Have you ever shopped Gazelle.com? Well, We are shopping for electronics on Gazelle this week and you should too!
This is where we have found all of our new Iphones for the past couple of years.
Cyber Monday!
Just like that… we are at Cyber Monday weekend……. Here’s a small round up of some awesome deals!
This Post contains affiliate links.
Philips Airfryer, The Original Airfryer with Bonus 150+ Recipe Cookbook, Fry Healthy with 75% Less Fat, Black HD9220/28
56% off!!
Magnetic Air Vent Car Mount – For any Smartphone (iPhone 8, Android Cell Phone, GPS) | Stylish One-Hand & One-Sec Holder, +100 to Safeness & Comfort
54% off!
magnetic blocks
14 Piece Tegu Magnetic Wooden Block Set, Tints
up to 40% off!
smart lock
Kwikset 909 SmartCode Electronic Deadbolt featuring SmartKey
67% off!
Black and Decker tools
Up to 20% off Black and Decker tools!
Shop Gazelle’s Clearance Section for even deeper discounts on Certified Pre-Owned Devices
Are you prepared for Prime Day?
Prime Day is July 11, are you ready? There are a couple of things you should do so you are ready to take advantage of the amazing deals that are coming this year!
The post may contain affiliate links. If you shop through our links I could get a small commission at no extra cost to you.
First of all and Most important: If you do not have a PRIME membership with Amazon you’ll need it before you can order any of the Prime Day special sales. But don’t worry. You can sign up for a free 30 days! Enjoy the benefits of the sales prices and all that Prime membership has to offer. If you don’t won’t to continue your membership you can cancel anytime!!
Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial
Next, Â mark your calendars!! Sales will start some time in the evening of July 10th and will be released periodically for the next 30 hours!!
Follow our Facebook page to see updates and deals on Prime Day!
It may be a good idea to start your wishlist and have a talk with your husband/wife about a budget?! (only if you want to avoid problems at the next budget meeting!! ?)
Last year there were lots of appliances… Amazon sold 215,000 Instant Pots alone during last years Prime Day. If you are in the market for one or even a 2nd one (wouldn’t that be amazing???!!) I expect they will have another great deal this year! Â I also expect to see a lot of big play items like trampolines, play sets for the back yard, toys of all kinds so think Christmas and Birthday stock piling! Â Electronics were a big sales category last year as well! Even household things like robotic vacuums… really it’s going to be a ton of different things, big and small!
Something new this year, Amazon has started selling IKEA Items… so maybe we’ll see some deals there too?!!
If you can’t tell already, I’m really excited!! It’s fun to see all the deals and I’d love to help you all get what you are wishing for! 🙂 So leave a comment or send a message and let me know what you will be looking for so I can keep an eye out for you!
Happy shopping,
Deanna Grace
New to Loveandscribbles? check out these other articles that may interest you:
Cooking once for the whole month. Take 2!
Its February! Â yay! We have less than a month until our due date! And boy am I feeling pregnant these days!! Can’t wait to meet this growing boy and to be done being pregnant! haha It’s truly amazing what our bodies can do, and being a part of this miracle is incredible!
I loved not cooking last month! I had a freezer stocked of 30 meals and didn’t have to worry about much when it came time to getting food on the table each night. No matter how busy we were or tired I was!
So, we did it again for this month! This time I chose to create my own menu from scratch, searching through so many wonderful recipes at Once a Month Meals! I mixed it up with different serving day options, mostly using my Instant Pot but also my oven!
I love how easy it is to find recipes your family will enjoy, and customize them for your family size!
This time along with the 30 meals for us, I also made a few dinners for my parent’s freezer and selected a few different recipes for lunches for myself. (Pizza stuffed sweet potatoes, turkey zucchini boats, and marinated chicken thighs, yum!)
I won’t deny that it was a lot of work and at the end of the day this time, I began to feel like I over did it… (at this point just trying to walk and breath is a workout though! ) AND the truly awesome thing is now I’m done cooking for a while and providing dinner for my family each night involves very minimal effort and hardly any mess! In fact looking at our schedule we will probably stretch these meals out through March as well!
I wanted to show you a few of the details and lists that I love about Once A Month Meals and why I wouldn’t do this without their wonderful help!
Walmart Grocery – What I Think After A Month
We started using the new service at Walmart a little over a month ago. And not to sound dramatic BUT it has changed everything about grocery shopping for our family!
