Water Gun Painting

Wow, it sure has been a while hasn’t it! It has been close to two years since I have written anything here. I have mostly been spending my time making videos on youtube instead of writing because well, sometimes life gets really busy and picking up a camera is easier than sitting down to write but I also love the creative outlet of video. But, I also enjoy writing so I figured I may try to get back into writing just a bit as well and what better way to start than to share a fun activity we just did!

Now, I do have to share that the idea for this is not my own but, we did a little different twist to ours if you would like to see where I got this idea from you can check that out here: Fire Flies And Mud Pies Squirt Gun Painting

The kids had so much fun with this activity! We did this activity in collaboration with a few other YouTubers and I will link the video here so you can check them all out! 6inthemix squirt gun painting

We ended up having to take this activity inside because of the weather and honestly I thought I was looking at cleaning up a HUGE mess when we were done but it really wasn’t that messy now, I have a feeling that if we had the large super soakers outside then the kids would have paint all over them which we will totally have to do one day!

Now, let’s talk about what you’re going to need! I kept this activity inexpensive and simple and got everything from the dollar tree except for the paper which we already had on hand!

Here’s what you need:

• Squirt guns (I recommend getting one per color you’re going to use)
• Paint (we used fingerpaint but many types of paint can be used)
• Paper (we chose printer paper, again keep it simple most paper will work for this)

Now, I’m sure you’re wondering how I got the paint into the squirt guns right?? Well, that was a little tougher than I had thought. I did mix the paint with water I made sure not to water the colors down too much because I wanted them to show up well but I did enough so it was fairly easy to pour. I tried pouring it into the spout… that didn’t work. So, plan b…… pull out the turkey baster of course and that worked like a charm! Now, if you don’t have a turkey baster a little medicine syringe would work just as well!

 

Here’s how I kept the paint from dripping all over! 

Here comes the fun! Let the kids take turns squirting the paint onto the paper!

 

I loved seeing how different each of the kids created their artwork!

 

Since we took our painting inside we didn’t hang them up while we painted like suggested in the original idea so, after the kids were done I helped them gently lift their papers up and let the excess paint fall off, here is what they look like after we did that!

 

How neat is that! 

 

And that’s how simple it is, literally all the cleanup I had to do was a quick wipe down of the counter and to rinse out the squirt guns after we finished, that’s it!! I also only spend $2 on this activity minus the paper but you can find paper at the dollar tree as well, so not only is this activity so much fun but, it’s inexpensive, and simple! It works very well inside and outside as well!

 

Comment below and let me know if you give this a try I would love to hear how it turned out for you!

 

If you want to watch step-by-step how we did this then check out our video here: Step-by-step video

 

Thank you all for stopping by to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it, if you did give it a share and comment below! I will be trying to post a bit more frequently and sharing our videos as well!

Simple Scrumptious Soup!

Ahh, soup! Nothing better and more delicious during all this cold weather!
I realized it’s been awhile since I’ve shared my potato soup recipe but I wanted to bring back and oldie but a goodie with a little bit of a twist.

So, last time I shared my recipe it was my version of a crock-pot potato soup but this time I’m just going for the yummy one pot potato soup that’s really just as simple as my crock-pot version but I believe this one offers up it’s own yummy flavors!

Now, I know I like to share step by step recipes but when I cook at home more times than not a recipe is either not used at all, or I just go by texture, look, and taste instead of measuring out exact amounts but, for the sake of this post I’ll try to give the exact amounts……. or at least really, really close!

Make sure you peel and chop your potatoes before beginning to make the soup or have someone helping you to do this while you get started. Jeremiah is my potato peeler and chopper, he loves to do this job so anytime we have potato soup he knows what his job is!

For starters all you’re going to do is melt some butter I prefer real butter but if all you have is margarine on hand then that’s okay it just has a little bit of difference in flavor. Just add in about 1/4 C. While your butter’s melting go ahead and start cooking your bacon I know I said one-pot meal but on this night I didn’t cook the bacon in the pot but if you do you can certainly use the drippings from the bacon in place of the butter…. YUM!

Once your butter is melted grate in some yummy garlic, and with garlic at least in this house, the more the better!

Let me also suggest that if you don’t already have a really good quality zester/grater, get one now! It saves so much time and gives you perfectly grated garlic! Also, even though you do have to hold the garlic to grate it, that garlic smell doesn’t stay on your hands like it does when you have to hold it while you’re cutting it and it’s so much easier. I suggest checking out this Best Premium Zester Grater from Smarty Pants Supplies (Isn’t that the cutest name ever!)

