The Blue and Berry Shop

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The Woodlands, TX
The Blue and Berry Shop

Homeschool mom passionate about fiber arts and homemade everything. Love creating from scratch and believe in the joy of learning.

I'll spend 20 hours crafting something than spend $20 buying it. Join me on my journey of creativity and self-sufficiency!

01/24/2025

A wise, dear friend said to me during a moment of anxiety and major mom guilt I was experiencing, "Sam, listen, today is a day of survival. Focus on just one thing and one thing only today: keeping everyone alive by the end of the day. No one has to be happy, just alive."

I thought, yes, I can do that.

For whatever reason, I needed permission to just survive that day. She sent me this mug in the picture. This has been my mantra every day until we started thriving.

Well 🙃. This day was a survival day.

And that's OK.

But, I'm in a place where I don't need anyone's permission, just mine.

I'm giving you permission, if you need it.

01/22/2025

“If you ever have a daughter,
it will be payback.”
and it absolutely is.
she is all the love I’ve ever tried to give
and all the love I should’ve received.
she is all the magic I lost along the way.
Written by: Jessica Jocelyn

01/20/2025

We choose our hard. Something not discussed much in my circles is that homeschooling is HARD.

The other day, I was in tears from the overwhelming feeling of the immense responsibility I have for my children. Trying to outrun failure is the driving force behind every decision I make in their education.

I want to teach this, but they really need to learn that.
I want to go there, but we really need to go here.
I want us to try this, but we really need to keep at that.

I didn’t choose an easy path for my kiddos education. I chose to tailor our curriculum to their needs and to spark the embers of their passions. I didn’t choose any hands off curriculum. It’s all parent-led.

My kids need it. They need me to be there, present, fully engaged in their learning.

Honestly, those are my requirements for any teacher who is in charge of my kids education. I’d want them to breathe life into the very subjects that widen the eyes of my babes. I’d want them to go above and beyond the norm.

Entrepreneurs say you’ll never work as hard for another person as you do for yourself. Anyone that’s ever ran a business knows this.

I’ve forgotten this is one of the whys to our homeschool.

I’ve been so wrapped up in trying to make the three of us live up to an ideal alive in my mind and zapped the fun right out of it all recently. I let the syllabus lead, pushing them to catch up.

The truth is, the world I grew up in only exists in nostalgic moments. This current world will change by the time they are teenagers and once again when they’re adults.

We were told things when we were kids like “You won’t always have a calculator on you.” Or “You have to memorize this because you won’t be able to always get the information.”

I am writing this on a mini computer that has not only helped me budget our bills, but also allows me to research and recall any given subject at any given moment. It wasn’t that long ago that this just became possible.

Technology is only getting better.

My advice to myself, be the oxygen that breathes life into their fires of passion. Be the guide to their wonder. Remember their spirit when educating their mind and teach them to nurture their body.

01/11/2025

I made a unicorn mandala for my daughter 🦄

01/10/2025

My second open bake. Oh, I am in love with this process. Not to mention I really like the addition of olive oil. Super moist bread with crunchy crust!

Still no blisters (those bubbles I’m after). I even brushed spring water on the loaf. I add boiling water to a dish under the pizza stone, so not sure if it’s just not enough steam or what 🤷🏼‍♀️

But I am so proud of that crumb!!!!!
There was no ear because I forgot to score at the halfway mark. I took the temp after 45 minutes (30 mins at 450, 15 at 400). It was at 200 so I kept it in the oven and turned the oven off. Then checked it after 15 minutes and it was 205.

01/08/2025

I decided to break free from the Dutch oven and do an open bake on my new pizza stone.

What I implemented that I’ve never done before but will from now on:
🥖I tore a small piece of the dough and placed it in a small glass jar so I could make sure I got a 50% rise. I have ZERO success with 100% rise unless I’m making focaccia.
🥖I took the temperature of the dough to gather a better guideline of how long it would take to get 50% rise.
🥖I didn’t dust the boule with flour in hopes of getting those crispy little bubbles (still didn’t get the bubbles 🤔)
🥖I put the dough in the freezer for an hour while the stone was preheating.
🥖I added olive oil to the recipe.

I baked for 30 minutes at 450 with an oven safe dish of boiling water under the stone. Then I sprinkled the dough with water (trying to get those crispy little bubbles), re-scored the bread, turned temp to 400 and baked for another 15 minutes.

