Pics from vacation

Hi everyone. We have a nice long vacation. We started off in Springfield, Co for a few days visiting my dad's side of the family. It was nice but really dry. I haven't seen it this dry in years. I remember now why they call it dry land farming out there and am yet again given full appreciation why the pioneer women went insane. :-)

We then went to Mike's folks in Estes Park. We were able to stay in their rental house next door so that was nice. We did some fun stuff and some work. Mike's dad had back surgery so Mike asked if they needed help with anything. He ended up building a 60 ft. retaining wall for their front yard. The best part is he was just doing it to help them out but they ended up giving him $500 for doing it! Our trip was paid for!

What's funny is I was praying before we left that God would send the money for me to go back to the hormone doc (a new one) and have my thyroid and hormones checked again.
Even though I do have medicare it doesn't cover everything so we will have $200-$400 out of pocket to pay. I was excited to see that prayer answered!

After Estes we down to Lafayette to see my mom's folks. We then went camping with them, mom's brother and his wife and all the cousins. We went up the Poudre Valley by Ft. Collins and spent 4 days and 3 nights. It was fun and now a week later I almost have all the black out of our clothes! LOL

Here's some pictures of the trip. Enjoy! Tawra

U. Jack (mom's brother) attacking mom, once again, with the water gun.

U. Jack and BJ going on an ATV ride. The highlight of BJ's trip!

All of us gathered around the fire. :-) Actually it was the middle of the day and we were all following the shade so we wouldn't get fried by the sun.

the kids playing on the bumper boats in Estes.

BJ, Elly and David at Rocky Mountain National Park. (My favorite place on earth! :-)

Mike and BJ took and Dad and son hike to Mills lake.

Me. :-)

Moving and other fun Things

We just spent the past 4 days packing and loading up my son and his family to move. They are now camping out in a trailer in Tawra's backyard for a couple of weeks until they close on their new house.

Moving can be one of the most stressful things a person can do. I usually don't push our products that much but after this weekend I thought I might mention that if you are thinking of moving and haven't moved in a long time you might think about getting our Moving on a Dime e book that comes in the collection of e books for some ideas to help make moving less hair raising. It really can help you know what to do and what not to do.
There are a lot of people moving this time of year so here are a few tips out of the book to help you or someone you are helping to move.

1. When you decide to move immediately start decluttering and pack all but the necessities away. You need to do it anyway so do it now. If you are selling your house this will help it sell and will make it easier for you to clean when you have to show it. Don't wait until the day everyone comes to load the truck to start packing those things way back in the kitchen cabinets that you only use once a year. That all should be packed at this point.

2. The minute you have a closing date or a firm date to move, reserve your moving van. Don't wait until the day before you need it or the week before you need it. Chances are they won't have a truck left this time of year.

3. Start using up the food you have and buy as little as you can between now and moving day. The week before you move plan exactly what you are going to use for meals until you leave and get the rest like can goods and nonperishables packed up.

4. 1-2 weeks before you move a call on utilities and make arrangements for your mail.

5. 1-2 weeks ahead of time make up your "kits". Have a "kit" or a box for things that you will need the last days you are in your home and the to keep with you the first day you move into your new house. Things like toilet paper, soap, a few towels, cleaning supplies, handful of tools, light bulbs, paper plates, cups and paper towels, first aid kit. Your vacuum if you will have to clean first thing. Sheets so you can make up the beds first thing instead of at the end of a long tiring day. Think through what you think your family will need. I'm afraid I don't have room to list it all here.

6. If you are going to have helpers then plan on what snacks, meals or drinks you will need for them.

These ideas are just the tip of the ice berg but hope they help make what can be a stressful time a little easier. This moving "mom" is now going to collapse on the couch for a few days until we have to move them once again from the storage shed to their new home. Jill :) :) :)

PS If you can afford them Pods or that type of thing are wonderful.

PSPS Tawra moved exactly one year ago this week. No wonder I'm an expert at moving!!!!

Vacations

There are several weeks of summer left and a lot of you are just now thinking about going on vacation or dreaming about it. As the whole world now knows we just got back but as much fun as we had and as nice of trip as it was I was totally wiped out. Those of you with CFS and MF or other illness know how draining a road trip can be.

Well, I had a couple of ideas of for those of you who physically can't or financial are trying to be careful could do that won't wear you out or eat a big hole in your budget.

First I looked up the word vacation in the dictionary. It means: a time of respite from something or a scheduled period during which activity is suspended. After reading this I realized that you don't really need to even leave home to have a vacation but a vacation is mainly having a break from your normal activities.

That got me to thinking what that would mean for me. I would get up when I want (or when the kids woke up) but not rush into normal daily activities. It would me a leisurely breakfast and everyone getting dressed when they wanted. I wouldn't put on make up and dad wouldn't need to shave. Maybe dad could take the kids swimming for awhile and mom could curl up with a good book, do a fun craft or sewing project or nothing at all. Then mom could do something with the kids the next day to give dad a break. Then one day the whole family could do something together like go on a hike or picnic.

It you have some money for vacation but not a lot you could treat yourselves to a movie, bowling, roller skating or something like that. We have even driven to a town just a few miles away from us before and spent 3 days and 2 nights in a hotel that was great fun. The kids played in the pool all day and we just relaxed and watched them. The expense was only 2 nights in a motel and very little gas.

I guess what I'm saying is that a vacation doesn't have to be a trip to Disneyland or Sea World or several nights in hotels and an expensive road trip to be fun. It doesn't even need to be fun but could be just a time of relaxation and to refresh yourself and that can be accomplished by staying at home and having a change of pace, what ever that is for you. Jill

We're Back

As most of you know by now we are home. We had such a nice time. All of my family lives in Colorado so we spent the week with them. Half of it was spent camping in the mountains with the whole family. We had more fun. My nieces, sister in law, mom and nephew in laws treated us like royalty. They did all the cooking and setting up the camp and won't let us lift a finger. I can't thank them enough for all the work they did to make it such a great time. I know you are reading this so I am sending you my thanks and love.

