Simple Family – Page 10

SchoolhouseTeachers.com Yearly Membership Review — A Lightweight Heavy Hitter

Read this SchoolhouseTeachers.com review from a roadschooling family of 10 and get 50% off!

This post contains affiliate links and opinions. Both are harmless.

One of the biggest aspects of my life is homeschooling my eight kids. I am always on the lookout for ways to simplify that process, especially on the road. With that in mind, my children and I have been testing the Yearly Membership of SchoolhouseTeachers.com, an online curricula resource, for a few weeks now. I’m going to yammer on about it for a bit, but first, some background:

As you know, we live in a travel trailer towed by a Chevy Express van. We (we as in my hubby, Steve) tow “home” up mountains and down, around hairpin turns, over harrowing heights. Have you ever seen The Long, Long Trailer with the inimitable Lucille Ball and Dezi Arnaz? Remember the scene where they’re teetering on a mountain top on the brink of disaster because Lovable Lucy overloaded the trailer with rocks?

That’s me–Lovable Lucy. Except instead of a Cuban-American husband, it’s a Filipino-American husband. And instead of rocks, it’s books. And instead of ending up with a box office hit and a big fat check, we ended up with a dead transmission and a big fat bill.

Roadschoolers, ironically, have very little weight allowance for books, which makes schooling a little more challenging. I know–whaaaaa! That’s why we have to get a tad creative with everything from where to store the toilet paper to how to educate eight kids in 240 square feet of space with no weight allowance for los libros, which is Spanish for “the books,” which I had to teach los niños without using los libros. Now do I have your sympathy? I didn’t think so.

Enter SchoolhouseTeachers.com!

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is an online curricula resource which offers its members nearly 200 courses plus other perks, and it’s growing like my stomach at a Christmas cookie buffet. The courses are available online through classes, videos, or printable downloads. I’m not going to list every subject you’ll find there because 1) I’m too lazy, and 2) okay, so there is no number 2. Go to the SchoolhouseTeachers.com course list and see for yourself, or see what’s available grade by grade.

Wow, right?! A family could use SchoolhouseTeachers.com as a supplement to their studies or as an entire curriculum. That saves a ton of space and trailer weight, people.

How have we been using SchoolhouseTeachers.com?

I’m so glad you asked, because I’ve been itching to tell you about the Tinkers Club, partly because I love saying “tinkers.” Tinkers tinkers tinkers! (If you say it real fast it sounds like stinkers.) My son (who just turned 10 last week) is loving the Tinkers Club. It’s all about inventing, so he’s gettin’ down and dirty with tools and junque we scrounge up at thrift stores (because, as you know, The Simple Homemaker tries not to keep junk on hand, so, ironically, now we have to hunt for other people’s junk). He is so into it that he was thrilled to receive safety goggles for Christmas–safety goggles, people! And I wasted money on Legos.

We are also just beginning the Charlotte Mason preschool study written by homeschool mom Brittney Jordan. As you know we are not into an intense preschool program, nor am I interested in spending money to teach my child to count. But being child number 7 in a roadschooling family means that someday the you-specific activities and the nature study get pushed to the background in favor of group activities and an 8-mile hike. This ideal program ensures that little Ellie and I (and our many tag-alongs) are doing something in nature together, in books together, and in handicrafts together each week…key word: together. Love it!

This week’s topic is snow, which offers and interesting approach to nature study. I think I still have snow stuck down the back of my neck–family snowball fight not pictured.

I’m also setting my older children on the task of translating the Spanish Bible stories for Spanish-speaking preschoolers. Why? Because I can, and because they don’t speak Swahili or Latvian, but if yours do, then by all means check out the Latvian and other foreign languages! They don’t have enough Spanish for my liking, but there is Latvian!

