Blog Post Example: Car Wars

CAR WARS – How to Fight the Car Battles AND WIN

What do you call it when you cram your family and everything you own into your vehicle and drive until you hit a beach?

Some call that a summer vacation. Others call it a trip to Hades in a tin can.

How YOU define it depends upon your perspective and how you execute your travel strategy – provided you don’t execute the kids first.

Of course, I’m kidding about executing the kids. Why go to all that trouble if they’re going to kill each other, anyway?

Somewhere between, Are-we-there-yet? and She-touched-me! there’s potential for bloodshed. It’s when your precious, cute, adorable, sweet little off-spring start calling each other names like, dummy-stupid-head, creep face or butt-notch … THAT’S when you must intervene.

Admittedly, no one in my family knows what the term, butt-notch means, least of all my son who came up with it. However, it certainly solicited a most excellent response from his sister on a recent trip to Corpus. Anyway… I digress.

When traveling with children, it can be said; An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Having your arsenal full of entertaining things to do BEFORE you put the key in the ignition is pure genius.

This list of 101 CAR TRAVEL GAMES and ROAD TRIP IDEAS FOR KIDS will help get you started as you prepare for your summer car war, er, I mean, vacation.

How about YOU? Do you have any exceptional TRAVEL GAMES to share?

Blog Post Example: The Importance Of Kid Math

In kid world, the play time equation is pretty darned simple ...

When you add play time with a little dirt you get AWESOMENESS! Correct?

Sometimes we parents are guilty of not retaining our Kid Math skills when it comes to play time. Sure, it all added up back in the day. But then the years go by, and little by little, the formula for the equation gets a bit fuzzy.

What is it that keeps us parents from enjoying the “Mud-Slides of Doom” or the “Raging River of Despair” that kids create with just a little water and some good ole dirt? Why do we get all fussy when the adorable little outfit gets an itty bitty smudge while surviving the "Cliffs of Insanity"?!

Because we’re dufos, that’s why. We lay down that hard earned cash on some cutsie outfit and then like boneheads, we put our child in it to PLAY! Really??

Yes, really. I am guilty of having done that very thing. Oh, the number of dirty disasters I’ve ruined by stepping in to rescue an outfit my child was wearing while conquering the world. Not good. Not good at all.

Dr. Michele Borba, award winning child care author says, “We’ve always known that kids and play are just a natural combo. But new research also shows that letting kids engage in self-directed play has immense value for their social, emotional, cognitive and physical growth.”

Self-directed play is the stuff of learning in a small child’s world. When we step in too often, it’s a distraction from the excellent (and yes, MESSY) things they are learning. But learning they ARE and it’s IMPORTANT stuff! Messy play develops eye-hand coordination and tests the laws of physics not to mention expanding the imagination.

One solution to the play time equation goes back to a previous post where I sang the praises of consignment shopping. Just like grown-up savings add up by purchasing gently used clothes, Consignment Shopping for kids clothes can add up to big savings! It’s easy to find super looking play clothes that are totally affordable so that the EXCELLENT dirty adventures can continue.

How about you? How are YOUR Kid Math Skills? Are you open to the Dirty Play Time equation? Click on the comment button to post your thoughts!

Post Example: DIY Facial Cleansers

Miss McCheapskate here is always on the look-out for ways to improve our apartment lives by squeezing good ole Abe out of the Lincoln Memorial. I can pinch a penny like a maniac!

My latest money saving venture has been to explore the amazing world of homemade beauty products. I was inspired the morning I woke up with Mr. Nesbitt, my cat of 12 years, lying across my face, licking my ear lobe and purring his sweet nothings. Inspired indeed! I had more fur on my face than a circus bearded lady. I headed straight to the bathroom sink for a good scrubbing with soap and water.

Although my first lather-rinse-repeat maneuver removed the initial layer of fur, I was still plagued by the residual effects of the encounter. I’ll admit that any fur-residue I was feeling was most likely in my mind at that point – as opposed to on my face – and YET, I still felt the desperate need for a deep-cleansing facial. The dilemma? I had no fancy-schmancy name brand fur removing product on hand at the time. I know what you’re thinking: OATMEAL.

While it’s true that oatmeal is known for making a nifty face-paste, I didn’t have any oatmeal in my pathetic excuse for a well-stocked pantry. Living single in an apartment can do that to a pantry. I did however, have one extremely ripe banana.

Now I know that it’s probably not your very first thought to smear a ripe banana on your face. Not mine either. But desperate times call for desperate measures and besides, I didn’t want to run to the store and shell out my hard earned cash for what might actually BE mashed bananas in a jar … so I asked myself, What’s the worst that can happen?

Of course, the only REAL answer is to contact Martha Stewart … or … Google it. Martha didn’t answer despite my repeated phone calls but I did make some headway with a Google search. As it turns out, bananas aren’t the only edibles from your kitchen that make a wonderful facial cleanser! Papaya, grapes, avocado, kiwi and even plain yogurt can do wonders for the skin!

Who would have thought? How utterly convenient to be able to smear your breakfast all over your face and by the time you’re done eating, have supple and clean skin!

If the idea of using ripe bananas as a facial cleanser doesn’t excite you, there are oodles of other awesome homemade beauty product recipes to try! Give one a shot and let me know how it worked for you!

In the meantime, I’ll be busy giving Mr. Nesbitt a nice clean shave.