The Domestic Diva » Homeschool

Mother’s Day from the Heart

The Domestic Diva — Tue, 15 May 2012 07:52:58 +0000

Mother’s Day this year for me wasn’t spent doing anything fancy. Instead I was shown nothing but love throughout the day.

The day started with my youngest running up to me saying…
“Here Mama I want you to have this. I used to play with it everyday but I give it to you because it is Mother’s Day”
as he hands over his beloved batman action figure.

Then the kidlets quickly ran downstairs with specific instructions that I was not to follow them. They were going to “make me something special”. So I waited and when they returned this is what they brought…

Two hand written notes, one from each of them.
“I love you MaMa. You are a super star! I love you Mom”
“I love you Mom. You are SUPER. I love you very much”

So the best Mother’s day present (for me) wasn’t something that was bought, but came from the hearts of two little kidlets instead.

I hope you all had a great Mother’s Day as well :)

Airplane, Airplane!

The Domestic Diva — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:36:19 +0000

We went to an Air Show over the weekend and had lots of fun! The kidlets absolutely loved it.

Even though it was really hot out and I got a bit of a sunburn (my fault, I totally forgot to put sunscreen around my neck area), it was a trip my kidlets are sure to remember just as I remember going to the Air Show with my Dad when I was little.

Thanks Dad for all the fun memories!!!

Mom Doesn’t Get Spring Break

The Domestic Diva — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 01:46:53 +0000

Well it is Monday and it is also the official start to “our” Spring Break. I say “our” very loosely because it doesn’t seem like I’ve had much of a break yet. While the kidlets are definitely excited to not be homeschooling this week we still have a very busy schedule planned. I feel like all I’ve done is gone from one activity to the other all day today.

Can you believe that summer is almost here? Spring break feels like “crunch time” for me. Not only am I making sure that the kidlet’s are on the right track to have all of their studies completed on time but also I’m thinking ahead to next year. I can hardly believe that next year I’ll be homeschooling both of my kidlets. I’m not sure I’m ready for my youngest to be such a “big boy” yet. But as I round up all the necessary paper work for Kindergarten registration it is definitely becoming a very real fact.

Homeschooling Moms: What do you do during Spring Break?

Easter Basket Hunt (sponsored)

The Domestic Diva — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 02:22:09 +0000

How do you make an Easter Basket on a budget? I was given this challenge by Walmart to see if I could find what we needed for an Easter basket but still stay within a $10 budget.

The first part of the challenge that we had to tackle were the Easter baskets. Since we couldn’t find our Easter baskets from last year we had to get new ones. Walmart had a large selection of plastic baskets that were around $1 but I thought we would go the less traditional route and opt to use a metal bucket instead. These buckets can not only be used as our Easter basket but the kidlets can also use them in there room on their dresser to hold things. These buckets can also be easily personalized by painting the kid’s name on the outside or adding a tag to the handle. We also picked these small metal buckets because of the Easter Basket Hunt that we do every year and I’ll explain this fun part a little further in this post…

So now that we got our buckets, it was time to fill them and the first thing that usually comes to a person’s mind when they think of filling an Easter basket is….Easter filler grass. I was really surprised that Walmart had filler grass for only $.28. One bag was just enough for our Easter buckets :)

To fill the inside of our baskets with goodies I opted to get several things I know my kids would have fun playing with and one of their favorite sweet treats. Walmart carries a lot of $.97 basket stuffers. I picked out 4 different basket stuffers for each bucket and 1 sweet treat which were a 4 count pack of Ring Pops since those are my kidlet’s favorite treats.

Here is a basic breakdown of the Easter Baskets that we were able to put together using items we found at our local Walmart….

Make-your-own Easter Basket for around $10

Basket One (Total: $10.13)
Easter Grass- $.28
Easter themed puzzle- $.97
Jump Rope- $.97
Bracelet (sports themed)- $.97
Little Notebook- $.97
Easter Ring Pop (4 count)- $1.00
Metal Bucket- $4.97

Basket Two (Total: $10.13)
Easter Grass- $.28
Easter Ring Pop (4 count)- $1.00
Jump Rope- $.97
6 pop up toy- $.97
12 ct. pencils_ $.97
Metal Bucket- $4.97

Easter Basket Hunt

I mentioned earlier in this post something about an Easter Basket Hunt. The Easter Basket Hunt started when I was a little girl. Every year my parents would hide our Easter Baskets somewhere in the house the night before Easter morning. When we woke up Easter morning it was our job to go and find where our Easter Baskets were hidden.

