Woo hoo!  I tell you what, grocery pickups make my life so much easier during these hectic days.  Kroger is offering 47 cent grocery pickup service when you load this coupon to your account.  Coupon expires 2/24/2020.  Enjoy!!

Great news for teachers and school staff!  Take note!

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Atlanta offers school staff and faculty free admission from Sunday, February 16 – Sunday, March 8 to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Days. The program will give educators the opportunity to experience educational play at the ultimate LEGO® classroom while learning more about the unforgettable field trip experience offered at the attraction.

Staff and faculty members are welcome to bring their families or students to experience the interactive LEGOLAND Discovery Center Atlanta atmosphere. The special offer allows free admission to all school administration, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, janitorial staff, school maintenance and more (with valid ID or paystub) – as well as 25% off tickets for friends and family.

Eligibility is for school staff and faculty with valid proof of employment. Available for walk-up tickets only. For more information, visit facebook.com/ldcatlanta or atlanta.legolanddiscoverycenter.com.

I’ve been wanting to check out the one in Gainesville, so I think we will take a field trip!  Or maybe we will go to both!  Woo hoo!

From the Atlanta Botanical Garden Facebook Page – In memory of Anne Cox Chambers, enjoy free admission to the Midtown and Gainesville gardens Tuesday, Feb. 11 – Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020 sponsored by Cox Enterprises. Celebrate the extraordinary legacy of the Garden’s longtime friend and lifetime trustee while enjoying the Garden and the beauty of Orchid Daze.

You can find out more about the gardens on the Atlanta Botanical Gardens website, where you’ll also notice the free banner at the top.

What a great weekend!  We heard that snow was coming and so we took off to go camping in the mountains and ended up getting snowed in at Dahlonega!  It was a great time and we are so glad we went.  They recorded 6 inches of snow!  The kids had a blast sledding and playing in the snow. We never lost power so we had plenty of hot chocolate and warmth in the camper.

We finally were able to make it home yesterday when the roads cleared.  Now this week will be consumed with laundry, but that’s ok!  It was worth it.

Back to the grind today!  Here’s what we are making this week –

Monday: Black bean burritos

Tuesday: Lazy Lasagna

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Dinner with grandma

Friday: Jalepeno Popper Chicken Soup

Saturday: Carne Picada tacos

Sunday: 15 bean soup

Have a great week!

A year and a half ago, our family’s life was turned upside down when my perfectly healthy nephew, Levi, suddenly couldn’t move half of his body.  He was rushed to Piedmont Athens Regional and from there, lifeflighted to CHOA where he was in a fight for his life.  He was diagnosed with an AVM – Arteriovenous Malformation in his brain.  You can read his full story on his facebook page.

From there, he’s been in therapies multiple times a week and is completely wheelchair bound.  My brother’s family has 4 other children and with Levi’s wheelchair, they’ve had to stick to mostly being at home due to lack of room in a vehicle.  If they all go out, they have to take 2 cars, so when my brother’s at work for Gwinnett County Fire, they are stuck.

Some of my brother’s friends have created a 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run to benefit my nephew, Levi Brooks.  There will be special guests and a great time to get together for a local cause.    This is also a Peachtree Road Race qualifier event!

Please consider joining my family and coming out to Tribble Mill Park in Lawrenceville for this event.  Register by 2/15 to receive a free t-shirt!  You can see more information on the Event page on Facebook.

It’s another Chaco sale and I’m loving this deal for the kids sandals!  In addition, through 2/10, you can use code CHACO30 to save an additional 30% off Chacos!  Be sure to check out the sale section to get the most bang for your buck.

Here are a few that I wanted to point out, but there are a ton more in the Chaco sale!

KID’S ZX/1 ECOTREAD SANDALS – on sale  $32.99 (reg. $60).  Use code CHACO30 for an addtional 30% off, making the final cost only $23.09

WOMEN’S CONFLUENCE SANDALS – on sale for $54.99 (reg. $80).  Use code CHACO30 for an addtional 30% off, making the final cost $38.49

 

Time to paint!  Amazon has the Crayola Washable Kids Paint for only $3.25 when you click the 30% off coupon!

