The highlight of our week was probably the day trip we took to Louisville to attend the Farm Machinery Show. It costs $8 for parking but unlimited climbing access to the nicest tractors, combines, and farm equipment this side of the Mississippi. I have such fond memories of attending as a child. We were able to meet up with friends of ours and also saw my parents for a little while.
We stopped by a bookstore on the way home so Brandon could browse for new releases which he didn't purchase. I requested one of the books on his wish list from our library. We also stopped by Costco on the way home and loaded up on organic produce and a few items for the happy hubby.
I have been cleaning and trying to rid our home of clutter this past month. It's a never ending battle in our home. One thing that I find helpful to the process is to have give away bags started and kept in a room where they cannot be easily accessed by the children. I have bags for my sister-in-laws, parents, thrift store donations, and a few of Eli's friends. I absolutely love it when others share with our family so I try to bless others in the same manner.
I returned some items to the Dollar Tree that we did not use over Christmas and received $7.00 back. We also returned items at Walmart which were never used (Christmas lights and coveralls) and received over $40. I absolutely hate returning items and am so thankful to no longer have these items hanging by our back door!
The kids and I made homemade Valentine's (pictured above). We made three using flat canvases that I had on hand so that they could be kept and used as decoration in the future. I had the paint on hand and a helpful hubby which made the footprints much easier! Eli's hands are getting so big that I wonder how many more times we will be making such crafts. Sniff, sniff!
My sister Bekah and I had a great time shopping at Kohl's last week. We always wait until after Christmas so that we can hit the great clearance racks. (I buy a lot of my clothing second hand but I always purchase new underwear, bras, socks, and swimsuits.) I am very happy with the quality of Kohl's clothing. Bekah watched for coupons and we waited until we could save an additional 20% off of our purchases and received Kohl's cash. I was so impressed by her stamina! We shopped at least 4 hours if not 5 and she would have kept right on shopping except I thought the store closed at 6pm. I also learned that you can add a purchase to an additional receipt in order to generate more Kohl's cash which we did by simply purchasing a lip balm. In case you are wondering I purchased brown tall boots and a new swimsuit. :)
Eli and I have had so much fun playing games this week! His current favorite is The Clothespins Game which I picked up at Goodwill a few months ago.
We have been working on tweaking our budget this week. Unless we stop eating as much meat we will be increasing our monthly grocery budget. Not only have food prices increased dramatically in the past few years but our kids eat a lot more than they use to! Hopefully this year we will be able to plant a large garden. It saves us a lot of money and the taste simply does not compare with what you can buy.
My sweet boys spent about 5 hours on Valentine's Day delivering flowers to the widows of our church. The happy hubby has been delivering flowers for years and I am always reminded at how blessed I am to be married to such a sweet man. This was Eli's first time helping deliver flowers and he even dressed up for the occasion. We did save money buy purchasing all of the vases used at a thrift store last month. I brought them all home, washed them, and they look as good as new. Brandon purchased a dozen roses which I divided among the 12 vases and added ribbon that I had on hand. The children at our church made Valentine's on Wednesday that were also delivered.
Unfortunately on Valentine's Day I woke up feeling bad. Is it just me or has this winter been especially hard on the immune system? Our romantic Valentine's Day plans took a backseat while the happy hubby and Eli took turns being sweet to me. My favorite part was definitely the three hour nap I indulged in after they finished delivering flowers.
I hope that you had a wonderful week. What frugal things did you do last week?
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