Girl Scouting on a Shoe String

Before I speak on the next journey that we did in Girl Scouts, I want to bring you this information.  I am finding things out on my own, instead of with the support of a troop.  One thing I learned recently is that you can check out any of the Girl Scout books, journey books, leader books, etc at your local Girl Scout shop!  It doesn't cost anything.  You just check them out like you would a book at the library. 

This saves hundreds of dollars over the lifetime of the girl's scouting experience!  Just for Jaden and Morgan for the Brownie and Daisy books, it is over $100!  I am glad they can still get the experience without spending that money.

A Camp Out

I have been wanting to get sleeping bags for the girls for a while now... BUT, I am cheap. I don't want to pay $20 for a child-size bag. We don't have money to throw around, so I patiently wait for sales. These Pokemon sleeping bags went on sale for $4.99! There are "boy" looking, but they work! The girls love them! We have been camping out in the living room for fun about twice a week.

Did you get your "short stack" yesterday?

IHOP had a charity event on Tuesday. I had forgotten all about it because I had so many other things on my mind (one of which was a job interview). Aunt Janet was meeting up with us at a place near the airport, so that I could do my interview that morning. There was, also, talk of snow headed our way. We met up, I did my interview, and I was headed home (several miles to go) when I spoke with my brother Jeff. He reminded me of the pancake event, and the girls and I were starved at that point. We stopped at an IHOP on our way home. We all got 3 pancakes with delicious berry syrup on them, all FREE! Then, as we headed out, there was a clown set up for the fundraising part. Jaden put in the dollars I gave her, and Jaden & Morgan both got an animal balloon bracelet. They had a blast, and it hardly cost me a thing (plus the money went to a good cause)!

Money Saving Tip #22~ Free Book Swap

I just found this site. It is pretty cool. It is a swapping site, but you can get 2 free books the first time you sign up. What you do is add books that you have around the house that you no longer need. If someone wants one of your books, you ship the book to them. In return you get a book credit, and can pick up whichever book you want from the site. You won't find the new releases, but you will find a lot of other jems. For my free books, I chose 2 travel books for countries I hope to travel to within the next 3 years. In the meantime, the girls and I will use them for homeschool.
I have books listed on there now, so if any of them sell, I will look into what other books they have I may be interested in.
http://www.paperbackswap.com/

Get Rid of the Stuff you don't need (books)~ Money Saving Tip #21

Do you have books lying around your house that you will never read again? After having our garage sale this weekend, I still have thousands of books left! Now, LeCount found this cool site that will buy books! I will be busy this week seeing which ones will sell, and I will keep you posted. These are the kinds of books they buy:

Religion
History
Psychology
Textbooks
Business
Educational
Computers
Travel
Medical
Economics
Marketing
Art
Self-Help
Sociology
Politics
Law
Gardening
Sports
Foreign Lang.
Engineering
Mathematics
Science
Current Fiction
Biography



And here is the link to the web-site. Now go out and make some money!
CKY Books

Lots and Lots of Books for Sale!

We have THOUSANDS of books for sale, so if you are looking for something... feel free to stop by and take a gander. This weekend, we will be putting some (not all... because that would be totally exhausting) of the books out. There are hardcover & paperback and all kinds of genres. Every single book is going for 5 cents a piece!! If you miss out on the sale this weekend, I am sure we will still have thousands of books left to look through!! If you have a few hours to sort through buckets of books looking for treasures, just let me know and we can get together on a time.

Free Wi-Fi at the Cafe~ Money Saving Tip #20!

We are having problems with our computer off and on. The desktop is completely out of service, and the laptop doesn't always have an internet connection. Well, computer life must go on because there are many important things to do online (banking, selling, connecting with friends and family, etc). We found a free wi-fi spot close to home, and the girls came with me to "the office". They did their school work while I was online for 30 minutes or so. I have found that there are many places you may not even think of that offer the service. So, if you are out and about, and need an internet connection, check out some of these sites to find a free connection near you!:

Wifi Free Spot

Open Wifi Spots

Google Wifi Spots

Geek Squad

I am not a computer technician by any means... However, these past few days I have been going crazy trying to fix our home computer. I am posting these screen shots, in case it causes someone who is reading this to figure out the problem we are having. I could use any suggestions... These shots show the computer in "Windows Recovery" mode. However, it has been "recovering" for over a day now. The status bar has been saying 11% complete for just as long. My mini-technicians have been working on it day and night (can you tell?)! LOL!!

Wells Fargo Horses

We made a trip to a Wells Fargo branch to get some documents notarized. While we were there, the bank associate tried to get us to change banks and become a Wells Fargo customer. She even told us about accounts they have for kids. She said that if we wanted to set up some accounts for the girls by October 1st, they would get a Wells Fargo horse. When we hesitated, she looked over at the girls and changed her mind. She went to the closet where they keep the horses, and brought out a horse for each girl! No purchase necessary :0) Of course, she probably figures she will win us over in the end, and we will come back for an account since she was so sweet!

In need of...

I am always throwing out "money saving" ideas and other "regular" ideas. Now, I am looking for YOUR ideas. I am looking for some children's games. Since we have almost NONE of the regulars, I think it would be easiest to get a bulk of 10 games at once. However, I have run out of ideas on where to find new/gently used games in a large lot. I have tried Ebay and Craiglist. What else is out there? Some of the games I am thinking of are:

Clue Jr.
Scrabble Jr.
Pictionary Jr.
Where in the World? (Carmen Sandiego Jr)
Parchisi
Sorry!
Balderdash Jr.
Sequence for Kids
Monopoly Jr.
Cranium Hullabaloo
Boggle Jr.
Cranium Balloon Lagoon
Scavenger Hunt for Kids
The Kids of Catan

I want to get some games to break up the school day, and I know most of these are educational as well. All ideas are welcome!

