Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Need a Little Winter Blues Learning Push? March Pre-K and Elementary Activity Packets – Free!

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This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

It’s that time of year. We’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in many school subjects – which is exciting but also creating a fair amount of “I’m so sick of this already!” winter blues attitude.

What is it about February? I always find that we need to change things up a little bit at this point in the school year. Some subjects we just have to push through, but if there’s a way to add some variety to our day to help us with that push, let’s do it. Learning is learning, whether it’s a part of this regularly scheduled program or not. Our kids can often learn better if we provide them with something out of the norm once in a while.

That’s why I made this:

Free K-5 March Learning Activity Packet

There are 8 fun activity pages included and the lessons are simple and fun. Use them in whatever way works best for your children at their grade level. They are FREE. I’m printing this off over the weekend and handing it to Malachi on Monday. It’ll be a fun change of pace as we head into a new month!

I also created a packet at Pre-K level for the younger kids to enjoy. Talk about weather, practice counting, match spring animal babies to their mamas, and more. It’s also FREE.

Free Pre-K March Learning Activity Packet

We WILL get through winter blues. We will.

Bonus Idea: Make these fun Bird’s Nests with your family as a fun activity and yummy breakfast or snack.

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Gain access to the free March Learning Activities below.

Download one or both. Click here to access these freebies.

I’m super excited to share that signing up for these freebies will connect you to our new Heavenly Homemaker’s Learning Zone. It’s free, of course. You can unsubscribe at any time, your info will never be shared or sold, and being on this list means that you’ll be the first to know of the other fun (yes, FUN!) educational tools we’re putting together!

P.S. If you are already subscribed to Heavenly Homemaker’s Learning Zone, you should have received an email yesterday giving you instant access to this freebie. Look in your inbox for the subject: FREE March Activity Packets for Kids!

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The Best Mocha You’ll Ever Need

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This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Aside from telling you that I have a mocha recipe for you, I have nothing cute to say. That time of year has hit in which not only is it still winter, it is also still winter.

Yesterday I saw a picture of myself wearing a sun dress and sporting a healthy tan. “Oh, oooh!! Remember that!?” I exclaimed to my husband. “That picture was taken on that really fun day when our family did that really fun stuff because the SUN WAS SHINING and it was HOT OUTSIDE.” He just grinned and handed me another blanket.

I’m thankful for every day and all that. God is good all the time, you can bet on it. If summer never comes, it really is okay because I have Jesus.  Look at me, I’m like Paul. I have learned to be content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Whether I’m freezing or freezing or even if I’m freezing. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

That’s from Philippians chapter 4 in case you want to find more encouragement from that passage, to read it within its context, or maybe to be sure I quoted it accurately. My brain gets a little fuzzy after enduring forty-three months of winter in a row.

I know that really, I have nothing to complain about. I have a roof over my head, a beautiful fireplace, and a husband to pat me on the head and hand me another blanket when I burst into tears over a picture of myself in a sun dress from last summer. I’m very blessed, the sun will shine again, and someday soon but probably not for at least 68 more days – I will be warm. Can we just talk about something else now?

I came up with a little something to help me cope with my issues this afternoon. Some might call it a Mocha. Some might call it a Warm Chocolate Soother with a little coffee stirred in. I’d like to call it the answer to every cold, desperate woman’s need for warmth and sunshine. Not that I really have issues or am what one might call desperate.

mocha 1

Yum
I just need some sunshine, okay?

So this. This mug of goodness saved the day…

Warm Nourishing Mocha 2

It’s Warm Chocolate Soother mixed with coffee. The idea came from a dear reader, Missy, from South Carolina. She sent me the idea months ago, then I remembered it while huddled beside my space heater this afternoon. Here’s part of her email:

Good morning! It’s a cold, wet, blustery day here in South Carolina. I awoke to the sound of wind and rain hitting my windows. My first thought was to brew a cup of coffee, but then I thought of my 2 boys and wondered what they would like to have warm and yummy. I thought about your Warm Chocolate Soother and knew it would be perfect!
I gathered all the ingredients and set about making the soother. I tweaked the recipe and used half whole milk and half unsweetened almond milk. I love using real food ingredients to make treats for my family. It all came together and I served my boys a mug full. They loved it!
I served myself a cup of chocolate soother and tasted it – yum! Then I remembered that I had wanted a cup of coffee. I decided to mix the two. Oh boy – it was GOOD! I have my coffee and the warm chocolate soother in my mug and I am a happy girl! I know how you have begun enjoying coffee and wanted to share this with you, if you haven’t already discovered this! Thank you for your Warm Chocolate Soother recipe – now to try coffee and Warm Vanilla Soother next! Many blessings for today! :)
Everyone (probably, especially, and mostly my husband) thanks you, Missy, for the fantastic idea. Not only is this drink warm, comforting, and delicious – it is also very nourishing and can double as a filling breakfast or snack.

