Sheilacakes Family Travel Traditions

Traveling traditions are great. Every time I hear the phrase travel tradition, I think of the movie Home Alone 2 because forgetting Kevin has become a Mcallister family travel tradition. My family has always had travel traditions. We always listen to the same music. Even now, we still listen to Billy Joel and Carly Simon when we travel as a family. When I was a teenager and in my early twenties, I used to collect shot glasses. The best places to get shot glasses is in souvenir shops. I didn't use them I just liked to collect them.
My Grandma Rose collected salt and pepper shakers and postcards from her travels.  My Grandma Rose and my Grandpa were always traveling somewhere out west. We also found salt and pepper shakers for her when we were traveling. We would send postcards too. We used to always get a new book or magazine when we traveled. I really want to start this tradition with Noah soon. It was pretty neat to get a special book just for our trip. Sometimes it was a coloring book instead.  Do you have special travel traditions?

Check out my post for more ideas for travel traditions.

HomeHero finds Great Caregivers for Seniors

How HomeHero’s Senior Home Care Services Saved Our Family Vacation

By Danielle Estrada

When you are the primary caregiver for a loved one finding the time to take a family vacation can be extremely difficult with all the responsibilities you have on your plate at home. I am the primary caregiver for my mother and was recently faced with this challenge when planning our annual family vacation with my husband and kids. Luckily, I found HomeHero and they were able to save the day and facilitate our trip.

My first concern when searching for a senior home care company was finding a caregiver I could trust. There is no sense in hiring someone if you are going to be stressing about the care your loved one is receiving while you are on vacation. The point of vacation is to relax! HomeHero help put my mind at ease when they explained the process they go through to vet their caregivers.

HomeHero puts their caregivers through a rigorous screening process.

Each HomeHero caregiver must pass anin-person interview and background check and provide three professional references.

Once I found a company I could trust my next priority was finding a senior home care company I could afford.When doing my research on senior home care companies near me I found they all either required long-term contracts or had hour minimums for care. These policies made the cost to hire a caregiver add up extremely quickly. I was relieved to find HomeHero did not have these types of policies. I was able to hire one of their caregivers for only three hours a day for the five days we were on vacation. Their caregiver stopped by my mom’s everyday at noon and made sure she had something to eat and was comfortable. One day the caregiver even took her to the grocery store to help her do her shopping.  That was nice and my mom really enjoyed it.

My favorite thing about using HomeHero was their user friendly website. I was able to put in a request to find a caregiver online and check out their caregiver profiles prior to choosing someone. Everyday our family was on vacation I received a receipt from their billing department via email that included a voice recording of the caregiver giving me a summary of the day’s events. This saved me from having to check in everyday while on vacation.


I can go on and on about how great my family’s experience was using HomeHero. When you are the primary caregiver for a loved one taking time away to unwind is important. Sometimes making that time is easier said then done. HomeHero saved our family vacation and I am very happy I got to introduce their great service to you guys today.

Garagedoorcare.com Email Program plus Giveaway!

When you own a home or even rent a house you have to pay attention to routine maintenance to keep your home running smoothly. Having a garage is a great thing to have. You can park your car in it, and take advantage of all the extra storage space. My garage is full of stuff from my childhood, Noah’s old toys and clothes and just a bunch of random stuff.  Having a working garage door is important because you need to access it. I wouldn’t want to have to bring my trash cans in through the house, and of course you can’t drive your car in the house. Depending on where you live you want to protect your car from the elements too.  Having a squeaky and creaky garage door is not fun. 

Did you know you need to lubricate it twice a year? I don’t know much about garage door maintenance so I didn’t know this. It makes sense though because it can definitely cause problems down the road. You might be thinking how do I lubricate it? It’s really easy. You need to pick up a can of Garage Door Lube and you can find detailed instructions on Garagedoorcare.com The garage door is one of the most neglected appliances in the home.  You can sign up for email alerts that will remind you to lube your garage door. You may not remember to lube your garage door, I know I wouldn’t. They don’t even spam you or add you to any marketing list. Spending five minutes lubing your garage door can save you a big headache down the road.  You can also find a lot of different tips and advice at Garagedoorcare.com.

To sign up for a twice a year email visit Garagedoorcare.com

I have an awesome giveaway for you.

One lucky winner will win a $25 VISA gift card!

All you have to do to enter is:

Visit Garagedoorcare.com and tell me something you learned.

The winner will be emailed and you must respond within 48 hours.

This giveaway will end on April 15, 2015 at 11:59 pm ET.

Good Luck!!