Getting Back on the Frugal Wagon, One Foot at a Time
We hemorrhaged money for about 6 months there. Getting ready for the move, the move, recovering from the move, buying the house, moving into the house, settling into the house.
Honestly, I’ve only started regularly cooking meals again in the last couple of weeks. Today, I made my first batch of homemade yogurt since Texas. That has to be some sort of milestone!
Getting used to winter again after 15 years is hard to do, frugally. Since our ability to go play outside is limited, opportunities to leave the house and get out an about are usually tied to shopping or otherwise spending money. Admittedly, I’m a bit of a homebody, so it doesn’t make me go totally insane to not leave the house hardly at all during the week, but my mom is cautioning me to not do that … and she survived 20 years of motherhood with my brother and I, so I shoudl give her words some weight.
Audrey loves the indoor playland at the local mall … but it’s at the mall. What are the chances you wouldn’t spend at least a little bit of money at the mall, especially since the playland is right next to the food court?
On the upside, our house has multiple “loops” throughout it, where we can run around in circles through the living room, hall, kitchen, dining area, or in a loop down in the basement [with the added benefit of a smooth floor for tricycles, etc]. So the kids are able to burn off energy even when it’s cold and snowy outside. And I don’t have to spend 30 minutes getting the kids ready to go outside, just to have them say they’re too cold after we’ve been outside for only 20 minutes.
ADDED: And another thing! [Always another thing … ] My husband usually isn’t home by 7! So how am I supposed to go to a “parents only” meeting 20 minutes away at 7? Tell the dog to be gentle while putting them to bed? Okay, I admit, now I’m just venting … *sigh*
Jenn @ Frugal Upstate said,
January 28, 2007 @ 6:58 am
Well, we don’t have a mall with a playground, which may be a good thing
What I do sometimes in the winter (even though it is a 30 min drive away) is go to the McDonalds that has a playground in it-you know, one of those big ones with the gerbil tubes for the kiddos to climb through. What I do is feed the kids lunch at home, then head into town to hit the playground at about 130 or 2pm. Then I either just buy a cup of coffee for me, or just buy some cookies for the kids (approx $1) I consider that my “table fee” for using the playground, and it is way cheaper than shelling out for a “happy meal ” for the kiddos etc.
It’s too bad that your MOPs is so late. You’ve done a full internet search in your area? I don’t know exactly where you are, but have you thought about going to the MOPS site and doing a search in a slightly larger area? if you don’t mind driving a bit farther you might find a daytime group a few more towns away. Just an idea.
Glad to have you back.
Amy said,
February 7, 2007 @ 12:41 pm
We have a play area in our mall too and I can actually walk in and out of there without spending a dime. We park closest to the play area, where I pass the least amount of stores, and park ourselves in the play area. I pack a lunch for the kids and we take our lunch over to the benches or I tell them that we will go to the food court on the condition that everyone understands that we will NOT be buying any food. They are so happy to get out that they don’t even care
Do you have a Mothers & More in your area? I am not sure where you are located, but when we moved to the Midwest, I found a great local chapter that has made all the difference for me! I do all of the playgroups that don’t require money (home playgroups or public meeting locations). It works out well!!