Saturday, July 30, 2011

Tax Free Weekends for School Supplies

Becentsable.net compiled this list of various states' tax-free weekends.  Missouri's is next weekend.  Below the list is what qualifies as tax-free in Missouri.

Alabama – August 5-7


Arkansas – August 6-7

Connecticut – August 21-27

Florida – August 12-14

Illinois – August 6 – 15

Iowa – August 5-6

Maryland – August 14-20

Mississippi – July 29-30

Missouri-August 5-7

New Mexico – August 5-7

North Carolina – August 5-7

Oklahoma – August 5-7

South Carolina – August 5-7

Tennessee – August 5-7

Texas – August 19-21

Virginia – August 5-7

Make sure to check with your state to see what is covered and what the limit is.

For Missouri the sales tax exemption is limited to:
•Clothing – any article having a taxable value of $100 or less

•School supplies – not to exceed $50 per purchase

•Computer software – taxable value of $350 or less

•Personal computers – not to exceed $3,500

•Computer peripheral devices – not to exceed $3,500

Betsy's Price is Right: CVS on Saturday.

Betsy's Price is Right: CVS on Saturday.: "Well, only got two things this week. Everything else was already gone. Not surprised since it is Saturday. Paper Mate Grip Pens 8ct - $1...."

Friday, July 29, 2011

Walgreens off the clearance shelf

Betsy's Price is Right: Walgreens off the clearance shelf: "Well, I had a couple of things planned for Walgreens, but they were out of both. I was a little concerned because I had $9 in Register Rew..."

Marble Racetrack with Serving Pink Lemonade...

Came across this at Serving Pink Lemonade and wanted to share!  Make sure to click the link to see the full details.  These noodles will probably be going on clearance soon if they haven't already!  :-) 
HomeSpunThreads: Day 5: Marble Racetrack with Serving Pink Lemonade...



Thursday, July 21, 2011

5 R's for Godly Womanhood

Sure, we've all heard of the 3 R's.

READING
AHHH!  This was 4 years ago!
       WRITING                                               'RITHMATIC

In fact, a lot of us are probably starting to think in those terms with school starting sooner than we think!




But the 5 R's?
 
That's Lorrie Flem of Eternal Encouragement at it again!
 
 
Lorrie Flem of Eternal Encouragement has compiled a great set entitled Godly Womanhood: The 5 R's for Homeschool Moms.  Trust me.  These 5 e-books and 5 audio MP3′s are good for any wife and mother!
 
Just like the 3 R's are the basics of a good education, these 5 R's are the basics of being a Godly wife and mother.  There is sooooo much material in this set; I'm going to review only the first two R's which are Refresh and Rekindle.  You'll have to wait for next month for Refine, Rejuvenate, and Rest.
 
All I can say is wow!  What a blessing.  You know it's good when you can be convicted and still call it a blessing.

For Refresh: A Woman Who Kneels Before God Can Stand Before Anyone, Lorrie doesn't just tell us we need to be in the Word, but tells us HOW to get into the Word.  It involves a pregnant BB and a pregnant MM, but I'll allow her to explain.  I thought it was truthfully simplistic when Lorrie explained the difference between Bible reading and Bible study is a pencil!


Rekindle, Red Hot is So Cool dealt with intimacy in our marriage in a straightforward but discreet way.  I know I was convicted when Lorrie pointed out the fallacy of romance as we understand and look for it.  "If you are looking for romance you are looking for more than God planned for you,"  said Lorrie, and when she explains the reason why, you have to agree with her.


Another thing I got out of this lesson is the importance of "not letting too long elapse between fires."  I've dealt with some ongoing health issues, that often puts intimacy on the back burner or even in the refrigerator!  Just the simple fact that it takes less effort to start a fire with warm coals than when they've been let to cool has benefited my marriage and has made me attempt to keep my "embers warm." 

This month's Gabby Mom's review is just over the first two sections of The 5 R's.  I'll discuss the other three in my review next month.  If you can't wait to find out more, you can always purchase it HERE for only $24.97.  If you think about it, that's only about $5 for each "R" which includes a MP3 and an e-book.

Speaking of Gabby Moms, I have thoroughly been blessed through this program.  You get free stuff that helps you become a better wife and mother for God, and then you can tell people what you think about it.  If you know me, you know that involves three things I enjoy: FREE, growing, and telling people what I think! 

