• Life + Family

    Adventurous and Mystical Books for 10-12 year old boys

    June 18, 2024

    To say my boys are avid readers is an understatement. They LOVE reading. My husband and I both concur that we never read as much as our boys do when we were their age. Books just weren’t fun when we were kids. My boys still run around with friends whenever they get the chance, but we live far out from most of them, so it doesn’t happen every day. When they have downtime, they grab a book. They each have their own 5 shelf bookcase that holds their most treasured tales. I asked them, if they could recommend books to…

  • Life + Family

    Healthy, Hardy, and Helpful Breakfasts

    June 12, 2024

    Early mornings come so fast, don’t they? I’ll be honest, I am not an early bird. I would rather be up until midnight or 1am accomplishing tasks than getting up at sunset. Although, during the summer, getting up with the sun is a necessity at our house. This has required me to prep multiple breakfasts the night before. When choosing breakfasts to make the night before, I try to think of what my kids (my husband makes his own) would eat that don’t need to be super fresh the next morning. My kids eat pretty well, but texture can become…

  • Life + Family

    Top Summer Time Products for the Family

    June 4, 2024

    Summer time is upon us and it. is. hot! The sun is shining down and giving us all the vitamin D we need. If your family loves being outdoors in the summer, like ours, then check out my favorite summertime products. Between swimming, hiking, and family gatherings, summer essentials are key to keeping everyone happy and healthy. The products below help keep our skin protected and clean while others keep us cool. Just to note, I am no expert on organic or chemical free. However, I do try to find the best chemical free and organic products for the best…

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    Life + Family

    How to Clean One Room with Kids on School Break

    May 28, 2024

    I don’t know about you, but during the school year there are certain rooms that get hammered with junk. We homeschool, so for us, that room is our school room/computer room/storage room. It has a lot of functions. Let me show you the mess that was and the floor that exists afterwards. This is how to clean one room with kids … school break edition. Exhibit A – The messy multifunction room – I hope I’m not the only one that has a room like this, but in the event that I am, learn from me. This didn’t happen overnight.…

  • Budget Friendly - Life + Family

    How to Have an Inexpensive, Budget Friendly Birthday Party!

    May 21, 2024

    I love a good birthday party; I just don’t love the price tag that comes with them. Do you feel this way? Over the last 12 years we have had some GREAT birthday parties without breaking the bank. Recently, my daughter wanted to have her 7th birthday party at the park. I budgeted and had her party, that she invited 14 friends (plus their siblings) to, for under $100. Pretty awesome? I thought so. One thing you might be wondering is, did they still have fun? They did! That’s the best part! It doesn’t take much to make kids happy.…

  • Life + Family

    13 Iconic Family Theme Nights to Enjoy All Year

    May 10, 2024

    I love family theme nights! They are my absolute favorite! I’m sure lots of you have already experienced theme nights, and I hope you find some more inspiration here. I love reading about other families’ theme nights. They are so creative! If you haven’t had the opportunity yet to experience a theme night let me dive into it a bit. Theme nights are when you pick a book or a movie and create your whole evening around that book or movie. It could be dinner and dessert with a reading from the book or watching the movie. It could include…

  • Life + Family

    Lonely and in Need of Friendship

    May 1, 2024

    I’ve thought about this topic for a long time, as it has plagued me for most of my adult life. More so, when we began having children. I was perfectly content before my first baby came along with just going to work, hanging with my husband, and our families. When baby came along, I was no longer working, and it didn’t hit me for a few years that I was lonely. It’s been several years since that time, I mean my first child is 12 years old now. Over the years I have felt the sting of loneliness, trying to…

  • Life + Family

    Top 5 Beautiful Nature Study Books

    February 13, 2024

    Are you looking for nature study books for your homeschool or after school? Then, let me share a few of our favorites with you. The first three have beautiful illustrations and each topic is only a page or two so it’s great for short attention spans. The fourth book, which is completely separate from the first three is an outdoor curriculum. It comes with lessons plans and a supplies list. The fifth book has short excerpts just like the first three, but it also teaches skills. If you are new to exploring the outdoor world, these five books are a…

  • Life + Family

    20 Exciting Board Games to Bring Joy to Your Family

    February 7, 2024

    When we have some down time, which isn’t often these days, one thing we love to do as a family is play board games! Our kids ages range from 6 years old to 12 years old, so we are always looking for ways for the whole family to play together. When they were all younger, we had to make adjustments for our youngest when we played older kid games, but these days it’s not as big of an issue. I should say, yes, we love to play games together, but does it often end in someone being upset? Most days…

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    Life + Family

    Three Fun Sweet Treats with No Hidden Yuckies

    January 2, 2024

    I love making sweet treats, especially a delicious cheesecake using gelatin and cottage cheese (Thanks Trim Healthy Future!) or sugar-free shortbread cookies with jam (Thanks Trim Healthy Mamas!), but there are days when I just want to grab something out of the pantry and eat it! On those days, I want something I can just pick up, without any extra work, AND something that doesn’t have all of those yucky, fake ingredients in it. Do you have those days too? Well, if you do, let me tell you my favorite brands and products that I reach for every time. This…