Here’s my favorite aspect of SchoolhouseTeachers.com:

My first baby girl was born, like, yesterday, and last week she turned 19. That’s years! Time flies…fast…like a fast flying thingie. We did some pretty fun stuff in school (apparently not enough vocab study if this writer is saying “thingie” and “stuff”), but if I could do it over again, I would have had more lessons that she really wanted to study and fewer that I felt we had to know to appease the social service workers that never showed up at our door.

With SchoolhouseTeachers.com, I ~~feel comfortable~~ am totally excited about letting my children pick a couple of courses at a time that they want to study (after Bible and math are finished). I’m confident that they will be learning something. It may not be the same things I learned in school ~~and promptly forgot as soon as the test was over because I never used it in real life and wasn’t interested in it in the first place~~, but that’s totally okay! That said, I might “make” my 19-year-old take this for her writing business:

**I don’t love everything about SchoolhouseTeachers.com.**

For example, I absolutely do not like their cute little drawing of the ark for the preschool flood study. The flood was not cute, and the ark was not cutesie. For the love of all things truth, draw the ark its actual size in proportion to an elephant, so kids could see that a lot of elephants could fit on that behemoth. Kids would have an easier time supporting their beliefs when (not if) they are attacked if they had the truth in their heads. Thousands of people drowning–so not cutesie.

~~I also don’t like the amount of clicking required to get to the course, but they’re in the process of fixing that, so forget I said anything. In fact, I’m crossing this off right now.~~

And there will be things you don’t like, which is why it’s totally great that there are nearly 200 courses–pick what you like and leave the rest…like how you pick the M&Ms out of the trail mix and leave the raisins. ‘Fess up. You know you do it.

Technical details for my fellow roadschoolers:

For us travelers, internet connection and data limits are issues. While some of these courses are videos that will consume data, others are made of printable or downloadable lesson plans that can be downloaded at the library or RV park and stored on your computer to be pulled up whenever you want and wherever you are–even boondocking.

The studies do not require that you buy books, but access to a library does help for some additional recommended resources. Obviously, that part is not ideal for the traveler, but, well, read the paragraph about The Long, Long Trailer and you’ll agree with me that not having access to all the books a person would like to have is better than plunging off a mountain peak with your entire rig, family, and collection of ~~rocks~~ books.

Interested? You can get the Yearly Membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com for 50% off if you use the code CREWFOLLOWER by January 31, 2016.

That’s what I think. Click this banner to find out what other homeschoolers think. Click click click. (If you say that real fast, it sounds like “lick.” I need a vacation.)

364 Days to Overwhelming Gratitude

My favorite holiday is so close I can almost smell it–creamy mashed potatoes with oodles of butter, my mom’s fresh potato rolls with oodles of butter, my daughter’s homemade stuffing with oodles of butter. Except this year, I can’t eat butter. Our baby has an allergy–we can’t figure out the culprit, but for now Mama is on an elimination diet which means Thanksgiving dinner is going to look more like turkey and green beans–no butter.

And that’s okay. I’m still super excited for Thanksgiving.

Why? Because it’s not about the food. It’s not even about the pie if you can believe I’m saying that. It’s about the thanks.

Which brings us to Thanksgiving pet peeve number one:

Random Citizen: “I’m thankful for this and that and that and this.”

Great, but who gets your thanks, Random Citizen? The air? The fates? The universe? They don’t want your thanks and they certainly don’t deserve it. God does.

You knew there’d be a Thanksgiving pet peeve number two:

Even though I am running 26 Days of Thanksgiving in Photos on my Facebook page, I don’t like those “gimmicks.”

Why not? They’re great! You’re such a humbug. That’s why you named your son Ebenezer.

Chill–good grief. I don’t like them because they end. We focus on Thanksgiving for a day, perhaps a month, and then it bluntly ends like this sentence. Done. Bam. No more.

It’s time to reconcile both of those pet peeves.

