Change Your Attitude, Change Your Altitude - Last week, my wife attended a women's conference on Friday & Saturday so I was in charge of the kids.

The kids worked hard at school that week and I did not want to be a boring dad, just sitting around the house with them, especially on a Friday night, so I racked my brain over what we could do.

I thought about a place where ALL of us would enjoy spending time together, where mom would be elated to hear that I took them (yes, mom's idea of a safe and fun place to take the kids is often different than Dad) and where I could promise to get them something that would make their stomachs appeased.

I couldn't think of a better place than Costco.

When you have 8 kids to feed in the home (my oldest son is visiting this weekend), you're always musing about the ideal time to muster enough energy to pay a visit to Costco.

I try to, at all costs, avoid going to Costco on the weekends because it can be worse than going to Disneyworld at Christmas time.

Thursdays are not that great either because you get the 'pre-weekend' crowd. Mondays are not good because you get the 'gotta load up for the week' crowd.

I think they get their shipment on Tuesdays or Wednesdays so those days can be chaotic as well, so I figured one of the best times to go to Costco is when you need to entertain your kids, especially when it's a Friday night.

The only downside to my decision would be the additional costs I would incur of not only having to fight off my own impulse buying, but also the desires of three little kids.

As we were going down the aisle, I thought I would have a little fun with them and said in an excited voice, "Oh, how about if we get some delicious Pickled Okra???"

They all raised their voices in unison, "YEAHH!!!"

However, when I grabbed the bottle and showed them what I was talking about they all started squirming in their faces as if they had just seen the scariest scene from a Halloween movie.