Friday, February 25, 2011

Math Rider Review

It seems that whenever we are in need of a particular subject getting a little more attention, TOS sends us a product to review that just fills that need! It is truly wonderful and such a blessing! When I was notified we would be reviewing Math Rider, I was very excited for a couple of reasons. First, my daughter (10) needs some work in reviewing her basic math facts, and second, she loves horses! This just made my day!
Here is an overview of the game from the website:

What did we love about Math Rider? Well, I loved the simplicity of it. I was basically hands off, which I enjoy having a few things I can just pass off to my kids and they can take over and handles it themselves. My daughter figured out everything with minimal help from me. She would go online daily and play 4 rounds of the game and she was moving up in the levels as well as mastering concepts she had not mastered at this point. That was wonderful!

What did we not love about Math Rider? Very little, however there is a magical concept to the game and magic is not something that blends with our faith. For instance, there was a magical healing flower that was to be used to heal a cursed or sick person. However, you do not need to play that part of the game to continue on. The term magical is used, however it is easy to avoid and my daughter continued playing without ever having to participate in the parts we found objectionable.

Overall, I found this online game to be fabulous! You can find out more by checking out there website here: Math Rider Be sure to check out the many links available to learn more about this great product.

The cost of this wonderful tool for your homeschool is only $37 and even comes with 30 day money back guarantee!!


Disclaimer: I am a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. As such I have received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion and review of this product. I have not received any additional compensation for my review.




Saturday, February 19, 2011

Keeping it Classy



Last Day!

What a super fun week this has been! Atira and I had a wonderful time participating in our first Modest Fashion week!! So here you have it our last outfit for the week...a little of this and a little of that. We were getting ready to head out for our Sabbath services and study. It was a lovely day! And it was wonderful to get to see all of you modest fashionable ladies!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Keeping It Classy

Only one more day after today!!
So, here ya go!

Atira is wearing brown pants that we found at a thrift store, they have a pretty buckle at the waist you can't see in this photo. Her green sweater was mine...but a bit too fitted for my liking, so she wears it now. I have on one of my favorite dancing skirts (it twirls so beautifully!), this burnt orange peasant skirt, it has pretty little beads and sparkly pieces on the layers, so pretty. I have on a green cami made again by Mod Bod, and my cream long sleeve hoody was purchased at JC Penney.
Here is Atira's fun watch, yes, it was a Mcdonalds toy, it is just so darn cute!
And last, my earrings. My son took a jewelry making class and one day while I was sitting there, bored, I asked the teacher if I could play with the beads. I ended up making these and she said I could just keep them! What a blessing! Off to celebrate the sabbath with my family! The house is all clean, bread just came out of the oven and dinner is bubbling away...the house smells super delicious! Can't wait! Have a blessed weekend all! Hope I get time tomorrow to post our last picture! I will certainly try! We will try to get on here in the morning and do that. Blessings!!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Keeping it Classy

We are having some fun here getting in to some "poses" for our pictures. This has been such a fun week of mother daughter fashion talk!
Atira picked this pose and I love it! So, what are we wearing? Atira has on a two piece outfit she received for her birthday, lovely little number with black stripes. It's still cold out so she also has on a long sleeve white tshirt underneath. And I will share more about her super cool boots in a few. As for me, I have on one of my few print tops (I don't know why I don't have more, I really like it when I wear prints) purchased at Kohls, longs sleeve blue T from Mod Bod (love it when Costco holds a sale on them, what a bargain!). Black skirt that was a thrift store find, white tights and of course my black Clarks boots.
Close up of my pretty necklace that was a lovely surprise from my husband. Inside is a scroll of paper with Hebrew on it reciting the Shema or "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is one..."
My pretty fillagree earrings, I cannot even remember where I bought them I have had them for so long!
Atira's super cool boots up close! The zipper is colorful, hard to tell, but it's true! She got these at (can you guess?) Kohls. Yes, we have a Kohls near us....
LOVE THIS! Atira took a long piece of organza ribbon and wound it around her wrist and tied it off with a bow to make a really feminine and funky bracelet! She has such style!
And her beautiful gold ball earrings. This is a child who cannot wear silver, so her earring assortment is limited at this point since it must be real gold. These are still very pretty and go with tons of stuff!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Keeping it Classy

*DAY 4*



So, for today we had a usual routine kind of day. We got a lot of schooling done and then Atira had her recorder class. I had a fabulous time running around Target collecting some serious bargains thanks to couponing! So, the theme today was cute, comfy and casual. Atira is wearing a cute jumper from A Children's Place along with the long sleeve purple shirt under. Of course she has on her skinny jeans (her new favorite fashion item)..she looks darling! As for my outfit, I have on another favorite sweater in such a pretty color! Purchased at Kohls...black tshirt underneath was given to me. My skirt, feels like jammies, it was purchased at Old Navy and my black leggings are also from Kohls.