Some things I learned on the trip:

A small stream, lots of rocks and branches can entertain kids for hours especially if they are allowed to fall in, get wet and get as dirty as as they want.

God does provide and keeps His promise concerning tithing. When I was helping my oldest grandson pack for the trip we found out he had out grown most of his clothes. We had almost nothing to take on the trip and since it was the day before we left we really didn't have time to go buy anything. We had to make do. When we arrived my nephew and niece's husband asked if we could use any clothes, they had just gone through their closets and had mounds of clothes most in my grandson's size. He has enough to last him summer and winter for a whole year or more.
The Bible says God provides for our needs even before we ask and that is the truth.

Another thing I learned was that if you drive 60 -65 mph instead of 70 -75 mph that you can save about 6-8 gallons of gas driving between Wichita and Denver. :) :) :)

All in all we had a wonderful time. I wish I wasn't so tired from my vacation ( HA! HA!) so I could tell you more but I think Tawra may have some interesting pictures or will be adding her two cents to this later. Thanks again to my special family, Jill

P.S. Friday, Sat, and Sun. they are having a special rebate sale at Ace Hardware. They have a lot of free things like fertilizer spikes, Fuel system cleaner, liquid nails, glass cleaner, stain sticks, rust stop for grills, and many other things that are super buys for 99 cents like Dow bathroom cleaner, Shout, Fantastik, Fix a Flat, insect repellent (normally 3.99), poly rope (normally 6.99) and much more. It might be worth checking out. I usually go on Friday morning because sometimes they can sell out of things.

Check out this article

Here's a great article that just came out on how we save on our grocery bill. A couple of the facts are wrong like most grocery bills should only be going up $50 a month not year and mom had 1 girl and 1 boy not two daughters. Other than that it's great!Tawra

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/21076364.html?page=1&c=y

P.S. We are home and mom or I will blog later.


FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO COULDN'T GET THE ARTICLE. The links should be fixed now. Sorry! Tawra

Colorado Here I Come

I am closing down the blog for a bit and getting ready to meet Tawra and all in Colorado. We will as she said be gone until about June 24th. Will miss chatting with you guys. If you get too lonely or are having blog withdrawals you might check out our archives. We post new comments to those all the time so you might enjoy reading some new tips or just enjoy reading some old favorites.
I hope you are blessed with a great week ahead. Bye for now. Jill :) :) :)

Tips and Ideas

Check out the comments under Good Morning America. There are a couple of good tips left by Robin there and I want your ideas too. Jill

Good Morning America

We have had a few people asking us about Good Morning America. They said for us to call them when we get home from vacation and they will let us know where, when, what and how, it is all going to happen. Trust me the minute Tawra sets the phone down from talking to them she will immediately call me and probably at the same time will be posting the news on the blog. :) :). Thanks for asking. We have come so close to something like this before so we are holding our breathe. We just pray that we will be able to cope with it physically when it happens because some of these things are so exhausting for us but it will all work out the way it is suppose to in the end. Jill

Dogs, dogs, and more dogs

Buster (my granddog) had another itching attack last night. Some of you who have been with the blog probably already know about Buster and his itching problems. Well after an hour of him laying on the bed next to me scratching and chewing then chewing and scratching, I remembered Tawra saying the vet said to give him some Benadryl (sp?). Thank goodness I had some but then the question was how much do you give a small dog? I decided that 1/4 a teaspoon couldn't hurt anybody even a small dog and gave it to him.

Finally it kicked in an I fell asleep (no I didn't take some too). I woke up 2 hours later, got up, went to the bathroom and came back.Halfway backI noticed Buster hadn't followed me into there as usual. There he was spread out on the floor not moving a muscle. I came unglued. I don't do well in emergencies. I just knew I had killed him by o.d.ing him on Benadryl. I started frantically shaking him and calling "Buster, Buster wake up". He wouldn't wake up. I was so scared and then I looked down and here was one eye open looking at me as if to say "Lady what is your problem, it's the middle of the night and you should be sleeping". He then rolled over, stretched and went back to sleep. I on the other hand was now wide awake. Hours later I finally dozed only to be awaken with a good morning lick. I opened one eye looked at him and said "Buster I''m so glad you are alive". :) :)

What a nice way to wake up each morning, turning to someone you love; a spouse, child or even yourself and telling them "I'm so glad you are alive". We all make the mistake of taking the small but important things for granted sometimes don't we?

Tip:
Here is something special you can make for that very special dog in your life. Take 3 old socks, tie or sew the ends together and then braid them for a dog chew toy. It's especially good to have a lot of these on hand for those new puppies who are always chewing on everything.

Recipe:

For you dog and non dog lovers alike here is some ideas to spruce up those hot "dogs" and hamburgers that you will be grilling for the 4th.

Have a hot dog and hamburger buffet. Instead of just having the usual ketchup, mustard and onions teach your "dogs" some new tricks with these different toppings:

Mexican dogs: guacamole and tomatoes or jalapeño peppers, salsa, and cheese

Italian dogs: fresh basil, garlic, tomato and mozzarella cheese

Greek dogs: sun dried tomatoes (check our recipe in Dining on a Dime on how to make your own), crumbled feta cheese and chopped black olives.

American dogs: Bar B Q sauce, fried onion rings or corn relish with crumbled bacon.

You can use all these same ideas on hamburgers. Just place bowls of everything out for people to help themselves and to make their own special "dog". Don't forget the usual too like lettuce, tomato, pickle, cheese and onion.

They are really dog gone good! (Now you see what lack of sleep does to my brain :) :) Jill

Robin asked if the pudding on the Mile High Cake should be instant or cook and serve. My mistake for not putting that in, it should be instant. Sorry about that. Jill

Great Words of Wisdom

Ralph Waldo Emerson said "That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not the nature of the thing itself has changed but that our power to do it has increased."

