The Inexpensive Family Vacation

      As much as we would like to, family vacations aren't always in the cards for us. When you're a family of five, any vacation is going to be pricey. You have to account for transportation, food, and attractions and that can wipe out your savings unless you were able to get an amazing deal.
      Living near the Chicago area, there are cheaper one day options all over the place. Yesterday, we took our family to Shaumburg. There is an Ikea and a Cabela's in the area that our whole family, kids and adults, enjoy walking in and that was part of our plan.

   We started the morning on a secret mission and decided to eat at a Red Robin (thanks to my ability to use reward cards and coupons, lunch wasn't too expensive) that was located in Woodfield mall. It has been many years since I was there and it was awesome. My kids who hate to shop asked if we could go back. The mall is a maze of walkways, bridges, and elevators. It kind of reminded me of the Jetsons.

 Kids People Watching

     After we went to the mall, we went to Duluth Trading Co. (the store). Generally, this is a store that I enjoy going to because the names of all of their inventory is hilarious, but I sat out in the van with the kids while my husband and m-i-l went inside. The three year old had fallen asleep on the way there and he needed his nap for our next adventure and I'm glad he did, because this is where our family vacation happened.

     My family went on vacation this weekend. We were going to fly all over the world, but our trip was delayed when my plane left me behind. The family was all in the air plane when I remembered that I had forgotten our pb&j sandwiches in the car. I went back to get the sandwiches and the plane took off without me.

     The pilot realized her mistake and pointed to a mountain. She wanted me to get to the highest point where she would land the plane so I could get on.

      I began to climb the mountain, but got really tired. I saw an elk and he let me climb on his back to ride up the mountain with him. It wasn't easy because his antlers were wide, causing me to duck every time his turned his head.

    This is the airplane as it was turning, preparing to land in a spot near me, to take us to our destination. 

  Our view was spectacular. We were going to Alaska!

The wildlife was incredible! This raccoon liked to check us out. He eventually stole our sandwiches.

I've never seen a fox up close before.

     This bear was risky! He did get the honey and he didn't even care about all of the bee stings. He let us have some honey when he was finished.

I couldn't believe how huge this moose was! My kids could have easily sat in each antler.

We were getting hungry after our hike around Alaska. Since the raccoon ate our sandwiches, we had to go fishing for our lunch. We didn't have fishing poles, so we had to swim to catch our lunch.

 Swimming for our lunch

We caught this guy and a nice catfish. We wished we had some salmon, but the bears were pretty territorial. 

The wildlife was getting pretty up close and personal.

 My son was so scared of the bear, he didn't watch where he was going and ran into this tree.

Look out! It's a mountain lion or something! Get me out of here dad!

     This ram was just chilling when this mountain lion saw it. We were afraid that we were going to witness him becoming the lion's dinner when the lion decided that we would be better eating. 

We said, "We're outta here!"

    We were going to stay in a nice, warm hotel, but our hotel got overbooked. We had to stay in this deer blind that we found, instead. It wasn't very big or cozy, but we at least stayed warm by snuggling and stayed out of the elements.

When we woke up the next morning, we were freezing! It had snowed and we had no coats. The wildlife was getting out of hand and kept tracking us down. We were lucky to escape this polar bear!

We left just in time! This caribou took our place for these wolves' breakfast!

We hopped on the plane that morning and flew to Africa! Talk about one extreme to another!

We were taking a family photo of us with the African scenery. An elephant startled me, making his presence know by grunting. I'm glad we didn't get charged!

It was after we saw this that we realized that we wouldn't be safe no matter where we went. We flew home briefly after this lion's dinner. 

     So fake vacation aside, we had a great day. The kids and adults all enjoyed looking around these stores and even had fun pretending. It may not have been a trip to the Dells or Disney World, but it was something that we did together and that's what really matters.

     I want to end this blog post not with a question, but rather a challenge. I challenge you to go out and do something fun with your kids or friends. It doesn't have to be expensive. Then, when you do, I want you to take pictures of your adventures. If you're feeling brave, post it on here or share them with friends. We may not always remember the adventures that we've been on so taking pictures is awesome! They are proof that you did something and in the end, you'll be glad to have those memories.

