I caught the Easter Bunny!

Remember how we caught Santa in our house? Well you can also catch the Easter Bunny. My daughter loves Easter. She loves Easter egg hunts so much that he starts hiding random things to find around the house a month before and at least a month after.  She is going to love having a picture of the Easter Bunny in her house!



For less than $10 anyone can be a hero to children by catching the Easter Bunny 'in the act'. Catch him here - Catch him there - Catch him ANYWHERE!  In three simple steps, iCaughtTheEasterBunny can turn a typical Easter into something spectacular. Catch The Easter Bunny TODAY!  CLICK HERE to try it FREE!  and SAVE 50% on your purchase with this code - 50% off code:  BUNNY2013


Enter below to win your own Easter Bunny picture! Surprise your kids! 5 winners!! Short giveaway.

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Bad luck/timing

We have been counting down the days to spring break for over month now. My Mom got a place near Myrtle Beach for most of the week. She graciously invited us to vacation with her, my step dad, and nephew.

The Tuesday before Spring break when I picked up my kids at daycare/preschool Bubby's old teacher (1/2yr old) told me she had a bad day because her kids were getting sick. The next day there were notices for all the families stating they had a rotavirus outbreak. We just had to get through the week and we were off SC. When I picked the kids up one of the employees told me that it had been crazy because of the virus. She said it was mostly the 1/2 year old class. Bubby is in the 2/3 year old class and Sissy is in pre-k there.

As we were leaving I stopped to ask Bubby's teacher if he was good. She said "Oh he wasn't with me today. They put him in the 1/2 year old class because they were short in numbers."

What?! So the class had an"extreme outbreak" and kids are out sick (vomiting and diarrhea) so they put my kid in the class.

I didn't say anything because we were heading out the door and it mostly registered when I was driving away. I did see that they had taken all the toys out and were sterilizing them. I tried to let it go because they were trying to keep it from spreading.

At 2am Friday morning, the day before we were supposed to drive 8+hours, Sissy wakes up throwing up. Ironically, Bubby seemed fine... until the next night. He was up with diarrhea the following night. We spent all day Saturday (yesterday) recovering instead of driving. Both kids seemed much better by evening. We figured everyone was on the mend and loaded up the car and got ready for an early morning departure. 5am Bubby wakes up and throws up. Ugh. I thought we were almost done with this.

So we sit here figuring our vacation plans are probably ruined. I'm trying not to be mad at the daycare. There's no guarantee the kids wouldn't have gotten sick anyway.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Blu-ray Combo Pack Giveaway!

We have been waiting for the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on Blu-ray since we found out they were making the movie years ago.  My husband went to the midnight showing in theaters, but I haven't seen it yet. I know we will be buying it as soon as it comes out on March 19, 2013.

I'm very excited to offer one lucky reader the Blu-ray Combo Pack for FREE!  See below for details.



 Here is a little synopsis if you've never heard of The Hobbit.  Is that even possible?!

J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure follows the journey of Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an amazing quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Sorcerers.

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the first of a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.


 Enter to win The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on Blu-ray.  Ends 4/2/13 @12:00am 

Enter Below

I was not compensated for this post.  The giveaway is provided by Warner Bros.  We will be buying our own Combo Pack on 3/19...we can't wait!! :)

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Return to Nim's Island Blu-ray Combo Pack Giveaway!

 Return to Nim’s Island is premiering on Hallmark Channel March 15th 2013 at 7/8C! 

Return to Nim’s Island, the sequel to Walden Media’s 2008 box office hit Nim's Island, picks up the story a few years later with 14-year-old Nim (Bindi Irwin) more determined than ever to protect her island and the animals that call it home. With ruthless resort developers and greedy wildlife poachers threatening the existence she loves, Nim realizes she and her animal pals can’t defend their home alone. To save her island, she is forced to combine forces with an outsider: Edmund, a runaway from the mainland. Only with his help does she stand a chance of stopping the villains from dismantling her world.

I love the Halmark channel and good family movies.  I can't wait to watch this with my daughter. 

Learn more about Return to Nim's Island with the app below. 

 

You can pick up your copy of Return to Nim’s Island on Blu-ray & DVD exclusively at Walmart Stores just 4 days after the premiere.  

or

You can enter to win one here!
Ends 3/25 @ 12am.  I was not compensated for this post.  
Walden Media & Hallmark Channel provided this giveaway.

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Schools - Public, Charter, Magnet, or Private

I teach at a low socioeconomic public school. More than 80% of our students are on free and reduced lunch.  I don't have a problem with low income students at all.   I was on reduced lunch as a kid. We were a blended family with 6 kids, but my Mom and step-dad worked hard to raise us all.  know now that it wasn't easy.  My problem is parents that don't seem to care.  I don't deal with parents as closely as the "classroom" teacher, but we sure have a lot of students that just don't care.  I feel like at least some of that is from parents.  I can understand a little more if they are in High School, but Elementary and as early as Kindergarten?!  Disclaimer: We do have some awesome, outstanding parents, that are doing everything they can possibly do.

A coworker and I were discussing the change in our school due to local magnet and charter schools.  Magnet schools are public "choice" schools that students apply and have to be accepted (by lottery) to get in.  Charter schools are similar (students apply etc), but they get a lot of funding from businesses or other sponsors.  They have more freedom and have their own set if rules to abide by.  Private schools are pretty obvious. They have no ties to the public system at all.  The magnet and charter schools have the option of "kicking out" students.  If a student is a discipline problem, they send them back to their zoned school.  If they are behind academically, they can send them back.  Private schools probably don't do this as often because they need the tuition from these students. These schools are very desirable to some of our best parents.  They have the highest test scores in the County which I feel they should considering they have some of the best kids.

The problem is they take many of the greatest students from their zoned school.  What we are left with is many of the lower academic students and discipline problems (many times these go hand in hand).    Over the last 10 years I've watched 100's of our best students leave our school.  I can't blame them.  I miss them when they leave, but I am happy for them if their new school fits them better. We have some outstanding teachers with many difficult situations and they keep plugging along no matter how many times they get beat down.

We are so thankful for those good, sweet students that have stuck with us and haven't left (yet).  They are what keeps us going.  The others?? We are trying our hardest to teach them the value in education and discipline.  We truly want them to succeed in life.  We want them to care. 

I just came across this article...

http://theeducatorsroom.com/2012/09/the-exhaustion-of-the-american-teacher/

This is how most of the teachers I know feel.

Publix - Running Out? Run in. Event $25 Publix GC Giveaway

 

I LOVE Publix.  When our Publix was closed for remodel we tried other stores, but it just wasn't the same.  For months, we drove by many competitors and a little bit further to get to our nearest Publix.

Don't you hate it when you stock up on groceries at the end of the month and realize about half way through you are running out of food?  This happens to us almost weekly.  I'm not sure we make it half way through the month. :P  Publix has an awesome savings event coming up called Running Out? Run In.

From March 14th through March 20th, look for the Running Out? Run In. event at Publix to take advantage of great savings on some favorite brands from General Mills and Procter & Gamble, like Cheerios, Totino’s Pizza, Charmin and Crest. Plus, if you buy $25 of participating items during this event, you can mail in to receive a $5 Publix gift card to use on your next shopping trip! (For more details on this rebate, please visit www.runningoutrunin.com.) 

Could you use a $25 Publix Gift Card?  Enter Below

Giveaway ends 3/21 at 12:00am

 

  

Disclosure: "The information, products and General Mills gift pack were provided by General Mills and Publix® through MyBlogSpark." I also received the giveaway item.  All opinions are my own...I really do LOVE Publix.  :)

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