Family Road Trip Highlights And Low Points

Tonight is our last night in the beach house here in Palm Coast, Florida. Tomorrow we will be embarking on our journey back to Vermont. So far, the trip has been fun. It has been tons of fun at times, and loads of stress at others. Of course, these things are par for the course when you take a family road trip. There have been some wonderful moments during this vacation. Yesterday was very special, as it was my sister’s wedding day. The boys both had a good day behavior – wise and things went smoothly. From spending time with … Continue reading

Family Road Trip Part 1

It is finally time for my family to take the trip that we have been anticipating for quite a few months, now. This is the first time that we have taken Dylan on a car trip that is longer than six hours. As of right now, we are a little over half way to our destination. The trip from Vermont to Florida is a long one, and it can take anywhere from twenty four hours on upwards, depending upon how many stops are made. We began our journey a little over twenty four hours ago. The first small portion of … Continue reading

Can You Have A Happy Halloween Without Candy? Yes!

This evening, I took the boys out for more extensive Halloween activity than we have ever done before. This was Dylan’s third Halloween. For his first Halloween, he was a little bear and we only went to the children’s costume parade downtown. Last year, we did nothing. I forget why, but we did not dress up or go anywhere. This year, we all dressed as firefighters (even the baby) and went out two times. For both outings, my goal was the same – to have fun with Dylan and Blake without the boys eating any candy. As we drove towards … Continue reading

Halloween Craziness

I’m not a big Halloween person. As a kid, I’m sure I was. But, now, not so much. However, I do have kids, so I’m trying to get into the spirit of Halloween a little more. My four-year-old has definitely figured it out. She knows what it’s all about. Candy. Lots and lots of Candy. My sister and I were talking about how it has gotten a little out of hand though. Since when did Halloween turn into a celebration as big as Christmas? It seems to last a week long now giving our kids enough candy to last until … Continue reading

Frugal Month in Review: October 2008

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” – George Eliot October has come and gone, but we can still enjoy fall and the celebration of Thanksgiving and all of the great joys of the season. Take a look back at all of the ways to save money that were featured last month. October 1st Frugal Halloween Costumes It is fall and Halloween is approaching fast, are you ready? What do the kids want to be? You can make some great homemade costumes … Continue reading

Frugal Living Month in Review: June 2008

What a happy month is June, filled with the renewal of spring and the promise of summer. In the last month, we have shared so many ideas for frugal living and saving money. This past month has seen some pretty big increases in food, gas and other items (look for an upcoming post about strawberries increasing more than 100 percent). Now more than ever, it is important to save money where we can. This is why I decided to do a month in review. June 2nd Frugal Living Review: May 26th Through June 1st Garage sale shopping has got to … Continue reading

Co-sleeping Makes Me Happy

This is a really silly title for a pretty mushy blog entry. Recently I asked the question, on a local parenting loop I moderate: “What aspect of your parenting style has had the most positive effect on your family?” Although I asked the question, I didn’t immediately have an answer, myself. After much contemplation, I realized that my answer is co-sleeping, the practice of sharing a “family bed” during a child’s infancy to promote healthy attachment and to ease the stress of night waking and simplify breastfeeding. I’ve long been a supporter of co-sleeping although I’ve only recently expanded my … Continue reading