Grocery Deals Spotted!

Spotted $0.99 cents for red peppers at IGA in Hewitt today!

Free Sunday at the Mayborn (Dec 4)

You and your kids can attend the Mayborn Children's Museum FOR FREE this Sunday, Dec 4!

Are Your Winter Clothes Put Away?

I am a messy person. My closet doesn't look anything like the one above. I was messy before kids, and kids have only made it worse. In my struggle to overcome the mess I've discovered a wonderful articles at Like Mother, Like Daughter that actually make me feel HOPEFUL and not judged or depressed (just scroll down towards the bottom and check out the sidebar...she lists them nicely there).  I keep a list of her Reasonably Clean Home series right here.

One of these articles is titled "Laundry Problems Start With Clothes". The basic gist of it was that most of us have more clothes in our closets than we need (or at least than we need in any particular season)...and that this hampers (pun intended) our attempts to get the laundry under control.

Now, I wanted to address a particularly Texan issue regarding the storage of winter clothes.

On Leilas Laundry Worksheet she asked:

"Why are shorts cluttering the world up if it’s winter?"

MY ANSWER:   Well, because I live in Texas, that's why. It actually may have a low of 20 degrees one day and a high of 85 degrees the next in the dead middle of winter here.

Here in Waco you can't really put away summer clothes, except the swimsuits and maybe tank tops (and not even the swinsuits if you plan to swim at Baylor's Pool this winter). So my solution in winter is to put at least half of the summer clothes away (because at very least they won't be wearing it as much as in summer). This usually entails boxing up all the t-shirts with very summery designs (surfboards and palm trees and such), tank tops, and all but 2-3 pairs of shorts.

I still have the problem of needing much more shelf space in winter than in summer (since you can't put away all the summer stuff and the winter stuff is so much bulkier), but at least it's slightly more manageable with some of the summer stuff put away.

Now I'd like to ask you some questions:

1. Have you put your winter clothes away yet?
2. Have any great suggestions on transitioning closets from summer to winter, clothing storage tips, etc?  (If you know of any good way to deal with the extra clothes in winter, I'd be especially grateful to hear it!) 

Picture by Rubbermaid.

Waco Gardening Tips - November

Purple and White Pansies Print by mlewallpapers
More Pansies Posters

November is a busy gardening month in Texas.  Unfortunately, Walmart doesn't know that.  Their gardening section was gutted to make way for the Christmas section.   I wasn't exactly surprised, but I had hoped to find some discounted seeds (if there were any tucked away on some sale isle, the sales clerk didn't know about it).

But HEB there was a whole display full of seeds right in full sight by the front door!  Another place you can always find LOTS of seeds is the Homestead General Store at Homestead Heritage.  They have a TON of seed varieties including various heirloom seeds.  It's really worth a trip out there.

This month I found a great new resource (new to me anyways).  The Central Texas Community Gardening Manual is published by The World Hunger Relief Farm right here in Waco (copies are available for download for a $5 donation, or in print for $15).    Now, on to this months's gardening tips!

Winter Flower Gardens
November is the transition month from warm season annuals, to cool season annuals.    Cool season annuals grow well from November to May, when it starts to get too hot for them. (Warm season annuals grow from April through Early November.)   This is the last month to start most cool season annuals from seed (you can start some as early as August), but you can plant transplants through February.  Here are some cool season annuals which grow well in Texas:

Alyssum*
Baby's Breath (annual)
Calendula*
Candytuft (annual)
Dahlberg Daisy
Delphinium**
Dianthus
Dusty Miller
English Daisy
Forget Me Not
Larkspur*
Nasturtium*
Nicotiana
Ornamental Cabbage and Kale
Pansy**
Petunia**
Poppies*
Snapdragon
Statice
Stock
Sweet Pea*
Viola

*Best Direct Seeded
**Better to Buy Transplants

Bulbs and Corms
You should also plant most of your spring bulbs this month.  Amaryllis bulbs should NOT be planted into the garden now as flowers can be damaged by colder weather.  Hybrid tulips and hyacinths will need to go into paper bags, nylon stocking, or net bags and put in the lower drawers of your refrigerator since Texas winters are not cold enough long enough to give them the proper chill they need to flower in the spring.


