It seems this winter is dragging out as long as it can! I know its still February, but its almost March and that means its time for winter to hit the road! Being the lover of hot weather and sunshine that I am, I have house fever! Which is cabin fever except I don’t live in a cabin. But there are definitely plenty of things to keep me busy waiting for this winter to finish out!

Things like learning about different festivals and holidays…

NerdMom of the Nerd Family is learning about Purim.

Amy whose Hope Is the Word shares about what they did in their home/homeschool to celebrate and learn about the Chinese New Year.

Denise of Let’s Play Math! is participating in World Maths Day. Act quickly if you want your student to participate in the (free!) World Maths Day.

Or learning how to be better at finances…

Kristie who lives on This Side of Eternity shares about Frugal Homeschooling and how to give your children the best education with the Lord’s direction and avoid the pitfalls of comparing yourself to others. How to avoid falling into the curriculum trap. It is possible to give your children a great education without spending a fortune.

Audrey of Homeschooling Income is Putting my children to work and shares about how her children can also start to earn pocket money by working online with help from a parent.

Mrs. White at The Legacy of Home Teaches Home Economics through Apprenticeship.

We can be grateful for homeschooling…

DeputyHeadmistress who resides in The Common Room shares what a homeschooling week looked like with a kindergartner recently removed from public school in The Further School Tales of Blynken.

Alasandra’s Homeschool Blog gives us A Dim View of Public Schools.

Linda Dobson who is a PARENT AT THE HELM shares A Brief History of American Homeschooling.

At Why Homeschool, Henry points to some great posts Janine wrote four years ago: Homeschooling highlights from November 2005

We can take some time to look at why we do or don’t do things…

Monica at Educating Magpies wonders why some home schooling moms do not use support groups in their home schooling journey… its just The kind of mom who baffles me.

Tiffany who lives Life on the Road asks Is Co-Schooling an Option?.

Dana who lives at Roscommon Acres is wondering if its a Reading Breakthrough, or Victory of the Bribe…

Rayann presentsRayann @ The Nuthouse rants against asking for permission to make curriculum changes.

Mrs. C of Homeschool and Etc. shares about The Bad Homeschooler You Know. Does everyone know at least one “bad” homeschooling family? What are our responsibilities to the families with children in these situations?

We can take some time to help others…

Jane Doe of Count By Homeschoolers just kicked off a fun survey blog for homeschool graduates, and would love to join your party: Press Release: Coca-Cola Versus Pepsi.

Vikki Lawrence over at Vikki’s Verandah is doing some Book Research: Calling All Teens.Writing an adventure series for teens, starring a homeschooled 15 year old girl. Need help with researching! Go to: http://vikkisverandah.blogspot.com/2010/02/book-research-calling-all-teens.html

Denise who is Blogging 2 Learn helps by talking about Spam Comments. Spammers are tricky, and inexperienced bloggers can be easy to fool.

Robin who is seeking a Heart of Wisdom gives us Lapbook and Scrapbook Folder Differences

We can fellowship with other homeschool moms…

Barbara Frank Online knows that after many years of homeschooling can leave a mom with a much shorter attention span than she once had and then you have to get back to the point of Productivity.

ChristineMM who is The Thinking Mother story about teaching her seventh grade son about writing composition, cause Writing is Talking on Paper.

Jacque who is Walking Therein shares about Teaching the Littles the Scriptures.

Penny Raine shares some recent ponderings about parenthood.

And then we can just have some fun!

Rachel Lynette who has Minds in Bloom shares 3 More Games to Play While Waiting.

Michelle Dennis Evans has a great, easy French Toast recipe for young children.

Lara DeHaven, the Texas Homesteader shows some beautiful 4-H Photography Contest photos she got when the sun decided to come out for a bit!

Pamela of  Blah, Blah, Blog reminds us to remember the Little things.

Michelle of  Delightful Learning has some really neat Delight Directed “Science” Play and projects to do!

