A Quick Getaway to Glen Rose

Texan Papa and I planned a trip to Glen Rose, TX for a two day getaway. It’s a little more than an hour from DFW. The town boasts many tourist activities, including Fossil Rim Wildlife Park (a driving tour with giraffes, zebras, etc.) and Dinosaur Valley State Park (a state park where dinosaur tracks have been discovered and preserved). We decided to stay overnight on Tuesday at the most charming little bed-and-breakfast I’ve ever found, called Country Woods Inn. We had our own cabin, decorated with rustic woodsy decor. It had 2 full beds, a bathroom with claw-foot tub, and a full kitchen. AND CENTRAL A/C!

Our kids first impression as we drove up: “This place looks junky.” Uh, yeah, it’s not the Marriott. That’s the whole point. Our cabin was directly next to the pasture where 2 horses and a sheep were grazing. Adjacent to the pasture was a petting/feeding area for chickens, turkeys, goats, rabbits, and a donkey. There was even a play area for kids, complete with teeter-totter, tire swing, basketball hoop, and tether ball. They had croquet sets, horseshoes, and an outdoor chess set. Our cabin even had a giant TV, DVD player, and satellite TV (which we refused to turn on. After all, if we wanted to watch TV we could have stayed home or gone to the Marriott). Everything on the premises was EXTREMELY CLEAN and WELL-KEPT, not like what I expected from cabins in the woods, directly next to the river.

Speaking of the river, we took a long walk in the riverbed, which was dry. We saw minnows and tadpoles and tiny frogs. We saw lots of bugs and beautiful scenery.
That evening, we sat outside our cabin and cooked hot dogs on the wood-burning grill around the campfire circle (every cabin has its own).
We cooked s’mores and even ate a few extra gooey marshmallows. I think one of the best things has to be that we didn’t get bit by a single mosquito (probably because of the dry riverbed). Staying at the Country Woods Inn might have been even better than the activities we did during the day.

We enjoyed the Dinosaur Valley State Park, but it was REALLY hot. The kids got to swim in the swimming hole and see giant dinosaur tracks, which was cool.

We also went to the Creation Evidence Museum. That was kinda a let-down. We were hoping for a great learning experience for our kids to counter all the evolution theory they will hear in school, but the museum wasn’t very kid-friendly and just kinda all jumbly. Exhibits weren’t explained very well. But, now we can say we’ve seen it, right?

On our next trip to Glen Rose we are going to go to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Park and definitely stay at the Country Woods Inn again. It was so much fun. A real rustic experience but without having to pitch a tent. Texan Papa must have said a half dozen times, “This makes me want to buy a cabin on a river or a lake someday.” That would be so awesome! But, only after all our kids are grown and gone. I think he and I just need to realize that we love our kids, but enjoying some peace and quiet is too heavenly to not fantasize about.

Texan Mama is the Texan Mama of 4 who writes from the metroplex at Who Put Me In Charge of These People?

How to Label Kid’s Shirts

Last year my kids went to private school and their uniform was polo-style shirts in red, white, navy blue, or hunter green. I had 3 kids who could all wear these shirts and I was forever trying to figure out whose shirts were whose. Not that it really mattered, but I didn’t want one kid to end up hoarding all the shirts and another having to wear a dirty shirt two days in a row, simply because I couldn’t sort the shirts into the right piles.

Plus, I have noticed that one brand’s size “Medium” ends up being the same size as another brand’s “Extra Large”, so I can’t really go by sizes either. One size fits one child, maybe the same size fits another, and maybe a larger size fits the smallest child.

Anyway, I got on one of my favorite Mom sites, Mamasource and begged the other moms to give me some advice as to how I could label my kids’ shirts so I knew whose was whose. I didn’t want to use their initials, because as one outgrows a shirt I want to pass it along to the next one without having to scratch out an initial in permanent ink.

One mom gave me this advice: “Using either dots or small lines, mark your oldest child’s clothing with one line, next child with two lines, next with three, and so on. So, when you pass on the clothing to the next child, you can just add a line.”

That. Was. Brilliant. For some reason I feel so much smarter now. Not that it was my idea, but every time I fold clothes and I see those little lines, I smile and give myself a mental high five. This also works for my two boys who like to buy shirts that are exactly the same. Actually, my younger son likes to look like his older brother and it drives the older brother crazy, but that’s for another post…

Maybe you can benefit from my (borrowed) genius!

Texan Mama is a pregnant mom of 4 which means that soon she will be adding yet another line to her growing polo shirt collection.  She writes at Who Put Me In Charge Of These People?

