When I learned I had Lyme disease, I went through a strange jumbled up mess of emotions. The doctor's office called and told me my test came back positive. They wanted me to come in as soon as possible to talk about beginning Lyme treatment. I was near tears. The tears welling up in my eyes were tears of happiness. I was happy to finally know what the cause of all of my strange seemingly unrelated symptoms were. At the same point, I was angry. I was angry at all of the doctors who told me nothing was wrong, the doctors who told me it was just chronic fatigue and I shouldn't worry about it. I was ...Read More
Pamper Your Husband for Father’s Day: A Gift He’ll Never Forget
As many of you know, I was recently diagnosed with Lyme disease. The combination of my symptoms and, at times, the crazy side effects of some of the drugs I'm taking means I spend a lot of time in bed. A lot. Some days (the days I take the crazy meds) I sleep 16-17 hours—but the fatigue is never ending. Both in the months leading up to my diagnosis and since that time, my husband has picked up the slack around the house. He rises early to pray so he can be ready when the kids get up to make breakfast and get them ready for school. He works a full day and comes home from work and hits the ground running. He usually ...Read More
Homeschooling 7 Easy Steps to Organized Homeschool Curriculum
The first year of homeschooling isn't so bad. You remember: that year when you were only homeschooling one kindergartener. All of their books fit into one nice tidy little box or on one little bookshelf. The second year wasn't too bad either. I might have even said smugly to myself, "This really is easy peasy." But a few years and a few kids in, it starts to get trickier—and a lot messier. And then what happens when your 3rd grader is doing 4th grade math, so you have to go digging for the right book in a separate box. Things don't stay so nice and tidy. 1. Figure out how to store the books: bookshelves, boxes, ...Read More
Testing for Lyme Disease: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Let's get serious about testing for Lyme Disease. Imagine a world... Imagine a world where the approved screening test for a disease running rampant misses 55% or more positive individuals. Imagine a world where a second screening test is available, but this test still misses 20-30% of positive individuals. Imagine a world, where the CDC has removed vital pieces of information from this test, making accurate diagnosis extremely difficult. Imagine a world where insurance only pays for these two tests, a world where the government, insurance companies, and CDC stick their heads in the ground and refuse to ...Read More
Homeschool Curriculum: Our Plans for 2nd Grade
Since Cameron is my second-born, you would think I'd have this homeschool thing all figured out, right? Well, sorta. There are certain things I have kept the same with Cameron, but Cameron has a very different personality and learning style from his brother. Unfortunately, for my pocketbook, that means that I'm needing to buy new curriculum. But, fortunately for my son, that means he is getting a highly-individualized curriculum. That's one of the great things about homeschooling—you can customize your child's education to their learning style, work extra on their weaknesses, and encourage them to excel in their ...Read More
Homeschool Curriculum: Our Plans for 6th Grade
Planning out the homeschool year can be overwhelming—if you let it be. It really doesn't have to be, though. This year, the name of the game is EASY. No, I don't want my kids to have all easy schoolwork—though they sure would like that. But it is important that they have schoolwork that is easy for me to implement. We all have busy schedules. Between homeschool, church, homeschool co-op, piano lessons, sports practices, and running a blog, this mama doesn't have time for difficult-to-implement curriculum. You know, the kind that takes hours to plan and even more hours to execute. Do you feel me, homeschool ...Read More
Homeschooling for Cheap(er): Plus a giveaway!
I plan. I dream. I look through online catalogs. I browse curriculum websites. I make my lists. Two lists. Every year, there are two lists. One list is the "must have" curriculum list. The other list is the, "If the budget allows" curriculum list. Do you have these lists too? There are always those pieces of curriculum I'd really love to buy, but just can't always justify the expense if they're not a part of our core curriculum. This year though, you and I don't have to choose. This year, we can build a bundle of curriculum for one itty bitty price. Yes, you BUILD your own bundle. You can pick out exactly ...Read More
No-Fail Strategies: Writing Your College-Bound Homeschooler’s Transcript
We started homeschooling our kids when they were very young. Some friends and family didn't like the idea, but overall we didn't face a lot of flak. As our kids get older, as their subjects get more advanced, we hear more comments like, "So, do you think you can keep going with this homeschool thing?" "Are you really preparing your kids for college?" "How will they get into college without a high school transcript?!" Of course, these are all valid questions. But yes—you can prepare your child for college, and they can get into college with a well-prepared college transcript (and even earn scholarships too). I am, ...Read More
