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Fasten Your Seatbelts

Something happened.

Something terrifying yet exciting all at the same time. A certain someone in my house  STARTED DRIVER’S ED LAST NIGHT!!!!!!

As much as I looked forward to and dreaded this day her whole life, I am not ready. Do you hear me world? I am not ready for my little girl to drive. My husband has allowed her to back the car out of the driveway a few times and each time I am struck with a massive pain in my chest.

I have read the statistics, I know how dangerous the roads are in my area.  We are taking all the required precautions before she gets her license; driver’s ed, online practice tests, and lots of practice in empty parking lots. 🙂 Even though I am not ready, she is ready, her dad is ready, and deep down I am excited at the thought of not being a taxi driver for the next 16 years.

The National Safety Council has created a program called Alive at 25 for parents like me. This program helps parents and kids work through real life examples that reinforce good driving skills. Midas is currently offering this program free to anyone who registers on the website. I’ll be taking advantage of every free program available to help relieve some of these chest pains.

I know she will take the privilege of driving very seriously. Maryland makes it nearly impossible to get a driver’s license and for that I am thankful. Someone once told me that raising teenagers was harder than raising toddlers. I found it hard to believe back then. Not anymore.

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JumpStart Giveaway

My kids were introduced to the JumpStart 3D Virtual World about a year ago. Since then they have enjoyed visiting the site during their weekly computer time. When JumpStart offered to extend my membership so I could review some of their new features my kids were very excited.

I sat down to spend some time in the virtual world the other day and immediately knew how my parents felt when they couldn’t program the VCR all those years ago! The whole thing didn’t make much sense to me, but I continued on, confident that if I could write a blog I could play an internet game designed for young children. While I sat in front of my computer visiting the different places in the virtual world I slowly gained an audience.

As my children gathered around to watch me play the games the excitement was building.

“Play the pearl game mom!”

“Watch out for the what-cha-ma-call-its!”

“Go over there to get a coin!”

“You almost earned a sand dollar!”

“Push the jump button!”

Turn around, go back, you’re going to miss it!”

It wasn’t long before I found myself thoroughly engrossed in the “roll the pearl into the oyster game”. I could actually feel my competitive side rising up as I raced against the clock. I needed to earn that sand dollar, for the kids!

I found the entire experience quite amusing because I never play computer games, video games, or even watch television!

I love how the JumpStart website makes it easy for kids to navigate with a large arrow and simple key strokes. I like that my kids can create their own characters and give them a silly name. The parental controls are also a nice feature, as well the chat option that is made up of appropriate phrases. Kids cannot type their own words, which cuts down on the bathroom humor my young boys are so fond of sharing.

All in all, I found the JumpStart 3D Virtual World to be a fun and safe place for my kids to play games online. There are virtual worlds for kids ages three to eight, but even my nine year old still enjoys playing during his computer time.

The folks at JumpStart have offered a free 6 month premium membership to one of my readers. To enter to win the membership leave me a comment. The giveaway ends Monday, April 12, 2010.

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New and Improved BlogFrog Community

I am very excited about the new and improved BlogFrog site. There are several new features that make interacting in your favorite communities even easier. My favorite feature is the improved search function. I just searched for communities talking about homeschooling and found discussions as well as homeschool friendly communities. From special needs to scrap booking, you can find people talking about what you want to talk about.

If you have never visited The BlogFrog, this tutorial can help you get started. The community might look a bit familiar to you. 🙂

How to Participate in a BlogFrog Community from Holly Hamann on Vimeo.

I love interacting with my readers in my community, so hop on over if you get a chance and join the discussion.

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Cora and Kit ~ One Year

Cora and Kit

Can you believe it has been a year?

1 week

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

8 Months

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9 months

10 months

11 months

cora and kit

1 year old today

Cora and Kit

Happy Birthday Sweet Cora!

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My Cup Collection

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Here is something you might not know about me, I collect cups. Not anything fancy, just the clear plastic kind you find at Target, Walmart, or Bed Bath and Beyond. I get them for my birthday, Christmas, and sometimes just because. I like my plastic cups almost as much as I like fresh flowers.

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Today I am using my heart cup, it is one of my favorites. I love these cups because they are fun, last a long time, and the kids don’t break them when they are unloading the dishwasher. I think I have about 20 cups, so far…

So, what about you? Do you have a favorite thing, something you collect or love? I love to hear about your collection.

PS: Everyone in the family uses the cups not just me. I realized after I wrote that I had 20 cups it seemed like an obscene number for just one person.

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Articles Worth Reading

The Happy House is keeping me busy these days and I haven’t had time to write much this week. Here are a few links I liked and hope you will enjoy them too.

My friend Connie has a great tutorial on Simple Books Children Can Make. If you are looking for things to do during spring break, or a fun project for your homeschool this is a simple idea your kids will love!

I loved Amy’s perspective in her post Somebody Wants What You Have. The grass is not always greener.

This cake from I am Baker is one of my favorite ideas ever!  If you are looking for a one of a kind dessert on Sunday consider making this Faith Cake.

If you are like me and still have your Christmas cards sitting in a basket, you might want to try this creative Christmas card idea from my friend Angry Julie.

Joy is one of my first blogging friends, my blog designer, and an amazing homeschool mom. She has published her  homeschool reading list, and has many great reads picked out for this quarter.

Did you know that according to Neilsen the average American watches 151 hours of television a month? That is about 5 hours a day! Insane if you ask me. This article talks about what we could be doing with those 151 hours.

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Disney Vacation

I love Disney, it is one of my favorite places to take the family. My friend Fish Mama is getting ready to take her kids to Disney next month and is looking for advice. If you have a Disney post, or even advice to give her, hop over to Life as Mom and help her plan her trip. If you are planning a trip to Disney, my 30 Days of Disney series might be helpful as well.