Tag Archives: family

New School Year: Book recommendations Part One

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I have been homeschooling for 21 years now which seems crazy! Through the years, I’ve tried many programs. Since we have five children there isn’t one thing that works across the board. Our children have different learning styles, abilities, and interests. The only one thing that I’ve found that I would say I would feel like I could truly recommend to other homeschoolers is a whole book approach for at least one subject. Reading books, over textbooks, allows the child to think critically, develop problem-solving skills, and see things from different perspectives. Some of the books my children have read over the years that I would recommend are:

“Because of Winn Dixie“

“Moon Over Manifest“*

“The Little House” series

“A Wrinkle in Time”

“The Giver“

“Understood Betsy“

“Hundred Dresses“

“The Count of Monte Cristo“

“Caddie Woodlawn“

“Holes”

“Anne of Green Gables”

“Little Women“

“Joan of Arc” by Mark Twain

These books are for elementary through middle school students.

Having some of them read through Audible or LibriVox is a great way to consume some of these books, especially for reluctant readers or children with different reading difficulties.

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`Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I may receive a teeny tiny commission on any items that are purchased through my links at absolutely no cost to you. Thanks for supporting this blog.

Light It Up

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Does anyone else love driving through really nice neighborhoods at night? From the street you can get a glimpse inside these big, beautiful houses with the soft, warm glow of lamps inside and bright beautiful lights lighting up dressy landscapes.

I love the way a lamp looks right at dusk and into the evening. The way it makes the room seem cozy and warm is my favorite. Every time I go antiquing I look for lamps for our home. The problem is that they are all way too expensive! I think Home Goods and Amazon have way better deals! I’m on the hunt for some new lighting. We got new sconces for one of our staircases, since some little boys and some very big boys decided to play a little too rough with Nerf guns one night. I’m looking to put a lamp in every room and eliminate more of the overhead lighting. It’s just so cozy! Here are some I’ve got my eye on and some we already own.

These can charge your phone too!
AddLon floor lamp
Oneach lamps are fancy and warm looking.
QiMH lamps are sleek and modern.
This lamp is neutral yet classic.
Pusu are awesome for parties instead of candles with their messy wax.

VerRon makes nice sconces.
Tengiants sconce is sleek.
Ornesign leaves the prettiest lights on the ground. I love to line my sidewalk with them!
Zivasa has a discount right now.
Zivasa discount
Kichler are the identical to the ones we bought.

I’m definitely hoping that I get one or more of these for my birthday and Christmas!

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.As an Amazon affiliate I may receive a commission on any links that lead to sales at NO COST to you.

Big Deal Days on Prime Day are Coming

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October 10 and 11 are Big Deal days on Amazon Prime. I’m crossing my fingers that a few of the items I’ve had on my save for later cart are marked down then!! What am I keeping my eyes on? Let me show and tell you!

I’ve wanted weights like these for a while. They would be great to have at home on the days I can’t make it to the gym.

We are redecorating our bedroom, and chairs like this one would go beautifully in the space.
This is the softest rug I’ve ever stepped on! I’ve had it in my cart for almost a year. I’m definitely hoping that it will be on sale!
One of our daughters is hoping this bed will be on sale.
I’m not super consistent with the essential oils, but our children love them to help them fall asleep at night. I need a new diffuser, and don’t want to spend a fortune.
At Christmas, our foyer is decked out in nutcrackers. This year we’ve decided to do our dining room tablescape in the same theme. These little guys would be perfect for that!
I’m on the hunt for a new pan. I use my current one several times a day, and it has reached the end of its life. I’m hoping this one will be marked down, so I won’t feel guilty about spending so much on a single pan.
One of my daughters needs a vacuum for her room, and this one would be perfect.
I’ve had my eye on this machine for a while. I really want it!
Mother jeans are my favorite. This cut is so cute! If I can get a deal then they are mine.
My fall boots don’t fit well anymore. I love a pair like this.
I’d love a treadmill that I could work from.
Since we are redecorating our bedroom I would love a sleeker mirror like this one.
One of my daughters loves cookbooks. I think she will love this one!
I go through sneakers rapidly (3-4 months), so I don’t like to spend a fortune. These are so cute that if they go on sale they will be mine.

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As an Amazon affiliate I may receive a small commission on links leading to sales at ABSOLUTELY NO COST to you. Thanks for supporting this blog!

