Frugal Friday 422

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Last Friday we spent the afternoon at the Johnson County Museum of History. Every Christmas we love to walk the indoor tree trail, vote for our favorite tree, and then enjoy the museum. Right now the special display is of the most beautiful miniatures. The kids spent an hour doing the scavenger hunts and looking at each of the houses/displays. We love this donation only museum - so fun and affordable!

- Saturday morning Owen and I had a Christmas date. I used a Starbucks giftcard, thanks Shop Kick (you can click my link to start earning money too!), and we had a nice coffee/cake-pop date. We also combined a sale and Kohl's cash to get Annabeth's Christmas gift from him at 50% off. 

- We had a very busy day Saturday with three things across two towns. We made a point to meal prep and because we planned ahead we had healthy meals from home even though we were busy running all over the place.

- Sunday morning the kids played Mary and Joseph in the church cantata. I am very thankful for a church that encourages children to become involved in worship early and often in childhood. We have a wonderful choir director who works diligently with the kids, helping them learn real singing skills and to play instruments. This year they played hand bells during their song. We treated Mark's mom, brother, and our niece/nephew to lunch after church. 

- Both Saturday evening and Sunday evening we had birthday parties. The kids really enjoyed being able to choose gifts for their friends and then loved the parties even more. We are so thankful for the blessing of great friends!

- Our friends messaged us about a hotel change for an upcoming trip. By switching hotels we were able to upgrade to a bigger room AND are saving almost $300 on the trip! This is a huge blessing and will give us more spending money for food/gas/state park admissions for the trip. 

- Tuesday evening Owen had his end of the semester event for Cub Scouts. They had a gift exchange, pizza party, and award ceremony. Owen has now earned the rank of Tiger. We are so proud!

- Wednesday night the kids had their Dance Company party. They enjoyed pizza, games, and receiving their company shirt for the year. Owen has always been really jealous of Annabeth going so he was very happy to be included this year. 

- Annabeth's friend surprised her with a Harry Potter cookbook! It was such a sweet, thoughtful gift as Annabeth LOVES cooking/baking and Harry Potter. Mark surprised us all with the ingredients to make Butterbeer so we had a special treat Wednesday evening. Thank you Sichting Family!

- We did our end-of-semester deep clean of the schoolroom. This is my way of staying on top of all of the crafting projects. We organize, recycle, and I find that with everything neat and tidy the kids are more apt to play/create in that space again. 

- Mark had days of Christmas breakfasts, coffees, etc between work and groups that he volunteers with. 

We had a busy, busy week but I've been so thankful for weather in the 50s and 60s. We have spent so much time outside and it's been lovely. 

Praying for our family/friends in Western Kentucky who were affected by last weekend's tornado. Please continue to reach out if we can bless you in any way.

Happy Savings to All.