Food for the Soul

As part of Nina's Food & Nutrition class they had to make a table setting using non-table items that represent something about them.  Nina is my music nut.  She is super passionate about the music she listens to... How did I end up with an Emo daughter?  I thought her all-music table setting came out cool!  She needed to have things that represented a dinner plate, cup, napkin, fork and knife in her setting.  Fun, huh?

This is a great way to teach kids about the proper way to set a table!  Have them find items around the house to represent what would be on the table (and the table itself!).  Let them be creative and enjoy the outcome!

Laminate Your Kid's Class Schedules and Make the Other Kids Jealous!

Nina started high school this week and Alyssa started junior high... coming from a little charter school they were both SCARED to death of big huge schools with multiple halls, buildings and TONS of kids.

To help them figure out where they were going I took notes during back-to-school night while we found all their classes... things like "upstairs", "by your locker" and "next to the lunchroom".  Then I wrote their schedules down on a paper or index card.  I wrote their "A Day" classes on one side and their "B Day" classes on the other complete with times, room #s, teachers names and a note by each to help jog their memory about where that class was.  It was so much easier for them to read than a map and all their friends were jealous!

I wrote them both by hand so they had a piece of their mom with them, but you could type it up just as easily.  Laminating is a must to keep them nice for the first couple of weeks of school until they know where they're going.

I also laminated an index card for each girl with their locker number, combo and student ID number so they have them on hand until the memorization kicks in!  I'm all for anything to make their first days of school less stressful!

Vacationing with Kids: Guest Blogger #3

Hi I'm Arya, mother to four lovely and highly active children, wife, photographer and blogger. I have a few tips that make my vacations a little less crazy and stressful that might be helpful to anyone else with kids.

Snacks - Bring a cooler packed with healthy snacks and foods that are easy to eat while in the car. Example of what I bring: sliced carrots in snack baggies, cut up melons in snack size tupperware, sandwich fixings (lunch meat, lettuce, mayo, sliced tomato, mustard and bread), granola bars, yogurt, string cheese, grapes, sliced apples, water, ect. Don’t forget the utensils! At any rest stop you can pull out whatever is needed for snacks or lunch. Bringing your own snacks and lunch stuff will save time and money too!

Self Entertainment - Bring plain paper, coloring/activity books, colored pencils, crayons, pens and pencils and books. Lap Desks are the easiest way to go for kids too and there are some neat ones out there that hold the items or can have a cup holder.  When the kids get bored I ask them to pull out some blank paper and start drawing the scenery and animals they may be seeing along the road as we drive. You could also get portable DVD players with headphones and let the kids watch movies. Oh and you can’t forget toys. I let each child bring a small backpack full of their favorite toys and stuffies. I also pack a small box of toys for the baby too and hide it behind the driver seat for easy access for which ever parent isn’t driving.

Music – have fun upbeat music that you and your kids enjoy, it will make your trip go by faster and smoother if you like what is being played too.

Be organized. Have a place for your kids to put their stuff in the car, this will make for less fights if each child has a place to put their own stuff while traveling.

Stop at all rest stops. No matter what happens you stop at each and every one and let everyone out to use the potty and at every other rest stop let the kids play in the grass and get out some energy. Sure this adds more time to your drive but really how much fun are you going to have with kids fighting and screaming because they have too much energy to hold in? At each rest stop where the kids got to run around at I would have them look for unique plants, bugs and birds and tell me about what they found and saw. The kids found a cool birds nest in-between the guys and girls bathroom and it had three baby birds in it chirping for their mama. The kids loved it!

  
Check out local attractions on your route. Your drive doesn’t always have to be about getting from point A to point B but the fun you can have in-between. When we were driving from our home in Idaho to the Oregon Coast we stopped in at Multnomah Falls to let the kids see the beautiful falls, it was fun for all! You don’t have to spend money to have a good time – the Falls didn’t cost anything to visit and the kids learned some great stuff from the staff who had little booths set up talking about local wildlife. Free fun is always the best!

Destination – have fun, relax and enjoy because if you don’t you won’t have any fun at all and the whole point of a vacation is to make wonderful memories that you will cherish and enjoy!

10 Ways to Save Money at Amusement Parks:Guest Blogger #2

My name is Marie. I am a homeschooling, coupon cutting, organizing wannabe, diet Mt. Dew drinking military wife, blogger and mother of five. I have so many things that I want to be, but am not there yet! You know that phrase, “jack of all trades, master of none” ? Well that is me!

As a resident of Southern California, I am close to quite a few amusement parks.  While our family loves to go and play, I think we can all agree that they are not cheap. Because I have a lot of kids, I have to be really careful or I could spend their college tuition at the park!

Here are my top 10 ways (in no particular order) to save money at amusement parks:

1) Go online before you get to the park! Do not buy your tickets at the gate. Look for discounts through your work, the government, teachers association, homeschooler discounts…there are so many ways to get a discount.

2) Since we live within driving distance of parks, we rarely stay at a hotel. However, when we do, we always stay a bit away from the park. Rates are usually lower. I always look for a place that offers rewards points,  a government discount and a continental breakfast. If I am going to stay there, I am going to try and get something more for my money! Once again, pay attention to any discounts that may be available to you.

3) Go in the off season. I know that this doesn’t always work for everyone, but even pushing your vacation off a week or two can make a difference. We went to Universal Studios over Christmas break and could barely get through the crowds. Two weeks later we practically had the place to ourselves!