I made dough again last night so I can experiment more, as well as the fact my family ate half of this loaf.

01/07/2025

I was homeschooling before I knew I was homeschooling.

I quit working when we moved from Michigan. My dream of being a stay at home mom came true. This was my and Ryan’s goal the moment we found out we were pregnant.

Preschool was never on my radar because I wanted to spend as much time with my babies before I shipped them off to school.

I was a so-called student of Rudolf Steiner when I had my first spiritual awakening. I was fascinated with his talks about child development and found my way into Waldorf education.

This philosophy fit me like a cashmere lined leather glove.

I spent a year studying the ways of Waldorf.

Ryan thought I just got more woo woo until he saw the practice actually working and the results were in alignment with what we wanted for our kids.

I made my own textbooks for them.

Unfortunately, these and my cherished Waldorf ways were lost in the move to Texas.

They say in order be found, you must be lost. I have lost so much in the past two years. Time, opportunities, creation, memories, reading, learning.

Entering 2025, I have found a greater appreciation for what I lost. This has caused a deep dive into deep reflection and I am not returning to who I was. She only exists as a v***r trail in my soul. I am becoming after unbecoming who I once was.

01/05/2025

I can be judgmental. It’s usually in check and doesn’t pass through my filter into spoken words, but I definitely can be. I’m trying to be better.

A long time ago I either read or heard that when we judge another person, we really are judging ourselves. When I had a thought about someone, how they should be, what they should do, what they should stop doing, I’d ask my inner self to show me what area in my life am I in need of growth or change. If I couldn’t see it, I’d ask my husband or my very honest friends.

I never liked hearing it though.

Now that I’ve reached my 40s, I really understand the statement that people judge that which they don’t understand.

I have endured a lot of humbling lessons over the years. The bulk seems to be more recent. What I’m mostly grateful for is that I now have the understanding I lacked before.

Now when I judge, I scream quietly to the Universe: “It’s ok, I don’t need to go through any lesson now! I’ll stop being judgmental and accept them and try to understand!”

I can’t tell you if that’s working for me or not because this is relatively a new thing for me.

My father-in-law seemed to just accept people in all their forms. He told me a story about a man who was on a train going home with his two wild children. A woman yelled at him to get his kids under control. He looked up with tears in his eyes and said, “I’m sorry. I’m trying to figure out how to tell my kids their mother just died.”

We never really know what someone is going through, not saying, or hiding behind the mask of a smile.

Not everyone wants to go deep, or share what’s happening. Not everyone has awareness. When my awareness barrels into my life, I feel like a fool and try to hold my head high rather than bury it in shame. More times than I prefer that awareness comes a day late and a dollar short.

New year, new habits.

12/31/2024

Years ago, I read “Parenting From the Inside Out” by . I took the deep dive into all the exercises because I wanted to be better for my children than what I had. I didn’t want them to grow into the frightened, immature, confused adult I was.

The best thing that came from that book, the best my memory serves, is that if you can understand your upbringing, you will be able to explain it to your children and once they know, they can look back and understand you and forgive you more easily.

I used to look back on my early motherhood through a lens of guilt and grief. I never strived for perfection, but I never planned on imitating my parents’ parenting mistakes.

Then a thought hit me so hard it knocked me off my rocker.

No one tells you that as a kid, you are watching your parents grow up and as a parent yours are watching you grow up.

Some parents don’t grow up until it’s too late. Lord knows I have stunted my own growth through my motherhood.

Everyone says children are resilient, and they are. Like all living things, they are conditioned by their environment. The resilience is meant to be curated, not something we as parents use as a safety net.

Preston is having a hard time growing older. He wants to remain a child forever he says. What I hear is, “Mom, you weren’t perfect, but my childhood was.”

Maybe those of us who had traumatic childhoods or even parents we don’t want to imitate are doing better just by trying.

Rudolf Steiner said that children see it all. They can hear what your soul says through just the gait of your walk. So when you are working on yourself and you are trying your best, trust that they know. They sense it in ways we don’t.

Living for your children is not for the weak. It is the way of the warrior. And once your babies are old enough to hear the horrors of your past, they will look at you as what you’ve always been, a badass warrior who slayed dragons.

