It seems I am not the only one that adores this time of year, I’m not sure what it is about the crisp mornings, cozy clothing, and pumpkins and scream love at me but that do! 🍁🍂 I also love the planning of the holidays just around the corner. Through it all together and it’s to much to not ❤️!
With that said, I wanted to go through and share a couple of my past fall post, I hope you enjoy!
Today I wanted to write a post, giving some tips on how to exercise with little ones.
I have been on a journey to become healthier lately. Exercising has always been on my “need to do” list but never became a priority until recently. Now, exercising is a staple on my Sue Hooley planner and is neatly planned on my Caliber app schedule.
Part of making exercise a priority has included my attempt to effectively fit exercise into my schedule, with little ones, (and without a baby sitter). Here’s how!
1. Include them
One of the best ways I have found to exercise with little ones, is to do an exercise that includes them.
This could be walking, swimming, biking, playing tag etc. I often walk for cardio and I have found my kids love this time to ride their bikes during my walks. This keeps them entertained while giving us both some cardio and fresh air!
I also have made good use of my sit and stand double stroller during walks with my little ones when they were smaller.
2. When trying to exercise with little ones…. Entertain them first
Sometimes, you can get your kids going with a game or activity within your visual area of working out. Once they are having a blast, let them know you’re going to work out while they continue to enjoy the fun!
Some of my favorite ways to entertain my children while exercising outdoors is bike riding, chalk, bubbles, wiffle ball, plastic parachutes, frisbees , etc.
As far as indoors, some of my favorite ways to entertain my little ones while I exercise (and keep them out of trouble lol) is book reading, Legos, play-dough, puzzles etc. I like to dig out a toy that is usually put up and only pulled out for special times. This way, it keeps their attention much longer and keeps the pieces from being lost. Another option might be to call grandma for some special chat time.
I also like to work out indoors while my little ones are finishing up lunch or enjoying a special snack. This keeps them in my sight and out of trouble.
3. Exercise while the kids are asleep
This is one of the simplest solutions and I realize it may not always work. Getting up before or staying up after the kids are fast asleep can seem ideal for a workout. Just don’t plan to rely on this option only and be sure to keep the other two options in mind for when this doesn’t work!
4. Multi task
Another tip for making time to exercise with little ones to care for, is to multi task when doing it. This obviously will not work for all types of exercise. Sometimes choosing an exercise that works best with children or one that can be multi tasked,may make or break your exercise routine as a Mama.
Personally, I have found the easiest cardio to multitask with, is walking. During my walks, I will often pray or catch up on long distance phone calls. Sometimes, I will listen to an audio book or just use the time to relax my mind. Doing these things help me “fit” exercise into my schedule much easier!
Once I began showing up for myself, I realized I actually do have time for exercise if I really want to, even as a Mom! The fact is, most of us will find time to do something if we will really prioritize it.
I encourage you today to take care of yourself and fit some type of exercise into your life too! And if your a mom, hopefully these tips will help you know how to exercise with little ones a little better. Taking care of ourselves enables us to take better care of our families. ❤️
I am an exercise “failie” that has been over two months now without missing any of my exercise schedule and yes I’m a mom trying to exercise with little ones! I also live a very busy full time RV life, we homeschool , and usually have plans every single evening with our ministry. My point? You can exercise too!
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“Aunt flow came to town!”…. Anyone ever heard that expression from your mama or gramma lol? If not, it just means that it’s “that time of month”. You know, that one day you dread that suddenly makes your housewife and motherly duties 10 times harder?
Maybe that’s not the case for you but for many ladies, periods are hard, especially combined with daily responsibilities.
Today, I want to discuss a few ways I have found to deal with my period and make that week go a little smoother .
When I was growing up, I met some young girls with the mentality that their period gave them a “right” or an excuse for their moodiness, mean remarks, and bad attitudes. Unfortunately, I have seen some adult women who live with this same concept. I want to begin this post by saying I do not believe in this mentality.
While it’s true that our cycles do bring unwanted moodiness and discomfort, this does not give us the right to take it out on everyone else, our family included.
Hopefully, the humorous GIF above does not describe how your husband feels when you are on your period, lol. If so, I get it, we’ve all been there, but let’s CHANGE this!
