2009 April | 3 Boys And A Dog

Org Junkie's Monthly Round-Up

April 30, 2009 By Kelli 20 Comments

So, I admit it… I forgot to do this! When I got my message from Laura at Organizing Junkie I semi-panicked! I need traffic and I can’t even do these simple things to get people here . So, I grabbed a camera and a few bags and ran to my hall closet.

So these are the before pictures… what do you think? Pretty bad huh? Well, 2 walmart bags of trash, 20 minutes, 1 walmart bag of yardsale, and a few pieces of dirty laundry later and I have:

TA! DA!! I was so happy with my minimal effort! I collect Monopoly games, BTW that is why there are so many of them

Filed Under: Homemaking / Housekeeping, Organizing Tagged With: 3 Boys & A Dog General Posts, Cabinet Clean Out, Organizing

It is Link-Tastic! Thursday, April 30th

April 29, 2009 By Kelli 6 Comments

It is Link-Tastic! This is most likely going to be a feature on my site! I have been having such a grand time doing internet searches and blogging about them that I thought it would be easier to compile it all into one post

It is Spring Giveaway Time in Blog-Land and it seems most every serious blogger has something up for grabs. For most, you simply have to leave a comment!! How cool is that? I don’t know about you guys, but I LOVE free goodies. I am not a very lucky person, so I never manage to win but I have had a blast “getting to know” so many new bloggers. I thought that I should give you guys the same opportunity!

You ready? Click away and have a great time doing it!
Springtime Giveaway Carnival – KBM Designs, Spring Jewelry

Mother’s Day Giveaways – 5 Minutes for Mom

Betty Crocker Gift Basket Giveaway – Confessions of a Housewife

Purse / Handbag Giveaway – J. Leigh Designz

iPod touch… two of them! – Tech Boing

And this one isn’t a giveaway but I have to give a shout out to my new best friend:-) She is revamping my blog for me and already created my very first buttons!!

Diana Rambles of Custom Blog Designs Thanks a million!!

I am accepting submissions to be featured in my new “Link-Tastic” feature… your blog post must be one of the following items in order to be considered:
Article
Tip / Hint
Freebie
Giveaway
Product Review

I won’t always only list giveaways, this is just my first “issue”. I have plans to make my next issue all about homeschooling.

So, if you are a homeschooler email me the following information: Blog Name, a small description of your homeschool themed Article, Tip, Hint, Freebie, Giveaway, or product review as well as a direct link to the write up on your site.

If you make it into future Link-Tastics, I ask that you put my featured button on your page, found here:

Filed Under: 3 Boys & A Dog General Posts Tagged With: Giveaways, Link-Tastic, Reviews

The Old Schoolhouse Store product review

April 29, 2009 By Kelli 5 Comments

When asked to review a few products for The Old Schoolhouse’s Schoolhouse Store, I was super excited! I have been given the chance to compete for a spot in their regular reviewers and could not be more nervous . Consequently, as soon as I found out, I dropped everything and got to work!

I was asked to review two things: Their WeE-Book line and their eBook, HOMEWork.

So, what is a WeE-Book?
That is exactly what I am planning to try to answer

Click here to go to their site to see all of their WeE-Books.
Below is The Old Schoolhouse Store’s description of this new line

Packaging concise nuggets of wisdom from your favorite homeschool authors, covering a variety of topics of interest to homeschoolers, these bite-sized E-books are designed with today’s busy, homeschool mom in mind. WeE-book™ offer quick, affordable content that educates, inspires and encourages. WeE-book™ may be small in name, size, and price, but they are big in value.

When you need help, encouragement, and practical advice, you need it now; not a week from now, so we’ve made WeE-book™ immediately downloadable to your computer; no waiting, no shipping fees. Having access to WeE-book™ is like having your own personal homeschool support group, made up of experts in the field, ready to discuss what’s concerning you today—waiting on your computer.
TOS knows you don’t always have a lot of time or money to invest in equipping yourself to homeschool, but you do always want to grow in your ability to provide the best for your family. WeE-book™ were developed to meet this need.

I must say, they live up to every bit of the above. As an example, I am going to give you our experience with Entomology: The Study of Insects WeE-Book. At $1.95 USD, it definitely has more bang for your buck(s)! Not to mention the fact that The Old Schoolhouse Store ALWAYS has free shipping!