Trees, Shrubs, Roses
November is the best time to plant or transpnat trees, shrubs and roses.  The ground is still warm from summer, encouraging growth, and they will have time to set down roots during the cold season, which here is gentler than the summer heat.

Vines and Groundcovers
November is also a good time to plant perennial vines and groundcovers.    Above the ground, you won't see any growth during the winter, but their roots will grow, giving them a stronger start in the spring.    The exception is tropical vines like Bougainvillea, which will die off if left un-attended.  You can try mulching them heavily (10 inches deep), which gives the roots a chance to survive...or just treat them like an annual and replant next year.  (Of course, if they're potted you should bring them inside for the winter).

This month is also a good time to dig, divide and transplant groundcovers.  

Vegetables and Herbs
Cabbage, celery, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, spinach, and Swill chard can be planted as transplants this month.  Here in Zone 8 you can also plant you can plant carrots, spinach, and parsley from seed  (though Spinach may be a gamble).  Now, the Central Texas Community Gardening Manual they suggest growing Cilantro from August through September, but I've been doing some reading and a lot of Texas grow it in successive plantings during the winter, which seems to make a lot of sense since it goes to seed at temperatures over 75 degrees (and  I've read of a Pennsylvanian overwintering these, so if they can survive a Pennsylvania winter it certainly seems they should be able to survive Waco's modest cold snaps.  You can read more about growing wintertime cilantro in Texas here.

You should also harvest any basil you have while you still can, as leaves turn brown when night start approaching 40 degrees.



I'm no expert (yet).  My info for the above came from the following sources:  
Month to Month Gardening in Texas
Central Texas Community Gardening Manual
Melody's Gardening in Central Texas
Central Texas Horticulture
The Vegetable Gardener

Grocery Deal - 98 Cent Peppers

Saw Red Bell Peppers for only $0.98 at the HEB on Hewitt Dr!

Chick-fil-A Giveaway

I love Chick-fil-A--it's one of my favorite places to take the kids on a "too hot" or "too cold" day.   Right now there's a giveaway for a Chick-fil-A Calendar (filled with coupons) and free peppermint milkshakes (oh, I am so happy that milk-shake is back!) over at Frugally Thrifty.

Sic Em Science Day at the Mayborn

This Saturday Baylor Biology department will be offering science demonstrations in the Mayborn Museum Discovery Center from 2 pm - 4 pm. There will be interactive demonstrations on Water Works, Sound, Human Health, Lenses and Mirrors, Small Creatures, Fun with Friction, and Bright Changes.

---

Shared of my own volition without compensation.

After Halloween Sales...

After Halloween is a great time to pick up candy for other events, costume items for presents (great for your child's dress up box), and orange/fall items that can be repurposed for Thanksgiving.  I wasn't needing any more candy (my kids have enough for a nice sugar rush, thanks), and the candy at my local Walmart was already pretty picked through yesterday anyways.  But I did find these Star Wars suckers that I'll be putting in my kids Christmas stockings.  There was also some Halloween pretzels that could work for lunchbox snacks, and some Halloween shirts for next year...all 50% off.

Did you shop the after Halloween sales?  If so, what did you find?

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I'm joining in at Two Question Thursday and Aloha Friday and Frugal Fridays!

Halloween Shopping Deals in Waco

Here's some Halloween deals I spotted around town!

Glow Bracelets
Get a tube of 15 glow braces for $1 in Target's Dollar Section!  That even beats Walmart (where $1 only gets you 6 bracelets).  You can attach these together to make necklaces, too.  That's cheap enough to hand out in stead of candy, if you wanted a cool non-sugary alternative!

