Planner Perfect

Living Out Loud

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:21:00 +0000

Being a homeschooling mother, gives me the advantage of being their primary influence. Because they are with me most of the day, every day, my husband and I are a living, breathing example.

They will see that I’m not only their mother; I am a human being with emotions, strengths, and weaknesses.

When my family was small in number and I was upset or in an argument with my husband, I would hide from my children until I was done working it out. However, the more children I had, the harder it was to hide. So instead of hiding...I started to live out loud. This turned out to be the best thing I ever did. Of course I use discretion, but if something has made me feel upset, angry, or hurt, it’s okay for them to see me work it out. It’s not only okay, it’s important! After all, we are role models. As a role model we take on the responsibility of being watched and that means being aware and living out our best as godly mothers. But, it isn't easy with the stresses of life such as: money, being hurt in a relationship, a loss of a loved one, or being angry with our spouse, or our children. Living out loud is a great way for them to learn how you handle different emotions, and when you handle it wrong, they can see God’s grace and forgiveness when you make it right.

Children have a way of seeing right through to your heart and will tell or show you if you have hurt them, if they feel your heart is not in the right place, or if they feel wronged. They may not say it with such sophistication, but if mutual respect is allowed to be developed between you and your child, they will tell you the way they know how. And this will be enriching their life and teaching them how to be a part of real life relationships. They can learn how to handle hurts, anger, and other emotions, that occur in relationships with the security of your unconditional love. Living out loud enables your children to learn how to have healthy relationships… by living it.

Another small thing I know helps our family in a big way is not living rushed or hurried. We try not to be on a tight schedule, and this makes caring for our emotions that much easier, including my own. Since being an example and an imperfect human being, I don't want to set myself up for failure, since I'm watched 24/7.

Children and busy schedules don’t mesh.

There are always going to be errands and certain things that need to be done, so take some of the extra stuff off your plate because calm lives are unhurried.

Living out loud also means that I want my children to be able to see me use my talents and strengths, and that includes doing what I enjoy and want to learn each day. Usually this makes my children curious and they all start to come around and emulate me. They’ll get out a book if I’m reading, yarn if I’m crocheting (even my boys), bake with me in the kitchen, or a grab a pencil, when I’m drawing. They get to see me do something I enjoy each day for myself.

Having this awesome responsibility to our children by, living out loud, can help us better ourselves as mothers and as persons. Giving to the needy, reaching out to a neighbor who is hurting, baking up delicious dishes for a new mother, and being careful not to judge others or gossip, are all wonderful examples of how we can live out loud for our children and share our love for God and show them what being a Christian, truly means.

When learning is done through living, and through their curiosities, it’s enjoyed. Children just know that when they are curious, they can find out, on their own or with help, and enjoy the process. When their life is unstructured in terms of “schooling” they are embracing learning throughout their day and I as well! Throughout our day we learn, laugh and play, and do it together! Since time is on our side, endless questions have time to be answered like, “Did George Washington really chop down a cherry tree?” That kind of question always leads into further exploration to find out more about our first president in full detail. A simple query of “Where is Italy?” can lead to finding out more about my ancestry, cook and eat Italian for the full day, and study all of Europe! The fun part was that we were spontaneous and it was entirely on their timing. By following their interests they retain amazing facts, naturally, without use of traditional quizzes and memorization.

By living out loud, I use life in all it has to offer for our learning. Through its ups and downs, through our relationships, through God’s grace and love, and through the everyday learning experiences that only life can give, we learn every day, all day, without a time to start learning or to stop; they know that learning has no end. The slower pace life we live enables us to put one hundred, percent toward anything we put our minds to, and living out loud lets my children understand how to build loving relationships and how to work through different emotions. When we live with mutual respect with our children, they will learn that we are not perfect, that we are fully human, just as they are, and that we are equipped with all of their same emotions and most importantly, that we were all created by God in His image. This creates a dynamic that let’s our children develop a relational bond with us that is made up of respect, and with that trust and respect from our children, they will be open to hear what we want to teach, and that is how we will be our most influential. When this happens, we will be used by God to share, teach, and inspire our children.

Become a living, breathing example by…living out loud.

