"I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning." — Plato Oh, the power of music! Music played a huge part of growing up in our house... no pun intended. 😂 My earliest musical memories are of my dad singing. He had a wonderful voice and could do impressive impersonations of various tunes by Chicago, the Righteous Brothers, and Neil Diamond, just to name a few... I believe

This morning was a doozy! I expected to have a relaxing morning. The only tasks I had on my calendar were our typical cleaning and educational activities. But, oh how I was wrong! It was not going to be a relaxing morning at all. My two-year-old awoke with a low-grade fever and would not stop crying. After some assessment, I discovered that both of his bottom molars were breaking in and his gums were extremely red and swollen. While some of my other children had problems teet

Ahh, Christmas! What a wonderful season! This holiday is my absolute favorite, as I am sure is the case with most people. About a month before Advent, I begin to think about and plan for the Christmas season. Decorations, gifts, feast days during Advent, religious practices (the Jesse Tree being a favorite!) And of course, the desserts! Our family goes all out because, around here, it is not just Christmas for a day, but all 12 days! Now, typically there is not a lot of sugar

The postpartum period... not my favorite time. If you are interested, click here , and you can read about my struggle with postpartum depression and the holistic remedies that have helped me. Since the early years of my motherhood, I have come to look forward to that peaceful time when the family gets to tuck in and hold our new little baby. I no longer dread the impending struggle of the postpartum period, when I waited for that dark cloud to overcome me without a moment's n

Is it time for a makeover? Does your hair need a new look? Does your hair feel dry and brittle? I have the answer to all of these questions. Henna. Henna is a natural dye from the dried, powdered leaves of the Lawsonia inermis plant. This plant has been used for centuries in body art, hair coloring and fabric dyeing. While standard hair dye options strip your hair, causing breakage, henna coats the hair, providing protection from environmental stressors. Many of my family and

In our family, we LOVE LOVE LOVE books. Very often, you will find all of us together in the living room drinking tea, as my husband reads aloud. Our current read aloud is Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings . It is such great fun!  My husband and I go to great lengths to find books that are well-made, well written, fun to read and wonderful to view. This morning my toddler and I were curled up on the couch with a pile of his favorite books, at least, his favorite at the moment...

Postpartum depression… It's no joke. I had no idea how bad postpartum depression could be until I experienced it for the first time. It usually hits me around two months postpartum, the same time that my hair begins to fall out. I know the timeline for postpartum depression can vary from woman to woman. But, this is just the way that it typically goes for me. The first time I went through PPD, I remember thinking that the struggles of postpartum depression should be talked ab

The other day, I was listening to a podcast on the bible, Bible in a Year by Fr. Mike Shmitz. The topic was the story of the brothers, Cain and Abel. If you do not know the story, the story goes as follows:  Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer, and Abel was a shepherd. Both of the brothers offered gifts to God. Abel offered the best of his flock, while Cain offered fruits from his farm. God was pleased with Abel's offering, while Cain’s offering left s

For years I have looked for the perfect lotion recipe. I have made many bad batches; batches that I had to chisel off and melt before I...

Benjamin Franklin has a wonderful saying, "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." There are so many things that some parents think that their child will just "learn" or "pick up" as they grow. I think that there are many things that we should be teaching our children, but just never think of them. Money management is definitely one of those things, and who doesn't want to teach their child how to manage money well? When should I start teaching my child how to man