Written by Diana Bauman, Contributing Writer September has been an exciting month for my five year old son and I. He started kindergarten and I became a first time parent with a child in school. My husband and I met all of his teachers including his principal, art teacher, gym teacher and music teacher. We toured …
September at Our Home
I can hardly believe that fall is upon us already, but the beautiful crimson leaves outside my window attest to the fact that it’s true. I am always sad to see the summer go, especially since we had such a short season of truly warm summer weather here in the Pacific Northwest, and yet I …
Seven Strategies for Home Schooling Moms
Written by Natalie Klejwa, Guest Writer When my oldest child was three years old, I began one of the most exciting and stretching challenges of my life. I started home schooling. Fifteen years later, I am teaching children in the 9th, 6th, 4th, 2nd, and 1st grades along with two toddlers. And that 3 year …
Plan It- Don’t Panic: The Official Start of the Meal Planning Challenge
Welcome to the “official” (see last week) start of the Plan It- Don’t Panic Meal Planning Challenge! This challenge will be running for the next 6 weeks (Sept.26- Nov.7). Every Monday I will be posting both my own menu plan for the week, some tips on aspects of meal planning OR some recipes I want …
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Pumpkin Walnut Bread
Written by Brandy Ferguson, Contributing Writer This bread is perfect any time of year, but I especially love to make it in the fall. Slightly crunchy on the outside, and super moist on the inside, it’s a favorite in our family. I like that there is just enough spice in this bread to not overpower that …
Gentle, All Natural Deodorant Stick Recipe
Although I’ve been using more natural deodorants for years, it can be hard to find the right one that actually works for you and doesn’t cost a fortune. I hear many complaints that people simply don’t want to use natural brands because they just “don’t work”. This is true, to some degree. They don’t work in the …
A Warm Welcome
This month, I’m happy to welcome 4 new contributing writers to Keeper of the Home! Brandy @ The Marathon Mom Diana @ A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa Erin @ The Humbled Homemaker Courtney @ Simply Nurtured Also joining us are 3 guest writers, whom you will see a little less often, but still …
How Do You Deal With Challenging Behavior? (An Attitude Check for Moms)
There was one morning early in my third pregnancy when I was still exhausted and I was attempting to sleep just a little more after my kids got up. I would leave my bedroom door open so I could hear them, and they would go get a snack. Most of the time this worked out …
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Plan It- Don’t Panic: Week 1 of the Meal Planning Challenge
Welcome to Week 1 of the Plan It- Don’t Panic Meal Planning Challenge! What? You’re not ready? You thought it started next Monday, the 26th of September? Oh, you mean the date on the pretty graphic I had made? Ahem… you know you’ve got pregnancy brain when you plan a challenge to start on the 26th, …
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Depression During Pregnancy: My Experience
This post is not intended to diagnose or treat any symptoms. If you feel this is something you are dealing with, it’s very important that you talk to your doctor or midwife about it as soon as possible. Typically when women find out they are pregnant, there is excitement and anticipation for their upcoming bundle …
Resources and Recipes to Make Your Meal Planning Successful
With the Plan It- Don’t Panic meal planning challenge beginning this Monday morning, now seemed like the perfect time to share some really helpful resources to help you succeed with your menus. Learn more about how to make meal planning work (and some different methods for doing it), find tons of my favorite online recipes …
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Gardening with Herbs 101: Preserving Your Herbs
Written by Meg Dickey, Contributing Writer Last time we talked about how to harvest your herbs – now that you’ve harvested them, what are you going to do with them? Here are my favorite ways to preserve herbs for out-of-season use: Freezing This method best preserves flavor. Rinse the herbs and chop coarsely. Place about …
Backyard Chicken Challenges
It’s been about about 2 1/2 years since my husband and I – inexperienced as we are – first took on the hobby of keeping backyard chickens; and what a joy it’s been. But we’ve most certainly seen our fair share of chicken woes also. It’s just bound to happen that with 8-10 chickens, problems …
Why My Husband Rocks (and Union 28 Giveaway)
*Giveaway has now ended* A few years ago, I remember seeing one of my dear friends in the cutest shirt. It said: “I love skinny guys with glasses” and it had a stick drawing of a skinny guy wearing (what else?) glasses. What makes this shirt awesome is that her husband just happens to be …
I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream (A Giveaway)
*Giveaway has now ended* Ever read a recipe book that had you drooling from practically the first page? Considering that summer is promising to stay hot for a while longer, when I first read Just Making Ice Cream, I could hardly resist jumping up from a cozy table in the coffee shop where I do …
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You Asked For It: Plan It- Don’t Panic! {A 6-Week Meal Planning Challenge}
All those who know that meal planning is a good idea, but struggle to actually do it, put up their hands! (Is yours raised?) I definitely relate. I have been meal planning on and off (more on than off) for about 6 years. I know the benefits. I write about them. My budget and our …
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Gardening with Herbs 101: Harvesting Your Herbs
Written by Meg Dickey, Contributing Writer Our weather may not be showing signs of Autumn, but our plants and gardens are certainly indicating it is time for harvesting! If you have been consistently using your herbs throughout the summer, you may not feel you have many to preserve for the winter season (my catnip has …
Embryo Adoption: A Unique Option to Give a Child Life
Guest Post Written by Erin Odom Although Tiffany and Micah Childs have two biological children, the couple has always felt led to adopt. But the costs and steps necessary to go through an adoption agency were overwhelming. “Lord, if this is for us, you need to make this simple,” Tiffany prayed. And God answered in …
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Small Batch Dehydrating for the Summer Bounty
There’s a woman who lives a few blocks down from me with this miraculous garden that seems to go from a freshly tilled plot to a wildly abundant gardener’s delight in about one month flat (my husband keeps telling me not to be jealous because she probably uses Miracle-Gro or something of the chemical-sort). She …
Benefits of a Protein-Rich Breakfast (and a Protein Pancake Recipe)
We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but with so many choices (and conflicting information), it can be difficult to know what to serve our family. While cereal or toast may seem easy and convenient, these high-carbohydrate choices lead to elevated blood sugar levels which drop quickly and soon …
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How to Peel Peaches and Tomatoes for Canning
; Although I’ve been canning for 4-5 years now, it was only about 2 years ago that I learned this simple trick for peeling peaches that has made canning an easier task. I was missing out! My 6 year old and I made this short video the other night, while peeling 40 lbs of peaches. She’s …