Organized to save money, energy, and time
Photograph Credit: TCBY
Mother’s Day is a little over a week away on Sunday, May 8. You can treat your mom or grandmother to a tasty treat at a participating TCBY.
According to their website, “For the fourth year in a row, TCBY will offer free frozen yogurt to moms on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8. Moms will have the choice of their favorite flavors such as popular White Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry, or limited time offer, Watermelon Sorbet served in a cup or cone.”
Have you been busy? Our schedule has been hopping. (Yes, the Easter pun is intended.) This season is very busy for our family. With a school program and several rehearsals, I was SO thankful for the breakfast help from Chick-Fil-A. Our local Chick-Fil-A hosted a Customer Appreciation Week and served a free breakfast item to each customer ALL WEEK. It was a blessing to visit the drive through each morning to receive the following:
Our busy week ended by attending the school performance. This production was a fundraiser for our school, and we fully supported this event. How wonderful to be able to support a great school!
With the program complete and some time at home, I found myself hosting a spontaneous Easter Egg Hunt. As I was cleaning our home, I put away the St. Patrick’s Day items and unpacked the Easter decorations. My children quickly found the plastic eggs and had had a blast playing with them! On Tuesday evening, the weather was so nice, and the kids were begging to go outside to play. To appease them, I took 30 eggs out to our front yard and “hid” them. Our neighbors were also outside with their young children, so we invited them over to play. We completed 2 or 3 egg hunts with my son taking a turn hiding the eggs. It was fun for all and ended with a good lesson for my children about sharing.
Another Easter activity I plan to incorporate into this weekend is . . .
coloring eggs. I have a number of Easter kits that I purchased inexpensively for my children to enjoy. My daughter loves arts, crafts, coloring, and decorating, so this pastime is right up her alley. Did I mention that I just cleaned my house? Having worked really hard, I would love to keep it clean for a few days. Any tips you can offer on keeping this activity stain-free are GREATLY appreciated.
Wishing your family a wonderful Easter weekend together!
Resurrection Eggs
Good Friday! Yes, it is Good Friday.
Our family will be celebrating this special remembrance by spending some time together with our Resurrections Eggs.
If you are unfamiliar with this tool used to illustrate the new life available in Christ Jesus through His resurrection, then you can use these instructions to read the Easter account and create your own set of eggs.
I have a set for each of my children to touch and open as we read and discuss the Easter events. Then our family will celebrate the Resurrection of Christ on Sunday united with our church family.
I trust this Easter is a special celebration of the new life you find in Christ.
Photograph Credit: Flickr (Jessica Merz)
Are you anticipating spring break? We did! My son’s school has an earlier spring break than most schools in our area. Having the run of places while other children were in school was SO nice! As you prepare for your extra time with your school-age children, I will share how we spent our spring break without breaking the bank on the activities.
Monday: We ran errands all day, but I worked in fun stops along the way. For example: I spaced out the two grocery store trips. We visited one in the morning around 10:00 a.m. which is snack time. The free cookie program took care of the morning snack which is a very nice free option. The second grocery store was visited as the last stop on the way home. We also snagged a free cookie for the kids which held them over until dinner.
We ran our first batch of errands at stores close to home. We then made a stop at home for lunch and to unload before heading out for the afternoon session. In addition to grocery shopping, I had 3 errands to accomplish at a local mall. After lunch, we went to the mall. After accomplishing our errands, I allowed the kids to play at the Kidgits Area, which is an in-door playground. They were climbing, sliding, crawling, and playing for over an hour. They had a great time, and I was able to accomplish a long list of errands.
Tuesday: With the errands completed, we spent the morning at our local library. I was hoping to catch our usual story time class, but the library took their spring break that same week. Though we did not have an official story time with songs and stories, the kids returned their books, chose new ones, and played in the kids area with the puzzles, toys, and computers. After our library visit, we went home for lunch and a restful afternoon.
Wednesday: I scheduled a play date at our house. Our neighbors came down to play for the morning. My kids enjoyed having other children come play with their toys in their house. I enjoyed the visit with my neighbor as our kids played well together. We then rested in the afternoon before heading to church for Kids 4 Truth.
Thursday: We played at home for the morning and allowed the baby to get her morning nap. After an early lunch, we headed for our local Bounce House with inflatables on which the kids jump. We had saved some passes that were given to us, and I brought snacks for them. This all-afternoon activity was a highlight for the week. With their energy exhausted, my kids slept really well that night. 🙂
Friday: After adjusting our schedule due to the baby’s long morning nap, we met up with our friends for the afternoon at the zoo. With our Family Plus Zoo Membership, our family and guests were granted free admission into the zoo. All seven kids enjoyed looking, laughing, and playing together while watching all the animals. At the conclusion of our visit, the kids enjoyed playing on the playground together. This activity was by far THE highlight of our spring break.
With a little advanced planning, I was able to schedule at least one special activity each day. Since all these activities were free, except the cost of gas, we were able to enjoy an activity-slammed week without breaking the bank.
What special activities did you or are you planning to do during spring break? I hope you have a great time with your family as you enjoy each other!
Photograph Credit: Ben & Jerry's
Are you ready for a free, cool family activity? On Tuesday, April 12, 2011 visit a participating Ben & Jerry’s location to celebrate Free Cone Day! According to the Ben & Jerry’s website:
As a way to thank our customers for their support and to celebrate 33 years of scooping the chunkiest, funkiest ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet, Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops are happily giving it away!
If you are fortunate enough to live near a participating location, then I hope you enjoy your free cone on Tuesday. Eat a little bite for me since all the South Carolina locations are too far away for us to visit. (Don’t feel too sorry for me. There’s another inexpensive ice cream deal coming on April 27.)
