This is by far my busy day go to.  Whether we are home or out for the day it is really easy and the whole family loves it.  It's a great slow cooker meal and I make sure to make extra as it makes for a great lunch the next day for my husband.  It's also a great gluten free meal and if you need to make it dairy free that can be done as well by not making coconut rice and omiting sour cream and cheese.

Chicken Taco Bowls

Ingredients

3 - chicken breast
2 cups - salsa
1 can - kernel corn
1 can - black beans
1/2 cup - water
1 tsp - Epicure Taco Seasoning (gluten free)
1 cup - basmatti rice
1 can - coconut milk
1/2 tsp lime juice
1 - yellow pepper
1 - tomato
1 - avocado
olives
cilantro
shredded cheese
sour cream

Directions

I'm a firm beleiver in letting your children grow.  Now that doesn't mean make them grow up fast.  Rather it means take pride in seeing them learn and grow.

I absolutely love babies.  I'm a mom who would possibly have 100 if I could.  My job allows me to get my baby fix by photographing newborns,  so this helps me.  My husband is probably thankful as I would probably have way too many children of my own.   I love that newborn smell, I love the brand new baby cuddles, and the cute baby clothes.  Cherish those moments as they do go too fast.  Please however let them grow.

I feel like sometimes families and parents struggle because they don't have expectations of their children.  I see mom's still feeding their children by spoon at a year.  STOP!!  Hand them a spoon at 6 months and let them learn.  Yes it will be messy.  Yes you will have to clean up what looks like a food fight.  However, let them learn.

I get stopped and praised all the time because of my children, they do make me a very proud mama.  They seem very mature and grown up for their age.  My son was potty trained by 2, and my daughter was only 14 months.  Honestly, I believe it was because I expected it from them.  Instead of saying "oh it's so much work and so much easier to just throw them in a diaper right now" I made the choice to stay home for a few days and keep them naked and teach them.  They both went from diapers to underwear with no issues, even no pull ups at night.  I see some 4 year olds struggling to potty train. Yes it takes work.  It's not just easy.  However having expectations of your children is a good thing.

My son is 6 now.  He has been helping me clean the house since he was 1.  He now knows what it takes to keep a home under control.  I can also trust him.  I have sent him outside to shovel or rake leaves and he happily does these chores.  He helps me grocery shop and has since he was 4.  He checks off the list.  Many people are shocked while we are grocery shopping and at the age of 4 he's using an app to check off groceries.  He says "mom how do you spell celery is it with an s or a c"  BANG! Language arts done for the day!

Teaching your kids to clean up after they are done with a toy is HUGE.  Mom's the amount of time spent in a day cleaning up after kids can be insane.  My daughter learned this at Christmas this year.  After each present she unwrapped she began to learn we needed to recycle the paper.  Now if she opens or takes something out of the package she puts the garbage in the garbage.  She will go to her book shelf and grab a book to read for her reading nook, and,  when she is done with it, take it back and grabs a new one.  The reason she does this is because I expect it of her.  Yes I could still treat her as a baby and pick up after her or I could take pride in watching her grow and learn.  I would rather do that.

My son enjoys having his friends over.  They usually play in his room with lego, and blanket forts are everywhere.  He lives in the moment and plays and has a ton of fun.  However when his friends go home he does find comfort in taking the time to clean his room and get it back in order.  He's like me, he wants order especially before sleeping.

These are just a few ideas of things I implimented in our home that even a one year old can help with.

• Dishes - yes they may not be perfect.  However most kids love playing in the water.  So while you are cleaning up let them learn to clean the dishes in the sink.  Yes you will have to help them however its a great way for them to learn while playing.
• Empty the dishwasher - I take a moment to remove any sharp knives or anything really break able but this is something my one year old helps with.  My son does the higher stuff and she likes to do the cuttlery because she can reach it.
• Dusting - hand them a swiffer and let them go to town.  My son started doing this at a year and did baseboards and anything low.  It was fun for him to see how much dust he could pick up.
• Laundry - I started early to make sure they always put dirty laundry in their hampers.  My daughter gets undressed getting ready for a bath and doesn't leave her clothes on the floor in the bathroom she takes them right to her laundry hamper.  This is something so simple but one less step for me.  She also likes pushing the buttons on the washer and dryer (which are up high so I lift her up to do this) I now can send my son to throw a load of laundry in all by himself.