Mom Pledge

Dear Kids,

        This year, I pledge to check your back packs every night for homework for at least the first month. It will be your responsibility to bring things home and to inform me when you have homework or things to sign. When you do have homework, I will help, but will not do your homework. I will try not to yell when you are refusing to try. I will, instead try to encourage you and ask helpful questions to get you to think and remember what you learned in school that day. I will try to sit you down each night and encourage you to read. I will try to not yell in the mornings, but you have to not give me a reason to. We will work together as a team and as you get older, you will do more things for yourself so that you can do them someday without me. I will learn to give you more responsibilities within your abilities so that I'm not overwhelmed all of the time. A happy mommy has a happy family.
          At dinner time, I will try to serve a variety of foods and not the same things every weeks. Together we will try new things whether or not we think that they are yucky. A well balanced diet leads to healthy kids. At night, we will strive to keep bedtime at a regular acceptable time and I will try to incorporate devotions like we used to do. If I am unable to do as listed above, daddy will be able to take over.

                                                                                               Love,
                                                                                                    Your mom

Taking Care of the Elderly

    My husband and I rented the movie "Going in Style" with Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Alan Arkin. I thought that it would be a funny movie to see, especially since I like both Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine- sorry Alan, I haven't heard of you before.... There were many parts that were funny, but there were also some heartbreaking truths in it that I think should be addressed.

    The movie begins with Michael Caine's character, Joe, in the bank. He's talking to his banker about his mortgage costs. When he spoke to the banker before, the banker told him that the chances that Joe's rates go up were rare, but possible. He led Joe to believe that they wouldn't rise. Well, they did. So Joe mentions that he had tried to call several times to try to get things righted and no one has been helpful and passes him off. The banker looks up Joe's account and says that it's still in the orange which means that his mortgage isn't critical and that he will only have to worry when it's red. It's at that time that the bank gets robbed. One of the robbers burst into the room that Joe and the banker are in and is kind to Joe because he's elderly and tells the banker off because the elderly need to be treated with respect.The incident is frightening and intriguing to Joe.
     Afterwards, Joe goes home and discovers a red tag on his door. It's an eviction notice and the bank is going to take away his home. To make matters worse, Joe and his friends go to work and discover that the pensions that they were promised were taken away. After much thinking, Joe decides that he wants to rob the very bank that robbed him. It takes a while to convince his friends, but when he does, they decide to take only what was supposed to be given to them from their pensions.

    Throughout the whole movie, you see that people don't really take these men seriously because of their age. Others either take advantage of the men or they take pity on them.

    According to www.statisticbrain.com, the average number of elderly that are abused each year is 2,150,000 each year which is 9.5% of those who are elderly, but that's still more than it should be. The average age of those being abused is 77 years old. My grandparents are almost 70.

If you read this article www.ncoa.org, you will read about 10 different scams that are common to scam the elderly. Unfortunately, many times when an elderly person is scammed, they never report it because they are afraid that their loved ones will decide that they are incompetent and take over their finances or put them in a home or because they are embarrassed that they were trusting enough to let it happen.

     We should be talking to our grandparents and ask questions and inform them of what could happen. Never dismiss them when they tell you stories or their concerns because when the time comes, they may not want to open up to you because of pride and embarrassment. I have grandparents and one great-grandparent that are still alive. I hope that they haven't been treated inferior because of their age. In a day when racism and sexism and all of the other isms are more prevalent, I think we forget to stand up for one that is probably the most important- ageism. No matter what our race or gender or preferences, everyone in this world all has one thing in common- we are going to get old. These are our people and one day we will be like them. Let's take care of them the way that other cultures do. Without them, we wouldn't be here.

   

Don't Post Your Relationship Problems on Social Media

 I was scrolling the other day through Facebook when I saw something that troubled me. I've seen it before and I will probably see it again, but a friend of mine posted about his marriage. It wasn't an ordinary update like "So and So just got married," it was a rant about their spouse and how their marriage sucked. 

