Woodwater Farmhouse

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED WINNER: Renee - she has been contacted!  Congrats! One of our 2014 goals as a family is to live a healthier life.  I have been immersed into the world of organics and living a "cleaner" life.  When I was contacted by the people of Mother's Therapy Organics about trying out their natural cleansing products, I jumped at it. It fit right in to our new plan for the new year! Mother’s Therapy Organics™ is a woman-owned company that strives to provide parents with healthy options for our children. I have been using their germ-fight'n hand lotion after washing my hands (which happens a lot!) and I LOVE IT!  It's so "soft" and not greasy at all!  A little goes a long way.  Of course the hand sanitizer fits nicely into my bag that goes everywhere with us.   When the kids go to gym weekly, this is my first and last defense before they head out to the gym floor.  The sce...

So right about now, you are probably questioning if this was a good idea?  Rest assured it is!  You can do this!    Just throwing out a short list of things you can do this weekend to mix it up in the house: FREE (or mostly) things to do on the weekends (family time is encouraged): For those of us who have snow:        ·         Spray snow with colored water ·         Catch snowflakes on your tongues ·         Go sledding down a really big hill ·         Blow soap bubbles outside when it's cold enough to shatter them ·         Make ice ornaments ·         Snowball fight ·         Make a snowman ·         Make a snowfort ·      ...

It's a new year and new exciting happenings here at The Joys of Home Educating. It's Friday, which means we are sharing our week with you all over at Homegrown Learners : Collage Friday . Just a quick note : make sure you check back in on Monday when I will be reviewing one of my new favorite Organic products we are using in our home!  A giveaway too!  For January the girls and I are learning about Antarctica and Penguins for Geography and Science.  Zachary continues with his Physics learnings over at another homeschoolers home.   I use our LEGO BINGO as a good "downtime" activity during our snack break.  Reading some fun winter books this month. Zachary started Bridge to Terabithia ( a big switch from Moby Dick last month). This is what our play yard looks like currently.  During those high winds storms in the beginning of the week we had a few trees fall. Not too much damage but clean up is a pain....

It's been a week since our family started their No Spending Challenge for the month of January.   If you are just checking in with us you can find the original post and guidelines HERE at this post.  Its about living on less, being grateful for what we have, spending less, knowing when enough IS enough, discipline and so much more.   I am excited to have 10 families on board (at least that's what I know about) !   Today is week 1 - check in day!   With no judgements or gasps....how is everyone doing?  Have your been tempted?  Have you been weak at all?  What has been hard for you?  For me, it's been a week with sprinkles of temptations.  The kids are begging for a take out pizza. I have explained the challenge and they are on board, but they are kids, and still try.   I have been seeing some of my on line friends (thru Instagram) getting these great 90 percent off deals on Christmas stuff after the ho...

Happy Monday!   We are back to our regular schedule with school and I am glad for it. It was nice to take "off" two weeks from the "normal" school day. We still crafted, quizzed at dinner and did other "learning" activities.  We are also back to gym classes this week and other obligations.  If you are taking this journey with me and others for January (No Spending Challenge) I am so excited and praying for you and your family.  If you are not, maybe consider it?  You can check out the original POST HERE.   I wanted to share some things that my husband and I have done to lesson our monthly outgoing.   We are a tech family with big screen TV's, lap tops,  gaming systems, Ipads.... blah blah blah.    I was (and still am) kinda getting TECH-ED out!  I long for more REAL face to face time and less tech time... sigh ...it's a battle I continue to fight every day. A few months ago, I suggested we get rid of 2 o...

I wanted to share some websites that are definite budget helpers!  The No Spending Challenge for Januar y  is just the start for our family (and maybe yours too) .  In order to keep me and my family "in check" I seek out the support of others.   Not to overwhelm you too much here are a couple of websites that I have found to be inspiring and helpful: Stacy Makes Cents: Her tips for living on less are great. Getting out of debt and more! This particular post is very inspirational.  Where Stacy talks about living debt free, being content and finding joy in simple things and building a vision.  You can sign up for her newsletters, which are FREE and full of great info.   Motherhood on a Dime:   saving money, home management and living well on less are the focus of this blog. She has a TON of great FREE resources and also has a FREE newsletter that comes right to your email.  Now I will warn you she posts great ...

I n keeping with the No Spending Challenge for January , finding things to do outside the home so you don't go stir crazy is key!  The children especially will have a hard time understanding this no spending thing.  Some ideas that will help with this: Home Depot - Hands on Workshop for kids - ages 5-12 These are offered the 1st Saturday of the month. Today is the 1st one of the new year!  Make a Desk Calendar: Make a Fun Desk Calendar Make a fun Desk Calendar. FREE hands-on workshops; designed for children ages 5 - 12. Offered the 1st Saturday of every month at all The Home Depot stores between 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Please do not arrive before 9:00 a.m. Workshops teach children do-it-yourself skills, tool safety and instill a sense of pride and accomplishment. All kids get to keep their craft, receive a FREE certificate of achievement, a Workshop Apron, and a commemorative pin. One workshop kit, apron and pin per child, while supplies last. Children ...