How to save money when going out to eat.

I love what Jerry Seinfeld has to say about going out to eat ....


Went out to dinner the other night. Check came at the end of the meal, as it always does. Never liked the check at the end of the meal system, because money's a very different thing before and after you eat. Before you eat money has no value. And you don't care about money when you're hungry, you sit down at a restaurant. You're like the ruler of an empire. "More drinks, appetizers, quickly, quickly! It will be the greatest meal of our lives." Then after the meal, you know, you've got the pants open, you've got the napkins destroyed, cigarette butt in the mashed potatoes - then the check comes at that moment. People are always upset, you know. They're mystified by the check. "What is this? How could this be?" They start passing it around the table, "Does this look right to you? We're not hungry now. Why are we buying all this food?!"


I love going out to eat but I have felt the pain after the check comes.  We didn't calculate how much the drinks, appetizers and desserts would cost...UGGGGGHHH!


So here are some tips to avoiding the painful bill after a meal.


1.  Order water to drink
2.  Set a limit each person can spend...my mother used to make us order something under $5, you can pick whatever you want under that amount
(that was awhile ago....LOL)
3.  Choose restaurants that aren't too expensive.
4.  Go out to lunch instead of dinner.  Lunch menu's are generally less than dinner.
5.  Share a meal
6.  Get take-out
7.  Have an appetizer before you go out
8.  Bring your younger kids something from home (Most kid meals aren't really that healthy so bring a little sandwich with some goldfish)
9.  Figure out how much the total will be before you order- when I do this usually I end up deleting items from our order

How to get your kids to help with the cleaning

I just found this great blog that I have to share with you.
The name of the blog is Giving New Meaning to Parenting

She has a series on how to get your kids to help with the work.  Below are the links to her series.

Teach Your Kids To Work, Part 1
Teach Your Kids to Work, Part 2
Teach Your Kids To Work, Part 3
Teach Your Kids To Work, Part 4

I found her blog very inspirational and practical.  I look forward to trying her ideas out on my own kids!  I like the idea of not only giving your kids fun activities but to teach them responsibility.

How to get free High Definition TV thru an antenna.

My husband and I pinch pennies wherever we can.  So when he wanted a high definition television we had to find a loop hole.  So here is how we did it.  My husband shopped around for televisions, he liked Samsung the most.  We bought it on Amazon so we wouldn't have to pay tax, they also delivered it and set it up.

Then we bought an antenna that received high definition and plugged it into our TIVO.  We hooked the antenna onto our roof.  Now we get free HD.  We get all the major stations, PBS, NBC, ABC and CBS.  You need to make sure you have a tuner to hook the antenna into, I don't think you can plug it directly into the television.
Our antenna looks something like this one, it's not too big.

Free Year-Long Subscription to Might Book Junior

Free Membership Offer from Might Book Junior: Mighty Book, Jr. is currently offering customers a free year-long subscription to their site, which includes animated children’s books, games, songs and lesson plans. Enter the promotional code learntoread when you register on the Mighty Book site in order to receive your free membership (a $99 annual value).
No credit card needed, no strings attached!

I found this on MoneySavingMom.com
no credit card needed, no strings attached!

What is forgiveness?

Forgiveness is a decision I make to obey God, and to walk in a lifestyle in a higher realm, by not allowing someone else's actions or attitudes to dictate my actions or attitudes, releasing them to God, while not requiring them to be accountable to me. To move in the opposite spirit making sure I am willing for God to use me as an unrestricted channel of His love for that person.  (Youth With a Mission)

Treatment for Colic- Lactobacillus Reuteri and BioGaia

If you have a baby with colic, you are willing to do anything to get the crying to stop!  My youngest son Noah had horrible colic and I wasn't sure what to do.  I couldn't think straight with all the crying.  But I did find something that worked.  I was breast-feeding exclusively and I read a bunch of information on the internet about Lactobacilluls Reuteri helping infants with colic.  So I decided to run over to the health food store and buy some.  They didn't have any that you give babies directly so I bought some and took it myself( it passes thru breastmilk).  And I am happy to report that I had a different child three days later.  The crying stopped and the painful gas stopped, it was nothing short of a miracle!  My pediatrician didn't know anything about this even though there are a bunch of studies posted on the internet of the amazing results of this probiotic.

I took the pills on the left myself, but I also have given Noah the Biogia when he was on antibiotics.  BioGaia is much less at CVS than on Amazon.  

Best Educational Television Programs

I love using tv and the internet to supplement my homeschooling.  I know many "homeschoolers" are anti-television but I am not one of them.  Here is my list of favorites :)

1.  Magic School Bus- sometimes these episodes are on TLC so I have my DVR set to record them whenever they happen to be on.  Magic School Bus is also available on the internet if you don't have cable or a tv.  Magic school bus focuses on teaching science.

2.  Martha Speaks- I LOVE this show and actually enjoy watching it.  It teaches children vocabulary words.  My 4 year old Hannah has a huge vocabulary as a result of watching this program.  This program is on PBS and also available on the internet.

3.  Super Why- This is a good program for beginning phonic, it uses classic children stories which draw children right in.  This program is also on PBS and available on the internet.

4.  Curious George-  This program teaches many thing, science, logic and mathematics.  This program is also on PBS and available on the internet.

5.  Cyber Chase- teaches more complex math problems for children to solve.  This program is also on PBS and available on the internet.

With so many great educational shows on television, I try to limit my kids t.v. watching to these shows.

Funnix Review

Funnix A Tutor in Your Computer
During the month of January Funnix is offering a free reading program.

 I actually really enjoy this program with my daughter Hannah.  It took me a while to figure out.  They have a tutorial on their website that tells you how to start using the program.  This was much more helpful than the teacher guide that you download.

It takes us about 20 minutes everyday.  It starts off very simple.  You need to sit down with your child the entire time at the computer, the adult operates the mouse.  Every lesson  ends with a page from the workbook which also teaches handwriting.

I like this program because it's interactive and a little less tedious than other reading programs I've tried.

So far I give Funnix a big thumbs up!