ChambanaMoms.com » Travel

Mom to Mom: Scoring Big With Weight Loss

From The Editors — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:01:41 +0000

By Jane Sprandel

This past week I had the great opportunity to go to Indianapolis with my husband to take part in some of the pre-Super Bowl activities. We spent time at the Super Bowl Village, toured Lucas Oil Stadium, took part in the NFL Experience, and visited the Dan Patrick Show and other sports shows that were taping live. We also did a lot of walking and seeing the sites and went to an art exhibit, which was very neat.

As I experience great things in life like this, I can’t help to think how my weight loss has made such experiences so much more enjoyable, and I am so thankful for that!

Jane Sprandel's visit to Indianapolis has shown her a great many things to be thankful for. Credit: Jane Sprandel

Physically, life is so different these days, and when on trips like this I really can appreciate it. We walked all over Indy, especially downtown. I would hate to guess how many miles we walked! The weather was so nice, and because it was just the two of us, it was nice to spend sometime together exploring the city. Physically our bodies were worn out, but I could have never been that active 100 pounds ago. I have energy now, I am physically more fit to do these activities and I am thankful for that!

Another area that I was able to take a moment and pause and be thankful about was how I finally am somewhat a typical American, size-wise. I am able to look at shirts and other clothing items and not have to buy one that would fit a lineman. I own two Steelers jerseys that I wore proudly and got a lot of attention for wearing while in Indy. The one I got last year looks a little too big on me, but I still wear it and feel so accomplished in it. My newer one looks better, and I hope that by next year it looks too big, too!

Before we left I stopped in a local store to see if anything caught my eye, and very little of the clothes in there would fit me because they were too big. Wow, what a great feeling, and I am thankful for that.

Today I am less controlled by my weight. While touring the stadium we got to sit in some of the seats. If you are a larger person you know how most of the time the seats are not built for you. I can say I do not have that problem any longer. I have spent a lot of my life watching games, concerts, movies, etc., in seats that felt too restrictive. Not anymore, and I am thankful for that!

Also, I now rarely exceed that weight to do certain activities. As you may be aware, they had zip lining available to do in Super Bowl Village for the low price of $10 per person. I knew my husband was interested in doing it, and I had not told him but I had made up my mind that I was really considering trying it. NEVER in my life have I been able or willing to consider doing such a thing. I thought since I was 50 pounds plus below the limit I may just do it. (Once we got there I pretty much chickened out. After watching it, I decided it was to high and moved to fast.) The tickets were sold out, so Tony did not even get to go, but this is not to say I won’t in the future. I am thankful that I am able to now have the choice if I want to try something new!

I believe in being thankful for even the small victories. We have to set small goals and be thankful for those moments.

One way I celebrate my victories is to share them. I know it seems odd to some to fit in a stadium seat or be able to buy a shirt off the rack, but to others they know how this has been or hopefully is an attainable moment for them, too! Celebrate your little victories as proudly as the big ones, and be thankful for them!

Jane Sprandel lives in Thomasboro with her husband Tony and their children Seth, McKenna and Raegyn. One day she decided that she was sick of being morbidly obese and was determined to do something about it. Join in on the journey as a mom regains her life for not only herself but also her family — follow her blog at http://www.bandincu.blogspot.com.

Feast Or Family: The Beef House

From The Editors — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:33:27 +0000

By Megan Gillette

Over the past few years, I’ve found more and more excuses to go across the Indiana border, where the hills just start to roll, to The Beef House. Whether it’s a trip to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis or a need for festive fireworks from Shelton’s (in the big red barn beyond the Covington exit), I feel a subliminal pull to the giant halls with a large, carved, wooden steer head, past the large glass cooler display of fresh beef cuts, and into the carpeted rooms with cushy captain’s chairs on wheels and large windows looking out to woods and pasture. It’s a classic steakhouse my grandparents would have taken me to for a gin and tonic, where the tonic was just an afterthought.

Credit: Flickr, McPig

Most people are familiar with the regionally famous white rolls served with house-made strawberry preserves and soft butter. I absolutely have to limit not only my intake of these but also my kids’. They will eat these until their tummies are round and there is no room for the delicious steamed broccoli with rich cheese sauce and applesauce that they must eat if they think they will ever get another chicken tender/leg/breaded shrimp. The kids’ menu is fantastic and has set a high standard for other kids menus we encounter.

