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Wordless Wednesday

Little Bug and Charlie feeding the fish.

 Little Bug jumping the day away!

Hope you all have a great Wednesday.

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Becoming a Tax Preparer

Have you ever thought of becoming a paid tax preparer. I have often filled out and filed my own taxes and other family members taxes. I really had a good understanding on how the tax system worked. As time has passed on and with tax rules changing we found ourselves having to pay others to prepare our taxes.  I have come to the conclusion I am spending far too much money having others prepare our taxes. I am thinking about taking a income tax course that would allow me to prepare not only our taxes but also family members taxes. I do not plan on charging a fee to do this. I just want to help ourselves and our family with the cost of tax preparation.
I have not thought too much about getting tax preparer certification. I just think it would be a great service to my family and even help our friends at church. We have many elderly friends that could use help in preparing their taxes.
I have even discussed this with my youngest son who is working his way through college. I mentioned how preparing taxes might just be a great side job for him. He could take the classes with me. I could probably use a little help on my home work. Of course he declined my offer. It probably would have been a little stressful for him to take a class with his mom. Lol, I had to try though.

Foot Minders Review

My husband works on his feet all day long. After working all day he returns home to work around our little farm for hours on end. He has been wearing insets in his shoes for several years now. We usually replace them three of more times a year. When I had the opportunity to review Foot Minders I was curious to see if they were different then ordinary shoe inserts.
Footminders are orthotic insoles that are made in a way to re-align the legs and hips. This improves body posture and helps alleviate knee and lower back pain. The inserts also correct rolling of the foot and lowering of the arches. Which can alleviate foot pain and heel pain. Foot Minders are available in three types casual for dress shoes, comfort for sports and work shoes and catwalk for heels and pumps.
I ordered comfort for my husbands work shoes. When I received the package I was a little sceptical that they would be comfortable. They looked hard and did not seem to have much cushion.

The inserts could not have come at a better time. My husband had hours and hours of yard work ahead of him.

Generally my husband does not complain of back or knee pain. He seldom complains at all. He does have foot pain when standing and working for long hours. We placed the inserts in his work shoes on Thursday. I did have to trim them a little to fit. It was not hard to trim them with a pair of scissors following the guide on the insert. He has had them in his shoes for six days. He has spent many hours cutting down dead trees, brush and planting new trees and bushes along our property line. I asked him how they were feeling after wearing them for a few days. He said the inserts were great. Better than expected. Usually the inserts he wears flatten after a few days wear. He said it took about three days to become accustomed to the new inserts. Now they are very comfortable.

How exciting that is to hear. I am certainly planning to purchase a pair for my self.

Visit Footminders to learn more.

To keep up with Footminders news follow them on Facebook. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Funday

We are still pretty busy around here. I have tried to visit my favorite blogs. If I missed you I am sorry. I will be catching up soon I do hope. Here are a few more pictures to pass the time.

Here is how our day went.
Little Bug: "Grandma I am wet!"
Grandma: "Are you finished playing with the water?"
Little Bug: "No!"
Grandma: "Then just play I will change you when you are finished."
Little Bug:"No, no,no!! Change shirt now!"
We went through four outfits in a matter of two hours. What's a grandma to do?

Little Bug has taken up photography. I am sharing a few of his shots today. Lol, he is just great.

Hope you all have a wonderful day.
 

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First Day of Kindergarten

We are so proud of Pumpkin! She is our first grandchild to start school. Her first day was Monday. She did very well. It is hard to be the first child to go to school. No siblings or cousins for support. Grandpa and I talked to her the evening before school and gave her a good pep talk. She was nervous as you can see in the pictures. Little sister Sweet Pea wanted to join her sister on the bus. She got her little heart broken. By now Pumpkins third day of school and she was happy and ready to see her new friends.