Since I do not like reading books while sitting at my computer, I was a bit worried and was happy to see that it was only 18 pages! I did not feel like I was wasting paper when I printed it to sit down on the couch with my 9 year old. Of course, that turned into a discussion first on what a review is.

Mom: “Tripp-ster, I need your help. Do you know what a review is?”

Tripp: “Yep!! When you teach me something then ask me questions to see if I still know it… like a month down the road. That is a review!”

Mom: “Ha ha! Very good, but not quite what I was looking for.” So, I had to spend a few minutes explaining it.

As a “worksheet family” my only wish is that their WeE-Books have a worksheet or two and a quiz at the end of them. But, due to the fabulous structure of the book (and the fact that it is on my computer), I can easily cut and paste to make those items to compliment my new WeE-Books! We are abnormal in that my son thinks he needs a grade to prove what he learned.

Tripp’s review about the Insect book:

After the first paragraph, “I am already shaking!”
“I didn’t think I would learn anything because I already know lots of stuff about insects, but I really did! I had never heard of that vinegar (Vinegarroon) thing before!”
“I really liked that it was a story, but I learned, too!”
“Bugs make my spine tingle! I liked the book, but I am more like Ed and do NOT want to be an Entomologist!”

Mom’s Review:

I will be checking into the fabulous links for more material that are provided at the end of the book! The book definitely got me interested in “creepy, crawly, yucky bugs!”
The tale itself was only 8 pages long yet was jam-packed with interesting tid-bits in a great story!
At $1.95 USD, I can afford to purchase many of these quick curriculum fill-ins!
Since I actually only needed to print 8 pages to get the whole story, I did not waste paper AND the book is always on my computer or future reference!

So, now that I have been pretty long-winded on their WeE-Book line, let’s move on to

HOMEWork
HomeWork: Juggling Home, Work, and School Without Losing Your Balance
Click here to go to their site to purchase this e-Book. Below is The Old Schoolhouse Store’s description of it.

How do you juggle a home, a husband, homeschooling eight children (two with special needs), PLUS four home businesses?Just ask Rebekah Wilson! For Rebekah, and these industrious homeschooling families, home/work/school is a great combination and they want to tell you all about it!Are you looking to creatively supplement your family’s income? Would a home business even work for your homeschooling family?

. . . this E-Book, HomeWork: Juggling Home, Work, and School Without Losing Your Balance contains the information and support you are looking for! Packed with practical tips, encouragement, and advice, this wonderful, new resource from The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, will help you gain the confidence necessary to make wise decisions concerning starting a home business or maintaining one, and combining it with your homeschooling adventures.

This book was packed with stories from true families that are managing to keep it together while doing a million things. You know, my mother always says, “If you need something done ask the busiest person you know.” The families in this e-Book prove her right in that! I was very impressed by their success stories!

As I mentioned earlier, I am not fond of reading books at my computer. This fit me perfectly because I don’t mind reading a small amount at my computer. Each story was about 3 pages

long. I can print just the pages that really speak to me and tack up around me for inspiration!
So you can get an idea of the usefulness of this book, here is a glimpse at the Table of Contents. I am not sure of their copyright laws, so I don’t want to put the whole thing, but I want you to see the chapters: Please note, each chapter has a collection of stories from each homeschooling/home working family!
Prologue…………………………………………………. 4
HomeWork: A Labor of Love………………….. 6
HomeWork: Computer Based…………………26
HomeWork: Creative Writing…………………35
HomeWork: Business Support………………..65
HomeWork: Tricks of the Trade……………..73
Additional Helpful Internet Resources …..90

My review:
1. Their stories and Faith in God touched me and made me believe I could do it!
2. The book gave me great ideas to get my blog going!
3. I will definitely go back to this resource time and again
4. If you do anything at home like crafts to sell, blogging, writing, etc; you simply must own this book!

If you found this review helpful, please be sure to comment. I am not sure how the “contest” works but I am sure they want reviewers that can get to the most people.

Filed Under: 3 Boys & A Dog General Posts Tagged With: Homeschool, Reviews, TOS Crew

WOW! April 9th

April 28, 2009 By Kelli 3 Comments

Another week has gone by, and I must say I am very dissappointed that no one played with me. There must not be as many procrastinators in Blog-Land as I thought. Or maybe there are so many that they procrastinated even playing.

My Work on it Wednesday list is as follows:
1. Put some more recipes on my website: preferrably the ones we are having for dinner this week.
2. Plan a new blog giveaway DONE!
3. Look into being a product reviewer.
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