Inferiority Complex

Wandering off on a rabbit trail is never a good idea.

I noticed that a blog I occasionally read had a new post and headed over to check it out today. That led me to another site and then to another and suddenly I found myself reading the bio of a woman who is scheduled to speak at a conference.

At first I was intrigued. She was the mother of six children ages 8 and under like me. Also like me, she homeschooled four of them and enjoyed blogging. However, her bio didn't stop there. It just kept going and going and going. Apparently her blog has like a gazillion followers or something. She owns a sucessful business and does these mega review gigs for big names like Graco and Dyson and....get this.... is one of the Wal-Mart Elevenmoms. I tried to go to the Wal-Mart Elevenmoms website to see what exactly that meant, but I couldn't quite figure it out. However, I am certain it something... REALLY... cool.

Oh...and to top it all off...she was much thinner than me.

I turned to my husband and said, "Look, Honey. This woman is me...but better."

I'm not about to link to her as I just know you'd stop reading my blog and read hers instead.

:o) Pin It Now!

Giveaways Galore!

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Wow! The 7 Reviews/7 Giveaways keeps getting more and more exciting! Want a sneak peek at what I'll be giving away? Well...a few of the products will come from these places...











A few reminders:

Where? Right here!!
When? Next Monday, December 8th to Sunday, December 14th
What? Each day I will review one homeschool product and host an awesome homeschool giveaway!!!
How do you participate? Just stop by to read my reviews each day next week. Leave a comment and you're entered to win that day's giveaway!
Want to earn extra entries? Copy and paste the above code onto your sidebar to display the 7 Reviews/7 Giveaways button and I'll automatically enter you into each of the 7 giveaways twice!!

Good luck!!! Pin It Now!

Alphabet Alley

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I have been given the wonderful opportunity to review many homeschool products over the next several months. I feel truly blessed to be participating in this review group and I'm looking forward to trying out the products and giving you my honest opinion.


Now, our kids have had lots of Go Fish and Matching games over the years. After all, these are classics games that kids love...actually they tend to love them a little too much as it usually only takes a couple play times to tear, bend, or lose the pieces. I received a package from Alphabet Alley in the mail a couple of weeks ago that included both Noah's Ark Go Fish and a Two by Two Matching game.

Now, I should admit that I wasn't overly excited to get these products. I mean, how much different could these games be then every other ones we had tried in the past? Boy, was I wrong! (My husband will love that I admitted that in print. :o) )

Alphabet Alley is a company that makes simply fun toys...basic blocks, puzzles, and games that are faith-based and sturdy. They are especially geared towards toddlers, but c'mon...who doesn't enjoy a good game of Go Fish?

Noah's Ark Go Fish cards display both numbers and colorful illustrations. These cards are much bigger than your average playing cards (see the picture below) and are thicker. Plus, you can purchase Noah's Ark Go Fish or Christmas Go Fish for just $5.99. That price totally passes the 'frugal mom' test as far as I'm concerned.

< The Two By Two Matching game is $10.99 and comes with 24 pieces (12 matches). While this is too simple for my older children, it's absolutely perfect for my three year old. Plus, these pieces are nearly indestructible...Okay, that's probably an exaggeration. However, they are super thick. I actually tried to bend the pieces and physically couldn't.

Below is a picture I took of two matching game pieces that we own. The one on the left is from the Two by Two Matching Game. The piece on the right is from a matching game that I bought for a similar price and actually thought was thick. The Two by Two Matching game piece is nearly double the size. Quite impressive!

There's a Christmas version of the matching game from Alphabet Alley as well for $10.99.

Alphabet Alley really doesn't offer a lot of products, but the products they do offer look fun, educational, and reasonably priced...three very good qualities! You can also find some of their products at The Old Schoolhouse Store (free shipping!)

Don't forget you can read more reviews of this product at the TOS Homeschool Crew blog. And remember to come back next week for 7 days of reviews and giveaways...you won't want to miss it!

Pin It Now!

Update on Giveaways

I'm getting more and more excited about the 7 Reviews/7 Giveaways next week! Scroll down or click here to read the original post about the giveaway. I won't tell you what the giveaways are yet... but I will tell you that Spears Art, Salem Ridge Press, Knowledge Quest, and Schoolside Press are all participating!!! This is going to be quite exciting!!!

If you have a blog, PLEASE pass on this giveaway info to your readers. You can grab the giveaway button from my sidebar and paste it on your sidebar. As a thank you for doing so, I will automatically enter you into each giveaway twice! (Make sure you leave me a comment to let me know that you have done so.)

Thanks so much for helping to spread the word! Pin It Now!

This counts as school, right?

All on their own, the kids decided to create a script, build a set, and act out their own lego film. They asked me to film it and put it on my blog. Well, how could I resist?

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An Entire Week of Giveaways!!!

Okay, so I have BIG news that I'm really excited to share!

As you know I am a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew and have been reviewing homeschool products since September. I have been SO blessed to be a part of this team and to receive SO many products for review. So far, I have received more than 25 products! Can you believe it?! It's been a real blessing.

Plus, I really enjoy sharing my opinions with you. One of the hardest parts about purchasing things to use for our homeschool is that there really aren't any "homeschool stores"...at least not in my neighborhood. I purchase practically everything online and have no way to physically thumb through the product before I purchase it. So I really appreciate finding reviews of a product that I am interested in written by another homeschool mom. This helps me to decide if the product will be a fit for our family. The biggest plus about the TOS Crew for YOU is that you don't have to just rely on my opinion. I'm not the only one reviewing these products. So if you see a product that I've reviewed here that you're interested in, just click over to the TOS Crew blog and find up to 100 other reviews on the same product!

So...here's where I need to admit a little problem. It seems that I have not adequately spaced my reviews very well. You see, I currently have 13 reviews that need to be written...during the month of December. SO I have decided to have a little fun.

Starting next Monday, December 8th I will be hosting SEVEN DAYS of reviews AND GIVEAWAYS!!! That's right, every day next week I will post a new review and a new giveaway!!! All you have to do to enter is stop by my blog, read my review, and leave a comment. Each day you do this you will be entered into the giveaway for that day. Leave a comment each day and you will be entered into all seven giveaways!

Also, if you grab my "7 Reviews/7 Giveaways" button from my sidebar and paste it on your sidebar, you will automatically be entered into each giveaway 2 times...that's in addition to the daily entries by commenting! So please grab the button...no seriously, please grab the button...it took me 2 hours to figure out how to make it and I will really be jumping for joy when I see it on your blog! Don't forget to leave me a comment to let me know that the button is on your blog so that I can enter you into all the giveaways.

I hope you win!

**UPDATE**
Vendors participating in giveaways so far...
Salem Ridge Press, Spears Art, Knowledge Quest, Schoolside Press, Time4Learning

The Reviews and Giveaways have started. Click here to go to the most recent post. Pin It Now!

G8's Baptism!

G7 turned 8 on Thanksgiving Day. He decided a couple of weeks ago that he was ready to be baptized and wanted to do it the Sunday after his birthday. The whole family including my dad and stepmom, my mom and grandma, Chad's dad and mom, our good friends Daniel and Jeni, and of course all our kiddos (excluding E1 and Baby L who were in the nursery) where there to see Chad baptize Gavin.

Here is G8 in the atrium of the church. This was before service as we were waiting for some friends and family to arrive. He said he was nervous, but he handled it really well, because I couldn't tell at all.

Here Chad is telling everyone how proud we are of G8 and his decision. We certainly are!

And here he is...showing to the world that he has been raised to new life in Christ!

It was a sweet day indeed.

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." -3 John 1:4 Pin It Now!