Feeding the masses...

The rains came down last night and the night before here in New Orleans, so the park we were supposed to visit was closed due to flooding. We ended up breaking into this little area called the Barataria Preserve. Nothing like teaching a church youth group about trespassing. Thank goodness there's that Psalm about it, "Forgive us our trespasses..."

Fletcher is convinced he saw a kimodo dragon...I didn't have the heart to tell him. We did see a little baby gator though.

Today we went down to the Riverwalk and barbequed for the homeless. I appreciate the fact that the group has no hidden agenda with this event. They're not out thumping bibles or trying to convert folks. They're just handing out food, listening to peoples' stories and tossing around a football.

We're expecting some rain later today. Actually, Marc fed one of the guys at the CNN tent nearby (they've been set up in the park for a few weeks covering the oil leak and/or the potential tropical storm), who later came to warn us that there was rain moving in, so we packed up and may head back again later. Until then, the kids are cooling off in the pool.

Down to New Orleans...

Our drive to New Orleans went much more smoothly than I ever would have imagined. Fletcher had his first opportunity to pee on the side of the road which was more exciting for him than the beautiful sunset and train passing by.

The kids slept through the night, which is more than I can say for the adults. It was a rough night, but we made it safe and sound and managed to stay awake through dinner...barely.

We slept until 10 am this morning - a first (and probably last) for our kids - then had breakfast and did a little swimming.

We're off for a bayou tour in just a little bit. We haven't ventured far from our hotel as of yet, so it will be nice to see more of the city. Driving past the Superdome yesterday was a bit surreal. Even though it's been 5 years since Katrina, I can still remember seeing photos of all the people outside, hungry, dirty and hopeless, pleading for help.

xoxo,
the Browns

Get your discount at Citizen Pip!

It's that time of year again! Back-to-school shopping is just around the corner. If you didn't buy your child a Citizen Pip lunch system last year, you have another chance (at 10% off!).

Macy and Fletcher used their Citizen Pip Soup-to-Nuts kits almost every day last year. They didn't have a single leak and the sets are in fantastic shape.

This year, Citizen Pip has come out with four new designs that I'm loving. I think I'm going to get the skull bag for Fletcher and pass his old bag down to Felix.

If you'd like to get one of Citizen Pip's "muck free" (no lead, no BPA, no phthalates) lunch kits, be sure to use code "greenhab10" for 10% off.

(Disclosure statement: Citizen Pip did not pay or otherwise compensate me for this blog post. We use their product on an almost-daily basis and love it!)

My little hero turns 5!

Five years ago today my little superhero came into the world...

{Cape: thrifted, shirt and shorts: hand-me-down, mask: momma-made}

After much anticipation, Fletcher finally had his birthday party yesterday. He wanted it to be a combination of every superhero out there, so he wore his Incredibles shirt, Superman cape and one of the masks I made for him and his friends.

For the mask I used a pattern from Living Locurto, where you can find a ton of great ideas and downloadable freebies for superhero parties.

The black felt I used was a bit flimsy, so I cut two pieces of it for each mask and was then able to hide the ends of the head band in between the layers. I top stitched all around the outside and used Tacky Glue to glue the felt stars on. They were quick and easy to make. The kids loved them and I even caught a few adults wearing them too.

Frugal Friday: Twilight Hours

Do you have a local splash or water park near your home? We have a great one called Splash that's about 20 minutes away. While it's jam-packed with kids and adults during the day -- especially in the summer -- the late afternoons are much quieter. After a long day in the sun, most families pack up and head home for dinner. Unless, like us, you're cheap.

At 4:30, Splash starts their Twilight Hours, where you can get in for a greatly reduced price. For the 5 of us it cost $6.00. We pack a picnic and drinks, meet up with friends, and spend the last two hours of the day in the water. It's a nice time to enjoy the sunshine, without being out in the peak sunburn hours, and a great way to run the kids ragged before bed time.

Crafty Car Trip Games

Friends recently invited us on a road trip to New Orleans. They're planning some relief work - helping to rebuild a house, serving in a soup kitchen, working with the homeless. We toiled over the decision, not because we don't want to get involved but because, by definition, a road trip means actually driving...with the kids...for 24 hours. In the end, we decided to leave our youngest with grandma and take the two older kids.