Included with adult entreés are soup and salad. I can’t even tell you what the other soups are because the broccoli cheese is the only one I ever order! It’s not too heavy or salty, just a clean, creamy cheese base with small florets of tender broccoli-superfood. Although I can’t remember having tried another soup, everything I’ve tasted there is prepared at a level which leaves me no room to complain, so if you don’t like a cream base in your soup or share George H.W. Bush’s distaste for the green vegetable, do not hesitate to try another.

The salad bar is one of the best. Not exotic, but full of the best-tasting comfort sides and accoutrements. My favorite are the crunchy, creamy pea and cheese salad; chick peas; fresh fruit in season; pickled beets; raisins; sunflower seeds; and the thick, chunky, homemade blue cheese dressing that is a hallmark of a fine steakhouse.

Now as I’ve written before, I’m not much of a red-meat eater. My husband loves all the beef cuts, but I opt for surf and turf. I’ve always enjoyed the classic shrimp cocktail served with spicy sauce in a martini glass with fresh lemon. The shrimp are huge, not over-cooked, and well chilled. I may follow that with an incredibly tender petit filet and baked potato-toppings on the side. If you decide you need the fried onion rings, you will not be sorry. Recently, I’ve discovered the grilled shrimp, which are large, butterflied and prepared simply with fresh lemon. They are light, perfectly cooked and oh-so savory.

Dessert? I’ve never actually made it to dessert because of everything I’ve just mentioned. I may have another half a roll with strawberry jam, and perhaps an Andes mint sold by the check out. This is the point in the meal where you are thankful your chair is on wheels and it’s been a nice sit, because you’ve certainly settled in.

After we gather ourselves up we stroll across the parking lot to the nearby pasture and visit the horses. They let you pet their soft noses as you reflect on your experience of a time gone by: less hurried, comforting, family-oriented, and satiating on every level.

Hmm, I wonder when we’ll “need” fireworks again …

Verdict: FAMILY!! I would feel I cheated if I didn’t bring the kids. The waitresses are patient and kind, all food is prepared fresh from quality ingredients, kids will be on their best behavior in hopes they might be brought back. Oh, and they will pass out on the way home, which is a pleasant drive into the sunset, past the fields and farms.

The Beef House Restaurant is located at 16501 North State Road 63, Covington, Ind. They are open Monday to Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Remember, these times are Eastern, so you’ll want to add an hour when checking your Central time watch.

Megan Gillette is a mother of two active little boys — FIT kids (Foodies in Training). In her “spare time” she is a senior graphic and web designer at Wolfram, a real-estate broker with TeamKay at Keller Williams, and a real-estate maven for the family holding company. Megan is in constant pursuit of perfect food, exciting dining experiences, and farm-to-fork meals with her husband and personal sous chef, Kurt.

Kids + Anniversary Cruise – School: The Verdict

RachaelMcMillan — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:50:40 +0000

“Now I feel like I’m home.”

My son said these words on the beach in Montego Bay, Jamaica. A casual observer may have thought he was expressing his love for the sand and the waves, but I knew what he really meant.

A few hours earlier — not long after our ship pulled into port — Jack was crying, screaming, and refusing to set foot on land. My little boy was painfully frightened of the adventure we had planned for him.

He declared Jamaica to be “no place for an American” (he does not get such ideas from us, I swear) and was, with each passing moment, getting more and more worked up about it.

The entire McMillan family took an anniversary cruise to sites like Montego Bay, Jamaica. Credit: Flickr, Sarah_Ackerman

When he said that he felt like he was home, he really meant that he didn’t have that awful anxious feeling anymore. It was wonderful to hear, but I’d be lying if I said that his meltdown a few hours earlier didn’t leave me thinking that bringing the kids along had been a horrible, horrible mistake.

We knew Jack was an anxious kiddo, which was one of the main reasons we decided to take him and his sister along on our 10-year anniversary celebration/vacation. He is still a very parent-oriented little guy, and we figured the stress involved in leaving him behind would be greater than the stress of taking him so far away from home and out of his routine.

But, I suppose neither my husband nor I realized just how anxious he is. We recently found out that Jack learned of the Costa Cruise disaster while we were still on board (we were desperate to shield both kids from this information during the trip), but looking back, my guess is his anxiety was already firmly in place beforehand. It’s something we’ll need to deal with head-on.

Thankfully, all’s well that ends well. Jack summoned enough bravery to soldier on and even enjoy himself a great deal. He now thinks Jamaica — and Grand Cayman, and Cozumel — are brilliant places for an American to visit.