Hats
Target's Dollar section also has some plastic fireman and yellow construction hats  (looked small...for toddler, maybe up to Kindergarten).  For Fedoras, try the Thrift Store on Hewitt Drive (between Ace Hardware and Sonic).  They had about 4 or 5 nice 1920s gangster hats in pinstripes and brown (cloth, not plastic).  They had a LOT of other good stuff too!

Foam Swords and Sheilds
Target's Dollar section also had foam swords and sheilds.  The sheilds are pretty cool in my oppinion, though small (wouldn't go well for children over 6 yrs old, probably).  The swords looked like they might not last the night...but if you're only using them for halloween (and not as a toy afterwards) they're a cheap alternative.

Don't Clean Your Oven!

Lori over at Our Forever House was singing the praises of using an oven liner to catch drips so you don't have to clean your oven.  It's a great idea, and one I'm going to try!   But even cooler is, I know exactly where I'm going to get mine!

Our kids just brought home the Charleston Wrap fundraiser catalogs from school, and on page 9 of the Kitchen and Home Catalog, they have an dishwasher safe oven liner for $15, which is $5 less than the one Lisa listed from Bed, Bath & Beyond!  Cool huh.  And shipping is free cause the kids deliver it to you!

If your kid's school isn't doing this fundraiser, and you want to get this, give a shout out to your friends and see if there kids brought a catalog home, and it's likely you'll find someone who would be more than happy to sell you one  ("What, you're ASKING if you can buy something from my kid's fundraiser?  Bless you!").

Happy River

So happy to see the rivers full of water again!



This post has been shared on Throwback Thursday.

Internalizing My To Do List/Daily Schedule

Sherry, who is doing a series on her blog about Emerging from the Chaos, had a post last week where she invited people to make a goal list and take a picture of it and send it in to share.

Well, I'm going to share my list...but I'm not writing it down on paper.  Why?  Because I've done this so many times before I know it's pointless.  I either loose it or forget about it (usually both).

But I DO see the point of goals....and getting into a daily schedule (her list of goals read sort of like a schedule).   The trick for me is internalizing this schedule!

There are things I want to get done on a daily basis (except Sunday for some of them).    Now, if I tried to remember ALL my goals at once...the perfect, I want to get this done every day schedule, it wouldn't happen.  So, what I've been doing, and it's starting to work, is focus on one goal until it becomes a habit...then adding my next one.

Here's the goals I've gotten internalized already (or making good progress on)...

• Do a load of dishes and two loads of laundry before 3:00
• Accomplish one other thing (honestly, doesn't always happen...but I'm aiming for it) before 3:00
• Bible Study at 3:00
• Ask kids about day and look through folder when they come home.
• After their game-time, do a BLITZ with the kids.
• Get Dinner started by 6:30
• Read to the kids before their bedtime.
• Kids in bed by 9:00
• Me in bed by 11:00 (barring sleeplessness, which can't be helped)

That may not sound like much, but believe me this is an improvement.  You notice there's nothing about blogging or other things like that there...that's because I'm drawn to do that like a bee to honey (not that you cold tell from this blog...but I have two others, an online shop, Squidoo pages, websites...you name it).   I don't need to put that on my list because I'm temped to fill every square minute with it.

Now, there is other stuff I would like to add...

*Kitchen Counters cleaned daily
*Kitchen floor swept daily
*Table cleared before breakfast

Of course, that's not the final "where I want to be" but I'll just stop there until I get those down (or somewhat near there).

I want to talk more about a couple of the items on my list.

BIBLE STUDY
You will not believe how helpful that has been!  I struggled for so long to find a regular time to spend praying and reading God's word.  In the morning I was groggy, at night I usually left it until too late.  But 3:00 pm is perfect!  It's long enough before the kids come home that I have time to spend on it, and it helps prepare me for their arrival.  That, and it gets me off of the computer so I'm not still in the middle of a project when they come home.  It's a great transition.