The HSBA Post has some Fun with Geography: Learning the Highest Peak on Each Continent

Finally…

Tiana Krenz of God Made, Home Grown shares The Most Important Thing, and that is truly the MOST IMPORTANT THING!

Hopefully doing these things will help keep my house fever low and will make the time go by just a little faster!

If you enjoyed this edition of the COH, would you mind sharing about it? You can easily grab the icon and put it on your site to announce this edition! Make sure to send in a submission for next week’s carnival hosted by HomeschoolBuzz.com.

©AmandaDixon2010

Tags: apprenticeship, Barbara Franks, blog, book, cabin fever, Carnival of Homeschooling, Chinese New Year, co-op, coke, curriculum, Dana Hanley, economics, education, festivals, finances, frugal, frugally, fun, games, geography, Heart of Wisdom, help, Henry Cate, Homeschool, homeschool graduates, homeschool mom, homeschooling, house fever, HSBA Post, Jacque Dixon, math, money, parenthood, pepsi, photography, public school, Purim, reading, recipes, research, Robin Sampson, save money, school, science, Scriptures, spam comments, study, teaching, The Thinking Mother, Walking Therein, Why I Homeschool, writing

Yes, this is a shameless plug on behalf of my familia. I’m sure y’all have heard that the Home School Blog Awards are going on… if not… they are. Well I would like to present to you where my votes are going…
My familia:
In the Best Homeschool Mom Blog, I’m voting for Walking Therein
In the Best Teen Girl Blog, I’m voting for A Pondering Heart
In the Best Teen Group Blog, I’m voting for Feelin’ Feminine
In the Best Teen Guy Blog, I’m voting for On The Road To Manhood
In the Best Homemaking or Recipes Blog, I’m voting for A City on a Hill
In the Best Family or Group Blog, I’m voting for Gleaning the Harvest
In the Best Blog Design, I’m voting for Gleaning the Harvest

And also for these supporters of Gleaning the Harvest:
In the Best “Live-What-You-Believe” Homeschool Blog, I’m voting for A Dusty Frame
In the Best Variety, I’m voting for Penny Raine
In the Best Nitty-Gritty Homeschool Blog, I’m voting for Heart of Wisdom
In the Best Crafts, Plans & Projects Blog, I’m voting for Seven Sisters
In the Best Eclectic Homeschooling, I’m voting for Delightful Learning
In the Best Thrifty Homeschooler, I’m voting for Money Saving Mom
In the Best NEW Homeschool Blog, I’m voting for Delightful Learning
In the Best Geographical Blog, I’m voting for  For the Time Has Come (Costa Rica)
In the Funniest Homeschool Blog, I’m voting for Always a Work in Progress!

I would sooo appreciate if you would take 5min or so of your time to go vote for these choices. The voting ends at midnight on November 21st which is Saturday, so hurry over!
And that is my shameless plug. Thanks y’all!

©AmandaDixon2009

Tags: A Dusty Frame, A Pondering Heart, best, blog, blog awards, crafts, Crystal Paine, design, eclectic, family, Feelin' Feminine, funniest, geographical, Gleaning The Harvest, Heart of Wisdom, Home School Blog Awards, homemaking, homeschool mom, HSBA Post, Jacque Dixon, Jocelyn Dixon, live what you believe, Money Saving Mom, new, nitty-gritty, Penny Raine, recipes, Robin Sampson, teen boy, teen girl, teen group, thrifty, variety, vote, Walking Therein

I have noticed that earbuds are all the rage now… rightly so. Who doesn’t need them? Whether you’re listening to your fave music, or an ebook, or a seminar, earbuds are great for doing all of that. So you’re heard of earbuds, but have you heard of Chicbuds? Chicbuds are the coolest earbuds you can find. Not only are they practical in their use, but they are pretty sweet looking too.

Some of the things I love about my Chicbuds are:

The retractable cord. A built in retractor has to be the smartest thing since sliced bread. Seriously. How many times have your earbuds gotten all tangled up? Not with Chicbuds. They are retractable so no more tangles. The retractability has various lengths to which you can pull the cord so they aren’t too short or too long.

