Free One Year Subscription to Magazine

I belong to a few money-saving groups and by far the best has been moneysavingmom.com   I just signed up for a free one-year subscription to Better Homes and Gardens and it took only a few minutes.  I also belong to BHG.com and get their daily e-mails that contain so many wonderful ideas and recipes, but thought getting the actual magazine would be nice too.  I am posting the directions to get the free subscription.  It doesn't have to be to BHG, there is a selection of other magazines as well as coupons you can use your 'points' for discounts at restaurants as well.

You can get a free magazine subscription from RecycleBank right now. Here’s how:

::Sign up for an account with RecycleBank, if you don’t have one already.
::Join the eBay Green Team, to get 50 free points.
::Learn about PET plastic bottles to get 30 free points.
::Explore the Future-Friendly Home to get 25 free points.
::Answer a question about water consumption of dishwashers (refresh the page if this one doesn’t come up for you at first) to get 10 free points.

You’ll then have earned 115 points — enough to get a free subscription to Better Homes & Gardens, Everyday Food, Parents, Country Living or Good Housekeeping magazine.
Or, you can also choose to get a $3/1 Kashi product coupon for just 90 points, which should net you a free or almost-free box of Kashi cereal at Walmart or other stores.

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Birthday Party on a Budget

With six kids we host a birthday party on average of every two to three months.  I don't want to short change any of our kiddos in the celebration department, but it can really add up.  Our oldest son, Sutton, recently turned seven.  During the couple of weeks that lead up to his birthday, he and I brainstormed to come up with a fun idea of something different to do to celebrate.  In the past we have done the big parties such as bowling or going to a kids fitness center but typically we have parties at our house and grill out with close friends and family.  I wanted to do something special for him, but keep it well within our tiny budget.   

Sutton made the list of who he wanted to invite.  There were four friends and I thought, even if we went to a movie and had lunch, by the time we bought the movie tickets, the popcorn, drinks, etc. we were still going to shell out quite a bit, and he still wanted to include his brothers in the celebration as well.  So we came up with the idea of a Drive Inn Movie night at our house.  

I made the invitations on our computer and made them look like pillows and invited the kids to wear their p.j.'s, (this alone was nice because after the party was over, the transition for our kids to go to bed was already half done!).  There was one concern I had though, this was going to be the first time that I hosted a party where there were no other adults other than my husband and I.   I was trying to figure out, "How do I keep nine kids busy for three hours?"  I have to admit, it was a lot easier than I had first thought.  Each child had their own cardboard box that they could decorate to look like a car (I got the idea from Family Fun Magazine).  After gluing and coloring, their vehicles were complete and we moved on to the next project while my husband went to pick up the pizza.  

For the second activity, each child had their own white pillow case to decorate.  I wanted to keep it as simple as possible because we did have smaller kiddos that were participating so I bought a package of fabric markers for them to use instead of paint (less mess and less dry time).  I also had bought little plastic bowls for each child for fifty cents each and wrote their names on them with a sharpie.  The pillow case and bowl were part of their goodie bags that they got to take home with them.   After we ate pizza, sang "Happy Birthday" and had homemade cupcakes, it was show time!  While the kids "parked" their cars in front of the television I popped some popcorn and filled their bowls, ( I didn't realize this at the time, but with them sitting in their "cars" while they ate and watched the movie, it cut down on kernels on the floor tremendously).  I didn't even need to  rent a movie.  Sutton wanted to show his favorite movie, "Shorts", so that was easy enough as well!

All in all, I think the evening went rather well.  Sutton had the party he had imagined, there were smiles all around and laughter filled the house.  And we managed to only spend roughly $45, so averaging $5 per kid.  Now the next question is, "Will I be able to do it again next month?"

Mac n' Cheese SCORE!

So... I have become a coupon / bargain FREAK.  I think you have to be with a family as big as ours with only one income.  I usually have to mentally prepare for my trip to the grocery store two, sometimes three days in advance.  Unfortunately, we were running short on the three staples:  bread, milk and eggs.  So this morning while our older sons were at Sunday School I made a quick trip and couldn't believe what I came upon....Kraft Mac n' Cheese......CHEAP!  There was a display case with their new Cheesey Extreme and with coupons attached to the display case for 55 cents off the purchase of two.  They were also on sale so that if you bought 10 of them they were 49 cents each.  No....could this be FREE CRAFT MAC N' CHEESE? (King Soopers doubles coupons up to $1 so it would've been $1 off 2 boxes that are 49 cents each!)  My heart was racing...could this be???  I stopped an employee walking by and she couldn't grasp the idea of me using more than one coupon.   "Um, it's 55 cents off two, not ten."  She clearly was not coupon savy...so I ripped off 5 of the coupons from the display case and headed to the register.  To my dismay they would only allow three of the coupons to be used in one transaction but in order to get the 49 cents per box price I had to purchase 10 in one transaction....BUT they were still only 20 cents a box!  So...needless to say, on the way home from picking the boys up from Sunday School we made one more stop at King Soopers and I bought 10 more boxes using three coupons and then Sutton bought 10 boxes using three coupons.

