7 Quick Takes, A Recap of Life in The Tiny House This Week! Bubble Tea, Free Chicken and My Husband's Genetic Flaws...

 Welcome! 

It is Friday, and I am writing this at 4:30 in the morning. Apparently the toddler is boycotting nighttime, sleep, and all things rest related. Which means, I'm up too. Yay. 


Here goes, 7 Quick Takes on life in the tiny house this week!

1. Bubble Tea

 

School starts at the tiny house next week. This week has been spent prepping, Cleaning, organizing, planning, supply shopping, library visits (yes, plural) and of course a stop at the frozen yogurt shop. I've always been curious about the 'Bubble Tea' and decided it was time to just try it. I picked strawberry.
It was different. I found it strange having to drink the tea, try not to choke on the "bubbles", and then having to chew the "bubbles" to pop them. I ended up drinking the tea and letting the kids fight over share the bubbles.

2. Read all the books!

Speaking of preparing for school. We went to our two favorite libraries. On the same day. Within an hour of each other.
Our school has taken a big shift this year. We are changing back to more of a Charlotte Mason approach. Which means, lots and lots of living books. Sixty-three to be exact.  At least for this month.

We maxed out one library card and started on a second. 📖Since we live debt free, it has been a long time since I 'maxed out a card'. I might have gotten a little chuckle out of that.


3. Busy Boxes

The kids had a lot of fun helping pick items for her.

Can it always be this organized?

Speaking of school starting. (That seems to be the theme today.)

 I have fully acknowledge the fact that we have a very curious, adventurous and rather busy toddler. In the effort to keep her brain and hands busy this fall, and hopefully give myself fifteen whole minutes of uninterrupted time with the older three. We made busy boxes. (Post coming next week,  I promise.)

One of them has sand in it.
I am 100% positive I will end up regretting that later.

4. Real life science.

While playing in the yard this week, we saw the dog getting into something by the garage. One minute later she is running past us with something in her mouth. I was thinking snake or mouse. It turned out to be this little turtle.
We instantly had to stop everything to build him a habitat. Then spent the next 24 hours observing him. That's real life science at its best.
The turtle was safely returned to his natural habitat, far away from the dog.




Here is another insect that we observed this week.












5. Free stuff from Sam's club!

We grew up recently and got our very own Sam's club membership.
I didn't realize they gave you so much free stuff when you signed up! Dinner rolls, croissants and a rotisserie chicken.  Three of our favorite items from there.

It doesn't take much to make me happy.








 6. It must be genetic.

My husband is incapable of opening a package the correct way. This is something I'm rather particular about. I have spent half of my life (Literally) trying to teach him the concept of open AND close packaging.  It would only seem fitting for the children to be born with his inability to open things correctly.

Case in point. This package was already opened and re-closed with an elastic tie.

Clearly, that was just too much work.












7.  What are the odds?!

We were blessed with a slow day this week. We had a picnic and played cards in the yard on a blanket.
While playing a rather heated round of Bologna, someone called 'Bologna' on one of the oldest two. The cards are flipped and it turns out that both of the older two had fibbed and  placed the exact same sets of cards on the pile.



I'm not sure what the odds of that are happening, but we were greatly entertained.

Happy Friday!

~ Lyndsay

Slow Days, They Are Important

When the oldest two were young, we would spend days upon days at home. We had no one that needed us, no place to be, no obligations. 

 If is wasn't our twice a month grocery trip, church on Sundays, Dr appointments or the occasional visit with friends, our lives were pretty wide open.

We built forts, finger painted, played playdough, read books, took naps, explored the world outside, baked cookies, wore pajamas most days and took life slow. Very slow.

In the past it was the occasional day that we left the house.

Fast forward about a decade and add in two more kiddos. Life is a bit more busy (not my favorite word). There is a business to help run, cross country, basketball, church, homeschool co-op,  art class, orthodontist, Dr appointments, library trips, visits with friends, and many more obligations. Plus, the oldest two have a more active social life than I do.  

Now it is the occasional day when we get to stay home. 


In the midst of the running, errands and life, we have to try to carve out a whole and full education. Time to make memories, read books, bake cookies, play cards, learn new craft skills, and take naps.



