The Golf Cart Ran into the Tree

We have been talking a while about camping and decided that it was now or never, since summer is rapidly passing us by. My friend Heather was very gracious to lend us her tent after I posted on Facebook begging for one.  We packed up the truck for two days of camping. You wouldn't think we would need that much for two days of camping but apparently you do. Here is the back of our Suburban:

So off we go to Yogi Bear Campgrounds in Pelahatchie and were surprised to learn that it isn't that far away, only about 70 miles. So we were there in no time. We checked in and I set up the tent and Charles built a fire. We unpacked the truck and I straightened and organized all the stuff.

Then we promptly made smores because that seemed like a campy thing to do.

They were very good, I think we ate a whole bag of marshmallows in one sitting. We then went swimming. Now, this place has an awesome little water park.

The kids loved this and I had to admit it was pretty awesome. After a couple hours of this we went back to the tent and I straightened and organized some more stuff. Come to think of it, I spent half the trip straightening and organizing stuff.

Then this guy drives into our site. He tells us that he has to leave early and they won't refund his money on the golf cart he rented for the next three days. He hands Charles the keys and tells us to turn it back in when we leave. What?! Heck yes! These golf carts are $50 a day to rent and we just got one for the next two days for free! I didn't even need a coupon!

 A friend at work told me they have geese at this campground that you can feed. I brought all of our old bread, crackers, and croutons out of the cabinets at home just in case. So we hop in our new golf cart and go riding around looking for them. They were easy to find.

The kids had a blast feeding them. I had to go over some geese feeding rules with Chase though. As soon as I stopped the cart he jumped off and barreled after them. They didn't seem to like that so much. Then he wouldn't feed them the bread I gave him. He just held it in his hand so the geese had to semi attack him to get the bread.

 

Here we are cornered on the pier. We should have thought out our exit strategy a little better for when the bread ran out. We saw Yogi and Boo-Boo but the kids wanted nothing to do with them.

They didn't seem to mind this Yogi though:

Did I mention our camp site was right next to the bathroom and showers? They were very nice! It was very convenient for when you have to pee at 3 in the morning. Chase didn't seem to need them though, we frequently caught him peeing in the woods. I guess peeing in the woods would be fun if you are a boy. Here is a picture of how close the bathrooms were.

We found out there is electric hook-ups, water, fire ring with grill, and picnic table at every site. Get this, there was even wi-fi! So does it still count as roughing-it with all that? So anyway, night came and we were all excited because we were sleeping in a tent. Let me tell you this, it was miserable. We had brought these cushions to put together to make a bed and they were not comfortable.....at all. The kids wouldn't go to bed probably because they were hyped up on 2 pounds of marshmallows. I think Chase finally went to bed at 1 in the morning. The tent kept the bugs out though....thank goodness.

The next day after much deliberation about our lack of sleep, we decided to stay the whole two days as planned. I took the kids swimming again while Charles took a nap. Then he and Chase got us some take-out at a local restaraunt while Macey and I took a nap. It was the best nap ever, the rain was falling on the tent and we slept like the dead. The tent kept us dry.

Later, Macey and I played candy bar bingo at the activity center because it was "Everything Chocolate" themed weekend. She won the first two games right away! It was crazy how lucky she was out of a room of 20 something people. The rest of the time we swam and rode in the free golf cart. 

 We really had a good time. There were only a few mishaps. Chase was sitting in the golfcart and accidently pushed the parking brake off. The cart slowly rolled down the hill into a tree. Poor Chase was screaming "Help, Help!" and something about needing a key. I yelled at my husband to help him and then yelled at Chase for playing around on the golf cart. In the end, nobody was hurt and the cart was fine. The whole thing was quite hilarious after it was over. The people across the road were watching the whole time. I am sure they got an eyeful. Here is Chase sitting on the cart later:

It rained half the time so there was mud everywhere but it wasn't hot. There did seem to be a lot of ants and something got into our garbage bag in the middle of the night. Also, the tent was set up on a sand platform so there was sand everywhere (in the tent, on our clothes, and I am still finding sand in my scalp.) The kids played in it constantly. Don't worry Heather, we cleaned up the tent when we got home. I think next time we will rent a cabin.

Overall, it was worth it. The kids had a blast and we made a lot of memories. 

@$%# smoke detector!

This morning at about 2 am I was sound asleep (with my sideways children) and I was awakened to the sound of a slow steady beep....beep.....beep. It was the sound of the smoke detector slowly dying and needing a new battery. So I got up and went to have a conversation with the stupid thing.
First I had to find a ladder as the detector is so inconveniently located on the ceiling. I get the step ladder set up and climb it, just to realize I am standing under the wrong smoke detector because a beep emits from the other side of the house, "@#$% !". So I  haul the step ladder, bumping into junk because it is dark, and I set it up under the right detector. The conversation went something like this, "Really?! I have been home ALL day, have not left the house for one minute, and you want to beep now? Do you know what time it is?!" The detector had nothing to say for itself except....beep.
Well, the ladder gets me to about four inches of reaching the thing.