 

Day Three

 

I totally remember my first day of school. The bus ride and the first time in the class room. I even remember my kindergarten teachers name. It was so long ago and terribly traumatizing that is why I remember it so clearly. I can remember being held on the bus screaming and kicking to get off. While my mother held onto my little sister who was screaming to get on the bus. I still remember my thoughts. Why not let my little sister take my place? She wanted on that scary bus so bad. Do you remember your first day of school?

Journal 10 2012-2022 Review

When I was asked to review the Journal 10 I was not sure what to expect. I have been thinking about keeping a journal for my grandchildren. My one worry is that I would be to busy to keep up with a proper journal. I have found the answer to that problem. The Journal 10 is a journal for busy people.

I will try to explain how this journal works. This is a record keeper that lasts ten years plus. Each page has a date. For example: Aug. 23rd is the date listed at the top. Along the side of the page are the years starting with 2012 and ending with 2022. Each year has four lines to write on for the date of Aug. 23rd. If four lines are not enough you are able to make a note in the margin and use a carry over page at the end of the journal.

I like writing but at times I don't have so much to say and a regular journal is very intimidating with a full empty page to fill. With just four lines to fill I will be able to jot down a few meaningful lines and keep on with my busy day.

There are many other features in this journal that make it unique. In the beginning of the pages you will find a long-term planner with a page for each year. The page has two columns one for goals and one for accomplishments. After the long-term planner you will find a 12 year calendar. Then comes the main journal section. There is a monthly overview page preceding each month. You will see a column for each year with a small space for each day of the month. This can be used to jot down a key word for special entries. This will make it easy to find special events you have written about. This section can also be used to record your weight, temperature, calorie count or blood pressure readings. After the journal pages you will find the carry-over pages I mentioned. Then an address book complete with spacing for address changes, phone numbers, fax and cell phone.

You would think this was all there could be to this journal but it keeps on going. The next section is for record keeping. The pages have two columns. One is marked for medical recording and one for automobile records.

Last but definitely very important. A special dates section. This is a great place to record birthdays, anniversaries, and other important events. Just imagine being able to look back easily and find the date of a certain event with out much effort at all.

The journal is beautiful bound and has two book marks to keep your place. I have not found a better journal myself. I plan to purchase a few for gifts. I know my children will like keeping one for family records.

Read more about the Journal10 here.

To purchase a Journal 10 visit here.

Disclosure:
I received the above mentioned Journal to review in exchange for an honest opinion.

Bubble Ride Review

Bubble Ride is a children's music CD by Vanessa Trien and the Jumping Monkeys.

Just reading the title makes you think " This has to be a lively music CD". Well, let me tell you it is very entertaining and lively. I had the grandchildren review it for me and they listened to it over and over. My grandchildren are like most other children they do not like riding in their car seats. We took the grands to the petting zoo, the trout farm, the wildlife preserve and a few other places when they were visiting. While they are great children they like to complain about riding in their car seats. I remembered I had this CD to review. I popped it into the CD player and wow, no complaints from that point on. Just singing bouncing and lots of laughing.

October 2nd release of Vanessa’s  CD, Bubble Ride (VeeTree Records, $14.98, runs 47 minutes, ages 1 – 8).

Tracks:

1. Moomooheehawbaabaaneigh

2. Peacock Walk

3. Spinning Around

 4. Tickle Monster

 5. One Fine Day

 6. Train Dance

 7. Bubble Ride

 8. Yo-Yo Song

 9. Hey Ho

 10. Mama Dada Blues

 11. Deep IN The Jungle

 12. What Am I To Do

 13. Free To Be You and Me

 14. Bye Bye song

Bonus Track

15. Laila's Rainbow Colors

Listen to or purchase Vanessa's music here.

I just love this CD. The array of songs makes it easy for each of my grandchildren to have a favorite. If you know how children work they each want to have a different favorite. I have two favorites on this CD. Moomooheehawbaabaaneigh and Tickle Monster. Even before hearing the song Tickle Monster we played the tickle monster game with our children and grandchildren all the time.

Vanessa Trien a singer-songwriter and children's performer, has two award-winning children's Cd's, Carnival Day and Hot Air Balloon. Vanessa has a master's degree in education, She has taught and preformed music for primary and elementary school-aged children in New York and Boston.