All that being said, would you like to be one?  The process for applying for the 2012 Gabby Moms program begins now.  The first step you need to take is to fill in the application for 2012 by September 1st.  Yes, it's a secure site/link.  Come join this great group of ladies. It's a supportive fellowship even apart from the reviews.

I received this product bundle for honest review from Eternal Encouragement as a part of The Gabby Moms program. All opinions expressed are solely my own.









Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Memoria Press July 2011 puzzle!

This puzzle is about Roman history and you can win the Famous Men of Rome set.


2.Submit your final answer in the form at the bottom of their page.

By entering the correct answer, your name will be entered into a drawing for a FREE Famous Men of Rome complete set (see above) ... or any product/program of equal or lesser value!

*prize may not be used to purchase gift cards or redeemed for cash
Printable puzzle

Back in my Walgreens saddle again.

Betsy's Price is Right: Back in my Walgreens saddle again.: "Well, actually, I fell out of the saddle because I FORGOT MY REGISTER REWARDS!!! AHHHHH!!! But I was there, and it's so hot, that I just b..."

HyVee...where there's a helpful smile in every ais...

Betsy's Price is Right: HyVee...where there's a helpful smile in every ais...: "Well, that's what the commercial states. Went to PennyPinchinMom.com for some deals. This will include some deals from the 3 day which e..."

Monday, July 18, 2011

CVS slagging behind in School Supplies

Betsy's Price is Right: CVS slagging behind in School Supplies: "What is with CVS this week? They sure do seem to be slagging behind the school supply parade. Only 5-6 things listed? Perhaps they lost t..."

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

A few years ago, when I just had four children and when the oldest was still three, I loaded them all up to go on a walk. After the final sippy cup had found a place and we were ready to go, my two-year-old turned to me and said, “Wow! You have your hands full!”



She could have just as well said, “Don’t you know what causes that?” or “Are they all yours?!”


Everywhere you go, people want to talk about your children. Why you shouldn’t have had them, how you could have prevented them, and why they would never do what you have done. They want to make sure you know that you won’t be smiling anymore when they are teenagers. All this at the grocery store, in line, while your children listen.


A Rock-Bottom Job?


The truth is that years ago, before this generation of mothers was even born, our society decided where children rank in the list of important things. When abortion was legalized, we wrote it into law.


Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get. In fact, children rate below your desire to sit around and pick your toes, if that is what you want to do. Below everything. Children are the last thing you should ever spend your time doing.


If you grew up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood, to think like a free Christian woman about your life, your children. How much have we listened to partial truths and half lies? Do we believe that we want children because there is some biological urge, or the phantom “baby itch”? Are we really in this because of cute little clothes and photo opportunities? Is motherhood a rock-bottom job for those who can’t do more, or those who are satisfied with drudgery? If so, what were we thinking?


It's Not a Hobby


Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.


Christian mothers carry their children in hostile territory. When you are in public with them, you are standing with, and defending, the objects of cultural dislike. You are publicly testifying that you value what God values, and that you refuse to value what the world values. You stand with the defenseless and in front of the needy. You represent everything that our culture hates, because you represent laying down your life for another—and laying down your life for another represents the gospel.


Our culture is simply afraid of death. Laying down your own life, in any way, is terrifying. Strangely, it is that fear that drives the abortion industry: fear that your dreams will die, that your future will die, that your freedom will die—and trying to escape that death by running into the arms of death.


Run to the Cross


But a Christian should have a different paradigm. We should run to to the cross. To death. So lay down your hopes. Lay down your future. Lay down your petty annoyances. Lay down your desire to be recognized. Lay down your fussiness at your children. Lay down your perfectly clean house. Lay down your grievances about the life you are living. Lay down the imaginary life you could have had by yourself. Let it go.


Death to yourself is not the end of the story. We, of all people, ought to know what follows death. The Christian life is resurrection life, life that cannot be contained by death, the kind of life that is only possible when you have been to the cross and back.


The Bible is clear about the value of children. Jesus loved them, and we are commanded to love them, to bring them up in the nurture of the Lord. We are to imitate God and take pleasure in our children.


The Question Is How


The question here is not whether you are representing the gospel, it is how you are representing it. Have you given your life to your children resentfully? Do you tally every thing you do for them like a loan shark tallies debts? Or do you give them life the way God gave it to us—freely?


