Funny story: The other day, someone tagged me in a post of a graphic I created four years ago. I had pretty much forgotten that ever existed, so I decided to check out the original blog post, and I couldn't remotely remember writing it! Call it getting old, or mom brain, but I was laughing out loud at my own joke!

In the post, I discuss the origin of New Year's Resolutions, whether or not they're "Christian," and share some great Scripture to focus on as we dive into a brand new start!
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Plus, it's got mom jokes and footnotes!
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Check it out below:

​Cheers to a wonderful New Year, filled with fresh hope!

    Fall seems to be showing up here in Georgia, except it's still hot. Instead of relying on the outdoor temps, I've set my oven to 350 degrees and have been enjoying classic fall baking.
Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Chili, Apple Cookies, and flavorful carrot cake have been bringing my beloved Connecticut fall to my new Georgia kitchen! 

Of course, sugar is no ones friend, so I've adapted this sweet, comforting recipes, to be slightly healthier by reducing the sugar and cutting out the butter- but don't worry, you'll never notice!

I do apologize for not snapping better pictures... I was hungry!
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​One of my favorite Christmas poems is "Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. My oldest recited it on Christmas Eve a few years back, and we always enjoy it as the Christmas season rolls into view.
 
This year, we have a new addition to our poem about Christmas bells with a set of our very own Merry Bells for Christmas fun. I shared about them a few months back, and how they were an easy way to introduce music into your homeschool routine.

Merry Bells have also added a wonderful jingle to our pre-Christmas season! We printed out some of the Christmas song bell charts to practice mixing the tones, while singing the Christmas melodies that we already know and love. The music sheets have been beneficial to focusing on blending notes to create the right tone. After mastering that, we can focus on the rhythm and singing along- pretending it isn’t still 80 degrees outside!
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I’m hopeful that by starting our Christmas music practice now, we’ll be able to play some great songs for our Christmas guests- and I can’t wait to pull out the dvd’s and enlist our guests in playing along with us!

If you’d like to add Merry Bells to your Christmas rhythm- you can save 10% by using code:

​I still remember the nervous pit I felt in my stomach before each new year of elementary school began. Of course, it faded away after the first day and was replaced with excitement, but as a mom, I experience those same nerves before starting my children’s homeschool year! Each year has its ups, its downs, messes, and moments of utter chaos, but a few tips help me to pull through and make the most of this messy journey!

​This works particularly well if you're running a 4 day per week homeschool schedule. Work with child A and C on Monday to Thursday and child B and D Thursday through Sunday. There's less of a break for mom, but the days themselves may just be more peaceful! 
 
Another option to divide and conquer if you're on a 5 day per week schedule is to work with one set of children in the morning, and another in the afternoon. In our house, this looks like morning lessons with my pre-school and 1st grader, then an after lunch history storytime with all my children, then more focused lessons with my 2nd and 4th grader.

​Certain subjects are easier than others for each child. Depending on age and strengths, find a streamlined online option for that student to work through. For example, my five-year-old loves math and enjoys Mathseeds, so that's one subject she can work on independently with a program that I trust to build a strong number foundation.

​I know in the homeschool circles we run in, rhythm is a common catchphrase. Think of it like breathing. There's the inhale, the fast-paced run around or higher stress lesson times, and the exhale of independent play or quiet reading time. Simply observing the natural rhythm that takes place without intervention can help you build off of a hidden pattern that's already taking place around you.
 
For example:  Our days tend to be tense from 9-10, while some of my students work [and fight for my attention], but we take a break around 11 to start lunch. That's an inhale, and an exhale.
After lunch and outside time, it's time for another inhale with some of our more challenging lessons, but an exhale comes around 2 when I attempt to get my toddler to nap.

​With the presence of video chatting platforms these days, why not incorporate a video call with a relative as some learning time? My son enjoys reading chapters of books to his grandparents and quizzing them after, and my daughter likes memorizing poems to share. You could even consider asking a relative to pitch hit a lesson via zoom. 

​It's ok when lessons don't go as planned… It's ok to switch curriculum in the middle of the year… it's ok to blaze your own path… it's ok to say "no" to too many activities. Give yourself the grace to grow just as you give your children grace to learn and explore.  Remember, there isn't a right or wrong way to homeschool- just what works for you and your students!

​James is one week old today, and I've wanted to write up his birth story while it’s fresh in my mind… 
 
I went for a walk with my kids and my parents throughout the neighborhood and after, I was feeling a lot of pressure in my pelvis as I ran around the kitchen and made lunch. My parents ran to the store, and my husband was on his way home from work early, and I decided to take a bath and try to assess what was going on with my body. I was having some random contractions, but mostly pressure, and I figured that a bath might make contractions taper off if it wasn’t true labor. 
 