And, if we could do it all over again, we still would choose not to leave the kids at home.

Scott (the husband) and I can also 100 percent appreciate the argument for booking Grandma and Grandpa to watch kids while the adults take their own, separate vacation. We realized early into the cruise that, one way or another, our kids would have been just fine while we were gone. We were also acutely aware of the freedom we gave up when we decided to bring them along.

As a side note, I’m not sure how I managed to fool myself that the kids wouldn’t fight on the trip— if anything, they seemed to go even further out of their respective ways to get on each other’s nerves. But even their semi-frequent bickering didn’t get in the way of a fabulous, relaxing vacation.

For anyone who is wondering, the children’s programming on the ship was excellent (even if the kids’ room hours were a little bizarre). It truly allowed Scott and I to have the alone time we needed to toast 10 years without refereeing arguments or securing another ice cream cone for a child.

I finally have a picture good enough to make me replace the serene stock photography that cycles through my computer’s backdrop: it’s a photo of Seven Mile Beach, Georgetown, with my daughter raking her fingers through the sand in the foreground and my husband and son letting the waves wash over them in the background. It’s the way I’ve always pictured Heaven, and it alone is worth the price of the trip.

Rachael McMillan just took part-time job number 5,482: teaching sixth- and seventh-grade history at Campus Middle School for girls. She also tutors at The Reading Group and serves as the education coordinator for Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade retailer in downtown Champaign. She is totally in love with her Chambana life, which she shares with husband Scott, kindergartner Kate and first-grader Jack.

Get Outside: Homer Lake Playscape Coming Soon

From The Editors — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:24:31 +0000

By Daniele Frerichs

Kids will get back to nature on the Homer Lake Playscape, currently under construction. Credit: Daniele Frerichs photos

Just what is a natural playscape?

According to Champaign County Forest Preserve District, a natural playscape is a landscape designed for play with the express purpose of connecting people to nature. Natural playscapes use natural materials like streams, plants, boulders, logs, earth mounds and more to provide a highly creative, interactive play experience.

The basic idea behind this type of play area is to bring back the way our parents and grandparents played, and that was simply, in nature.

Did you ever skip rocks on the stream or climb a tree? Well, multiply and combine those experiences and you have the natural playscape at Homer Lake Forest Preserve. When completed, the playscape will include a sand play area, tumbling creek, hill slide, log, boulder and stump-jumping area, human-sized bird house, a large horizontal climbing tree, tallgrass maze, spider web climber and more.

According to the forest preserve district, there are many benefits to natural playscapes, including:

A foundation for environmental stewardship
More creative play
Improved motor coordination
Enhanced emotional coping and reduced stress
Increased concentration and impulse control
Reduced symptoms of ADD and ADHD
More environmentally conscious attitudes and behaviors in adulthood

I decided to do some on-site research and took my girls out there to play in the new playscape, which is under construction. (Well, I might be criminally implicating myself here, but, yes, we walked right around the big barricades saying “authorized personnel only” and enjoyed ourselves for an hour or so.) Because this is area is still being built, we were only able to admire the stream (built but not filled with water yet), play for a lengthy amount of time on the grandfather tree, and jump off boulders, which my youngest particularly enjoyed. My kids climbed on the tree just as they would have on any other monkey bars or climbing structure. They played for a long time and did not seem to get bored with the tree, as I anticipated.

As for me, I can say that I did seem more at peace enjoying my girls play at the natural playscape (besides the fear of getting caught by a ranger every time I heard a car drive by). I think it was just the joy of being in at the park environment and enjoying nature that took the edge off and allowed us to enjoy playing as a family.

When we left, my daughter asked, “Now can we go to the real playground?” I laughed and said, “Honey, that was the real playground — nature’s playground.” I think the hope behind this concept is for playscapes to become the real playground to children.

About half of the primary structures are developed and in place so far, and areas like the sand play area, tallgrass maze, human-size spider web, and others still need to be added to the existing play area. The exact timeline for completion has not been set, but spring 2012 is the latest the playscape will open, according to the Pam Leiter, Coordinator of Environmental Education & Interpretation with the Champaign County Forest Preserve District. Leiter noted that work would continue throughout the winter months as permitted, and portions of the playscape might be open sooner while construction is still in progress.

I hope to see everyone there!

