LuLaRoe Review and Give Away!

KB is guest posting for me today. Her sweet bambino, Samwise is on the move, and LuLaRoe have been her go-to style since he made his entrance  a few short months ago.

Now let’s talk Lularoe! What is all the fuss about? If you haven’t gone out on the limb and spent the twenty-five something dollars on a pair of these leggings yet, go ahead and give them a shot, sister! Or if you’ve seen all those give aways and “legging loops” put your name in, girl! Totally worth it!

Pre-pregnancy I was an all-jeans kind of girl. I had two pairs of yoga pants, for running and bed. But you wouldn’t catch me dead just bumming around in them at home! Not once, never… not unless I didn’t have a pair of clean jeans and that was nearly impossible as I owned probably ten pairs!

Now fast forward to during pregnancy and post-partum. Are there maternity jeans? Why yes, yes there are. Do they last until you fit into “regular” jeans. For the most part, they do. An investment that I highly recommend, if you’re a jeans type of gal. 

However, jeans on post-partum still-healing mommy just is not comfortable for me. Unless they are slip on jean-leggings or something along those lines - zippers and button jeans are currently either to large or too small, too tight or too… Name something. No fun! Hot, sweaty, uncomfortable, falling down or stuffed in a rough material that literally attracts dirt and spit up is not what I call enjoyable.

My husband took me shopping for jeans several times to no avail. Nothing fits the same, and the only jeans that worked are still maternity – although the bands do slowly slip off throughout the day. Maybe this is just me still embracing my post pregnancy body… However I have found some wonderful jean substitutes!

In a last ditch effort, I put my name in for a couple of Lularoe “legging loops” and other give aways. Shocklingy, I lucked out and won a free pair of grey heathered leggings and three different styles of shirt from the loop.

The leggings came in a purple packing envelope. In the envelope was a thank you note for participating, a piece of candy, business card and then the Lularoe packaged leggings. They were crisp, they definitely were soft and I couldn’t wait to wear them!

The next day I wore my heather grey leggings with an oversized, nursing friendly top. Let me tell you OH MY!! “Buttery soft” really doesn’t do the softness of these leggings justice. And no, I am not over exaggerating. Yes, you can get “soft leggings anywhere…” But you can’t get butter-soft leggings that don’t pull, tear, cover everything, hold up and look clean despite baby spit up! It wiped right off! They haven’t caught on anything yet, they wash beautifully, and the Tall and Curvy fit my tall and curvy post partum frame. If I wanted, I could easily wear heals, or my tennis shoes with my new black legging purchase.

 I’m not one to buy into fads, but this is definitely a popular brand for a reason… and just look at the variety of patterns. There are some crazy prints that I really don’t understand. However, there are some other truly beautiful prints out there (and no I’m not referencing the ice cream cone or doughnut prints).

The shirts are equally soft, comfortable and nursing friendly! Very post-partum friendly, easy to wash, adorable patterns! So much fun!

In Conclusion, well worth the very little investment I put forth J And I will be happy to purchase from them!

Interested in trying product, but not willing to bite the bullet financially? Host a facebook pop-up, or put your name in for a give away J I assure you, it will be worth it!

Check out my hostess page on Facebook: Lovely Leggings PopUp. Send a request to join and KB will accept within an hour. 

To enter the give-away, join the page and leave a comment on the FaceBook page, telling us which LuLaRoe you love! Winner will receive a free pair of leggings! 

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Diana and Friends Experience History Through Music Give-Away-- $700+Value!

I am super excited to participate in the launch of Experience History Though Music by Diana Waring. Our family owned these sets years ago and enjoyed them then. Several moves and a house fire later and I'm not sure where we lost them along the way but because I knew how good these were I jumped at the chance to be part of this launch program. Not only have we loved Diana Waring's stuff for years, but we are participating in CC-Cycle 3 is U.S. History, along with working through America the Beautiful and planning a field trip to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead in DeSmet this summer (one of our fav field trips of all time!) So, YES, this fits in to our life on so many levels. What better way to truly understand the history of a time than to gain a deep understanding of the music of the time. Stay tuned- my review will post the week of June 30. Until then, console yourself with this phenomenal $700+ give-away! 

 

 To celebrate the release of Experience History Through Music, I am joining members of the Diana Waring Launch Team for an amazing giveaway. Friends of Diana have joined in and as you can see, someone's homeschool is going to be greatly blessed!  Here's what you could win! 

