Gas Price Increase

I have a little Pontiac Vibe. It is a great small car with reasonably good gas millage. Yesterday, I had to fill up for the first time in a few weeks. I live in a small town, and don't drive terribly far, especially over the last few weeks with sick kids... so I was shocked that the price here in town was $3.20. According the AAA fuel gauge report, our gas is at the top of the scale. We have added gas taxes in this town, supposedly some of the highest gas taxes in the state, but still... a little town in Florida with the highest gas prices? I was on my way on a 140 mile round trip to visit my friend and her children and I felt GUILTY! How could I go anywhere with gas prices so high?
This report that showed up on Yahoo this morning gives some great ways to increase you gas mileage. Some seem like they would not make much of a difference, but any difference can save you money and more than that, save the gas. So do your part! Save some gasoline, save some money!

Qualities of a Wealthy Woman

My friend Amber is posting a series about the qualities of a wealthy woman. On my car, I have "Smart Moms Finish Rich" as my advertisement for my business (see a picture here). As a church going woman, I get some remarks about what does it mean to "finish rich" (at least they are not questioning the smart part...). All people want to "be rich" but no one wants to admit it! Being rich means to be successful in all areas of life, your family, your church, your work, not just the amount of money you have (or don't have) in the bank. I am rich because I have a wonderful husband that loves and supports me with two wonderful children that keep me on my toes. I am rich because I have three wonderful business partners that are working to improve our lives and the lives of other women. I am rich because I attend a wonderful Bible believing church. I am rich because I have 4 loving siblings and parents that happen to all live in the same town. I could continue to list my "rich" areas of life... but there would not be enough room to continue on. If you are feeling "poor", reevaluate your life and what you do have. As Sheryl Crow stated, "It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got." If your job is what is holding you back from being rich, visit our Smart Mom site and see if we have something to help you out. Don't go through life thinking you are poor, be RICH!

Smart Mom Tips for Saving Energy

One of the largest expenses in a household is the power bill. It does not matter where you live, whether you have a mild winter or a mild summer- most places have one extreme or the other- a hot summer or a cold winter, each being able to strain a families household budget. Without being an electrician, there are some ways to lowering you electricity bill. These are simple steps you family can take to lower your bill each month and throughout the year.

1. Turn off the lights. It seems simple, but it is a hard habit to make. How many times do you walk out of a room without flipping the switch? Many times you do not even notice until the next time you come into the room, which could be hours later. Turning off the lights is the easiest no-cost way to reducing your energy bill. Also, replace your five most used light bulbs with ENERGY STAR compact fluorescent bulbs to save $60 each year in energy costs. These light bulbs use two-thirds less energy and last up to 10 times longer.
2. Unplug appliances your are not using. Not only are you lowering the possibility of starting a fire, but by unplugging the appliances that are not is use, you will lower your bill. If it is plugged in, it is using electricity. Unplug the coffee pot, toaster, and the blender. If you keep these appliances on your counter, they do not have to be plugged in if you are not using them.
3. Unplug cell phone chargers and turn off power strips. Again, if is plugged in, it uses electricity. If you plug your computer, cell phone, printer, and fax all into one power strip, you can turn the power strip off when it is not in use with one click.
4. Turn the computer off: do not let it hibernate. Hibernating computers or computers on stand by are still using electricity. Again, turn them off or turn off the power strip when not in use. However, hibernation is better than being on. Set your computer to turn off if not in use, but make sure to turn it off if you will not be using it for a long period.
5. Use the microwave, crock pot, or counter top oven in the summer. Unless you want your house to heat up, do not use your oven in the summer time. By cooking meals in smaller appliances, you will decrease the amount of work your air conditioner has to do to cool the house back down. A small counter top oven (similar to a toaster oven, but better) can cook almost everything a large oven can, but it takes less time to preheat and does not heat up the entire kitchen. In the winter, you may want your house to heat up, so use the oven! Also, do not self-clean the oven in the summer time. The 500 degree temperatures really heat up the house.
6. Turn off ceiling fans if no one is in the room. Ceiling fans are great to cool a room while increasing the thermostat temperature. But if no one is in the room, it is not helping anyone. Ceiling fans are "instant gratification" appliances. They cool immediately and do not provide for a build up of cool air. Also, reverse the fan in the winter to help move the warm air around. All fans have a small switch to reverse the blade direction. That will help to move the warm air that has risen to warm the house.
7. Get window treatments. Blinds and curtains are more than a designer statement. They help keep the sun out in the summer and keep the cool air out in the winter. Even insulated windows can use the extra boost. Close the curtains and blinds at night to regulate the temperature, especially in the winter. Close the curtains during the day in the summer to keep the cool air in. Open the curtains in the winter to let the sunlight in.
8. Wash clothes in cold water. With the new cold water detergents, almost all clothes can be washed in cold water. That can lower an electricity bill by $63 in a year. Do full loads instead of partial loads. Do not do laundry during peak energy use times- when people are getting ready to go to work and when people are making dinner.
9. Do a few loads of laundry in a row. The dryer will remain warm and will not need to reheat from being cold. Do not overload your dryer since it will take more time to dry. Also be sure your the warm air is venting out of your house. If you have a utility room, close the door to keep the house from heating. Unless it is winter and then use the heat to your advantage!
10. Get a water heater blanket. This is an easy way to decrease your bill by keeping the water heater insulated. During the winter, the water heater is trying to keep up with the cool air. A blanket will keep the temperature regulated. It is so easy to install, you can do it yourself.