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

    I know that I'm not innocent when it comes to Facebook rantings and have even posted complaints about my husband when we were dating, but it took one person to tell me how immature and unnecessary it was. 

 Proverbs 12:4 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.

    When I was in junior high and high school, my sister used to tell me to quit telling my mom every complaint that came to mind when complaining or telling her about an argument that happened with a friend. After a while, I realized to stop because after every complaint or rant, I would be forbidden to see my friends for a while. It was only after explaining that my long winded rants and complaints were amplified and not nearly as terrible as they seemed and time and groveling was I able to hang out with them again.

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 

    It also happened the other way around too. I was always a flirty, fun, and talkative girl. I had many boyfriends in jr. high and many admirers as well. (Boast much?) After a while, I was called  a hoochie mama (except with worse names) even though the worst I ever did with those boyfriends and crushes was maybe slow dance at a dance. I never even held hands with or kissed any of them. In a Jr. High relationship we sat next to each in class and had chaste phone calls on our landlines. After I found out that my 9th grade boyfriend kissed another girl in his town, I stopped dating. It was around that time that my youth group made a pact to date someone when God told us to. I found that someone my freshman year in college and married the poor sucker!

Me and my future husband

    It was only after I grew up and got married that my other mothers realized that I was an ok kid and not who they thought. However, it stung to know they thought that way.

Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

 Us married in 2008

    I belong on a couple of work out and dieting sites on Facebook. From time to time I see some of the posts that these women write pertaining to their husbands. For example: One woman wrote about how her husband asked her to stop buying her favorite snacks because he was having a difficult time not eating them and he was trying to eat better. The women who responded were hateful and the wife's responses went along with them. Another time, I was reading about how a woman's husband was telling her that her form wasn't correct and that she could do so much better if she listened to him. Again, the husband bashing began.

Ephesians 3:31-32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you. 

    We don't know these husbands or how they truly are. They probably had good intentions. I'm the husband in the first story. I have little will power when it comes to eating snacks. Since I buy most of the food in the house, I buy foods for my kids that they like, but I don't. If I buy something for my husband, I know that he'll take it to work if he likes it. I know that if that food is at home, I'm going to probably end up eating it. I don't see a problem with her husband asking her to not bring that food home or to at least hide it. What is wrong with that?

Matthew 7:12 So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

    I have been so lucky with my husband. He has never criticized me or told me that I need to lose weight in the 9 years that we've been married or the 3 years before then when I was skinnier. The few times that we have had the opportunity to go to the gym together, I've never been mad at my husband for giving me advice. I know that he has had more experience with lifting than I do and I welcome it, mostly... Maybe not so much when he tells me to push through the pain... For the husband in the example above, I believe that he had good intentions. The Facebook page is catered to women who want to lose weight and also build muscle. A lot of them are actually body builders. You'd think that if the advice from the women on those pages are valued, that the husband's opinions might also be valued, too.

Philippians 2:2 Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and one of mind. 

    When you post bad things about your spouse or significant other, it causes other people to see them that way. You may be angry at a misunderstanding or you two don't see eye to eye, but it doesn't matter. You shouldn't start blabbing about your disagreements. Chances are, you're over exaggerating and omitting the things that you did and said and how it got to that point. You can't undo that knowledge. Do you really want someone thinking poorly of them? 

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

    When I was growing up, I grew up with sisters. We weren't always nice to each other and I would vocalize it to my friends. However, if my friends tried to say the same thing, they better watch themselves. You see, they might have been tattletales and goody-two-shoes, but they were my sisters. If you said anything bad about them, you would find yourself under my wrath. They're buttheads, but they're my buttheads and only I can be mean to them. It's should be the same sentimentality to your spouse or all loved ones. Keep quiet about their little discretions.

Me and my buttheads

    If you got this far and you think, "So what if my friends and family think that my spouse or significant other is a jerk?" and you claim that you love them, remember this.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

    If you really are married to a jerk who is an abusive person and you need help, don't post these things on Facebook or blab to anyone who get it back to them, it can actually make your relationship worse. Instead, find someone who can help you safely get out of that relationship like your pastor,  a parent, the police, or a counselor like someone from the YWCA. 

