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Elephant Fuzz, Building Bugs, Poodle Skirts and Moon Day; A Week In Review

Published on July 16, 2018December 29, 2018 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place BlogLeave a comment

We have had quite the week again. Fun and crazy as usual. Keep reading to find out about some of our many adventures here in the little house on the pond. We have included affiliate links to some of the products mentioned in this post. These help to support our blog.

Monday

Elephant fuzz here, elephant fuzz there, elephant fuzz everywhere… sounds a bit like a children’s book, doesn’t it? So what is elephant fuzz? I asked the same thing when I first saw this all over the house:

The kids were quick to reply that it was ‘elephant fuzz’…. ok, but where did it come from? Here is the answer:

It appears that this little pillow has a hole and is leaking elephant fuzz… lol… kids come up with the darnedest things don’t they? Well, I got the hole taken care of and hopefully that’ll be the end of the elephant fuzz.

Afterwards we made some Haystack Cookies or Noodle Cookies as Mr. Awesome calls them. The kids have been eating them up!

That afternoon Jacob put his Kids Cook Real Food skills to work while helping me make a salad to go with our Red & White Pasta.

Monday our regular club dance was ‘dark’ to support a reunion dance that was being held locally. Here is a short video from the event:

We had a good time and got to see old friends plus we made some new ones while we were there. Afterwards we ate at Texas Roadhouse and an exceptional server named Terrence.

Tuesday

I got a call from the Florida Gardiner Scholarship telling me about a glitch in the system which had caused some of my orders to be denied… this meant I had to go back into the system and resubmit the orders… oh what fun!

I also figured out that I can ‘Air Drop’ pictures from my phone to my tablet… this makes life so much easier!

The kids are loving their new routine chart:

I am working on ordering some different magnets because the stars don’t stick very well. I may also paint or paper the board. There will be a post about this sometime in the future.

We read a chapter from the Laura Ingalls Wilder biography before bed and had a short discussion about the things we learned from the chapter. The kids are super excited about the new school year.

They were also very happy that I had ordered more of their favorite toothpaste:

We all love the lemon flavor and I love the fact that it works so great! I always buy the triple pack and the first time I ordered I bought the multipack so we could try out all the flavors. The kids didn’t care for the peppermint or cinnamon as they thought they was too spicy. Some of us older folks liked the wintergreen flavor but lemon was the majority vote.

I actually found a little time on Tuesday to paint my nails too! Mommas need a little bit of pampering from time to time. 😊

Wednesday

Wednesday morning we changed our breakfast routine a bit. Instead of Muffins the kids had a bowl of fresh fruit and a cup of yogurt.

I’m really loving this new fruit bowl I got earlier this month. It is so much bigger than the one we had, plus it’s not as fragile. The banana holder is a great feature as well. It keeps the kids from dragging out and bruising all of the bananas just to find the ‘perfect’ apple.

While cleaning the bathroom I got a call from Walgreens …. NOT… it was a telemarketer call disguised as a local business. I HATE these kind of calls. They wanted to help me with my interest rate on a card they knew nothing about.

After politely asking a strongly accented Chris Sawyers to remove me from the list I had to threaten to report them to the authorities for FRAUD. He asked me to hold online while he removed me from the list. I did hold, with the phone muted and the receiver set on the shelf, and an hour later I was still on hold… haha Mr. Sawyers from card services you’ve won a mention on my blog. Congrats!

After our morning chores were finished we played one of the new games that we’ve gotten:

Bugs Building is similar to the once popular Jenga game. They had a lot of fun playing the game but then we had some major midweek meltdowns!

Luckily I still had a hidden stash of FREE chocolates…

Thursday

Hmmm… Thursday was a kinda gloomy day, very rainy and windy too. We didn’t get our laundry done because of the weather but it got finished up on Friday. We were also without power for a little while that morning.

The kids made the best of no electricity and played some board games. I think they thought they were getting out of chores but everyone had to help finish up the chores when the power came back on. Then it was time for some lunch which was Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

After I got the kids down for quiet time I got this text message from Mr. Awesome:

Oh boy do I love these kind of messages. I dug my outfit out of the closet and got to work on making some dinner. I had planned to make Spaghetti but opted for Sloppy Joes when I realized I didn’t have any noodles.

Unfortunately I didn’t get any pics of the Pink Cadillac Dance or our super cute outfits because my phone was acting up again.

Friday

Friday was Moon Day and we celebrated with some Moon Pies for an afternoon snack. That morning we finished up the laundry for the week and caught up on few things that needed done around the house.

After paying a couple of bills I went ahead and renewed our ABC Mouse that the kids have been begging for. They wasted no time getting on their and taking care of their virtual pets. Joey also made sure to update his avatar:

Those glasses look almost like his and they are just too cute!

That afternoon I went to make some our favorite Cream Cheese Chicken with Rice and Green Beans only to realize I didn’t have any cream of chicken soup… I don’t know what happened when I went grocery shopping last week but I guess I didn’t do a good job. I did finish dinner and it was really good with the substitutions I made so I’ll try to get that updated recipe posted soon.

That evening we went to the square dance. Again I didn’t get any pics because my phone died but I did get that video finished. I’ll have it at the end of the post.

Saturday

I had planned to get the porch cleaned up a bit but the constant thunderstorms kept us inside. The morning was spent tidying up around the house and then we went out to eat at Golden Corral. It wasn’t the best experience and we probably won’t visit that location again but the kids enjoyed it.

After eating we headed to the movies to watch the new Ant Man movie. It was pretty good and everyone had a great time. All in all it was a good week and we are really looking forward to a great time in the upcoming week.

