A Homeschool Prom

 This year's "formal" turned out so great! 

 The teens in our co-op picked out the theme "A Masquerade in Paris." 

 I enjoyed making the masks.  (I adore glitter.)

Around Here Lately

I just thought I'd take a minute to show you what's been going on around here lately.  

The teens are gearing up for the Prom this weekend.

Down and Dirty Chick Starting

I was at my local Tractor Supply Company the other day picking up some duck food and I was so surprised by the overwhelming number of poultry products.

I Need This Sign

A Lava Rock Debacle

Look what I just did to my perfectly normal looking landscaping!

I'm not sure what got into me.

I guess I'm just not a lava rock type person.

A Few New Things

The sun is shining.

The flowers are blooming.

I have my first sunburn of the season,
 a new lease on life...

The Way Easter Should Be

This might have been the most perfect Easter celebration that we have ever experienced!

Tip Tuesday: Homemade Dumplings

Well, since today decided to be Winter.... even though it's SUPPOSED to be Spring... grrrr.... I decided that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em... and I'll go ahead and show you how we make old-fashioned dumplings.

A Few Random Things

1. There's a deer leg in my front yard outside my window by my computer.  It still has fur.  There's one in the driveway, too.  I don't have any idea where they came from.

People Get Ready!

I just love Easter!
It's my all time favorite holiday!
My teenagers and I are working on a drama/dance thing for Easter Sunday with the teens from church.  I'm loving it, too, because I absolutely love bringing the arts into worship and outreach.  And I love dancing.  And I'm really sore.  So, that's good, too.

Here's a few awesome pictures from my desktop.  We're creating a video to go with our dance.  If you've never heard the song "People Get Ready" by Misty Edwards... google it.  It's cool!  Here's a section of the lyrics....

He's not a baby in a manger anymore,

It's That Time Again... Garden Joy!

Oh yeah!
Time for starting some seeds!

This is all way simpler than you might think.

I'm gonna show you how I set up my seed starting operation.... and you've still got time to get the stuff you need and start your own!!!

How to Cut Girl's Bangs

Here's a few "professional" tips for the DIY salon mom!

Now, we all know that you can just comb them down and cut them off, right?  Pretty simple.

 But have you ever noticed that bangs cut by a salon always seem to turn out better?  There's just a few little tricks that make all the difference!  So, here's my basic how-to.  Sorry about the mess in the background... we had an extremely busy Saturday which just happened to end in a haircutting tutorial.  : )

Tip Tuesday: A Handy Egg Substitute

Well, apparently, Spring has sprung in our chickens' brains because they've started laying again.  It's funny, just about the time we were up to our eyeballs in eggs last Fall, they quit laying almost completely.  We didn't really mind.  In fact, I only bought a few dozen eggs all winter long... and now they're back up in production!

One of the reasons why we didn't really buy many eggs this Winter (besides the fact that they're gross and expensive) is because I use this handy substitute in most of my baking.

Febr-wirlwind

Today is March first.  Praise the Lord!

February is the shortest month of the year and also the most crazy, jam-packed-with-activity month for our family.  Here's a summary.


First... jewelry orders were in full swing for Valentine's day.  These nickel keychains sold like crazy.

These sales couldn't have come at a better time!

Tip Tuesday: Red Or White Wheat?

 Have you ever wondered what the difference is?  I have.  So, I thought you might have, too.

I've been using both for several years now.  And I can tell you from experience that neither one is red or white.

Handy Math Drills

Just found this really helpful FREE math drill online.  I've used Math-U-See curriculum for years, but haven't seen their website in quite a while.  This is pretty cool!  You can design your own drills and use them as often as you want for FREE!  You can also design and print out your own worksheets.  No bells and whistles (wasted ink) here.... just nitty gritty math practice, plain and simple.

OK, well, Happy Monday!

Tip Tuesday: Homemade Playdough

 Hi guys!  After much trial and error, I'm happy to report that we have found a winner!!

Because, you know that not everything you read on the internet is true.... and that also goes for recipes. But this one is super easy and turns out perfectly!

Love Day!

Busy little painters.

Tibetan Beauties, Wheat Grass, Etc.

We're studying Eastern Hemisphere this year in school.  This is our second batch of kids to go through this curriculum... It's my favorite year of Social Studies!

Tip Tuesday: Food Migraines

Now this tip is certainly not gonna apply to everyone, but if it helps one person as much as it has helped me then I'm a happy blogger!

Considering Caged Birds

We've been reading a really cool book for school lately called "The Land I Lost."  This is the second time we've read it since this is the second time that Eastern Hemisphere has rolled around in our Sonlight curriculum, since I'm on my second batch of kiddos.  Secondly.... it is about Vietnam, a very long time ago.  A man tells stories about his boyhood adventures-- lots of giant snakes, water buffalos, monkeys, alligators, wild boars and birds.  One of the bird stories that we read the other day really impacted me and got me thinking.

Blog Slacker

I'm so sorry that I'm such a slacker here on the ole blog.

As soon as I started to type that sentence, a convo came in from Etsy.  So I had to switch tabs and help a young wife design her bracelet set.

