Knowledge Quest Timeline Builder iPad app: TOS Review

I am going to come clean with a homeschool secret that I've never shared before, I do not do timelines for our history studies. There I said it, I hope you don't think any less of me. (insert smile) With everything else going on in our family and homeschool studies timelines were something I had wanted to do but had to put on the back burner for more pressing lesson plans. Then along came a review opportunity from Knowledge Quest for their Timeline Builder iPad App and everything changed.

This app has made creating timelines and enriching our history lessons incredibly easy, I no longer have an excuse for not using timelines in our history lessons.

What does Timeline Builder do?

1. Allows you to create a digital timeline as far back or as far forward as you like.
2. Enter as many timeline events or people on your timeline as you want.
3. Upoload images from your computer or the web and link them to your timeline entries.
4. Flexibility to move timeline events on the timeline.
5. Save and share timelines as an image to your photos. You can also choose to email your timelines as well as export and share with other Timeline Builder users.

How we used the Timeline Builder iPad App:

Can I just start out by saying I am absolutely loving all of the wonderful educational applications and ability to read teachers manuals from my iPad? Well, there I just did. The Timeline Builder app is no different, it has made teaching, interacting with, and learning form history amazing. My children have not mastered the art of filing papers in their school binders so that they can find them later so anything I can put into electronics makes all of our lives easier. I have tried creating timelines before, I had great intentions I really did, but lost papers, torn papers, or even chewed on papers made my previous attempts very frustrating.

My children and I have been studying early American history this semester so for the course of this review I jumped into our studies and started a timeline where we were currently studying, the slave trade. After quickly and easily acquainting myself with the app interface I introduced the timeline builder to my children, namely my older boys ages 11 and 8. My younger daughter, age 6, soon caught on that we were having fun with history and joined our lesson. After reading our history lesson for the day my boys each created their own timeline based on what they remembered from the story. Then after discussing events that they did not include on their timeline they each went back and added events, people, and places including pictures to bring the timeline to life. As a homeschool teacher I could see their wheels of learning firing on all cylinders. They were engaged in the lesson and absorbing the events rather than just skimming the surface as they read and forgetting it all as soon as the book closed. Surprisingly, even long after the history lesson was complete my boys were still talking about the facts they learned and having a healthy discussion on what they had learned. What's not to love about that? The Timeline Builder App brought history to life for my family in a way that paper timelines and other hands on activities could not do.

Product Specifics:

Watch this video to learn more

Timeline Builder iPad app available in the AppStore for $6.99

4 Tips for Eating Real Food While Traveling

This weekend I am traveling. I have been blessed with the opportunity to attend the 2:1 conference as part of my work with A Moment With Mom. This is the first time being away from my family for an extended period of time. Since their birth I have not been away from the twins for more than 36 hours at a time as I travelled back and forth between the NICU and home. My youngest son has never been away from his momma. Your prayers are greatly appreciated this weekend.

Traveling an sticking to a real food lifestyle has been challenging and eye opening. God has been good in sustaining me through the times when real food and drink were of available. I've gleaned a few tips during this trip that will hopefully make your next flight more enjoyable and save you the pain of dehydration or hunger.

1. Pack your own snacks. Fortunately current flight regulations do not prohibit you from taking your own food aboard your flight. Plan ahead and carefully consider snacks that will travel well and not easily perish. After a flight cancellation and an unexpected 3 hour drive to make a connecting flight I am thankful I grab a large bag of homemade trail mix a few minutes before heading out the door. Raw pumpkin seeds, raw almonds, raw cashews, and organic "Cherrios" helped to stave off hunger and keep me awake on my long drive. 

2. Plan to drink only water. This is one area you will not be able to bring your own from home. As many of you already know juices and sodas are full of unwanted and unnecessary preservatives, chemicals, and colorings. A word of caution, read the water bottle labels before you purchase. Sadly even a simple bottle of water can have added sodium and other undesirables. Fresh spring water is your best bet and stay away from the water bottle brands that are made by corporations, these are typically the glorified water bottles, nothing more than dressed up tap water.