THE BLITZ
The blitz is something I discovered on a blog (click here to read the post).  It was the first progress-making step I was able to make on THE MESS.  It's a way to get your kids involved in a mad, fast as you can, fifteen minutes of cleaning.  It's amazing.  But the problem was, I hadn't found a good time for it.  When they came home from school they didn't feel like doing it (and I didn't blame them...they were worn out).  But if I waited they would disappear to play with friends and by the time they came back I was mid-dinner-prepping and it just got left by the wayside.  So, now what I do is when they come home is I set a timer and  let them have 30 minutes of screen time (TV/games, whatever) and then immediately after they blitz.   Works like a charm! 

BEDTIME
That's on there for a reason.  Messing up my sleep messes up my world...I really struggle to get enough sleep regularly, cause I'm always tempted to stay up later and later.  And I'm a big glob of pudding (or worse, explosive clump of tired dynamite) when I don't get enough rest.  So that's an important one.  One I'm breaking right now (but it's Saturday...I can today).

More To Do List Posts and Goodies:

To Do List Idea

Weekly Cleaning List Printable 
More Printable Lists (Including To-Do Lists)

Even More Printable Lists
31 Days of Lists

Emerging from the Chaos List

And Blog Parties...

Throwback Thursday

The Reasonably Clean House

A Reasonably Clean House is the series posted on Like Mother, Like Daughter that is giving me hope than I can achieve a reasonably clean home. Unlike other cleaning articles I read it didn't leave me discouraged or angry. I could tell this person had BEEN where I was, or somewhere near it at least...and had gotten out.  Her posts are not judgmental or "pie in the sky/Martha Stewart" types...and they give me hope that I can make my way to "reasonable".

She used to not have them organized from a central place, but she does now, so I'll just link you all to there.  Click on the photos to go to each post...

A Reasonably Clean House Guide

Other useful posts not in the series:

• 5 Secrets to Staging and Selling Your Reasonably Clean Home While Homeschooling

Emerging from the Chaos

There's a whole bunch of blogs doing "31 Days of SOMETHING" this month, where they write on one topic for 31 things.   I'm linking to some of them on the blogroll this month.

One of the series that caught my eyes was 31 Days of Emerging from the Chaos by Portrait of an Artist as a Young Mom.  THAT sounded like one I might want to follow.  I know chaos.  My kind of messy makes other people's messy look clean....and that's not where the chaos ends.  I forget dates, loose things, show up late more time than not.   Well, when I read her first few Chaos posts I knew I had found a kindred spirits....these quotes will give you an idea of what I mean:


"I checked a few of those 'clutter' blogs out today, and was fairly disheartened to find that some of the 'before' photos posted in their 'before and after' segments looked pretty darn good to me. I'd love to get to the point where my afters look as good as their befores. That alone would be a triumph."

Amen!  Glad I'm not the only one!


"There's some serious workaholicism (another made up word!) mixed with laziness...When I get on a scent of something interesting on the internet, boy-howdy, I can stick to it like a hound dog and research a topic until I know more about it than should ever be necessary."

Uh huh...you can't believe how motivated I can be on things that AREN'T HOUSEWORK.


"Let's not even talk about what happens when I get into a good book.

Let me guess...

"...this usually leaves me realizing at midnight (or later, sometimes much later) that I didn't do the dishes yet and I never moved the morning's load of laundry to the dryer, let alone put the next three loads in. I wash up a few essential breakfast dishes, give up, and go to bed." 

Yeah, been there!  Done that!

I'm glad the Flylady approach works for a lot of people. I've tried it out, but I have learned about myself that I don't want someone else to tell me what to do--and especially not in lots of email notifications."

Are you my clone?

Anyways, you can read more of her blog here.  As it happens I'm trying to get my house clean for my son's birthday party in a few weeks (yes, it may take that long to do it).  While I will NOT be posting for 31 days  ( I can't clean AND do that can I?  Well, maybe I can...but I'm not going to try.) there are some things I'd like to share with you on my "trying to be cleaner and more organized" journey, and I'll share what I can here.

