Another Freebie

Going to the movies is becoming more and more expensive. In order to take my kids to the movies it would entail buying three tickets, four if Jon comes with us. I don't even want to calculate how much it would cost. And I won't buy snacks at the theater, we would bring in our own (shh!) but even without that extra cost it is expensive. So we don't go to the movies very often. In fact the last movie I saw was with Madeline when she was 3 (she is 5 now) and we went to see the Princess and the Frog for her first movie experience. It was a lot of fun and thankfully we had gift cards so it was also free!
But since then we haven't gone. Even Jon and I don't go alone, I figure we get so little time together the last thing I want to do is sit in a dark room where we cannot talk. So we wait for things to come to DVD and rent them from Redbox for $1. It is great!
But sometimes going to the movies is fun. And this summer we can go for free! And you can too if you live near a participating Rave theater. Rave theaters is back with their free summer movies. You can find more information at Rave Motion Pictures.
The movies are not new and they are shown early in the morning. But if you are simply looking for a cool place to sit with your kids and get that movie theater experience this is for you! the movies range between G and PG so make sure you look at it before taking your little ones. I am planning to take Madeline to see Beezus and Ramona if we are not in Maine that week (of course there may be a movie theater up there, who knows!). I figure if she doesn't like it (and she might not since it isn't a cartoon) we can leave and nothing is lost but the drive out there.
If you go which movie will you see?

Fun Free Fridays

I love to expose my kids to new places and new activities. But when we are working with a one income budget we can't visit as many places as I would like to. That is a choice we make (not a sacrifice, a choice) which means I try harder to find deals and coupons when I can. And I love anything that is free and fun. Today I learned about Fun Free Fridays this summer in Massachusetts. Apparently this is a normal thing and I do NOT know how I missed it for the past five years, but I found it this year!

I was at the library today (I have mentioned how much I LOVE libraries) and I saw a flyer that was titled Admission is Free. Of course I had to pick it up. At first I figured it was for smaller attractions in the area, but when it says free it is worth at least a few seconds glance. I am glad I picked up the flyer because I was wrong about it. On this paper there is a list of many, many attractions in Massachussets that are free on Fridays during the summer. There are three or four places listed for each Friday and everyone gets in free. If you live near Massachusetts, or will be visiting here at some point this summer, check out the website. There may be something fun to do when you are here.

My favorites (that we hope to try) are the Boston Children's Museum(tons of fun but not cheap), the Basketball Hall of Fame (I live about five miles from it but haven't been since they opened the new one) and Old Sturbridge Village (I love this place but it isn't wallet friendly). These are jsut a few of the places that are on the list, there are many more to choose from. And there are links so you can learn about the different places. While I expect them to be a tad more crowded that normal on these free days, I think it will be worth it.

Go visit Highland Street Foundation's website to learn more about this.

Snow Days- Friendly Wednesday

If you are visiting from Feeding Four's Friendly Wendesday, welcome!

It is snowing.
Again.
As it is winter in Massachusetts this should not be surprising. What is surprising is the amount of snow we are getting with each storm. In the last three weeks we have accumulated well over four feet of snow. Yesterday we got 7 inches. Last night we got another 4 inches mostly of icy stuff.
All this means that schools are closed and Jon is home from work.
Again.
I am not unhappy that he is home, but seven snow days in three weeks is a lot. June will be a long, hot month of teaching for him this year.

I have been spending time on facebook reading the post of my non stay at home mom friends. I am laughing (kindly) to myself as they ask what to do with their kids. I laugh because entertaining my kids is my life. I like to get out of the house as much as the next person, but they honestly are starting to go nuts trying to keep their kids entertained after just two days. After reading these posts and trying to help I thought to myself, what do we do all day? And this is the list I came up with (for winter, summer weather would change a few things!)
*color
*finger paint
*play with our rice box- I filled a large Rubbermaid container with 12 pounds of rice a few years ago. I store it in the playroom covered when I don't want to clean up after the kids, but it is a GREAT way to keep the occupied.
*play dough
*painting
*baking
*having an indoor picnic with play food- this is something my kids like to do and invite me to
*race cars
*indoor bowling- empty plastic bottles (soda bottles work best) and a soft ball are all that is needed
*reading
*reading
*and more reading- nothing is better on a cold day then to cuddle up with a warm blanket, cuddly kids and some good books
*set up the train tracks and make up adventures for the trains and other characters
*puzzles
*indoor obstacle course
*putting on the snow gear and heading outside
*barbies
*my little ponies
*block towers
*Lego constructions
*bead necklaces
*hide and go seek
*blanket forts
*paper bag puppets
*messy artistic creations using whatever you have lying around!
*turn on the music and have a dance party

