Balancing Diapers and Deadlines -- my REVIEW

Are you a busy mom? Do you ever feel slightly harried or distracted? Do you wish you had the key that would calm everything down? (well, I don't actually think there is such a key, sorry!)  If so, you might be interested to check into this online course called Balancing Diapers and Deadlines produced by Lisa Tanner Writing.  Even though I do not have any children in diapers anymore, much of this course applies to my family; this is just a cutesy title, it doesn't mean it only applies to folks with babies and toddlers.  

Let me tell you a little bit about this online course.  Do you think you might not have time for some kind of online course?  Well, you probably have time for this one!  Each unit is made up of multiple lessons which are text, not videos, so you can read through them.  The lessons are not lengthy and usually cover one topic, followed by an action step that you can take to put into practice what you have learned in the lesson.  
Topics covered relate to having a thriving family while you run a thriving business (my take on it!)  The author speaks from her own experience as an entrepreneur and a mother of eight children (and she homeschools, too!)  Her ideas are tested and perfected and are brought to you in a very easy-to-read set of lessons.  

So what kinds of lessons? Well, some of the things that she covers are such as: sleep, routines, flexibility, family, priorities, meal planning, cleaning, involving the family (children too) in your business, and much more.  She encourages the learner to move toward a life of priorotizing family as well as prioritizing your business.  Sounds good, right?
Well, here's the thing.  I don't have kids in diapers and I don't have a business.  Do you wonder if I got anything out of this course? YES!  I certainly did!  Honestly, it is not just focused on those two things, so don't get hung up on that!
The course is full of great ideas for any family, any mom.  We all struggle with different things, whether it be having clean dishes at the time that you need them for a meal or giving our children the time and focus that they need.  
Some of the lessons don't apply to me, in the phase of my life that I find myself in currently, but many did!  The lessons were so easy to read that I enjoyed reading all of them, even the ones that didn't clearly apply to me today.  (There were some that I read and thought, "Oh, I wish I had known/done that when my kids were younger!)  Of course not all of the ideas were new to me, as a matter of fact, many were not.  However, I was certainly reminded of some things and really encouraged to re-start some things that I had used previously and for one reason or another had let fall away.  
One was my meal plan.  Lisa's family has a yearly meal plan that they follow (!!!) Wow!  I'm not to the yearly level, but am working back toward a monthly meal plan.  I definitely agree that meal plans save money, time, and hassle!

We're back to having a monthly meal plan!

Another idea that struck home was having a plan. A plan for the day. A plan for the week. etc.  I also like the thought of a morning plan/routine and another evening plan/routine.  I have begun an evening plan to help me be more prepared for the next day.  I do intend to work on a morning plan as well.

Just like any "self-help" type of product, not everything applied to us, and not everything was something appealing to me.  I don't think it's intended that way.  Lisa Tanner doesn't want to run your life, she just wants to share the wisdom that she has built to help your household + business to run smoothly, healthily, joyfully.  

I enjoyed doing these lessons and will probably read through parts again.  If I had to pick something that I wished were different, I think I would say I wished that it was a book, a paper, hold-in-your-hands and write-in-with-a pencil type book (that's more my style).  However, it's not, and it is an easy-to use online course that even the busiest moms can find time to do (and it's not drudgery to read through--I'd bet you'll enjoy it!)

To read what other reviewers have to say about this online course Balancing Diapers and Deadlines, please click on the box below!

French Toast

Wondering what to do with that stale bread?  Make French toast!!  :)  This past week we were given some delightful looking cranberry bread which had gotten a little stale (it was day-old) -- SOOOO I sliced it up and made delicious French toast!

I don't really use a recipe, I just mix up two eggs with some milk until it looks kind of light yellow (maybe like 1 1/2 cup?) then I add a tsp or so of vanilla and a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon.  

Soak the bread in the liquid until it is saturated, then fry up and eat with butter and maple syrup!!

YUMMMMMMM!! :) 

Beauty

Girls in Science, Engineering, and Math -- what's with those role models? A little rant...

I have always been science and math-minded.  I encourage girls to love science and math--and to look into science/engineering/math related careers.  On several occasions I have had opportunities to take my daughters and some of their friends to different events which encourage girls to enter STEM careers...or other careers which have been male-dominated historically.  

