Frugal Fun: Using your local schools

Whether you home school, have children too young for school, or maybe your child attends a private school, you still may want to check out the opportunities at the local public schools. My daughter does attend a public school, so I get regular newsletters and notes sent about special activities. However, most schools also post these on their website, which you could book mark to keep an eye on.

I have noticed that her school has many programs in the evenings and weekends that have little to no cost, lots of potential for fun, and might be educational as well. This particular picture is from a Rain Forest presentation that we attended on Friday night. It was a free show for my son and my daughter was $5! You did not have to attend the school and the all the children there were able to meet incredible animals and even touch some of them.

You can see that my children are much braver than I am. There is no way I want to put a finger on that python.

Check out your local school's website and see if there are any great opportunities waiting for you!!!

Summer Time

I have been really enjoying the summer this year. The deals have been less than impressive and instead of bombarding you with the same stuff you can find at any blog, I have been playing with my kids. It has been great.

I love couponing, but like anything else it is important not to neglect your family. So I have been putting them as my top priority. In addition, I have a tendency to become obsessed with things. Couponing is one of them. I a year or so ago I realized that I was telling my kids to wait and just hold on until mommy is done and why.... so I could get a couple more free tubes of toothpaste??? Well, it was a bit more than that. But to be honest, the kids didn't really care how our stockpile was doing. My babes had no idea we were having money trouble. And I realized that I have to enjoy every second that I can while they are so little and cute.

So I have been spending a bit less time on the internet and more time living on love. I will get back to the deals and I am sorry to anyone that has been searching for them. I will have new Wegmans match-ups for you soon. And Tops this week looked BLAH to me.

How has your summer been going?

Summer Projects

I officially begin my summer vacation next week. And I can't wait. My little loves just can't get enough projects and crafts when we are home. So I will be sharing with you some of the ones that are planned for our fun!

Here is the first.

I have so many free paper plates, I thought this one would be a good place to start. You can find the directions here.

We will also be working hard in our veggie garden. Do you remember it from last year????? Pictures coming soon!

What are you doing this summer?

Frugal Fun: Free Bowling All Summer LONG

Here is a great deal just in time for summer. AMF is offering 2 free bowling games per kid per day this summer. This great opportunity starts May 30 and extends to September 5. It is available 7 days a week and until 8pm. I think this is a great idea for rainy days, too hot to play days, or just when you need a change of scenery.

You can see if there are locations near you by going here. I just checked my zip code and there were at least 3 places near me!!!

There is a deal for adults as well. I think 4 adults can play all summer for $27.95. I should double check this, but I think it is close to the actual number.

So go sign up now. Then every Sunday you will be emailed coupons for the week. And then have some fun.

**Bowling shoes are not included :( **

Another Regal Coupons

Here is another coupon if you are headed to the movies this weekend!

Did anyone use the coupon from last week? I'm wondering if the Rochester area cinemas accepted it...

We don't often go to the movies because it can be so expensive. I have been to the movies about 3 times in the past 5 years. But my daughter is super excited about the Pirates of the Caribbean movie that opens tomorrow. So we plan to use this coupon, go to a matinee, and I have a movie card for the theater where you can get points towards free stuff or discounted snacks. We also usually pack our own snacks so that when the popcorn runs out my love has something else to munch on. My little love gets excited about the popcorn. Since it is such a special treat to go we save up to splurge while we are there. And actually, I don't get to go. It is a father -daughter date. But that is ok with me. I can wait to rent for free.

How do you keep your outings within budget?

Frugal Fun: Headbands

Around Easter time I went looking for new headbands to put in my little love's basket. I was totally blown away when I saw the prices.... $8 for one headband because it had a flower glued to it???? There was no way that I would pay that price for just one headband. As I looked the hair accessories over, I decided that there was no reason that I couldn't make these myself. And so I set out on a mission to make some fun items for my love's gorgeous locks!!

So my goal was to see how many headbands I could make for under $8... and would they look as good as the store bought items.

I started at the dollar store. For $7 plus tax I bought the following:




1 bag of gem stones $1
4 plain headbands (2 packs of 2) $2
3 sets of fake flowers $3
1 package of butterflies $1

I already own a hot glue gun and had extra glue sticks. So I got to work. First I dismantled the fake flowers so that I only had the petals and center.