I always thought that this would be a great saying to use in relation to changing some of our bad habits like controlling our spending or cleaning out home but I have now decided I need it to help me with posting on the blog.

I spent all morning writing to you guys and giving you some great recipes but I think I lost it in cyberspace or my server wasn't working. But I will persist in doing this until it becomes easier like Mr. Emerson says. I sure do hope he knows what he is talking about. He never had to deal with computers and the internet! HA! HA!
Will try again tomorrow. But if any of you have wise words of wisdom for the day feel free to jump in with them. :) :) :) Jill

Keep your Eyes and Ears Open

I saved money on an unusual thing yesterday, whistles. We are going camping and with 7 kids we have got to have a few safety precautions. One of them is we will give each child a whistle in case they get lost. Tawra looked in the sports section of the store and found some for $3 each. I'm thinking $21 for whistles is way unfrugal but in the dark deep recesses of my grandma's mind I remembered seeing some at the Dollar Tree, 8 for a dollar. A much much better buy.

They were in with the party favors which I scan on a regular basis because with 5 grandkids to buy for, and usually I try to get them all the same thing, party favors are a great way to go, especially at a place like the Dollar Tree.

Two things that I do to find bargains is when I go shopping I turn into someone like the "great white hunter" My mind is on my shopping watching, scanning shelves and observing the whole time in the store. I try not to think about what am I going to have for dinner, what my schedule is for the day etc. but I am looking for bargains the whole time.

I'm writing an article right now about how we really need to keep learning all the time. We usually think that means reading a book or taking a class but there so many other ways out there of learning than that. Observing what you can buy and where you can buy it is one of those ways. It's exercising your memory and powers of observation. It may seem like a silly little thing but these things really do add up. Because I did this I saved us almost $25 and that is nothing to "whistle" at! HA! HA! Sorry I know that was bad but couldn't resist.

Anyway really keep your eyes open and look around you as you shop. As with any other job that you do pay attention. For those of you with CFS or FM and other types of illnesses I know that just keeping your eyes open will be a challenge let alone to look around and put your brain in gear but do the best you can.

Another thing when looking for a bargain is to look in unusual places for things. For example I can find some of the neatest things at an automotive store. I saw on TV a really nice pad to put on the dash board of your car to hold your cell phone and other things in place. It was $15 plus shipping and handling on top of that. I thought I would just see if they maybe had something like that at an automotive place, sure enough there it was for $4. Not many other people probably bought their mom's mother's day present at a car place.

These were just a couple of things to maybe help some of you think out of the box. Below are some more July 4th recipes to try. Since Tawra is in the mountains I thought the dessert was appropriate. Have a great day! :) :) Jill

Mile High Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 sm. can mandarin oranges with juice
4 eggs

Frosting:

1 large container of whipped topping
1 (3 oz) pkg. vanilla pudding
1 lg. can(about 15 oz) crushed pineapple with juice

Beat all cake ingredients together until oranges are broken into small pieces. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30. You can bake this in 3 round 8 in. pans, a 9x13 pan or even cupcakes. You will have to adjust the temperature just check the directions on the cake mix box.

Frosting: Combine everything but the whipped topping, stirring briskly then fold in whipped topping.


Roni Salad

2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
1 large tomato, chopped
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 stalk celery chopped
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
2 green onions, sliced

Dressing:
3/4 cup mayo
1 cup plain yogurt
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. mustard

Cook macaroni and drain, rinsing in cold water. Combine everything in large bowl.
In a separate bowl combine dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Refrigerate until you serve it.

HINT: when something like this calls for thawed peas. Put the peas in the same colander that you are going to drain the macaroni in. Then as you drain the macaroni it instantly thaws the peas.

"Cool" Ways to save Money or other wise called Organizing Your Fridge

Tawra just called the bad news is she isn't going to be on Good Morning America tomorrow. The good news is they aren't doing it because they want to do an even bigger spread on her than the one they had planned so will wait until she gets back from vacation so they can spend more time on it. YES! YES YES! Doing the dance of joy! :):):) We'll keep you guys informed on when, where and what as soon as we know more.

As exciting as that all is life must go on and I still have to run out to Tawra's to water her garden this morning. She had a good idea for helping with the watering to save on water or help those who have to water for you. Take a gallon plastic milk carton, cut the bottom off, turn it upside down and ram the pour spout into the ground. Then when I go over there to water I just fill the jug up and leave it. I don't have to stand there wonder have I watered it enough or did I waste a bunch of water watering it too much. I love it when my children make my life easier.

I have been working on a new e course about saving money on groceries (that's real original huh? HA! HA!) some of the things I talk about may seem unimportant but it really is all those smaller things added together and building up that make a difference. All the savings also doesn't always happen at the grocery store. As a matter of fact I save more on the things that I do before and after the store than at the store it's self sometimes so please don't take these simple things lightly. Anyway I thought everyone might enjoy reading the section I was working on yesterday. Plus I will be leaving in a few days for my vacation and won't be back until close to the 4th so thought I would give you some new recipes over the next couple of days to use for then even though it is a little early.

Organize your fridge.

There is a difference between cleaning and organizing. When you clean you get rid of the "nasties" and wipe down the shelves. When you organize you place things in a certain order.

For example I always keep my milk in the same spot in the fridge, my cheese and lunch meats in their own spots. The eggs go on one side and the fruits in the fruit bin and veggies in the veggie bin. If I have room I try to keep all the leftovers on the same shelf or in the same area.

Why is any of this important? Because we can save huge amounts on the food that is wasted. It's wasted because we didn't know we had it so it spoiled or we didn't know we had it so we bought more of it and then it spoiled.

By having things organized I can at a glance see if I need milk or cheese. If some one comes home for a quick lunch and I'm not there, they can look on the leftover shelf and know they can use any of those leftovers for lunch instead of having to paw through the fridge to find something to eat. It also helps me to know ifI need to have an extra "leftover" dinner that week because leftovers are piling up.

Of course all of these same principles apply to your freezer plus label, label and label.