Once you get your desired amount of garlic you can also add in 1/2 white onion. I usually don’t add onion because my wonderful hubby doesn’t like the texture of onions but I do absolutely love the flavor and texture they add so I do occasionally have this soup for lunch when it’s just me and the kids.

Your next step is to add flour, now I’m going to be totally honest here I really don’t know any exact measurements on the flour that I really just do go by texture on this one but the basic amount you want to start with is equal to your butter so if you add in 1/4 C. butter add in 1/4 C. flour but the more you make this recipe the more you will learn. You’re just making a roux it gives your soup a great flavor and it also helps to thicken it a bit. I let my roux with the garlic simmer on low/medium for about 2-3 minutes or until the roux starts to turn a light golden brown.

Now, the super easy part, just add in your desired amount of water, I usually add in about 6 cups of water and add in the correct amount of chicken base or you can also use half chicken broth and half water. Then add in your potatoes and bring it to a boil!

 

At this point all you’re going to do is let your soup boil for about 2 minutes then simmer for 15 or until your potatoes are soft. Just stir occasionally and at the very end you’re going to add in just a bit of milk or heavy cream depending on the thickness you’re wanting. I usually add in about 1 C. Then, serve the soup and top with bacon and yummy cheese and to complete the meal serve with some delicious dinner rolls! Enjoy!

*I received the grater/zester for free in return for my honest, unbiased review!

 

Cookware Recovery!

You know what type of cookware is my absolute favorite? Well, okay to be honest I have a few but there’s one type that just stands out to me beyond all the others, living in the South there’s nothing quite like preparing a delicious Southern style meal for my family than using cast iron cookware!

You also know what really, really stinks? When that cookware rusts! Talk about being really upset. Well, I was actually given a beautiful cast iron skillet my Daddy gave this one to me to use and I was so excited but, it was rusted pretty bad. I did my research and decided to finally give what appeared to me the best way a good try, and oh goodness am I glad I did!

So, you may be wondering what I had to do, probably thinking that it took me forever and a ton of money in products to do so because well, to get cast iron back to a good state isn’t easy or cheap right? WRONG! I’m so happy to say that’s wrong! Want to know what I used?

Salt, and a potato!

Yup, that’s it, salt and a sliced potato. Want to know what else, I figured I would be investing probably an hour or more into this project until it was finally looking good. Well, it took me all of 18 minutes from start to finish!

The steps are so simple, fill the bottom of your cast iron cookware with some salt (no more that 1/4C.) add in a few teaspoons of water, slice your potato in half and get to scrubbing. That’s it! You may have to add in some more salt occasionally but that’s all. Once it looks good and you’ve removed all the rust rinse it off and re-season.

**To re-season just rub your cast iron down with lard set your oven to 375 F, place it in a deep pan upside down (to catch the excess oil) and heat it for 1 hour, after the hour turn the oven off and let the cast iron cookware cool down in the oven.

 

 To watch this process be done by me check out my video and you’ll be ready to fix and re-season your own cast iron cookware! Just Click Here!

 

Little One’s Having Trouble Falling Asleep?

Do you all have little one’s who struggle to get comfy? I know for Jeremiah our oldest he goes to bed at the same time as his sisters but he’s always the last one asleep. Part of it has to do with the fact that he’s all boy and loves to be creative and his creative juices get to flowing a lot at night and he has so many ideas to share.

But, another reason I believe is that he’s been using the same “little kid” pillows for quite a while. The kind that aren’t extremely soft and the stuffing is all bunchy from many night of being slept on and being washed over and over again. So, we tried a new pillow! It’s the Angel Baby Organic Toddler Pillow  (click the link to see how awesome it is for yourself)  From Angel Baby Products! I have to say did I really think there would be a big difference in Jeremiah’s sleeping? Not much but guess what I was really surprised.

My sweet boy who usually takes at least an hour or more to actually fall asleep was asleep within 15 minute! Yes, only 15 minutes, and not only that but he actually woke up in a much better mood than usual. Now, I don’t know if the mood change can be credited to the pillow but I don’t doubt that it helped him get a much better nights sleep which attributed to that good mood. Once I tried this pillow out I just had to share it with you all! Not only is it ventilated so if you’ve got sleepers like mine who like to stuff their faces into their pillows it’s really safe, also the cover is made of organic cotton and there is memory foam on the inside.

I was so surprised at how soft and lovely the pillow is it feels amazing and we are seriously taking turns sleeping with this pillow because it is so comfy!

