My favorite gift!

I often talk about how much I like "doing" versus "buying," so this year I decided to create a special gift for my family in that vein (even my hubby doesn't know about this one).

I saw a similar idea somewhere on the internet (if I knew where I'd post a link!), but it was more for dating - I tweaked it for my family.

I took 12 envelopes and wrote the month on each one. Then, inside each envelope I wrote a note to my family outlining a fun family event we would do that month. Included in the envelope are also gift cards, cash, tickets, etc. - whatever is needed for the outing. I put the envelopes in a pretty basket (recycled from my closet) so it will be something we can leave out in plain view. My plan is that on the first of each month, we can sit down over dinner, dessert, whatever, open the envelope and then schedule the event.

I'm hoping it will become a fun activity the kids look forward to and encourage more fun family times. It's been a fun project for me coming up with new ideas and gathering the supplies for each month. The daily deal sites like Groupon, Living Social and Eversave have been invaluable!

So, here's to one fun thing planned for 2012: A Year of Family Fun!

Don't let the Holidays pass you by!

How to decide what to do this season? There are so many fun events going on that it can be hard to narrow down what to participate in. It seems like every year there are more parties, events and visits to add to the list. To help you out, I have a few holiday planning suggestions:

1. Ask your family. Just because it sounds good, or because you've always done something, doesn't mean you should do it. So, ask your kids and spouse what they would really like to do this month. It might surprise you. We've made a list for each of us of "must do's" and then we have another list of "if we have time" outings. This way, I'll ensure we each do what is most special to us, and if there is extra time or we end up with a free night, I'm not scrambling for ideas.

2. Put it on the calendar. This is another biggie. I've found that if I don't make specific plans (at least for the "must do's"), odds are good we'll get busy and before we know it, the month is over and we missed out on something special. Putting it on the calendar also helps with scheduling - you can see at a glance if you have too much planned for one weekend but another is light. Then, if need be, you can rearrange things before you get in the thick of it!

3. Take it easy. I can't stress this tip enough. Yes, there are a lot of fun and good things to do this season, but sometimes a lazy day at home watching a Christmas movie and snacking on popcorn and hot chocolate is just as memorable for your kids. Plus, planning a few low key days will keep everyone healthy and stress free!

4. Enjoy yourself. Remember, these are memories you are making, so you want them to be good ones! So what if everything doesn't go as planned or if you miss out on something. If you take the time to enjoy your family and your time together, you are going to get what you want out of the holiday season. It's just not worth it to get upset or panicked if things don't go perfectly - in fact, sometimes the "bloopers" in life become the best and most memorable parts of your family history!

So, before it's too late, make some cocoa for the family, sit down with the calendar and plan out the rest of your month!

Advent Calendar

I have seen so many cute Advent calendars on the internet this year - how to decide??? Since I've been fighting this cold, I haven't had the energy to do much, but I didn't want to miss out on the Advent fun, so I decided to use our normal Advent calendar (that my SIL made for us) and I've tucked little notes in some of the pockets with activities we will do on the day the note is pulled.

For instance, today was day 1, so I tucked a note in with the ornament that said "family game night - play a game together". Some of the notes involve a craft or cooking (like make cards or make fudge), some are an activity (decorate the tree, go look at Christmas lights) and some are service oriented (take dinner to friends, bless a neighbor). I looked at my calendar and placed the notes based upon our schedule - so for instance I know we're getting our tree Sunday - hence the tree note goes in on Sunday. I put the "make cards" note in a few days before teacher gifts will be delivered, etc.

The kids were super excited to find the note this morning - they had already been looking forward to the tree itself so this was a real bonus!

Maybe next year I'll get all crafty, but in the meantime at least I'm making this year special!

Chocolate??? Oh Yes!!!

Love chocolate? Me too! And amazingly enough, this post isn't about Halloween - what to do with that candy is a whole other post!

