Life's Little Instructions~~

                                                                       Source: sueswink.tumblr.com via Brittany on Pinterest

Changing your Life via Dr Seuss {quotes}

                                                   Source: twentytwowords.com via Jody on Pinterest

Annoying Driving Habits and Distractions{infographic}

                                                                Source: google.com via Victory Buick GMC on Pinterest

Making Cinnamon Stick Santa's and more

Such cute little Santa's made from cinnamon sticks and other bark that you and the kids can easily make for your tree or to give away as gifts to family or friends. I found this craft idea via Herbology. along with several other cute ideas using cinnamon. 

How to Make Cinnamon Stick Santa's

Equipment: What you will need
Red craft paint
White craft paint
White puffy paint or fake snow paint
Black craft paint (I used a black Sharpie instead)
ribbon
craft glue

The process is easy enough.  Paint I wide band of red for the hat, followed by a smaller band of pink for the face.  I did not run the pink right around, preferring my face to just be in the front.  Once these two are COMPLETELY dry, you can add the eyes (and mouth if you like), and a long bushy beard.

You could try running the beard all the way down the quill, or you could paint a red ‘coat’ on as well.
I gave Santa a smile on the bigger cassia bark pieces, but left it out on the smaller quills.  No coats for my guys as I wanted the natural bark look.

To finish them off, add a blob of glue on the back or inside the top and attach a ribbon for hanging.  The colours stand out beautifully on the fresh evergreens.

I have been looking for this recipe for Cinnamon ornaments for a while and I found this great one on the Herbology site too. Love the smell of these! 

Recipe I used:

• 1 c. cinnamon
• 1 t. nutmeg
• 1 t. allspice
• 1 t. ground cloves
• 1 c. applesauce

Combine dry ingredients. Add applesauce a little at a time, mixing thoroughly. Roll out and cut shapes. Allow to dry 4-5 days. Or dry in a slow oven for 2 hours. Paint after completely dry.

Bloggers Day of Silence~~

Blogger Day of Silence and Support for #SandyHook

Important Announcement [Please Read]

My heart aches for all those families who lost their beloved children in Friday's shooting. It is just plain awful that we live in a world where a person could deliberately cut the life short of poor innocent children. It sickens me to no end and I just can't imagine what their parent's are feeling, but it breaks my heart to even think about it, so with that being said this blog will be participating in the blogger silence on December 18. Dedicate that day to being silent in honor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School and show our support to those families who lost a loved one on that horrific day.

____________________________________________________________________

To the Blog World and Anyone Else who Wants to Help,

Yesterday, tragedy struck so many of us in ways we did not foresee. An elementary school and small town in Connecticut was shattered by a mass shooting. We knew we wanted to help and we came up with this:

<img src="https://sites.google.com/site/megoblogdesign/files/sandyhooksupport.png" />

On Tuesday, December 18th, there will be a blogger day of silence. We will post the button and that's it. Please try to not post anything else that day if possible.

We are also raising money that will go to an organization in the memory of this tragedy. The organization is called The Newtown Family Youth and Family Services.

Here is the official description of the support service we are donating to:

"Newtown Youth and Family Services, Inc. is a licensed, non-profit, mental health clinic

and youth services bureau dedicated to helping children and families achieve their

highest potential. NYFS provides programs, services, activities, counseling, support

groups and education throughout the Greater Newtown area.

ANY DONATIONS MADE TO NEWTOWN YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES WILL BE DONATED DIRECTLY TO THOSE EFFECTED BY THE SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING."

Please visit THIS PAGE to make your donation.

We can't imagine how they must be feeling, especially this close to the holidays. We would love for you to spread the word on your own blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Let's make a difference and use blogging in a positive way.

Thank you in advance for participating.

Love,

The Blog World

P.S. If you would like to, copy-paste and repost any part of this, please do. Share on.

Source: xoxo, Breanna

My Beautiful, Crazy Life

Thank you for sharing 

Malted Hot Cocoa with Toasted Marshmallows

                                                                           Source: realsimple.com via Real on Pinterest

Credit to Real Simple

My family loves some warm and yummy hot cocoa, especially on these cold nights here lately in North Carolina, last night was down in the 20's. We attempted to go out and watch the Geminid meteor showers and about froze to death, coming back inside all I heard was "I want hot cocoa". Me too!! 
So today I saw this recipe and had to pin it and try it too. Hope you enjoy also.