From Diana Waring Presents

Experience History Through Music - set of 3 books with CDs ($50/set) Diana Waring Presents is about to bring back into print the BEST folk music you have ever heard, combined with the fascinating stories they represent in American history!   The Experience Music Through Historyseries includes: America - Heart of a New Nation, Westward Ho! - Heart of the Old West  and Musical Memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The musicians are amazing, every instrument is real, lots of great vocalists, and more toe-tapping music than you can imagine! The books tell the stories behind the songs.  Together, they bring American history to life through it's music!!With fascinating history books and toe-tapping folk music CDs, American history has NEVER been this fun!

 

Encouragement for Homeschool Moms Collection ($25) Every mom needs that word of encouragement from someone who has been there, who has grownup children and can speak with assurance about the journey. Homeschool moms have an extra portion of the journey to navigate, and often wish for an extra voice that will offer direction but without nagging or prodding. Diana Waring has that voice.  

From A Journey Through Learning

$50 Gift Certificate $50 to spend in the A Journey Through Learning store, applicable toward any digital download purchase.  

 From Homeschool Legacy

Westward Ho! Part I ($19.95) Load up your wagon! Discover the extraordinary times of adventurous frontiersmen and brave pioneers as you travel cross-country along the Erie Canal,  Oregon Trail, and even “remember the Alamo” in Westward Ho Part I. Westward Ho! Part II ($19.95) Continue the exciting saga begun in Westward Ho! Part I as you journey with the forty-niners, ride the rails of the Transcontinental Railroad, experience life on the prairie, and discover the exciting era of cowboys and cattle drives in Westward Ho! Part II.  

From Knowledge Quest Maps

Map Trek: Atlas and Outline Maps of World History ($55) Map Trek is a historical atlas plus outline maps that allow you to teach geography alongside history. This is a resource that any homeschool parent can use with brilliant success, even if you don't remember a thing from your history or geography classes in public school.

From Home School Adventure Co. 

Philosophy Adventure™ Digital Download ($39.95) Philosophy Adventure™ is designed to help students 6th-12th grade cultivate and defend a biblical worldview by teaching them how to write skillfully, think critically, and speak articulately as they explore the history of ideas.   

From Heidi St. John (The Busy Mom and Real Life Press)

Firmly Planted Family Devotional Digital Volume 3 ($39) The Firmly Planted Family Series is divided into ten-week studies and is your key to making sense of the Bible—even if you’re learning right along with your children. Each lesson provides a core idea, a simple narrative, memory verses and discussion questions for children of all ages. And the companion student workbook is filled with age-appropriate, full-color, reproducible activities for children of any age!  

From Raising Real Men

Free Registration to Boyhood Boot Camp or Boot Camp 9-12 LIVE webinar series (winner's choice) plus Mom & Dad Special Raising Real Men (Book for Mom to read in the bathroom + )

AudioBook for Dad to listen to on the commute) ($62-69Free Registration for Marriage Retreat Online plus His & Hers Special of My Beloved and My Friend: How To Be Married To Your Best Friend Without Changing Spouses (book + audiobook), ($65)  

 From Institute for Excellence in Writing

$50 Gift Certificate $50 to spend in the IEW store, applicable toward any purchase.  

From The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

SchoolhouseTeachers.com ($139) A one year membership to the curriculum arm of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Nearly 100 classes for Pre-K to High School, taught by expert teachers, and lots of extras including the Schoolhouse Planners, Schoolhouse Expos, monthly free ebook downloads and more.downloads and more.

   

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine 2014 Print Book ($15) Be encouraged, enlightened, and educated with the all new 2014 Annual Print Book published by The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine.You’ll get a year’s worth of homeschool support in almost 300 pages in this full color one-of-a-kind print magazine for homeschoolers, by homeschoolers. This is a magazine you’ll refer to again and again.  

From Writing with Sharon Watson

The Power in Your Hands ($53.96) With The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School, they’ll learn what they need to know for high school and will be prepared for college  writing.

Writing Fiction [in High School] ($35) Are you raising the next C. S. Lewis or Jane Austen? Help your students develop their fiction-writing talents with Writing Fiction [In High School]: Bringing Your Stories to Life. To enter the giveaway, use the Rafflecopter below. Residents of the U.S., age 18 and older only. Other Terms and Conditions can be found in the Rafflecopter.
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

 @Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Lilla Rose Review and Give-Away

Lilla Rose

True Confessions. The picture below is a display of what has been my hair wardrobe for many years.

Nothing fancy, lots of function, inexpensive and enough hair style possibilities to change it up every once in a while.

Highly functional and totally bling-free.

 

Recently, I was presented with the opportunity to try out some Lilla Rose products. 

Not only try out some Lilla Rose myself, but give a GG reader the opportunity to win a fantastic Lilla Rose hair piece as well.

