Friday, July 17, 2009

Frugal Friday!

This is my first Frugal Friday post in a L-O-N-G time.
But there are always lots of good tips and tons of inspiration!

Before I share, let me give a little explanation.

We have 3 boys. Yes, three. Boys.

However, two of those boys are out of the house and in the military. In fact, the oldest is scheduled to deploy in about 2 weeks.

Last summer, my youngest son & I were home alone all day for the first time. Because as anyone who has children knows, when they get to a certain age, you get yours, plus all their buddies. And when they start to drive, they can all drive to your house. And hang out, and play Halo, and eat you out of house and home.

And then they grow up.

So Little Man & I had to adjust to a much quieter house, and much boredom ensued.

This year, I was more prepared, and had explored many, many free (or inexpensive) activities to pursue, and yesterday was our first foray into one of those...
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY!!!
Now I realize that many of you have sung the praises of the Public Library for a long time, but I had not formerly realized the treasure trove it could be. My son LOVES to read, and Barnes & Noble gets expensive. So we went to our nearest branch. We both got Library Cards, and off we went. They actually had a children's activity too yesterday, but ds#3 decided it was wayyyy too loud and there were too many 4 & 5 year olds to suit his tastes (he is, after all, EIGHT...) so we stuck with checking out books and movies. And he is thrilled that we can go back now and check out FIFTEEN items if we so choose. I mean, FIFTEEN! How lucky can a kid get????

So that's my Frugal Friday tip - go to your local library! Check it out! If they don't have what you want at your branch, talk to them about getting it from another library. And let your kids read, and wonder that there can be so many books about so many interesting things all in one spot. It'll make you proud to be a mom. ;)

3 comments:

Debra said...

Great reminder! I am always talking about the library being such a frugal place to spend time. My daughter loves it!

Mom2fur said...

I have 3 boys, too, and a daughter! My oldest boy and my girl have moved out. The nest is getting emptier and emptier.
Best of luck to your son when he is deployed. May he come home safe and sound and soon!
I love the library. I just got out a few crafts magazines for fall and winter ideas. Sure, they are from last year, but I would like to get started early, LOL!
I learned a new trick. I got a catalog from some book club I belonged to ages ago, and quit. I went through it and circled the books that interested me. Then I went to my library's website and checked the catalog for the books. I found a few of them, so now I can go and get them instead of spending money!

Jennie Shutt said...

We love the library at our house. Our's just add Video games so my boys are happy about that.