7 Quick Takes ~A Recap of This Weeks Life in The Tiny House~

It's Friday! 
Even though it doesn't feel quite that way because of the holiday.

 I thought it might be fun to try something new here on the blog.

7 Quick Takes

Where I give you a small glimpse into the fun and crazy things that happen here in our little piece of the world. The humorous, interesting or down right entertaining things that happened at our house this week.

1. Aris
Emma is VERY into all things Paris. It is much reflected in her room. She has the comforter, the sheets, necklace hanger, bulletin board, clothing, you name it! To help her round out her room, I ordered her a wall decal for her room. It was so pretty. It arrived in January, and we promptly set it on a shelf to be forgotten about. Until this week.
We decided to put it up. I really didn't think it would require any great skill. Much to my dismay, I was terribly mistaken. The Tower 'A' and 'ris' went up without a hitch. The 'P' however...that was a different story all together. It was a beautiful P with swoops and swirls of lettering around it. Quite elegant and girlie.
Yeah...It totally turned into a big ball of snarling sticker the second I started to peel it from its paper.

So, at this moment in time. Emma has a beautiful 'Aris' in place of the supposed 'Paris' decal on her wall. A cousin of ours has the machine to make the wall decals..and has offered to make her a 'P', I specifically asked that she make it a very basic letter...for fear of repeating this weeks events.

2. Addison's Version of How 'Mommy Does The Beach'
We live ever so far from a real beach. I, personally, have never seen an ocean...the kids have not either.  However, we have a lot of fun driving to some of the more local Lakes and State Parks to swim at their version of a 'Beach'. 

 We loaded up the entire family and headed to 'the beach' this week. It was a lot of fun and we took zero pictures. Because, we left our phones in the van. We had a ton of fun. We swam, had a picnic lunch and used our new HUGE umbrella that we recently purchased. This umbrella is amazing. People were stopping to admire it.

 Once we came home, showered and napped(the beach, is exhausting!)...Addison decided to get crafty. She brought me this and proclaimed that this was, in fact, 'Mommy, lounging under an umbrella, at the beach, eating an ice cream cone'
If only that was the way we really did the beach! She must have herself confused with her own self....because this is how Addison does swimming at Grandma's house..


















3. The Lip
 We spent Sunday afternoon at the grandparents house. The kids had a great time swimming and Grandma fed us a delicious meal of pulled pork sandwiches, hotdogs and oriental salad. So good!
  Miss Anna has been quite the precocious little thing, since closing in on the later half of her second year. She has fully embraced her toddlerhood, with great gusto! She has also been making great strides in the pouting department. I have become immune to it. You build up resistance fast with four kids.
  Grandpa and Daddy are not so immune though. Daddy has to shield his face and Grandpa caved in about 3 seconds.. He said he just couldn't tell her no.
I do have to agree that there is great skill in this one. She takes her role as the youngest very seriously.
But, I'll leave it to the readers...could you tell her no?

4. This is How We Dr Office...
Emma had to visit one of her specialists this week. I dread the Dr office. The people are nice and the Dr's are amazing..but modern day medicine is not meant for large families. The waiting rooms rarely have children's areas, the exam rooms are so small, and they put no more than 2 chairs in the room. 2!
  Between the sheer amount of people and Anna being, well, Anna..it is a little stressful. I do come prepared...Snacks, coloring, books, suckers (the holy grail of good, toddler behavior). I smile, I sing songs, I TRY.

 She is just at that age that she would rather open, climb on or lick anything that she shouldn't be. If you object, she throws herself in the floor..because this is in fact the hill she will die on.
She dies on all the hills, people!

 This visit however, there was a nurse. She sees us coming and she prepares. She pulled the paper from the chair onto the floor and across the room, and dumps a pile of crayons next to it. Anna could not believe her eyes and dove right in. The nurse (A.K.A My new BFF) also brought in a matching card game for the older two to do, because the Dr was running behind.

 Thankfully, Emma is doing so well that we do not have to return for a year! Praise the Lord!  This kid is night and day compared to a year or so ago. I'm almost a little sad this was a specialist office and not our regular Dr. That place has it figured out!

5. Sunday Drive
We took a day trip in the mix of the weekend. I have been trying to take more pictures. They are growing up so fast.
I will be the first to tell you that once you have this many it is IMPOSSIBLE to get all of them to look like normal human beings at the same time.
This one is probably going to be one of my favorites though.