The earbuds. The earbuds themselves are a perfect fit and do not fall out of my ears. They stay put even when you’re moving around making them perfect for exercising and other activities.

The clip. Chicbuds not only have a retractable cord, and earbuds that stay put in your ears, but they also have a clip on them. Genius! So you can clip the Chicbuds and have them stay in place which plays into the earbuds staying in your ears.

Chicbuds are just pure smartness. They are really cool looking too. They use Swarovski crystals in their design and they just look great! If you aren’t big into “bling”, they have the Designer Series Chicbuds that have some neat designs on them.  Not only do the gals get two different types of Chicbuds, but they also have Rockbuds for the guys.

*GIVEAWAY CLOSED!*

Chicbuds not only sent me a pair of Designer Chicbuds to review, but also sent me a pair of the original Chicbuds with Swarovski crystals to giveaway! So… you get a chance to win this pair of watermelon Chicbuds:

This pair retails at $49.00 and you get a chance to win them for free! pretty sweet, huh? I think they are really cool looking.

To enter for your chance to win you must visit Chicbuds and tell me which of all the Chicbuds you like best. That is the mandatory entry in this giveaway.
For extra entries you can do any or all of the following (make sure to leave a comment for each you do):

*Facebook this giveaway (leave facebook id in comment)
*Twitter this giveaway: @Super_Angel is giving away a pair of @chicbuds! the coolest earbuds around http://superangelsblog.com/?p=2484 Ends 7/21 (leave twitter link in comment)
*Follow me on twitter: Super_Angel (leave Twitter username in comment)
*Blog about this giveaway (leave blog link in comment)
*Add my blog ad to your site (code in top right sidebar)
*Stumble this giveaway (leave stumbleupon id in comment)

So there are 6 ways you can enter to win a pair of Chicbuds! This ends 7/21 so hurry and enter! Really they are neat and I love mine!

©AmandaDixon2009

Tags: blog, Chicbuds, Designer Series Chicbuds, earbuds, ebooks, Facebook, gals, giveaway, guys, listening, music, photogenic, photography, photos, pictures, retractable cord, Review, Rockbuds, seminars, Stumbleupon, Super_Angel, Swarovski crystals, Twitter

I have been so enjoying June! Its been a wonderful month even tho its only the 16th. We had a wonderful get together on Saturday with some wonderful friends! With that get together still in mind, I thought it would be neat to have that as my theme: A Summer Party

At a summer party, you have plenty of food, fellowship, fotos and fun!

Elena LaVictoire of My Domestic Church has some tips for reading fluency that Works for Me Wednesday.

Travis who is the Personal Web Guide asks Do You Read? He explores the benefits reading can have upon us in a culture so saturated with television. It discusses the benefits reading can have in stimulating our brain and providing us with a wealth of knowledge, as well as the pitfalls of succumbing yourself to television all day.

Lara DeHaven who is a Texas Homesteader shares My Favorite Quotes on Education.

Nui Loa of Boston Children’s Music shares Our Five Favorite Kids’ CDs for Grownups.

Annette Berlin who has Craft Stew knows art is important to a well rounded education…both as a subject to study and as a tool to create. Microsoft Paint Tutorials provides an easy way for any child to explore color, line, shape and the imagination.

Beverly’s Homeschooling Blog (About.com) has a listing Free (or Cheap) Summer Movies for Kids in theaters offering summer specials for kids.

FOOD

Barbara who has Three Girl Pile-Up is incorporating her reading into her eating Thunder Cake.

Neighbor Nancy who gives Recession Depression Therapy has some Electronics Activities For the Young Mad Scientist that help you keep your appliances in one piece, while everyone learns some pretty shocking things about electricity and electronics. These hands-on activities are good for ages 3 to 103. Have fun!