I encourage you not to fall into this “excuse” trap but I do encourage you to give yourself some grace in a few other ways by learning how to better deal with your period. Here are a few tips to help make your cycle easier and to give yourself some grace!
Tips to deal with your period and give yourself some grace!
1. Use some form of pain control
There are many forms of pain control available. There are even natural options like herbal teas to choose from. Sometimes simply using one to help you feel better and can help your mood.
2. Get extra sleep
It is proven fact that a woman needs more sleep during her cycle than other time. Plan to get a little more sleep if you need it!
3. Track
Tracking your period has so many benefits and it can even help you prepare to “plan” for your period!
4. Reschedule extra house work
Postpone extra housework until after the heaviest or hardest days of your cycle. I promise, it can wait a couple more days. 😜
5. Plan major family activities
Try to pre-plan special family activities like zoo trips or hiking around your cycle . Using a tracking app can help with this! You will enjoy it more and so will your family when they are not wondering, “what’s wrong with mom?” 🤔 Of course, this won’t always work but sometimes it can.
6. Prepare for cravings
Stock up on and prep healthy snacks that you love to reduce cravings and to keep yourself from reaching for more unhealthy options.
7. Change to a natural birth control
If your cycle or hormones are not normal after taking birth control, consider a natural birth control. “Natural Cycles” is an actual birth control app with no side effects from pills, it doubles as a tracker & I have learned so much about my cycle by using it! And yes, from my experience, it works when used right.
8. Talk to your doctor
If your cycle is not normal, consider talking to your doctor to make sure everything is as should be and to get medical advice.
9. Stay hydrated
Staying hydrated is so important during your monthly cycle. It can help flush your system quicker and keep water retention at bay!
10. Go on light walks
Light walks don’t sound very appealing at the peak of my period, but the truth is, it can actually reduce cramps, help flush your system quicker, and even give you a boost of much needed energy.
11. Help with heavy flow
If you have problems with heavy flow, I would suggest trying “soft cups” which is a disposable version of a “menstrual disc”. These paired with a thin pad are amazing for heavy flow! The biggest benefit I have found between the minstrel disc that I use and tampons (besides the allergy reaction decrease), is the fact that you cannot feel the disc at all! Also, the disc do have other benefits for married ladies, in the ability to be used and reduce mess during relations.
12. Get the right panties!
This may sound weird but in my experience, the right underwear can be a game changer! I have found that high waisted compression underwear will hold pads in place while reducing bloat. They even hold that monthly pooch in and make you feel a tad better bout yourself 😜. Don’t worry it’s just for a few day. 🤗
13. Prevent dirty sheets
Don’t you just hate when your period causes extra laundry? Using these soft fabric crib mats have decreased this issue dramatically in my home. These crib mats are so soft, it’s hard to believe they are waterproof! We actually keep 4-5 of them on hand for many different things. I have them under my children’s car seats, we use them during potty training to protect mattresses, I throw these over pillows when my children are puking, and…. I use them on my own sheets to protect them during my cycle. If you don’t have a set of these, you NEED them! They are a necessity in our home.
14. Consider maintaining
If you are on a weight loss journey and feel stressed every-time your cycle comes, then I encourage you to try to just “maintain” during your cycle. Maintenance on a diet can be a lot easier with handling cravings and less exercise.
15. Skip weighing
If you are negatively effected by the scale number, then I suggest to try skipping a few days of weighing and just focus on healthy snacks, staying hydrated, and making healthy decisions. The scale is almost guaranteed to fluctuate up before and during your cycle. This is medically proven and it’s completely normal. As long as you’re making semi- healthy decisions during this time, the scale should go back to normal within a few days after your cycle.
I hope these tips help you deal with your period and make your Homemaking experience a little better!
Related links
Natural Cycles (birth control app). Get 20%off and a free thermometer using my link!
This fast and easy treat is so simple that I was almost embarrassed to share! But…the “easy” factor and the “cute” factor…and the “yum”factor won , so here it is!
That’s right! This simple, fast, and easy treat is so cute and yummy too! It literally took me like 5 minutes to throw together these pre-made s’mores.
And what is even better, with this treat, the beloved S’MORE can be enjoyed in any setting! To be honest, this dessert will probably go over best in a “non” camp fire setting because, who doesn’t want a good s’more when they least expect it?!