Pastor Andrew Schroer who shepherds a friendly bilingual Christian church out in a li’l ol’ western town in Texas wrote a devotional journal called 364 Days of Thanksgiving. In it, Andy encourages us to:

Be thankful every day.
Address our thanks to God.

I love it when something single-handedly (or single-pagedly) decimates my pet peeves, don’t you? Of course you do. It gets better.

364 Days of Thanksgiving is also a journal, providing space for you to write down one thing to be thankful for each day–even I can handle that. The trick is it has to be something different, so you can’t do this:

Day 1–cookies
Day 2–cookies
Day 3–cookies
Day 4–cookies
Day 5–cookies
Day 6–cookies

I’m not sure if you can do this:

Day 1–chocolate chip cookies without nuts
Day 2–chocolate chip cookies with nuts
Day 3–cookies after church
Day 4–Great Grandma’s molasses cookies
Day 5–getting the last cookie in the jar before Steve does
Day 6–secretly enjoying the cookie I hid in my sock drawer after everyone else went to bed

Probably not.

What about day 365? Dickens said we Americans had it backward (he actually said backwards with an S, being British) when we gripe all year and thank one day. He says we should thank 364 days and gripe one day. Andy one-ups good ol’ Dickens: on day 365 you sit down with the last cookie from your sock drawer and read over the entire journal showing how God (not the universe) has blessed you.

Do you see what’s happening here? By focusing on gratitude for an entire year, you become more grateful and more aware of your blessings. Instead of griping over the lack of oodles of butter, you rejoice over the potatoes. Gratitude becomes a habit, and you become a grateful dry potato eater instead of a disgruntled butter lover. It’s a beautiful transformation!

Andrew Schroer and his Beautiful Bride — Andy with his stunning bride, Clariza

While I might possibly still have your attention, know this: 364 Days of Thanksgiving is not filled with blank pages awaiting your thanks. Andy fills it with encouragement and the great stories (parables, really) that his parishioners expect to hear when he steps up to the pulpit.

Now, if you’re following along on our Twelve Weeks of a Simple Christmas missions, you could finish a huge chunk of your Christmas list with just this book. No lie…because I don’t lie…except that one time which is none of your business but which really makes me grateful for Jesus and forgiveness.

Buy 364 Days of Thanksgiving for your Kindle or in hold-it-in-your-hand-and-smell-the-pages format at Amazon (affiliate link) or as an ebook or hardcover book here. You can also find a related Bible study for groups and a sermon series for pastor’s here in both CD and downloadable formats.

You won’t be sorry; in fact, 364 days from now you’ll be overwhelmingly grateful.

My Mentor Monday Interview with the Holy Hen House

I am honored–and by honored I mean I seriously don’t deserve this honor–to have been asked by the lovely Amanda Rose of Holy Hen House to be interviewed for her site’s Mentor Monday.

If you want a peek into my life, my heart, my past, my future, and maybe a cheesy joke or two, go here.

20 Ways to Help a Loved One in Need

I remember the weeks that our eldest daughter was in the hospital where she was ultimately diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, and I vividly recall the first several months back home. She was 14. She could barely walk or eat. I was very sick thanks to growing our sweet baby number seven. Steve was handling the groceries and follow-up testing and appointments while struggling to hold onto our business in a plunging economy in the Vegas area.

It was a trying time and, looking back, I can’t feasibly comprehend how we mere mortals survived that period.

If not for the grace of God…

Some people offered to help. We should have accepted. Honestly, though, when someone says, “Let me know if I can help,” you never let them know. We don’t, anyway.

Why not?

“Let me know” feels rather like a “How do you do?” from a passing acquaintance; the greeting merely expects a “Fine, and you?” They don’t really want to hear about your aunt’s illness and your daughter’s grades in school and your auto repairs. It feels that same way with a “let me know,” doesn’t it?

That said, there was one family who looked us in the eye and said, “You tell us how we can help. You know we mean that.” And we knew…but we didn’t ask. There were also a couple relatives who volunteered to fly out and help. We didn’t accept. Why in tarnation not?