This all looks good on paper but what do you do when you have 4 kids and a husband pawing through the fridge all the time. Once a fridge is cleaned most families try to keep it that way. What happens is that when something gets moved out of place it is usually so obvious and most people automatically put it back where it belongs. But if that doesn't happen then have a small bank by the fridge and start fining everyone if something isn't put back. Trust me if money is involved people change their habits quickly and will learn fast. You could also instead of fines have the person do a chore or something extra for mom as a "fine".

Things will get messy no matter how careful you are but that is why you need to straighten it each week before you go get groceries. I also automatically straighten it through out the week when I get in the fridge. It takes maybe 5 seconds to do this.

Think on the positive side. Is there a "cooler" way to spend you summer!! HA! HA!

To hot to bake? Drag out the good old rice krispy treats for the fourth but try adding a new twist. Add red or blue food coloring to the melted marshmallows and then using a large star cookie cutter cut them into stars to pile high on a plate.

Don't forget to get out some of those red paper plates you bought on sale at Christmas or Valentines to use on the fourth to serve them on.

Another twist to the rice krispy favorites is to add 1/3 cup peanut butter to the melted marshmallows plus substitute frosted flakes for the rice krispies at the same time. You now have Tony the Tiger Treats.

Really the sky is the limit. You can pretty much melt the margarine and mellows and throw anything in; use up odds and ends of left over cereals, nuts, candies, sprinkles etc.

If you have a special way of doing yours let me know.

Basic Rice Krispy Treats

1/4 cup margarine

4 1/2 cups (10 1/2 oz pkg.) marshmallows

6 cups rice krispies

Melt margarine and mellows in large pan. Add cereal and pour into a well greased 9x13 pan.

You can microwave. Put margarine and mellows in glass bowl and zap for 45 secs. on hi until mellows melt. Add cereal and pour in greased pan.

Have a Great day everyone. Jill

it's all in the timing

I just got your comment Robin about how sometimes when we are heading in the direction that God wants us to take we get a detour thrown in, well you guys are never going to believe this and even after years of having this happen I still get excited about it and am in awe of the timing of some things.

After having a detour with my very upset lady Tawra called from Estes Park. She said Good Morning America call and are wanting her on the show on Wed. It isn't a done thing yet so we are holding our breathe and I wasn't going to say anything but then when Robin wrote her comment I had to tell you all so I can share the good and the bad with you.

Poor Tawra though she had a scissor happy hairdresser do her hair before she left and she "can't do a thing with it". I think it looks fine but you all know how it is. Plus she took her "camping clothes wardrobe" on vacation so it maybe a challenge to find something to wear but it all will work out.

They are seeing if they can find a crew to send up to her this afternoon or tomorrow. I will know more tomorrow if she really is going to be on or what and will let you know.

We can always tell when we are doing what God wants because things do get stirred up. Last night when Tawra and them finally arrived at her grandparents at about 7. They stayed for a couple of a couple of hours and headed for Estes which is about 1 to 1 1/2 hour drive, they hadn't been on the road long and the car broke down, got that taken care of and stopped for gas and Mike had dropped his wallet at the grandparents and didn't know it so Tawra went to get her purse and she had left it at the grandparents. What are the chances of both of them leaving their wallets? It was one thing after another combine with what I was dealing with we should have known something was going on. :) :)

Well thanks again for all of your wonderful support. Tomorrow I will try to let you know if she is going to be on and get back to giving you some more tips and ideas. Love to you all Jill

I had an interesting revelation last night. I wish I could say that my revelations come in the form of God's loving voice booming wisdom at me and angels coming to help me do what He tells me to do but usually they come in the form of God hitting me over the head with a sledge hammer (that is often what it takes to get my attention) and then speaking to me in a still small voice.

I am very new at blogging so I'm not sure of all the ins and outs of it and last night I really got blind sided by a comment. I know my daughter gets these once in awhile (thank goodness most of our readers are so very nice and encouraging and I will never in a million years be able to thank you all for that) but this comment was the first that I received.

This woman really let me have it and her words were so mean and vicious that I didn't feel right in posting it no more than I would post someone who would us a stream of foul language. I felt so yucky after reading it. Like someone had thrown mud on me and I couldn't get it off. Now I fully understand what they are talking about when they call it mud slinging.

I wasn't sure what to do or even how to react emotionally. At first I was shocked that someone would accuse me of things that she had no way of knowing about in my life whether they were true or not. Then I thought did I write the Mom I'm Bored post in such away that I could come across in such a wrong way? (Thank you Robin for your post this morning. I needed that so bad because you totally understood and got what I was trying to say. ) I went the whole 9 yards then from confusion to discouragement ( I was only trying to help and this is what happens so why do I keep trying?). You guys know what I mean. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels these things.

Well any way I ran up stairs. I started to pray but I couldn't even think of how to pray so I just asked God to help me deal with this. I put on some music and picked up my Bible and started to read to see if I could find in there why this happened and how I was suppose to react. Most of me wanted to defend myself and let that woman have it but if I knew nothing else I did know that that was exactly what I wasn't suppose to do in this case.

Well I read on and on and on. Nothing not one thing. The only think that kept popping up was verse on pride and a haughty spirit. I finally said "God I really don't think I am being proud in this case. I will deal with it if you think I am but what I am mostly feeling is just very hurt that someone I tried to help would turn on me and misunderstand me so "God said very quietly and gently "Now you know how I feel". There went the sledge hammer. Those words broke my heart. How often do we misunderstand or think we know what is best or simply refuse to listen to His words of advice (the Bible) and hurt Him?

I finally understood and was able to go to bed you see I wasn't going to bed until I had it resolved. When the Bible says not to let the sun set on your anger it doesn't just mean if you are angry at your spouse only but others too so I had to stay up until this was taken care of. What I didn't understand though why did I have to wait and wrestle with this for a couple of hours to get an answer? This morning I understood even that. Sometimes God wants us to exercise and test our spiritual muscles . He was seeing if I would persevere . If I would stick it out and try to find the answer or would I keep reading and praying and waiting even if I kept hitting a brick wall. We need that practice sometimes in the little things so we will have the strength when the big things come.

