Friday Frivolity - Hobbits

It's time for this week's edition of Friday Frivolity - the blog party for all things fun, funny, hopeful & happy!

Just wait until you see what we dug up for this week's theme...

Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase something, I'll receive a small affiliate commission at no cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting my efforts with this blog!

At last week's party, we looked at hats.

This week brings us Hobbit Day, so we're looking at wisdom from those diminutive, hairy-footed Shire-dwellers:

Slow Down: Embracing the Everyday Moments of Motherhood, by Nichole Nordeman

This great little book will help you take a few moments each day to reflect and celebrate the privilege of being a parent and getting to watch your little ones grow -- and Slow Down!

Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase something, I'll receive a small affiliate commission at no cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting my efforts with this blog!

I received a free copy of this product as a member of The Booklook Bloggers Program in exchange for writing a review.  All opinions are my own.

I've enjoyed Nichole Nordeman's music for years, so I was excited to read what she had to say in this little devotional:

Slow Down

Latticed Learning - Weather

Learn while playing with Latticed Learning!  This week's theme has plenty of activities to go along with it - keep reading to find out more!

Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase something, I'll receive a small affiliate commission at no cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting my efforts with this blog!

Welcome back to Latticed Learning!  This year, we're continuing to learn while we play - repeating many of our favorites from the past while adding in all sorts of new activities as well.

This day's post is devoted to our weekly themes - some weeks have more activities than others, but each lesson will be fun for you to explore with your little one!

Who Can Blow the Biggest Pumpkin? Family Fall Challenge

Books become even better when you pair them with fun activities!

See what we did to go along with this month's Monthly Crafting Pumpkin-Related Book Club theme.

Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase something, I'll receive a small affiliate commission at no cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting my efforts with this blog!

My bloggy pal Hilary over at Raising Fairies and Knights started a fun Monthly Crafting Book Club - a challenge to create activities to go along with some of the most beloved children's books.

We had some great times last year (see links at the end of this post) and have continued the fun this year:

January - Ladybug Girl Addition Bugs
February - Giraffes Can't Dance Roll-a-Dance Die
March - How Do Dinosaurs...Social Skills Game
April - The Very Hungry Caterpillar Box
May - Unique Nature Creations
June - Pinkalicious-Inspired Collage Art
July - Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten Can Craft
August - Homemade Bow and Arrow Flight Investigation


This month, our little group is getting ready for autumn with this book:

The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin

Project Snapshot - Week 194

Each week, Project Snapshot captures a memory from the past few days - either with a camera, words, or both.  

Time passes in the blink of an eye - see which treasured memory will join the year's collection for this week:

Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase something, I'll receive a small affiliate

commission at no cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting my efforts with this blog!

My Snapshot(s)

This last week and a half has totally thrown me off of my routine.

First we spent all our time preparing for Irma, then we sat through Irma (which was, thankfully, nothing as bad as we expected) and then we spent all our time cleaning up from Irma.

It was good that everyone took this storm so seriously and smart for us all to have prepared so well, but this storm didn't come close to doing the kind of damage I experienced back in 2004.

We didn't even lose power at our house for more than a short time -- and I was fully expecting to be without it for a week, even if no other damage occurred. (Not that the everyone was so lucky -- a ton of people in the area just had their power restored yesterday!)

So most of our time was spent putting everything we'd squeezed into our house back out onto the porch and unpacking all the important papers and items that we'd packed into bins and set up off the floor...you know, fun stuff like that.

We also had part of our fence blown down and, of course, a ton of limbs littering our yard. 

We managed to prop up the sections of our fence that blew down...and are still trying to decide whether to repair it all or re-do it, but man, was that main two-panel section heavy to lift up!

This debris pile doesn't seem all that massive from the photo...until you notice that it reaches to the top of the 6-ft-high fence, stretches about 30 feet across and actually fills up a 1-ft depression that was once known as our garden...G needed it all out of the way so he could mow, so the garden was the spot to cover. Now he's not sure he'll deal with dragging it all out by the road for the storm teams to pick up, not just because of the time that would take, but because he's got visions of creating a huge bonfire...