How to Help Fire Victims

Here are some places collecting donations or doing fundraisers to help victims of the recent wildfires.  The kind of in-kind donations accepted are generally bottled water, non-perishable food, baby wipes, diapers, formula, personal hygiene items, pet food, soap, toothpaste/brushes, bedding (sheets, pillows), clothing, work gloves, trash bags.  Some places below are only accepting monetary donations.


Belton:

• Bell Baptist Association building at UMHB, 1125 College Street.  Accepting in kind donations  9 a.m. to noon, Friday Sept 9 .
• Schoepf's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que, 702 E. Central Ave., Belton;  Accepting in-kind donations 7 p.m. to midnight, Saturday, September 10. 
• Dead Fish Grill, 2207 Lake Rd, Belton, TX.  Accepting in-kind donations.  People who donate will receive a coupon for a free chips and salsa appetizer.   For more info call call 254-939-5771 or visit http://www.deadfishgrill.com/.

Copperas Cove:

• Contact Stacy 803-447-7710

Fort Hood: ‎

• Contact Beth 706-766-5780

Harker Heights:

• Ladies' Workout Express at 480 E. FM 2410 Ste. 100. Accepting toiletries, clothing (all sizes) can goods, children books and children toys.  254-680-5391

Killeen:

• Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at 2300 S. Clear Creek Suite 101.  Accepting in kind donations. 
• Grace Christian Center, 1401 E. Elms Road, Killeen;  Accepting in kind donations. Monday and Tuesday; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday; 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 15.

Temple:

• United Way of Central Texas at 18 S. Main, Temple, TX 76501 254-778-8616.  Accepting cash or check donations.

VARIOUS AREAS or ONLINE: 

• The Red Cross of Central Texas is accepting monetary donations and lists some other places to drop off in-kind donations of food and clothing.
• H-E-B customers can donate $1, $3 or $5 at checkout; company donating $50,000. 
• Pizza Huts owned and operated by RMC:  On September 15 for all dine-in, carryout and delivery orders on this day, 10 percent of sales will go to benefit the Bastrop Fire Relief Efforts to assist the victims of the impacted communities.

If you know of any other places in Waco and surrounding areas collecting donations for fire victims, please leave info in a comment below...or better yet, let the sites below (where I got my info) know so that it will reach a broader audience.

KCENTV :: iSurfTemple :: KDHNews

Waco Gardening Tips: SEPTEMBER

This month's planting tips should be taken with a grain of salt because I don't know how this heat wave affects things.  I think planting indoors would be suggested on everything but root plants (carrots, onions, etc.). 

• This is the month to transplant iris and calla lily.  There's a great video on how to divide and transplant iris here.  (But if they don't absolutely need deviding, possibly wait until next year.)
• Plant carrots and mustard by the first week of September, and kale before October 1 (assuming the first frost will still be coming at the regular time).
  
• Plant broccoli and cauliflower seeds now.  Since we're expecting more heat you might want to start these indoors.
  
• Plant bulbing onions, bunching onions,  leeks, and shallots this month (cut off date for these is October 1).   Shallots sets are planted, not seeds.  The rest  should always be direct seeded into the garden, which is unfortunate considering this heat. 
• Find out what other vegetables and herbs you can plant this month HERE.  But I'd hold off on anything that can still be planted next month, unless you want to seed indoors.   
• Providing some shade for your plants may help.  Dorris at FlipFlopGardener suggests plant umbrellas (and gives some nifty instructions on how to set them up.   I've used plastic flowers to shade my read seedlings until they were strong enough to grow without shade, and it worked well. 

I find most of my info about when to plant in the book Month to Month Gardening in Texas and at the Mother Earth News Website.

Waco Gardening Tip

Though it's a horrid time to be gardening right now, if you want to have bush beans this fall you'll need to plant them by September 1st.

I found this and lots of other great gardening info in the book Month to Month Gardening in Texas. You can also find info when to plant vegetables and herbs online HERE. 

What do you mean this wasn't meant for me?

Cat Thursday

Throwback Thursday

Celebrate Summer at the Mayborn

The Mayborn Museum has an Egyptian Exhibit this summer.  Every Wednesday they Mayborn has been doing a special Egypt related event with fun activities for kids.  The last one will be Wednesday, August 10th!