Here’s Why People Like Us Don’t Ask For Help

We were so wrapped up in the medical decisions and the basics of survival, that we couldn’t think of what to ask for, we couldn’t manage the logistics of airport pick-ups, wheels, and accommodations for helpers, and we certainly didn’t want to burden others with the remainder of our life issues which we could somehow struggle to manage on our own, being the independent do-it-yourselfers that we are.

We could manage to get some sort of food on the table. We could manage to keep everyone in clean clothes to some extent. We could manage to drive over an hour away to take care of the dog and drive back to the hospital and charity house. We could. It would have been a whole lot easier if we didn’t have to manage food and laundry and dog care while managing a very sick child and five very concerned other children and a brand new baby.

It’s ridiculous that we didn’t ask for help, I know, but how many times haven’t you done this same thing? Be honest.

After a birth, following a miscarriage or other death, during an illness or while being diagnosed, during financial hardships, when a mama is newly pregnant and puking up her rib cage, during a move, after debilitating news–those are all times when people need help, and that’s okay.

Let’s see how we can offer help to someone in a manner that will be effective, rather than make them think they’re begging for help or imposing on others.

20 Ways to Help a Loved One in Need

Instead of saying, “Let me know if I can help,” rephrase it to “I sincerely want to help. Please tell me what I can do. I mean this with all my heart.” This is the bare minimum. They will still probably not tell you how you can help. We wouldn’t.

Give them a list of ways you can help and say, “Pick three.” Stand there until they do, or say you’ll call in a day or two to get an answer.

Can you cook? Everyone needs to eat. Tell the family that you will be bringing dinner some time this week (or every Wednesday for a month), and to pick the best date for them. That leaves no asking on their part–just thanking. Be sure you ask about food sensitivities. While they would appreciate any food, often the family-in-crisis resorts to quick and filling and would love something healthy and homemade.

Slip a grocery or gas gift card in their mailbox or hand. Everyone needs those. If you’re a close friend or family member, steal the car for an hour (when they don’t need it) and fill it with gas; you might consider running it through a car wash while you’re at it.

Drop a bag of groceries off at their home, maybe with a family-friendly movie or a puzzle tucked in. Tell them you’re coming and say, “Set a cooler out front to let me know you’re too tired for company, and I won’t come in and bother you. If there’s no cooler, I’ll knock.”

Are you good with kids? Say this: “I would love to pick your kids up Thursday and bring them over for crafts and cookie baking if you’re comfortable with that. Otherwise, I would be more than happy to come and watch them so you can run errands or take a shower and a nap. Don’t feel obligated to socialize with me.”

Say this: “I’m coming over to do your laundry. No arguments! I’ve seen dirty undies before, so don’t hide them before I get there.” (That last part is important.)

Say this: “I’m coming over to clean your house, not because you’re a slob, but because you need a break. You can take a nap while I’m cleaning.” Or give them a gift certificate for a cleaning person with the same “not because you’re a slob” explanation.

If you are a long distance relative, say this: “I really want to help. Would it be helpful if I came and stayed to help, or would it be more work to have me there. Please be honest.” And while you’re there, please be helpful. We’ve had “helpful” guests that were far more work than help.

If you live far away or don’t have the time, order food to be delivered. You can also have toilet paper and other necessities delivered through Amazon.

Go with them. Doctor visits and hearing diagnoses are scary. Funeral arrangements are confusing. Bankruptcy proceedings are humiliating. Go along and hold a hand.

Send cards, emails, and well-wishes often. Often! People generally offer help and sympathy immediately after a difficult event, such as the start of an illness or a diagnosis; the prayers and sentiments commonly fall off after a short time.

Get techy. Ask if they are on Care Pages, Caring Bridge, or another online update site via which you can follow their medical progress. Get the Stand With app and encourage your friend or family member to do the same.