Daniele (Cox) Frerichs is the proud mother of two beautiful girls: Lyla, 3, and Isabella, 1. She and her husband, Bruce, have been married for five years. Frerichs grew up outside of Rantoul, has lived within a 30-mile radius of Chambana her entire life, and now calls Royal home. She was educated at and now works full time for the University of Illinois.

Top Five: Places to See Fall Colors

Laura Weisskopf Bleill — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:34:37 +0000

The calendar has officially landed in October, with summer just a fading memory for most of us. It’s time to get our autumn-colored glasses on and enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery in East Central Illinois.

The changing leaves set Busey Woods ablaze with color. Credit: Flickr, bradipo

While we’re not the rolling hills of Vermont, the Champaign-Urbana area boasts several great sites to see the beauty of nature’s changing palette. Here are the editors’ Top Five places to see fall colors, with a bonus sixth site for your family’s optimum viewing pleasure.

Meadowbrook Park, Urbana. Located just off Windsor Road, Meadowbrook offers not only a fantastic playground for the kids and a sculpture garden, it also offers access to old-growth trees and flower gardens where you can see how fall affects not only trees but other plants, as well.
Busey Woods, Urbana. Connected to the Anita Purves Nature Center, Busey Woods is one of the best places within the Champaign-Urbana city limits to see a wide variety of nature. Take a walk on the boardwalk (stroller/wheelchair accessible!)
Allerton Park, Monticello. A favorite spot no matter what the season, Allerton Park offers a splendid array of flora and fauna in all its fall glory. Plan to spend a significant amount of time here, and maybe even bring a picnic lunch. A great idea for a date with your honey, as well as for exploring with kids in tow.
Monticello Railway Museum train. You can get up-close and personal along the route from the depot to the downtown station, and you can see the scenery from a distance in the clearings. It’s a beautiful way to get fresh air and a little history. If you’re there Oct. 22, 23, 28, 29 or 30, be sure to check out the Ghost Train for a little spooky with your scenery.
Champaign County Forest Preserve District. These pieces of prairie and wild woods are right under our noses and over our heads. With five sites to choose from — Lake of the Woods, River Bend, Sangamon River, Homer Lake and Middle Fork River — there just has to be something near you. Each preserve offers educational activities and opportunities, nature walks, bird-watching, fishing and more for people of all abilities. Oh yeah, don’t forget the golden, warm hues on more trees than you can shake a proverbial stick at.
University of Illinois campus. Few things say “college” like the changing colors on campus in the fall. Take a stroll on the Main Quad, or walk down Lincoln Avenue to the Arboretum, which is full of a variety of trees on its 160-acre footprint.

Where else do you like to see fall colors this time of year?

C-U Essential Toolkit: Hardy’s Reindeer Ranch

From The Editors — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:12:15 +0000

By Daniele Frerichs

What: Hardy’s Reindeer Ranch, Rantoul

Where: Exit Interstate 57 at Rantoul, Exit 250. You’ll stop at U.S. 136. Turn left and proceed left for 1/2 mile to the stop light on Evans Road. Make a left turn and go south on Evans Road. Go 1 mile and turn right onto County Road 2900. Just a quarter of a mile on the right. Signs are posted, and the red barns mark the spot!

Find Santa's bullpen at Hardy's Reindeer Ranch in Rantoul. Credit: Flickr, Erling A

Hours: In August through September, Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. In October, Sunday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. November and December, open daily 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving Day. Christmas season open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Christmas Eve 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closed Christmas Day. Open Dec. 26 to 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closing Dec. 29 for the season.

Costs: 10-acre Corn Maze is $7 each, with 4 and under free. Hayrack rides, pedal race carts and reindeer tours are $3 each per person.

Good For: Fall family fun for all ages!

Description of activities: Get lost in the corn as your weave your way through a 10-acre maze carved through the cornfields on this ranch. The Corn Maze is set-up so you seek to find checkpoints – usually 10 – along the path. It is very difficult, and you may find that you find the same checkpoint multiple times and/or that you only find less than half of the checkpoints on your list. Just make sure you find your way out of the corn, though. Are you up for the challenge?

Beginning this weekend, check out Jack Splat pumpkin canon, a gourd gun that will shoot a 10-inch pumpkin a half-mile away, ending in a satisfying thwack. Demonstrations of the pumpkin-chuckin’ machine will be on weekends in late September and October.

After you are worn out from your trek through the corn maze, sit back and enjoy a hayrack ride. A tractor will pull you around for a tour of the ranch while you rest on the hay bales.