Some of the flowers needed a little something, so I added some gemstones. You can see in this blue flower that I added the stones in the center to dress it up a little.




Then I glued the flowers and butterflies off to the side to create a fun look for my blondie.





She loved the headbands so much that we plan to make more together and give as gifts. Plus I still have enough decorations to probably make 3 or 4 more. We will just need to get more headbands. This project was really a ton of fun. And it made her Easter basket look cool too.




(In this last photo some of the petals got caught under the headband. The flowers were really full with no "bald spots".)

Frugal Winter Fun!

Are your kids off this week? We are and we are having fun. There are some incredible activities in the Rochester area (Museum of Play, Dinosaur exhibit at Museum & Science Center, etc.) But you can keep it simple too. We try to get as much fresh air as possible. And going to our backyard is free!!!

What are you doing this week?

Frugal and Green

Here are a couple of ideas my daughter and I tried out. These are frugal and fun and will make your tree look beautiful. Your little loves will probably have some fun too.




The first is a salt dough.

You'll need:

4 cups of flour
1 cup of salt
1.4 cups of water
paint, glitter, and cookie cutters

I made the dough first and then rolled it like I was making cookies. We used cookie cutters to get Christmas themed shapes and put a hole at the top for a string or hook. You'll want to make the hole a little bit bigger than needed because it might shrink as you bake.

I then baked the "ornaments" at 350 degrees for about 7 minutes.



The hard part was being patient enough to wait for them to cool. Once they did we had a fun time painting and decorating. My 5 year old loved this!




My second idea uses egg cartons. I cut two of the small compartments out and painted white to create a snowman.





We then used felt and paint to decorate. I forgot to take a picture of the final project, but they are quite cute.


I have seen a similar idea turning the 2 egg holes into a penquin.

Frugal Fun

If you follow some of the other deal blogs, you might have seen a post about free Thanksgiving cards. I saw them and thought, hey we can do that. Now, my love and I might not be the most talented, but I think that having her hand print instead of a fake on a card is much better. Plus, my love and I absolutely enjoy making crafts while the babe is sleeping.

We first traced her hand.

Then we painted her hand so that we could use it as a "stamp".

Then she placed her painted hand inside the tracing.

When the paint dried she added legs and a gobbler.

Afterwards, my love practiced her penmanship by writing Happy Thanksgiving inside each one.

She has already given one to the babysitter and one to her teacher. She can't wait to pass out the rest to family on Thursday!

Local Frugal Fun

If you live in the Rochester area you may have been brought up to believe that there is nothing to do around here. That was at least the famous words that always came out of the mouths of classmates and other I grew up with. But there is actually quite a bit to do and see and much of it is great fun.

Stephanie, who used to live in Rochester, wrote a great post with links on Poorer than You. You can check it out here and find something fun to do this weekend.

Frugal Fun

I know, I know, I know... I have mentioned this before, but kids just love to play with cheap things that are not toys. My son and daughter love to play with the laundry baskets. And today, for a few minutes, the baskets were empty. My son was sooooo sweet. He was giving me kisses through the holes on the basket. He is just so wonderful.

Frugal Fun

I know I haven't posted in a while. My entire family came down with a terrible stomach bug. I luckily didn't get it, but have been quite busy cleaning up after the other 3. Plus it seems that as soon as I sit down I fall asleep.... I used to be able to stay awake all night. Seems I am getting old.

Anyways, here is my babe having some fun with plastic bags. They didn't cost me a cent. I can still recycle them and she had a ball. Don't worry; no plastic bags were placed on anyone's head. I can just hear all the mother's out there. But she was safe and loved being silly. It is amazing how the cheapest and easiest things to find will make kids happier than expensive toys.

Have you been having fun? I'd love to hear about it!!!

Frugal Fun #14

This is the site from my backyard. The little loves are out of their minds excited by the noise and movement as they work on a housing complex that is going up behind us. I know they love it, but I will be sad if anyone buys the land directly behind us and blocks our view of the beautiful field. On a clear day I can see the lake from here. I love it.