6. We don't plan it that way...really
We have been married for over 15 years and together for 18(?) years...the math is a bit fuzzy at this point. Well, you know how they make jokes about couple ending up looking like each other..and dressing alike....yeah, well...apparently we have become those people. These are pictures from two different dates we went on in the last 5 or so months...and we dressed alike. Without consulting each other before hand.  Yes, we are getting old and we have been together forever. We will probably be sharing the same pair of glasses and dentures eventually. *Sigh*

We are both wearing red.

and blue...

7. Fear The Sparklers!
We are not big on fireworks. It just isn't something that we really get into. As a couple, we have been to three fireworks displays. In 17 years of being together. We do get those Snap Poppers and some Sparklers. We must not have gotten the sparklers the last couple of years though, because the kids were kind of afraid of them. Not for long though. By the time we finished the few boxes that we had, the kids were running laps with them...not an activity I recommend for others to try.

Hope you all had a wonderful, and safe, 4th of July week!

Happy Friday!

~Lyndsay

**We are in the process of building readership for this blog. If you find enjoyment from reading about our crazy lives...please feel free to share our posts...or you can also follow us on the blog by email, or on facebook. We love our readers and love hearing your feedback!**

Kitchen Renovation Update

 Well... A lot has happened around here in the last 11-12 months. It is honestly too much to tell in one post. I'm sure it would exhaust all of us. 
So, I will start from right here, and fill you in when appropriate. Sound good? Good!

 The tiny house renovation has slowly moved forward, sometimes at a shockingly fast speed. Other times it is like pouring molasses in January.
Yesterday was a big day though. We painted the kitchen! 
This poor kitchen has been the most used room since moving in, in September 2014, and sadly it was left for one of the very last rooms.  

 The last room will be the utility room. It has been the most used room since we moved in. Also, it is the most cluttered. It holds everything from the other rooms that are being worked on. This house is also very void of closets...so it holds a lot of stuff. Even though we have a lot less belongings than most Americans...there is still more than we need. 

See that blue? We mixed it ourselves!

Now, onto the kitchen!

 See that ceiling above my head? The husband did that! We helped.
We helped him while he burned the boards. Our job as to put out the fires when they started on the wood. Then we helped hold it in place while he sanded. Lastly he coated them in a stain.
We are very happy with how it turned out.
The wood ceiling was a big improvement over the unfinished drywall and the light bulbs that dangled out of the recessed lighting holes for about 2.5 years. 

Now, onto the paint. 

We do all of this with cash. We live completely debt free. It is a great way to live.(More on that in another post) However, it means being patient and having a budget and a plan and we also choose to pinch all of the pennies! 

On that note, I feel the need to tell you that this color we used...was our own color mixing.
We had some light blue left from the dining room, about half of a gallon. We wanted a blue for the kitchen, just not the same blue. We were feeling especially budget mindful when we went paint shopping on Saturday. We did not need a full gallon to do the kitchen and the thought of buying another full gallon to only use half...just wasn't something we were wanting to do.

We use the slightly more expensive paint, the one that is better for your health. Low fumes, won't damage your lungs. Etc. Also, it is a bit more expensive. Ouch. It is worth it for the knowledge that we know our kids(Especially the asthma ones) aren't breathing the fumes. 

The hubs decided to just get a couple other sample colors to add to it. He is pretty good at mixing paint colors, so I went along with it.

I'm really glad we did it!

We purchased two sample containers. It was the good brand that we like.
One was a sea foam green, the other was a dark blue, almost navy. I never would have picked up the navy, for fear of making it too dark.

However, clearly the husband knew what he was doing.

It turned out great! 

I said a little prayer over the bucket before starting. I asked for enough paint to finish the kitchen...and... a bit left, for touch ups, would be a nice bonus..provided He was feeling generous! 

Well...my friends, there was more than enough paint to paint the entire kitchen. Plus it filled one of the sample containers to the point of overflowing!
What a great blessing!

The kitchen is now painted a beautiful, original, shade of blue for $7!

The husband also worked on the trim yesterday. All of the windows and doors are now trimmed. Next is the wainscotting.  Once he is finished putting it up..then it will be my turn to paint, paint paint.
The dining room paneling took over 12 hours, spread over 2 days. It was exhausting, but so worth it!

