Couponing for the Rest of Us

Groupon: Great Wolf Lodge for 40% OFF! (Great Family Vacation)

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Here’s a nice discount on a family getaway!

Right now Groupon Getaways is offering discounted hotel rooms and packages with a savings of up to 40% off at Great Wolf Lodges across the United States, and they all look like some great deals.  With summer right around the corner, these could make for a great summer trip!

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Top 10 Neighborhood Games to Teach Your Kids: 4 Square, Kick the Can, Capture the Flag, More!

Remember all the great neighborhood games you used to play when you were a kid? 

I remember yelling “Red rover, Red rover”, slamming the ball into my brother’s 4-Square square,  sneaking around the corner of the house during hide & seek to head for base….  wow – there are so many happy memories that surface when I think of summertime and neighborhood games!

Every night after dinner, my brother & I would run down the street knocking on doors, getting kids together for flashlight tag or kickball.  And every night we would play until parents started flickering their porch lights for their kids to come home.  While those days are just memories – you can make new memories with your own kids using the same tried-and-true neighborhood games!

This summer, break out of the boredom cycle by teaching your kids how to play some of the great old games we grew up with.  Here are my Top 10 Neighborhood Games:  *NOTE: These are not full instructions, just what I can remember to help jog your memory :)

  1. Four Square

    Players take turns bouncing the ball into each other’s squares – starting with the “King” serving the ball (the king is in square 4).  The ball must bounce 1 time in someone else’s square before they hit it – and may not hit a line or go out of the lines.  If you miss hitting it or hit it out of bounds, you go back to square one (or the end of the line waiting their turn behind square 1) (There are lots of extra rules to 4-Square, check them out here)

  2. Freeze Tag

    Choose one person to be”It” and he/she chases the others until he tags them.  If tagged, the player freezes in one spot until another team member runs by and tags him – thereby unfreezing him to run again.  (We used to play another version where you have to crawl through the frozen player’s legs to unfreeze them – we called it Eiffel Tower tag or Chinese Tag)

  3. Hide & Seek

    Choose one person to be “It” and he counts (with eyes closed) while everyone else hides.  With a shout of “Ready or not, here I come!” they open their eyes and look for the hidden players.  The first person to get found is then “it” and (Optional!  This is just what we used to do :) ) yells “Olly-olly-oskin-free!” which announces that everyone else can come out.
  4. Red Rover, Red Rover

    Two opposing teams form lines facing one another, holding arms within their line to make a tight chain.  They chant “Red Rover Red Rover, we dare (someone from the opposite team) over!”  and the called member of the opposing team makes a run at their chain, trying to break through it.  If they succeed, they take a hostage back to join their team.  If they fail, they join the team.
  5. Sardines in a Can

    Basically Hide & Seek backwards.  There is only 1 hider, and everyone else is “It”.  When one of the “It” players finds the hidden sardine, he quietly hides with him.  This goes on until only one person has not found all the “sardines” packed into the same hiding place.

  6. Kick the Can

    Much like hide n seek but the “Base” is the can.  Kick it to be safe from the chaser!  Read more HERE

  7. Red Light, Green Light

    One person is the caller (or cop) and the other players stand behind a line facing him.  The cop yells “green light” and the players rush to reach him first.  When the cop yells “Red Light” they must freeze.  The first person to reach the cop wins.

  8. Mother May I?

    Much like “Red Light Green Light” – but the “Mother” calls out instructions to each player individually.  (i.e. Take 4 scissor steps!)  If the player forgets to ask “Mother May I?”, he must go back to the starting line.
  9. Simon Says…

    Much like “Mother May I” and “Red Light Green Light” – Simon calls out instructions to the entire group of players at the starting line.  (i.e. Simon Says – take 4 Jumps Forward!)  They advance towards him, but he then tries to occasionally trick them by calling out an order without begining it with “Simon Says…”  If they still move, they’re back at start.  (We always taunted them by yelling “Simon didn’t sa-ay!”)
  10. Capture the Flag

    This game is a little complicated in my mind – I must’ve been smaller when we played at Girl Scouts – but there’s a great write-up HERE.

 

 

Homemade Firestarters | Dryer Lint & Candle Wax!

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I’m re-posting this tutorial I wrote previously on how to make homemade firestarters because camping season is HERE again!

