Family Fun Day ~ Guest Post by @rustilyn

While I'm on vacation this week Rusilyn from My Life As An Officer's Wife is taking over for my blog for a day.  Please give her a big welcome and lots of bloggy love.  She's a wonderful woman, wife and mom who I love chatting with on Twitter.  She's funny, witty and real.  Just my kind of gal.  You can find her there as @rustilyn or her twitterjail alter ego @hashtag_whore.  Without further ado....Rustilyn!

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First – let me thank our lovely hostess for letting me take over her blog for a day while she’s relaxing and enjoying herself AWAY from here :) Thanks lady, you rock! This was a lot of fun to write :)

Second – let me introduce myself, because you may not know me (I know, I know, I’m surprised too!) I’m Rusti :) I’m married to a cop, and we have a 2.5 year old daughter, nicknamed Goose. I’m telling you this because they are my family, and what this post is all about :) Because of Hubs’ work schedule (night shift, slightly funky days) we only see him 3-4 days a week (that alternates weekly, so his schedule is predictable, it nothing else) but we do have a 3-day weekend together every other weekend – YAY!

Third – the business. When discussing with our lovely hostess what I might blog about in this post, one of the suggestions she mentioned was “what we do for fun as a family” and this summer we’ve started a new habit, maybe even a tradition (although we’ll have to see if it continues, I’m fairly certain it will) of zoo-hopping. Zoo-hopping? Pretty much it’s just trying to get to as many zoos as possible, whenever possible :) For us, we’ve only been to three so far this summer, but we have more on the “wish list” and hopefully we’ll knock at least one or two more off before the end of zoo season… let me share our zoo adventures with you :)

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Our first zoo trip this summer was to our local zoo, only about 15 minutes away…

Potter Park – June 5, 2011

and while not huge, it does provide us with a fun afternoon without a long drive… it doesn’t have any bears currently on exhibit, but it manages to show off two of Goose’s other favorite “ROAR”ing animals – Lions and Tigers :) She also enjoys the Snow Leopard, the Mandrill, and the Penguin exhibits… The River Otters are always fun to watch, the Bald Eagles majestic, and she was alternatively delighted and frightened by the “feed the birds” exhibit – in which we held a tongue-compressor with one end coated in bird seed up for the birds to eat off of :) she loved feeding them, but got scared with they would suddenly fly away or near (darn flighty creatures – ha!) ;)

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Our second zoo trip was a longer day… we left around 5:30am for a destination 4 hours away…

Columbus Zoo – June 25, 2011

Black Bears

Brown Bears

these boys are 5 year old twins – and they were in a playful mood :) Goose was a little frightened being so close to such large and scary animals… she liked them better the second time around

Polar Bears

these gals are 6 year old twins – they would take turns diving into the water and coming up to paw at the glass, they were a lot of fun to watch – and after a few minutes Goose warmed up enough to actually look at them ;)

Pink Flamingos, Crocodiles, Gorillas

none of these guys were very active, but Goose thought they were very cool, as she’s only ever seen them on TV

Sting Rays, Fishies and Manatees

this was a very cool exhibit, they swam right past the glass! they also had a reef where you could touch sea creatures like starfish, anemones, etc. – but the animals were on a rest break when we were in that area, and nap time arrived before we made it back that way

Play areas too (which Goose loves as much as seeing the animals)

Goose didn’t care that we’d driven 4 hours to see animals, she spotted the slides and she wanted to play, we stopped at two different play areas and let her play for a bit, she was thrilled to do it all

Also big hits were the Rhino, Snake, Water Dragon, Flying Fox, Monkey & Elephants – especially the baby!

(The big cats were all taking their afternoon nap by the time we made it to them, so those pics aren’t very exciting) We had a great time, although 4 hours on the road, 6+ hours at the zoo, then 4 hours home made for a long day!