How Our Family Uses This Service
I place an order through Walmart Grocery Pick up once a week! I still do a monthly stop by Winco Foods bulk section for the staples like flour, sugar, etc. And Monthly Sam’s club trip for our big things. But as for our weekly needs like produce, bread, snacks, breakfast, and other meal items. It’s all been coming from Walmart and I haven’t had to step inside a Walmart store in a long time! (insert happy dance here)
We have discovered (at least for our area) same-day order/pick up doesn’t work. Because they are just so busy, in fact one of the workers told Ryan they have had up to 70 orders in a day!!
So, I place my order the night before I want to reserve a pick up time and I’ve never had a hard time getting the time I want.
Because I can fill my cart anytime on the app I usually have a few items in there all the time. When I’m standing in the kitchen and we use up the last piece of foil, or Ryan is digging in the fridge and says, we are out of lunch meat.. Instead of writing it on a list somewhere, I just put it in the cart on the app and it’s there, ready for when I complete my order.
We have been reserving to pick up between 5-6pm and it’s works out so great for us. Ryan gets off at 5 and then heads over to pick up the order. We usually choose to have our own bags in the trunk and the workers just put all the groceries in them right there at the car.
What happens when Walmart is out of an item you have ordered?
Once A Month Meals!
Once A Month Meals
Freezer cooking with menu planning help!
This Post May Contain Affiliate links. Purchasing through them may result in compensation with no added cost to you.
Have you ever prepared freezer meals for your family? It’s the process of preparing and cooking up a bunch of meals all at once and then freezing for a later time. It is really nice to have meals already prepared and ready to go when you are in a rush or the day has been crazy!
I’ve done freezer meal prep in the past for a few recipes. Usually, I just pick a few meals for either the crock pot or the oven and buy all the supplies to make them. Then I would spend the day making them all and sticking them in your freezer. Â The mess and work all happens at one time and then done.
It does take some planning and it is work! But I think it can be really worth it. And you can add fun to it by inviting a friend to do it with you! I especially start thinking about this kind of prep right before a new baby arrives… since dinner time can be very unpredictable.
Recently I discovered a website called Once a Month Meals. They take this freezer prep/cooking idea to the max. I was instantly impressed by the organization and customization they provide.  I have signed up for meal planning help in the past and the only bummer I found in the ones I’ve tried is that you are kind of stuck with recipes your family doesn’t like.. no fun there!  With Once A Month Meals you can pick from their 6000+ recipes and substitute them into your plan And nothing else I have seen has been anywhere close to this! Read More
Walmart Grocery Pick Up Review and $10. Coupon
Have you heard? Walmart now has a pick up program!
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I just used it for the first time today! So let me share wit you my Walmart Grocery Pick Up Review!
It is simple to add items to your cart. Select your nearest store and choose your pick up time slot.
The instructions at the end of the order say
” At your designated time, go to your grocery pickup location. Tip: For fast service, check in using our Walmart Grocery app (Iphone) or Grocery Check-in App (Android). No smartphone? Call us 15 minutes prior to arrival, and again when you arrive.
Enter the Parking lot and drive to the front of the store.
Facing the entrance, proceed to the right side of the building, then head to the back. Look for the grocery pick up signs.
Park in a designated spot, your order will be out shortly.”
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- We also discovered that the phone number is a different one than the main number (which is impossible to get through to anyone) the pick up order number is a direct line to them and was a much better way to contact them about my order! (At Trinity store in Stockton the number is 209.371.7046)
- We were told today that if they ever have to substitute an item for you, they always go bigger and better. The example the manager gave to me was, let’s say I order a 12 oz jar of Jiffy Peanut Butter. But they don’t have the 12 0z in stock.. they will bump it up to the 20 oz and yet still charge for the one I wanted!!
- They give you a little sample bag of goodies at your first pick up, that’s fun!
This service is FREE!!! You really do get to order and purchase your walmart goods online and then drive up and they bring it out to your car and email you a receipt!! It’s CRAZY!! Â I am super excited about this! I think we just figured out how to make grocery shopping manageable even with kids, and preggo and all the other things that make Grocery shopping a difficult task. And seriously? walmart deals and prices without having to go inside walmart??!! You couldn’t sign me up fast enough!!
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Walmart also has a great referral program. And if you use this code you can get $10 OFF your first order and I’ll get $10 OFF too! In turn, you also can get a referral code and refer your friends and family and you each get $10. up to ten times a year!
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Here’s the code:
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Happy shopping!
I hope you enjoy this Walmart Grocery Pick Up Review
Let me know how you like new service!
