I love having an easy way to freshen my linens, upholstery, curtains, etc. in between regular washings. But I don't like using products with questionable ingredients that might negatively affect my family's health. So I made my own homemade Febreze ®! It's cheap, easy, and effective. Homemade Febreze: Multi-purpose freshener When I was in college, Febreze® was as much a staple in our dorm room as soap. Truth be told, we probably depended on Febreze a little more than we should have. Why go to all the trouble of actually washing your sheets when you can just spray them in 5 seconds? Now that I am a certifiable ...Read More
3 Lessons This Dead Gorilla is Teaching My Kids
In case you've been in a coma over the last week, let me get you up to speed... Last weekend, a 4-year-old boy slipped past a fence at the Cincinnati Zoo, crawled through the bushes, and tumbled into the moat surrounding the gorilla exhibit. This led to a 10-minute encounter between the boy and Harambe, a 450-lb. western lowland gorilla. The zoo's Dangerous Animal Response Team believed the boy was in a life-threatening situation and killed the gorilla. There's been no end to the news coverage on this story—and a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking. I'm not going to focus on all ways the mother of the boy, the ...Read More
Homeschooling Objections to Homeschooling: “I won’t have enough time to myself.”
Homeschooling—like any kind of schooling—is not just an educational decision you make for your children. It is a lifestyle decision you make for your family. Many parents who like the benefits of homeschooling also dread the potential cost to their personal time. Admittedly, there's something freeing about handing your kids over to professional educators 1,100+ hours a year so you can be free to do...well, whatever you want. If you're considering homeschooling, but you're just not sure about how it will tax your schedule, the following considerations are important to understand. Consideration #1: Yes, ...Read More
Foods Fresh Strawberry Vinaigrette
This fresh Strawberry Vinaigrette recipe is the perfect healthy salad dressing. It combines sweet and tart together in the perfect blend and makes your salads taste so so good. I love salads. I would probably eat a salad for lunch every day if I had the patience to make them. In the business of taking care of kids and homeschooling I don't get to all of the cleaning, cutting, and chopping. My lunches are more grab and go, or I eat whatever my kids don't eat. Why I Love This Fresh Strawberry Vinaigrette I love salads even more knowing my salad dressing is healthy. That's what I love about this fresh strawberry ...Read More
FREE WEBINAR – Unruly Kids: Using Essential Oils For Emotional & Behavioral Regulation
Join Trisha Gilkerson and her special guest Kim Speer to learn how essential oils can support emotional health. Kim will teach us how she used essential oils with her son to help him with focus, feelings of anxiousness, defiance, and anger. She'll explain how using essential oils to help with his emotional health impacted the difficult behaviors they were encoutering. You'll receive practical, hands-on training in this free webinar. We hope you'll join us! ...Read More
Objections to Homeschooling: “My kids will miss out on extracurricular activities”
No doubt, one of the great benefits of the public education system and private schools is the existence of enrichment and extracurricular activities for kids. Team sports, academic clubs, marching bands, student government, and field trips have become part of the what we expect from the education system. At first glance, it would seem homeschooling doesn't offer families these benefits. If you're is interested in homeschooling but afraid your student will miss out on these experiences, what can we say to this? Consideration #1: "Homeschooling" is a misnomer. The name "homeschooling" gives the impression that ...Read More
{DIY} French Toast Lip Scrub
This homemade French Toast lip scrub recipe is a super tasty way to spoil your lips with some wonderful self-care. Using lip scrubs are a fantastic way to keep your lips feeling smooth. Not only does this mean more kissable lips but it also allows lipstick, liners, and glosses to last longer on your lips. A lip scrub works like other body scrubs: it exfoliates your lips, getting rid of dead skin cells, helping your lips to retain their moisture. This recipe will yield ¼ cup of lip scrub. It is enough to fill up 4 small lip balm containers. It goes FAST—because it tastes SO good! You'll notice one of the main ...Read More
Objections to Homeschooling: “My kids won’t respect me as their teacher.”
Homeschooling is a bit like parenting on steroids. Moms and dads who homeschool get to wear both the parent hat and the teacher hat at the same time (and the principle hat, the guidance counselor hat, the coach hat...you get the idea). Homeschooling naturally means parents and children are spending more time together, and for some families this is only a catalyst for conflict. One mom told me the other day, "I butt heads with my son enough as it is. I don't need more time to butt heads with him by being his teacher too." As a dad who has struggled quite a big with anger, I very much sympathize with this objection ...Read More