When the oldest two were young, I never thought I would miss the slow days. Now I crave them. I need them. We need them. Our family, homeschool education, bodies and brains need them.

They seem to be easier to carve out in the Winter. Spring, Summer and Fall can be a bit tricky, if not almost impossible.

When we do get them, I try to take advantage of them. I have been learning not to fill them with a long list of things that must be done. However, I'm learning to leave them open for things that fill our hearts and rest our bodies and souls.
We leave openness for memories to be made. 

Every slow day looks different. They are the most fun when we let them unfold on their own.




We had a slow day on Saturday. We had a tea party in the yard, played cards outside, baked muffins, made cookies, read books and worked on our own crafting projects. Then finished off the day with a taco feast and a movie night when Dad came home from work.




 Slow days are my favorite days. 




I sometimes worry that they will slip away. I often wish to go back to when they were younger. I would do my best to enjoy it more, to be less restless, to relish in the slowness.

For now, I will just do my best to enjoy the slow days we receive. Because I'm pretty sure ten more years will pass, in the blink of an eye, and I will be left longing for this time as well.





So, for the new moms who feel like they are surrounded by littles and never get to leave the house.
Enjoy the slow days. Soak them up. The days may be long, but the years are short. They will be gone in the blink of an eye.
Make hand print art, read Brown Bear for the five millionth time, make a blanket fort, lay in on a blanket in the grass and watch the clouds. 




 Try not to think of all the things you could be or should be doing. Don't waste your afternoon wondering if you should be doing more, or filling their time with structured activities. They are always learning!






These day are good for them, and for you!

Blessings,

~Lyndsay

7 Quick Takes, A Recap of Life in the Tiny House This Week! Frog Swimming Lessons, Fancy Footwear and How I Got Better Gas Mileage

 It's Friday! 

That means it is 7 Quick Takes day! The day every week that I entertain you with the happenings of our life in the tiny house this week. 

It might be funny (It tends to be funny), entertaining or down right bizarre! But that's why you keep coming back to read it..because no one wants to read about boring. 

The scary part? All of it is true. Yes. Our lives really are this ridiculous, goofy and weird. Every. Single. Day.

Welcome to our tiny little part of the world. Pull up a chair, but wipe it off first...because it is probably sticky...Everything is always sticky.


1.  The Great Van Cleaning of 2017

We typically clean out the van as needed and or every week or so. However, this job is usually something I hand out as a chore to one of the kids. They get paid for it. I'm pretty sure I'm not getting my money's worth though. It was REALLY bad in there.

It took 2.5 hours. We filled more than one large trash bag with trash and a large laundry basket with items that needed returned to their rightful place.
I'm fairly certain we are getting better gas mileage from the literal pounds of trash, dirt and stuff we removed.

The plan is to maintain the cleanliness of the van. Check back in a month or two and we can all have a good laugh about the stuff that falls out when we open the doors.

2. Our Town Takes Taco's VERY Seriously!

The local taco joint had a deal on tacos this week. 34 Cents! All of the proceeds went to a local children's organization that operates in our county. People were so excited, and hungry...that they needed a Sheriff to direct traffic in and out of the parking lot. The line wasn't quite as bad as I had imagined it would be...we only waited about 20 minutes to place our order.


3. All I wanted was a haircut...

Emma and I got our hair cut this week. I used to cut everyone's hair. However, hers has gotten so thick. It makes me nervous to even think about cutting it. So, we go to our favorite gal to have it done. I don't go too often, every 3 months.
Emma had been growing her hair our recently. She wanted to grow her bangs, and get longer layers added in. She wanted spiral beach waves.

Well, she definitely got what she wanted...but I wasn't prepared for her to look so grown up. I went in with a little girl and came out with a young lady.

4. Over The River and Through The Woods...

Our neighbor a few houses down asked us to pick some of her green beans and sugar snap peas last week. She was having surgery and couldn't get it done.
The girls and I walked over. A handful of the neighbors are related and they have trails connecting their properties. So we went over the bridge and through the woods to pick some beans. :)
I figured she would share a little with us, but she sent them all home with us! Such a blessing!

 

 



 I cooked some of the beans in the Instant Pot this week. Added ham, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder. Cooked on high for 5 minutes. They were perfection!