How to Make a Warm, Nourishing Mocha

Mix 1 cup Warm Chocolate Soother with 1 cup coffee. Or 5 cups Warm Chocolate Soother with 5 cups coffee. Or whatever it takes for you to survive these last few weeks of winter.

Warm, Nourishing Mocha

You’ll notice that I put my mocha in a bright yellow cup just so that I could pretend I was was drinking from a cup of sunshine. And look. I’m all better now.
mocha 2
Winter won’t get the best of us, friends. We’ve got this!  Now hand me another blanket.

(How’s winter treating you, by the way?)

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Gratituesday: Summer to Winter Clothes (Plus our Lilla Rose Winner)

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It used to be one of my most dreaded projects. We have several tubs of clothes up in our attic. Every fall and every spring we lug them down, finding what fits which boy each year. While I’ve been ridiculously thankful for the amount of clothes we’ve had for our boys – most of them hand me downs – the chore of switching out clothes for the season was always long and exhausting.

This year though? I am reminded how nice it is to have children old enough to be such a huge help. We had the entire job done – from lugging down containers, to switching out clothes, to lugging them all back up – in one hour. One hour.  Hallelujah!

summer to winter 1

This job used to take me two entire days. That was back when the kids “helped” by resorting my piles thirty times, throwing shirts at each other, trying on clothes that were way too big or too small…you know the drill. I loved that everyone just got right to it, got it done, and moved on with the day.

Best news of all:  I did not have to be the one to go into the attic. I’m not a fan of the attic. It has a little something to do with a bird attack I experienced a few years back. I now put on my pitiful face and beg one of my boys to do the dirty work. Love these boys!

summer to winter 2

This pile of clothes is heading to our bi-annual clothing exchange this weekend.

I’m so thankful God continues to provide plenty of clothing for my family – especially as their legs keep getting LONGER. Wow. I’m thrilled to have this task behind us for the year, and as much as I love summer, I will admit that it’s fun to pull out warm sweaters for this fall season!

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While I’ve got you, I wanted to announce our Lilla Rose Giveaway Winner:  Jill: [email protected] – email me and I’ll put you in touch with Paula at Lilla Rose!

Hues set giveaway

Don’t forget:  Special offer for Heavenly Homemakers readers only! Get a FREE SURPRISE FLEXI when you place a $40 order between now and Oct.18!!!*

*Place an order of $40 or more (excluding tax and shipping) through Paula’s website, then message her to redeem your free surprise flexi! Offer valid for U.S. customers only and expires Oct. 18, 2014. This is for both new and returning customers, but if you already have another Lilla Rose consultant, please stay with her; I’m sure she’ll appreciate it! Thank you!

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Please leave a comment to share what you’re grateful for this Gratituesday!!!

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Help for Eczema! (a Giveaway from MadeOn Skin Care Products)

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This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I have recently begun a relationship with Renee from MadeOn Skin Care Products and I’m not sure who is more excited…me or my hands.

Really, you should see my hands flying all over this keyboard in their soft and smooth joy. NOTHING has ever worked this well for my dry, cracked hands. In fact for as long as I can remember, my hands have cracked and bled every winter, for the entire winter. It’s miserable, and while I try to keep coconut oil or chemical free lotion on them, it’s never been enough to really help. After thirty-ish winters of painfully cracked hands, I really had given up on ever having relief. You just get used to it, you know?

And then (on what has become marked as the best day of my hands’ life), Renee sent me a BeeSilk Lotion Bar, one of her wonderful dry skin products. I knew the MadeOn Products certainly wouldn’t hurt my hands, because they are made of completely pure, wholesome ingredients. But I’ve been so used to product after product just sort of giving me a short time of relief without really offering any kind of healing. When I rubbed on the BeeSilk Lotion Bar, right away my hands felt great. Okay, I thought, I wonder how long this will last?

