Weekend Reading: June 2, 2012

June 2, 2012
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This drawer was full…and then I cleaned out everything that contained refined sugar or natural sweeteners. The refined stuff went to my mom’s house, while the natural stuff is getting packed away until the end of June. It’s the first of my weekend tasks as I prepare for the start of the Break the Sugar [...]

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Dear Readers… + Desktop Calendar {June 2012}

June 1, 2012
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To download the calendar above to use as your desktop wallpaper, simply click the image (or this link: June Desktop Calendar). Then, open the picture, right click and choose Set as desktop background. Dear Readers… Have you noticed the changes around here? Several of the channels have new headers and color schemes, and we’re just [...]

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Break the Sugar Habit Challenge {Get Ready, Get Set…Go!}

June 1, 2012
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The Break the Sugar Habit Challenge doesn’t officially start until Monday, but the hard work begins this weekend! To prepare yourself for success, I recommend taking some time to walk through these steps ahead of time: Decide how your family will participate in the challenge. Will you be eliminating all sweeteners? Just refined sugar? Are [...]

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Art Appreciation for Kids {and the Don’t Touch Rules}

May 31, 2012
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On a recent vacation with my family, we decided to take the kids to visit the local art museum.  For some reason, the boys didn’t want to go (despite enjoying museum visits in the past) and said it would be “boring.” Nevertheless, we went to the museum, and sure enough the kids’ interest was captured [...]

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Strategies to Avoid Pre-Vacation Stress

May 31, 2012
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Before I share my pre-vacation strategies with you, I have a confession. The night before we left for our recent beach vacation, I posted this on Facebook: “It never fails…no matter how I try to plan ahead, I end up wishing we were NOT going on vacation the night before vacation. Thankful that tomorrow we’ll [...]

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For the Love of Coffee {Overnight Iced Latte Recipe}

May 31, 2012
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I’ve always enjoyed a cold frappuccino or a seasonal pumpkin spice latte, but it’s only been in the last two years, since our youngest daughter was born, that I’ve really fallen in love with coffee as a whole. What started out as my lifeline through more than 18 months of sleep issues has become one [...]

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Our Homeschooling Philosophy {And How It’s Changed}

May 30, 2012
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While I’ve talked to many homeschool moms who never imagined themselves as homeschoolers, I’ve pretty much always wanted to homeschool my kids, from the time I was 16 or 17 years old. My Educational Experiences I actually grew up in what was quite possibly the best school situation ever. I attended Montessori Children’s House in [...]

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Vitacost: FREE Shipping + Hot Deal on Coconut Oil

May 30, 2012
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Great news! The Vitacost free shipping offer is back. Get FREE shipping when you spend $25 or more on Vitacost brand products between now and 6/1/12. Here are two scenarios to save an additional $10 on your order, one for new customers and one for existing customers: New Vitacost customers can get a $10 credit, [...]

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More Reasons to Give Up Sugar {Break the Sugar Habit Challenge}

May 30, 2012
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Earlier this week I shared some of my reasons for giving up sugar this month. Today, I want to share with you some of the research I’ve done on the effects of sugar on our body so that you can learn more and make your own decisions. There’s a lot here, so I recommend starting [...]

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On My Bookshelf {April & May 2012}

May 29, 2012
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Can I be honest? I’m in a bit of a reading slump. I’ve read so many really, really good books over the past year, both fiction — The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Giver, Graceling, Yellow Crocus — and non-fiction — Grace for the Good Girl, 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, In Defense of Food– [...]

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Giveaway: $100 AmEx Gift Card from Apartment Guide

May 29, 2012
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How would you use an extra $100 around your home? Would you organize clutter hot spots? Add storage to unused space? Or maybe buy something to express your style, whatever that may be. Apartment Guide wants to help you make the most of your space while living on a budget, and they share tons of [...]

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Natural Sinus Infection Remedies

May 29, 2012
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At the beginning of April, our family was hit hard with a virus that seemed to be going around our area. After two weeks of ups and downs — with fevers, chills, coughs, stuffy noses, viral conjuctivitis and more, I was pretty much done for already…and then I woke up one morning with a sinus [...]

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10 Questions to Help You Overcome Inertia

May 29, 2012
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You write it down as a New Year’s resolution. You tell yourself that this year will be different. You promise yourself that you’ll finally get started on that project you’ve been putting off for far too long. But as the year goes by, it starts to look as though it isn’t going to be any [...]

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101 MORE Ways to Embrace Summer

May 28, 2012
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Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer — pools are opened, grills are uncovered and sprinklers are set up in the backyard.I’m ready for summer and all that it brings, but we’re working hard to be intentional about our summer as a time to make memories with the girls and get refreshed! Last year [...]

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Why No Sugar? {Break the Sugar Habit Challenge}

May 28, 2012
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Last week I announced that we’ll be doing a Break the Sugar Habit Challenge in June. I’d love for you all to join me, and some of you have already said that you’re in (either enthusiastically or somewhat reluctantly, both of which I’ve experienced myself since deciding to do this challenge!), but I’m sure some [...]

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Amazon Deals: Kindle Freebies, Diaper Deals + More

May 27, 2012
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My mom and are having a lot of fun sharing the best Amazon.com deals over at our new site, Jungle Deals & Steals. In case you missed them, here are some of this week’s hottest deals that are still available! {Click here for the full list of current deals.} Kindle See the latest FREE Kindle [...]

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