My son is 6 and in grade 2 and to be honest we haven't had a cartoon on since I can't even remember. This makes the little bit of TV we watch as a family much more enjoyable.  Our TV doesn't come on until after bath time and they get a show before bed.  Some parents never even think that they don't have to sit through cartoons.  Here is a few shows my son absolutely loves and we do too.  He's totally interested and we started this style of television when he was 2.



How its Made - this show gets his brain working and it's so much fun to watch something we use every day and had no clue how it was made.  We also enjoy checking after the show is over online how much those items cost after seeing the show and all the work that goes into it.

Jade Fever - There is something really exciting about watching a crew search for Jade.  My son immediatly wanted to go outside and hunt for Jade.

Netflix Documentaries - can't hurt to learn!

Forged in Fire - My son enjoys watching men forge weapons and have them go through tests to compete on who can make the best knife.  At first I was hesitant on allowing this show as we don't want violence.  However it's really neat watching them take a simple peice of metal and turning it into a work of art.  He has a competative edge so competitions really keep his interest.

The Curse of Oak Island - this show has a great way of keeping you hooked.  We look forward to each week following along as they search with incredible equipment for the hidden treasure.  All ages are sure to like this show.


These are just some of the shows we like to watch in our home for fun.  Enjoy.

Homeschool sterotypes are still existing.  This boggles my mind however I do understand it. I knew from the moment I had my son I intended to homeschool.  This isn’t always the case for everyone.  I felt for me, I wanted to nurture his character and I actually liked watching him grow.  For some however they choose homeschooling because the traditional school system isn’t working, or it allows them to school while travelling, or because they decide as a family they can make it work.
I get contacted all the time of fearful moms looking for someone to help them.  To answer the crazy questions they have surrounding homeschooling.  I however am only one mama so have my opinions but that is all they are.  I adore our choice to homeschool however I would never push it on everyone.  It’s not for everyone.  I just wish more than anything people would consider it even when they think it’s not possible.
I have a girlfriend who was telling me about her little guy who is in public school and reminds her of my son.  Sweet, kind, and soft.  He is having issues with mean kids and being attracted to them.  He is also being forced to sit calmly for 6 hours and if he can’t he gets sent home with a sad face in his agenda.  He gets a sad face for things like twirling his hair.  Is this not ridiculous?  They of course want to have him tested for ADHD.  As she was telling me this I of course got emotional.  He doesn’t have ADHD….he’s a boy…. could you imagine being put in a box for 6 hours and told to follow along like a sheep.  This saddens me.
So what did I do?  I invited her to my Christmas party.  They are new to town and I said it would be a great way for their little guy to meet kids who are nice.  They arrived and my 6 year old was very excited to meet him.  He immediately ran in and found all the kids playing and having fun.  I don’t remember exactly how the conversation began but I said to her “see this is why you should homeschool” haha. Her husband laughed and said “Oh my goodness why…..do you homeschool??” hahaha….this is where I was thrilled.  She hadn’t told him.  So my response was "actually absolutely I do."  Actually “ALL” these kids are homeschooled.  He was shocked.  I loved how he came into the situation without any preconceived ideas of what we would all be like.  In a room with 25 people we all seemed normal! All the kids were social. “SHOCKER” and us parents were enjoying a glass of wine “SHOCKER” and not religious.
So many people feel that homeschooling makes for anti social odd kids.  This is so not the case.  Nobody knows we homeschool unless they see us out shopping during regular school hours and they they question my son.  “Why are you not in school?” This used to enrage me however now I just laugh and my son who is only 6 takes care of it.  His response is actually “ I did my school this morning from home as we homeschool so now we get to do lot’s of other stuff.”
We do regular weekly field trips and classes.  We get out with other kids at least a couple times a week.  We homeschool for so many reasons.  Here is a list of just a few.