Mastering the Art of an Unforgettable Baby Shower On A Budget!

Embarking on the journey of planning a baby shower? Strap in for a delightful ride! Here's your go-to guide for crafting a memorable celebration. Note: Your results may vary, but guaranteed joy for all!

1. Setting the Scene: Choose Your Location Wisely

 Now, onto the essential: Location. Begin your planning early to snag the perfect spot. While we had a last-minute scramble for my baby shower, hosting it at my sister's townhouse turned out to be a cozy and cost-free solution. Pro tip: Start early, explore local parks, friend's backyards, churches, or consult your Chamber of Commerce for budget-friendly options.

2. Decor Delights: Creating a Theme without Breaking the Bank

Decorations can easily devour your budget, but fear not! We scoured the internet for key theme elements and complemented them with dollar store finds. For instance, hang baby clothes on a clothesline for a cute, cost-free decoration. Another tip: fill old baby bottles with water for adorable balloon weights (tint the water for extra charm).

3. Culinary Charms: A Feast for Every Palate

For this food enthusiast, the highlight of any event is the menu! Keep it simple with a variety of snacks like sub sandwiches, dips, veggie trays, and fruit kabobs. Pinterest is a goldmine for exciting ideas. Don't miss our blue ducky punch recipe - a cheap and cheerful hit!

Baby Shower Duck Punch Recipe:

1 bottle Blue Hawaiian Punch

1 Two-Liter Sprite or Seven Up

Scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream

Ducks, because why not!

Pour the Sprite and Hawaiian Punch, float ice cream scoops, and add ducks for a whimsical touch. You can switch the punch color for a girl baby shower.

4. Game On: Making Games Actually Enjoyable

Traditionally disliked baby shower games? We've got you covered. We opted for engaging yet non-embarrassing games like the Candy Game, PlayDough Babies, and the Paper Sack Game. Everyone participated enthusiastically without cringing!

5. Etcetera: Diaper Drawing and Beyond

Encourage guests to bring a pack of diapers for a chance to win a prize. It's a win-win – the winner receives a gift card, and you get a diaper stash. No need for additional favors; your guests will appreciate the simplicity.

Final Advice: Embrace the Fun!

The golden rule for your baby shower: Have fun! The people attending are there for you, not to critique your budget choices. Capture moments with photos, cherish the day, and remember: Your joy sets the tone. For information on health during pregnancy or general well-being, explore [here](insert link).

Raising My Kids Without Grandparents #Parenting #Kids #Blogger #ParentingWithoutParents #ParentlessParents

How can I raise my kids without any grandparents? Is it possible for them to become well-adjusted, happy, successful young men without these relationships in their lives?
These are the questions that I ask myself over and over. I still have yet to find the answers.

My mom died in 2000, when I was just 14 years old. My dad passed in 2004, a month after my high school graduation. My husbands father died in 2005, and afterward, his mother moved to Texas, some 16 odd hours away. My oldest son is now 4 years old, and he has never got to meet her. So, pretty much, my babies don't know their grandparents, and quite possibly never will. They do have my husband's grandparents (their great-grandparents), which I am eternally grateful for, but they certainly don't get to see them as much as they should.

This certainly is not what I had envisioned when I was young and I thought about having babies. My babies would take their place behind their cousins at my parent's house, staying the weekend, eating popsicles and playing in the yard. They would bring home tons of unneeded toys and clothes, and stuff their bellies with cookies and chips and pop. I would buy tacky little "world's best grandma" mugs and tee shirts for holidays, and my parent's Christmas tree would be filled with popsicle stick reindeer and cotton ball snowmen. However, this is not how things turned out.

Instead, my boys have their aunts & uncles, who they love to no end, especially their aunt "Nanny", who I am pretty sure they would move in with if they could! "Nanny" has become kind of their surrogate grandparent, and Tater clings to her like no one else. I still can't help but feel that I'm giving my kids a raw deal. My brothers and sisters have lives, and kids, of their own, and we are all just too busy to see each other as much as I wish we could. I also hate to burden my brothers and sisters with my children, even though I know they don't mind. It's not their job to be my kid's grandparents.