Sit with them. Some people simply want to feel less lonely, less scared, less…different. Sit with them and chat, laugh, cry, pray. Put your phone away during this time.

Be understanding. Sometimes fear and pain elicit the worst in us; be patient through these moments.

Ask. Then listen. Nothing’s worse than the whole world pretending your problem doesn’t exist, or switching the conversation to their cat or their kid’s grades every time you bring up your struggle. Well, I’m sure something’s worse than that, but when you’re immersed in pain, being ignored or compared to someone’s cat or a 3rd grade report card belittles your hurt.

Give the family or couple some movie tickets. Offer to sit with all the kids or with the ill person if she or he cannot go. During a crisis, couple time becomes time spent in doctors’ offices and waiting rooms–not the most romantic setting. Often the financial toll a situation takes is almost as intense as the main issue–what may be no biggie to you is huge to that family, like a couple movie tickets or a trip to the zoo.

Take over their jobs at church or other volunteer locations…with permission, of course.

Enlist a group of people to provide meals for a while, take shifts with babysitting, visit, whatever! Look within your church for this group–even if the person doesn’t attend a church, it’s a great introduction to the imperfect but loving heart of the Christian.

Listen. (I know I already said this, but it’s important.) Let them grumble, cry, scream, sulk, whatever! And don’t say anything stupid or critical in the process. The stuff your loved one is going through is hard–if you haven’t been there, you can’t comprehend the depth of the pain. Don’t judge, don’t gossip, don’t try to fix, don’t say, “well if you only–“, don’t roll your eyes–just listen.

Might I add, please don’t expect a thank you note. People are in such a haze during trying times, that sometimes they can’t even remember who helped or how they survived, much less muster the energy to write a note. Do it for the person, not for the credit.

I have received multiple requests for permission to print this to share at women’s conventions, funerals, hospitals, and the like. Please, friends, do share. To make that easier, click here or on the image below for a printable version.

Here is a great post from someone else’s experience with a few more helpful actions that would truly show you care.

What are your best tips for helping someone in need?

11 Tried and True Tips for Getting Kids to Eat Veggies

One poor mama asked me how to get her kids to eat their vegetables. She has a child that gags and cannot swallow his veggies. Poor guy.

Many people will judge. I might have after my first four girls, who ate their vegetables enthusiastically, but now I eat my veggies with a side of humble pie! Here’s why:

We went through the whole gag issue with one of our seven, our boy. He would gag with certain veggies in his mouth. If required to swallow, it would come back up. Mmm…that’s appetizing. I don’t think anyone watching the scene firsthand could say it was an obedience issue. He physically couldn’t get them down, and he was a very obedient child. We kept offering the veggies and now he inhales them all.

Here is what we did to make veggies a readily accepted part of my son’s diet.

11 Tried and True Tips for Getting Kids to Eat Veggies

1–Frozen peas and green beans are like ice cream bonbons. Okay, they’re totally not, but they’re fun to eat if your kids are beyond the choking stage.

2–Smoothies are God’s alternative to dinner table battles and McDonald’s drive-throughs. Throw in a tiny bit of veggie and gradually increase the amount.

3–I often opted for heavily veggie-based dishes instead of stand-alone veggies. Somehow, veggies are easier to eat when they’re in a different form–casseroles, veggie soup, tomato soup, stir-fry, pasta sauce, pies, even lasagna. Chop small or blend, you sneaky mama.

4–I still add veggies to as many dishes as possible, and then tell my son what he ate only after he ate them and liked them. That way he knows he has tried and enjoyed that veggie. Parsnip-mashed potatoes comes to mind. I also sneak onions into everything, and he love-hates onions. (Loves them until he finds out he just ate an onion, at which point everything is gross, although yesterday he realized he loves French onion soup.)

Help Your Kids Eat Their Veggies! — This pasty is sneaky–it has yummy veggies inside!

