I enjoy drinking coffee. Ok, I LOVE drinking coffee! However, I’m a bit of a coffee snob. I’m very picky about the coffee I drink. Years ago I noticed that my stomach had a sensitivity to coffee. I then tried a more expensive brand, which made a difference. But over time, even that seemed to upset my stomach. What’s a coffee-lovin girl to do when she can no longer enjoy drinking coffee?
As the years went on my family became more and more health conscious. That’s when I decided to try organic coffee beans. You better believe it made a difference! Isn’t that odd? Just a simple switch to organic and I can drink coffee again. Well, turns out conventional coffee is among the most heavily chemically treated foods in the world. Yep, no wonder my body couldn’t handle it! You can read more about this here.
One of my favorite brands is Equal Exchange (this link will give you FREE shipping!). Not only are they organic, they also take great measures in how the grow and process their coffee. They process through non-chemical means to eliminate any threat of mold getting into the coffee. Believe it or not, this is actually a big deal and something to be on the look-out for.
My favorite is the Ethiopian blend. It has such a rich yet smooth flavor. There is NO added flavoring. Hooray for a natural flavor! If you prefer more of a light or dark roast they have plenty to offer! They also have chocolates, teas, and a few other items to choose from. Mmmm...chocolate and coffee, two of my favorite things!
This is our sixth year with homeschool. My kids were in grades 7, 5, and 2 when we started. Over the years there are several things I have learned from homeschooling. It certainly isn’t always easy; it takes time, effort and planning, but it can also be incredibly rewarding.
It’s safe to say that my kids haven’t always been thrilled with the idea of homeschool. And, even 6 years later it depends on the moment and which kid you ask. One thing is for sure, they have enjoyed having a bit more freedom with schedules and being able to help others out when the opportunity arises (even if it happens to be during the typical school hours).
Math
First and foremost is how differently each one of my kids learns. When it comes to math, they are all completely different in styles and the way they process the information. It took a couple of years of trial and error to find the right fit for them all. I don’t know if it’s an age thing or the fact that they get to use the computer (I’m more of a book person), but thankfully last year, Khan Academy worked well for 2 of them. We had tried it in the past and only 1 of them liked it. It has really simplified things to have them doing all of their math online and in one place. There's still one who it isn't the right fit for just yet. For him we usually browse options at Mardel and see what meets his needs best.
Science
I have also learned that adding Bible into the basic subjects is totally doable. We started out with Apologia Science. All three of my kids have been able to use it, which helps a lot when it comes time to recycle the books for the next kid! It is written in an easy to understand way, yet packed full of information. They offer a lot of experiments, study guides, quizes/tests, making it easy to have everything in one place. Not to mention that adding Bible to Science brings the learning up to a whole new level.
History
These days it’s pretty much unheard of to find God within the school system. I have learned that not only can you put God back into learning, but it is also such a fundamental part of who we are, why we are here, and where our country started. This is why I love Notgrass History. It covers three subjects in one. It’s pretty intense, but I guarantee you my kids are learning something from it. I can’t tell you the number of times we have a casual conversation and they pipe in with something they learned about the subject through Notgrass.
Be warned, there is a ton of reading. Honestly, we don’t do all of the suggested literature books. We choose what fits our purpose best. Notgrass not only covers History, it also covers English and either Bible or Geography, depending on the book. When it comes to high school credits, I love having a 3-in-1 option.
DIY Soup Mix
Ingredients
- 2 cup powdered milk
- 3/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 Tbs chicken bouillon (see notes)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp parsley
- 1/2 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground hamburger meat
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1/3 cup DIY soup mix (see notes below)
- 1/4 cup almond milk (or water)
- 32 oz frozen tater tots
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Brown ground beef, season with salt and pepper.
- Add chopped onion, cook until tender.
- Meanwhile, mix soup mix with almond milk and set aside.
- In a 9x13 casserole dish, combine ground beef mixture and soup mix.
- Top mixture with tater tots.
- Bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes, until bubbly and tater tots are golden brown.
A huge part of our path to better health and wellness started over 15 years ago. We just had our 2nd baby, a beautiful baby girl. She started out healthy, but after just 1 month she fell below the charts. It took some time (and trying to convince the doctor) but we finally figured out what the problem was. She had severe thrush, which is why she wouldn’t nurse or take a bottle, it hurt too much. This lead her to become undernourished, which I believe to be the root cause of many of her current dietary needs.
Fast forward a few years…It was fairly common for her to have out-of-the-blue high temps for no apparent reason. By high I mean 104-105 temps. That’s pretty scary for a mom, especially when you have no answers. The doctors didn’t seem too concerned. This happened until she was about 3 years old. By the time she was 5 she was getting blood in her urine, another problem that took time to figure out.
I won’t go into the rest of the story here, instead I’ll direct you to my daughter’s blog (here) where she gives more details about her diagnosis. After reading her post, you will see why it became so important for us to do what we could to take her health, the health of our whole family, into our own hands. We have done loads of research and lots of trial and error. We now feel that, thanks to a few life-changing events back in 2014 (more on this later), we are on the right track. We still have our moments of not knowing what to eat or what steps to take next, but we're making progress!
Read my daughter’s story here.
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