Hugs,

Eight Loaves of Bread Every Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:05:00 +0000

When I was growing up, my mom was in love with being in her kitchen and creating our house into a home. I lived on all the homey foods any child would love, and since my mom was a Italian, we had the added bonus of having authentic, Sicilian pastas, soups, and recipes, handed down to her from past generations. She also made a Biscotti cookie that was out of this world.

My mom was always in the kitchen, either cooking or baking something, amazing!

She was content as a homemaker and it showed; when she put on her crisp white apron, you just knew magic was going to happen. I remember the smell and aromas of something bubbling away at the stove, her curly, black hair pulled back, and her hands were busily, kneading dough. The sounds and smells of a happy mom were all over the place.

When I was fourteen years old, she taught me how to make homemade bread and this started a tradition of weekly bread making. She bought for me a crisp, white apron to wear on our bread making day and she got me started with the wheat berry, itself. I would grind these berries in this small machine that I had to manually crank to make our flour. My arm was sore, but what I saw was exciting...I made flour! We spent the rest of our time together by teaching me how to proof yeast, knead the dough (this was fun because my hands were submerged in the soft dough) and to let rise. After my first batches of homemade bread—I was a changed young woman. I would bake a couple loaves and freeze the rest of the dough in separate bags for the rest of the week.

Eight loaves of bread every Tuesday. It was my job, and it felt fantastic!

Photographs of me pointing to my homemade breads are forever memories of my wonderful experience in our kitchen while I was young.

These aromatic memories are with me forever and I've been sharing all I know with my children who want to know the fine art of bread making. Like my mother, I, too, love to cook and bake from scratch and spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Homeschooling my children gives me such an awesome opportunity to always have them helping in the kitchen. It can get overwhelming when two or more chairs are being drug to the counter, but with everyone taking a turn, and a whole lot of patience, we not only learn math and science, and get to taste our homemade bread... we make memories. Like me, once they learn the fine art of bread making, they can take that with them forever and always remember the smells and tastes of homemade delights coming out of our oven.

Eight loaves of bread every Tuesday. It was my job, and it felt fantastic!

Bake some bread and make a memory...

Hugs!

Planner Perfect for Girls is Here!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 02:46:00 +0000

Planner Perfect for Girls, is here and it is adorable! Geared for girls between the ages of 8 and 12, it is going to inspire your daughter to dream...

I hope you like the video where you get to see first hand how cute it is. Designed after my own daughter, Bella, I know girls everywhere will love this new planner.

There is not any other planner out there for girls that is set up with this method for dreaming, praying and scripting out their days...it is the only planner that is for our daughters to live life to the fullest, just like their mamas!

Made to last, refillable pages, and a one-of-a-kind, custom designed planner, created for girls to learn at an early age to dream...

Here's to our daughters!

To purchase Planner Perfect for Girls, see below.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 00:41:00 +0000

The most delicious dip there is! Chocolate chip cookie dough dip!! I mean, c'mon, this is too much. I made it up quick, set some graham crackers out for dunking, and watched it all disappear before my eyes.

Great with coffee and a couple of great girlfriends!

Creamy, cookie dough, loaded with chocolate chips, and ready for dipping!


Graham crackers make for a perfect vehicle for getting this creamy sweet dip into your mouth. You could use cookies, salty pretzels, strawberries...or even a spoon!

Click here for the recipe over at Planner Perfect Meals

Enjoy!

Mini Fruit Pizzas

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:59:00 +0000

I absolutely love fruit pizza. A buttery sugar cookie smothered in cream cheese frosting and topped with the most delectable, juicy and sweet, fruit! Oh. My. Gosh. It's so good! Well, I found an amazing idea on, Taste of Home, for individual fruit pizzas.

Genius!

These bad boys are simple by cutting out the rolled out dough into small round cookies, baked off and topped with frosting and berries. The same as the bigger pizza just on a smaller scale.

These are absolutely perfect for treats for guests to grab and eat. A three tier platter would hold them nicely. Absolutely delicious! Use a homemade butter cookie recipe and homemade cream cheese frosting and you've got the best treat in the world.

Click here for the recipe at Planner Perfect Meals

Enjoy Friends!