I hope you all aren't disappointed because I didn't give you any money saving tips this morning but I just felt like sharing this with you. As I said earlier in the main we have such kind and wise readers. I have been wanting to let you know how often your words encourage us. We have people like "D" who I know God has given her the gift of encouraging because she is always there making some kind of sweet comment and then there are ones like Robin and her comment coming with perfect timing and many others who are anonymous or I just don't know your names yet who always have a special word kind word. Thank you so much. Jill

Mom, I'm Bored

I once heard it said about kids in the summer that "it can be the best of times and it can be the worst of times". Boy did they hit the nail on the head. Summer can be either be one long nightmare with you dragging through each day hoping and praying that your children won't kill each other or you won't kill them or it could be a refreshing time of rest and fun until the grind of school starts.

Now I pride myself that I live in the real world. I was never the kind of mom who would sit all day during the summer playing games and doing crafts with her kids. After the first week of having my kids home 24/7 and not even being able to use the bathroom by myself, I too was ready for the funny farm. I have come to the conclusion that there are only a handful of people (they're called "saints") who really fit into the category of the "perfect" mom during the summer and I wasn't one of them.

But after years of practice and being a little (okay a lot) older and wiser I have found a few things that can help you to maybe not only survive but in some cases to start enjoying summer and looking forward to it (okay I know that's pushing it).

Part of what happens when school is out is that the order and routine is gone so reestablish a routine. It will be different than the one you had when everyone was in school but it will give the day some foundation to work from.

Have everyone assigned daily chores and get them done first thing so if something fun crops up later you will be free to do it.

Try to keep meals at regular times.

Do some structured things with the kids. For example since her kids get almost no penmanship in school my daughter has her 3 sit each day for about 15 minutes practicing writing. You can also have a certain time of the day when the family sits down and quietly reads for their quiet time and a time to cool off.

Take naps. There is nothing wrong with everyone (mom included) to take a nap or lay and rest for 30 minutes each day. This goes for older kids and especially if the kids seem to be fussy and whining.

Don't forget that that it is summer and "the living is easy" so even if you have a routine make it relaxed and flexible.

Let the kids sleep in. Now I don't mean until noon or sleeping the day away but just an hour or so later than normal. Teens sometimes tend to need to sleep later for some reason and that's okay up to a point.

Look upon summer as a great time to teach your kids all those life skills they will need to know. Set aside a part of each day to teach them things like how to do basic sewing, home repairs, work in the garden.

Have them spend a part of their week helping those in need like mowing an elderly neighbors yard, if they are older they could do candy striping etc.

Have them start a new hobby for the summer like scrap booking, collecting bugs and butterflies, rock collecting etc.

As many afternoons as you can plan something fun. Go swimming, play in the sprinkler, go on a picnic, go to the park etc.

Except the fact that you just won't have as much "me" time and will have to have more "mom" time and stop fighting it and being resentful. We waste a lot of precious energy when we are fighting against anger, frustration and resentment. Summer happens. Be like the Jamaicans for 3 months and "don't worry be, happy" or at least try to relax.

I once again didn't have as much room as what I would have liked to write everything but for those of you who got my new e book on kids check it out because I have a ton more of ideas in there for you. I hope some of these ideas will give you a start though. Jill

Cool Cooking

My house is no longer vibrating. Once again I have sent the "kids" to grandma's in Colorado. I usually spend the first day just enjoying the novelty of a peaceful house. Oh I know they don't live with me any more but with the phone calls and them popping in it keeps me busy. Of course I wouldn't have it any other way but like any mom (even if my darlings are in their 30's) it's nice to have a break. I won't be too lonely though because David (my son) lives within walking distant so I still have a few kids and grandkids around.

I'm in the cool basement with the grand dog trying to get some work done and a break from the heat. I got to thinking about all the questions we get this time of year from our readers on how to "cook cool". I have spent most of my summers in 100 degree weather with no a/c so I had to learn quick on how to "cook cool". I don't have room to tell you everything I have learned today but I can give you a few hints.

Some of these things may seem like no brainers but if you're like me I need to be reminded of the basics sometimes. First in the cool of the morning I clean a large supply of carrot sticks and celery sticks and keep them in water in the fridge. I then boil up a dozen or so eggs to store. I make sure I always have lettuce and grated cheese (I buy my cheese already grated because the grated cost just the same as block cheese. I believe in doing a lot of things from scratch but not in killing myself over grating cheese. Besides I don't care how careful I am I almost always grate a knuckle so I have to really psychic myself up to do it.)

Anyway if you have a few things like this plus some lunch meat you can fix some fast and easy meals on a very hot tiring day. I usually would have chef salads at least twice a week in the summer. Just chop up some of your cleaned carrot and celery sticks, slice your hard boiled eggs, sliver some of you lunch meat and you have a chef salad. You can add any other veggies you want too. The point is if everything is cleaned it makes cooking in a hot kitchen so much easier and faster. Don't forget the cheese.

You can use those same eggs to make up egg salad sandwiches or add them to tuna, serve on lettuce for a tuna salad. You can use the cleaned celery to add to the tuna salad too.

Keep it simple. Some of the best summer meals I would have was when I went to my grandma's in Iowa. She would slice up some tomatoes. Put sliced cucumbers in salt and vinegar water and set out some cottage cheese. For an extra hearty meal she would add some soft bread with butter and apple butter. It was delicious.

Tawra was born in July and after many long hard hours of labor they brought me for my first meal, a fruit platter with all kinds of fresh fruit and crackers and cheese. If you ask me what one of the top 5 meals of my life was it would be one of them. Simple, cool and refreshing. You can do the same for your family.