While I was in the bath, I started having a panic moment that I've had in every labor right around the transition phase where I have to deal with any and all fear related to actually pushing a baby out of me. I wasn’t feeling filled with faith…  at all, and knew I was at that moment where the rubber met the road, and had to embrace what might come next.
 
I had an appointment at the birth center at 3, and I had intended to go myself, but with all the pressure I was feeling, I decided to have my husband take me and to bring all of my birth supplies just in case. When we got to the appointment, I explained what had been going on and the midwife checked my cervix and was completely shocked that I was at 7 cm. 
 
They gave us the option of going out for dinner, or staying at the center, and I decided to stay and "settle in” emotionally because I knew a birth center was a bit different than my previous home births. 
 
I met the on call midwife, and she was divinely appointed to be there for our birth. We chatted a bit, and I told her about my previous births and some of my concerns and fears with this birth. She really wasn’t sure what to make of the situation and explained that she’s not used to women coming in and smiling and talking at 7cm and wasn’t sure if she’d just have to catch a baby at any random moment. 
 
I labored on a ball for a while and worked on figure eights to help get the baby in a better position. I continued to have mild contractions that got down to about 3 minutes, so I decided to get in the tub. But, as I stayed in the tub for about 20 minutes, my contractions grew further apart so I decided to get out. Then the midwife checked on baby’s position, which was still posterior, so we did some spinning babies techniques. She mentioned it was normal for contractions to slow with these, and my labor pretty much stopped. 
 
By now, it was 10 at night and I was disappointed. I had never had a labor stall out, but our wonderful midwife suggested some options. We could sleep there and see if anything else happened naturally, we could try a breast pump, or membrane strip, or go home and come back if things progressed in the night. 
 
I talked it over with my husband, and at this point, I made up my mind that I wanted to be home in the morning when my kids woke up with their new baby brother. I had to make a conscious decision to let my body go into labor, and tune off all the distractions that were keeping me from mentally entering "labor land." 
 
I opted for a membrane strip and then decided to stop all the enjoyable chit chatting and pace around the hallways by myself to get it the right mental spot. During this time, I'd have contractions, most of which I kept walking through, and they still weren't regular which made me worry labor wasn’t progressing. 
 
I went back to the birth room and decided to try to sleep, but before I could climb in the bed I heard a pop and my water broke. In all my births, this was the first "pop" experience I had and it was kind of cool. I woke up my husband and told him to get the midwife and she came with the nurse quickly. 
 
By this point, my mind was fully in "laborland" and I walked to the bathroom and they asked what I wanted to do and I just said I didn't know, which was a clear sign my mind was fully withdrawn to my body. I eventually said I wanted to get in the tub, and they started the water, and then reminded me that things could slow again, and they wouldn't be able to help with positioning as well, so I opted to go on the bed. I knew I'd be pushing momentarily, but I was surprised by how much these contractions were actually doing the pushing and moving for me. In between each, I felt like I could sleep, and told the midwife that because I was worried she might step out if she saw me sleeping, but she reaffirmed that it was simply the hormones doing their job and I was almost there. 
 
After a few of these really strong contractions, I felt the urge to push, so I did. In one push, his head and an arm emerged, and with the quickest hands on earth, our amazing midwife was able to untangle James from being double wrapped in his cord. Then, with a second quasi push, he was born! 
 
James came at 37 weeks and 6 days, but was a whopping 7lbs 14 ounces for that gestation. A further surprise was that the placenta WAS circumvallate (the first ultrasound showed it and second didn’t). Due to this, and his crazy one arm up, posterior, and tangled in cord, I was so thankful he came that day and not weeks later when he could have been well over 10 lbs. 
 
Of course, we’re all over the moon in love and so thankful he’s joined our family!!
And, just like I envisioned, we got home just in time to greet my older three when they woke up with their baby brother and was greeted by my early rising 5 year old.
 
I'm so thankful that God planned the perfect time, the perfect people to help, and provided the peace and strength I needed at each step of the way!
 

It's been busy around my house these last few weeks and consequently very quiet on my website and social media. We welcomed James on 7/29 and have been loving all the snuggles and family bonding time! 

I'll be back in the fall with some new content, new fun products, and plenty of adventures to share!

​Introducing music into your homeschool routine doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive! We've considered violin and piano lessons, but I wasn’t sure if my kids were ready to invest themselves in the topic, and their knowledge of music was very limited. Then we were introduced to Merry-Bells, a perfect introductory to music concepts in a neat red box! Merry-Bells features eight colorful bells, each labeled with the musical note that they make. 

​My kids were instantly drawn to the colors and the sounds, and I quite enjoyed them as well as the ringing was peaceful and sounded much like wind chimes. 
 
We popped in an accompanying DVD, which features popular children’s songs, handed out the bells, and started making music! Immediately, my kids were immersed in learning about each bell's sound, practicing timing, hand-eye coordination, and working as a team to develop their bell-playing skills.

