1. If you don’t own your own camping gear, ask around to see if any friends or relatives have tents, sleeping bags, etc. that you could borrow or rent.
2. Consider camping mid-week or off season. Many campgrounds have cheaper rates at these times.
3. Find a place that’s not too far away, as gas prices can make your expenses go up in a hurry.
4. Choose a location that is near a water source or hiking trails. Find a place with ‘free’ activities nearby. Throwing rocks into a river occupied The Boy for nearly 2 hours on our most recent trip.
5. Consider just going away for one night. It seems like the work involved with getting organized for a camping trip is too much for just one night away, but you’d be surprised. You don’t need to plan as many meals. You could just throw some left-overs (and s’more fixings of course) into the ice chest.
6. Make your own block ice. Block ice lasts longer than cubes or crushed. Start a few days ahead of time freezing your own blocks of ice in tupperware.
7. Ask around to see if any friends or local businesses have free or inexpensive firewood. If you plan to have a campfire, try to find wood before you go. Buying wood from a campground host can be mighty pricey.
8. Cut down on your laundry work when you get home. Store all the dirty clothes separately from your clean clothes.
9. Take along rags to use instead of paper towels. (I must say that I never follow this one. I love a big roll of paper towels and pack of wet wipes to use when camping.)
10. Get together with friends for a camping trip. Share the costs of the campground space, food, firewood and other gear (stove, ice chest, etc.).
11. If you do own all your own camping gear, consider keeping it stored all together. This will make your unpacking much easier when you get back home. We have several camping tubs that live in our garage. It is so easy to pack and unpack for a camping trip this way. Our camping list notes the things that live permanently in the tub and the things that need to be added each time.

Come for the saving money tips, stay for the great health advice!

This time around, the book is Duck on a Bike by David Shannon. Shannon is the author of the David series of books and has a bunch more to his credit. He is a wonderful illustrator and author and this 40 page book lives up to his reputation. It involves a duck in a farmyard that steals a bike and goes all around the farm seeing all his animal friends.

The illustrations are AMAZING and the page with all the animal on it, I won’t tell you why they are on it, is awesome. The look on their faces cracks me up every single time I read it, which is a lot. So for a nice book that is short and you will get a kick out of, check it out.

VADER: The Emperor does not share your optimistic appraisal of the situation.
And neither will your father when he gets home.

VADER: That is correct, Commander. And he is most displeased with your apparent lack of progress.
So clean up the damn living room already!

NINEDENINE: You’re a feisty little one, but you’ll soon learn some respect.
But probably not until they are 35 years old.

JABBA: Soon you will learn to appreciate me.
Again, only when they are 35.

YODA: Hmm. That face you make. Look I so old to young eyes?
So I didn’t know what Twitter was, give me a break!

YODA: No more training do you require. Already know you that which you need.
Except how to do a keg stand. But now that they are leaving for college, don’t fool yourself, they will learn it.

LUKE: Search your feelings, father. You can’t do this. I feel the conflict within you.
So please let me borrow the car!

HAN: All right, don’t lose your temper. I’ll come right back and give you a hand.
Just about anytime your kid is building something that all of sudden breaks the laws of physics and comes crashing down.

HAN: You could use a good kiss!
When your kids try and be cool in front of their friends and refuse to show any affection for you.

HAN: Ooh…I thought they smelled bad on the outside!
Umm.. A Diaper?!

ZEV: (into transmitter) Echo Base…I’ve got something! Not much, but
it could be a life form.
Guys, make sure you say this during the first ultrasound.

HAN: How are you feeling, kid? You don’t look so bad to me. In fact, you look strong enough to pull the ears off a Gundark.
When the kids try and stay home from school claiming to be sick.

THREEPIO: Sir, I am fluent in six million forms of communication. This signal is not used by the Alliance.
You become amazingly in tune with your children’s cries. So when a bunch of kids are playing elsewhere you can tell which one is screaming and hopefully it isn’t yours so you don’t have to get up and check.

HAN: Droid of some kind. I didn’t hit it that hard. It must have had a self-destruct.
I’m waiting for the boy to say this when he breaks yet another toy.

DACK: Right now I feel I could take on the whole Empire myself.
Pretty much an everyday thought of your children. Especially teenagers.