There are some families that have very hearty eaters with teenage boys etc. and you have to actually cook. If you do than bring out the crock pot. There really isn't as much mystery to using a crock pot as you think. You can cook almost anything in them. A couple of things to remember though is that the low setting is equal to 250 degrees in the oven and the high is 350 degrees. That may help with how to and how long to cook your "regular" recipes in a crock pot. It also helps to layer things in order of how long it takes them to cook plus things that take almost no cooking time should be added last. I sometimes add things like sour cream and cheese the very last few minutes of cooking too.

If you do need to heat up the oven, I would usually cook things at 250 degrees. It took longer but didn't seem to heat up the kitchen as much. It is a little late this year but next year you might think about stocking your freezer in May to help tie you through the first couple of months of summer. You could do things like cook some roasts to have for bar b que beef sandwiches or just a good old fashion roast beef sandwich with mayo and lettuce. You could have a couple of chickens cooked and deboned to use for chicken salad, sprinkled on salads or sandwiches. All you need to do is grab it out of the freezer, thaw and you are ready to go.

You could also stock up on a few things like muffins and banana bread that keep well in the freezer.

Well like I said I couldn't cover as much as I would like but hope this helps give you some ideas for the coming hot days. Have a super great day everyone. Jill

Going on vacation

We are leaving tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. for Colorado and will be gone until the 24th.

I just loaded the blog with some reading material for while I'm gone.

We are going to try and make this a vacation so we aren't going to be shipping any orders or answering email until we get back.

Mom is coming out in 10 days so she may pop in here now and then while I'm gone. (probably jumping for joy to have some peace for a week! LOL)

That's it for now. I better go start cleaning so I don't come home with to a dirty house. :-)

Tawra

Drink Savings

Hi Tawra and Jill,
I appreciate your site and your INsight so
much... i wonder if you know just how much good
you're doing by sharing your ideas with everyone?
I read your tip on making your own tea instead
of buying the expensive ready-made stuff, and
wanted to share two things i do to save.
The first one is for something to drink while
i work out. I go to the gym four days a week, and
buying bottled water like i see so many others do
is a waste, to my mind. I have a re-usable bottle
into which i put good ol' cold tap water (we do
have very good water where i live, so i'm lucky
that way). I don't want it just plain, tho, so i
put in a few drops of lemon juice. I use
ReaLemon, and a bottle of that lasts a LONG time.
Since i only want to flavor the water a little, i
don't have to use any sugar.
I also see many people drinking the flavored
waters...berry, lemonade, etc. Those are also
frighteningly expensive when bought ready-made,
so here's the second thing i'll do. You can get
those little packets of powder to put in a single-
serving bottle if you don't want to get the ready-
to-drink, but those are pricey, too. So i bought
one box of the little packets (Crystal Light
lemonade flavor), opened one and measured the
amount of powder in it; it was 1/4 teaspoon. I'll
keep the other packets to take on car trips for
convenience's sake, but for everyday i bought a
large container of Crystal Light lemonade mix. I
put a smidge less than a 1/4th teaspoon in my
bottle of water (i don't like it strong)and i'm
good to go. And i do it on the cheap! I haven't
yet done the math to see how much the savings
are... i should do that, 'cause i know it's
tremendous.
Thanks for all your good ideas!
Grandma Kitty

recycled bread tip

From: Moon
I freeze the ends of bread and use them to make my
own bread crumbs-just tear up and toss in the
blender or food processor.

OR
Use them to make your own stuffing!

* 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
* 1/2 cup chopped celery
* 1/3 cup butter
* 4 cups bread cubes
* 1 teaspoon pepper
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
* 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
* turkey or chicken broth

PREPARATION:
Sauté onion and celery in the butter until
softened. Combine onion mixture with bread,
pepper, eggs, salt, sage and poultry seasoning in
a large mixing bowl. Stir in broth until well
moistened. Enough for an 8 to 10-pound turkey. Or,
bake in a greased covered shallow casserole at
325° for about 35 to 45 minutes. Take the cover
off the last 5 minutes to brown.

Save on Drinks

Just another suggestion on your ways to minimize mess. We have a rule that the only drinks between meals are water. That means when things spill it is only water. We also have those rubber maid juice boxes that are refillable. I bought them years ago when my 8 year old was a toddler and they are still going strong so a worthwhile investment! They are the only drinks allowed in other parts of the house. This means that the drinks have a lid on and if things tip over in the living room there is no mess. They are also ideal in the school room so we don’t have anymore wet books or ruined assignments.

Deborah

Wedding Savings

From: Christy

I found the frugal wedding tips to bring back
memories of my wedding almost nine years ago.
Although we spent next to nothing, many guests
told us it was the best wedding they had
attended. It was certainly unconventional
though. We were married at my husband's family's
farm in the woods in a dry creek bed. I walked
down the creek with my parents by my side. My
three best friends stood close by and my young
stepson stood with us.

My sister in law sang. I
told my friends to wear whatever they wanted. I
did spend about $60 on my dress which is a great
expense for me but I figured it was a special
ocassion! My dress was a simple white lacy one.
I never was interested in the puffy wedding
gowns. I didn't send out invitations, but a
friend volunteered to call people for me. I
didn't want a wedding cake, but my mother in law
got one for us anyway. I don't know what she
paid for it. My mom brought fruits, veggies, and
other finger foods. She also got those
monogrammed napkins.

I didn't want any but I
guess she did! I don't think she paid very much
for the food as there wasn't any meats. Those
were gifts from our parents though to help feed
our guests. Friends brought instruments and
played afterwards. We gave our pastor $50 and my
mom gave him $50. We spent the next week at the
old farmhouse, then spent a few days camping
elsewhere. We only ate out maybe once on our
honeymoon at a mexican place. My husband did buy
a new shirt and pants for the wedding, but spent
much less than I did on my dress. My sister in
law suprised me and my friends with flowers for
our hair and someone gave me flowers for a
boquet. It helped that I was just not interested
in many of the things people do for weddings. It
could have been just us and our pastor and that
would have been fine with me. I can't believe
how much $ some folks pay for a one day event.
It seems many people put far more thought into
their wedding than their marriage. I'm a massage
therapist and I traded some massages for
photography services, and a family member
videotaped everything. I would have been happy
with snapshots from family, but the photographer
offered to barter and the pictures turned out
nice. I would advise people to think about what
is really important to them. You don't have to
do things just because "everyone else does it
that way." Our wedding was totally different
from the typical one, but people loved it. Not
that I was doing it for anyone else, but people
love to see two people in love getting married.
Do only what you want, not what you think is
expected. Your guests care about you, not your
fancy invitations, flowers, decorations, and
table favors. Focus on your marriage, keep the
wedding simple and genuine and I bet you can find
loads of extra expenses to eliminate. Take the $
you save and spend it on something that actually
lasts. Put it towards a house or in an emergency
fund or pay off debt. Start your marriage smart
and thrifty from the start!