I feel so guilty that my kids will have no memory of my parents. My nieces and nephews, they all were born before the deaths of my parents. Even the youngest one, was an infant when my mom died. She will have pictures of them together, and memories of her grandpa when she was a toddler. My kids will have none of that, not even a picture for me to show them and say "this is your grandma holding you when you were born." Sure, I can show them pictures, tell them stories, but really, will that be enough? Will their be a hole in their little hearts where their grandparents should be?

I feel in some way, that everything I do is overcompensating for the lack of family in my children's lives. Yes, I had my first baby when I was 20. I wanted to have my babies young, so they would have a better chance of growing up without anything happening to me. I don't want to leave them without their parents. We're all they have.I try to take them as many places, give them as many experiences as I can, things that my parents would have done. Birthday parties? they are a huge deal to me. Christmas? the presents are ridiculous. I'm subconsciously making up for them not having grandparents to buy them things and do things with them. I don't want them to feel like they are missing out on anything, but I know they really are.

Is there a way for me to make peace with this? I'm not really sure. I would love any suggestions or ideas that anyone may have to help me. I know that things could be much much worse for my boys, and that two parents, and aunts and uncles and cousins that love them are more than many kids have, and that's what I have to remember.

One Week And Counting! Planning Our Homeschool Year!

Well, folks, after weeks and weeks of build up and planning, we officially start our first year of homeschool in one week! I am excited and nervous, and terrified and happy, all at the same time. I think I have finally figured out what we are using, and how, and when. I still have to sit down one night this week and start some "real" lesson plans, instead of just having things sprawled out everywhere, but I am working on it! 

We're going to be starting out with Life Of Fred for math, and supplementing with some great workbooks from Flash Kids.  I have heard so many good things about LOF, and reading through the first book, it really looks like something that Tater is going to enjoy a lot. For social studies, we are doing Road Trip USA from the fabulous Erica at Confessions of A Homeschooler. Spelling we will be using some Flash Kids workbooks,and some stuff I have pieced together from free online resources. Reading, we have a huge list of books to cover, we are actually going to try to hit 100 books this school year! We'll read together, and take turns reading aloud, and then Tater will also do lots of silent reading time as well. Science is one that we are really excited about, we are going to be using Mr. Q's Classic Science Life Science Curriculum, it looks like so much fun, and best of all, it's FREE!!! Lots of experiments in there too, so we are gonna love that! Art we are using another great curriculum piece from Confessions of A Homeschooler and lots of great arts and crafts projects that we got off of Pinterest, where else!? I am also looking into some resources for typing and logic too, but I haven't made up my mind yet. 

For our schedule, I think we are going to do things a little bit differently than most people. I mean, this might ALL change within a few weeks or months, but for now, we are taking Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. That's right, we are going to do school on the weekends. Tuesday and Wednesday will be our weekends. This is because my hubby works in food service, and he ALWAYS works weekends, so we are stuck at home without daddy anyway. He is off on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so that will be our weekends. Plus, less people are out and about on those days, so yay, easier for us to go and do fun stuff! So, our school week will be Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Tuesday will be grocery day, doctor appointment day, etc. Wednesday will be library day, field trips, park play dates, etc.. We also have to fit in Cub Scouts, Library Homeschool Groups and Drum Lessons in there somewhere... Shew... 

All in all, I am super excited to start our first year and can't wait to begin! 

We're Gearing Up For Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey DRAGONS!!

Okay, some of you might remember our circus review from last year. It was literally, without a question, my baby Bean's favorite experience of his life so far. I have really never seen him as excited or as genuinely happy as he was last year when we went to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's Fully Charged at Rupp Arena. So, when we heard that RBBB was back at it again in our hometown, this time with their "Dragons" show, I knew we were going to try our best to go! 

