Progressive Pioneer

How to Make Explosive Fruit Kombucha

Amy@ProgressivePioneer — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 11:17:15 -0700

I wanted my kombucha just a little bit more bubbly... Boy did I get it!! Our kombucha has been really good, but I wanted it to be more fizzy, like soda. Actually, not like soda, that's too fizzy for me, just a bit fizzier than it was. So, after it's first ferment in the big jar with a cloth napkin over the top, I poured it into a bunch of little bottles and experimented with all sorts of flavors. Mango was the first one we tried. It was... exciting, to say the least. Look closely; do you see it in...

Eating the Rainbow

Amy@ProgressivePioneer — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 14:43:51 -0700

Vivi is going through what I call the Brown Food Phase. I've been pulling out all the old tricks I used with Sam to get him to eat a whole rainbow of foods and posted about it here. How do you get kids to eat a variety of foods? I'm all ears! PS I've been cleaning up my Pinterest boards. They're all my favorites, obviously, but here are a few of my favorites today:) My Maine, a board chronicling my love (and homesickness) for my home state. Sinless Sweets has a few slightly guilty indulgences, but mostly you can feel...

The Friday Make and Do

Amy@ProgressivePioneer — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:18:00 -0700

Mud painting, what a fun idea! This table looks awesome and so easy to make; do you think it would last? Yarn dying with Kool-Aid! This snack is sounding soooo delicious right now! Or how about salted chocolate peanut butter banana bites? A mouthful, but I'm guessing a delicious one:) If someone showed up at my door selling these, I would seriously pay them any amount they asked! Have a great weekend!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Amy@ProgressivePioneer — Thu, 31 May 2012 21:11:15 -0700

Sam has been having way too much fun with this book! It's a new family favorite. Clay was at a clients house the other day and the mom had put on the recording of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom for her daughter and Clay just fell in love with it. He took the kids to the book store that night and they've been reading it and listening to the CD every day since. The CD is fun because for one thing, Ray Charles does a reading of the book and it's awesome! Then they've got a whole bunch of different versions...

Deep Breath

Amy@ProgressivePioneer — Tue, 29 May 2012 21:10:18 -0700

I find myself taking a lot of deep breaths lately. But I've found something even more helpful in managing the craziness that is motherhood. I have my kids practice deep breathing and it's amazingly transformative. I can't remember when I first started this, it was probably when Sam was around Vivi's age, old enough to be able to do a lot, but to also understand just how much there was that he still couldn't do. In other words, a time of extreme frustration and learning to control his emotions. It's kind of a lifelong challenge for most of us, isn't...

Introducing Huxton T-Ball Thompson!

Amy@ProgressivePioneer — Tue, 29 May 2012 08:18:06 -0700

We did it! He's here, the newest member of our family. After some excellent advice from Clay's uncle, a vet, we opted against the purebred dog and got this wonderful little mix. I did some research, trying to figure out which breeds were the healthiest and which had the best temperment for being a family dog. Poodles, Labs and Collies were all somewhere on both lists. And guess what little Hux is a mix of? He's the perfect blend; my dad calls him a Labradoodleollie. Fancy, right? The kids are crazy about him. I can already tell he's going to...