Frugal Friday 390

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Last Saturday, Owen had t-ball pictures. We did splurge (so not 100% frgual) on t-ball pictures again this year. In all honesty, they are surprisingly affordable for a little set of them and it's VERY important to Owen that he have them. He is very excited to pass them out to "all his fans"

- Saturday evening we went to a really fun birthday party. The kids were SO excited to play with some of their best friends and these friends REALLY know how to do kids' parties! The kids played, spent time in a jumbo monster truck photo booth, and ate their fill of pizza and cake. I note this because it was WONDERFUL to feel back to more normal, celebrating in person with friends.

- Mark was out of town last weekend leading a Boy Scout program. He was then gone this week as well for Raven's Challenge with the Bomb Team. We missed him but know that he did a great deal of learning and teaching this week.

- I had planned to explore some park or do a hike after church but failed to check the weather as I made my plans. We ended up staying home all day as it poured. We went ahead and did school since it was too rainy/cold to be outside. That felt like the best use of our time.

- Monday - Wednesday my dad was in town. It was great to have him here to play with the kids and it helped me get a great deal of work done while they still had someone to supervise them. The kids loved going to multiple parks, eating lunch out two days in a row, getting new bike accessories, and taking long bike rides. He also mowed the lawn for me which was so kind. Thank you Dad!

- Tuesday afternoon I took Owen for a haircut. For a while we did his haircuts at home sometimes that went okay, other times not so much. We decided to work it into our budget to have his hair done outside the home. Our dear friend Miss Christy does his hair as well as mine and Annabeth's but less often for us girls. If we can't do it for free at home, we are happy to pay our friend. Local and need great hair? Check out Hair by Christy Stearns

Stylin' with his Ring Pop

- I got to take Owen to Lions for the first time this week, obviously he usually goes with Mark since he's the leader, and they planted seeds as part of his very last Lion Elective. Owen is looking forward to growing his own little garden this spring/summer.

- I spent 7+ hours organizing and tagging ALL of my items plus three express taggers items for the Here We Grown Again Kids Sale. I put roughly 10-15 hours of work into each sale and I am SO thankful for this extra income each year. Last year we used the sale money as our souvenir money for Disney World. This year we plan to use it to pay towards a hotel stay.

- We did a small ($44) grocery haul for the week. What did we eat? Pork Loin/Broccoli/Sweet Potatoes, Chinese Chicken/Rice/Broccoli, BLTs, and Shrimp Fajitas. Owen also made a homemade fruit salad and Annabeth made cake pops.

Her first time making cake pops. 

They were lemon flavored and she did baseballs and unicorns

- Yesterday we babysat my niece. The kids had a great time holding her and looking at her little outfits. They are so cute with their little cousins. 

We had a great week, we missed Mark, but are looking forward to all being home together soon.

Happy Savings to All!