If all else fails tell your kids it is time for them to play by themselves. This is not bad, kids need to learn how to entertain themselves and you might be surprised at what they come up with alone. Madeline and Owen can play nicely for a solid thirty minutes in their own little make believe world and I love to watch!

You'll notice none of these things involves expensive items or a lot of planning. I do keep a good store of arts and craft materials around, but other than that I am simply using the toys that my kids have. Sometimes it is simply a matter of me suggesting something to my kids, or taking the toys out of the toybox or closet, to get them started.

What do you do on a cold winter day?

A good day

We spent the morning at a local park swimming and playing in the sand with friends. Jon was able to go since he is still on vacation. Now everyone is napping, well everyone except for me! I am getting ready to try my hand at my own spaghetti sauce made from the 18 tomatoes I picked from my garden. First up is peeling them. I have never peeled a tomato so wish me luck! I love how the simple days are sometimes the best ones!

If you are visiting from Feeding Four's Friendly Wednesday leave me a comment and I will follow you back!

Summer Bucket List- revisited

I cannot believe August is already half over. Ben is now two months old, Madeline starts school in 2 1/2 weeks and Jon starts his job in 2 weeks and goes back to school in 3 weeks and I go back to work in 3 weeks. we have managed to do many of the things on our summer bucket list but there are some things I still want to do. I know that there are some things we just won't get to, but I am hopeful that we will manage to cross a few more things off in the next two weeks. The items in bold are ones we have done.

join and complete the library summer reading program (done)

go strawberry picking (done!)

go blueberry picking (we went three times!)visit the sprinkler park each week (well, not each week but we have gone!)

*visit Lupa Zoo

*go to Maine for a week in August

go to Santa's Village in NH (while in Maine in August)

swim at Chicopee Memorial State Park

*take Madeline to get a pedicure for a mommy and Maddy day

*take Owen to the park for an Owen and mommy day (we went to Luap zoo)

feed the ducks

watch the fourth of july parade

*watch the fourth of july fireworks

make s'mores

*visit the Farmer's Market

*play at the park
take the kids to see Toys Story 3

go to a free movie (they are offering them on Tuesdays and Wednesdays this summer)

*teach Madeline and Owen how to ride their tricycles

make homemade sidewalk chalk

lots of fun arts and crafts (no specific projects planned yet but I will think of some!)

*make homemade ice cream (done!)

visit the town carnival

*get ice cream at Westview Creamery and feed the goats

*walk to Sammy's one evening for yummy soft serve ice cream (we did this just this evening)

have friends over for a fire pit

I am excited about all the things we did do this summer, we had a great time! We still have two weeks left as well.

How has your summer gone?

Money Saving Tuesday- fun times on a shoestring

There are so many things to do with kids these days. Gymnastics, swim lessons, mommy and me yoga, gym classes, dancing, museums, toddler time at roller skating rinks, music for little ones, etc. And all of these things cost money. As much as I would love to try some of them we just don't have the extra money that enables us to do this. But I also don't want to just stay at home all the time either.

So what do you do if you are like me and on a budget?

You find things that are free, cheap or ways to reduce prices on things that cost money.

For instance we have a local children's museum that runs weekly playgroups. I love my kids to participate but I do not have the $7 each week to take them plus a $30 a year membership fee. That is $28 a month and it adds up. To some $28 really isn't much. But to me it is a lot. Plus that is just one activity. I still want to go so what do I do? The museum needs volunteers. so I design and put up the bulletin boards each month. In return I get to take my kids each week for free, all I pay is the $30 a year. My kids have a great time, I like to do the bulletin boards and I save money. It is a win-win-win.



