Free e-books on Paleo Cooking (May 31, 2014)

Paleo cooking is one of the themes I'm beginning to explore in my quest to take better care of my health.

Today I'm sharing these free e-books on paleo cooking on Amazon. Hopefully you can find a recipe or two to add to your repertoire. Enjoy!

Free e-books on natural remedies and essential oils (May 30, 2014)

Today's free e-books on essential oils for Amazon Prime members today:

• Natural Herbal Remedies: 27 Herbs to Fight Illnesses and Cure Sicknesses: (natural remedies, herbal remedies, herbs, heal yourself)
• Essential Oils: 30 Natural Recipes to Cure Yourself with Natural Solutions: (essential oils, natural remedies, herbal remedies, herbs, weight loss, heal yourself, natural medicine)
• 40 Best Essential Oils Healing Recipes
• All Natural Cosmetics Bundle: Homemade Beauty Treatments and Skin Care, How to Grow Long Hair with Herbs, Vitamins and Gentle Care, Simple Recipes for Easy Homemade Face and Body Scrubs
• Essential Oils For Weight Loss: Powerful Recipes to Burn Fat, Boost Metabolism & Lose Weight (100% Safe & Effective!)
• Essential Oils: A proven Guide for Essential Oil Weight Loss, Skin Care, Hair Care and Stress Relief with the Use of Essential Oil Recipes: Essential Oils ... for Weight loss and better Health)
• MAD Oilers Guide to Essential Oils and Drug Interactions: Over 700 Prescription and Over the Counter Medication Interactions

(Please note this can change any time!!)

5 Ways to Save Money on Summer Child Care and Camps

Summer vacation is already in full swing for our school, and with it brings the parental panic of what to do with the kids.

If you've ever priced out summer child care or summer camp, be prepared for sticker shock. I've found day camps as costly as $400 a week - per kid. Even tougher is my soon-to-be first grader isn't quite old enough for some of the local camp options. And I felt strongly enough that I didn't want to try to find a babysitter after losing three sitters for spring break who had committed and then backed out.

What's a working parent to do?

Here are a few ways we saved money on summer camps and summer child care:

1) Shop around. While the YMCA spring break camp close to home was $165 a week, we found another YMCA camp that was a 20-minute drive for a mere $100 a week. Multiply it by multiple kids, and throw in a carpool, and suddenly that deal looks even sweeter. And yes, I'm planning to take advantage of the summer drive for a week or so this summer, too, since that Y is in a district with a longer summer calendar than our local kids.

2) Volunteer. If you're blessed with patience and some extra vacation time, why not volunteer to offset the costs of a camp experience? This will be my third summer volunteering as a leader at Girl Scout camp, and by doing so - I send my daughter to Girl Scout camp for FREE, and my son goes to "little brother camp" for a mere $25. A steal.

3) Make a trade. There are a few weeks that, rather than spending hundreds on a camp experience, I am trading with a few of my stay-at-home friends. I take the kids to a Vacation Bible School in the morning and take care of the lunches, and they will watch the kids in the afternoon. Instant playdates for them, day care for me, without a summer-long commitment for either.

4) If you're patient, wait for a deal on Groupon, Deal Chicken or Living Social. My kids are going to a Pacers basketball camp for half the cost this summer. Groupon and like deals make camps affordable - particularly if the camp isn't quite a "full day" and you either have to take time off or pay for the "extended care."

5) Take advantage of wierd work schedules. My husband works retail hours, so on those weeks when our school isn't in session but the rest of the world is, my husband is planning to request days off during the week/trade so he works on weekends instead. The kids will hang out with Dad part-time, and I'll fill in the gaps with vacation time.

Also, we make a point of having a weekly budget for camp fees. If we went short one week we could justify spending a bit more on a camp we knew our children would love (i.e. tae kwon do camp) because we were still under our budget for the summer.

What works for you in lowering your summer day care options without sacrificing quality?

Girl Scout Camp Planning

Girl Scout camp starts in three weeks! I feel like we haven't even  had spring yet!

Volunteering at Girl Scout camp is one of the highlights of the summer for my family. This will be my third year that my daughter and I have gone to camp together - and as a bonus, someone gets to attend scout camp in the "little brother unit!"

Our planning meeting is tomorrow night, which means I've been pinning activity ideas like crazy.
For those on a quick search for Girl Scout camp activities, here's a recap of some posts in the past:

Especially For Brownies:
Earning the Brownies Senses badge at camp
Earning the Brownies Bugs badge at camp
Brownie Snacks badge campout menu

Other camping posts:
Edible Fire Safety Tutorial
Sit-upon tutorial
Everything I knew about diabetes I re-learned at Girl Scout camp

Looking for more Girl Scout ideas? Visit my new scout leader resource site, Use Resources Wisely. 

Free e-books I'm checking out

Six free e-books I'm checking out today at Amazon:

• Coconut Oil - Easy Homemade Coconut Oil Recipes For Weight Loss, Health And Beauty (Coconut Oil Recipes, Coconut Oil For Weight Loss, Coconut Oil Diet)
• Natural Pain Relief Using Common Natural Ingredients in Your Kitchen
• Diary of a Messy Mom: 7 Days to Change My Messy ways
• Simple Green Cleaning Recipes: How To Save Money, Health & Environment
• Your Mid-Afternoon Energy Crash and What You Can Do About It