Homeschooling/Make Your Own Pasta and Bubbling Volcano

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:18:00 +0000

Theme Nights From Around the World

We take trips around the world in our home and study them; next stop: Sicily!
Learn to make your own pasta and a bubbling volcano!

PP tip! To plan for this Sicily Theme Night in your Planner Perfect, script all your plans, in full detail, in your goal section of the month you plan to study it. From the books you'll need to study from the food you want to create and the science tools and ingredients you may need. Pick a day in your week when you can devote to this fun theme and you've got all the details of your plans in your goal pages to pull from!

My mom is Italian; well, actually Sicilian. Most people from Sicily see themselves as Sicilian first, Italian second. My ancestors immigrated here from Lentini Sicily to Omaha, Nebraska as early as 1912. Studying Sicily is a fun one for me because not only is it part of my ancestry but I can introduce even more fun facts about this island to my children and myself!

Image of my mother

I grew up on authentic Italian spaghetti every Sunday. My mom's sauce and meatballs would bubble away at the stove for hours taunting my brother and I and we would always steal a meatball or two for a midday snack. You wouldn't believe my reaction when I found out that spaghetti sauce could actually come in a jar!

I lived next door to my grandma and grandpa Marino when I was young and loved spending time with them everyday. My fondest memories are of my grandpa. He was spunky, handsome, and loved wearing his overalls with a little salt shaker in his front, chest pocket. I would always help him pick the ripest tomato out of his garden and he would take a big bite out it like an apple and sprinkle a little salt on it before offering me the next bite. My grandpa then would go on-and-on about why we should be so proud to be Italian.

I'm fond of those memories.

For our Sicily theme we are going to make our own pasta from scratch and a volcano since Sicily has two active volcanoes. Oh my gosh, how fun! Since my children know my spaghetti very well as I've passed the recipe on to my family, I thought making our own pasta would be fun to celebrate our trip to Sicily. If you haven't made your own pasta, yet, you must! It's fun, easy, and the kids will have so much fun. Unschooling is full of learning!


only eggs and flour in the pasta dough

Just eggs and flour to make this easy pasta dough

I rolled it out thin and we used a pizza cutter to cut our spaghetti into thin strips

ready for the boiling water!

It just takes a couple minutes before they're ready


I made homemade pesto to dress my homemade spaghetti noodles.

Ore che e' Italiana!

Translation: Now That's Italian!

Click here, for the complete Italian dinner, printable recipe, at Planner Perfect Meals.

Don't forget to learn some of the Italian language! There are some great books at the library to get you going. Have fun and speak some throughout the day...:)

Image of the active volcano, Stromboli in Sicily

Click here, and here, for some great volcano information just for children.

Sicily has 2 active volcanoes and we made one after the volcano named, Stromboli. Using vinegar, baking soda, warm water and dish detergent; it was fun to do.

We followed this link, here, for information on how you can make your own volcano, too.

Image of Sicily

We had a wonderful time exploring Sicily today with our Theme Nights from Around the World. I hope you had a wonderful time, too!

14 Valentine Ideas. Easy to Make Felt Hearts

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Felt sewn hearts that are not only pretty, but easy to make...

I saw an image of these on Pinterest and fell in love. They are so pretty, make a cute gift and adorn candles beautifully. I stitched mine in cream and grey, sewn a loop of jute at the top and tied it around candles in my home. Beautiful! My 8-yr. old daughter, Bella, made a pink felt larger heart and it hangs from our front door. This is a great project to help children do simple stitching; she had a great time!

What you'll need:

felt pieces found in your local craft shop (they come in rectangular shapes). I used grey, cream, and pink
needle and thread
cardstock to make your heart
pencil
jute
poly filler (filler for pillows and crafts found at craft stores)

How-to:

Create a heart shape out of cardstock in the size you like. Mine were fairly small. Take your felt, fold in half and pin your cardstock heart onto your felt. Cut around your heart.

Thread your needle. I used a contrasting color to the felt color. For example for my grey heart I used a cream thread.

Start at the bottom point of your heart and when you reach the top, join your jute, by taking a small 6-7 inch piece, fold over and knot. Stick the knot end in the top of your heart between the two heart felt pieces and stitch around until you have a small section left to stitch. Stuff with your poly fill and using a thin stick or butter knife, stuff until it is nice and puffed to your liking. Stitch to the end and secure with a knot. You've got your self a beautiful felt heart! Perfect for Valentines day...