All of the trials of this little house have always been more than worth the work. The literal blood, sweat and tears poured into this 100 year old cottage in the woods has been life changing for us. 
  
The uphill struggles we have faced in this house and along our journey to become debt free were not easy. But they also tried, changed and formed us. There is much more taking place in this house than just renovating a house. So much more than making a house a home.

God has changed us here...

I'll be back soon to continue the updates on the family, the tiny house and our homeschool life. 
It is ever changing and it is good. :)

~ Blessings~

Lyndsay
 

$5.21 Large Family Pizza Night!!

I've been on a mission to lower our food budget and to find some new recipes to go along with the new budget. It has been a bit of a challenge..because we LOVE delicious food in our house. We are kind of 'foodies'..and being a foodie doesn't always fit well into a lower priced budget. Plus, we need it to be fairly healthy because we are feeding growing bodies. :)

One of our new recipes is this large family pizza we have been enjoying.
We made 2, 16" pizza's and 1 gallon of lemonade for $10.42
We ended up only eating one pizza and half of the lemonade for the dinner...so we had it for lunch the next day,
It breaks down to $5.21 a meal!!

I don't know about you, but being able to feed my family of 6, pizza and lemonade for less than $6 is a huge win at our house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two tips!

1. Skip the pizza sauce and go for pasta sauce (or better yet, make your own!), it is cheaper and goes a lot farther. Just sprinkle in a little Italian seasoning.

2. Buy the larger block of Parmesan cheese and grate it yourself! Those blocks produce so much actual grated cheese, it is unreal! Plus it melts well, and tastes so much better than its partially dehydrated, powdery, shaker filled counter part.

The recipe breakdown is at the end of the video.
The total meal breakdown is as follows..
$4.78/ 1 pizza
$0.43/ 1/2 gallon of lemonade

Happy Baking!

Lyndsay
The Tiny House Homeschool Mom


P.S. If you would like to see more budget friendly meal idea from the Tiny House Homeschool crew..then like, comment, share and subscribe. Just a couple clicks and you are really helping our family out!

 Thanks for watching!

Bulk Freeer Cooking To Save Time & Money!

Hello All!

It has been a while!

We have been focusing on the vlog a lot more than the blog...but I feel like we should have both up and running...so ...I'm back!

We have a lot going on and it doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The budget has gotten out of hand and I decided it is time to get ahead of the curve.

Part of it was us just wanting different (More expensive) meals..and the other part was getting busy and not having the time/energy to make meals.

How do we counter act that?

We bulk freezer cook!

In the video below we baked muffins, cooked taco meat, and shredded chicken, made lots of sandwiches to freeze and two different types of pancakes to freeze and eat on when we are short on time!!

I will be back with more bulk cooking and freezing..as well as some new budget friendly large family meals!

Thank for stopping by and watching!!!
Please like, share, comment and subscribe..so I know you want more budgeting and money saving ideas!

~Lyndsay

This Little Light Of Mine?

Recently, we started attending church again for the first time in a very long time.

I did not have an issue with church as a whole.

I just had issues finding a good Sunday School for the kids when they were younger.

Cookies, kool aid and veggie tales just weren't cutting it. 

So, we brought them home to teach them in the word for a while.  

They are a little older now, and we felt it was time to get them out into the world of church and fellowship. 

We have been so blessed to find a location literally 4 minutes from our house. 

This church has an amazing children's program and the church services are amazing!

 Why?!

Because the pastor's at this church are on fire for God! 

The people are on Fire!

I have yet to see a service where there was not a dozen people at the alter by the end of service.

One thing I have also noticed?

 I have never walked away without something smacking me up the side of the head and making me think about it for a good week. 

Most recently he was speaking on having an open faith.

Do you keep it private?

Is it a secret?

Is it out for everyone to see it?

This was a hard service for me. It hit home hard!

Because in the last few years I have been hiding my faith. I have been around some people who I was worried about offending...and in turn when I was hoping to witness to them it dumbed down my faith as a result. Which also effected how my children learned to witness to others. 

When I realized what I had done..I was so hurt and disappointed with myself.  

I felt like I had done something terrible..and I kind of had.

