My Life, My Children

We will not be traveling this holiday season. We usually go to visit family in California. The airfare is just too much this year. At first look, it was going to cost us over 3,000 dollars for the four of us to travel from the Midwest to the west coast. Each year we alternate travel either for Thanksgiving or Christmas. This year was supposed to be Christmas. I looked for Thanksgiving just incase it was less money. But not by much and my daughter would have to get excused from school for three days. We are hoping to travel to visit family during the summer this year in hopes that the fares are less by then.

The Girl Scouts new direction is not OK with me. My daughter started Kindergarten this year and a flyer came home from school for her to join brownies. This is the younger group associated with Girl Scouts. I was both a Brownie and a Girl Scout growing up so naturally I wanted my daughter to follow in my same footsteps. Then I started to hear rumblings about the Girl Scouts and their change of focus and direction. I started to do some research and found this article which sums up everything I found.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=160368

Given their direction and focus, it doesn’t sound bad but when you look into it further, I didn’t want my daughter going against what we are teaching her along with her Sunday school training. We didn’t drop the club association all together; we choose to put her into American Heritage Girls. It is a similar type of scouting troop with a focus on Christ first. You can find out more here:

http://www.ahgonline.org

So as I said, I was disappointed to find the new focus and direction of the Girl Scouts going away from God but I was glad their was another option. We have been completely happy with our AHG troop and have done a ton of activates that are more focused on serving and giving. My daughter loves American Heritage Girls!

My daughter’s school has a lock down today. We got a call about it afterwards informing us about the fact that all went well and everyone was safe. I have no idea what caused it and it is difficult to find any news about it. I am thankful that all went well and the procedures they had in place worked well for this situation. I just wish there was some way to find out what the incident was that cause the lock down. My daughter’s school is located in a quiet neighborhood that is located at a temporary dead end street due to a long-term construction project. I am definitely going to watch the news tonight to see if there is anything mentioned.

Thanks to Today.com, I got my free t-shirt in the mail the other day. Did you know this even existed? Mine is black with red lettering. It was offered in a wide spectrum of sizes. Here is the info from Today.com to get your own:

To get your free shirt (with free shipping!) simply log in and order your shirt from the “My Account” page. Be sure to double check that we have your correct address in your User Information before ordering! Pick your size preference from the dropdown menu and we will do our best to fulfill your size request, but no guarantees. Shirts offered on a first come first serve basis and while supplies last.

I voted today.

It was the first evening our county’s government offices had evening hours for voting early. It was actually our date night. We had a babysitter. We drove to the government building and entered through the metal detectors and were directed to stand in line. It wrapped around three hallways. We waited almost two hours to vote. A friend voted earlier in the day and she said it took her an hour. I can’t imagine what this pre-voting turnout might suggest the actual voting day turn out could be like. What the lines will be like and how many who want to vote, don’t get to vote.

I was excited to vote, standing in line hoping everyone else there would vote the same way I did. Coming home we chatted with our babysitters father. We attend the same church; have similar views I thought until it came to politics. My hope was deflated. I am now nervous to see the outcome of voting this next week. I pray God will keep out county in his blessing.

The best thing about returning from vacation for me has to be the desire to purge. We have timeshares. We vacation in very nice surroundings of two bedrooms, a living room, two bathrooms, usually a spa tub, and a fully furnished kitchen. Some of these places are nicer than the home we live in. But what is always amazing to me is that we survive the entire vacation with a lot less “stuff” then what we live with at home. When I return home and see our accumulation of “stuff” I want to purge and purge I do. Not enough though. We are pack rats by nature so we have accumulated a bunch of “stuff”. Any little bit I can get rid of, donate, give away or toss is a welcomed release.

I enjoy a good buffet. With young children there is an added benefit because the food is ready to eat and there is no waiting. With a good variety of choices, everyone is able to find something they like to eat. Even my picky eater can be satisfied. We have a range of buffet restaurants in our town from very inexpensive to high end pricing. The food ranges from Asian to seafood mostly. We enjoy try new places. While on vacation, if there is a buffet, we will go. We’d even prefer a family owned place over a chain to experience something different.

I was in a store the other day and a woman was discussing a dinner invitation to a higher end buffet and she couldn’t afford it. The customer asked her about the restaurant and where it was located. The retailer asked if she needed more specific directions and the patron said no, she didn’t like mass produced food. I understand her comment, I don’t agree obviously but it got me thinking about most food be buy is mass-produced in some form or another. I know women that prefer for there meat to look as much as possible NOT like the animal it comes from. I mention this just to further prove my mass-production point.

What do you do for Halloween? Do you give out the traditional treats - candy? Do you turn your porch lights off and hope no one rings your bell? We tend to give out toys, little carnival type items. We buy a variety of different items and let the kids choose from the offerings. This year, we are adding Play dough to the mix.

Now that our kids are old enough to go door to door we have a dilemma. Should one stay home to answer the door while the other parent walks with the kids? We’d both like to go but that means no one to answer the door. Should we leave a big bowl on the porch and let them choose while we escort the kids? We’d miss seeing the little ghouls and goblins but we’d be having family fun together.

I’d love to hear how others have handled the dilemma.

How is the economy affecting you? I asked this question to my mom’s group. The answers might surprise you.

Most everyone that responded said it wasn’t really affecting her or her family. They were cutting back and watching their budget more. But they were already doing that because of gas prices. Some were taking fewer trips for errands and cutting down on visiting family out of town.  Some were using alternative methods like riding their bikes to work or walking to the library with kids. Making play dates with friends in the neighborhood rather than with friends across town. For the most part, it makes sense. I don’t think it a bad thing for everyone to watch his or her wallet and expenses. It is a good lesson in budgeting and being thrifty.

Many said they would be OK as long as their husbands didn’t loose their jobs. Then, they didn’t know what they would do. I assume this would be the case for most people.

So I wonder, who is the economy hurting?

I love saving time as well as money. Sometimes the simplest things can save you so much time.

This one actually made a ton of sense when I read it. The tip: clean the bathroom while your children are taking a bath. You need to stay in the bathroom anyway. They always like to have time to play in the water so while they are doing that, you can clean the toilet, the sink, and the mirror. So they next time you take a shower, you can clean the shower.

Easy enough, but I actually needed to remind myself to follow through on this tip. It does work. It was and is helpful. Simple enough and it saves time. This is one tip I will continue to follow.