Flower and I had a great time pouring over the on-line catalog and decided on Flexi-clips- Lilla Rose's masterpiece of sorts, based on our consultant, Allison's, recommendation.

Perfection in a hair accessory.

 

The genius of the flexi is multi-fold.
Give me a minute to sing it's Praises!
 

For starters, every single Lilla Rose piece I looked at is beautiful.. Flower and I had spent a couple of hours looking at the on-line catalog because there are tons of styles to choose from, and each one has something to commend it. You could create an entire hair accessory ward-robe from the Lilla Rose catalog.

 

There are no pesky parts to lose.  All of the parts of the flexi stay together. The "stick" moves freely, but is cleverly attached, so that it can never get lost; it's all just one flexible piece.

 

Hard core- durability. These are not wimpy, plastic, poorly made hair accessories. These are hardworking hair accessories to keep your style going and your hair up.

 

Cost effective bling- who doesn't love that? The flexis that we chose were around $16 each. I've worn mine countless times in the past 2 months. I mean, seriously, a $16 accessory like this will cost me just pennies per wearing by the time all is said and done. I can see these hair pieces lasting for years.

 

These beautiful babies are comfortable. I've worn my flex-clip to the gym. Have you ever tried to use weight lifting machines with a hard plastic clip in your hair? -frustrating because the plastic is unforgiving, meaning you can't lean your head against the mat and just concentrate on breathing and lifting. Rubber bands aren't uncomfortable but if you have long hair they don't always keep your hair out of the way. With the flexi-clip, you seriously won't even notice you have something in your hair if you lay down on it. It really is flexible- cue the Incredibles music and pretend you are Elasta-Girl!

So, really for sports enthusiasts with hair that needs to cooperate, Lilla Rose is a company you are going to want to check out! Wouldn't coordinating hair clips or flexi's be the cutest for a team to wear?

 

There are different sizes to choose from. I chose the medium size because I have very fine hair but a ton of it. Flower has my hair times two, so she chose the large.

 

 There are tons of ways to use the flexi and we've tried a couple of different styles. My fav is just a bun twist. The picture above is the real thing. I might have even taken this picture after I worked and worked out, so while you can see fly-aways, please notice that my hair is still up and in place after a full day of my taking my glasses on and off (meaning on the top of my head and then on my face), leaning against gym mats, etc. Flower got a bit more creative. This girl plays hard, outside and up trees, and the flexi stayed in place.

 

 

Allison Friedrich is the Independent Lilla Rose Consultant I've been working with to give you this fantastic give-away. She was incredibly helpful about the products, and a joy to work with. She has graciously agreed to give one GG reader a free item of their choice ( up to $16). The most difficult thing for the winner will be deciding which Lilla Rose item they want to make their own.

Let me say, too, that they have a fantastic hostess plan. If you see lots of hair accessories that you want, host a party; Allison can do this for you even long-distance. Hosting a party would be a wonderful idea for a bridal or baby shower, a little girls birthday (or an older Moms one!), for a sports team wanting to show team spirit or just for a fun get together.

Lilla Rose features a Flexi-of the month, meaning that there isn't going to be a shortage of beautiful designs. Not only does the company offer flexi-clips, but there some gorgeous pins, beautiful headbands and even badge holders - need a great gift for a teacher or nurse? Look no further, Lilla Rose offers badge bling. Check out the entire Lilla Rose Product Line


And if you are looking for a fantastic business opportunity, touch base with Allison about signing up to be a Lilla Rose Consultant.
 

So, how do you enter to win? I am so glad you asked!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

And the Learn Math Fast Winners Are.....

Two winners were randomly chosen to receive Learn Math Fast. One winner will be gifted LMF books I-VI.  and one winner will be gifted LMF books V-VI. 

And the winners are...

Entry #488Michele P.

Entry #232Sharon

Congratulations, Michele and Sharon!

Cub (8th grade) is currently working through LMF book VI- Applications of Algebra. This is a great program that will insure math success. Between now and June 1, use the code, "golden" and receive $5 off your purchase at Learn Math Fast.

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

What a Week

*1*

Learn Math Fast System Review and Give-away.

2 Winners for this one- One winner will win books 1-4 and one winner will win books 5-6. 

Go HERE to enter to win!

*2*

Co-op Art. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

*3*

These 2 Yahoos have spent hours listening to the History of the Medieval World- total love- thank-you SWB, for turning it into audio!- along with Flying Creatures of the 5th Day. The chapter on "Bats" was a big hit, with lots of pleas to get one as a pet. Righto. We have plenty of pet bats, they live in our barn, they are happy there, and you are all welcome to visit them any time you like!