Whole Lotta Bang for My Buck

I. Love. A. Bargain.

The only thing I love more than a bargain is feeling like I’m being treated like a VIP.

So, naturally, when I went to a children’s museum during my recent trip to Fort Myers, Florida, I was interested in their family membership. $75 got me a one-year membership for two adults and four children. This gave me unlimited admission to the Imaginarium in Fort Myers, Florida. It didn’t really matter that I wasn’t coming back to Florida any time soon. Because….

The membership is good at over 300 museums nationwide! HELLO BARGAIN!!!

I came to St. Louis after Florida – BOOM! It was good at the St. Louis Science Center for free parking and free admission to all paid exhibits. Saved me $27.

It was good at a children’s museum in Northern IL where my In-Laws live.

And, HERE IN TEXAS, it is good at museums in Fort Worth, McKinney, Fair Park – Dallas, as well as Corsicana, Tyler, Austin, Amarillo, Houston, Kileen, Fort Davis, Lubbock, and San Antonio.

Did I mention that it was only $75? For my whole family? FOR A WHOLE YEAR?

Now I have no excuse to go out and get myself all cultured-like, y’all.

*NOTE: There is some type of rule about not being able to use your passport membership at Museums within a 90-mile radius of your home address. HOWEVER at the two museums I visited, neither one asked me for a home address so I can’t say what the deal is for sure. But if nothing else it would be good to ask. And if you’re planning any type of trip it would definitely be a good value. To see a list of the museums that participate in the program, click on the link below.
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/Membership/pdf/astc_travelpassport.pdf

I’m Leaving… On a Jet Plane…

Yippee…. I am taking a {family} vacation for the first time in a long time!

Unfortunately, Texan Papa will not be accompanying us. He has to stay in Texas so he can bring home the bacon, you know.

I am leaving with the kids right after school gets out in June. We are driving up to St. Louis, then flying out of St. Louis to go to Florida for a week!

My kids are TOTALLY PSYCHED to say the least.

We don’t take trips too often, as me staying home with the kids and relying on one income for 6-almost-7 people means making sacrifices. But, I’ve been planning this trip for a long time, and here’s how we’re making it happen:
1. We are flying out of St. Louis, which is a little bit cheaper. YES it is quite a drive, but after we return from Florida we are going to stay in St. Louis to visit friends and family for about 2 weeks, so it makes sense to fly out of a cheaper destination anyway.
2. I have been saving my Reward Points from Capitol One (“What’s in Your Wallet?”) for about 10 years. Seriously. So, I finally have enough points that I was able to purchase 4 round-trip tickets from St. Louis to Florida (the baby will sit on my lap. Not fun, but at least it’s free).
3. We are staying at my parents’ house in Florida. Free food, free lodging, pool on location, the beach is free, etc. Not EVERYTHING will be free (I’m sure I’ll have to purchase some aloe for our sunburns) but it will be really really cheap.

Now, for the trip up to St. Louis. Yes: me, 4 kids, the open road, and no adult helper.

God is my co-pilot.

1. I got a dual-screen DVD player for the car for only $80 on clearance at Target. Texan Papa is adamantly opposed to DVD players for the van, but in this situation I neither told him nor plan to. Personally, I am extremely opposed to losing my marbles before we even getting outside the borders of Texas from listening to 4 kids scream at each other. Plus, it’s not like they’re going to watch movies non-stop. They will probably watch 1-2 per day (considering it’s about a 12-hour drive – including breaks and time for kids to stretch their legs – I don’t think that’s too much).
2. I have prepared some homemade activity books. On our last trip to St. Louis in January, these were a HUGE hit with my kids. Have you ever tried to find activity books that are actually FUN for kids? Those “coloring and activity” books stink. None of my kids like to color, so they do all the dot-to-dots in about 5 minutes, then want to throw the book away. Plus, my younger son, Linus, isn’t a strong reader yet so he can’t spend his time reading books. But the internet is such an awesome source of free EVERYTHING. I was able to find games and activities that suit each one of their tastes and challenge levels. So, here are some of the activities I included in their books (and links, in case you want to make an activity book of your own for your family vacation):

• Travel Battleship – plays just like the regular game for 2 people, only on paper

• Fill-Ins – like a crossword puzzle, but you just fill in the words from a word list. No clues. The first word is given for you to get you started.

• Match-Up games – You can pick one of their pre-made match-ups, or you can create your own.

• License Plate Game – use this map of the United States to color in each state and learn geography as you find a license plate from that state

• Scavenger Hunt – keep your eyes peeled for things like school bus, baby, dog, or flag pole

• Mazes – You can find them with varying degrees of difficulty. Good for readers AND non-readers.