How to make your fast and easy treat (s’mores)
Let’s get on with exactly how to put together this fast and easy treat. That is, if you haven’t figured it out by the photo yet.
Ingredients
Box of Graham crackers
Bag of large marshmallows
Pack of mini Hershey bars
How to put together your quick and easy treat
1. Break the Graham crackers in half (into squares). Line half of them on a microwaveable plate or platter.
2. Stack one large marshmallow on each graham cracker.
3. Microwave until marshmallow just begins to “explode”. You don’t want them to explode too much or they will begin to make a mess. You just need that “melt” factor. If one falls over, you can open door and flip it back with a utensil pretty easily.
4.Quickly, place broken pieces of Hershey on top of each marshmallow and add other half of graham crackers on top. (I used 1 half of a mini Hershey bar, per s’more, but this could be adapted.
5. Let s’mores cool before stacking! To make best use of time, begin a 2nd batch of s’mores on a second platter while letting the first batch cool.
You may already have all of the ingredients in your cabinet! To be honest, that’s how this idea came to me. I needed a fast and easy treat and I didn’t have time to go to town. I looked in the cabinets and noticed I had all of the ingredients for S’mores. Hmm…. I wonder… 5minutes later my husband was saying “ are you making s’mores?” With a tad bit of confusion on his face 😂. He ended with “well, they look good” and after trying one, he was a fan!
I was curious how they would go over at the party. (Especially knowing they wouldn’t be hot and gooey). Would people still want s’mores if they were pre melted and cooled? I don’t know about your crowd… but WOW , this quick and easy treat was a huge hit at our little party !
I hope you have the same success with this quick and easy treat!
Long hair or hair in general has always been a very normal topic among my lady friends & family. Questions like, “How do I get my hair to grow?” “ How did you fix your hair today” “How often do you wash your hair?” “What hairspray do you use?” And the biggie from Walmart strangers… 😂 “when did you last cut your hair?” are all very common questions.
My guess is, I’m not the only one exchanging these questions with my friends. So today, I wanted to briefly hit on this topic of how to manage long hair and other questions. I invite you to come along, at the end, I would love to hear some of your hair suggestions in the comments below!
How to manage long hair
Do you ever struggle with how to manage long hair? long hair is a blessing from the Lord, but managing it can have its obstacles at times. That’s why it’s great to take in all the knowledge you can from friends and other sources . It’s amazing what the right shampoo or habit can do for your hair! One little change could literally change your weekly struggle.
Common struggles associated with long hair
First, let’s list a few common struggles and questions associated with long hair, then we will go on with tips to deal with these topics.
Dry & oily hair
Hair growth
Unhealthy hair
Dealing with tangles
I would say the most common questions I hear all revolve around these 4 topics. These 4 topics are what I want to focus on today as we discuss how to manage long hair and other questions.
Dealing with dry or oily hair
Oily hair
First of all, if you wash your hair everyday or just once a month, and that is working perfect for you, then keep at it!!
Every one of our hair is different. God has made us unique and so is our hair. You may find someone with similar hair type that can give you tons of tips and tricks but when it comes down to it, you still have to define the details for yourself and what’s best for you and your hair.
If what you are doing is not working, try something new!
For those who are younger (preteen/teen) it is natural for you to have oily hair. This is part of puberty. If you need to wash your hair nearly everyday as a young lady, do not fret, this may very well change as you approach later in womanhood.
In the meantime, there are a few tricks you can do to help.
“Here’s what happens: You wake up with an oily scalp, so you wash your hair to fix it. In the process, though, you strip your hair of its natural sebum. Your body’s response is to replace it with more oil, which can sometimes lead to an overproduction of sebum. The result is a never-ending cycle that leaves you with nothing but oily hair.”
This seems so contradictory but washing your hair a little less may help! It may also take a little time for your hair to adjust so be patient. That doesn’t mean you will join the once a week club just yet, but test going one day longer at a time and see if it helps!
2. Consider your shampoo & conditioner
Sometimes changing your shampoo brand can change the oiliness of your hair!
Switching shampoos or conditioners to ones specifically made for dry hair or products that contain natural oils such as Coconut oil.
