Hey there! It’s been awhile since I last wrote here! I’ve been busy as a bee, but lately it has been on my heart to begin writing again.
My husband began working at his new job around the time of my last post! He delivers medical supplies to hospitals for surgeries. It has truly been the biggest blessing for our family in so many ways after a long season of financial struggles – God is so good. However, like most families we are still feeling the burden of inflation & any chance of having “extra” money has been replaced with double the price of Energy Bills each month. That money had to come from somewhere and, unfortunately, that meant we had to put our girls piano lessons on pause.
Luckily, it didn’t take long before I found Hoffman Academy – a FREE, online piano school providing a complete musical education that is put together with short, easy-to-follow videos. Each of my girls have their own profile that keeps track of their progress & where they are in their learning process, which makes all of our lives easier than if we had to constantly remember who left off on which video.
The girls put the video on the computer and play along on our piano. Each day, I have them each complete one video lesson which are typically around 10-15 minutes long. If they are enjoying themselves and would like to complete more than one lesson, they are welcome to do that. It ensures they get their practice time on the piano each day & keeps us on a good rhythm, filling our time wisely.
It is a really great resource for both children and adults alike – anyone who wishes to learn the piano. If you’re a homeschooling mama like I am, there is even a FREE complete curriculum already put together for us with printables and interactive games to make learning music fun.
Hoffman Academy does offer a paid premium option that includes additional lessons and access to their entire library. We currently are using the free option which works just fine for our family. Don’t let money (or lack thereof) be an excuse to hold you back from living your best life & accomplishing all you want. Where there is a will, there is always a way. Happy learning!
In our History course, we are currently learning about The Silk Road. This week’s assignment is making a Silk Road Supper.
We were given 4 courses (appetizer, main dish, side item, and dessert), Ella & Mia each chose two courses that they were going to be responsible for. I also chose 2 of my own to contribute to our feast. Ella chose a main & side, Mia chose the appetizer & dessert. They prepared their grocery lists by writing down the ingredients from each recipe that we needed to buy, leaving out the items that we already have.
Our next step was to go on a field trip to the grocery store and learn where the ingredients that we needed were sourced from, then buy the items that we need for our supper. We are fortunate to live where there is not only one Jungle Jims, but two, and either one a 20 minute drive for us. We decided that was the perfect store for this assignment.
For my friends outside Ohio, Jungle Jims is an International Grocery Supermarket. It’s sort of like an amusement park, but for foodies. It’s currently listed as the largest grocery store in the world. People travel from all over the country to visit this market.
You can shop international products by country. You can watch old-time animatronics perform or join eating contests. You can hang out at the lounge for beer & wine testing, or check out a cooking class at The Cooking School. Visit their Award Winning Restrooms. Watch the Jungle Jims Story in the theater or take a guided tour.
There is nearly every type of food you can think of from all over the world. It’s really fun to find new things to try that you otherwise would never know even existed.
It really is such an interesting place. If it’s your first time going, plan on spending at least half of your day there, if not more. It’s very easy to overspend though, so we try not to spend too much time browsing when we go. There’s a huge shopping area for kitchen tools & accessories, and a giant old school toy section filled with toys from my childhood & collectors items.
The surrounding Plaza around Jungle Jims has plenty of food options if you’ve made yourself hungry while shopping and want to grab a bite to eat on your way home. Don’t leave without checking out the renovated Monorail that once upon a time in Cincinnati history rode guests through King’s Island’s now-retired Lion Country Safari exhibit.
They are currently expanding the jungle, and I’m sure, surrounding Plaza as well. I’m so excited to see what all is added!
A Silk Road Supper
• APPETIZER: Bruschetta al Pomodoro • (Mia)
I feel like this was a strange dish to be included in a Silk Road Supper, considering tomatoes are native to the Americas & did not reach Italy until the mid-1500s… after the Silk Road had already closed nearly 100 years prior… but we’re all about celebrating other cultures so we kept it on the menu 🤷🏼♀️. It was delicious though, so we’re glad we did!
• MAIN DISH: Middle Eastern Market Chicken • (Ella)
I forgot to get a picture of the finished dish, or of what it looked like packed inside a pita wrap – we were all so hungry by the time dinner was served. Ella made a rotisserie chicken in the crockpot. She’s getting really comfortable working with meat.
I made a Ready to Cook vegetarian legume “chicken” for myself. I don’t usually buy these products, but I wanted to try to get as close to the menu as possible for myself and I’m glad I did. It was so delicious.
• SIDE ITEM #1: Gan Bian Si Ji Dou • (Ella)
Ella chose to use ground turkey for this recipe. I think we would remake, omitting the meat all together. We substituted regular rice wine because I could get it at my work with my discount. Dad got to drink the rest. He said it tastes like if vodka & wine had a baby.
• SIDE ITEM #2: Biryani Rice • (Mom)
This ended up being Sasha’s Favorite dish. I’ve never had it so I have nothing to compare to. My husband said it tasted “Middle Eastern.” I think that means it turned out right? It was what I was aiming for. I thought it was good, and had the most pleasant aroma. I caramelized the onions all day (10 hours) in a crockpot and I feel that they still never got very caramelized. They smelled amazing while they cooked, though.