So here I was dangerously jumping up and down on the ladder swatting at the traitor battery. I finally reach it and the 9 volt battery flies across the hallway.

We have no more 9 volt batteries so I guess I will have to buy another one. So the detector still looks like this:

I need to get another one very soon if I keep cooking like this:

I got distracted cooking the fries. My friend Karen asked me if I was playing Lego: Pirates of the Carribean when the fries burnt. No, I was not. I am not that irresponsible. I was looking at You Tube, trying to figure out how to play Lego: Pirates of the Carribean.......not the same thing.

On a side note, we are bored today.

Chase

 





  

We Stayed Up Until 2am Playing Video Games

Macey's First Grade teacher is probably going to ask everyone what they did this summer. Some kids will talk about vacations or camp. Others may talk of spending time with grandparents or swimming. Macey will tell them she did this:





This game is seriously fun. We rented it from the Redbox and LOVED it. We kept it for three days and decided that maybe we needed to buy it. We looked into how much Redbox would charge us if we never brought it back and decided it would be cheaper to buy it. Well, it came in the mail yesterday and we are hooked. Stayed up until 2am this morning playing it. Two people can play and the best part is ............ you never die! You can mess up and take forever to figure out a scene but it doesn't matter, you don't die. The background music is awesome and you can sword fight the enemies. Captain Jack even does his crazy wobbly run he does on the movie. It is hilarious.

Anyway, I have always been prone to get sucked into games. I remember when I was little, I would stay with Aunt Judy over the summer. She worked at Armadillo Video store in Texas and I would go to work with her. I have a lot of memories of that store. I remember watching OJ Simpson on the overhead TV going down the freeway in his white Bronco fleeing from the law. I remember that if you wanted a movie advertisement poster, all you had to do was write your name on the back of the poster and you could have it when it came time to take it down. I remember putting the movies away and the owner gave me $20 bucks at the end of the month for being such a big help. I remember there was a black book behind the counter that had all the nudey movie titles in it. If a customer asked for the black book, I was to go get my Aunt. I remember that black book fell on the floor once and all the title pictures scattered behind the counter. My Aunt Judy yelled and told me to "stay back!" like some sort of bomb was about to go off behind the counter. I also remember that if we closed the store that night we could take home any movie or game we wanted! We watched a ton of movies including all of the Jaws movies, I didn't even want to go into a swimming pool after that. We also played video games, every video game there was, we played it. Exciting stuff!

My fascination for video games has carried over into adulthood just in a different form. Some of you may recognize these games:

These are all Facebook games that I have spent MANY hours on. So I can see where Macey gets her inclination to stay up until 2am playing games. Spending those summers with my Aunt were the best times ever, I hope Macey remembers her summer the same way. 

We Lost the Fish

Macey has always wanted a pet, any kind will do. She is fascinated with animals of all kinds and knows a lot about them.

 About three years ago we got a cat (against my husband's wishes) from the Humane Society. We named her Lula Blu and I paid to get her fixed and declawed. This cat was something else. She refused to stay inside, as soon as someone opened a door she shot outside. Lula would barf up whole dead birds behind the recliner, how she caught them with no claws is any body's guess. Lula was also very mean. She would let you pet her for about a minute then she would bite you as hard as she could without warning. She died after two years, I found her on my back porch looking like she had been in an awful fight. I always have guilt over that because she obviously wanted to be an outside cat and I had her declawed. Anyway, here is her picture:

Very cute and cuddly looking, huh?

So after that experience we decided to get Macey some fish. We picked out two goldfish and she named them Lisa and Erma.

After a few months with Lisa and Erma, we decided to get an Algae eater named Emma. I got her because I am lazy and I was hoping she would keep the tank clean for me. I don't why Macey named these fish after family members but she did. Here is Emma:



Emma is no longer with us, in fact nobody seems to know where she went. The fish just disappeared. I didn't notice that she was missing for a few days because she likes to hang out in the castle. I cleaned out the entire tank, the filter system, and looked all around the tank. No fish. I interviewed all the potential suspects. My husband saids he had nothing to do with it. I believe him. Macey had no clue, I believe her because I grilled her sufficiently and I know when she is lying. I asked my son, Chase, if he had any ideas and he isn't copping to anything. I don't believe him.

Chase is autistic and doesn't say much anyway (except lately he has been saying "aww hell" and "holy crap"). That is another story. Anyway, my husband saids that he scolded him once for having his hand in the tank. So that places Chase at the scene of the crime. After asking Chase numerous times and revealing to him that we now had a witness to him being in the area, he finally said with a huge grin "caught the fish." Guilty.

So we have stressed the importance of how fragile a fish life can be and he has sworn to stay away from the tank.

Now, I wonder where the body is. 

It Is Their Own Fault

Anyone who knows me knows that I have jumped on the couponing bandwagon. I admit the reason that I started was because I had seen an episode of "Extreme Couponing" on TLC.

My intentions when I started back in March of this year was not to build a humongous stockpile but to save some money. We used to average at the grocery store weekly about $120 to $150 dollars. Now with couponing we keep that amount close to less than a hundred. You may think that may not be worth bragging about but I have started my own little stockpile in my home while saving money at the same time. Here are some pictures:

My cleaning supplies .............should the urge ever hit me.