Courtney who lives Life on Courtney Lane shows why only studying one or two science topics per year is a good approach and how to get started: Learning Science, One Topic at a Time

Amy LeForge who gives Earnest Parenting is thinking I Killed the Chickens.

The Science Mouse knows How to attract toads to your garden.

Cristina who does Home Spun Juggling gives a life lesson from watching animals, inspired by our butterfly project: Caterpillars of Learning.

FELLOWSHIP

An article stating the reasons why I choose to homeschool my children. Jaime who lives For His Glory gives the reasons for Why I Homeschool my children.

Tim Tinkel of Families Again is Getting My House in Order by doing something that homeschoolers struggle with – organizing. However, not only do we have to get our physical houses in order, but our spiritual ones as well.

Dana of Principled Discovery shares about how the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child used against English homeschoolers.

The Hall Monitor at DetentionSlip.org thinks maybe the problem is that some of these public schools have over a dozen valedictorians is that the Recession hits high school seniors’ choices.

~Kris~ who hasWeird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers got an Interview with a Homeschool Graduate: Morgan. After being homeschooled K-12, Morgan is now entering her senior year of college as an education major. She shares her unique perspective on education through the eyes of a homeschooler-turned-public-school-teacher.

Jenafer who has Cage Free Monkeys shares about their News Interview Promoting Homeschooling.

Andrea of Homeschool Blog shares How to use learner.org as a homeschool curriculum.

Joy Miller who has Five J’s has 7th Grade Homeschool Curriculum for 09-10. This isn’t just a list of curriculum for a 7th grader. I’ve also described how we use each curriculum, how long it takes, and why we like it so much.

GFCF Mom of Many has gleaned Ways to save money buying next year’s material

Loving Learning At Home! is Living more frugally…in a BOX???!!!!!!!!??? You can live frugally as a homeschool or even just a regular family!

Name of Blog: Barbara Frank Online has a A Great Source for Homeschooling Supplies right in your own neighborhood.

Sharon with the Seven of Hearts shares about Homeschooling on the cheap.

Jana of Pure Home Schooling gives parents An Easy Start To Homeschooling through a quick idea to get started homeschooling even without a bunch of research and knowledge of curriculum.

Andrea at the Atlanta Education Homeschool Blog asks “think you are not qualified to homeschool?” She gives Notes from a homeschooling mom: I am not qualified to homeschool

Special Needs Homeschooling has some Question’s you should ask about your child’s education if you have a special needs child and are considering homeschooling or not. These are some question you should ask before making that decision.

FUN

Laura Williams’ Musings has a Flurry of Activity x 6 + end of school year + introducing workboxes = summer activity anew.

Alicia of Magic and Mayhem is In Praise of Summer Vacation (and Children) and gives an answer to those mothers who complain about having their children at home for summer vacation, talking about the joys of summer and of spending time with our kids.

Henry of Why Homeschool hasThoughts about summer and what will our children do with more free time? He explains how the Cates are transitioning to their summer schedule

Kathi who says No fighting, no biting! blog had a blast! attending a homeschool conference. It’s a great way to meet other homeschoolers, hear affirming talks, and be able to buy every new (and old) book you want for your homeschool room.

Tristan of Our Busy Homeschool knows that children can teach us so much, and they are often much braver than we are, and Just for Today we studied sharks.

Jacque Dixon who is Walking Therein is Too Busy Home Schooling to Blog, Email or Tweet. Its the most busiest time of the year!

Hope you enjoyed this week’s carnival! Enjoy your summer! Make sure to join in next week’s Carnival of Homeschooling hosted by Our Curious Home.

And yes… some of those pics are from our big weekend with everyone! I promise to get some more up soon!