Another local museum has great things for kids but with an entrance fee of $6 per person per visit we wouldn't be able to go even monthly. I looked into it and they have memberships. A yearly membership is $75 for a family of four. Not exactly cheap but when the alternative is $24 each time our family goes it comes out to be a great deal. Even better? My brother wanted to get us a family gift for Christmas. Perfect for his budget and perfect for my family. Now we get to go to the museum whenever we want, and we go often!

The local zoo that we love is small but really nice. It is $6 for an adult and $4 for a kid each time you go in. Or you can pay $65 for a year's membership for a family of five and go as many times as you like. The zoo that the park is located in costs $2 to park each time, or if you live in the city you can buy a permit for the year for $10. So for $75 we have tons of things to do- the zoo and everything else in the park. They have a sprinkler park, duck ponds, several trails in the woods, two playgrounds, fields to run around in and a pool as well. It is right down the street and we go there often.

Then there are free things to do. Most parks with playgrounds are free. Just the cost of gas to get there and we have a change from our backyard and maybe even some new friends to play with. Feeding the ducks is a great way to get rid of stale bread and have (free) fun for a little while. We can take a walk down the street and go on a nature hike through the woods. Or we can go to the library and there are tons of things to do there for free. Storytime is a favorite. And they often have crafts for the kids or special events around different holidays. Owen is hooked on making puzzles everytime we go lately. And Madeline is in love with borrowing puppets (I love this too since it is great way to have a "new" stuffed animal for a short period of time!) Not to mention all the books and dvds you can borrow for free each week.

It isn't always easy to find things to do with kids that are free and are not in your own house. I do love arts and crafts and playing in our backyard. But we all need to get out of the house and see other people sometimes. You just need to look around, use coupons and be a little creative and there are plenty of things to do!

Lent

Lent is next week. I am not the best Catholic in the world, probably not even on my street. You will know that be reading my blog. I am rasing my children in my Catholic faith but it is not often that I talk about it here.

I want to be a better person and I am trying. One way I am trying is by teaching my children about their faith. Easter will be here soon, but I don't want to gloss over Ash Wednesday and Lent.

After reading Martin Family Moments, a post Colleen wrote about Lent inspired me on ways to teach my children about Lent. Owen is very young and won't really know what we are doing, but Madeline is almsot 4 and I think she can really begin to understand. I plan on taking her to church on Ash Wednesday. But I want to start talking to her about it before we go. I still remember one famous questions asked by a kindergartener at my school. When told they would be receiving ashes at mass that day the child becaem concerned and asked "will they be hot?" The teacher very quickly explained that no they would not and aslo what the ashes are made from. I don't want a loud question like that asked by my daughter in church!

Anway, after reading this post I was inspired on a way that I could teach Madeline about growing and becoming a better person. In the past I have been famous for trying to vive soemthing up. Some years I made it (though the year I gave up chocolate I almost lost a few friends) and other years I didn't even come close. But this year rather than give something up for 40 days(which is something that would be difficult for a 4 year old) I am thinking of doing several projects, giving to others, doing nice things for others. 40 is a lot, but I think if I am for one a week and do things each day to build up to the final activity it is doable. Plus it will involve all of us in giving. I plan to include Jon in these plans as well as Owen as much as he is capable.
Some ideas I have are:
*collecting books and donating them to a charity (my MOMS club is involved in this and I am now thinking of involving Madeline in the sorting of her books)
*donating food to the open pantry
*cooking a meal for a friend or family member and delivering it in time for dinner one night as a surprise
*making get well cards for children at shriner's hospital to make them smile

As you can see I have only four ideas and there are six weeks in Lent. I need a couple more ideas, but I think that doing these things will help teach our whole family about caring for those around us, both family, friends and strangers. In addition we will be reading the story of Lent from our bible and working on some craft projects to understand the story and the season. A last idea that I have is a jelly bean jar. I found this idea on several websites. Each time a child is noticed doing something nice for another person they put a jelly bean in the jar. The jelly beans are saved until Easter.

