Valley Forge Park

When we first decided to homeschool and I saw that one of the requirements was to teach about the states history I had a moment of panic. I come from a state so-so in state history, but now I live in one of the best historical states and we are so close to so many amazing attractions! This past thursday was homeschool day at Valley Forge Park and it was just great! If you have never been, def. try to go when they are having reenactments as they go above and beyond. The park on a whole is great-- lots of walking trails, cool buildings, deer, foxes-- it really is a great place that we sometimes take for granted.

The kids got to dress like the colonists, see a surgeon, play with toys from that era, watch them fire a musket, and lots more:)

My baby is sick :(

My poor little guy is trying to cut his teeth (again) and also got a cold in the process and is wheezy, which means he is back on the nebi :( He has been a trooper though, all though, I wish he had some teethies to show for all the pain he has been in. Since he is baby number three, I have picked up some helpful things to ease baby (and big kids comfort) from my other two and years nannying and teaching at a daycare
Here are some things that have helped us:

1. Natural teething tablets, a wet washcloth filled with ice and secured with a rubber band, the munchkin food holder with a fruit Popsicle in it, oragel, refrigerated teething toys, and when all else fails, tylenol

2. For fevers-- first we have become "experts" in this area since my daughter gets febrile seizures. Her first year she got three, this year only one cause we have gotten more fever savvy. Be Kool strips-- these are worth every penny and then some! They have mickey mouse on them and stick to the childs head or neck and last for eight hours-- my husband even used one the last time he was sick and they are just amazing! Also, you can alternate when baby is old enough tylenol and motrin for severe fevers and with drs okay.

3. constipation-- I use the drops, but my favorite thing is Magic Poopy Popsicles :) I make prune juice popsicles and my kids think they taste funny, but how can a popsicle be bad? It cant! Also, I pedal their legs for them or a good run around helps, ahem, loosen things up.

4. Runny noses: ugh, I hate snotty nose kids--- its just gross, but, sometimes it cant be helped away completely. So, we use saline drops, the syringe-- if done right, it yields great results, vapor baths, vapor rubs-- anything with the word "vapor" basically! Ha!

Another thing I have done is call the doctor and talk about the problem first and ask them what they will do for it and if I can treat it at home. Our drs have been great about calling in prescriptions and telling us when we should come in so they can doll out the proper treatment. Please, feel free to post any ideas or solutions that have worked for you and yours :)

Mother's Day Tea

Recently our church had a woman's tea and the speaker encouraged us to connect with the woman in our lives who we may not see often... and I was challenged. I dont see my moms side of the family often enough-- especially my grandmom, so I decided to throw a tea on mothers day for all the ladies on that side of the family. I kept it simple-- I did the sandwiches, quiche, and spinach puffs and my mom made a salad and set everything up and called everyone to invite them. It was just so nice to spend the day with my mom and her sisters and their daughters and our grandmom. We had so much fun that we're going to make it a tradition every year :) Hopefully next year it will be warmer out so we can have it outdoors :)

Money, Honey!

This morning we did some money activities during our school time. My son who is older had to sort coins based on penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. I had my daughter sort nickel and copper coins in to two different piles. Then my son began sorting clean pennies from dirty pennies and asked me why some were dirty and if we could clean them. I looked it up and it was so easy! Take 1/4 cup of white vinegar and a tsp of salt. Stir together and then add a few pennies. Hold one penny half way in and after about 30 seconds you can see a difference in the two sides-- we even did one with a stripe across the middle. My kids loved cleaning their pennies and I love clean, so win win :) Now, we're going to read King Midas!

Throwing things away

Its no secret if you know me that I love to get rid of things-- I am not a stuff person. Lots of stuff overwhelms me and makes me feel like-- phew-- you just cant breathe. On vacation this week, my son saw a soccer commercial and noticed that my husband has a shirt for one of the teams. He was so excited and ran to tell his daddy and then had to add... "Mommy just threw it away!" Awww, so busted. It had been at the bottom of my husbands shirt drawer and was feeling a little wrinkly, so I, um, did in fact toss it away. Today I cleaned out the fridge and tossed some more things. Then I cleaned out under all of the beds which because of our tiny house, we use for storage and threw more things away. I even tried to talk my husband into throwing away a duffel bag from my mom that she gave him his first Christmas in the "family" and he was horrified and went on and on about the sentimental value-- all I saw was a dusty old bag past its time taking up space for, I don't know, just space. Throwing things away is an adrenaline rush-- I feel empowered and on top of things-- which I am not. My daughter and husband like to stash things away and go behind me and pull things out and leave in the wrong space-- ahhh! But, dont worry, I think the longer I am a mom and wife, the more I learn to compromise. However; bottom line, since Mommy cleans the house, Mommy gets the final say... I just need to throw some things away without the kids help :)

Ka- Ching: Saving some moolah!

Someone let me borrow this book and I have been reading it this week in my spare time and thankfully, it is a quick read since I normally despise nonfiction :) Anyway, I think that Christians should always be the best stewards of their money and be pinching their pennies and investing them to stretch dollars. They have a lot of good ideas and great tips on everything from buying a car (used of course) to making fewer grocery trips. I love their recommendation to have a mortgage payment thats only 40% or less of your monthly income and to always make sure thats based on one spouse's income! Sage advice! Since we are a family of five with one income, we have to get creative with cutting costs, but we still have loads of fun and indulge in our family's favorite guilty pleasure-- eating out :)

1. I cut everyone's hair-- after a few minor glitches, it wasn't that hard to figure out
2. I hang our wash out which can save on average .40 a load-- although, I do ginormous loads with an older dryer, so we'll say .50 times about ten loads a week times a month is 20 bucks. Twenty dollars times six months is 120 dollars that can be put towards something else :)
3. buy used and well, save the difference. Matt and I have been hunting down a patio set at stores, but felt the sets in our budget were really cheap and we have young kids, so well, we need heavy duty! Today at a yard sale I found a really hardy one for 100 bucks! Score! Also, I never buy my daughter's shoes for full price since she shreds them two months in-- sigh-- so, I get them on clearance or used at consignment and/or yard sales.
4. My husband currently can bike to work and this has saved tons of money on gas-- but, if you could work from home one day, that would make a difference too.

Okay, thats a few, how do you cut corners? Do share...