Since making the decision I've been psyching myself up (or out, depending on the day) about the ride and all the things we can do and play along the way. The kids are all in various stages of learning letter, sounds and reading, so we incorporate that into our daily life as much as possible. When we go on walks or trips to the grocery store we play the Alphabet Game and try to find an item that matches each letter of the alphabet.

For the road trip, I made some laminated alphabet cards. The kids can use a crayon or dry erase marker to check off each letter as they see it on a road sign or billboard, or they can try to find objects that start with each letter. I'm sure we'll make up some more games along the way.

To make these, I used Photoshop Elements, scrapbook paper, Scotch brand Self-Laminating Document Protectors, a paper cutter and corner rounder.

 

For the back of each card, I used Retrodiva's Free Like a Bird scrapbook paper, which I found on DigitalFreebies.com. I love the little owls! The fronts have the alphabet in "Champagne & Limousines" font in coordinating colors. The dividing lines you see are "stitching" that came as part of another scrapbook kit. You could use any scrapbook paper you have available, or put another game on the back side of the card. (Wish I'd thought of that earlier.)

Each card is 5x7.5 so that I could fit two on a sheet of paper. After cutting the paper to the appropriate sizes, I use some glue dots (optional, but it really keeps the papers from sliding around) to stick the front side to the back. Trim the papers so they match in size perfectly, then round the corners. Following the directions on the self-laminating sheets, put it all together. I rounded the plastic corners too so when my kids use them as personal weapons they're less likely to lose an eye.

They turned out really well for a quick, cheap project. I'm thinking about travel bingo cards now!

Frugal Friday: Explore your area

After two years in our new home, I have to admit that we haven't explored the area very much at all. Last week we took the opportunity to spend the Fourth of July in the neighboring Georgetown, CO. It's a tiny town with no stop lights and barely-paved streets. Many of the original buildings are still there, like the school built in the late 1800's and the church seen above.

The kids had a great time exploring, throwing rocks in the river, playing in their amazing park, and meeting everyone in town. (Seriously, these are some friendly folks!)

We walked through main street where I was able to browse some of the antique stores. The street was blocked off and everyone roamed free - girls with giant hula hoops and every dog in a ten mile radius - and a live band played old country songs including one by Johnny Cash that my mom used to sing to me as a baby...

"Down in Louisiana just about a mile from Texarkana, in them old cotton fields back home..."

The boys dancing in the street~

Georgetown has an amazing park at the center of town. It's like the home from Swiss Family Robinson, complete with gazebo, fountain, picnic tables, sand pit and plenty of space to run around.

Naturally, the sky clouded over late in the afternoon and we were hit first with a thunderstorm, then hail.

Where else would one have to dress like this on the Fourth of July?

After sitting in our car for about an hour, the sky cleared just in time for fireworks.

A short day trip like this cost us next to nothing (we packed sandwiches, drinks and snacks) yet we felt as if we took a nice, albeit short, vacation.

Frugal Friday: Free Movies

Last week we got to see a sneak preview of the new animated 3D film Despicable Me starring Steve Carrel. We got the tickets through my company, since we're owned by Universal. It was awesome - I highly recommend it!

But if you're not in a position to find free movie tickets, there are plenty of other steals and deals out there. Nationwide, Regal, Cinemark and AMC have the following:


Regal Entertainment Group  shows various G or PG movies starting at 10:00 a.m. every Tuesday and Wednesday over the summer during its Family Film Festival. Tickets are free, but seating is first-come, first-served, so you want to get there early.


Cinemark Theaters have $1 family-friendly movies on select weekday mornings throughout the summer.

AMC Theaters have a "summer movie camp" where they offer $1 movies at 10 a.m. each Tuesday during the summer. 

Here in Denver, Denver Film Society offers free movies every Saturday morning for kids at the Starz Filmcenter. And if you'd like to get outdoors, try summer movies under the stars.

Be sure to google "Free movies" and your city name to see what's available in your area.