We just got back from a fun weekend getaway in Hershey, PA. So, yes, we had plenty of chocolate. I thought I'd give a quick rundown on the fun things to do as well as ways to save money at this location (and really any others as well).

The town of Hershey is all about chocolate - Hershey chocolate that is. Even the light posts are Hershey kisses! That being said, there is a lot to do, but a lot of it is pretty expensive!

Before the trip, I did a bit of research online - this definitely helped us save some money. I went to the Hershey World website and clicked on the coupons page. I was able to print off some very valuable coupons! I also checked my Entertainment membership (the online version of the Entertainment book) and found some additional B1G1 free coupons.

We stayed at the Bluegreen timeshare (courtesy of one of my ebay timeshare purchases).

The first day we were there, we visited the Hershey Museum - this was very pricey, but we were able to save $10 by using Foursquare on our phones - we each could take $5 off admission. There was an exhibit called the Chocolate Lab where we made our own candy bars - the kids loved this. After a day at the museum, we hit the grocery store to stock up on breakfast and sandwich fixings for our condo. Our evening entertainment was a swim in the condo pool and a movie and popcorn in the comfort of our living room (with a fireplace!!!).

The next day we decided to head to Easton, PA to visit the Crayola factory. I am so glad we did as it was my favorite part of the weekend. Although it isn't much of a factory tour, there were so many fun crafts and activities, we spent two hours just playing and creating. Very fun!!! When we arrived I asked if they had a AAA discount. They did, but they had a better "walk up" deal which was $2 off per admission. So, scored another $8 in savings! We ate lunch at McDonald's - not fancy but the kids loved it, and sandwiches in the room for dinner.

That night we went to Hershey Park in the Dark - the kids got to ride the rides, trick or treat and just have a blast! Once again, tickets were expensive, but before we left the condo I called the park and asked if there were any discounts (AAA or other). They didn't have an AAA discount, but the lady I spoke to told me that if we bought our tickets ahead of time at Giant grocery we could save $4 per adult ticket and $3 per kid. So, a quick 5 minute stop at Giant and we saved another $14 (plus didn't have to wait in line to buy tickets at the park).

We woke up Saturday to SNOW - lots of it!!! After a hearty breakfast in the room, we headed over to Chocolate World. Once again, a very pricey day, but my research at home paid off here. We used B1G1 free coupons for the Chocolate Tasting ($20 saved) and would have used my B1G1 free Trick or Treat Trolley coupons except it was canceled due to the weather - oh well, next time! I also had printed out a coupon for 20% off at the Dessert creations. They had a cute cake pop creation for only $3 - really a great deal - it included two cake pops, a bowl of chocolate syrup for dipping and a topping. Plenty for the kids. I used the coupon (saved $.60) and then I had another 20% off coupon so we passed that on to a family heading upstairs.

After all that chocolate, we moved on to the outlet mall for a bit of shopping - first stopping at the management center to show them my AAA card. That scored us a coupon book. We didn't spend much, but did save at least 20% on everything we did purchase thanks to the booklet. Once we were done, we gave the leftover coupons to another family - hopefully they were able to use some of them too!

So, we had a great time, did a lot of fun things, and also saved a little money in the process. I estimated I spent less than an hour researching savings, making phone calls, asking questions and printing off coupons and we saved $52.60 not counting our outlet mall savings - pretty good return on investment!

Daily Deal Tips

I know we all love to save money - who doesn't. And those daily deals are so exciting! 50% to 75% off! Hold me back!

However.

If you don't use the deals, or don't need the deals, you aren't saving money - in fact you are WASTING money. So, before you jump in, I'd suggest the following:

1. Keep a running list of the deals you have purchased and when they expire. That way you won't be scrambling at the last minute to book an appointment or use up a Groupon. I've found that a simple list by date of coupons purchased sitting on my desk works well. Then, when I plan out each month's goals, I check over the list and see what I can/ want to use that month. Just make sure to keep your list up to date.