I think it's totally fun and cute and I love being a part of celebrating the sweet things in life!  Oh, and in case you were wondering...  "convo" is the hip way to say conversation on Etsy, but every time I attempt to type the word, my spell check changes it to congo.  And that can be seriously awkward.  For example:  "Did you get my congo?"  or  "I'll congo you later, OK?"

See?

Winter Morning Oatmeal

I've always been surprised when friends tell me that their kids "would never eat oatmeal!"  I can't even imagine that, really.  It's just one of those foods that my grandma and my mom considered a stand-by.  So, I don't even give it a second thought.  It's just so thrifty--and yummy.  If there's nothing else handy for breakfast.... oatmeal it is!

Slip Slidin Away

 It finally turned cold here in Kentucky!  So far, winter has felt more like Fall.  Until this week!  Baby, it's cold outside!  And the kiddos had a blast playing on the creek.

Hibernation Un-Motivation

It is19 degrees out there today.  And not a hint of sun ANYWHERE.  Just deadness and gray.  Nothing to do but snuggle up and wait.  Which leads me to my latest theory....

Do you think that humans are supposed to hibernate???

Tip Tuesday: Cold Cereal Shake Up

OK, so I just realized that it's Tuesday.  Not bad, since it's only 6:30!  And there's two guys in my basement working on the furnace.  I'm glad because for the past several weeks it's been getting louder and louder to the point of breaking out the earplugs.  Me, not the furnace.  It sounds a lot like a deep growl going up the wall behind my head.  That's not a very comforting sound at night.  As you can imagine.  So, we're finally getting it the help it needs.  Aren't you glad you know that?

On another front.... I was mixing up the ole cereal this morning and thought you might like to know this little tidbit of tightwaddery.  We rarely buy cold cereal anymore, but when we do we always mix two different types-- sweet and plain.  Two boxes fit perfectly in these nice big pour containers that I got from Aldi a verrrry long time ago.  Then I just shake it up and whammo! Nobody can hog all the sweet cereal before everybody else wakes up.  We do this with cocoa or fruity/plain rice crispies, honey or cinnamon/plain cheerios, and frosted flakes/plain corn flakes.  Sometimes we dump a box of granola into a box of plain cornflakes (when we're feelin' really fancy).  Just make sure you hold the lid closed before you shake it up.  I'm just guessing that it might totally explode all over the kitchen if you don't.  Just guessing.

And that sums up my very exciting life.

Oh, and I got to go on a date last night with my incredibly manly, handsome SON.

 And I got a Smashburger and a movie out of the deal.... which is always good.

Oh, and I also came up with a new jewelry design.  It's an act of desperation really because I can't really go out in the garage and hammer right now due to the fact that I'm in so much pain that I can barely move my neck and I look like a robot when I turn my head.  It might help if I went to the doctor but I was raised by skeptics and I'm terrified to actually find out what's wrong in there.  So, when I say "pray for me" I really mean it because all this Aleve can't be a good thing.  But, you know how God causes all things to work together for the good?  Well, here's my latest project...

So, there ya have it...  Mix your cereal, eat a Smashburger and buy yourself a necklace.

Oh, and stay warm!  Brrrrrrr!

Love

Life: Instagrammed

My newest most favorite obsession.... Instagram!

It's a bunch of random little snippets of life that are interesting, for no particular reason.

 With a neato filter added on that makes them even more interesting.

 You can crop to your heart's content.

 And capture the funny things in your life.

 Without having to be profound.  

 Or perfect.

The filters bring out the feeling behind the moment.

Making them all warm and cozy...

Or cool and ominous.  

It makes bad pictures better.

And good ones better.

And they're all collected in one handy spot for your browsing pleasure. 

It's the perfect creative outlet for busy moms and their kids (who constantly hack mom's account).

Because it's so entertaining.

So.... have you tried it yet? 

 It's free!

  Look me up (jensnest).  

Happy Monday, y'all!  

Modern Marvels: My iPhone

Well, whattaya know!  It appears as if I can now add more pictures.  Yay!  (This was just a random pic from my desktop that I grabbed to check to see if blogger forgot about me.)

Also, I had the sweetest evening last night.  Just thought I'd tell you about it...

After supper, which included my friend Lori's homemade tortillas, I sat down in my comfy chair with a heating pad on my neck to relax (I've got something majorly wrong in there but I'm too scared to go to the doc to find out what it is-- pray for me).  Anyways, Ben climbed up on me to snuggle, and since I was listening to Pandora radio on my iPhone, I gave him an earbud.  He must have laid there for an hour texting Captain, who was on the couch, in the same room on his iPhone, and Graci, who was upstairs in her room.  He was practicing spelling words and making funny faces with all the quirky little pictures that my phone has on it.  Later, Graci said that Ben's text made her day.  How cute is that?  It just said, "Ben. Grace, I love you."  Aww.

And speaking of Pandora radio.... have you guys ever given that a try??  It's super cool!  I just chose "Kim Hill," since she was my all time favorite Christian artist from the old days, and I got to listen to her AND lots of other music that I totally forgot about from that same era (college/young mommy days).  Artists that I totally forgot about, like Susan Ashton, that are so good!  It was so nice just sitting there listening to worship, getting snuggled and enjoying my family-- all staring at their little backlit screens.
 
You know what they say...

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!