15 MINUTES IS ALL IT TAKES

What can you accomplish,  cleaning-wise, in 15 minutes? Sometimes A LOT more than we think! I've been challenging myself lately to take a chore and see what I can do with it in 15 minutes.  You see, I homeschool,  work part-time and am supposed to keep my home but a lot of times I don't have more than 15 minutes at a time to offer on any given chore. Used to be that I'd wait until the perfect time to do a task; a time I felt I could solely devote to household chores. Good thing I stopped waiting and started doing because there is NEVER a perfect time, and just when you've gone out of your way (kids are being babysat,  nothing scheduled on the calendar,  etc.) to make sure you have the time available to get er' done, something always happens like neighbor visiting, child needs to go to ER, your struck with sudden fatigue and so on and so on.  These things happen folks! So now instead of waiting you'd be quite amazed what you can do when you stop over-thinking and just do. I've given 3 before and after photos of our main bathroom(although we have 3 bathrooms,  this one is everyone's favorite) and 1 before and after pic. of  the right side of my closet (the messy pile up side). Each task completed in 15 minutes or less. By the way, I know this because I set a timer. This girl is serious about her 15 minute rule ;-)  ~Amy

  

Bathroom before, pic. 1

Bathroom before, pic. 2

Bathroom before, pic. 3

Bathroom after, pic. 1

Bathroom after, pic. 2

Bathroom after, pic. 3

Closet before, pic. 1

Closet after, pic 1

Are you washing clothes in grime?

Take a peek inside your washing machine and you may be surprised at your finding.  Yes, that's grime! But where did it come from? You'd think that since your washer is constantly cycling water and cleaning your laundry that it would be self-cleaning, but not so. Just like you get soap scum in the bathtub,  you get scum from your laundry detergent in your washing machine. BUT,  I am going to bless your bones by letting you in on a little secret on how to get rid of that grime quickly and with little effort:

Pour 2 cups of white vinegar into washer,   start your washer until it's filled with water and then stop it and let vinegar sit in the water for an hour. After an hour, allow water to finish cycling through and  then wipe with a sponge and VOILA!  looks brand new.

Awesome Turtles Decorations!!

My sister is super crafty and over in their house they made these super adorable ninja turtles tree decorations real simple green ball,craft paper and googly eyes. You can also dress it up by adding glitter all around the ball or for added flare glitter just the mask. Also for the eye mask try using colored felt instead of craft paper.Have fun!

Christmas is coming!!!Arts and Crafts

OK so Christmas is right around the corner but throughout the gift making,homeschooling and other things I am determined to put a new craft up everyday. It may be for children or for gift ideas for adults to make so here goes....

The 1st one is Hand/foot print reindeer! This is super easy for younger children older children can decorate this more. Also Grand parents would love this framed up. Have fun we did! :)

You can do it brown . we ran out of brown construction paper and my son decided not to color. The head is his footprint and the antler his hands. It was fun and pretty cool because I couldn't find his googly eyes so I pulled some from my craft stash and these happen to glow..BONUS lol.

Lemongrass and Peppermint (essential oils that is)

We've got some new and exciting things in the works and can't wait to share them with you! BUT before we get to that, let's talk lemongrass, and peppermint too :-) We've been studying up on essential oils and wanted to share a couple of our favorites and why we love them:

LEMONGRASS is healing in so many ways: It helps with circulation, is an analgesic, which helps reduce pain and inflammation, antibacterial, antiseptic (great for wounds), an astringent, smells awesome and works amazingly in deodorant (which is even more awesome if you have teenagers). Lemongrass also happens to be my (Amy) favorite scent.

PEPPERMINT treats indigestion, nausea, respiratory problem, gets rid of headaches, body aches and fever, is a great flavoring agent, contains vitamins A, C and Omega 3, eliminates bad breath and has antibacterial components. I love this stuff in toothpaste (homemade of course), hand soap and as a natural air freshener.

and our surprise will be in an upcoming post REALLY soon :-)

~Amy

Happy Thanksgiving

I pray that you all are enjoying your Thanksgiving Day. It's the time to step back and recognize the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us, even in times of trial we can be thankful.

Kale, the Amazing Superfood

Recently, I was stopped by someone as I went to unload my shopping cart full of kale into my car, and was asked what do I use all that kale for? My answer was simply, "my family LOVES kale" Not only does kale taste amazing but has so many health benefits as well. Check out what Medical News Today has to say about this superfood. Mostly we make homemade kale chips by covering the leaves in olive oil and sea salt and then baking for about 20 minutes(makes a great snack). We also enjoy adding kale to our soups and salads, using it in smoothies and making a kale slaw. Next time you're in the produce section, think about trying this amazing superfood. Your body will thank you.