Newsletter 6-5

Today's Tips

You can use a Thermos for other things besides just carrying ice and cool drinks.

When going on a road trip or a picnic, put hot dogs in a thermos and cover with boiling water. By the time you are ready for them, they will be perfectly cooked.

You can also use your thermos for Sloppy Joes or today's different and even yummier version of Sloppy Joes, Maidrites. (See recipe below).


Going out to eat can be part of the fun of going on vacation but it can also get very expensive so to save a little money, let the family sleep in and then get a large breakfast later in the morning. Most everyone will still be full by lunchtime, so a snack will usually hold them over until dinner. This saves the expense of one full meal out.


Going to an amusement park or sightseeing on an empty stomach is as bad as dragging the whole family to the grocery store on an empty stomach. Everything in sight looks sooooo good. Feed everyone well before you leave for your busy day so that all those tempting treats won't be quite as tempting... Well except maybe for the fudge and the cotton candy and the funnel cakes and...HA! HA!


Mike's two cents-- Another good way to save is for mom and dad to wait for the yummy treats until everyone else is on the rides. They don't need to know, do they? ;-)

Today's Menu

Maidrites*
Potato Salad
Fresh Veggies of any sort
Baked Beans
Watermelon



This recipe makes a huge batch (serves 30). You can easily half it if you want but you may decide to prepare the whole batch because it freezes exceptionally well. It's great to keep small portions in the freezer for unexpected company, an impromptu picnic or for those days when you are just too tired or hot to cook.

Serve it like Sloppy Joes on a bun with pickle and mustard but in a pinch it tastes just as good served between 2 slices of bread.


*Maidrites

6 lbs. hamburger- not cooked
8 slices of bread or
1 pkg. dinner rolls crumbled up (I like it best with the
rolls but don't always have them on hand)
3 cups milk
1 1/2 cups tomato juice
4 eggs
Onion powder (to taste) or 1 cup chopped onions
Salt to taste

Mix ingredients together and pour into three 9x13 pans. Bake at 300° for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, until done. Stir frequently.

I haven't done this in the crockpot so if someone tries it let me know! TJ

For anyone who lives in Kansas and has ever eaten a NuWay, that is what these taste like.

Newsletter 5-29

Easy bake ovens are an inexpensive way to entertain the kids during the summer. Here's a great recipe from "Kids Recipes" to get you started!


Cake Mix for Easy Bake Ovens

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup shortening

Combine all dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Store covered for 12 weeks.

To use: Combine 1/4 cup mix with 4 teaspoons water. Bake in easy bake ovens only.



Today's Tips:

Get out some of those leftover chocolate Easter bunnies and melt them. Dip chunks of bananas in the chocolate. Roll in nuts, coconut, or sprinkles and lay on a tray and freeze. Store them in a plastic bag or container to have quick cool snacks instantly when you hear those words once again: "I'm hungry. What can I eat?"

When making homemade ice cream or homemade fudgesicles:

For fudgesicles, add 1/2 envelope of powdered whipped topping (like Dream Whip) to your mix before freezing.

For 6 quarts of ice cream, add 1 envelope of powdered whipped topping to your mix before freezing. This gives everything a creamier taste.


Today's Menu

Peachy Pork Chops*
Boiled Red Potatoes
"Cool" Veggie Salad*
Bread w/ butter and jam
Butterscotch Pudding Parfaits
(layers of butterscotch pudding and whipped topping)



*Peachy Pork Chops

4 pork chops
1 10 oz jar peach jam
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1 Tbsp. mustard
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Dash of Tabasco sauce

Brown meat and cook until done. Mix and heat rest of ingredients and serve over meat.



*"Cool" Veggie Salad

1 head cauliflower, cut into pieces
1 bunch broccoli, cut into pieces
10 oz. frozen peas
1/4 to 1/2 cup onion

Dressing

1 cup sour cream
1 cup salad dressing (like Miracle whip)
1 pkg. Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix

Mix dressing ingredients. Pour dressing over veggies and chill overnight. Will keep well in the fridge for several days.

Kids and Toys

Hi and thanks for the wonderful newsletter!

I loved this subject (decluttering) and thought I would send you two more tips that have worked for us to add to your books :

TOY JAIL : When the kids were younger, we had a wire basket and we labeled it toy jail. Anything left on the floor at bedtime would go into the basket and the kids would have to do a chore (within one week) to get it back out. I was suprised at the end of the day to find toys on the floor and when I asked the kids why they were there they would say "I don't really need that anymore". It was a good way to weed out those toys that the kids didn't think were worth picking up or doing a chore to reaquire.

GIVE AWAY BAG : We take toys that the kids no longer play with but still hang on to (for whatever reasons) and put them in the car. The kids play with them, put them in the give away bag, and then, at the car wash, the grocery store, the library or whereever we are, we have fun leaving the toy for another child to find. One time we left one by the vacuum cleaner at the car wash, and before we were done washing our car, a mother pulled up with her very crabby son behind us. When they found the toy, the child was instantly happy, stopped fussing, and had a great time playing with it while his mom vacuumed her vehicle. We had a great time knowing that we had left behind a toy we didn't need anymore that made another child so happy (and it gave the mom some peace while she worked! Priceless!)