LEIA: Someday you’re going to be wrong, and I hope I’m there to see it.
The kids will tell you this, but don’t worry, you will always be right.

YODA: How you get so big, eating food of this kind?
“Instead of eating that, I’ll stick to my two bites of mac and cheese.”

LUKE: Hey, you could have broken this. Don’t do that. Ohhh…you’re making a mess. Hey, give me that!
Again, every DAY in your life.

EMPEROR: There is a great disturbance in the Force.
VADER: I have felt it.
A great thing to say when the pregnancy test comes back positive. Or what siblings will say when they learn another kid is on the way.

YODA: No, no, there is no why. Nothing more will I teach you today. Clear your mind of questions. Mmm. Mmmmmm.
But why this, why that? Why Daddy, why mommy, why, why, WHY?!?

YODA: So certain are you. Always with you it cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say?
So eat that last piece broccoli already.

LEIA: I love you!
HAN: I know.
The moment you realize they are all grown up.

VADER: I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.
I’m laughing too hard about this one to write anything. Just say it to your kid one day when you told him something and then changed your mind.

THREEPIO: The city’s central computer told you? Artoo-Detoo, you know better than to trust a strange computer.
MySpace, Facebook, Twitter. You know what they say. On the Internet, boys are boys, girls are men and children are FBI agents.

C-3PO: How did I get into this mess? I really don’t know how. We seem to be made to suffer. It’s our lot in life.
This sounds like something Calvin would say to Hobbes after breaking something and being sent to bed without dinner.

LUKE SKYWALKER: But I was going into Toshi Station to pick up some power converters.
Power converters, skateboard wheels, the latest GTA. Kids are always going somewhere to pick up something when you need them. Even if they weren’t the second before you asked them to do something for you.

LUKE SKYWALKER: Well, if there’s a bright center to the universe, you’re on the planet that it’s farthest from.
Sounds like your typical teenager to me.

DARTH VADER: I find your lack of faith disturbing.
Your response to, “Oh Mom, we are never going to get there in time! Why do you drive so slow?!”

OBI-WAN KENOBI: Mos Eisley Spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
Or the corner store. Or that sketchy area of the playground where the kid who already uses deodorant hangs out.

HAN SOLO: Sorry about the mess.
Reminds me of every day of my life.

HAN SOLO: Watch your mouth, kid, or you’re going to find yourself floating home.
Said towards the end of the ubiquitous summer car trip.

SECOND TROOPER: What was that?
FIRST TROOPER: Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.
Replace Second Trooper with “Parent” and First Trooper with “Child”

DARTH VADER: Your powers are weak, old man.
The first day your kid schools you in some sport or game.

HAN SOLO: Great kid! Don’t get cocky.
Your response to the above comment.

And, one more paraphrased quote.
Riding a Big Wheel ain’t like dusting crops, boy.

OK, ok, maybe a little more detail would be nice. Saving for a big purchase can be really hard, especially in these days of high limit credit cards. A lot of people have $10, $20, even $50 thousand available on their cards. So why wait to buy anything? Just go out, purchase it and pay it off. That way, you get the item now and instead of saving a little every month, you’ll pay a little every month and already have the item! What a great idea, right?

Wrong.

The entire time you will be paying interest on your card, sometimes over 20%! In the bank, your monthly savings will actually grow a little. And, I do mean a little. But a little is better than a big negative something. Also, what happens if you have an emergency need for money while paying off the card, you might miss a payment and that adds to your interest payments! Another benefit is that you might actually find you don’t want the item after saving for it and you can spend that money elsewhere.

Once you have decided what you want to purchase, get a pretty good estimate of the costs and where you are going to buy it. Include taxes and shipping on expensive items or really heavy items. That UPS battery backup might be $100, but it weighs 120 pounds and costs $50 to ship! Then, once you have a final cost, begin the saving.

I find that a separate account is the best bet. It is too much of a temptation to spend from it if you keep it in your normal checking/savings accounts. You’ll say, “Oh, I just need an extra $100, I’ll just use some of what I have saved.” If your item is small and you won’t gain any benefit from having it in the bank, a plain white envelope works great. I know, crazy right? But, an envelope hiding in the drawer is fantastic, you never see it, it just collects money, you can even write on the outside the current balance which is fun. Also, holding a wad of cash in an envelope is lots of fun.