A Look Inside My Planner Perfect, Planner

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:06:00 +0000

Secrets on How to Stay Organized. A Video

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:45:00 +0000

14 Days of Valentine Ideas. Subway Art Printable

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:08:00 +0000

Subway Art Free Printable!

Is this cute or what? So easy to do (just print) and I just so happened to have a red mat frame in my home, and just swapped out the photo for this month to display a little bit of love...

You can print this off for yourself over at Little Birdie Secrets while it's free!

Happy Valentine's Month!

Hugs,

14 Valentine Ideas. Glitter Valentine's Play Dough

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:26:00 +0000

Say Happy Valentine's Day with Glitter Play Dough!

Totally found the glitter idea on Pinterest of course! What a pretty and wonderful, idea...

My children love this and had hours of fun ( even my big kids; my Maddy is pictured above!). And the best part is that it is a no-cook play dough. My favorite kind. This fun play dough doesn't ever get sticky while their playing with it and it doesn't leave a flour type residue all over your tables. I love this play dough recipe and know you'll love it, too!

It also is makes a great Valentine gift for a little one.

Here's how to make it:

2 cups plain flour
1 cup salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon red food color
Plenty of red and pink glitter

I put all the ingredients in a bowl and mixed it up! Easy, peesy. Images above show our bowl of ingredients getting a mix and the other two images are two different ways to package and give some of the Valentine, glitter love! Keep in an airtight container when not in use and should keep for a couple weeks.

Enjoy this great fun, Valentine idea!

Hugs,

14 Valentine Ideas. Heart Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:35:00 +0000

Say you love them with this heart shaped pizza

I love making pizza for my family because it is such a crowd pleaser. And this pizza says it all on Valentine's Day by first, being so cheesy, and second, being so stinkin' adorable, and third, it absolutely says love with it's crispy, garlicky crust.

This is my all-time best, pizza crust, recipe, my all-time best, pizza sauce, recipe, and has been stamped with approval by my hungry husband, four starving boys, and 3 picky girls. This recipe will be your new go-to, recipe, every time.

Step aside Little Caesars, Mama's got this one!

The scoop on how to make this heart shape pizza:

Click here to be taken to Planner Perfect Meals, for my top-notch pizza dough recipe.

Click here for my homemade pizza sauce, recipe.

To make the heart shape, I use a baking stone set real hot at 500 degrees.

Dust a pizza paddle with cornmeal.

Roll out a circle out of a section of the dough and cut out a "v" out of the top of the circle to create the humps of the heart.

Place it on your dusted pizza paddle and scoot onto the stone to lightly brown for only 5-8 minutes. This is how to ensure it stays the heart shape.

Once done, I take out and top with my family's favorite toppings, toss back into the oven until the cheese is melted and crust is crispy.

***If you don't have a stone, no worries, shape the same way only dust a baking sheet with the cornmeal, place your heart shape dough on the sheet and add your toppings. Bake at 475 degrees until crust is browned and cheese is melted.***

Happy Valentine's Month!

14 Valentine Ideas. Valentine's Bingo

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:45:00 +0000

Bingo Printable!

This bingo printable has been so much fun for our family. Just print and play! I found this cute Valentine Bingo game on Pinterest via The Idea Room, and you must go on over there and print yourself some. I printed mine large to fit onto a 8 1/2 x 11 piece of heavy card stock and then had them laminated at my local office supply store to last year after year.

Click here for your printable Valentine's Bingo game!

Happy Valentine's Month!

Hugs,

14 Valentine Ideas. My Heart Wreath

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:31:00 +0000

Valentine Wreath Tutorial

I did it!

I made the wreath from the tutorial I featured earlier this week and I think it turned out amazing! Especially considering the fact I could not, for the life of me, find a heart styrofoam wreath.

ANYWHERE.

Because I was so determined, I found a flat 1-inch thick piece of styrofoam at Hobby Lobby, that I cut 2 half hearts out of, and glued them together using a hot glue gun. My heart measured approx. 18" x 18". The perfect size!

