The Life of a Home Mom

Posted By homemom3 on September 2, 2010

Last year I posted about “Limeades for Learning” when SONIC Drive-In asked me to host a giveaway. The basic idea is teachers go to the website (www.limeadesforlearning.com) and make a wish for their classroom, here’s some examples: (grades pre-k to 8th)

PreK-2:
Modern Classroom Library  (Mrs K)-  She’s a 1st grade teacher that needs more vibrant picture books for her class.

3-5:
That’s Just “Ducky” (Mrs. M)- She wants to get an incubator  and materials so her class can watch the life of a duck.

6-8:  (Mrs. B)  Making Music Theory and Composing Fun! She needs 12 portable piano keyboards for her students.

Now, why would we not want to help right? Well, even if you can’t donate money for the cause, right now you can go and vote for any you want and the winner will get their wish. Also if Sonic’s gets 1M to vote by 9/30 they will donate $100,000 to Limeades for Learning.

GIVEAWAY TIME:

PRIZE: $25 MySONIC gift card, a $100 DonorsChoose gift card, a Limeades for Learning t-shirt, and a backpack and school supplies such as pencils, notepads and Sharpies.

RULES: Head over and vote at www.limeadesforlearning.com and come back here to tell me you did it. Don’t forget to include your email address in the comment section.

Extra Entries: (each extra entry requires a new comment)

-  Tell us which teacher you voted for (who knows maybe some of us would miss the teacher if you don’t)

-  Tell me your favorite food/drink at Sonic Drive-in. (mine’s the chili cheese dog and ice cream sundae)

-  Like Sonic on Facebook (Sonic Drive-In) and/or Twitter (Sonic Drive-In)-  Follow my blog

- Follow me on Twitter (Homemom3) and/or Facebook. (Eliza Ferree- Writer)

-  Share this post on twitter and/or Facebook. You can use this quote:

Win a “Sonic’s Limeades for Learning Gift Package” @homemom3http://ow.ly/2yIwm

BTW- Sonic did send me the same prize package as a thank you for hosting this giveaway. Which made it that much easier to take those really adorable pictures.

Category: Giveaways | 22 Comments »
Tags: Limeades for Learning, Limeadesforlearning.com, Sonic

Posted By homemom3 on September 2, 2010

I wanted to give you all a tour of what our morning is now like out here. To me this is what begins a peaceful day, even if you have kids squabbling first thing in the morning. There is just something about a walk on a quiet street first thing in the morning, I think I may hate when the snow covers the ground and I can no longer do it due to my clumsiness. Oh, did I forget to tell you? Earlier this week, I walked inside the house after my morning routine and either tripped or collapsed just inside the house. Came crashing down just below my knee cap (where I had issues before) and twisting my right ankle. OUCH.

Anyways let the morning routine begin. Around 5a.m. my phone alarm goes off, I turn and quickly wake the hubby so he can make it to work early and get home in time to spend quality time with the kids. His request, request granted, even if it means I must wake to get him up. I also make 2 quick PB&J sandwiches in the hopes of not having to eat out. hehe. (evil wife trick I guess) After I toss 2 sandwiches in a bag I log online and thus my day begins, first it is Facebook/email/class.

6a.m. comes and I wake SoccerBoy, he does all his stuff himself and pops in a movie for the two of us to watch for a while with the promise of finishing it in the afternoon. Just as he is leaving I’m waking the girls. By 8 a.m. the girls and I are getting ready to leave and walk. Little A is quickly dressed and climbs into the stroller. Yes he’s 3 but he is cranky in the morning, there’s a pillow inside and his sleeping bag. Once the girls are dropped off it is just the little man and myself, we talk about the birds as they fly over, the lady walking her dog, the flags in front of the houses and the gorgeous leaves that are changing. There are barely any cars that drive by so all is quiet, there’s the occasional dog bark, bird communicating and maybe a garage opening. By the time I turn on our street I’m at peace and so is he.

Category: Home & Living | No Comments »
Tags: morning, morning routine, morning walk

Posted By homemom3 on August 30, 2010

I couldn’t believe it, I had been working my butt off in those MyLab’s for my math class. There were a few areas that I wasn’t sure what the heck I was doing but the rest looked good. I was passing each assignment, then it happened. Late Friday Night I decided it was time to take the test, I was ready. I took the test, it seemed that everything I wrote was right and then I hit enter. When I hit enter it quickly grades the test and pops up with the grade. I got a 57%, that’s right an “F.”

So, why am I telling you that I failed this when I could’ve easily just let it slip on by? Because I told you I signed up, I’ve told you each time I started a new class, issues I had, when I switched from the campus to the online version, etc. I am not going to hide, I realized that night that I could not be perfect at everything when it came to studying. There might be times when I hit a subject in college that I don’t know a single thing and I will struggle. But you know what? Struggling doesn’t mean I’m bad, it doesn’t mean I am giving up, it just means I must work that much harder to improve.