Beach Must Haves

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The beach is one of my favorite vacation spots. With a big crew, I find that being prepared is absolutely necessary. I keep beach bags already packed in my closet (hey, at least if I get a last minute chance I’m ready). I have a large Bogg bag and a smaller one as well. I also have two bags dedicated to towels.

Photo credit: Bogg Bag

In the larger bag I put sunscreen, towels, a first aid kit, a little kit with disposable cutlery, Lysol wipes, and hand sanitizer. In the first aid kit for the beach, I have BleedStop, bandages, tweezers, gauze, Benadryl, wound closures, aspirin, antiseptic wash, antibiotic ointment, itch cream, jellyfish sting spray, and steri-strips. I know this may seem overboard, but with our parents being on blood thinners, fall risks, and highly allergic to various things, I just want to be prepared.

I also keep another First Aid kit in the house. I make sure that as soon as we unload the car the kit is somewhere centrally located, and that everyone knows where it is.

I also have a travel bag that comes with me EVERY SINGLE TIME we travel by car. It has Dramamine, Advil, Benadryl, Sharpies, Ziploc bags of various sizes, collapsible containers, sweeteners, snacks, sewing kit, disposable cups, cutlery, paper plates, and Lysol wipes and spray.

Photo credit: Lilly Pulitzer

I also always pack a compact bag that can be unzipped to become a large tote. These are always one of my favorites.

Photo credit: Lilly Pulitzer
Photo Credit: Lilly Pulitzer

I know that for us school has already started, but I’m looking forward to fall break in a few weeks. These are just some tips and tricks I find invaluable when planning and executing a vacation with multiple generations and lots of people.

*****As an Amazon affiliate I may receive a small commission on any links where you make a purchase at absolutely no cost to you.*****

April Fools Day Dinner

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8DB3AF89-3BA1-4157-A96A-F3661FF578D8.pngA23FEA70-C43D-4AE8-B647-99A5C6EE6F58.jpegTomorrow is one of my children’s favorite days of the year. April Fools Day provides so many funny moments and fun activities if you just look for it. Every year, I make a special dinner or dessert. My kids look forward to it, so I can’t let them down. I’m including last year’s menu and the year before if you want to start a tradition like this. The way this works is that they are given a card for each of the three courses. They must pick 3 or 4 items at the beginning of the dinner for each course with no duplicates. They could end up with a fork, a cake pop, and a glass for one course. You just have to make your best guess. I try to save plates and napkins from other holidays and use them on this day.  There are so many silly things you can do! I hope you have a fun day tomorrow no matter how you choose to celebrate it!

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April Fool’s Day Dinner

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I’m planning an all new April Fool’s Day dinner for this year, but wanted to share last years for now:

My kiddos love a good prank. April Fool’s Day has been one of their favorite days as long as I can remember. We usually try to do at least one thing to make the day memorable. Last year I fooled them into thinking they were eating an undercooked lasagna, when it was actually a yummy dessert. This year, I pulled off a Crazy April Fool’s Day Dinner which was actually breakfast for dinner. It definitely takes some advance preparation and quite a bit of work (at least with as many people as we have in our family) to pull it off, but it is so fun! I’ve done a dinner menu like this before and I feel like breakfast items are a lot easier. I used the basic idea and the menu course printables from Dixie Delights. I made some changes, but the general idea came from her site.

To do this, I gave my family a menu of 16 items with funny names. They also had 4 different menu course sheets. On each sheet they had to put four items that they wanted for that course. Each item has to be picked once so that all items are ultimately chosen. They had to pick for all of their courses before I even started cooking; because I didn’t want to give them any hints with the smells in the kitchen.

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I had one more trick up my sleeve. Number 9 was the CAFD Special. It looked like an egg, but was really just whipped cream and an apricot.

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I pulled out a few Christmas plates to serve this. I also found some “Welcome to 2000” napkins that had never been opened in my party stash. We used those as the Mini Magic Carpet.

Overall, we had lots of laughs. April Fool’s Day is just another good excuse to have a little fun together.