My Bathroom supplies. Those boxes at the bottom are labeled and have razors, toothbrushes, etc.. I rearrange this stuff all the time.

I have plenty of food in my pantry and my freezer is full. As a matter of fact, it is too full. We are currently looking into getting a deep freeze.

We have plenty of pasta, condiments, and BBQ sauce as well.

All that being said, I have a few things to say since this is my blog and I can say whatever I want. I have noticed that stores are starting to change their policies regarding coupons. They are citing the increased use of coupons as a reason. Well, ....don't judge me for saying this but it is their own fault there is an increase in the use of coupons. These are the same stores that invited TLC into their building. The same stores that smile for the camera while gladly accepting every coupon presented. The manager in every single show helpfully calls corporate when the register finally gives up from shock. The cashiers smile and do the happy dance with the extreme couponer who has just paid $6 dollars for 5 buggies full of groceries. Then they all have a happy parade complete with buggies, cashiers, and bag boys into the parking lot to help the person fit it all in the car.

I don't feel sorry for the stores because what did they think would happen after America saw this?! The economy is awful, gas prices are through the roof, and people are in debt. Who wouldn't take this great information and run with it?

AND furthermore, to my knowledge the people who put out these coupons aren't making anymore coupons than they usually make. The only thing that has changed is that more people are using them. These stores are getting reimbursed for every coupon they take, so what is the problem?

I am not an idiot, I am aware there are people out there that steal papers, copy printable coupons, try to work around the policies and want their stockpile built tomorrow but the majority of us are following the rules. My friends and I cut out the coupons, follow the sales, and walk into these stores with our binders fully prepared to save our hard-earned money.

By the way, here is my binder:

So don't judge me next time you see me in Kroger with my binder. I like my money. Climbing off my soap box now. :)

I'm a Bag Lady

I work 12 hour shifts at night on Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays. There are many reasons I work this shift.
The number one reason being that it works for my family. Charles and I do not have to worry about childcare during the week or who has to take off work if one of them gets sick. He is there on the weekends and I am home all week. I can drop them off and pick them up from school, take them to after school activities and be involved in the PTA. I can attend every little school party and drive their teachers nuts.
The second reason I work this way is because it is good money. A nurse who works at night and on weekends gets a good deal more than a nurse who works during the day on a weekday.
The last reason is that I am lazy. It can be busy sometimes but the majority of the time, not so much. Doctors and important administrative people do not walk in and out at 2 in the morning if they can help it. It is calm and quiet. Very nice. I can just focus on my patients.
Because I work this way, I have decided that it is more financially beneficial and easier to just sleep at the hospital on Saturdays and Sundays. It is an 80 mile round trip back and forth to work. That comes out to about $40 dollars worth of gas a weekend if I slept at home. We save a ton of money if I drive up there on Fridays and drive home on Monday morning. Another benefit of sleeping at the hospital is that I don't have to beg my kids to let me sleep during the day because at my house I seem to be the go-to person for getting them what they must have. Charles can be right there in front of them and they still come looking for me. Why do kids do that?
So every Friday I pack for the weekend:

Yes, I need all of this. The blue bag is my food for 3 nights, my purse (with the infamous Kangeroo cup), my coupon binder, my luggage, and my laptop. I pack it all into my car:

Then when I get to work, and I haul it all to the third floor of the hospital. Of course, I do this all at the same time. I do not make two trips because I am lazy.

That is why my coworkers call me "The Bag Lady." Don't judge me.



We Had a Good Day

We have been very frugal at my house lately and it is starting to get a little old. So when I got paid today, we decided that we simply MUST go somewhere. We decided to go to Outback and see the Cars 2 movie that Chase has been dying to see. Every time he sees a commercial or picture from the movie he makes sure everybody in the room has paid it sufficient notice.

We went to Outback because I had a coupon. I have to say the Alice Spring Chicken is the best there. I don't think it would be that hard to make at home. Have any of you tried to make it? (This should be Kelli's next project, she does these great blogs on the stuff she cooks.)

Then we went to see Cars 2 which I have to say was pretty blah. It was not nearly as good as the first one but the kids loved it. Chase would yell at the screen when Mater got in trouble or Lightning was racing. We just let him because there was only two other people in the theater and they had kids too. There was a great Toy Story short at the beginning. I recorded the 5 minute Toy Story short on my phone which I know is highly illegal but I know we will be buying the movie when it comes out anyway. It turns out that the whole thing taped upside down, apparently I was holding the phone wrong. That is karma for you.  

After the movie we went to Baskin Robbins because I had a coupon (are you seeing a trend here?). Those poor people acted like they had never seen a coupon before in their lives, took four people standing around the register just to figure out what to do with the thing. In the end, we all got ice cream for around 5 bucks.

It was a great day!

P.S.-We didn't walk today but yesterday I took a picture of the little pond Macey keeps talking about.

The "Alligator Poop" pond