Well, this is where the exclamation marks start to fly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The relief has NOT ended!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you hear me shouting?!!!!!!!!!!! I used to be constantly rubbing oil into them – all day long just for some brief relief. Now, once each day, I rub the BeeSilk Lotion Bar on my hands. Not only are my hands not dry, cracked and bleeding…they are SOFT. Soft!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My hands are SOFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you’ve never had hands that have been so dry that they’ve cracked and bled, you may think I’m exaggerating or being weird. I’m telling you though, thirty years of painful hands in the winter. My mom even took me to the doctor for this when I was a teenager and people have always looked at my bright red hands like they were diseased. I’ve always felt bad that my hands haven’t been nice and feminine for my husband.

And now, they are SOFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BeeSilk Lotion Bar will now be a permanent part of our lives. It is made up of three ingredients:  Shea Butter, Coconut oil and Beeswax. All safe, all pure.

We’ve now begun using the BeeSilk Lotion Bar on Malachi, who as you know, suffers from chronic eczema. I’ll keep you posted on how this is working for him. His eczema is severe (mostly on his legs at this point in his life), so the healing is taking a little longer for him. I’m thrilled to finally have a product that I’m not afraid to use that will actually hold moisture in his skin!

I can’t say enough good about the BeeSilk Lotion Bar, and I can’t wait to try more of their products! Renee is offering three of you a chance to win a 3 Pack Dry Skin Care Package, which includes a Family Size Lotion Bar, a Pocket Size Lotion Bar and a Lip Balm (which is also fabulous, by the way!)

Leave a comment here letting us know if you’re interested in winning one of these great prizes!  For an extra entry, click over and “like” MadeOn Hard Lotion on Facebook!

In addition, Renee has created an exclusive Heavenly Homemakers discount for us! You can use the coupon code HHFEB at checkout for 10% off your purchase, good until the end of February.

This giveaway is now closed…thanks!

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Gratituesday: Our Living Room Without Walls

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gratituesday

Never have I been so excited to see furniture in disarray, thick dust everywhere and junk all over the floor. 

Matt’s dad is here for a couple of weeks, helping us tear off our living room walls so that we can insulate them!!! Do you KNOW what this means??? This means that we will not freeze in our own home this winter. This means that we will not fight for space around the fireplace, since that typically is the only warm spot in the house. This means that I won’t feel like telling company to “Come on in…I’d encourage you to keep your coat on and would you also like a blanket?”

As Matt and his dad have torn off the lathe and plaster we were not surprised to see that there was NOTHING on the other side but the siding of our 100 year old house. NO WONDER we’ve been so cold. Woohoo, it’s going to be so nice this winter!!!

Here they are this morning in the very beginning stages.

During the next two weeks or so, we’ll be living in a mess. Matt will be working on the living room in every spare moment he’s home from work and Matt’s dad will certainly be earning his keep. I’ll do my best to feed him well.

Shucks, I guess there is no pressure right now to keep my house clean, huh? I do believe I’ll take the next couple of weeks off from housecleaning.  Sort of.  There are still the bathrooms and dishes.

This picture is a little dark, but take a look at that progress. 
Never before have ugly walls looked so beautiful to me!

I am so thankful that Matt’s dad was kind enough to make a trip here (from California I might add) to help us with this big project. The truth of the matter is…if he hadn’t come…we would not have been able to get this done. What a blessing!

I’ll try to post more pictures of our progress along the way if you’re interested.

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

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Grilling? Question #65

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We have decided that it’s probably time to get a new grill. 

Matt was grilling burgers a couple of days ago and announced afterward that enough was enough. Our cheapo propane grill has seen better days. Actually, since it is such a cheapo, it really never saw any kind of great days. It’s always just been kind of mediocre. After a few years of use, there’s now just about one hot spot on the entire grill…and that’s it. Do you know how long it takes to cook burgers for nine people (we have company) on a grill that has one little hot spot?

Looks like Matt may be getting a new grill for Father’s Day. (Or whenever we find a good deal on one that will work for us.)

Anybody have good recommendations for a grill that is reasonably priced and works well? 

And while we’re on the subject of grilling…what are your favorite things to throw on the grill? Steaks? Chicken? Burgers? Dogs? Kabobs? 

Um, when I said Dogs…I meant the long, skinny hot kind that go on a bun…not your pets. You knew that right?

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