I stopped reading books when I became a Mom…
I love reading!! I think I always have. In my younger years there usually wasn’t a time when I wasn’t in the middle of a book, or three! I really liked to balance things out, so if I was reading a great fiction I would also pick up a Christian Living book or a Biography or something.
I’m thankful I had family that cared about installing a love for reading in us as children.
We have an Aunt and Uncle who sent us fabulous stories every Christmas!! And our Grandma lived with us when we were small and I remember hours upon hours of sitting in her chair with her reading!! Trips to the library in our home school years were always fascinating.
When William came along it was still great for my reading habits for a little while. When he was just a babe I would read while feeding and rocking him. ( I had to adjust to electronic books so I could read in the wee hours but I was still getting to read!) I even enjoyed reading them aloud to him just for fun! But, then he grew.. and the Lord didn’t put a whole lot of
sitting still qualities in that little guy. 🙂 And of course with a growing household, chores and other things take over…. So, I found myself not picking up a book or journal for months at a time, or I would start one only to forget about it and find it 6 months later.
I also, longed to create a love of reading in William and James and found creative ways to stick reading into our day… like reading one of their books aloud while they played in the back yard (it’s amazing what these boys pick up even while they are busily exploring their world.) These days I’ve added reading to them during lunch time which works really well for us IF Mommy has had a chance to eat first 🙂
But still I found that I wasn’t picking up many books I cared about.. especially ones I hadn’t already read. What a bummer for this book lover… I found my wish lists of books I’d like to pick up growing and growing but no chance in sight to actually attempt any of them.
But, recently I realized I just needed to prioritize a bit and if it was really important to me I could make it work in this busy Mom life I’m adventuring in. One thing I do know is that “important people”, World-changers are often big readers. 🙂 In an effort to always expand your knowledge and more importantly wisdom – books are a great tool!
Some books I have lying around right now are:
Dr. Dobson’s Parenting collection
Missional Motherhood by Gloria Furman ** haven’t read this yet, I can’t wait!!
Mom’s raising boys to be men
Twelve Ordinary Men by John MacArthur
In my wish list still: Â ( I have an Amazon wish list called “Books We Want” it’s public so you can check it out if you are interested in more titles… most of them have been recommended by friends, or on the radio or during another book I was reading)
Wild Things: The Art of Nuturing Boys by Stephen James and David Thomas
Strong Mothers, Strong Sons by Meg Meeker M.D.
For The Love by Jen Hatmaker
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
I was one of those readers that really didn’t like electronic books at first.. I will say I still feel like there is something missing when you can’t cuddle up with a book and actually turn pages ( I’m a huge highlighter too.. so i miss my pens. haha) But, I am learning to love the times we live in, and the resources that are so readily available for us. Purchasing actual bound books isn’t always possible and I find it’s harder for me to sit down with a book to read… But if it’s on my phone, well then, at the Dr’s office, or while I’m waiting for laundry to be done, right before bed (even if the lights are already out) I have a book!!!
I have found some new ways to get good electronic books in my hands (most of them free!) And have committed to reading them more than facebook, emails, etc. And I’ve put these apps on the first page of my phone so I see them even before I see all the other distractions!
Amazon Kindle: You can use the Kindle app on any device even if you don’t have a kindle. Just start an account, download the app onto your Ipad, Phone, computer.. whatever. SOOOOO many books are offered for free especially if you are a Prime member.
Have a New Kid by Friday by Kevin Leman
God’s Astounding Opinion Of You by  Ralph Harris
Amazon also has a great collection of classic reads…  Little Women, Northanger Abbey , The Secret Garden etc..  And they are FREE!!!
Scribd: My newest subscription. This one is $9.99 a month. But you get a ton of books and many of them available in Audio. I’m discovering that I’m motivated to read more in Scribd since it’s costing me every month. I know that if a month goes by and I haven’t used it, I’ll need to cancel my membership. So, it’s working 🙂  Get a FREE 30 day trial here!
I’ve started playing audio books in the car or while I’m doing laundry or dishes (this works especially well when I can send the boys outside to play)
So far most of the books I have searched for in Scribd have been available.
Here’s some of my recent reads and ones I have waiting in my library.
Undaunted by Christine Caine * I loved this book!! Full of encouragement to follow God’s calling no matter what!!
Chopin  This was such a fun audio to listen to… Full of History and very interesting facts plus, lots of Chopin’s beautiful music! I enjoyed entering the classical world my husband loves for a little bit and  plan to listen to a few more about Mozart and others.
love Does by Bob Goff  This book was an incredible read!  He has a great perspective on things and lives a pretty cool life, so his stories are awesome! If you want this book in another format it’s available on Amazon too….