This is my beautiful necklace my sweet friend gave me...it's of a praise dancer. She gave it to me because I teach Messianic praise and worship dancing. So sweet and one of my favorites...and she is an amazing friend and sister in the Lord. I am blessed.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Keeping it Classy


Here we are day 3! This has really been a lot of fun so far. Each morning we get up and after breakfast, bible and exercise we start talking about what we will be wearing. How fun is that? I just love having a girly! ♥ So for today, Atira is wearing super cute Gap Denim Dress, denim jeggings and her cute and oh so trendy gray slouchy boots. I have on one of my favorite sweaters found at Costco! A Mod Bod long sleeve dark pumpkin t shirt, my denim skirt is one of my faves from Christopher and Banks and my brown go to Clarks boots. You can't see my earrings, but they are a very pretty filigree circle with little brown gems in them.

Here you can see her pretty details, under her dress is a lavender burn out tshirt and she is also wearing her black and lavender stars scarf. I love how this girl accessorizes!

I'm lookin' a little tired here, it is the end of the day...but it is a cute shot of my sweater, that I LOVE! (Did I mention I love it?) I am always cold too, so this is a very warm sweater, makes me happy! :) See you all tomorrow!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Cinderella Moments



Ahhhh...what a day. Let's say it again. Ahhhhh....what a day. It was THAT good that you needed to say it twice. I mean, seriously, that good.

For those not "in the know", I planned an evening out for Atira, both of her grandmothers and myself to see Pacific Northwest Ballet perform "Cinderella". Let's back up....I have a sweet friend, Denise, and she has a very talented daughter, Abby. Abby was accepted last year to PNB as a student. What a prestigious honor and evidence of her incredible talent. Abby was then chosen to perform in this years performance of Cinderella. This led to the idea that it would be fun to go and see her and of course experience the ballet for our first time. Well, after checking into the price of tickets....*hack*cough* (was that blood?) we decided to just enjoy the photos of Abby in her costume instead.

About a week or so later, there was a contest on the radio to win tickets to Cinderella, we tried, but did not win. That's when the wheels started turning. Scott and I decided that this would be an incredible memory for Atira and that it was worth it. That contest gave me a little opening to ask some "conversational" questions, ya know, just chatting it up. I asked Atira, what if we had won, would you want it to be just you and I or would you want your Grandmas to go too? She said all of us....hmmm....would it be possible?

The Grandmas were delighted with the whole idea...the wheels of secrecy were now in full motion, churning silently along....mwah ah ah!! I LOVE a good secret! The plan was set, Atira and I would have a girls day together, nothing big, maybe some lunch and time shopping. She had NO idea.

The day finally arrives, I am giddy inside, just dyin' to jump up and down and scream "aren't you excited!!!". But I can't, she doesn't even know. We have a lazy morning, we shower. We are getting dressed to impress because we joined a "Modest Fashion Week" blog contest...she comes in my room in her super cute outfit and asks me what I think. I gush, tell her it's fab and super cute, but what do you think of THESE! I throw back two pillows that are on my bed covering up TWO BRAND NEW OUTFITS! She flips! She jumps up, arms around my neck, thanking me and even tearing up a bit. It was so sweet. She chose an absolutely fabulous little number, the black and white polka dot dress with hot pink shrug. Amazing.

She decides her Grandma needs to see it...calls over and miracle of miracles, Grandma is available to have her come over and show off her new dress! We head on over Grandma is also available to go to lunch with us! Can you believe how amazing this is working out? We head out....I suggest we go down to the south end of town to a mall we never go to there. Great idea! We get closer and Atira asks if she can show her new dress to her other Grandma! WELL OF COURSE!! (I could not have orchestrated this better, we were heading that way to pick her up and I did not have to blow my cover for one second! Can you believe this stuff?) I play it off...well, Grandma might not be home you know, but we will try. And again, Grandma is home! What a surprise! ;0) And to top it off, she was available to go to lunch too! hee hee....my plan is coming off very nicely, dontcha think?