Those are my thoughts so far. I have until next Wednesday to get everything in order and would appreciate any suggetsions!

My computer is back

I never realized just how dependent I am on my computer until this week. On Monday my computer died. It was a quick death with no warnings. In the afternoon it was working fine. When I got home from grocery shopping and went to update quicken with my purchases it would not start. I had never turned it off which was my first hint that something was wrong. But it would not start. I called my dad who took my computer the following day and has had it since. The thing is dead and he is restoring the programs to it but it will not be ready for a few more days. In the meantime we have dragged the old computer from the garage and set it up, but it took a few days to get everything straightened out and find all the components (my dad had takend the mouse and keyboard to the new computer and we needed to find those as well in our storage).

I had withdrawl symptoms from not being able to use my computer. It was wierd and a little scary as well. Even now I don't have everything I need. I was surprised at how much I needed/wanted to use my computer each day. And how stressed I was when realizing that this is a pay weekend which means a bill paying weekend for which I need my computer and my internet connection (quicken and online bill pay).

Anyway, even though I could not work on my blog I had a lot of time to think about it and where I want to go with it. The first thing I need to do is rename it. I just don't love the name. This is something I have been thinking about for awhile but I am really stuck on what to call it. I mean my life is living on 1 and 1/4 incomes, but that just isn't a good name. So one of my challenges is to rename.

The next is to follow the original reason I started this blog- to share how we do live on 1 and 1/4 incomes in a world where many people don't. But something Jon said to me today stuck. He said how proud he is that I stay home and we make it all work on his salary. The fact that he is proud really caught me. And it made me think. I am happy that I am able to stay home with my children. I feel our life is a lot less stressful in many ways becuase we are not rushing to get two adults and two children out the door by 8 am (or earlier) each day. And we do it with no debt which is something I am proud of.

In order to share how we live on our income I am going to devote one day a week to sharing different things that we do or don't do to save money. There are many blogs where people share money in many ways, but my blog is to share my methods so I am introducing my (as yet to be named) ideas each Tuesday. I do't know why I picked Tuesday, but it seems like a quiet day so I am going with it =) Stop by each Tuesday for a different tip/idea/suggestion/story on how we make it work on our budget. I will also share ideas that I have tried that have not worked for me, but work for others.

I am still working with Madeline on preschool and have not been updating that either. I am going to reserve Thursdays for these updates. If you are curious to what we are doing for our preschool work each week stop by and I will share ideas that I come up with as well as the wonderful websites and blogs that I find ideas on.

And lastly I love to do crafts with my kids. So each Friday I am going to share an easy and inexpensive craft that I have done with my two kids. Some of these are things I modify from other activities, some are ideas I find and some I actually do come up with on my own. I want to possibly do a Mr Linky for this day and invite others to share there craft ideas. This is another topic that is covered on other blogs, inlcuding the Crafty Crow who I LOVE, but I also want to share my ideas in my corner of the blogworld.


I know I am not being completely original, but I want to better organize my blogging. So stop by to see my work in progress!

Advent Week 2 update

This has been a crazy busy week. Madeline and Owen look forward to the advent calendar every day, I still think that the candy is the motivator, but they love the activities! I have gotten better about prepping the activities the night before which cuts down on trouble during the activity. Some activities we do in the morning and some in the afternoon (todya's activity will actually be done after dinner.) It all depends on the lenght of time needed and whatever else we have planned for the day.

Our activities for this week:

Day 6- Getting our Christmas Tree

Day 7- hand and foot print reindeer (I traced and cut out the hand and foot prints and the kids glued on the pieces)

Day 8- Gumdrop Christmas tree (idea from chasing cheerios) note to self- there is a large difference between spcie drops and gum drops, namely the sugar coating...

Day 9- gingerbread house (messiest by far) and decorating the Christmas tree

Day 10- cotton ball snowmen (Owen was not in a participating mood this day)

Day 11- paper place Santa (idea from Blue Eyed Blessings)

On top of our advent activities we have been keeping up with our preschool work. This week we did letter S for Santa and Snowmen. This coming week we are working on letter G for Gingerbread Men (I should've saved the gingerbread house for this coming week but that is what I get for not pre planning!) We are doing a lighter load to leave time for advent and Christmas activities but are still spending about 45 minutes to an hour a day on it.