• DESSERT: Sakkarai Pongal • (Mia)
I liked this a lot. It sort of reminded me of Ukrainian Kutya, but thinner. The kids were disappointed, they thought it tasted more like Oatmeal than pudding and saw this as more of a breakfast option than a dessert option. I could see that. I did have some with breakfast the next morning and can confirm, it’s awesome for breakfast.
• BEVERAGE: • Ukrainian Kompot (Mom)
My reason for choosing this (besides that it is so delicious) is that the Silk Road branched off to the Black Sea, off the coast of Ukraine, which has always been a vital trading route, even today. China has been working on re-opening the Modern Silk Road that Ukraine aims to be a destination on for trade. Ukraine’s land is known to be the most furtile in the world and is known to be The Bread Basket of The World from their major exportation of wheat, soy, barley, maize, and sunflowers. Plus, we’re Ukrainian and I’ll use anything as an excuse to celebrate our culture!
Kompot is so great because in the summer you can serve it cold, then in these cold, winter months you can serve it warm like tea. It’s a great way to use up fruit that is turning mushy, but not yet moldy. Instead of throwing those away, place them in a gallon-size ziplock bag in your freezer. Once you fill a bag, use it for making Kompot to cut down on food waste & enjoy a delicious fruit drink.
I hope you enjoyed our Silk Road experience as much as we did. We thought it was a lot of fun and very hands on & family-oriented which we love. I am really grateful that we were able to take a field trip to such a large international market for this project. I’m also grateful for being presented with new foods to try and having children with an adventurous & open eating palate who are always willing to try new foods with me.
We’re starting off 2025 crossing off a MAJOR mini-homestead dream of mine that I’ve been chasing for the last 5 years!!
WE BROUGHT HOME BABY CHICKS!!!!!! 🐣
We spent weeks preparing: picking out, buying, and setting up their chicken coop. Picking out their brooder home & putting it together. Buying food & accessories. Reading, researching, and watching videos about raising backyard chickens. Deciding what breeds we wanted based on our needs.
This is their baby brooder home. They will live in this up to about 4 weeks, probably less depending on available space as they grow (and they are already growing fast!!). Since it will still be too cold here in Ohio in 4 weeks, they will have to move to a bigger brooder – a small horse trough/galvanized tub with a larger heat lamp until at least 8 weeks, depending on the Ohio weather at that time. We are realizing they may be living inside until closer to 10-12 weeks, but we’re used to living in a zoo 🤪.
Once they finally make it outside, this is their starter coop. We have plans to buy a small wooden shed like the one we have that I painted to look like a barn and turn it into a large size, walk-in chicken coop with more boxes for nesting and warmth for future winters.
I got a metal fence through my Amazon Products Testing gig for “free” (in exchange for a review) that my husband built around and secured to the chicken coop to create a little “yard” for them. Once early Spring arrives, I’ll be able to begin decorating their coop with a rock wall & herb planters filled with herbs that help chickens with health & egg production. I’ll definitely buy them enrichment toys for their run!
We also started out 2025 with massive Winter Storm Blair. We got the most snow we’ve had in decades. It was amazing! I love snow so much & how magical it makes the world feel around me. My kids have been playing outside & building snow castles. Rumor has it, we’re getting another heavy round of snow over the weekend. 🤞🏼
Unfortunately, I also learned a huge life lesson on Greenhouse Winterization. I’m devastated, but choosing to be grateful that it wasn’t our home. While it’s just snow for us, it was a stark reminder of what families in Ukraine are going through, but way worse – waking up to their family home caved in from bombs, losing everything & possibly loved ones. We’re lucky it wasn’t our home and everyone is safe. We didn’t lose power & we didn’t have to worry about running out of food or water.
I’m hoping there’s a way we can salvage it or at least build around it and it won’t be a total loss (ideas? Experiences? Help!). My husband is less of a dreamer than I am. He says it’s done. I guess we’ll see when the snow clears. I’m glad I took one last photo of it as the snow began coming down, before it caved in.
We picked up our one day old babies from Mt. Healthy Hatchery on January 8th. I chose 4 breeds: Ameraucana, Barred Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Blue, & Golden Comets. They threw in an extra one that I am unsure of the breed – she’s a reddish, brown and doesn’t look the same as any of the other babies. I really like her a lot though. I got the Ameraucanas for fun for their different colored eggs. The rest I picked for high egg production. All of the breeds I chose are known for being good around children & other animals which was important to us since we have a large family and many pets.
When we first brought them home, they huddled together in their brooder. They were probably nervous from their big trip and they were probably cold even though I kept the heat on in the car during the trip. As the day went on, they spread out (a sign of happiness & contentment) and began eating, drinking, and exploring their new surroundings. We have had a couple of hiccups along the way, but we are learning as we go. Everyone is healthy and getting stronger day by day.
I really love the way the Ameraucanas (in the middle) look. They remind me of baby cheetah print. They are so fluffy! I spend so much time just sitting with them, admiring them all. I also think the Golden Comets are really adorable.
We’re currently bonding with them and teaching the children (especially young ones) about chicken safety for both us & the chickies, and of course referencing our Farm Anatomy book! We are all so in love with them!
Chicken Mamas 🐓🐥, bless me with all your advice please!!!
From Heroin to Housewife 