 

 

*Disclaimer: I was given this product for free and agreed to do an honest, unbiased review.

 

Then They Grow

I had an opportunity last night to be reminded of how precious my children are to me, I also got to see how quickly they change and grow. As I was going through watching old videos I had recorded I saw my precious Jeremiah and Caidence when they were my only two and then when right after we had Isabelle before Ethan was even though of. I got to see their sweet faces that still had some baby chubbs on them. I got to hear their precious voices, it’s crazy how even their voices change so much and you don’t even realize it.

I also go to see my babies practically grow in front of my eyes and I realized the exact point in which Jeremiah went from young child to my little boy. Watching it seemed like it just flew by so quickly and then to see them now is incredible. Part of that made me sad, I know I’ll never get those baby years back and you start to question yourself as a parent. You wonder if you’ve done things right or if you made it good enough for them, and then I remember how just a couple days ago Jeremiah and Caidence leaped into my arms telling me they loved me so much that they would never let me go. Also, how I see Jeremiah growing each day into a young man. He has such a heart for others as does Caidence and it warms my heart so and I’m so thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ because without Him myself and my children would be nothing like we are today.

I also had to take the time to think this morning when I sat with all 4 of my children watching them eat their breakfast of chocolate chip waffles and sausage I realized that Isabelle and Ethan are in the stages that Jeremiah and Caidence were going through in the videos I watched last night, and I look forward to watching my children grow and learn and love and I intend on being the very best for them I can possibly ever be with the Lord’s help.

So, to all you parents, hold onto this time yes, but also don’t be sad because although they are growing quickly and it seems like a flash before your eyes they are precious in every stage of life, just give them what they need, your love and the knowledge of Christ. Share these things with them daily and it will all be alright.

How To Stay Happy In Your Marriage!

Today is my 7th anniversary yes it’s true, I’ve been married to my wonderful hubby today for 7 years! I must admit it doesn’t feel like a long time but, you would think that after being married for this long I would have some amazing marriage wisdom to share, or have tons of answers to so many marriage questions but you want to know something? Well, do ya?

….. in all these years of marriage I have came to one conclusion, if we don’t have Christ at the center of our marriage, then we really have nothing. That’s honestly the best thing I have to share. regardless of where you are in your marriage or even if your just about to get married I can tell you that it’s not going to work if you don’t have Christ in the center.

You have also got to be prepared to fight. Like most anything in life, a wonderful happy marriage doesn’t come free, it comes at a cost and all you have to do is work for it. Fight for it with all your might, no matter what you can never give up and pray for your spouse and yourself. Don’t think they are the only one’s with the issues because let me tell you, God has a way of letting you know when you’re wrong.

Another tip for a happy marriage that I have to share with you is that you never allow divorce to be an option. For Justin and I we will never worry about divorce because we know that it’s just not an option… period! It’s not spoken of we don’t throw around that word when we get in an argument, it just doesn’t happen.

Now, last but not least this one should be the easiest. Just relax and have fun, if you can’t have fun with your spouse…. LEARN TO!! I can truly be myself with Justin no matter what, yes I may seem silly to others but to him it’s great and the same goes for him, we joke around and mess with one another all the time, we do have a strange sense of humor picking at one another so much but it’s so nice to be so comfortable with the one you love.

I hope you all have enjoyed reading my marriage “tips” and hope you stick around to read some more of my posts, but, until then comment below and let me know what you thought of my tips, how long have you been married, and what are some tips you have to share? I would love to hear from you all!

How To Cut Your Own Hair!

 

You guys I went out on a limb today. I decided to go outside my comfort zone and do something I’ve wanted to do for a long time that will help us and hopefully you save some money! I CUT MY OWN HAIR!! Yes, that’s right I did it and I’m so happy I did.

It took some time to talk myself into giving it a go but I went for it. I really like how it turned out I think in total I took off about 3 inches of my hair and now it can be healthy and start growing well again. So, just click to watch the video and I’ll take you step by step!

The steps are:

• Brush your hair out really well make sure it had no tangles
• Put it all in a ponytail at the front top of your head (you can see what I mean in the video)
• Brush it out again while in the ponytail then pick the length you want gone and cut.

Comment below and let me know if you decide to give it a try, I’d love to hear about it from you!

