It's Pay Day!

Well, here it is Pay Day Friday!

I am very very pleased to report that I have between $40 - $50 leftover this week. I have not yet counted my change.

I take that money and put in a jar marked "save", and use it to buy something that I normally wouldn't buy (like a treat) or save up to buy something I really want. This keeps me feeling very motivated to not spend money, I know that everything else has been taken care of, and it's a very nice reward. This week though, I am going to use it to buy the kids new shoes. One of our local shoe stores (in the nearby city) is having their buy one get one half price sale. Our daughter really needs shoes, and our son always seems to need new shoes! I buy almost everything else for them second hand, but shoes are very important at this age especially while their feet are still growing, and they certainly get our money's worth from use! If there is any cash leftover, we will put it back in the "save" jar.

Happy Friday to you, and I hope you have a great weekend.

Tooth Fairy

Well, it is certainly a big day in our household! My son lost his first tooth yesterday. It was very exciting. With the excitement came the anxious waiting for the Tooth Fairy.

I think the Tooth Fairy was apprehensive and a bit worried as well. The rate of inflation for money left has gone up astronomically. When I was a child, she left $0.25, last night she left $2.00. I don't think the apprehension came from the actual amount of money, but whether or not it would bring the same excitement to my son as it did me (and my husband).

She upped the ante a bit by leaving a sappy note complete with stickers, glittery things and even lost a couple of feathers in the process. She fashioned a nice envelope made from velum paper with butterfly and flower closures. It all made a very nice package for the lowly Toonie.

The reaction was (other than the grumpiness of being woken up, it is a school day afterall) "I thought the Tooth Fairy would bring me enough money to buy a computer!" Sigh. We try so hard to make the kids nonmaterialistic. But there is no accounting for dreams of what Santa, or the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy can bring - the kids know that our family has limited money and resources, but those other characters are magic for goodness sakes! They can bring anything if the kid dreams big enough and wishes hard enough! And keeping with our beliefs, Santa, the Easter Bunny and now even the Tooth Fairy respect our wishes and keep things very simple. Much to the disappointment of our children.

I am very happy to report though, after some cuddling and re-reading the note together, my not-so-little boy was very pleased that everybody is indeed very proud of him, and that he is getting very big. To watch that proud and at the same time shy smile creep onto his face is so special... to see him reacting to praise with a sweet reflection is so rewarding. He weighed himself to see if he's gained any weight since last night (he hasn't) and ate a really big breakfast to try to get even bigger and stronger (like Daddy).

In the end, I am banking that the special notes, and quiet cuddles will last much longer than any other gifts. And for the sake of this blog, it only cost the Tooth Fairy $2.00 ;)

Reveling in a great deal!

In honor of Earth Day... I am going to write about how happy I am to be breathing in some fresh air.. windows are open. Coincidentally, I am also on a cleaning spree. My very favorite cleaning products, which are non toxic, earth friendly, and smell divine, are currently on sale at our local discount store. Instead of the standard citrus, or "morning breeze" artificial scent, my home right now smells like lavender, mint, cucumber, and ylang ylang (which smells soo good!).

These products are truly wonderful, they also clean really well. Cleaning has never been my favorite thing to do, but I could clean all day with these... really! However, other than the fact they can be hard to find, they are also really expensive. Therefore, I do not often buy them. However, right now, they are on for $2.88 a bottle. I got one of each yesterday, and will go back to stock up (I learned the hard way about stocking up before trying the product).

I love a great deal like this. If you live locally and are interested in which products they are, send me a comment.

Happy Earth Day, I hope you think of even one thing you can do differently, obviously for me, it was to buy products that are good for the earth, come in 100% recycled plastic bottles, made in North America, never tested on animals and very people friendly as well.

Sunshine, friends, and fun

Today is another one of those gorgeous Spring days, where you feel guilty being inside.

I am going to have a day where I spend nothing (other than usual living costs for those who are critical, yes I will use electricity at some point lol)

This morning, I met yet another friend for a visit to the park, we packed up snacks, and had a fabulous time. Then my kids came home and wanted to stay outside to play. Can't say I blame them. One of our highlights from the trip home from the park was the county guys are flushing out the fire hydrants... the kids thought that was great, although Mommy thinks it's a waste of water.. although it does go back into the system mostly I guess.