For our first lesson, I expected to try out a few songs, but my kids insisted on ringing their bells for every song on the CD! With kids 8, 6, 4, and 2, our songs were more clanging and less recognizable tunes, but we all had so much fun!

​We received three DVDs, " 30 Christmas Songs,” “30 Children's Songs,” and “30 Patriotic Songs,” Each offers an array of songs in two forms, the harmony version, and the melody version. We worked on the harmony version with multiple players, but the melody version is perfect for a single bell player. I appreciated the wide variety of tunes available; most tunes were easily recognizable and allowed for us to sing along to help maintain our place in the song. My kids felt like they were playing in an interactive video game and have asked to play bells as a daily part of schooling our routine.

My older students benefited from the musical charts, which allowed them to practice songs individually and at their own pace. Simply be reading the colors on the chart and matching them to the bells, they were able to play fun tunes and get a sense of how different sounds blend together.

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I'm thrilled that as my children play, they're developing their timing skills, listening skills, and working as a team to create beautiful music. I'd highly recommend incorporating Merry-Bells into your homeschool routine if you're looking to introduce music at a level that multiple ages can enjoy and want to encourage a love of music in a fun, interactive way!

With baby number 5, I went to my first prenatal appointment around 13 weeks, after waiting for my referral and then another month for the next available appointment. 
 
I was thrilled to get that first peak at baby on the dating ultrasound, and it was equally exciting to see a much more developed ultrasound image than the typical first ones that look like an abstract bean- a lovely bean, don't get me wrong...
 
Nearing the end, the tech was taking some notes and making some marks. then, I went to see the midwife and do the rest of the appointment. 
 
The midwife mentioned the placenta was circumvallate, which was an "irregularity." I left, feeling great, though still nauseous, and went about my day.
 
Later, I remembered that strange word the midwife mentioned and decided to google it to learn more. That was a bad idea...
 
When searching for "circumvallate placenta" across the internet, you'll learn that it's a rare condition where the placenta curls away from the baby, which can lead to poor nutrient transfer, preterm birth, excessive bleeding/hemorrhaging, placental abruption and potential death to mom and baby. 
 
I was paralyzed with fear! Was my doctor doing enough? What could actually be done? If something went wrong before 20 weeks, then there was nothing to do to save the baby, but should I be preparing for a preterm baby? Birth defects due to lack of nutrients? 
 
I just wanted to scream:
SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT TO DO!

I decided to not announce my pregnancy until 20 weeks, in case something happened, I didn't want to be bombarded with questions, and I waited in pins and needles for my next appointment.
 
I finally had another ultrasound at 23 weeks, and guess what? Placenta looks great. The tech didn't think it was circumvallate anymore, but the ultrasound needed to be reviewed by a doctor. Baby is doing well, though on the smaller 35th percentile (uncommon for me). 
 
The reason for this post is essentially this: if you've been diagnosed with a circumvallate placenta, take a deep breath and let those worries go.
 
I wish I didn't worry so much about something I had no control over. I spent so much time fretting about potential complications that haven't happened, and reading through forums of other moms, it seems most people are diagnosed, read WebMD, totally panic, then eventually realize their worry isn't needed.
 
The midwife's term of "irregularity" sums it up the best. The placenta is different, or appears different in shape. For me, it seems to have adjusted- though medical personnel will say it doesn't do that and was falsely diagnosed. I'm not sure what the actual deal was, I just know that I was totally panicked for months about every little ache or pain, kick, or lack of kick, and it was simply fruitless and ducked the joy out of the beginning of this pregnancy- so my advice is to not do the same but embrace the irregularity, and your precious bundle of joy growing within you!
 
Have you been diagnosed with a circumvallate placenta? I'd love to hear your story in the comment section!

Learning to correctly form letters and practice penmanship can be one of the most tedious parts of the early learning process. Inspiring children to want to practice their handwriting is half the battle! We recently checked out a unique handwriting practice book that offers some creative ways make writing fun! Handwriting Practice: Reusable Letter & Number Tracing Workbook features a spiral bound book with letters etched into each page for easy tracing and comes with a disappearing pen to make this product fun and reusable with multiple children! 




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My [almost] 5 year old loved tracing the letters and then waiting for the ink to disappear, it made her writing time exciting and the etched letters made the task simple while muscle memory was being built!

Similar products could be found on apps like Wish, but the shipping time took weeks and many complained the product was too small. This handwriting practice book solved those problems, bringing the book to your door swiftly and at a reasonable price!

On top of covering the traditional upper case and lower case ABC’s, the book features number practice and tips on how to implement proper posture for your students.  It’s colorfully illustrated, thorough, and easy to use for your smallest learners!

My daughter completed this page multiple times, and there is no ink residue left over!

​If you have a student who is in need of a fresh and fun approach to handwriting, consider checking out Handwriting Practice: Reusable Letter & Number Tracing Workbook on Amazon, and let the fun begin!
 
Have a great week!
Alex