Ember Image Photography

My grandson Little Bug is featured at Ember Image Photography!

I would love you to go over and check out the photos. If you like you can follow her blog and leave a comment letting her know you came from Grandma Bonnie. If you follow she will follow back!

Toddler Bench

While we were traveling last week we found a small bench just right for a toddler. We found the bench at a small store selling Amish made rocking chairs and out door furniture. The bench was not stained or finished but very pretty.

This is the bench unfinished. Little Bug had to try it out.

We had some left over stain/sealer that we used to stain our deck. The color was honey gold so we decided it would work for this little bench.

This is the bench finished. The color came out lighter than the deck because the wood types are different.

My Trip Home

I really want to thank all the wonderful visitors I had this week to my blog. Thank you all for your sweet comments. I am still reading them and will visit your blogs in return.  Thank you Becky Jane from Rise Above Your Limits for the wonderful guest post and Thanks to my daughter in law for the Halloween Costume guest post from Life with Tootsabella and The Rose .
I had a great week and got a lot of work done at home. My flower garden is looking much better and the one lonely hen is happy with her fresh and clean coop. Grandpa had a little break from babysitting and I got to babysit my youngest grandson Little Bug.  Pooh Bear and his mom also came with me home so we had a houseful again. I don't know about any of my blogging friends but grandpa and I are at our happiest when our house is full of laughter and noise.  Here are some more photos from our trip. Please enjoy and have a great week.

Pooh Bear did great no episodes of motion sickness. Yay!

My Little Bug enjoying our visit to feed the deer!

Both Grandsons enjoying our new deck that grandpa built.

My Little Bug trying to untie the safety gate so they can get into mischief. 

Our Koi pond.

Vacation Photos

Just a few photos from our trip. I will post about our trip home later today. 

Guest Post: Happy Helpers

I am delighted to have Becky Jane from Rise Above Your Limits guest posting here on Grandma Bonnie's Closet. I hope you all enjoy her post. Please stop over to her blog and see what a mother of eleven children has to say!

Happy Helpers

Let’s face it…it’s a roller coaster ride when it comes to getting consistent, good help from our kids! 

If you’re the Mother of more than one child, you might have noticed that there are times when one of them is especially helpful, and the others are especially un-helpful.  This has always been a dilemma for me.  

I am always grateful when one of my kids picks up a mess without being told, doesn't argue when asked to do a chore or actually does their chores without being asked.  I’m especially grateful for the kid that is extra cheerful and kind!  *smiling*

HERE’S THE DELIMA…the child that is being extra helpful can see that he/she is doing more work and it isn't fair...HOW do I encourage this child to continue on and yet not feel picked on because of their good deeds?

Right now, my best helper is my 12 year old son.  He seems to be always there and ready to help when everyone else is complaining about helping, and sometimes he gets tired of it.  He likes to help (I know, enjoy it while it lasts), but I don’t want him to feel over-USED while everyone else is playing and having a good time.

Several years ago I came up with a solution...a way of secretly rewarding that special helper child.  In my closet I have a special tote with 'THINGS' in it...things that my kids like such as toys, umbrellas, fun socks, hair stuff (for the girls) etc., and of course $$$ (for the older ones)!  Whenever I see someone repeatedly going the extra mile, I secretly pull them aside and let them pick something out of the tote. 

The only rule I have is they cannot tell the other kids that they got something; it must be kept a secret!  This makes it even more fun for them!  They also understand that their rewards will come at inconsistent times…they can’t ask for a reward or expect to be rewarded every time they are good. (Being good has its own rewards)!

In order not to break-the-bank, I keep my eye out for sales and the dollar store carries some fun items too!  Don’t make it a financial burden, keep the ‘THINGS’ inexpensive yet fun!

This system of secret recognition has worked out quite well for our family.  The child is rewarded and encouraged to keep up the good work!

