Easter Reflections 🐰 | U-Pick Blueberries 🫐 | Hybrid Homeschool 🎒

EXCUSES TO CELEBRATE

🐣 Easter Reflections

Easter was a big deal for me (and H) this year as it was the first holiday we really got to celebrate and ENJOY since she went into burnout in December. Christmas was a complete bust. We hardly acknowledged Valentine’s Day, and we cautiously went super small for her birthday in March. Which killed me as I loooove to celebrate the holidays. I even used to run a small business with my sister helping families celebrate more! 😢

Soooo with Harper making positive strides and my parents in town, I went big for Easter and I’m relieved to say it went well! We did all the things and not a single meltdown. I can hardly believe it myself. I sadly do not have any pics to share as Harper refuses to let me take her picture anymore—and I’m just crummy at prioritizing it.

🐰 Is the Easter Bunny Real?

The one thing that made me a little sad was how skeptical she was of the Easter Bunny this year! She was wracked with anxiety that the Easter Bunny wouldn’t come. She had countless reasons: he has too many homes to visit, he would forget about her, etc. She woke up ridiculously early, peeked into the living room, and instantly burst into tears when she didn’t see any evidence of his visit. I encouraged her to check outside and check on the magic jellybeans we had planted, and to her surprise the bunny trail was there with presents! 🪄

She then slyly asked if I had done it... I try to avoid ever lying to her so I replied with, “How could I have done it? I was with you all night.” She proceeded to ask if her dad had, her grandma, and even asked me to pinky promise! I changed the subject without a response, but there’s a good chance this was our last year of believing the magic. I’m not ready for this innocent phase to be over... 😭

MY FAVORITES

🥐 My Secret to Delicious Pastries

These Strawberry Rhubarb Turnovers stole the show at our Easter brunch. 😋 

Now, because I’m a wannabe scratch cook who forgets to feed her starter, I rely heavily on Wildgrain’s bake-from-frozen delivery service for the ultimate convenience. I get sourdough breads, pastries, pasta, and even pizza from them. I store the foods in my freezer until I’m ready to pop them in the oven and pretend I just cooked a delicious, homemade meal with simple ingredients. 🙌 

Wildgrain partners with small bakeries across the country and donates meals to fight hunger with every order (+510,000 meals donated so far). I rave about Wildgrain to everyone!!

Try Wildgrain for yourself and save $20 on your first order! You won’t be disappointed. I too will save $20, which would be lovely. ✨😜

LOCAL

💐 Mother’s Day Plans

I’ve been so preoccupied with work, my parents’ visit, summer camp scheduling, and choosing a school for H next year that Mother’s Day snuck up on me. I hadn’t given it much thought until I was in H’s room the other night, writing in my notebook and she told me to make a list of what I wanted to do for Mother’s Day (what a sweetie!). I wrote down brunch, local adventure, movie theater (H’s suggestion), garden, farmer’s market, U-Pick blueberries, and Ozona Blue Grill in Palm Harbor.

I’ve narrowed it down to U-Pick blueberries and plant shopping (I’m in my Plant Mom Era) today at these local gems:

• Lyna Berry Farms
  11920 Neal Road Lithia, FL 33547
  7:30 AM to 3 PM (last car in at 2 PM)
  U-Pick blueberries $3.75 per pound
  Blueberry plants, local honey, farm t-shirts and hats also for sale
  Cash, check, Venmo, and credit card

• Lithia Berry Farms
  17928 Bill Taylor Rd, Lithia, FL 33547
  7:30 AM to 2 PM
  U-Pick blueberries $4 per pound and pre-picked $5.50 per pound
  Blueberry, Moringa, and Jackfruit plants also for sale
  Cash or check preferred, credit card and Zelle also available

HEALTH

The Dirty Dozen™

Conventional farming relies heavily on pesticides, often including chemicals that have been linked to cancer and reproductive toxicity. Every year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes The Dirty Dozen list identifying the 12 fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide residue levels when conventionally grown.

Blueberries are on the list, so I buy organic when possible and use the Baking Soda Method to remove pesticides such as thiabendazole and phosmet:

Soak produce in a baking soda solution (1 teaspoon of baking soda per 2 cups of water) for 12–15 minutes

EXCUSES TO CELEBRATE

☕ Mother’s Day Freebie

Above I mentioned the small business I previously ran with my sister to help families celebrate more. It was called Little Supply and as part of that project, we had adorable MA⚡MA mugs made! I still have some of them in inventory and in celebration of this newsletter project and my supportive subscribers, I want to gift them to you!

Send me an email to [email protected] with your name, email you subscribed with, and address. If you’re local, I’ll drop off a mug to your place. If you’re not local, I’ll split the shipping cost with you and put one in the mail! 📫

EDUCATION, LOCAL

🤓 The Rise of Alternative Schooling

Last time I shared my views on education and what I’m looking for H for first grade and beyond. I included a short list of the most promising microschools, hybrid schools, and homeschool pods I could find within a 30-minute drive of FishHawk where I live. Well, a NEW option opened up since then, and it’s just a 5-minute drive from our house! That’s exciting for not only the convenience, but for staying connected to our neighborhood.

I met with Melissa Palmer, the Founder and Certified Educator of RISE Learning Studio, and her new hybrid microschool checks all the boxes!

• Personalized learning plans

• Project based learning and hands on exploration

• Real world application

• Focus on fostering a love of learning

• Teacher led field trips and nature exploration

• Empowering students to become independent, lifelong learners

I’m nervous about juggling work and homeschool. I’m nervous about being able to provide enough structure that H doesn’t backslide emotionally. I’m nervous about maintaining my calm, BUT I won’t know until I try. I have to force myself off the edge to learn to swim so to speak, so we’re going to go for it… Wish us luck!! 🤞

If you’re in the FishHawk area and looking for a hybrid learning environment for your K-5 age kiddo (the middle school option is FULL!), I highly recommend checking out RISE Learning Studio.

K-5 Interest List

PARENTING, MENTAL HEALTH

💗 Best Parenting Advice I’ve Ever Received

With my neurospicy daughter I’ve found most parenting advice to be ineffective or even detrimental at times. However, the best advice I’ve ever received came from a dear friend and I’m embarrassed it took me literal years to finally learn it’s value.

It sounded too simple to matter when Melissa first shared this advice with me. Later on when H’s behavior was at its absolute worst, I lost perspective and focused only on the chaos we were in. It was truly difficult for me to see or remember her good qualities. Talking with friends helped me view my daughter with a different lens and regain an appreciation for her quirks.

Praise the best, ignore the rest. It not only helps me remember not to give her negative behavior attention, but also to maintain perspective and view her with a more positive lens. She’s just a little girl with a sensitive heart who often feels misunderstood. 💔

Another hugely beneficial thing that sounds cliché and I don’t do often enough, but helps me maintain a positive perspective: GRATITUDE practice!

If you too could use some help remembering to view your life (and kids) with a more positive lens, subscribe to my beautiful friend’s newsletter, Melissa Currado’s Sunday Morning Love Letters. ✨

Till next time!

xo, Alyssa

Raised.