Prepping My Home for Springtime Entertaining #WicklessWonders #ad #cbias

 This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #WicklessWonders #CollectiveBias

The weather is turning warm and humid, the trees and shrubs are blossoming, and Walmart is just about sold out of flower bulbs---it must be spring! As much as I love the cold weather, I really do like spring, too. Mostly because it means I can pull out all my pretty decorations! I love to decorate with birds. They symbolize new life---a beautiful reminder. The newest addition to my bird decor collection is this AromaBreeze Fan Fragrance System. I love using scent-producing decorations in my home and this one is like none I've seen before.

AromaBreeze can be found at Walmart in the candles and warmers section. The Fragrance Halos that go with it are located right above them and there are tons of scents to choose from. I went with fruity since I love the fresh scent and atmosphere it brings to my springtime decor. This photo was taken at the Bentonville Walmart, but if your store hasn't stocked them yet, it's easy to buy online, as well.

Selah couldn't wait to check out our new fragrance system. We were both really surprised at how large and pretty it is. This one is Peaceful Perch and it measures about 10 inches tall. I love the shabby metal design and the sweet little bird swinging inside. Super cute!

I've just begun hosting monthly book clubs in my home so I've been coming up with themed decorating ideas for each month. Here's the one I did for March. I think this fragrance system would make an adorable centerpiece because---get this---it doesn't require a cord! There's a cord included, but there's also the option to run it on a AAA battery. Isn't that awesome? I can put it wherever I want!

I like the AromaBreeze fragrance halos better than the wax melts I usually use because the unit does not warm up the fragrance halo---instead it blows air over it for immediate fragrance release. I love fruity scents in the spring and summer, so I grabbed these two to try out: Strawberries & Cream and Tropical Fiesta. 

Each fan unit comes with instructions both on the box and in a paper booklet. It's super important to read the instructions carefully so you'll be able to operate and display the unit safely. It was really easy to install the fragrance halo. I just removed the canopy from the fan unit, secured the halo in place, and replaced the canopy. Simple! Here's a short video that shows you how to do it: http://cbi.as/4kcq.

Because the unit uses no heat, it's safe for every room in the house---even kids' rooms.  No flame or heat means I feel more comfortable about leaving it in the living room when I'm not around. I love how stylish and clean this is, too. Since the halo does not melt, there's no wax or soot residue to clean up. I'll definitely be considering more of these for other rooms in my house. They'd make great Mother's Day gifts, as well.

Where will you put your AromaBreeze? Let me know in the comments below.

5 Steps to a Greener Homeschool #BringingInnovation #ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BringingInnovation #CollectiveBias

Batteries. The need for batteries is often the bane of my existence. We are a super techie family to begin with---but what is it with boys and batteries? It doesn't matter how many times I buy and hide new batteries, those boys can sniff them out like police dogs. If I ever need a battery, the first place I look is in the video game remotes. Then the boys' flashlights. Then their handheld games. My mom used to buy my husband a pack of batteries every Christmas because she knew he'd need them for the boys' new stuff. Now she just buys the boys each a pack on their birthdays. Guys are so hard to buy for---but batteries? Perfect gift every time.

You can imagine how thrilled I was to find Energizer's new EcoAdvanced recycled batteries at Walmart. I'll admit, there's a bit of guilt at how much our family throws away. We try to recycle, when possible, but it's not exactly safe to DIY-upcycle an old battery, you know? This is the first battery on the market to use recycled batteries and materials and is Energizer's longest lasting alkaline battery ever. They're good for up to 12 years in storage and provide guilt-free energy by taking something old and making it new. These will be excellent for our home and our homeschool. Here are some other tips on making a homeschool a little more environmentally-friendly.

Utilize Scratch Paper

We've had this old candy bar box as our scratch paper box for years. I fill it with paper that didn't print right, junk mail with blank backs, old grocery lists---anything that has some coloring space left on it. Before I started doing this, my kids would always ask for more and more paper to color on. Now they have a place they can find lots of scratch paper for doodling. Just be careful what you put in there---there has been more than one occasion where important bank documents got sent out into the world as pictures for pen pals!