This weekend I took my 4 boys out for our first ever family camping trip.  It was all I could’ve hoped for – they were thrilled to cook hotdogs over the campfire on sticks, make S’mores, tell silly ghost stories, and listen to mom play old John Denver songs on the guitar.   We swam in the lake until we were exhausted, and finally cuddled up in our tiny 4 person tent together while I lay awake hoping no critters would come looking for leftovers.

It was wonderful – memories they’ll have forever  – just like I do from when I went camping as a kid with my parents.  There was one thing, though, that I wished I had remembered to bring along – something to make the all-important campfire even easier to get going: My HomeMade Camp Fire Starters.

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As some of you know, I was a girl scout for many years. But this particular trick I learned from my brother (an Eagle Scout) during his boy scout days. It’s a little recipe for homemade fire starters, useful for taking camping with you, or just for a little backyard bonfire when tinder and lighter fluid aren’t at hand.

Step 1: You’ll need a cardboard egg carton and some of your old candles.

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Step 2: Break up the candles into smaller pieces and melt over low in your oldest, yuckiest skillet or pot.

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Step 3: Get the dryer lint out of the lint trap, or if you’re like me, get the whole bag of dryer lint you’ve been saving for this specific purpose. :)   It’s very flammable, and smells nice to boot.

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Step 4: Pack the dryer lint very tightly into each egg receptacle.

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Step 5: Spoon the wax carefully over top the dryer lint, about 3 spoons per wad.

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Step 6: Let cool completely, if I’m in a hurry I stick mine in the freezer for a bit, and then cut out your fire-starters.

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Just toss one or two of these under your pile of firewood and light the cardboard.  It will stay burning long enough to get the wood to catch fire really well.

You can also make a “bunson burner” for heating up food/canned goods by cutting a 1″ wide strip of cardboard in a long length.  Roll it into an old tuna can until it’s made a tightly packed spiral.  Drip wax over the cardboard and you’re done!

Happy Camping!

 

Bi-Lo BOGO Baseball Tickets for Minor League Games on Tuesdays

 

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Bi-Lo BOGO Baseball Tickets

Spring is here – and that means BASEBALL!  if you’ve had a hankering lately to take the family out to a ball game- or in my case, if your husband has had that hankering (and you are secretly hoping he’ll take all the kids by himself so you can take a bath or watch  reruns of Gilmore Girls)- then you’ll want to check out this Bi-Lo deal:

Bi-Lo BOGO Baseball tickets on Tuesday Nights (Regional deal, check your team’s promo page)

It’s BI-LO BOGO! Buy one general admission ticket, get another one free by showing your BI-LO BONUS CARD. There is a limit of four general admission tickets per BI-LO BONUS CARD

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I can’t find any updated information on whether or not the Kraft Singles BOGO Tuesdays is going on this year – but if it does come back again – here is the information:

Kraft BOGO Tuesday Night Tickets (for Minor League Games)
Just show up with a Kraft Singles wrapper and get BOGO General Admission tickets, (valid 4/12 – 9/6)

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April Fools Pranks: 25 Fun Practical Jokes

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25 April Fools Pranks

I’ve always loved playing April Fools Pranks on my family – and if you do too, here’s a roundup of 25 of the BEST April Fools Day Pranks we’ve heard!

  1. Rubberband the Spray Nozzle|  Rubberband the sink sprayer handle so that it immediately sprays out as soon as someone turns on the water.
  2. Glue Money to the Ground|  Hot glue or superglue a quarter, dime, etc… to the sidewalk or porch and watch everyone who comes in try to get it up!
  3. Water Cups| Fill two cups with water and ask if someone wants to see a magic trick.  Tell them to put out both hands flat on the table palms down and then quickly set both full water cups on top of their hands.  They’ll be stuck that way for awhile :)
  4. Car Accident|  Leave a note on someone’s car (someone who would FREAK OUT if their car were scratched) and apologize profusely for scratching/denting their car.  They’ll be looking for the scratch forever.
  5. Zoo Prank|  Get a family member or friend to “return a call” to someone named Harry Lyon, or Mr. Fox, etc…
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How to Make Perfect Hard-Boiled Deviled Eggs (The Devil’s in the Details!)

How to Make Perfect Deviled Eggs

I loathe deviled eggs.  This looks like I’m happy, but I’m pretending.

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FREE Educational Printables (Print Worksheets, Coloring Pages, Mazes)

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FREE Printable Worksheets!

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Kids Bowl Free This Summer

 

bowling-ballsKids Bowl Free is back for the Summer! The coupons run from 05/15/2013 to 09/15/2013! Make sure to register today so you don’t miss out on this hot offer!!

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