Leachco Back 'N Belly - Contoured Body Pillow

I have always had back & hip pain when I am pregnant when I sleep.It seemed no matter what I did I could never get a full nights sleep even before the baby was big in size. So for Mother's day I asked for a pregnancy pillow.There are a few styles to choose from.I ended up purchasing the Leachco Back N Belly Pillow from Amazon.http://www.amazon.com/Leachco-Back-Belly-Contoured-Pillow/dp/B0002E7DIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308847240&sr=8-1
I would normally not pay this much for a pillow but I was desperate to have a good nights sleep. To my amazement I have slept through the night ever since with no aches and pains. I like how you can turn from side to side and no matter what side you sleep on the pillow supports your back and belly. I was concerned about the size and heat of the summer from reviews but I found neither were a problem.I also read some reviews that it didn't work for short folks like me 5'3" but again the pillow has been everything I wanted. I do not like the firm seems.I also use it differently than pictured. I make a nest out of it and lay on top of it.I then use a separate pillow for between my knees. This way it supports me more, I don't feel the inner seams, don't get hot, & takes less room. I wish I would of purchased this pillow many babies ago lol.

My kids love it too.I am always kicking someone out of my pillow :/ I also got Amazon Mom points for purchasing this pillow.You can get free Amazon Prime Shipping from Amazon Mom when you purchase baby type supplies. So I got free shipping for 3 months :O) I use Amazon for school books etc. so O love getting free Amazon Prime shipping :O)

WB 32 Literature study- The Hedge of Thorns

I wanted to share this Literature guide with you.I have been preparing for the next school year. The Hedge of Thorns is a recommended reader for Wisdom Booklet 32 for the Law Resource. This is an excellent Christ centered guide for the book The Hedge of Thorns. It also has an answer key so you can feel more confident in checking your students answers as well as notebooking pages that guide your student in the literature study :O) The best part it is only $5. I look forward to doing this Literature study!

To purchase the guide and read an intro on the book click on the site below.

Principled Academy: Literature- The Hedge of Thorns

ATI Track Homeschool software

On the Wisdom Searcher Yahoo Group a post came today from one of the ATI moms that went to the conference explaining one of the workshops for new families discussed this program designed for ATI families. It is software that is for free for ATI families to help organize and keep track of their students. There are videos on how to use the software. Unfortunately, we have wireless Internet so it would use to much of our monthly megabytes to watch the videos.So the next time I go to my mother in laws I plan to watch the videos. In the meantime I wanted to share this link and information. I pray it is a blessing to you as the information passed to me was a blessing. I look forward to seeing what it is all about!

http://atitrack.com/

Dry Erase Paint~ making schooling a little easier

Since school is done it is the season of repairing, preparing, and getting things done around the house. So I make a mental list of some things that need organized or can be done to make my life easier as a mom or teacher. One of my problems was laundry and praise the Lord that yoke is now light. That was a mom need. So this weekend we worked on a teacher need. One of my challenges or inconvenience was I use a dry erase board for teaching. Problem: We do not have any wall space in the school room or living room because of so many book shelves. So I would pull out the dry erase board and place it on the table.This takes up room on the table and the board would slide down etc. Need met ( have a dry erase board)but I needed a better way. So I have a white school cabinet in the school room which I normally place posters on and I thought that would make a perfect place for out dry erase board. I would just have to open the door slightly and my students would be able to see the board. I don't have to mess with pulling out the board just grab a dry erase marker and work away. No more room or wall space needed.

This is the Dry Erase Paint we purchased at Home Depot. You can paint it on just about any flat surface. Angelina did this project while I painted the bathroom & the men/boys finished the french drain. The beauty of a large family you can tackle many projects at a time :O) She loves to paint so she was excited to do the project. First she sanded the surface.Once the paint is mixed it is only good for so many hours. The problem we had was the roller.If you attempt this project make sure you purchase rollers that leave a very smooth surface. A high quality sponge roller.We tried a regular smooth roller and the paint is so sensitive it left bumps.I did have a sponge roller I found in the garage so we used that but it fell apart while applying the second coat. SO for this paint I would ask the store for the proper roller to use with this paint. I learned the hard way!