Cleaning Your CEILING FAN

Now is the time for sneezing,sniffling,coughing and more unhappy feelings of the cold trying to cough its way into our lives. We recently had a bout of the cold/flu in our house and I have to say after each one of us hacking away and gasping for air I thought.... I would do anything to stop coughing and breath like normal. Whilst wallowing in self pity on my living room floor I looked up to see.... Dust dust and more Dust on my ceiling fan. My first thought,"oh no this has to go." I'm sort of an OCD cleaner if I see something that needs to be cleaned I immediately stop what I'm doing and get to it,(so I don't forget of course.) So off I head to get my ceiling fan cleaning brush. A long handle with a circle shaped brush at the end."Perfect!" I thought, come to find out my thinking was absolutely wrong while this brush had been doing a swell job this whole time and I saw dust flying when I used it,I came to realize its not the best method to clean. Now what everyone has been waiting to hear,I will tell you the best way to clean your fan.
Climb on a ladder with plenty of paper towels and....
 here its is the cleaning solution to make your fan spik and span(rhyming) scrubbing bubbles. Yep the bubbling bathroom cleaner I use for everything and no I don't work for the makers of scrubbing bubbles. When your looking to clean and disinfect swiftly (as I was,still not feeling well.) Scrubbing bubbles is it.
Get On your ladder and starting with the tops of the blade spray and wipe until its completely cleaned then get the bottom of the blade.(blade side facing the floor)
 After you clean every blade in this manner spray your paper towel and clean all of the rest of the pieces on your fan. Remember you only spray your blades directly as  spraying the other components of your fan could be harmful and possibly ruin the effectiveness of the fan. Also know you can do this I know some of y'all are not ladder climbers and definitely not dusters BUT when it comes to your health and the health of your household CLEAN THAT FAN. You'll be so glad you did and you only need to deep clean the fan like this about 4 times during the year all the rest of the year dusting would probably suffice.
Have fun
Lane

A Virtuous Wife, Who Can Find?

Proverbs 31:10 "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." 

Ladies, this book is life changing! God has placed in us a desire to be a help meet to our husbands but for a lot of us, we're not quite sure what that really means or what's really required. I was never taught how to be a help meet nor did I have an example growing up BUT I've always desired to be the wife and mother that God has called me to be. Debi Pearl has laid it out step-by-step, with real-life examples in her book, Created To Be His Help Meet. If you desire to be the wife that God has called you to be then this book is a MUST READ! I just purchased my second copy as I'm constantly lending this book out. Tons of women are getting together and talking about this book, putting it into action, and becoming the wives they were created to be. I plan on passing this book down to my daughter. One of the BEST books I've ever read! 

~Amy

This book is available through the store on our site Created to be his helpmeet

Holidays

Ok if you are like me this year (I will not be having anyone over for Thanksgiving.) Then its time to get on that Christmas decorating! YAY I am super excited this year because every other year we have guest for Thanksgiving and Christmas so I never get to started on Christmas decor until after Thanksgiving:( I may be the only one who thinks like this IDK. I have some tips for easy decorating and gift preparing so hopefully I can lay it down without being overwhelming lol; Which if you know me I can go-go-go Here goes..
. Decorating Tips
1. Pine Garland . Its super inexpensive and looks great alone or can be paired with other cute decor.    2. Bows Bows Bows . Need I say more you can place these babies all over the place, it's great!
3. Table runners they're super swift to change out and you can find some for every occasion..
4.Hot Tea. Ok not really a decorating tip but I need it with all this running around lol
5.Printables. I don't think I need to explain but there's a printable for everything out there. (door signs,wall decor,snack labels the list is endless.)
 Ok that's enough of a teaser for now , lets get down on the Gifts. I love giving presents and I have found a system that's been working for me for the past few years.
Gifts
1. Find a closet. One that's not being used often (mine happens to be my Christmas closet haha most the decorations are being set out
2.Get plastic bags. For every person you're getting a gift for they have their own bag to organize the pile of gifts and not forget what gifts are for who. (great way to reuse shopping bags)
3. Start early. Begin getting gifts super early you will find more thoughtful gifts and save tons of cash.
4.Save gift bags and tissue paper then reuse it. (I take my tissue paper and neatly fold it then put it into my tissue paper file.) Sounds corny but it keeps the tissue paper nice and flat so its brand new when I use it.Also its easy to find.
5. Have fun. Use anything... if you don't have wrapping paper pick out some newspapers with cute ads. Don't have bows.. again newspaper made bows or fabric bows.(It'll be thoughtful and different.)