Then I cut out 3-inch circles out of red felt, folded them in half and then in half again, and pinned them onto the wreath. I covered mine on the inside and outside of my wreath, covering all styrofoam. It is gorgeous!

Hung from a beautiful ribbon and displayed on my front door I'd say our family is ready for Valentine's Day!

Click here to be taken to the Idea Room, where I first found this tutorial, for more information on creating this beautiful wreath you can pull out year after year.

Hugs,

14 Valentine Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:53:00 +0000

Melt, Shape, & Bake

Make Valentine Crayon Hearts

This was a lot of fun to do. My kids had a wonderful time! They watched their favorite movie while they unwrapped a gazillion broken crayons and then the fun part was piling them into our heart silicone shapes and then baking them off. They absolutely loved this!

A fun time was had at the Penton home for day #1 for Valentine fun...

Here's how to do it:

Peel crayons

PP Tip: my kids found that when they soaked the crayons in some shallow water, while they peeled, the wrappers came right off

Put in heart shaped muffin tins

PP tip: I loved this silicon muffin heart shape, dollar isle purchase, from Target. It can be used over and over for just melting crayons and is easy to pop out the heart shaped colors once baked

Put into a 275 degree oven for 15 minutes

Heart shaped crayons. One to give and one to color with...

Happy Valentine's Month!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:33:00 +0000

I love Valentine's Day!

Each Day up until Valentines, I am going to share my faves for this heart month. Watch out for fun food, crafts, and my Valentine loves for 14 days...I hope you heart them!

The cute heart DIY project above is from The Idea Room. Isn't this cute for the front door! It's adorable just being held by the cute toddler; click here to be taken to the complete tutorial. I'll post soon on how my heart turns out.

Happy Valentines!

First Things First. A Tip on Organizing Your Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:08:00 +0000

Have a good day!

Sweet Treats. A Weekend Wrap-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:33:00 +0000

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Click here for the recipe

Planner Perfect Meals Weekend Wrap-Up of Sweet Treats

The banana cake above is amazing...it has the best two flavors combinations of white cake and banana. The cream cheese frosting puts it over the top! You've got to try this sheet cake!!

I've also been into the mug cakes lately, and here are a couple that I've done: The chocolate fudge cake and chocolate chip cookie dough mug cake.

Let me tell you that if you want to fix a sweet tooth, this does it for you! And it does it in under 2 minutes, flat!! Just mix the ingredients into your favorite coffee mug, place in the microwave for one minute and, viola, your day just got better!

Click here for the fudge mug cake

Click here for the chocolate chip cookie dough mug cake

If I've cured someone's sweet tooth...my job is done!

Homeschooling. Painting Ornament Dough

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:40:00 +0000

Dough Art

This was so fun to make! It's a dough made from water, salt, and flour, shaped, and baked for an hour until hard. The rest is up to our creativity to create and paint whatever we want!

My kids are into the Angry Birds and I painted this one for them...isn't it cute? This was done just cutting out circle shapes with cookie cutters. Some other shapes we made were stars, Patrick Star is a fun one to paint on this one, and some of my kids even broke out the Christmas shapes.

This was a fun day full of creating and painting. You'll love this recipe to do with your kids!

Another idea we had was to make heart shapes, and hang them from some sturdy twigs in a vase and call it our Valentine's tree...

Have fun with your art!

Dough being made

They were excited to get their hands on it

cutting out shapes is always fun

Before heading to the oven

Painting is the fun part

We used empty egg cartons to hold our tempera paint

Bella was excited about her Angry Bird

Me too...

Here's how to make your dough...

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cups warm water

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Mix flour and salt well. Gradually add water, stirring with a large spoon. Finish mixing with hands. Knead until soft and pliable.
Roll out on floured surface about 1/8 inch thick. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheets. (If you're making ornaments with your dough use a toothpick to make a hole in the top of the ornament for threading string.)
Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) until hard, about 1 hour. Decorate with paint and varnish to preserve.

Purse Organizer Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:55:00 +0000

The winner of this cute purse organizer from the Clever Container is...April!

Please contact me via email for your information!

Congratulations!!

Click here if you'd like to purchase the purse organizer from the Clever Container.

Planner Perfect will be offering more giveaways of my favorites that keep women organized...stay tuned!