4) While I don’t know any park that allows outside food, most have to allow water. So don’t pay for an overpriced water bottle. Bring a refillable bottle in with you and refill through the day. You can also grab drink packets (like Kool Aid, Crystal Light…) from the dollar store and keep those with you.

 5) Don’t forget batteries! I think digital cameras are notorious for sucking up batteries. If you want to capture those moments, make sure to have plenty of extras. I like to go to a warehouse club and grab a nice big pack before I go.

6) When our family went to Legoland, our plan was to go to a fast food place close to the park for lunch. However, it turned out we would have to pay our parking fee again. We had to decide whether it was worth it or not.  There are a few things that we do, to help curb costs. Water only. From OUR water bottles. Just because you may not be able to leave the park, doesn’t mean you can’t go to your car. Keep a cooler filled with snacks and have a picnic at your car. You can have crackers, juice boxes, fruit, sandwiches etc. When we do eat in the park, if there is an all you can eat option, we take it. Our family is big, and we can eat a lot! If there isn’t an all you can eat, we look to see if there is a pizza place. Instead of buying individual meals, we can buy one that is a family size. Have two kids with similar tastes share one adult meal instead of two kids’ meals. 

7) My kids have never met a gift shop that they didn’t  like. Before we go inside, they are told whether or not they have an amount to spend.  Do not make up your mind in the store! Have it set in your mind what is acceptable. We do not go over it. Our family always buys a magnet for our  fridge, it is a great way to see all the places we have been.

8) Our family rule is, “if you can buy it at Target or Wal Mart, you are not buying it here”. I can’t count how many times my kids have brought me an item that they could easily get somewhere else. I also do not allow them to use their budgeted money on candy, food or drinks. Nope, not gonna happen!

9) Just because you are at an amusement park, you can still  find deals in their gift shops. At Six Flags I found my son a Scooby Doo pillow on clearance for $2. It is his “car seat pillow” and he uses it in the car all the time. Look in back corners for items on clearance.

10) Relax and have fun. Do not throw your budget out the window in the name of fun. It isn’t about what you buy, but the experiences shared.

Road Trips with Young Kids: Guest Blogger #1

I am not really one for road trips. When I was young, before the days of iPads (or any type of entertainment, for that matter) my family would make our annual drive from California to Salt Lake City, Utah to visit my grandparents. I hated the monotony and boredom and nausea brought on my being crammed into a van with four brothers and a sister.

Recently, I had a friend visiting from England that wanted a tour of the West Coast, so I promised her a road trip from my current home in Salt Lake City, Utah out to Northern California, down to Southern California, on to Las Vegas, and back to Utah again. And then I remembered that I have two toddlers. As the panic began to set in, I decided to do whatever I could to make the trip easy on my children (and myself) by being prepared and making the time in the car something that would be fun rather than something to be endured.

I knew that to keep my kids happy and entertained in the car for such a long time, I’d need to be prepared with snacks, activities and distractions. Below is a list of some of the things that kept my kids (ages 18 months and 3.5) happy throughout our trip.

1. Snacks 
Driving the car is boring. For everyone. I know when I’m tired of being in the car, having something to munch on is a great distraction. I don’t necessarily want my kids eating candy the whole trip, so I bring a variety of healthy snacks. Some of the best things for the car (and least messy!) are:

a. String Cheese
b. Sliced Apples
c. Goldfish Crackers
d. Applesauce GoGo SqueeZ (single serve applesauce packs that don’t require a spoon – kids can squeeze the pouch right into their mouth! Genius!)
e. Carrots (for kids old enough to eat them)
f. Rice Krispy Treats
g. Nilla Wafers h. Plenty of Water (Sippy cups work great to prevent spills, even for my 3 year old)

2. Surprise Activity Bag 
I put together an activity bag for each of my kids with fun new things in it. Having new things to play with will keep kids happy for quite a while. I use a Ziploc bag and include some of the following as a fun surprise for my children.

 a. Coloring Book
b. New Crayons
c. Stickers
d. Inexpensive toys such as Matchbox cars, My Little Pony, stuffed animal, etc.

3. Games
Depending on how old your children are, there are plenty of travel games that are perfect for road trips. Some of my favorite are:

a. Melissa & Doug Flip to Win Memory Game
b. Melissa & Doug License Plate Game
c. Car Travel Bingo

4. Books
 My children aren’t old enough to read to themselves yet, but they do love looking at books. I gathered a pile of their favorite books and kept them in a bag between their car seats. They could reach them and look through them as much as they wanted (and of course throw them when they were done…) I stuck with board books so no pages would get torn. They loved being able to grab the books they wanted to read.

5. iPad/Movie Player
Ok, I don’t recommend going out and buying an iPad for your kids just because you’re going on a road trip. But we do happen to have one, and it really is a godsend when you’re at your wits’ end and are trying to keep kids happy in the car. I use it as my last resort – I let them use it after they had grown bored of everything else. (We spent about 30 hours total in the car, and I think the iPad was used for about 2 or 3 hours of that time.)

In addition to all of the in-car activities, we made sure that we stopped every hour or two to let the kids get out, run around and let out some of their pent-up energy. The breaks from the car were just as important as activities for helping the kids enjoy the trip.

Traveling with children can seem like a daunting experience, but it can be a fun and enjoyable way to travel with just a little bit of preparation. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to keep kids happy and entertained in the car.

Jennifer is wife to Preston and mom to 3 year old Ethan and 18 month-old Grace. Preston travels extensively for business and Jen and the kids love to tag along on his trips. Jen has gained experience in many areas of travel including surviving the security lines with toddlers, changing diapers on an airplane, and most recently, staying sane a road trip with young children