3. If you are staying at a hotel call ahead. Nowadays, hotel kitchens are more than happy to accommodate guests with special dietary needs. Eating real food, although counterintuitive is classified as a special dietary condition. Perhaps one day it will not be, but until then, call ahead. Be prepared to provide the kitchen staff with meal ideas, especially if it is a smaller hotel.

4. Eating out can be a real challenge when sticking to a real food lifestyle. Choose your restaurants carefully and considering asking locals or hotel staff for recommendations. After you choose a spot to eat and are ordering, don't be afraid to make your food needs known. Most often the chef and wait staff are more than happy t accommodate your needs, after all they are no different that someone with a food allergy. There are certain things we will and will not eat, just like others with special dietary needs.

With some forethought traveling and continuing to eat real food is not only possible it will also be enjoyable.

Do you have other tips and tricks for eating real while traveling? Please share, I'd love to hear your feedback

D is for Dry Storage

Dry storage becomes an essential part of your pantry when you make the transition to real foods. Not only is it better to store dry goods in a quality sealed container to maintain the freshness of the product but many times when you switch to real foods buying in bulk is most economical. When you buy in large quantities you will need food grade dry storage containers to keep the nutritional value and freshness of your foods.

There are many options available for storing your bulk grains, homemade snacks, and other high quality real food items that are now stocked in your kitchen.

Dry Bulk Storage options:

2 gallon bucket: 2 gallon buckets are most commonly used for storing small quantities of food or water. I have a few buckets of this size which I bought containing peanut butter. I keep these buckets to store overflow of dry goods which might not fit in the 5 gallon bucket or my smaller pantry dry storage containers.

5 gallon bucket: A five-gallon bucket will hold approximately 37 lbs. of dry rice and 33.5 lbs. of dried beans. Additionally, this size bucket will hold approximately 25 lbs of flour depending on compaction of the grain.

When storing dry goods in plastic buckets your choice of lids is critical. If you do not purchase a tight fitting lid then you food will spoil quickly.

Traditional bucket lid: Most people who store dry goods do not use the traditional white lids that come with the plastic buckets by default. These lids are fine if you are storing an item that you use quickly or that will not perish quickly (a month or less).

Gamma lid: The gamma lids are the more popular and wiser choice when it comes to purchasing lids for your dry bulk storage. Gamma lids are constructed in two parts. There is an outer ring which snaps securely to the outside top portion of the bucket. There is then a part in the middle which twists on and off of the outer ring. This lid construction insures a tighter fit and better option for long-term dry bulk storage and food freshness.




The most affordable place that I've found to purchase buckets and gamma lids is from Azure Standard.

Pantry/Kitchen Dry Good Storage:
The most important part of choosing dry good storage options for your kitchen and pantry is the quality of the seal and the functionality of the container. If the container you choose does not for an air tight seal then the food that you worked so hard at acquiring will spoil and go to waste. Also, if the container is not easy to open, close, and provides free access to your food item then you will experience frustration in the kitchen. Cooking real food is fun and incredibly satisfying, please don't let a poor choice of kitchen storage container derail all of the hard work and effort you put in to creating your real food kitchen.

With that in mind and taking those 2 important points into consideration, my favorite kitchen and pantry dry good storage container is the OXO Good Grips Pop-Top Container (affiliate link). These tight sealing and very functional dry good storage containers come in all sizes which is perfect for a variety of kitchen and pantry uses. I use the small ones for storing spices and small quantities of items we use for oatmeal and steel cut cereal toppings. The larger containers store things such as cocoa powder, beans for short-term uses, oats, rice, the list is virtually endless with options. I like that these containers have a very tight seal but you can open them with a simple push of a button. The only downfall is that they are not easy on the wallet. However, I have skirted this problem by shopping around and acquiring them as we can afford. A large kitchen and bath chain frequently mails coupons for their store, I save those and use them to buy these OXO pop-top containers at a discount. This option is particularly useful when you need a particular size. Otherwise, I have found that the large box stores have a 12 piece set for a very reasonable price. Just this week I purchased my second set.

 

An additional point that I like about these OXO containers is that they are clear sided. Being able to quickly see what is in each container (I haven't had a chance to label them with my label maker) makes cooking quicker and easier.

