About Me

Hi, I’m Kaitlynn. Welcome! I’m a homeschooling, homemaking, homesteading stay-at-home mom of 4 (one girl, then three boys). I’m a contractor’s wife who always has gardening and home projects for him to do on his days off from his property management business. I bake on the weekends, and live for summer. Our family of 6 lives in the beautiful Great Lakes region of Ontario, Canada.

Kids and Family

I didn’t always know I wanted kids, let alone a big family, until I was pregnant with my first baby. But as a young adult, I did know that if I became a mom, I would be a stay at home one. My mom was, and it was an incredible example to me. So after 5 years, I left my corporate job with no regrets when my maternity leave was up in 2015. What I didn’t necessarily plan on, was homeschooling. However, we began homeschooling out of necessity in the middle of 2021. While I can’t say I’ve never looked back, it’s been one of the best decisions for our family.

Find homeschooling and SAHM inspiration, survival tips, and everything in between here. I’m just a mom doing mom things, like you. Let’s bring back balance to our lives and reclaim joy in this journey of motherhood.

Gardening and Homesteading

Another situation I unexpectedly found myself in was gardening and keeping chickens. In 2022, we went from a 1,200 square foot apartment to a 100 acre farm. I went from no interest in gardening, no green thumb, and not even able to keep a houseplant alive, to a 3,234 square foot garden. We went from no pets to a flock of over 3 dozen laying hens, 3 rabbits, and an annual batch of 75 meat chickens. I went from baking bread to baking sourdough. Within the last two years I’ve learned how to garden, preserve, take care of animals, and bake with sourdough. Am I an expert? Absolutely not.

But if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that anyone can learn anything. It just takes some awareness, and some priority and mindset shifts – easier said than done, I know.

Create the Life of Your Dreams

And that’s what this blog is about. Whatever it is you’re wanting to learn, JUST START. Yes, you’ll make mistakes and experience failures. But failing is not as bad as it sounds – it’s actually just another word for learning. When you “fail”, you’ve got one more piece of the puzzle than you had before. And you won’t just fail – you’ll experience successes and wins too. But you’ve got to live it to learn it.

Take me, for example. When I first got married, I was a hopeless cook. I was confused when the Hamburger Helper didn’t come with any hamburger. I looked for the simplest meals with the fewest ingredients and followed every exact measurement to a T. Fast forward 5 years when I had my first baby and I was making healthy baby food from scratch. Fast forward another 10 years, and I no longer have to follow measurements, or even ingredient lists. Why? Experience. Experience is the best teacher. I still don’t love cooking (baking’s my thing – we’re a household of incurable sweet tooths), but I cook from scratch because it’s cheaper and healthier, and I’ll do what’s best for my family even if it’s not as easy or convenient.

Every small change we make can have a big impact on our families, our future, and our planet.

So if any of the following topics interest you, come along and learn with me as we explore homeschooling, gardening, real food, harvesting, flower farming, farmstands, preservation methods, sourdough, baking, cooking from scratch (in a house full of picky eaters), raising chickens, growing your own food and meat, becoming more self-sufficient, learning lost skills, living more naturally, simply, slowly, traditionally, reducing debts, creating multiple income streams, shifting mindsets, swapping everyday toxic household products for more natural ones, and more! The sky’s the limit because, believe it or not, there’s no right or wrong way to do any of that.

And we’ll do all this without getting overwhelmed. Because we’ll take it slow, one step at a time. Without the added fluff and filler. You’re busy, so let’s get right to the point. Let’s be realistic about what we can handle in whatever season of life we’re in, and stop comparing our Day One to someone else’s Year Five.

And remember, life is about balance. The world will try to tell you life is black and white, but I’m here to tell you to live in the gray (grey? It doesn’t matter!) We live in a world of extremes, of no middle ground, of all or nothing. But balance and moderation are the middle ground and where contentment and less stress live. I cook from scratch most of the time, but pizza is my favourite food. I believe in getting your hands dirty, but also washing your hands. I love living in the country for the privacy and peacefulness, but I want to be close enough to town that running in for a pizza isn’t out of the question. The moment you give yourself permission to do some things sometime and not all the time is the moment your life changes and you can stress less and experience more joy. No one can live up to that kind of pressure, so don’t put it on yourself.

I want this to be a space where you’re inspired and feel encouraged, enabled, and empowered to start whatever it is you’ve been wanting to start, or learn whatever it is you’ve been wanting to learn. Life is too short to let fear or doubt hold you back; it’s better when you make space for what you love.

After all, it’s the little things that make a big life.