©AmandaDixon2009

Tags: 7th grade, Barbara Frank, benefits, blog, books, Carnival of Homeschooling, caterpillars, cheap, chickens, children, college, curriculum, Dana Hanley, education, email, Facebook, fellowship, food, fotos, frugally, fun, garden, Henry Cate, high school seniors, Homeschool, homeschool conference, homeschool graduate, homeschooling, interview, Jacque Dixon, June, literature, Microsoft Paint, party, photos, pictures, Principled Discovery, quotes, reading, recession, Sabby, save money, school, science, sharks, study, Summer, summer movies, supplies, thunder cake, toads, tutorials, tweet, Twitter, UN Convention on the Rights of a Child, Walking Therein, Why I Homeschool

*GIVEAWAY CLOSED!*

Y’all know how much I love to enter giveaways and contests… well I love to give away stuff even more! Vision Forum has given me one of their 5 new DVD titles in the Reclaiming the Culture set to giveaway to you!
You have the chance to win one of the following titles:

You May Not Take Our Guns (DVD)
The Devolution of Law (DVD)
Top Ten Questions About Genesis and Creation (DVD)
The State of Parental Rights in America (DVD)
Christianity and Science Fiction: Reclaiming the Genre for Christ (1 DVD & 2 CDs)

To enter:

Leave a comment letting me know which DVD you would like to win.

That is a mandatory entry. For extra chances:

Twitter this giveaway @Super_Angel is giving away a Vision Forum DVD of choice! ends 5/13 http://superangelsblog.com/?p=2213
Facebook this giveaway
Blog this giveaway

Make sure to leave a comment with the link for each other thing you so I have a total count for your entries. There are 4 total chances you can have!

That’s it! So hurry and enter before May 13th so you have a chance to win one of these great Vision Forum dvds that will help us Reclaim The Culture for our Savior!

If you would like, Vision Forum is also offering this brand new group of DVDs for 33% off the regular price of $78.00 til May 15, 2009. For a limited time you can acquire them for $45.00 OR you can buy the entire 14 DVD set for $99.00. That’s a savings of 53% off the retail price!

Reclaiming the Culture for my Savior,

©AmandaDixon2009

Tags: America, blog, Christ, Christianity, contest, creation, Doug Phillips, dvd, evolution, Facebook, Genesis, giveaway, guns, Jesus, Ken Ham, law, parental rights, Reclaiming The Culture, Savior, science fiction, SuperAngel, Twitter, Vision Forum

I was pretty excited when I was contacted and asked to hold a giveaway for the WeFitFamilies.com Mother’s Day Bash! I was excited because it contains 3 things that I really enjoy: Mothers, fitness, and giveaways! The reason for this bash is to help Moms get back into being fit! I love exercising and eating healthy so I can be fit and I know that it is sometimes hard for moms to get back to being fit after they have a little blessing. My mom has always tried to make sure we stay healthy by eating right, exercising, and knowing our bodies. Being fit is something important in our family and I know moms think its important too! Staying fit is a great thing you can do as a family too. It something that everyone can do together and spend time together.

Some of the things my family loves to do to stay fit are: taking walks, bike riding, working in the garden, cleaning the barnyard, picking up the floors, playing frisbee in the yard, throwing balls to each other. We all love doing Tae-Bo exercise videos together too. They are easy 25min videos that help you tone, build and stay fit. There is also TTAP that is a slower paced workout.  We also love to eat salads. Everyone in my family even down to the two year loves salads. We eat mostly organic or natural foods. The pesticides, chemicals and such that they put in and on foods are so unhealthy and I sure don’t want any of them in my body! Not only are they bad for you, but they also inhibit you from staying fit and healthy and losing weight.

*GIVEAWAY CLOSED!*

Now that I have talked about mothers and fitness, we can talk about giveaways! woot! For the Mother’s Day Bash I am giving away a $25 gift certificate to PhotoFiddle.

Photofiddle.com allows users to create art from photos with free online photo effects software. Photofiddle will transform any picture into art with over 50 photo art styles to choose. Select from oil painting, Warhol pop art, watercolor painting, modern art, abstract art, Leroy neiman art style, Lichtenstein art style, outline sketches, color pencil sketches, photo collages, impasto art, film strip photo collages and more. Have us add a photographic tint like a sepia tint, blue tint, red tint, or green tint to any photograph. If you prefer have Photofiddle can put your photo to canvas.