I had hidden my faith and my beliefs for fear of offending people.

When, quite frankly I should be so on fire for the Lord that people who do not believe should not even feel comfortable spending time with me. 

It should ooze out the doors of my van!

Pour out the windows of my house!

It should seep from my pours!

It wasn't.

It was hidden.

Because, I had fallen into the trap of hearing non Christians (Or even Christians) being so negative about  hearing about Jesus..or how hypocritical Christians are. 

I became afraid.

Afraid to step on toes.

Afraid to be judged.

Afraid to offend someone.

Afraid to be viewed as radical.

I have talked to a few people..and it turns out this is not uncommon anymore.

It sickens me to see the err in my ways.

I tried to ignore my mistake for a while and just go on about life. 

I was miserable. 

I saw my children becoming more unhappy.

I saw the mistakes I had made.

So..

After being smacked in the face with it a few times and trying to ignore it..

I fell to my knees and went crawling back to God to beg forgiveness. 

I want to be on Fire!

I want to be sickenly, annoyingly, uncomfortably, contageously, amazingly

on Fire!

It needs to Ooze!

It needs to Pour!

It needs to Seep!

It needs to be uncomfortable for people who do not believe! 

It needs to be annoying and loud and contageous!

It needs to be out in the open!

Because a hidden light dies.

 It suffocates! 

It needs air! 

It needs to breathe!

It should not be a secret!

It should not be private!

It should not be hidden!

So, I am moving forward in my faith. 

But..

I'm going back to how it used to be a few years ago.

It is going to be loud!

It is going to be out there!

I will not be afraid to offend everyone.

What if I shy away from telling someone about Jesus and how wonderful He is...and what if that is the last time that I see that person?

What if they got to be judged and they do not now about him?

About His love? 

About His grace and forgiveness?

What if I miss that opportunity and I go to stand before Him and He asks me why I didn't do more?

Why I didn't 'offend' more people?

Why I didn't ooze, pour and seep my faith?!

Why I didn't shine brighter?

Why I hadn't been on fire? 

 And that, my friends, is not conversation I want to have!

Because it doesn't matter if I 'offend' or put off people for my faith. What matters is if I fulfill what He has planned for me. If that means I will have less names on my 'friends' list, or I get labeled as 'One of THOSE people'...then so be it! 

I will gladly wear my Jesus Freak label with pride.

 

~ Lyndsay

In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Matthew 5:16

Sometimes, You just need to sleep...and other reasons why I am not SuperMom

Hello Everyone!

Happy Monday!

 

It is almost 1:30PM and I am just now drinking my first cup of coffee. I am in PJ's and my house is a bit of a mess.


I was supposed to have a blog post up by 6AM this morning..and clearly, that did not happen.


Why?!

Because, I was sleeping.

In the past I wouldn't have missed a post deadline, or I would have come up with some perfectly good excuse to give you that would still make me look like SuperMom. (Some days I  really want to go back to there and slap myself up the side of the head and tell myself to sleep..and eat better and exercise more...but that is for another post. Sigh.)

However, I have recently learned some things about myself...and one of the big things that I have learned???

I require sleep. Consistent sleep.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not sleeping the day away on a regular basis..or napping everyday.  But I have learned that if I do not consistently get a certain amount of sleep...bad things start to happen.

Back in February everyone was sick. We were basically sick from December until February with a small two week break in between. If it wasn't asthma attacks, it was a stomach bug or a terrible flu like cold that lasted 3-4 weeks. I thought Anna was going to cough her poor little lungs out. It was not a pleasant time in the tiny house.

I had went about the sickness like I always do. I do it all and forget the rest..neglecting sleep and all other things that I had deemed unnecessary at the time. (Most of those things are important, but I had decided they were not at the time.) That is kind of typical of me, and most other mothers that I know.

That probably would have been ok if the sickness had passed quickly, or I didn't have a new baby, or if we didn't have a child with terribly chronic asthma in the house..who hadn't been sick for the last 18 moths straight. Either way. It is what it is and I kept doing what I do...because I'm Supermom. Or at least that is what my husband had claimed me to be.

During the last two weeks of the sickness all three girls were very, very sick. Asthma attacks, coughing, ear infection, the list went on and on. I just couldn't keep up.
I had already not been sleeping well since after the baby was born.