This year's show sounds spectacular! It is celebrating the Year of The Dragon, so it's something that happens only once in a millennium! Just reading the description of the show makes me feel excited, I can't wait to see it in real life! If you are in the Central Kentucky area and are interested in attending this super spectacular circus event, get ready, because tickets go on sale July 19th! The best part? They start at only $15, so the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey presents Dragons show is something that the whole family can enjoy together! For tickets, just go through Ticketmaster or the Rupp Arena Box Office. You can also call 1-800-745-3000 to order by phone.

Wanna hear all the details? 

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Presents DRAGONS is a once in a millennium event that honors The Year of the Dragon.  Circus performers from the farthest reaches of the earth have assembled for Ringling Bros. Presents DRAGONS to showcase their astounding acts of bravery and astonishing athleticism. Ringling Bros.® Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson presides over this fantastical celebratory tournament of circus champions that brings together mystic dragon lore with authentic circus feats. DRAGONS is a never-before-seen blend of renowned spiritual and real life legends and is coming to Rupp Arena, September 6 - 8, 2013. Tickets go on sale July 19.

The anticipation builds throughout Ringling Bros. Presents DRAGONS as Children Of All Ages bear witness to one phenomenal Ringling Bros. circus act after another, from Shaolin Kung Fu Warriors, charging Cossack riders, magnificent Asian elephants, fierce tigers to the frenzied Globe of Steel. As the audience observes these and even more real world displays that pay tribute to the dragon, their continued excitement will bring glimpses of the elusive beast. But, the big question remains; what will it take to lure a true dragon from its golden lair? 

Ringling Bros. Presents DRAGONS opens an hour before with the interactive All Access Pre-show, FREE admission with your ticket. Families can participate in interactive experiences such as learning juggling and balancing skills, get performer autographs, see one of Ringling Bros. majestic Asian elephant’s paint a one-of-a-kind masterpiece and meet the Ringling Bros. Clowns, whose side-splitting spoofs, absurd antics and comical parody are guaranteed to keep audiences roaring with laughter!

Doesn't it sound exciting!?!?!? You know you wanna go! I highly recommend that you check out the All Access Pre Show before the event, it's free, and we had SO much fun last year! If you need more info, or just want to see more amazing pics of what is to come, visit Ringling.com or join them on Facebook! 

Dear Public School....

Dear Public School,

I have some things to say to you.. It has been a long time coming, but now there are 12 days left of first grade, and I just don't care anymore.

I never in a million years thought that I would be saying the things I have to say, or doing the things I am going to do. 

What you have done to my child, are doing to other children, is not okay. It is not. 

Last year, changing my child's teacher six times, it was. not. okay. 

Putting every single one of the "bad" kids in a classroom by themselves, with the new teacher, it was. not. okay. 

Hiring a teacher who had absolutely no way to control those children, it was. not. okay. 

This year, I knew it would be better. I just knew it. 

I was wrong. 

Continuing to allow adults to roam the halls, not even having them sign in. It. is. not. okay. 

When I come to check my child out of school, and you don't ask for ID. Then tell me "he's in a special class, you can just go look for him". It. is. not. okay. What if I was a murderer? 

And, contrary to popular belief, it is not okay to make my kid participate in your flagpole prayer meeting. 

It's not. 

If you would have sent a note home, we would have talked about it at home so he would know what to expect. I have no problem exposing him to things that are different than what we do at home. I have a problem with not finding out about it until it has already happened, and not being able to properly prepare him. 

Also, telling my kid if he doesn't be good, he's going to Hell when he dies? Not okay. 

Taking a show of hands on how many kids have dead grandparents? How many kids pray at night? How many kids go to church? How many kids get spanked? How many kids have parents that are married? Again, not. okay. 