It isn’t enough to pretend. You might fool a few people. That person in line at the store might believe you when you plaster on a fake smile, but your children won’t. They know exactly where they stand with you. They know the things that you rate above them. They know everything you resent and hold against them. They know that you faked a cheerful answer to that lady, only to whisper threats or bark at them in the car.


Children know the difference between a mother who is saving face to a stranger and a mother who defends their life and their worth with her smile, her love, and her absolute loyalty.


Hands Full of Good Things


When my little girl told me, “Your hands are full!” I was so thankful that she already knew what my answer would be. It was the same one that I always gave: “Yes they are—full of good things!”


Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work.


Stop clinging to yourself and cling to the cross. There is more joy and more life and more laughter on the other side of death than you can possibly carry alone.


Rachel Jankovic is a wife, homemaker, and mother. She is the author of "Loving the Little Years" and blogs at Femina. Her husband is Luke, and they have five children: Evangeline (5), Daphne (4), Chloe (2), Titus (2), and Blaire (5 months).





Friday, July 15, 2011

Gov. approves 'sexual brainwashing bill'

I've written my 2 cents worth under the news article, so please read on...

Gov. approves 'sexual brainwashing bill' (OneNewsNow.com)
Becky Yeh - OneNewsNow California correspondent - 7/15/2011 7:15:00 AM
California's governor has signed into law legislation that requires the state's public schools to teach on the contributions of lesbian, "gay," bisexual and transgender individuals.



Yesterday, Gov. Jerry Brown signed S.B. 48, making California the first state in the country to pass such legislation. The law, authored by homosexual Senator Mark Leno of San Francisco, requires that textbooks be re-written to include information about LGBT Americans and present them in a positive light.


Commentators warn that the measure, which requires no parental notification and does not allow parents to opt their children out, will affect students as you as six years old. But Earl DeVries, a former candidate for state Senate, explains that other schools will be affected as well because California is one of the states that purchases the most textbooks.


"I feel sorry for those states because we've not done a good job defending our families and our children, and we have the wrong kind of people in Sacramento," he laments. "And this is the consequence of our lack of involvement."


Brown announced in a written statement that the bill "revises existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education," and he urged that "history should be honest." The governor further assured that the law represents an important step forward for the state of California, but DeVries disagrees.


"Well, it really isn't," he contends. "Of course, their ultimate agenda is to normalize homosexuality, [but] the Lord says that's wrong. And we are going to be suffering the consequences of those decisions now."


Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com, helped lead the opposition to S.B. 48. He reports that it is California's eighth school sexual indoctrination law that forces immorality on K-12 students. He also points out that the bill prohibits teachers and textbooks from "telling children that homosexuality has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, higher cancer rates, and earlier deaths."


So he encourages parents to take their kids out of the public education system and explore different options, including church schools and home school.

Ok, here is my 2 cents worth.



Why is this needed?

The LGBT community has always been included in education.  How could they not be?  The fact of their sexuality has as little bearing on their contributions to society as the fact that George Washington actually made it home occassionaly to sleep with his wife!
.
Who can studied history and not learn about Alexander the Great?  Who could study art without the wonder of Michelangelo?  Will you ever look at a Campbell soup can again without thinking of Andy Warhol?  Oscar Wilde's plays make me need to wear Depends.  Leonard Bernstein touched so many genres of music over 50 decades.  And even if you don't know who Freddie Mercury was, trust me, he was a musical genius!
All this to say that LGBT individuals have always had a part in history and will continue to do so. 


I'm all for the fact that "history should be honest," but being honest does not necessary condone or promote.  I can be honest about Hitler and what he did without condoning it.  We can study Abraham Lincoln's policy concerning the Native Americans and not agree with it.  I can learn and appreciate the talents of Gordon Ramsey without promoting his choice of language usage. 


Obviously, I can teach about Alexander the Great (which I have) without promoting or agreeing with the LGTB agenda.  This legislation is clearly a promotion of agenda and not education. 


I'm so glad I get to home educate!



Betsy's Price is Right: Walgreens

Betsy's Price is Right: Walgreens: "I haven't done Wags for quite awhile. It's been so easy with CVS just a few blocks away! Well, I'm dusting off my Wags. Of course, I don'..."

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Late on CVS but things were still left!

Betsy's Price is Right: Late on CVS but things were still left!: "Got my deals Savingslivestyle.com. Bic Soleil Shimmer Razor Starter Kit or Cartridges 4 ct - $6.99 $3 ECB WYB (1) ~ Limit 1 •$3/1 Bic ..."