• Dot-to-dot

• Word Scramble

• tic-tac-toe, close-the-box and hangman – fun, classic games

• Car Trip Bingo

• Word Search Puzzles

• Easy Kids Sudoku – seriously, these are beginner puzzles. Your kids can always get harder puzzles but these teach them how to play. Here’s another site to check out too.

• Hidden Picture Search – from Highlights magazine. This is a GREAT activity for non-readers. Kinda like I-Spy but they provide the pictures to search for. There are dozens to choose from.

• Wordoku – Just like Sudoku, but with letters instead. Go to this site, it is so cool. The game is played just like Sudoku but you can create your own games using letters, numbers, shapes, colors, or even Sesame Street Characters!

• Kakuro – a little bit tougher, but will be great for that kid who wants a challenge! Also helps with adding skills. You can pick the difficulty level and size of the puzzle, and it comes with a solution guide.

I found ALL these activities just using Google. Whatever I wanted to find, I usually typed that in along with “free” or “printable” or “Easy” or “kids”. This is going to save me a ton of money on buying books retail. Plus, half-a-dozen or so of each activity is enough to keep the kids interested. Too much, and you’d have a library of activity books in your backseat!

Also, in each binder, I put some blank paper (for freehand drawing) and some notebook paper (for journaling). I also bought some pencil pouches that go inside the binder rings to keep crayons, pens, pencils, small pencil sharpener, and erasers. I also put a few sheets of stickers in the pencil pouch, just for fun.

Another bit of advice I read somewhere is to give kids an allowance every day to choose how they want to spend it. Now, I won’t be doing this EVERY day, but probably I’ll give them $2 each day we’re traveling to choose to spend on a soda or chips or whatever when we make our rest stops. Of course, I’ll have healthy snacks that will be FREE, so it will be their choice if they want to save their money and have healthy snacks, or spend it to get junk food. But they won’t get enough to rot their teeth!

On past road trips, and also this one, I bring a CD player and I try to find some books on CD for the kids to listen to. Sometimes the CD’s have the accompanying book, sometimes not. But it’s a good alternative to listening to the radio and reading a book, which sometimes makes my kids sick and my younger son can’t read too well yet either. Remember to bring extra batteries! Also, I take all the CD’s out of their cases before we leave and put them in a cd-holder that is as slim as possible. If the CD case only holds 10 CD’s, then that’s all they can take! I’m doing the same with the DVD’s. That way, we dont’ have a zillion cases floating around the car, waiting to get stepped on.

One last thing: I am going to print a map of our trip for each child to put in their binders, so when the kids ask where we are I can tell them and refer to their map. I think kids appreciate knowing where in the world they are, how close they are to the rest stop, how far they’ve traveled, etc. And I can mark stops on the map, like where we’ll stop for the night at the hotel, favorite restaurants, exciting landmarks, parks, etc.

I am on my knees praying that this trip doesn’t send me over the edge. Texan Papa thinks I am totally nuts, but I am looking forward to seeing my kids’ expressions when their toes hit the sand on the beach for the first time.

That will be all worth it!

When TexanMama isn’t carefully planning out amazing adventures for her kids, she can be found writing about them at Who Put Me in Charge of These People? Burb Mom hopes that TexanMama has a great vacation, has a chance to catch a nap and then write a follow-up.

Pear Honey – Blue Ribbon Quality!

When it comes to my mad skillz in the kitchen, they are pretty much non-existent. My kids’ favorite meal is Hamburger Helper and my husband usually just looks at what I’m cooking, then fixes something separate for himself. And, to answer your question, YES I find that insulting but I am so used to it by now, I have become desensitized. At least he is doing the fixing for himself.

But, when it comes to canning, I’m not afraid to shine. In the summer of ‘07, I won 5 first-place ribbons and one second-place ribbons for canned (preserved) foods at the Clinton County Fair. (I could only find 3 of the ribbons for the picture. I think I was using the other 3 for bookmarks.)

That fair, by the way, is exactly the stuff you see (or read about) in Charlotte’s Web. There is a parade, Fair Queen pageant, Kettle corn, all types of livestock judging, carnival rides, (local) celebrity cow milking contest, etc. 4-H has a booth selling Lemon Shake-Ups (If you’ve never had a lemon shake-up, you’ve never tasted summer.) And, of course, in the exhibition hall there are lots of submissions for judging, like quilts, canned foods, fresh foods, artwork, hand-sewn clothes, woodworking, etc. I submitted pickled asparagus, green beans, tomatoes, dill pickles, apples, and pear honey.That’s Texan Papa in the green ball cap. He was a “local celebrity” because he’s a pastor. It doesn’t take much to be a celebrity, I guess.