I printed out my menu using Waltograph font from DaFont 

Crazy April Fool’s Day Disney Dinner

1. Mickey Mouse                                         2.Gaston’s Tavern Treat                        

 3. Dinoco Motor Oil                

4. Sugar Rush Icing component        

5. White Rabbit’s Tale                                

6. Three Little Pigs                                      

7. Capt. Hook’s Plank                                

8. Mike Wazowski                                      

9. CAFD Special

10. Pluto’s dinner

11. Merida’s hair

12. Elsa’s bad day

13. Rafiki’s staff

14. Cruella’s hair

15. Dinglehopper

16. Mini Magic Carpet

Here’s the real deal menu:

  1. Mickey Mouse waffle
  2. Cinnamon Roll
  3. Syrup
  4. Powdered Sugar
  5. Whipped Cream
  6. Sausage
  7. Bacon
  8. Egg
  9. Apricot in whipped cream
  10. cereal
  11. orange juice
  12. ice
  13. straw
  14. salt and pepper
  15. fork
  16. napkin

Change of Plans {Hurricane Matthew}

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I am so incredibly sad for all those affected by Hurricane Matthew. I pray that the cleanup will be quick and that those affected will be able to recover from their losses. I’ve heard that there has been loss of life. I pray for healing and comfort for the families of those people.

While our fall break was interrupted, we really can’t complain. We tried to make the best of the change of plans. The drive out of Hilton Head took about twice the time it should have, but the state officials did a GREAT job moving people out!

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We had to break the trip into two days due to the fact that we are traveling with a small child, children who get extremely carsick, and two sets of grandparents. When we finally arrived at our hotel, it was mid-afternoon. We ate an early dinner at a restaurant called Farm to Fork in Ringgold, GA. I’ll have a full review of that place soon (hopefully). Later, once the grandparents arrived, we met up at Gateway Antique Mall. They had lots of Civil War items. None of us bought anything because the prices seemed a little inflated. The next day, we headed out early to Chattanooga, TN. The first thing we did was head to the Tennessee Valley Railroad. We took the Missionary Ridge ride. It was extremely short, but I think everyone enjoyed riding a train and seeing the way it worked. imageimageimage

Later, we traveled on to the Chattanooga Aquarium. They were so nice to offer people who’d had to evacuate due to the hurricane, 50% off admission. We enjoyed the aquarium. We were a little disappointed that there weren’t any dolphins, manatees, or any kind of whale. There were several touching stations, which we thoroughly enjoyed. I could have stayed in the jellyfish exhibit forever! I actually think we will be getting an aquarium with some of those amazing creatures come Christmas time. Chattanooga is a cute city and I could probably visit again over a long weekend and really find lots to enjoy!

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Before the Storm {Hurricane Matthew: Hilton Head}

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The storm is on its way in; so we are on our way out. It’s a sad way to end what was supposed to be a week of a relaxing fall break before the madness of school activities and the holidays started. The evacuations started yesterday, but we are heading out today. Here’s what it looked like yesterday…

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We had the whole beach to ourselves yesterday. It looks like we have the whole city to ourselves as we drive out.

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We are hopeful that all those in the storm’s path stay safe and that Matthew will be downgraded before it does any more harm. We are on to the next place for now and will see if we can find some fun adventures along the way.

Antiquing

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My new favorite thing to do on the weekend is going to the local antique stores. I didn’t go this weekend and I felt like I was going through withdrawals. I have found so many wonderful items. I bought a bundle of letters from a couple during WWII.  I also found a picture of a baby that is likely to be a distant relative of my husband. I have a love of milk glass and hobnail glass. I’ve acquired some new pieces for my collection.

There is something wonderful about walking in to those stores and thinking of the days gone by. It makes me long for simpler times. The craftsmanship and attention to detail in those antiques is hard to come by in today’s instant gratification world.

My daughters have also found a new love in those old things. It is an activity that we can do together and that has sparked many conversations about many different topics.

Here are some of the items that we’ve come across on our outings.

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Custom Cups

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When we went on our trip to Hilton Head earlier in the summer, I wanted to get each person a customized cup for the trip. I thought it would be a cute and functional gift for each person. I also liked the idea that it would be something to keep and maybe remember the trip the next time it was used.

I found 4 Lilly Pulitzer cups at TJ Maxx. I stored them away for months with the idea to get monogram decals to put on each one. I then got my girls Sigg-like bottles with the idea to do the same to them.

I didn’t want to leave the boys or men out, so I ordered reusable red Solo cups for each of the men with their names on them. The boys got reusable blue Solo cups with their names on them.

I ordered the cups from Etsy shop, Down South Monogram.  The decals were purchased from Etsy shop, Vinylosity.

I think they all turned out really cute. They were definitely handy at the house and by the pool.

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