Check the Mayborn Website for times and details.

Wildflower Watch

Keep an eye out for Garardia (Agalinis purpurea) which blooms this month.

FREE DAY at the Mayborn This Sunday (Aug 7)!

The Mayborn is one of my favorite places to spend time with my three rambunctios boys during the hot summer months. They have fun exhibits to to keep a child entertained all day (really, you might not even hit all of it in one day)!

We went so much we got a membership, which pays off really quickly if you have a large family. But if you aren't a member, this Sunday is a great time to visit because admission is FREE!

Waco Gardening Tips: AUGUST

Field of Sunflowers Poster Print by PerennialGardens

Flowers and Bulbs
August is the last chance to plant the dormant bulbs of late summer and fall blooming lycoris  and fall crocus (Colchicum), which begin blooming in September.  August is also a good time to buy and plant Salvias.

Roses and Shrubs
You should prune your roses this month to get them ready for the fall blooming season. The exception is ramblers, climbers, and some varieties of old garden roses, which bloom on growth made the year before prolifically in spring and early summer. These should only be pruned now if absolutely necessary now (it's better to prune these type of roses earlier in the summer). Now is a really bad time to plant roses and shrubs, as the August heat is almost certain to kill new transplants.

Trees
This month is your last chance to plant palm trees, which will need time to get established before the cold. The heat makes this a bad time to plant other types of trees.

Vegetables and Herbs
Even though the weather is hot, there are many vegetables you can plant this month. Find out which ones are good to plant where you are here.


I'm just an amature garderner...not an expert. Most of the information above came from the book Month to Month Gardening in Texas.

Events at the Mayborn This Wednesday

WEDNESDAY - AUGUST 3
The Mayborn Museum has an Egyptian Exhibit this summer.  Every Wednesday they have special activities This Wednesday from 1:30 to 4:30 kids will get to weave on a loom, make Egyptian puppets, participate in basket races, and more!  There will also be films in the Mayborn theater all day starting at 11:00.  See all the planned activities here.

(NOTE:  In past Wednesday activities, many events finished up around 4:15, even though it said 4:30.)

Ten on Tuesday - Summer To Do

10 things to do before school starts...

1. Get kids into the doctors for immunizations.
2. Shop for school supplies.
3. Shop for school clothes.
4. Shop end of summer sales on bathing suits, pool toys, etc. for next year.
5. Have the kids clean off their desk to a point where they can actually do homework on it.
6. Start getting kids to bed earlier to prepare them for early school wake-up times.
7. Start planning my winter garden.
8. Keep my summer garden alive through August.
9. Make up pesto to freeze with all that fresh basil I have growing out there.
10. Enjoy what's left of summer!

This Wednesday at the Mayborn Children's Museum

The Mayborn Museum has an Egyptian Exhibit this summer.  Every Wednesday they do a special activity, and this Wednesday the theme is live and play like an Egyptian!  From 1:30 - 4:30 kids can weave a basket (or have a race in one), make a cartouche, learn hieroglypics, and more!  See all the planned events here.

(NOTE:  In past Wednesday activities, many events finished up around 4:15, even though it says 4:30.)

MORE FUN TOMORROW:  Egyptian movies are being shown every Thursday.  July 28th, at 6:00 pm you can see "Egypt's Great Queen: Hatshepsut."  See full Thursday line-up here.

Missing Winter

Sky Watch Friday

WARNING

Came so close to buying this at Walmart for a fruit bowl for my table.  

Good thing I noticed the label on the bottom first.

To their credit, it was in the decorative/crafts section, not where food

containers and dishes are sold.   And thankfully it was labeled.

This Week at the Mayborn Children's Museum

WEDNESDAY
The Mayborn Museum has an Egyptian Exhibit this summer.  Every Wednesday they have special activities This Wednesday from 1:30 to 4:30 kids will get to discover buried artifacts at a sand-filled dig site, meet an archaeologist, decode a secret language, and more!  See all the planned activities here.