Visit Sugarplum Creations for more advent ideas!

What have we been up to lately?

So I have not been blogging lately. Blame first trimester aches and pains. Blame the exhaustion. Blame the kids. Or I could just say I haven't had much to say. We have been busy with fall activities.


Here is what we have been up to around here:

Pumpkin and apple picking

Trunk or treating

Playing in the leaves

Fun arts and crafts projects

Hopefully I will start feeling a little more normal soon. I have been given another blog award! And I need to pass it on. I will try and get to that in the next few days.

I hope everyone else is enjoying the fall like we are!

Sesame Place

Owen playing on the rocks under the lighthouse at Baltimore Inner Harbor
Hugs at the wading pool at Sesame Place

Meeting Zoe!

And Abby Cadaby too!

We went on vacation to Baltimore and on the way home went to Sesame Place in PA. We all had an awesome time. We took a lot of photos. I hope they help Madeline remember the trip as she gets older. We plan to go back in a few years.

Unplugged Project- Homemade

This project (actually last week's project, I am just late posting) was something homemade. We do a lot of homemade cooking around here and this week we decided to make cookie dough. Big rugrat loves to make chocolate chip cookie dough, especially since her daddy taught her how to lick the beaters at the end (I know a big no-no with raw eggs, but it is something I have done since I was a kid).
So Friday when I ran out of refridgerated (homemade) cookie dough and it was rainy we decided to make some more.
First I got out all the ingredients (before telling big rugrat) to make sure I had everything I needed. I usually do, but every once in a while Jon cooks and forgets to tell me he used this or that up.
Then we started mixing. Big rugrat is a big help when it comes to dumping things into the mixing bowl. She wanted to crack the eggs, but I wasn't feeling that brave this particular day.
Little rugrat decided about halfway through that he was tired of pretending to cook with his bowl and spatula and climbed in the chair to help up. He and big rugrat were hysterical standing their together (I need to get one of those kitchen helpers for kids to stand in like I saw on chasing cheerios) and watching the mixer spin around and around.
Then we added chocolate chips in. Big rugrat and little rugrat both tried a few to make sure they tasted okay before we added them in. I also checked =)
Afterwards big rugrat licked the beater to help clean up. I cooked about 1 1/2 dozen cookies and then refridgerated the rest of the dough in one of my tupperware bowls. During the week I will pull out the dough and make 6 or 8 cookies each day for snacks. I love the smell of baking and this is an easy way to do it. Jon also eats spoonfuls of dough during the week, this is his favorite way to eat cookies. I am guilty of eating a spoonful as well, but I LOVE fresh out of the oven cookies even more.
We had a great time making cookies. It may become a bi-weekly activity. SOOOOOOO much cheaper than buying packages of cookies. And soooooo much more fun!

Summer Find

If you live in Western MA and do not have a Big Y card, you need to get one! I was doing my grocery shopping this weekend and little rugrat was about to lose it. I grabbed a nearbye free flyer and handed it to him to play with and saved my shopping trip. Then when I got home I actually looked at the flyer and WOW! Big Y has all these deals with area attractions. You can get in for discoutns, up to half price, at many of the places we go just for having your Big Y card. You don't ahve to buy things in advance, just show your card when purchasing your tickets and you have your discount. Kind of like AAA discounts, be this card is free. Plus then you also get all the sales taht Big Y has each week.
Some places they have are:
Lupa Zoo in Ludlow MA
The Children's Museum in Easton, MA
Santaland in Vermont
Forest Park Zoo in Springfield MA

And many more!
This has also given me ideas on what to do this summer. We have our zoo pass and our museum pass and we will hit all of the local parks. But Jon is only working part time this summer and I am not working at all so it is nice to have ideas on new things to do as a family. And the bonus is we get in cheaper!

For once I am grateful to little rugrat for getting cranky in the store.