You know, it's really nice having a ton of ginormous trees around your house...until you have to clean up from them!

Hopefully I can get back into my groove again this week, especially since G finally went back to work at school, after they re-opened today. (Gv and I loved spending all that extra time with him, but it was like the never-ending weekend...)

What was your favorite memory from this past week?  I'd love to hear!  Either leave a comment below or email me at lisahealy (at) outlook (dot) com.

Also, if you don't want to miss a single minute of great posts like this along with all the other fun and tips around here, be sure to sign up for free updates and then look forward to having each post delivered right to your inbox!

5 After 5, Before-Bed Routines

Do you have a certain list of tasks you have to do before your head hits the pillow each night?

We're talking bedtime routines on this week's 5 After 5.

Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase something, I'll receive a small affiliate commission at no cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting my efforts with this blog!


It's time for another round of 5 After 5!  In case you missed it, last week's list was fun fall activities and if you're new to this series, you can read more about it here - then catch up on all the old editions here.

Today I've got my list of 5 to share, as well as next week's topic for you to stew about over the upcoming days.

And this series is a link party, so be sure to scroll down and join in all the fun with us this week!

List 5 things that are part of your bedtime routine

It's hurricane season over here, so we're spending lots of time hunkering down as the storms head our way -- which I guess makes me think sleepy thoughts and wonder what everyone's bedtime routines look like.

Friday Frivolity - Hats

It's time for this week's edition of Friday Frivolity - the blog party for all things fun, funny, hopeful & happy!

Just wait until you see what we dug up for this week's theme...

Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase something, I'll receive a small affiliate commission at no cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting my efforts with this blog!

At last week's party, we looked at fortune cookie messages.

This week, it's time for Make a Hat Day, so I'm sharing some of the craziest hats I've seen:

The Ultimate Guide to Doing Preschool at Home (Everything you need to get started!)

Feeling overwhelmed with the thought of homeschooling your preschooler?

This ultimate guide to doing preschool at home will give you everything you need to get started!

Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase something, I'll receive a small affiliate commission at no cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting my efforts with this blog!

It’s that time of year again.

You know, when it seems like every entry you scroll past on social media is a “first day of” photo or description of little Johnny or Jane’s first day and how everyone just knows it’s going to be the best year ever!

If you’re a homeschool mom, you’ve probably already adjusted to this coming-at-you-from-all-sides media storm. Either you’ve posted your own “first day” photos with the kids lounging around in pajamas or you’ve participated in a fun, “not back to school” first day event, or you’ve been doing this homeschool thing for so long, you just don’t care.

We took a picture...

But if you still just have little ones at home or your oldest is of preschool age, then it’s a different story, bringing different pressures.

That's why I'm over at Pam Barnhill's site today, with Swimming Against the Current: When You’re Not Sending Your Child Off to Preschool.

You'll want to click on over and read that post, but leave this window open so you can come back and find everything you need to get set up for doing preschool at home.

Latticed Learning - Me/My Family/My Friends/My Home

Learn while playing with Latticed Learning!  This week's theme has plenty of activities to go along with it - keep reading to find out more!

Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase something, I'll receive a small affiliate commission at no cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting my efforts with this blog!

Welcome back to Latticed Learning!  This year, we're continuing to learn while we play - repeating many of our favorites from the past while adding in all sorts of new activities as well.

This day's post is devoted to our weekly themes - some weeks have more activities than others, but each lesson will be fun for you to explore with your little one!

Little Jesus, Little Me by Doris Rikkers

Help your child connect with Jesus at an early age and learn about God's great love!

Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase something, I'll receive a small affiliate commission at no cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting my efforts with this blog!

I received a free copy of this product as a member of Zondervan's Z Blog Squad in exchange for writing a review.  All opinions are my own.

This sweet little board book featuring simple text and colorful illustrations helps children make a connection to Jesus by relating how He was once a child, just like them:

Little Jesus, Little Me