Now that I am grown and have two kidlets of my own, I love to carry on the tradition of the Easter Basket Hunt. It’s sort of like getting an Easter Basket and doing the traditional “egg hunt” all in one, fun activity.

What activities do you and your family typically do on Easter?

Disclosure: I am a Walmart Mom. I have been compensated for my time and efforts in creating this post as well as given a giftcard to purchase the products mentioned in this post. As always my participation is voluntary and opinions are my own. My experience may differ from your own.

Affordable Easter Outfits for Boys from Walmart (sponsored)

The Domestic Diva — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 01:35:22 +0000

Easter is just around the corner and my kidlets are super excited! Today we tried on our Easter outfits in preparation for the “big day”.

I was given the challenge by Walmart to see if I could put together Easter Outfits for my boys on a budget. So with the giftcard provided I headed out to my local store to see what they had. I was immediately drawn to these plaid boy shorts. At only $5.97 each, I knew my boys would be comfortable but still a little dressed up for all the Easter activities. I picked two different color patterns in the plaid so they would look similar but not necessarily have “completely matching” outfits on.

The collared shirt that I paired with the plaid shorts was also found at Walmart. They were only $4.97. Each outfit totals around $11 each.

Do you and your family like to dress-up for Easter?

Disclosure: I am a Walmart Mom. I have been compensated for my time and efforts in creating this post as well as given a giftcard to purchase the products mentioned in this post. As always my participation is voluntary and opinions are my own. My experience may differ from your own.

How-To: Curly Hair Plopping using a T-shirt (VIDEO)

The Domestic Diva — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:59:59 +0000

It has been almost 1 year since I decided to ditch everything I thought I knew about my hair and decided to give the Curly Girl Method a try. Today I thought I would share with you all how I “plop” my hair in the mornings when I’m getting ready.

Hair plopping is not a new technique. There are many different ways to “plop” hair.

I plop my hair directly out of the shower. When my hair is wet I apply the products that I will be using that day which is usually a leave-in conditioner, a smoothing lotion, and either mousse or spray gel. Then I wrap my hair in my husband’s t-shirt and leave it there for approximately 30 minutes. Once I remove the t-shirt I allow my hair to air-dry.

What is your hair story?

St. Patrick’s Day Fuzzy Rainbow Craft (sponsored)

The Domestic Diva — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:05:45 +0000

St. Patrick’s Day is March 17th for those of you that need to look it up like me :) Besides these Mystery Rainbow Cupcakes, here is another fun activity to do in honor of the day.

Did you know that Walmart has a craft idea’s site? That is where you can find the tutorial for this craft: Fuzzy Rainbow.

I was sent the challenge by Walmart as a Walmart Mom to recreate the craft in our home. So with the giftcard provided I headed out to my local Walmart store to pick up the supplies that we needed.

I immediately headed to the craft section of our store to pick up the pom poms that we needed. And I found the glue stick and construction paper with the school supplies. We opted to use a glue stick for this craft because it’s easier for my little one to use, besides the fact that he thinks they are just fun.

Once home, the little one was eager to help with the craft. So the first thing we did was lay out all of our supplies. And began to follow the instruction in the Fuzzy Rainbow Craft by Walmart.

We soon realized that we should have bought two packages of pom poms because we didn’t have enough white one’s to complete our cloud. So in a pinch we opted to use cotton balls for the cloud instead.

To finish our Fuzzy Rainbow art, once the project was completely dried, we cut it out. Used our hole-puncher to punch a hole in the top of the rainbow and added a piece of yarn so that my little one could hang it up in his room. He is so proud!

Do you like to do crafts?

