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Welcome back, dear readers! It’s been a hot minute since I last typed out my ramblings, but here I am, keyboard in hand, ready to share my life’s beautiful chaos. You’re in the right place if you’re a working mother, mental health advocate, or a home educator like me. Grab your favorite beverage, and let’s chat about this wild ride we’re all on. Juggling Hats Like a Pro (Or Trying To) Ever feel…

Cinderella, Cinderella As a child growing up in the 80s, I loved Cinderella with her blonde hair, sunny disposition, and animal friends. The fact that I related her step-mother to my own mother is probably not terribly shocking. In my early teens my sister moved in with her children, and I went from being an ‘only child’ in the home, to watching squawking babies and cleaning up their messy…

What advice would you give to your teenage self? Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen). The Baz Luhrmann spoken verse titled, Everybody’s Free, definitely ages me a bit. Which is fine, really. When it comes down to it, wearing sunscreen is probably NOT the most important thing I’d tell teen me. In fact, it likely wouldn’t even come up in conversation. The song does bring up a lot of valid…

Time to Move Forward Now that we’re halfway through February, it’s time to acknowledge another year is upon us. This is weird because this is the first year I haven’t had an issue writing the new year in the date. Usually, it takes me a solid month or two before I quit writing the previous year on forms. My issue this year is I keep trying to write January instead of February. If it’s not one…

How to Balance Homeschooling with Work Outside the Home

Homeschooling is a great option for parents who want to be more involved in their children’s education. But it’s not always easy to balance homeschooling with working outside the home. It can be a bit of a juggling act, but it is possible to manage both. In the decade I’ve been homeschooling, I’ve been both a SAHM and a working mother. Currently I’m working both outside the home, and running a…

Being a Mother While Sick: My Top Tips

No one ever told me how hard it would be to be a mother while sick. I remember getting sick when my oldest was a baby and thinking, “This is it. I’m never going to recover.” My husband was deployed, and she and I were alone in an area where we knew very few people. I was so exhausted from taking care of a baby and being sick at the same time, I didn’t know how I was going to get better and take…

Early Elementary Farm Animal Bundle

Early Elementary Farm Animal Printable Bundle Instant Download   It’s Time for Farm Fun! With Fall comes adventures to the farms and orchards around us. This Farm Animal Printable Bundle for Early Elementary is a perfect way to introduce your child(ren) to the various animals they’ll likely see on a farm. These full color, digital downloads are great as a quick activity or as part of a unit study…

Living at Rest: Learning to Let Go and Let God

I’m a “doer”, a “planner”, and a “worrier”. Being still and “letting go” has never been something I’ve been good at. Unless it was to lose myself in a fast-paced adventure novel. Though, truth be told, even that has gotten harder to manage since I’ve had children. In school, group projects were a problem for me. I always felt more confident in my own work than I did in anyone else’s. I knew I…

Margaritaville: Surviving Motherhood After the Dentist

Being a Sober Mother Today while on my back in the dentist chair, some random Netflix cooking show playing above me, I wrote my mental checklist of things I needed to accomplish before I fell into bed the worn shell of the woman I was when I woke up. Before I remembered I had six kids. Before I remembered I had to go to the dentist. Twelve hours later, and NOTHING on that list got…

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

My Life is Not Like a Box of Chocolates Forrest Gump was wrong when he said, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” As someone who loves chocolate, I guarantee my life is NOT like a box of chocolates. If it were, I’d be five-hundred pounds and in a diabetic coma. Plus, I’m pretty sure my home-life would always be happy, because chocolate gives endorphines.…

Update: Raising Children in a Multi-Generational Home is a Lot Like Raising Dragons

It’s Getting Hot in Here We are a multi-generational home with eleven people, five cats and two dogs; living in a three-thousand square foot house is never romotely relaxing. When it’s 800 degrees outside (okay, it’s 87 degrees, but whatever), and the heat pumps on the top floor are once again malfunctioning, things get especially stressful. As an introvert I need time to recharge, away from…

I’ve Got a Good Heart but… Printable Bullet Journal

This downloadable and printable bullet journal is perfect for keeping track of appointments or whatever is going on in your daily life. Use it for shopping lists, honey dos, or long term planning. The printable format allows you to print as many, or as few pages as you want; no worries about messing up and having to tear the page out. You can print this directly from your home computer, or use a…