Homeschool Review: Balancing Diapers and Deadlines #hsreviews #mompreneurlife #workingfromhome #productivity

It's been a very long time since I was facing diapers on a regular basis, but facing deadlines is a daily occurence.  I often struggle to keep it all together and keep my plates all spinning.  I am always looking for new ways to keep my focus steady, so I was excited to check out the Lisa Tanner Writing course titled Balancing Diapers and Deadlines which is a combo course on time management and productivity.  

The online course is divided into eight units of study.  Each unit is divided into easy-to-study lessons that present infomation and offer hope for crazy-busy moms like you and me.  Designed to help us get it all together, Balancing Diapers and Deadlines is broken down as follows:

• Welcome to Balancing Diapers and Deadlines introduces you to Lisa Tanner and presents an  overview of the study
• Building Your Foundation with the Basics shows you how to help your family become part of your team and teaches the importance of a plan.
• Minimize Your Decisions helps establish a working routine for order, cleaning, and laundry.  Whew!
• Minimize Your Decisions: The Annual Meal Plan is an absolute lifesaver.  You'll learn how to cut the chaos of shopping as you eliminate the "what's for dinner?" questions.
• Sustainable Growth reminds you to focus on nurturing yourself to that you can nurture your family for the long term.
• Growing a Business with Your Kids Around teaches you how to incorporate family into your business world no matter their age or season.  Family writing time, anyone?  Yes, please.
• Boost Your Productivity shares great tips for taking every minute of every day captive.
• Closing Thoughts reminds you that it's okay to prioritize tasks and that some things just won't work out like you originally thought.  Lisa shares how to turn failure into success and answers questions raised throughout the course.

The lessons are fairly short but they are packed FULL of great information and they include quite a few printables to help you take the steps necessary to actually implement the useful strategies shared.  Lisa shares tried-and-true routines and systems so that you can accomplish more in your hours, days, weeks, months, and years.  As a busy homeschooling mom of 8, she definitely has some great tricks up her sleeves and we can all benefit from what she's learned.

For example, I have thoroughly enjoyed using both the Annual Meal Planner and the Themed Dinner Planner.  Years ago (before college and marriages), in what was my all-time best idea ever, each child was assigned a night of the week to prepare supper for the family.  We would sit down and plan the menu a month at a time and make our grocery lists accordingly.  As kids started college and the older daughters got married, we went back to our helter-skelter way of meal planning -- which actually meant no planning at all.  That often left supper thrown together or late or pick-up-on-the-way-home.  Ugh.  My Senior and I were just discussing how much we enjoyed the variety when meals were planned ahead and how much easier life would be now if we had a schedule again.  She even volunteered to cook a few nights a week -- and she was excited.  Her actual words were "I have been following some cool cooking sites and I'd love a chance to try out the recipes I'm seeing."  Seriously folks, you don't have to tell me but once.  

I was happy to pull out the Annual Meal Planner and cultivate a workable plan for the current family dynamics.  The neat thing about this is that I was able to look at the big picture and include breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack option so that I don't have to hear the constant "what is there to eat in this house?" every day or ask "What sounds good for supper?" only to hear the response of "food".  The idea of themed dinners makes it even easier to come up with variety without falling into a cooking rut.  In less than an hour, I was able to make a plan for an entire year filled with things I know my family likes.  Lisa offers her family meal plans and themed dinner ideas as example and that helped spark our creativity, as well.  

We made sure to make this ours and you will want to make it yours.  You will notice the themes of Smorgasbord (i.e. leftovers) on Sundays, Crockpot/Instant Pot on Mondays (because it is our busiest day of the week filled with extracurricular activities and co-op classes), and Church on Wednesdays.  We are fortunate to have Wednesday Night Supper at church each week, so there's no meal plan necessary then.  We enjoying eating what is provided.  It's a win-win blessing, that's for sure.  Some of the best advice comes in the meal prep area.  Lisa says there's no need to worry about elegant cuisine or to stress over finding weird ingredients for fancy dishes.  She says, instead, we should pick some favorite standbys, and serve them joyfully.  Isn't that the perfect reminder to love our families through gifts of time?  Our Themed Dinner Plan is filled with dishes that I know my family enjoys and I made sure to include the good ole County Cooking recipes that offer comfort to us all.