Once you are dropped back at the big red barn, take a short walk to tour the 16 reindeer on site. This is a highlight for many young ones as it is a rarity for central Illinois.

Up for some action? Head over to the pedal race cars course and test your driving skills as you race others around a traditional track.

Lastly, pick out your pumpkins for the season and take them home with you for some carving!

Daniele’s take: Our family has made the annual trip to the “corn maze” (as we refer to it) a tradition. The girls love to get lost in the corn maze, and we usually do, too! We also usually only find 2 to 3 checkpoints, and find each of those 2 to 3 times a piece. Yes, you are reading that right; we walk in circles! We enjoy the hayrack ride and getting pictures taken with the reindeer. We always take a few pumpkins home with us, too! The best part though of this family tradition is spending time in the quiet of the county together as a family and the joy of rocking in the wooden rocking chairs on the porch of the barn while we watch the girls play in the sand pit or kick the volleyball around. It is truly the time after we have done all the activities for the day and we are sitting out enjoying the cool fall air and a relaxing afternoon that I remember as my favorite memories of the “corn maze.”

City Museum in St. Louis Worth The Trip

Amy L. Hatch — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 22:05:24 +0000

The ball pits were a big hit with our kids. Credit: Amy L. Hatch

By Amy L. Hatch

Before we moved to Urbana in 2006, my forays into the western part of the United States were limited to one visit each to San Francisco, Colorado and New Mexico.

I never expected — or even considered — a visit to St. Louis, but when we decided to take the kids there for Labor Day weekend I was pretty excited. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a completely new big city, and here was my chance! I’ve heard so many good things about the Gateway to the West that I knew we would have an awesome time.

St. Louis did not disappoint. The famous arch came into view just after we crossed the Mighty Mississippi (and I discovered I could still spell it when my husband asked me to) and we were all wowed.

The next day we visited the City Museum, which if you haven’t been, is an absolutely unbelievable collection of reclaimed urban buildings and recycled materials morphed into a magical playground for kids and grown-ups. Founded by artist Bob Cassilly and opened to the public in 2007, the 600,000-square-foot facility is housed in what was once a shoe factory and warehouse. Since its opening, the museum has expanded to include four floors of insanely good fun. It even houses an aquarium!

Admission to the City Museum isn’t cheap (kids under 3 years old are free, everyone else is $12 and entrance the roof and aquarium are $5 and $6, respectively), but believe me when I say you will be there all day long. I highly recommend purchasing admission to the roof, which includes a ferris wheel that offers gorgeous views of the city, a reclaimed school bus cantilevered off the roof (with doors that open, behind a cage, to a dizzying drop), climbing structures created out of reclaimed materials and so much more.

Inside there is a circus performance every hour, a miniature train kids can ride, a special area for toddlers — and the age limit is strictly enforced – and our daughter even caught an hour-long class on making rag dolls. There’s also a huge area where kids and their grown-ups can create art projects, stocked with every imaginable paint, pen, chalk and paper you could ever want.

Got a climber? That kid will love the City Museum. There are warrens of tunnels, strange meandering climbing structures made out of metal and wood and even a turtle pond smack in the middle of the museum. Be careful, though — a mom in our party followed her daughter into one of the caves and found herself in a pretty tight squeeze.

One thing you absolutely need to know before visiting this museum is that you must be willing to let your child explore. If you’re not, stick to the Magic House, St. Louis’ children’s museum. There is too much temptation to run, jump, slide and scale large structures to keep your child contained and if that makes you nervous you will have an unpleasant visit, indeed.

The food options at the City Museum are limited and expensive. We didn’t know that beforehand, but we would probably have brought our own food for a picnic. While admission can seem steep for a larger family, the good news is that you can come and go all day as long as you keep your wristbands on. We saw several families with coolers eating lunch nearby. Even if you do decide to eat there, be warned — the fare isn’t terribly kid friendly, nor is it what I would call healthy.

We got to there early on a Saturday and it was beginning to get crowded, but by the time we left at almost 4 p.m. it was mobbed. Consider going on a weekday, or at least be prepared for an awful lot of people milling around. If you can avoid it, definitely leave the stroller at home.

We spent almost a whole day at City Museum and we barely scratched the surface. I can’t wait to go back and explore it again!