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand 

    Speak well of your spouse and you will also find value in them.

Do Unto Others...

   I'm not a political person. If I felt that I could trust news sources, I might read the newspaper or watch the nightly or daily news, or maybe even read more articles online, but I choose not to because everything, these days, is told from one side with strong emotions more than facts. As a mother, I get overly emotional about anything and sometimes fall prey to untruths. With this being said, I will write about what I really don't know or even completely understand because I'm saddened by what happened the other night and even surprised that this was even an issue.

   Last night, I was sort of watching television with my husband while also skimming Facebook. Since I usually choose to not read things I see on Facebook except  when I see something from people I trust, I had to ask my husband if there has been a problem with Nazis in America. I've seen posts here and there that friends have posted with pictures of Nazis from time to time and just shook my head about it. I wasn't really dismissing the problem so much as skeptical about it. I have friends who argue things on Facebook or post things about what they do not know and so I thought that maybe those re-postings were an act of ignorance and believing in something that someone else fudged with.
    My husband briefly told me about what happened in Charlottesville. Oh My! How stupid can people get? Seriously? I'm beginning to think that maybe, what this world needs is for everyone to take a breath and just think about what good will come from their protests? I understand the need to express our anger about the injustices that a race receives. What is wrong with believing that All LIVES matter?
    In the Good News Translation of the Bible, 1 Peter 3:18 says For Christ died for sins once and for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually. It doesn't say that Christ died for white man. It doesn't even say that he died for another race. It said that he died on behalf of sinners. That includes all men and women.  Anyone who says that they are protesting against another on behalf of God is a lunatic and is doing it for their own selfish reasons and not God's.  The NIV says in 1 John 2:2- He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. He didn't die for just the Jews, but also for the Gentiles which were classified as anyone else who weren't Jews or also described as outsiders. This shows again that God is for all races. Then there is this verse: John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.  Then in verse 17: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 

    It seems to me that if anyone who truly believed that God had chosen a supreme race, they have not read the Word. To God, we are all his children and we should all treat each other with respect despite out race and what we believe to be right. 

Luke 10:25-37New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b]”
²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii^[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

    There isn't any wiggle room if you claim to be a Christian or to believe in God to argue that condemning a black person, white person, or any other race is ok! Yes, we are all created differently, but we are also all created in God's image!  NIV Genesis 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.To say that anyone else is less of a person is to say that God made a mistake and God makes no mistakes.

    So I became political. I won't apologize for it, but I will leave you with my favorite verse, although when I learned it, it used the word "entertain" instead of "hospitality".  Hebrews 13:1-2 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. ² Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.


If that didn't work for you, how about we all just stick to the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

    

How to Throw an Economical Tea Party

    I have three children and out of the three, I have two boys and one girl. My daughter has been tired of doing all of the things that my sons have been doing and asked if she could have a tea party and invite her aunts and grandmas. I decided that we could try it out, but if you've ever thrown a party of any kind, you know that it can get pretty expensive to have one.

    This time, I decided to try to be more practical about where to purchase the different things for the party.

    The first thing that I did for my daughter's economical tea party was to create our own invitations. Buying invitations at the store can cost almost $5 or more. By creating my own invitation, I got to be more creative in how it was made and also got to type things out instead of hand writing everything. For this act, I used Microsoft Publisher, but you can make invitations through Word as I figured out when I designed an invitation for the guys to have their own special hang out separate from us.

 
    For any Tea Party, you must dress for the occasion. You can search your closets for some tea party attire, but if you are wanting something new, you can always try out thrift stores. I usually like to buy my kids new clothes for certain occasions, but I knew that a brand new dress for my daughter was probably going to start at $25. In this case, we went to a thrift store that my mother-in-law is always recommending. At this store, I was able to purchase a pretty dress as well as tea cups, a tea pot, and some plates. We bought all of this for $12.  (Pictures to come)

    Since my daughter has something new and pretty to wear, I wanted something pretty too. I wasn't able to find a dress at the thrift store, but I did find a dress at Gordman's for $9.99. I don't even think I would have gotten that lucky at Walmart.

