Preschool: Week 2

Materials

• Grapes
• Lock Board ($18)
• Art Tray ($2 - Paper, stickers, stapler)
• Bowl
• Baster
• Paper Towel Rolls
• Ribbon
• Crayons
• Egg Carton
• Wooden Hammer - $2
• Golf Tees
• Bible
• Daily Text
• Song Book
• My Book of Bible Stories
• Become Jehovah’s Friend Videos
• Become Jehovah’s Friend Songs
• Story time books of choice

Lesson Plan

Day 1
Daily Text

Practical Life - Picking Grapes off Vine

Story Time - Why Do Birds Sing?

Critical Thinking - Mastering Locks

Spiritual - Genesis 12-15; Become Jehovah's Friend #2

Arts & Crafts - Stickers & Paper

Day 2
Daily Text

Practical Life - Picking Grapes off Vine

Story Time - Public Library Toddler Story Time

Critical Thinking - Water Transfer with Baster

Spiritual - Genesis 16-18; My Book of Bible Stories 4-6

Arts & Crafts - Paper Roll Beads

Day 3
Daily Text

Practical Life - Picking Grapes off Vine

Story Time - My First Reader - Monsters

Critical Thinking - Hammering

Spiritual - Genesis 19-22; Song 106

Arts & Crafts - Paper & Stapler 

Preschool: Week 1

Materials

• Button Snake (Free to $3 - felt, ribbon, button, needle & thread)
• Buckle Buddy ($20)
• Dressing Frames ($10 - 3 embroidery hoops, clothes with snaps, buttons, zippers)
• Paint (Free to $.50)
• Ziploc bag (on hand)
• Art Tray ($2 - Paper, stickers, crayons)
• Bible
• Daily Text
• Song Book
• My Book of Bible Stories
• Become Jehovah’s Friend Videos
• Become Jehovah’s Friend Songs
• Story time books of choice

Lesson Plan

Day 1
Daily Text
Practical Life - Snaps Dressing Frame

Story Time - My Big Book of Trucks & Diggers

Critical Thinking - Mastering Buttons with Button Snake

Lunch - Pesto Grilled Cheese

Spiritual - Genesis 1-3; Become Jehovah's Friend #1

Arts & Crafts - Crayons & Paper Art Tray

Day 2
Daily Text
Practical Life - Buttons Dressing Frame
Story Time - Public Library Toddler Story Time

Critical Thinking - Mastering Zippers with Buckle Buddy

Lunch - Gouda Jalapeno Roasted Red Pepper Grilled Cheese

Spiritual - Genesis 4-7; My Book of Bible Stories Part 1 - Lesson 3

Arts & Crafts - Color Mixer Bag

Day 3
Daily Text
Practical Life - Zippers Dressing Frame
Story Time - My First Reader My House

Critical Thinking - Mastering Buckles with Buckle Buddy

Lunch - Roll Ups 

Spiritual - Genesis 8-11; Song 120

Arts & Crafts - Stickers & Paper Art Tray 

How We Homeschool: 18 Month Preschool Curriculum Overview

We start Montessori-with-a-twist style preschool tomorrow with Minion who is almost 18 months old. It breaks down to 2.5 hours a day (incl. lunch) 3 days a week. Below are the files for the curriculum I put together if anyone needs inspiration and each Sunday I'll post our week's plan: 

Subject Overview/Schedule

Montessori Record Keeper

6-Week Planner

Practical Life Lessons

Reading Log

Critical Thinking Lessons

Art Trays (Independent Activity)

Arts & Crafts Projects

All inspiration can be found on my Pinterest board. 

Setting Up a Project life Album for a Gift

Supplies:

Project Life Mini Kit - Childhood - Wellington

Assorted Recollections 12x12 Papers

American Craft 12x12 Black Cardstock

Becky Higgins Big Variety Pack 1

Becky Higgins Big Variety Pack 3

Becky Higgins Photo Pocket Pages - Design C

Recollections Album

Wausau Card Stock

HP Everyday Glossy Photo Paper

IBPB Pattern Filler Cards

Miss Trina Good Life Journal Cards

Kimla Designs 201 Calendar Cards

VFTR: Urban Decay Primer Potion vs. Ruby Kisses 24 HR Eyeshadow Magic Primer

I compared Urban Decay Primer Potion to Ruby Kisses 24 HR Eyeshadow Magic Primer. End of day result:

I can't tell the difference. Can you?

Verdict? I'd say for a 1/3 of the price, Ruby Kisses is definitely a winning choice in eye shadow priming :)

Vlogging from the Road: My Thoughts on Fairest and the Winter Sneak Peek

Vlogging from the Road - Hair Reveal

Quick update to show off my new do ;-)

Mismikado Down the Highway - Vlogging from the Road 1

That's right, I'm giving vlogging a shot. Don't know if this will stick but it's worth a shot. If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, the moral is: Barnes & Noble believes that disabled people don't like coffee.

