Magnesium Gummies.

Who doesn't like gummies?  I am always trying to find fun and creative ways to keep my children healthy and these magnesium gummies are are so easy to make!  Magnesium is so important in our bodies and most people are deficient in magnesium.  To read more about the benefits of magnesium any why it's so important for us look here.  

My ingredients:

• 3T grass fed gelatin (I use this)
• 5T natural magnesium supplement (I use this)
• Silicone mold (I got mine on sale at Michaels for less than a dollar)
• 1T raw honey
• Pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup of water

In a large glass bowl add 3/4 c of cold water.  Very slowly add the magnesium powder (it will fizz so do this slowly as you want as little foam as possible).  

In a small saucepan add the water/magnesium mixture and before turning the heat on add the gelatin and allow it to bloom into wrinkles for 2-3 minutes. If there are any bits of white powder sitting on top of the wrinkles, whisk them in while the mixture is still cold.

Turn the burner on low/medium and it will start to As your mixture heats up, it will begin to liquify. Once it does, add in honey and salt to dissolve. Avoid whisking it too much, or it’ll start to foam up just like it did when you added the magnesium powder. If it does, that’s okay, just let the foam sit for a few minutes and it’ll calm down.

Pour everything into a glass measuring cup with a pour spout and fill up the silicone molds.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Peal the gummies out of the silicone and enjoy (not too many as magnesium as a laxative effect).  

Store the remaining in the refrigerator, they should last months if properly stored.

Play

My biggest goal in homeschooling isn't to have the smartest, most wonderful at xyz, or even honor roll grades.  My biggest goal in homeschooling is to give them complete control of their future.  I want my children to love what they do.  I want to open up a creative side of my children that most don't even know exists.  When I say I homeschool my children right now, honestly, we might have a worksheet here or there but most of our day consists of reading books, singing songs, and playing.

Play is a HUGE part of our day.  Creating, destroying, building, imagining, roll playing are all ways we "do school".  Yes, the kids will learn important skills just like most children in school, but my biggest goal for our children is to ENJOY "school" in ways they understand.

thirty-one zip top tote GIVEAWAY

Thirty-One Gifts is the perfect place to find amazing gifts, purses and bags for home or on the go. They are focused on empowering women and helping develop community. Thirty-One has over 120,000 consultants and over 2,000 employees. They are a major company that carries pieces with so many options!

Without question my favorite feature of Thirty-One Gifts is their selection. They carry such a wide variety of pieces and I love that they offer each of their pieces in a variety of patterns and designs.

I recently received Thirty-One's new zip top tote to review and giveaway!  It is such a versatile tote that comes in many different patterns and colors.  It is a great tool to organize just about anything you can think of.  I love using mine for all of my essential oils, coconut oil tub, and protein powders.  It is so nice to have my "go-to" items all in one convenient tote.  I would love to get another to keep all my homeschooling supplies neatly organized.  

Thirty-One Gifts has an online store but the best way to purchase Thirty-One products is through a consultant. Your consultant is your resource for product information and also lets you know when there are deals and discounts available. Brittney is my consultant. On her Facebook page she keeps you up to date on sales, specials and promotions.

Now to the best part... Brittney is graciously giving away this zip top utility tote in swiss dot to one lucky reader.  Please complete this rafflecopter for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Omlet Qute

We had been talking often about getting Tink and Bean a "classroom" pet for their homeschool room.  I did a lot of research and we decided to get gerbils.  I was disappointed though when looking for cages.  They were all very small, wildly colorful, and not very toddler-proof.  Then I stumbled on the Omlet Qute.   Tink received "the best present ever" (her words) for her 5th birthday.  Omlet very graciously sent us their amazing Qute hamster/gerbil cage to review.  We couldn't wait to get it set up.  I think I was a little more excited about the cage than I was about the actual gerbils. 