        

Between the crazy weather and coughs that are hanging on, these are actual action photos from our week!

*4*

The Minecraft bug has bitten hard here. When they aren't actually on-line creating, they are building like crazy with actual Legos. I am loving the detail and the constant chatter about how they are adding on and thinking about this and have you tried that. Great skill building on so very many levels. And total fun.

When You Rise Up offers some amazing sounding Minecraft classes. 

*5*

BarnCat Rescue 911. 

Here's the skinny. Anyone who knows me knows I loathe love tolerate animals. Rodents don't even count; this includes all "cute" hamster thing-ishes, rats, mice, chinchillas, et al. Cats make me sick- literally. Enclose me in a house with a cat and, I testify, I will have a near death experience every time (allergies, dontch'a know- as in, SEVERE). Howevah. Animals love me. I'm the first person in the room they rub against, beg to be petted by and am always the one in a crowd whose lap is jumped in. My reactions vary, but should probably not be publicized as I might lose animal loving readers. This does not mean we don't have animals. We've had many, including but not limited to Guinnea Pigs (the only acceptable rodent, imho), to fowl-feathered friends, cast, dogs, sheep, goats, a horse and I'm sure other things that I've blocked from memory forgotten. 

That being said, Miss Baghera got terminally ill this week. We took her in and decided to do the very expensive Vet inspired treatment instead of the very cheap bullet inspired treatment. Homestead fail, right? But happy, happy kiddos with their sweet kitten. I call that a win, even if it entails a cat.

*6*

Cub and I found ourselves alone in the house for a whole day yesterday. I worked, he read. Then we watched sci-fi together. Love this kid, even though he is in perpetual locust-mode (i.e. eating everything in site) and yaps spoilers during whatever we're watching or reading that he's made it through and I haven't. Plus, he loves some of my fav authors and has introduced me to some new ones. He's a speed reader, like me, too, so I am always on the look-out for great books to throw his way. It was great to be plastered against each other on the couch all alone for a few hours, just chilin'. Happy sigh. He asked me if we'd ever been alone in the house together before. Actually, maybe not.

*7*

This is in the school, attached to the church where the kids do co-op. 

Love it. 

Feeche has taken over my Geography class. He is a natural; a globe carrying, Risk-winning, map-studying, high-energy, histor- loving, pied-piper type. So yeah, I think the kids love him more than me. Miss my little class of cuties, but glad they are in good hands.

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Anticipation..

Stay tuned ~reviews coming soon~

with another amazing Learn Math Fast Give-away!

 

Look what came in the mail today! Nerd thrill! And yes, you see that right- that's the Grammar of Poetry, all spruced and grown up in to a DVD.

Read my previous review here and stay tuned for the new and improved one! 

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Blog Love, Baby!

*1*

It's Friday. WOOT! It's been a crazy busy week; all good, right? My blog world has been rocking. First off, have you signed up for my current give-away? At least $20 of Organo Gold Coffee and Tea and other great OG stuff that will rock your socks off. My friends at work are drinking it and they all feel so great that a cleaning frenzy has ensued! My German Grandmother, whose adage was truly, Cleanliness is next to Godliness, would be proud!

*2*

It's been 5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials. 89 of us have teamed up to bring you resources and inspiration, such as

 Purpose, People, Places, Program, Persevere

And please stop by some of my terrific Crewbies to see what they have to say:
Marcy @ Ben and Me
Lisa @ Golden Grasses (that's me, y'all!)
Tess @ Circling Through This Life
Victoria @ Homemaking with Heart
Kayla @ The Arrowood Zoo
Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
Deanna @ His Treasure Seekers
Melissa @ Grace Christian Homeschool
Beth @ Ozark Ramblings
Rebecca @ Raventhreads

*3*

Why didn't I focus on curriculum you ask, while talking about Homeschooling Essentials? Because every Monday of this month, I've been participating in the Virtual Curriculum Fair, along with 28 blogger buddies: 

Teaching Math, Logic and Patterns, Language Arts, World Exploration, 

This coming Monday, we'll all be talking ART. I'm a closet arteest and this topic is near and dear to my heart. Stop back by for some great resources! 

*4*

I'm co-hosting another great Face Book party - February 13 at 9 p.m. EST, along with Sandra at Learning Little Lovies. What started small has grown and we are busy collecting amazing prizes and resources for you! If you aren't on the Golden Grasses FB page- go sign-up so you don't miss anything! 