Also, if you have oily hair, make sure you are conditioning your ends only, or at least half way down your hair. Never condition your scalp if you fight oily hair.
Lastly, make sure you are running all the shampoo & conditioners out of your hair well. Leftover products can result in a oily like texture to your hair and can be mistaken as “oily hair”
Once your hair is washed, dry, and untangled, try your best to keep your hands out of it and brush it less often to keep from spreading unnecessary oils from your scalp through your hair.
Dry hair
1. Wash your hair less
On the other hand, if you deal with dry hair, as contradictory as it may sound, washing your hair less can also benefit you by allowing the natural oils to get deep into your hair and nourish it.
2. Change products & condition
As mentioned before, sometimes changing your shampoo brand can change the oiliness of your hair!
Try using a shampoo made for dry hair, or at least one that includes ingredients such as natural oils for nourishment. Also, make sure you are purchasing a good hydrating conditioner and use it liberally and regularly!
3. Add oil treatments
In addition to your wash routine, you can add over the counter oil treatments or homemade oil treatments. (100% coconut oil & a plastic shower cap can do wonders!)
4. Brush your hair
Lastly, after your hair is washed & untangled, practice running a brush through it to help distribute the oils from your scalp through the hair.
Fighting with hair growth
I couldn’t write a post about how to manage long hair without addressing the big question of “why won’t my hair grow?”
To the Rupunzels of the world, this question doesn’t make much sense, but to some of us, hair growth is a real issue.
Before we move on, I want to state a forgotten fact. And that is that long hair in the biblical term is “as long as it will grow” or “to it’s fullest extent”. Scripture will tell us that Long hair is a woman’s glory that God Himself hath given to her.
With that fact in mind, when you allow your hair to grow to its fullest extent, in God’s eyes, you indeed have long hair! If your hair is to it’s fullest extent, don’t let the length of other ladies’ hair discourage you or make you feel inadequate or less beautiful.
With that said, I wrote an entire post on the hair growth process, that you can link to here or at the end of this post. Understanding the hair growth process and what can disrupt it may really help you understand why your hair may not be growing fast as you would like and likewise, give you ideas to better improve the health of your hair.
Unhealthy hair
If you read my post on the hair growth process then you realize that many factors can indirectly effect the growth process of your hair . In the same manner, many of these same things can effect the health of your hair.
If you are struggling with healthy hair, I suggest to take a look at your lifestyle and overall health first. Ask yourself questions like this….
Am I expecting?
Am I lacking vitamins?
Am I dehydrated ?
Have I recently came through a tough illness this year?
As explained in the “hair growth process” answers to questions like these, may lead you to the reasons for your healthy hair.
Another factor of unhealthy hair
Another factor of unhealthy hair can be the direct care process of our hair.
When I notice hair breakage, thinning, dullness etc. I like to consider anything I may be doing different to my hair care process. If nothing has changes, I consider everything else about my hair care process just to make sure I am not causing the state of my unhealthy hair directly.
Some things to consider and ask yourself about the direct care of your hair are…
How is my hair products affecting my hair
How harsh are the combs or brushes I am using?
Am I using too much heat on my hair?
Do I wear my hair in a certain style to often, causing worn spots or breakage?
Am I using hair products best for my type of hair?
I hope the answers to these questions lead you to a solution to unhealthy hair or help you prevent it in the future!
Dealing with tangles
Tangled hair is the worst! Here a just few tips to deal with tangles.
Use conditioner!
Comb out tangled hair AFTER you wash and condition your hair
Comb hair while wet with a “shower” wide tooth comb or with your fingers before combing out the fine tangles
Try “picking” your hair from the bottom up (in small sections) instead of brushing or combing downward.
Use a spray detangler or conditioner for in between combs.
Sleep with hair braided or clipped on top of head to prevent night tangles
Sleep with silk pillow case to help with night tangles
Comb hair everyday if possible for easily tangled hair
Stay away from strong hair sprays and gels (mousse is a lighter option.)
Prevent hair from dryness using conditioner and oils (dry hair encourages tangling)
I hope this post has given you some tips on how to manage your long hair!