11/30/2024

This beauty is off to a new home in Ohio. This was one of my favorite pieces I made. I have been able to enjoy her hanging up in my craft room, but now she’s off for someone else to enjoy.

11/29/2024

Most recent Etsy sale. In one week, I sold 14 dozen of my signature cookies, a few loaves of Sourdough Cinnamon Swirl bread and this beauty.

After an Etsy sale, I am filled with motivation. Probably because I don’t do much to garner sales from Etsy so when I get one a little voice says, “Now imagine if you actually put effort behind selling.”

I made more items for Etsy and 9 dozen more cookies were dropped off to sell.

11/20/2024

Birthday crown for my birthday boy!

Address

The Woodlands, Tyler
The Woodlands, TX
75703

Website

https://etsy.me/3lXpQGc

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Videos

Our Move to Texas

They say everything is bigger in Texas. When we left Michigan, we were working against an unforgiving clock. I sold what I could but we ended up giving away about 75% of all we owned. We left a fenced in acre with a three car garage and a basement for a small, but beautiful high rise apartment a mile from the ocean in Fort Lauderdale. We gave that up for a bit of a yard and sidewalks in a neighborhood.When we left for Texas, that same clock came ticking and once again, we abandoned more items. Whatever couldn’t fit in truck was given away.We are working towards our forever home. But for now, where we are is just perfect.#homesweethome #texas #texas🇨🇱 #texaslife #freedomthinkers #familyiseverything #homelife #lifechanges

Art Lesson from Art with Mrs E

I have made it a habit to ask the kids what they want to learn about. August was sharks and dogs. After checking out books at the library and finding some educational videos, I purchased the Flower Crown Canine art lesson from @artwithmrs.e to wrap up the dog study.This lesson exceeded my expectations as I thought I was just getting a tutorial. Nope.This was a true art lesson that taught the kids about texture, lines, and how to mix colors. Preston said he now knows how to make the perfect blue gray. We enjoyed the book recommendations along with the links to the read alouds. We will be coming back for more!#homeschooling #artathome #artlessons #dogs #homeschoollife #funart #createeveryday #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolmom #homeschoolfun #kidsartist #kidartwork #kidproject

Making Memories

One of the best parts about homeschooling is creating memories and turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.#homeschoollife #makingmemories #momlifeisthebestlife #childhoodunplugged #1000hoursoutside

What are you proud of?

When my kids feel defeated, believing the obstacle in front of them is just too large to conquer, I ask them to summon as many memories as they can of all the times they felt they couldn’t do something then did. I ask them to remember how they felt in the beginning then again how they felt in the end. I remind them that bravery shapeshifts into whatever form we need it be and that feeling scared is a part of being human. Then a voice bellows from the depths of my heart requesting that I too do this for myself. It’s so easy to forget how far you’ve come when you’re focused on how much you’ve got left to go. But here’s the secret, the path never ends, it winds. A circular journey always bringing you back to you.#progressnotperfection #theobstacleistheway #bebrave #beyou #lifeadvice #ineed #totake

Delicious Homemade Oreo cookies 🤤

I’ve been working on getting this one the way I like and I found a way to make these cookies crispy and chewy. But really, for me, it’s the cream filling

This was a huge step in self belief. When she first climbed to the top, she was scared. I joined her and held her as we both went down. Once was more than enough for me, but she wasn’t ready to go alone again and needed to try. I went once more for support. As we walked around and ventured the other attractions, she kept thinking about this pipe slide and how she really wanted to do it by herself. We talked about it and I reminded her that being brave isn’t being not scared, it’s sitting on fear’s lap instead of mama’s and knowing that mama is always at the other side waiting. This little birdie rolled down this pipe slide feeling ten feet tall. #bravery #childhoodunplugged #homeschool #unschooling #selfbelief #momlife #attachmentparenting #gentleparenting #consciousparenting #dontblink

Since starting the #1000hoursoutside challenge, the kids and I seem to have aligned more with nature. We are blessed to have a little park behind our subdivision. After the massive storm this morning, we played in puddles and explored the aftermath. They noticed how noisy the birds were. We made up stories about the birds repairing nests and finding yummy worms for their babies. Nature has a language we all speak. #childhoodunplugged #nature #springtime #homeschool #homeschooling #momlife #outdoors #texasspring #texaslife #wildchild