Category: Kids

31 Ways To Go Plastic Free

Published on by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog1 Comment

I read about this Plastic-Free Challenge earlier this week but haven’t had a chance to post about it until now… If you’ve been following the blog you’ll know that I’ve mentioned that we’ve been extraordinarily busy this past couple of months and hopefully we’ll be able to share what we’ve been up to sometime later this month… it’s really exciting!

Back to the post though… part of my New Year’s goal was to start using less plastic and disposable items in our house. I know we probably won’t be a zero waste household anytime soon but I know that we can have really cut back on single-use plastic items in our home.

Just the other day I realized that our plastic storage containers have been disappearing. Where have they gone? Well, that’s a question that may never be answered but I do know that I really need to replace them. I’ve been looking at a few Plastic-Free options on Amazon and Walmart but haven’t decided what to get yet but I will need to find something soon.

I know that some things will not be replaced soon like our favorite lunch boxes but I have found some replacements for some time in the future. I have also been looking for non-plastic/non-glass replacements to the kids’ water bottles that they use at home. We do try our best to use reusable shopping bags when we go for groceries. I’ve even been suggesting that they need to add an option for using your own bags to the Walmart Grocery Pickup service but I don’t know if that will happen anytime soon.

Here are a few ideas of things we’ve replaced recently:

I know that there are some items that might hard to replace but there are new solutions coming out every day. Making these changes one at a time will make a difference and you may find that it saves you money as well!

Join the Plastic Free Challenge Today!

So many places around us are putting bans on plastics as well so this is something that everyone really needs to adjust to. It’s crazy to see the numbers on the plastic pollution crisis and our family wants to do our part to help out with this. With the Plastic Free Challenge, you can choose where you will be going plastic free, what you choose to refuse, and how long you choose to go plastic free.

This week I got an email from Life Without Plastic about their Plastic-Free Tooth Tabs which can replace those plastic toothpaste tubes and are packaged in a paper box. They also talked about their new Plastic-Free Lunch Boxes which were funded on Kickstarter. They also have a wide variety of Plastic-Free Containers for packing those delicious lunches in.

Take the Plastic Free July Challenge with www.goingzerowaste.com

Take the Plastic Free July Challenge with www.goingzerowaste.com

Here are a few more interesting articles I’ve found about this topic:

 

It’s not too late to join the Plastic Free Challenge Today!

**This post does contain affiliate links to products and/or services that we use. We may earn a teensy weensy small commission (at NO EXTRA cost to you) if a purchase is made through these links. These links help to support our family, our blog, and our homeschooling mission.

 –Thank you!

 

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St. Nicholas Day is just around the corner!

Published on by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog1 Comment

We are trying our best to get back into some of our routines and traditions around here but it’s been tough going with one thing after another. I do plan to do a little something special for St. Nicholas Day and we hope to get our tree up then as well. I had thought about doing our Polar Express Party on St. Nicholas Day but it falls in the middle of the week so that wouldn’t work out well for anyone right now.

We won’t be doing anything really spectacular but I’m sure the kids will be excited anyway. I did manage to snag a couple of bags of chocolate coins a couple of weeks ago too so I’m hoping they won’t have melted by the time St. Nicholas Day gets here.

I just wanted to post this in case anyone else wanted to try to do something a little extra special… maybe you will have a chance to grab some things over the weekend to start a new family tradition. Maybe we can schedule a quick drive around town to look at Christmas lights or something as well.

Here are a few posts from previous years:

Happy St. Nicholas Day 2018!
St. Nicholas Day 2016
St. Nicholas Day (12/6)

We usually make Santa Pancakes and I think we did something a little different last year but I can’t remember what we did for sure as it was so crazy then.

Before you think that you couldn’t possibly pull anything like this off because something always goes wrong here’s another post about how our day really went on a previous St. Nicholas Day:

December 6, 2016

Whether you celebrate or not we hope you have a great St. Nicholas Day and we pray that you are blessed beyond measure during this holiday season!

DIY Hair Detangler

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I don’t think I’ve shared this post before but I wanted to throw it out there just in case anyone else finds themselves in need of this.