We'll eat simply (just the way the kids like it). At some point today we will probably watch some tv. We'll work together on our project... and hope to finish before Daddy comes home this weekend.

I guess from all these latest posts what I'm trying my best to convey is that we need to (society as a whole) learn to stop and enjoy all that we already have. We have friends, hang out with them without going out! Have coffee at home, or make a pot of tea. Take the kids to the park or in the backyard instead of some pricey amusement. Make your house comfortable and what you want it to be and enjoy it. Watch a favorite movie that we already own with the kids instead of rushing out to find another way to entertain them. Play together. It's all so simple, but we all feel the need to fill in the time another way. Shopping, eating out all the time instead of keeping it for a treat, going out for $7 coffee. It needs to stop. We're bleeding money and hurting the earth.

Another almost free day.

Wow.

Yesterday was a great day! The only downside was my hubby is still away.

We started the day at a little park that is almost beside our house, I met one of my friends and my kids and the little girls that she babysits hit it off very well. After the park, we came home for lunch, and dined outside! Then we headed downtown to the library, for my daughter's $1 per week library class. During that time, I chatted with other Mommies, while my son played on the computer, and picked out books. After library, we made a quick stop for a few supplies ($13 total) for our project. We came home and worked diligently (although we would have preferred to go play outside) on our project, and then had a very simple supper. After the kids were in bed, one of my best friend's came over, I made tea (rather than have her stop for Timmies) and we chatted for a couple of hours.

The total cost of the day was $13 as the library is already paid. Since the $13 falls into my budget, I'm not sure I need to count it.

Who says the rich live better?? Not me! There is no amount of money that could buy this kind of happiness. No dollar amount can be placed on watching your kids play in the sunshine, or embracing a book. A long chat with a dear friend who you've known for 10 years, cannot be bought. It is the simplest of things that make us truly happy.

Home Alone

Well, we're back! It was a wonderful trip on many levels. Of particular relevance is the fact that we were able to keep the costs way down! Due to circumstances with my husband's work, his company paid for our trip in terms of gas, and mileage! To top it off, I was able to get away for a few days with him, and stay at the hotel with him (totally legit) at no cost. We went out to dinner with 1/2 the cost being reimbursed by the company. Sure it felt weird to ask for separate cheques after almost 9 years of marriage, but hey, we weren't complaining! We were staying at a hotel about a 20 min drive from where my husband's parents live. He does not stay with them for the work trips as during rush hour the commute can take up to an hour each way! But we did pop back in to see the kids one evening as I am not used to spending much time away from them. All in all, it was awesome. I got to have the kids close by, but spend some time alone with my hubby, I ate meals that did not contain chicken nuggets (real or soy) or any form of cheesy pasta, my hubby still had to work, but he got to spend time with us. During the day, I was left to myself, there was a cluster of big box stores about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. I would get up and have breakfast with my husband (free continental!) and then after he left for work, I would get ready for the day and walk to the stores. Then I would bum around in the "cluster" for a couple of hours. I was so very disappointed at the "car culture" in that city. Just walking from one store to another was exhausting after a couple of hours! Around noon I would find something for lunch and head back to the hotel to be completely and utterly useless and loved it. I am happy to say that after 2 full mornings of shopping, I kept the total spent to under $50. And pretty much all of that was cool little gifts for the kids, like a mini volcano that uses baking soda and vinegar... and a thing called a piddle pad (really!) that goes in the carseat "just in case" as our daughter has just finished potty training... just a week or so ago, rather than embarrass her with a diaper for the car, we were all reassured with that waterproof pad! So I am proud to say I did very well!

Now though, my husband has returned to work again, and will be away for about a week or so, we're not sure. I am working on a little project in our home, and set a budget of $100 for myself... and I'm 99% sure I'll come in right under that. It should make a huge difference in our house, but I am not telling what it is just yet as he may read this and I want it to be a surprise for him. It's how I like to cope when he goes away. I pick a project and race to get it done before he gets home. Last time it was a simple rearrangement of the living room, and then the next week was a huge deep spring cleaning... This time it's... whoops ... you'll have to wait to find out ;)