Book Review: Capture The Moment

Disclaimer: I recieved a product to review. All opinions are my own.

Capture the Moment: The Modern Photographer's Guide to Finding Beauty in Everyday and Family Life by Sarah Wilkerson ($15.86 Amazon) is an awesome guide for moms trying to capture every day moments. This book features some of the most gorgeous family moment photos I have ever seen. It is a collection of photos from some of the industry's leaders. chock full of inspiration and tips, this book is perfect for the parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle wanting to capture moments from first day home, to first day of school, to birthdays, and graduations. 

This book features bold photography paired with short, easy to understand tips that will assist any photographer, no matter their level. Some of the tips included revolve around cameras and equipment, lighting, posing, and it even includes assignments to help you embrace the tips. 

There are over 100 contributors to this book, giving you a range of tips and experience. 

Clickin Moms is contributing 100 percent of the royalties from Capture the Moment to the Ronald McDonald House, which provides accommodation for the families of seriously ill or injured children near the facility where a child is hospitalized.

Fight For Fin #Giveaway

The story of baby Finn and the Blumenthal family is one of hope, strength, and courage that resonates deeply within all of us.

When Sleeping Baby appeared on the hit ABC show Shark Tank, they shared their story of losing a child and how they were able to overcome their struggles largely with the help and encouragement of their sweet customers. The Parkers were flooded with emails from supportive fans… including one woman, Kelly Blumenthal.
Kelly had just discovered she was pregnant with a child who had little to no chance at life due to potentially terminal heart defects. The Blumenthal family had to make plans to terminate the pregnancy based on the recommendation from doctors who conveyed the severity of the baby’s condition and his inevitable fate.
After watching Stephanie share her heart and story on Shark Tank, however, Kelly was renewed with a sense of purpose and drive to see her little one survive and give him a chance at life. Stephanie shared Kelly’s story on the Zipadee-Zip Facebook page and their Sleeping Baby Fans surrounded the family in an overwhelming outpouring of prayer and support during the pregnancy.
Finn is now 5 months old and is ALIVE, well and pretty darn ADORABLE too! In many respects, the Blumenthal family has since become part of the Parker family and they hold a special place in the hearts and prayers of tens of thousands of the Sleeping Baby Fans.

Fight for Finn Giveaway

Sleeping Baby wants to thank their fans for their outpouring of prayer and support with a very special Fight for Finn Giveaway!
5 lucky winners will be chosen to receive a Zipadee-Zip of their choice and 10 winners will receive a Little Sailor teether.

Enter through the Rafflecopter below!

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Order the Limited Edition "Finn" Zipadee-Zip & Flying Squirrel Now!

Watch the Finn Video!

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5 Minute DIY: Pretty To Do & Goals Chart #Freebie #FreePrintable

It's that time of year- when school is starting back and us moms can get back to a normal routine. Although we homeschool, it is still that way for me. We have a more normal routine, so working is back to normal.

With this fresh start, this is my favorite time to really get organized and work on my goals. I'll actually be doing a series on this soon. I want to share a free printable with you guys today that can help you out with that. I'm sure you remember this desktop background from a couple of weeks ago. Well, I've turned it into a printable.

Download The PDF

There are a couple of ways you can do this. You can laminate it and use a dry erase marker on it, or you can trim the edges and put it in a photo frame (a cheap black one from the dollar store would be perfect). When I do mine, I am going to write headings in the black with a white paint pen. You could also use a white window marker and change them as you need to. 

If you download this freebie, please let me know what you think and how you use it. 

Note: If you share, please send to this blog post, not the file itself. Thanks!

Summer Fiesta Tips: Rock Your Mini Fiesta, Store Guacamole, and #CashGiveaway + Publix Old El Paso Coupons

Here in South Carolina, the heat has been turned way up. We are spending our days inside and sitting on the porch or in the backyard in the evenings. Honestly, it has even been too hot to get in the pool. School starts for Owl Creek Academy (our homeschool) next week, so I was wanting to do something fun for the kids before we head into our busy season. Well, why not have a mini #SummerFiesta?! I looked up some fiesta recipes, avocado recipes, and Publix Old El Paso coupons and got my creative juices flowing.

We decided to cook up some yummies on the grill, do some crafts with the kids, and relax by the fire pit. It was a success and I learned a lot. I have wanted to learn how to make guacamole for a while now, but never actually taken the time to do it, so what better time than for the #SummerFiesta?

We keep a lot of Old El Paso items on hand, so I only had to pick a few things up while I was at Publix- the main thing being some gorgeous avocados.

Rock Your Mini Fiesta

You don't have to throw an all out party to have some #SummerFiesta fun. Gather the family and food for a relaxing evening by the pool, fire pit, woods, or in the back yard. As long as you have food and family, everything else falls into place. If you ant to add a little more party flair, here are some simple things you can do. 

1. String up some battery operated outdoor lights- or just put them in a bowl to light the table. 
2. Use a bright colored table cloth 
3. Have the kids make some maracas out of things you have around the house. We put dry beans in little milk containers (like come in kids' meals) and let them decorate them. You can also use plastic easter eggs, yogurt containers with lids, or even creamer containers. 
4. Use a music app like Pandora to look up mariachi bands and listen throughout the night. 
5. Get help from Old El Paso: Old El Paso makes every thing you need to make your #SummerFiesta a success. From seasonings, refried beans, chilies, and even taco boats. They are your number one resource for making your fiesta as fun as possible. They've been doing this since 1917. Check out these Publix Old El Paso coupons to save on your next fiesta. 