(NOTE:  In past Wednesday activities, many events finished up around 4:15, even though it said 4:30.)

THURSDAY
Egyptian movies are being shown every Thursday.  July 7th, at 6:00 pm you can see a film about "Modern Marvels: Mummy Tech" in the Mayborn Theater.  See full Thursday line-up here.

Linky Parties

A few blog events I sometimes participate in, have particpated in, want to participate in, or just enjoy browsing.

TUESDAY


Totally Useful Tuesdays
New themes posted weekly

Tiny Tip Tuesday






WEDNESSDAY

 THURSDAY 

Saw It, Pinned It, Did It

Cat Thursday

Throwback Thursday
Share posts from this week,
previous years

FRIDAY

Aloha Friday

Post a simple question

Sky Watch Friday

Friday Fails

(Restarting January 2012)

SATURDAY

Camera Critters

Saturday's Top 5 Laughs

WACO GROCERY DEALS

Spotted at Walmart at Hewitt Drive:


Strawberries for $1.69 a carton and peaches for $0.69 per lb (and nice peaches too...not rotted or green)!

Egyptian Events at the Mayborn - Free Days Coming Up!

The Mayborn has a special exhibit this summer, Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science.    It's pretty cool, though honestly my kids weren't that interested in any of the actual artefacts (the mummy was amazing and wish they hadn't been tugging me out of that section so I could have seen it better).

They have some special events planned every Wednesday.  We've been to the "Look Like and Egyptian" event they had in June...my boys didn't care for it (the dressing up activities probably would appeal to girls more), but I'm looking forward to the Live Like and Egyptian event tomorrow, where they can make a sarcophagus, pinch pot, throw a spear and more.

And, if you want to try out the museum for FREE, there's a free day this weekend, July 3rd from 1 - 5, and another day coming up August 7th!

WEDNESDAYS - INTERACTIVE EGYPTIAN THEMES

• June 29, 2011- Live Like an Egyptian
• July 6, 2011- Learn Like an Egyptian
• July 13, 2011- UnLock Egypt
• July 20, 2011- Look Like an Egyptian
• July 27, 2011- Live Like an Egyptian
• August 3, 2011- Learn Like an Egyptian
• August 10, 2011- Celebrate Summer

THURSDAYS - EGYPTIAN MOVIES
They are showing a different Egypt themed film every Thursday. See Film Schedule Here.

FREE SUNDAYS (One Sunday Per Month, 1-5 pm)
You can visit the Mayborn on the following days FOR FREE!

• July 3
• August 7

Visit the Mayborn Website

Win Tickets to the Dr. Pepper Museum

Dr. Pepper Postcard by angs122

You can win tickets to the Dr. Pepper Museum right here in Waco, TX over at Free Sample Freak.  There's more Texas giveaways at the Texas Summer Giveaway Bash.

Mayborn Museum: Look Like and Egyptian Today

The Mayborn Museum has a new summer display:  Lost Egypt:  Ancient Secrets, Modern Science.  Looking forward to taking my kids to that!  Today there's an event from 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm that involves an Ancient Egyptian makeover.

Event Name:	"Look Like an Egyptian" Activity Wednesdays
Event Date:	Jun 22, 2011 (1:30 pm - 4:30 pm)
Event Location:	Mayborn Musuem Complex
Event Description:	Special $5.00 Admission Price

They are also also having an Egypt themed film viewing every Thursday. This Thursday at 6:00 pm they are showing The Mummy (1930s version).

