• Homeschooling Kindergarten: Phonics & Reading

    As I shared in an earlier post, we have jumped into Classical Conversations for the general base of our homeschooling curriculum.  In the younger years, we also need to teach reading and math.  (I love watching kids learn to read – a whole new world opens up to them!) Pre-Reading My favorite, favorite tool for introducing phonics sounds is a dvd called Leapfrog Letter Factory.  My kids entertain me because they correct ME when I get the sounds wrong.  Can we say mommy is a tad bit tone deaf?  My littlest watches the dvd each day (give or take) while my older one works on his reading work.  She’s getting…

  • Learn About Essential Oils, Get a $25 Amazon card and a FREE Reference Book When You Join!

    I love my Young Living Essential Oils! We use them DAILY in our house and love having healthy alternatives to common meds, cleaners, supplements and personal care products! It’s easy for you to get some Young Living oils in your house, and I have a special offer, just for Renaissance Mama readers! When you order your own Premium Starter kit (which is a fabulous deal all on its own, with 11 oils AND a diffuser), I will send you a $25 Amazon gift card AND a free reference book!   Your starter kit includes * 11 Everyday Oils (Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint, Thieves, Purification, Frankincense, Panaway, Stress-Away AND new favorites: RC, DiGize,…

  • Homeschooling: Taking The Plunge With Classical Conversations

    Yes, we have joined the growing number of folks who are choosing to homeschool.  We chose it for a myriad of reasons, but it started with wanting to protect my tender-hearted redhead.  With a little girl down the street coming home from kindergarten with black eyes from the playground, and the administration turning a blind eye to it, I knew my sweet boy would have TARGET written all over him. After researching several different programs (there is a vast number of choices!!), we have landed on several that work well for our family.  In this first post, I want to share about Classical Conversations, and how to get started in…

  • The Road Less Traveled During Pregnancy

    The Road Less Traveled During Pregnancy

    I had a great ob doctor for my first two deliveries.  He wasn’t quick on the interventions, and I liked his balanced approach.  Even before all the debate about get-the-flu-vaccine-or-not, he recommended against it, because there wasn’t enough testing down on preggo mamas and babies. Then we moved and I got pregnant with baby #3.  Rather than try to find a new ob and have to muddle through all their philosophies, I decided to investigate the midwife route.  It helped that Samaritan’s Ministries, our version of health insurance, would waive our out-of-pocket if we used a midwife/birthing center.   I started asking around and quickly came across a birthing center…

  • Mission Possible: Healthy Teeth! Installment #2

    Mouthwash is a popular tool that many of us use to combat tooth decay.   I’ve never been a fan of mouthwash, simply because I didn’t like the taste!  As I’ve begun learning about the chemicals contained in alcohol based mouthwashes, I’m thankful I haven’t used them regularly! Did you know: Long-term use of alcohol-containing mouthwashes dries and changes the pH of the mouth and throat and is associated with an increased risk of mouth and throat cancers. If a mouthwash contains a harsh detergent like cocamidopropyl betaine, this compounds the damage. Listerine contains a slightly milder detergent, Poloxamer 407, but its unique qualities – being soluble in liquids at…

  • Mission Possible: Healthy Teeth! Installment #1

    I have a love/hate relationship with my teeth. I love them simply because it would be near impossible to eat without them. My dislike comes in because, apparently, my teeth aren’t very strong. I brush them (and sometimes floss them) and still had lots of bad news at the dentist last month. (I try not to be jealous of my husband – he has NEVER had a cavity!). It was rather disheartening to be told by the dentist that I don’t have good teeth, as he’s filling two cavities and giving me two root canals (one of which got infected – augh!) After that series of expensive trips, I have…

  • Snake Oil or Essential Oil?

    I’ve never been the incense-burning type and I’ve been skeptical of essential oils. I lumped them in the ‘snake oil’ category and thought they were probably a scam more than anything. My mind has been changed in a profound way. We were introduced slowly to the world of essential oils, mainly by including them in my homemade cleaning products and hand sanitizer recipes, and have now jumped in feet first. One naturopath doctor explained that she sees essential oils as a missing link in medicine, and we’ve certainly been impressed as we’ve started to use them. We know that plants and herbs have medicinal properties.  Essential oils, properly distilled, are…

  • How to Avoid Heavy Metals in Deodorant!

    Have you ever read the ingredient label on your deodorant? If not, I highly recommend it.  Most commercial deodorants are full of aluminum, a heavy metal that has been linked to Alzhiemers.   Aluminum is a mainstay in deodorants because, as Dr. Mercola explains, aluminum works in deodorants by clogging our pores, thus trapping toxins and sweat inside our bodies!  These toxins then build up and are trapped in our lymph nodes. This buildup can lead to cell mutations and cancer. That seems like a heavy price to pay just to smell good.  Thankfully, you can say goodbye to aluminum AND still smell good. There are more natural deodorants on…

  • Bye-Bye Mercury – An Easy Way to Detox

    Did you know that there’s a simple way to help detoxify your body from heavy metals like mercury?  It’s so simple that you can do it every day, without hardly thinking about it. Taking a greens supplement that contains chlorella and spirulina will help chelate your body, and remove those heavy metals that can cause/contribute to all sorts of issues including Alzheimers, MS, and autism. Chlorella is a single-celled, fresh water algae that has been shown to bind to mercury, lead, and cadmium to help remove it from our bodies!  Studies indicate that “chlorella demonstrate a superior ability to safely draw these toxic metals from the gut and intestinal tract where…

  • Sweet Solution for Burns

    I wasn’t prepared to treat a burn. I stood in front of the computer, my hand wrapped in a towel after I’d burned it on the dishwasher, googling how to relieve a burn. And I wanted to know NOW. (Did you know the metal coils in a dishwasher get hot pretty much immediately after you start it? Trust me, they do.)  I didn’t find a satisfactory answer though Google and didn’t want to spend a lot of time searching. Simply out of experimentation (and desperation!), I pulled out my jar of raw honey, spread it on my hand, and covered it with a piece of plastic wrap to help contain…