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Jen Merckling

life.unimaginable

Lifestyle

Stop feeling overwhelmed by your housework and gain peace of mind with the Flylady! I've been following her routines for years--here's how to get started!

FlyLady Routines — Bless Your Home and Family!

Here’s the truth.  I’m a very messy person at heart.  I was the kid in elementary school who stuffed bent folders, stubby pencils, broken crayons, and crumpled notes into her desk.  Oh how I envied my friends who kept their desks meticulous–shiny folders all in a row, neat pencil boxes (actually filled with pencils and…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Family, Homeschooling, Lifestyle, Most Shared, Organization Tagged With: Affiliate, Cleaning, FlyLady, FlyLady routines, getting organized, Housekeeping, Housework, Organization

Sharing my favorite easy family recipes that make every day special! These are 14 of my Go-To recipes, perfect for weeknights or special occasions!

Easy Family Recipes — make every day special

These days I don’t always have much time for cooking (maybe it’s not so much the cooking, but the clean-up)!  As a homeschool mom, I feel like I am.always.in.the.kitchen!  So when I do take the time to make something for my family (beyond peanut butter and grilled cheese), I want it to be something they…

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Filed Under: Family, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Easy Recipes, Homemaking, Recipes, Subscriber Free Resource, What's For Dinner

Cleaning With Essential Oils — My Shortcut

I love the idea of cleaning with less chemicals…And as Chief Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Window Washer, and Countertop Wiper (AKA: Mom)–I get exposed to a lot of them!  So, I’ve been searching and experimenting with different natural cleaning brands for a while now.  But nothing has really stood out to me–plus they tend to get…

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Cleaning, Essential Oils, Homemaking, Housekeeping, Natural Cleaning, Rocky Mountain Oils

If you want to learn how to pray, or if you want to grow in your faith and prayer life--try the simple ACTS prayer structure! I'm sharing how the ACTS prayer structure helps me in my personal daily prayer time, and I hope it blesses you!

How to Pray — A Simple Prayer Structure

My prayer life has gone through ebbs and flows over the years.  Somewhere along the way, someone shared a simple outline for personal prayer with me called ACTS.  And while there’s no one right way to pray—I’ve found this strategy really helpful.  My hope is that if you want to learn how to pray, or…

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Christian, Faith, How to Pray, Prayer Life

Easy Panang Curry recipe you will love! I've spent years trying to recreate my favorite Thai dish at home! Finally, I found the right balance of flavors! Plus-- it's quick, easy, and requires only 6 pantry items!

Easy Panang Curry

I discovered and fell in love with Thai food about 10 years ago (before that—was I really living though?)—curry is life.  In particular, I discovered my most favorite food in all the world—Panang Curry.  I know—this does not exactly sound like something you can recreate at home.  But I love this dish so much, I…

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Favorite Recipe, Panang Curry, Quick Recipe, Weeknight Dinner

I'm sharing 20 Marriage Tips after 20 Years of Marriage! Marriage isn't always easy--but we've learned a lot along the way!

20 Marriage Tips After 20 Years

Last summer my husband (Jason) and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary!  And now I’ve officially been married half my life!  We tied the knot just one month after my 20th birthday…wow!  I felt very grown-up back in 1997—totally ready to take on the world with my new hubby!  And I guess you could say…

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Filed Under: Family, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Marriage

Staying on or off Disney property is one of your first decisions when planning a Disney World vacation! Here's the pros and cons we've discovered!

Staying On or Off Disney Property at Disney World

Planning a trip to Disney World is so exciting!  Deciding where to stay is one of the first things to knock off the “to-do,” list!  We’ve visited Disney World five times with our family, and we’ve stayed both on and off property!  (We’ve got 6 kids and have done Disney with toddlers, teens, and everything…

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Filed Under: Family, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Disney, Disney Planning, Travel, Vacation, Where to Stay at Disney World

After 14 years, I've learned some simple tips for getting my home and homeschool organized, and I've created a planner to help you get organized too!

Get Organized — Homeschool Planner

Today I’m sharing tools and the Homeschool Planner I created to help get me organized!  My hope is this comprehensive planner will help you tackle your own “to-do,” lists and help keep your homeschool planning simple, flexible, and organized! Organization and Mental Health For me—keeping organized is a big part of healthy living.  I’m prone…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Family, Homeschooling, Lifestyle, Organization Tagged With: Affiliate, get organized, homeschool planner, Simple Habits

Kid Activities take time, energy, and money! Are the sacrifices worth it? At our house the benefits outweigh the sacrifices, but there's a fine line.

Kid Activities — Are the Sacrifices Worth It?

The last snowflakes just fell on this year’s Nutcracker ballet. It was beautiful—truly lovely. I wish I could just watch and enjoy the show—but instead I sit with shoulders tense, holding my program in a death grip and barely breathing. My eyes following my fourteen year-old daughter’s every move. Partly because I know the hours…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Family, Homeschooling, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, elementary school, Homeschool, homeschooling, kid activities, middle school, Parenting

5 Must Bring Items to Disney World – Save Time and Money in the Parks!

A trip to Disney World is so exciting—we have visited four times with our family and absolutely love it! If you’re a little overwhelmed about planning your family’s visit, I’ve got you covered! This post is all about 5 Must Bring Items to Disney World —items you definitely should bring, but you may not think of….

