Well, we got the kiddo’s off to camp today. The two oldest left this morning for teen camp so we have the other three home still. They go to the same camp in July.

My step-daughter was funny this morning. She told me that she had a dream that we couldn’t get her to camp and she didn’t go, and she woke up halfway crying because she has been so excited to go.  Totally the opposite of my son who would have rather stayed home, but was kinda made to go. They are both 13 in case you are wondering. And yes, it’s sleepaway.

Oh! Bit of advice - if you are taking your children to drop them off somewhere you’ve never been for them to leave on a bus to go to a camp you’ve never been,  that is a few hours away from your town and you decide to leave the house at 9am because they are supposed to be there at 10am, and it takes about 40 minutes to get to the destination you need to drop them off at because that is what the camp sponsor told you. And you are relying on Yahoo maps to get you there because again, you’ve never been to this church before and it’s supposed to be 40 minutes away. Don’t. Seriously. Do not (I repeat, DO NOT) rely on Yahoo Maps. We wound up 45 minutes East of where we needed to be! In fact, we wound up right where my son went to 5th grade camp several years ago. Yeesh!

We arrived at the church at 11:08am. An hour and 8 minutes after they asked us to be there. All the while of this agonizing 2 hours of horror, I am calling all four phone numbers that they gave me to call, and NOBODY is answering any of them - people why do you have a cell phone if you won’t answer it! I had to stop at this tiny gas station in the smallest po-dunk town, and lemme just tell you - these people were absolutely sweet!!

They enlisted customers, 411 information, and they used what little information I was able to give to them and a very old,  incomplete map hanging on the back wall to piece together enough information to get us there. I left that gas station at 10:52am.

We were literally praising God when we arrived at the church and the bus was still there. So, the two kids are gone and it’s actually pretty quiet around here with only three. But we did take full advantage of the rest of the day and went fishing (caught nothing), had a campfire, ate a dinner that the other two picky eaters won’t eat, and enjoyed root beer floats to round out the whole day.

I’m actually exausted. Now I’m sippin’ a Strawberry Margarita (which I don’t do often) and am about to hit the hay! Catch ya later!

Happy Father’s Day to all you dads!

Well, Mike calls tonight and says, hey I’m getting a couple of baseball tickets for the Cardinals game Saturday afternoon. Uhm. Okay. How many? He tells me just two. Well, I cannot go, someone has to be here for the kids (plus not a huge sports fan…remember?)

So how do you decide between five kids and which one gets to go? We did the only sensible thing. We decided who ‘deserved’ to go. Yeah…sounds great. But it was more complicated than that. First of all, Brie has already been … she went last year because she won tickets from the library (my totally LUCKY kid!) My son hates sports and had absolutely no interest in going, which only left the three other girls. Well, after much debating we came to the conclusion that Jessica, the youngest deserved to go because she had not been to anything ‘alone’ with a parent in a VERY long time.

So, Mike and Jessica are off to the Cardinal game Saturday afternoon. Then we have a party to go to Saturday night. I hate busy weekends. LOL

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Happy Birthday Mom. Aren’t you glad I didn’t forget this year? hehehe I actually called her first thing this morning and wished her a happy birthday. I have a gift but she will get it when we see her Saturday.

Love you mom!! Here’s to MANY more!!

Wow! So my 10 year old daughter seems to be a little guy magnet. Plus, she also seems to be boy crazy herself. What is funny, is that since Kindergarten, there has always been a new little boy that she has liked every single year. Crazy.

What’s even funnier is my daughter actually has a TYPE. Yes, a type of boy she likes.

We pulled out all the yearbooks and looked, and so far the boys that she has had crushes on starting in about 2nd grade (we didn’t go any further back) have been small boys, light blond hair, she prefers them to have a little “extra hair” in that a handful have been longish hair. Light skin. My lord they all look alike. It’s so weird.

I wish I could post pics of these little boys, but I am sure their mommies would totally have a fit, but its so wild how they all look so much alike. Weird, but cute.

So my daughter *hearts* Josh.