DIY Hair Detangler

Ingredients:

  • Spray bottle (16-20 oz)
  • About 2-3 T of your favorite conditioner or coconut oil
  • Hot water

Add all the ingredients into your spray bottle with just enough hot water to fill almost to the top.

Shake well and use as needed!

Adorable Chicken Cakes

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I know I’ve posted these pics before but I thought I’d share some of the progress pics when I was making these… I forgot to take pics while making the second cake and the cupcake but they were super simple! These were inspired by Pinterest!

I made these for little miss’s birthday but these would be super cute for Easter as well!

I also forgot to take an up close picture of the picture of the little caterpillar but it was just some green fondant balls with a couple of candy eyes and antennas (flower stamens) added. I probably should’ve use red but Isabella picked out these pink ones.

Continue reading “Adorable Chicken Cakes” →

Cakes and more cakes

Published on by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog1 Comment

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted any cake pics but here are a few of our latest creations. Some of these may have been posted before but I figured I’d share them just in case they weren’t.

I have another post coming soon about the cute chicken cakes.

Continue reading “Cakes and more cakes” →

Our 2022-2023 Homeschool Curriculum and Schedule

Published on by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog2 Comments

I know most families are just now finishing up their 2021-2022 school year and looking forward to a few months off but we aren’t like most families. We’ve decided to adopt more of a year-round school schedule which allows us more flexibility to take time off whenever we need a break or have something important or unexpected come up… which has happened a lot lately!

We have it planned so that we can take a one-week break every three weeks or so with a two-week break around Christmas and at the end of our school year. We can adjust this as needed, for example, we could complete six weeks of school and take a two-week break if needed. Or we could have two weeks of school with a break and then have four weeks… we have a little bit of flexibility for whatever we need to do without feeling ‘rushed’ to get finished.

We finished our 2021-2022 school year back in March and I was tempted to take a few months off and not start back until August/September but I know from past experiences that this doesn’t go well and that it takes FOREVER to get a couple of the kids back into the school routine. You can read more about last year’s curriculum and routines HERE. Last year was pretty crazy but we adapted and we survived!

Last year I switched to some Living Education Books from Master Books for our Language Arts and Math and we absolutely loved them so we went with them again for this year. We used some materials that we already had on hand and I ordered a few new things to go along with our studies. So far, everything has been working out well and many of the studies have been overlapping/going right along with each other which has been really nice as it helps to reinforce what we are learning and gives a little bit of review as well.

I also have another post with activities that we use for little miss (20 months old right now.)

Continue reading “Our 2022-2023 Homeschool Curriculum and Schedule” →

Homeschool Activities for a 1 to 2-year-old and Our Daily Schedule plus a Weekly Preschool Schedule

Published on by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog4 Comments

How in the world do we keep little miss occupied so we can get some school work done?

Homeschooling any number of kids can be difficult at times but when you add a baby or toddler to the mix it can get really crazy. Some days are easier than others as she is pretty good at keeping herself entertained but other days she can be extremely clingy and doesn’t want to be ‘left out’. We have to come up with some clever tricks to keep her entertained at times and sometimes we just take turns having someone play with her to keep her happy, although we don’t give in to every little whine or cry because sometimes she will figure out a way to entertain herself without us.

We have the basic routines that we have tried to stick to, even through the rough year that we had last year. During our numerous in-patient stays, I did my best to keep her routine as similar to our home routine as I could. It was difficult but it helped us both tremendously. Big sister also kept the kiddos at home on a regular schedule and that helped keep some of the chaos to a minimum.

Now that we are home and doing well we really had to get a little bit stricter with our routines as we’ve had a lot of adjustments to make. Shyanne missed her big brothers and sisters and they missed her but sometimes they get on each other’s nerves just as all siblings do. It’s a normal part of having a big family but it can lead to many distractions which are not good when we need to get certain things accomplished.

The basic areas we try to include in her daily schedule are:

  • Life Skills/Character Development
  • Language/Communication
  • Math
  • Science/STEM/Sensory
  • PT/OT (Gross/Fine Motor Skills)
  • Art/Music
Continue reading “Homeschool Activities for a 1 to 2-year-old and Our Daily Schedule plus a Weekly Preschool Schedule” →

Remote homeschooling

Published on by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog1 Comment

I know that many of you have had to try virtual/remote learning over the past year. Some have liked it and some have not. We were homeschoolers before the pandemic and continue to do so through our latest crisis.