Staycation Nation: How to Have A Staycation, No Matter Your City

From The Editors — Tue, 24 May 2011 05:39:07 +0000

If the cost of gas (and let’s face it, life in general!) has you rethinking your summer vacation plans, there’s one way to go — plan a staycation! As Memorial Day approaches, we’re all itching for summer vacation. And parent sites across the country, including chambanamoms.com, joined together to show folks how to have a staycation in cities and towns all over the U.S. If you’re heading out this summer, check this list before you go. And in case you didn’t see our post, here’s our guide to having a staycation in Champaign-Urbana.

New England

Connecticut – Parenting Miracles
Boston, Massachusetts – ‎ Maven of Savin’
Manchester, New Hampshire – Common Sense with Money
Western Maine – Bubblegum and Lollipops

Mid-Atlantic

Erie, Pennsylvania – Growing Kids Ministry
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania – Somewhat Crunchy
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – Family Balance Sheet
Buffalo/Niagara Falls, New York – Coupons, Deals and More
New Jersey – Oh! Diane

Midwest

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Indoor Garden Musings
Mansfield, Ohio – Live the Adventure
Cincinnati, Ohio – Savings Lifestyle~Cincinnati
Mount Vernon, Ohio – Living Better One Day at a Time
Dayton, Ohio – Savings Lifestyle~Dayton
Grand Rapids, Michigan – Kitchen Stewardship
Metro Detroit, Michigan – “Cents”able Momma
Oakland County, Michigan – Bargain Shopper Mom
Warren, Michigan – Saving Dollars and Sense
Grand Forks, North Dakota – Frugal Front Porch
Indianapolis, Indiana – Bargain Briana
South Bend, Indiana – Excuse The Mess
Kansas City, Kansas/Missouri – Kansas City Mamas
St. Louis, Missouri – The Pickledpigsfeet
Branson, Missouri – Getting Freedom from Debt
Springfield, Missouri – I Think I Can
Rochester, Minnesota – Everyday Notions
York, Nebraska – Heavenly Homemakers
Omaha, Nebraska – Mom Endeavours
Madison, Wisconsin – Many Little Blessings
Oshkosh, Wisconsin – A Little Bit of This and That
Chicago, Illinois – Chicagoland Homeschool Network
Champaign, Illinois – Chambanamoms
Black Hills, South Dakota – Little House on the Prairie Living

South Central

Checotah, Oklahoma – Blessed With One Income
Tulsa, Oklahoma – Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures
Gadsden, Alabama – Aint Mimi
Dallas, Texas – Funky Faith Girl
Dallas, Texas – Grocery Shop For FREE
East Dallas, Texas – Surviving The Stores
Fort Worth, Texas – Smockity Frocks
Austin, Texas – Stetted
Houston, Texas – Moms Travel Tales
McKinney, Texas – Wisdom Begun
East Texas – The Full Pantry
Murfreesboro, Tennessee – Life in a Barn
Nashville, Tennessee – The Country Chic Cottage
Mobile, Alabama – A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned
Birmingham, Alabama – iGoBOGO
Brunswick & the Golden Isles, Georgia – Teri Lynne Underwood
Alpharetta, Georgia – Cuponeando
Atlanta, Georgia – See Jamie Blog
Augusta, Georgia – Hyperactive Lu
Athens, Georgia and Mississippi – Tractors and Tire Swings
Little Rock, Arkansas – It’s Real Life

South Atlantic

Ft. Bragg, North Carolina – Military Wives Saving
Charlotte, North Carolina – The Carolina Clipper
Charleston, South Carolina – The Tween & Me
Greensboro, North Carolina – Mrs. Happy Homemaker
Jacksonville, Florida – Saving The Family Money
Orlando, Florida – Orlando’s Best Deals
Virginia Beach, Virginia – The Singley Fam Blog
Richmond, Virginia – Daily Dwelling
Hampton Roads, Virginia – A Home Made by Kiki
Charlottesville, Virginia – How to Have it All
Blackwater Falls State Park/Davis, West Virginia – Holy Spirit Led Homeschooling
Treasure Coast, Florida – The Cardamom’s Pod
Saint Augustine, Florida – Jypsie Visions
Lake Norman, North Carolina – Stretching Pennies Saving Dollars
Washington, DC – The WiC Project
Baltimore, Maryland – The Happy Housewife
Brunswick & the Golden Isles, Georgia, Teri Lynne Underwood

Mountain

Tucson, Arizona – Saving with Pam
Phoenix, Arizona – Mom Endeavors
Albuquerque, New Mexico – The Chou Life
Kalispell, Montana – Our Family Adventures
Salt Lake City, Utah – Just the 2 of Us
Thermopolis, Wyoming – The McDonald Family
Denver, Colorado – Denver Bargains
Colorado Springs, Colorado - Colorado Springs Bargains