This cage is more like a piece of furniture.  It is sturdy, attractive, and very easy to clean.  As a first time rodent owner, I was very skeptical on how "easy" this was to keep up.  I have been very pleasantly surprised.  Not only can I trust that the kids aren't going to break it because of how sturdy it is, I also don't have to worry about our dogs getting into it.  Del has shown a little too much interest in the gerbils, but the cage is wonderful for viewing without letting Del get too close.  

Once a week, Tink and I empty the big clear bin while Marshmallow and Rosemary (Tink named them) are happily confined at the top of the cage.  After emptying the bin, we simply rinse it out, dry it off, and add fresh bedding.  It is really simple.  

Every morning Tink feeds Rosemary and Marshmallow all by herself.  During school time, Tink loves to sit at her desk right next to the cage and watch them play.  Every evening Tink takes the bin out of the bottom and  lets the gerbils run across her hands. Having the Qute makes taking care of our classroom pets very enjoyable.  I honestly have nothing negative to say about it. It looks great, our gerbils are very happy, and we love how stylish it is.

You can find out more and purchase a Qute as well as other great animal cages from the Omlet website here.

Thank you to Omlet for sending the Qute cage as a complementary gift for the purposes of this review. The comments and opinions are honest and genuine.

Sprouts

Have you ever had sprouts?  Our family loves them!  They are tiny little microgreens filled with enzymes (over 100 times more than other uncooked fruits and vegetables), protein, fiber, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins.  We have always wanted to sprout our own seeds but I always thought it was going to be a messy process.  Little did I know it was so simple (and clean!).

We received a starter sprouting kit from Moonlight Micro-Farms.  The process took about a week and was so simple.  The instructions that came with the seeds were very easy to follow.  Bean and Tink loved watching the sprouts grow every day.  It was so simple I allowed them to take care of the sprouts!  Tink would rinse them every day and Bean would turn it upside down.  It was such a neat project for the kids.  Not only did they enjoy growing their own sprouts, they loved eating them!

Out entire weeks worth of sprouts lasted a whopping 5 minutes with the kids.  I love how excited they are about starting the process all over again.

Here are a few ways you can eat sprouts:

• On Sandwiches
• On Salads
• On Tacos
• On Pizzas
• Completely by itself (Bean and Tink love this one... the sprouts are actually fun to eat!)

Want to sprout yourself?  Use code: CRUNCHY10  to receive 10% off your order at Moonlight Micro-Farms!  

Kombucha

Oh how we love Kombucha over here!  Tink and Bean are obsessed with it and I love how wonderful it is for our bodies.  Kombucha is filled with digestive enzymes, probiotocs, and boosts the immune system.  It tastes wonderful, has a great fizz, and is a great healthy alternative to soda.

Our family has been enjoying Kombucha for years, but I have never tried making it myself... until now.  The owners of The Kombucha Shop were so gracious to send me a starter kit.  This kit is amazing, it includes every single thing you need to brew your own Kombucha.  I was more than excited to get started.

The step by step instructions in The Kombucha Shop's toolkit made it fool proof.  Tink enjoyed helping me every step of the way.  She hesitated when it was time to put the scoby into the jar, but when I told her it would help make the Kombucha, she was more than willing to help.

I think the hardest part for everyone was waiting for the tea to ferment.  Every morning I would get asked, "Mom!  Is it Kombucha day???".  Once it was time for bottling the kids had the most fun.  I let them pick which fruits to flavor their Kombucha with.  Bean picked blueberries and lemon, while Tink picked mixed berries.

It was torture all over again when we had to wait 2-3 more days while it fermented for the second time.  On Saturday we were able to place it in the refrigerator.  That night we enjoyed the fruits of our labor (it really wasn't hard!!).  We all loved our homemade Kombucha.  We actually have already started the process again, and I am really excited to flavor it many different ways this time.  I would say, Bean's blueberries and lemon was my favorite!

The Kombucha Shop has kindly provided my readers with a coupon code for 10% off their shop:  SAVEIN2014

You will not be disappointed with the quality of their products or the amazing customer service!