Ingredients

• 1  serving hot cocoa mix (plus the ingredients called for in the package directions)
• 3  marshmallows
• 3  tablespoons  malted milk powder

Directions

1. Heat broiler (of oven or toaster oven).
2. Place the marshmallows on a foil-lined broiler-proof baking sheet and broil until just golden, about 30 seconds.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the hot cocoa mix according to the package directions.
4. Mix with the malted milk powder.
5. Top with the toasted marshmallows.

By Sara Quessenberry , January, 2011

Find more winter drinks here ( 9 Hot Drinks For Winter/Real Simple)

What Christmas Is All About...

Very Simple~ such a wonderful gift that we have been given Christ the Lord! Cherish your gift and share it with others always and everyday, in every way you can!

Healthy Breakfast Cookies

                                                        Source: madincrafts.com via Jamie on Pinterest

We are all so busy this time of year with the holidays coming up, I wanted a fast,healthy and yummy alternative to breakfast. This cookie is packed with delicious healthy and nutritious ingredients. Make them for the kids or yourself! Enjoy! Credit to Mad in Crafts for the recipe and photo!


HEALTHY BREAKFAST COOKIES
(adapted from Wise Bread)
3 mashed bananas 
1/3 cup apple sauce
2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup craisins 
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1 tsp vanilla
1 T cinnamon 
1 T sugar
Mix all ingredients together. Spoon the dough by teaspoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. 
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Cool and serve.  Leftovers can be frozen.

Christmas Book Lists For Teachers and Parents!

                                                               Source: teacherspayteachers.com via Letters from Santa on Pinterest

Find it here at Teacherspayteachers.com for free

FREE Christmas Book Lists for Teachers and Parents - Text List PDF file

This 10 page file contains 540 Christmas themed children's books ready for small ears!

Your free Christmas book list is suitable for students aged 2-9 years.

If you need a color, visual list, I have also made a 61 page file full of the same books:Christmas Book List (visual): 540 Christmas Books Teacher's Resourcehttp://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Book-List-visual-540-Christmas-Books-Teachers-Resource

 This file has be organized into lists that include:

Christmas Tales 
Santa 
Elves 
Snowmen 
Christmas Trees 
Reindeers 
Christmas Decorations 
Family 
The Christmas Story 
Religious 
Advent of Christmas 
Christmas Songs 
Christmas Rhymes and Poetry 
Snow 
Christmas Drama
Christmas Picture Books 
Christmas Craft 
Christmas Cooking 
Christmas Food 
Christmas Humour 
Christmas Mathematics 
Christmas Adventure
Christmas Magic 
Christmas Animals 
Christmas Book Characters 
Christmas TV/Movie Books 
The Twelve Days of Christmas 
The Night Before Christmas 
First Christmas 
Christmas History and Traditions 
Christmas Around the World 
Winter Christmas 
Summer Christmas 
The Christmas Spirit 
Christmas Toys 
More Christmas Books! 
Christmas Readers 
Christmas Big Books 
Christmas Author Study 1: Jan Brett book list
Christmas Author Study 2: Dr. Seuss book list
Even more Christmas Books


Designed by Clever Classroom, 2012.

Vintage Thanksgiving Greetings

I love these vintage postcards that were used to send Thanksgiving greetings to your friends and family, way before we sent emails, 
text messages and cards in the mail or e-cards ;)
The delight in a child's eyes was priceless when they received "mail" via the actual post office box or mail box. 
How many of you still send letters, cards and other mail via the actual postal service? How many of you love to get personal mail, I do still :) ? The artistry in these vintage cards is timeless.

                                                                       Source: flickr.com via Darla on Pinterest

                                                        Source: flickr.com via Darla on Pinterest

                                                      Source: flickr.com via Darla on Pinterest

                                                                  Source: thevintagemoth.blogspot.com via reprise on Pinterest

Thanksgiving Pages for Kids!

                                          Source: kidsactivitiesblog.com via Cathy on Pinterest

Lets be so thankful for sites like this one at http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/thanksgiving-coloring-pages/ that
will keep those kiddos busy this week and out of mom's hair as she cleans and prepares the house for Thanksgiving.

Printable Coloring Pages (all credit to Kids Activities Blog)

Download the free coloring pages:

1. Thanksgiving Placemat:  This black and white version of our Thanksgiving Placemat {see number 4 below for the color border version}.  It is sized to print onto legal-sized paper.  Click here to print:  Thanksgiving Black/White Placemat
2. Thanksgiving Placecards:  These cute placecards can be colored ahead of time for the adult table or used as entertainment to decorate at the kids’ table.  This is sized for standard paper size.  Click here to print:  Thanksgiving Placecard Printable
3. Thanksgiving Napkin Rings:  Color, cut and tape/glue these Thanksgiving napkin rings for table decor.  This is also sized for standard paper size.  Click here to print:  Thanksgiving Napkin Ring Printable
4. Thanksgiving Placemat with Color Border:  This is the version that is seen in the first picture of this post.  it is sized to print onto legal-sized paper.  Click here to print:  Thanksgiving Color Border Placemat

Happy creating!! 