2. Think before you purchase. That $10 may not seem like much, but if you purchase one a day, it really adds up - $70 by the end of the week! Ask yourself the following:

- do I need this?
- is it something I've wanted to try or do?
- would I purchase it without a coupon?
- can I afford it? If you can't afford an extra $10 now, DON'T spend it!!!

3. Don't buy right away. Wait a few hours to give yourself time to get over the excitement. Yes, you may miss a deal or two, but that's pretty rare.

4. Talk with your spouse and/or friends. Just because you find something exciting or fun, if it's a group deal, they might not. Then you end up with no one to go with (been there, done that!).

By keeping these things in mind, you can easily purchase only the best deals for YOU and YOUR family and feel good about letting the others get away.

Even with a few mistakes here and there, overall I've really enjoyed these daily deals and had some really fun experiences I wouldn't have had without them, so I truly am a fan!!! Just proceed with caution and you can add some fun and money saving measures to your life.

In addition to Groupon, my other favorite site is Living Social - click on the link and you'll get an automatic $5 on your next deal for signing up!

Note: signing up through the above links is through my referral - please feel free to go directly to the site if you are more comfortable with that option.

Holiday Fun on a Budget

With the holiday's coming up, it's time to start thinking about how your family will spend their time. Although Christmas is a biggie, for many families Halloween, Thanksgiving and even just the Fall season are also times to celebrate. In addition, there are SO MANY events going on - how do you pick which ones to do? How do you decide how much of your entertainment money to spend? Well, here is what we do:

1. Talk as a family about which things you really want to do this year. You might be surprised at what your kids tell you. When I asked my kids, they mentioned Pumpkin Day as a must do. Pumpkin Day is a day I made up for the kids one October (changes each year as it depends upon when I have the time) where we make pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, cut up a pumpkin for seeds and have pumpkin bread for our after school snack. Cost is the price of one pumpkin! I really didn't realize they looked forward to it until I asked.

2. Once you've made your list, decide when you'll do each thing and how much it will cost.

3. Finally, try to take a few family walks or bike rides while you still can. Even a picnic at the park - those are the events you'll remember this winter when it's cold and dreary!

A few ideas of places to look for seasonal activities:
- the newspaper
- online - do a search for your location and "festivals or events"
- nearby churches and schools often offer no cost or low cost events
- check with any local museums, zoos, etc. (especially if you have an annual pass)

Enjoy the season! I'll post later this month about some of the Fall adventures we've had!

Busy weekend ahead!

Well, soccer is starting in full swing this weekend - three games between the two kiddos!

Last year I was dreading soccer - I had memories of the boredom endured at my brother's games. However, with your own kids playing, it's a whole different story!

It's so fun to watch them and I'm excited to see how they do with a season under their belts and a half a year of growth.

The weather is supposed to be perfect too - we may have to fit in a picnic between games Saturday and something fun Sunday evening to kick off the third week of school.

I typically search out a few fun things to do each weekend - we may or may not do them, but at least if there is time and desire I have a game plan. So, I'm off to the web to see what's going on!

Almost the weekend! Fiesta Friday!

So glad it's almost the weekend - it's actually been a fun week, but very busy. This weekend we have my little guy's Birthday Party Sunday - he's going to be 4!!! Not so little anymore I guess.

I'm in the mood for kicking off the weekend early, so I'm declaring tonight Fiesta Friday. After work I plan on making up some tacos with some of our yummy grass fed beef and my first attempt at sourdough tortillas - I often make tortillas myself, but these should be much healthier. Hopefully they'll be as tasty.

I picked up a couple of avocados for guacamole and I have a bag of limes for margaritas - should be a fun evening - sometimes just declaring a special day and deciding to have fun creates a great time - give it a try!

Use your memberships wisely

Since I started talking about memberships yesterday, I thought I'd continue in the same theme today.

If you do decide to purchase a membership (or annual pass), make sure you use it wisely. What do I mean by that? Well, aside from ensuring you'll get your money's worth (i.e. visiting the place enough times), there are some other things you can do.