Understanding the hair growth process really opened my eyes to why my hair would seemingly go months or even years with no signs of growth. Hopefully, this will help your understanding as well and encourage you that your hair can still grow and help you to straighten the process.
What many people do not understand about the hair growth process is just that, that it is indeed a process Hair growth comes in three different stages, let me explain.
The anagen (growth) phase This is when your hair grows! This stage can last for several years at a time with a average of 2-6 years being most common. What is important to no is that the anagen “growth” phase can also be interrupted by health issues, stress, infections, illness etc. approximately 85-90 percent of your hair will be in this phase at most times.
The catagen (regression) phase. This phase is the transition phase from active growth to a resting time. It usually last several weeks. The hair stops growing during this time period.
The telogen (resting) phase. During the telogen phase, your hair follicle becomes dormant and doesn’t grow at all. it is now resting. This phase can last up to one year. As mentioned in the growth phase, illness w/fever, stress, pregnancy, infection, and health issues, can interrupt the growth phase and send hair that would normally be in the growth phase into the telogen (resting) phase early, eventually resulting in a type of hair loss. Only 10-15 percent of your hair should be in this phase at any point of time when the hair growth phases are operating correctly.
The Exogen (Shedding) Phase is basically the shedding phase. You will lose old hair that has stopped growing and it will be replaced with brand new hair. Did you know that the average person sheds about 50-100 hairs a day?! So that’s where all that hair in my vacuum comes from! Lol This is a normal part of the hair growth process.
Now that you sorta understand the hair growth process. Let’s see what happens when it gets interrupted.
The hair growth process can be interrupted by several things including malnutrition, certain types of sickness, pregnancy, and stress.
As mentioned briefly above, when the Anaheim (hair growth) phase is interrupted , hair that would normally be growing lushly, prematurely enters into the telogen (resting) phase and eventually, up to a year later, the hair will end its growing process with the exogen (shedding) phase.
The problem arises when more hair then normal enters these phases prematurely. This results in growth pauses, abnormal hair loss, and stunts in hair length “hair growth” and overall less hair growth.
All of the stages of hair growth process are normal and healthy when running correctly. Even the telogen (resting) and exogen (shedding) phases.
If your hair seems to run these cycles normally, then hair growth should be coming around the corner! If you are struggling to see any hair growth over several years and you can pin point to some of the interruptions mentioned above, it could be possible that your hair growth process has been interrupted. Focus on taking care of your body and health in all of the areas in your life and you just may see that your hair will enter into the normal hair growth process again soon!
With that fact in mind, always remember that when you allow your hair to grow to its fullest extent, in God’s eyes, you indeed have long hair! If your hair is to it’s fullest extent, don’t let the length of other ladies hair discourage you or make you feel inadequate or less beautiful. Be thankful for the hair you do have and do your best to care for it!
But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her…
1 Corinthians 11:15 KJV
If you are interested in tips on caring for your hair, then be sure to subscribe for next week’s post!
No matter what hair growth step your hair is currently in , I hope this post has encouraged you to care for yourself and your hair for the glory of God
Have you ever wondered exactly how important child rearing is? This exact thought is one of the scariest thoughts I have ever pondered.
Of course, I know it’s vitally important, that’s what makes it so scary! I heard a preacher this past week really put into perspective, how important child rearing is. I will never look at it again without this visual. I want to share with my readers today because I believe if we could really realize the importance of our child rearing it would change our everyday decisions and actions, even the minutest, for the good!
How important is child rearing
After reading the text above, Brother Kevin Loyd from Kentucky retold the legend of William Tale. With the text above in mind, it gave the legend a whole new light.
Albrecht Gessler was the newly appointed Austrian Vogt of Altdorf, Switzerland. He raised a pole under the village lindentree, hung his hat on top of it, and demanded that all the townsfolk bow before it. In Tschudi’s account, on 18 November 1307, Tell visited Altdorf with his young son. He passed by the hat, but publicly refused to bow to it, and was consequently arrested. Gessler was intrigued by Tell’s famed marksmanship, but resentful of his defiance, so he devised a cruel punishment. Tell and his son were both to be executed; however, he could redeem his life by shooting an apple off the head of his son Walter in a single attempt. Tell split the apple with a bolt from his crossbow.
In a word “The importance of the arrows aim determined his sons future!”