Use the Library

Most homeschoolers know about the many resources their local libraries offer. From books to movies to reference manuals, we can plan an entire curriculum based on free library materials. This practice makes for a great green homeschool---shared materials are less natural resources used. However, there are other great benefits to the library. We love to hang out there in the dead of summer when it's so hot that air conditioning is a must. We can turn ours off and go enjoy theirs! In addition, many libraries offer classes on gardening, financial planning, and more to help you manage your green homeschool.

Turn it off

As a large family, we already use more than the average amount of water and electricity in a day. Compounded by the fact that we homeschool and are here using it all day, every day, this makes for some big utility bills! It's important to get in the habit of turning off lights, tv, and other plugged in appliances before leaving the room. Many homes, like ours, have light switches that are wired in to plug-ins. We arrange our rooms in such a way that the most-used lamps plug in to those outlets. That way we can turn off all the lights with one switch. In addition, save water by rinsing dishes in a pan of water, turning off the water while you brush, and showing the kids an imaginary line along the bathtub so they don't fill it too full.

Save your garbage

Several months ago, Selah taught us a great way to recycle toilet paper rolls by making bird feeders for the trees in our yard. This family goes through a lot of toilet paper---so this was something we were able to do easily to bless the wildlife in our yard. She spread peanut butter on each tube and then rolled it in bird seed. Some tubes we just slid over a thin, low branch. Others, we hung with twine. The birds and squirrels loved them!

Buy Recycled

Energizer's new EcoAdvanced recycled batteries are one of thousands of products that allow us to be smarter with our necessary "new" purchases. Available in AA and AAA, these batteries take what was destined for a landfill and turn it into something wonderfully new. Guess all those "dead batteries" aren't so dead anymore, eh?

Feeling inspired about these green homeschool ideas? Check out this GuiltFreeEnergy giveaway to win $1,000 in gift cards.

GuiltFreeEnergy Giveaway - $1,000 in Gift Cards

What are some ways you make your homeschool a greener place to learn?

Teaching Our Kids Smart Financial Planning #IAmProtective #ad #cbias

 This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #IAmProtective #CollectiveBias

Like many young couples, Jamie and I started out our marriage in a rough place financially. Neither one of us understood the concept of saving, waiting, or budgeting. Our bad decisions made for some really hard times and we found ourselves dependent on family, friends, and government aid to get ourselves out of one trouble after another. 

Thankfully, we learned our lessons about poor money management young, and have worked our way up to a place of self-sufficiency and living within our means. It's really important to Jamie and I to teach our kids smart financial planning so they can have a future of self-sufficiency. Whether they're the working ones bringing in the money, or the homemakers spending it, we want our children to understand the responsibilities they'll face as adults and how they'll contribute to the financial health of their families.

With such a large family, we've gotten all kinds of questions about how we save for the kids' future cars, college, weddings, and more. Truth is, we don't. We feel these are adult responsibilities that our children will need to take care of on their own. That doesn't mean we just leave them in the cold when it comes to planning for these things, though. There are several ways we make sure the kids understand responsible financial planning.

Our oldest son, Michael, is the one who has expressed the most interest in his future plans, so far. Michael has already shown concern about finding the "right" job---the one that will help him support a stay-at-home wife and the large family he's hoping for. We've discussed with him the options of taking online college courses from home so he's also able to work full-time and beginning to save his money now so he'll be able to purchase a reliable vehicle when it's time. We've also helped him put priorities in order---such as making sure he's got a stable job, reliable vehicle, and a little money for homemaking basics before making plans for a marriage.

One thing we've not discussed with our older kids yet is the need for life insurance. I was recently introduced to an online learning library with lots of information on taking out life insurance. I can remember, as a new wife, not even wanting Jamie to take out life insurance because the thought of losing one of us was too scary for me. Now that I'm a little older and wiser, I understand how life insurance can help ease the burden of an already devastating time of loss, and I feel comforted in knowing our family won't have a difficult financial struggle should our children lose one of their parents too soon. It's only recently occurred to me that finding a good life insurance plan is also something we need to add to Michael's list of financial priorities. I want him to have the same peace of mind that Jamie and I have.