When I decided that I wanted to homeschool the kidlets, I knew that I needed to create a space in which to do it in. Sure, we could have easily taken up space in the kitchen, but instead I wanted to create a space designated specifically for homeschooling. A place that we could retreat to, a space all about learning. (if that makes any sense at all)

Hubby used to occupy the space in the basement that we so aptly called “the Man Cave”. Overtime the Man Cave got used less and less with Hubby eventually just working from his laptop upstairs.
Before the transformation I didn’t care to visit the Man Cave too much. It was filled with manly things, and just seemed like a boring basement to me.

One thing I hated about the Man Cave was the dark wood paneling. The room felt uninviting, dark, and too basement-like for my taste. My Mom came up with the idea to paint the wood paneling to brighten up the space. Between her and I we had enough paint to prime and coat the walls in a nice neutral off white color. With primer alone the room looked a zillion times better. After the last coat of paint and we were amazed at how fabulous it looked down there now.

A few schooled themed wall art from the dollar store and other places, that my Mom found for us, plus other items I pulled from various other rooms in the house, our homeschool is finally complete. It was a long summer putting the room together. Moving furniture and things around until we found the perfect flow was challenging but fun all at the same time.


Transforming the Man Cave into our Homeschool was the perfect summer project for my Mom and I to do together. This room, that was once my most hated room in the house is now a room that I can’t stop spending time in. Not just because we started school this past week but because it is also just a fun and inviting room to enjoy. Since it is still a basement, this room (by default) is the coolest in the house. If you’ve visited the south any this summer you’d know that this summer has definitely been a hot one.

Our First Week of Homeschool in our New Space

Monday started the journey of our first week of homeschool. It felt like we were jumping in with both feet. I, personally, felt so unprepared. I had no idea what to expect or what to do. Thankfully we are a part of an online school that pretty much lays everything out for us.

We did have a few issues throughout the week, but these rough patches quickly passed as we learned how to “swim”.

What I’ve learned from our first week of homeschool

1. Be Organized
I’ve never been more organized than I am at this very moment. Before school started I made a goal to make sure that I had everything organized and laid out before we started. I didn’t want any unfinished tasks whether it had to do with housework or my blogging schedule to be looming over my head as we started this new journey in our lives. As we dove into our homeschool curriculum, I saw just how important it was to be organized and prepared before the day even begins. No more procrastinating for me (if I can help it). If it needs to get done, get it done now. Don’t put it off.
2. Try Not to Get Overwhelmed
I went into homeschooling not knowing what to expect. Like I said, it was like jumping in with both feet. There were times where I had doubts that we would ever get it all done. But we kept going and in doing so we got it all complete. So try not to get overwhelmed. The tasks may seem like that won’t all get done in time but eventually they will get done when they need to be. Just keep trying and eventually you’ll get it. That is what I keep having to say to myself over and over. Homeschooling is a new experience for us. And just like anything else it will take time to get used to. As we figure out what works and doesn’t work, homeschooling will become easier. We just have to stick with it.
3. Schedule Time & Take Breaks
The beauty of homeschooling is it’s flexibility. There are times when I or the kidlets are beginning to feel too overwhelmed that we just need a break (this was especially true in the first week). So we take it and come back to our studies when we are ready to finish the course. We haven’t quite nailed a good schedule as of yet, we are still feeling out our days to see what works the best, but we hope to keep a regular schedule fairly soon.

This is only our first week and tomorrow (or today, depending on when you read this) is another week. Now that we are a bit familiar with what to expect, I have high hopes that it will go a bit more smoothly. I hope to keep you all updated on our progress throughout the year and share with you all our experiences in this new journey of our lives. Those of you that are not-so new to the homeschool adventure, any words of wisdom or advice is greatly appreciated (please leave them in the comments).

What do you think of our Homeschool Space

I recently talked about how a new set of speakers gave me a new outlook on how I use digital content on my computer, today I want to talk about backing up my digital life. A good chunk of my life is on my computer from photographs to videos to important documents. What would happen if my hard drive suddenly *knock on wood* crashed? I would lose all of these items that are important to me. More importantly most of these items are hard to replace like photos of when my kidlets were babies.

I can not stress enough how important it is to make a backup of the files on your computer. You never know when you will need it. Until recently backing up my hard drive was one of those tasks that I just didn’t like to do. Mainly because of the amount of items that I needed to backup. With having so much information that needs to be backed up on a regular basis this can take a HUGE chunk of time out of my day. If you have ever tried to back up a large drive on your computer you know that this can take anywhere from hours to even a day (depending on how much space you are trying to preserve). And I don’t know about you but a day without my computer is….well, not a pleasant thing to experience especially when you have tasks to be completed.

A rep for Hitachi recently contacted me and wanted me to try out the new LifeStudio Mobile Plus. So with the product provided, I began testing it out in my typical everyday schedule. Setting it up was as easy as plugging the device into my USB.

The LifeStudio Mobile Plus is called “the personal assistant for your digital life“.

That phrase couldn’t be more accurate. Upon installing the LifeStudio Mobile Plus on my computer, it immediately started doing its thing. Searching and finding all of my important files. Pretty soon, all of my files were copied to the LifeStudio drive.

I like the CoolIris layout of the LifeStudio software which makes it easy to find files that I need quickly and effortlessly. At this point I’m thinking I should name my “digital assistant”. Got any good names I could name “her”?

