Want to raise non-materialistic children? Of course! What parent doesn't want their children to be successful and kind? As a parent of six, I've struggled over the years to thoughtfully instruct my children in this area of their character. Finally, over a decade into the parenting journey, and I think I'm ready to share what has worked for our family. Here are my two (four!) cents. **Note: … [Read more...]
A Week in The Life: First Week of May, 2018
This last week marked the fifth week of sickness at our house. Maybe it's because the eight of us keep passing new germs around, or maybe it's just a really bad case of RSV, but we are soooooo ready to be done. My husband discovered Monday that he has an ear infection (combined with almost complete hearing loss and tinnitus). I got my own special news on Friday when I went in for a routine … [Read more...]
Home Remedies for RSV
Have you ever heard of respiratory syncytial virus, otherwise known as RSV? I hadn’t heard much about it either. That is, until we recently came face-to-face with this illness. Now that our baby is feeling better, I want to share some home remedies for RSV (and tools) that were helpful during our brief battle with this virus. The whole family had been sick for two weeks. It wasn’t until the … [Read more...]
A Week in the Life: First Week of April, 2018
This week two of the four school-aged kids had testing. In Alaska state testing is not mandatory and plenty of homeschooling families choose to opt out. Our family enjoys and values testing (hey, it's something different!) and so we embrace the difference that it brings to our spring. I forgot how life with a newborn makes even simple errands seem daunting. I braved life outside the cave … [Read more...]
A Week in The Life: 3rd Week of March, 2018
In case you didn't know it, I'm not superwoman. In fact, I tend to have a "soapbox" moment when confronted with apparent superwomen in my real life. Have you met these women? They are the sweetest, kindest gals; always ready to drop a meal, and asking how they can help. Unfortunately, it's been my experience that 95% of the time these women (usually with young children underfoot) are the same gals … [Read more...]
Paid off Mortgage: How it Really Feels
I've got some really exciting news that I can't wait any longer to share with you... because we finally did it! We paid off our mortgage! Our family is now COMPLETELY debt free. Beholden to none. Master of our domain (and pocketbook). Guess what? It feels every bit as phenomenal as you might imagine. After a few weeks to let everything soak in, we've started to realize just what a huge … [Read more...]
7 Essential Simple Living Tips
Are you as overwhelmed as I often am?? We live in a world that has a ton of gizmos and gear designed to help us live a better life. Sometimes all of this stuff really does make life easier, but often just the opposite happens. Instead of feeling better, our lives are worse. So many of us dream of a simpler life! We want to resist the temptation to own so many things and bring minimalism … [Read more...]
Stick a Fork in it: the story of a coffee grinder
Once upon a time, I bought an inexpensive little espresso machine. I had just delivered our second son and was in dire need of a daily pick-me-up. Enter the Mr. Coffee ECMP50. This is the same machine that we're using today, nine years later. *Oh, and by the way, there is a HUGE difference between a bar pump machine and a steam-driven espresso machine! In case you're like my husband and … [Read more...]
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