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Filed Under: Family, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Disney, Disney Planning, large family, Packing for Disney, Vacation

How to Plan a Disney Vacation! I'm sharing my 6 month guide for planning a trip to Disney World! Step-by-step guide & tips to planning an amazing vacation!

How to Plan a Disney Vacation

We love Disney World! I think families are either in one of two camps—the Disney LOVERS or the Not-So-Much. We are wholeheartedly part of the first camp! And I say this as someone who does not love crowds—I’m actually a crowd avoider. I don’t do local festivals and carnivals because I cannot even handle that…

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Filed Under: Family, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Disney, Disney Vacation, Family Vacation, How to Plan a Disney Vacation

Jen Merckling sitting on chair | 40th Birthday

40 Lessons on My 40th Birthday

  I’m celebrating my 40th birthday this week! I keep thinking, surely my birthday is at least a month away—it can’t possibly be June already (plus I had ambitious plans to start exercising, lose the last of my baby weight, and get my roots colored before this milestone)…but here it is. And here I am…staring…

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: 40th birthday, Affiliate, Favorite Post, life lessons, turning 40

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Hello! Welcome--I'm Jen! I've got 6 kiddos (including sweet twins) --lots of laundry and always dirty dishes! I've been Jason's wife for 26 years, a mommy for 24 years, and a homeschooler for 20+ years...I'd love to be friends. ♡

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This is the loveliest book…💗🪶🪺 Perfect This is the loveliest book…💗🪶🪺
Perfect for the changing seasons, bird lovers, & a bit of history!! 
(Thanks to @readaloudrevival for the recommendation!) 🥰
We can be reluctant to "count" activities that did We can be reluctant to "count" activities that didn't come in our packaged curriculum as "school". 

❤️But so much counts...(I think it may all count??)

(I honestly have a hard time trying to think of activities that don't count as education!)

🎨Here's just a few: swimming, ballet, soccer practice, nature walk, going to the playground, coloring, cutting, video games, reading books together, cooking, chores, dress-up, video creation, poetry writing, imaginary play, documentaries, vacations, the grocery story, Sunday School, camp, museums, legos, collections, lunch with friends, planning a party, and the list goes on & on...

 👀 Watch for the learning that is happening all around you! 

🌻Life is an amazing teacher & there is so much to learn! Our kids know that instinctively--we can trust them to be curious. We can become curious again...
I like to start the year with Language Arts lesson I like to start the year with Language Arts lessons, Math, & one other subject...

(And Language Arts can have lots of parts--so I gradually add in pieces as we gain some confidence in our routine.)

It's okay if you don't have it all figured out on day one, week one, or even month one! Give yourself time to get comfortable with your curriculum.

When I taught elementary school--we spent so much time just going over routines that first week of school! But in homeschooling--we can just bypass all that... 

🥳(Yay for freedom to potty & snack when want--and no thanks to practicing how to "line-up" for 20 minutes)! 

Even once our routine is established--we RARELY do all subjects every day at my house. 

🔥Breaking free from traditional school is more than the leap into homeschooling...It's also breaking free from our ideas of what education looks like, where & how it happens, & how much time formal instruction takes. 

It takes time to make that paradigm shift--give yourself grace as you grow with your kiddos!
Please don't feel like you have to complete lesson Please don't feel like you have to complete lessons in your curriculum exactly as they are written...

You are the boss of your curriculum--make it work for you! 

Sometimes we doubt ourselves (and sometimes fear messing up this huge thing--our children's education)! We trust that the experts who have written the curriculum know  best & therefore  we must follow it perfectly...like a recipe for perfect education. 

But remember...often the best way to cook is to look over the recipe & then make adjustments to fit your personal tastes & needs! 

The same can be said of curriculum!  Use it as a guide--a help...But trust your gut! If your child is struggling & done--it's okay to stop for the day! 

It's okay to skip lessons, skip sections, skip problems--you know your child. You know what they need & you know their limits! 

Enjoy the process & create a beautiful education & life with your kiddos!
This Week in my Homeschool Lesson Planner… FAQ This Week in my Homeschool Lesson Planner… 

FAQ: How do I use the blank weekly list pages? 

💗🤓So I love making lists! In addition to the blank lesson planning spread, I included weekly planning pages that give an overview for the week & all my lists! This week my own plans included meal ideas, work projects, & subjects/actives for my kids to loop through—like copywork & music!
 
#homeschoolplanning #homeschoolmom
I've created a Homeschool Lesson Planner perfect f I've created a Homeschool Lesson Planner perfect for planning, organizing, & building consistency! 

12 Months, 52 Weeks Undated Large Monthly Calendar & Weekly Planning Spread--Start when you want & plenty of room for personal & homeschool needs! 

Link in Bio!
#homeschoolplanning #homeschoolmom #homeschoollifestyle #homeschoolplanner #organizedhomeschool

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