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For several months I have been toying with the idea of blogging about homeschooling. I’ve gone back and forth about doing it at all and also if I did do it if it should be here or on its own site. Well, finally I decided to do it, and then after setting up a free site, I opted to do it here instead. It is part of what I have in my personal workbasket, plus to be frank I don’t want to upkeep two different sites. I’m lazy and hate technology. (hahaha but true) SO if you are here for crafts only, and don’t careRead More →

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Well, guys, it’s April. April 4th to be completely exact. When I opted to swap to a magazine format my first issue was due out over a month ago. There is no issue released. My second issue was planned for next month and it’s not ready. Here’s the thing guys, this website has brought me more happiness, and tears, and stress, and fun in the last two years than I every thought possible. I’ve constantly tried to grow it and change it and treat it like a business and honestly it has been stressing me out, SO MUCH. You can’t even imagine. For one itRead More →

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You guys! Christmas is gonna be here soon!!!! Can you even believe it? As Christmas approaches, there is a fair chance your to-do list doubles, or even triples in size.  Today, I’m asking you to question your list. Every item on it, who is it for? How does it make you feel? Here’s the thing, there is a fair chance that there is something on your list that you don’t really want to do. Maybe you don’t want to send Christmas cards, or write a letter, or attend a certain party, or do a work Secret Santa.  Is it Worth It? So many people justRead More →

Colorful Wool and prepped for teaching kids to wet felt!

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I mentioned in my blog post Lately, that my son and I have been spending two days a week at a fun school for homeschoolers. I spend some of my time there teaching the kids various fun crafts and recently someone wanted to learn how to felt beads. We had a massive amount of wool donated so I took in some soap and taught them what to do.  Setting Up First I just pulled all sorts of wool out of our bin and made a big colorful pile. Once your hands get soapy it’s hard to get fresh wool without making a mess so IRead More →

Vintage Needlepoint in Progress - from a Kit

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November completely disappeared around me. It was here and now it’s almost gone. Like the autumn version of a hummingbird. I went to my parents house early in the month for their big annual camp out. Nothing much to report there, except I got a box full of new to me old magazines (you’ll see those popping up here sometime) and one needlepoint (shown below) but it did really effect my month in general. I was getting ready to go, then came home just in time to shop for Thanksgiving, and then cook for Thanksgiving, and then here we are, month almost over.  Besides theRead More →

Recent batch from the dyed pot. Handdyed wool that looks just like clown hair.

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Really, what else can you even call that??? The best part is that it didn’t get dyed in that stripe pattern, that happened as I rinsed it. It was dyed in clusters of color. I’ve had my dye pot going constantly for the last few weeks. I pretty much start a batch in the evening, turn it off to cool in the morning, then rinse and dump in the evening and refill it. I have about 15 pounds of my own stash to dye, PLUS the homeschool center got some amazing donations. Since we have limited time at the center I’m trying to dye someRead More →

Great new book from Michael Delman about helping your child with their executive function issues.

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Do you know what executive function is? I’ll be honest, lots of people don’t and you usually only know the term after it’s a problem. When it’s a problem it’s a BIG problem, a parental tear your hair out nightmare. SO first, let me explain executive function, then I’ll tell you WHY I’m talking about executive function.Read More →

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Several weeks ago on my Facebook page, I shared that Interweave had a magazine subscription sale. (It’s over now, but certain magazines were $15 a year.) I thought it would be fun if I took the three I subscribed to (Spin Off, Piecework, and Cloth Paper Scissors) and did a magazine flip through video. Just a page by page glance at what was in the issue, what stuck out to me, what peaked my interest, or even what was just fun to look at. Here are the three videos for each one.  Usually, when I do a video it is uploaded to my YouTube channelRead More →

Great summer reads for boys, books suggestions right off of an 11 year old's summer reading stack!

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Hey! Are you enjoying your summer so far!?!?! I feel like ours has been a whirlwind, and is rushing away from us. I’m already starting to buy school supplies and pick the curriculum for next year.  We won’t be starting until after Labor Day, so we still have plenty of time left, but I bet it’ll pass too fast. Before summer completely gets away from us I wanted to show you what is on my Son’s summer reading stack! Some of these are new releases that we chose to review (they were sent to us free in exchange) some are just things my son hasRead More →

Getting ready to make truffles with historically accurate chocolate!

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Today is an amazing combo in that it’s summer, which is the perfect time for a trip, and that it is Chocolate Day. So I’m going to tell you how to enjoy a trip, get some amazing chocolate, and even turn it into a fun and easy history learning experience! (Interestingly enough there are actually 4 Chocolate Days a year, but that’s just an ADHD inspired tidbit.) We actually do a lot of tours and trips, mostly because we live close to so many, but also because my approach to history is that it is better to see and do than to read and quote. It’s oneRead More →

While the world constantly pushes for perfection I want people to know they are not alone! It's okay to be a mess! It's okay to be Type-B.

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If you read my post yesterday maybe it resonated with you, but maybe not because you need to relax, maybe you’re like me and are probably TOO relaxed. Maybe you were saying “Alicia, I’m TOO Relaxed- Just Like You!” Well, that is the other part of what I try to do here! Photo by chaithanya krishnan on Unsplash Here’s what I’m hoping people get from my website: Type A People- Learn to relax a bit and follow some of my fun and easy tips for crafts and family fun. See that I do these things and we survive! We even thrive! The mess is worth it! Other Type B People-Read More →

Guys, just relax and have fun, you only get one life and time with your kids if brief.

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I know the “Type A” idea, I’m not it, I don’t entirely understand it, but I know it. If you’re not Type A, are you Type B? Is the opposite Type Z?? Featured Photo is by Daniel Spase on Unsplash One thing I’m hoping to do with this website is to rub off a little of my extreme Type B/Z onto other people, especially parents. I want people to relax. In 2 years, 10 years, 20 years, will you say “We always had a lot of fun, because our house was spotless and I had a detailed schedule?” Probably not. Days with our babies are slim you guys.Read More →

We're trying out a new science book that just hit the market and having fun making slime!!

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Recently I was contacted by Storey Publishing to ask if I would like to review their new book, Mason Jar Science. I love messy, fun science experiments, and I have racks of mason jars, so I said yes. They sent me a review copy and we got to work checking it out recently and are loving it! Of course, my son overlooked all the experiments except the slime. It HAD to be the slime that we did first. Other experiments I noticed and were excited about included making alum geodes, terrariums, cloud in a jar, play clay, and several more. If you have kids youRead More →

A family favorite, an easy way to feed the family on busy days, or when it is just to hot to cook!

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It can be so hard to feed the family in the hot summer months. Sometimes it’s just too hot to cook, sometimes one person goes off with a friend and you have no idea if they will be home for dinner or not, sometimes an extra friend is at the table, and sometimes it’s just to fun outside to come in and cook! There are so many situations that occur in the summer that can make it tricky to eat, especially together. We are adamant family dinner people. We eat dinner together about 355 days a year, those 10 that we don’t usually are in theRead More →