If you haven't gotten the idea in the list. You hang the plastic bags in the closet. Label them if your memory isn't what it used to be. Then every time you find a gift for someone put in into their very own bag. You can begin to wrap but I don't do that until its time just in case I have a surprise guest and need to switch some stuff around. When it comes to your immediate family ,wrap and label your gifts as soon as you can and toss them into the attic,basement wherever people wont travel too. Hope that helpped, have fun and stay tuned we will be having tutorials soon :) double yay!!
 Lane

Getting It All Done

I’ve got laundry to do, dishes to wash, children to teach, a house to run, a husband to tend, and the list goes on and on. Two words could easily describe any given day: OVERWHELMING and CHAOTIC! So, how does one get it all done in only 24 hours (mind you, I’ve gotta sleep sometime)? First and most importantly, bring the day before our Father in heaven, seek His wisdom and allow Him to guide you in prioritizing.
Secondly, no one really likes to hear the “S” word, BUT we are most efficient and can accomplish more with a schedule. There, I said it, a schedule.
Well, allow me to be the first to admit that I am schedule-making challenged. Really, I am. I look at all that needs to be accomplished and begin to ask the Lord for a small miracle, if He will just extend my day a few more hours, say 34 hours in a day. I mean, not too tall an order for the Savior of the universe. Instead He gives wisdom freely to those who ask and He also places believers in our lives with different gifts.
 Well, since I’m a little lacking on the gift of scheduling, He brought my sister in and would you believe she created a doable schedule for my family (which is no easy task)?!? AND to her it was not a big deal. Like I said, her gift not mine.
Also just to make it clear how challenging scheduling for my family can be, let me throw out some key phrases: 1 home school mom, an elementary schooler, a middle schooler, a high schooler the high schooler also does part-time college, mom is taxi for all, throw about 7 extracurricular activities in the mix. I mean this is no easy task folks but she did it. She has an amazing gift and thankfully, she is willing to share that gift. If you are like me and am overwhelmed in wondering how to get it all done, we will have scheduling services available soon. Also, I will be a posting a sample schedule. Let’s encourage one another as wives and moms and help each other to be the women we were created to be.
 God bless, Amy

Homemade Toothpaste

Homemade Toothpaste

Call me hippie, granola, whatever you wish BUT I love me some all natural, homemade, wholesome, healthy, products! I've been oil pulling for quite awhile now (find out more here from Wellness Mama ) in addition to making my own toothpaste. I feel like I've finally found an amazing recipe for toothpaste that really works SO here ya go:

1. 2 TBS baking soda
2. 1\2 TBS coconut oil
3. 1\2 TBS peroxide
4. pinch of pink himalayan sea salt
5. 1-2 drops peppermint extract

~ Amy

Schedules schedules schedules!!!

 

 

 

So my sister Amy is super great at making and keeping schedules. I on the other hand need a schedule but never know how to make one, or never commit the time to sit down and do it. So great idea if you need a schedule(I needed a workout one) commit one week to really doing what you need to do, whether its eating right, exercising or reading. Then write it down...Viola schedule all made. Ok example I know you may need one so I started trying to workout I got down on 2 ,45 min Zumba videos on Mon and Tues. Then the firm video on wed and Thurs. Followed by core work on Friday. See schedule and all I did was write it down now sticking with it is the key mine will be 2 months then I will focus on certain body parts Ill add my schedule when I do that..

 

Have fun scheduling and stay motivated :-)

train birthday ideas

ok so my little mans bday is coming up. He loves trains or anything to do with trains,so train bday it is. This is gonna be a very basic party and I dont have alot of decorations considering my printers out of ink. So this post will be an awesome bday party on a budget. Ill start with food so initially I was only gonna do cake and icecream as I was trying to make this party short. Seeing as my sis in-law volunteered the cake we are doing a bit of toddler loving food. So the CAKE It will be thomas the tank engine basic cake vanilla with whipped frosting a pic of thomas coving the top and at his funnel a pic of the bday boy so cute. The food is basic we will bbq some hotdog I have an assortment of potato chips and the healthy version of jug juices as well as baked beans( per request of both my hubby and bday boy) lol.

