Today is a scheduled no spend day at my house but I woke up really wanting an adventure. My husband is working pretty much ALL day, 10am to 7:30pm; all day! It's SO nice outside and this morning I couldn't shake the thought that little Abe and I need to get out go. Maybe a super long walk, a stop at the beach, a stroll down the board walk, and of course ice cream downtown. There's no way I could head down there with him and not spend money. We would for sure get something; a hot dog, a pretzel, a cookie, ice cream, lunch; something.
I decided that an adventure in our own backyard would be better (safer, with the no spend in mind). I dug the water table out from the basement. We sprayed it down and scrubbed it with dish soap. For a two year old that alone was a fun adventure; the hose, hose water, bubbles, a scrub brush. He really enjoyed the activity. Then I set up the clean water table in the backyard with a fun assortment of toys (that really don't go in it but they were fun anyway). I turned the sprinkler on too a little further back in the yard to water the tomatoes. We were out there all morning/ early afternoon. He had such a blast. I enjoyed watching the birds fly through the sprinkler water. There were several that took turns at the game. We really enjoyed the tiniest of activities but it was something new for him. He hasn't played with the water table since last summer. I also put dish soap in it so that there were lots and lots of bubbles. He always wants to "help" me wash dishes. It's one of his favorite activities but just a pain in the neck for me. He occasionally ran through the sprinkler as well giggling away. I drank my coffee outside and he enjoyed his smoothie. By the end of our time out there we were both soaking wet, sun bathed, and genuinely gleeful.
I'm glad we stayed home. I think we had even more fun than we would have spending money on "a day away" treats. I think I can safely call today NO SPEND number 38 for the year. Now I've got to get my tired little buddy down for a nap! I hope you're all enjoying a beautiful Saturday as well.
Average daily spending for June: $16.23
$145.20 left in this month's budget
(in order to meet $17.50 a day goal)
Doing great!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to get my balcony kid friendly, so my girl can play there. Just a bucket of water, some cups and cars passing by, have kept her busy for 3 days. And made her go to sleep really well. So everybody's happy...
That's great! I love how new "adventures" can be so exhausting for them. And so often something we wouldn't think to be an adventure totally is. I try and keep a look out for NEW things Abe can do, be it ever so simple or not.
DeleteAnother easy way for kids to have fun without going to the beach is to fill an underbed storage box with sand from Home Depot and sand toys from the dollar store. When not in use it can be closed tight to keep bugs out as well. Can be used in balcony or patio. Or backyard.
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent idea. I've been thinking about maybe getting him a little sandbox but if the storage box was big enough, and considerably less expensive that would be so much better. Thanks for the idea!
DeleteI got mine at Walmart for 19.99. It is 74 qt/70 L. I knew that sand was on sale in Home Depot for $1.17 a bag but I didn't get around to buying it and am not sure how much I will need. I'll have to ask the store employees. But in my area walmart had the cheapest price for the plastic box and Kroger had it for the same price too. I'll let you know if I get the sand how much it cost.
DeleteThat sounds like a really great price on the sand. I'm going to look into it. It might not be something I do this year. I'm thinking of building him a playset from scratch and I'll build a sandbox underneath if I do that. I'll see what works! Thanks :-)
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