Homeschool lately

We have been homeschooling for two years now! I am so proud of my kiddos and really treasure being able to watch them learn and grow. While packing up C and A’s binders of activities, crafts, and school work I paged through them and was amazed to see how far the kids have come, mostly C. That is probably why I keep everything (well, mostly everything) so that I can see the progress at the end of the year, it is really encouraging! Here are some snippets of what of all the kids hard work.

This is a blurry picture, but it is significant to us since it was from one of C’s first speech therapy appointments, a journey he is still on.

We have had an awesome year of learning! I cant wait for it to continue. We don’t really stop schooling during the summer but we do take several week breaks and long weekends if we are traveling.

Most recently we finished a really fun science project. Science experiments are probably the kids favorite school activity. It is so fun to experience being a kids all over again with them- their curiosity is insatiable! C got this dino egg kit for his birthday and boy did he LOVE it. He was always asking to “hatch” another egg, begging for multiple a day! Luckily, I was able to draw it out a little bit and he and A worked on this project for a couple weeks.

We kept track of of the dinos and occasionally watched a YouTube video of our dino of the day.

Making the diorama after we hatched all the eggs was SO fun! We googled a picture so I could show the kids a sample of what I meant by “diorama”. C was so proud of all his hard work and we made sure A was able to join in the fun.

He is so proud of all his work! Isn’t it awesome?!

We have so much fun homeschooling and can’t wait to continue our learning adventures!

 

Cheers!

 

 

Simple “Life Hacks”

Who doesn’t like finding things that makes their life easier? That’s right, no one (okay, maybe someone out there doesn’t, but obviously they have issues. Just kidding). One of the billion benefits of social media and the internet is the ability to share what have become known as “life hacks”; a strategy for making activities more efficient. Sometimes they can be idiotically simple, which always leaves me thinking “WHY have I not thought of that?!” Luckily, I didn’t have to because, well… internet.

Today, I thought I’d share a few of my “life hacks” coming to you from these very own little gray cells. These are by no means ground breaking ideas, but they do make my life a little easier/more productive every day.

Water Bottle

I could go on and on about water consumption, but since I know good ol’ inter-webs and (and host of much more qualified people) have probably already saturated (haha! get it?!) you with that information, I’ll just leave this little link here in case you’re curious. It can be tricky getting enough H2O in our bodies, if we haven’t made a habit it. I’ve discovered an easy way to form the habit of drinking at least 64 oz a day is by having a designated water bottle that I bring with me everywhere and that stays close by me at home. I’ve tried many different water bottles but this one stands the test. One year in and still going strong! It is glass with a removable silicone wrap, but has been dropped and hasn’t broken or even chipped. It’s 32 oz which means I usually only have to fill it up twice, it only has two pieces to clean, is dish washer friendly, and fits my standard car cup holder. Need I go on? I love this thing. Being a mama of two I was sure this would break at some point but NOPE! I can’t recommend this enough for getting in your daily water needs. And no, I’m not getting paid or anything to say that (I’m not that cool…yet ;). Here’s where you can find this beauty.

Yes, this askew picture is driving me bonkers too. It’s the photographers fault, the bottle isn’t naturally lopsided.

 

Coffee Syrup

Now this is not anything new, I’m pretty sure heaps of people make their own coffee syrup. But this one of those things that I’m always glad I take the extra ten minutes to make because homemade is so much healthier than the store bought options (isn’t it always?). Not to mention, DIYing it will save ya a good chunk of change over time. I recommend taking a stroll on over to Ikea and buying a couple of their glass bottles and whipping up a batch of your own. I go classic with a vanilla sugar based syrup; here is my recipe:

2 cups organic raw cane sugar

2 cups water

1 1/2 table spoons pure vanilla extract

Bring sugar and water to boil and boil for 3 minutes until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in extract. Allow to cool before transferring into a glass bottle with a funnel.

Feel free to get creative! I’ve found good recipes for maple, cranberry, mint, etc coffee syrups on Pinterest. Bonus: these make great gifts.

 

Couponing

I love coupons. There, I’ve said it. I love to get deals, but don’t get me wrong, I’m not a crazy couponer lady that you’d see on TV or anything. Let’s get real here folks, it’s the 21st century, there’s an app for that! Specifically, I use the Ibotta app (again, not getting paid or anything) It’s a small way of saving if you use the app casually like me. But, every little bit helps, am I right? I find I “cut” the most coupons while watching a tv show or on my stationary bike. There are many coupon apps out there, but I find this one to be by far the most simple to use.

 

That’s just a few of my life hacks, but my never-failing daily ones so they have been put to the test of time and stood strong. I hope you are able to use them, or get inspiration for some of your own! Let me know if you have any to share with me, I sure do love a good life hack.

 

Cheers,

Abby

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