As a smart mom, you want to teach your children to make good choices and form good habits that will last forever. And of course, the benefit to the environment is another great reward. If needed, provide an incentive to your children for following the energy rules. The money you will save in the long room will be worth the time and effort to get your family into good habits. A little consistency and work up front will help your household over the long term.

My friends got me a fire extinguisher!

Today my dear friends Ali and Stephen called and told us they had bought us a present... so they came over with a fire extinguisher! In case my oven catches on fire, they want me to be ready.... LOL!

I did buy a great counter top oven- I love it! First, it does not heat up the house. Second, it takes minutes to preheat. Third, it came with a rotisserie! I have cooked frozen food like cheese sticks, those tear away cookies (just enough to eat right then), toasted bagels and waffles, and made french bread pizza. I do usually cook more, but with the family sick, not so much this week! I am hoping it will lower my power bill some this summer by not using the oven.

Crazy Kid Sleeping Positions

In this great blog I found, Crazy Hip Blog Mamas they have a posting for crazy kid sleeping positions. So I went and found one... sleeping sideways on Daddy!

Crafts That Are TOO Hard

My son did not want to go to Wednesday night church recently. He likes to stay home with Daddy, even though he used to call it "his school." So I asked him why he did not want to go. He answered, "Because the crafts are too hard. Crafts should not be that hard." He is almost 4, but there are kids in there that are almost 6. So it is probably too hard. But does that make him a perfectionist? Oh no!

My two year old needs to speak English!

My little girl is just 2 and 1 week. She was born when my son was 22 months old, and I believe I remember him talking so we could understand him. She is getting so frustrated because she knows what she is saying, but I have no idea! She takes me around the house, saying the same thing over and over and I have no idea what it is. I feel terrible that I cannot translate. My sister told me to ask my son what she is saying since he may understand her... ha ha ha! When I asked him, he repeated her sounds and added in some baby sounds for good measure! He has no clue either. So I need her to speak English, not 2 year old. She is getting angrier and angrier that we cannot understand her and I feel terrible! Any translators available?

VBS Game Day Central Cookies

A wonderful woman at our church made these cookies for our Game Day Central kick off event for our Team KID group. They are too cute and yummy too! She used cookie dough refrigerator batter on these big plates she got that you cook on (like Gladware, I think). Then she did the icing. I cannot give you all the details, but you can improvise from what you see.

A Real Mom's Mother's Day

What would a Mother's Day be if you got to sit back and relax? For a mom of a preschooler and toddler, it is just a dream. Today I am nursing back to health a 2 year old... she is throwing up! I always try to track down where we get the viruses from, but it was a busy week- the grocery store (and no wipes available to wipe down the cart), the library for story time, church on Wednesday night, MOPS on Thursday, the pet store and children's museum on Friday. Too many opportunities out there, huh? I usually am really good at wiping things down before they touch them and their hands after we leave, but I was not so good this week. Someone told me I needed to build up their immunity. Now my son has a slight fever, which is amazing, because he hardly ever gets sick! So my Mother's day lunch at my moms house is not going to happen, although I made some of the food this morning. We were also going to have birthday cake for Sophia's birthday last week. It is already ordered, so someone is going to eat it! Maybe I will have Rick record them singing Happy Birthday to her! LOL
I know the "sit back and relax" days may come some day, but so is the day of a mom... taking care of your children that cannot help it they are sick, making food for a party you were attending but can't make it to, and cleaning the house. Does that mean I get a rain check for next Sunday?

