Have a Spa-Like Experience at Northwest Arkansas Birth Center #BirthCenterNWA

This article was compensated by Acorn Influence and its advertiser. All opinions are honest and are my own. #BirthCenterNWA

Earlier this week, I was given the opportunity to visit the NWA Birth Center in Rogers, Arkansas. Wow! What a treat! I've had nine babies and have never come close to the relaxing and beautiful experience the women who birth here have the opportunity to enjoy. For those of you moms---imagine having your baby and recovering in this relaxing suite, as opposed to a sterile and uninviting hospital room. {I asked the owner if I could book a private night's stay...even though I wasn't expecting. She said she's the only one who gets to do that...}

As I entered the homey atmosphere of the birthing center, I was greeted by a brightly and fashionably-decorated sitting area with a kitchen built in. On another wall was this display of fun baby and mama items that aren't available in most retailers I frequent. I'm a sucker for a hospital gift shop, but this selection was even better as it is designed to meet health and comfort needs, without a lot of frills.

The birth center is not just for those who are expecting a baby. Any woman can come enjoy the experience of an annual exam or screening in a more peaceful environment than she's used to in the standard doctor's office. The costs for utilizing the birth center can be half as much as a hospital birth and the care is more closely designed to individual needs. There's even an ADA compliant birthing room to accommodate those with mobility issues.

One thing I love about the birthing center staff is that they encourage practices that make sense during labor. Eating and drinking is promoted to keep energy up (thus the gorgeous kitchen area) and there's even a beautiful patio area that opens out onto a walkway for the laboring woman who wants to walk. Best part: no routine IVs to keep you strapped in bed with an unnecessarily prolonged labor.

The birth center is designed for women in low-risk pregnancies, and since more than 80% of pregnancies are considered low risk, it's likely this will be a good fit for you or someone you know. Since the staff operates on the truth that there's nothing "wrong" with a woman who has just given birth, they tend to send clients home within 4-6 hours after delivery. This is the time when a woman is still feeling that adrenaline rush after birth and it's important to get her home and settled in her own comfortable environment before the exhaustion sets in. The staff follows up later in the day by video chat and with a home visit soon after.

I'll admit, I thought nothing could make me want another baby any more than I already did---but this tour has deepened the desire even more! Make sure to check out the NWA Birth Center website and contact them to see if they can meet your needs. Have you had any experience with a birthing center? I'd love to hear your story in the comments below. 

Economy for the Christian Home by Mrs. Sharon White -- Book Review

I'm thrilled to be introducing you to another great book by Mrs. Sharon White, Economy for the Christian Home: A 12 Week Challenge for Wives to Increase Charitable Giving. I'll be honest---giving is low on my priority list when it comes to spending our earnings. With our large family, I always feel there's some need that could be met here at home and I tend to meet a whole lot of non-essentials before I ever think about giving to those less fortunate. God has called Christians to a life of generosity though, and I know this is an area I need to focus on.

In Economy for the Christian Home, Mrs. White gives practical help and encouragement on budgeting out money to be given to those in need---easy steps that even those with the smallest of budgets can stick to. One thing I'm really excited about starting up is the Charity Box. This idea will help our family be intentional about setting aside money so we're prepared when the Lord leads us to share it.

I encourage you to grab a copy of Economy for the Christian Home and be challenged to care for the poor. This excellent resource would also be great for a group study. Check out another of my favorites from Mrs. White in my article on her book, Living On His Income.

Now it's time for The {Not Just} Homemaking Party! Thanks for stopping by and linking up!

Homeschool End of Year Celebration Ideas #FlavorYourSummer #ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FlavorYourSummer #CollectiveBias

Even though we homeschool all year long, we love to have a party for the kids in the spring time as that's usually when we move up a grade and get all our new books and materials for the next season of schooling. We've always done something special to honor the kids' hard work over the year, but this is the second year we've planned an all-out bash! Are you interested in setting one up for your family? Here are just a few ways you can make your homeschool end-of-year party memorable and fun. Be sure to check out my article from last year's party for more great ideas.

I shopped Walmart for all our food and supplies for the party. Jamie was excited to make up some kabobs for the family, so I came up with a couple marinade recipes. I used Maggi® Chicken Flavor Bouillon and NesCafe® Clasico Coffee to make two great meat soaks. Both products were found in the Hispanic section of Walmart. I also picked up some Jack's® Pizza in the frozen pizza section of the freezer aisle.

It had been a really long time since I'd made skewers on the grill---mainly because threading enough skewers for 11 people takes a really long time. Ha! Jamie was all for it, though, and he made up a whole bunch of steak and chicken ones while Mom and I were out shopping last Saturday. These are the chicken ones he made for us---delicious!

The marinade for the chicken skewers was super simple. He used a very concentrated mixture of the bouillon and water and soaked the meat overnight. Then it was as easy as alternating the chicken, peppers, and onions on some pre-soaked skewers and grilling them until the meat was cooked through.

Savory Chicken Skewers

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2-3 assorted peppers

1 red onion

3 TB chicken bouillon granules

3 c. water

Cut chicken into chunks and place in bowl or plastic zip bag. Mix bouillon and water together until granules dissolve. Pour over chicken and refrigerate 24 hours. Cut peppers and onion into chunks and thread on skewers, alternating with meat. Grill and enjoy!

The second kabob recipe featured a coffee soak. I'll be honest---I wasn't totally sure about this one. I'd never tried anything marinated in coffee, but Jamie and my Mom assured me it would be great. Again, he used a concentrated coffee liquid mixture. Be sure to add salt and pepper to the marinade and let the meat soak 24 hours. With the addition of pineapple and onions, these skewers were an excellent idea!

Coffee-Soaked Steak Skewers

1 pkg. beef stew chunks

1 onion, cubed

1 pineapple, cubed

4 TB instant coffee granules

3 c. water

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Mix coffee, salt, and pepper into the water until salt and coffee are dissolved. Marinate the meat 24 hours. Thread pineapple, onion, and meat onto skewers and grill. Yum!

This was our first time trying Jack's Pizza and Jamie's first time grilling a pizza. We liked the taste and convenience of this brand---and the price was good, too. How fun to be able to grill it---keeps the kitchen cooler in the summer, for sure! 

I added a couple other fun "schoolish" snacks to the table. These cheese crackers are stamped with alphabet letters and the photo below it is alphabet-shaped cereal. Who says you can't play with your food? Our kids love spelling out words (even if they're not real words!) before munching their snacks.

Besides food, there are other great ways to celebrate the end of a great schooling year. Avalon will be honored at our co-op's graduation party for completing Kindergarten this year. Cap and gown sets are found very inexpensively online. This one also came with a tassel and a diploma for me to fill out. 

We like to gift the kids with something special like a new set of books or a DVD set they've all been wanting, but their favorite school-related gift is the refilling of their school boxes. I do this several times throughout the year and it's amazing the jump in excitement and motivation that occurs when the kids have new tools to learn with.

I also found these cute grade-completion certificates online. I printed this one out in black and white as I think it would be fun for a young child to color his own award.

Finally, what would a party be without games? One of our favorite party themes is the carnival theme. We've done several over the years and they're always a hit. We do everything from duck pond fishing to sack races to balloon darts. It's always a blast!

Another game we came up with this year is called, What Do You Remember? I grabbed a colored ball from Walmart and used a permanent marker to write phrases relating to the things we learned this past year. The kids take turns tossing the ball to one another and the person with the ball shares a memory relating to one of the phrases. It was fun for the kids to play this and remember all the great times we had!

Do you do anything special for your kids at the end of the school year? I'd love to hear some of your ideas!