When my parents were visiting us a couple of months ago, they started playing charades with my oldest girls. We played charades about a dozen times during the couple of weeks they were here. It was side-splitting fun! When I say side-splitting, it’s not much of an exaggeration! One night, Mebop (what my kids call their grandfather) … [Read more...] about How and Why to Play Charades with Young Kids
Archives for 2022
Beefy Tortellini Skillet
My husband loves pasta, so we tend to eat a lot of it. Sometimes I get tired of eating the same old pasta dishes. This past year, we tried a few new ones: Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta, Creamy Caesar Chicken Pasta, and Chicken Florentine Skillet. All of these are skillet dinners that are prepared in a single dish. I love these types of meals … [Read more...] about Beefy Tortellini Skillet
July 2022 Dinner Menu
June slipped by us quickly! I didn’t realize we were about to enter July until a couple of days ago. It’s so hot outside that we can barely stand to go outdoors. This is the time of year that we must brace ourselves to persevere through the rest of the summer. We’ll make it, of course, and we’ll eat a lot of popsicles along the way! … [Read more...] about July 2022 Dinner Menu
10 Easy Ways to Save Money on Your Electric Bill
After writing last week’s post about saving money by using appliances other than the oven to prepare meals, I decided to explore some additional ways to reduce electricity consumption and the high bills that come with it. Given our current electricity rates and how often our AC has been running because of the heat, I’m quite concerned … [Read more...] about 10 Easy Ways to Save Money on Your Electric Bill
Save Money on Your Electric Bill by Avoiding the Oven
I try to avoid using the oven to prepare dinner during the summer months. This is because the whole kitchen gets hot when I use the oven. We’ve been having 100°F temperatures, so our air conditioner is working hard enough without me adding heat from the oven! Electric ovens require a lot of electricity to create this heat, so keeping the … [Read more...] about Save Money on Your Electric Bill by Avoiding the Oven
Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Skewers
As I noted last year, I’ve been encouraging my kids to look through cookbooks and choose recipes they’d like to try. Doing this has bolstered their interest in learning how to cook and—much to my delight—motivated them to try new foods! This past week we tried a new recipe that they selected: BBQ Chicken Skewers. This recipe comes from … [Read more...] about Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Skewers
June 2022 Dinner Menu
Another busy month has nearly passed. Summer is beginning, which doesn’t mean a whole lot for my family for a couple of reasons. First, it’s already very hot around here. Second, we’ve been using a year-round approach to our homeschooling. This means we have school during the summer (the lack of a large summer break is offset by frequent, … [Read more...] about June 2022 Dinner Menu
Road Trip Games on Printable Cards
When we traveled two months ago to spend spring break with family, I reread a post I wrote in 2014 to refresh my mind with ideas of games my girls could play while we were on the road. That post (19 Zero-Technology Road Trip Games) contains so many good ideas! There are games for kids of all ages, even young kids like my 3-year-old. Instead … [Read more...] about Road Trip Games on Printable Cards