Plus, the constant asking for money and supplies? not. okay. I sent in money for supplies and fees and somewhere around $75 worth of supplies at the beginning of the year. Stop asking for money. Please. Really, the $5 for this activity and $20 for this field trip gets really old really fast. 

The lack of respect for my needs as a parent? Completely unacceptable. The end of the first nine weeks, I email you for a conference. No answer. I call you. You say you'll call me back. You call back (amazingly). We talk and you ask to do a phone conference. I say ok. Two minutes later, you say you have to go, and you'll call me back during your planning. I never hear from you again. All my calls and emails go unanswered. Notes I send in my son's folder, never answered. I feel so disrespected. 

So that's it. I am done. I am finished. It's over. In twelve days, first grade will be over. And we will start a new chapter in our life. We plan to begin homeschooling in the fall. Am I scared? Terrified. 

I am absolutely terrified, and I don't know if I will do a good job. But, I have to do better, right? 

So, ladies, you might be seeing more homeschool related posts here in the future, hope that is okay! 

Wish me luck on this new journey in our lives! 

Camping in Frankfort: Elkhorn Campground!

Two years ago, we took Tater on the best (only) vacation of his life. We went camping at Elkhorn Campground in Frankfort and he probably has asked me to go back at least once a week since.

This is a place that is very near and dear to my heart. My family has been coming to this campground since wayyy before I was born, probably 30+ years. It is one of those places that gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling just to think about, so this may be kind of a biased review, but I don't apologize for that! ;)

Elkhorn Campground is in Frankfort, Ky ,on the banks of the (what else?) Elkhorn Creek. It's quiet, peaceful, beautiful. All the things my home is not! (maybe that's what i like about it!) There are only 5-10 or so tent spaces, however there are around 120ish rv sites, and somewhere around 110 of them are paved sites. I think somewhere around 60 of those rv sites have full hook ups, including cable tv.

The campground is open April 1- Oct 31 every year, and you can rent sites by the day, week, or even month! The creek runs right behind sites 6-38, so you can fish right outside your RV. (You must have a Kentucky fishing license to fish.)

The campground has a big focus on family and family activities. There is a wonderful in-ground swimming pool, with layout chairs and picnic tables with umbrellas. There is mini-golf, which if it hasn't changed, only costs $1.00 per person to play! There is a giant playground with swings, monkey bars, slides,and lots of creative play equipment. Also there are horseshoes, a volleyball court, a basketball court, and shuffleboard. Just tons of great stuff to do in the great outdoors!

There is a giant pavilion located near the playground that has a huge fireplace for clubs and meetings and things like that. They have church services there on Sunday mornings, and sometimes have hosted Bingo and things like that there. Inside the pavilion is also a pool table and a few arcade games, and a jukebox. (My favorite thing ever! I heart songs of the early 90's!)

There is a wonderful little general store located at the front of the campground, that sells everything you would ever need in case you forgot anything. Last year we actually bought tent stakes there (oops! ) The highlight of the general store is the ice cream, which is a family tradition and treat to get ice cream before a bed-time walk. There is also a small laundry facility located next to the general store in case you just miss doing laundry too much and need to do it on your vacation too!

The road around the campground is a paved circle, and it's a great place for family walks. Tater really enjoyed riding his bike around the circle while we went for a walk, since he never has a level, even, paved place to ride (damn country living!) It would also be a great place to take Bean walking in his stroller.

Each campsite has a picnic table and a fire ring, in addition to your electric and water hookups. You can bring your own firewood, or buy some at the general store, and they will actually deliver it to your campsite so you don't have to carry it! (speaking of delivering to your campsite, pizza guys will also deliver to your campsite, but shhh, I always cook when we're camping! )

There is a bathhouse with potties and showers, so you won't be stinky. The showers have great shower heads with lots of hot water and plenty of water pressure. I'm just throwing that out there because I always worry about taking a shower somewhere new, I don't want it to be crappy!

