We can all use a few more hands
My 3 girls share a room. I have been looking for fun ideas to help organize their stuff, especially their stuffed animals. I can across this Boon Animal Bag Stuffed Animal Storage and right now it’s on sale for $29.27, down from $39.99! Looks like a great way to organize without getting rid of all the stuffed treasures.
Last year, I brought you a popular post called 50 Fun Things to do With Your Kids This Summer. It has been a lot of fun doing all these great summer activities so I thought it would be fun to make a printable to stick on our fridge so we can start marking off the things that we have done this year.
Ready to print it? Simply click HERE to download the printable.
Today I was staring into the fridge trying to figure out what to make for dinner. The kids I decided would have pizza, but I wanted something different. I really wanted some brussels. Typically when I make brussels, I throw them in a pan with some garlic and a little butter of mustard and some butter and cook until soft and tasty. Today I decided I didn’t want to cook everything in separate pans to lessen the clean up. Here’s what I came up with and it was absolutely fantastic. Can’t wait until my husband is off shift so he can try as well!
First off, I cut up a kielbasa into small slices and sliced an onion as well. Next up, slicing the pepper.
Everything went into the pan with some butter, minced garlic, and Weber’s horseradish mustard. My husband absolutely loves Weber’s mustard. He grew up near Buffalo, near where it comes from and now he’s got this southern girl addicted as well!
Cook everything together for 20 minutes or so until everything is cooked and tender and enjoy!
So the other day, I told you all about how we decided to get our almost 11 year old daughter a cell phone. She got back from the middle school youth retreat today and now I know why she didn’t answer any of my texts the past 24 hours.
Did I mention they were going to go to the lake and to a river? Does this look familiar to anyone?
Yep. Her new phone took a little swim. In her defense, a friend of hers slipped and fell into the river and she fell in trying to get her friend out. One of the chaperones ended up in the water as well and also soaked their phone. Things happen. I’m just very glad no one was hurt. This is exactly why we went with an inexpensive phone for our daughter. Now we just have to wait and see if the rice does it’s trick. If not, then we will see what our options are for replacing the phone.
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I don’t know about you, but I’m really excited about this! I’m already downloading my favorites! What are your thoughts?
I forgot to post this picture yesterday, but we had a nice Father’s Day. We made steaks, asparagus, summer squash, and apple cobbler. Nice relaxing day, perfect in all aspects. Happy Father’s Day all!
I never thought I’d be the one to get a kid so young a cell phone. Ever. But it has happened. Over the weekend we bought our almost 11 year old daughter a cell phone.
No, she wasn’t begging for one. She never even asked. It just seemed necessary. She goes to camp, retreats, playdates, youth group, and homeschool classes where she may need to get ahold of us. With pay phones being hard to find and everyone else having a cell phone, she wouldn’t be able to reach us without borrowing someone else’s phone. If there is an emergency, I want her to be able to get ahold of me and vice versa without having to hunt for someone to borrow a phone.
I was talking to a friend at church yesterday and she told me the reasons she bought her daughter a cell phone. Her daughter is a popular babysitter and sometimes when she would go to babysit, the family wouldn’t have a house phone. They would obviously take their cell phones with them and she would be left with nothing. No way to get ahold of them in case of emergency or even a way to call 911. I strongly believe in still having a working home phone in case of emergencies, but that is a story for a different day. Cell phones won’t always work.
With that being said, we opted for a TracFone for our daughter. We went with the basic Alcatel 392G “The Big Easy Flip” Prepaid Phone With Double Minutes. I didn’t want her to have internet and all the apps on her phone. I also didn’t want to put her on our plan since it is only going to be used in emergencies or when she’s away from us.
We opted for this option because the minutes automatically double on that phone, so if you purchase 60 minutes, the phone will load 120 minutes. It also gives you 90 days to use up the minutes, where many other brands only gave you 30 days. The 60 minute, 90 day card we bought (which doubled to 120) was only $19.99. That works out to be about $7 a month for 3 months. Cheaper than adding her to our plan. There was no activation fees at all and if we decide to not purchase more minutes, that’s fine, too.
