Author: Tammy Litke

One of the things I appreciate about being able to homeschool, is the ability to step outside the box with our curriculum and teach life skills.

Something that I feel is important for all families to learn is how to be Fire Smart.  I know a lot of elementary school children visit fire stations or have fire fighters visit their school for presentations, but how many parents follow up with what’s sent home with their kids?  I know I never did when Amber was in public school.

By using online resources, I have been able to approach fire safety on a personal level, adjusted accordingly for our home. 

The whole family should be able to spot fire hazards in the home.  So walk around from room to room, see if you’re children recognize the potential for where fires could start.  Candles left out on wooden surfaces, or places where they could get knocked over, space heaters too close to curtains, or a frayed electrical cord. 

I’m not one who likes to wait in a crowd to get a table in a restaurant, so we seldom if ever eat out on holidays.  This year was no exception, so we went out for my Mother’s Day dinner the Monday after.

I chose to go to Chili’s because we had not eaten there for a while and I had a gift card.

We don’t eat out often, but when we do we seem to return to the same few restaurants again and again, and Chili’s is one of them.

There are a number of reasons I like eating at Chili’s.

In spring when the weather gets nicer and we shed our winter coats in favor of t-shirts, we sometimes neglect to keep our immune systems up to par.  We associate flu and cold germs with winter and forget it’s just as important to support our immune system the rest of the year.

Omega-3s are effective at keeping your immune system in tip top shape.  That in turn allows your body to continuously battle the germs and virsuses you come in contact with.

Nordic Naturals has a product fondly referred to as “fish soda“. 

Shakespeare for children?!  What a lofty idea.  Yet Cass Foster and Lynn G. Johnson have found a way that not only teaches young minds about The Bard, but engages them while doing it too!

Shakespeare To Teach Or Not To Teach: A Teacher’s Manual, can be used with elementary to high school students, and is suitable for use in classroom, drama club and homeschool settings.  Teachers and parents need not be anxious over teaching Shakespeare anymore.

It’s spring, besides rain and flowers that also means…cleaning!  Spring cleaning that is before summer arrives.  And until June 13th, 2010, Procter & Gamble, along with Target stores, invite you to clean your home like Target House and help St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

By purchasing specially-marked “red” Procter & Gamble products at Target, you can join the fight to find cures and save children battling deadly diseases.

Target will donate 50¢ for every specially marked “red” Swiffer Wet Jet and Swiffer Sweeper Starter Kits (which by the way make great Wedding Shower gifts) and

I have a question for the married women who come to read my blog.  When it comes to money management in your home, who takes charge?  Your husband or you?

This isn’t a trick question, I’m just curious.  In our home it’s mostly my husband.  He keeps track of everything using Microsoft Money, and most of our bills are paid directly. If a check needs to be written and mailed, I generally do that, because my handwriting is neater, haha!

Photo Credit – oskayI’m so excited that the weather is finally nice enough to spend time outside.  Winters are long here in South Dakota!  For months, I long to be able to walk outside, go to the park or the pool.

But inevitably even in summer there are days where it is too wet or windy to spend time outside, and then you and the kids, are stuck inside.  Then you will likely hear “Mom, I’m bored, there’s nothing to do”.

Of course most of your children (like mine), I’m sure, have plenty to do, but sometimes something new brought out of the cupboard brings a lot of excitement to the table.

As a Soft Scrub Club Captain, I got to review the Soft Scrub Total Bath & Bowl.   (Even though I also used it in my kitchen sink!).  But now there is a dedicated variety just for your kitchen the Soft Scrub Total Kitchen.

You can replace your arsenal of cleaning products with Soft Scrub^® Total^™ Kitchen cleanser, it’s powerful enough to clean and degrease your entire kitchen.

The utalitarian nature of the bottle is what I like the most about this cleaner. 

Today’s Wild Card Author is:
BRYAN DAVIS
and the Book
STARLIGHTER
(Zondervan March 2010)

Here is another installment of a collection of blog posts from TwitterMoms.  This time around they want bloggers to share five fun family vacation activities that our kids love.  You can see more activities from bloggers where they are posting their links on this TwitterMoms discussion page.

1. Amber’s very favorite activities revolve around that Mouse that hangs out in Florida (sometimes California too I’ve heard!)  He also commandeers a couple of ships that we find ourselves on every year.  Cruise ships are her favorite place to vacation.  Not only do the ships have an amazing amount of activities for the kids, but getting to visit and experience the sights, smells and sounds of the different ports you get to visit is fun and educational!