I have made a very inexpensive pinata (although pinatas are sooooo cheap to make) I should do a tutorial. I made it green like his favorite train. I decided to fill it with peanut butter cup,safe lollipops,chocolate covered caramel and bite sized cookies(When its hanging the wheels wont look flat.)

now for the decorations this will really help your budget lol.
I have the bday banner with table center pieces and confetti already ( remember my party box post.)
The pinata of course will hang somewhere. for the food I will choose containers which I will cut circles out of construction paper and tape to,to make wheels. I will place 1 of my sons toy trains in front to have a long train buffet line.

I haven't added all the wheels yet or the labels.

I will be taping down black tape in the front of the house to look like train track with a homemade paper sign on the door that reads "please take your choos off"

I will tie a few green and blue balloons to my mailbox

then the power party decor idea (like a said earlier no decorations) I will be hang balloons from my ceiling with ribbon as well as some twisted crepe paper to look almost like a circus tent. Then the rest of balloons will be scattered around on the floor.

just a few streamers I will add different colors later

dont worry i will post pics for those who cant imagine my ideas all in all my decorations cost under $5  as i had everything to build the pinata and the rest of the items were pick up at dollar tree.

a couple signs i placed ofcourse the yellow one will be straight ,couldnt straighten it on camera for some reason.

Also before I forget I made my little man a conductor costume with overalls ,hat and bandana Also on his actual bday he will recieve a train whistle a bday boy pin.

That wraps up the bday ideas if you have questions please comment below and remember HAVE FUN

LANE

label your bottles

Ok so some of you are probably saying ,duh. I was pretty good at remembering what I had put into my spray bottles, not to mention most of the products I did put had their own distinct color(to help me remember.) However these couple months are a good time to really get on your pest preventions. So I have been going around my house with what I thought was my insect spray. Thats when I started noticing little bugs here and there. Which I have to add its unusual for me to have even a spider because my spray is just awesome. However after a spider here,tiny beetle there I knew something was up. So after some investigating and spraying I realized for the past 2 months I had been spraying my house with.....drum roll please ........... Weed stop! Go ahead laugh Im falling out right now. I couldnt believe it. After trying to figure out how this could happen(aside from the obvious,no label.)I sat down to contemplate and heres the just of it. Someone had used up all my bug spray (not sure who but guessing humm starts with m..ends with e.. lol) left the empty bottle in the garage. Well one day as I was doing yard work I needed to spray the edges of the driveway so seeing the empty unlabeled bottle, I quickly filled it up with weed stop and DID NOT label it. Hence my house getting some bugs and no weeds and yes Im still laughing. Moral of the story LABEL YOUR BOTTLES.

Have fun
Lane

1 closet to clean

Today I had a great idea in the midst of your busy schedules.... choose one closet (or small room) that needs some attention and have someone help you clean it( your kids.) Its funner with someone and you'll be amazed at how fast the time flys by. You won't even realized that you knocked that troubled area off your to do list. Have fun and keep happy.

lane

by the way quickie suggestion would be to try and do this once or twice a month to keep those hidden areas tidy and out of your mind.

schools in yay!

ok my sister Amys the homeschooling queen if you all havent figured that out already :-)

So started my son in pre-k and so excited to find out a few funny facts.
1st it doesnt matter that the crayons broke,they still work.
2nd if your child starts falling asleep during studies,its probably because they lost interest.
3rd play dough is the best thing ever! if they leave it out its ok no fret just run water in the container then close it ,by the morning its good as new. (my favorite,can you tell?)
4th its ok that you also enjoy doing the kids dances
5 last but not least playing outside is considered a learning activity.

Have fun and remember to enjoy Homeschooling

Lane :-)

Bathroom needs TLC

It has probably been a minute since your bathroom has seen some TLC. SO get on it I have a list you can go by if you're completely overwhelmed or need some motivation.

Clean under the cabinets and medicine cabinets

Clean out on top the cabinets and wipe.

Clean the mirrors

scrub the potty in and around

scrub the shower and bathtub

clean the doors and cabinet doors

sweep and mop floors and baseboards.

cleaning marker quick tip

So you're probably wondering what I'm talking about.... Yes a story is about to unfold. I have a dry erase calendar which just happens to be my life line as well in a rush to neatly write in the next month I must've accidently grabbed a Permanente marker. Thats not all there's something about these dry erase boards because my son had dried up dry erase marker that lets just say,"would not yield!" He also had regular marker that had dried up on there. Here goes after much scrubbing,sweating and growling I have found the ways to spare aggravation with these few tips:


I will categorise each one by- B (the Best way).  G (a good way) and I (incase you dont have these items)