Some things happened that were causing me to have terrible anxiety about some things..then with everyone being sick...I was barely sleeping at all. The worst night I slept on the floor between Addison on the cough (Emma was on the other couch) and Anna in her chair...I think I got an hour and a half of sleep. I had been up all night going between the three of them with breathing treatments. I had the machine in the middle of the room and just made my rounds. By the time I finished with one, another one would need it. So the circle continued.

I had never been one to ask Dustin for help. When the first two were born he worked nights plus days at home in our own business. He was a busy, busy guy. I stayed home and so I naturally took the brunt of the household chores. I didn't mind and it worked for us.
Fast forward about ten years and two more kids...and this Mama was seriously over extended. But I felt like I wasn't allowed to say it was too much, because what mother does that?

I was super mom and super mom does not admit defeat.

Well..after the incident last Fall that had already been causing anxiety for me...and having Anna around the same time as well...I had been having issues with anxiety. Not just a little anxiety..A LOT of anxiety. The kind that grips you in your chest and you feel like you can not breath. Yeah.

The night that the girls were at their worst I hit my breaking point. I woke Dustin up (Something I never do. He is not a heavy sleeper, thanks to years of working nights. So I try not to wake him.) because I felt like I was dying. At that point I had not had hardly any sleep for days and the little I had had was broken bits or with a baby in my arms.

Dustin didn't really get what I was trying to get across to him at the time...but I kept telling him that I needed sleep, something was wrong with me. I had hit my point of breaking and he needed to listen. Super Mom was dead...she had died from exhaustion...what a Sissy!
 All that was left was me...an exhausted, rundown thirty year old woman who was surviving on caffeine and clearly too little sleep. (I also wasn't eating well because of stress and not drinking enough water.)

Thankfully I have a loving husband who did eventually get the point. He sent me off to bed and then made me nap over that weekend. He has been following me around ever since asking if I have eaten and slept and had enough water to drink.. and if I am OK?!?!

Yes, I am OK. The anxiety has since moved on. Apparently sleep deprivation will do that too you.

However, I learned a few fast hard lessons about myself from those exhausting months.

1. I am not SuperMom, I do need help..having a large family only works if both parents are involved. I still think my job is to be at home and taking care of all that entails. However, I now know that this is not the season to have everything perfect...as well as...I was expecting a lot more out of myself than my husband was expecting out of me. Imagine that, I was over achieving. (I sure hope my daughters read this when they grow up!)  I also know that I can't do it alone...and asking for help is the only way it will get done. Because apparently my husband is not a mind reader. ;)

2. I require sleep. I am not 19 or 21 anymore..and sleep is necessary. I have to have 6.5-8 hours of sleep on a regular basis...or bad things start to happen.  I have also had to learn to pay close attention to how I am feeling..because the exhaustion creeps up slowly for me. (If you watch our vlog, I said something about being super tired on Friday..and I had started to feel it creeping up then...Look at the 3:40 minute mark.)
If I do not watch for the signs and be proactive about fixing it...the anxiety starts.

3. I have to eat well and drink plenty of water. Oh how I remember the days of living on mountain dew and a package of Ramen noodles. Yeah, I had an eating disorder..and it was not pretty. Plus we were young and drowning in debt...and it did not make for healthy choices.
I require vegetables, and water and protein! It is a must. I have to be careful about what I eat. Yes, I eat a huge variety of food items, and probably some that I shouldn't (I love ice cream!) but I also have to be sure that I am eating enough of the healthy stuff. Or I start to feel like this..
 


4. I have to exercise! Walking is my person favorite..because I can do it with the kids. I have also been lifting and starting back to running again...and hula hooping. One of my favorite hobbies!
I also have a fitbit and have been entering into step challenges. It helps to keep me motivated and active. :)
I know that I sleep better when I am exercising. I also know that I do not sleep well when I get too much exercise. It has to be a happy medium for me.



Any who...I did not get my post up this morning because I was sleeping.
I am honestly wondering if Dustin said something to the kids over the weekend...because Addison was 'taking care of me' and Emma kept bringing me water...and Alex kept offering to hold the baby yesterday.

This morning I woke up(After not getting much sleep again last night) and I told the kids that Mommy needed a nap. Alex jumped in and offered to watch Anna and everyone watched cartoons for a while. (Just to clarify, I was on the couch. Not off in some other part of the house pretending they did not exist.)

