I love saving!

I am someone who never leaves the house before checking to see if I have a coupon in my stash for whatever we might need. It really does pay in the end to put this little effort out. There are now a lot of online communities dedicated to saving money, alerting members of special deals or coupons out there so that you don't miss out. One of these sites is webbyplanet.com. I also like to buy coupons in bulk online for things we use often, wait until the items go on sale, and then buy 10 or 20 of them at the sale price minus the coupons. It all adds up in the end!

Webkinz World

I have 3 daughters, and this summer they have been lost in the Webkinz virtual world. Have you been there yet? Webkinz are the new "beanie baby" craze. They are cute plush little critters made by Ganz, and they come with an online code. You plug in the code on the Webkinz.com site, and create a virtual world for your pet, or, um, petz if you have more than one. It's birthday season in our house, so the girls have each gotten another critter, I think this will be 4 now for each of them! Yikes! It's a fun site though, the kids can play games to earn money to buy things for their petz, and I like how it teaches them about how to budget their money for things they really want. The hardest part is limiting their computer time, but they have been pretty good about it. These plush critters were really hard to find by late spring, as their popularity was not well planned for and they did not have enough supply to meet the demand. However, stores have been getting in shipments in the last month or so, and we are seeing them everywhere again. If you have a child in the 5-8 yr range, this would be a great gift idea!

What makes you feel good?

Summertime is always an interesting time for me. I love the weather, hanging out with the girls, sleeping in late, not having to go through backpacks and check homework. But it also stresses me out in other ways. I feel like I cannot keep on top of the house no matter how hard I try. I find it difficult to do errands with three kids in tow. I find I can't concentrate on my "work" whether it be Ebay or blogging. There are constant interruptions. So as I count down the days until school starts, I'm trying to figure out what might help me feel better about all the little things that are stressing me out.

One thing you can do that makes you feel really good about yourself is to give back to those who need a little help. Whether it's just by donating your unused household items or clothes, car donations, or donating cash to your favorite charities, it all feels good. I honestly believe that what goes around comes around, and when you help out others, good things will happen to you as well. I am at a point where I have so many Ebay things around my office to list, I am seriously considering donating most of it. I think it will be a weight off my shoulders right away, and I know that many people would put a lot of this stuff to good use.

Vacation Ideas with kids

Getting ready for camping has got me dreaming about future get-aways I'd love to do with the girls before they get older. The obvious one is Disney, we've only been once when my oldest was 3 1/2 and I was pregnant with number two. I'd also love to do Yellowstone and see the Rocky Mountains. I think going to a Dude Ranch or a Texas bed and breakfast would be fun where we can go horseback riding like the old cowboys used too. I have lots of ideas, but they all cost a lot of bucks we don't have! One of these days though, I hope we get there!

Another camping treat!

Oooh! I thought of another camping treat for the campfire. It's another must do. Peel a banana and slit it down the middle and place a couple pieces of chocolate in there. Then wrap the banana up in tin foil and place in in the hot coals for a little while, not too long, I'd say 10-15 minutes at most. Just long enough for the banana to soften up and the chocolate to melt throuroughly. Open the tin foil carefully and eat it with a spoon. SOOOOO GOOD!

Camping treats

We are trying to get ourselves organized to go camping on Sunday. We haven't been since last summer so I am making lists. Food list, items needed for activities list, do not forget list, dog stuff, etc. We recently were at an evening get together where we sat around a fire pit for smores, and we were introduced to Deluxe Smores, and I must share them with you. It's rather simple. Swap out the plain chocolate bars, for a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. It is to die for! I am not a huge marshmallow fan to begin with, so I usually passed by the smores and just ate the chocolate straight, but you have to try these! They are sooooooooooo good!