I began going to college because it was a goal, something I wanted to achieve. I wasn’t even sure when I first signed up what I wanted to go in for, it took three times to finally get into a college and stay in. Why? We always moved and I had to drop college before the first class. This last time, I knew what I wanted. I want to work in the PR field, I love working with all the PR folks and would love to do that for a living. Math is a very important part in this business, especially if I ever want or decide to venture out on my own, so this is not a class I can just give up on. Currently I’m enrolled in Business Algebra and Personal Finance, yes, I’m well aware that I am in two math classes at once. No, I did not plan this, I’d never plan this.

That night, as I sat there staring at the screen and debating on whether I should cry, give up on the class and not care about my next grades, or do something it hit me. I would NOT let this FAIL me. I would not FAIL me. Saturday morning, we drove up to Barnes & Noble and bought “College Algebra Demystified” No, I’m not sure if it will help, but I’m the type of person that has to see a problem like this:

3x-3y=2 (and see the problem step by step)

I can’t stand when I’m trying to read an ebook and there may only be one example and they like to short cut it or it is written out in English and not like the problem above. I can follow along with pictures, but not words. This book is already coming in handy, I figure I’ll be purchasing many more like it in the future. So as you can see, I won’t stop, I’m going to keep on truckin.

Category: Home & Living | 5 Comments »
Tags: Business Algebra, college, College algebra demystified, failed, tests

Posted By homemom3 on August 30, 2010

You know when I was growing up I absolutely HATED Gatorade, but as the teen years came and the need to have something that quenched my thirst taught me it was a good thing to have on time. As a mom I know how important it is to keep your kids hydrated, if ya don’t there can be serious side effects that no one wants to see or have happen. We haven’t played many sports lately but now that we are in Indiana I know it gets hot and the kids will drink all types of water and Gatorade, which brings me to MomCentral asking if I’d talk about “Gatorade’s Beat the Heat” campaign.  Since this is the beginning of a new school year for many folks it is also the beginning of FOOTBALL season and everyone knows how much they like to run, ram and all that. This means they break a sweat pretty quickly and need to be hydrated pretty often, football players LOVE Gatorade. Currently the NFL Site has a few tips for those of you that need to keep people (young or old) hydrated and safe during these warm months.

Tips to Hydrate and Fuel for the Football Season- Tips like checking urine. Yes, you can tell if someone isn’t drinking enough fluids by the color of urine.

The 4 Downs of Heat Safety

Preventing Heat Illness

Have any of you ever experienced being dehydrated? I use to get it constantly when I was pregnant with my first child, so I learned real quickly about drinking enough water and Gatorade. In fact I had a hubby that monitored how much water I drank because of “doctor’s orders.” As a child I experienced a severe case and was rushed to ER, I just remember how hot and sick I felt and my dad was extremely worried. I’d been visiting with my mother and we’d been at the pool all day and didn’t get enough to drink. The hospital had IVs in me and were asking me to drink anything, including Mountain Dew. These two things have made me always watch how much my kids drank, if they get flushed I make them stop what they are doing and drink. Gatorade sent us 3 Different Gatorades, the blue, red and purple. G2’s purple is grape flavored and has less calories then the regular ones. I like the fact that this means it also has less sugar. Here’s what the kids said about it.

“Taste like a little bit of grape flavored water.” – “Taste like it has very little sugar.” – “I like it, can I finish that one.” – “It reminds me of grape koolaid without the sugar.”

Thank you MomCentral and Gatorade, I now have to go get more Grape Thirst Quenchers, the blue weren’t a hit in our house but the red was the next one in line.

For every unique download of the Gatorade Heat Safety Kit, Gatorade will donate $1, up to $20,000, to Beat the Heat charities.

Head on over to Gatorade’s Heat Safety Kit and download it today, you never know who you’ll be helping.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Gatorade’s “Beat the Heat” campaign and receivedGatorade samples to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Category: Reviews | No Comments »
Tags: beat the heat, gatorade, momcentral

Posted By homemom3 on August 28, 2010

This morning the hubby decided to take me out to search for gold. Okay, not really but we did drive around and look for yard/garage sales and found some really cool finds. We found a sit n spin for only $5 and it played the music and all. Little A has been on it ever since we got back. I’m surprised he isn’t dizzy yet, of course I had to stop watching him because I was getting dizzy enough for the both of us. Next thing we grabbed were about two bags of chapter books for the kids, they will be reading for a VERY long time now. hehe. We also found the phone in the picture, I’m not sure what type it is but it looked really neat and not
something you can pick up anywhere. Now the question is how do I polish it up. Anyone know?

Did we find anything else you ask. Of course we did, I found a porcelain doll and unpainted birdhouse for outside, the hubby found a few clocks, one was a Victorian looking one and the other was a “Scary Owl” one according to the kids. Before we went on our hunt we did stop by Farmer’s Market and got a jalapeno bread, a few Zucchuni and a bag full of peaches. My friend Cherie posted last week on her blog a few ways that you can cook zucchuni, or as she put it, “Zoo Keen Knee.” Take a peek at the post. It was a lot of fun, later we will go to Borders/or Barnes & Nobles to get me a book and the boys got hair cuts. Take a peek at my handsome little man.

Category: Home & Living | No Comments »
Tags: garage sale, hair cut, scavenger hunt