The paint works! The left side turned out smooth since it was the second door we did after switching rollers.The ride side which is the one I will probably use more is lumpy.It will be well worth it for me to sand it down and try it again. I think it will make teaching next school year a little easier for me. Another thing I look forward to is my younger children love to draw on the dry erase board so while I am teaching they can draw on the other door.

Is there anything during your last school year that you could do to make it run more smoothly. I encourage you to write that problem down, pray, and talk to your hubby about it. As you know as a homeschool mom time is precious and being a good steward of time focusing on eternal things is pleasing to the Lord!

Modest Swim Suits - KatieMellas.com

Summertime. Memorial weekend is this weekend and is traditionally when most people in Pittsburgh open their pools. So today I ordered Angelina her summer swim suite. She is growing so fast and is already in adult sizes. Here are a few pictures from their website. We purchased the swim suite from Katie Mellas who happens to be another ATI family :O)

I love to support other Christians especially ATI families! The swimsuit is also made in the USA. Here is the link to the website if you or your daughters are in need of modest bathing suits for the summer.She also makes maternity skirts which will be on my hit list in the next few weeks.

Swimsuits - KatieMellas.com

Pittsburgh Zoo field trip

Today the weather was finally nice enough for us to go to the Pittsburgh Zoo for our animal classification field trip.

An artist was drawing a tiger on the side walk.

The size of a newborn elephant.I am glad I don't have to deliver that baby lol

This was one of the highlights of the day.The kids enjoyed petting the manta rays. They seemed to enjoy too since they kept coming back to the kids.

Boys of course love sharks

and alligators :/

The two families that went everyone but two missing.

We had a great time and look forward until we visit again.

Job's favorite a snow leopard.

Created to Work

Created to Work.I enjoyed the men & boys working together this weekend. As I watched them the book Created to Work came to my mind. They were so happy and had a sense of accomplishment. They enjoy working alongside Daddy. I have not read this book but it is one I would like to read this summer. Being the mom of soon to be seven boys I am always looking for some good boy mom books. http://www.amazon.com/Created-Work-Practical-Insights-Young/dp/1883934117
Here is Dominic our Bob Cat operator. Daddy teaches all the boys how to run equipment.Even the little ones learn early as they sit on Dad's lap to run the machine. Dominic has been running the BobCat since he was younger.

This weekend we had a date night.Hubby brought me home fresh cut flowers from work.Then we had a wonderful evening together.



We are having flooding problems in our basement with all the heavy rain that we have been having here in PA.So the men & boys in my family worked together this weekend to dig up a french drain. I enjoyed watching them work.Even Nehemiah wanted to help. Daddy only loaded their bucket with what they could carry.They got a big job done in a short amount of time.What a wonderful way to learn team work in getting a task done :O)




Angelina & I planted a perennial called foxglove in our flower bed.We also made the hungry men & boys dinner together. She said it reminder her of a barn raising lol.




My husband found this Little guy under a log. So the boys enjoyed this little surprise.He is a Slimy Salamander.He is slimy but that is also his name. They have blue-black skin and grow to be 7 inches tall so this little guy is a baby.They eat ants, beetles, earthworms, and slugs which there is plenty around here. They are especially active in wet weather and it has been very wet in PA!

The young men started at one end and Daddy /boys started at the opposite end until they met in the middle.

They younger boys carried the buckets of dirt Dad dug up and dumped under our Maple tree were the dirt was eroded and roots were exposed. We will have to bring a hay bale up from the barn to hopefully have grass under the Maple tree.

The young men filled up the Bob CAt and carried their dirt out to dump in the other part of the yard.

My Dog Sicily is a Cane Corso.We just love her.She is happy when everyone is together so its easy for her to check on everyone.

Of course who can resist a ditch and not make it a World War 1 trench and the end of the work day. They are created to work and really seem to enjoy doing outside man work :O)