Had I been the father in the legend, the first thing I would have done was ask God to guide my arrow.
God Guide My Arrows!
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Psalm 127:4 KJV
This is exactly what Brother Kevin Loyd expounded on and through it, we can see just how important child rearing is.
Right now our children (arrows) are in our hands. What we do can effect where they land. Yes, ultimately each child and person will have a decision for themselves but for now, how we hand the child greatly can effect the decisions they will eventually make. I want God to guide my arrow in a way that the decision for Christ is easy for my child!
The stick of the arrow
The stick or body of a arrow must be straight! If it is the least bit crooked it will go off track.
Lord let our teachings and doctrines be straight and correct aligned only with the truth of God’s word and not by the worldly standard of the world!
The arrows feathers
There are three feathers that work together as one in the guiding of a arrow. The Father Son and Holy Spirit are also 3 in 1! We serve One God displayed in three persons. God should be our guide in our child rearing in every area and aspect!
The nock of the arrow
For those of you not familiar with bows, the “nock” is the plastic tip that connects to the bows string or to the “power source”
We must guide our children in a way that they can hook up to the “power source” for themselves. No matter how much training we do, they must get it for themselves! If they can get ahold of God for themselves the arrow will then will be ready to fly.
I challenge you today to step back and realize how important child rearing really is.
These super simple peanut butter cookies are SO easy & SO good!
With only 3 ingredients, that you probably have on hand.. you can whip up a batch of these in a matter of no time. Be sure to make extra of these simple peanut butter cookies for later! (PS they freeze well too!)
Did I mention the low carb option? Yes! Yes! Whoop! You can eat REAL peanut butter cookies, LOW CARB by substituting only one ingredient! They taste very similar to the original recipe with just a tad different texture (they are a bit softer) and a tad different taste. But seriously, my husband who detest all low carb foods 😂, he even likes them!
Now that you’re excited (or at least I am)😂. Let’s make some simple peanut butter cookies!
You will need
1 cup peanut butter (I use great value creamy)
1 large egg
1 cup brown sugar
Substitute for low carb simple peanut butter cookies
Stevia brown sugar (you will use the Stevia 100 percent brown sugar substitute to replace your regular brown sugar. (Substitute in equal amounts.) All other ingredients remain the same.
How to make super simple peanut butter cookies
Dump ingredients in bowl (starting with egg to avoid losing egg shells)
Mix together with whisk, fork, or spoon until combined.
Scoop onto pre-greased or lined panned with heaping teaspoon full or roll each heaping teaspoon into a smooth ball for neater looking cookie. Should yield approximately 19 cookies.
Mash with flat side of fork twice crisscrossed, to make the well known “peanut butter cookie” markings
Bake! I bake my cookies around 400 until edges are starting to golden. (Usually 15min or so) BUT I have a RV oven with no top burners. Therefore, my cooking time and temperature may be MUCH different than yours! I would suggest starting at a temperature of 375 and watch for golden edges. If there not getting any where after 10min, consider increasing temperature. Don’t leave the cookies for long! They may get done much quicker in a regular household oven probably closer to 8-10min! Don’t forget to write down your oven time & temp for future references.
Allow cookies to cool on pan for 10min then carefully move to a cookie sheet for quicker cooling or leave on pan until completely cool. These cookies will break VERY easy while warm. Use a very thin spatula to move them and if one breaks, let cool longer.
NOTE- I like the taste of these cookies best cooled at room temperature.
Comment
I’d love to hear if you make these simple peanut butter cookies and how long it took your oven and at what temperature. Also, let me know if you tried the low carb version and what you think.
Nutrition Value
Yield- 19 cookies
Serving size- 1 cookie
Calories- 80 calories per cookie
Net carbs- 3.5 net carbs per cookie
In case you want to make different size cookies or your batch turns out different than mine, here is the “total calories & net carbs”!
Calories for ENTIRE batch of batter- 1,518
Net Carbs for ENTIRE batch of batter- 64.5
* Simply divide the total amount of calories (or net carbs) by the amount of cookies in your batch for the exact nutrition of your cookie!
Love this recipe? Consider subscribing to my blog! You will receive alerts to more post like this! Plus access to a entire page of FREE Printables (Adding new one regularly!)😜
Are you ready to hear how much I saved at Pigeon Forge using my own tips?!