Vanessa Trien and the Jumping Monkeys-Fall 2012 Concert line up.

September 26   Alden Theatre       McLean, VA

October 14    Coolidge Corner Theatre     Brookline, MA

November 3   Regent Theatre       Arlington, MA

Visit Vanessa Trien and the Jumping Monkeys to read more.

Disclosure:
I received the above mentioned CD to review in exchange for an honest opinion.



Kensington Slim Type Standard Keyboard #shopletreviews

It's time for Grandma to get back to work! As most everyone knows I have been out on a sort of vacation for the last 2&1/2 weeks. I say sort of because all of my lovey grandchildren came for a visit. With one 5 year old, three 2 year olds and one 4 week old it has been busy yet fun here at grandma and grandpa's house.
While the grandchildren were visiting I was not able to get on line much. I generally use a laptop to do my blogging. With so many little fingers around I could not leave my laptop out as usual. We do have several desktops but I have never liked any of the keyboards we have. They are not as easy on my fingers as my laptop keys are.
Now, Grandma has a new Kensington Slim Type Standard Keyboard thanks to Shoplet.com.

This keyboard is lightweight, thin and easy on my fingers. I put the product to the ultimate test. My son is studying IT in college. He is in his senior year. He knows everything and anything about computers. He explained the reason why my fingers do not get so tired typing with this board. The keys work with scissor-switch technology. OK, now I had no clue what scissor-switch meant but my son has lots of patience and went onto explain further. The keys are attached to the keyboard with two plastic pieces. They interlock in a "scissor"-like fashion, and snap to the keyboard. A plastic mechanism hooks the key to a plunger that depresses the rubber dome with a shorter travel than the typical rubber dome keyboard. All this information just means that the keys respond to a light touch and are quick to act. Just what I need to write my posts while the grandchildren visit.

What do I like most about this product? I like the multimedia buttons that provide one-touch control of volume, play/pause, track, mute, and eject. My favorite is the mute button. How often have you opened a web page and have a soundtrack load unexpectedly. I can now simply hit the mute button and not disturb a sleeping grandchild.

 

One other feature I want to mention is that the keyboard does not require you to download any drivers. Just simply plug in the USB and you are ready to type.
If you are looking for a new keyboard or any other office supplies stop over to Shoplet.com. I am sure you will find the perfect keyboard for yourself.

Disclosure:
I received the above mentioned product to review from Shoplet.com in exchange for an honest opinion.

Gotta Love The Grandchildren

Feeding the baby Koi. They just love the fish.

Grandma do you want a bite?

Tractor love.

8lbs of pinto beans in a water table = break time for grandma!

Nap time so I can stay up with grandma until the cows come home!

Another break for grandma.

Grandma can I take the cats home? They can ride in my backpack!

Feeding time. Watch those fingers.

I will be by soon to visit your blog if I haven't already.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I want to apologize for not being able to visit your blogs lately. I promise life will soon slow down here at Grandma Bonnie's Closet and I will pay each of you a long visit. I will catch up with all your posts soon. In the mean time I hope you have patience with me. Thanks a million.
Here is just a little of what I have been up to lately.  After my new grandson was born I finally moved home. At least for now. I started to get my house back in order and to work in my flower beds. I few days after arriving home my granddaughters arrived a week early. I will be keeping them a little over two weeks. A few days after my granddaughters arrived my grandson Pooh Bear and his new brother came for a two week visit. We do have a house full at this time. Little Bug has also been over a few times. We had a sleep over in the living room for all the grandchildren. Keep in mind three out of five of our grandchildren are two years old. Now if you know what a two year old can be like you can imagine what my days have been like. I am having a blast though and I want to say I would keep each and every one of them any time. They are all a blessing to have around even with all the little temper tantrums and so forth. Well, I have got to get back to the babies. Enjoy a few of our recent memories. I hope you are all having a great week.