5–Pretty bowls of veggies set out as daily snacks are enjoyed by everyone, and he dives right in with the rest. Dip makes it more fun, but I only use that as a treat.

6–We cut out as much processed foods as possible (in our case, all the processed food) both to not give him an alternative snack and to help his health and tastes. This is particularly effective if the gag reflex is from a developing (or passing) allergy issue.

7–I kindly and respectfully asked my hubby, who sits by him at every meal and was admittedly not raised on veggies, to stop making remarks about how disgusting veggies are and to quit leaving them on his plate. Setting a good example is huge. Huge-huge!

8–We planted a garden together and ate the goods.

11 Tips to Get Kids to Eat Veggies — Gathering rhubarb from a friend’s garden.

9–Sometimes he would be my shopping buddy, and I would let him pick out whatever he wanted to try from the grocery store. We rotated kids, but it was new and exciting, so they tried it.

10–We required him to try one bite of the veggie dish, or one piece (like one pea or bean) for each year of his age. I apologize in advance, my dear future daughter-in-law, if you have to count out 42 beans for him. I really tried.

11–We held off on the foods that made him gag. Eventually, we reintroduced them and he was totally fine with them. It is possible that it’s a sensitivity issue.

Here’s a ray of hope for you mamas struggling to get veggies into your children (or hubby): When my gagger son (now 9) was six, he talked my veggie-phobic husband into trying Brussels sprouts, and they both liked them. There is hope! At six he was my least creative eater, but at 9 he loves his veggies and will eat almost anything, especially mushrooms.

11 Tips to Get Your Kids to Eat Veggies — That’s him in the background, happily munching on an “edible weed” from a friend’s back yard.

How do you get your kids to eat their veggies?

Fun Tool for Memorizing Multiplication Facts

The Trigger Memory Co. gave my family a free downloadable version of their Times Tales program in exchange for this unbiased review. As usual, no cookies or chocolate exchanged hands to sway my opinion.

In all honesty, we are not the best family to be reviewing this program. Our daughter doesn’t quite grasp multiplication well enough at this point to really benefit from the program, and my son has long ago mastered his facts. However, the program does jump into division near the end of the second set of videos, so my fourth grader can use it for the “division tales.”

First, what is it?

Times Tales is a DVD or downloadable series of files that teaches your children fun little stories about interesting characters that represent numbers. It covers the upper numbers of the multiplication tables.

Without the child really knowing that she is learning, she is memorizing her upper multiplication facts. If you’ve battled math, spelling, anything in the past, you know how much you love it when your children don’t even realize they are learning!

Is it effective?

My daughter hasn’t begun multiplication yet, but get this: during the video she took a quiz, and she got most of the answers correct. Of course, she doesn’t actually know what multiplication is, but I can see that when she starts studying it, she will have an advantage with these cutesie (and sometimes lame, admit my kids) stories in her head.

My 10-year-old son remembers all the stories as well…although he already knew all the facts that they were teaching.

What did the kids think?

My first grader (in the target range) claims it’s boring, but she jumped into it willingly and I saw a lot of giggles, so I’m a little confused by her dichotomous answer. She did, however, painlessly learn a lot of facts she can put to use when we begin our multiplication lessons. So her mama says it is a success.

My fourth grader (also in the target range) says it was pretty cool when you add in the games and worksheets. He didn’t learn anything, because the multiplication facts were already old friends, but any time you can skip your own math and hang out with your sisters in front of a screen is a good time. I can see how this would have been a huge boon to him if he was missing some facts, and the division facts are a great booster for his lessons.

This is an affordable way to help kids master those elusive facts.

Additional thoughts for my fellow roadschoolers:

Times Tales is available as a digital download or as a disc. Naturally, the digital download weighs absolutely nothing, so you don’t have to consider it in your tow weight. It does however, take eons to download. I had to wait until we found a really good connection (too few and far between in the world-on-wheels) and download in the middle of the night when the rest of the internet access munchers were asleep. It worked that way. And then, of course, my computer died (RIP Mac…back to the PC world), so I have to download it all over again on our old Behemoth. Since I’m not a techie, I’m not too thrilled about that whole thing.