Dry storage can be fun and strangely satisfying, if you are one that likes to be organized like myself (just don't look at my desktop).

What methods do you use for your bulk dry good storage?

 

Blessings,

C is for Christ

This week the focus is on Christ and His sacrifice and resurrection for me and for you. There is eternal life because of Jesus' death and resurrection, all you have to do is believe and follow God's Word.

May your Resurrection Sunday be filled with joy and peace!

 

Ditching the Microwave: Test Run

Last month I read an article on How to Stop Using the Microwave from the Humbled Homemaker. Prior to reading this post my husband and I had a few discussions about our microwave use and how we wanted to curtail our dependance on it's use as part of our continued effort to live and eat healthier. The Humbled Homemaker's post brought those conversations to the forefront of my thoughts and helped spur me to do some of my own research.

I am spending a good deal of time and money sourcing, purchasing, and preparing organic and nutritious foods for my family. The thought of then reheating nutrient dense foods in a microwave, which kills all of the nutritional value of foods simply in the name of convenience just did not sit well with me. Why would I want to remove all of the nutrition from the foods we worked so hard to provide for our family simple to save a couple of minutes here and there? If I am in that big of a hurry, I need to re-evaluate my priorities!

On the flip side though I have to be realistic. There will be times when a "convenience" appliance for getting hot food to my starving children will be a sanity saver. So if I am going to make the leap and give up the radiation box above my stove I want to make sure I have a back-up option if I give our microwave the boot. Like The Humbled Homemaker I have decided on the Hamilton Beach Countertop Oven with Convection and Rotisserie in stainless steel. I love that it is convection and also includes the rotisserie option. My family enjoys rotisserie chicken and this feature would allow me to make our own at home without having to buy yet another kitchen appliance.

So far, I am just over 1 week into my journey of not being dependent on my microwave. Admittedly, the first couple of days I had to catch myself instinctively thinking about reheating leftovers in that box. However, now the thought doesn't cross my mind. I grab a pan to reheat our food on the stovetop and I make sure to defrost meat early enough in the day so I am not relying on the microwave to put dinner on the table at a reasonable hour. If I can make it more than 3 weeks without using the microwave I can justify spending the money to buy the countertop convection toaster over. It is my hope that we can replace the microwave with the toaster oven in order to avoid another appliance on our counters (which I've worked hard to eliminate).

If and when I make the leap to purchase the toaster oven, rest assured you will be the first to know and help me celebrate.

What steps are you in the process of taking to eat and live healthier?

B is for Baked Oatmeal

photo courtesy of The Family Kitchen

Late last year in our continued effort to replace processed foods with real wholesome food I made the decision to cut out cold breakfast cereals cold turkey. One morning I just told my older 3 children that once the cereal in the house was gone I would not be buying any more. Putting my decision to voice helped because I knew my children would hold me accountable if I ever brought processed cereal in our house again. I had serious reservations about making this leap towards real foods because my breakfast meal creativity was zilch. I typically mustered enough motivation and creativity to make breakfast from scratch once a week at best. What was I possibly going to do when I had to have something nutritious on the table every morning, day after day?

Thus began my journey with baked oatmeal. I can not say enough about this real food dish. It is nutritious, filling, quick, and convenient. What else could a Mother ask for in a breakfast dish? I've tried numerous variations on the basic baked oatmeal theme and all of them are quick and very tasty. My 8 year old requests this dish more times than not.

I've compiled a list of tried and true baked oatmeal recipes for your taste bud enjoyment.

Creme Brûlée from Tidy Mom

Baked Oatmeal with fruit from Whole Living

Apple Cinnamon from The Family Kitchen

Peanut Butter from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures

Pumpkin Spice from My Blessed Life

Pumpkin, Cranberry, and Apple from Emily Bites

Do you have another favorite baked oatmeal recipe? I'd love to hear about it, please leave a comment!

Please join me next week as I explore the letter C as part of Ben and Me Blogging Through the Alphabet.

