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Blood sugar logs

I write this in the hope of helping someone who may be facing the same thing with their child; steroid-induced diabetes. To make a long story very short, my daughter was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia less than two months ago, and as part of her treatment she has been on dexamethasone, a steroid. Unfortunately, she was one of the rare children that the steroids have been wreaking havoc on her blood sugars, even though she otherwise is not a diabetic. So, as if an ALL diagnosis wasn’t enough, we also had to learn blood sugar monitoring, insulin dosing and shots, carb counting, and dealing with the emotions of having to do all this with a five-year-old. [continue reading…]

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Defeating Doubt in Your Homeschool Journey

Smiling face, doubting mind?

Doubt, for me, begins as a quiet thought in my mind, but in no time can turn into a roaring waterfall if I don’t address it immediately. I would be lying if I said I never doubted our decision to homeschool our kids. Though it is not something I constantly battle with, I find that it still manages to rear its ugly head on occasion. Have you ever struggled with doubting your decision to homeschool? Maybe we can help each other out! [continue reading…]

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The last several weeks at church, my Sunday School class has been discussing what the Bible says about contentment. It seemed to be a common theme that many of the ladies in class (self included) struggled with feeling content with their homes. So to put into practice what we’ve been discussing in class, I want to exercise my “spirit of gratitude” and make a list of the things I love about our home to focus on the positives, which there are many. Here we go…

1. One-level living. I absolutely love that everything is on one floor (especially the laundry room).
2. Cabinets and Storage. We have at least doubled our cabinet space that our house in town had.
3. DIY-ing. This house is a DIY-ers dream! I’ve painted almost every surface and get a lot of satisfaction in seeing such huge improvements.
4. Who puts carpet under a dining room table?! Although I hated it when we first moved here, I actually love it. It’s cozy to sit at the table. And you don’t see every little food crumb that gets dropped on the floor.
5. Masters. Matt and I have a true Master bedroom, which is much bigger than our old house. It has a vaulted ceiling, a walk-in closet, and our own private bathroom.
6. Room with a view. We have six large windows in our living room with a sweet view of the lake.
7. I wish I liked to cook. But even though I don’t, I love having a gas stove. And I love that the stove is in our island and faces towards the living area so I can cook and have a full view of whatever the kids are up to.
8. Is it smaller or bigger? I think the overall square footage in this house is less than our old one, but this house feels bigger. Our living area, kitchen, and dining area are probably twice what our house in town was.
9. More about carpet. I should mention that my in-laws had brand new carpet put in. And it’s a perfect, forgiving dark tan. Much better than the light beige we had before. Sure, kids. You can dump grape juice on the living room floor.
10. I’m the dishwasher. We don’t have a dishwasher. I hadn’t washed dishes by hand for years until we moved here. And I actually love it. I realize that I hate loading and unloading a dishwasher and that it’s much easier and quicker to just wash them by hand and put them away right away.

So I’ll leave it at that. Short and sweet. No need for pictures. And a great reminder to myself that our double-wide is a pretty nice set-up, and we are lucky to have it as our home.

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Truly, I let my kids play their video games, more specifically Minecraft on our Nintendo WiiU, every single day. Even on homeschooling days. Especially on homeschooling days.

Not only do the kids love it, and it gives them (and me) a break from our other daily activities, but they are learning by playing games. Don’t believe me, or want to believe? Let me convince you why video games deserve a place in your homeschool!homeschoolminecraft1 [continue reading…]

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Ok, people, I’m totally going there today. This is your warning. This post might be a little T.M.I. for some of you. But, if you’re like me and have always experienced horrible breast pain in the days leading up to your period, today is your lucky day!

Let me share with you how one simple (or maybe not-so-simple) diet change eliminated my pre-menstrual breast pain, immediately! [continue reading…]

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Have you decided to homeschool but are struggling to figure out what homeschooling really looks like on a day-to-day basis? 

One of the hardest concepts for me to grasp as a first-time homeschooling parent was what homeschool was supposed to look like. As a product of the public school system, it was ingrained in my mind that school had to have a set schedule, with regular hours and a curriculum that couldn’t be wavered from. Can you relate? Let me show you what a typical homeschooling day looks like in our home. [continue reading…]

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How to Homeschool and Work at the Same Time

Holding it all together: Homeschooling and Working

Holding it all together: Homeschooling and Working

Do you feel that homeschooling will be the best choice for your family, but you don’t want to, or aren’t able to, give up your career? I’m here to tell you that you can do both! How do I know? Because I have done it myself. Let me tell you my story and be encouraged that you can homeschool and work at the same time!

Last year, when we decided we were going to homeschool our Kindergartner, I also happened to be working part-time as a Medical Lab Tech at our local hospital. I worked a lot of irregular hours, early mornings, late nights, weekends, on-call overnight, holidays. I also worked part time as the Worship Director at my church. On top of that, I also carried the health insurance for myself and our kids, and still had student loans to pay off. Quitting my job wasn’t an option at the time, but I also couldn’t get over the fact that in my heart I knew homeschooling would be the best choice for our family. [continue reading…]

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If you are considering homeschooling, at some point you will probably be asking yourself, “Am I really qualified to teach my child?”

Trust me, I was asking myself the same question last year!

For some reason, many of us have bought into this notion that we need to be certified, licensed, and sealed with a government stamp of approval in order to be a qualified teacher. This couldn’t be any more far from the truth.

Let me tell you why, by first asking a few questions: [continue reading…]

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Here is how you can have the satisfying flavors chicken and broccoli alfredo without all of the carbs! Here’s how we have our “pasta” at our house:

So easy, so delicious!

So easy, so delicious!

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Becky’s Low-Carb Chili

Chili is one of the easiest, but most satisfying low-carb, ketogenic foods you can make! Simply omit the beans from just about any chili recipe and you’ll have something much more compatible with a ketogenic lifestyle. 

Hot 'n Spicy!

Hot ‘n Spicy!

This is how I make mine: [continue reading…]

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