Naps or no naps?

My almost 4 year old son really stopped taking naps months ago- he could use a nap, but I am not in to him staying awake until 11:00 pm. If he does not take a nap, he is usually in bed at 8:00 pm, if not earlier. While I was in Las Vegas for a week, he got used to getting up when his daddy got up, at 6:00 am! Not my usual wake up time... so it has been killing me for the last few weeks, and him, since he is exhausted by 5:30 pm, too early for bed. So two nights ago, he went to sleep at 7:00 pm and woke up at 8:45 pm ready to go. He actually took a nap at 7:00 in the evening! And of course, who stayed up with him... ME! The next day, he got up early again, but this time I made him nap at 1:00 pm. He and his sister played for 1 hour before they both fell asleep. I let him sleep an hour (waking him up is a whole other story) and got him up. So he went to bed at 9:30 pm last night. It is such a hard choice to nap or not nap... peace in the evening because he is rested or an early bed time. I guess we will see how this continues to play out, and if I am the one that has to change and get up early!

The Oven Exploded!

My oven is only 7 years old and is not gunky on the bottom or anything... the other day I saw a red spot (not a flame) on the bottom element when I was cooking. I figured something got on it and was burning off. The next night, I preheated the oven. I had to go outside to get my daughter off the swing and I came back in, walked around the kitchen, and back towards the oven to put some garlic butter on my bread sticks. Then I heard a sound like the dishwasher starting, but it was from my OVEN! It was like "zizzizizizi!" and the whole oven lit up! I stepped back to look at it, saw the light, and turned off the oven and the stove top. There was a bit of smoke, not enough to set off the smoke detector, but the flame would not go out- it was inching around the element. So I ran out and turned off the breaker, which did make the flame go out. So I turned the breaker back on (I was brave) and turned the over back on. It did not burn down the house, but it never heated all the way either. My bread sticks were sort of cooked and then I broiled them to finish them. That element still works.
So this week at the grocery store, I bought things that can be grilled or cooked on the stove top. I thought this may save some energy and money on my power bill, but I guess I have to get it fixed! At least the house did not burn down! :)

Cleaning Tip

My sister told me about a tip for cleaning your jacuzzi tub- you dissolve two dishwasher tablets in really hot water and add them to your tub and turn it on. One thing I did not think of was that I rinse my cleaning rag (that had some type of orange cleaner on it) in the tub while it was filling up. So when I ran the jets, the bubbles blew up! It ended up making a bigger mess since then I had to clean up bubble residue! I am sure the tip works, but make sure your tub is CLEAN water without cleaners!

My little girl is 2!

My little girl's birthday is today. She had a somewhat uneventful day with church, nap, then her birthday cupcakes and presents with McDonald's for dinner. The best part was when she cried when we sang Happy Birthday!

Desperate for Discounted Designer Diaper Bags

I have two children. The first a boy, so when I was choosing a diaper bag, I wanted something that was boyish... not thinking that I would be the one to carry the diaper bag, not him. Also, what happened to my purse when I had the diaper bag? I could hardly stand carrying a purse before kids (although I bought plenty, they just stayed in the car!)- I certainly wasn't going to add it with the diaper bag. Why-- when the bag had all those pockets anyway?
After a year, I did buy a designer bag that was more me and much prettier. I got pregnant soon after that and had not even quit using it for the first when then I needed it for two! Two sizes of diapers, two changes of clothes (at least!) and less room for my things. I so admired those beautiful designer bags at the department stores, but I had a newer bag and could not convince myself I needed another. So one is done with occupying the bag and the other is almost done (hopefully) and now I can take the bag, but leave it in the car.
So I have now created a resource for DISCOUNTED designer diaper bags. Not only are these cooler than those at the baby superstores, they are mostly within normal price points, especially if you know you will be using it for a while.