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Our third (and last) zoo trip was another semi-local zoo – it was only about and hour and 15 minute drive

Detroit Zoo -

We started out with a train ride to the back of the zoo, then headed to the Polar Bears… we caught the Zebras and Giraffes on the way, but only one Polar Bear was in view – and he was spending a lot of time chillin’ in the pool. We were able to sea the Sea Lions in the Arctic Circle tunnel – and Goose really loved seeing them swim right over her. The cats and bears were napping (thanks to the hot weather) but the Monkeys, Hippo, Rhinos and Meerkats were out and about… we enjoy the Butterfly House and Penguin Aquarium, before heading to a very special exhibit…

DINOSAURS

obviously the dinosaurs weren’t real, but they did look amazingly lifelike and the sounds and movements they made were enough to keep Goose on her toes and wary of what they might do… she did great though, right up until one suddenly shot water right at us and got us all wet – she was done after that! (luckily we stopped in there last, and we were ready to head home – also lucky, because I’d filled up the camera’s memory card!)

We have several other zoos on our Zoo Wish List, but I’m certain we won’t hit them all this summer… on our list are zoos in Cincinnati, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Toledo, Cleveland, Indianapolis… we’d also like to go back to Columbus, but make it a two day trip! there are more we’d like to see, but we have to space them out, maybe we’ll get through them all by next summer ;)

What are YOUR favorite zoos? Or what do you do on your Family Fun Days?

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Grocery Shopping Magic~Guest Post by @Mumma_Gumma

Today I have Jennifer from Mumma Gumma guest posting!  Make sure to give her a warm welcome and lots of comment love.  She describes herself as blissfully riding waves in the sea of motherhood.  She is the mom of precious baby Tommy, who turned 6 months old just last week.  Definitely head over to her blog to find out more and check her out on Twitter too. 

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Grocery Shopping Magic: How to Be In and Out of the Grocery Store in Thirty Minutes or Less


Grocery shopping is not as much fun as it used to be. In my pre-baby life, I took my time, read labels, and was picky about produce. I also used to treat myself to my favorite cheese or get fresh salmon from the butcher. Now, I do my groceries with one hand because T is usually in the other.

I never go to the grocery without a list, a budget, and a meal plan. Thanks to these tools, I'm in and out of there within thirty minutes. Here are some of my magic tricks.


Prep Work

Kitchen Central

We keep a chalk board in our kitchen. It has three columns. 'This Week's Meals', 'What We Need', and 'What We Have'. Any time we run out of something, we write it down in the 'What we Need' column. Any time we have leftovers, we write it down in the 'What We Have'. The leftovers column is great for our house. Food always gets pushed around in our fridge so I like to know what I can eat for lunch without going digging. Less waste this way, too.


Meal Plan

This doesn't have to be as complicated as it sounds. For the next two weeks, keep a pen and paper at the dinner table. Write down all the meals that you eat. You can also ask the family to participate by calling out their favorites or something they'd like to try. Before you know it, you have a long list of meal ideas. It makes meal planning much easier.

If you prefer something more elaborate, here is a list of meal planning and recipe links. http://orgjunkie.com/menu-plan-monday-guidelines/menu-planning-resources


Budget

In this economy, no one can afford to pay full price for groceries or fill their cart with impulse buys. Simply going to the grocery store with a list is an easy way to prevent unnecessary purchases. To prevent impulse buys, I always eat before I go to the grocery store. Going hungry easily leads to a cart full of chips and chocolate.

M and I set a weekly grocery budget. This does not include baby items/food or toiletries. We find that if we spend more than that allotted budget, we end up buying junk food. If you're not sure what your family's grocery budget should be, keep your grocery receipts for a month and see if you notice a pattern.


Mailers & Coupons

Every week I collect the grocery mailers that get delivered to my house. I sit down with a Sharpie marker and circle all the foods that we eat that are on sale. Then I take my list of meals and combine the two to make a meal plan for the week. From here, I start my grocery list.

Now, I wouldn't consider myself an extreme-coupon-type-person but I do like to collect coupons. Once I've made my grocery list, I check to see if I have any coupons that coincide with the weekly deals or items on my list.