So here's my issue:  at these events, so many of the exhibitors and/or speakers are often kind of mannish in their way of dress and styling.  Seriously.  

The point of these events is that girls can do this!  But the unstated message is that they have to be kind of less-feminine?  

I really don't agree with that and I know that not all who are in those careers are less-feminine.  I was privileged to go to an annual conference of Society of Women Engineers last year and got to see an entire conference center full of women, mostly in fancy dresses for an evening awards banquet.  That was definitely in contrast to an event I took my daughter and 3 other girls to this week--one which was intended to show girls that they can in fact enter careers which they might not otherwise have looked into (b/c often they are tagged as men's careers)--but most of the exhibitors were very masculine in their dress and styles.  

I understand that this is some people's personal style.  Okay. HOWEVER--if we want all girls to feel that these careers are open to them as well, perhaps we ought to illustrate the spectrum--so that those girls who are "girly" or frilly or whatever--do not feel excluded either. 

Maybe I'm looking too deeply at this, but I do know that there are females in engineering/science/math who do actually like to wear cute dresses, makeup, fancy hairdos, etc. and are still killer scientists/engineers/mathematicians, etc.

And I'd like my frilly and sparkly-loving girls to know this.

Linking up with TOS Homeschool Review Crew blog

Apple pie!!

Tis the season for apple pie!  Something about fall and the abundance of apples make it the perfect time to whip up some apple pie!

Want to hear my quick and easy recipe?

Here we go!

First get (or make!) a pie crust (just the bottom)

A bunch of apples (like 10 per pie--or more if you have/need) -- I like to mix different varieties for great flavor!

Peel the apples and slice into thinnish slices (1/4" thick or so).

Put these slices into a large bowl and sprinkle on 1 tsp of lemon juice.  Add 2 Tbsp flour,1 Tbsp of cinnamon, and   1/2 c of sugar and mix up so that the slices are kind of coated.

Put the apple slices into the pie crust.

Mix up 1 cup flour, 1/2 c brown sugar, and 1/2 c butter (cut in) -- cut these in until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Put this crumbly stuff on top of the apples.

Pop into the oven and bake at 375 for about 1 hour until when you stick a knife into it, there is no crunchy feel.

Cool a little and eat!!  Oh, and listen to this great song "Apple Pie" by our favorite Roy Hurd! :)

.

The apples getting coated with lemon juice, flour, sugar, and cinnamon

Put the slices in the piecrust

Mix together the topping ingredients (butter, brown sugar, and flour)
I don't always use the food processor for this--you can do it with a bowl and 2 knives or whatever!

Put the topping on and place in oven (you may need to put a drip pan underneath)

 

Bake for about an hour and then check with knife to make sure the apples are all softened

Let it cool for awhile (honestly I think it tastes better mostly cool--plus it gives
it time to thicken up a little)

Eat and enjoy!! :) 

Books of the Bible At-a-Glance -- my REVIEW

Have you ever been reading a book of the Bible or even looking up a reference in a certain book and wondered what time frame that book was written in? Or maybe even who wrote it? This most recent product that I got to try out is a really neat reference called Books of the Bible At-a-Glance by a company called Teach Sunday School.


This product is a pdf download that has an entire page to outline/introduce each of the sixty-six books of the Bible--and it goes beyond that and gives the owner/reader tons of great ideas of how to use this resource!

So what is on these pages?  Each book of the Bible has its own one-page summary/info/introduction.  Some of the things on the page are the book's "place" in its respective testament, who the author is, what date it was written, a visual of where it falls in the Bible, some "claims to fame", famous stories included, most famous verses, and important points about the verse.

I realize that some Bibles contain some of this information in their introductory materials, but these pages are easy to look through, especially when you are accustomed to their layout.

I printed out one of these for my husband to go along with the book that he is currently reading (Jeremiah) and he thought it was a good reference.

I thought that it would be neat to print them in a half-size to slide into my Bible, but that was too small for my eyes :) :) haha!! (Though it was readable by my kids) -- I guess I'll stick with the regular whole page size!

Although the publisher is called "Teach Sunday School," these summary pages have great use for homeschools too!  They are a great tool for learning about when the books of the Bible were written, as well as different little bits of information that you may not otherwise have known!  (For example, did you know that Jeremiah was about twenty years old when he began to prophesy?  or that Jonah was vomited by the great fish up probably somewhere west of Jerusalem?)  

