Tots and Me... Growing Up Together: April 2013

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: May 1, 2013 (w/linky)- Our First Draft Day Party

Well, for the children and me. Hubby has been before.

The girls were ecstatic to finally get on the field. They had no clue where we were going and once we got to Ralph Wilson Stadium, they still didn't know they were going to get to go on the field until we walked down the steps and through the gate.

(Those are our seats way in the distance, under the M&T Bank sign.)

(Those are our seats way above. We sit in the Family Corner, which is the red section.)

(In the tunnel where the players come out during the game)

(Tabitha is still scared to death of Billy Buffalo.)

(Ready to go in the locker room)

Looking forward to seeing your Wordless (or not so wordless) Wednesday posts this week.

American Girl Bitty Twins Giveaway

I have the great opportunity to share this giveaway with you.

I think these twins are just so cute. I had never heard of them before.

What do you think?

Welcome to the American Girl Bitty Twins Spring Giveaway

Organized by Mom to Bed by 8 & co-hosted by Iowa Mom.

The on-the-go Bitty Twins offer so many ways to mix and match! You can choose skin tone, hair color, and gender to create your favorite pair. They come with full outfits, hair for styling, and a special book. Add to the fun with accessories and Dress Like Your Doll clothing. These 15-inch dolls are for ages 3 and up.

One lucky winner will receive an American Girl Bitty Twins + Book Set!

Even better we are giving you the opportunity to select boy-girl, 2 girls or 2 boys. You also get to select skin and hair shade of each.

Giveaway ends May 13th at 11:59pm

Open to US and Canadian residents, ages 18+.

To enter please use the Rafflecopter form below.

Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up- April 30, 2013

Welcome to Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up with your hosts Karen @ Tots and Me and Emily @ Emily Reviews

So glad you could join us as we embark on another year of Tuesday Giveaway Link Ups.

Our co-hosts this week are Ashley from Forgetful Momma-Bottles, Diapers...Babies and Mellissa from Something Like Life.

This link up will be posted Monday at 7 PM est. and run all week long! Make sure you stop in as often as you can to list your latest giveaways.

Here is how to use the Giveaway Link Up

1. Post your reviews and/or giveaways, as many as you have, be sure to add the end date (family friendly please)

2. Help spread the word about the giveaway link up by grabbing our button, Tweeting or posting on Facebook. (Not mandatory- but it helps get more exposure to your giveaways as well!)

3. Take a moment to enter any giveaway that strikes an interest to you!

If you would like to follow the hostesses, we will gladly follow you back! Simply leave us a message to do so.

Featured Giveaways

The Christian Parenting Handbook Mega-Giveaway 5 Prizes (5 winners-1 per prize): iPad Mini, $200 Amazon GC, Wii w/Wii Sports, $100 Amazon GC, Kodak Digital Photo Frame- Ends 5/5

Shapes: Simple & Solid Project Pack/Lapbook from In The Hands of a Child- Ends 5/5

Biblical Parenting Resources from The National Center for Biblical Parenting 5 Prizes (5 winners-1 per prize) Ends 5/4

$25 Pink Blush Maternity Gift Card- Ends 4/30

Infinity Headbands Prize Pack Includes interchangeable headband with bows- Ends 5/2

Thank you for linking up with Karen @ Tots and Me & Emily @ Emily Reviews along with Ashley from Forgetful Momma-Bottles, Diapers...Babies and Mellissa from Something Like Life.

Muffin Tin Monday: April Showers Bring May Flowers

Time for Muffin Tin Monday!
Today the theme for muffin tin Monday is April Showers Bring May Flowers. At first I didn't think I was going to do it because I hadn't asked hubby to go get anything specific. After I got to thinking about it (and realized it would go really well with our Ww: Water unit) I decided to try to throw something together from what we had in our kitchen. Here is what I came up with.

Popcorn clouds

Cheese raindrops (Tabitha gets Cheddar cheese, the others get American)

Spinach and Sprouts grass with Grape Tulip Flowers on Cucumber Stems

Leftover Pudding Pie mud

Peanut butter and jelly umbrella sandwich with a red pepper handle (the way they curve is just perfect)

(Oh, the thing in the middle of the table is one of our water observations from this morning. We are watching the water travel up the paper towel.)

Harold got peanut butter and apple butter sandwich, green beans and a few cucumber pieces, grapes, the cheese scraps plus a bit more.

The Christian Parenting Handbook Launch Week is Here! (With a Mega-Giveaway)

It's time!

It is officially here! Launch Week for The Christian Parenting Handbook by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.

If you read my post from earlier this week, I am sure you have been anticipating today. Not only can you receive over $400 in Biblical Parenting Resources if you buy the book between April 29 and May 5, but there is a HUGE giveaway starting RIGHT NOW!!

Let me just say that I think this is a wonderful book when it comes to ideas for Biblical Parenting. Don't forget the subtitle of the book: 50 Heart-Based Strategies For All The Stages Of Your Child's Life. Each strategy is discussed in its own short chapter. Though I will be sharing my review later on during the week, I wanted to entice you with some of the chapter titles.

Chapter 1: Consistency if Overrated
Chapter 3: Consequences Aren't the Only Answer
Chapter 8: Look For Heart Moments
Chapter 15: Teach Kids to Add Energy to Family Life
Chapter 21: Use Firmness to Focus on Character
Chapter 30: Don't Give in to Manipulation
Chapter 48: Discipline for Bad Attitudes

Have I peaked your interest in the book? Just a little bit? If you would like to find out more about the book you can visit The National Center for Biblical Parenting website. Additionally, you can check out Amazon, for more details and for reviews.

