Cute Critters #WW

Stopping in to introduce the newest members

of the family.:

Names are still undecided, bit really,

are they not the cutest, cuddliest little beings??

I'm sure they'll be featured on the blog quite a bit.

We love "the girls" already.

I snapped the girls with this camera.....

....it's a rare day that I don't capture something:

a moment, a family member, something popping up in the garden......

And my Nikon is perfect!

And I'm finding this resource so informative
on their care.
If YOUR little ones have critters too,
you might like to check it out!

There's SO much to say and catch up on here.

Life's thrown us a few curveballs which I'll need 
to process and sort through. Unfortunately,

life's gotten in the way of 

my space here but I'm so happy to stop in to connect 
with my favorite people: you!

Thank you for spending some of your precious time today

here at my home on the web! 

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just click here to 

subscribe to Campfires and Cleats by email 

quickly and easily  so we can be in touch regularly!

You might wish to follow on Facebook as well.....

This post contains amazon affiliate links....

If you are shopping at  amazon and Target. 

why not consider clicking through my link? 

In this way, I will receive a small commission on the purchase.....

at no cost to you.

THANK YOU!

Until next time,

~Chris

Sponsor Love ~ Great Deals and Quality Merchandise!

   

Thanks so much for stopping by to shop my sponsors

for quality items and great deals!

I've several brand new sponsors to 

introduce to you all today, 

along with a few returning sponsors as well. 

the products and companies I'm sharing with you today 

are those which  I am proud to purchase and use--- 

really....these are items I use in everyday "life." 

And as for affiliate links,  for those who don't know.....

affiliate marketing  basically refers to  a commission received

For example, when readers visit my blog and

 decides to buy something that I’ve written about, I received a

<small> referral fee.

It’s transparent to you, the buyer,  and doesn’t affect your cost.

So, today, I'm happy to direct you to books, resources, companies

which I've found useful, inspiring a-n-d frugal

in the hopes that you will too!

I really feel there's something for everyone on this list....

Let's get started shall we?

Stella & Dot

If you're a Stella & Dot fan, you know how fantastic 

and how reasonable their goods are! 

And if you enjoy their merchandise, 

as a Stella & Dot Stylist, you'll get even  more rewards!

Just click here for details, if you're interested in

being your own boss!

Reading horizons

.

Believe me when I say Reading Horizons Has. It. All.

Trust me, as a former reading specialist and 

the homeschool parent of a dyslexic child, I've researched and tried

a myriad of programs.

You know I've written tons about dyslexia, 

resources and programs! 

I cannot recommend Reading Horizons enough.

Educents

If you're a teacher, parent or homeschooler and you don't purchase from

Educents, you're completely missing out!

The daily deals, educational games and resources for all subject areas as well as

 curriculum for special needs is unparalleled.

Seriously, go check it out!

For the absolute best deals 
on price, safety, high quality lodging:
Hotels. com is THE answer.

There's no catch, no registration or membership fee....

just savings.

We travel a LOT---you know we do.

I have not directly booked a hotel in YEARS.

Whenever we seek brick and mortar lodging

over a campsite, we choose hotels .com. 

It just makes sense!

CheapFlights

Click here for today's deals not only on airfare, but hotels,
car rentals and vacation packages!

Let the expert travel planners organize and book your trip
on a shoestring!

Target

In addition to high quality and reasonable prices, 

Target is offering some pretty amazing deals on

summer wear ---such as their BOGO flip flop and swimwear.....

 .....and huge discounts on home goods ......from bath to kitchen

to lighting to carpets and home improvement......

...to indoor and outdoor furniture and more.....





For my blogger friends: the next two resources 
are for you!

Start a Mom Blog!

You can do this even if you don’t have the perfect idea yet, 

or you are busy, or you’re not techy!

I can affirm that blogging is an amazing experience and

if you're considering starting a blog yourself,

here's two words for you: DO IT! 

By the way, I  love Suzi at 

Start a Mom Blog....go visit her site and enjoy!

How to Make Money with Amazon Affiliates

Want to make over $1000 a month with Amazon affiliates? 

(are you kidding, of course! who wouldn't!?)

So let's read and learn together you guys!

Not just for "look," but for general health and wellness:
Beachbody

If you're at all interested in the fitness, classes
or consulting opportunities within Beachbody, 
click over for more info.





Everyone's fave online shopping site!

Amazon!

No matter what you're in the market for,

whether books, clothes, household items or a gift card,

 amazon's the spot!

Again, if you purchase through my link,

amazon offers me a small commission,

but your cost = $0. 

(Thank you!)

      COMING SOON:

Yay!!
I'll soon be affiliated with Best Western !
If you have the wanderlust for Spring or Summer travel,
I'll be updating my info soon and you'll be able to secure
 some deep discounts  here.

Thank you for spending some of your precious time today

here at my home on the web! 

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just click here to 

subscribe to Campfires and Cleats by email 

quickly and easily  so we can be in touch regularly!

You might wish to follow on Facebook as well.....

This post contains amazon affiliate links....

If you are shopping at  amazon and Target. 

why not consider clicking through my link? 

In this way, I will receive a small commission on the purchase.....

at no cost to you.

THANK YOU!

Until next time,

~Chris

Spring Cleaning & Fixing Up? Here's just the thing:

Spring is in the air...and that means promised days of outdoor

and backyard use.