From looking at the site, it looks like Photo Fiddle is like an online Photoshop. Pretty cool!

To enter to win the gift certificate you MUST visit Photo Fiddle, and tell me which Online Design you would pick if you won! Also you must leave your twitter id in your comment. These are required to enter the giveaway.

For extra entries you can:

Follow me (Super_Angel) on Twitter
Twitter the giveaway. You can use this exact message: @Super_Angel is giving away a $25 gift certificate to Photo Fiddle for the#fitfam Mothers Day Bash ends 5/1 http://superangelsblog.com/?p=2076
Tell me how you stay fit as a mom or family
Facebook the giveaway
Blog the giveaway
Sign up for my feed via feedburner or my personal mailing list

Leave a comment for each extra entry you do. Your comment counts as the entry. Giveaway ends APRIL 30 at 11:59pm est.

Also be sure to check out the other WeFitFamilies Mother’s Day Bash giveaways:

Couponing 101 Giving away Rubbermaid Easy Find Lids – multi product set
Voices in My Mind Giving away Grandma Rocks T-shirt
This Side of Eternity Giving away McCormick Spices
The Organic Sister Giving away $25 PhotoFiddle.com GC
Coupon Princess Giving away Baby Dipper Bowl and Spoon set
The Coupon Cupboard Giving away McCormick Spices
Copper Brick Road Giving away McCormick Spices
Grocery Price Blog Giving away Splenda Gift Basket
A Few Fries Short Giving away Squirrel ADD T-shirt
Snagged Mag Giving away Crayon Rocks In A Box
A Simple Kinda Life Giving away Guardian Angel Bracelet ID
Saving Everyday Giving away 12 PakNaks (Winner Choice)
Surviving the Stores Giving away Bright Bubs DVD
The Divine Miss Mommy Giving away McCormick Spices
Is It Monday Already Giving away $25 PhotoFiddle.com GC
It’s Me Betty Giving away McCormick Spices
Peanut Butter and Pickles Reviews Giving Baby Banz Sunglasses & Hat
The New Frugal Mom Giving away Preggie Pops & Preggie Pop Drops
Money Saving Methods Giving away “Mommy Needs A Time Out” tee
Dawn’s Blog Giving away $25 Piggy Paint Gift Certificate
Five Monkies Review Giving away Between You and Me Journals
Mom of 2 Boys, Wife of 1 Giving away Mothers Promise Beaded Lanyard
Clippergirl’s Saving Spot Giving away Mamacita Tee

Pretty great prizes to enter to win, huh? Go enter one or all of them for your Mom for Mother’s Day!

As part of the Mother’s Day Blog Bash, WeFitFamilies is giving away the Grand Prize Giveaway Sponsored by McCormicks Spices! Head over to the site to win:

Set of Super Spices
DietFoodsRX book
Measuring spoon set

$200 gift certificate to winner’s local grocery store so they can put Super Spice tips to use.

To be eligible to participate in any/all of the giveaways you must be a Twitter user, and leave your Twitter ID in your comments! All giveaways will end on 4/30/09 @ 11:59pm ET. You do not need to be present at the twitter party to win, BUT there will be door prizes so come on out and join the party! Just look for the hashtag #fitfam on twitter in the evening of 5/1/09.

I am very glad to be a part of this to help moms get back to being fit and win some great prizes at the same time!
Love, Prayers and Blessings,

©AmandaDixon2009

Tags: art, bike riding, blog, cleaning, Contests & Giveaways, exercise, Facebook, family Photo Fiddle, fitness, food, gardening, giveaway, giveaways, healthy, Leroy Neiman, Lichtenstein, McCormick Spices, modern abstract, Mother's Day, mothers, oil, photo, photography, photos, photoshop, pictures, Rubbermaid, salads, Tae-Bo, take a walk, TTAP, Twitter, Warhol pop art, watercolor, WeFitFamilies, WeFitFamilies Mother's Day Bash, workout