I could see some really fun ways to use these with a Sunday School class or maybe an Awana group or something.  You could print a few copies of them (all) out and have the kids do a scavenger hunt through them, looking for similarities or themes--or even just for similar time periods or authors or so many different things (sometimes a little competition helps!)

The color scheme is easy on the eyes while being attractive, the text is written clearly and is easy to understand.  I kind of wish that there had been a few maps thrown in, but that's just my style.  It's a pdf download and you are allowed to unlimited printings for one family or for one church!  It's priced very reasonably, especially considering the volume of use you can get from it!  Imagine using it with someone not familiar with the books of the Bible--what a great resource to give some clarity and definition! Or to just refresh your own memory on a book you might not be overly familiar with!  There are many uses of this resource!

Once again, it is called Books of the Bible At-a-Glance -- check it out!

To read more reviews about this same product, please click the link below:

Forensic Faith For Kids -- my REVIEW

1 Peter 3:15 says, "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."  As believers in Christ, we ought to be willing and ready to explain why we believe in Christ and the Bible.  This is not just for adults, but youth who are believers ought to have this confident reasoning ability to share what they believe and why they believe it. 

The dictionary will define apologetics as, "reasoned arguments or writings in justification of something, typically a theory or religious doctrine."  Sometimes we understand/believe things but have difficulty explaining why.  This book that I had the opportunity to read for review, Forensic Faith for Kids by David C Cook and Case Makers Academy, is written to help kids reason out and share the details of their faith to others.







The book is a story about two different investigations -- one is a few kids trying to solve the mystery of the "appeared out of nowhere" dog and the other is a few kids trying to share their beliefs in Christ as God with some doubting friends.  They are mentored by a detective, who is teaching them forensic-type skills to solve their mysteries.  He gives them tips and then sends them out to investigate.  He teaches them skills and "tools" and gives them great talks and rules. Here's one for example:  RULES ABOUT EVIDENCE: 1.  Just because someone writes something in a book, it doesn't mean it's true.  2.  Everything has the potential to be evidence.  3. The more cumulative the case, the more reasonable the conclusion.

The book is written in a voice that makes it sound like the reader is there, involved with the story.  The characters in the book are children who are doing the learning and investigating, as well as the (adult) detective.  

There were a lot of points made in this book that I really appreciated.  I want to share a few of them:
                           ***Unreasonable faith  -- "inspite of" evidence
                                 Blind faith -- "without" any evidence
                                 Forensic faith -- "because of" the evidence


                          ***Even though you might use evidence to figure out if something is true, you're still going to have some questions that are difficult, if not impossible, to answer


                         ***Don't be afraid when unbelievers make claims you can't answer; Christianity is true. It can survive the toughest questions.  When someone...says something    untrue about Christianity and you're not sure how to respond, just say, "That's                           interesting, let me do some research and I"ll get back to you."


Along with the book, there is a video series that moves chapter by chapter through the whole book.  It's found at Case Makers Academy and it is a real detective (the author) speaking about the exciting finds in the chapter.

Also on that same site there are three different printable pages for each chapter, one is a parents' guide, one is a training activity sheet (kind of a fun activity page relating to the chapter), and one is an academy notebook sheet (a fill-in-the-blank style note-taking page).

My 14-year old daughter and I read this book and watched the videos.  My daughter thought that the book was a little "young" for her and I agree.  I think that the way this book is written is for a much younger than 14 yrs old audience, though the topics and concepts were perfectly suited to even older teens.  Personally I didn't care for the writing style ("Daniel says..." "...replies Jason") to me it kind of sounds like someone narrating/reading a comic book aloud, or is reminiscent of those choose your own adventure books I read as a preteen in the '80's (though this book is not like them in format--you do not choose your own paths).  However, the book was not written for me, it was written for younger kids :) I did like the content.

I think that this book, Forensic Faith for Kids, uysed alongside the videos and worksheets on Case Makers Academy would make a wonderful study for a group of young kids (preteens?) -- something like a Sunday School class or a Bible study.  It's good content that will be reinforced through the use of the videos and the worksheets.

To read more reviews of this book, please click on the link below! :)