If you are anything like us, summertime is not always the laid back, relaxing time we imagine. In fact, I have heard from many other homeschooling families that the summer season is often the busiest of them all. From camps to weddings to holidays, there's a lot of balls in the air to manage. Schedules get modified (or thrown out altogether), which can bring some tension and stress to mom life. I want to offer some words of encouragement in this busy time for any of you who

I recently posted a video with 12 of my FAVORITE things right now. As I said in the video, if you don't have any money, don't spend it, BUT if you are looking for some useful gifts or for yourself, these five are all great! These bowl covers have saved me SO MUCH over the years. I don't have to buy saran wrap and they are easier to use. LOVE! I have a bunch of these power banks and I can't recommend enough having something like this for emergencies. Having cold water ready to

This is a great time of year to slow down and try some new recipes. It's also a great time to perfect recipes you haven't made in awhile. This chicken salad is new for us, and WOW is it GOOD! The protein pancakes we have tried in various forms, but the addition of the bananas is a hit with the kids. The peanut butter cookies are an old recipe from a friend that are easy and also protein-packed! ENJOY!

I have FIVE salad recipes to share with you to kickstart your summer! These are all easy and use pretty basic ingredients you may already have on hand. I hope you enjoy and that your summer is filled with great memories and good food!

Hello friend! One of the most common problems I am asked is what to do about picky eaters. People worry their kids will starve and/or become weird adults who only eat chicken nuggets. We have children who try such exotic foods, so people assume there must be a magic button I have or we just hit the kid jackpot! The truth is turning kids into good eaters is a journey. It starts with accepting a few realities: 1) Kids don't need as many calories at dinner as adults. T

I have another quick and popular recipe for you. I made these during a recent Florida vacation, and they were a big hit as usual. The recipe card is for rolled chicken tacos, but I've made almost the same recipe with ground beef so you can definitely mix it up. The original recipe I got this from called for more shredded cheese added before baking, but we find the cream cheese to be plenty for us. Again, you can totally make this thing your own! I hope it's a winner in your h

I have been trying to share ways to save money in the kitchen, and this is another great way to do it. First, there is almost nothing as good as the smell of your home when bread is baking. Such a bonus! But, also, it can really save you serious money, especially if you are one to try and buy bread that has clean ingredients. This recipe is tried and true! My kids are now baking bread with it regularly, and it's amazing. I use a bread machine for it because it's so easy, but

This recipe has been in our rotation for decades in various forms. Judah grew up eating this, probably sparking his love for Chipotle. 😋 I try to share lots of different recipes in my vlogs, as you know, and this is one I recently showed. Also, in case you didn't know, you can usually talk to me in the comments section of my YouTube videos live for the first hour after they post. Videos come out on Mondays and Thursdays at 3 pm Central Time. Hope to see you there and hope yo

I've always wanted to have a working pantry that we can go to throughout the month for just about every recipe we have. Even when our budget was lower and I couldn't afford to stock up a lot, I would do one extra of whatever I was getting so there would be backup. I can't recommend this enough! This is the biggest key to staying out of the store! It's nice to have those items in case things get crazy as well, but even just for the saved trips to the store, it's worth it. A

We have a large family, but have managed to stay well below the national average per person in our grocery budget. Of course milking our own cows is part of that, but another huge factor in saving us real money is found in our pantry. I hate going to the store for something small only to leave spending way too much on stuff I didn't even need. A great way to avoid this is to be prepared with spice mixes that are ready to go when you need them. The spice recipes I'm sharing h

I recently made this meatloaf and I HAD to share it with you! We have been making Big Mac dressing for a while now--we'll have it on salads and it's a big hit. I'm sharing the recipe for that sauce here, too. But, I came across a video recipe for this meatloaf and it was so good. The sauce is great drizzled all over it. If you try it, let me know. You can usually talk to me in the comments section of my YouTube videos live for the first hour after posting. Videos come out on

So, we're right in the middle of winter now. Christmas is gone, and these cold days can start to feel less joyful than they were when the glow of the tree was warming everyone's spirits. It's hard to be on top of each other all the time, too, especially when the kids just want to run around and have all the fun. It can feel like a slog, but if we look at it instead as a season of rest, maybe the slow, cold winter won't seem so dreary. One thing I like to say every year is

Today, I just wanted to share an easy recipe that a friend recently reminded me of. Applesauce! We still have a lot of apples on hand here in Nebraska, and if you're in a similar boat, you may want to give this one a try. I am including the recipe card here for you. One note: I really think the immersion blender is the key here. If you don't have one, they are so great for so many recipes, like soups and different pureed foods. If you throw these in a standard blender, they g

I was thinking about New Year's and resolutions and I came upon some interesting suggestions that I thought may be beneficial for you as well. It's important to make goals, but not necessarily those lofty ones that we so often make and break before Spring. If the resolutions we make aren't measurable or realistic, they're likely to just fade into the back of our mind with the rest of the holiday chaos. A woman I saw online suggested three ways to have the best year ever th

One of our favorite family traditions during the holiday season is GAMES! We implement all sorts of activities so that all ages from young to old have a ton of fun. I want our house to be the place they want to be! 🤣 The best tip I have is to save all fun games/activities/dances in a folder on Instagram or YouTube or wherever works for you. Here are a few we have enjoyed in the past with links to help illustrate them: First, we like a game called IMPOSTER. You give three pe

This week, I was thinking about Jesus teaching his followers that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those like the little children who were coming to see him. This doesn’t mean we are supposed to revert to childishness, but we are supposed to maintain a childlike spirit. I certainly have seen over the years how my children’s spirits rub off on me (in mostly good ways 😝) and I often feel myself lightening up and enjoying life much more because of them. Also, kids say profoun

These are recipes we have been making for years and years, and as the fall starts to roll in, so do the requests for these familiar favorites! Click the links below to download the PDFs for the recipes.

Today, I just wanted to share something super simple with you in case you've never tried it. Laundry is already a huge task for many of us, and it's made all the worse when you see those little blotches of oil or juice or chocolate or grass pop up. Your son's favorite shirt, the last dress you have that fits you just perfectly, ruined! A while back, I found that there's no need to go buy expensive stain removers, though. Keep some trusty dish soap (any kind!) and a toothbrush

I recently posted a vlog with some of the meals we made in a week, and I wanted to share two of the recipes from that video with you...

I have for you today another recipe--one that I actually have a lot of requests for. It's a classic, it's a staple, it's BUTTER!...