Maddy Goes To Vegas!

Today is a special day for our family. My sweet niece Maddy has been given an amazing, one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She's a beautiful little girl with Ataxia, seizures, global delays and she doesn't talk. My SIL and I have set up a blog for our family and friends to take a glimpse into her life and if at all possible, help her get to Vegas!

Here's the link to her blog. Maddy Goes To Vegas! If anything, just read her story. Maybe you have a similar story or know of someone that is dealing with the same thing. Either way, Maddie needs love and support and a little bit of cha-ching to get her to Vegas!!

Confessions of an Ex-Scrapbooker #36 - Summer of Sleuthing

Now that I've got extra time on my hands I've become addicted to Family History...It's one of the most exciting things I've EVER done! And I've done some exciting things...Anyway, I had to share this with you guys because there is a great program from the Family History Library has sponsored call "Summer of Sleuthing".

Are you looking for a fun activity to keep your children occupied this summer? Would you like to learn more about your family? Do you need a kick start to organize your family records?

Welcome to the Family History Library’s “Summer of Sleuthing—Save Our Ancestors” (SOS) program. This online summer program will teach you and your family how family history can be fun, informative, and rewarding. With a series of weekly challenges, you and your family can participate in activities that will help you to learn more about yourselves and your ancestors. Take time this summer to discover the roots of your family tree and explore the branches. These activities can give your family a connection to the past, an identity for the present, and a foundation for future success. We encourage you and your family to help each other complete the Summer of Sleuthing challenges. The challenges are tailored for age groups.

Click here to go to the website. They have an entire list of activities for all ages so everyone in the family can take part in this exciting summer challenge.

The program says, "As part of the challenges, you are encouraged to keep a journal of your experiences and create memories together as a family. You are welcome to share this activity with other families as well. We hope that this experience will bring your family closer together and that you will gain an appreciation for the lasting treasures to be found in family history work."

This is a great activity the entire family can enjoy and it's so rewarding. Take the time to go check it out and learn how to connect with your family.

Enjoy and PLEASE keep me posted on your experience and success!!

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Being an Ex-Scrapbooker has freed up so much of my time...and money...I love all of my new hobbies and crafts and I love sharing them with you....so I'm excited to announce the winner of last week's CoaExS giveaway!! Here's what the winner is getting...

And the winner is JESSIE!! Over at Muthering Heights!! I'll be dropping you an email to get your address and mail you out your prize!!

Storytime ♥ For 2-5 Year Olds

Guest Blogger Heidi Rosenberg from Barefoot Books

Now the fun is really starting to happen. Children still love old favorites but now you can start reading stories with more words. Classic stories will start to kick in. You know the ones you remember as a child. The 3 billy goats, Jack and the beanstalk, The House that Jack built.

You'll probably still need to keep reading time to less than 20 minutes at a time or your child will get bored. You need to vary what you are doing. Sing songs, pick one or two short books. Books to go along with songs is a great way to reinforce the concepts. Important concepts with songs are numbers. I bet you could name quite a few songs with numbers. Barefoot Books has a variety of books with music CDs (many on sale throughout July) and numbers such as Knick Knack Paddywack(on sale in July), Farmyard Jamboree is a great book combining counting in twos with learning about baby animals.

By this age 2 or 3 you may want to introduce paperback books to your child, depending on your child. Remember each child is an individual some will have longer attention spans then others.

Think of a typical library story time. They usually start by having familiar short songs, read a
story, another short song with actions, another story maybe using a felt board and more action songs. The more fun you can make reading now, the more they will appreciate books as they grow.

Another way to make books more enjoyable for young children is to introduce an activity to go along with it. Maybe you have appropriate puppets or stuffed toys so you can bring the story live using them. Alternatively you could invent an activity to go along with the stories. This could be some kind of related craft or if its a color story maybe have different colored objects that they need to group. The possibilities are endless. Some books you can actually buy matching jigsaw
puzzles too. If you have a book about the world perhaps you could bring out a map or a globe.

If you would like to buy any Barefoot Books please visit my online store http://heidirosenberg.barefootbooks.com/ and use special offer code SCSHTE for an additional 10% discount.
July is an exciting month for offers on our books with music.

Thank you Heidi for another great post! If you have any questions or would like to contact Heidi about making a purchase you can email her at barefootbooksus@yahoo.com.

Wordless Wednesday - Community Fork?

Does your family savagely destroy a cake with a community fork? I think we're part animal...That doesn't even look like a cake! What on earth do we do to these innocent desserts....

For more Wordless Wednesday visit www.5minutesformom.com

4th of July Traditions!

A Colorful 4th of July!

I love the 4th of July! It's another event on "my list" that brings out that warm fuzzy little kid excitement in me. There are 1000's of fun 4th of July Family Traditions! Here is one my favorites that we do every year....

