5-Reasons-Kids-Shouldn't-Uber

“You can’t take us to the mall, Mom? It’s ok, we can just UBER it,” says my almost 13-year-old. Excuse me?

Come to find out, this is really going on in the area where we live. Today teens need to get somewhere and Mom, Dad or Grandma isn’t available or willing, they can just press the black U icon on their little iPhone X. In a matter of minutes, a willing stranger appears to transport them wherever their little precious heart desires to go. Even better it’s all conveniently billed to Mommy’s credit card so they don’t even need to have a bit of cash on them or bat an eye at the expense.

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Just what do you say to a Veteran to honor the sacrifices they have made for our country?

Does “thank you for your service” come to mind?

Do you know how those 5 simple words make a veteran feel though?

“Really awkward,” says Rico Roman, a retired Army Staff Sergeant who had his left leg amputated above the knee when wounded by an improvised explosive device while serving his third tour in Iraq in Feb. 2007. “I don’t go looking for that kind of recognition. I just say thank you back to people because I know they are sincere, but sometimes I feel very awkward.”

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Isn’t that quite the question? Just what does it take to live a great life story?

I know it takes more than money, a beautiful house, comfortable lifestyle or high performing kids. None of that means a darned thing if you aren’t living for a greater purpose.

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I wouldn’t say last week was one of my better ones.

My throat is scratchy from all the nagging and raising my voice (otherwise known as yelling) in frustration with my family. Every last one of them has been driving me nuts. Maybe you can relate? We are on each other more than normal and I’m going to own that it’s my negative energy leading the charge. It’s no way I want to live.

So, I called a Family Meeting.

It’s time to regroup as a family unit because when Momma isn’t happy, ain’t nobody going to be happy. A Family Meeting is a great way to stop and talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly and comes up with a plan to get back on track.

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When our kids were little I read every parenting book I could get my hands on. I took classes, went to seminars and looked to friends for wisdom, all in the hopes of doing this mothering thing the best I could. I have found that as the kids grow up, we don’t seek out as much guidance as we did in the younger years and really we need positive tactics now more than ever.

One lady has been influential in guiding my parenting since we met back in the preschool days in California. Susie Walton is a mother of four grown sons and teaches her own curriculum, “The Joy of Parenting” to families live and online. Susie is also the author of the book, “Key to Personal Freedom: How Myths Affect Our Family Lives.”

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Did you know that Make A Difference Day always falls on the 4th Saturday in October? Tomorrow’s nationwide event is the largest day of community service and volunteering across the USA. I hope you are scheduled to do something fabulous in your community! But, if you’re like our family, what happens if your Saturday is already booked solid?

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rubber-band-camping-clothesline

My creative Mother made me this handy clothesline out of rubber bands and we used it all of the time while on our RV journey around the USA.

Want to make your own rubber band camping clothesline?

Here’s how….

  1. If using regular rubber bands, buy the thicker ones. Don’t get cheap dollar store type.
    Use appx. 20-25 bands and make into a chain by looping end to end.
  2. Make 3 chains of equal length. Holding one end of each chain together in your hand loop the end together in a large knot, leaving a grouping of 3 bands at the end for hanging.
  3. Take the loops formed at the end of knot and hang over something such as a knob and begin to form a braid with the 3 strands, stretching braid gently as you go.
  4. When you get down to about the last 6 inches hold the end loops together again and loop into another large knot.

Remember that many campgrounds won’t let you hang clothes outside to dry, so this rubber band clothesline worked perfectly inside our RV too!

Here are 6 other tips for family travel in an RV!

What tips have helped you when traveling around by RV?

Did you draw up a contract with your child before handing over that cell phone? A parent-child cell phone agreement is a great way to discuss expectations and individual accountability upfront before that device ever lands in their hands.

We have been withholding the privilege of cellphones for our kids until now. We could’ve gone forever without giving in to the reality of society, but it is important to our kids, so we wanted to honor them. There are many reasons we wanted our kids to wait for this responsibility and I’ve written about that here. Our triplet sons just began 8th grade and their younger sister is in 7th. They are responsible, caring and hard working individuals deserving of this rite of passage in today’s culture.

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Homemade-strawberry-fruit-rollups

What kid doesn’t love a fruit roll-up? Unfortunately, the prepacked ones sold in stores are full of ingredients our children don’t need to put in their bodies!

These delicious homemade strawberry fruit rollups are a family favorite!

(The most time-consuming part is cutting up all the berries. After that’s done, it’s smooth sailing.)

4 Ingredients you need to make your homemade fruit rollups:

4 cups strawberries

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees or to as low as your oven will go.

I like to make these rollups when there’s a sale on organic strawberries. Strawberries are on the dirty dozen list, so it’s important to buy them pesticide-free when you can.

Rinse the berries. Cut off all the tops and cut them into quarters.

Place the strawberries in a covered saucepan over medium heat. Pour in water.  Bring the berries to a simmer and let them cook down for 10-15 minutes until the fruit is soft.

Puree the fruit and water in a blender and return to the heat.

Add sugar and lemon juice.

Cook at a simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture has thickened (5 to 10 minutes.)

Are you a lover of kitchen gadgets like me? My trusty lemon squeezer seriously makes me happy.

Spray a baking sheet lightly with cooking spray and then line with plastic wrap. (The heat is so low that it will not melt.)

Pour the strawberry mixture onto the lined baking sheet until it is about 1/8 inch thick or so.

Bake the fruit puree in the oven with the door propped slightly open until the mixture is not sticky to the touch (about 8 to 10 hours). This is a great recipe to do overnight!

Let the fruit sheet cool and then tightly roll the entire sheet, still on the plastic wrap.

Once cooled cut the rollups into the desired width. Package in plastic baggies.

AND ENJOY!

What’s your favorite healthy treat that you create for your family?

9-11-Tribute-New-York-City

We will never forget.

As Americans, we will never forget the tragedies of Sept. 11, 2001, and our family will never forget spending the 13th anniversary of this day in New York City.

I never truly understood the depth of the physical and emotional devastation here until finally witnessing it firsthand in 2014 during our RV trip around the USA.

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