We head out to the restaurant, enjoy a leisurely lunch, a little time in the toy store. (Where else does a girl go when she's all dolled up?) And back to the van for the finale portion of my secret plan! Oh, I could have cried here I was getting so excited!

We drive along...I ask Grandma J, do you know where we are going? She does...Atira looks, how do YOU know? Mom was just saying she has a plan rolling around in her head...but how do YOU know? Mwah ah ahaha!! I love it! Savoring the sweetness of this wonderful moment. We finally come around the corner to the building where we will be seeing the performance.....as we get closer Atira says, " I wish we could have seen Abby's ballet." I pull the van over in front of the hall, I point to the sign that says "Pacific Northwest Ballet", and ask "what does that sign say over there?"

(now you need a serious dramatic pause here, I will also wait while you get some kleenex OK?)

(ready?)

Atira: "Abby's ballet? Really?" And the tears started flowing....and along with them the most heartfelt and tender thank you's I think I have ever heard uttered.

She was truly surprised, she was touched deep inside by the love of her mom, dad and Grandparents who wanted to do this special event for her.

Of course, when her tears flowed, so did mine and of course both of her Grandma's as well. Kleenex was flying around that van as it sat on the side of the road in front of the hall. THAT was my favorite part of the whole night. My sweet girl, giving me sweet hugs and tears of joy and appreciation. It was....well, amazing.

On to the event:

As we were waiting for time tick away (we were only about an hour + early) we took a few pictures like these:




Around the time of these photos, I realized I should call my friend Denise or text her and let her know that we were on the grounds and hoping to see Abby during the intermission. (This was part of our ultimate plan of course!) As I pop open my so cute pink and silver phone, I realize to my UTTER horror, I no longer have her number because my old phone croaked and with it all my phone numbers! I could have screamed. Immediately I began by trying to wake up my brain to come up with a solution...ugh. I find one friend, call her, nope, she doesn't have her cell! ACK! Then, just like that little light bulb, a solution popped into my brain! TEENAGERS! That's it! Teenagers!! Oh yeah, they are always connected to some sort of social media, right? HALLELU YAH! I text my son, who is friends with Denise's daughter, it went something like this:

"Text Sierra and tell her mom to call or text me, I lost her phone number".

Pause 20 seconds while I wait ever so patiently for a response.

I flip my super cute pink and silver number open and start calling my son, WELL! WHERE IS SHE!? I don't know mom...was his response. Now is NOT the time to NOT KNOW!! (Well I didn't really say that last part, but I was thinking it!)

I decide to wait another 20 seconds ...and like a beam of sunshine streams through the clouds, here comes Denise and Abby running by the outside of the building. I, being all dressed lovely like and acting every part the lady, fling myself at the glass wall and start yelling "DENISE!!!. What a spectacle. Then there is Abby, pointing, running (or being dragged, I am not sure exactly, it was kind of a toss up). I fly out the doors and start chasing my friend down...who briefly slowed down, at least long enough to tell me they were late...so what do you do when you're all dressed up in Downtown? You chase after with your super cute pink shiny cell phone flipped open and start dialing in numbers as they are being flung at you so you can call later when things settle down. I hope Denise, you are still my friend after that fiasco. What a dork I am.

We (Atira and I...yes she was in tow, but I have no real recollection of that part, my focus was getting Denises number...good job mom.) went back in to get some photos with the Grandmas and here they are:




Shortly after this point who would walk by? Denises husband and kids. Ooops. I guess I could have stood there looking lovely (hee hee) instead of running around like a crazy mama screaming at people for phone numbers. Oh well....I got the job done! OH YEAH!


And of course we have to have our picture with Abby...she was amazing. I can't wait until the day we go and see her as SHE performs the part of Cinderella! Great job Abby!



Soon after this we headed for our seats...enjoyed the spectacular performance and even got a moment with Abby after the first act. It was truly an incredible and memorable evening. The ballet was beautiful, the company we shared it with was top notch and the whole day is one that will live long in all our hearts. Such a sweet day making memories together as family. God is so good.


Good night everyone!