Last month, I wrote a post on “How to save money at Pigeon Forge”. This is a follow up post using my own tips! If you have not read my original post, you may wish to head over there then come back once you have read (or at least read afterwards) to fully understand.
Exactly how much did I save at Pigeon Forge using my own tips?
First of all, I want to say that everyone budgets for vacation in a different way. With that in mind, a set amount that I “saved” may or may not look like a lot to you. This is why it’s important to note a few important details of our vacation first, to give you the most accurate idea of our savings.
Please keep this in mind as I try to give the clearest idea possible on how much I saved at Pigeon Forge using my own tips.
You will need to carefully consider the details of our vacation that I include to comprehend the savings.
Some details to note here
We were on a 5 day/ 6 night trip
We are a family of 4. Two being young children
We had previous plans to be attend an event for 2 of the 5 days. We still ate as on vacation but we did not have time for extra activities during these 2 days that would otherwise possibly cost money.
We used many of the tips in my previous post to save money, including planning out our stay although we left some flexibility for spontaneity.
We own an RV. Therefore, we had the option to stay in a RV park. Staying in a RV park, still cost a nightly rate like a hotel but can have its advantages. (in Pigeon Forge this nightly rate is often just as much as a hotel)
Due to staying at a RV park, we did not have breakfast provided. We chose to eat breakfast from our normal groceries or skip and do a early lunch instead. Therefore, our vacation was based on 2 meals a day.
On to our savings!
I’m going to break down how much we saved at Pigeon Forge into categories to relay a better understanding. The categories will be…
Lodging
Dining
Family fun activities
Other digital savings (cash apps etc)
How much I saved at Pigeon Forge on lodging?
I was just about to click the check button for a 5 night stay at our RV park when I decided to Google promos for that specific park. What do you know? There was a HUGE discount! I got a whopping 20% off our entire stay which added up to being about a $100 savings!
With just those 2 tips utilized, I saved a total of $250 on lodging at Pigeon Forge.
We also saved money in lodging by price matching. By doing this, I know for a fact that we chose a cheaper option RV park, and yes, it was nice! No, it didn’t have all the bells and whistles as some, but it reached our expectations and was a great option for our trip. There may come a time we want to try out a higher end RV park and that’s fine too. 😊 One nearby campground we considered staying at would have cost us about $150 more for our stay!
How much did I save on dining at Pigeon Forge?
Dining and vacation is a big deal to us. My husband’s favorite part of the week is eating at the many different restaurants lol. So, this is an area we “plan” to splurge on. (All within the budget of course) 😜. It is also a area I look for some serious savings on!
1. We ended up eating 4 very “nice” dining meals
2. Five fast food meals
3. Had one “cook out”
We saved money at Pigeon Forge in this area by…
Using Coupons (about $5 worth)
Paying attention to prices before ordering (no exact amount that I can list)
Taking advantage of certain day specials at some restaurants (about $10worth)
Drinking water at times instead of soda (at least $10 worth) note-this is a opportunity to save a lot more than that!
Having a cook out (about $30)
Focusing and budgeting for one “nice meal” per day. Then eating one less expensive meal as our second. (This saved us about $20 a day in the budget for total saving of about $100)
Eating breakfast at the RV (or hotel) (since most people probably do this, I will not include an amount)
This adds up to a total of $155 of savings on just the actual amounts that can be figured. This is NOT counting the savings from tips that I couldn’t really add in such as setting a vacation budget in general and planning.
How much money I saved on the “family fun category”
We saved money in this area by…
Using coupons ($8)
Planning within our budget (I can’t list an amount but this saved us more than the amounts I can list!
Choosing a select amount of “expensive” fun things to do. (We chose 3 things that involved pricey “tickets”. The rest we filled in with visiting, sight seeing, and less expensive things to do.)
Adding in FREE or cheap fun things (we spent a entire evening at Cades Cove and even seen a bear! It cost us nothing but the gas to get there. This evening filled with anything in town could have easily cost us around $75 or more and wouldn’t have lasted near as long.)
Checking and comparing online ticket prices (I can’t remember my savings here)
Using homeschool discounts ($19)
We saved well over $100 on family fun activities by using the tips listed above
How much I saved with extra cash back apps etc.
