Archive for the ‘Review’ Category

You can also read my review of bloomers from Jumpin Bloomers.

Jewel says she’s Mary from Little House on the Prairie, in her Old Country Nightgown and matching Granny Cap.

She was so excited by these when the package arrived, she begged me to wash them right away so that she could wear them to bed that same night.

The nightgown and cap are both well-made, and adorable!

They aren’t a set, per se, so I might have made different choices about the placement (or not) of lace to make them more “match-y”.

I am a little concerned about the neck opening. There is no closure (opening with a button, etc.), it’s just slip-on. But without making it immodestly large, and since the fabric is not stretchy… Jewel can barely get it on right now, and it won’t take much to make it unusable.

She also got the adorable Zoe Nightgown in pink flannel.

Somewhat longer than the Old Country, and in the flannel, this is a very nice, cozy gown for winter (although personally I’d wish for a full-length sleeve option).

This has very cute lace trim, and actually would have been a better match for the Granny Cap, if the fabric had been done that way.

The neck opening is the same design, so the same problem is possible. In this particular case it seems a bit bigger, so at the moment it’s not an issue.

Although Jewel still likes her “footies” on cold nights, she’s becoming more and more aware of being a young lady, and really likes having gowns to wear even at bedtime. Since she’s still a little wiggly in her sleep (and so gets cold), as well as a little wild when playing (and so is not always discreet), she wears “nighttime bloomers” with her gowns. I took the leg elastic out of some comfortably loose bloomers, making them non-binding.

Don’t forget – you’ll find Jumpin’ Bloomers, and many other great resources, listed on the Modest Clothing Links page!

Want one? Want a coupon for one?

April at Jumpin’ Bloomers is offering a 20% Off Any One Nightgown coupon to a lucky As For My House reader.

Just visit her Nightgowns page, and leave a comment telling me which is your favorite. I’ll draw a winner on Saturday, November 5th. The coupon will be good until the end of November.

No “bonus entries” for this little quickie, but all the other Giveaway Policies apply.

** COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED **

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I ran across the recipe for Whole Wheat Honey Oatmeal Bread at Hallee the Homemaker’s blog. (That’s her photo)

This is the most delicious bread EVER!

It didn’t rise as much as I anticipated, and was pretty dense, but I’m not sure what I did wrong.

It didn’t seem as gooey as hers did before adding the last incremental flour (go read her post, and look at the thorough photo documentation of the process), but it’s hard to tell exactly.

I wondered about mixing the yeast into the flour, rather than the way I’m used to where, even if you don’t actually “proof” it, you put the yeast and warm water in, together, first – doesn’t that help kick-start the process.

Also, most whole wheat recipes seem to use dough conditioners – wheat gluten, or vinegar, or both. Of course this recipe has eggs, which my others have not, which changes the picture entirely.

So, the long and short of it is… I have no idea!

I guess the only thing to do is to make it again and see if I get the same result. This will eliminate the likelihood of my error, or a pure fluke, before I feel the need to start messing around with a tried and proven recipe.

Because I will be making it again.

Did I mention that it is the yummiest bread ever?!

Are there a lot more wonderful clothing sites out there than there used to be, or I have just been blessed with running across more of them lately?

Anyhow, I’d like to introduce you to Ringger Clothing, a family-run business that I have somehow missed since they moved online in 2003 (they started from home in 1987!). That’s their beautiful family in the photo.

They ran a special over the summer for a “we pick the fabric” pair of A-line skirts, which I decided to take advantage of for Jewel.

Of course we added pockets for Miss Hankie, and they were happy to customize for her tall, skinny measurements. They were also wonderful about allowing us to have input into the colors / patterns we’d like, from the pieces they had available for this promotion.

Here’s Jewel, replacing a lost statue on the grounds at Beauvoir, wearing one of the lovely skirts we received.

We were delighted with the skirts, and especially delighted with the service. I would not hesitate to recommend Ringger for all your modest clothing needs.

One thing you definitely need to do is head over to the Ringger Clothing website, and sign up for their newsletter. That way you’ll hear about all the great sales and specials that come along!

AND … Amy of Ringger Clothing would like to offer some specials just for you, the faithful As For My House readers!

Through the end of November, you can take advantage of these great offers. And naturally, knowing how I am about them, she included POCKETS!

• Order any ladies or plus size skirt and get free pockets or a free ruffle on it.
• Order any TWO girls skirts and get free pockets or a free ruffle on one of them.

To take advantage of these, place your order through the website for the “basic” skirt(s), then send them an email to Amy (ringgerclothing (at) gmail.com) with your “upgrade” request, mentioning that you saw the offer on As For My House.

• Also, you can visit their Unique and Preowned page and choose a free item worth $20 or less if you place any order on the website (from that page, or custom made) over $75. This deal is only good until Nov. 7, 2011.

Don’t forget – you’ll find Ringger Clothing, and many other great resources, listed on the Modest Clothing Links page!

(This is not a sponsored post)

I’d like to introduce you to a wonderful new modest clothing site I found: Far Above Rubies.