GIFT CARDS : Once we have decluttered, it can be difficult to stay that way. One thing we have done that has worked well in cutting down on the amount of stuff kids accumulate is to ask relatives to give gifts that don't take up any space, if possible. For example, gift cards, zoo memberships, pedicures (for my niece), and other things that take time not space!

Hope these help and thanks again for the newsletter! Keep up the good work!

rachael

So funny!

My brother sent this and just had to post it. Have a great laugh! Tawra

A little old lady answered a knock on the door one day, only to be confronted by a well-dressed young Man carrying a vacuum cleaner. 'Good morning,' said the young man. 'If I could take a couple of minutes Of your time, I would like to demonstrate the very latest in high-powered vacuum cleaners.' 'Go away!' Said the old lady. 'I'm broke and haven't got any money!' and she proceeded to close the door.

Quick as a flash, the young man wedged his foot in the door and pushed it wide open.. 'Don't be too hasty!' He said. 'Not until you have at least seen my demonstration.' And with that, he emptied a bucket of horse Manure onto her hallway carpet. 'If this vacuum cleaner does not remove all traces of this horse manure From your carpet, Mada m, I will personally eat the remainder.' The old lady stepped back and said, 'Well Let me get you a fork, 'cause they cut off my electricity this morning.'

Where have you been?

I was asked that the other day so I thought I would update.

The kids are out of school so I haven't had much time to blog lately. We were also were working hard getting our kids e-books done and up for sale before we leave on vacation on Friday.

We are going to Colorado for 2 1/2 weeks. We are going to be staying with family so it's not going too cost much. I spent all day today trying to get the car repaired which ended up costing $500. I'm not sure but I'm pretty certain that will be more than we spend entire our vacation! Augh!

Mike has also been working 12 hour days at 3 jobs so he can make up for the income we won't be getting while we are gone too. That means I haven't had much time on here because I'm watching the kids. It hasn't been bad, I'm just cutting way back on the book and website stuff for now.

We are going to be going camping for 3 nights while we are in Colorado so that will be interesting. This is the first time we've gone camping with kids. David is finally old enough that I feel comfortable taking him. He will be 5 on the 11th so he knows how to stay away from the fire and follows directions now. We have a fire pit in the backyard so we have been practicing with him staying away.

We are going to SE Colorado to Springfield to see my dad's family for 2 days, then head to Estes Park to see Mike's for a week and then Lafayette for 3 days to see my grandparents and camping with my grandparents and cousins (Hi Tonya!) for a 4 days. It's going to be long trip so I hope we can get some rest out of it. :-)

I've never understood the family vacation thing. How in the world do parents get any rest? I have never seen the thrill in it myself which is why we always just go to Colorado. (and the fact that we have never have several thousand dollars to go on a "real" vacation :-) I guess I'm just not a family vacation kind of a gal. hehehe

We've had a lot more going on but it's late so I better get to bed. I will try and blog more later.

Tawra

Kids birthday gifts

I had two birthday parties for grandkids yesterday. May and June are big birthday months in our family and then if you throw in Mother's Day and Father's Day it really can get to be a lot of gift buying and giving. So many of you ask about gifts especially and how to keep the cost down so I thought I would share with you one example of what I did for gifts yesterday.

Here are the things that I got for my 5 year old grandson. A frog/marble garden ornament, $1.00 (I got it for 50% off at jo ann fabrics), a rubber frog for 10 cents (from a garage sale), a plastic train set for 45 cents ( you put this plastic track together like a puzzle), aLightening Mcqueen coloring tray 50 cents (they usually go for at least $10.00), a Lightening Mcqueen fly wheel car $1.00, Crayola brand colored pencils 50 cents (got at a thrift store and they were brand new), monster marbles 50 cents at a garage sale, coloring pads 70 cents (on clearance at dollar general), a drawing pad, free (someone was giving them away, I glued pictures of frogs on the front cover and wrapped it with the colored pencils), 2 pin ball and magnet games $1.00.

I also had a gallon jug of bubbles that I paid 25 cents for on clearance at $ general last summer and a neat bubble kit for 10 cents on clearance too. I decided I would have to save those for another special occasion because I already had so much to give him and his mom would kill me if I do present over load.

For about $5.75 I had a huge mound of gifts for him. In case you couldn't tell he loves frogs and marbles so with each thing he opened he thought he had died and gone to heaven because it was exactly what he wanted and loved. Even his older siblings and cousins were having fun with the the things. There were others at the party who always spends quite a bit on gifts but I felt mine were equal to anything there. If I had paid full price for everything it would have been close to $30 or more but because I carefully watch for things here and there all year it cost me almost nothing.

The most fun were the things I found in unusual places like the marble frog garden ornament from jo ann fabrics. Most people wouldn't think to look in that area for a 5 year old a present but he loves frogs and this also had a large marble in it that rolled up and down in a strange way. All the kids were crazy over it and yet it was only $1.00. They kids didn't get excited over the expensive gifts they got excited over the unusual ones and the ones that was geared to their interest.

Don't we enjoy a gift more when we receive a gift that we know the giver had our own special interests in mind and cost is of no importance? Of course. It makes us feel special to know that they care enough to buy something with us in mind and not just the usual generic gift. The kids feel the same way. Gift giving has nothing to do with cost at all but with something special for that person we love.

I also happen to find some wrapping paper for a dollar with a frog holding a red balloon. Two of his favorite things. I ran out of paper though and only had about a 5x10 in. piece left so I wrapped the last couple of presents in tissue paper, cut out the frogs that were on my scrape of paper and glued them to the package. I even used the cardboard core that the wrapping paper came on in wrapping one of the gifts so you talk about using every little thing. I laugh at the environmentalists who are always talking about recycling, I have never sent anything to be recycled in my life because I never have anything left to recycle! :) :)

Well birthday boy and his mom (Tawra) and siblings just bounced into my house so I guess I had better wrap this up for now. Hope this helps you with one or two birthday ideas. Jill