Another part of these lessons that has been a huge blessing to me is utilizing the Child of the Day Schedule.  Even though my kids don't all still live at home, it has offered me a way to make sure that I'm covering each of them in prayer.  I assigned each child a day of the week (in age order) and added the sons-in-law to the calendar (in the order that they married my daughters).  I spend a portion of each day praying for everyone, but I make sure to really address their specific needs/requests on their special days.

Lisa walks us through finding balance and she does it one baby step at a time.  I like this because I'm not overwhelmed.  I can read through a lesson, spend time in it as needed, move through it quickly if it doesn't apply to me in this season of life, and revisit it whenever I want.  At the end of each lesson, there are Action Steps to take to help you move forward.  We all know it's great to read about productivity and managing your world, but if we aren't actually doing anything we will see no change.  Lisa really hits on everything important in this course -- from meals to sleep and learning to set boundaries.  Hers is a well thought out plan of action that we can ALL benefit from in some way as we are gently reminded to do better by ourselves.  

For example, I absolutely do not get enough sleep.  I just don't sleep much at all.  I average around four hours or less a night and I know that takes its toll on my body and on my mind.  Lisa explains the necessity of sleep and the priority of taking care of ourselves so that we can take care of those we love.  She shares ways to do better so that we can be better and she does so with a gentle spirit.  She even gives you permission to pay for services that will help you mark items off of your To-Do List and remove stress from your day-to-day.  


With over 30 engaging lessons in the course, you'll learn how to make every moment of every day count as you take your life back again.  Lisa helps you establish a morning routine that works, get a handle on laundry, end your day well, and even improve your typing speed.   She offers tons of suggestions on how to grow your business, homeschool more effectively, love your family, and establish routines that will benefit them all.  She puts all of this together in one place for you and encourages accountability as you work toward a more peaceful home.
For more information about this time management course for busy moms that includes great productivity tips, please visit the following Social Media sites:

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Balance and Productivity help bring peace.  Isn't that what we all want?

I was given the opportunity to review Balancing Diapers and Deadlines from Lisa Tanner Writing as a member of the Homeschool Review Crew.   You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew thought of this course and see how they are utilizing it in their own homes (or just click on the banner below.)

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Homeschool Review: Everyday Cooking #hsreviews #homemaking #chores

I was first introduced to Everyday Homemaking a few years ago when I was invited to review Vicki Bentley's family chore system.  I fell in love with her Kingdom-purposed heart and was super excited to have the opportunity to review Everyday Cooking this summer.  Available in either a print or digital version (with two color options for the cover so you can match your kitchen if you so desire), reading through the pages of this cookbook flood my heart with memories of my grandmother.  Mind you now, my grandmother was NOT a cook, but she enjoyed reading a good cookbook and she passed that love right on to me.  I love the stories that a really great cookbook can tell.  I like peeking into a recipe and finding the heart behind why it is special.  The fun thing is that I don't even mind cooking and Vicki makes it easy.  She shares stories and explains where her recipes come from and invites you into her kitchen as a friend.

And here's the big thing:  I like easy.  I like opening a cookbook and finding recipes for foods that my family will actually eat.  I like an ingredient list that has things that are in my normal, everyday pantry.  I like NOT having to find a special store to carry a specific ingredient that I've never even heard of -- usually something expensive that I'll never use again.  Do you know what I mean?


Did I mention that I like easy?  Everyday Cooking makes life easy.  Vicki shares family-friendly recipes and even offers suggestions for how to make those recipes work with what you have on hand.  The conversational tone makes you feel right at home. "Oh, you don't have salsa?  No worries. Make your own by mixing up tomato sauce and green chilies."

And let me just be honest and say, I like cookbooks that give me permission to use leftover things.  Throughout the entire cookbook, Vicki tells how she makes what she has on-hand work in the day-to-day life of a mom and cook.  "If you don't have a cup of shredded cheddar, combine what cheeses you do have."  "No tortilla chips in your pantry?  That's perfectly fine.  Just cut up some corn tortillas or mix the nacho and ranch flavored corn chips you do have.  It will add some spice."  She shares healthy options and recipes for those with special dietary concerns AS WELL AS some recipes that may not be the healthiest out there, but they sure are tasty.  Check out the pictures from Becky's Mystery Cake (page 129--you can thank me later) that we made last week.   It was quick and EASY and oh, so good.  YUMMY does not even begin to describe this moist and delicious goodness!