Organizing Your Finances

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:14:00 +0000

Organizing Our Finances

Our family has been on the debt-free plan for awhile and only months away from being completely debt free! It's an exciting way to live and love what Dave Ramsey has to say about envelope budgeting. I was bucking the envelope system for awhile because my husband said I should do it... lol! But, I soon realized, I did need to... and desperately so, with all these children of ours and their growing needs! Plus, I will have to say, I've found some amazing, gorgeous fabric, envelope systems, on Etsy, that caught my eye and can't wait to share it with you! If you're going to be organized, get organized with style!

Check out this one, from Saving Money in Style over at Etsy...

She has so many others to choose from but I just love how cute this was! Look at the beaded and button closure!!

Here is and example of the envelopes that fit inside that you can label as your budget allows. It's perfect! You must check her out over at Saving Money in Style.

This is going to be my next purchase, girls!

I cannot wait... the hard part is just figuring out which one I want! No more paper envelopes, for me, even though those work just fine, too.

For us, our envelopes are for: restaurants, entertainment, clothing, homeschooling (educational supplies), make-up/hair, and groceries...

The whole premise of the envelope system is that you take your allotment for the week (or whatever your pay period is), figure out how much money you want for each envelope, and put the cash in. Money from each envelope is used just for what is was allotted for; when it is gone, it's gone! You don't overspend and you stay within budget. Those envelopes that don't get spent can stay in there to build upon, or can be put into a savings account. Each pay period it starts over again and you replenish your envelope system.

It's easy, effective, and a great way to be organized.

For more on budgeting your finances with the envelope system, check out Dave Ramsey's website, here.

Here is to getting our finances together using the money envelopes!

What do you think about the money envelopes? Leave a comment if you've used them or plan on using them...we'd love to hear!

Jenny

Organize Your Purse... and a Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:08:00 +0000


Fossil Image

It's time to organize our purses and I have a giveaway I know you'll love!!

This is going to be fun because I think I'm not alone when I say that keeping our purses clean is not an easy task! It is a catch-all for all my kids' stuff and a trash can, too; from gum wrappers, dirty, sticky pennies, to used wipe-ups. I've on occasion had to use my purse as a place to hold my son's dirty diaper until I found a trash can! And not to mention that the dirty diaper was interwoven with all my stuff in my purse that wasn't harnessed well.

Well, I have the perfect purse organizer for your purse from the Clever Container. Clever Colleen sent me one for review and for me to give to one of you!

Girls, you are going to love it! I got the pink one and it's so cute. It fits everything you need for on the go.

Check these images out of my organizer and how it fits into my purse for perfect organization every time!

There are nice compartments for everything you might need to take with you. Pens, your lip gloss, cell phone...you name it! Handles allow me to pull it out and transfer to a different purse with ease.

Here's a bird's eye view of the inside before I filled it; it's a nice size; even has compartments on the inside!

Holds wallets, your sun glasses, Ipad and Kindle, side pockets and inside pockets, too!

My Ipad fit in here perfectly and here it is nestled in my purse


Here is another bird's eye view but with it all snuggled in my purse; perfect fit with plenty of room, yet, room for more if needed.

I encourage you to check out the Clever Container and check out all that Colleen has to offer. There are containers to help us get organized in virtually every room in our homes as well as when we're on the go. What really makes the Clever Container, so cool, is that they don't just sell product to keep us organized, they actually give us tips and ideas on all the different things you can do with each organizational tool.

Here are some other fun items from Clever Container:

colorful containers to hold your important papers

I absolutely love this! If you ever need to take filed papers on the go, you'll be in style with this file tote

This versatile, cute item harnesses many different items. It has a place to label your items as well and includes the hardware you'll need to hang over your door.

Perfect for the car! Keep everything organized and where you want it...

Now for the fun part... the giveaway!

Here's all you have to do for your chance to win this purse organizer in either black or pink from the Clever Container with Clever Colleen:

1.Leave a comment on this post

2. Check out the Clever Container, here, at www.CleverColleen@Blogspot.com and follow her either on her blog or like her on Facebook, here.

Extra Entries:

State in your comment if you signed-up for the extra entry to win.

This giveaway will stay open until Wednesday, January 25, 2012 10 p.m. cst

Good luck, friends!

