Homeschool End of Year Celebration Ideas #FlavorYourSummer #ad #cbias

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

Even though we homeschool all year long, we love to have a party for the kids in the spring time as that's usually when we move up a grade and get all our new books and materials for the next season of schooling. We've always done something special to honor the kids' hard work over the year, but this is the second year we've planned an all-out bash! Are you interested in setting one up for your family? Here are just a few ways you can make your homeschool end-of-year party memorable and fun. Be sure to check out my article from last year's party for more great ideas.

I shopped Walmart for all our food and supplies for the party. Jamie was excited to make up some kabobs for the family, so I came up with a couple marinade recipes. I used Maggi® Chicken Flavor Bouillon and NesCafe® Clasico Coffee to make two great meat soaks. Both products were found in the Hispanic section of Walmart. I also picked up some Jack's® Pizza in the frozen pizza section of the freezer aisle.

It had been a really long time since I'd made skewers on the grill---mainly because threading enough skewers for 11 people takes a really long time. Ha! Jamie was all for it, though, and he made up a whole bunch of steak and chicken ones while Mom and I were out shopping last Saturday. These are the chicken ones he made for us---delicious!

The marinade for the chicken skewers was super simple. He used a very concentrated mixture of the bouillon and water and soaked the meat overnight. Then it was as easy as alternating the chicken, peppers, and onions on some pre-soaked skewers and grilling them until the meat was cooked through.

Savory Chicken Skewers

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2-3 assorted peppers

1 red onion

3 TB chicken bouillon granules

3 c. water

Cut chicken into chunks and place in bowl or plastic zip bag. Mix bouillon and water together until granules dissolve. Pour over chicken and refrigerate 24 hours. Cut peppers and onion into chunks and thread on skewers, alternating with meat. Grill and enjoy!

The second kabob recipe featured a coffee soak. I'll be honest---I wasn't totally sure about this one. I'd never tried anything marinated in coffee, but Jamie and my Mom assured me it would be great. Again, he used a concentrated coffee liquid mixture. Be sure to add salt and pepper to the marinade and let the meat soak 24 hours. With the addition of pineapple and onions, these skewers were an excellent idea!

Coffee-Soaked Steak Skewers

1 pkg. beef stew chunks

1 onion, cubed

1 pineapple, cubed

4 TB instant coffee granules

3 c. water

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Mix coffee, salt, and pepper into the water until salt and coffee are dissolved. Marinate the meat 24 hours. Thread pineapple, onion, and meat onto skewers and grill. Yum!

This was our first time trying Jack's Pizza and Jamie's first time grilling a pizza. We liked the taste and convenience of this brand---and the price was good, too. How fun to be able to grill it---keeps the kitchen cooler in the summer, for sure! 

I added a couple other fun "schoolish" snacks to the table. These cheese crackers are stamped with alphabet letters and the photo below it is alphabet-shaped cereal. Who says you can't play with your food? Our kids love spelling out words (even if they're not real words!) before munching their snacks.

Besides food, there are other great ways to celebrate the end of a great schooling year. Avalon will be honored at our co-op's graduation party for completing Kindergarten this year. Cap and gown sets are found very inexpensively online. This one also came with a tassel and a diploma for me to fill out. 

We like to gift the kids with something special like a new set of books or a DVD set they've all been wanting, but their favorite school-related gift is the refilling of their school boxes. I do this several times throughout the year and it's amazing the jump in excitement and motivation that occurs when the kids have new tools to learn with.

I also found these cute grade-completion certificates online. I printed this one out in black and white as I think it would be fun for a young child to color his own award.

Finally, what would a party be without games? One of our favorite party themes is the carnival theme. We've done several over the years and they're always a hit. We do everything from duck pond fishing to sack races to balloon darts. It's always a blast!

Another game we came up with this year is called, What Do You Remember? I grabbed a colored ball from Walmart and used a permanent marker to write phrases relating to the things we learned this past year. The kids take turns tossing the ball to one another and the person with the ball shares a memory relating to one of the phrases. It was fun for the kids to play this and remember all the great times we had!

Do you do anything special for your kids at the end of the school year? I'd love to hear some of your ideas!

Keeping My Family Totally Taken Care of All Summer Long! #LISTERINEMom #ad

I received LISTERINE® Brand products and a Walgreens gift card from Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc. and The Motherhood as part of my participation in the LISTERINE® Brand Totally Taken Care Of program. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

I'm honored to be serving as a LISTERINE® ambassador this summer! One of the great perks is receiving an awesome collection of products for my family to sample and enjoy. This summer, Johnson & Johnson wants to make sure my family is Totally Taken Care Of with products that are great for assuring my whole family's health and wellness.

LISTERINE TOTAL CARE mouthwash features lots of benefits to give us better oral health. It makes teeth 50% stronger than they'd be after brushing with a fluoride toothpaste alone.