Storing Guacamole

I looked at several recipes to try for guacamole and knew I'd better stick with a pretty simple one. My favorite is the Rockin' Guac from the Avocados from Mexico Site. It was simpler than I thought it would be and oh so yummy! 

Since this recipe was so simple and yummy, I'm going to stick with it. I thought I'd share some tips for storing guacamole so that it stays fresh. Why not whip up a batch to last a few days. It makes a great spread for sandwiches and add in for salads. 

From all my research on how to store guacamole so that it doesn't turn brown, there was one solution that stuck out from the rest and it worked for me. You can store guacamole and it will stay green for up to 3 days if you do this. 

1. Put your guacamole (freshly made) in a bowl that has an air-tight lid. 
2. Compact the guacamole down so there are no air pockets in the guacamole. 
3. Pour 1/2 inch of lukewarm water on top of the guacamole 
4. Pop the lid on and put it in the fridge. 
5. When you get ready to use it, pour the water off the top and stir. 
6. Easy Peasy

Now, if you are looking to store Avocados that have been cut, spread lemon juice on the surface and press plastic wrap tight onto the surface. I would also put it in a bowl with an air-tight lid. Depending on how long you store it, you may need to scrape a little brown off. 

Did you know that Americans consume 1.4 billion pounds of guacamole a year? Avocados from Mexico are very versatile- smash it, dice it, slice it, grill it. The possibilities are endless. Want even more avocado recipes? Visit this site. 

Save For Your #SummerFiesta

Visit ReadyPlanSave for some awesome Publix Old El Paso coupons to get your #SummerFiesta sizzling! You ca save $1 when you buy 3 Old El Paso items. 

Cash Giveaway

You can win $10 to help throw your own #SummerFiesta! Entering is super simple too! 

All you have to do is visit the Old El Paso website and comment below telling me what recipe you would like to try. While you're there, I'd love to know what your favorite twist on guacamole is. 

A winner will be chosen August 20, 2015. Be sure to leave your email address so you can get your winnings via PayPal. Good Luck!

Disclosure: The information, products and gift cards were provided by General Mills through Linqia.

Why We Homeschool

I have been asked a countless number of times why we made the decision to homeschool and so many traditional school parents seem to think we made the decision on a whim. We didn't. The Mr. and I starting talking about our options for school before Tbomb was even born. We discussed it for a couple of years before we ever made a decision. Some are very personal reasons stemming from both of us having bad experiences in the public school system (although we were both good students). Other reasons are more concrete.

Today, I'm going to share 10 of those reasons with you. I'm not trying to convince you to homeschool or not to homeschool. Every family is different and every family has a different "best thing".

1. It is what feels right in our hearts. We were on the homeschool side from the beginning and our feelings just never changed.

2. We are invested in our children's future more than any teacher could ever be.

3. We know that children will do what is expected of them. If we expect them to behave, learn, succeed, they will. Believing in our children is a must and so many teachers do not have that outlook- many start the school year off believing that some kids will fail and that is unacceptable.

4. There are things being taught in schools that we strongly disagree with and instead of expose our children to that and try to reverse it, let's just skip that all together.

5. I'm not getting into all of the details, I'll just say the majority of the "rumors" about homeschooling are myths and most homeschooled children are more well-rounded and do better on testing.

6. Children are sponges and soak everything up- from teachings and ideals to behavior and bullying. We want to have more control over what our children learn and pick up than the schools.

7. I was told by a local school board employee (Oconee County, SC) to dumb my child down- that he had no reason to know how to write at 3 years old. Excuse me, but if he wants to do it, then who am I to hinder him?

8. We are selfish, want nothing but the best for our kids, and want to spend as much time with them as we can while we can.

9. Tbomb knew his alphabet, could recognize each letter, and make the sounds they make before he was two- just from us working with him. We knew then that we were doing something right. Now, he is 4 and can read some, write his letters and numbers, and even do some math.

10. We love seeing the looks on their faces when they learn something new.

What are your reasons for homeschooling/ not homeschooling?

Homeschool Tip: 
Teach Mental Math to Kids through Games. A life changing program converts Math Haters into Math Lovers. NO Need to Travel. Learn to Teach Fast Math/ Mental Math to Kids through games from Home

Back To School #Giveaway from Fresh Families #BoogieBackToSchool

Back to School is coming fast, and I’m teaming up with some of my favorite brands and bloggers to offer a huge back to school giveaway!

   

Three winners will take home a backpack loaded with school supplies - including Boogie Wipes. Plus a mommy clutch - full of everything mom needs to make the start of the school year as easy as possible - including a $25 Target gift card, a $25 Starbucks gift card, Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus, a Dreft Stain Stick and Febreze In-Wash Odor Eliminator.

Make Back to School Simple with Fresh Families Brands

Bracing yourself for the back to school sniffles that seem inevitable this time of year? Boogie Wipes to the rescue! Click here to grab a coupon, and be sure to stack your savings at Target to save an additional 5% with the Cartwheel app. Dreading having to iron those school uniforms and T-shirts every morning? Meet your new iron - Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus. You're going to love it! Click here for a coupon. Have no doubt that your kids will slop some lunch on their brand new school clothes? Arm them with the Dreft To-Go Instant Stain Remover Pen! Click here for a coupon. Already gagging when you think about having to wash those smelly gym clothes? You'll be shouting #BringtheStink with the new Febreze In-Wash Odor Eliminator. Click here for a $2 coupon. Complete the form below for a chance to win all of these products - plus more!

Enter to Win!

Complete the form below to enter to win!

Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm ET on Wednesday, August 19, 2015. Entrants must be residents of the United States or Canada. Promotion is void in Quebec. Backpacks, mommy clutch and contents will vary from those pictured.