Traditions...

One of the earliest memories that I have when I met my husband was the two of us driving in his dads car.  It was a Chrysler I think, grey, late 80's.  When you turned the key to start it up, the first thing you heard after the engine was the sound of a man's voice coming from the speakers.  It wasn't your typical radio announcer.  This was something that I would eventually come accustomed to, as my father-in-law didn't listen to music on the radio of his car, he listened to AM Talk Radio.  

For some reason this habit seems to have been passed down a generation to my husband.  Some of the best broadcasts of the Husker games are on AM radio.  You can almost feel like you are there just from listening the the excitement in the announcers voice.  I remember the drive so many times on our way home from a Big Red game, my husband, almost before totally seated behind the wheel, jumping into the car, quickly turning the radio to the post-game talks with comments from Coach Osborne.  Even now, if you visit my in-laws on a Saturday during football season, chances are that all of the t.v.'s are turned to the game and my father-in-law has his little black radio sitting next to him with the game on.  He watches it on t.v., with the volume down, and then listens to the broadcast on the radio.

At first I thought AM radio was just a football thing.  I didn't realize that it was ALL THE TIME.  Over the years I have gotten used to it.  If my husband borrows my car, when I get in and start it up I instantly hear the sound of a talk show. On the other hand, when going somewhere together,   I am often finding myself telling my husband not to change the station because I wanted to hear the end of the story that is being told or problem that is being solved.  

AM radio can also be a great conversation starter.  There is "Pet Talk Radio" and of course "Car Talk" with brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi, a.k.a.  "Click and Clack".  I don't know much about cars, and honestly don't care to, but I sure do enjoy listening to two brothers go back and forth with a Jersey accent about car mishaps, laughing at themselves and having a good time.

To put a different spin on the subject of AM radio, I was quickly reminded the other day just how much kids listen even though we don't think they do.  So many times I think that my kids just don't listen or aren't aware of all that is going on around them. Silly Mandy!  You know that one of the things kids love to do best is to prove their parents wrong.  My boys, well, most of them, love listening to the radio whenever we go somewhere.  There is always that one that wants it "turned down" when everyone else wants it turned up.  The other day while we were out running errands my three years old quickly escalated into a full blown screaming temper tantrum and the only thing I could understand that he was saying was, "Daddy Radio!"  Apparently his brothers understood him perfectly because the next thing I know, Peter and Pearson are chanting "Car Talk!  Car Talk!".  I was flustered with all the chaos in the car and for some reason I felt the urge to turn on AM radio.  There was instantaneous silence from the seats behind me.  It occurred to me, all those times that my husband has taken the boys on special outings, it is almost guaranteed they were listening to AM radio, and now have developed an ear for it, even though they may not always understand what is being discussed.

  From the number of sacs a player makes to the solution for a broken water hose, they don't care.  I'm sure that with the start of the season just a few days away, we'll be digging out our radio so the boys can enjoy it just like Daddy and Grandpa.  And perhaps one day, one of my boys will have a girlfriend that when they are out on a date,  will wonder just why on earth she is  being coaxed into listening to this thing called AM radio.

Going Home to the Good Life

This last weekend I went to pick up Sutton from his three week visit to his grandparents.  I have to admit, I was looking forward to the drive to Nebraska.  I was only going to North Platte where I was meeting my son along with my mother-in-law, so I wasn't exactly going "home".  I spent the four hour drive, by myself, without any of the other children, a definite rarity.  I had a lot of time to myself to think, and I've noticed before that my mind tends to wonder, maybe that's what having six kids does to you, and maybe that's why I never quite seem to finish anything.

During the drive I thought of all the things I wanted to do with my family.  All of the little things that there never quite seems enough time to do.  As I drove down Highway 14, I told myself (which I do every time I take that route) that one day Jeff and I will take the road less traveled and take the kids to see the Pawnee Bluffs that I can't help but stare at every time I drive by them.  From the highway they just look like little humps, but I know they really are so much more. 