I do like the digital download option, however, because you don’t have to figure out a shipping location–that’s always a pain in the kiester.

Once you’ve got the download complete (or if you buy the DVD), there is no further internet access required. Now that makes any full-timer smile!

There are no books to find space for, but you will want to do a little printing for the worksheets, games, and cubes. It’s no biggie, but it is printing. If you keep your printer stored under a mountain, that’s also a pain in the kiester. But again…no shelf space or weight limits to consider! And no masses of flash cards–gag!

Go here to read reviews from homeschoolers whose kids are a better fit for this program–they have some great things to say!

I’m Taking a Sabbatical…and You Should Too

It used to be, and occasionally still is, that people would take sabbaticals. In the Old Testament, the ground was rested every seven years. Today, professors and other professionals occasionally take every seventh year off to pursue a writing or research project. It’s a worthy practice. It comes from the Latin word sabbaticus which literally means ceasing.

I have been running The Simple Homemaker for almost four years. I’m not quite up for a sabbatical, since it’s been slightly more than half of seven years. But I need one. So I’m taking a sabbat. That’s half a sabbatical—six months.

Why?

Here's your first clue. This one and her six siblings are growing up too fast! — Here’s your first clue. This one and her six siblings are growing up too fast!

Someone told me that my blog was a waste of time and that it isn’t doing anybody any good. Those were harsh words. While I tell my children to not let harsh words and criticism get them down, I also encourage them to find the truth and concern beneath the gruff delivery. Such truth and concern can help them grow.

In the case of The Simple Homemaker, I had lamented to my tactless confidante that I have been wearing a failure badge lately. Despite spending almost every hour of every day with my children for the past nearly 18 years, I feel like it flew by without me. Despite putting on my “writer” hat and pecking away at a computer for 20 years, I have nothing to show for it (except, of course, my ebook From Frazzled to Festive: Finding Joy and Meaning in a Simple Christmas, which you should buy if your Christmas season is like final exam week).

Despite my preaching of family first, sometimes I am tempted to inwardly groan when a needy child is up during my earliest of early morning working hours. When that happens, I should be putting my computer away and hugging someone small or large or anywhere in between, instead of writing about bread or children’s books or hugging your children.

Seven of the reasons I'm taking a sabbat. — Seven of the reasons I’m taking a sabbat.

In essence, despite how much I enjoy writing for The Simple Homemaker, I was spending time on my blog that could have been spent doing what I really want and need to do–focusing even more on my family, our music mission, my writing, and our traveling homeschool (our roadschool full of “Road Scholars”…not exactly Rhodes Scholars, but close enough, eh?).

I write a post lickety split in the wee hours when everyone is asleep, but, because I’m not a techie and don’t have the funds for a virtual assistant, those posts often languish in my drafts file due to the inordinate amount of time required to prep a post for publication. That writing time was therefore wasted. Boo. I don’t like wasting time unless there are cookies and children involved…which technically makes it non-wasted time.

Focusing on the music mission and the hearts of the people behind it--that's a worthy focus. — Focusing on the music mission and the hearts of the people behind it–that’s a worthy focus.

So…that brings us to my sabbat.

I’m leaving The Simple Homemaker for a period of six months, at which time I will reappear. I have several review posts and a few giveaways that I have committed to which will be posted after those six months are up—I don’t believe in not following through on commitments, and, here again, I keep dropping the ball on The Simple Homemaker. I also have a couple of great series and those languishing posts I mentioned, all waiting patiently in the back room (mostly on a dead computer we have yet to revive).

Where The Simple Homemaker goes from there remains to be seen.