A few ideas:
- Check online or call and ask about member specials - for example, one of the museum memberships we own allows for free entrance into special events, another offers member only early entrance hours

- See if you can save money on other local attractions with your membership (I touched on that yesterday, but often even non-related attractions will offer a discounted rate)

- Ask if you can get friends/ family members in for a reduced price

- Check to see if there are discounts on classes or workshops - several places we've been members of offer children's programs at a discount for members - the kids have loved attending those!

- When you do visit, pack your lunch or a snack and remind your kids that you aren't buying items in the gift shops. It kind of defeats the purpose of saving money by going frequently if you pay an arm and a leg for concession food or toys. Our kids are so used to bringing our lunch they don't mind at all - it's like a "picnic" for them. As for gift shops - I'm not sure they know they exist as we avoid them!

Finally - use them! If you are on a limited budget consider asking for a membership for a Christmas or Birthday gift, and then GO!!! If you can only afford one a year, rotate locations for variety each year. To me, the best part of having a museum membership is I feel like we can go for a few hours, enjoy ourselves and then leave - it doesn't have to be an all day event and I don't have that pressure of "getting my money's worth" by staying all day!

Check out Frugal Friday at Life as Mom for more ideas!

Midwest Skiing

How fun - one of my goals for this month was to write and publish a travel article. It's just Associated Content, but still, I did it - very fun! So, here it is - all about skiing in Michigan (place of our annual ski trip):

Skiing Article

Week 2 & 3 of September Goals

Well, I struggled last week with meeting my goals - not really sure what happened, and I don't like to make excuses, so instead of beating myself up about it (which defeats the point!), I just moved them to Week 3. No biggie - I'm really only doing this to focus on what's important to me and to keep myself moving in the directions I want to move. Thanks to letting myself off the hook, I've made good progress:

Family/ friends - implement weekly family night done - it's Thursdays!
Health - increasing exercise - done! signed up for three weekly classes
Personal - create a master to do list - always ongoing, but the list is in my notebook
Work - travel article - complete and submitted to associated content
Home - clean up my herb garden and porch - in process, I'll post about what I've done there tomorrow

So, pretty successful overall!

Where did the week go?

Wow! What a busy week. I had plans everyday to post about:

- my weekly goals and the progress (or lack thereof) that I've made
- our mini vacation to a nearby city
- fall outings on the cheap
- some fun new recipes

So, next week I'll try to catch up. In the meantime, one fun fall idea is the apple orchard. We go EVERY year and buy up a ton of apples for baking, storing and just plain eating. The weather was perfect today - sunny and seventy - so we spent the afternoon wandering the orchard and trying a wide variety of apples! I'm even going to try my hand at canning since I'm out of freezer space. We'll see how it goes . . .

Mini Vacations

It's been a busy first few months of school - more so for my husband than myself I think. We've decided to take off for the weekend with some friends to a nearby city. This is a trip that we take as a family every fall and they've decided to tag along.

Although the city is only an hour and a half away, by staying in a hotel (sharing an affordable 2 bedroom suite at a Staybridge), doing "vacation" things - festival, restaurant meals, local zoo, this trip always feels like a real getaway. In past years we've come home very relaxed.

We joke with our friends that this is the "year of the vacation." And, truth be told, it has been. We've managed at least a weekend away almost every month. We've made some fun memories without spending a fortune.

I've shared some tips in the past, but since this trip is with friends, our spending patters will be different. I'll be sure to share some cost saving ideas next week when we return!

Oh, and tonight is our first "official" family fun night. We do family stuff all the time, but I thought the kids would enjoy a weekly tradition, and Thursday is typically our light night - plus, it will make the weekend feel like it's starting earlier. If the weather is nice we are going to play putt putt (thanks to a great Groupon deal I purchased a few weeks ago). If it's raining, it will be board games and popcorn!

The weekend already

Wow, where did the week go? I feel very "behind" this week. You know that feeling? You are always "running" to get things done so you can move on down your list.

