Tag: family time

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Merry Christmas 2022

This family business is once again sending our Christmas card on the blog. Our clients become friends. So it only makes sense to send our Christmas greetings out this way. To our friends that sent cards and letters. We adore displaying them in our home. Please don’t ever stop sending your Christmas love.

I will tell our 2022 story by photos. This year has been one of growth and stretching. In our family and business.

Our kids played a lot of sports (soccer, baseball, basketball and flag football), they learned new instruments (saxophone and trumpet), they went on field trips, tried summer camp for the first time, swam a bunch and learned more as we homeschooled together. They performed in plays. Our kids also grew in entrepreneurship. We are thankful they enjoy working hard and seeing the fruits of their labor.

As a family, we went on a couple trips.

Phillips Tile & Stone kept busy! We installed for a new business opening in Bennington called Cup & Cone, it’s a super cute new coffee and ice cream shop, be sure to check them out! We installed and designed spaces for homeowners. Our crew learned new skills as we shifted the business a bit. We were once again humbled by your votes for Best of Omaha.

As Christmas quickly approaches and then a New Year is set to arrive, we want to take a minute and thank you for using Phillips Tile & Stone. Thank you from our family and our crew’s families. We enjoy serving you with exceptional craftsmanship and design assistance.

The Phillips Family & Phillips Tile & Stone Crew

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Simple Mother’s Day Meal Idea

Mother’s Day is this coming Sunday. It’s possible to make this day special no matter the situation you find yourself in. If you are looking for inspiration keep reading. I’m all about finding ways to make celebrating easy but look exceptional. One way I’ve found to do that is Charcuterie Board Meals. My family loves charcuterie board dinners. Or lunches. You could even make a dessert style charcuterie board! Let your imagination soar as you make your grocery list and tailor it to your taste buds. Here are a few ideas to add to your grocery list.

  1. Cured meats. (my family loves roast beef, summer sausage and pepperoni)
  2. Cheese. (We are simple, Colby Cheese for the win! And lots of it!)
  3. Olives.
  4. Nuts.
  5. Dried Fruit.
  6. Crackers or baguette bread. (At least 2 types of crackers)
  7. Jelly, honey, mustard or jam.
  8. Pickles
  9. Cookies or chocolate pieces
  10. Guacamole, salsa and pita chips
  11. Hard boiled eggs

There are so many ways you could enjoy this easy meal, too. Outside on the patio, on a hike, as a picnic. It’s very transportable. Be sure to include the kids in the making and clean up process. Enjoy and Happy Mother’s Day!

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Resurrection Rolls & an Easter Invite

Hello Friends!

Easter is my very favorite holiday, so I am preparing to celebrate Easter in my house come rain or shine! I’m determined, with a little bit of planning ahead, we can make this an enjoyable Easter. We’ve already dyed the Easter eggs. My husband came home to glitter all over the kitchen table. He said something about never using glitter again…we’ll see about that, but I’m in agreement with him. The glitter was probably a bad idea that seemed great at the time. It’s too bad I didn’t grab a picture of the glorious art and science projects our kids were doing while coloring eggs.

Come Sunday, you have two options as I see it. You can do away with the fancy dress clothes. Or wear them! You do you! I’m excited to dress my kids and I in our very BEST and comfiest clothes and Sunday morning we’re having cinnamon rolls. I’m actually really excited for this slow Easter morning. In Easter’s past, we have been involved in some sort of an Easter program. Which would mean we’d be up before the sun rose and tired after church. This Sunday, let’s all enjoy the slow morning. I’ll make cinnamon rolls and scrambled cheesy eggs for my family while I brew myself some coffee. Our church is having a wonderful service online. We’d love to have you “join us” in attending the service!

We’ll have an Easter egg hunt in our backyard and wave at the neighbors. We’ll have the crockpot simmering as we plan on enjoying each other’s company. It will be an Easter I’ll never forget.

If you’ve never had resurrection rolls, these are an easy treat that I’ve been making since childhood. They are gooey, easy and so good. Just grab marshmallows, butter, sugar, cinnamon and crescent roll dough at your weekly store grocery shopping trip.

Resurrection Rolls Recipe– I guarantee your whole family will enjoy making and eating these.

Enjoy the rest of your week, friends. We are thankful for you. We are thankful for a Risen Savior!

Happy Easter,

-Michelle Phillips

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FREE Home-School Resources

Our world is under different circumstances with the closings of schools and businesses due to the Corona Virus. If you find yourself suddenly quarantined at home with your kiddos and have no clue what to do, keep reading. My hope is to provide you some resources from a work from home, homeschooling mama. Our kids ages are 8, 6, 4, 2 and a newborn. Here are some easy, cheap or free activities that my kids truly enjoy. I’m hoping they add some sanity to your new homeschooling life as well. It really is a privilege to be at home with your kids!

3-5 years old

Our 4 year old is constantly on the move, but he will sit to do school! He loves it. Here are some free handwriting printables. All you need is the free worksheet, a pencil and crayons. http://www.handsonhomeschooling.com/free_pages/Aa_to_Mm.pdf http://www.handsonhomeschooling.com/free_pages/Nn_to_Zz.pdf

Music

I use these music cards all the time and they are free to print. https://thefameschoolblog.com/2012/06/06/first-piano-lesson-activity-piano-keyboard-pattern-cards/

I like to play Sing Spell Read and Write music that I find on YouTube while my budding readers are playing. Here is that link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBs2y-XJitQ&list=PLrtE5C373xWbqIvqbhaPhIaNIQYSqsqJp

Art

My kids LOVE art! We use https://www.artforkidshub.com/ often. Your kids will be making masterpieces in no time.

Coloring is great for all ages, here are free topical coloring pages. https://www.coloring.ws/coloring.html

Typing

My oldest uses this to learn typing. I’ve been told this is what some schools use as well. https://www.typing.com/

Math

Free math worksheets for grades k-6th https://www.k5learning.com/free-math-worksheets

This next math suggestion isn’t free but it’s worth every single penny. My kids love it! https://www.ctcmath.com/

Gym

It’s cold outside and our kids need to burn off energy! YouTube to the rescue again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_A_HjHZxfI&t=705s https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga

Simple Quick Bread Recipe

Kids love to eat, so teach them how to cook and bake! This recipe is so easy and SO good. You probably have all these ingredients in your home, so what are you waiting for? Just be sure to include your kids while making it. http://www.redflycreations.com/2012/10/the-amazing-amish-cinnamon-bread.html

Free Home Fun

-Make a blanket fort

-Make a painter’s tape maze for hot wheels cars

-Do home chores together

-Play with legos

-Read books together

-Side-Walk Chalk Art

-Play a board game

-Make play dough, we love this recipe!

*Here’s one more giant freebie list http://lifeaslanhams.com/free-printables/

The thing about homeschooling your kids, is you are simply passing along the information you know, to your kids.

I don’t want to overwhelm you with suggestions so hopefully this gets you started in a good direction. These are all REAL suggestions our kids enjoy. I hope it helps you as you make the most of this extra time together! No, it’s not always easy. However, it’s always worth it and your kids will never forget this extra time with you.

From the business owning, homeschooling family that thinks YOU CAN do this!