 They all got their own breakfast.


 Addison's cereal that she got all by herself. She was so proud! There was also a burned pop tart somewhere in the mix of all of this.

Alex and Emma also got dressed and started school somewhere in there....and there were some shenanigans that took place.
Everyone had on paper hats and were talking like pirates when I emerged from my slumber.
There was also a cup of coffee setting on the coffee table for me. Thanks to Emma.

 Did we check things off from the never ending list? Nope.

Did the baby get dressed before she ate lunch? Nope.

Have I done any laundry today? Nada.

Where the kids perfectly behaved and silently studying their Monday morning away like all good little homeschoolers do?  *Giggle* I can't even keep a straight face on that one.

Nope!



They watched cartoons and ate pop tarts while I drooled on the couch and incoherently nodded my agreement to things when they asked me questions. Honestly...who knows what I agreed to. Maybe I should ask them and find out!

I am so blessed and thankful to have loving, forgiving children who realize that Mommy is not perfect and sometime she just needs a nap.

Now to just remind myself that I am not perfect and that I do not need to be.

These kids need and deserve a healthy mom, (In mind, body and spirit) and not one who is just trying to be perfect. And I hope and pray that they notice this about their mother and that they don't expect too much of themselves or their own spouses when they grow up and have families of their own.

Because the guilt and pressure is just too much....Super Mom...is just too much.

I finally feel like I have caught up on some of my sleep and we can move forward with life. As much as we like to lean into the crazy and the expectations and guilt and we say life doesn't have a pause button...it really does have a pause button. 

You just have to be woman (Or man) enough to push the button and call time out!

So, Normal life shall commence again this afternoon at the tiny house and I will continue to work at being a good Mom and not a perfect Mom.

Happy Monday!

~ Not Super Mom....Just Lyndsay


You can watch our day below.
Look us up on YouTube at Tiny House Homeschool Life
Be sure to Like, Share, Comment and Subscribe!
We are also on Twitter now, Tiny House Mom @TinyHomeschool4

We Got A FaNcY Pencil Sharpener!! (Review)

We have always been the old school sort of people at the tiny house. (Hand held can openers, crank pencil sharpeners etc.)
  However, recently we have had a lot of trouble finding a good wall mounted pencil sharpener that doesn't fall apart after about a year or so. The last one was actually spitting out its internal gears there at the end. We had always used the crank kind because they used to hold up really well. 

Clearly that standard had changed. So...I went hunting for something different.

 

  I was searching amazon and came upon this fancy pencil sharpener . It was  originally $24.99 but I had caught it on sale for $9.99. That is actually cheaper than the last crank model we had purchased and obviously that didn't pan out! So I decided to take the plunge and get a fancy pencil sharpener.

 It arrived a couple weeks ago. Can I please just stop right here for a moment and show my age? Yep...it arrived, I opened the box and literally said...."Is this it??"

 Why?? Because I was picturing the electric pencil sharpeners from when I was a kid. The ones that reminded you of a loaf of bread and sounded like a wood chipper!

 Yeah...like this one. (Thank you, Google Image!)




  This cute, little guy is smaller than a regular stapler! It was so cute and little I almost felt bad for it. I wanted to protect it from my pack of wolves eager brood of learners, who were anxiously standing around me with handfuls of pencils just itching to try it out.

 So, I popped in the batteries, gave it a tiny little farewell pat and handed it over to the kids. Never expecting it to be seen in functioning order ever again.

  Ok, My kids aren't that bad, but this thing was just so little and delicate looking. I felt like I was sentencing it to its destruction.

 Now let me be the first to say that I was not expecting too much out of this thing considering how much I paid and the size. There are a lot of us in this house and we use whatever we have very frequently.

However, this little thing packs a serious punch! It has done a wonderful job since day one! It sharpens great, empties easily and even has a spare blade in case the first one wears out!

 The bonus? It is really quiet. Shockingly quiet.

 Oh and it also came with a USB cord so I can hook it to the lap top or into a charge base if the batteries are ever dead...or if Alex 'borrows' them for his Xbox controller.
 