Loving our Kids on Purpose  Just added this one, can’t wait to start it.
The Mean Mom’s Guide to Raising Great Kids by Joanne Kraft  *again this one is waiting for me! but I heard it recommended on K-love.
You’ll notice I’m deeply interested in any parenting wisdom I can glean these days (seems like a desperate Mother’s cry?? you’ve got that right. We need all the help we can get to guide these little hearts to and for Jesus)
I hope this encourages some one out there to just pick up a book (or electronic read) Even if you can only get a couple of pages at a time. Honestly I have surprised myself how quickly I’ve read through some books now that I’m mindful of its importance to me!
Happy reading everyone,
Let me know which awesome reads you’ve read or heard about.. my wish list is always growing.
There are some affiliate links here for Amazon. Which just means if you click and buy from links in this post, Amazon will give me a little something as a thanks for recommending them to you! Pretty cool. Thanks for shopping!
toys toys toys and how we organize the chaos
Toys toys toys
If you have young kids then you know that toys can very easily take over your life!
Especially when birthdays and Christmas come around!! We love that our boys get fun new things and that they have family and friends that love on them! 🙂 But this lady quickly became overwhelmed by the mess!!
Since I know that we can’t be the only ones, I thought I’d share the method that has worked for us. It may not be what works for everyone but if you need to try something new, give it a shot!!
This Post May Contain Affiliate links. Purchasing through them may result in compensation with no added cost to you.
So, with so many toys we started with trying the fabric cubes in a bookcase idea… something similar to this.
I even made labels with pictures of the different kinds of toys. I like the idea that it would look cute, organized and still be accessible to the boys. This simply did not work for us. at all!
First of all , not all our toys fit in these cute little bins. labels were ripped off and toys still seemed to all be dumped, every. single. day. So, the chaos continued. (we now use this bookcase and bins for the boys clothes in their closet and it works really well for that!)
I will say that this method works for some people. especially if you have one child, who is still young and just now getting into toys.
So, we moved everything to big plastic tubs. This way our whole collections of trains, blocks, cars whatever will fit in the same tub and has a lid!!
Still, having them in the play room meant that there were days that every bin was emptied… even if we tried the idea ” you have to put away one before you get the other one out. ” thing.
bonus points to you if you monitor your kids play time that well! 🙂
Eventually what I decided to do seemed drastic, but it works so well for us!!
ALL of the tubs of toys found a place in the garage. Every one of them!!
The boys know that they get 1 or 2 tubs into the house at a time. When they are ready for something else, we pack them away and get another one from the garage! Usually it’s trains and cars that stay in the house but everyone once in a while William will remember a certain toy and will ask where it is, so we switch them out!
This has brought a ton of peace to our play room! It’s so much easier to clean up when everything goes into the same tub! And I realized the boys weren’t even able to really play when they had so many toys surrounding them!
Also, right before Christmas I will put EVERYTHING in the garage so they can really enjoy the new things they get! And both our boys birthdays are soon after Christmas so we’ll probably spend a few months just exploring our presents! 🙂
I hope this helps if you haven’t found what works for your house!
I would love something like this for in the garage (as of now they are just stacked up on the side) but maybe some day 😉  (for now it will stay on the forever growing honey do-list)
It’s Fall and Our First Year of Homeschool!
Here we are in September!!!
I love this month! My birthday of course helps kick it off pretty well 🙂
And we’ve already enjoyed a few cooler days this week! I love the changing seasons and made my first pot of stew for dinner tonight! YUM!
We officially started Home School this week! We did a little bit of preschool learning last year but didn’t really stick to a plan or schedule and honestly Mommy got a little lazy with it… but it was a freebie year since William was still only 3/4. 🙂
But this year is different. We are ready for Kindergarten in this house!! William is so excited! And after getting over the first bout of intimidation I’ll admit I’ve become pretty excited too! He is still only 4 (will turn 5 first part of January) But we really don’t think it’s to early to start him.. He has already mastered so many of the basics that you would expect to have him learn before kindergarten that I couldn’t imagine repeating them all again! So we are moving forward!
I am blessed in the fact that William does really love to learn. He wants to know how things work and why and would take everything a part in the process if he was allowed.
For this school year our main focus will be basic Math skills and learning to read! Along with Bible memorization and just learning from things around us.. we will be keeping things pretty laid back as we reach these goals.