With 195-pages, there are plenty of recipes for you to use to feed your hungry crew.  The best part is that each recipe is easy to pull together so you can spend more time doing life WITH your family and less time getting food ready to serve.  There are breakfast ideas, appetizers, breads, main dishes, desserts, and more.  Vicki includes tips to save time, measurement helps, meal planning and shopping hints, and also teaches you how to best utilize your kitchen helpers.  Pressure cooker, anyone?  Vicki offers advice on using it and doing it well.

Everyday Cooking is the perfect "textbook" for a home economics class/credit for my high school daughter and my married daughters are borrowing recipes from it for use in their kitchens, as well.  It's really most excellent, y'all.  And the best part?  My cookbook says this is Book One of the Everyday Homemaking Series.  I can't wait to get my hands on even more recipes like Teresa Bryant's Mexican Casserole.  You can see in my picture that I had two different types of cornbread mix pouches in my pantry and it worked beautifully.  BUT had I not had what I needed, there were directions on how to mix up my own.  I just love that, don't you?

Seriously folks, this is the real deal of foods your family will love.  You can find out more about all things Everyday Homemaking by visiting the website and the Facebook page. Check it out.  Your family is going to thank you.


Everyday Cooking by Vicki Bentley is the easy button of real life recipes.

I was given the opportunity to review Everyday Cooking from Everyday Homemaking as a member of the Homeschool Review Crew.   You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew thought of this cookbook and The Everyday Family Chore System.

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Favorite Holiday Fare

There are certain things that just make the holidays for us -- things we decorate with, things we do as a family, things we make to eat.  For my crew, there are certain must-haves to really celebrate Christmas.  These are a few of our favorite things:

1. Cheese Crackers --my mama made this for us when I was little and now I make them for my family.  Think cheese straw in cracker form.  #thebestsnackever
2. Ooey, Gooey Goodness (a.k.a. Overnight Caramel Pecan Ring)
3. Rotel Grits
4. Sausage Balls -- I used to make these by hand, but a few years ago I found the Tennessee Pride version in the freezer already made up.  Talk about super easy -- and almost as good as homemade.  YUM!
5. Link Sausage -- Vines Brothers or Ma Bell
6. Wassail -- It's really just apple juice with red hots melted in it, but we call it wassail.  It's been a family tradition for over 20 years.
7. Hearty Bacon Potato Soup
8. Savory Cracker Snack Mix

So, how about you?  What is your favorite holiday fare?  What snacks are a must to make the holiday real?

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Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

Chicken Spaghetti has been a main staple on my menu for almost 30 years.  A college roommate taught me how her mom made it and I've made it that exact same way for all these years . . . until now.

My newlywed daughter came to visit the other day and shared with me that she made our tried and true recipe last week except she made a few variations.  Since I was low on Velveeta today, I decided we'd give her way a try.  And I am so glad that we did.  It is super yummy -- and super creamy.  

Here's what we had for supper at our house:

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

2 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pack of spaghetti noodles

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1/2 pound Velveeta cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup (the new ingredient we'd never tried before)
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil chicken in salted water.  When cooked, remove chicken from water and shred.  Boil noodles in chicken broth.  Return shredded chicken to pot and add rest of ingredients.  Salt and pepper to taste.


Let me just tell you that adding that cream of chicken really upped the ante on this recipe.  It enhanced the flavor tenfold and made it a luxurious meal.   This simple recipe is perfect for cold nights.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!  You'll be so glad you did.

I'm joining with my friend Lisa over at Home to 4 Kiddos.  Jump right over and try a new recipe today.

