Little miss Chloe is doing great with numbers and we've moved on to addition recently. We of course use a lot of computer games and tablet apps but sometimes something hands on is just better. It's always good to mix things up. So if you've got some clothes pins lying around, give this a try. As an RV family, we are short on space so it's always good to use things for multiple purposes! All you need is a clipboard, a piece of paper and some clothes pins. If the problem was 6 + 2 I would have her clip 6 pins on the right and 2 pins on the left. Then all she had to do was count how many there were all together and write her answer down. She seemed to think it was a pretty fun game. I've found that simple and cheap is often the best. I even let her color the clothes pins which she thought was amazing. What are some of your ideas for addition?

This year for the first day of school we did something a little different. I enjoy coming up with creative ideas to make things special for the kiddos. We had a special breakfast, decorations, and of course the obligatory first day of school pics! Just because we do school on the road, doesn't mean we don't get the timeless porch pictures. In fact, I kind of dig that our front porch is fold-able metal stairs under a retractable awning! The begining of the school year is such a great feeling. A fresh start where we all get to revamp our routine, celebrate learning, and use our fresh school supplies. Does anyone else get excited about that? Just me? Ok. Sometimes it feels like the school year drags on but we all know just how fast time can fly. That's why we decided to do a school time capsule this year. It's a way to measure just how much they have grown throughout the year. There are all kinds of things you can add to it, but I'll share what we did. Here's what you'll need: - A container of some sort to store your items - we used flat large envelopes to conserve space. - A piece of string, or in our case crepe paper, to measure height. - A coloring page of your choice - we made one for their grade level sign for pictures. - Construction paper, pen, and scissors for making a hand print. - An all about me page. I wish I would have saved this as a document but I didn't. It's pretty easy to create. Measure your kiddo with the string and have them trace their hand print to cut out and include in your capsule. You can also have them write a story or about what they want to be when they grow up so you can see how their writing has improved too! Date your capsule and tuck it away until the end of school. We can't wait to see how much we've grown this year!

How we got rid of our stuff. The short and sweet version.  We sold about 90% of all of our household belongings (or more) and made roughly $3500.  Here's how we did it: 1) Garage Sales - 5 of them. It was a pain to drag our things in and out of the garage but it did pay off. We yielded the most money from them.  I advertised on Facebook and put several signs out.  We also made sure to participate in the City Wide Garage sale. 2) Consignment - Here We Grow Again is a Kansas City Area huge kids consignment.  They hold events throughout the year and offer a tagging service.  If you tag everything (very time consuming) you can make 70% of the profit but the tagging service still gives 40% and none of the time involved.  We made about $220 effortlessly - they donate all the leftovers to local charities. Bonus! 3) Facebook Marketplace - I sold many items this way.  It got very tiresome to arrange pickups for a $5 item though so I eventually only used it for bigger items and made them come to me.  I never had to use Craigslist because Facebook Marketplace was so responsive but it would be a good choice as well. 4) Half Price Bookstore - While you won't get a lot of money - this is a great options for books, dvds and music. 5) Game Stop - we took all of our old consols and video games there.  They took what they could sell and the rest we donated.  We got a nice chunk of store credit.  They give more when you take store credit vs. cash. 6) Bike Shops - check your local bike shops to buy back quality bikes you might have lying around.  We went to the Re-cyclery in Lawrence, KS. 7) Goodwill - of course you can't sell everything.  We took a couple loads to Goodwill for donation.  No money but you can write off the value of the items donated for taxes. 8) Local swap groups - we contacted a group called Johnson County Pay it Forward to come get some of our garage sale leftovers.  What we loved about this is that our things would go toward other people in our own community how needed the help. 9) Bless your family or friends - We had a few things that were in good condition or that were family items that we passed along as we would not need them anymore. 10) Digitize all paper and then recycle - Easier said than done - it only costs your time and saves you a ton of space. Other quick tips: Involve the whole family - our kids did really well knowing their stuff would turn into cool things we got to do as a family.  Time together is more important to them than any "thing" we could have. Plus they had fun stetting up a lemonade stand! Don't expect too much - We didn't price things at garage sales but I was shocked by how little people would offer to pay.  Selling an item for anything was better than getting nothing so we took several low offers. Give yourself Grace - it's hard to let go.  It's a process and if you aren't ready to part with something yet, don't.  Hang onto it for a few more months and then revisit.  There were a couple of items John and I had a hard time with even though they had no function or purpose anymore. We made the other person get rid of it so we didn't have to see it go. Take your time - It's a process. You took many years to accumulate it.  It might take some time to let go of it.

Pairing yourself with an awesome recruiter is vital to a successful career as a travel nurse. Making sure you mesh well with the person finding your contracts is not only efficient and beneficial but it also can become the start of a great relationship. Here is what we look for in a great recruiter. Communication: How easy are they to get a hold of? You want to hear back from someone within 48 hours. A great recruiter may get back within a few hours. How can you get a hold of them? Email, text, phone? Open and Honest: You want to trust that your recruiter has your back. They need to be able to find contracts that fit your lifestyle and family. Can you trust that they will get you the best deal they can find? Do you feel comfortable with the agency they work for? Personal: Does your recruiter know you? Do they remember your family members names? Do they go above and beyond? Do they make you feel appreciated? Experience: Do they have experience in their field? Can they answer your questions? Do they know to ask if they don't have the answers to your questions? Point of Contact: Will you work with one person or does the agency have multiple recruiters that you will be working with? We prefer one point of contact. John has a fantastic recruiter through Atlas Medstaff. If you would like her contact information drop us an email at noordinarypath@gmail.com and we will put you in touch!