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Betsy's Price is Right: Classs Ideas part 2

Betsy's Price is Right: Classs Ideas part 2: "So. No comments concerning the things I posted previously about teaching a couponing class , so I'm going to assume that my thought process..."

Sweet family portrait





Found this today on feeling stitchy.  I had to share because I loved it and thought it was a wonderful idea. It would be fairly easy to make even if you're a novice needleworker.  I think it's a meaningful way to show what we are about!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

A couple of free curricula

I've come across a couple of free curricula that I want to share.  One is for music and the other is for radio which would include science and math.  I haven't used them, but they sure look like great resources.  Did I mention they were  FREE?  ;-)


The music curriculum is located here.  It has a workbook broken down into chapters and virtual flash cards.  I would say the workbook is good basic information but not for young learners, but the virtual flash cards would be great for any age.




Used with permission.

The radio curriculum is made by ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio and is located HERE under ARRL ETP Curriculum Guide.  The first lesson will definitely catch their attention..."Where's the remote?!?"  (We just did this in home, and we weren't even doing the lesson!)  The site even has a store, but I'm sure you could also purchase any needed supplies from a place like Radio Shack.


If you've used either of these or have used other curriculum/sites for the same thing, please share!

ParentalRights.org Promotional Trailer--UPDATED

Just found out they edited this again.  This is now the most current edition of the trailer (7/14/11)

Sunday, July 10, 2011

I'm going to teach a class...AHHHHH!!!!

Betsy's Price is Right: I'm going to teach a class...AHHHHH!!!!: "What was I thinking!!! I'm not afraid of teaching. I'm afraid I'm not going to have that much too say to people about couponing in the wo..."

Friday, July 8, 2011

CVS with Mom

Betsy's Price is Right: CVS with Mom: "Had fun this week taking my mom with me to CVS. In fact, with my help, she ended up getting $10 worth of stuff for FREE!! She loved the ..."

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Math Facts Fun with Catherine Jaime

One of the blessings that I've gained through my blog is being able to do reviews.  I feel honored that someone wants to know what I think about an item.

Imagine how I feel when someone like Catherine Jaime asks me to review some of her items!  Catherine has spent 30 years homeschooling her 12 children.  She's an author, bookseller, facilitator of a long-standing student Shakespeare reading group, government club advisor, Mock Trial coach, and world traveler.  I get out of breathe just reading what her website  and books share about her!


She has so many cool things which she has authored and created.  Today, I'm going to share Math Facts Fun


Fun?  Most don't usually consider math facts fun, but these games she developed really do make it fun. 

There are different levels of game boards starting with basic number recognition to basic algebraic problems. Eight different levels in all.  That's one of the reasons this is such a great resource.  It doesn't review just certain operations, but all operations.  It's a review game that keeps on giving!  In the picture below, for instance, my daughter is playing on one game card in which you can add, subtract, multiply, and/or divide. 


Now, I received the actual Math Facts Fun set.  It came with instructions, of course, prepared game cards AND all the dice and chips. There's other cool math resources included as well.  Open bag and start to play!!  I know we did.  It's available for $12 plus shipping here on Catherine's website. 
But you have another option, too.  If you are one of the those do-it-yourself kinda' gals with various kinds of dice and/or chips around your house, you can get the e-book version. That way, you can print up exactly what you need and choose to laminate or not.  It's only $3.50 at CurrClick.com


Now keep in mind, this is a great game for review, but I also think it's a great game for introducing skills.  I know for my daughter it was much easier for her to think of adding dots or skip counting the numerals on the dice that to actually look at 6 + 4 or 3 * 9.  It's less intimidating.  You sneak it in as a game, and they are learning their facts without "officially" learning their facts.  

My daughter has asked to play it by herself at times, but it's also great for any size group.  She loves the colored pages and the multi-colored markers.  The 12-sided dice are "cool".  It's one of the few educational-type games that she makes a point of asking to play.

I'm disappointed with myself that I didn't get this posted earlier in the summer as I had planned.  Trust me, however, you will not be disappointed with Math Facts Fun. 

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Eat Cereal And Get a Free $10 Gas Card

Betsy's Price is Right: Eat Cereal And Get a Free $10 Gas Card: "We've cut back on eating cereal, but this is still a good deal!! Found out about it from Kansas City on the Cheap . Eat Cereal And Get a ..."

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