If you are a mom you need to save as much money as possible. Using the air miles offered credit cards are one way of getting cheap airline tickets. However there are also other ways. 

Here is the big secret to getting cheaper travel. Airlines are delighted to serve you if you have to travel on a fixed date in the next seven days.  That’s because they figure you’re a business traveler who will pay full fare, even if that means dishng out twice as much money as you normally would.

You can’t beat the system every time, but some of the tactics that leisure travelers use to find discounts can increase your odds of landing a reasonable fare.  

One way to beat the system is to fly out of an alternative airport.  This airport might be a 30 to 45 minute drive from your preferred airport but the trouble may be worth it. For example, flying into Baltimore instead of Washington, D.C., or into Oakland instead of San Francisco can save you up to 50%  in the price of an air flight. 

See if your destination has a similar alternative by using one of the many discount airfare sites that are out there.  Some of the fare comparison sites, such as BestFares.com, will search for alternative airports automatically once you type your destination and preferred times of flying into their data base. 

Sites offering comparison-shopping engines can dramatically speed the process, though they may miss some fares and turn up others with unsuitable restrictions.  There is not much need to surf several fare comparison sites simply because they all get their information from the same big database. So the bargains that you will find on any of them will basically be the same. 

The big clue here is to not waste time surfing them all as you are looking at duplicate information. It might seem that other websites have better bargains but that is because the information about rates times and taxes etc. might be configured a bit differently. If you have flexibility on one of your travel dates, consider including a Saturday stay.

Although some airlines are experimenting with doing away with this practice, most tend to reserve the lowest fares for itineraries that include a Saturday night stay.  By booking your travel in this way you can save as much to 50%. If you can’t change your dates, consider changing your flight times. Most travel sites have an “anytime” option for your preferred flight times, and that might turn up cheaper flights at less popular times of the day. Or, you might consider trying to book your travel on  auction or discount sites such as Priceline.com. 

However if you don’t like uncertainty these methods are for you. You won’t know your precise flight time or airline until after you purchase your ticket.  This is the only drawback if you are trying to hustle a ton of kids to the airport. There is nothing worse than a bored kid standing around in an airport!

Pickle Making Just what are pickles anyway?  Pickles are quite simply any food that has been fermented in a brine made from sugar, salt and vinegar.  Pickles are a popular snack, side dish, and condiment. 

Types of pickles include dill pickles sweet pickles, bread and butter pickles and antipasto.  Aside from being completely delicious way to preserve food pickling any type of food whether it be a cucumber, tomato or even a strawberry makes it especially healthy for you. This is because the fermentation process acts as a preservative.

Pickles rarely go bad even if they are not stored in the refrigerator. It is also a versatile way to preserve food. In theory you could pickle anything – most things in your garden in fact. The pickling process can also make food even healthier for you. They get the saliva flowing and also help dispel gases in the stomach that may be causing the symptoms of indigestion. 

Pickles are becoming trendier as time goes on with antipasto being the height of the pickling art. Nowadays you will see everything from broccoli to artichokes to red peppers being served as antipasto on the finest of Italian restaurants. Greek peppers called pepperoncinis are often pickled and served as a spicy condiment. Various fruits may also be pickled in a sweet brine. A very nice pickled delicacy is watermelon rinds in brine. Here is a good recipe for simple Dill Pickles

Quick Dill Pickles 

Makes about 8 pints (8 mason jars of pickles) 

8 lbs. of 3- to 5-inch pickling cucumbers

2 gallons water

1-1/4 cups pickling salt1-1/2 quarts vinegar (5 percent acidity preferred)

1/4 cup sugar

2 quarts water

2 tablespoons whole mixed pickling spice

3 tablespoons whole mustard seed

1 tablespoon whole red and black peppercorns

14 heads of fresh dill4 –

20 peeled cloves of garlic (to your taste) 

1.         Wash cucumbers and garlic. Cut 1/16-inch slice off blossom end and discard, but leave 1/4 inch of stem attached. Dissolve 3/4 cup salt in 2 gallons of water. Pour over cucumbers and garlic and let stand 12 hours. Drain.  2. Combine vinegar, 1/2 cup salt, sugar, and 2 quarts water in a big pot. Add mixed pickling spices tied in a clean, white cloth. Heat to boiling.  3. Fill jars with cucumbers. Add 1 tsp. mustard seed and 1-1/2 heads fresh dill per pint. Cover with boiling pickling solution, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in boiling water bath.  Bottling pints should take about 15 minutes. Bottling quarts should take about20 minutes. Y

ou can also make Sun Dills.  This is almost more of science experiment than a pickle recipe but the result is real pickles. Children will love to do this one with you. 

