This homeschoolers life

There are times in our lives that I believe will be etched into the fabric of our being forever, no matter how hard we try to fight it. Nothing we do can shake those memories from our minds and we must come to terms with the facts that those times may haunt our memoires, toy with our thoughts and have the potential to corrupt our feelings and emotions if we let it. For me, one of those times that will forever be engrained into the inner most parts of my soul and burned into my memory is this night, nine years ago.  *Fare warning friends, this is a long, somewhat messy & somewhat disorganized post. I am so grateful you're here and pray you find a sense of hope and encouragement through my sharing a bit of my story with you here today...  It had only been 5 days since I had made the life changing decision that I needed to leave my (ex-husband) and flee to safety with my two young children. The fateful day the choice was made for me was Christmas 2011. It hadn't been 100% cle...

 Hello Friends, Happy Wholesome foods Wednesday! (I don't know if that's a thing yet... guess I just made it up if it's not 😆). I don't know if I can think of anything better than a hot cup of homemade soup on a cold rainy afternoon, sitting curled up in a cozy blanket all snuggled by the fire.😍 This recipe is my go to when I want a yummy warm cup of soup on a blustery, cold, wet day or when one of my kiddos is feeling under the weather. It is always an instant pick me up and soothes an upset tummy or an achy, tired body and satisfies my families appetites when they are getting hangry. 😋 To make this extra filling I like to add in a mix of shredded chicken and any ground elk or beef I have on hand (that has already been cooked) for a bit of extra protein.  There is just something so satisfying about a steamy cup of homemade soup on a cold winter day that soothes my soul and warms me up quickly. My family is always so happy to gobble up any homemade soup I present the...

  HI Friends, Happy Holidays!! This year for our Christmas morning brunch I tried out this new recipe and it was a huge hit with the fam so I just had to share it with you :) I'm loving that this recipe can be made ahead of time (which is great for a holiday meal) and stored overnight in the fridge to save prep time the day you intend to bake it. This year I coupled this with my yummy Cinnamon Roll French Toast Breakfast Bake (recipe link here:  Cinnamon Roll French Toast Breakfast Bake )  for a hearty breakfast. We ate around 11:30am and still haven't been hungry for much other than a snack of fruit & veggies and it's 6:30pm! It held us all day and we are just getting ready to eat a lite dinner while we watch some Christmas movies :)  Hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did! :)  INGREDIENTS: 8 English muffins sliced into 1 inch cubes 16 oz shredded chicken or diced cooked ham  2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 8 large eggs 2 cups heavy whipping cre...

Every year this delicious casserole is the main request for our special holiday brunch menu. My kids and hubby can't get enough of this gooey, sweet casserole and we very rarely have leftovers ;) One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge overnight so it's ready to bake Christmas or Easter morning (we also love bake it on Thanksgiving morning or birthday mornings too :)) which saves me tons of time on holiday mornings & allows me to not spend so much time in the kitchen. ;) I also love that it is an easy recipe to make and my kids enjoy helping me prep the dish. We hope you and your family will create many wonderful memories when you mix up this delicious dish too!  INGREDIENTS: 2 cans Annie's (no gmo's, all natural) or any other brand of cinnamon rolls you prefer) cinnamon rolls  1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)  1/3 cup sugar 2 eggs 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream or half & half   3 tsp. ...

  During the holidays one of our traditions is to have a baking day while we listen to Christmas music or watch a Christmas movie. It always helps to get us in the Christmas spirit while we make fun memories and yummy treats to share with our family & friends. One of our favorite & simple no bake holiday cookie recipes are Avalanche Cookies. These have become a quick treat we can whip up and bring to a holiday party or for a special treat while we have a Christmas movie marathon. Hope your family loves them as much as mine! :) INGREDIENTS:  One lb. white chocolate baking bars 1/2 cup Peanut Butter (creamy) 2 1/2- 3 cups Rice Krispies 2 cups mini marshmallows  DIRECTIONS: Melt chocolate baking bars over low heat on the stove, stir continuously so chocolate won't burn. When melted add in peanut butter and stir until creamy. In a large mixing bowl mix rice Krispies and marshmallows. Pour chocolate mixture over rice Krispies and marshmallows and stir to combine. ...