I have worn both my denim skirt AND my denim jumper literally beyond frayed edges, and Jewel and I are supposed to wear denim bottoms for our Keepers at Home club “uniform” to the meetings. So I ordered an A-line Cargo Skirt.

This elastic waist a-line skirt has cargo pockets on each side. It comes in twill or denim. 100 % cotton / poly cotton fabrics. Machine wash – tumble dry. Great for everyday wear. Comes in sizes XS through XL. Lengths are 34 or 37 inches. Also available in Plus and Girls Sizes.

Mine is a very cute denim pinstripe that doesn’t seem to be listed on the site anymore. (And might be pushing it a bit for the Keepers “uniform”, but so be it!) 37″ is my usual length, so their intended “long” skirt is perfect for me.

The charming and helpful proprietor, Ginny, assures me, however, that they can make any adjustments needed to the garment (within the possibilities of the design) – adding length, adding pockets (since you know I asked that!), etc. Although the website can give the impression of ready-to-wear, in-stock clothes, they are actually a family business doing things to order.

Apparently my measuring went awry, and the waist is still too big, so I need to tighten the elastic up a little bit before I can wear it. But I wanted to tell you how excited I am about the skirt, which is well-made and lovely.

Don’t forget – you’ll find Far Above Rubies, and many other great resources, listed on the Modest Clothing Links page!

(This is not a sponsored post)

While searching for family-friendly fare to watch on “Friday Night Pizza and a Movie”, we ran across this Christian film we had never heard of. It’s not a big-budget Hollywood production – which naturally has its up side and it’s down side.

But, it’s a GREAT movie! GREAT!

Nick has actually written up a great review of it over on his blog, so I’m going to ask you to step over to The Bookwyrm’s Den to read about it…

Most of you probably have heard of these by now, but I thought I’d toss them out there in case anyone isn’t using them yet.

There are a number of ways to save money while making the purchases you were planning to make anyway. You just click through to one of these sites, search for the place you want to shop, then click their link to go there – while they track your purchase and give you a rebate.

It may only be a few cents here and there. It doesn’t sounds like a lot, especially if you’re like me and don’t shop for a lot of “consumer goods”. But it does add up over time. So, since none of these cost anything, why would you NOT want to get a little something back?

Shop At Home

Shop At Home is the site I use most – it just seems to overlap best with where I shop online.

It’s free, of course, plus you get a $5 bonus if you make your first purchase through them within 60 days of joining.

EBates

EBates also sometimes runs a ‘$5 bonus with your first purchase’ type offer, but they do not seem to be doing so right now.

If you have the time and patience, you should always check both ShopAtHome and EBates – there are some stores that are on one but not the other, and some stores that are on both sites but with differing rebate percentages.

UPromise

There are two ways to use UPromise:

1. You can sign up to register a UPromise account for your child. Then shopping through their site posts a “rebate” (like the ones above) directly into a college savings account for your child, rather than sending you a check. (Click Here to access their signup form)

The big advantage of this, and the way I use UPromise most, is that you can also register your credit cards and grocery loyalty cards with them, and earn rebates on participating off-line purchases, as well.

2. You can receive a lot of great coupons and offers through their site, without any signup – but also without any back-end rebate. (Click Here to access the Guest Shopping page)

Disclaimer: Some of the links above are personalized links that will generate a small referral bonus for me if you use them. Thank you!

You may recall that I’m using Sonlight for the Littles, working together, and it is my current plan (accepting fully that things may change) to continue to use this base method for a number of years to come – perhaps until Jewel hits High School age.

This year, though, she is in 1st Grade, while R.T. is just 3, and not officially being schooled at all. But as I’m sure many of you recognize, he’s very anxious to “do school” with his big sister, so he sits with us for the first half of the school day.

We are using Core P 4/5 – yes, its primary designation is as Preschool for 4 and 5 year olds. This is “too old” for R.T. and “too young” for Jewel… but looking at the path over the next few years, this seemed like the right starting point to strike a balance. Obviously, I’ve made some adjustments for each of them.

I was pleased to get some tips – and some reinforcement – from a recent post on Sonlight’s blog, Practical Pointers: Combining with a single core.

• We do not use the Bible Memory Verses listed in the Core, instead focusing on Jewel’s AWANA memory work for the week.
• All of us do the basic activities of the Core together: Bible, storybook reading, Readiness Skills (I bought a second set of the “Developing the Early Learner” workbooks so that they each have one), Science (this will probably be separate later, but for now it’s fine), World Cultures, Song of the Week, and Developmental Activities.
• We’re also adding Music – all three of us are going to learn to play piano. So far we’re at the most basic stages, and we have John Thompson’s Easiest Piano Course ready to go.

That’s the end of the shared experiences for the “formal” part of the day. Naturally we also do all the other fun parts of “schooling” together, from field trips, to housekeeping, to bread baking, to tree-house building…

• Jewel is also doing the Language Arts program for Grade K Readers. This includes Phonics / Spelling, Vocabulary Development, and Creative Expression segments.
• We’re utilizing the optional Go For the Code workbooks (phonics)
• She enjoys A Reason For Handwriting (having switched after trying Handwriting Without Tears, which was just not a good fit for us).
• And she’s working quickly through the Horizons Math K.