Pack whole medium sized cucumbers in quart jars. Add one sprig of dill and three cherry leaves Mix one-gallon cold water, one cup salt and one cup vinegar in a bowl.  Pour over cucumbers and seal with zinc lids and rubber rings. Place outside in sun for fourteen days.  During the fermentation process these pickles may turn cloudy and then clear up until they are ready to eat.

It’s that time of year to get your Halloween costumes. This Everlast kids boxer costume is perfect for the competitor who’s ready to step in the ring…as long as the competition is under 3 feet tall! This cute toddler Halloween costume comes with everything shown but the shoes.

You can buy it at this costume store.

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 If you are like me then you love taking pictures of your children, which is more important to you when it comes to buying a digital camera – a cheap price or high resolution. The more pixels a camera can produce the higher the price will be. The same is true when it comes to the camera being user-friendly and lightweight. Here is a guide to the best of both worlds – high resolution at a pretty price and producers of pretty pictures at an affordable price.  

1.         Olympus Camedia D-370 At about 200 bucks. this camera features 1.3-megapixel resolution, 2MB internal memory, 35mm focal length and video output. . It is a leap in evolution from previous Olympus models as the battery lasts six times longer. It offers both automatic and manual controls allowing the user some artistic license. 

2.         Toshiba PDR-M61  This camera has twice the resolution of the Olympus Camedia D-370 but it will also cost you an additional $100. At three hundred bucks this camera features: 2.3-megapixel resolution, and a 38mm-114mm focal range. It is also a lot heavier than other cameras. 

3.         Olympus Camedia Brio D-100  Priced at about $250 U.S. this middle-range point-and shoot camera features1.3-megapixel resolution, a 8MB SmartMedia card, and a 35mm focal length and video output. It is easy to use but not for long as it has a short battery life. 

4.         Kodak DX3500  At $299 this camera produces superb images at 2.2-megapixel resolution. It possesses 8MB of internal memory. The lense has a 38mm focal length. It produces very high quality prints for a point and shoot camera that is so automatic. 

5.         Toshiba PDR-M65 This pricier five hundred dollar camera features 3.34-megapixel resolution, 8MB of memory, a SmartMedia card, 38mm-114mm focal range and video output. It has fewer perks than most cameras in this price range but is easier for beginners to use. 

6.         Olympus Camedia C-2040 Zoom This $500 camera features: 2.11-megapixel resolution, 8MB SmartMedia card, a40mm-120mm focal range; 1 USB and video output. It is heavy at 13.7 ounces. It produces movie quality images associated with $1000 dollar models however it can’t capture audio. 

7.         Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P50 At $400 or so this camera is a hybrid between high end and low-end camera. It has 2.1-megapixel resolution, 4MB, and a 41mm-123mm focal range. However it has a poor battery life, which can be upgraded with a lithium battery for an extra $100.  

8.         HP Photosmart 315  This durable, easy-to use camera features: 2.1-megapixel resolution, 8MB of CompactFlash media, 38mm focal length and video output. However this $279 camera  does not have a zoom function. 

9.         Canon PowerShot This $299 camera features: 2.1-megapixel resolutions, a 35mm-105mm focal range and video output however it has a short battery life and the images are of average quality.

10        Ricoh RDC-5300  This 500 dollar camera features: 2.3-megapixel resolution, 8MB SmartMedia card, 38mm-114mm focal range, and video output. It is a heavier and clunkier camera. However it gets marks for user-friendliness and the photo software bundle that comes with it.

Here is a real good store to buy cameras from