We buy a few very large boxes of sidewalk chalk and each of our kids, usually the neighbor kids too, and any cousins or family that happens to be visiting draw HUGE brightly colored sidewalk murals. Up and down the sidewalk in front of our house, up the large driveway and anywhere they can find a piece of cement, they scrambled to draw, color, and create beautiful sidewalk masterpieces.

It's so much fun to see each little square of sidewalk colored so differently and the creative ideas that they come up with! Plus we always end up with a few squares saved for a game of hopscotch too.

Here a few other favorites!

• Homemade ice cream
• Matching 4th of July outfits for the little ones
• The famous berry Fourth of July cake
• Picnics & BBQ's
• "I Love My Country Because....." finish the sentence
• Declaration of Independence 101 (Educate your family)
• Crafts and Projects for decorating and eating (FamilyFun.com)
• And of course.......THE FIREWORKS!!!

Family Yearbook Challenge 2009 - Week 20

If you're new to the Family Yearbook Challenge click HERE & then HERE

Don't forget to leave a comment and check in...I'm keeping track of all the comments posted in the Family YB Challenge for a big giveaway at the end of the year....so go back and check in each of the FYBC posts if you haven't done so.

Homework June 29-July 5:

1. How do you celebrate the 4th of July? Describe your family's annual traditions and celebrations. Do spend it with your friends, family, neighbors? Tell about the activities. Do you watch fireworks? Where?

2. Ask your children and/or family members about Freedom - Interview people in your family and ask them what freedom means to them. Ask them to tell you about a 4th of July from the past and their favorite memories and traditions.

Now COPY and paste any photos that you have that go with these events and questions into a new folder titled June. If you'd like to rename the photos you can with july 1, july 2, july 3 and so on and so on. If you have any memorabilia that is NOT digital, scan and save as a jpg. minimum 300 dpi to your May folder, named and labeled. If you have a "story" you can hand write it or "type" it into a document and save in the same folder.

"Patriotism is like charity — it begins at home."

~ James Henry

Confessions of an Ex-Scrapbooker #35 - It's a Giveaway! I ♥ Vinyl Lettering!

I ♥ Vinyl Lettering. I do.

I'm just going to come right out and admit it. I don't care if it's a fad or if it's a tacky. I don't care. I think vinyl is cool. So I made you something... Well, I made ONE of you something. ;o) I made myself one....and then I made one for you...

SO EASY to make too! Well, my friend has one of those cool Cricut doohickey things. Awesome little machine....she uses it for card making and such....she's an "EX" too. ;o) You likey?? Well, if you want one of my homemade-vinyl-lettering-picture-frame-decor-things, you've come to the right place!

It's a giveaway!

Here's how to enter this giveaway!

• For one entry go to my Cherish Bound store by clicking HERE. Visit the Story Starters (list on top left) and tell me what story you would love to capture and share. Oh and notice the sale I'm having this weekend! Leave your email if you don't have a blog profile or I will pick another winner (i'm saying it nicely)
• For a second entry follow my blog. If you already do, great. Just leave a separate comment.
• For a third entry Tweet about it and leave your link

US entries only. Giveaway ends on Thursday, July 2 @ 11:59pm. Winner will be announced next Friday. Please leave your email if you don't have a blog profile with your email listed. Winner will be picked by random.org

One more thing... EVERYTHING in my Cherish Bound Story Store is 20% off!!! Don't forget to check it out! ;o) okay...I'm done.

Wordless Wednesday - Beach Bliss

For more Wordless Wednesday visit www.5minutesformom.com

Family Yearbook Challenge 2009 - Week 19

If you're new to the Family Yearbook Challenge click HERE & then HERE

Don't forget to leave a comment and check in...I'm keeping track of all the comments posted in the Family YB Challenge for a big giveaway at the end of the year....so go back and check in each of the FYBC posts if you haven't done so.

Homework June 22-28:

1. Celebrations, Carnivals, Fairs, Annual Events - Do you have any in your town? Do you attend as a family? Tell about your local events that bring your community and family together. Did you eat some yummy food? Participate in a contest or event? Was there a parade?

2. Summer Days - Tell about your favorite summertime food and treats. Take pictures and find the recipes. Do you have any special food that you take on picnics or to family BBQ's? Take some more pictures and round up the recipes.

Now COPY and paste any photos that you have that go with these events and questions into a new folder titled June. If you'd like to rename the photos you can with june 1, june 2, june 3 and so on and so on. If you have any memorabilia that is NOT digital, scan and save as a jpg. minimum 300 dpi to your May folder, named and labeled. If you have a "story" you can hand write it or "type" it into a document and save in the same folder.

If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance.

- Bern Williams

Wordless Wednesday

Build up to a tantrum...

For more Wordless Wednesday visit www.5minutesformom.com