Some of these are so cute that you may even use them beyond diaper bag years. It makes me want to have another baby just to get a diaper bag! This timi & leslie small bag is adorable and unique! You will have to check it out the selection for yourself. Desperate for Diaper Bags
To open your own store and choose your own niche, click here.

Cleaning week update...

I did not completely accomplish my goal this week. It started off great, as usual, and then went downhill and back up again. I did not get the entire family room dusted on the family room day, but I did get a lot done. The next morning I did get the dusting done, but had to go and get Sophie's 2 year old pictures so that day went downhill. Today I had to tackle the kids section. The playroom was so overwhelming that I had to stop and go all day! There were toys everywhere from my week away! I got a lot together to give to my friend and threw away the junky papers my son likes to keep. I also got rid of the McDonald's toys and the like. Overall, it looked pretty good when I got done. I moved their little table close to the little kitchen and told my son it was his restaurant. So where did we have dinner tonight... in the playroom!

And speaking of dinner, I set a record this week... 5 nights of dinner at home! That is an accomplishment!

Cleaning day continued...

Into the third day of my cleaning challenge and I have not quite accomplished my goal for today- the family room/dining room. My sister came over and blah blah blah... I did not get it done yet. I still have to dust. But the worst thing is after I vacuumed the tile, my dogs and children came in a got grass all over the place, which makes you wonder why you clean at all sometimes. Of course, I could not imagine if I did not clean- the grass and dog hair would be higher than the area rug! So I am plugging through and will not sleep until the dusting is done... even if I finish it after LOST!

A Busy Mom's Challenge to Clean!

I decided yesterday to clean my house from top to bottom... without doing it all in one day. So I divided my house into 5 sections and I am cleaning one per day. Yesterday I cleaned the master bedroom, blinds, baseboards, and all. Today it was both bathrooms, including scrubbing the tile. Tomorrow is the utility room/kitchen, next the family room/dining room, the final day is the kids rooms (bedroom and playroom!). That will be the most difficult! I will not sleep until the chore is done! I still, however, procrastinate and did not get started until after lunch. But the important part is that I am going to do it! I am not the greatest house cleaner, but I do general cleaning... after this I will need to tackle the drawers and closets!

VBS Game Day Central Ideas and Pictures

I am the VBS director for our church and like many Southern Baptist churches, we are doing Game Day Central from Lifeway. I posted some hints on Lifeway's idea section about the lockers and the worship rally, and wanted to include it here in case anyone reading also is doing the same. If you have any questions about the pictures or materials, post a comment and I will respond.

The lockers are made with florist boxes and spray painted (very easy!).
The back drop is made with a drop cloth that was a cotton type material on the front and a plastic on back (no leakage!). We have them hanging on a PVC frame that is 6 feet tall with two 8 feet sides and one long 16 feet back. Our stage is quite large, but we only used 3 panels for the back drop. The "faces" were painted with a variety of mixed tempera paint and oval sponges. It looks great from the audience.

Our pic in Vegas-

The 4fabmoms in Vegas...

Hello again...

My blog was flagged for possible spam, so I was not able to post for a few days and then I went to Vegas for a week for a conference and then participated in Relay for Life the day I got back... so it has been a busy week! And not to mention the laundry and the house cleaning I have to do to make up for my week away. My husband survived his week with the kids and the kids survived their week with the babysitter and my mom and sister who so graciously watched them some days. I am happy to be home, but I am making up for it this week! I had a great time with my 4fabmoms that went to the conference with me. We did not have any "stays in Vegas" stories, but we had a great time anyway. Many gave me tips as I went and the one I should have listened to was the tip of wearing good walking shoes... but the good walking shoes did not always go with the outfit! So I learned my lesson. I met some great people at the conference, in the airport, on the airplane, everywhere. I wore my Smart Moms - Finish Rich shirt and got tons of questions. What a great marketing tool- and I made them myself on our T-shirt affiliate, SpreadShirt. If you are traveling anywhere I would suggest you make a shirt to advertise your business. It is cost effective for the amount of exposure you get. I wore it to Disney one day and got a hit on our lead site! You never know who is watching! :)
So it is good to be home and not so good to be cleaning the house- my least favorite job!