Yay---how exciting!

I stumbled upon some great deals at  Amazon Home Services 

and found that they offer customers

 over a thousand different services.....

Their  quality, hand-picked professionals

 are backed by the Amazon Happiness Guarantee, too.

So if you need some deep cleaning taken care of

but don't have time right to invest, why not

call on the amazon pros for house cleaning ?

Or how about a few fixer upper tasks

that are a bit outside of your skill set?

Did you know you can schedule anything from installation of

tech devices to the hanging of shelves with  amazon?

There's pretty much no limit to what the amazon

home consultants can take care of for you.

I had a feeling you'd be pretty happy to get in on

some great deals!!

While you're here, why not enter my giveaway for
a War Room  t shirt? 
You know that movie that you LOVED two years ago when it hit theaters
(or the one you've been meaning to carve out some
family  time to watch??)
That's the one.
Go get the super simple entry and maybe
 an idea or two for a family movie as well!
Good luck!

Thank you for spending some of your precious time today

here at my home on the web! 

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just click here to 

subscribe to Campfires and Cleats by email 

quickly and easily  so we can be in touch regularly!

You might wish to follow on Facebook as well.....

This post contains amazon affiliate links....

If you are shopping at  amazon and Target. 

why not consider clicking through my link? 

In this way, I will receive a small commission on the purchase.....

at no cost to you.

THANK YOU!

Until next time,

~Chris

< affiliate links used within this post > 

The Penitence of Everyday Life or Lent, We're Living You All Year Long

Growing up in the '70s and going to Catholic school
meant being served an exorbitant portion of 
humility on a daily basis.
Then...... just as we're emerging from the dreariness
and endless dark days of winter, along comes Lent,
smack in the middle of what would be perfect, carefree Spring.
Which basically is more of the same life of
penitence.....just throw in meatless Fridays,
a heavily-imposed no -  sweets restriction 
 and cardboard mite boxes made in our 
 once a month art class
at Our Lady of Lourdes parish school.
<< Please tell me you, too, remember mite boxes.......
Otherwise, old age plus me = synonyms. sigh. >> 
And do you recall the 
unwritten 'no-parties' rule that existed throughout these
austere 4o days?

<< If your birthday's in March, as mine is, 
 you don't forget it. 😒
Unless, during rare years, your special day actually fell ON Easter Sunday!
A birthday plus the Savior's resurrection all wrapped up
in one perfect Spring Sunday!
There was actually nothing better.>>

Buuuuut, there were no complaints, mind you,
 the barren-ness and the emptiness,
the purple shrouds veiling the classroom's crucifixes,
the daily morning masses attended with our class.
There was honor and appreciation and praise
and prestige, for heaven's sake......
because what other people can boast of their Lord giving 
His life for his followers...?
Willingly being led up the hill to the cross.......
.and not just for them, 2000 years ago,
for those he knew and loved.....
but for us,  in this day and time,
  and for tomorrow and all the forever generations
to come...our children..
.....and our children's children and so on 
<< and remember we were children ourselves hearing this>>>
until He comes again.
It's how we grew up. It's how things were.
It was our culture.
Our life. 
We accepted it and we didn't question.
Why would we?
I feel like these customs must be a life particular to those of us who 
came of age'in the Brooklyn Diocese,
but I daresay no matter where you grew up,
traditions must have been much the same.

Oh, my grasp of the season has evolved, certainly.
It was admittedly, a liturgically observed weight reduction plan
( come on, you too, right?) 
leading to an admittedly indulgent peep fest 
at midnight on Holy Saturday.

And by the way, did you know that peeps

makes these now??  Where have I been??


Fast forward a couple of decades to how we Lent now and....
along with a what - am - I - depriving - myself -of 
state of mind and desperately trying to adhere to the
The Church's prescribed prayer, fasting, almsgiving tradition 
of the season, I'm presently of the mindset that
we-my family that is-
 has pretty much been living lent on a regular basis and
I'm not so sure that "giving up" is gonna happen much around here.
We're feeling like we  hold our breath getting through each day
and when days or even our hours go well...it's a bonus.
There is serious merit and value...... isn't there though... 
to embracing the sufferings already present in our lives?
And if suffering is too strong, then at least the
hardships, the storms, the difficulties, the adversities.
Not just the day to day ups and downs,
but the intense, continuous, demoralizing periods
in our lives that don't seem to be  ending in the foreseeable future.
Those dark rough seasons of our lives.
So this LEnt, instead of giving up, I'm giving in.
Leaning in.
Letting go, bringing my troubles to the foot of the cross and
letting God.

And by the way, here are tons of thoughts, resources,
Lenten link ups, crafts, recipes and more in my Lenten archives!
If you have a little time, you might like to click over.

Thank you for spending some of your precious time today

here at my home on the web! 

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just click here to 

subscribe to Campfires and Cleats by email 

quickly and easily  so we can be in touch regularly!

You might wish to follow on Facebook as well.....

If you are shopping at  amazon and Target. 

why not consider clicking through my link? 

In this way, I will receive a small commission on the purchase.....

at no cost to you.

THANK YOU!

Until next time,

~Chris

BTW, I'm offering photo services and customized

photo packages for your blog or business!
< Subscribers receive a deep discount! >