Pacific

San Diego, California – Life As Mom
Yosemite National Park, California -Handbook of Nature Study
Seattle, Washington – Queen Bee Coupons & Savings
Whidbey Island, Washington – Manning the Homefront
Olympia, Washington The Coupon Savant
Portland, Oregon – Frugal Living NW
Willamette Valley, Oregon – An Oregon Cottage

Frugal Vacation Tips

Vacation or Stay-cation: Eating without Busting the Budget – Eat at Home

City Museum in St. Louis Worth The Trip

Staycation, Champaign-Urbana Style

RachaelMcMillan — Mon, 23 May 2011 05:12:33 +0000

Editor’s Note: Just in time for summer break, we’ve joined a group of mom-owned sites from across the country who have all written articles about the perfect staycation in their community. Tomorrow, we’ll post the entire list so if you’re going to one of those cities this summer — perhaps to visit friends or relatives — you can take advantage of their staycation wisdom.

By Rachael McMillan

A couple of general tips about making your staycation feel like the real deal: First, secure childcare for at least some of the time off so that you and your s/o, girlfriends, or own self can enjoy adults-only activities. To keep costs down, enlist the aid of grandparents or aunts/uncles, or let a friend watch your brood and promise to return the favor.

Also, consider getting a hotel room for at least one night, even if you’ll never cross city the limits during your time off. Every vacation should include some time when doing dishes and making beds just isn’t your concern.

The boats at Crystal Lake Park, Urbana. Chambanamoms.com photo

Some area hotels, such as Drury Inn and Hawthorn Suites, offer happy hour drinks/hot food in the evening (Hawthorn Suites does this on Wednesdays) and hot breakfast every morning. If you can get a great rate on the room, you’ll almost get back what you spend on the hotel in meals. Make sure your facility offers these perks and a pool, and you’re set.

Now, onto the plans. Although you may have to tweak this to fit your situaiton, let’s say your week off begins on a Saturday. My recommendation for day one: Get thee to the Market at the Square in Urbana for breakfast, to check out the fresh local bounty, and to chat with representatives of local non-profit organizations, many of which offer free treats and fun activities for kids.

While you’re there you can buy some of the freshest possible ingredients for your staycation meals, including grill fare from local faves Triple S Farms and Moore Family Farms. If you’re in need of good recipes for the fruits and veggies you’ll find at the market, this guide from epicurious.com will point you in the right direction.

You may want to cash in some of your kid-free time on Saturday afternoon to hit (mostly) complimentary tastings at local wineries/wine shops such as Alto Vineyards, Sleepy Creek Vineyards, The Corkscrew (they charge a small fee), Sun Singer, various Piccadilly stores, and Wines at the Pines. Be sure to pick up a special bottle or two to enjoy during your week of relaxation.

Before planning for the rest of the week, learn what special events will be going on during your break from work. Chambanamoms maintains a regularly-updated calendar of local happenings, many of which are free. Festivals.com is a good site for finding out what fairs or carnivals may be rolling into nearby towns during your staycation.

Once you’ve got a clearer picture of what will be going on during your time off, fill in the blanks with the choicest of cheap local activities, only some of which are listed below.

–Swimming, waterslide-ing, and/or floating in the lazy river at Sholem Aquatic Center in Champaign. Bad weather? No problem—enjoy the spectacular facilities at the Urbana Indoor Aquatic Center instead.

–Hiking at scenic Allerton Park. Lovers of nature and art will find much to admire at this popular spot which integrates sculptures and architecture with woodland, prairie, meadows, and gardens.

–Grilling at chilling at area parks. My personal pick for the park with the best mix of adult and kid facilities is Clark Park in Champaign, where grown-ups can whack a few tennis balls back and forth while the kids play close by. Hessel Park also scores major points for its free water play area, which operates from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. every day during the summer. Meadowbrook Park in Urbana is also a favorite for its fanciful playground and walking path which winds around gorgeous restored prairie. Crystal Lake Park in Urbana offers a little something for everyone: boating, fishing, hiking, picnic areas, and the super-cool Anita Purves Nature Center.

–Bathing in the perpetually-warm waters of Clinton Lake Beach for a mere $1/person.

–Taking in the sites at any one of a number of excellent Central Illinois museums. Do your research; some are free always, offer free days, or have reciprocal membership programs.

