State-by-State Scrapbook :: Texas

N is for the Nine-banded armadillo-
nature's brownish armored knight.
Our state's official small mammal-
his burrow a common sight.

~ L is for Lone Star: A Texas Alphabet

*affiliate links included in this post

Texas is the 28th State in our State-by-State Study. 

The boys also read Armadillo Rodeo by Jan Brett, from the library, to their younger siblings.

.: Texas by Captain :.

.: Texas by Ranger :.

*The links to the worksheets used for these notebook pages can be found here, and here is the link to all of our State-by-State Study posts including our State-by-State Baking!

State-by-State Scrapbook :: Florida

J is Juan Ponce de Leon,
an explorer of old.
He discovered Florida 
while searching for gold.

  ~ S is for Sunshine: A Florida Alphabet 
*affiliate links included in this post

Florida is the 27th State in our State-by-State Study. 

While studying Florida we also incorporated an excellent Catholic Pilgrimage Geography Study Guide.    Additional books included Welcome to the River of Grass by Jane Yolen and Everglades by Jean Craighead George, both recommended in A Picture Perfect Childhood.

.: Florida by Captain :.

.: Florida by Ranger :.

*The links to the worksheets used for these notebook pages can be found here, and here is the link to all of our State-by-State Study posts including our State-by-State Baking!

State-by-State Scrapbook :: Michigan

M is for Mitten,
the shape of our land.
To see Lower Michigan
just hold up your hand.

~ M is for Mitten: A Michigan Alphabet (affiliate links included)

Michigan is the 26th State in our State-by-State Study. 

Additional books about Michigan: The Legend of Michigan

recommended by Cay Gibson in A Picture Perfect Childhood

.: Michigan by Captain :.

.: Michigan by Ranger :.

*The links to the worksheets used for these notebook pages can be found here, and here is the link to all of our State-by-State Study posts including our State-by-State Baking!

State-by-State Scrapbook :: Arkansas

Of course, N is for "The Natural State"
where unspoiled beauties abound.
We have timber, water, fertile soil, 
and diamonds in the ground.

  ~ N is for Natural State: An Arkansas Alphabet (affiliate link)

Arkansas is the 25th State in our State-by-State Study. 

.: Arkansas by Captain :.

.: Arkansas by Ranger :.

*The links to the worksheets used for these notebook pages can be found here, and here is the link to all of our State-by-State Study posts including tour State-by-State Baking!

State-by-State Scrapbook :: Missouri

"Show me an S
and I'll show you the Show Me State,
not with words, but so you can see
all the treasures, held dear, 
for I'm from Missouri.
I'll show you what it has shown me."

  ~ S is for Show Me: A Missouri Alphabet (affiliate link)

Missouri is the 24th State in our State-by-State Study. 

.: Missouri by Captain :.

.: Missouri by Ranger :.

*The links to the worksheets used for these notebook pages can be found here, and here is the link to all of our State-by-State Study posts including our State-by-State Baking!

Sew Many Booties {Sponsored Review & Giveaway}

Sew Many Booties offers unique, affordable and adorable home-sewn baby booties and toddler slippers in 4 sizes up to 24 months.

I first had the pleasure of meeting Angela through her blog and then at our home, along with her youngest daughter, when she traveled to attend the baby shower I was hosting for a mutual friend. She arrived with a beautiful bouquet of roses and a darling bouquet of baby clothes for Rose, who was my own little "bun in the oven" at the time! (Was that really over 4 years ago, Angela?) Anyways, it was such a joy to meet and visit with her in person! This past fall Angela sent me an email letting me know she had opened her Etsy shop and then sent the sweetest pair of booties as a gift, which I ended up giving Bud on the feast of St. Nicholas.  

Bud is quickly outgrowing booties, and surprisingly we have our biggest gap between babies right now, but many of my dear friends have recently delivered new little ones (or will soon) and I have ordered "Sew Many" Booties to give as gifts.  I love how cozy these booties are and that they actually stay on the baby's feet! Hopefully my friends will like them as much as I do! 

I have been pairing the booties with a matching burp cloth and/or a baby board book when I give them as a gift, and Angela does offer Baby Bundles in her shop.

  I had the above "Sweet Pea" set to give to Ranger's Godmother at the shower last weekend, but ended up saving the booties for another baby and gave her a pink pair instead, along with the board books (which doubled as shower decorations), pink baby clothes, and a pink blanket.  Originally they didn't know what she was having (they currently have 5 boys ages 18-11), but just before the shower she had an ultrasound and I just couldn't bring myself to stick with the green after we were all surprised to hear that the baby is a GIRL!   

My personal favorites for a brand new baby are the darling Baptism Infant Booties and, with a brother playing golf for OSU, I couldn't resist the College Football Golf Booties which will be a gift for my next niece or nephew, whenever he or she arrives.  

Sew Many Booties is currently offering 

FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING 

to all my visitors here at Shower of Roses using code 

ROSES2014 at checkout!  

Expires March 15th. 

And now for the giveaway! 

Would you like to win a free pair of booties for your own baby or to gift to a friend? 

Sew Many Booties has offered to send a pair of booties of choice (excluding the Pendleton wool booties) to TWO of my visitors here at Shower of Roses!

Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter box below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{Seven Quick Takes} iPhone Photos

— 1 —

What a week! I'm so glad it is finally Friday!  I have so much I had been hoping and planning to blog about - last week's baby shower, a State-by-State post that keeps getting postponed, an update on how our curriculum choices have been working out this year along with the few changes we've made, an updated "schedule", and a few other topics -  but our days have been filling up quickly leaving me very little computer time.  Wednesday we were in town all day for the required State testing all morning, four orthodontist appointments in the afternoon, and then a couple additional errands.

Snuggles had helped Bud get dressed and I didn't realize until I was buckling him in his car seat that he was wearing a pair of his sister's size 3 capris.  Whoops!  Our girls don't wear pants very often and someone must have put them in his drawer.  Oh well.  I don't think anyone noticed, though they were really short!



Captain is ahead of schedule and should be getting his braces off sometime this summer.  Two more of the children will need to start braces sometime within the next six months.  I guess they all inherited my teeth... Ranger will need full braces and Chiquita will need to start the first of (possibly) two phases. So thankful for dental insurance this year to help offset the cost!
  

— 2 —

*Note: This post contains affiliate links. 

 We've been talking about getting a bunk bed for the little boys for awhile.  In fact when I had that smoke scare a couple weeks ago I had my brother take down the light fixture so I could rearrange the bookshelves to make room for the bed when "someday" arrived.  I told Snuggles that afternoon that I would work on selling some books we no longer need and save that money to buy him a bed.  That was on Monday.  On Tuesday I had a notice from Paypal that I had received an affiliate payment of $129.42 from All About Learning!  (All About Reading and All About Spelling are such excellent programs!  THANK YOU to all who purchased from my links! Snuggles thanks you too!) On Wednesday I had a phone call from a friend of my mom's asking if we by any chance were looking for a bunk bed.   She was having lunch with a friend who had one to sell.  She was only asking $125 for the bunk bed (originally from Costco) and a like new Sealy twin mattress! The bed was only used occasionally by her grandchildren and she had recently converted the guest room into an office. What a blessing!  They even delivered it that afternoon!

 

— 3 —

 

As Sean and the boys were assembling the bunk bed we realized we needed a little hardware, so Sean and I turned the quick trip to town into a little date for the two of us.  After stopping at the hardware store and then JoAnn's for a few birthday party supplies, we headed to a local Mexican restaurant and shared steak fajitas.  Yum!! 

 

We've been trying to spend a little time together, just the two of us, each week and on St. Valentine's Day a friend kept all the children after the party and skating while we went out to our favorite Asian restaurant.   We split a delicious order of Bulgogi (chopped steak sautéed with veggies and mushrooms, which came with tempura vegetables and rice) and a sushi roll of some sort, though I did have to fight the hockey game for Sean's attention. ;) (Hockey at the Sushi Bar on Valentine's Day?)  Even though we split the meal, we still had leftovers for the boys! 

Last Monday, on President's Day we went to see the matinee showing of The Monuments Men (using $13 of a $25 Christmas gift card!) and then split an "Imperial Stout Burger with Pub Fries" on our way home.   We've found that splitting meals and just ordering water to drink makes these little dates much more affordable, which allows us to go out more often than in the past and not feel guilty for overspending. It is usually still plenty of food and has been such a treat! 

— 4 —

Hauling wood from the wood pile to the house.  

He does the same thing when he is washing dishes and stacking them in the drain board...

— 5 —

We've been having lots of steak, potatoes, and veggies lately!  We purchased a 1/2 beef in Nov 2012 and I finally ran out of ground beef this past November.  Since then I have been forcing myself to learn how to cook all the random packages of steak and roasts that had been hiding in the back of the freezer, before picking up this year's order.  

Snuggles was so excited when I mentioned that I had "bought 1/2 of a cow" and very disappointed when he found out that our 1/2 was not going to be alive.  It took the older boys a little while to convince him that cow=hamburger, though there was no denying it when we picked it up from the butcher on Wednesday afternoon. 

— 6 —

After spending most of this month's grocery budget on the cow and restocking the freezer, our Costco rebate checks came at a perfect time.  My total at Costco yesterday afternoon, after this year's rebates, was only $40.27!  As I said on Instagram, gone are the days of buying something fun with those checks, especially with teen/preteen boys in the house!

And, apparently, I stack groceries like Sean stacks wood! ;)
(I had already removed another box and 5 dozen eggs before letting go to snap the picture.)

— 7 —

We were up at 4:30 this morning, bathing a sick little boy and keeping a bucket nearby. Poor baby!

I think this is the first time he has had a stomach virus (other than the usual infant spitting up, etc) and he just doesn't understand what is going on.

This afternoon it was time for yet another bath and another load of laundry...  So thankful for the Cold and Flu Aromatherapy Bubble Bath (LOVE this stuff) that finally put a smile back on his face, and that so far he is the only one that is sick.  

 

Baby Shower Bonus: 

Rascal's Godmother is due next month and we had a baby shower for her last weekend!  I helped with a few of the decorations, a couple games, and one of the appetizers. Thankfully I had some help sorting all those M&M's!   It all turned out so cute and colorful! 

Today is the last day to enter the Jesse Tree Treasures giveaway.  Be sure to check back sometime this weekend for the next giveaway sponsored by Sew Many Booties!

For additional Quick Takes visit Conversion Diary.