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White Chicken Chili {crockpot cooking}

The food at Bunko this week was phenomenal and I asked for the recipe before I ever left the table.  My friend, Brianna, served White Chicken Chili, homemade bread, a Caesar salad, and a cherry dump cake and we were all bragging on her culinary abilities.  It had been extremely windy all day and we knew storms were looming on the horizon, so the food was welcoming and comforting.  We played all 21 games of Bunko before the rain arrived.  It was a fun night -- and I won a prize!  First time in a long time.

Brianna was gracious enough to send leftovers home with me for my family and they all enjoyed having a taste.  They actually enjoyed it so much, I made it for supper Friday night.  This is an easy recipe that makes a lot and tastes delicious.  I think you'll enjoy making it at your house.  It's perfect for crockpot or stovetop and can be adjusted according to ingredients on-hand.

White Chicken Chili

2 - 3 chicken breasts, shredded

1 stick of butter

1 package of frozen Seasoning Blend (I used Pictsweet.)

1 package of White Chicken Chili Mix

1 8-ounce block of cream cheese

1 pound of Velveeta cheese 

2 cans great Northern beans, rinsed

2 cans white shoe peg corn

1 can Rotel tomatoes

4 cups chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

Boil chicken in water that has been salted and peppered to taste.  Shred chicken.  Reserve broth.  

Sauté frozen Seasoning Blend in butter while letting cheeses melt in crockpot.  Add all ingredients to crockpot and cook on low for 4 - 5 hours.  

OR if you can't wait that long . . .

Place all ingredients in stock pot and cook on stovetop to heat through.  Be careful to stir frequently so nothing sticks or burns.

I served this chili with warm French bread, but cornbread would be delicious, too.  

Let me know what you think.

I'm joining with my friend Lisa over at Home to 4 Kiddos.  Jump right over and try a new recipe today.

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C is for Comfort: MeMe's Corn Casserole

I've heard it said,
That people come into our lives
For a reason
Bringing something we must learn.
And we are led to those
Who help us most to grow if we let them.   (For Good)

People come and go in our lives and the reasons are manifold.  The memories that we share with them last a lifetime.  I just put Me-Me's Corn Casserole in the oven to take over to church this morning.  25+ years later and it's still one of our favorite comfort foods.

Food stirs such fond memories.  I remember the very first time I ever tasted her corn casserole.  I remember where I was standing in her kitchen, the sounds of family talking all around.  I knew from the very first bite that I'd have to have that goodness again and again.  I wrote the recipe down that very day and I'm so glad I can share it with my family and friends and those I love.  It emanates the kindness that was her to me.  She had the most angelic smile.  I will always and forever remember her smile -- and her hands.  They were soft and kind.  Surely hands can be kind, right?

Weird things I remember, huh?

When I shared this with MeMe's daughter, she responded with this:

GOD bless you.  MeMe loved you.  I remember she made mints for your wedding reception.  I am so glad you remember goodness of my Momma!  Sometimes, when I look down at my hands, I see Momma's.  Memories are peculiar sometimes, but whatever promotes them is a blessing.  Sometimes a smell brings another sweet memory!!!!!  Grins and giggles . . . seeing you and your people  on facebook makes me grin!!!!!

MeMe's Corn Casserole

2 cans ream-style corn (although I use fresh creamed corn when I can)
4 eggs
1 cup oil (I use Canola)
1 envelope Mexican Cornbread
Grated cheese, to top and taste (I use sharp cheddar)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Mix all ingredients except cheese.  Pour into a 9 x 13 dish.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Top with grated cheese and return to oven to melt and brown.

This is just pure comfort on a spoon.  Trust me -- you're going to want to make sure and keep these ingredients on-hand always.  It's really that good.

Sharing comforting finds along the way,

I'm linking up with my friends Cristi (over at Through the Calm and Through the Storm) and Meg (over at Adventures with Jude) for the Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge.  Stop by for more alphabet adventures.  We'd love to have you join us on our journey from A to Z.

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My 5 Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

1.  My must-have kitchen helper is a crockpot.  I actually have several in different shapes and sizes.  I use a crockpot almost once-a-week year 'round.  Even more during the winter.  I enjoy being able to get supper going early in the day before our crazy afternoon runs begin.  It is the easiest piece of kitchen gadgetry I own.

2.  I really like the smell of fresh bread rising and baking in the bread machine.  I like being able to pour the ingredients in and set the timer so that my crockpot cooking ends about the same time that my bread is ready.  Yum!

