Foods 
When I had my first baby, I didn't think much about preparing ahead. Sure, I wanted the nursery ready to go and painted just so. And I wanted my house clean and organized. But thinking through getting ahead meal prep wasn't even on my radar. Fast forward 13 years and we're now anticipating the arrival of baby #5. With this baby, I'm near frantic in my desire to get ahead. My how things change between baby #1 and baby #5! One of the things at the top of my list is food prep—more specifically, preparing make-ahead keto freezer meals for my family. Looking for more gluten-free recipes and resources? This Everything ...Read More
Homemade Southwest Spicy Ranch Dressing
This homemade southwest spicy ranch dressing is the perfect finishing touch for your favorite fajita salad. Ranch. It's one of the standard condiments in every American's refrigerator. It makes sense. Creamy and delicious, ranch dressing is the perfect dipper for veggies (well, after my grandma's homemade dill dip, that is). I know dressing is just one of those things, most of us have been programmed to pick up at the store. But mama—homemade dressings are one of the easiest condiments to make yourself. They're so so so ridiculously easy to do yourself. You can whip up a batch of this southwest spicy ranch in ...Read More
Homeschooling How to Teach Cursive Writing: a Homeschool Guide
Do you teach cursive writing to your kids? While cursive may not be many people's favorite school subject—it certainly isn't mine—it sure is an important skill to learn. Someone with the ability to fluently write in cursive has a distinct advantage when it comes to note-taking and essay-writing. Cursive actually activates regions of the brain involved in working memory. We teach cursive writing not because we love cursive but because we want our kiddos to love learning—and the ability to quick and legibly write is a good way to get there. We teach cursive not as an end in and of itself, but as a tool. Here's how ...Read More
Sugar-Free Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream
This sugar-free orange creamsicle ice cream will make the kids happy all summer long. And, of course, it's the perfect adult guilt-free dessert, too! Ice cream is the perfect summer treat. Well, ice cream is really the perfect any-time-of-year treat (right? I'm right, and you know it). But I like using summer as a good excuse to make creamy, homemade ice cream. And if I can make that treat reminiscent of one of my favorite treats as a kiddo (and be sugar-free), you better watch out...this might be dangerous folks! Making sugar-free ice cream, my friend, is oh so easy! You're not going to believe something that tastes ...Read More
Learning to Write Papers: the perfect program for reluctant writers
Some kid love to write—and it comes naturally to them. They just seem to be able to put words to paper without much difficulty, and they never seem to run out of stuff to write about. Then there are the rest of our kids. My kids don't really enjoy writing at this point in their lives—and I don't mean they don't just like writing assignments. I mean they just don't like writing. It is not at all natural to them. Thanks to the Institute for Excellence in Writing, I'm seeing a change. Getting Started with IEW The core of the curriculum from Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) is Teaching Writing: ...Read More
Tired of the Tedious? Try This No-Nonsense Spelling Curriculum
One of the more tedious subject in our house has been spelling. It has often been accompanied by much unhappiness—whining, complaining, and yes, even tears. And can I really blame them? Spelling can be terribly boring. I've written of my second-born's struggle with spelling and how we overcame that, but with my older son we found another program that worked great (and cut down on all the complaining). In fact, it worked so well, once second-born progresses a bit further, I'm planning to move him to this curriculum too. Bradley (my oldest) has now completed the entire spelling curriculum from the Institute for ...Read More
No more tears! A spelling curriculum your kids will actually like.
The tears flowed freely as my son declared he hated language arts. He hadn't ever spoken like that about any of his school subjects. It broke his mama's heart: instead of finding joy from his learning, he was beginning to despise it (well, at least in this subject). I knew something had to change. Spelling was ruining our school days. What went wrong? I decided to go with an all-in-one language arts curriculum—little bit of grammar, little bit of writing, and the spelling. While he didn't particularly like any of it, it was really the spelling portion that put the nail in that curriculum's coffin. We trudged ...Read More
No Diffuser? 7 Ways You Can Still Enjoy Essential Oils!
I love diffusers. Like really love them. It's almost embarrassing the number of diffusers I own. Each of my dear diffusers is placed strategically around my home, so...well, so I can be lazy and don't have to move them. While it's true diffusers are one of my favorite ways to use oils, there are many more ways to use those little bottles of goodness. Learn more about my favorite essential oils in this post. 7 Ways to Use Essential Oils without a Diffuser Whether you’re looking to introduce variety to your essential oil routine, gain more hands on experience with oils, or simply looking for creative diffuser ...Read More
