Family Reading

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Over the years I have read many books to my children, the children I have cared for, my grandchildren, and even to myself. My husband and myself have read many books together and also shared our own genre of books with each other. I have a long time love of reading books. The love of reading books comes from my father who took the time each night to read to me till 4th grade when my reading level was college level and my father wasn't sure what to do so the Dr. told him to just read anything to me and he started to read medical journals, Life jornalism books, National Geographic, and the old Readers digest books, pretty much anything he could think of. 

We were not rich by any means but I know there were always books for me to read, magazines like Highlights, Ladybug, Cricket, Jack and Jill, Spider, and Humpty Dumpty. Book sets delivered to our home that I devoured some with help, most without. 

Years later when I would have my own children I just expected them to read like I did. At three years old my parent thought I had memorized the books I was reading and the Dr. told them that I knew how to read and wanted to know who taught me. They hadn't, they had just been reading to me and somehow I just picked it up. So when my children struggled with reading I didn't really know how to teach them because it had just come naturally to me, but thankfully my husband had learned to read the good old fashioned way so between us we did OK until the kids went off to school and let them take over. 

Now forward past my first 4 children to my last two girls and I knew something just wasn't clicking for them and thought that the school had it all covered. In steps Covid-19, remote learning and the thrown in my face fact that the school had let me and most of all my chidren down. Not to say my kids haven't had great teachers because they have but the teachers can only do so much with the time they have when the government or state gives them a timeline to adhere to even if the kids are left behind (No child left behind is far from the truth of things). The truth is if the child falls behind they are usually left there to fail with little or no support to help them. 

So our family after my 18 year old and 5th child graduated 12th grade by the skin of her teeth and my now 13 year old were done with school this year, we decided we would homeschool our youngest through High School. We want her to learn to read better, to understand what she is reading, and actually hold on to some of that knowledge before being rushed on to something she doesn't even understand (like algebra when she doesn't know her times tables). 

Back to reading before I get going off to far in the wrong direction. This summer we decided to start family reading, where we all read the same book together at the same time. To make sure our daughter is staying up with us we all take turns reading passages so that we can help her with words she doesn't know while modeling what to do while reading. Such as pausing for commas, showing emphasis,  how words look or sound the same but are very different from each other, and how to find out which to use in a sentence. We just want her to be better prepared for the future then her sister is at this time. We have just lost too much time trusting that the school would do the work for us. 

So here we are on our first book The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe written by C.S. Lewis, which by the way I thought was the first book in the series The Chronicles of Narnia not the second so we will be going back to book one The Magician's Nephew at some time in the future. Learning never ceases even as an adult. If you are interested in The Chronicles of Narnia check it out below. 

Eternal Spring

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My mother was a big collector of religious knick knacks, but once my father and her passed I wanted to decorate their gravesite with both religious and colorful items they loved in real life. With that being said I found these cute little birds from Gaidenly I thought would be a perfect addition to their grave site. They also make great decor for your home, garden, potted plants etc. 

I think it will give their gravesite a little touch of eternal Spring, and a pop of color in the middle of the cold days of winter. The next time I get to visit my parents I will drop them off, but until then they are hanging around here on our entertainment center with my very own small collection of knick knacks. 

They are well made resin pieces that measure about 2.8x2 inches each. I love how you can use them all at one time or split them up around your home for a little bit of surprise here and there. A great idea would be to buy these and when giving a gift of a plant to for say a housewarming party you could stick one inside the pot for a little extra pizzazz. 

You can find this four piece bird set at Amazon.

Getting Ready to Homeschool

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With everything that is going on in the world and our wake up call when the kids went remote that the school was not doing them justice. I won't go on about how far behind they are from other students or that they are were being asked to do work when they couldn't do the work leading up to that work, so they felt  defeated everyday because they just didn't understand how to do the work. Yes my oldest child graduated by the skin of her teeth but that is a whole other story for another time. 

Right now is where we are at. My now 13 year old daughter Dorothy has been asking to be homeschooled for a few years now and after what we have seen, we decided to take our cue from her seriously and take the plunge again. We have homeschooled before and enjoyed it. Looking back I wish we had homeschooled all six of our children right from the get go. With that being said he we beginning our journey into Homeschooling once more this coming fall. 

We ordered our learning curriculum which has arrived (our state has strict guidelines to follow) and now we are looking at school supplies that will work with our families needs. We know we didn't really need a lot so we are just filling in around what we already have available in our home. 