Most grocery stores allow price matching. Price matching means that you can take your mailers to one store and get the sale price from another store. But you have to be organized. When I write out my grocery list I put the code 'PM' beside the item that needs to be price matched then I write a code for the grocery store. This way, when I get to the cashier, I don't feel frazzled to get the right item with the right mailer. I also write the code 'CPN' next to the items that have a coupon.

If I'm lucky, I can save an extra $10 to $20 off our bill from using coupons and price matching. Once in a while, I'll get a dirty look from a customer in line behind me or the cashier. But the joke's on them, I save money – they pay full price!


Off to the Grocery Store

Feed the Monsters
Figure out what time of the day your children are at their best. Take advantage and go to the grocery store with well rested and fed children. Talk to your kids about rewards and/or consequences before you leave. Bring snacks from home. Remember that a grocery store is a great place to teach your children about healthy choices and budgeting. Expect a few “Mommy! Can I have this?” or “Mommy, can I have that?” There's no harm in your child asking once or twice for a few 'treat' items. If they have trouble with the word 'no', reinforce the consequences you talked about before you left for the store.

Hit the grocery store first thing in the morning or after dinner. Weekends and dinner time are the busiest times for most grocery stores.


The Grand Finale

Ok, with my list, meal plan, price matches, and coupons in hand, I'm off to the grocery store. Like I said, these tools might take you a few extra minutes during the week, but will save you time, energy, and money at the grocery store.



A Few Extra Things to Note

Before you choose a check-out lane, watch the cashier. Does she chat with the customers? Does she scan slowly? Does she look happy? Young male cashiers tend to not take their job too seriously and don't care how many coupons you hand over or how much time you need from him. This is just my personal opinion.



Although most stores are great about matching the prices on the shelves with the check-out, it doesn't always work out that way. To avoid getting overcharged for items, watch the computer as your cashier scans item. Speak up if something doesn't look right.



I hope you enjoy some of my tricks – they may not quite be magical, but the time and energy they can save you, will be.

Dropping the Balls by Guest Poster Babe_Chilla of Chill Mama Chill

Today I am welcoming Babe_Chilla from Chill Mama Chill.  This is how she describes herself on her blog:

I'm a brand new mama just trying to figure out how to raise my sassy little girl without losing my pretty little mind. I'm real, I'm honest and I don't sugar coat this thing called motherhood. I'm Babe_Chilla, and I'm trying to keep my cool throughout the formative years of my child's life through breathing, eating cupcakes and blogging my heart out. 
Also, if you're on Twitter she's a must follow.  Her tweets are real, relateable and oftentimes hilarious.  Check her out here.

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Whenever I am offered the opportunity to do a guest post, I take it. Both because I like to hear myself speak in any avenue available to me, and because I know how hard it can be to fill your guest poster slots. The problem is I am always quick to jump at the opportunity, but slow to deliver on my promise. I could make a million excuses as to why, but the honest truth is simply that I have too many balls in the air too.


So when I was asked to do a guest post here at Juggling Act…Called Life, I thought “I can TOTALLY do that!” Right, I mean, this blog is ABOUT having too many balls in the air, so how could I fail?

Well, I fail by having too many balls in the air. See first I picked my week based on when I thought I might have enough downtime to really focus on an amazing topic. And then I didn’t write it down and the week just snuck right up on me (like hello, when the FUCK did it become the end of July?). Then, I realized that I have the most active 16 month old girl on the planet, and that there is rarely a moment of downtime, unless you count the chores that need doing when she’s finally sleeping (and not refusing to nap as usual). Add to that the fact I work a very busy, full-time job and sometimes require sleep and well, it has fail written all over it. Oh and did I mention that as I was sitting down to crank this post out, my entire computer imploded and I had to waste an ENTIRE day of work watching my tech guy try and fix it? Oh the failure.

Even now, as I am writing this, you can see that I haven’t really yet picked a topic. I am sort of hoping for some organic growth to spew forth from these fingers. I mean, it happens on my own blog ALL THE TIME, so why not here? No but really, this is a guest post and I’m supposed to be putting my best work forward.

Fail again.

So now that you’ve been introduced to just how random I am, let’s see if I can actually take this somewhere meaningful.