Permanent marker:
B - Amways LOC wipes ( it wiped right off)
G- Scrubbing bubbles ( the great value brand works just as well ...spray all over the board and then wipe before it drys gently applying pressure as you go.)
I- Sunscreen ( I dont know why this works ...rub sunscreen all over the marker,wait about 1 min then take a slightly damp rag and wipe off)

Dry dry erase marker:
B- Amway LOC wipes ( redundant but it works sooo good.)
G-Scrubbing bubbles or some rubbing alcohol on a rag
I- dry erase marker (scribble over all the dry caked on marker and wipe off like normal)

last but not least
Dry regular marker: 
B-Amways LOC wipes ( Im not prejudice but I do sell it.. AaronInternational.net )
G- warm soapy water( use rag to wipe away)
I- scrubbing sponge (gently very gently press and scrub away)
I hope these tips help just make sure you do not try to wipe dry dry erase marker with a wet rag it will make it stick worse. Also remember to use a colored cleaning rag
Happy Cleaning
Lane

rock the cleanup!

ok Noones perfect I have to say it took a few days to reorganize these playrooms. Also if you're in the south nows a great time to weed and feed your lawns. I know theres some of you ladies saying, oh no thats mens work or I dont know how to do that. I got ONE word INSTRUCTIONS! When in doubt look at the back but it's super duper simple so if your not caught in a snow storm get to it. Tackle those weeds :-) Ok lets choose a closet that needs to be cleaned out and organized.Clean it up and see if there is atleast 3 items that you can donate to charity.
So lets get that closet done by Friday (little secret: we have all weekend if you run a bit over on time.)

DON'T FORGET TO TACKLE 1 CLOSET BY FRIDAY


Have Fun
Lane

pick a room any room

Amys play area before

ok so the hardest part is to start. Thats why we are letting you choose, Amys picking the play area in her front room. So ofcourse following after my sister I will be doing the play room. Though I have to admit it's really not a play room yet its supposed to be one and is sometimes played in. Well you get the picture anyways this is out tues plan so choose and lets move.
please don't forget if its still usable wash it/clean it and donate it to charity there are plenty that come directly to your house for pick up. so have fun!!!

Btw before and afters will post tom.

Lane

Nows the TIME to clean!

If you feel like the lady above don't worry we are here to help!

Ok our weather here is going up and down and that means that the bugs are starting to come out. So let's beat them and get our houses in tip top shape.  Last year we had a great time cleaning a room a day,so this year we will be doing something similar. So in the next few post we will begin our organizing and cleaning (which feels like I just did yesterday BUT definitely doesn't look like it!) So to start off we will begin a whole house round up. Gather everything you know for sure you don't want and get rid of it. Then lets vaccuum and sweep ,you will be amazed at how clean your house looks after those slight fixes :)
Have a good time and lets beat those bugs!
 P.S don't dwell too long on what to let go of,we will go into more details later. Right now we will only be picking up what we know for sure can go!
lane

New year, new you... Amy's schedule

The dynamic of my family is quite different from my sister's.  I homeschool 3 sweet children, help lead Children's Ministry at church and run a business (Arbonne) part-time. So here goes...

5:30-6:30- up, ready, laundry & dishes
6:30-7- personal bible study
7-7:45- bible study with my sis & my breakfast
7:45-8:30- wake those kiddos up, have them start their chores, make hubby's lunch & kids' breakfast
8:30-9- boys do bible study independently, while I do bible study with daughter
9-11 school
11-12- lunch, free time
12-1- silent reading
1-3:30- school
3:30-4:30- kids free time while I work on my business or couponing
4:30-5:30- chores, make dinner
6:00- dinner time
8:00- get ready for bed
9:00- bedtime for my kiddos
10:00- lights out for me

I also go to the gym on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

We have a seperate schedule that lays out the subjects we work on during school time and a core schedule as well :-)

newyear! new schedules

my sister Amy and I decided with the Newyear we needed new schedules. Hopefully you can get some ideas from these my sister is a home school teacher for 3 children ages 6-14. I (Lane)am a home school mom of a 2 year old. so you may get some good ideas..

Lanes schedule
Bible study: 9am-10

Workout 10-10:15

Breakfast 10:15-11

Learning mechanical skills 11-11:30

Learning basics 11:30-12:15

Freetime 12:15-12:30

Lunch 12:30-1:15pm

Arts&crafts 1:15-2:00

Active play 2-2:30

Naptime 2:30-4:15

Language skills 4:15-4:30

Now Amys schedule