Weekends with the Kids...

I recently checked out  a book from the library.  It is titled Weekends with the Kids. It is a book full of fun ideas to share with your littles. There are recipes, crafts, and activities. I was absolutely inspired, while reading this book.

I don't know about you guys, but for me things are pretty tight financially. We don't have a lot of free money to spend on activities for the weekends. Now I have been thinking a lot about this lately. Thinking about how I know that we need to save every penny we have, because who knows what the future will hold. Jobs are becoming more scarce and I think financially things will only get worse. Now I don't mean to put a damper on your day. That is not the intention of my post. My intention is to tell you that things will be OK. I find great happiness in being poor. I know that may sound funny, and I know my father hates it when I use the word poor, but realistically when it comes we are. When it comes to the world of currency we truly are. I don't care though. I am the happiest I have been. EVER! We have food to eat, a place to live. I am more creative in the things we do and a whole lot more resourceful. I think that is where the new direction for my blog has come about.

I want to share the things we have done to save money and still have fun as a family. I decided I would name the weekly posts after my inspired library find. Every week, on Friday, I will post something fun that can be done with the family for very little money. I have even gone as far as giving myself a budget to follow. I have set that budget at $25. Yes $25! I know that may sound like not a lot of money for a family of 4, but I know we will still have fun each weekend and not go over budget. I am going to posts our activities, including the costs, and of course some fabulous pictures of us:>

I hope that by doing this I can inspire others who are having trouble financially right now. I think that everyone is in some way, if they are being honest. Remember when things get tight, hug tighter. Lets bring ourselves together as families and enjoy each other. I hope your weekends will be filled with littles laughter at all the fun you will have together as a family.

Now that I am done with my little speech there I want to get onto the meat of my post. This is how we spent our first Weekend with the Kids.

FRIDAY

We had a family dinner on Friday night, which turned into a game night. We invited my hubby's brother over and his family. They happen to be some of our best friends, so our night was full of fun, laughter, and catching up.

Miss Kelsie

Candy land, Hi Ho Cheerio, and Uno were brought out. 

Libby and Carter totally kicked Aunt Holly and my butt :>

I was going to get a picture of Bubba and his uncles playing video games, but it turned out to be a pretty cruddy picture. Because of this, you will just have to imagine Bubba hanging out with his two favorite Guys. Dad and Uncle Justin, his favorite video game pals :>

SATURDAY

On Saturday we spent most of the morning in pajamas, watching cartoons instantly on Netflix (we happily do not have cable). My hubby is an avid supporter of  pj clad Saturday mornings. Because of this we gladly hang around in pj's until noon. It is the best!

We also watched Furry Vengeance 

This movie was hilarious. Lots of mishaps occur in this film, which make for giggling littles.

Later on that night we made a craft from the above mentioned library book.

SMARTY-PANTS APRON

Here is what you need:

2 pair of worn pants with pockets (1 for each child)

fabric paint or acrylic paint

scissors

ribbon for the ties

* On a flat work surface, lay the pants with the pockets facing up. Using the scissors, cut off the pants legs, keeping front pockets intact. Now cut down side of pants, so only front of pants remains. Sew on ribbon ties. Let your child go crazy painting and creating. Let dry over night, so paint will set.

This turned out to be a fun, no cost project. I had all the supplies on hand. Miss Priss did enjoy this one more. Bubba really didn't see the purpose of needing an apron, but once I explained he would have cool pockets to hold his paint brushes in, he got a on board :>

SUNDAY

Sunday is usually a day that is quite busy. We start out going to church. We belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Go HERE to learn more. We go to church for 3 hours, so we are pretty famished when we return home. Hot dogs, baked beans, and grapes were on the menu today. Once we had devoured our lunch the kids got a little silly with the camera, well maybe I did too. I also learned a lot about my kiddos after lunch. They have some insane, hidden talents :>

They taught me that when blowing bubbles, in your water, you should cover your ears. They said it sounded like popcorn popping, which they thought was awesome :>

YUM!

Both of my kiddos have absolutely no manners. There was much burping, while eating. I fear they have learned this bad manner from me.

Bubba even burped the end of the McDonald's theme song, which we all were cracking up at. We were also surprised he knew it, since we don't have cable. He told us he learned it at Aunt Holly's house :>

Then of course we got crazy with the camera and couldn't resist making silly faces, just so we could see them on the camera.

Overall we had a great weekend. We got to have fun and spend time together, which is my goal for each weekend. I want to enjoy my children. I want them to look back and know that they were important and that their mother and father loved spending time with them. I have a friend, who once told me that "I had kids so I could do stuff with them, not so I could stay home all the time". I totally agree, but it is nice to know we can do stuff with our family, without spending much money. Sorry if this posts is too wordy, I tend to do that sometimes  I hope you have a fabulous Weekend with your Kids.

Total Weekend Cost: $0

Money Left: $25