Five Ways to Afford Video Games

Are your kids asking for the $70 Skylanders game or a new video gaming device that costs more than your first car did? Video games can get expensive, and because new and hot games are constantly emerging, and the old technology can become obsolete in a year or two, many parents feel like they are spending quite a bit of their budgets keeping their kids up to speed with video games. To reduce the cost of video games, try the following options. Consider an Older System The newer the gaming system or computer, the more it will cost. Consider purchasing … Continue reading

What is Your Ten Month Old Up To?

I can’t believe that we are just two short months away from my baby being a year old. 10 months have flown by. While I can’t say I’ve enjoyed every single second, I sure do love my little baby. I have been enjoying him reaching milestones, and I can’t wait to see what is to come. With his recent discovery that he likes sippy cups with straws, we have had plenty of meal times that get rather messy for me, but fun for him. He loves to drink water from a straw, but as soon as he is done, he … Continue reading

Make Time To Play

How often do you play with your children? Really get down on the floor and get into their world? I know I did not do it as often as I should have. Being a single mother means time is always at a premium and to be honest, I don’t like playing Barbies. Having said that, it is so important that we play with our children. It shows them they are important to us, we are willing to take the time to do something they love. Another benefit of playing with our children is that they often work out things they … Continue reading

Playing Games with Sore Losers

I’ve mentioned before that we like playing educational games as part of our homeschool routine. My thirteen-year-old son loves to make everything he does into a game, and he learns best when there are elements of fun. Most days, it’s tough to get him to participate in school, so I add games into the mix to keep him connected. However, I have two other sons who struggle with the whole winning/losing concept, and while you can modify games to eliminate winners and losers, I’m not sure you really should. In life, there are those who achieve more success than others. … Continue reading

How to Make Household Chores More Pleasant

Have you ever met anyone who really lived for cleaning? The kind of person that would give up, let’s say, going to the movies, in favor of cleaning the kitchen? Can you believe that these people actually exist? While I like a clean and organized home, I have to confess that there are many other things I would rather do than to do the household chores. But, they have to be done lest we live in dirty, messy houses. So, the trick here is to find ways to make the chores more pleasant, so they will seem to go by … Continue reading

Halloween Thrills for Older Kids

I’ve always been a bit wary of teenage trick-or-treaters. Then again, Halloween is a time when older kids should have fun too. So what do you do if your older children want to have a ball on All Hallows’ Eve, but you want to keep an eye on them while they do so? The answer: Host a Halloween party with age appropriate activities, such as: Costume Contest: This easy event is great fun for kids of all ages. Let your teenage guests select winners in a variety of categories, from scariest costume to cutest and most creative. Then, hand prizes … Continue reading

Gamestop Removes Coupon, Sells Game Anyway

Gamestop has done something that frugal people who appreciate the value of a good coupon will consider to be downright vile. They opened brand new boxes of a video game, removed the coupon that was supposed to be inside it, and then sold the game for the full, “new” price! It seems that you cannot be certain that the coupon that is supposed to be inside a product will actually be there. Gamestop sells new and used video games. They call the used ones “pre-owned”. Theoretically, you can bring in used copies of games that you, your spouse, or your … Continue reading

Creating a New Year’s Eve Scrapbook

New Year’s Eve is right around the corner. Have you been thinking about capturing memories of your New Year’s Eve celebrations? In our family we have the same tradition year after year. My husband splurges on a delicious home-cooked meal of lobster, steak and shrimp. We drink glass after glass of Welch’s Sparkling Grape Juice and play games together as a family. We typically end the evening watching several episodes of “The Three Stooges.” While I always take pictures during Christmas celebrations, I hadn’t really considered doing that for New Year’s Eve. So this year I am going to start … Continue reading

Do I Have To Play Games?

Recently I was at a baby shower and the women at my table got onto the topic of baby shower games. It became quite clear that while some guests enjoy the silly games at showers, some women absolutely despise them. Would you like to: *Guess which candy bar is melted in the diaper? *Mold a baby out of play-doh? *Draw a baby’s face on a paper plate (on your head)? *Unscramble fifty letters to make as many baby-related words as you can? *Guess the gestational period of various animals? *Taste unlabeled jars of baby food and guess what flavor they … Continue reading

Not So Extreme Home Makeover

If you have been following my blogs, you might be aware that I’m a big fan of decluttering and organizing while still maintaining a house that never seems to be far from clutter. Now to my defense (watch out, rationalizing here), I have three young children, a work at home career, a hardworking husband in the middle of a huge work project and a healthy sense of procrastination. But I still hate clutter and the feeling that there is no space. So why is it that in the past few weeks we have added three very large items to our … Continue reading