While LISTERINE TOTAL CARE is a great product for adults, LISTERINE SMART RINSE is designed for children ages 6-12 and provides 12-hour cavity protection. Both rinses are alcohol-free, help prevent cavities, and clean the whole mouth to freshen breath and kill bad breath germs. My favorite benefit is that they help restore minerals to the enamel of my teeth and strengthens them.

I'm really excited about the other Johnson & Johnson products we were sent---a couple of them came just in time! Last week, a new kitten joined our family. She loves to play---and with that play comes a lot of scratches! The kids are getting used to her rough play but we've needed Band-Aids a couple of times so I'm thrilled we were sent two boxes.

A few days ago, Avalon fell on concrete and scratched up the area below her eye pretty good. Thankfully, we had received some Neosporin in our box and daily application of it has helped her skin heal quickly.

I'm also glad to have this Neutrogena® sunscreen spray and water-resistant Band-Aids for our outdoor adventures. It's going to be a great summer!

All of these products are available at Walgreens so be sure to visit them to get ready for summer. You'll find everything you need to ensure your family is Totally Taken Care Of---including LISTERINE TOTAL CARE rinses! How do you keep your family Totally Taken Care Of in the summer? Let me know in the comments below.

Tips to Stop Your Child's Bed Wetting #ConquerBedWetting

This campaign has been compensated by Acorn Influence and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ConquerBedWetting

Did you know that 15% of five-year-olds and 7-10% of seven-year-olds still wet the bed? Any parent who has had a child deal with bed wetting (Enuresis) knows that the struggle doesn't just involve trying to keep them dry at night. There's a lot of emotions involved when a child feels ashamed and embarrassed, and we often need to deal with those emotions before we can ever help them get to the point of staying dry all night. With nine kiddos, you know I've had a lot of experience dealing with trying to keep kids dry---day and night! Here are a few things I've learned:

Don't be unreasonable. Potty-training doesn't always stop when your kids are out of diapers. Sometimes it takes years after they've conquered day time dryness for them to get to the point where they've conquered the nighttime struggle, as well. We've found that when the kids know we are patient with them, they feel more confident. For a long time, we would discipline the kids for getting out of bed after they'd been tucked in for the night. However, we found that since they didn't want to get in trouble, they'd wet the bed instead of getting up and risking it. It just took a simple conversation to clarify that we were totally ok with them getting up to go potty---just not to ask for water/snack/book/one..more..song...

Make them comfortable. This includes physical comfort, as well as emotional comfort. I've realized that when my kids get too cold at night, they don't want to leave their beds. We experience way more accidents during the winter months. Dressing your kids in warm pajamas and making sure they've got a heavy blanket when it's cold just might do the trick. I know it sounds simple (and sorta silly!) but it's a fact around our place! In addition, make sure your child is put to bed happy and feeling secure. If there's been arguments or trouble in your home before tuck-in time, be sure to let your child know that things are ok and discuss any fears they may have. If you have to discipline your child after they go to bed, try to end it on a positive note so they can fall asleep peacefully.

Have some back-up. Sometimes having a little extra protection is enough to relieve the nervousness kids feel and help them get up in the night to use the bathroom. Pampers UnderJams wants to help your child be confident and make it simple to take care of those bed wetting problems for good.

I found Pampers UnderJams at Walmart near the diaper aisle. They're great for older kids because they've got a cloth-like look and feel to them which adds a bit of privacy since they won't rustle like diapers. They have a low waist so they can be worn discretely and feature a really absorbent core for good leakage protection that lasts all night.

Do you have any tried and true tips for conquering bed wetting in your kids? Let us know in the comments below and make sure to check out PampersUnderJams.com to learn about Enuresis, read articles, and watch videos related to bed wetting. You'll find some great ideas from pediatricians who are also mothers and who have dealt with bed wetting issues in their own children. 

Make an Easy Fabric Gift Bag for Mother's Day #L2LMom #ad #cbias

 This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #L2LMom #CollectiveBias

Mother's Day has started early for me this year! Jamie went out Sunday night and bought me two bottles of this deliciously-scented Coty Love2Love fragrance. When we opened them up, we realized the smell reminded us of some scented oils he bought me when we were first married---and we've never found them again. Now I want to get all the scents in this collection to see if they evoke the same memories!

The Coty Love2Love fragrance collection can be found at Walmart in the fragrance aisle. There are five scents to mix and match for a great Mother's Day gift: Bluebell + White Tea, Fresh Rose + Peach, Jasmine + Sparkling Mimosa, Orange Blossom + White Musk, and Freesia + Violet Petals. These are quality scents at a great value with fragrances that awaken the senses to love and joy.