There’s Peppermint Patty, Charlie Brown, and Linus eating watermelon slices off of a frisbee after the very long and hot parade. (I walked with PP and Linus in the parade, 6 months pregnant, pulling a wagon and throwing out candy. Linus walked with the Cub Scouts.) See what I mean about it being a real country fair?

Now, in case you don’t know what pear honey is, I am happy to tell you: It is a wonderful sweet spread, much like the consistency of marmalade, but with a taste of honey. However, the honey does not taste sugary-sweet, but rather fruity-sweet. I found a recipe for Pear Honey when I was given 2 bushels of very ripe pears and had no idea what to do with them. Well, as it turns out, pear honey is best made with overripe pears. It’s SO simple to make. If you have pear trees or if you get pears from a neighbor, I highly recommend making it. It is so unique and your friends and family will gobble it up! I even made some and put it in small half-cup or half-pint jars and then gave it out with a mini loaf of pound cake at Christmas time. It was a perfect teacher gift and also for the church secretary and organist.

Pear Honey:
8 cups very ripe pears, peeled and crushed
1 cup Pineapple juice
8 cups sugar

Put pears and pineapple juice in a large stock pot. Add sugar. Bring to a full boil and reduce heat to medium for a gentle boil. Cook, stirring constantly, for 30 minutes. Pour into prepared jars*. Process in boiling water for 10 minutes. Makes 6-7 pints.

When you first pour the mixture into the jars, it will seem a little thin, but it will thicken while the jars are processing in the boiling water. And, once cooled, it will thicken even a little more.

*Prepared Jars are canning jars that have been washed thoroughly and warmed in a canning pot with simmering water. The jars are kept in the simmering water until they are ready to be filled. Processing in boiling water means, once the jars are filled, and new caps and rings are screwed on (tight enough to close but not TOO tight), then the jars are returned to the simmering water with at least 1 inch of water above the caps. The water is returned to a boil. This is NOT using a pressure cooker.

When Texan Mama isn’t taking the County Fair by storm, she is raising her four…almost 5 (yes, I said 5) children and writing at her blog, Who Put Me in Charge of These People??

Mom: Legacy

Being right is not as important as asking for forgiveness when you’re wrong

This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but it’s what I’ve got today. I’m sure as I get more “experienced” as a mother, I’ll add to this list or change some things. But it will be neat to look back 10 years from now and think about this list.

Texan Mama is a DFW mom.  She writes Who Put Me in Charge of These People because she is in charge of a bunch of people…

12

Body image is a touchy subject with women, me included. There is so much psychology mixed with physiology combined with sociology… it’s enough to make a woman want to go live on an island by herself. I don’t love my body but I also don’t really hate it either. I know I have good features (my legs are pretty decent) and not-so-great features (I like to keep wearing maternity shirts just for the extra length. Believe me, NO ONE needs to see my muffin top.)

When I graduated high school, I knew I didn’t really have the greatest body. Not repulsive, but let’s just say that I ONLY wore a bikini when I was by myself, on the dock at the lake, trying to get a tan and spraying lemon juice on my hair.

My high school cheerleader’s uniform was a size 12. Well, I guess I was an 11/12, since technically juniors are odd sizes. But, the 12 was always part of the equation.

Going to college, I didn’t really gain the freshman 15, because I already had learned horrible eating habits at home years before. My family was all about having Cokes with dinner every night of the week and dessert was a regular affair. I never once ate non-sugared cereal before I got married. Luckily my genes and metabolism prevented me from becoming a mammoth-sized. I was just basically ignorant when it came to good nutrition: I knew the 4 basic food groups but really it had never occurred to me that Cokes might be bad for me. Or that having unsugared cereal might be a wise choice, every once in a while. I felt like a nutritional champion if I had a serving of fruits and vegetables at lunch AND dinner.

When I graduated college, I’d gained about 5 pounds, but I was still a size 12.

I met my husband when I had been out of college for 3 years. All those years being a single person, cooking for one, can be a boring job. Quite often I would just stop at Casey’s general Store and get a slice of pizza for dinner or else eat a bologna sandwich at 10pm. If I ever bought grapes or a head of lettuce, it would inevitably go bad before I was able to eat it all. I just never could motivate myself to make an effort.

When I finally got married in 1998, I had gained another 5 lbs. And my wedding dress? A size 12.