Join the Walmart Crafts group on Facebook (don’t forget to “like” the Domestic Diva page while you are there).
Check out Walmart on Pinterest (& follow our boards on Pinterest too!).
Or get some more ideas at Craft Project Ideas.

Disclosure: I am a Walmart Mom. I have been compensated for my time and efforts in creating this post as well as given a giftcard to use toward the purchases of the products mentioned in this post. As always my participation is voluntary and opinions are my own.

Our First Year of Baseball

The Domestic Diva — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:59:52 +0000

It’s another year of firsts for us. With my Mom’s support and a nudge from my husband, our oldest kidlet will be playing baseball for the first time this year on an actual team. He is super excited about it.

It has taken us a while to get used to our new schedule. Between sign-ups, try-outs, and practice blunders it finally feels like we are finding our way after what feels like a two-week roller coaster ride. While it is only the first week of “pre-season” and although we’ve had a few hiccups along the way we couldn’t be more excited to settle into our new routine.

We are anxiously awaiting our first “big game”, getting to know our new coach, and wearing a team uniform for the first time all the while trying to grasp this new skill.

I guess now I can officially add “baseball mom” to my list of titles :)

Do any of your kidlets play any kind of sport?

Do you have any advice for a Mom during their first year?

Pizza Hut Book It! Watch Tim Tebow read America’s Biggest Storytime TODAY (2/15)

The Domestic Diva — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:27:15 +0000

Today during homeschool we are adding a very special time for a reading of “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss read by Tim Tebow. All day today one can catch this special storytime as a part of Pizza Hut’s Book IT! program. It’s called America’s Biggest Storytime.

In years past we have enjoyed looking forward to America’s Biggest Storytime. Last year it was Justin Bieber and the year before that it was John Lithgow which was the kids and I’s personal favorite.

To get started, head on over to bookitprogram.com and click on the green box in the middle of the page with Tim Tebow to see the video of the story “Green Eggs and Ham”.

Disclosure: I was provided a prize pack that included a copy of the book “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss as well as a giftcard from Pizza Hut. Although product was provided opinions are my own.

Day 11: Makes You Happy #febphotoaday

The Domestic Diva — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 05:04:22 +0000

What makes you happy? That is the theme for today’s photo challenge. I decided to “think outside of the box” a bit on this one. I didn’t want to do something that would be fairly typical like my kids or my husband those are obvious choices of what makes me happy. Instead, I opted to photograph my purse?

You may be scratching your head just a bit but let me explain the story behind the purse. I’ve been looking for a brown handbag for what seems like a pretty good while now. But every time I came across a brown bag it just wasn’t my taste. I like large handbags with lots of pockets.

I’m a big thrift shopper. I love going to various thrift stores to see what they have almost weekly. One particular trip I was visiting my favorite thrift store and I saw from behind the counter a brown handbag. I asked to look at the bag. I glanced over it and noticed that one of the zipper ties was missing but everything else was BRAND NEW with tags even including the tissue paper inside. I asked the price since there wasn’t one clearly marked. But at that time, the price I was quoted seemed to be a bit too high. So, I passed on the bag.

After going home and searching some more for a brown handbag online. I discovered that the bag that I had just passed on was this one from Target which is no longer in stock. At that moment I decided this was the brown bag that I had been searching for.

By the time I had gotten back to the thrift store, a week had passed. I immediately went to the counter where I originally saw “the” brown handbag fully expecting for someone to have already claimed this fabulous find. But much to my little hearts delight they hadn’t. I asked to see the bag again. This time I inspected the pockets a little more and discovered that the zipper tie that I thought was broken had just merely fallen off which is a very easy fix. I asked the price of the bag again expecting the same answer as before but this time I was quoted “$7″ (which is about half off what I was originally quoted).

You may have guessed that the ending to this story is, that I walked away with an amazing deal on a brand new brown handbag that I’ve been waiting oh-so-patiently for.

So what makes me happy, you ask? Finding an unexpected, amazingly good deal.

This is a post in a series inspired by Fat Mum Slim’s February “Photo A Day” Challenge. If you are interested in participating in the challenge, check out her blog or follow “#febphotoaday” on Twitter.