 

A is for Alexis

My blog article inspiration has been non-existent lately which is not typical of my writing at all. Usually I have blog topics pop in my head all day and struggle to remember them when I finally have a chance to sit down and write. As of late however, nothing is coming to me, zilch, nada, and I don't like it one bit. So to help kick start my creative writing juices I will be joining the newest round of Blogging Through the Alphabet hosted on the wonderful site Ben and Me. I am hopeful that this weekly meme will get my fingers moving with regularity again and open my mind to new topics with which I can share on.

This week is the start of a new round of alphabet blogging. I racked my brain for what I could write about that started with A. Everything from alligators, animals, apples, arachnids, and azaleas popped in my head. None of them sounded like something I could turn into a post you my readers would enjoy. We haven't had homeschool lessons on any of these topics lately so I have nothing to relate to this blog on those topics. Then it hit me. . .I am an A. What would be more appropriate for starting this series then to write a little about myself. A lot has changed in my life since I first started this blog so it seems fitting to introduce myself to my new readers and update the rest of you who have stuck with me through my long dry periods of no writing at all. A heartfelt thank you to all of you who kept me in your readers and check in from time to time. Thank you!

So who is the person behind this blog?

I am Alexis, a mid-30s wife and mother of 6. My family and I are originally from San Diego but in an effort to raise our family in a better environment my husband and I decided in early 2010 to move to the midwest. We are now closer to my Mother and extended family. While we miss the warm weather and Pacific Ocean, having lived here for 3 years we can not imagine moving back to the hustle and bustle of San Diego. We are enjoying the cleaner air, lack of traffic, and kindness of those that live here in the corn belt of America.

My husband and I re-met in 2003 and were married in 2004. We will celebrate our 9th anniversary in June. We went to middle school together and after so many years separated we know that God had a hand in bringing our lives back together. Our oldest is my step-son, he is 11. Together we have an 8 year old son, 6 year old daughter, twin 2 year old daughters, and a 1 year old son. The younger 3 we affectionately refer to as the "triplets" because they were born 362 days apart making them Irish triplets. While we believe that all of our children are miracles and blessings our twins defied all of the odds and are a testament to the power of prayer. If you've been reading this blog for any length of time you know that our twins were born far too early at 26 weeks 5 days due to acute twin to twin transfusion syndrome. Weighing 1lb 6oz and 2lbs, our girls are a testament to the power of prayer. Micro preemies like our daughters typically spend well over 100 days in a high level NICU in order to get strong and healthy enough to come home. After only 78 days, 1 day before they would have been delivered at 38 weeks B & J got to come home. They are now healthy toddlers who bring pure joy and laughter to our lives daily. J  had the rougher start and was the smallest at birth having been the donor in the TTTS. She was recently diagnosed with dys-kinetic Cerebral Palsy. Her case is very mild and with therapy she will grow to live an independent life including walking and talking without assistance.

Our journey into homeschooling began in the fall of 2008. My 8 year old was set to start kindergarten that year and after some events during preschool and drastic budget cuts in our local school district we knew that putting him into public kindergarten would not be in his best interest academically. And so began our unintended journey with home educating. At this time I am home schooling a 6th grader, advanced 3rd grader, and a kindergartner. After trying boxed curriculums we have found a better fit with pieced together curriculum choices. As a curriculum reviewer for The Old Schoolhouse review crew this year I am also being introduced to curriculum that I might not have otherwise known about or had the opportunity to use. While our journey into homeschooling was seemingly made purely based on educational reasons my husband and I both know it was God calling us to do what was best for all of our children. Homeschooling has been a blessing beyond words, an experience I could never describe. While far from roses and bon bons, we know this is the best choice for our children and our family.

Personally, I am an only child and San Diego native. My childhood was broken and quality religious education which is why these two things are very near to my heart and why I work so hard to raise up my own family in a way in which I was not. I have a bachelors in Biology and at one time thought I would be a doctor. I have also been a fitness instructor for a national mother and baby fitness company. I enjoy writing, gardening, canning, and most recently have vowed to clean up my family's eating habits.

Lastly, from a blogging perspective I do my best to write as transparent as possible. My life is not all roses and perfection. We struggle, we argue, my house is often a disaster, and I am a sinner. At the end of the day though, we all do our best with what God gives us and give thanks for a new day with new grace.