Now I am the mom to 4 kids. Pregnant with #5. I can’t stand to look at my stomach. I would NEVER wear a bikini now, no matter how much money you paid me. I don’t hate my body, mostly because I have decided that hating my body is simply wasted energy. I have resigned myself to have the attitude of: If I want to eat the foods I like, then I have to accept the body I have. If I want to have a better body, then I have to give up foods that I love, like chocolate and braunschweiger.

After almost 11 years of marriage and birthing 4 children, I have gained an additional 5 pounds. And, I’m still a size 12.

So, here’s the mystery: How in the hell am I still a size 12? I know damn good and well that my body is NOT the body that I had in high school. And, granted, back then I was probably a 10-or-12 and now I’m more like a 12-or-14, but last year I finally gave away a pair of jeans that fit me in high school and still fit me when I put them in the Goodwill pile. I had to pass them along because I just had to make more room for more up-to-date purchases. And, still I can occasionally fit into a size 10. So, what gives?

I consider myself quite blessed that my family is pretty healthy (relatively speaking) and I don’t have any relatives with any type of obesity. If anything, all my female relatives end up losing weight as they get older. So, I have that to look forward to, which is nice.

But I keep wondering, will I be a 12? What if I drop 25 pounds – will I still be a 12? And, after I’ve gained these 15 pounds since 1990, where did I put it if I am still wearing the same size? When people see me and say, “Gosh, you really look exactly the same as you did in high school” I can say that I honestly do believe them.

But, deep down, I have always wanted to be a single-digit kind of gal. In high school, when everyone else was complaining of feeling fat in their size 6 skirts, I hated knowing that I would *always* be on the bottom of the cheerleader pyramid. I would never be the “flyer” but always the “base”. I was never called “pretty” but rather, people referred to me as “athletic” or “cute”. I always longed to be thought of as a delicate female, but people always thought of me as the tough girl with the sharp wit who you didn’t want to mess with. I think my size-12 body kept me from believing that anyone thought I was beautiful. I still have trouble believing that. Not that size 12 is anything to be ashamed of, but of all the people I hung around with I was always the biggest. So, “size 12″ represented “least desirable girl in the group”. Of course, this is rooted deeply from back in high school, where looks were everything and putting someone’s personality and character ahead of their looks was a theory only, one preached by our stupid parents who didn’t know anything anyway.

But, for now, size 12 isn’t so bad. I am hoping to hold onto my size 12 for a while. I just bought some shorts at Marshalls the other day, and they were size 12. With some extra room. I probably could have gotten the 10, but that just wouldn’t have been ME.

Texan Mama writes at Who Put Me in Charge of These People??

A Bargain-Hunter’s Paradise

I’m like a bloodhound. I can smell a good deal from a mile away.

I love to bargain-hunt and I’m not afraid to get elbow-deep in a bin of clearance shoes in order to find the right size at the right price.

But, when I can shop somewhere with competitive prices, great selection, name brands, great quality, and all the merchandise is neatly organized – I have found my nirvana.

So, you can probably understand why I’m in love with Just Between Friends.

The Just Between Friends consignment sales are conducted twice a year in cities throughout Texas and the rest of the United States.

They accept all types of items that have anything to do with being a kid: all sized of children’s clothes (preemie to teen), Maternity clothes, toys, baby equipment, furniture, outdoor toys, books & DVD’s, shoes, baby blankets, etc.

To say that I was “happy” to participate in the sale in Ft. Worth is an understatement. I prepared clothes as a consignor and I also volunteered to help with the sale. The whole event, from me preparing my clothes and printing off sale tags at home, to bringing my items to the convention hall, to picking up my unsold items after the sale, worked like a well-oiled machine.

I made over $200 and I didn’t even have to break a sweat!

Shopping at the sale is just as great. Being a volunteer, I was able to get a Pre-sale Pass, which allowed me (and all volunteers) have first choice of all the merchandise. And, the MERCHANDISE… I saw Gymboree, Baby Gap, Ralph Lauren, Children’s Place, and more. All the clothes are closely inspected so I didn’t worry about finding something with a missing button, broken zipper, stain, or hole. All toys have fresh batteries and all the pieces. All the baby equipment is clean and shiny.

But the best thing of all was the prices. This blood hound’s nose was on high-alert for all the bargains to be had.

I think the hardest part of all was forcing myself to stop shopping. But, the good news is that there will be ANOTHER JBF SALE coming up in Arlington in April. There is still enough time to get beautiful Easter dresses and handsome shirts and ties.

The Arlington Sale will be April 2-4 at the North Davis Church Of Christ. So, if you have money to burn and like to pay too much, this sale is probably not for you. But if you want to get twice or three times as much stuff for your dollar as you would if you paid retail, then I’ll be seeing you at the sale!