So, I've decided that as I don't want to live my life in a rush, I'm going to "take a breather" today. Did I accomplish everything on my list? NO! Will I? NO - and that's okay.

Beginning at 3:30 today (when the bus drops my daughter off), I'm opting out of the rest of my to do list. I figure it won't matter if the house isn't perfectly cleaned today, it won't matter if I didn't finish every "to do" on my list - we aren't going to lose our home because I didn't get stamps today . . . instead, I'm going to literally throw away the list and enjoy my weekend. Maybe if it rains and I feel like doing some cleaning I will, but not because I have to, just because I want to.

The weather is perfect, so maybe we'll go to the apple orchard, or just hang out around the fire pit in the backyard. I've got some limes in the basement - maybe I'll make up a fruity drink and call the neighbors over to chat while we watch our kids play in the cul de sac. Who knows? I do know that I'm more likely to remember a fun fall weekend spent with my family and friends than a clean house, organized closet or perfectly synchronized schedule.

So I declare this a weekend of fun! Feel free to join me!

No TV week!

My daughter's school is having a no TV week this week. What a terrific program for kids! The school has planned activities some nights (a hike with an I-Spy list, a bike ride, and tonight is dinner at Culver's with the teachers as servers), and also gave us a list of ideas for the other nights.

I admit I let my kids watch way more TV than I think is appropriate. And I find that the more I let them watch, the more they end up watching the next week, etc. It's a slippery slope.

But, this week has been a ton of fun and I've decided to implement a few new "rules" around our TV watching:

1. No TV in the morning - sometimes I let them turn on a cartoon to watch while I get ready. Not having the TV on has made our mornings go so much smoother! They actually get ready themselves (or color, read a book, etc.) and don't zone out in front of the TV which ends up making us all late.

2. At least one night a week will be TV free night. I think it will be Thursday night as that is free of all activities and we can plan something fun each week.

I think this is a start and I definitely plan on easing out more TV - having gone cold turkey for a week (and with the warmer weather) I think this will be easy!

Week four with the kids!

This should be a good week - we are off to California tonight for our last week of summer vacation. The first three nights we are visiting family and I'll have to work some. The second half of the trip we are camping on the beach - should be fun!

The only things I am going to plan out specifically for the kids are to carve out a bit of one on one time with each of them over vacation - just an hour or two each of undivided attention will be fun and special. We'll see how it goes.

Next month is cleaning/ organizing my office and scrapbooking. As I sit here and type and look around I know I have my work cut out for me!

Family Fun - the county fair

Gotta love the county fair for fun, cheap entertainment. We live in a suburb of a city, but our county fair is a true 4-H fair. No rides, no "professional" vendors, just local groups, good food and lots of animals. Plus, the prices are fantastic - try 50 cents for games, $1.50 for ice cream, etc.

Last night we took the kids to enjoy the fun. For under $20, we all had dinner and dessert, my daughter played three games (and actually WON all of them), and she got to make a little sand art necklace. We also spent a lot of time in the animal barns admiring and even learning a little about all the animals. My little 4 year old daughter even got to walk a Llama - she felt very grown up doing that!

This is something we look forward to every year. Even if you live in a city, search around and you might be able to find a county fair in a nearby suburb!

As I'm out of town most of this week on business, my family fun will be crammed into Fri/ Sat/ Sunday. But still - I'm going to make the most of what time I have available so we'll have some fun on those days. And, on one of those days at least a portion of the day will be a girls day - my son had his time alone with Mommy, so my daughter gets hers also! I'm still in the planning stages, but it will be fun and inexpensive!

Travel Thursday - Where to go?

So, you know you want to take a vacation, but how do you decide where to go? There are several things you should take into consideration:



1. Who is going on this trip? Is it just adults? Will kids be going? What are their ages?

2. How long do you have for this trip?

3. What kind of vacation do you like? Do you like to relax a lot or keep busy? Shopping? History? Beaches? etc.



Once you've answered these questions, you should have a pretty good idea of the type of place you want to visit, and maybe some of the types of activities that your travleing party would enjoy. Next I would consider if you need someplace within driving distance or if you can afford to buy plane tickets. Get out your map and highlight some of the areas that pop out at you based upon your transportation mode and type of place you want to visit (i.e. city, beach, historical area, etc.).