Jenny

Homeschooling... How to Make Goop

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:21:00 +0000

How to Make Goop

Making homemade goop was so fun for our homeschooling family. But you don't have to be homeschooled to have fun making this! With just a few ingredients, you can transform equal parts of glue and water with Borax and a couple drops of your favorite food coloring and you've got something fun to play with for hours.

Here's How...

Supplies Needed:

Borax

Elmers Glue

Food Coloring

There are two components to slime. There is a borax and water solution and a glue, water, and food coloring solution. Prepare them separately.

Mix 1 teaspoon borax in 1 cup of water. Stir until the borax is dissolved.
In a separate container, mix 1/2 cup (4 oz) white glue with 1/2 cup water. Add food coloring, if desired.
After you have dissolved the borax and diluted the glue, you are ready to combine the two solutions. Stir one slime solution into the other. Your slime will begin to polymerize immediately.
The slime will become hard to stir after you mix the borax and glue solutions. Try to mix it up as much as you can, then remove it from the bowl and finish mixing it by hand. It's okay if there is some colored water remaining in the bowl.
The slime will start out as a highly flexible polymer. You can stretch it and watch it flow. As you work it more, the slime will become stiffer and more like putty. Then you can shape it and mold it, though it will lose its shape over time. Don't eat your slime and don't leave it on surfaces that could be stained by the food coloring.

**source: About.com/Chemistry

Have fun with your kids making this fun goop!
Jenny

Organizational Helps

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:02:00 +0000

These are my best finds for getting organized. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! There is a little bit of everything for organization in every room of the house...

I love an organized bathroom and love the added shelf for more room to organzie

organizing our purses! We need this!! Source: bhg.com


this is my all-time favorite item. This handy bag is a organizer to be used for anything. But the best use for it is for our purses. It can be used as a purse organizer. Made of felt and beautiful, too! Source: etsy.com

I thought this was a fun item for the main hub of the home on the coffee table for easy to find items within reach. Source: bhg.com

I really like the element of separating out the wooden utensils and love the small one for the brushes...source: bryn alexandra

Isn't this a great idea?

source: tidy mom


Isn't this fantastic! We've just recently put all our home movies onto dvds and cannot wait to do this to complete the look of our home movies! What a great idea! Source: chez larrson

How's your organizing coming along? I just loved these ideas and couldn't wait to share...

Hugs,

Jenny

Weekend Wrap Up...Delicious Foods For Your Family

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny Penton) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 04:09:00 +0000

Weekend Wrap-Up...Delicious Meals!

These are my favorites for the weekend for you.
These are tried- and- true recipes by, yours truly, and my whole family licked their plates clean!
I know you're family will love them, too! Try them out, let me know how you like them...I'd love to hear!

Crock Pot meals make dinner time easy, but I've found most of them to be boring; not so with this recipe! Creamy gravy beef with carrots, peas and mushrooms, topped with buttery mashed potatoes. Yum! Click here for the recipe!

This is loaded baked potato soup form a slow cooker! You're whole family will love this recipe...creamy potato soup, topped with bacon, sour cream, scallions and cheddar cheese! Click here for this cozy, comfort food.


These Chinese egg rolls are perfect for kids! Filled with savory veggies (kids won't be able to tell) and wrapped in a fried egg roll wrapper. Serve with sticky rice and a fun sweet and sour dipping sauce and you've got a delicious meal! Click here to get this amazing recipe!

Monster chocolate chip cookies, stuffed with crushed Oreos; does it get any better? Click here to get the scoop on this recipe

Ever run out of your favorite pancake syrup? Whatever...check out this amazing homemade, better for you, pancake syrup that you can make up in a snap! You'll never go back to high fructose syrup laden syrups again! Click here for this recipe

What's better than delicious oatmeal cookies than adding some mini M&Ms? Nothing! Check this recipe out here

This homemade apple bundt cake is so delicious! I served this to my bestest girlie friends with some hot coffee and we all went crazy! You'll want this recipe. It's moist, filled with apples and drizzled with a cream cheese frosting...yes, I have the recipe! Click here


Who can resist cake pops? I made these because of my love for Starbucks cake pops...mine are even better! Try these out for yourself and click here for the recipe

Have a great Weekend!

Jenny