A Day In The Life

Ahhh I know I need to do a normal blog post but things have been super crazy since we’re just getting back into the swing of things with school but let me tell you this year has been a blast so far, it’s so much easier teaching two at a time (technically 4 since the younger two like to join in and need to be entertained also) so that has given me so much motivation. It seems like we’ve still been so busy though so I’ve bee doing a few vlogs instead of writing out a post. But, I promise I will get to posting on a normal schedule as soon as we’re more settled in and I will be getting my first set of printables finished soon as well but, until then I’ve got a little “day in the life” video for you all to check out it’s not a normal everyday day for us but check it out and follow us along on this day also don’t forget to comment here and on my youtube channel and let me know what you want to read and watch from me! Click here to watch!

Need Help Finding A Great Homeschool Curriculum?

My newest video is up and I’m so excited for you all to check it out, If you’re still looking for the right curriculum for you then you need to check this one out, I’ve also posted a couple more videos with some lunch tips for when you are going to be out of the house, be sure to check that one out too.

To check out the homeschool curriculum video just click here!

It’s Co-op day!!

Yes, the day is finally here, and I am so excited for this day, the day we start our new co-op classes, this year we chose to go with a group that catered more to younger children like my kiddos, they are super excited, we are sad that we’re having to leave some friends behind but, we can still always catch up during playdates, but they are also so excited to be meeting new friends and reconnecting with some old friends we have before our co-op split into three different groups (gotta love that the numbers of homeschoolers grows so much you have to make more groups!!!)

I can’t wait to meet all the new moms too, it’s so nice to be able to have what we call “mom time” and just sit and chat with other moms for a whole hour every other week! Such a great refresher! I’m also LOVING the classes we have this year, for Jeremiah he gets to go to a Lego class.. super fun right? He’s so into building with Legos right now and loves using his imagination to make new things. He’s also doing a class called “stand up and talk” it’s a public speaking/show and tell type of class I get to help teach that one and can’t wait to see all those sweet kiddos telling us about all sorts of things.

Caidence gets to go to an Adventures in the Bible class.. how awesome does that sound! It’s going to go in depth into lots of stories and people of the Bible! Then, she also gets to go to a Magic School Bus class where they watch episodes of The Magic School Bus and learn all about the topic of the show!

Then, Ethan and Isabelle get to have fun playing with their friends in the nursery, they’re going to love that getting to play with friends for 2 hours… OH YEAH!!

So tell me, what’s your co-op like? What classes do you have? Is it focused learning or just for play? I would love to hear all about it, just comment below!

Also, let me know, what type of post do you want to see from me? I would love some feedback so I can get some posts up that you would love!

You have to love vacation!!

I’m finally getting around to sharing our vacation with you!

One of our all-time favorite vacations spots would have to be the beach, and more specifically the beaches of Charleston, South Carolina. Matter of fact, we love the whole low area of Charleston and Isle of Palms beach! It’s such a beautiful place, full of beautiful people, the people there are so amazing, there are so many different people all around but they all greet you with a smile and a hello, I don’t think I have met one rude person there ever in our trips. I love visiting the city market and looking at all the amazing talented people who sell their items there and just looking at all the sights.

I think one of the best thing to experience is when you finally arrive and get our of your vehicle, that amazing crisp ocean air just hits you and to me it’s so relaxing.

We had so much fun on our vacation this year and went to a few places we hadn’t gone before, we had to check out some pretty neat places, like we went to the Center for Birds of Prey which was just a little bit out of Charleston but so worth the drive! You pay one time to go and can even leave to go get lunch or something and come back, we spent almost a full day there and it was amazing and you don’t want to miss the live presentations, want to experience a falcon flying right by your head…. go there!

We also got to get up close and personal with a baby owl (just no touching!)

   Isn’t he so cute!

If you do happen to visit be sure to go for lunch at the SeeWee restaurant, it’s got such sweet employees and oh my goodness.. delicious food and it’s also great for bigger families like ours because the serving sizes are huge so you can just split meals and the cost is great! The atmosphere is so neat too, it’s a really neat older restaurant!

We also had lots of fun at a new place called Blackbeard’s cove, there was so much to do there, we started out playing putt putt (which I unfortunately stink at).

Then, we had the rock climbing!

The kids got to jump in bounce houses and they even have a gem mining station there… how neat!

Then comes the fun of the go-carts! Jeremiah and Caidence got to ride in them for the first time and it was so much fun for them!!

Another super fun thing we did was visit the South Carolina Aquarium, they had so many amazing things there, Jeremiah’s favorite were the lion sharks and we even got to hold sea urchins!!

… and check out the live diving show!

It was super sweet when Caidence put her hand to the glass and the diver touched it, she turned around with the biggest smile, I think that made it for her!

The jelly fish were pretty awesome too!

