Hi I’m Courtney, Mom to 2 amazing, wild little girls and expecting a wild little boy this year! I live in Texas with my husband, kids, and two dogs. Most days I feel like I am running a mini-circus in my household but wouldn’t change it for the world. The one thing that always seems to bring some sanity to the whole house is getting outdoors in some way!
I am a life-longer learner and love learning new things. I have worked in education for over a decade and earned my master’s degree in educational curriculum and instruction a few years ago. While I’ve love working in education it also deeply bothers me to see the severely broken system we are putting kids through today. It’s pushed me to look for alternative education routes, methods, and skills for my own children and to integrate into our public schools whenever possible.
When I think about the education I want for my own children it’s filled with amazing books, hands-on activities, child-led topics, real-world experiences, nature-based learning, and develops critical-thinking skills. I think all these together can help close the gaps we are seeing in our traditional educational system and work towards creating humans who can take on all the problems we’ve got going on in the world, lofty goals I know!
In my neverending quest for learning, I have also developed many other skills that I have found interesting. I am a certified yoga teacher inspiring my two little ones to be little yogi’s as well. I am also a photographer which my beautiful girls inspired me to pick up just after my first was born. In recent years I’ve added food photography to my skillset which makes sharing the recipes I create a bit easier.
I am like many, a foodie. I have gone through extreme health-nut phases in my life and recently after the birth of my first developed some pretty severe food allergies which again morphed the way I eat. I try to live a very balanced food life and never want my children to feel excluded from participating in activities because of the choices I’ve made for them. I focus on whole foods, natural ingredients and strive to reduce processed foods as much as possible. Smoothies and coffee are some of my diet staples. I am also constantly trying to create healthy wholesome recipes that my little ones love, which can any parent knows can be very challenging.
I live deep in suburbia and not very close to any of the “nature” you typically think of when you think nature-based learning. While I would love to move to a more natural place with lots of hiking, forests, lakes, rivers, and outdoor things to experience, it is just not where we are in life right now. Moving is a goal for our family in the future but until then we will make the best of our current situation. We love being in our backyard gardening, going on walks in our neighborhood, and visiting our local parks. We explore the zoo, museum, local farms, and local gardens to inspire our love of nature. We get away and camp when possible to experience deep dives into nature for short periods.
I am so excited to share my love of nature, books, crafts, and wholesome recipes with you all here. I am a big fan of quick and easy for just about everything given my current state of life right now (3 littles 5 and under). I hope you find some inspiration from some of the things I share and that it brings some joy to your home and family.