Since my daughter is entering 9th grade and with my health some of the days will be spent traveling or even at her sister's house we went with a system that would allow her to take her basic school needs with her where ever she might be learning on any particular day. 

One of the big items we provided for her was a computer for home use, a microscope which will be coming in soon, and this ZIPIT'N'GO Organizer which will hold all of her books she is working on. We went with a system that has smaller workbooks that can be changed out as the year progresses, so they fit perfectly into the acordain file system that is built into this binder. 

What I love most about this case is that once closed it zips up so nothing will be lost when in transit from place to place. There is a front pouch for holding pens, pencils, calculator, etc. A 3 ring spot for regular folders, dividers, paper, etc. A nice flap on the back where you can keep a flat pad of paper or store other projects. It has lots of different pockets built in to store pretty much everything you would need for a day of learning. 

There is also a detachable strap for the binder so you can carry it with you and have your hands free for
other tasks. You can also use the handle to carry it, or use the the tried and true in your the crook of your arm hold. Either way you are sure to be organized and ready for the day. What I love most is that it has a lifetime warranty which means they really stand behind their products. 

We have had many ZIPIT products over the years and we have yet to have one fail us, now it is our turn to try out this and put it the test. Make sure to check back with us at the end of the school year to see how it held up. Find the ZIPIT'N'GO Organizer at Walmart. 

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Disclosure:  MarksvilleandMe received one or more of the products mentioned above as part of a promotion. Regardless, MarksvilleandMe only recommends products or services we use personally and believe will be good for our readers. Some of the links in the article may be “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive compensation.  If you would like MarksvilleandMe to review or promote a product or service please contact us at marksvilleandme@gmail.com.

This Little Piggy goes to the Beach

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I am a big sucker for farm animals, but pigs are probably my favorite. So when I saw this cute pig beach pail I just had to get it for my grandchildren to play with. I didn't catch that the pig had a pour spout through his nose, that makes this so much more cute. I really like that this set can be used for water or tub play as well with all of the pour spouts build into the pieces. 

The chunky handles on the rake and shovel are really nice for small hands but also fit well into an adults hands so both parents and children can play together. I should mention that the pig pail is a bit flexible too which makes it safe with no jagged edges.  I love the going to the beach and this would be so fun to play with in the sand and easy to find your pail with it being a pig. 

Another use for this would be in the snow although I am not a big advocate for playing in the snow other then for building a snowman, but the choice is there for those who would enjoy it. This would make an awesom basket filler or just a gift all on its own. Check out this eight piece set at Amazon. 

 

The Cutest Thing Ever

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Do you ever just stumble upon Something that tickles you pink? Well I do and sometimes those things just need to bought. That is what I felt when this I found this cute bike accessory. It is just so stinking cute. I couldn't resist. I know my daughter loves it too. Even though it feels like it has been raining forever, she couldn't wait for the first sunny day to put it on her bike and show it off a bit. The rubber duck was easy to strap to her bike and the color we chose really pops with the color of her bike. Now she has a trusty friends to go along with her while biking around our neighborhood.

Now tell me this isn’t the cutest bike accessory ever. He squeaks and lights up. He can have his helmet up or down and even comes with an optional gun. Ok so they had me at rubber ducky. Sometimes I am just pulled in for the sale on sheer cuteness or originality, and I think this hits both. They have six different helmet covers to pick from so you can match it up with your bike colors. It also comes with adhesive so you can attach it to the dashboard in your vehicle. Who doesn't need a little sidekick to bring some joy to their lives? I think this is whimsical and affordable. Bring a little cuteness into someone's life. 

Great for gift giving, bringing someone cheer, or just as a fun gift to surprise someone with. Coming from a first person shooter game family we find this has cuteness overload.

Screen Patch Repair Kit

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We rent a apartment that is very old and most things are really hard to replace. Take for instance our screen door. I think it was handcrafted for this house and if I had to guess was last updated in the 70's. You can take out the mid part of the door, changing out the glass panes for the screen piece. My daughter booty bumped the door to get it open because it sticks in the humidity and did some damage to it. Check out my blog about fixing it here. 

Before we did that we tried out the above product to see how it would work on just holes. Since we were replacing the whole screen anyways my husband caused a hole so that we could we could give it whirl. As you can see from the close ups there were tiny holes everywhere in the screen where it had rusted through. Like I said it was old. 

Anyways we have a hole where just using a piece of the mesh tape on each side was enough to fix it. It is noticeable but it is also a quick fix and much less expensive then replacing a whole screen. 