3.  I received my rice cooker for Christmas from my mother-in-love one year.  The funny story (to me, anyway) is that she always asks for ideas from each of us for gifts.  I'd never used a rice cooker, but thought I might like to so I asked for one.  None of the others ever told her what they wanted, so everyone got a rice cooker that year.  I use mine about once a week.  I'm not sure if they ever used theirs -- or if they returned them for a refund.

4.  A sharp knife and a cutting board are a necessity in my kitchen.  I count them as one gadget, because mine are never separated.  I use my knife and cutting board daily.  They make life easier for me.

5.  We all use our Keurig -- but not just for coffee.  Coffee, tea, hot water for instant grits or oatmeal -- it's a staple in our daily life.


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Schoolhouse Review: Ann McCallum Books #hsreviews

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE studying history at my house and find that hands-on learning is the best way to really get it.  Ann McCallum Books offers a great way to study history with your sleeves rolled up through her "Eat Your Homework" series which includes Eat Your U.S. History Homework, Eat Your Math Homework, and Eat Your Science Homework.   We've been cooking and eating our way through school for as long as I can remember, so I knew we'd enjoy a food-guided tour through U.S. History. The Eat Your U.S. History Homework book is the newest book in the series and offers plenty of recipes for revolutionary minds.  It's a fun book for families to share together.  And, yes, I know that my kids are older than the "K-8" target age, but we are homeschoolers and have been going against the norm [and enjoying it] forever.   How about you?

We used this cute little book as the supplement to beat all supplements -- and you can, too.   I was thrilled to be able to have my kiddos read through the book for a quick refresher course in history this semester and I was excited for the opportunity to assign cooking tasks to both the Eagle Scout and the Princess right from the book.  What better way to include history AND life skills than in one big swoop?  Even better that we could all reap the benefits of this directed-learning through our taste buds.  Yum!

Eat Your U.S. History Homework is a 48-page hardcover book that walks you through history from the very first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims at Plymouth in 1620 to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.  These historically inspired recipes make for a delicious story of America.  I've always enjoyed reading through the pages of my cookbooks, and this one is no exception.  Each of the six recipes  is accompanied by a history lesson on its time period and the origins of the tasty treat itself

Along with recipes, this kid-friendly book contains kitchen hints and tips, a history review, and glossary of historical terms/events that were in bold throughout the book.  Colorfully illustrated, Eat Your U.S. History Homework shares tidbits of information that make kids feel like they are participating in more of a history conversation than a history lesson.  That's perfect to keep inquiring minds inquiring.  

The recipes themselves are easy-to-understand and easy-to-follow.  Younger children will want to make sure that adults are nearby while they cook, but I turned my high schoolers loose to impress us all with their culinary talents.  One of our favorite recipes was the tasty pain perdu or Lost Bread.   While the poor British soldiers choked down hardtack during the French and Indian War, French soldiers feasted on a tasty treat made from the stale bread that was "lost" or about to be thrown away.  We call this French Toast and my Princess has learned to make some of the very best following the recipe in Eat Your U.S. History Homework.

Here's her step-by-step pictorial guide for you (right down to the disappearance of food from our plates):

Whipped eggs, spices, and a bit of soaking --

Homeschool Innovation Alert -- butter and our waffle iron instead of cooking in a skillet --

Carefully removed from heat, drizzled with syrup, and dusted with powdered sugar --

Diving in to enjoy --

The Masterpiece completed --

As you can probably tell, we've certainly enjoyed learning new recipes and tweaking some of our old favorites (like Hoe Cakes, Independence Ice Cream, and Honey-Jumble Cookies) and finding out where the idea for them originated and what their names actually mean.  It's been incredibly interesting watching my kids at work in the kitchen and I recommend that you give it a try as well.  Eating your way through history (and science and math) can definitely be fun!  You'll want to make sure and check out all of the neat options from Ann McCallum Books. 

I was given the opportunity to review Ann McCallum Books as a member of the Schoolhouse ReviewCrew.   You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the Schoolhouse ReviewCrew thought of this book and others as well (or just click on the banner below.)

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