Stylish Blogger Award

Rachel at Saved By Grace awarded me this Stylish Blogger Award. WOW! Blush...I am totally unprepared, I don't even have a speech prepared! Thanks Rachel that was so very sweet of you to think of me! And what timing, while I am in the middle of Modest Fashion Week! (Not that I really think of myself as all that fashionable..but I do enjoy clothes and shoes and accessories, after all I am a girl!)

The rules to follow for those receiving the Stylish Blogger Award are:

  1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you.
  2. Share 7 things about yourself.
  3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
  4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.
7 things about me:

  1. My number one thing to know about me is that I love serving the Lord and walking in His ways. It is an incredible journey and I am so thankful He has invited me to join Him on it.
  2. I never thought I would have kids as a young adult...let me clarify, I didn't WANT kids. Now here I am a full time, homeschooling mommy to two amazing children. I could NEVER imagine my life any other way!
  3. My favorite donut is a glazed old fashioned. If you are my friend, remember that, it may come in handy some day! ;0)
  4. I don't drink coffee...I only like to smell it.
  5. I drink a cup of green tea every morning! (Refer back to #4 and second half of #2, this woman needs some kind of go juice in the morning!)
  6. I love to dance. And I mean LOVE to dance. If things are bad or good and I start to dance before my King, they are always better. It's amazing.
  7. If it weren't for hamburgers, I could probably be a vegetarian. But I love me a good hamburger. Blazing Onion is probably top of my list these days. Y.U.M.

Now it's my turn!
The nominees for Stylish Blogger 2011 are:

(Dramatic Pause)

Well..I would have done Got Chai, but Rachel beat me to it. Drats.

A day in the Life too (this is one of my new faves, she's a crackup!)
Pilgrims Welcomed Home (A fellow crewmate from The Old Schoolhouse)
Bramblewood Fashion Super fun modest fashion blog.
Barretts 6 My sweet friend.

Ok, you are supposed to bless 15 blogs...I just don't have that many I frequent! Sorry folks, that is it!!

Keeping it Classy

Sorry, I know it is a bit harder to see our outfits...but we liked this shot of us together on the couch enjoying a book. Atira is wearing a FABULOUS tulle lavender skirt, with her NEW Pacific Northwest Ballet tshirt that says "Cinderella" across the front along with a gold slipper and beautiful artwork. She has over that a cropped purple sweater, white leggings and her cutsey argyle socks, also in lavender. I am casual mama today. Wearing my khaki skirt, brown leggings, pinkish quilted corduroy vest over a dark khaki long sleeve tshirt. What you can't see is my super cute bracelet of pink beads made by my amazingly talented daughter. Perhaps tomorrow we will get some close up shots of our outfits. OH! Who could forget our shoes!? Shoes are a girls best friend...or is that diamonds? Atira has her lovely black ballet slipper shoes and I have another pair of my favorites, my brown Clarks with a criss cross strap on them. So cute, uber comfy and I can trek everywhere in them!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Keeping it Classy

Well, this one is going to be relatively short but sweet. I will do an expanded post tomorrow when I am not totally exhausted. It was an incredible day, I will tell you that much. So, be watching for all the lovely details to come. For now, I wanted to get this quick post in. Atira and I decided to join in a fun little adventure I found on a fellow bloggers site: Bramblewood Fashion. Ashley has decided to start a Keeping it Classy, Modest fashion week. The whole idea is to take a picture of your super cute, super fashionable outfit each day for 7 days and post it to your blog! I thought this was a great idea and after talking it over with my love and very fashionable daughter, we decided to play along. So, here is our Day 1 of Modest Fashion Week:



Here we are, I love my little black dress. I found this great little purple T at the thrift shop and my boots are my favorites, go to kind of boots. They make every outfit look great. The purple tights, well they are just plain fun! You can't tell very well, but I am also wearing a black beret that has sparkles on it...super cute. My sweet girl is in her new polka dot dress, which was a total surprise to her, along with some darling black ballet flats. Her hair was very fun to do, a bit of a fountain pony tail in the back, and a lovely black ribbon was criss-crossed over her head, I wish you could tell in the picture, it really came out so beautiful.

I am so glad to have this time with my daughter, working to be fashionable and at the same time modest. I love the idea of being fashionable, fun AND modest! It can be done! Modesty does not equal frumpy and I want to enjoy fashion as well as impart a sense of modesty to my daughter. I am very much looking forward to this fashion week and sharing this neat experience with one of the most fashionable and modest girls I know, my sweet Atira. ♥