Books to the ceiling,

Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.
~Arnold Lobel

I have a slight obsession with books. I buy them full price, I buy them at garage sales, we check dozens out each week at the library. I love a good book, and I'm sure many of you feel the same. So, when I read about Barefoot Books and got my hands on their catalogue, I was pretty excited. I love buying books for gifts, particularly for the littlest people I know. And I am already on the hunt for one-of-a-kind, beautiful books to give out this December!

Today I read a compilation of pirate stories in "The Barefoot Book of Pirates" written by Richard Walker. Geared for ages 5-10, this book is full of colorful illustrations by Olwyn Whelan, and each story is a retelling of an old legend. This book includes retellings of Scandanavian, German, English, Irish, Scottish, Japanese, and Morroccan legends. It was really interesting and fun to read. Also included is a CD which narrates all the stories, which most kids love (my kids love to listen to them in the car).


Other than the content, which I found really interesting, I also enjoyed this book because it presented a good balance of both text and illustrations. There were illustrations on every page (to encourage newer readers who still love pictures) but enough text that the book is also interesting and appropriate for more fluent readers. It would also be a nice book to read aloud, because of the natural stopping points between the short stories and the unique illustrations.

"The Barefoot Book of Pirates" would be an excellent gift for any child who likes pirates, or for any child who enjoys compilations of short stories.

And... Rebecca at Barefoot Books has a special right now. Check it out!

Receive a FREE copy of Storytime with any purchase of $30 or more until October 31st!** Following the success of The Story Tree and in response to our customers' demand for a comprehensive preschool collection, this anthology brings together a cast of characters that kids and adults will love - from the Gingerbread Man to The Ugly Duckling and The Three Little Pigs. While it is tailored for two- and three-year-olds, this collection will entertain everyone with its dynamic storytelling and vivid illustrations.

**It will be automatically added to your order when it is shipped from the warehouse. It will not appear in your basket when you check out.

I always love a good deal, particularly when it comes to books. Happy Reading!

Controlling the Chaos in the Grocery Aisle

I was planning to post something else, but after reading WeaverMom's entry yesterday, I had to back her up! I have to agree 100%, having a meal plan is a HUGE time saver in our household too, but right now I can only handle one week at a time--I am striving to be as organized as WeaverMom and be able to have a 6-week menu. I just started to rotate them around since I've made my Handy Dandy Grocery List.

This has been another extremely helpful time saver for me. I look at my weekly menu , which look something like this

Then I grab my shopping list and start marking what I need for that week. (I keep a copy of it and save it for the next time I use this weekly menu, keeps me from having to do it all over again.)

After that, I fill in the rest of the necessities we need and VOILA! When Saturday comes I get just what I need...it's fast and easy! (Fortunately we have another refrigerator in the garage, which really helps me to do a one-day-a-week shopping.)

So that is one way I control the chaos in our house, how about you?





PS~ don't forget to enter our Recipe Roundup!

Shopping Tips

Who doesn't love a good sale or getting in on racks of clothes that are clearanced out?

Tip: Hit up the end of the season clearance sales.

This weekend when we went shopping at an Outlet Mall.

We hit many great clearance racks in every store.

Since it is the end of the summer season, everything is clearanced for very reasonable prices.

Most items we purchased were around $2-$4. Some were a bit more.

We found shorts and tops for $2-$4, jeans for $7 and dress slacks for $10.

Tip: Hit Crazy Days sales.

You can find some really good deals that way too.

In our town we found a few great deals at Crazy Days.

We found shirts clearanced for $5 and jeans for our daughter clearanced for $2.

Tip: Check out the weekly sales ads.

I am big on looking in the weekly sales ads and using coupons from the sales ads.

Even when I'm shopping for groceries, I use coupons when I can.
Some stores will double your coupons too, which helps out.

Tip: you can even get the coupon on-line if you don't get the sales ad in the mail.

Just find the stores website and see what there offers are by bringing up the weekly ad

or searching their sites for coupons.

Tip: Make out a list before going out shopping.

I have my shopping list made out ahead of time.
I use an envelope filled with my coupons from each stores sales flyer already cut out.
I list each store that I plan on going to and then

each potential coupon that I could use at each store.
I don't end up purchasing at each store.

Tip: By using certain store credit cards

you'll get coupons periodically for discounts in their stores.

Tip: Shop on-line when you can.

You can also hit up end of the season clearance sales this way too.

I don't use a coupon for everything.

I just wanted to give you some ideas on how to

save money by: using coupons when shopping and hitting the clearance sales racks.

Does anyone else have any other shopping tips to share with us?

Wednesdays With WeaverMom - grocery store

Welcome to Wednesdays with WeaverMom! Here’s the plan - I answer your questions with my thoughts about what has worked for me, and hopefully others will leave comments about what works for them. I have some good experience about how to fit it all in and make it all work – but I’m far from an expert. Hopefully, “many hands make light work” and you will be able to find an idea that you can adjust to fit your life and personality. Multi-tasking at its finest!

Let me introduce myself again. I’ve been married for 11 years and have 2 munchkins – a 6 yr old daughter, Punkin, and a 3 yr old son, SnugBug. We homeschool using the Weaver curriculum (hence the name WeaverMom), and I have a bookkeeping business. I’m a planner – I have to be to make my life work! My husband is a wonderful provider who loves his job and works many hours, so I try very hard to not take up any of his “home time” with mundane chores so that we can just be together as a family. I use a chore chart, meal plans, and a very detailed daily to-do list. It’s not for everyone, but I would be lost without these tools.