They tasted like the beans my mom would make when I was a kid. Those took hours! These took 15 minutes.




5. Fancy Footwear

I've been having issues with my arches recently. The chiropractor has lectured...and I listened. No more cute, flat sandals or flip flops. :(
My friend gave me these foot supports. They are so neat. Like a hug for your arches. They have helped a lot...and they are so attractive!



I am totally and completely positive this will be a new trend.When it comes around, be sure to remember who started it. OK?! OK!


 6 He's taller than me and has a jump shot too...

Alex has been growing like a weed lately. Over 3 inches since Christmas!  He has officially grown taller than me.
 

 His favorite sport is basketball and he has worked really hard to improve his skills this year. Basketball camp was this week. His hard work is paying off. His coach tracked me down after the first night and had all good things to say.  He asked me if I had seen him play. lol Yes, Every. Single. Day. ( But I knew what he meant. He has definitely improved.) We are all excited for b-ball season to start this year. He has his heart set on point guard, but he seems to be made for center. His team mates have started calling him the Center Guard...and it stuck. Guess I need to get a t-shirt made. 





7. Frog Swimming Lessons
Our friend Marie Anne took Addison for a special day just for the two of them this week.
They baked cookies, packed a picnic lunch and went to the park. This is our favorite park, it has a stream with sand and plenty of rocks for skipping. Plus, it has Addison's favorite thing...frogs!
Marie Anne said that she had 3 at one time. The last one was especially tame. Addison decided to give it swimming lesson. She would toss it out into the stream...and that poor frog, swam right back to her. All while Addison would cheer, instruct and encourage from the shore. I guess this went on for a good 5-6 times of her tossing the frog out into the stream and it swimming back. Finally Marie Anne said that the frog was looking tired and suggested she let him rest.

Poor frog...but look at these amazing pictures that Marie Anne took! I'm in love! Thanks MA!

Well, our Summer is about to start winding down. School starts in two weeks. We will still enjoy the weather, and go on some adventures..but we will be back to reading, writing and arithmetic. ;)

Happy Friday!

~ Lyndsay 

Emma's Cooking Corner, Easy Desserts!

Welcome to Emma's Cooking Corner!


 Emma is 9 and has become quite the little Chef! 

She loves to bake and cook. When I started to blog again, I told her she could have her own little part. She chose recipes and possibly some crafts. I can totally be on board with that. 
Especially when her recipes turn out as delicious as this!


Emma made these desserts for a homeschool co-op potluck.She made Chocolate Covered Strawberries and  Deconstructed S'mores. All of them disappeared in a flash!


Chocolate Covered Strawberries

The strawberries are pretty self explanatory...

Strawberries and dipping chocolate and you are done.
























Deconstructed S'mores
 



The Deconstructed S'mores are a little more involved.
You will need:

Ingredients

-Graham crackers (One sleeve) Finely crushed
- Square marshmallows (1 bag)
-Dipping chocolate

Helpful Items

- Tooth picks to help with the mess.
- Wax paper or parchment paper

How neat are these Square Marshmallows?!

The treat itself is easy to make. It is just a little messy.



 1. Stick tooth pick into marshmallow.

 


2.  Dip the marshmallow half way in melted chocolate.














3. Place the chocolate covered marshmallow onto a small pile of graham crackers, on the wax paper. Press down to stick crackers to the chocolate. Let dry...repeat with remaining marshmallows.
 


4. Once you are finished with all of the marshmallows, remove toothpicks 

5. Drizzle remaining chocolate over marshmallows. Sprinkle remaining graham cracker over top of the drilled chocolate.

ENJOY!!

 Thanks for visiting Emma's Cooking Corner! 

See you next time!

Why We Are Using Saxon Math This Year...(Also A Brief CTC Math Review)

 We have tried a few different math curriculums in our homeschool over the years.

 Our children are all very different. They are all over the board with learning types, styles and concepts. It can be a lot to keep up with. I have went back an forth with different curriculums over the years.

 Many factors come into play when picking a curriculum.

- Budget
- Learning styles
- Is it a consumable, do I want a consumable
- Spiral vs Mastery
- Will it fit with our personal schooling style
- How much will everyone hate this. Yes, that is a huge factor. lol

This list goes on and on and is different for each family. We have tried workbooks, online, etc.