Break your savings into amounts that you can handle every month. A great way is to always save an amount of money and put it in an envelope labeled, ‘Big Purchases.’ Then you always have a little seed money. You can up the amount if you need more for a larger purchase. Set a time frame where the item won’t be obsolete before you buy it. Tech stuff is notorious for this, although a newer model will come out so you can always buy that one. Or buy the original at a lower price.

Then, when it is time, get out your envelope and go buy what you have been wanting and know that you haven’t gained any debt from it. You also may want to just put it in the bank if you used an envelope and use your credit card. Then you get the benefits of using your card without the interest charges since you can pay it off immediately!

The National Wildlife Federation has some great magazines for kids. Our personal favorite for toddlers is Wild Animal Baby, which comes in a board book-type cover. Highlights also has some great kids magazines available. Amazon is a great place to find out about magazines and sometimes has special deals or offers. Be sure, however, that you follow through on your gift and check with the recipient to make sure they have received their first copy.

Decide what is most important to you and start there. Make a list or make a plan for how the organizing will be done and how it will be kept up. Set aside a period of time each day to work on cleaning out and organizing. Don’t try to do it all in one fell swoop.

organizedhome.com
unclutterer.com
apartmenttherapy.com

This will require some patience and a deck of cards. Preferably a deck of kids’ cards with pictures of Elmo or Winnie the Pooh. The Boy has a set of Thomas cards which have pictures of the Thomas characters – 4 of each. This set has given us many hours of fun and hasn’t even gotten all bent up an thrashed yet. We first used the set to play things like matching ‘games.’ The Boy would turn over cards until he found two of a kind. Each set of 4 cards has four different colored borders, so color matching is another ‘game’ we played. He’s now has a pretty good attention span, so lately we’ve taught him Memory and Go Fish.

For Memory, I pull out anywhere between 3 and 10 pairs of cards, shuffle and lay face down. We take turns turning over 2 cards to see if we can find a match.

For Go Fish, I deal each of us 5 cards and we put the rest in the middle, in a ‘fish pond.’ Here’s where we deviate from the rules a little. We lay our 5 cards out in front of us so we can each see what the other has. It is too hard for The Boy to hold onto the cards in his hand and he hasn’t gotten the hang of keeping what cards you have a secret. So we have to ‘cheat’ a little – usually in his favor. Right away he picked up on “Mommy, do you have a …?” and the response, “No, Go Fish!”

The tricky thing for both of these games is that he often wants to play Now! So we’re learning patience too. I think we could start learning a game like Uno in this same way – placing all our cards on the table in front of us.

• Diapers. I’m guessing that everyone would need diapers, for whatever sex. Even if they usually use cloth, disposables are so handy to have for travel, etc. When your own child grows out of a certain size, save the leftovers from the smaller size. You can put a nice gift bag together with diapers of all sizes. Babies might start with the newborn size diapers, but eventually they will need the bigger sizes.
• Clothes. Hand-me-downs can be made into a really nice gift. This is especially for moms who are having a different sex than they already have. Wash, dry and fold your nicest hand-me-downs and wrap them up for a shower gift. Maybe even attach a note telling about how some of them were your favorites or memories you have of your own kids wearing them.
• Toys. Chances are, second-time moms already have plenty of toys around. If their first child is much older, then baby toys are a good bet. Toys that will be chewed on are also a good idea. You can often find some of these cheaply at mega-stores like WalMart or Target. If you have toys that are in excellent condition, they might make a good hand-me-down too.
• Gift Cards. If your budget allows, the new mom might appreciate a gift card to the local grocery store or Target – somewhere that they can go to get their own necessities for the new baby.
• Meals. Another thing you might be able to do on a small budget is fix a meal or two for the family. One meal before the baby comes (when mom is getting too big and tired to cook) and one after the baby arrives.

* Provided a predictable life with a reasonably ordered environment
* Held and touched often
* Talked to (or sung to) often
* Read to frequently
* Exposed to interesting experiences
* Given many opportunities to learn through play.”