Make sure you take the time to take the sea turtle hospital tour also, want to talk about amazing! You won’t want to miss it!!

Where do you like to vacation? Have you visited these places before? If so, what was your favorite?

A little honesty!

Okay, so I know I post a lot… A LOT about how we should be with our children, how even though we have hard times we should be so thankful we have them and that we should be gentle with them and not let ourselves get frustrated, and all of that is completely true, we really should, but, with that being said I don’t ever, want any of you to feel like I am in any way perfect…. HAHAHA… oh, sorry about that I just had to take a minute. I am far (like as far as Earth is from Pluto far) from perfect. So, I just thought I would share a few of my imperfections and a few of my biggest annoyances when it comes to being a mommy and I’m sure many of you will be able to agree with me…. and if you don’t, well, you’re lying 😉

FIRST off, you know when you get to go to the grocery store BY YOURSELF!! Yes, best ever, like a nice little vacation just you and your shopping cart, you can go down whatever aisle you choose, check off every single item off your list and you even have time to check to see what items are on sale and may even decide to check out the candy aisle so you can get yourself a nice yummy treat!! But let’s be real, how often does that really happen, for me, it’s not very often so let’s just get a run through of what has to happen to even make it to the grocery store.

Well, let’s see, first off you have to actually get all the kids dressed, have you ever actually counted the amount of articles of clothing it takes to clothe 4 children, if you’re lucky the girls may only need 2 each but, in most cases they skip the dresses so that’s 2 diapers, 2 pair of underwear, 4 pairs of pants, and 4 shirts (if they don’t get messy during the time that you’re helping someone else get dressed) 12….. 12 articles of clothing and during fall and winter you have to add socks!

Then there’s the shoes, and if you can get to this point and only have to help one child find the shoes that you could have sworn you just saw then you’re doing good. Now we get to loading up the car, this one I can’t really complain about too much, we’ve actually almost mastered our system of loading into the car I just say “climb up, buckle up” and my older two get to it while Isabelle waits for me to buckle Ethan in and then it’s her turn to get in. Now, getting out at the store that’s another story because now you have to figure out how to hold a baby (since Ethan grew out of his sling now… I need a wrap!!), while holding the baby you also have to hold two hands and then still watch out for the oldest which usually means me telling Jeremiah to grab a pocket and then you just pray that they have the carts that can hold 4 children at a time but usually it’s a no go. You see, my kiddos call that buggy the “block buggy” and they go nuts for it, if we can get that cart then it makes our trip be better at least for the first 10 minutes!!

So, finally you’ve made it to your buggy and all in the knick of time because you were not sure how much longer you could wrangle them all through the parking lot. Now, that we’ve made it to the buggy you pray again that the younger three will happily sit in buggy but not usually the younger two don’t mind sitting in the buggy but Caidence always wants to “walk like a big girl” but, walking like a big girl with daddy around is a completely different walking like a big girl when it’s just mommy.

Since we have now finally made it to the shopping part of our shopping trip you just hope that at least no one starts a tantrum now, I will have to say I have been blessed and have so far never had a really, really big “meltdown” I’m talking like the whole kid screaming and laying in the floor not sure my kiddos would ever do that but I hope I don’t ever have to experience that, but, I have had to experience the I’m going to cry super loudly on purpose and make sure to tell everyone “you’re hurting my hand” when we both know that it’s not really hurting at all and I’m only holding your hand because if I weren’t then they would be trying to run down the aisle with all their might and if they weren’t then they would be perfectly fine… those, I have had. But, let’s just hope it doesn’t get to that.

Then, you hit that first aisle… you can usually tell by this point how the trips going to go, or at least how much time you’re going to have. There are always several things that let you know. If they’re just wanting to help pick out things to put in your cart, actually waiting to hear what you need then, you’re probably good to go, if they decide to quietly take their time eating the snack that you didn’t forget this time instead of eating it like they haven’t ever eaten food before then, you’re probably good. But, on the other hand, if they start picking at one another right away then you’ve got about 5 minutes until everyone’s on the edge of loosing it. Also, another warning sign is if they start to get more than 2 feet away from you as soon as you walk through the doors of the store then it’s not going to be a fun trip!!

So, let’s just say that now you have made it through your trip mostly unscathed.. usually meaning they only begged for something about 5 times each and the baby has played the game of throw the bottle the same amount. Then, there’s the dreaded checkout and hopefully there isn’t a line because that’s where the trouble really starts, they totally know what they’re doing when they put all that candy up front, it gets to us adults, just think of what it does with our kids… they can’t resist, there is no telling how many times I have been asked for candy in those lines while waiting… countless. But, then you get to your one meltdown saving moment.. checkout! I always let the kids help with this part, it always helps and always distracts them long enough to forget about the candy and that thing they just thought they had to have so badly!

