Vocalpoint Info

If you are not a Vocalpoint member, now may be the time to  join!  You get a lot of good samples, freebies and coupons.  This upcoming Tuesday you will receive a way to help your teen learn how to spend smart!  A definite must for all parents!  I can't wait to see exactly what it is and how it works......

Here is the link you will need to join and access the info:

http://link.vocalpoint.com/u.d?LYGhctg34NSrAL8Iylz0=281&s=1CE12770-8192-4A66-B981-1C2F67BA2EEB

Good luck with this adventure and have fun!  Life is always an adventure and everyone learns something new every day!

Summer Time Adventures

This summer has definitely been full of adventure!  Not so much like last summer, when I decided I needed excitement and broke my foot.  Much, much different this year.

We were able to go to Massachussetts for a week with the kids and hung out by the pool and mini golf course most of the time.  However, we did squeeze in a trip to Six Flags New England.  This was made possible because we have season passes to Six Flags Great Escape, which is close to our house.  Financially, the day didn't go as planned......When we arrived at the park, we showed our season parking pass for our park, only to find out that they no longer accepted it from other parks.  What??!!!!???  $20 later, we parked the car for the day!  I decided against packing lunches, since it would take a long time to walk back to the car during the day and since it was so hot, I knew that would just make hungry kids crankier.  Well, I was expecting high food prices but not what I found!  A meal with 4 chicken tenders and a couple of handfuls of fries cost about $15, maybe a little more. I think I'm still in shock over that.....Needless to say, we split the meal between all of us.

The rest of the day went well, the kids enjoyed the rides they went on and we left early enough to enjoy a dinner back in Lee at Arizona Pizza.  Very yummy and we all ate a nice, big dinner for around $30 (I even had a coupon that I used)!

We went to the Great Escape this past weekend and the kids enjoyed the rides, I was able to use my season parking pass and we enjoyed a little snack.  The prices were a little better, but they still seem to be really outrageous!  How are we as families supposed to go out and do things and help the economy, when prices are skyrocketing????  You can only stretch your finances so much........

With many more things on my to do list this summer, some of them I will use coupons for , some I will use passes that we got for half price and others we will have received for free (like our Enchanted Forest/Water Safari tickets I won from MaltaMama  :)  ).  The things that don't fit into those categories, I guess I will have to rethink and see if it's something we really need or want to do.  My 3 seem happy hanging out around the house and finding things to amuse themselves.  Mainly annoying one another but there are some good moments too.

All in a summer's day...........................

Summer Fun For Families

There are so many things that you can do as a family during the summer and you don't even have to spend a lot of money!  The main thing is to spend time together, have a good time and make sure you are all having a chance to do something that each of you enjoys.

Many stores have activities for children to do and they are FREE
      AC Moore, Home Depot, Lowes, Michaels to name a few

Museums and zoos have days where you can in for free.  Who wouldn't love to see art pieces or animals???

National and State parks are also free or cheap day trips.  Lots of room to play, walk and picnic!

Just about every neighborhood has a playground nearby.  It may not be in walking distance, but if it is, what a great way to get some extra exercise.  Just remember, bring snacks and lots to drink!

Libraries are a great resource.  Not only do they have air conditioning for those hot summer day escapes, they have many books, dvd's, magazines and newspapers - ALL for FREE!  And, if your library is like mine, they have a fabulous reading program for the kids (mine even has one for us BIG KIDS!).  Prizes for books read and different entertainment for the kiddos. What a way to browse for books  --  can we say peace and quiet, with no interruptions???

How about a day of fun and games right in your own backyard?

Or a day of playing chef or baker right in your kitchen?  (perfect for those rainy days)

Or scientist?  teacher? 

The possibilities are endless!

If you have any ideas that I haven't mentioned, please share.  We all need a little inspiration on occasion!

What a BUSY Day!

Today started out as a nice lazy day, because I slept in until 7:30.  Then I ate a leisurely breakfast after feeding the kids, but I ran out of time for a cup of coffee.  Then I hit the floor running for a lot of things that were hurry up and wait!