That’s her latest crush. So far since last year we’ve been through a Colton, Kyle, and Walter (he’s adorable!!) and now we are at a Josh.

Ah….girls are so much fun.

Forget the price of gas for a moment and focus on the price of food. My friend Erin wrote a fabulous post the other day regarding the rising cost of food and the fact that it is difficult for people on a budget or low income to afford eating healthy or organic.

While I don’t purchase very many organic items, I do purchase healthy foods for my family. One of the girls in her comments said that it cost her $800 to feed a family of six. Another mentioned $600 for a family of six. Wow!
Then what am I doing differently than them?
I have a family of seven and we probably spend about $400 on FOOD/month. (I am not including laundry detergent, toilet paper, and other stuff like that because we buy in bulk from Sams most of the time).

So what is it I do to accomplish that? First of all, we eat out rarely. That was the first expense we eliminated when we reviewed our budget way back when. I also began using coupons when I could. I am not a “coupon clipper” but I am a coupon searcher. The difference? I don’t cut out every coupon, I don’t save up coupons, but I do save coupons for things I buy regularly, I also am sure to look through every single coupon flier or book for any coupons for items I use.

I have played the grocery game. I don’t anymore.

I look through our sales ads each week and look for any good deals to stock up on. We have an extra pantry in the basement as well as an extra freezer. The expense of both was minimal, and has helped us save a fortune on food. We stock up on things like Turkey at thanksgiving (including ground turkey because its usually less than .99/lb around this time), hot dogs and hamburgers at Memorial Day, Labor Day, Fourth of July, etc. We eat a ton of chicken, and I must know every single way to make it. LOL

I could go on and on about all of the things we do to save money, but the biggest one is making mostly everything I can from scratch. I avoid prepackaged foods like the plague. This has saved us hundreds a month, and I am not joking at all. It means a little extra time in the kitchen once in awhile but its not too bad.

I also do a ton of freezer cooking too. And yep - meal planning. Want some more great tips? Read my articles at families.com in the living frugally section. Here are a few to get you started.

Freezer Cooking Articles

Can Meal or Menu Planning Really Save You Money?

How I Saved Money by Meal Planning

Four Great Food Tips to Save Money

Save Money on Breakfast

Frugal Uses for Leftover Turkey this has a few recipes and links to other items like ham, chicken, etc.

Oh my sweet friends, I have obviously been well missed, because I keep getting all these crazy emails from you. Thank you. I didn’t mean to blow off blogging or anything, but life got a little out of control for a few days but it is SO back to normal, and all I can say is God is Good.

For anyone that reads this that knows what my family has been going through, thank you so much for your prayers and support. We are doing great. God works in wondrous ways.

Sorry to be so cryptic to those that don’t know, but it is nothing I feel as if talking about anymore. I do not wish to air my problems on a blog for the world to read, so all I can say, is that remember that God is always there for us in our time of need. My family is doing awesome, we are so happy and life couldn’t be better.

I’ll be around a lot more!!

I thought this was great. My mom sent it to me awhile back and I had saved it to post and just discovered it again today.

PARENT

Job Description

POSITION :

Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma

Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION :

Long term, team players needed, for challenging

permanent work in an

often chaotic environment.

Candidates must possess excellent communication

and organizational skills and be willing to work

variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends

and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.

Some overnight travel required, including trips to

primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities!

Travel expenses not reimbursed.

Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES :

The rest of your life.

Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily,

until someone needs $5.

Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.

Also, must possess the physical stamina of a

pack mule

and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat

in case, this time, the screams from

the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.

Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges,

such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets

and stuck zippers.

Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and

coordinate production of multiple homework projects.

Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings

for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.

Must be willing to be indispensable one minute,

an embarrassment the next.

Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a

half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.

Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.

Must assume final, complete accountability for

the quality of the end product.

Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and

janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION :

None.

Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills,

so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE :

None required unfortunately.

On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION :

Get this! You pay them!

Offering frequent raises and bonuses.

A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because

of the assumption that college will help them

become financially independent.

When you die, you give them whatever is left.