Now, you’re in the home stretch you’ve almost made it, now you only have to make it to your vehicle and unload the groceries then manage to get the buggy put back and you’re done, you’ve made it! Now, let’s just hope you didn’t forget anything on your list!!

I know I’m not alone in this, and now that you know you aren’t either, share some of your funny… or not so funny grocery store tales, I’d love to hear from you!!!

Something to share

I just wanted to share with you guys my second video!! So excited for you all to go check it out, me, the kids (except for Ethan who was snacking in the background), and daddy got in on this one, I would love for you all to go take a look at our channel on youtube, just click “how our family does pizza night” below to check it out!!

How our family does pizza night!! 

Mama’s gone crazy!

You read that right, mama’s gone crazy!! I have started vlogging!! Woo hoo, I just uploaded my first ever vlog just a few minutes ago so be sure to catch me on youtube! I will post my video below!

You guys have no idea how excited I am that I have finally done this, I have been wanting to start vlogging for quite some time now and have just not had the time to do it and now I have some extra time on my hands…. never thought that would happen!! But, anyway I do now and so I decided to go for it!

I am so excited to do even more videos and to get even better at videoing and editing my videos as well, surprisingly this video only had 3 interruptions that needed to be edited out hehe! I may just show some outtakes in some of mine so you can see some of the craziness we have going on!

So, now that I’ve told you about it go watch the video for yourself on my new youtube channel 6inthemix!!!

Comment below and let me know what videos you would enjoy watching most!!

Another Year

Today is my oldest son’s 7th birthday! Crazy, crazy, crazy, my child is SEVEN how did that even happen? At every single birthday I always think that I always think how in the world did time pass by that fast? How did another year move away so quickly and then I get sad. I get upset at myself for all my parenting failures, and all the things I could have done different and all the things I wished I would have made time for. Don’t we all?

Then, I think about all the incredible fabulous memories I have had with him and each of my children and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. It’s at that time I realize no one is perfect, God never promised us that we would be perfect or that we would get everything right the first time or that the amazing children He gave us would come with complete instructions. But, we are called to love and even though I haven’t been the perfect mom I have loved. I have tried my hardest to be a great mom and to give each of my children the love they need.

We got 3 out of 4 to stay still that’s an accomplishment!!

So, if you are in the struggles of feeling like a failure as a parent or that your time with them is slipping by and you have to get it perfect now, just know that you don’t and will never be so, if you’re striving for perfection you will be disappointed but strive for love. Let them know that you unconditionally love them each and every day, that’s what they will remember!

resourcefulhomeschoolmom.wordpress.com

So, we’ve been working at this whole “homeschool” thing going on three years now, so I think it’s safe to say I’ve got it all figured out!!

YUP, you read that right I’m now the homeschool expert…………………….. Okay, who am I kidding let’s take a step back into reality now.

I’m just like you, I’m still figuring it all out as I go along. Now, I will say that through trial and error and from wisdom from great friends and of course first and foremost through prayer I have learned A LOT!! In all honesty I think that homeschool, just like parenting, is something that we will all always be learning to do. “Perfecting” our techniques, learning to lighten up, realizing what the important things are.

But I just want to share with you what our homeschool really looks like and what I’ve learned in these couple of years. In all honesty, it’s always different. Seriously though, no two days are the same. Some days are super hard… I mean, really, really hard. The kids didn’t sleep well, nor did I, the meal I fixed for breakfast isn’t what anyone wanted, every one has a bad attitude and don’t forget the “mommy, she took my chair” argument we often hear. But, in the midst of the chaos we do manage to have a wonderful productive day most of the time and school does get completed it may not have been done as planned, but, it’s done. Snuggles in the bed before nap time make up for sleepy attitudes, that breakfast that no one wanted is forgotten and the love between sisters is nothing a taken chair can change, and a big brother reading the story to everyone makes everything all right in the world for a while.

Then, you have those days no matter how few and far between they do happen and everything does pretty much go to plan. The one thing I have learned is to relax, they will learn the things we need to teach them. They will get it, they really will. I have learned that if they want to use a crayon instead of a pencil who cares… and yes, I really did insist the first year that every worksheet be done in pencil (no fun!!) but thankfully I got over that. I also learned that it really doesn’t matter where school is done, if they want to go outside instead of learning at the dining room table then go outside, enjoy the beautiful sunshine God gave to you and sit outside and do school.