Let's Get Hoppin' Blog Party

Go over and Hop with my friend Amy~

Rules 

Please follow my GFC & all other Social Links that you have.

Be kind and grab the Lets Get Hoppin' Social Party button and put in on your page so your readers can join in on the fun too. Please and thanks a bunch. Make sure you give credit so you don't miss out on the fun! 

Follows will be returned!! Please leave a comment that your following along with your bloggy url so the hop and follow can be returned! Visit other blogs, follow blogs you like, and gain followers; sounds easy enough.  Glad you stopped by.

Let's get Hoppin'!

Fascinating Facts Friday~~ The Human Body

                                                              Source: visual.ly via Theresa on Pinterest

How We Blog: Compare Platforms {infographic}

                                        Source: jeffbullas.com via Entrepreneuress Academy on Pinterest

Don't forget to order your Santa Letters!!

Naughty or Nice, Sugar or Spice?

Don't get caught on the Naughty List because you forgot to order customized Santa Letters for all your favorite kids!
I ordered mine last year from The Mommies Network and they were fabulous, love them, we even sent grandma one! She was so surprised and just loved it!
These are not just for kids, do you have any shut-ins at church? a grandparent in an assisted living home, or like ours a grandma that lives by herself now. A letter from Santa would just make their day!!

For just $6 for the first letter and 10% off for each thereafter, you can send the magic of Christmas to any child.  A unique letter that you personalize will arrive from North Pole Station in Alaska in time for Christmas.  Choose from a variety of themes including The Reason for the Season and School Days templates.  Each one is special- just like the children.

Please says Mr. Snuggles!

Act now before Santa gets too busy making toys and packing his sleigh!  Ordering is open through Tuesday, November 20.

No lumps of coal ! Come on mom they have been good, well maybe just a smidge................

Proceeds benefit The Mommies Network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a safe, secure, FREE place for mothers to find support and encouragement from other mothers and to empower them to be better women, mothers and community leaders.
Please help support this organization that is very near and dear to this mommy blogger's heart!



Find your free printable Naughty List over at Elephant Shoe Journal! 

                                                          Source: blog.elephantshoe.com via Joanna on Pinterest

Soothe your throat the Pine Brothers way!

Cough,cough, cough! Sniffle, sniffle , snort, snort.....

Hack, hack hack! Clear that sore throat once more?

Familiar tune? It has been at our house the last month or so, perfect timing when the box of Pine Brothers softish throat drops arrived on our doorstep! Hooray said myself and my husband! Something we can really use right now!

 

But what do they taste like....... Surprisingly wonderful! So good our entire family was into them and I had none left to giveaway! These throat drops are soft and soothing to your throat, even children like the taste and my kids said they really helped their dry scratchy throat symptoms. Even my picky daughter who actually had strep throat liked the honey flavored drops the best.

We are totally sold on these and are going to buy more! Flavors like honey (very soothing), cherry(my fav) and black licorice (my next choice) are all very good, no medicinal yuck taste.

The drops come in a "puck" or a bag and stay very fresh, never stale or dried out tasting.

Some history about this company and product is impressive:

Ulysses S. Grant was President, the population of America hovered at 39 million, and the telephone was still a pipe dream, when in 1870 J. Herman Pine hung out a confectionery shingle on 8th Street above Walnut in Philadelphia and, along with his brother, sold their first batch of what they called 'Pine Brothers Glycerine Tablets.' In an attempt to relieve his own sore throat and those of his family members, Mr. Pine, a former German confectionery maker, determined that by combining the soothing natural qualities of glycerin with the healing properties of gum acacia, he could sooth and mitigate the mild discomfort of a sore throat. Add in some natural flavoring and a sweetener and voila, Pine Brothers Softish Throat Drops were born. "I have discovered something," Pine wrote, "which will give quick throat relief to thousands afflicted as I was." He added,"Perhaps I won't make much money out of this. But I can make people happy, and that's more important than money." Mr. Pine was being unduly modest, as his "discovery" would become one of the most successful, most delicious and most unique throat lozenges in the world. Nor has the recipe changed appreciably since it was first introduced to the public over 140 years ago.

