Highlight Reel of the Internet

Some great finds around the web right now....a "highlight reel"

Faith
When You Rise has a great (free!) download for you of how to weave the gospel message in with the basic Bible stories.  I am definitely printing this one for our us to use!

Organization
This genius, why-didn't-i-come-up-with-that idea for organization in the car is from Mama to 4 Blessings.

Notice the little bag of things to keep one of the kiddos busy is a bag with handles.  So it can be hung on the armrest and reached by the child even if they are in a car seat.

Hilarious
Need a laugh?  Dog Shaming will do the trick.

I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard at this website.  You must promise me that you'll go check it out.  Some of the photos hit a little close to home though...our dog needs her photo submitted for multiple "crimes."

Food
Sweet tea.  Pinterest was full of this "secret" recipe for great tea.  I made it.  It IS great!  My husband loved it as well.  The gallon is almost gone...we'll be brewing more tomorrow!


There you have it.  Where I've been on the internet.  Any special finds of your own on the 'net this week?

1st Day Gift for Teacher

I try to send my son with a gift for his teacher on the first day of school.  Here is what I came up with for this year:

"Hope this year gets off to the write foot!"
a basket filled with writing utensils that teachers need

Polkadot Mechanical Pencils--Target Dollar Spot
Individual Sharpies in fun colors--Walgreens sale, .37 each
Individual highlighters blue and green--Walgreens sale, .17 each
Multipack Highlighters--Walgreens sale, usually $3 or $4, got for .50!
Sharpie 2pack-- Not sure where I got them, under $1.
Dry Erase markers--not sure, under $2
Blue and white polka dot box--Dollar Tree or Target's Dollar Spot

Die Cut Shoe Shape--my friend did it using her Cricut and I paid her a dollar.  It survived nearly a week before someone drew an extra line on it.  The night before school started.  WHO DREW ON MY SHOE!? Gah.  Well whatever.  It's the teacher's perfect introduction to US.  :)

What about you?  Do you send a gift to the teacher on the first day?  I hope my son's teacher enjoys the little gift and feels encouraged and confident that she has parents this year who care!  

--shared at Tots and Me's back to school linky, Tutus & TeaParties, the Mommy Mess, and A Little Knick Knack

AstroBrights Paper Contest

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Astrobrights Papers by Neenah Paper for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Color, color, color!  I love it!  I used to have a bright orange purse that I carried until it virtually fell apart.  

These papers from Astrobrights remind me of that purse!  Bright, cheerful, fun!  

When you need to send out a paper, maybe PTO flier, back-to-school announcements, lunch menu, or church nursery schedule, doing it on a bright piece of paper will make it stand out and get noticed.

You could even craft with these.  Maybe a potty training chart for your toddler, a chore chart for the older kids, a calendar for  your fridge, or any scrapbooking endeavors.

The sweepstakes being run is called "Give a Brighter Year" sweepstakes, you create a family-friendly project with Astrobrights products and share them. Use twitter or pinterest and use the #goastrobrights hashtag.  You could win a cash prize and school supplies for your faorite school valued at.......are you ready for this?......

$30,000!  There is a $500 card to be had too!

To enter:

 

1. Visit and "like" Astrobrights on Facebook
2. Go to the Give a Brighter Year app
3. Fill out the form and click 'enter'--I just did this in less than a minute!

Then you an enter their Make Something sweepstakes too.  The current challenge is to use astrobrights paper to make something flower related!  Prizes here too!  What are you waiting for?  Get your creative juices going!

Famous Footwear-- Buy One Get One Half Off Coupon

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Famous Footwear for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Back to school time is here!  Some of my friends' kids have already gone back.  Our district starts next week and we (my school aged son AND myself) are so excited!  

Famous Footwear is offering a BOGO + 15% off Famous Footwear Coupon that you can print and redeem in stores now through August 18th!  The 15% off will be upped to 20% though if you join their free Rewards program (or if you already are a member!)!

You can visit a store in person or take a look at the website and browse TONS (hundreds of brands) of shoes.  I

am in need of some dressier shoes now that summer is winding down and flip flops won't be socially acceptable for much longer.  Here were some of my faves:

And these sneakers by Skechers are so fun!

Are you in the rewards program?  Famous Footwear's program is FREE to join and you earn rewards like 1 point for every $1 you spend in-store OR online, a reward just for joining, and accumulate points to earn up to $100 in certificates each year!  Plus remember that their current coupon here for 15% off will become TWENTY PERCENT OFF if you are a Rewards member or if you join now!

If you have multiple children going back to school their BOGO + 15% off Famous Footwear Coupon can really help out....you'll need more than one pair of shoes for sure!  My son is already set for school but I'm in bad need of shoes.  

I'm going to find the nearest Famous Footwear and just use the coupon on myself! ha!  

You can also order shoes at www.famous.com and have them sent to your nearest store for you to pick up at no additional charge!

 

Germany (wordless wednesday)

My husband was lucky enough to go to Germany for a work conference.  He came back with Haribo gummy bears stuffed in his suitcase (apparently they are cheaper in Germany), hotel shampoos for me, and these photos.

From the hotel














From the zoo he visited

Out and about

A post about Chick-Fil-A, but not really

"Opinions are like butt holes.  Everyone has them and most of them stink."  

Which is why this post isn't really about the current debate on Chick Fil A, what its CEO believes or who the company donates money to.  Heaven knows, we've all seen PLENTY of commentary on that.

**raise your hand if you are soooo over people blabbing about a fast food chain**

RAISES HAND

So why am I writing about Chick-Fil-A?

Because this really stood out to me:

source

And this:

source

And this:

source

Crowds and crowds of people, engaged and on fire, wanting to take a stand or make a difference.  And I wondered:  "What if...what if on one day we all got THIS excited and this moved to DO SOMETHING about child hunger?  Or clean water?  Wow.  We could accomplish so much!"

• What if we banded together and, say on September 1st, we took the cost of a Chick-Fil-A meal and donated it to feeding a starving baby through Samaritan's Purse.  $9 feeds a baby for a week.
  
• What if, we all lined up on one day to work towards filling the shelves at our church's food pantry?
• What if, we all had streets shut down and crowds formed so that we could volunteer an hour at the local elementary school?
• What if, we said, "This month I spent $20 supporting CFA (or "didn't spend any money supporting them" --depending on your personal stance) and taking my family there for lunch, so next month I'm committing to standing up for the poor in my community by donating that same amount to XYZ."  

WOW!   Can you imagine what could happen!?  If we all got so excited and spurred to action and kept the momentum going, we could do  SO  MUCH!

***I'm not praising or condemning anyone for eating at or not eating at Chick Fil A.

***This blog is Switzerland (neutral) on the issue.

***I have, and welcome, people of all sexual orientations, nationalities, faiths, and so forth as readers on this blog.

So there it is.  When people come together for a common goal, it can be a powerful thing!

I'm not asking you to eat at Chick-Fil-A or abstain from eating there.  Do what you feel is right in regards to that and I'll love you either way.

I am asking you to consider making September 1st a day of making an additional contribution to a cause you believe in. I know that many (all?) of my friends and readers are fantastically generous people, always giving to others.  You guys put me to shame really.  How many times I have been humbled by seeing how generous one of you are to others!  

Who will commit to joining me on September 1st to make one additional donation or hour of volunteering?