There are days when we follow the curriculum to a tee and then there are other days where we forget the curriculum and just learn what the kids are interested in. Often times you can learn so much more when you allow for a little wiggle room, when a child is interested they will retain that information, and if you’re concerned that they are missing out on math while hunting for bugs have them count the legs on the bugs and figure out how many bugs they would have to collect to get to 100 legs or something fun like that, it doesn’t have to be complicated.

There are times when catching and learning about tiny frogs is just a bit more important than sitting at a table doing worksheets!  resourcefulhomeschoolmom.wordpress.com

There are days where we all sit and do school together and then there are times when someone wants some space and time to themselves and on those days I give them that space, I give them work they can do independently and let them enjoy some peace and quiet.

Some days school may mean going outside and learning how to take care of the garden and using teamwork to water all the fruit trees and discuss how they grow and even measuring to see how much they have grown since you got them.

It may mean daddy teaching you how to light a campfire and make a meal together over the fire and learning fire safety, and then, there are days where field trips to go check out some pretty cool looking animals and learn about where they live and what foods they eat is just an absolute must!!

  Homeschool can look like so many different things to so many people so, in your own homeschool journey just remember to love on your kids, teach them what’s truly important and most of all make it FUN!!

What is your homeschool like? I would love to hear about your fun homeschool adventures, comment and let me know about all the fun you have!

Cheesy, chicken, goodness coming up!

Oh my goodness you guys I have been wanting to share this new recipe with you all, it is absolutely fantastic!! It’s an anytime of the year meal for me, it’s so nice and creamy and is perfect for a cold fall or winter night, but also has some nice yummy veggies that make it oh so good for spring and summer as well!

But, anyway I’ll just get to the point of telling you what it is 🙂 it’s a super yummy, creamy cheesy chicken and potato chowder with carrots and celery (it would also be nice with peas too). It’s made almost the same as a potato soup with a nice twist and has protein and extra nutrition from the veggies.

For the ingredients I’m telling you what we use for our family of 6 and it was enough for the kids and I to have leftovers for lunch the next day, so you will need:

• 5 russet potatoes peeled and diced, I left mine kind of large but small enough so they could get soft
• 5 cups of chicken broth or if you use chicken bouillon cubes like I did then just follow the directions for broth
• 4 diced carrots
• 4 stalks of celery thinly sliced
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 4 chicken breast (I cut mine into cubes with shears before cooking)
• 2-2 1/2 cups of shredded cheese, I use mild cheddar but you could try it out with different cheeses
• 2 1/2 cups of heavy cream
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup butter ( I do recommend using real butter, we cut our margarine a long time ago and I won’t go back!!)
• 1-2 bay leaves
• garnish with fresh parsley (optional)

For this recipe you need to boil your chicken and your veggies first so in a large stock pot add your chicken, potatoes, carrots, celery and bay leaves and cover with chicken broth.

Bring it to a boil then cook on medium- medium/high for about 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked fully and veggies are no longer hard.

Now you’re going to make a roux with the butter and flour, in a separate pan melt the butter on medium heat then whisk in the flour until it’s nice and creamy smooth. After this you need to slowly add in the heavy cream mixing constantly until it’s combined completely you can now cut the heat up just a bit and bring it to a boil. Let it boil until you get a thicker consistency (usually about 2-3 minutes). Now cut your heat down to low and add in your yummy cheese. Mix it until all the cheese is melted! Once this is done you can add it to your chicken, broth, and veggies and mix thoroughly, cook on low for about 5 minutes and then you’re ready to serve and enjoy!!

Yum! Now I can’t wait to make this meal again!! It was a definite hit for the Ertzberger household!!

*** Don’t forget to let your kids help out with meal times, they will love it and you will enjoy it too! They can help with anything from washing the veggies to peeling or slicing them or even just helping mix give them some type of job and they will do it well and have so much fun!

Let me know if you give this meal a try, let me know how you like it in the comments!!

(Now I’m kicking myself for not taking pictures because it looked so yummy!! I’ll have to be sure to do that next time)

Need A Healthy Breakfast???

I know how hard breakfasts can be, all I want to do is just try to get these kiddos fed before we have a meltdown because every morning they are according to them “absolutely starving!”  Often times HEALTHY is the last thing you have time to focus on so I’ve got a nice yummy and best of all… quick smoothie/juice recipe to share with you.