Waco Area Vacation Bible Schools - Summer 2011

Churches all over Waco are hosting Vacation Bible School, fun Christian day-camps which are usually free for kids to attend!   Here's a few I found in Waco and surrounding area:


June 

Bosqueville Baptist Church
Theme:  Hometown Nazareth:  Where Jesus Was a Kid
Location:  Waco
Dates: June 26 - June 30
Time:  6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
More Info Here (Scroll Down Under Events)

Bellmead Calvary Baptist Church
Theme:  Aloha Hawaii
Location:  Bellmead
Dates: June 27 - July 1
Time:  6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
More Info Here 

Central United Methodist Church
Theme:  Hometown Nazareth:  Where Jesus Was a Kid
Location:  Waco
Dates: June 27 - July 1
Time:  6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
More Info Here



July

Peace Lutheran Church
Theme:  Big Jungle Adventure
Location:  Hewitt
They have a Carnival Kick-Off With Inflatables, carnival games, face painting, and prizes the first day, and Dinner before each VBS session.
Ages: 3 yr.olds—6th grade
Dates: July 10 - 14
Times:
Carnival Kick-Off: 4:00 - 5:30pm, July 10th only
Dinner: 5:30 - 6:10 pm each night
VBS:     6:15 - 8:15 pm each night
More Info Here


Central Presbyterian Church
Theme: Route 254
Dates:  July 25 - July 29
Time: 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Ages: 4 yr old - entering 6th grade.
Location: Woodway
More info here

Western Heights Baptist Church
Theme: Big Apple Adventure
Dates:  July 25 - July 29
Time: 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Ages: 4 yr old - completed 6th grade.
Location: Waco
More Info Here


If your church would like their VBS listed here, please leave the details in a comment below, or e-mail me at ecarian at yahoo dot com

Shopping Steals: Cheap Strawberries at Walmart on Hewitt Dr.

Strawberries were less than $2 at Walmart on Hewitt Dr. last night, and they had a ton so I'm assuming the sale will still be going on today!

Art House Waco

I have been wanting to visit Art House Waco for several years now because the husband of a friend of mine is one of the artists who participates.  It's never been a good time.  Maybe this weekend I'll get out to see it fanally. 

Arthouse Waco is a group of self-promoting artists collaborate and present their work in a show that only lasts a weekend. I believe it's free to attend. The artworks are all for sale.

How well would children do visiting this? Well, I've never been, but I imagine it would depends on the child, and that older children might do better. There could be artistic nudity and all that...so use your own discretion.

Nazareth Coming to Waco!

From June 6 - 10 Nazareth will be coming to Daypring Baptist Church!



This will be a fun time for kids to experience what it was like in the town Jesus grew up in.  They'll get to hear stories about Jesus from Mary, dress in costume, work in a carpentry shop, taste new foods, sing songs, play games, and learn about God!   Dayspring Vacation Bible School is FREE to kids age pre-K through 6th Grade, and parents can register their children anytime, even after VBS is started! 

Dayspring Nazareth VBS 

June 6 - 9

9:30 - 12:00 pm 

Register Here

Or Call

254-776-9988

Dayspring Baptist Church is located at

7900 Renewal Way
Waco, TX 76712

Cameron Park Zoo - New Photo Site

I love Cameron Park Zoo here in Waco. Its a small zoo, but well taken care of, with lots spots for kids to stop and play in.   We always enjoy visiting.  And we always take lots of pictures when we go.  Here's one we got of a napping lion.

I just learned that Cameron Park has opened a photo site, Cameron Park Zoo Photos, where you can make photo gifts like posters, cards, and photobooks, and 25% of the profits go to support Cameron Park!  And, now through April 22, Big Photos will donate one dollar for each new user that registers on the site!  Since Cameron Park is a non-profit that sometimes struggles for funding, I'm glad to have another way to help them out.

The coolest thing about the Cameron Park Photo Site, in my opinion, is that they have galleries with wonderful pictures from Cameron Park that you can use alongside your own pictures.   So, say you took a picture of your child with a giraffe in the background...

...but you didn't get any good close-ups of the giraffe to go along with it.  If you are making a photo book through CameronParkZooPhotos.com you can pick out one of their great giraffe photos to use alongside your own photos.  

All the photos in their galleries are of Cameron Park animals, so you can feel happy knowing the pictures you choose are of the actual animals you saw at the zoo.  And it's easy to move and resize pictures, change the layout, or add text, too!

Visit Cameron Park Zoo Photos