The first trip was to the vet with our cat.  Just a checkup visit, but when we got there, they were backed up because they had 3 emergencies come in.  So, there I waited with 3 kids.  What fun!  The visit went quick when we got in, so that was nice and there were no problems.

Next, we dropped the cat off at home, picked up a 4th child and went off to the library.  I signed everyone up for the reading programs for their age level and then they picked out their books for the next few days.  Easy as pie!  (hmmm, pie, might have to make one)

Then McDonalds for lunch, because we were already out.  Went through the drive thru and brought it home to eat.  And I got the leftovers that my kids didn't eat.  (Not so good for my stomach, but oh well)!

AC Moore was next since they had a craft afternoon.  We did our shopping first and then stood in line to make the patriotic shirts.  While they were drying we stood in line to get the temporary tatoos.  Did I mention the lines????  It's a popular place during these craft afternoons!  There were at least 50 kids there with their parents.  But, we managed and then we came home and the craziness is still going strong. 

Since we haven't really been home today, I have NO CLUE what we're eating for dinner, so that's next in my plan.  I'm sure since my freezer is well stocked, I should be able to find something quick and easy!  I'll get to that in my next couple of posts later this week.

I'll also be posting my savings for the year on coupons and my goals for the rest of the year!

Our Vacation Part Four - Leaving Family and Friends and Returning Home

We're back from another weekend away, while I try to finish our last vacation's post!  I'm going to have to start typing these up ahead of time, so all I have to do is hit post!

It was bittersweeet when we left Savannah.  We had a wonderful time and lots of fun, but saying goodbye is always hard.  What made it easier was knowing that we would be seeing them when they came up here in July AND that knowing we could Skype any time we had a moment or two.

We got up about 5:30 am to finish loading the van and to give out hugs and then we started out.

My husband drove the beginning of the drive, which was nice, because he was able to see how long it took to get through South Carolina and North Carolina. I had driven most of that on the way down while he slept, so he didn't realize how long they were.  He also got the Virginia part on the way back and his comment was "Does this state ever end???"  Mine was "Eventually!!" as I drifted back off to sleep...............

It took us 17 1/2 hours to get home and when we arrived, we had tired kids, tired parents and one very happy kitty, who wanted to play all night.  What an adventure and YES, I would do it all again.

Our Vacation Part Three - The Beach and Shopping

Here is the long waited for part three of our trip dpwn south! 

The beaches down there are fabulous and the water and scenery is beautiful!  The best part is that you can watch dolphins as they're going by!  I could sit on the sand, reading a book, catching some rays and watching the dolphins all day.  The kids and my husband, well, maybe not so much.......

Here is what we did at Tybee Island Beach and Hilton Head Beach:

The kids and my husband went in the water and played, swam and searched for sand dollars.  They also built sand castles complete with moats.  I sat and watched, handed out snacks, caught some rays and did a little reading.  Also, I was the picture taker. 

We found a dead jellyfish that had washed up onto the sand so we had a little science lesson (don't you love it when you can have a teachable moment  :)  ). 

When we were in Hilton Head and done at the beach, we went to the outlets.  My daughter had to go into Justice (of course) and we also went into Old Navy.  My daughter bought quite a few things from Justice, but they were all reasonably priced.  A lot were on clearance or on sale and the store was running a 40% off everything special.  Works for me!  Old Navy had a few things that I purchased for myself and a few baby items for my sister's new little one in September.

All in all, it was a beautiful, fun filled, tiring, family and friends, hanging out kind of day!  What a bonus!

Motts for Tots free product from Vocalpoint

This is an awesome deal if you have little ones in the house (or even not so little ones!).  Vocalpoint is sending out free Motts for Tots juice.  All you need to do is be a member of Vocalpoint and that's an easy thing to do!  Just sign up and you will get lots of free products and coupons throughout the year.  They ask for your opinions on products along with other feedback and you can talk to other moms out there.  It's a fabulous program.  (Can you tell I love this......?)

Here is the link for this offer:

www.vocalpoint.com/mottsfortots