With Mother's Day coming up this weekend, I've got some easy instructions for creating a 9.5" x 7.5" fabric gift bag---the perfect size for gifting two boxes of Love2Love fragrance. You can adjust these measurements to fit any size bag.  

Step one: Cut out a rectangle of fabric that is 22 inches long and 10 inches wide. 

Step two: Fold the fabric over 1/4 inch and then 1/4 inch again, on all sides, stitching down the middle as you go. 

Step three: Now fold each short end over 1/2 inch (wrong side of fabric together) and stitch close to the edge of each fold.

Step four: Lay it down with the printed side facing you and fold one short end toward the other (right side of fabric together). Stitch up the sides of the bag, just until you reach the stitching lines you made in step three.

Step five: Attach a small safety pin to the end of a ribbon and use the safety pin to guide the ribbon through the casings you made at the top of the bag in step three. Then remove the safety pin, tie it off and trim and burn the edges of the ribbon to keep it from fraying. 

Just add a pretty gift tag and you're good to go! Enjoy packing up your gift and blessing someone you love on Mother's Day!

Make sure to look for the Love2Love promotional display at Walmart to find all the fragrances and a .50 gift bag to present them in. Also, check out the new fragrance, Bluebell + White Tea. I love the pretty blue bottle and the petal-shaped cap is adorable.

Which Love2Love fragrance will your Mom love the most? 

A Stress Free Mother's Day with Walmart Family Mobile #MobileMemories #ad #cbias

 This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #MobileMemories #CollectiveBias

By the time you read this, I'll be on my way to Tulsa to pick up my mom from the airport. She's coming to visit for two weeks and I'm so excited! This will be the first time we've gotten to spend Mother's Day together in awhile and I'm planning on it being one of the best ever. Special thanks to Walmart Family Mobile for making this trip much smoother on my family.

You may remember me mentioning a couple months ago that, in trying to save for my upcoming England trip, I cancelled our cell phone plans, saving us over $200 each month. However, we were then faced with a dilemma because that left Jamie without a much-needed phone for on-call shifts and commuting. We ended up purchasing a Walmart Family Mobile plan for him---but that's still left me without a phone.

The Walmart Family Mobile plan, has been the perfect solution for him. We've had it for two months now and it's met all the needs we were concerned about. We decided that I need my own phone, as well---especially for trips like today when I'll be traveling out of the state on my own. Eastern Oklahoma isn't the most populated part of the world and I often find myself on that huge expanse of freeway all alone. 

At Walmart, I chose the ZTE Zinger and also grabbed the required $25.00 starter kit that was located in the same display as the phone.

Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/8e03 or your local Walmart for current pricing.

It's easy to get started using the phone. Make sure to grab a starter kit for each line of service. Then, either take the phone and starter kit to the counter to activate in-store, or purchase and bring home to activate on-line or by phone. The Walmart Family Mobile service is $29.88/month for the first line (and starts at less than $20 for each additional line). The plan includes unlimited talk, text and data with up to 1G of 4G LTE data.

I'm thankful that I'll have a phone to connect with my family while I'm on the road, as well as make it easier for my mom and I to find one another in the airport. A zero-stress holiday sounds great to me---and it starts today!

What tips do you have for a stress-free Mother's Day?

Making the Switch to Dove Advanced Care Anti-perspirant/Deodorant #LoveAtFirstSwipe #ad #IC

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Dove. I received a product sample and promotional item to thank me for my participation. #LoveAtFirstSwipe #ad #IC

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that I was getting ready to try out Dove Advanced Care Anti-perspirant/Deodorant. Jamie and I aren't getting any younger and we really want to be healthy and active to enjoy these years with our kids at home. I had been really thinking about making some changes in my activity levels, eating habits, and overall routine, and I mentioned that adding in some new activity might call for a better deodorant than the one I've been using the last couple years. After having the opportunity to dry out Dove Advanced Care these past couple weeks, I'm thinking I might make a permanent switch. 

When I told my Facebook friends about my chance to try it out, there was a really great response. Apparently, many of my friends have been using Dove for awhile and everyone said they were pleased with it. One friend said she had bought a different brand on a whim one time and quickly switched back. I really believe testimonials from friends play a huge part in trying to decide on a good brand. 

I really like how this brand offers 48 hour odor and wetness protection. That's probably more than I need on most days, but you know---there's always those days you get busy and forget your deo! It's good to know I've got a 24 hour back up. Ha! It also has added moisturizers to smooth and soften the skin. That's always nice---especially for my dry skin. Dove Advanced Care is easily available at the stores I shop at, too. Find Dove Advanced Care Anti-perspirant/Deodorant at mass, food, and drug retailers, nationwide, for less than $5.00 msrp. 

