I've been the recipient of a lot of advice lately -- some solicited, some not. If I'm honest, some of that advice has left me frustrated, and I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out why some of it rubbed me the wrong way while the rest did not. Therefore, that is what…
A friend and fellow Essentials tutor shared this a few days ago, and I love it! Designed by Curtis Newbold of The Visual Communications Guy, the infographic lists the 15 punctuation marks in order of difficulty (to learn and use) with the rules that govern their use. Click here to download a full-size poster version…
Daily checklists. This will be our 6th "official" year of homeschooling, and the longer we homeschool, the more questions I get from other current and prospective new homeschoolers. (Some of which I'm confident answering and some of which just make me laugh that they'd ask me for advice or an opinion.) Today I thought I'd…
I have a confession. At the beginning of this year, I decided I was done with "real food." Just done. Done reading labels. I was done feeling like I needed to make everything from scratch. Done worrying over every little thing that passed through our kitchen or ended up in our stomachs. I was tired…
The instant packets of Quaker fruit & cream oatmeal have always been one of my very favorite "boxed" treats (strawberries & cream and peaches & cream, to be exact). The only problem? They're loaded with sugar; one packet is never enough, so they hardly count as a healthy breakfast! We eat oatmeal several times a…
Our Easter traditions continue to evolve with our girls' understanding of our faith in general -- and Easter specifically. But this simple tradition is our very favorite. It's slightly more meaningful when Easter falls in March and the sun sets earlier, but my girls have been talking about it all week nonetheless, and we'll let…
Earlier this week, after 10 days of being physically responsible for everything the kids, the animals, and my husband needs -- and after 6 of the busiest days of my life thanks to some prescheduled commitments and extracurricular activities -- I found myself on the verge of losing it. I could feel my blood pressure…
I've shared our philosophy about chores and allowance in the past, but I thought I would revisit the topic now that I'm the mom of three -- soon to be four! -- elementary-age kids and not a whole slew of preschoolers. For us, chores and allowance offer opportunities to teach the girls about responsibility, teamwork,…
I've been sharing my love of tea this year -- both for the caffeine as a busy nursing mom and for the pleasure of snuggling up with a warm cuppa in a variety of flavors -- and several of you have asked how I organize my tea collection, so I thought I'd give you a…
Hey, look, I'm actually participating in 7 Quick Takes at Conversion Diary on the right day this time! Doppelgangers, Snacks, Stomach Flu Remedies, and 4 More Quick Takes 1. Who's your doppleganger? We decided this week that Jackson looks just like Tintin, and the comparison is cracking me up. I just need his hair to…