I told her that although homeschooling can be intensely hard and a struggle, that doesn't mean I'm not where I'm supposed to be.

There is a lot in our society that tells us that if we are not happy and enjoying everything that we do, that we should feel free to go choose something else that would make us happy or be more enjoyable. I think that concept is wrong. There is a lot of value in struggle, suffering, perseverance, and commitment. Don't doubt it.

I really liked this article on this subject. Good stuff. Enjoy.

P.S. Later on that friend at church thanked me for my candid honesty. She told me that she had been thinking about homeschooling her own kids, but that every homeschool mom she ever talked to about it got all Stepford on her and acted like it was the most wonderful, natural, positive thing they could be doing. And she wasn't buying that. She said it made her nervous to only hear glowing reports, that she knew in her gut were probably not entirely true. Hearing what I had to say hadn't scared her off from homeschooling. She said it helped her feel like she had a more realistic idea of what it can be like, and what it takes to stick with it. I was glad I wasn't afraid to be transparent that day.

Raw Almonds for Sale!

Almonds are a delicious and nutritious snack, but the ones we get in the grocery store have been pasteurized, so the greatest health benefit has been heated right out of them.

This fall we are trying something new. Get in our our big bulk buy of fresh, unpasteurized almonds from California! At just $6 per pound, you can get these wonderful almonds in increments of 20 pounds.

Since these almonds are fresh, they will stay nice at room temperature for 9-12 months or more. If you store them in the fridge they'll last for years, and in the freezer they'll last for a really, really, really long time. :)

These almonds are not certified organic, but the farm that they come from has not used any pesticides in at least 15 years.

The almonds are shelled and fresh!

This is a pre-order. That means that you will order and pay for your almonds now. I will be placing our large order (many hundreds or even a thousand pounds or more) around October 15-20. Once they arrive here I will be shipping them out to you.

Feel free to go in on this order with a friend if you like. Almonds are great for Christmas gifts too!

This is a one-time opportunity. These almonds are just sold once a year when the fresh harvest comes in. There is a slight possibility that I may be able to take another order in November, but for right now this is the only time I can be sure of that there will be enough supply to fill the orders.

Click here to order.

Teaching Textbooks--Another Kid Loves It!

We added Teaching Textbooks 4 to our curriculum this year, and boy-oh-boy is it a HIT! My son is so happy that he has churned out 18 lessons in two days. :) He keeps coming to me to say how much fun it is, and how much he is learning.

Certainly at the speed of 9 lessons per day, he is getting quite a bit of review so far, but I think that's great. Teaching Textbooks is super easy for my child to use it independently without any problems, does all the grading and record keeping for me, and manages to do it all while bringing a smile to my kid's face. (and mine!)

We are eagerly awaiting the October release of the 3rd grade level of Teaching Textbooks. I've got another kids just raring to go.

"Get your toe out of your mouth."

This concludes today's True Confessions of Things Said at Supermom's Home School.

New School Year

After being inspired by Stephanie Nielson's annual Back-to-School feast and theme, I decided to employ a theme for our own school year. I picked Let Love Lead You. I made a theme card for each member of the family, and included a personal note on the back. I think they turned out really cute, and I am happy to have an easy catch phrase for what I urge the kids about so often.

Back to School Sale

Don't let the cooties get you down this school year! Stock up on Supermom's No-Lice Hair and Body Spray.

Right now you can Buy 1 Get 1 FREE!

Whether you want two bottles for your own family, want to split the cost with a friend, or share the extra bottle with your day care provider or classmate, this is a GREAT deal that we have never offered before.

Shipping is a bit more when shipping two bottles together, so the sale price is $29.99 including shipping

Options

2 Bottles of No-Lice Spray $29.99 add a metal egg comb $37.89

Would you rather purchase with a credit card? Click here to go to my store!

Help This Family

I just learned about Carol and her family today. A year ago, after giving birth to her second child, Carol had multiple health complications that resulted in both of her legs and one arm being amputated, in addition to losing her sight. Unimaginably difficult.

As you can probably guess, their medical bills and the continuing costs related to Carol's rehabilitation are huge. There is a fabulous silent auction set up right now that ends soon. There are tons of gorgeous items there that you can big on. Most bids start at $15-20. PLEASE go check it out, and spread the word. This is an easy way to be a blessing to others.