Example:

I know I'm going to drive, I live in Indianapolis and it's the whole family going. We like to keep busy on vacation by shopping, sightseeing and doing some fun family activities. So, I'll look at my map and pick out a few cities within driving distance - Chicago, St. Louis, Columbus, Louisville, etc. Or, I might pick a distance I want to drive - say 200 miles and draw a radius around Indianapolis to see what is within that range.



My next step is to do a quick web search of those locations to see if anything interesting pops out at me. I'll usually check a few good travel boards like http://www.frommers.com/ or http://www.fodors.com/ and also do a google search on each city/ county for tourism information. I always ask my friends and family if they know anything about some of the locations I'm thinking about.



Usually after a bit of research (no more than a few hours) I feel pretty comfortable with one of the ideas as the choice for this vacation. I haven't planned out activities at this point, but I have a general feel for what the location has to offer and I will have bookmarked or made a note of anything special for further research. Often I find great stuff for many locations, so I put them in a file for future reference for a future trip. I'll run my thoughts by the rest of the family and if everyone thinks it sounds like the place to go, we'll start the next part of the planning process.



This might seem like a lot of work at first, but I find it fun and I've been researching vacations for so many years now that I can skip a lot of the preliminaries and just look at the map and pick a place to go - I've already done some homework to discover what many places have to offer.



Another thing to remember is that with a little creativity and a good attitude, you can have a great vacation just about anywhere, even by staying at home and exploring your own city or nearby locations via day trips - my motto is that there is always something fun to do, you just have to look! So don't worry if your budget or gas prices are keeping you near home this year, you can still have a terrific getaway.

Wk 2 with the kids

Well, I feel like I'm drowning - I just got a BIG work project dumped on me and am trying to keep it in perspective while still doing my job. Sad to say I'm headed out of town tomorrow for a few days to work. I'm especially disappointed because the kids are headed to Grandma's (at least it's good I'll be gone while they are gone) and I had grand plans of cleaning out all the closets and organizing everything for our big garage sale Friday and Saturday. Now, the closets will stay as they are and my poor DH has to prep for the garage sale alone as I won't get home until late Thursday night . . . I know I should be thankful that I have a good job that typically allows me a lot of free time, but when these awful, time sucking projects come along, it's hard to think positively.

On the flip side, I did spend some one on one time with my DS yesterday - we hit the park and played and had a picnic - it was GREAT! Then, this morning, I took both kids to the pool - which was a lot of fun for all of us. Sunday when they return we are going to the fair as a family. So, I'm keeping on track with my monthly goals, and this trip to Grandma's was already planned.

Next week I'm going to have to really make an effort not to get sucked into work the whole week - it's tough because of course the company doesn't care about spending time with your toddlers, but I'll do my best and remember the long hours are only for a short time period! If only I could get by on less sleep and work at night while they sleep . . .

Week 1 - fun with the kids

Well, for week 1 I've planned the following:

1. Wednesday morning we are going to go to a free kids concert at a nearby park.
2. Friday morning we are going to play with water outside (sponges, balloons, paintbrushes, etc.)
3. We picked blueberries last weekend and while we are bagging them for freezing, I thought we could do some simple math (i.e. two blueberries plus two equal four, if you have 5 blueberries and eat two how many do you have? etc.)

Next week will be the special time for my DS, and the week after for my DD.

On a related note, last night we decided to walk to CVS for our weekly ECB trip. It's only about a mile away, and so we loaded up the double stroller and headed over after dinner. It was terrific! My DH played with the kids while I did my bargain shopping, everything fit under the stroller, and we got some good exercise and conversation on the way there and back. This will definitely become a new tradition for us!