The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that

you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS :

While no health or dental insurance, no pension,

no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and

no stock options are offered;

this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love,

and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

Forward this on to all the PARENTS you know, in appreciation for everything they do on a daily basis,

letting them know they are appreciated

for the fabulous job they do…

or forward with love

to anyone thinking of applying for the job.

** AND A FOOTNOTE ?

THERE IS NO RETIREMENT — EVER!!! **

If you are fortunate enough you will become grandparents!

I mentioned earlier that I had two kids home sick from school today. Ugh!

It was funny though, because the child that looks the worst (pale, circles under her eyes, etc.) is the one with the most energy. Of course, she is the youngest. LOL

I made them some lunch - chicken soup and fruit. She gobbled the whole entire thing up in less than 10 minutes and wanted more.

While the other child (who refused to be photographed - hey she’s 13! LOL) who actually looks alright albeit a bit disheveled from staying in bed all day acts as if she is royally dying. Can we say Drama Queen? She’d kill me if I ever told her that.

Here’s my cutie 8 year old eating her yummy lunch. As soon as lunch was done, she asked if she could go to school tomorrow.

Uh. No. Feel better girls!

Oh it just figures. I have two home sick from school today. YUCK!

Here’s the scoop. It was their weekend at mom’s house and everyone left healthy and happy and doing great. When they arrived home last night (an hour and 20 minutes late) the youngest sounded horrible. Every time that she opened her mouth to speak, you could hear it in her voice and she just looked beat. She however ate a full dinner and so we thought perhaps she was just really tired (as is typical for a weekend at their moms as there is no bedtime and no beds!). The other two didn’t eat much at all, picked at their food, ate a bite or two, however they were chatty and seemed okay.

Fast forward to this morning. We woke the middle schooler up for school and she looked horrible, sounded horrible and obviously felt horrible which she was verbal about. Strike 1. *sigh*

Next, an hour later we wake the elementary kids up. I knew my daughter was fine, as she had been fine all weekend. The youngest, the one who was so obviously sounding horrible last night, looked as white as a sheet. Horrible really. Yet she got up and went through the motions to prepare for school. I looked at her father and said no. I don’t normally encourage the kids to stay at home if they want to go, but we have all been healthy this school year and we need to kick this in the butt so we can move on and get better. No going to school for her.

I checked out the middle gal and she seemed ok. She said her throat felt a little scratchy but she felt alright and was eager to go to school. If she was sick, she would have said it, so we let her go. Thankfully we still have three well kids, but for how long?

One of my favorite posts of all time. Totally makes me laugh even now.

I have come to the conclusion as a parent, you definitely must choose your battles. If you don’t, sometimes it seems as if everything is an argument.

As a step-parent, I tread even lighter.

I am not a health nut, but I do realize the impact that certain foods, additives and sugars can have on children (and adults), and these are the foods I avoid buying. Mike is not quite the same way. He doesn’t really care if he eats pork ribs everyday, with slathered in butter mashed potatoes, with a fat hostess cupcake for dessert. (Don’t get me wrong - I love Hostess, they are just soooo unhealthy and full of crap our bodies have trouble digesting.)

Anyway so when I moved in, it was difficult for awhile. His oldest daughter ate Cocoa Puffs for breakfast every single morning. She told me once that if it wasn’t chocolate she wouldn’t eat if for breakfast. *sigh* She was 11. What kind of life these kids had led prior to my coming along, is extremely obvious at times. Their mother, back when she was with them, made them Bagel Bites and Pizza Rolls for dinner three times a week. Ramen Noodles were the rest of the week. I can honestly tell you his oldest daughter is the pickiest eater I have ever met.

I have spent the better part of the past two years helping them try new things, eat healthier and make better choices regarding the food they put in their mouths. The younger two are doing great (as is my fruit and veggie, salmon and shrimp loving little girl). But the oldest girl, still as picky as always.

About a month ago, I just decided to quit with her. I’m not going to lecture her on food, or push her to try new things that she won’t try. Mostly because it was stressing me out, and if I give that up, perhaps I’ll just learn to co-exist with it.

Her breakfast this morning? A chocolate donut and a coke.

I didn’t cringe…….much.