Then we have a much bigger hole here that had to have the whole treatment. The kit comes with a rounded needle so that you can literally sew the screen and then apply tape. As you can see in the second middle photo below that it isn't very neat, that is because everytime we tried to sew it the screen gave way because it was so rusted. Mind you if your screen is not as old or rusted through like ours was this would have looked amazing. After sewing you put a piece of the mesh screent tape on both sides and you are done. Again it is noticeable but less expensive then replacing a whole screen. 

We thought this would be great for use on tents or those pop up houses as well. Most of the time you need to get rid of your tent if there is a hole and for safety you do that with the pop up houses as well. Now you can get a little more use out of your products with a quick patch job with this kit from Magzo. Check it out here https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0798N7ZG5.

Screen Door Repair

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Our front screen door opens hard when it is humid out. One day my daughter booty bumped it forgetting the screen was in which can be changed out for a glass panel in the colder months and damaged the screen. As you can see from showing you how to repair just a hole on the same screen, you can see this screen had mini holes all over the place when you zoom in on the screen and it had to be replaced either way with the side damage. Check out the repair patch kit here. The video for this repair is here.  

This door looks like it was hand crafted so everything had to be done in steps. Since we rent we wanted to be very careful as I don't think we could have found a replacement. My husband was more then a bit nervous doing this as he did not want to ruin it more. As you can see the results were way better then we thought they would be and we are very impressed with this replacement screen from Magzo. It was a large piece and did our screen door and can probably do a large window in our home if need be and a smaller window. For the price and time we spent on this project we saved tons of money. 

With this screen door there was no spline so my husband had to take the molding off carefully. It has to be from the 70's at least. Then he tore off the old screen removed the staples that were originally there then layed and measured the new screen. Once he adhered the new screen to the door he was able to replace the molding and finished it up with a fresh coat of paint. 

He then placed the screen in the door and it looks better then before. Like I said it came out better then we had hoped. All the anxiety he had over starting this project was unwarranted. My husband was very happy and relieved with the outcome.

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Below is the replacement screen we used from Magzo which was 48"W x 99"L. You can find it here. 

Learn to Budget like a Pro

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As my husband and myself have been learning to manage our money better, we have learned that having a place to keep everything written down is important. My health isn't awesome right now or rather it never really has been but it has come time to make sure that my husband can manage our money too.

I have taught him how to pay our bills and what dates they should be paid on, where to find the information for each bill etc. Having it written in one place is much easier for him to take the reigns when he needs to and a budgeting book like this is a good place to start. 

I love that it includes a calendar, plenty of spots to keep track of things, and even has a spot with helpful hint each month, a monthly goal, and a spot for a monthly gratitude exercise. It has just about everything you need to make sure that you can start to take control of your budget.

It also comes with 8 cash envelopes and even though we don't use cash envelopes they can be a great way to save money or even divvy out allowance to your children. Some people use the envelopes to put money aside for donating or saving up for something like a Holiday, Birthday, etc. 

Check it out below for yourself. 

Most Popular Fidget Toy of the Year

 

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We are always on the look out for new games and toys that stand the test of time. These push pop fidget toys hit the mark. They are very popular right now and I was super excited to find this two piece set for my daughters. Years ago we bought a game that was a silicon circle with the pop-its inside. Even though we have played the game many times and had to replace it, I am pretty sure the kids spent more time just popping the little circles over and over again. 

Toys like this are great for kids who have autism, have adhd, or just need something to keep their hands busy with while they are learning. My daughter was remote learning this year and she would drive me crazy popping ours over and over again. I know it relaxed her when the teachers would frustrate her but for me it was just too much. 

This set has one side that is louder and the other side is quite. I love it and think I can deal with that because there would be a pause between the louder side and the more quite side. I love the colors so that one could be given to each of my two girls still at home. The set comes with a rainbow and marble colored fidget toy and it is surrunded by a hard plastic.  Check it out here http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0913FTKPQ .

My first Telehealth call

 Just had my telehealth call with my Hematologist and I will be going for more tests next week and a possible iron infusion based on those test results. She gave me a rundown of what I will be given for my operations and that there will be an extra med on board to help me, as well as making sure they have enough of my blood on hand. In our family, my 4th biological child is the only one who can give me blood as she hasn't tested positive for any of my blood diseases and has the same blood type as me, so we always have her on call when I need to go to the hospital just in case. We have other children with the same blood type as me but can't give blood or donate organs because of our blood disorders. Those who don't have my blood disorders all give blood as often as they can, I just can't have their blood. Getting closer to having my procedures done so we can find out what needs to come out so I don't have all of these infections from diverticulitis.