And don't forget the wonderful gift awaiting you if you purchase during Launch Week:

Here’s what the package includes:

• The Christian Parenting Handbook electronic versions for iPad, Kindle, Nook or any mobile device ($29.97)

• Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes, in You and Your Kids Lesson #1Complete Package including Lesson 1 on Video, MP3, Study Guide, and Children's Lesson. ($59.95)

• Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes, in You and Your Kids Lesson #2Complete Package including Lesson 2 on Video, MP3, Study Guide, and Children's Lesson. ($59.95)

• Teach Kids to Listen and Follow Instructions on Video, Workbook, MP3, Study Guide, and Children's Lesson. ($59.95)

• Correction Ideas that Touch the Heart on Video, Workbook, MP3, Study Guide, and Children's Lesson. ($59.95)

• Addressing Bad Attitudes in Kids on Video, Workbook, MP3, Study Guide, and Children’s Lesson. ($59.95)

• Everyday Parents CAN Raise Extraordinary Kids Session #1 on Video, MP3, Study Guide, and Children's Lesson. ($59.95)

• How to Use The Christian Parenting Handbook30-minute Video ($24.95)

That’s $414.62 of biblical parenting resources forFREE. A tremendous gift as our thank you for helping us with the launch.

So, buy the book during Launch Week, April 29-May 5, 2013 and tell all of your friends to do the same. Thank you for your help and support.

Here’s what you need to do.

1. Purchase the book during Launch Week, April 29 to May 5, 2013 at one of the major retailers (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CBD, etc)

Update: The book is sold out over at Amazon, CBD and Barnes and Noble. You may purchase it at Family Christian Stores by clicking here. You can also order the Kindle version and still receive the $400 in Resources.

2. Email, fax, or mail them your receipt. Be sure to include your email address so that they can tell you how to obtain your free gift. Email:Gift@biblicalparenting.org Fax: 609-771-8003. Mail: 76 Hopatcong Dr. Lawrenceville, NJ 08648.

That’s it. It’s simple. They will give you hundreds of dollars worth of parenting tools just for helping them in the launch this first week. Remember, the offer is only good during Launch Week.

3. Just one more thing. Would you please help them now by telling all your friends about this offer. Please post it, tweet it, email it, link it, and talk about it.

Isn't that just wonderfully generous of them?

And they are not done yet!

In celebration of Launch Week, The National Center for Biblical Parenting is hosting a Mega Giveaway (and I mean Mega)!

How would you like to win one of these prizes?

You can enter in the Rafflebox below.

Giveaway ends 5pm May 5th

And don't forget the other giveaways that are going on this week. Many of the Launch Team Members, including myself, are hosting giveaways for 5 different Biblical Parenting Resource Prizes.
Here are the prizes:

A Set of 5 Parenting Shifts Ebooks ($49.95 value)
One Free BPU Online Course ($99.95 value)
Disciplemaking at Home ($16.99 value)
The Christian Parenting Handbook with Companion Guide ($49.95 value)
Honor Multimedia Pack ($59.95 value)

And here is the link to go enter my giveaway. At the bottom of the post there is a linky where you will find other bloggers who are offering the same prizes. You may enter at all of the blogs if you so wish as they are all separate giveaways.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Free Sign Ups: Mother's Day Amazon Gift Card Giveaway Event

Here is another great Free Blogger Opportunity.

If you are interested in entering this giveaway please stop back on May 2nd, this post is for bloggers interested in promote.

Mother's Day Event - $800 in Amazon Gift Cards!

Event runs May 2 - May 12

There will be 4 winners who will be blessed on Mother's Day when we draw the winners!

One winner receives a $500 Amazon gift Card

Three winner's receive $100 gift cards to Amazon!

Best part is - YOU get to enter to WIN too!!

Up to 2 free links!

Open to USA and Canada.

. Referral prizes! Hurry and sign up and share!

Click here for complete details and to sign up.

Please say Tots and Me referred you.

F is for Fraction Fun

I have discussed how I love to teach math in the kitchen. Fractions are one of the topics that are great to learn as they are a hard concept to understand, but in the kitchen you can get a lot of hands on learning. Whether it is cutting a sandwich into half or quarters, or having the children compare measurements when following recipes, fractions become real to the children.

A while back I saw this really cool book called The Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar Fractions Book.

I had taken it out of the library and we used part of the book a while back. Since then if we have a Hershey bar in the house, the girls will get it out of the drawer after lunch and ask to do fractions.

I do not remember exactly how the book taught the fractions, but this is one way we learn about fractions.

First we write down that we have 1 bar.

This time I broke it into quarters to start with (I've been known to start with halves).

I explain to the girls that each piece is one out of the whole and there are four pieces. So they put 1 (piece) over 4 (total) underneath each piece.

Then we slide two of the quarters together on the right and the other two together on the left.

I explain to the girls that we have 2 (pieces) out of 4 (total). Then we look and see that it is 1/2 of the whole bar.

Then we slide all the pieces together and see that we have 4 (pieces) out of 4 (total). We add: 1/4 plus 1/4 plus 1/4 plus 1/4 which equals 4/4 or 1 whole bar.

One whole bar that they really really want to eat. So...

they each get 1/4 of the bar. And mommy and daddy have to share the last quarter. Unless the girls are nice enough to share their quarter, which they usually are.