 It now is sits proudly on my computer desk, having passed the test of my children using it endlessly for the last couple weeks. Addison has given this little thing a serious work out! She loves sharpening pencils and the fact that it works automatically has held a huge form of wonderment and satisfaction for her.
We  went through our school supplies last week (Not a simple task, we homeschoolers tend to have a mass of supplies.) I finally found all the missing pencils and pens that had been scattered everywhere. Of course, almost all of the pencils were broken. So I plopped them down in front of Addison and set her to work. She was entertained for close to an hour and the result was a cup overflowing with sharpened pencils. Yay!

The Tiny House Homeschool Life Crew gives this fancy pencil sharpener a thumbs up!! 

 At least for the time being. If it poops out before it gets through one full school year...I'll be sure to let you all know! ;)

Now I am off to get these sleepy kids moving. We had a busy weekend and I nicely let them sleep in a little this morning. They have slept long enough now, and We have some things to accomplish. School work, chores, cleaning, laundry, vloggin, tweeting, etc. I also get to steal away and go running with a friend this evening and I'm entered in a work week step challenge with about 5 or 6 other women. Best be getting to it!

But, I just might need a second cup of coffee first!

Happy Monday!!!

Lyndsay
A.K.A...the ring leader to this pack of hungry wolves eager group of learners!

P.S...You can also follow us on You Tube at Tiny House Homeschool Life, OR on Twitter @TinyHomeschool4

Tin Can Robot (4M) Review

Last week Alex and I sat down to put together one of his Christmas presents. It is a 4M Tin Can Robot. It took us a while to get around to it. Partly because we do not really keep soda in the house. So, I made him wait until I remembered to buy a 12 pack of soda.
Then the soda can was put in his room and promptly lost/forgotten about until this week. Mainly because we were sick for the majority of January and February... and partly because....That's how we roll here at this tiny house. ;)
So, with out further ado...

The Tin Can Robot Review.

The video is at the bottom. However, we thought it would be fun to take some pictures. As well as, post our thoughts on the item here on the blog. Don't forget to head over to our channel and subscribe, like and share!


Here is the project before we started.

Look at that fancy tripod set up. I knew these school books would come in handy!

All of us before we began! Alex is doing the review, Emma is manning the cameras...and Addison is 'babysitting', eating a snack and watching television in another room. Anna was just hanging out..until the end.

Me talking to the camera. It is seriously weird talking to the camera...and not screwing up. Which, I did a lot. The looks that this boy gives me crack me up. Because clearly I am clueless on how to do toy reviews and tutorials. I am waiting for him to tell me I am never doing a video with him EVER again. It hasn't happened yet, but WHEN it does I will not be surprised. lol

                   Lol. Poor Alex, we clearly have differing ideas on how to do a review. But, isn't he cute?!

Time for the real work to begin!

Lots and lots or tedious work!

The screws were so tiny!

 Some items you need to finish the project.

 Cooking oil
 Q Tips
 A tiny screw driver. (I honestly thought that would have been provided given how small of one was required.)
 1 AA battery
(The only item listed on the outside of the box was the battery.)

 Some items you might want to have on hand to make the project easier

COOKIES!! (This project was a bit stressful and it was snack time!)

Super Glue!
The screws on this project are SO TINY, and they go in crooked most of the time. Super glue really does the trick.
 Seriously Mom's, If you are doing projects like this with your kids, KEEP SUPER GLUE NEARBY!

Cooking oil and Q Tips

Cookies!!!

 Our Final Thoughts On The Tin Can Robot

Here is the finished product. I have to say that I am very pleased with how it turned out. More often than not, these things fall apart or don't go together well,at all.

This little robot has held up well for the last couple of days and not a single part has fallen off. It also runs very well. It is quick and moves smoothly. (We did notice that it doesn't do very well on thick carpeting)

It may be a bit of a challenge to put together (At least for us), but it is worth the effort involved!

If you are looking for a challenging, fun and functional science project for your elementary aged child...this is a GOOD pick!

The Tiny House Homeschool Life Crew give this one a BIG THUMBS UP!

Also, for your viewing pleasure....the fun antics of us doing our first review/tutorial.

Have you tried the tin can robot yet?
If you have or choose to, be sure to come back and share your thoughts. I really want to know if we are the only ones who can't seem to put those tiny screws in straight. LOL

Blessings!

~ Lyndsay