My next stop was the Dollar Tree. I wanted to find decorations and even some gift bag goodies for the guests. I was able to get all of this for only $21. I don't know if you realize how awesome this is. I always end up spending probably close to $45 or more for my kids birthday parties just for decorations and goodies to send home with the kids. I call this a great find!

That's 7 mini flower pots with flowers, two pairs of wings- one for my daughter, the other for the dog, paper plates, napkins, table clothe, pink rose petals to sprinkle on top, two lanterns, two different colors of two sets of streamers, and 3 lizard/alligator things for the boys.  There was also a blue tutu for the other dog, but it fell off before I could take the picture.

    The last place I went to was Good Will for some costumed jewelry and cheap centerpieces if I could find them. The jewelry wasn't very nice, but I did make off with a strand of pearls and instead of an actual centerpiece, I found some flower garlands that I can get creative with. All of this was for $5.

All of this I was able to get for $48. That may seem like an awful lot right now, but if I were to get all of this at Walmart or the party store, you're looking at close to $2 to start out with for each decoration. Walmart sells tea cups for $41.99. I got mine, a dress, and a tea pot for $12.

  I've already saved just by thrift shopping. I could have saved even more if I chose to wear something that I already had, but sometimes it's nice to get something new, besides, most of these items are items that we can reuse if my daughter wants to host another tea party

    While these are all pricey items, sometimes food can be the most costly expense. For this party, I am going to be making cupcakes, some cookies, and cucumber sandwiches for the tea party. For the guys hang out, I will be making Salmon Dip and preparing a chip dish. While it will take time to make these food dishes, I already have most of the things in my cupboards to prepare them and cucumbers in the garden. If you can bake you don't have to purchase $12 cupcakes when all you have to do is catch Betty Crocker on a sale and buy a box for $1. 

    I used to be very against thrift store shopping. I never wanted to wear someone else's left overs, but being a stay at home mom, I found ways to challenge myself to get creative with earning a little extra money on the side for pizza money or finding ways to save. Now I almost get a kick out of how much it cost me to buy a barely used outfit for my daughter or sons. There is nothing wrong with buying something brand new, I still like to do that, but if you can save or up for the challenge, why not save a little while getting a lot?

What ways have you saved? What was your greatest bargain buy?

Why Guys/Girls Suck

    This blog post at first started as a fun way to tease my husband after I complained about some of our differences. I started to make a list of reasons why it sucks to be a woman and why it's better for men sometimes. The longer the list grew with its arguments and counter arguments, the more that I saw how special each gender is and also the barriers that each can face. I hope that this is something that you can get a laugh out of, relate to, and also sympathize/ empathize with.

Why guys suck: Why girls suck:

1. They don't have to wear bras.
    They have soft pillows on they're chest that the take for granted.
2. They don't have to suffer the red beast each month.
     They have an excuse each month to be moody.
3. They don't have to shave all the time.
    They can be smooth and no one will make fun of them.
4. They don't have to experience morning sickness and push out babies through a small opening.
     They get to experience childbirth in a way that men will never understand.
5. They don't have to worry about catcalling.
    They don't have to put themself out there and be vulnerable to make the first move.
6. The kids don't find them to open up a fruitsnack every five minutes.
    The kids like to come to her first for most things.
7. They can sleep through anything.
    They steal all the covers.
8. They don't have to worry about putting on makeup or wear dresses to look nice.
    They don't have to worry about being made fun of or having and ulterior motive for dressing nicely.
9. If we try to be healthy and exercise too much or lift, we are accused of trying to be manly or health freaks.
   Women are free to be creative and artistic. If men are, we are called names or laughed at.
10. Women aren't taken seriously when it comes to jobs and intelligence.
      Men are held as the responsible bread-winner. If we don't make more then our women, we are branded losers.

The list could go on and on. What would you add to make this different.