*5*

In between it all we did get some school done. Famous Men of Modern Times is our current history read-aloud. I'll be sad when the series is over. We might just start it again! Flower is finished with Saxon 6/5 and about done with Perplexors D and First Language Lessons IV. Man, there is just such great curriculum out there these days! Cub finished Learn Math Fast Algebra I and we are going through Saxon Algebra 1/2 to grab out some of the geomtry stuff. LMF Alg II coming right up! I'll be posting my review of LMF Alg I and II, along with a give-away of LMF 1-IV and LMF 5-6 to 2 lucky GG winners!!
Cub has been reading The Flying Ensign- another fantastic read by Bethlehem Books. Flower is still working through The Samurai's Tale and both of them are cramming in Calvin and Hobbes whenever possible.

*6*

I would share my current GoodRead but I haven't read anything longer than a blog post, training manual or magazine article for weeks. I've watched a few movies, but nothing note-worthy. I need ideas for stuff that is solid fluff- both books and movies. Got anything for me?
Feeche is busy reading, writing and doing 'rithmatic. He is a happy, happy, happy man, deep into college classes.

*7* 

Did you know I was multi-lingual?

Best Funny Jokes

Lingua-love- we have a Manga Language review coming up! The kids have chosen languages that are  probably not in the TOP10 of spoken languages world wide, but we are excited to bring you another great review! 

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Party Time!

*1*

Did you miss the AH-mazing Facebook Party last night for the Mere Christianity Critical Thinking Journal launch? Great chat, tons of curriculum AND a boatload of gifts and prizes, including a Kindle Fire, went to some lucky participants. No worries, because there is another FB party tonight! Woot!

My blogger buddy Sandra Modersohn of Learning Little Lovies is hosting and lined up some awesome prizes (including a gift pack of Organo Gold -health and warmth for these cold winter days!), fun guests and great chat. I'll be there sharing about Memory Work for littles (pre-K/early eled). Go to Golden Grasses FB page -"like" and be ready for a great time! 8 p.m. CST. (and speaking of social media- I'd love it if you found me on  google+- add me to your circles and I'll add ya back!)

*2*

School this week- Cub finished Algebra I from Learn Math Fast - it was hard work and we need to do some more drill on polynomials, but it is finished! I'll be doing a review of Algebra I and II of the Learn math Fast program, along with another GREAT give-away of both the entire eled program AND the Geometry, Alg I and II- TWO give-aways at once. I haven't found an upper level math program I love until this one!

*3*

Oh, yeah- school. Flower is cruising through Perplexors 4. This is serious deductive reasoning and, thankfully, Feeche is around often enough to help her out with it. He's also been playing games with them- checkers and the President's game- he is the Game Master, so don't think you'll win if he joins in. Flower finished Saxon 5/6 and she wants to stick with Saxon for now. To be ordered along with Saxon 7/6, Mental Math from Great Courses, The History of the Medieval World by SWB, Flying Creatures MP3 from Apologia. Also, Science in the Beginning by my favorite science textbook writer, Dr. Jay Wile!

*4*

The Virtual Curriculum Fair is going full swing. 

Week 1: Language Arts

Week 2: How to Teach Math, Logic and Patterns

Week 3: (Monday): Exploring Our world: Social Studies and more Science.

Week 4: (a week from Monday): The Arts.

You can link-up with us and we'd love it if you did - go to the bottom of the post and add yours!  

Starting on Monday and going ALL Week I'll be featuring the "5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials" Blog Hop. This is going to be a blast! A whole bunch of us have teamed up to bring you some great ideas and will include things like curriculum, supplies, attitudes, space, outside help, co-ops, subject areas, methods, planning and schedules. We're thinking outside the box on this one, so you are going to want to stop by and see what we've come up with!
So, Monday is a 2-fer. The Virtual Curriculum Fair AND the first day of Homeschooling Essentials. If you don't hear from me this week-end, after the FB patry tongiht, know that I am writing and drinking lattes (OG, right?)

*5*

Feeche is loving his University classes but cringed all the way to the bank buying textbooks. He is loving the classes and his profs and really looking forward to the landscaping season so he can buff up his bank account once again.

*6*

Yes, I totaled the van. AND I think we found a good replacement already. Pshew. It was getting a little dicey between multiple work, school, co-op schedules, living way out of town and 2 cars, one of which doesn't like to go into gear when it gets below 10 degrees. Taking the prospect to the mechanics for a look-over tonight and hopefully, we'll have another van in the drive-way asap. God provision- love that.

*7*
Just saying....

 Best marque of the week:
"There here; New Snack Packs"
And for the serious reader, compliments of Dr. Dh's weekly reading:
"The god of the philosophers is indistinguishable from Death."
Douglas Knight in Covenant and Hope.

How was your week?

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!