So, on to today’s question:

Help! I cannot find time to go to the grocery store! Any suggestions?

Absolutely! Here you go:

1. Make a meal plan for the week and a grocery list.This saves time because you don’t have to go back to the store during the week, and a list can also save you money because you buy (only?) what you actually need.
2. Um, this may seem obvious, but let’s be honest.Sometimes all we need to do is take a deep breath, put one foot in front of the other and just GO! Not that I know what it’s like to put off going to the store for 4 days hoping the mood will strike me. No, no, ‘course not.
3. Include grocery shopping on your schedule – don’t rely on “whenever.”
4. Re-evaluate your schedule.Re-arrange activities to allow for a large enough gap to complete your shopping.Food is important, so drop an activity if you have to.
5. Delegate.Get your husband to go.Or a child old enough to drive.
6. MULTI-TASK.Right now, I shop before gymnastics – then drop my daughter off for her class while my son and I go home and unload, and then head right back to get her.It’s not saving me gas money – but, hey – we have food!
7. Organize, organize, organize.Using this tip on organizing your grocery list from Shannon at Rocks in my dryer, I shaved at least 15 minutes off my grocery store time.
8. Time it right.Go early in the morning when the store is not as crowded and the employees are not as tired.
9. Feed the baby in the car. Bring a cooler for your cold things, and just plan to feed the baby right before you head home. I learned this trick after listening to my sweet baby scream for the entire 20 minutes home on more than one occasion!
10. Organize, organize some more. I do this during tax season when things are really insane.I make my meal plan for the entire month, then make 4 grocery lists. The first one includes everything for the first week and ALL the dry goods for the entire month.The other lists are for the 3 following weeks – but only include meats, cold items & produce.Then, I just take a Saturday and do major shopping at my regular store where the prices are better – it only adds about 30 minutes to a normal trip!On the other 3 weeks I can go to the grocery store that is closer and quicker (but more expensive, especially for dry goods such as cereal.)And, don’t throw the lists away! – if it’s really crazy, you can just repeat it the next month.
11. If you live far away from stores grocery shopping can be an all day event, so you don’t want to go any more often than you have to.I saw an interview once with a lady who did this: she only shopped every 2 weeks. She drove in and went to one store and bought dry goods. Then she and her children would go to lunch. Then, she went to a different store and bought her meats, cold items and produce. This kept the kids from getting hungry and also from being in one store for so long that they got really hard to handle.

Your turn. How do you find time to go to the grocery store?

P.S. Have a question for WeaverMom? Email me!

Back to School Time

Well everyone ... Its THAT time of year. The time of year when most moms are counting down the days until they can drop off their kids at the door of their local public (or private) school and not have to deal with the "hassle" of having children in their homes all day long. For us, we are blessed enough to keep our kids at home everyday. We are blessed to be their teachers, to watch them grow, to share those special moments with them. We are also blessed to witness their tantrums, whining, complaints, and well... you know how some of our days go.


Since we school year round here, there really is no beginning or end to our school days. Rather, for us, learning is a part of living and is done daily. Its not something we do because we have to but because we enjoy it and its necessary to live a fulfilling life. So ... if that's the case why am I bringing up this topic?


SALES!!! Yep ... Back to school shopping is a big event in my house. Why? When else can you get 10 glue sticks for $0.50! Schools here start back in early August, so now is the time to pick up a Sunday Newspaper full of circulars. Check out who has the best prices and go stock up on supplies for the school year! Notebooks, loseleaf paper, Notepads, Pencils, Crayons, Markers, Construction Paper, Printer Paper, Glue Sticks, Rulers, Protractors, Scissors, Erasers, Folders, and more are all on sale.


A few extra tips:

• Buy extra crayons, markers, printer paper, and construction paper. Keep these in your gift closet. When you get an invitation to attend a party for another kid at church or scouts ... you have a great gift idea for under $1.00! What kid doesn't like new crayons (or markers) and paper???



• For a few more dollars, you could pick up a writing tablet, coloring book, or other item to add to your crayons or markers for a gift. Also, look out for color pencils, watercolors and other art supplies on sale.



• I often check out Michael's dollar bins and find kits and other art supplies that could be added to your gift closet. The dollar bins is a year round option and the items there are just clearance items and not your run of the mill dollar store items that will break in an hour or less.



• Buy nice quality backpacks now. Save these as gifts for Christmas or Birthdays. These can be used as Hiking Daypacks for your little ones. Add in a $0.99 first aid kits, a water bottle, a disposable camera, and few other goodies ... and now you are set for nature walks on the go!



• Check out sales on shoes. A lot of places have buy 1 get 1 half off or better sales now. If your kids are going to need shoes soon ... now is the time to go. I usually buy half a size bigger than what they are currently wearing that way they will be perfect come late October.



• For us in Arizona, now is NOT the time to buy clothes. Wait until the rush is done. At the beginning of September, you will find lots of 75% of sales from all the left over back to school clothes no one wanted. Thats when you buy clothes for the kiddos! Only buy summer clothes in at least 1 size bigger. Last thing you want is for a growth spurt to hit during winter and all the new clothes go to waste.



• Look for large lunchboxes. Sometimes you can find family size ones on sale at this time. If not -- wait until the end of summer clearance sales. Purchase one for your family to take with you when going on long outings or picnics.

So .... What are your back to school traditions? Do you go shopping at the sales? What are your tips for this time of year? Write about it on your blog and leave us a comment with your link. I can't wait to read all of your thoughts on this!!