As I continued to drive and as I reached the state line I looked over to the sign that read, "Nebraska, The Good Life."  Just the same as with other trips back, once I drove across this invisible line, I got this calming feeling, I'm home, I thought.  This time though, the thought of being "home" wasn't the actual place, it was the fact that I was on my way to pick up my son.  That feeling of "home" was me knowing that those who were most important to me would all be back together again after a summer of back-and-forth visits to grandparents.  That was me going home.

During our trek back to Colorado, Sutton and I talked about the neat things we saw, from the sunflower fields to the smell of the cattle farms.   It was a series of conversations that I'm sure I will forever remember.  The sun was starting to set and the colors in the sky ranged from a vibrant orange to a deep, cool lavender.  "How do people know that people who are invisible are really there?", Sutton asked.  I wasn't sure what he meant exactly, so of course, I asked.  He elaborated, "How do people know that God is really there.  I know he's there all the time.  But do all the people know that he is with all of them all of the time?"

I was impressed that my six year old was actually taking the time to think about this.  I also felt that God was providing the perfect means for me to attempt to explain this in the best way I could.  I looked up at the colorful sky and said "Do you see all those colors in the sky?  God made those.  He makes things like sunsets so that he can show people he is there."  I wasn't quite sure if he understood what it was I was trying to explain.  "So Grandma can see the sunset when I see it even though she is far away and God is with both of us, right?"  

This revelation of his made my heart swell.  I don't remember having thoughts like that when I was a child, perhaps I did and it wasn't significant to me like it is when you listen to your own child explain how he sees the world.  God has blessed Jeff and I in so many ways.  One of the best (or should I say, the six best) gifts He has given us are our children.  I can take that trip back to Nebraska a hundred more times, but no matter what, I am not really "home" unless I am with the seven loves of my life.  Seven!  Oh, how I am blessed!  With the everyday rituals of fixing meal, cleaning up spills and breaking up fights, I do have to remind myself how fortunate I am.  And though there are moments where I find myself asking, "Seriously, was this His plan for me?", I do have these amazing moments when I remember how lucky I am that He chose me to be their mom.  God is with all of us, all of the time.  He's there during the sunsets in life, and each day when the sun rises again.  I may not be in Nebraska, but I am loving living the Good Life that God has given me.

Cozy Cows and Questions...

The thought of going out in public with all of the kiddos is, to be honest, intimidating.  I have only done it a few times and with, if I may toot my own horn for a moment, rather good success.   Crap, I probably just jinxed myself.  Today was a golden opportunity for me to prove to myself that I will not let these three foot tall, loves of my life, angels that often seem hoped up on sugar, get the best of me.  

A couple of women from the MOPS group that I belong to organized a tour for us at the local Cozy Cow Dairy.  Now, I had always wanted to go there, but then, had let myself become intimidated at the thought of taking all of our children.  I thought today was a great opportunity because I would be around people that knew that I was not simply some crazy mom with "too many children" as I often get that look, but today, I would be amongst my peers.  

Again, my boys exceeded my expectations!  There was no fighting, no pushing, no kicking...until it was about time to leave, but that I was able to overlook.  They had made it through a 45 minute tour where we learned the ins and outs of a dairy farm!  I felt my heart swell a little when Pete immediately raised his hand when the tour guide asked us if we had any questions.  "I love cows and I love meeelk." he proudly announced.  (Jeff and I have always loved the way he says the word "milk".)

Following the video we had the opportunity to actually see the cows get milked.  I hadn't ever seen this before so I was excited to have the chance as well.  I was interested in so many of the facts such as that it only takes about five minutes to milk a cow and that the oldest cow ever milked on their farm was 16 years old (in people years that is, in cow years, she was ancient!)  Of course, Pearson did not miss a beat.  One of the cows did her 'business' and Pearson being Pearson had to ask, "Why did that cow poop?"  "Just because", I said.  That answer is never good enough for Pearson.  With me knowing that, one might think that I would have a better answer on hand.  Nope.  You can never tell Pearson, "Just because."  "BUT WHY!?!?!", he continued.  Luckily, right at that moment the milking process began and his attention shifted. 

After leaving the cows behind to finish up their milking we were able to feed some of the other animals on the farm.  We then headed inside to have our own taste of the dairy in the form of ice cream.  I do have to say that it was some of the best ice cream I have ever had.  I don't know if it was the heat of the morning that made it taste so good, the fact that I knew it was fresh or that I was just simply starving, but that was some dang good ice cream.  

With that said, I have to say that the people at Cozy Cow did a wonderful job in welcoming us to their dairy and showing us all that goes into being able to enjoy a simple, cold glass of "meeelk".  I'm sure we'll be going again real soon, even if it's just for a quick scoop of ice cream.