Frugal Friday 233

Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- The kids and I went to the dentist last week. We all had good check-ups and the kids had days worth of fun playing with the gloves and masks the dentist sent home.

Annabeth Riley, Child Dentist at Work

- Mark worked on night at his part time job and I had an Usborne Books party.

- We had Sunday lunch at Mark's parents house. They generously sent home leftovers which we had for Sunday dinner and Monday lunch. Thank you all!

- Mark had the day off on Monday and spent some one-on-one time with each of the kids and also had a good visit with a friend who is at the Masonic Home, recovering from surgery. Please, dear friends, pray for our friend Dave as he fights throat cancer.

- Mark spoke at a boy scout meeting earlier this year and they sent him the cutest thank you cards as well as a Steak and Shake gift-card. He took Annabeth out on a Daddy Daughter Date on Monday for dinner.

- Tuesday was BEAUTIFUL! It was over 70 degrees, sunny, and breezy! We spent most of the day outdoors and the kids loved being out back for hours. We are all ready for spring!

- I took advantage of the nice weather and cleaned out the garage a bit. I brought our spring sale totes inside and organized them. We ended up taking a bag of stuff to Goodwill. I also got all of our 150+ items entered into the computer and organized. We'll just have to tag at some point before April.

- We got our latest PinchMe.com box. This box contained four samples: a shampoo/conditioner set, body scrub*, kids' snack bar*, and a coupon for a FREE box of hair color. I was very excited for the hair color as it's the brand I already use. *Items contained items that Annabeth is allergic to. We tried them carefully without her in the area* If you haven't signed up for PinchMe, you should - it's free and every month you qualify great samples come free to your door!

- Annabeth has a dance competition this weekend about an hour from home. The times worked out well and we won't have to be there until mid-day on Saturday and all of her dances are close together. We had reserved a hotel in case she danced over two days or very early in the morning. Since that didn't happen we were able to cancel the reservation, free of charge. Saved: $135

We are looking forward to a dance weekend and celebrating the life of a beautiful young woman who entered the Life Eternal last week. Please pray for the family of young Moyra and for peace for all those who love her.

Happy Savings to All!

Frugal Friday 232

Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- Last Friday, we hosted a little Valentine's Day Party for Annabeth and some school friends. We were able to use up a ton of stationary and sticker pages. This was a huge plus as we have tons of sticker pages with just a few left and I cannot get myself to recycle them until the stickers are all gone. The kids sweetly chose to make Valentine's for their cousins and parents. We also served sandwiches, salad, fruit/veggies, and pink frosted/heart sprinkled graham crackers. I have been doing a Pantry Challenge and was able to use up a lot of items with this meal. We were able to use up items, so we didn't have any waste, and our friends still had a great time.

 - We spent last weekend in Evansville and Owensboro to celebrate my 31st and Mark's 30th birthday with my family. My parents spoiled us with wonderful presents for the kitchen and each of our favorite desserts (Great American Cookie cookie-cake for me and ruhbarb pie for Mark). Saturday my dad and Mark had a day out with the kids - they went to the aiport, Gersthaus for lunch, and then out to my uncle's bowling alley. Mark and Annabeth also took some time out for a Daddy-Daughter date. I spent the day in Owensboro with my Mama and Momaw. It was the most special day to have them both all to myself and we enjoyed shopping and eating lunch at the country club. That time with them will be the best gift I get all year!

- Last year, my Momaw and Mama hit a great shoe sale and stocked up on shoes. It turns out that Momaw only ended up liking and wearing a few pairs. I lucked out, being the only one the same size as her, and came home with three brand new pairs of shoes!

- I planned our meals for the week carefully and we had dinner at home Friday before we drove to Evansville and I had a simple meal ready to cook quickly when we got in Sunday night. This saved us from stopping to eat out on the way down and/or back.

- Mark ended up working a surprise four hour shift at his part-time job Sunday evening.

- I enjoyed a FREE Starbucks drink as a birthday reward. I also enjoyed Starbucks for FREE again thanks to a birthday gift from my friend Nicole. Thank you! Saved:  $11.08!!