Being the Mother of 11 children, I hope I’ve learned a few things…

Written by - Becky Jane author of http://RiseAboveYourLimits.blogspot.com/

Guest Post: Halloween is Coming

I am happy to have my daughter-in-law from  Life with Tootsabella and The Rose guest posting here at Grandma Bonnie's Closet. I hope you enjoy her post. Please stop over and check out her newest post.

Halloween is coming...

I have visited many stores lately and have noticed Halloween is making it's way to them earlier than usual. Halloween is a really good simmer down from the Summer.  It's my family's favorite time of the year because there is so much going on and it's a good lead to the holidays. I have included some great costume ideas and if you have a baby handy, a great big pumpkin photo idea. 

Prima Ballerina 

Cinderella

Princess Belle

Parading Pirate

Rainbow Chick

Cheerleader and Princess Aurora

Snow White

Tinkerbell

Batman

Princess Aurora, Giddy up Cowboy, Space man, Princess Jasmine

Precious Peaock

Darling Dorothy

Baby in Pumpkin Photo prop idea.

Going Home For A Little Vacation!

Grandma is going home for a short but deserved vacation. At least I think it's deserved. What I really meant by vacation is I am going home to get some work done around the house. That sounds like a fun vacation right? I need to weed some flower beds. Stain the new deck that grandpa just built and maybe even clean the chicken coop. That all sounds like a fun vacation now doesn't that! You see I babysit my grandson in another state so it's like having a full time job away from home. I get home a weekend or two during the month but this time it's going to be a whole week. Yay! Now you can guess how busy I am. Grandpa on the other hand is just as busy. He is taking care of our home, babysits our second grandson, and has a full time job on the side.  Now to the vacation part. While taking care of my grandson is a pleasure I love being out doors so going home and working out side for a week will be a nice change. This week while I am gone from my blogging world I have lined up two guest post for my bloggy friends. I might stop back in for a bit but I will be out more than in for sure.  Please enjoy their posts and stop over to check out their blogs. Hope you all have a great week.

What Do You Know About Link Farms?

I have been reading a lot of information about blogging and how to help my blog get a higher ranking in Google page rankings. The first thing I learned while blogging is linking up to other sites can help move your blog up higher in the search engines. What I did not know is if you link your blog to a Link Farm you might  hurt your ratings and may even make your rating fall. This is the definition  of a Link Farm on Wikipedia's , a link farm is any group of web sites that all hyperlink to every other site in the group. Although some link farms can be created by hand, most are created through  automated programs and services. A link farm is a form of spamming the index of a search engine (sometimes called Spamdexing or spamexing). So, my next Question was, How can I tell if a site is a link Farm? I had to search a little deeper for an answer. I did not find a direct answer to my question but in a round about way I have a better understanding of what to watch out for. If you would like more information check out this article at About.com I wish you all the best in your blogging adventures.

UPrinting Giveaway Winner!!!

Congratulations goes out to Mandi winner of the UPrinting 250 Flyer Giveaway.
There were 26 qualifying comments.

Comment # 14  

An email has been sent out and you have 48 hrs to contact Grandma Bonnie.

Earn Free Gift Cards

How would you like to earn free gift cards for Amazon, Home Depot, CVS, Overstock.com, or many other name brand gift cards. Here is how I get these gift cards for free. I use Swagbucks for web searching. When I search I win points( swagbucks) for relevant searches. I usually get any where from 7 to 11 points per search. While I have earned more on some searches that is on average what I usually get.  In general it's acceptable to search once or twice a day.
I let these points add up and cash them in for gift cards and even some times I cash them in for paypal cash.
This is from my last search.

These are a few samples of the gift cards swagbucks can buy.

There are also many other items you can get with your swag bucks. Like electronics, games, and dvds the list is almost endless. If you join swagbucks you are asked to download their search bar. That is fine if you choose to download the search bar but,  you don't have to download the search bar. To do your searches just log in to your swagbucks account and search from their main page. I also have a swag widget on my blog that can be used for searches.  You can find this on the right side of the page as you scroll down. 