In 1930 Pine Brothers was sold to the Life Savers Company and continued to flourish. Known for its 'soft drop consistency,' Pine Brothers lozenges became a favorite of adults and children alike. The product, which attracted healthiest sales in the eastern and northern states, due to its icy winters, reached its peak popularity in the 1970's. The company was sold by Life Savers, and then, having been re-sold and acquired a number of times, found itself essentially rudderless and under appreciated; this despite a legion of loyal consumers. Cost cutting changes were made to the original recipes, packaging became stale and marketing non-existent; Pine Brothers began to be made overseas. Sales declined.

Recently, Pine Brothers was acquired by the creator and former owner of Airborne, Victoria Knight-McDowell, for her new company 3 Sisters Home Products™. Much time and effort has been spent locating the original Pine Brothers recipes, redesigning the packaging, and creating an exciting yet classic new look. The natural product is once again being made in America, and is launching nationally in fall 2011. At which time old Mr. Pine, will succeed once again in "making people happy." God bless him!

 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. 

Blog Buttons 101: A How To

How to Make a Button For Your Blog

My fabulous pal Amy at Consider Me Inspired  has been posting some great information for

the techno challenged bloggers out there (me included) and I would love to share what I
learned. 

Once again another code thing that took me a little bit to figure out. 

I wanted to have the blog button that had the code below.  

Simple and easy....just wait you will have a button made in no time.

Step 1:
Decide on the image you will be using and upload it to a photo editing program. 

Amy used Photoscape because it is awesome and it was free, I prefer my Photoshop Elements

Step 2:
Alter your image to an appropriate size that will fit on your sidebar.

Step 3:
Upload your button to Photobucket, ImageShack or some other photo storage
program that creates an HTML code that you can copy and paste.

Double check your photo size before you grab the direct link code.

Step 4:
Go to: http://www.mycoolrealm.com/sandbox/gbgen/ and follow the instructions.  

It doesn't save your code, just gives you an easy and effortless button experience. 

All you do is preview and if it looks the way you want it then copy the code.

Head on over to your Layout page in Blogger; click Add a gadget; 

pull up the HTML option and insert your code; move it where you want it.  

Preview your page before you save.

Here is my button created with the code box:

<div align="center"><a href="http://chipsofftheoldblock.blogspot.com/" title="Chips Off the Old Block" target="_blank"><img src="http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg121/blockmom/blog%20images/chipsofftheoldblockbutton.jpg" alt="Chips Off the Old Block" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

And here is Amy's button you can share ~~ you can click on the snippet of her button and it will take you to her blog, it's awesome!

That was super easy, Thanks Amy for the info and teaching me how!

Elfishki and the Unwelcome Guest iPad App review

Elfishki and the Unwelcome Guest

An iPad app for ages 6-9 available via the iTunes Store.

Brilliantly done graphics and stunning color! Keep the kids entranced with this cute story app.

Once upon a time, on the beautiful Rainbow Island in the middle of the Sparkling Sea lived magical little people called Elfishki.

Some of them could fly like butterflies and some could swim like mermaids. They shared the island with animals who could speak and trees who did not talk, but understood everything. All in all, this was a place where miracles happened every day.

One morning, an ice cream seller named Vince and his friend, a dragon named Brungildo, went to their garage for the freezer boxes. But they couldn't get inside. Vince kept putting his key into the keyhole, but it would just fall out—as if somebody pushed it back. Vince peeked into the keyhole and was dumbfounded—inside the lock was a tiny blue person with a tail...

On the iPad app you will find~

1. Original, not found anywhere else captivating texts, designed to develop your child’s conscious reading skills - according to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

2. Stunning interactive art, classic animation and videos.

3. Professional Audio Voice over of the story, so your child can listen along with the text.

4. THREE(3) Questions on every page of the book specifically designed to help your child analyze the text, boost their imagination and make predictions about the story.

5. A bonus game specifically designed to test your child's attention to detail - Help Jeanso Pack his Backpack.

For more information about more stories, please visit our website where you can find a list of fairy tales all based on our Elfishki characters.

I was totally in awe with this app, my daughters loved the animations and it kept there interest. It was educational and playful all rolled into one?

We will definitely be looking into more apps from this company to add to our homeschool iPad library.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Leslie~~

Gratitude and Thanksgiving Lessons

15 Activities for kids: teaching them gratitude and being thankful.

                                                                    Source: blog.memetales.com via Lusine on Pinterest

Check out the Book, ‘Being Thankful‘ on Memetales.  It is a book about gratitude and is completely illustrated by children from all over the world!  It is a great conversation starter to talk about gratitude with little kids. The book even has pictures of the kids who contributed their work.
Credit to the website blog.memetales.com for such cute ideas, to get all the directions for each project, visit the blog here 


Follow my blog with Bloglovin