–Animal watching at Prairie Farm in Champaign, which is free and available every afternoon in the summer beginning Memorial Day weekend and ending on Labor Day. At the farm, families can check out horses, cows, rabbits, goats, peacocks, and llamas. Special free programs allow families to explore the farm in greater detail.

–Free bowling for kids at Old Orchard Lanes in Savoy (sign up soon to take advantage of this offer). Buying a family pass for $24.95 will allow up to 4 adult family members to bowl alongside the kiddos until Sept. 13, 2011. Be sure to try the pizza while you’re there.

–Digging not-too-deeply into the wallet to treat your family to $1 kids’ movies at the Beverly Cinema or Savoy 16 Theater. Or, take in a recent release (which may be a more adult-friendly selection) for $3 at the historic Virginia Theatre in Champaign on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

–Picking your own fruits or veggies at local farms/orchards. This guide to area u-pick destinations should help you plan your family’s visit.

–Scoring some cheap eats/golfing/spa treatments. Two good sites for buying half-price gift certificates to local businesses are cusavings.com and cham.sagadeals.com.

Rachael McMillan is a former high school teacher, social worker, cake decorator, and just about any other profession you can think of do-er. In addition to writing, tutoring, and giving talks about fair trade, she is currently staying home with the highly entertaining Jack and Kate.

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Travel Back in Time at Lincoln Log Cabin

RachaelMcMillan — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:05:42 +0000

By Rachael McMillan

When I was an undergrad at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, a visit from my parents meant a trip to nearby Lincoln Log Cabin. It was a good way to kill an hour before going out to eat, the alternative being staring back and forth at the Pulp Fiction and Beatles posters hung on the otherwise bare walls of my low-rent apartment. We would go to the site, glance in the windows of the closed cabin, check out the rustic farm, get back in the car, and head to Pizza Hut.

On a whim, my own family unit recently decided to take a trip to the area. Our intended destination was the Charleston-Rantoul football game—GO EAGLES!!!—but we got to town early enough to see some of the local scenery. We ate lunch at the Burger King in Mattoon, (no, not the Home of the Whopper), drove by the “castle,” and headed out of town for the obligatory run-in-run-out visit to Lincoln Log Cabin.

Sorry, Coach Carter, but we never made it to the football game.

Things have changed at the Lincoln Log Cabin site. What was once a pretty basic do-it-yourself tourist destination now features a really cool visitor’s center/museum, gift shop, and, “interpreters”—volunteers who dress and speak as if they are members of the Lincoln family in the year 1845. (At first, I was a little nervous about being approached by enthusiastic costumed folk, but I cannot begin to tell you how cool they were.)

Before our recent visit, I remembered nothing about the cabin’s connection to President Lincoln. My best guess was that maybe Abraham—pronounced “Abram” by the interpreters—stopped there once for a meal and to use the outhouse.

Clearly, the goal of the new programming is to transform the cabin and surrounding farm from a historically significant plot of land to living, breathing, history. I can now tell you who lived there (Thomas and Sarah Bush Lincoln, Abe’s father and stepmother), and that Abraham would visit there a couple of times a year when he traveled the 8th Circuit as a lawyer.

The cabin itself is an exact replica of the original, built on the same site. The fact that it isn’t the same one Thomas and Sarah lived in kind of bothered me until I realized that, at some point, my own house will probably be a “replica” of the original. Eight years into owning it our siding, roof, and some windows are new. (Next up, flooring.)

The museum features mannequins posed as if tending to the house and farm as well as a glimpse at what a general store would have looked like. There are clothes to try on and era-appropriate toys to play with, as well as a small theatre where visitors can watch a 14-minute video acquainting them with the farm.

photos by Rachael McMillan

Neighboring Sargent Farm has been moved to the premises of the Lincoln Log Cabin site to show the contrast between the traditional type of farming the Lincolns did and more progressive farms of the day. We didn’t make it to the Sargent farm, but look forward to going back and checking it out.

The Living History Programming (i.e. interpreters) will be there until October 31st, after which—except for special events—they’ll be gone until May. Check out information about the site’s educational programming and its calendar of events. Although admission is free, there is a suggested donation of $4 per person or $10 for a family. We paid gladly, and hope to do so again soon.

What: Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site
Where: Approximately eight miles south of Charleston on Highway 1420/Lincoln Highway Road.
When: Open year-round; see website for details.
How much: Admission is free, but donations are accepted and appreciated.

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