We can talk more about juggling. Not the actual act of juggling because I can NOT figure that one out. I mean sure, give me 2 balls and I can probably throw them around in a circle, but add a third and it’s floorsville. And while I tend to pride myself on being an expert multitasker, I have to say adding a small human to one’s life really shakes up your ability to do such things. I used to be ON THE BALL, I was at the top of my game, I could do ANYTHING. I was the type of person who would basically complete an entire day’s tasks before my husband even got out of bed in the morning. I WAS AWESOME ::toots own horn::

When I got pregnant, I never ever slowed down. I was lucky. I didn’t get sick. I didn’t get tired. And I barely got fat. I had energy and the ability to see my feet right up until the very end. I cooked, I cleaned, I shopped, I worked. I hung with friends until the wee hours of the morning, I put together a nursery. I was already kicking so much ass at mothering, it was impossible to foresee the future challenges. How much harder could this really be? I mean, I take care of everything and everyone all the time anyway, so adding another person to the mix will just mean a little more time to do things.

How fucking naïve are all us new pregnant people anyway?

Turns out my daughter had a different plan altogether. At 36 weeks and 6 days, the little monkey FLIPPED from the head down position she’d been in ALL the pregnancy long, to Frank breech. You have GOT to be kidding I thought. I figured I could flip her (you know, because I can do ANYTHING), and the list of things I tried to do so is endless. I did everything from a painful and awful ECV (or “version”) to standing on my hands in the pool every day for 3 weeks. Chiro, acupuncture, ice packs on the top, warm compresses on the bottom, hanging upside down from my couch, the list goes on. I DID IT ALL. In the end, nothing helped and we made the difficult decision to have a c-section.

Do you know what that DOES to you? It cuts open your abdomen (d’uh obviously you know that). And do you know what having a cut open abdomen and a very small human does? It eliminates your ability to DO IT ALL. Fuck, it eliminated my ability to do anything.

That was my first lesson. In those first 3 weeks after having my daughter, my husband was home from work and he had to do everything. I know some people bounce back from their c-sections easily, but not me. Even on Day 9, when I just HAD TO get out of the house so we went for a walk, I was in pain and I bled from my incision. Breastfeeding was not only a HUGE struggle in the beginning but it was also VERY painful when my uterus would contract. I couldn’t even get up to use the toilet without my husband lifting me from the bed. He did all the diapers, he did all the cooking and he did all the cleaning. I only fed and snuggled my daughter. And while that was (and still is) the MOST important thing in my life, I couldn’t help but feel like I was failing. I wasn’t used to being cared for. All I could do was think about what I should be doing. How could I let him do everything while I just sat there? When could I get back to doing it all?

The short answer was never.

We are 16 months into this parenting thing and I don’t think I’ll ever be the person I once was. To be honest, I don’t want to be her. That person stressed too much about getting it all done right, and missed out on some simple joys. That person put pressure on herself to accomplish irrelevant things in unrealistic time frames, and never revel in her successes anyway. That person didn’t take the time to appreciate all that she had; because she was too busy trying to get more.

These days, the house is a fucking disaster at all times. 11 minutes after it’s been fully cleaned, my little hurricane rips through and systematically dismantles it. The laundry sits in piles of clean and dirty, and is only ever folded when I desperately need the “clean” hamper for dirty clothes. There are food bits all over the floor (which the dog and baby fight over), and I honestly can’t tell you the last time my bedroom was actually clean. The car is beyond disgusting, which happens when your daughter is a master at removing the lids from her snack traps and also loves to say “uh oh”. I frequently go days without a shower because I can’t be bothered to deal with my hair and I am a far cry from the fashionista I used to claim to be.

In the end, none of that matters because those hours I used to spend obsessing about keeping on top of things are now better spent with my daughter. I no longer lay awake making mental lists of all the tasks I need to do, in order of priority and cross referenced by time allotment. No, now I lay awake thinking about our future and what that brings. Tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, it doesn’t matter as long as we’re together.

These days, I am constantly dropping my juggling balls, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.