Redbox~ Money Saving Tip #19

Forget Blockbuster, or any of the other movie rental places! Redbox is the bomb!! While we were out of town, the girls and I went to take a look at what they had. Since Jaden & Morgan were restless, I thought a movie would keep them pacified for a little while. We found Fairytal Bratz (their favorite), Coraline, and a couple of others. They were only $1.08 (including tax) to rent, and we returned them the next day. Very convenient and affordable! You can find one near you here: http://www.redbox.com/

By the way, want to rent a movie or two or three for free? Enter code: BREAKROOM You can use this code with every credit or debit card you have~ the code is only valid once per card, so if you have 10 cards, you can get 10 movies for free. Just make sure you return them by 9PM the next day!!

Our New Car

Check out our new BMW with sun roof and leather seats!! LOL!!! Well, at least we got to use it for a day... My friend Dalia's husband is a mechanic & he did major work on our car (oil change, air filter change, tune up & replaced a cable). Meanwhile, Dalia loaned us her BMW to roll in :0)

Jaden's Fascination with Overalls

Jaden just loves overalls, but I have been hard pressed to find overalls in her size. When I got a coupon from Osh Kosh during the "Tax free weekend", I decided that if anyone would have them, it would be Osh Kosh. I found some regular pant overalls in the boys section (they don't make them for girls after 5T) and a jumper (the only one in size 6).
I can't get some for Jaden and not for Morgan, so Morgan got some regular denim ones with a heart embroidered on the front and some pink ones.
All 4 items were made of thick denim/quality material that should last for years. Between the coupon I had & tax-free weekend, they were only $10 a piece (regularly $35)!!!

Jaden's Math

Jaden is working on addition and subtraction using cuisenaire rods (also a Montessori method). I got her the rods & picked up a first grade drill book from Rod & Staff. She can do these math problems by herself, but of course, it is more fun with me there to cheer her on :0) This is here drill book: http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/1-13171-3/?list=Rod_and_Staff_Grade_1

Morgan is doing the preschool series of books from Rod & Staff. They have a great selection of affordable & educational workbooks. All of Mogan's R&S books were less than $3!! They are PACKED with activities!! You can find the preschool section here: http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/list/Rod_and_Staff_Preschool/

They have enjoyed these books as well:

http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/14-55385/?list=Mazes

http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/list/Learning_About_Activity_Books/

http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/1-2941/?list=Coloring_Books

http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/list/Little_Jewel_Books/

Books and Trains! What more do you need?

Money Saving Tip #18~ Homemade Dinners

Most of us realize the big cost of food, especially for families of 4 people or more. One important thing to saving money on food for families is to avoid eating out. If you have ever taken your family of 4+ out to eat, you know what I am talking about. Earlier, I told you have you can eat out for free. On the days when you can not eat out for free, making dinners from scratch is the key to saving money.
These meals will require some planning, but the time it takes to plan is worth what you save. Make sure that when you are buying the ingredients for the recipes, you buy when they are on sale. We stock up on meats & freeze them until we need them for a recipe. Now, to find these cool recipes for $5 and under meals, here is the link:
http://www.5dollardinners.com/recipe-index

Enjoy!

Totally Free~ Money Saving Tip #17

Totally free MP3 downloads!! There are several totally free MP3 downlaods that can be found at Amazon.com. They can be hard to find at times, and the freebies change... So, you have to check back often. Right now, the album above is free- Songs for kids:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ZGB2M8

Another way to do school work

Crayola has some new colored pencils. There are 64 colors in a box! They are smaller than the original colored pencils, but they are perfect for little hands. The girls did their latest Africa assignments with these colored pencils. Amazon has them for $13: http://www.amazon.com/Crayola-Colored-Pencils-Choice-Colors/dp/B00125NZWC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1247450117&sr=8-3 You will never believe how much I bought them for, though... $1!!!! The whole box was $1 at Office Depot! Talk about a great deal!

Money Saving Tip #16

Need a fun day out with the kids? Check your local movie theater. Many of the theaters offer a discounted summer program. Cinemark, for instance, has "Summer Movie Clubhouse". You can see 10 movies this summer for $5 per person! They only do this during the summer and mostly weekday mornings. These movies, of course, are not new releases. However, they are all fun films for kids and all rated G or PG. Here is a list of some of the movies you might find this summer at your local theater:

Horton Hears a Who

Bee Movie

Kung Fu Panda

Shrek the Third

Open Season

Surf's Up

Spongebob Squarepants: The Movie

Madagascar

Madagascar 2

Over the Hedge

Barnyard

Alvin & the Chipmunks

Charlotte's Web

To find the Cinemark nearest you that features the summer clubhouse, click here:

http://www.cinemark.com/showtime_email_register.asp?cinearts=0

Farming is hard work!

I took the girls to pick blackberries. We have a place not too far from us that lets you go on their property and pick the berries you want. Then, you just pay for the ones you bring back from the orchard. Jaden wanted to pick blackberries and blueberries, but we had to start with one berry at a time. Since people were already picking away at the blackberries, the owner suggested we hit the blackberries first (before they were all gone). It took an hour and a half, and I still didn't fill up the one gallon bucket! The girls were tired and hot, so we decided to save the blueberries for the next time we go.
I don't think Morgan ever contributed blackberries to the big bucket we were trying to fill. She ate every one of the berries that she found!!!
They did have some blueberries already picked, so we got a bag of those before we left. Now we have delicious berries to make crisps & cobblers!! YUM!!!