Each one has worked and not worked for us for varying reasons.

Our most recent math curriculum was CTC Math and Life of Fred(More on LOF in a later post). It is an online curriculum and fairly cheap if you have more than one child. I actually really like this curriculum. The best part of this course is that it is mostly hands free for the parent. I would step in to assist with learning a difficult concept, but the majority is taught on the site itself. They even send you a weekly progress report! It is pretty darn cool.

 The children's reviews on CTC Math were mixed...

-Alex did ok with it. (He could probably use any curriculum. He hates them all. Math is not his favorite subject. Want to know his favorite subject? Minecraft. Yes, I know that isn't a subject. Hence the reason I do not base all of our Math choices on Alex's opinions.) 

-Emma tried her hardest to like it. She does with everything. However, we have to make a few concessions with Emma's learning style. She struggles with Auditory processing, (something we found out last year.) and the online math..that is visual and described by a man with an Australian accent...was not working for her. 

- Addison prefers workbook page style math..so she barely used CTC. She said it was fun and called it a game when she used it.

So, while CTC is actually a great product...I would be sticking with it if it wasn't causing so much of an issues for Emma...we had to go back to square one for Math this year. 
I asked around. Friends and family have made many suggestions. However, our budget is tighter than normal this year. So I did some praying and decided to go old school with the math. 
Saxon Math has been around a LONG time. I even did it when I homeschooled, many years ago!

 


Reasons why we are using Saxon Math this year include...

-It works. As I said above, Saxon has been around for a long time. It's methodology is sound. I can still remember some of the lessons I learned from my own Saxon Math days.

- It is spiral, but not overly so. It moves forward with each concept, building with each lesson. It has a section for review built into every lesson. While some children may not need the review and repetition...my children actually benefit from it.

-There is lot of memory work built right into the curriculum. The home study packet comes with printable sheets to practice speed drills of addition, subtraction, multiplications and division..

-It is cheap and you can find it EVERYWHERE! Because this curriculum has been around for so long, you can find it all over Ebay, and other resale sites. There is enough of it that the prices are not terribly high. We were even blessed to receive a few pieces for free!

- It is working for the older two.(Addison is using something else this year.) Emma has been slowly working through one of the books this summer(For fun. Yes, I have one of those kids.) and she is really and truly learning! It is so fun to see her curled up with her math and enjoying it. That makes this Mama's heart happy :)


Do I think that Saxon Math is going to solve all of our problems and end with us happily skipping to the table to do math all year long?

Um..no.

I have taught my children long enough to know that every curriculum has it's positives and negatives. It is life. It is education. It is parenting. You do what works, search for something new if it doesn't. Or, take a bit from everything.
Also, there is no perfect math or Perfect *Insert subject here* curriculum for any two people on the planet. It is trial and error. 

Do I hope that Saxon works well enough for everyone, that we will just continue forward with it?

Yes. Math has been the only subject*So far) that I have not quite found what really works for our family. I love our Grammar, Spelling, Reading and most other subjects. They work for the kids' learning styles and with how our homeschool functions. 

However, Since I have been at this for a while, and know better than to not be prepared. I do have a couple other curriculums, that were recommended by friends,..that I have researched...tucked into the back of my mind. (They are also bookmarked in my computer.) 

One last thought...

 I am a person who prays. I do pray over my children and their education. That being said, I was recently speaking to one of my mentors and she gave me a bit of advice..which lit a fire under me with praying for my children and their education. 

 She told me that before she handed them every subject, she prayed over it. Obviously not in some grand way... but that she was continually in prayer their entire school day. That has stuck with me and reminded me. What our children learn and their up bringing and education isn't solely up to me. It is up to God. 

 We as parents just have to do our best, rely on Him to guide us and teach to the best of our ability. 

 But we also need to remember to leave gaps for God to fill in the spaces. 

Why? Because God can do such amazing things with those spaces! 


All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. 
Isaiah 54:13

What is the best way to know we are doing our best? 

It is to pray over our children, our school, our walk and our words. He will show us the way and He will also fill in those little gaps that we lay awake worrying about. 
 
 Blessings,

~Lyndsay