Happy searching! If you would like more info or to join select the Search. Earn. Redeem button below.

Back to School Blowout Sale!

I am so happy to proclaim I am now a So Chic Bag Boutique Consultant! I am very happy to let you in on the first news of any and all sales events. With summer vacation at an end and school starting back up everyone needs school bags. So stop over and see the great selection of school bags and while your at it you almost certainly deserve a new purse.

Quilted Fabric, Polka Dot Ribbon, Zip Top Closure, Fully Lined in Gingham, Two adjustable shoulder straps that can be zipped together to convert into a sling bag.  14.5"wide x 16" tall x 6" deep.

Stylish Houndstooth Design!

Canvas & Faux Leather Construction * Silvertone Hardware * Magnetic and Zip Top Closure * Flap with Decorative Toggle * Fully Lined with Inside Zip, Open and Cell Phone Pockets * Double Handles with 11" Drop * 12.75" Wide x 8" Tall x 6.25" Deep

If you would like to see all So Chick Bag Boutique's school supplies and or all  other products. ( Handbags, diaper bags, messenger bags and even beauty supplies) select any image and you will be brought to So Chick Bag Boutique. 

Are you interested in joining as a So Chick Bag Boutique Consultant. Just select the banner below and you will be on your way. Add my name to the referral line and join me in an adventure.

UPrinting Flyer Giveaway for Advertising or Invitations

UPrinting Flyer Giveway

I am happy to announce that I am hosting a giveaway for Uprinting.com. The prize for this giveaway is 250Print Flyers or Party Flyers. This is an awesome product. The flyers can be used for just about anything. Promote your blog, Etsy store or use it for any advertising needs you have. Think party invites, save the date cards, or any special event you can think of.

More

Friendly Ducks

Pooh Bear has been feeling under the weather for about a week. He had a double ear infection and tonsillitis all at the same time. Well, today he has felt much better and wanted to go outside for a walk. So who could say no to the little guy. While out walking we stopped by the neighborhood pond and fed the ducks. They are so friendly. They got really close and when we ran out of bread the adults left. Then a mother duck came up with her ducklings.  We had a great time.

Mother duck and  and her ducklings.

UPrinting Flyer Giveway

I am happy to announce that I am hosting a giveaway for Uprinting.com. The prize for this giveaway is 250 Print Flyers or Party Flyers. This is an awesome product. The flyers can be used for just about anything. Promote your blog, Etsy store or use it for any advertising needs you have. Think party invites, save the date cards, or any special event you can think of.
If you are worried the you don't have a design you want to use for a flyer Uprinting can help with their easy design tool. If you already have a design that you want to use just try their upload your file feature. So, if you have some advertising to do this is the prize for you. What can be better than free advertising.

Prize 

Party Flyers / Flyers

250pcs. Flyers for one winner

4.25" x 5.5", 4" x 6"

14pt Cardstock Gloss, Front Only Printing,

nightclub flyer templates and business flyer templates also available for download

3 Business Days Turnaround, *Free Shipping

*Mandatory Entry*
Please leave one comment per entry.

Go to UPrinting.com and come back and leave a comment telling me what kind of flyer you would like to make.

*Extra Entries*

Extra entries will not count unless the mandatory is completed.

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Follow Grandma Bonnie's Closet on GFC or Networked Blogs

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Write a blog post about this give away and leave a link to the post.

Tweet about this giveaway leave the Url in your comment.

The Contest Ends August 19, at 11:59 p.m. EST.

The winner will be selected by random draw and will have 48 hours to respond.

Restriction: Limited to US residents 18 years old and above only.

If you have won a giveaway from UPrinting in the last 6 months you are not eligible to enter this giveaway.

Please include your email in you comment if it is not available in you profile. This is so the winner may be notified.

This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, No monetary compensation was given and I will receive party flyers for hosting. For more information about flyers, please visit UPrinting.com