Before we gave it to her, we went over phone safety. We went over who to call in case of emergency. If there was a car wreck or other urgent emergency to call 911 before calling parents. If she can’t get ahold of us, to call Grandma. If someone was bleeding (minor), to call Uncle Chip for first aid instructions or to send him a photo. My brother is an EMT 🙂
This was not an easy decision, but I think it’s right for us for the time being. It was well worth it when I got her text last night saying they made it to the retreat and she was having fun. And another one saying she loved me. Oh and that she forgot her tooth brush 😉
What are your thoughts on kids and cell phones?
Have a great Wednesday 🙂
If you missed my other post, you may want to check out Our Camping Trip at Stone Mountain (Part 1)
After our hike up the mountain, we went back to the campground, where the pool was waiting for us! Just for the record, coming down is MUCH easier than going up 🙂 The pool was nice and refreshing.
After the pool, we visited the campground playground to play and dry off and then walked to the campground store where we snagged some ice creams to replenish our energy. The campground store was very well stocked on things that you may have forgotten to bring with you.
They also have an option to purchase things like a refillable drink mug or slushees!
Then it was off to the fun activities! Stone Mountain Park has lots of adventure pass options and some even include meals. You can visit their website for more information on what is available.
If you purchase an Adventure Pass, you can add a Ride the Duck ticket for just $9. We had never done this attraction before the trip, and it was a hit! Our guide was hilarious and kept us laughing. Even more awesome, he let the kids drive the Duck while it was in the water! I think it was the highlight of our kids’ day! We are very glad we finally tried it!
After the ducks, we went back to the campground where we made quesadillas on the grill and relaxed at our campsite. We started packing up to go to the Lasershow Spectacular when a storm hit! Boo! What’s really neat is that at the campground, a horn will sound when lightning is nearby! We were able to hear that and opt to stay at our campsite instead of being caught in the downpour! When the storm passes, the horn does a quick 3 sounds to let you know it’s over. It is NOT a tornado alarm, but merely a lightning alert. I thought this was a great thing to have!
We were a little disappointed to not be able to see the Lasershow Spectacular a second time, but we made the best of it! We brought out our cards and played with them in the camper!
The next morning was time to leave. Boo! We had a great time and will definitely be back, only to take a much longer trip! 2 nights was far too short to see and do everything! Can’t wait to go again and have more adventures!
Thanks again to our friends at Stone Mountain Park for assisting us in this adventure!
As I told you the other day, my family took a little camping trip to Stone Mountain Park in Stone Mountain, Georgia. It was a great little adventure and we will definitely be visiting again soon. I’m breaking this up in a couple different posts since there is so much to tell!
We got there on Wednesday evening and set up camp at the Stone Mountain Park Campground. The sites are somewhat uneven, but there is a cart near the office with boards that you can use to help level your camper. We were very grateful for that! Each site is equipped with a grill and a picnic table. Ours even had a little fire ring, which was perfect for s’mores.
Wednesday evening we relaxed, cooked hot dogs, and then made our way to the Lasershow Spectacular. Something I didn’t know about the campground is that they have a shuttle to take you right to the activities! You don’t have to move your car unless you want! The shuttle runs every 30 minutes and up to 30 minutes after the Lasershow Spectacular.
At the Lasershow Spectacular, we did the Snack Terrace option. You can easily do the free option as well, but if you’d like a seat and some snacks, the Snack Terrace is a great option. You get a great viewing location and chairs to sit.
Lasershow Snack Terrace seating includes:
Did I mention the unlimited popcorn? That was my youngest kid’s favorite part!
Thursday morning we decided to do something that we had never done since having kids. We decided to actually CLIMB Stone Mountain!
We were a little hesitant not knowing how the kids would do, but they completely surprised us! They did great! I was the one dragging! In my defense, I was also carrying the backpacks with 6 bottles of waters, snacks, and first aid kit, just in case. Other than our youngest needing carrying the last slope of the hike, everyone did great! Coming down was much easier 🙂
We got to the top around 10:15 am and went to the building to get cooled down a bit. It was locked. Bummer. We decided to stand and check out the view and before we knew it, guess what we got to see come up the hill! The local Police Department driving on the mountain! It was a really windy morning so they said they weren’t able to run the sky ride to get the workers up to the top. When it’s too windy, they drive the workers up! The kids thought that was super neat (and my hubby did, too!)
Stay tuned for more from our trip in the next day or so!
Update: Click HERE for part 2.