Washable Kids’ Paint in six different colors: blue, violet, green, red, yellow, orange. Crayola Washable Kids’ Paint does not drip readily from brushes & does not separate, making it freeze-thaw stable & assuring consistent performance.

With a family of 7, I would be completely lost without my Erin Condren LifePlanner. I love planning out my week, from the children’s activities to our dinners.  It’s one of my favorite things to do on Sunday evenings.

Erin Condren was so generous and let me create my 2020 LifePlanner along with a few goodies so I could show you guys how it works for our family.

 

Each planner cover is customizable with colors and names.  I adore the colors that I put together for my LifePlanner!

Since I received the fun Multi-Colored Dual Tip Markers, I decided to assign each of our 7 family members a color.  This helps in organizing our week and seeing which kid needs to be where.  The kids are involved individually in various activities and jobs, so having it all color coded helps me to stay organized.

You can see how it brightens up the calendar below and how it’s easier to tell which event corresponds with which family member.    I chose the vertical layout style so I can plan our days in little chunks of time.  The top, I use for morning stuff, middle around lunch/early afternoon, and the bottom for afternoon/evening activities.  The very bottom has some lined areas that I use to plan our dinners.  I love that Erin Condren planners can be created with my preferences and style, so no two planners have to be the same.  In the past, I’ve had a different layout, but wanted to give the vertical style a try.  I like it!

I’ve never been able to use digital calendars well.  Having the paper copy in front of my that I can write in helps me stay more organized.  Every Sunday, I can take about 20 minutes, review the week, plan out meals, and then we know exactly what the week holds.  While I plan out the meals for the week, I can be making a list of ingredients that we need using the extra notepads.  This planner has simplified my life in so many ways!

In 2020, make your goal to get more organized by taking only 20 minutes once a week to plan out your week in your Erin Condren planner.  You will be so glad you did!

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Yesterday we took off and spent the beautiful day up in the mountains riding horses.  It was the most beautiful day we’ve had here in Georgia in a long time and perfect for outdoor adventuring!  Today we are celebrating our baby girl turning 9!  It’s crazy since when I started the blog she wasn’t even born.  It’s been over 10 years of blogging.  I hope you have a fantastic week and enjoy some of the nice weather before the rain comes in.

Here’s what we are making this week.

Monday: Cajun Cream Chicken

Tuesday: Pizza

Wednesday: Sandwiches

Thursday: Lazy Lasagna

Friday: Grilled Chicken

Saturday: Grilled sausage

Sunday: Eggs, bacon

*We received a 50% discount on this product in exchange for the review, since this is something that we love and really do use.  All opinions are my own.Math has always been somewhat of a struggle for my first born, but we’ve found a program that works better for her.  I was very excited to have the opportunity to review Math-U-See Algebra 2 the past few weeks.

Math-U-See is a hands on math program that utilizes math manipulatives and has instructional videos for children and their parents to watch together.  Steve Demme has a passion for helping people understand difficult concepts and a desire to promote a lifelong love of learning.  He created Math-U-See over 20 years ago!

Math-U-See is now offering an enhanced version of their Instruction Packs online!  With the Digital Packs, you can purchase a 12 month subscription to access to streaming instruction videos and Instruction Manual PDFs, accessible through any internet browser, plus an online version of the Digital Manipulatives.  Math-U-See is perfect for on the go learning.

Other free online and downloadable resources are included with each level, as appropriate.  It’s important to note that the Digital Packs do not include workbooks.

Math-U-See Algebra 2 covers the following concepts:

• Imaginary and complex numbers
• Discriminants
• Graphing Lines
• Parabola
• Vectors
• and More!

The Digital Pack features 31 lessons and an introductory lesson where the teacher fully explains the concepts and provides sample problems.

Algebra 2 Digital Pack includes:

• 12-month access to Algebra 2 streaming instruction videos
• Instruction Manual PDF
• Lesson solutions
• 12-month access to digital manipulatives, using Chrome or Safari browsers

We’ve been Math-U-See users for my oldest since Pre-Algebra, and the program is still working wonders for her.  With the Digital Pack and the Math-U-See Manipulatives, she finally understood the why behind Algebra!  This program is wonderful for more visual or tactile learners like my daughter.  We plan to keep using it with her throughout her high school career and most likely with younger siblings, too.