 My family loves this salad! I have been making it for holiday gatherings for the past 7 years and the bowl is always empty on the way home, haha. This year was no exception, although we had a much smaller gathering it was requested and as usual the bowl was scraped clean;)  One of the great things about this salad is that it can be prepared ahead of time and will keep well in the fridge for a few days (*before the dressing is added to it) which makes it a snap to bring to a holiday gathering, potluck or take on a picnic. Ingredients: 1 container of mixed salad greens (I prefer O Organics mixed greens)  1-2 medium  ripe danjou pears  (sliced into thin slices) 1 avocado (sliced into slivers or thicker chunk size pieces) 1 cup dry roasted, sugared pecans  *Additional ingredients options: Dried Craisins or Dried Blueberries Fresh blueberries & strawberries in lieu of pears Feta cheese Slices of Chicken would be excellent in this as well to add some more p...

Over the years I've had many families ask what we are doing for our homeschool and how we afford so many field trips & have access to so many opportunities. Like many of you they have been curious to find out what my "secret" is and how they can have it to. It's not so much a secret as most homeschool families we know participate in one of these programs, but if you've been out of the loop & don't know what a DLP or a charter school dlp is, it can feel like a huge secret that you've been missing out on. But don't fret, there's no need to feel left out any more!  While you read this post my hope is that it will inform you & by the end you will be able to make a decision whether participating in a Charter is a good fit for your family or not. If it isn't, don't stress about it! They aren't a perfect fit for everyone, but in my experience it's been a huge blessing! :) Plus it is super simple to sign up and participate in th...

  If I had to choose one of my families most requested pies it would be this or my recipe for oreo pudding cake (recipe link coming soon! ;) )  My Hubby isn't a huge fan of chocolate (😲I know crazy right! ;) ), but he LOVES anything with oreo or cookies and cream so I came up with this super simple pie for him & it's a favorite every time I make it :)  Ingredients:  Oreo cookie pie crust (either purchase pre-made or crush oreo cookies with a ninja chopper or blender & mix with melted butter and press into pie plate to form the crust) 1 package oreo cookie and cream instant pudding mix (*also can use vanilla or white chocolate instant pudding mix, crush oreo cookies into a medium size chunks and mix into pudding before it sets) 1  1/2 cups milk 1 package cool whip or non dairy cool whip (I prefer Tru whip or coco-whip for a slight coconut flavor) 1 package of Oreo cookies (we like to use double stuff or mint for a minty pie *If we are going for a mint...

Hey there friends! All my pumpkin pie fans out there will love the rich creamy texture of this pie & the faint coconut flavor is a surprise twist for those who aren't regularly pumpkin pie fans. It's a slightly sweeter & creamier version that may just win over any pumpkin pie skeptics, lol ;)  This yummy pie was a huge hit today after our Thanksgiving meal & has already been requested for the next holiday ;)   Ingredients:  1/2 cup cold milk 1 package (6 serving size) vanillla instant pudding & pie filling 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger & 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves in place of pumpkin pie spice) 1 cup canned organic pumpkin 2 1/2 cups frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed (* I use coco-whip to add the slight coconut flavor 😊)  1 Keebler Ready Crust Graham Pie Crust Directions: In a large bowl beat milk, pudding mix and spice with wire whisk for 1 minute. (Mixture will be very thic...

 Hey there friends, Since it is Thanksgiving week I've been pondering the things that I'm grateful for even more, whether they are big or small. Today, I'm extra thankful for my beautiful family that I have the privilege of taking care of, that I could whip up a recipe using what I had on hand & that they can be the Guiney pigs for trying my new recipe's on haha ;)  I was flipping through recipes in my recipe box today and came across one that looked delicious but I realized I hadn't tried it before, so what better time to try it out than today right? Whelp, I got started on the recipe only to realize I didn't have half of the ingredients😅 Ooopsy!  So I did what any momma would do who doesn't want to waste ingredients or time lol and added in several ingredients that I thought would pair well with what the recipe called for and created a new version of this soup. The results: My hubby's new favorite soup! My kiddos also raved about it and the yummy ...

 Hi friends,  I want to tell you about this great math program I've discovered that's beneficial for both homeschool & public school students alike. If you have a kidddo that is struggling a bit in math, perhaps they have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the subject, struggle to grasp math concepts, finds some topics confusing or just plain out "doesn't like math", I think this program could be a perfect fit for them. With  A+ interactive math your kiddos have access to the math help they need & you have the key to a wonderful resource that will help you both achieve your math goals and give you some peace of mind knowing your kiddos are getting assistance that will help them thrive in math. They provide a multi sensory, all encompassing program that easily caters to children of all learning abilities & those with special needs as well by incorporating multiple learning styles. The owner/creator, Vinod spent years researching the best methods f...