Vanilla Joy - Family * Motherhood * Me

2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR IN REVIEW

This year was a big year for me in my homeschooling “journey”. I firmly committed to a Charlotte Mason style education the summer before school started (I think August maybe of 2017, when I started listening to the ADE podcast) and it has been so so so great and I am really excited for the […]

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Viral Video Production Company Worth Hiring

Announcements

Have any of you seen any of these commercials? My brother-in-law, Joel Ackerman wrote the scripts and directed the making of these video ads. This Orabrush video was his first one many years ago and we have three orabrushes floating around our house currently. This poo pourri ad has a lot of potty talk and […]

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Food Items Each State Is Known For

Uncategorized

This top foods by state infographic is fun. I grew up in Oregon and have lived in Utah for the last 15 years and I would say this is pretty accurate for those two states. I can see how marionberry pie was chosen for Oregon but I would have guessed that blackberries would have made the list instead. Funeral […]

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CELEBRATING EASTER: The Story Egg

Reviews

The set comes with 7 eggs, each with an image representing something from Christ’s life, and a book telling the story in a beautiful and simple way. The image on the egg is repeated in the book and used as a visual symbol of the activities in Christ’s life on that day. The eggs and […]

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9 Science Books You Don’t Want to Miss!

Uncategorized

We have been on the hunt for the most interesting, visually engaging, living science books we can find and we found 9 that we absolutely love from 3 different publishers. From Candlewick Press 1.Under Water, Under Earth 2. Animals 3. Maps 4. Botanicum From Storey Publishing 5. Nature Anatomy 6. Farm Anatomy 7. Food Anatomy Flying Eye Books 8. Wild Animals of the South 9. Wild Animals of the North 10. Mad […]

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REVIEW Platypus Australia Swim Wear

Reviews

We have been in and out (mostly in) of pools, splash parks, reservoirs, and creeks all summer long and are loving Platypus swim gear! Platypus is a company based in Australia and produces high quality, beautifully designed children’s swimwear that is made from UPF 50+ LYCRA® XTRA LIFE™ fabric which is amazing. All the suits we […]

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REVIEW Covered Goods Multi-Use Nursing Cover

Reviews

We are getting so excited to welcome TWO new little additions to our family in July – that’s right, TWINS!! These two babies will be our numbers 5 and 6 children, and numbers 5 and 6 boys. That’s right, we’re going to be the proud parents of SIX boys! I have nursed every one of my […]

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Modern Scrapbooking Solutions

Crafts

I used to LOVE scrapbooking but after I started having kids it because impractical real quick. All the mess was a problem first of all and I just never quite had the time to cut and paste and create and I got really tired of trying and always feeling behind. I had been blogging for a few […]

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We LOVE History!

Crafts

For the last few years I have wanted a timeline wall to keep track of what and who we’re learning about and where they fall in the “Story of the World.” History confuses me…I can’t keep dates straight but having a timeline on the wall in our play room has really helped me put and keep […]

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Peg People

Crafts

My sister first introduced me to the “Peg Art” movement – at first I thought she was nutters…I thought they were cute but way not worth the effort. But she loves doing them so she brought me all the pegs for my family and a Christmas Nativity and painted them for me and… I’m officially on […]

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