Fetch & upside ($3)
Credit card cash back (about $23)
I saved more then $25 in this category
Now for a total on how much I saved at Pigeon Forge!
The truth is, the top savers of my tips can’t be shown in numbers. Budgeting & planning will save you tons! Not to mention other tips I didn’t utilize well or forgot to mention.
With that said, just the numbers shown above that can be added, I saved a total of $530!
If you are interested in how to save money at Pigeon Forge, or any vacation, check out my post linked here on “Saving Money At Pigeon Forge On Vacation”
I’d also love to here how you save money on vacation. Please leave in the comments below if you have any tips!
If you have been married any time at all, you probably have faced the battle of how to deal with unfulfilled expectations within your home.
With Valentine’s Day just behind us, I thought it would be a great time to confront this topic of unfulfilled expectations, the damage they can cause, and how to avoid them.
The truth is, the money market has made a feast of holidays and special occasions. These special holidays can come with a lot of pressure and a large price . I’m not bashing holidays nor traditions, but we really shouldn’t let the pressure of those around us determine what we must do for our families, even when it comes down to holidays and traditions. I mean really, just because you didn’t have this years, new outfit for the elf on the shelf’s best friend… doesn’t mean your Christmas was in vain! In fact, I prefer the shepherd anyway lol . But that’s a fact for another day. 😜
How to deal with unfulfilled expectations
Who and where are some of these unfulfilled expectations coming from of which are pressuring our families and homes?
A few areas that unfulfilled expectations come from are…
social media & the web
friends & family
ourselves & our past
How to deal with unfulfilled expectations from social media & the web
Many of our “unrealistic ideas” come from social media or the web. This is really kind of sad. Why, you may ask? Because, the fact is, we are overwhelming ourselves, our families, and our homes with expectations birthed from people we don’t even know! We think they have it all together and really, we just see the highlights of many peoples lives. We then expect our life to look like this “perfect fairytale” made up of little clips of some strangers “few” special moments. Why is it that our homes must have the latest style for us to feel a sense of joy, our kids the best Pinterest birthday party to be happy… (or is it for us to be happy?) and our poor husbands must practically preform a ridiculous check list of social media inspired honey do’s before they meet the qualifications of a “good” husband? Whatever happened to God’s qualifications of a peaceful home and Godly spouse? My suggestion? Drop the fairy tale idea, acknowledge you are human, (as is whoever you have been following after online).Then consider limiting your time from such powerful/negative influences and replacing them with something positive and actually productive such as the standards of a spouse found in Ephesians 5:22-33 or the foundations of homemaking in Proverbs 31.
How to deal with unfulfilled expectations from friends & family
How to deal with unfulfilled expectations caused by friends and family can be quite tricky. Sometimes friends and family don’t even realize the pressure they are putting on you while other times they may feel like their expectations are justified by your well being and their love for you. We must realize that we have our own family and own decisions to make according to God’s direction. We cannot base the expectations of what our home should be or how it should operate by what our friends or family expect. With that said, we must be cautious and loving when we go against the grind of friends and family. You can do what’s right the wrong way or you can do what’s right the right way! If your gonna do it right, why not do it all the way right? Always remeber that a “friend loveth at all times” … Proverbs 17:17 (even when we disagree) and a proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” that’s still true even with friends & family.
How to deal with unfulfilled expectations from ourselves
The last area I want to discuss is how to deal with unfulfilled expectations that we have placed on ourselves . These expectations may have originated from the previous points above (things we have seen on the web or by ideas family & friends may have birthed) . Or they may have been made by our raising, how our childhood was orchestrated, or how we always imagined the perfect home to be. As ladies, we are often our highest critic. More times than not, we find ourselves criticizing everything about ourselves to no avail and with no mercy. “My house is never clean, my kids won’t listen, my clothes don’t fit, I just can’t, can’t, can’t, CAN’T!!” Anybody relate, or do I stand here alone? The truth is, we are human and we must rely on God to help us be the wife, mom, and homemaker that we should be. We cannot dwell on such negative thinking of ourselves and we cannot set expectations that are unreasonable.
…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Philippians 4:8
In closing
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