LifeStudio not only connects you with your files but it also keeps you connected with popular social networks like Flickr and Facebook. Looking for entertainment? There is a tab for that too! Basically LifeStudio is an all-in-one for your digital content. Always hard working in the background to automatically sync your content between your computer and external hard drive yet is always there at the click of a mouse when you need it. My LifeStudio Mobile Pro is like my reliable best friend, keeping me in check at all times.

I love that I don’t have to “think” about backing up my hard drive anymore. LifeStudio is reliable enough to be able to do it all for me. And as a Mom that is just one less thing that I have to worry about getting done at the end of the day.

How do you backup your computer files?

How often do you backup your stuff?

Disclosure: the LifeStudio Mobile Pro was provided to me by the people at Hitachi. While product was provided, opinions mentioned in this post are my own.

Chances are you probably know someone that is pregnant right now or perhaps you are expecting a little one yourself? No matter what the situation is, I think it is fun finding unique baby and children’s gifts whether it be for a shower that I’m attending, or a kid’s birthday party. I was recently given a package from Team Mom and mOmma. Inside contained various items from the mOmma line of products.

As you may know I don’t have any little, LITTLE ones running around my house anymore :( but it was still fun to look at the new products geared towards the little kids. Like I said, you never know what occasion might arise where you can use them as gifts!!!

The No Spill Cup and Cup with Straw would make perfect shower gifts for new parents. While the Warm Development Meal Set would be a great gift for a child at the stage where they begin to discover solid foods. To make cleaning easy for these products is the specially designed Wash brush.

I know it can be hard trying to figure out what to get a new parent, or a friend/family member who is throwing a baby shower. Think of the basics like feeding kits, clothing, etc. and you’ll be just fine finding that perfect baby gift.

What are your favorite baby gifts to give?

Disclosure: I was given a sample kit from Team Mom and mOmma that contained some items for baby. Opinions of these products are my own.

There is no doubt about it, we are a tech family. When a rep for V.Tech reached out to me to see if I would be interested in taking a look at the new V.Reader, immediately I knew my kids would be thrilled. We have been fans of V.Tech for a couple of years now and really like the educational twist they add to their products.

With one child beginning to read, the V.Reader helped capitalize on his curiosity to learn. My son was eager to try the V.Reader out as soon as it arrived on our doorstep. Before I could even get it out of the box, he was curious to know what all he could do with it.

A V.Reader is like an e-book reader for kids. Stories are animated and read aloud. Cartridges also include fun learning games. As a parent, I like that I can see my child’s progress when I plug the unit into the computer.



Apparently the fun isn’t going to stop with the additional storybook cartridges. There are plans, according to the v.reader website, to offer downloadable stories as well. While this feature hasn’t launched yet, I’ve been eagerly awaiting its arrival. I like the idea of being able to expand our “library” with a simple click of a mouse button.

My kids love the V.Reader. I love knowing that they are not only having fun but also learning at the same time.

One thing to note about the V.Reader is that it is probably a good idea to invest in either rechargeable batteries or a wall charger. My kidlets use the V.Reader all the time and I found that the batteries ran out rather quickly. So having rechargeables on hand makes it easier to keep the learning fun going.

Disclosure: Ogilvy provided me with the V.Reader mentioned in this post. While product was provided, opinions are entirely my own.

When I’m on the computer I like to have some sort of music playing in the background. Music helps motivate me whether it be to finish writing an article or turned up to make cleaning the house a bit more fun. Music is an unusual tool. No other outlet can instantly change my mood like music can.

Until recently I thought I had a decent pair of speakers set up in my office. Altec Lansing contacted me a few weeks ago and asked if I would be willing to give some of their new products a try. This is when I found out that my old speakers just weren’t cutting it. I had no idea! There IS definitely a difference between my old system and the one that Altec Lansing provided me.

The speakers are called the Octane7 and it isn’t a group of 7 different speakers like I had originally thought. Instead it is consistent of a very large subwoofer and two stick like speakers. How could two seamingly small speakers make so much sound? Each speaker actually contains 3 smaller speakers inside. Two in the stick part and one on the bottom. Add the bass from the subwoofer and I could almost feel the music.

Out of the box, the system was pretty self explanatory to set-up. Within a few minutes I was ready to start listening to my favorite music. Immediately I was blown away and I’m not exaggerating here. I was NOT expecting this system to sound better than my previous speakers. But it has knocked my other system completely out of the water, I can’t even imagine switching back to my old speakers now. Since this speaker system is SO powerful, I do not have to turn the volume up very loud to hear it. On my computer 3 bars is a comfortable listening level for everyday tasks. If I’m around the house and not in the same room I’ll turn it up more and the sound travels very well.

The way I have the Octane7 set up in my office is: the subwoofer on the floor in front of me (near my feet), the right speaker is also in front of me next to my monitor, the left speaker instead of putting it on the other side of the monitor I decided to put it on the desk behind me. The result is nothing but sound surrounding me.

I’m not a music guru nor do I have any sort of background on what the technical terminology for good sounding speakers are. I’m a average daily computer user who enjoys listening to music, watching viral videos, or streaming the occasional movie via Netflix. My husband on the other hand has a better background in music than I do. I think he is a bit jealous of the new speakers. He’s already proclaimed that he likes the design and sound. I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts comparatively price shopping for his own set.

For more information please visit Altec Lansing online.

Just a Side Note:
Altec Lansing also makes these speakers that I use with my netbook that I bought a while back. What sold me on the product? They were very affordable.

Do you think speakers can really make a difference in your computer experience?

Disclosure: thanks to our friends at Altec Lansing for providing us with the Octane 7 set of speakers to try out. The opinions in this post are my own.