Shoes!

I recently discovered Kidshoos! I love this site! They are an Eco-friendly source for kid's shoes. The good kind, with flexible natural rubber soles and leather uppers. I am soo psyched because they are also having an awesome sale right now! And y'all all know how much I love me a good sale :) I even found a coupon code to get an extra 10% off my order (use code FRIENDS10 at checkout) and they shipped it to me for free! (I'm guessing because they're located in Alexandria-- just a couple hours from here). I bought "Scoot" in brown and orange for Judah and only paid $6.48 for the ENTIRE ORDER. I totally love Cartwheel and several others for Sofi, but most of them don't come in her size. But those of you with toddlers (or little girls with normal size feet) should go check it out RIGHT NOW, while they still have a good selection.

I bet you had no idea how cheap I really am, did you?

Sarah, at Ordinary Days, asked some questions of her home-schooling readers recently and one in particular caught my eye. One of the things she worried about, before beginning to home school her boys, was being able to afford curriculum. So I thought I'd do a post detailing our curriculum this year and give you a taste of just how cheap it can be to home school, if you know where to look.

As a caveat, let me say that you certainly can spend a bundle on curriculum if you are determined to choose one publisher and buy all their stuff brand-new and in every subject. I refuse to conform to normalcy in that manner and insist on cherry-picking my way through the wilds of home school publishing and buying everything possible second-hand or begging, borrowing or stealing (not really, at least I haven't resorted to that yet) it from friends, relatives and neighbors.

Sofi is in second grade, mostly, this year. I say "mostly", because in a few subjects she's doing third grade material, or somewhere in between second and third, and she's reading at a sixth grade level. I know. :) That's my girl!

So here are the subjects she's studying, the curriculum for each, the price we paid and the place we bought/found it:

Math: Saxon (grade 3) $33 Ebay (includes Teacher's edition, workbook and materials)
History: The Story of the World (Modern Times) $33 Amazon (include textbook and workbook.
Latin: Prima Latina $14 Amazon
English: Reading through the Newberry list-- paperbacks at $2.50/ea from GV Bookfair. We've bought five so far. Pretty sure that will last us all semester.
Grammer: Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind (grade 2) $10 Ebay (bought it last year-- includes 1st and 2nd grade in the same textbook)
Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears (grade 2) $2.75 Ebay
Science: just doing the co-op class this semester
Geography: Geography Songs (world geography) $9 Amazon (mp3 download)

Grand Total: $114.25

Not bad for an entire year of school! Beats private school, that's for sure :) And the majority of the curriculum listed above is non-consumable, which means we'll be using it for Judah, too, when the time comes.

I'd love to see lists from you other home school moms to compare, and also get a peek at what's on all y'all's school bookshelves this year!

I do love me a good bargain!

For all you other bargain lovers out there, feast your eyes on $27 well-spent at Old Navy!

The above contains:

For Sofi
3 tank tops
1 sundress
1 pair yoga pants

For Judah
1 pair shorts
1 tank top
1 pair flashy red socks!

For J
1 pr smart linen trousers!

That's an average of $3 per item. Let me share with you that the clothing at our local Goodwill is marked between $2.50 and $3.00 an item. And these are brand-new and have a fairly good re-sale value! (because of the brand, I mean)

*grins self-satisfied-ly*

I love seasonal clearance at Old Navy.

Land's End is my new BFF

So I posted on Facebook a little while back that I'd bought TWO Land's End bathing suits for $25. They arrived in the mail today.

*we pause momentarily for the joyful pealing of many bells*

... and contrary to the dire warnings of some people, they fit beautifully. And my word, people, when I say beautifully, I mean Beautifully. I think that when I slid into the first suit it shaved fiteen pounds off my hips and thighs. And the second suit took another ten off! This is an exciting trend, let me tell you!

Another thing I love... they feel like real clothes. You know how most bathing suits (ie; from Walmart or Tarjay) make ya feel kinda naked? Like they're see-through or something? Really thin and fragile? No? Just me? Am I the only one who fears that a hydrophobic toddler may be able to actually rend my garments from me while attempting to climb onto my head to get away from the "brrrr, cold, Mommy!!"?? Well then.

But these bathing suits don't feel like that. They feel Quality. Really! No one's paying me to say this. And the colors are so great, too. Vibrant and rich :) Color is important. And comfy, my word, yes! No tugging and slouching, no *ahem* digging around for straps and such-like. They stay put, right where I want them.

And as if that weren't enough! Remember I mentioned that they fit me? I ordered them, sight unseen off the internet, people, and they FIT ME. That has never happened to me before. Never. The reason they fit? These wonderful, wonderful people actually have a hotline to help you measure all the right places so you can get exactly the right inches converted to exactly the right size. And I want you to know that I measured up a perfect size four. What? You don't believe me?? You don't think I'd lie about something like that, do you??

And wait, there's more!!! (*squealing in pure excitement*) I have a coupon code! Whahoo! For free shipping!! Yaaaaay!. Here's the info:

Free shipping on any order.Enter the Promotion Code JUNE9 and pin 00002930

It worked for me :)

Now I've been looking at the kid's swimwear. We spend a lot of time at the pool in the summer so it would be worth it to me to find some nice stuff for Sofi and Judah. I bought mine on deep discount, so I might not be able to afford suits for both of them, but I found a few cute coverups for Sofi (yes, she needs them, trust me) here and here. They're on the Overstocks part of the site, so the prices are good, but the correct size isn't available. :( Too bad.

And just in case any Lands End reps are reading (you know, 'cause my readership is all that and a ball of wax!) if you send me some girl's size 8 or boys 2T swimwear I'll review it! And if you send more than one, I'll do a giveaway!! That's right, if any of you people have any clout over at Lands End, send them my name! And my blog URL :)