I certainly don’t want to come across as a “Homeschooler Blog” as in, you should come here for advice or anything.. but I do know that I’m not the only one just starting out, so maybe if I share some of the things I’m learning, it could help you too.. us newbies should stick together ( and read the real expert home school blogs too) 🙂
We start our day off with prayer and calendar time with this awesome calendar I made from pinterest!
Here is where I found this awesome idea and the FREE printable. This blog is pretty awesome so make sure you sign up to follow her for more tips and tools!
Also, I’m hoping to just fill our lives with great habits and more structure (something that I should have already been enforcing but we won’t dwell on that!) So, now we start our day off with teeth brushed, making beds, and actually getting dress which has been super hard for my boys to understand, they want to know where we are going! hahaha
For Math we went with Math-U-See curriculum. I really like how hands on it is with manipulative blocks and that it includes number recognition, writing numbers and geometry shapes all in one book! We are starting with the Primer
Now I do know that some people say this method is a little to close to “common Core” for their liking and that opinion is fine. But especially at this young age I don’t see us running into any issues. I find it to be a great method for solidifying our number recognitions and counting. Plus, I think the beauty of Home School is that you can find what works for you and your child.
For reading I decided to get Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons. Recommended by a friend. You really can’t beat the price and it’s a full reading/writing curriculum in one book. Even the teacher’s notes (which are nice and extensive) are in the one book! I really like how the lessons are planned and I’m excited to teach William how to read. I found a lot of fun printable to go along with these lessons. Including a number chart so William can put a sticker on each lesson as we complete it. Also there is an Ipad version so later we’ll be able to practice our sounds on the iPad!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ number 1-100 chart to mark off or place sticker after each lesson is complete.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ practice cards
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ practice sheets
For Bible we will be focusing on our Awana Club work! Our family has fallen in love with Awana!! I encourage you to find a group near you! Or even ask your church to start one!! Awana is so Christ-centered, gospel-focused. They concentrate on memorization of Scripture and Christ’s unspeakable love for every child! William is in cubbies this year and James is in puggles. William will be working through his honeycomb book. He has a memory verse and a story to read each week. Also, most weeks he’ll have some extra stuff we can do during school as well. Puggles offers some awesome parent cards to be able to reinforce what they are learning each week, here at home! They have awesome suggestions about bringing the gospel into everyday life and showing even little James how much He Is Loved!!
This Mamma loves that even at 2 years old James’ class is learning a lot!! They are going through Creation right now!! I love that they are taking the opportunities they have with even the youngest to share Jesus’ love for them. It isn’t just childcare while everyone else is in their classes!!
Side note: Ryan and I are volunteering too! We asked that we not be in our boys age group to give them and us a little space 🙂 so we get to work with the 8-10 year olds and we are having a blast!! Again it is so gospel-focused that these kids are memorizing verse after verse each week. And I love that I’m dwelling on them too as I help the kids! Anyways, all that to say we love Awana! 🙂
As for any other learning lessons.. I have a lot of products left over from our attempt last year and have been giving William little things to do because he loves them so much! So,it might be a page about same and different, mazes, just practicing writing numbers or letters, etc. I have lots of flash cards about space and animals. And some learning games. So in a round about way I think we’ll learn a little science, a little history, a little health, a little of everything!
My Mom will be gathering ideas for Art! And I’m so glad it’s her and not me! hahaha The boys will love it!
Daddy will be teaching sign language once a week too!
Reading aloud has not been our strength in the past… Getting the boys to sit for a story hasn’t happened up until a couple of months ago! So much so that I started reading aloud while they were playing and just hoped they were kind of listening. But things are getting better.
I read on a blog somewhere that suggested reading while the kids are eating their lunch and that has been fairly successful as long as I’ve had a chance to eat my lunch first! 🙂 Also, I’ve expanded our library some, to include books with a little more interest and a few more words than say your average Dr. Seuss… and the boys are really enjoying the stories a little more!
To keep myself accountable, organized and keep a record of what we’ve accomplished this year, I bought this planner from Amazon. I like how much space there is to write out each lesson! There is attendance and even report cards if you want to do that!
All in all I think we’ll enjoy this year. It has it’s challenges with James running around and Mommy feeling tired growing this baby. But, we are praying for a great year!
If you are also homeschooling I hope your year has begun smoothly! I’d love to know what blogs you like to follow or anything you’ve found to be helpful!
We can do this!! 🙂
Deanna Grace