Although she is 1st Grade by age, we did not do a lot with these writing-focused subjects last year, and this is the correct starting point for her. Presumably we will get “caught up” to her age-designated place (or beyond) at some point in the process. Coming from a “Better Late Than Early” kind of place, this is not something I worry about.

We got far off track with the schedule I was planning for the year with our recent move, so we are only on the third week of Sonlight’s schedule. I was pleased with how easy it was for all of us to to get comfortable with this curriculum and schedule.

You know it’s good when the kids ask to do school on Saturdays!

Jewel had the New Testament books of the Bible in her AWANA memory work for last year, and we fumbled through that somehow.

But this year she needs to memorize the Old Testament (as well as re-reciting the New Testament), and can also earn a badge from Keepers at Home for that work.

After hearing several folks talk about various songs and jingles they used to help memorize the books, I went on a search.

There are many, many YouTube videos that have the “Books of the Bible” to music. To a lot of different kinds of music, I might add.

I listened to a lot of them. A LOT.

Many of them didn’t seem like they would really help the memorization, since they sounded more like someone took a tune and fitted the books of the Bible into it (often somewhat awkwardly).

I was delighted when I found this video, from the Bigsby Show:

Catchy. Easy to understand. The kids and I both like it (this was a point of considerable discrepancy on many of the videos). And?

It sounds like they wrote a song to fit the books (rather than the other way around)! Yay!

We started out listening to the YouTube video frequently, but it wasn’t long before I hopped over to The Bigsby Show website and purchased a copy of the CD so we could listen in the car. (This is not a sponsored post, in case you were wondering!)

Parenthetical note: Could I have burned a CD from the YouTube thing? Probably so. But I appreciate what they do, and they need financial support to continue their work. Artists deserve to be rewarded for the fruits of their labors just like anyone else. {off soapbox}

Jewel is now totally comfortable with her New Testament, and just ironing out a few minor prophets in the Old Testament.

And much to my delight… R.T. is almost there, too! Pretty impressive, for three.

Anyhow, learning the books of the Bible is a daunting (but important!) task for people of any age, so I wanted to share this resource that we have found to be invaluable.

And… The other songs on the CD are really neat! Catchy, cute songs with interesting views of Moses, Noah, Jonah, plus other fun (Christian) messages. Definately a CD we will continue to listen to even when we have all 66 books down pat.

The Harvest of Grace is the third book in the Ada’s House series by Cindy Woodsmall.

I took a chance on reading it without having read the first two, and easily caught up on the important story points with the handy summary in the front of the book.

This was a very enjoyable read (if you like the Amish setting, I suppose), and I would definitely be interested in reading more of Ms. Woodsmall’s work.

Unlike many of the “Amish Romance” stories, this had a rather complex plot, intertwining several stories which had been developing through the entire trilogy. She also addressed some tough issues – alcoholism, congenital birth defects, violent death, infidelity – which are often absent from the strictly “feel good” reads.

The message of Salvation and Redemption was clear, but not suffocating. And there was, as you might guess from the title, a strong theme of Grace – from God, as well as from our fellow man, and the need to give it.

Definitely a series worth reading if this genre is something you’d enjoy. I’d go ahead and start at the beginning, and enjoy all three!

Everyone who ranks this review at the Waterbrook Multnomah website has a chance to randomly win a free copy of the book — Note that you’re rating my review, and not rating the book in question. (Plus, I appreciate you letting them know that you appreciate me!)

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I’ve been looking for “classroom” map resources, so I was tickled to be offered a review copy of WonderMaps by my friends at Timberdoodle.

The product was an easy download, and basically is a linked set of .pdf files. And it’s big. Although I may have been asleep at the switch (we were moving at the time, you’ll recall), there wasn’t a lot of control over where it went, so I had to go in after the fact and move it off my overcrowded C: drive. The good news for you is that you can buy it on CD, and avoid that problem altogether…

Says the publisher, Bright Ideas Press:

WonderMaps is designed with easy-to-use layers that allow you to enjoy great customizable features with just a click. Select:

• historical or modern-day maps
• outline, reference, political, or topographical maps
• black-and-white or color maps
• features including: names, borders, rivers, cities, physical features, and graticules

WonderMaps includes:

• 60+ maps of the world
• 60+ maps of the USA
• 125+ historical maps, including 25 biblical maps
• The complete map sets from The Mystery of History vols. I–III and All American History vols. I & II

I’m sure you could find all these maps for free online. You can find pretty much anything for free online, these days. But is it easy? I dread that part of planning when I run into some specific need. A map of a specific place or event, with the right level of detail for a child’s understanding, or the right level of blank-ness for them to color on, or fill in information…

$44.95 is not an insignificant amount of money in my budget, but I can honestly say that I think this would be a great investment for any homeschooling family. After all, it amortizes over all the children, over all their years in school. That doesn’t add up to much per kid per year, does it?

Well, I’m going to go look at the cool Biblical map set for a while.

Don’t forget to check out Timberdoodle on Facebook, or visit their website for more terrific homeschool supplies!

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