Elkhorn Campground has been a place my family has been going for a very long time, and I will continue to take my babies there, and hopefully my grandbabies someday. It is a clean, family-friendly atmosphere, which you can not find in many places these days. I love it there, and it makes my heart happy just thinking about it! *Sigh.* I'm ready to go camping! :)

If you would like to make reservations you can call the campground at (502) 695-9154. Office hours are 8am-8pm Sunday-Thursday, and 8am-10pm Friday & Saturday. Or visit their website here.
*Disclosure: Elkhorn Campground did not provide me with anything in exchange for this review, aside from all my wonderful childhood memories! :)

Spending A Day With The Dinosaurs- Dinosaur World!

When we were figuring out what places to visit on our "mini vacation" to Bowling Green/Cave City, there was one place that I knew we couldn't pass up. With two little boys who are crayzeee about anything "prehistoric", I knew Dinosaur World in Cave City was a must stop on our list! 

I'm telling you guys, this place was great! We went, it was just the beginning of the "off season", right before Labor Day. Summer was beginning to wind down, and when we visited, early on a weekday morning, we were actually the only visitors in the whole place! That is my kind of visit! I actually usually try to plan our outings for times like this, when I know that attractions won't be packed and busy, so we can take our time, do whatever we want, at our own pace, and not feel rushed and super claustrophobic.. Well, this time was perfect, since we had the whole place to ourselves! 

When you first go inside, you go through the gift shop. It is simply amazing in there, with so many different types of fossils, plus tons of dino goodies to take home. But, more on that later! After you go through the gift shop, you come outside, and you can get started wherever you want. We started with the museum. This place was awesome! Although it was a little dark inside, and the boys were a little creeped out (after their experience at the haunted house at Beech Bend!) we really had a great time and learned a lot at the museum. There were dino bones, fossils, teeth, eggs, everything! We really learned a lot, and it was so cute seeing the boys go to each exhibit and read about it! 

When we went back outside, we decided to go through the trail and see all the dinos. These things were seriously awesome! They were so life-like, and we had a great time learning about all of them! I loved the fact that the place wasn't packed, we got to take our time and really learn about each dinosaur. It was a great chance to let Tater read each description to us himself, and as we went down the trail, they just got more and more excited! 

When we got to the top of the trail, we even got to take a picture with an awesome GIANT dino! The boys loved that, since it is the same giant dino that you can see from the road! After finishing up the trail, we went over to the playground and spent some time eating our snacks that we brought. Then we checked out the boneyard. Now, I think this was Bean's favorite part! It is like a giant sandbox that has a "dino" buried in it, and your little palentologist gets to dig and uncover the bones! It was so cute, and we seriously probably spent about an hour in just this part alone! The only reason that we stopped, was because it was time for the fossil dig! 

The fossil dig takes place at certain times during the day, and a Dinosaur World employee guides the kids in a real life dino dig to uncover some real fossils! This was Tater's favorite part, I really can't tell you how much they enjoyed this. The employee who was doing the dino dig was wonderful! I wish I could remember his name so I could give him a shout out for being so great with my kiddos! He took extra time with my boys, even though we were the only people there and he could have easily just gotten it over with. I can't tell you how much digging up those fossils meant to the boys. They now each have a special box on their dressers with their shark teeth, REAL dinosaur bones, amber, and other awesome fossils. They take them out every once in awhile and look at them and talk about how much fun they had that day. 

I really can't say enough good things about the fine folks at Dinosaur World. They were so great, and went out of their way to make us feel welcome and at home! I am now forever a fan of Dinosaur World, and I have to say that for the price, this is one of the best deals we found in Cave City! You can easily spend a whole day here checking out all the fun dino stuff! For more information on Dinosaur World, click here to visit their website!

We received complimentary passes to Dinosaur World in order to conduct this review. Although we received complimentary passes, this in no way influenced our opinions or thoughts.