Upon my reemergence, and barring any unforeseen major events, I will have a physical book completed, one that has been struggling to emerge for seven years now. You can hold me to that. In fact, please do.

These two need more of my time and attention, because sometime when I'm present, my mind is working on blog posts instead of on them. — These two need more of my time and attention, because sometime when I’m present, my mind is working on blog posts instead of on them.

What does this have to do with you?

I would like you to take a sabbat, too. There is something that you are doing (maybe even something that you like, like I like The Simple homemaker), that is distracting you from…well…life.

Is crafting or shopping calling you away from hubby time? Do your kids have to wait for you to read 35 blogs before you’ll read Peter Rabbit? Are you dragging (or following) your kids to MOPS, swim, gymnastics, preschool, preschool readiness, and preschool readiness readiness? (You all know how I feel about the whole preschool readiness readiness thing!) Are you so obsessed over cooking real food or vegan food or low carb food that you and your family aren’t enjoying the gift of food anymore?

Are you so committed to creating a thigh gap that you are also creating relationship gaps? Are you wrapped up in your hair, makeup and wardrobe, in your couponing and frugality, in your own blog or work, that you are bumping out of place the things in life that matter? Is it so important to you that your family looks like you have it all together, that you aren’t focusing on heart issues?

Moments like this spontaneous piano lesson between siblings--these are so, so beautiful, that I don't want to miss a single one. Not one. — Moments like this spontaneous piano lesson between siblings–these are so, so beautiful, that I don’t want to miss a single one. Not one.

I’ve been there, and I’ve given it all up—leading children’s choirs, heading or attending moms’ clubs, running women’s Bible studies at church, choir, sewing, crafts, insane cooking ideals and much, much, much more…now including The Simple Homemaker.

Is it hard to give up something you love? Don’t let anyone tell you it’s not. Still, eliminating these time chompers doesn’t make my life empty. It makes it fuller, because it gives me the time and energy and focus to be the woman God intended me to be, and to fully embrace and love my family.

When I die, I don’t want to hear (figuratively of course, since I’ll be dead and hard of hearing) “You know, that woman had over 10,000 Pinterest followers!” Who rinkin’ stinkin’ cares?! I want to hear, “That woman really loved her kids. You could tell.” I want to hear “She put God first…not always well, but she sure as shootin’ tried.” I wanna hear, “Well, we certainly won’t miss hearing every 30 seconds about what a hottie her husband is!” Have I mentioned my husband’s a hottie?

When people look at you, what do they see? Great hair? Stylishly dressed kids? Groovy manicure? Polished eyebrows? Amazing cupcakes? Incredible scrapbook pages? Big bank account? Awesome Pinterest page? Many letters after your name? Full calendar? That stuff is fine, but what should they really see?

What people see—those are your priorities.

My priorities right now are erasing the failure brand from my forehead by reorganizing my time. When my computer died for several weeks, I spent more time on my family and our homeschool. I loved on my pillow a bit more and on my hubby a lot more. It was…nice.

My family. I love the whole Jesus-lpvin' crew! — My family. I love the whole crazy, Jesus-lovin’ crew! I spend every day with them…but I want to give them even more.

And now I need to finish that book.

I am making a clean break. I will not be showing up on Facebook (unless there is a prayer request). I will not be showing up here on the blog. I will be completely invisible until May…unless you email me to tell me to get moving on that book…or you send me cookies. I know this is blog and social media suicide…but I’m okay with hearing at my funeral “She committed blog and social media suicide so she could focus on her kiddos and write that book she promised her family and smooch on her man a little more and write her Grandma letters.” I’m not just okay with that…I’m awesome with that!

If you absolutely can’t live without our antics for the next six months, we are still keeping a family travel blog over at The Travel Bags, and we as a family are on Facebook and Instagram as The Travel Bags, and, yes, there’s always Pinterest, which is also something my kids and I do together.

See you in May, friends. Enjoy your sabbat. I know I will.