All things that we at SIP advocate and encourage. The best part? None of these things will take your life’s savings. “Interesting Experiences” do not have to include flying to another country. It can mean taking an exploration walk around your neighborhood to look for insects, birds or colors. It can mean taking a backroad to Grandma’s house instead of the freeway in order to stop at a local cheese factory. Try it today!

Before you start cramming everything into your car and lashing stuff to the roof, consider these tips.

1. Many hotels and resorts provide baby gear such as pack and plays and high chairs. Restaurants provide booster seats. Call your destination before packing to see what baby/kid gear might be offered.

2. If you are traveling to a major city, there are usually baby equipment rental possibilities. Baby’s Away and Babies Travel Lite are two such rental outlets.

3. If you are traveling to visit relatives, ask them if they have baby equipment already or if they know of friends/neighbors in their area that might be willing to lend to you.

4. Unless you have a 15 hour flight or a seriously long road trip, you really don’t need too much for actual travel time. Keep your kids entertained with games like I Spy or the Alphabet Game. Take along books on tape or cd for the car. If they are old enough, give them a specific ‘travel’ bag that they can fill will activities. Or, my favorite, plan your travel for during nap time and hope they sleep most of the time!

Happy Traveling.

At first, though, I was at a loss as to how to cook all these vegetables. (The fruit is easy. The Boy eats fruit with almost every meal.) I shopped around and finally settled on From Asparagus to Zucchini; A Guide To Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce. This cookbook is amazing! It is organized by vegetable, with at least 4 recipes for each. Most of the recipes require other ingredients that are also currently in season. In addition to the recipes (we have yet to find one we really don’t like), each section has a brief history of that vegetable and cooking and storage tips.

Really, who knew there were so many delicious ways to prepare beets or how delicious a carrot almond cake could be? Pasta Pie with Fresh Greens anyone? How about Garlic Parsley Pesto or Penne alla Zucca (Roman Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce)?

f you are thinking of trying to cook more with seasonal produce or if you have a plethora of squash and need some ideas of how to use it, this is the book for you. If you want to introduce more vegetables (and not just the mainstream veggies you find at the supermarket) into your diet, this is the book for you. If you like to shop at Farmers’ Markets, but just don’t know how to fix that kohlrabi, this is the book for you. Happy Cooking and Happy Eating!

Here’s another reminder: Don’t forget to apply sunscreen to those ears and the back of the neck. Tops of feet are another easily forgotten, easily burned location, especially during sandal/barefoot season. Reapply when you are out in the sun for long periods of time and after swimming. If your child has fair skin and fair hair, consider sunscreen on the head too (or a cute hat!).

Luckily, there is a webpage that can help, imagine that? Here you can learn about how to keep fruits and vegetables fresh and prevent spoilage. It lists a bunch of common fruits and vegetables and where you can store them and for how long. For example, celery can go in the fridge but garlic should always be stored on the counter. A great resource for keeping your food fresh and not having to throw it in the compost pile.

Circles: Cheerios
Squares: Chex, Quaker Oat Squares
There are more shapes in some sugary cereals (Lucky Charms comes to mind). If you don’t want to buy an entire box, consider buying the little one-serving packs and letting your kids glue the shapes onto paper. Or just eating a small serving for a special treat.

And of course, there are other foods that come in basic shapes. Some crackers are triangle or rectangle shaped. When you start looking around your kitchen, you may find little teaching opportunities everywhere!

Younger kids might enjoy the counting and colors books and older kids will like to see the dinosaurs go to school and play with their friends. The silly, rhyming text is accompanied by great illustrations of dinosaurs with human parents. These are fantastic books for older kids who are into dinosaurs too.

We have ratty books, brand new books, books that make sounds, books that have lights and require batteries, puzzle books that come apart, cloth books, velcro books, old classics, new soon-to-be classics and possibly even lost library books. But how to keep track of them all and be able to share that list with relatives and friends so you don’t end up with 6 copies of Pat the Bunny?

Enter the website, LibraryThing.com. You can create a free account and start entering all the books you have by title, author or ISBN. When you are done you get a fairly simple looking URL that you can send around to family and friends. This lists all the books and you can even see how many people also have a certain book on their list. Over 2000 for The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein!

You can even make other lists for yourself, but since you can fit about 20 children’s books in the space that Andrew Carnegie’s biography would fit, it is especially helpful for managing the ever growing kid’s bookshelf.