This week I plan to get some of the lessons entered into the Homeschool Manager app and also set a date for us to start school. I will also be working on a couple of more promo videos for square dancing as many clubs will be starting classes in September.

As far as cleaning the FlyLady missions will be in the Master Bedroom this week. I just need to do a tidying up in there so I’m not really sure how much I will get done in there. I would really like to get the porch cleaned off and have some usable space out there but the weather hasn’t been cooperating.

What are your goals for the upcoming week?

Below are some other things that we’ve done this past week and that video we put out for square dancing.

Other books we’ve read this week were:

Be A Good Dragon is a cute book about a dragon with a cold.

Yum! A Preston Pig Story is a variation of the ‘Three Little Pigs’ that kids enjoyed.

We got lots of goodies in the mail this week:

I was really excited to get these books and hopefully the kids will get to use them some this weekend.

Dr. Seuss Read-Along Set

This week I also posted these posts here (which may have affiliate links to some of the products above):

We are looking forward to a new week with lots of new surprises. So far we have these activities planned.

Upcoming Events/Holidays:

AMELIA EARHART DAY July 24

AUNT AND UNCLE DAY July 26

Here is that video I promised:

Becoming Debt Free One Bill At A Time

Published on July 13, 2018July 11, 2018 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog1 Comment

As I’ve mentioned before I am working on paying off some of my hospital bills from February. I had been so sick with a kidney infection and had to go to the hospital a couple of times. Needless to say that without insurance these trips got very expensive.

However I am please to report that this week I have finally paid off the final bill that I’ve received. Yay! What a relief!I have also been looking at Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps and plan to start working on Step #1 which is to save $1,000 for an emergency fund. I did have this saved earlier this year but due to hospital bills and other unforeseen circumstances this has since been depleted.

There are so many different ways to save even when on a budget and if you check out my Pinterest Board Momma: Be Debt Free you can check out some different ideas there. I haven’t made a set plan yet but I’ve put $25.00 back in the pot as start towards that $1,000. I’m hoping to reach this goal by the end of the year.

I’ll be posting a new post about the second step soon!This post does contain affiliate links which help to support our blog.

Amazon Promo Codes: July 2018

Published on July 7, 2018July 6, 2018 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place BlogLeave a comment

**This post does contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission for any purchases made through these links. These links help to support our blog.

Here is an exclusive list of the latest and hottest deals I’ve found on Amazon. Be sure to check them out soon as they may not last long! (For a full list of coupons and deals click here.)

Also check out these great deals here:

Have a great weekend and Happy Savings!

The Little House On The Prairie Debate

Published on July 3, 2018June 29, 2018 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog4 Comments

I just couldn’t believe what I saw on Facebook the other day. It was quite a shock to read that the American Association for Library Services to Children announced that its prestigious Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, which has been around since 1954, will now be known as the Children’s Literature Legacy Award.

According to the Washington Post it says that they voted to remove her name from the award because of a passage in the opening chapter of ‘Little House on the Prairie’. Yes, times were different back then but I feel that we can use these as teaching moments. I mean we don’t have the power to go back and change history but we can use lessons from the past to better our futures. Or if we choose not to use these as important lessons we can always skip over the questionable parts and not even read them to the children.

I’m not saying anyone is wrong for feeling the way they do as we are all entitled to our own opinions. I also know that some more take offense to things more easily than others. I really do believe that none of this was written to intentionally cause harm to anyone though. It was just a different time and a different way of life. These were my favorite books as a child and I have them on my bookshelves right now. I have no plans to remove them or stop my kids from reading them either.

You can read more about this debate in these articles here:

If you don’t have these books but would like to get them you can find them here or you can get the DVDs here. We are currently reading Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography which my kids and I are really enjoying.

**This post does contain affiliate links.

10 Tips For Water Safety

Published on July 2, 2018June 29, 2018 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place BlogLeave a comment

It’s officially summer! It’s hot and has been for the past couple of months here in Florida. This means many of us are seeking some cool comfort in the water. Our kids have been learning to swim this summer and they have had plenty of chances to practice our water safety guidelines.

We’ve also been out on the boats a couple of times which can be a bit scary with youngsters but we make sure they understand the rules, and the importance of following the rules, BEFORE they get in or near the water. With so many reports of dry drownings and accidental drownings I wanted to share some of our water safety tips.

NEVER go near the water without an Adult’s permission!
ALWAYS wear your life jacket!
NEVER swim alone or unattended.
ALWAYS get out of the water when you see lightning.
NEVER roughhouse, push, or run around the water.
ALWAYS call for help if you get scared.
NEVER dive or jump in without checking with an adult.
ALWAYS follow the adult’s instructions.
NEVER use the water as a potty.
ALWAYS practice good manners and common courtesy.

While we don’t have a pool we do live on a pond. I’d love to make a sign similar to this one to display our rules. If I do come up with something I’ll update this post. Also remember when choosing a life jacket that you get one specifically designed for your child’s weight. We like to use the ones with the ‘butt-strap’ as my kids call it. It helps to prevent them from slipping out. We like these here and here.

We always make sure to keep a close eye on the kids while swimming and an adult is always within arm’s reach of any child. I read somewhere where a doctor said that most of the drownings he had seen had happened because of a distracted adult! Many times at group gatherings drownings occur because everyone thinks that someone is watching the kids. I try to keep this from happening by making sure everyone knows that they are responsible for their child’s safety.

Have fun and be safe! Remember to wear your sunscreen and bug spray while outside too! Our favorites are the Mineral Sunscreen Spray from Honest and the Babyganics Insect Repellent from Grove Collaborative.

I also posted links to my favorite girl’s swimsuits in this post here, if you are interested.

**This post does contain affiliate links.