Frugal Fun #14

Lunches have been kind of boring around here. So to jazz up the repeated sandwiches I pulled out the cookie cutters. My little love absolutely adores flowers and butterfly shaped sandwiches and she even eats the crust.

I know that lots of moms do this, but the cookie cutters can get expensive. So look for them after holidays and Walmart and Target so that you can get them on clearance. I got a set of 5 or 6 spring themed cutters after Easter at Target for less than a buck. It is a cheap way to make lunch fun.

Frugal Fun #13

The power of the imagination.

My little love is obsessed with pirates at the moment. I think that using the items around your house to transform your play to another place is cheapest and best way to have fun with little ones.

We worked on finding an outfit and creating a space:

black bandanna
eye patch (cord from thumb drive)
boots (rain boots)
booty (fake jewelry)
sword ($2 at Walmart for foam sword - we already had)
blankets hung from the walls to create sails
telescope (paper towel roll)

Frugal Fun #11

Here is a shot of my happy hubby during our last back yard fire. The picture doesn't do him justice. He is sooooo cute. You'd think after 12 years (high school sweeties) I'd cool off a little, but I love him more than ever and find him more attractive too.


My hubby and I are going on a date!!!!!! I am so excited. We hardly ever get out alone. It isn't that we don't want to either. It is hard during the school year because I hate being away from the kids. I wanted to be a stay at home mom, but it hasn't worked out yet. My hubby keeps telling me I might be able to stay home a while with future babies. And during the summer it is hard because we are usually short on cash.

So anyways, we are keeping the evening very cheap. My hubby is working, so I won't get a start on our date until late. We plan to eat at Olive Garden. I know it sounds strange, but we love going there.... breadsticks, salad, leftovers... I have been saving points at MyPoints and trading them in for Olive Garden gift cards. Then we are going to listen to free music at the local arts festival taking place this weekend. If we still are awake, which for me will be easy but not so much for him, we are making a fire in our back yard where we can sit and chat uninterrupted.

I am so excited!

If you are interested in My Points you can check it out here or I can send you a personalized email invitation. I take surveys through the site and also click though emails. I never actually do the offers they send. I just click on the 5 points for going to the offer's website, but I don't actually sign up for anything. Some days I'll get over 10 emails from them, so it is easy to get points.

How do you keep your dates affordable? I'd love to get some new ideas...

Frugal Fun #10

I think that blogging or just being part of the computer age can cause many to become stuck behind a computer or hooked to electronics. So I like to spend a large portion of my day away from any cell phones, computers, or gadgets. I take my children outside with me for all sorts of activities. Jogging is one of my favorites. It gives my children fresh air, change of scenery, and no TV. It gives me exercise, a chance to relieve stress and regroup, and chance to be me. Before I was a mom I would run a good 12 miles a day. It was glorious. Now I'm lucky if I get an hour to run... and almost never by myself. I like to think that I can't get as far because now I'm pushing over 100 pounds, but that is a whole other story. Jogging gives me energy and is free. I did have to buy the stroller. We bought a double for under $200 and have used it for over 15 months which makes it way less than a dollar a day to pay for it. Plus I've added a new element. We like to collect cans as we go. I would never do this without the stroller to hide the bottles in. Yes, I would feel a little silly. But picking up the bottles helps clean up the area and I make 5 cents on each bottle in New York state when I return them.

If you don't have the money to buy a stroller you could always look to groups like freecycle or freepeats for used strollers that other families don't want anymore.

Frugal Fun #9

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I love to play in the rain. It makes me feel like a child again... even though I 'm not that old yet. Here my daughter and I were playing in the pool while in the rain. It was so much fun.

Frugal Fun #8

Do you own a Chevy? Do you live near Hershey Park? They are having a Chevy owner appreciation day on several upcoming Saturdays and they are giving away free tickets into the park if you fill out the given form. To find out more you can go here. To fill out the form go here. This is a great offer if you can go with prices into the park at $30- $50 per person!!! What an awesome freebie!!!

Looking for Something To Do?

I was on the search for info on a movie in the park near my home and came across this great site. If you live in the Rochester area you'll really want to check it out. It has festivals, carnivals, and more all posted in an easy to find format. You can check it out here.

Plus it comes from a website called freetimes, which leads me to believe it would be free to get in to many of these.