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A Christmas Memory That Still Challenges Me to This Day

December 23, 2019 by 3 Comments

I really do love the Christmas season. I know it’s hectic, that travel is often a nightmare and that the weather can sometimes wreck your plans. Each of those issues may bring back a Christmas memory you’d rather not recall.

christmas memoryDespite all that, I look forward to Christmas. As long as I can remember I have. As a young child it always meant a trip to my grandparent’s house in Indiana. We’d usually stay for a week with the rest of the extended family crammed into the house. My sister and I camped out on air mattresses in my grandfather’s study.

I don’t know how my grandparents did it, especially my grandmother. Cooking for 15 plus people for the week must have been exhausting. In fact, from our sleeping position in the study, my sister and I could see the light of the kitchen click on early – VERY EARLY – each morning. She always pulled it off though with the perfect mixture of foods that we all liked.

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Filed Under: Inspiration, The Home Tagged With: ,

The Sam’s Club Scan N Go App Is a Shopping Game Changer

August 22, 2018 by 2 Comments

Have you ever missed out on something for so long and when you finally heard about it, felt stupid for not knowing sooner? That’s how I feel right now about the Sam’s Club Scan and Go app. I’ve been shopping at Sam’s for about a year now and just learned about this app several months ago. It’s actually been out since 2016.

Sam's Club Scan and GoThe only thing helping me shed my feelings of stupidity is the shopping experience this app provides. It’s that amazing!

One of the challenging things about shopping at warehouse clubs like Sam’s or Costco is the checkout line. First of all, there is the line itself. It’s usually long, especially during peak hours. I’ve easily stood in line for over 20 minutes before on the weekends.

Secondly, it’s just a bear to check out with all your massive, bulky items. You have to unload at the checkout line and then reload carts after the items are scanned. Even the most skilled checkout attendant can take 5-plus minutes if you have a cartload or two. But we put up with this because we are saving money by buying in bulk.

That’s where the Sam’s Club Scan and Go app comes into play. By using it you can bypass the whole checkout line process! Here is how simply it works.

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Filed Under: Spending, The Home Tagged With: , ,

Daddy Take the Wheel – Adventures With a 15-yr. Old Driver

April 18, 2016 by 14 Comments

Carrie Underwood once famously sang, “Jesus take the wheel – cause I can’t do this on my own.” Recently I’ve gained a new appreciation for her imagery because my 15-year old was issued her learner’s permit. Yes, I can’t believe it…she is learning how to drive. Wasn’t she just in diapers doing her best Fred Flintstone, foot-power imitation in her Little Tikes mobile?

little tikes 2She’s never been behind the wheel of a car before. We don’t live on a farm or have a big yard so she never grew up driving a tractor or lawn mower. The closest she has been to operating a motorized vehicle are go-carts at amusement parks. And of course, those are small and regulated for speed.

Needless to say we are having some fun adventures. I’ve acted like Jesus several times – reaching over to take the wheel to correct a mistake. I’ve had to save a few mailboxes in our subdivision from being clipped by the passenger side, rear view mirror. And there was that one wide turn in our school parking lot that had us headed straight for the second grade classroom. (Shhh…don’t tell the principal.) That was a forceful take the wheel correction.

But she’s learning and getting better each time out.

Funny thing is, I’m re-learning something also that I forget from time to time.

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Filed Under: The Home Tagged With: ,

Cheap Christmas Activities for Kids to Cure the Boredom

December 7, 2015 by 15 Comments

Several weeks ago my kids had several days off for Thanksgiving break. Within two hours of being home from school they were showing signs of boredom. I guess being out of their natural school routine was a shock to their system and they didn’t know what to do. Sound familiar?

christmas activities for kidsIt occurred to me that a more serious situation would be coming up soon – two weeks for Christmas break. Yikes! What Christmas activities for kids could I find to keep them from being bored out of their mind for that length of time?

Really it’s only the first week of break that is a concern – the week leading up to Christmas. So that’s five days or so that I have to keep them busy. After the 25th – with all the presents they receive – they usually have enough to occupy their interest and keep them busy until they return to school.

Of course I will grant them a small portion of their time to watch some TV and play video games. They’ve earned it with all the hard work they’ve put in at school. But I don’t want those two activities to take up the majority of the day.

And I certainly don’t want to be spending a lot of money on activities seeing how we are already spending a lot for gifts.

So here are some Christmas activities for kids I’ve come up with and will do my best to implement over that first week of Christmas break. I don’t know how original these are but by golly my kids are doing them. I don’t want to hear them whining about being bored.

Christmas Activities for Kids

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Filed Under: Kids and Money, The Home Tagged With: , , ,