Have you tried Dove Advanced Care? Well, now is a perfect time because they're running a promotion called, Dove Love At First Swipe. Try the product* and then visit the site to create a "love note" for Dove. Share it on social media for a chance to win a trip to Paris or one of hundreds of other prizes.* 

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. The Dove Love at First Swipe Sweepstakes is sponsored by Conopco, Inc., d/b/a Unilever. Open to individual, legal residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C., who are 18 or older. Begins 12:00 p.m. ET on 4/20/15 & ends 11:59 a.m. ET on 6/15/15. For Official Rules, visit Dove.com/LoveAtFirstSwipe.

Our Homeschool Day Starts with a Nutritious Breakfast #50YearsOfBreakfast #ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #50YearsofBreakfast #CollectiveBias

Wow---the past couple months have just flown by for us as we've been so busy! Like many homeschoolers, we school year round---but we don't usually get a good start until about May. Summer and Fall are our best seasons for doing some really fun schooling, so I've been busy preparing new lessons and ordering new books to get us ready to jump in here soon! In the meantime, we've been taking fun field trips and hanging out with some of our homeschooling friends. All these busy, running-around days are fueled by a nutritious breakfast. One thing our family enjoys for a healthy breakfast is Carnation Breakfast Essentials.

I found Carnation Breakfast Essentials in the breakfast cereal aisle at Walmart. It comes in Classic French Vanilla and Rich Milk Chocolate. Make sure to grab some milk to mix it into.

Lynzie or Michael often makes breakfast in the mornings and they like to do special things to make their siblings smile. These are quick and easy for them to surprise everyone with, and they're also great for the younger kids to make themselves, as they just need to open one up and mix with milk. When I'm making this for the whole family, it's easier to mix up a pitcherful.

Our Carnation Breakfast Essentials fuels us for fun days like our trip to the fish hatchery last week, and staves off morning hunger while the kids are hitting the books. With all the things I have to do each morning to get prepared to start our day, it's nice to have a quick and convenient breakfast drink to get me going, also.  

Are you familiar with the Carnation Free Breakfast promotion? Carnation is celebrating 50 Years of Breakfast Across America by giving back to their customers. Just buy any two Carnation Breakfast Essentials products, take a clear photo of your entire receipt, and text with keyword BREAKFAST to 811811. You'll get a message back with submission instructions and then, after submission, a code to share with friends and family for free breakfast! 

You can also email your receipt to redeem@CarnationFreeBreakfast.com or upload your receipt to http://cbi.as/7qnt. Even better, Carnation will donate $25,000 to Feeding America to help those in need through June 30th. It's a win for all of us!

How do you get your mornings off to a good start?

Mom is Coming to Visit for Mother's Day! #BestMomsDayEver #ad #cbias

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

My Mom is a huge part of our lives and I'm so excited she's coming to visit in just a couple days! She'll be here two weeks---which means that we'll get to spend Mother's Day together! The kids are thrilled---and so am I. Last week, I shopped for a few gifts for the kids to give her and found several cute things at the one stop shop American Greetings display at Walmart.

This display features cards, bags, and wrapping materials from American Greetings, as well as gift items like mugs, flowers, stationery, and purses. It's a great place to find a nice gift for the special mom in your life, and it's quick and easy since everything is right there together. Look for the display in your Walmart near the greeting card aisles.

It's really hard having my mom so far away from us now. When we lived in Oregon, we spent time together several times a week. Now that we're 1,800 miles away in Arkansas, we only see her twice a year. The kids are growing so fast and I hate that she's missing out on our day to day stuff. It will be so great to have her here a couple weeks to enjoy the sunshine and a fun Mother's Day party outside!

I picked out a stationery set, since she and the kids love to write pen pal letters to one another, and I know she'll love this cute travel cup. It's her favorite color and has a perfect Grandma phrase on it: What Happens at Grandma's Stays at Grandma's. (That includes messes...yay!) That is totally something my mom would say.

I grabbed a pretty bag and some tissue for them to gift it in and picked out a pretty card to top it off. There were so many beautiful cards that it was hard to choose, but I think she'll like this tea one as we have fun tea party memories together. I like how all the colors match, too.

It's so rare that we get to spend time with Mom so I want to make this Mother's Day extra special! I've been testing out some recipes the past couple weeks to find some pretty things to eat during our Mother's Day party. A couple weeks ago, I made a Strawberry Teatime Torte that turned out absolutely delicious and looks gorgeous on a tea table.

This past weekend, I made Cucumber Sandwiches to celebrate the new Princess Cambridge. These would also go excellent on our party table. Any time I garnish with fresh flowers, it just adds that extra beautiful specialness to the presentation. Plus, these begonias match the colors on Mom's gift bag!

I think this is going to be one of the best Mother's Days ever! How will you celebrate Mother's Day this year? Be sure to check out American Greetings at Walmart for some super special gift ideas, and check out the giveaway below for more Mother's Day fun!

#BestMomsDayEver Giveaway- $4,000 Prize Value