Lately

My father-in-law (Hi JD!) keeps picking on me about my absence here. I know it's been MONTHS. And I've thought about blogging often but my heart hasn't been in it. It just seems to take way more time than I have these days. Like even with this post, it was suppose to be quick and simple, but I've been sitting here for 2 hours now and ignoring my half washed sink of dishes.

10/14 Couponing Breakdown - Mini Pharmacy Runs

So I did something new today and tried couponing at Walgreens again. Luke says I'm a battered wife who keeps going back when it comes to them. Every time is a hassle and today was no exception. But the cashiers were super nice and worked out the issues. So here are mini hauls from today.

10/13 Couponing Breakdown - Tons of Freebies!

This is gonna be brief because I've HAVE to go to bed! But got all this for under $20 today after rebates. with several freebies and moneymakers!

10/6 Couponing Breakdown - Cheap Jeans & More

Today was an epic savings day. The main highlights were my Kohl's finds. Last night I heard there were great deals to be found on Rock & Republic jeans when you stacked a $10 off coupon with already marked clearance. I went to RetailMeNot and printed a coupon for me and my friend and made plans to run to the store today. Each coupon was good for up to 8 pairs.

10/3 Couponing Breakdown - Cheap Diapers and Wipes & Free Groceries & Johnson's

So I know I owe you guys so many posts like our most recent favorite baby gear, life update, breastfeeding update, etc etc etc. But I just haven't felt like writing those posts. What has been keeping me happy and busy though is saving money with coupons. I have created a spreadsheet to track how much I save in each transaction and if I would have bought those items without coupons or not. The results are pretty impressive and maybe I'll share at the end of the year.
To do this however, I breakdown every single transaction and post most of my deals on Instagram. However, sometimes my deals feel too long to breakdown there so on those occasions I will post here.
Today I bought all this ($82.42 retail) for $10.82 and got back $9.97 making it a net cost of only $.21. Below is how I did it:

How to Make Money on 23 Baby Food Pouches at Target

This deal was too good not to share the details. Since Minion has started on baby food, I have been looking for any good deal I could find to stock up. 

Today I was able to find a killer deal by getting 23 baby food pouches that usually retail for $1.39+/ea for only $.43 at Target. Had Luke's computer not died before I printed one more coupon, this deal would have been a money maker. 

Below is the breakdown to try to get it for yourself :)

Our Favorite Three Month Gear

Could this post be any later? We got back from our nearly month-long vacation after Minion already turned 4 months and then both of us came down with a summer cold. We are still recovering, but I wanted to take the chance to put this post together. The past month experienced a lot of developmental changes for Minion. Plus he gained tons of weight, weighing in at 15lbs 1oz for his 4-month checkup. But since we traveled for the entire month we didn't introduce too many new things. Here's what we did use:

When Breastfeeding is a Fight

You are in a busy but quiet restaurant

It's 105° outside because it's June in Texas

Try as they might the air conditioners just can't quite keep up

You try to maintain some level of modesty by wearing a poncho style cover

Your child is screaming under it

Sweat is pooling in your cleavage and on your sons brow

He thrashes his head back and forth

Pulling the nipple shield he refuses to eat without with him

You struggle to get everything back in place although it's difficult with the cover and the heat

His crying intensifies because of the hunger

You feel heads turning your way

Hear whispers pointed in your direction

You try to stay calm to help soothe him and get a successful latch

It's not working

Finally you ask your companion to mix up the emergency bottle you have in the emergency diaper bag

The second that bottle nipple his your child's lips his crying stops and he peacefully eats

Budget Diapering - Week of 7/6/14

Crazy busy week for us here! But Here are a few deals I was able to find early. Sorry there is no CVS breakdown this week. I just didn't have a chance to check the sneak peak ad :-/

Our Favorite Two Month Gear

I have a 3-month-old now. Insane! O_O This past month has been so fun as Minion has defined more and more of his personality and really started to engage with the world around him. Plus he's become a total chunk and I just can't get enough of him. I've been really wanting to write more detailed day-to-day updates on here but just haven't had the time. So, for the time being, I'll share the quick hits with the gear we've been loving over the past month.

Budget Diapering - 6/29/14

So I missed the last couple weeks, sorry! I hope though that my series has taught you guys some of the places to check for scouting your own deals. Last week was the Spend $30 Get $10 deal again at CVS so that was the same as a couple weeks before that I had posted about. But I had a minute this afternoon to share some of this coming week's deals.

Budget Diapering - 6/8/14

Another late week of posting due to out-of-town guests and 2 day trips almost back to back. But fortunately none of this weeks deals were contingent on Sunday's coupons.