Hubby: "I love Log Jaws. They make life so much easier!"

The verdict is definitely in. My husband, who has to cut and haul logs on a regular basis, especially since we heat our home via wood now, is thrilled with his new hand-held tool, The LogJaw, which he exclaims is life-changing.

"I love Log Jaws," he recently stated while unloading and hauling wood from a friend's house who had two giant oak trees fall during a storm. "They make life so much easier!"

This heavy duty steel tool is crafted and manufactured in beautiful quality. It weighs about 3lbs, and hooks directly into the end of a cut log, making it easy to lift and carry, because, just as the slogan cleverly points out, "logs don't come with handles."

The coolest part to me, is that the inventors and owners of this amazing tool are good friends of ours! Finding a fantastic, life-improving tool to aid our self-sufficiency, while also supporting the local economy and the home business of an amazing family we care about? It doesn't get any better than that in my book!
I bought two, one for my husband and one for my mom's husband, as they haul wood together. They were early birthday presents. Let me tell you, with all the wood they've been moving lately, they were both grateful I didn't make them wait until their birthdays to open them.

Check out this tool, you won't regret it and the wood haulers in your house will thank you for it! LogJaw.com

Fun Fruit Fish snack!

When I realized I had all the ingredients on hand, I couldn't find a reason not to make this, this morning. So here's what my kids are snacking on. I used our garden strawberries sliced small for the lips, baby carrots are the tail, and I used a dab of cream cheese and mini chocolate chips for the eyes. :) Happy way to start the week! I never would have thought of this on my own, my friend Lori posted the idea on my facebook page from a site she came across. Don't you just love the internet (and Pinterest) for fun ideas like this?! All that's left on the tray now are the scraps of some orange peels. The kids loved it. Yum!

Top 10 Essentials for Home Learning: My personal list

I was asked to write up my top ten essentials for home education. Here they are, in order:

1. God’s Grace
2. A Supportive Spouse
3. Library
4. Computer & Internet
5. Homeschooling Group
6. Craft and Paint supplies
7. Dry Erase Board
8. A car/mini-van
9. A Dedicated Space for Homeschool stuff
10. Local clubs, sports and extra-curricular activities

And number 11, as a wonderful bonus blessing, which should be near the top of my list but for which I never want to take for granted as I know how rare and wonderful it truly is...
The kids' grandmother, my mom, who has been a life-long lover of learning and teaching, able to gift to my children the wonder of various subjects especially in history and science, with strong roots in her faith and a committed loving relationship with her Creator.

If I can be so bold as to extend the list further, with non-essentials, but things that I personally find to make our homeschool journey a true treasured adventure:

12. Fun extra project kits and specialty equipment, such as Tin Can robots, Dig bricks for uncovering gems and dino-bones, butterfly kits, microscope, globe, etc. etc. I'd rather spend a little more of our budget on these things to enhance free or more affordable curriculum than spend too much on just the textbooks and risk losing the kids' excitement/interest. They are by no means essential, but make for a great bonus!

13. Our local Nature Center, filled with a trove of resources, guides and great people.

What are your top ten essentials? Share, please! I'd love to see what others list.

Sleepover Supper: Make your own Mini-Pizzas

The kids and their friends had a blast adding their own toppings to their own little mini pizzas tonight. Brushed some store-bought crusts with some evoo and let the kids pick their toppings. Only took 10 minutes to bake as they were all fresh ingredients not frozen. Perfect sleepover supper!

Frozen Banana Delight!

After flipping through one of our kids cookbooks yesterday, the kids asked if they could make the frozen banana recipe, and we had all the stuff on hand, so we dove in. Just peel 4 bananas: sprinkle one with cinnamon, another with nutmeg, then brush the last two with honey, sprinkling granola on one and crushed nuts on the other. Wrap them each in aluminum foil and put in the freezer overnight. This morning for breakfast we're trying them out to pick our favorite. It's been delightful and delicious!

For similar fun banana snacks, see our "Banana Graham" and, my kids' favorite snack.