Continue reading “Remote homeschooling” →

Our recent Amazon purchases

Published on by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog1 Comment

As you all know I’ve always been partial to Amazon because you don’t need to leave your house, or couch, to get what you need. While this isn’t always a good thing to have everything just a click away it has been very useful during this COVID pandemic. Here are just a few of our favorite purchases lately:

Baby

Isn’t this the cutest?
Continue reading “Our recent Amazon purchases” →

Is Santa Real? … That is the question

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I saw this explanation in one of my Facebook groups and I love it…

For those of you questioning the way to tell your children about Santa Claus, here is a sweet story on combining that with training. Delete if inappropriate for this group.

I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit Grandma on the day my brother dropped the bomb: “There is no Santa Claus,” he jeered. “Even dummies know that!”

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her “world-famous” cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. “No Santa Claus?” she snorted, “Ridiculous! Don’t believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let’s go.”

“Go? Go where, Grandma?” I asked. I hadn’t even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. “Where” turned out to be Kirby’s General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. “Take this money,” she said, “and buy something for someone who needs it. I’ll wait for you in the car.” Then she turned and walked out of Kirby’s.

I was only eight years old. I’d often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping.

For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.

I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church.

I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock’s grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn’t have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn’t have a cough; he didn’t have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.

“Is this a Christmas present for someone?” the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. “Yes, ma’am,” I replied shyly. “It’s for Bobby.”

The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn’t get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, “To Bobby, From Santa Claus” on it.

Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker’s house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa’s helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby’s house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. “All right, Santa Claus,” she whispered, “get going.”

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.

Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven’t dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker’s bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were — ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.

May you always have LOVE to share,

HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care…

And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus!

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She’s Here!

Published on by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog6 Comments

Hey y’all! I’m so so sorry that I kinda just dropped off the social media for a bit. The past few months have been very hard as this pregnancy took so much out of me but we are so happy to announce that the wait is over!

Just before midnight on July 8th Ms. Shyanne came screaming into this world via c-section. Although we were as ready as we thought we could be we weren’t quite expecting her to be here right then.

She weighed in at 8lbs and 1 oz and she was 19 1/2 inches long. They also determined that she was around 36 weeks when she delivered.

She is in the NICU due to some of her prenatal diagnosis. She has already breezed through one surgery and is making daily progress towards coming home although we know there will be more surgeries to come.

While the pregnancy seemed so chaotic from the beginning with all the negativity because of my age and then diagnosis after diagnosis for our little girl, (Just this last month we learned of her duodenal atresia which resulted in severe polyhydramnios and then we were ultimately admitted for preeclampsia/HELLP syndrome.), we feel so blessed to have this precious addition to our family.

I will try to finish up some of the posts related to her prenatal issues as well as a more detailed post about her birth and NICU stays but for now I’m just going to try to focus on life at home and recovering so that I can be ready to take care of our little one when she comes home.

We have been posting updates and tons of pictures on our personal FB pages if you’d like to follow us. I’ll also try to start posting on Instagram more regularly as well.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and most of all for your prayers and please keep us in your prayers as we know the next few months will be quite crazy around here.

Free Webinar: GET KIDS TO listen without nagging or yelling

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Is being cooped up at home getting on your nerves? Or maybe being cooped up means that the kiddos are getting on everyone’s nerves?

Whatever the situation you can find out how to get your kids to listen without all the nagging and yelling. We have been using a lot of the techniques that we’ve learned and it has made quite a difference in our home and I’m sure this program can help in your home as well whether you have one child or many.

Give it a try with a FREE CLASS!

**This post does contain affiliate links to products and/or services that we use. If you happen to click through a link and make a purchase we may earn a teensy-weensy small commission (at NO EXTRA cost to you) if a purchase is made through these links. These links help to support our family, our blog, and our homeschooling mission. This means that we can keep bringing you great recipes, ideas, and tips for FREE! Click HERE for a full disclaimer.

 –Thank you!