The best part about this one is……

It only takes FOUR ingredients…. yep, you read that right!! So say goodbye to boxed pastry breakfasts or frozen things that resemble something like a waffle and say hello to a yummy, healthy and also really cool colorful breakfast! When you start your morning with this smoothie you will also feel so much better by giving your body the nutrients it needs!!

For starters lets see what you need:

• 1/2 C. spinach
• 1 green apple (I choose granny smith)
• 1 inch cube of fresh peeled ginger
• 1/2 cup of water ***or ice

*** If you freeze the spinach and green apple then you add water instead of ice.

Here’s what I did when I first made it, add all your ingredients into the blender and blend away.

and blend away, blend until you get the consistency you are looking for, for me that consistency resembles as close to juice as I can get it.

This is mid-way through blending, doesn’t it look so yummy!

I LOVE the green color. You could also obviously use a juicer for this but, I really hate losing all the nutrients that get left out when you use a juicer.

Next, all you need to do is serve and enjoy!

I could be wrong but I think it tastes even better when you drink it out of a mason jar! 😉

For this one I didn’t freeze the spinach and apple, and to me the ice didn’t make it cold enough so I still chilled it for a bit, but, now I’ll share another tip of what I did to make it even better and to save you even more time on your busy mornings.

I just took the time to make individual “smoothie bags” I peeled and sliced my ginger, cubed the apple and added all the measured ingredients except for the water to its own little bag and stuck it in the freezer, so all you have to do in the morning is grab out a bag and stick it straight in the blender, and this time no chilling was needed!! Yay!!

I found that since I had full bags of spinach and apples I needed to go through that an assembly line was very effective, I just added one ingredient to all the bags at a time. To make about 14 smoothie bags took me about 10 minutes so it really wasn’t a big deal to get them all ready at once. Be sure to label your smoothie bags to remind yourself to add the water to them when it’s time to blend. I do recommend adding the water in last but only add it in small amounts at a time as the rest is blending, if you don’t you have to keep on taking the lid off and trying to shove the food down to the blades over and over again (that part of trial and error wasn’t too fun).

I hope you enjoy this recipe and I can’t wait to try some others soon. What’s your favorite smoothie recipe? Share it in the comments below!!

Be looking for Printables from me!

I’m so excited to fill you all in about what I’ve decided to start doing. I’m going to start adding printables for all your homeschool needs! I have been thinking about doing this for quite some time now and have finally decided to give it a try, and let me tell you I’m having so much fun and I can’t wait for you all to see them! I will be making one’s for free and will also be having some you can purchase as well.

Also, since I’m still in the process of making them I would love to get some feedback from all of you on what types of printables you would like to see. What age groups, what subjects, etc. Let me know in the comments section and I’ll be sure to get working on some for you!

You should start seeing them within the next month and the one’s for purchase will be available through my etsy shop ………..until I figure out how to put them on here hehe 🙂 As soon as I get some of the printables added to etsy I’ll post the link to my shop etsy shop in another post, I’m going to add sneak peek below of some of what you can expect to see!

UPDATE: Laundry Soap!!

I wanted to chime in today with a little update about the laundry soap recipe I tried!!! To say that we LOVE this stuff is a complete understatement, not only has it lasted forever I have been using it for almost a whole month now (remember we’re a family of 6 so we have a TON of laundry) and you can hardly tell it’s even been used, I still have a huge 5 gallon bucket almost completely full of it!! But, it also smells so amazing matter of fact, I had some **clean** laundry that stayed in the basket all week (Don’t judge you know you’ve done that before too) but my hubby grabbed a shirt of his from the basket and it still smelled like it had just come out of the wash, it kept that incredible smell he said he couldn’t quit smelling it :-D!! All of it was like that, there is nothing quite like wearing clothes that smell like that aaahhhhh so refreshing!!

But, now to answer the question I’m sure you’re wondering…… Does it get the clothes clean? Well, I’ll just say this yesterday Justin put on some of his shorts these shorts are some he has had for a couple years, they are the one’s he wears when he’s doing the “dirty work” they have gotten muddy and greasy and any other messy that you can think of, and looked really stained and dingy no matter how many times I washed them. Well, yesterday he said, look at what the detergent did to these shorts, they look so good. These shorts had no stains and didn’t look dingy anymore, I think I’d say that’s a win!! We also have tons of red clay in our yard which is horrible to get out of clothes but this laundry soap gets them out.

Can you tell how excited I am!!! Welcome to adulthood I’m so excited about clean laundry haha!! So, I definitely encourage you to try this out!!