- I had a great birthday on Wednesday. I took the kids to a church storytime, had pizza lunch out with friends, watched a Hallmark movie, and took Annabeth to dance. After the kids went to bed, Mark went out and picked up Penn Station and we ate dinner at home, alone, and talked. It was the best birthday!

Valentine's Day/Birthday morning with my 

Favorite Little Valentines. 

We are looking forward a fun weekend filled with dance, scouts for Mark, and a birthday party for one of our favorite little girls on Sunday!

Happy Savings to All!

Frugal Friday 231

Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- Last Saturday, Mark and Annabeth went up north for a cousin's 1st birthday party. Owen was sick, I was getting sick, and so we stayed home. Mark and Annabeth had a great time seeing family we don't see very often - for example they were just meeting the birthday boy! I treasured a day home with just Owen. We read, played cars, and built with duplos. It was wonderful.

- Mark's parents treated us to superbowl subs. The boy scout troop that Mark helps lead sells these every year as a fundraiser. We enjoyed them for two meals over the weekend. Thank you all! :)

- We had a box of new books come from Usborne Books & More. Some were items from Annabeth's wishlist and others are for my Spring Open House. Annabeth LOVES the new Billy and the Mini Monsters series and read the whole first book in one night!

She loves these books!

She read while I cooked dinner and as soon as she was done eating

she asked to bring her book to the table. 

- I did our weekly grocery shopping and saved $17.50 with coupons. I also scored an awesome deal on fake eyelashes that Annabeth needs for dance - they were 55% off plus an extra 25% off that clearance price! Woohoo! I also took two items to return when I went so I had an extra $6.51 to spend.

- Since we had sick people, we stayed home on Sunday and enjoyed a family game day. Mark was called into work around 5 so the kids and I watched the Superbowl by ourselves. We prayed before the game for the players' safety and we stood and sang the anthem when it was played. It was nice to take the time to remind our children that above all else God should be honored and that, in my opinion, our country is beautiful and our anthem and flag represent a rich and vibrant history and thus deserve our respect.

- Sunday Mark finished his water heater project. He has slowly replaced all of the inside parts so we basically have a brand-new water heater except for the tank itself. We have saved over $800 by doing it this way! Owen is very interested in tools and helping right now so Mark put him to work.

Few things make me happier than watching Mark work with

our children, instilling in them valuable lifeskills.

- Mark worked one night at his part-time job.

- Yesterday, Annabeth I and I worked for over four hours on cleaning her room! We took every single thing out, sorted, and only put back things she really wants. We ended up with half a bag of trash (broken toys or things with missing pieces) and a whole tote of items for the Spring Sale. Owen enjoyed bossing us around. He kept saying "Yes. I am the parent. Pick up!"

We are looking forward to a weekend with my family and getting ready to celebrate my birthday next week! I cannot believe it's #31!

Happy Savings to All!

Frugal Friday 230

Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we spent money wisely/saved extra money/made extra money this week:

- I had one Usborne Book party.

- We had a low key weekend last weekend which was AMAZING! Saturday we enjoyed our nephew's 6th birthday party and then we spent the rest of the weekend working on little projects around the house and spending time as a family. Mark did take each of the kids out on a one-on-one trip with him. They all loved that and I loved having just one kid at home for a little bit each day.

- Wednesday the kids and I drove down to the Columbus area to play with our friends the Otte Family. We packed lunch and took them a whole bag of hand-me-downs from the Junk Exchange. We enjoyed touring their new house and seeing old friends!

- Wednesday evening Mark helped friends put up hay. They generously paid him for his help.

- I ran a Cards for a Cause Fundraiser through my Usborne Book business and helped two families earn $200 for their children's dance fees.

- Annabeth baked cookies for the dance moms at our studio. Many of us moms have been talking about doing special things for each other but just haven't done it. It was our pleasure to take treats for some of our favorite people.

- Last night Mark treated me to Starbucks while I had coffee out with a friend. She is someone I see often, but always with kids, and it was great to just talk without interruption.

We had a nice, low key school week and are looking forward to a busy weekend waiting for a new baby to arrive, filling the Weekend Meal Bags, celebrating a family birthday, and Sunday church and lunch with Mark's Family.

This is from a couple of weeks ago, 

but I just love how much they love to be together. 

Happy Savings to All!